Patience

Patience is a virtue, I learnt that from very young. Does it mean I learnt patience, not at all. I have discovered that patience is needed, that patience can be learnt and can be a change of attitude. I often think it is interesting where I have patience and where I don't. I am totally inpatient with someone who should know what to do and doesn't. I can be very patient with a child learning a new skill. I am not patient waiting... And, that is probably the place that patience is most needed here.

The other Friday, (yes, I know I should be more regular in getting on to writing blogs) I had a good day to learn patience. And, because I am such a slow learner, Saturday also showed me I needed to learn more! Friday morning, off to town - some money needed from the bank from Hopebuilders. Ron, goes into the bank and I go to buy a Senior 2 mathematics text. Oh, sorry no Senior 2 but you could have Senior 3 or Senior 4. [Lesson - shops can't stock books that people cannot afford to buy - Senior 2 is only on the way to the main exams] Then, back to the bank, to wait with Ron. Of course, he was still waiting. He has to see the bank manager and so it is usually an hour wait. Then, in and see her. Oh, but we want to open a bank account for us. Fill in the forms, which of course we did but a passport photo is needed. Before we go for the passport photo we go to do the other paperwork. There is a wait, "how about you go and get the photo and come back?" There is an "express" place across the road. "Yes, five minutes is all it will take if you pay for express". The photos taken, we waited... We waited. "Sorry it will be another 10 minutes". We go off in search of the elusive textbook. No luck there and back to the shop. "I am very sorry but we cannot use those photos, we will need to take more". One hour later, after entering the shop we leave with the photos. Back to the bank. "So, pleased you were delayed because we have a problem, the person who does this is away so we have had to send someone to the other branch"... The account is opened, we have an account number and soon we will have a card to go with it.
Quickly buy other necessities, we now know our way around the market and the shops so unless we need something specific (like a textbook) we can usually find it quickly. We did find a secondhand textbook near the market you will be pleased to know. Home we go.
Some lunch, and off to the village. It was great to see the children with their reports. Patience of a different kind is needed though. Here in Uganda at the bottom of the report is the position in the class. This is the defining thing. When a student is asked how they went on their report, the answer will be as a position in the class. We, do not see this as the significant thing and we also believe that children need to be encouraged. Rarely, if ever is there a positive comment on the report and the comments are kept to an absolute minimum. I do have to add that the preschool reports are different and show achievements in each of the small categories for example "able to tie up their shoe laces"; "able to recognise the letters of the alphabet". So, I patiently care for the child who is feeling like their world is falling apart, because they did not get a great report and they are in a significant year of schooling. This type of patience (with the child - not the system) I am better at.
At 4 pm I am meant to have a meeting about the health needs of the village and community. So, I am ready! OK, I need to learn patience. It has been wet and when it rains, nobody goes anywhere. I have been told "I was fearing the rain". So, I wait. Finally some people did come and the meeting proceeded. Though to be honest sometimes these meetings can seem to take forever to get very little distance. Why? It would be easy to say, these people do not have good thinking skills or don't understand things quickly. In fact, I have come to recognise that things need to be repeated because most of the time people do not have access to written words to refer back to. Hence, they have to remember everything and this is most easily done by repetition. I don't remember a lot of things because I know I can find the information quickly and easily without doing so. Being here is such a learning curve, not only as far as patience is concerned.
Home again, a little later than hoped for but for a really pleasant evening.
Not a lot of patience needed when you get to share a meal with four lovely young ladies. These were the second oldest group of girls: Brenda Mary, Fiona, Martha and Carol. They always brighten our days, they make us laugh. They spent some of the evening working out which bed was theirs to sleep on. Convinced that they should be allowed to sleep, in fact I think come and live with us!
Saturday dawned. There were things to do before heading off to the first 'Parent Meeting of Hope Community High School'. My role was to be there for welcoming. I made sure I knew all the appropriate salutations in Lusoga. I had been told 9.30 am, must be there. Of course I joked "9.30 am Mzungu time, 8.00 am African time". Oh, if only it had been a joke! I got there and helped to get the table decorated (now know how to make paper flower decorations Ugandan style) and generally assist. At 10.00 am (official starting time of the meeting), there were a few staff there, no parents and me alone at the gate! Two gentleman arrived very close to 10.00, as did Ron (he should have taken his own advice to come at 11.00). Soon, after he arrived he was sent home to print the agenda for everyone to have! Then, slowly and I mean slowly people began to arrive. The other teacher who was on welcoming had to do the cooking as someone was not well. A student and I managed (somehow), the problem was that she too does not speak Lusoga, she is from Tanzania. So, you can see there was need for patience. The meeting did start about an hour and a half late. Then, I was summoned to come to be introduced as a teacher. Very unfortunately, I ended up at the front, seated on show! Patience was needed as I said through a lot of talking and for most of the time understanding very very little. However, I must say it was a good parent meeting and great to see so many people come, better late than never. Lunch was at 3.30 pm and then the meeting continued through until 6 p.m. A big day!
The children are patient. They have shown this in the way that they have quickly learnt to knit. They patiently sit there and try and then I undo when there is a mistake too hard to fix. Then, they try again. Now, only a bit over a week since they started learning lots of the children in the village can knit. Some can even cast on and off. Soon, it will be purl and then... The children help me continually to enjoy life, not to be stressed when I need to simply be patient. People here are good at sitting waiting and don't think it is their right to have things happen when they want it. Perhaps, a compromise would be good. Then, there are other times when I need to be patient as people do not understand me, or sometimes people choose not to do what is required, or when I simply cannot communicate. I find it hard that people know how to be patient when their need is urgent. However, I am learning (slowly) that patience is important and to deal with the waiting process. I suppose it is like that good old saying "I find it hard to be patient, while learning how to be patient".

Different things

I figure that it is important for people to understand and know some of the things that take up our days. I am doing some teaching. My load at the school is probably about 0.25, though of course I am not paid. This has been a great opportunity and I really feel that I know much more about what teaching is about here. The challenges, the things that make it easy and also the fact that due to the numbers a teacher is not accountable for the performance of students. Mainly how a student achieves depends on the teacher covering the whole syllabus and the student being able to learn in a very lecture type of situation. There are not resources to do a lot of things - even looseleaf paper! It is hard to work lunchtime at school
out what to do in some of these situations because I could simply buy the paper but that is not an option for other staff. In fact, I gave a staff member a red pen the other day and they thought I was nice and generous. There isn't a lot of room for students to do things and you need to write only on certain parts of the board otherwise some students cannot read it. Then, there is the challenge of using words that students understand. Or, the fact that students are allowed in all secondary schools to hop up and go for 'a short call' , or a toilet break whenever they like. So many differences, though one of the most challenging is the style of learning inherent within Uganda. Rote learning is a perfected art. You start a sentence and end with what.. and people fill in the gap. There are set answers for things, so much so that often there is only seen to be one correct answer! However, this is not the way the curriculum authorities want things to be. They want students to learn to think, to have solutions to everyday problems and a related understanding. At the present time, the only form of assessment used that I know of in schools that I have connection with is examinations. These are set very much in line with the end of S4 exam or S6 depending on a student's level. Learning is geared for the examinations. One student we know is studying Geography, quite a capable young man. However, he does not really understand why there is day and night, or the difference between the USA and UK. Why? Simply because it is not on the curriculum and there are not other means to learn. That too is such a strange concept, little if no access to reading material, very few homes have power and so even fewer television, and the same with internet access. Internet access even within schools is so so limited. The picture on the right is of the exam room - two classrooms combined.

You can only imagine the challenges I face trying to deal with some things. Yesterday, I spent most of the day getting the school out of a 'little hole'. The printing for exams has previously been completed on an inkjet printer. I offered to print as many as they liked on the laser printer, which I had done. Only on Monday, I still checked how things were going with the exams. Anyway, an urgent call yesterday, the last day of exams...the inkjet printer had failed and they needed to print some exams. We went to the school, discovered that one had not even been properly typed up and others were not printed. We rushed home with the secretary and printed the exam that was meant to be happening then, and one for the middle of the day. She then left and I finished printing the last exam (8 pages for 100 students), which took hours! Our little laser printer struggled at the end but made it through. It is so tempting to go in like a bull at a gate and take over, so daily I pray for wisdom in handling the situation. Planning ahead is not a strong attribute of the people and probably one of my strengths. I am working more with the school and endeavouring to raise finances and partnership for them to assist with future and present development. Plus, of course mark 80 exam papers.
I have met with the director of secondary curriculum of Uganda and he has encouraged me to make further contact but it needed to be now rather than earlier. He is also the specialist in the maths curriculum. I look forward to continued discussions with him and being of some assistance there. He gave us a very warm reception and I think having someone who has experience, knowledge and understanding of the Ugandan situation is helpful.
The children and mothers at the village continue to be a high priority including helping Robert and Millie as they take on the role of village managers. Last week I worked with some children making shorts as they needed some for a netball game. The girls did a great job, despite limited time to make shorts and so there are other children wanting to learn to sew. Then, this week I took on the challenge of starting to teach children to knit. That was fun, and exhausting! Aunt Anne could be heard right through the room. Fortunately, one of the children had picked it up well and she became a 'second Aunt Anne'. Now, I am trying to work on a bit of a program for the school holidays to assist the children with their school work, provide activities and generally make the holidays good, productive and happy times. We will be away for three weeks, so it is important that there are things that can be done that mean the holidays are not too onerous on Robert, Millie and the mothers.
Ron, in the meantime continues to mainly be busy with the building. The sixth house now has a roof. He put the trusses up with some workers and extra rafters. I do not like to think of the number of times he has been up on the roofs of houses, though he is lighter and I suspect more agile than when we came! The kitchen between these two houses is on its way. Then, there is the food shopping - he introduced Robert to this, this week. He also has to go and get the extra roofing nails or the building supplies - it used to be a daily event getting cement. Days are not predictable but always full of different things. Recently as shown in the picture he has been busy making the corner guttering for the houses. This will mean we can harvest the rain and have it fill the tanks. This will be a big saving for the village. Then, there have been bits and pieces that have had to be done on Suubi House. At the moment he is preparing a sermon for Sunday. Other times, he is called on by many around to pray for them or he is asked for advice.
One thing is for sure, our lives are not boring. They are very unpredictable. I have failed to mention the needs that get presented to us on a daily basis. The drought is having a devastating effect on people with many people we are told eating only one meal a day. The price of food is rocketing - sugar has gone from 3500 shillings to 5200 shillings in a matter of weeks. However, at this stage we are not seeing anything like the things we see on the television with Somalia. Relating to people is also important, so we are constantly having people visit, I drop in and see people on my way and then the lovely children that greet me as a I walk.
Hopefully this gives a bit more of a picture of our lives - though to be realistic, it is all too hard to describe.

Joyful moments

It is amazing how many days can be full of changes, frustrations as well as seeing things that are just not as they should be. However, every day also includes little moments that are a pure delight, that put a smile on your face, that make one remember the simple things in life. Let me share with you some of these things.
The other day I went to the village and as usual (but never taken for granted) my hand is taken, my bag carried and constant chatter fills my walk. Then, there was only limited time for the children to come into the admin centre as I had a meeting happening there. I had them help me put out the chairs and "No, you can't play, can't write on the blackboard....". So, I said how about you sing and started clapping. For the next 30 minutes (yes, my meeting was very late) I was serenaded with songs and dancing from these wonderful children. They took turns, sometimes it was the preschoolers, sometimes the older ones. There was a huge variety of songs, actions and dances. You cannot bottle this stuff, you cannot pay a fortune for the opportunity. This was just spontaneous, lovely singing and entertainment and I really appreciated it.
Or, today I was buying a cabbage from the corner garden where some children live and they had a lot of cabbages on display. The cabbage was very cheap and I thought I would like to give them each 100 shillings. I was overawed by the response. It was like I had given them something really big - in terms I know it was less than 5 cents each. Simple things that give pleasure at no cost to me! How fortunate I am!
Sometimes I contemplate our lifestyle. Yes, we live reasonably simply - very by Australian standards. However, we are in such a privileged situation, we are able to help people a lot without it costing us a lot. The Australian dollar is worth so much here that $20 is about 56,000 shillings, which is a very good week's pay for a lot of people. So, money given is making a big difference. The hard bit is that the situation for local people is so hard that they do need us to be generous. We are trying and pray that we will always know the best way to give.
Other fun, simple things are having a shower in the late afternoon - the water isn't cold as it has been in the pipes for a while. There is something so nice about a little warmth in the water when showering on a cool (relatively) day.
With the new house we have committed to having small groups of children and the mothers to come to visit here and share a meal with us. This has been such fun already. We had no idea that it would bring about such pleasure. Anticipation has been high, and then the first evening beautifully attired little young ladies with a mother joined us for dinner. The little girls spent a lot of time, in the way that all young girls should, by giggling and having fun. We have discovered that the most interesting room in our house is ...of course...the toilet! We have only done it twice but all the children are happy because there is a schedule up of when their turn will come. We feel very much like grandparents with the children coming to have a special meal, a game and a chance to view pictures of African animals from our recent safaris. It is such a great time.
So, yes there are challenges but there are a lot of things that we love and enjoy. Everyday, there are genuine smiles on our faces as we enjoy our lives here.

Having a team in Suubi house

Over the last two weeks it has been our privilege to in some ways host a team of people from Australia who are here to help with the building of the Village of Hope and to learn a bit about Uganda, another country and the lives of people. I want to tell you a bit about our time with them and some of my thoughts. I hope that by being honest I will not offend because my intent is actually to show how I am feeling.
The day started with punctures in two tyres and so we did not made it to church. Let alone, the fact that Ron had to do some extra things at the house, after the night before trying to prepare and finishing late, but not being able to complete everything because the solar lights gave out! So, we left in plenty of time (or so we thought) on the bus to Kampala. Quick stop at the supermarket for something to eat and then onto Entebbe. Normally, a one hour drive. The rain started and the traffic slowed. A great lightning show but unfortunately with about 80 people killed in lightning strikes in the last month, they have lost their appeal. The traffic slowed, the traffic stopped and we waited, and waited. Rang the hotel where Katrina (whose name we did not have) was stayed and fortunately were able to explain the situation. The plane arrived, the team had to wait. There was nothing we could do. The one hour trip ended up taking us nearly 3 hours!
It was great to see everyone and the trip home in the bus was full of chatting. A good chance for us to hear and talk. For the first part people were able to see Uganda for the first time, unfortunately the traffic was still bad, so by the time we got out of Kampala it was already dark. On arriving in Jinja it was wet, the road was very wet, I have never seen it so wet. So, we trundled people into the new house with limited lighting, and lots of mud! Not a great welcome and hence some of the comments weren't so positive. For us, hard to take but on reflection quite understandable, not only we were tired, they were exhausted from travelling. Fortunately, their impressions improved and so did our relationships.
Suubi House as the guest house is called, suubi means hope in local language, it proved to be a great place. The team was able to meet together, forced to interact in some form without a complete retreat possible but still places to sit quietly and be by yourself. The large table easily fitted the team, managed with Ron and I and struggled when we were added to but was a really nice meeting place too. After all the work (with more still to come) it was a relief that it worked well, and even better seemed to help build relationships.
It is an amazing thing to share a little in the journey of people. Each one came with a different past, some with expectations, others uncertain what to expect, and all came together for the same cause to help the Village of Hope. It had moments when I was uncertain. Comments made hit different spots, showed some of my arrogance (I have been here for 6 months after all) and also reminded me of the differences in our lives here to Australia. Then, there were sacred moments when people chose to spend time listening and caring. Each person of course did this in different ways. The time when the nurse had been faced with a horrific wound that could have been dealt with differently if the mother had had money. Would the wound ever heal? (looking good so far) Or, the compassion that another showed about the things they were confronted with and understood where I was coming from (thank you so much). Or, the recognition that perhaps it was not so simple, there are not easy answers, paying school fees leads to needing to pay school requirements and then what about the uniform and the school shoes? As described in the other post the opportunity to unite a group of ladies with someone who might be able to help them by selling their products - something that has been my prayer for nearly the whole time I have been here. Even, just the chance for people to buy things from the ones who made them. What about the treasured day out with a friend who I could trust, could talk to and understood? The opportunity to have someone else teach the ladies to sew, another thing I have wanted to get on to since the arrival of more sewing machines but have not found the time. Or, having a young girl who has finished her vocational training course now able to use some of the skills in cooking for the team. The awe when a young person thinks deeply about situations and wants to make a difference not just with their money but also what does this mean for my life!
The team made a difference, they built nearly a whole house (only roof to go). However, this was not the most significant thing in my mind. They worked like a team, they let go of their differences and appreciated each other for who they are. They made a difference to many of the people they met. They might have been tired but they still had time for others. Different team members played different roles. It was great to see Andrew freed up to do the administrative things he needed to do while Jordan coordinated the building. Or, that things just got done around the place by Stan. Or, the dancing on a concrete floor at the school devotions after a long day on the work site.
I want to thank them, they encouraged me, they added to the hope that is already here in this house and gave great hope to the community. Their faith shined through their actions and sometimes they used words. So, what started for me in a less than positive way finished in a great way. Hopefully I have grown and learnt from them, I certainly think I have.

Sorry tried to find a picture of the house as they left it but couldn't, so it is a picture of the team just before loading onto the bus to leave.

Incredible women

I think it is important for me to document about some incredible women here. On facebook I asked people to pray for Jane, who they did not know. I know many people have been so let me tell you about her. Jane is a lady of about 43 years of age, she did tell us but that piece of information I have forgotten. She has three children that are alive, and one who has died. Jane is a widow, HIV positive, suffered from polio as a child and hence wears a caliper and has skin cancer. What a hopeless case! Who should care about her?
Well, first let me tell you a little of her story and you too can become an admirer. I don't know much about her early life and the polio but she was married to a man who she loved. Unfortunately, that man also liked to drink. Unknown to her at the time he must have also behaved badly, can I say, and so contracted HIV. He, like many sufferers did not want to be tested. He finally was tested when he was very sick in hospital, thinking it was a test for malaria. Not long afterwards, he dies and leaves Jane with three young children to rear. Of course, she then had to find out whether she too was infected. The shame of it all for her was that in fact she was. This led to very hard times for her as she had to come to terms with it. She then had her leg swell up and this was the skin cancer (that is closely related to the HIV positive status). Hence, starting treatment with ARV(anti-retro viral) drugs. These are very effective but need time to be adjusted to. So, many pressures for a lady who had previously been active in the disabled society in Jinja helping others. Now, she had so many issues for herself. However, the best part of the story is that she sought out God. She had known about Him from the Catholic upbringing she had but not known the personal relationship that was possible. However, she called to a pastor who went past and told him that she wanted to become a Christian. Jane's faith shines out. Survival for her is probably a daily battle but you would not know it. She smiles, she is welcoming and despite her humble home is very hospitable. Jane gives me hope, she reminds me that it is not the circumstances that determine how she will be but her faith in God. Most of all the characteristic that I love and admire in Jane is that she is not selfish. She has started and been involved in so many groups for others. She does not do things only for her gain. If she thinks that I might be able to help her sister or her sister-in-law she is not backward in coming forward. She does not just do craft for herself, she has a group that is being incorporated. She is aware of the needs of HIV positive people who are disabled like herself, so she started a group and is the chairperson. The help given to the group did not go to her, but she was encouraged by it. So much to give hope, with people like Jane, Uganda can be the nation it should be. For those that saw my Facebook messages about praying for her. Thank you, she is recovered and looked as happy as ever today and thanks you for your prayers. More of this story, written much better and with more details will probably become part of the website and promotional material that Jocelyn will have for her fair trade sales. It was such an indescribably lovely thing to be the link that connected Jocelyn (who was here on team) with Jane's craft cooperative.
On the other side of the world are another bunch of incredible women that have provided a lot of encouragement to me. They are the ladies that have made quilts to be given to the mothers and children at the village. So much work and effort has been put into these beautiful quilts. The children and mothers are so blessed by their work. For these children the quilt is something that they have that is their very own and unlike their clothes something that will last. A quilt is not a necessity and so as to have one is such a privilege and special. Then to think that it was made especially for you by someone across the world is so special. I have looked at the tags on the quilts and think of each of the people, many of whom I knew through Sew Blessed. I cannot express the gratitude enough. Now, each of their beds is more theirs than before. It is easily identified by the quilt that is theirs, made for them.
Two houses had been given quilts a few weeks ago and then on Monday we gave the other two houses theirs. It was with a sense of great excitement because they now knew what they were. It was so interesting to see the different choices that they made as they got to choose the one that they would like. Then, the boys room in particular was transformed. No longer was there any rubbish on the floor, it had to be swept and mopped. All the shelves needed to be tidy. Once the quilts were on the beds, mess looked so out of place that without any coaxing they tidied up. What a testimony of them feeling like they were important and they could have nice things. The same thing happened in each room as they worked out how best to put each quilt on the bed and present it to the full. Thank you ladies, your hard work is not in vain. It is so much appreciated.
Pictures never tell the whole story but hopefully the pictures give you some idea. Also, as an aside I hope that Jocelyn does not mind me telling the above story ahead of time.
Are these the only incredible women here? No, there are so many people with so many stories. I cannot imagine having to cope with situations of poverty, starvation and caring for children when a husband has left, let alone ill-health. However, I will tell you other stories other days, or if you know me, then you will probably get sick of hearing about their stories.

Oh dear

Hi all who follow this and who have thought maybe I had lost interest. Actually, there is good reason. For the last two weeks prior to this week, I have not had a lot of access to my computer because great work has been accomplished by visitors here. Hank and Louise have been staying and needed a computer a lot of the time and then being busy the other times it was just too hard.

Let me start by telling you a story about the stuff that has involved them. Louise came as a nurse who is an experienced midwife but they had some time in Aceh where she was involved in a medical clinic. She had the task of looking at the medical needs of the village and seeing what would unfold in the way of maybe a medical centre. At this stage that is not on the cards but great work was accomplished. Through Louise meeting with many people including Women of Hope, the associated HIV positive group and other contacts etc. a group has been formed to develop work in the area of Village Health Teams. These have existed to some extent but have faded out and with the cost and distance of medical assistance could provide valuable primary health care. It has been a big learning process for me. I have seen a person with a purpose and determination accomplish so much in a short two week period. [A bit of a challenge to me with the thought of education and the enormous needs in our community.] God has worked significantly in it. One particular example is that one day I was walking out of the gate and a car went past, the driver waved. I waved back, not sure who it was. He then reversed and spoke to me. I recognised him but had no idea who he was. It turned out he was the LCV (LC five) which is pretty high up in the governmental system here. LCI is the lowest and then after LCV I think it goes to the parliament. Anyway, I had met him when he spoke to the Women of Hope to drum up votes. So, I invited him to meet Louise, an offer he took up and so we met with him and the meeting with other people ensued. He was very directive of the health workers and is prepared to speak on the community's behalf to the Director of Health etc. Seems like with the help of a great YWAMer in Fred who is involved in community development training in Rwanda and Tanzania that things are on the move. The benefit will be training for one or more of our people (mother or other) in the village in basic health needs. Then, the benefit to the wider community will mean that there is a first point of call. Each health worker has about 20 households that they keep an eye on. So, please pray for this venture. I know I could not have arranged such a meeting so what does God want from this. I have also told the LCV I would like to meet him to talk about education!
Hank is a much quieter personality and just potters around investigating. He has a speciality in irrigation. Well, he might be quiet but he found a leak in our pipes and has fixed it. We can even have water in the admin centre when others are using water! And, the water costs will be reduced. Thank you Hank. He also investigated water needs and has drawn up a plan for what will be happening. He and Louise have now gone on safari but Hank has changed his return ticket in order to come back here for two weeks to get all the watering stuff happening. Helps that the irrigation business at home is not under pressure due to rain and we are coming into dry season.
So, you can see that God is bringing people here with different skills and abilities to help us and the community. Sometimes I am prone to feel like I have not achieved that much. Ron definitely has with continual movement with the building and the Suubi House (our new home and more significantly the guest house). Things are not stationary. That is not to say that I feel like I have been useless just not productive in a way that I like to be and am used to being. However, I have learnt a lot in the six months. I think I understand a lot more about the people here, how they think, many of their needs and I am becoming more bold in being directive in ways to improve things without taking away from who they are. However, before that ramble the point I was going to make was that I can see that God has used us to help many people often by bringing others here or by being the distribution centre that passes on gifts from people to people in need here. So, now the challenge is to see what God wants me to do in the education area, how to facilitate change where necessary, to develop people's skills and to seek God for ways for education in a country that cannot afford traditional education. Again, please pray for direction and creativity because I know these are needed.

At last

Well, you have probably wondered what has happened to us. It is a number of weeks since we have posted. It has been a busy time but a good one. We have had some visitors, friends from Australia visiting and then we were able to go with them to Kenya. We had a most spectacular week away going to two very different parts of Kenya and on safaris. We saw fantastic places, amazing animals and enjoyed a relaxing time with friends. What more could you ask for? In fact, we came back to the children and mothers saying we looked different! They even went as far as saying younger. Well, not sure why but maybe we have lost some colour as it was much cooler.
So, how to catch you up without boring you...
By borrowing a friend's van we were both able to go to Kampala to pick up John, Judy, Roger and Sandra from the airport. We of course had some small shopping to do before going to the airport and chanced upon a bargain television for the new house, it really was a bargain - half price. Since we had the big van we thought there would be room. We picked them up, oh dear, a slight (or big) space problem but we managed it, or so we thought! On leaving the airport the back door suddenly opened and kaboom, a television on the road and a bag. Just so you know the television was obviously packed well, and we weren't travelling fast so they are completely all right. Thank you God. The next stop was to pick up some fruit. Australians seem to be missing bananas. No problem, nice mangoes, bananas bought but...the car wouldn't start! So, it was out the back pushing the van. Five Mzungus pushing a car. We did bring about some laughs but got home safely. I don't think I wanted to see how much pollution the van was producing.
The new guest house, had some rooms ready and we all arrived back and settled in, sort of. Unfortunately, the cement had not completely dried out so there was a bit (ok a lot) of moisture. The plumber was not so good with the leaks so there was a few things leaking into rooms and of course there was a lot of the house that was not complete. However, all these things aside it is a beautiful house and provided a roof over our heads. Ron and I kept commuting between the two and we had meals in all sorts of places often missing one or two items due to location.
The 'visitors' were really helpful in working hard, cleaning things, making cupboards, sorting papers and clothes and making the roof trusses for Houses 5 and 6 here at the village. They also visited the orphanage, their sponsor children in a variety of places and we managed some meals out as well. I was pleased that the holiday away came after this as it was a pretty hectic time. Unfortunately things like teaching and dealing with issues continued despite having guests!
They did bring some very welcome things. In particular cheese, lamb, licorice and white chocolate on the food front. Much appreciated on the personal front. They also brought over 16 quilts that have been made by the Sew Blessed group. What an effort and so quickly. Due to dampness etc, we did not open the vacuum sealed bags until we could do it in a dry and clean spot. On the Sunday John cooked a beautiful meat stew and mashed potato for the children, mothers and a few others. Well, we did help with preparations the night before but he cooked it all on the Sunday. Afterwards we gave out the quilts. It was so special. We decided to give the quilts to the children in the two new houses so that they had something first, we gather the others are coming. It was so good to see the children so happy to receive them and to know that they had something that had been made for them and that they could keep. Some of these children came with nothing and so it is lovely for them to have something so special. I often think how privileged we are to be on the handing out end of the process. Only down side was that Robert now thinks I should teach the students at the school how to quilt! It is so special.
Of course there were many highlights of having friends come and stay. We shared a couple of lamb roasts - John is amazing managing to bring them over. The best lamb roast I have ever tasted I think!
Then, it was off to Kenya. Nice early start with a very reliable driver. 4.00 am to leave and he was there at 3.45 so that we did leave on time. Funny, Robert called at about 6.00 and asked if we had left - he really didn't believe we would make it so early. By 6 we were at the border of Kenya and Uganda. It took a while to get through the border not that there were any problems. It was great to have the opportunity to walk through 'no man's land' and do the process on foot. Then, our driver for the week, Matthew, picked us up. He did warn us about the roads that would make the bus dance, and they surely did. We arrived at Masai Mara at about 3.30 pm and had a wonderful lunch that had been kept for us.
The Masai Mara basecamp is a great resort. It endeavours to be environmental in all it does. It has tents for sleeping in with attached bathroom tent. Both of which are covered by a grass roof. Solar of course, drop type toilet but better with it being disposed of carefully. The setting is fantastic, with each tent having a verandah and a view. We looked out on trees, a dry riverbed (until it rained one night when it became a fast flowing river), monkeys and great variety of colourful birds in the trees. We did not go out the first night since we had been travelling for so long all day. The next day we went on a safari first thing in the morning and back for breakfast. Then, a relaxing day enjoying the surrounding and seeing animals all around. Then, a late afternoon safari. One day Roger and Sandra went on a hot-air balloon ride which was an amazing experience for them and we managed to enjoy ourselves back at basecamp and visit the local school. It was very interesting, for Western eyes probably a little scant but for one who has become quite accustomed to the differences it actually looked like it was doing quite well. A big issue for the school is the retention of girls. Lots of girls will be collected from the school (many are boarders) at the ages of 10 - 14 years so that they can be married. The school has no recourse. Such a sad situation. I found this particular morning very enlightening. We had a great guide in Manfred who was happy to share about his life. He has two wives, his father had six I think but he will only have 2. At this stage he has three children, all of his family live in the village. He will walk home when he has a break, this means leaving at 6 in the morning and arriving there at midnight. He is the only one of his 32 siblings to be educated and despite wanting many of the traditions to continue recognises the value of education. When there is drought, when the cows are not good, education provides opportunities. It was good to hear from someone who was very real. He had a great down to earth attitude and obviously enjoyed his role at basecamp having worked up through the ranks.
The camp has showers that are reasonably in the open air. I went at one stage back to the tent to have a shower thinking that Ron was coming soon after me. I was having a great shower, washing my hair, enjoying hot water etc. I heard a noise at a couple of stages and called out "Is that you Ron?" No answer, so obviously not. Then, hop out of the shower and there in the bedroom is a monkey who had grabbed my face wipes. I endeavour to chase it out, realising I had left the zip slightly open. Then, go back to the shower area to dry etc and find the monkey at the top of the wall and so have to chase it down to get the face wipes. It would have made a great comical clip. I discovered that the bag of lollies in the room had been taken. Then, saw the empty bag outside and the monkey picked it up, looked in it and looked at me as if to say - they are all gone, where are some more. I did catch them on a number of occasions trying to get in but I think I learnt my lesson - never trust Ron to come straight back, do up the tent.
I want to write more about the safaris but do not want to bore you or me. Let me share with you some of the special moments. On the first day we say a lion and two lionesses. They were under some trees. Matthew assured us they were on the honeymoon and that was why one was to the side. It was so amazing to be so close to a lion. They are truly impressive creatures and so beautiful. Then, of course there were elephants to be seen. The first one we saw was all by itself. We went quite close but Matthew was a little apprehensive, apparently one by itself is dangerous, this one must have been ostrasized. Another driver had been chased by this elephant earlier in the week. We saw lots of zebras. Quite comical in retrospect as we had wanted Matthew to stop the first time we saw a zebra in the distance coming into the area. Throughout the time zebras were almost the most common animal we saw apart from gazelles I suspect. We saw a cheetah and cubs but they were not doing very much. Apparently there is a problem as many of them are starving themselves as they do not like being watched so there is a limit on the time and number of cars that can be watching. We observed that being broken! Fortunately, at another time at this place we saw a cheetah poised on a rock. It was great. We also managed to get stuck. The rain that I spoke of made the tracks very wet, in fact we were surprised that we could go out. There were lots of little rivers on the roads. So, we had to stick to the main track but in a two wheel drive bus and thick, thick black mud at one point we did not make it through. We had to wait for a four-wheel drive which towed us backwards out. So, the only alternative if we wanted to get to the Mara river was to take the long way, something that most of us were not looking forward to. However, along the way we met the boss from the basecamp and he said he would get us through that mud. He needed to and even then there were times that all four wheels were not on the ground apparently as seen by a passenger in the other vehicle. We did make it to the river and enjoyed seeing lots of hippopotamuses and a few crocodiles as well as a school group, some of whom thought having a photo with me would be good! Monkeys made our lunch not so pleasant that day as they were taking any food left around. We did get the chance to walk into Tanzania as the Serengetti National Park is there and there is no border control at that point. In fact the Masai do not need to do anything to move between the two countries. Probably fortunate as food for cows does not necessarily know to grow on the correct side of the border. It is hard to describe all the great animals, and experiences had on the trips out. Two lions in the grasslands with only their heads showing above the grass and looking into the wind. As soon as they dropped their heads you could not see them.
We travelled to Sweetwater tented camp from the Mara. It was a long day's travel but again we saw lots of different landscapes. Seeing tea growing areas, mountainous areas with sheep skins for sale, and lots of travel that did crazy things. At Sweetwater our accomodation again was a tent but of a different type. There was a watering hole within 100 metres(I think) of our tent. During the time one of the really big highlights was watching animals and birds at the watering hole. We got to see gazelles, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and many varieties of birds come. The birds included the crested crane, the emblem of Uganda. They often put on a bit of a performance with their golden crest, or the beautiful blue bird that when it moved changed colour. The dining room also looked out on the waterhole so that made for fun at the meal time. Especially with this bird that was a bit like an emu, quite ugly and it always tried to get in but was definitely scared of the waiters but not the patrons. On our trips from here we saw White and Black Rhinoceros. We saw a cheetah go for a gazelle and fail and then its two cubs come up to it. Then, next morning saw the same cheetah eating a gazelle with the cubs. We got to get up close and personal to chimpanzees. That was really fun, one of them played a bit of a game with me. They are territorial and there are two parts to the chimpanzee sanctuary divided by a river. The chimpanzees thundered around on both sides, making sure the others knew about them. I discovered that there is a different type of zebra called the Gravee Zebra which has a white belly and thinner stripes and is a slightly different size.
All in all, the whole experience at the two places was amazing and will remain that way. It was so good to go on a number of drives, to see lots of animals in different places and how they reacted. It was also good to be able to relax and to enjoy time sitting reading, talking and I even pulled out some cross-stitch. The weather was a lot cooler than here which was nice for us too. Though we do get cooler nights at the moment which means we are not noticing the heat so much. Might also help that I only walk in the heat, I am not building a new house in the hot sun. We reluctantly left Sweetwater last Monday and travelled to Nairobi. We dropped John, Judy, Roger and Sandra at the airport to go to Lamoo Island and we travelled to an apartment in Nairobi. We decided that if there was an overnight bus we would catch it. So, we dropped their stuff at the apartment and travelled into town. We stayed at the bus depot for the afternoon and then in good African style the bus left an hour and a half late. It was also a wet night and so the bus took longer. It was an interesting (?) drive as the bus lifted off at one stage and the Kenyan road there is not very good with lots of very large potholes and with the rain... However, we did sleep and arrived back safely on Tuesday morning at about 9.30. This meant that unfortunately I did not make it back in time to teach. So, the holiday finished. Now, I will try to get some photos in so that this does not look like pages and pages of writing, which of course it is!