But seriously...

Before I return home with the IGNITE team , I thought I better make a few serious comments. I understand that one of the teams themes will regard the prospect of aging,and at 62 I can honestly say that my experience here in Uganda has confirmed that you are never too old to learn or experience new things.I have taught history ,art and drama to secondary pupils for the first time. I've never preached before , Ronald an extremely able physio, has taught me the basics of treating children with contracted limbs. Other aspects of the learning process has been to adapt to a completely new way of life. Life without TV, and many other commodities that I have grown accustomed to.Those things that I miss the most are contact with family and friends and freedom of movement as personalized transport is lacking.I also miss the fellowship aspect of interacting with our church house group.Not surprisingly I also miss cycling and country walks. I have had greater time to reflect which is a paradox as I lack the "time saving" devices such as washing machines etc. Maybe the lack of TV is the reason I have more time?? Two years after retiring , I've had time to reflect whether retirement was the right decision as this trip has given me the opportunity to see patients. And although it's been imensly interesting and stimulating to use the internet as a source of information to give health talks and learn about diagnosing and treating a whole range of diseases that I've never seen before,( never too old to learn) I still don't miss the NHS. I think God opens "doors" up for us and it's our decision whether we go through those doors, I'm so glad we came through this "door" to Uganda. The people are very friendly and Ugandans put a high priority on giving time to each other, which can sometimes cause frustrating delays,making waiting and lateness a common occurence.I have made good friends with several people during my stay here and I value that very much. One such friend took me to a "Pork Joint" which is an unknown Ugandan treasure that I've not seen mentioned in any guidebook, but in my books it's a "must".My friend say's never seen a mazunga ( white person) in one before. He stressed that one should always choose a clean one ( the alternatives are very obvious from the outside),they sell only pork (not for Muslims or Jews) BBQ'd or fried in tomatoes diced and served on a large shared platter with accompanying piles of chopped tomatoes and onions, avocado chunks, casava ( a starchy root), greens, ,mashed plantain,salt and pepper.There are no knives and forKs and no plates (and Mac Donalds thought they came up with that idea first!), you use your hands( which the waitress helps you wash before and after eating).The only beverages are either beer or soda.The atmosphere was so relaxed, and it was one of the best meals I've had here. Most Ugandans agree that corruption is the main reason their country is slow to regain it's economic strength following the years of Idi Amins' regime.It's a real shame because the country is blessed with a wonderful climate remaining around 25 degrees all year, at the moment it's the rainy season , so the temperatures around 22 and feels like an overcast English summer day.The soil is very fertile , one local said he finds vegetables growing in his garden and didn't know how they got there!Theres adequate water, several large lakes including lake Victoria which is the largest single lake in the world.This provides abundant fish, and the rivers including the Nile are a source of hydroelectric power.Other natural resources include fantastic mountainous scenery in the west with several tourist magnet game reserves, copper,iron and gold ore. I find here a freedom from the stranglehold of the sometimes petty political correctness in the UK, although like every society they have their own versions of social correctness that they inflict on people. Talking of opinions, we in the west see images of African problems and organisations formulate plans to help them deal with those problems.What we need to remember is that those solutions are from our perspective which isn't necessarly from the African point of view. As a result , help is politely accepted , then ignored or used for an alternative unforseen purpose. This is a lesson Lynne and I have learned from anecdotal, practical and observational experience.I think it is important for any aid or mission team to bear in mind when coming out to help in foreign countries.In the same way , finances are finite and when one is beset by such a seemingly bottomless pit of need,mission workers such as those at Wellspring have the unenviable task of rationing out the scant resources to those with the highest need. Prioritising when face to face with the affected individuals can be distressing especially when your sole aim is to help. It has been my privilege to go into many of these peoples homes, it is inspirational to see the positive attitudes of some families despite their circumstances ,by contrast, sometimes the indifference and dispondency that purveys the home is very evident . Finally, I am so glad to have come here in so many ways, the details of which you will deduce from the previous blogs. It's not been easy, but it will be something I'll remember and cherish for a long time.

A travelers reflections

I can't believe that in a couple of weeks I'll being heading home. Four months seemed like a long time and I suppose in some ways it has been. I've spent some time reading my diary relating what we've experienced and a few thoughts come to mind. The polite term for going for a pee out here is called "taking a short call", a man at a petrol station asked me to pay him 200 shillings for a short call, I asked him how much would a long call cost? What is it about the blood in our fingers and toes that is so tasty for mosquitoes, they always seem to bite those areas? Since Uganda has made homosexuality illegal it hasn't stopped the men holding hands. Traffic police wear white uniforms and despite the rainy season with all its mud, the uniforms remain as white as snow. I have tasted crocodile in wine sauce (responsibly sourced from a crocodile farm) , frog in chilli sauce ( responsibly sourced from a swamp) and grasshopper in it's own grease ( responsibly sourced from a local grasshopper plague) I must say I enjoyed the latter the most. A Ugandan secondary pupil at the Wellspring school was asked to write an essay for the subject "Christian World View" on homosexuality, he gave the Ugandan perspective, it was submitted to the UK on line and returned as unmarkable. Such is the difference in opinion on this subject between the two nations churches. Contrary to my previous statement recounting a Ugandans assurance that trains never stop no matter what is on the line,I recently witnessed an exception to the rule. Lynne and I were going on a shopping trip in a local minibus taxi called a "Matattoo". ( more on that later).We were stationary in a seemingly grid-locked traffic jam.We were on a section of road adjacent to the famous level crossing that "brave Dave the driver" recently negotiated in the works minibus. We observed a seemingly hopelessly jammed up collection of lorries cars and other vehicles facing in various directions astride the railway lines. Then a mournful blast of an oncoming train was heard coming down the line. Pandimonium broke out, motor cycles negotiated impossibly narrow spaces, men standing on top of laden lorries started waving their arms in the air like windmills in a hurricane, horns of every pitch and tone blared a cacophonous symphony with the trains horn playing the lead instrument.I said to the bus conductor " The train wont stop!", he replied confidently that it would. Neither of us was right, it simply slowed up giving time for the assembled dozen or so vehicles to somehow disentangle themselves and clear the line.Later in that interesting journey a woman tried her luck at overtaking the matatoo on the inside, the driver didn't see her and her wing received a nasty dent from our transports bull-bar.But there was no drama , she looked miffed and the conductor assured the driver that his vehicle was unscathed, and both vehicles continued on their respective journeys without stopping. Matatoos are very cheap means of transport. They all have a sign saying that they are licensed to carry 14 passengers. The conductor is not included in this number , so when full ( as it often is) the conductor sits on the passengers lap (this does not seem to be covered by the recent anti homosexuality law) or if you prefer, 4 passengers sit on 3 seats. The other exception to the passenger numbers rule is when you are carrying a body in a coffin on the roof rack, but there again, it's debatable if a dead body is really a passenger? Finally, it's interesting to note that theme parks don't exist in Uganda, that's because they're not needed, if you want a white knuckle ride , why not take a a ride on a bodaboda (motorcycle taxi) they are a lot cheaper than "Doom Drop" at Thorpe Park and a lot more scary.The poor mans cure for constipation!

To remember or forget

Wall it is my final week (but expect more blogs from David) so I thought I would record the highs and the lows!!

It has been a roller coaster in many ways. I shall miss the wonderfully enthusiastic secondary puplils who have been a joy. So too was Coleton who with a little extra tuition improved his maths score from 29% to 60% ( never got more than 40% before). Other special needs highlights were Elijah (who cannot walk unaided) and Earnest who managed to spell 'fish' after some phonic tuition, Grace (from Sudan with no English) and Vicky who asked to join the group. One LSA has taken the teaching of phonics to heart and is teaching other teachers how the wooden phonic blocks (provided with your money) can be used.
So too the ladies of Kito who have persevered with our literacy and English speaking classes despite the church often being under two inches of water and the hand made benches sinking slowly throughout the lesson. We made pom poms one week and one of them brought me 1000 shillings to say thank you ( 1000 shillings would buy 10 tomatoes for a Ugandan). The classes have brought a lot of laughter!
So too the outreach to Tauroro and Kamwenge was unforgettable for lots of reasons but one of the teachers at Kamwenge waited all afternoon to ask for more help teaching phonics and one travel!ed some distance to bring me a fresh egg! Pom POM's were a joy to them too. The fun factory days were amazing too - bringing a party atmosphere to the local children many of whom do not have education. Money is not spent on children generally and extra curricular activities do not exist although wellspring offers traditional dance classes. Churches and church conferences are very common and popular especially for the youth (aged 15 to 39).
However some things will be unforgettable for other reasons. The dust in which everything (including us) is covered by the end of each day except during the prolonged rainstorms which highlight our leaky water tank. That provides an unwanted shower every time we try to leave the house. The lack of running hot water (though saying that is selfish as most people in uganda don't have access to any water unless they are prepared to carry it from a bore hole or spring in jerry cans.. The intermittent electricity though again that is selfish as most homes (even our school cook) do not have electricity at all. Consequently there are phone charging booths everywhere as land lines do not really exist.
Other memorable things include the work's bus (see David's blog) and the occasion when I went to a classroom to speak to a senior teacher who was invigilating an exam only to find him fast asleep at his desk (UK invigilators eat your hearts out). Also traveling by road anywhere. The road surfaces are often very highly rutted and if you imagine driving on a highly wrinkled billiard table where all the balls have exploded in all directions, that sums it up. Remember also that cars's may not  be very roadworthy and, according to the paper many boda Boda ( motorcycle taxis) do not have a driving licence and  the vehicles are unroadworthy, no more need he said.
Time !  Very little (if anything) starts at the appointed time. Things can readily be postponed or canceled and nobody is the least bit phased. Needless to say this can cause us mizungas a degree of concern - for us if something is booked/planned then it will happen unless there is a very plausible reason. Not so here - everyone is flexible.
Funerals are big events attended by all relatives and these are arranged immediately as bodies cannot be stored. Consequently absences due to funerals and family illness are frequent. Many families are extended rather than nuclear and few couples appear to stay together later in life - fathers and mothers of adult live vast distances apart so adult children have to travel long distances to visit each parent.
Health care and education both require payment and have to be prioritised as far as family income is concerned and bureaucracy abounds - paperwork is the order of the day even trying to return empty bottles. Examinations are paramount - top class primary pupils attend extra classes on Saturday mornings and the school holidays and the exams are not until November. The secondary pupils opted to come into school every day of their school holidays to do revision so we made afternoons creative with art, drawing, pompoms and cross stitch as well as cluedo and monopoly as well as hangman and other activities. Hobbies do not seem to feature in the home.
On our final weekend, my birthday, we made the 9 hour drive teach way to queen Elizabeth safari park in the west
Of Uganda. Sam,our driver, was on his first trip as a tour operator (he is also a pastor). Despite the distance it was fabulous. Our hotel overlooked the kizinga channel complete with elephants, hippos and water buffalo. An evening drive with a local guide was a rather too close for comfort, encounter with a hippo and a family of elephants. We did a boat trip among hippo, crocodiles and buffalo. En route home we visited caves and climbed a steep hill to view 3 crater lakes again accompanied by a local guide. When we returned, we gave Sam (our driver/tour operator) a modest tip. Two days later he called by bringing us each a Uganda tee shirt and some beautifully prepared jackfruit and fried grasshoppers ( in which David had expressed an interest).  How very generous. We had  a truly memorable trip.

Easter

Having been busy all last weekend we thought that Easter weekend would be a bit of a break but this is wellspring so it was not to be. Good Friday was school sports day and Saturday was to be fun factory.
Sports day was to begin at 8.am with a march through the 'town' preceded by a band. All the juniors and the secondary school plus most of the staff would march behind. It was to be a 45 minute march to a local hotel where we would meet parents. The infants and nursery pupils were coming by the school bus😃.
However we awoke to  a torrential downpour and when it rains everything is postponed (temporarily). There do not appear to be contingency plans here! The rain started to diminish about 9.30am so we set off. No raincoats in evidence so I'mthe children did get a little damp. I don't know what was more interesting - negotiating the enormous puddles which had filled our rutted roads or negotiating the heavy traffic which is always a problem. Just how heavy the traffic was became evident as we walked - most of it was stationery and it took the bus over two hours to complete the same journey.
As the lower school had not arrived, David and I found ourselves teaching the okey cokey to the junior school in front of the parents. After an hour it became evident that the infants were greatly delayed so the juniors performed an army style display thus explaining the reason why they had all carried large sticks! Finally the bus arrived but by now the programme was two hours late. Thus the programme was greatly attenuated but watching the junior relay showed why the olympics were dominated by those of African origins! Sports day was due to end at 2pm  but went on longer despite having cut many of the races.
Saturday was fun factory! About 150 local children appeared, many of them were under 10 and some as young as 18 months. Having disco (ed) with about 4 or 5 children hanging on each arm, we broke into three groups of about 50 children per two adults to play games. Many of these children do not attend school and have little English but I had come prepared and had a pocket of balloons and we managed some team games. Then bean bags! Later we performed our 'open the book' Bible story involving some of the children and dressing them in costume. Finally we gave out drinks and donuts (made by the cook) and each child left with a sweet or a biscuit. The whole event had been run like an old fashioned children's party
.Sunday began with church then we had invited the physiotherapist and his friend for a traditional Sunday roast! He had never experienced one before. David made amazing roast potatoes! We also managed to wish our own children a happy Easter on Skype as they were all together for the day.
On Monday we went shopping on the matutu (local bus) and had lunch out with a mizungas who lives locally and her Ugandan fiancé. We finished our weekend watching one of our DVDs on our tiny portable player.
So that was our Easter. Yours was probably a bit more peaceful!

The works minibus

A special mention should be made of the works minibus, an experience that most people remember. The fabric seating and the ubiquitous Ugandan dust ensure that if your trousers were clean at the start of the journey , they will not be at the end. I've learnt that my light coloured trousers were a mistake when packing to come here,and have since purchased a dark pair.(take note any of the Ingite team planning to visit soon)The driver is a man called David (not me) who evidently has the necessary advanced training in electro-mechanical engineering which is required to drive this vehicle.An ignition key is not  needed to start the engine, but leaning inwards through the passenger window and connecting a thick bare ended wire with the
 battery terminal under the passengers feet seems to work wonders.With a lot of rattling and clouds of black smoke David encourages the vehicle to move after several attempts to persuade first gear to engage.Sadly on several occasions it has all been too much for the engine which jolts us all to a halt after a short time.Sometimes an alternative vehicle has been required. On one such memorable occasion having driven several hundred yards down the road the engine conked out and refused to function again unless the reverse gear was engaged. On that occasion we returned back to base backwards. Interestingly, driver David has a cap he wears on which is written "never say die", which is a bit of wishful thinking on his behalf, as clearly, when driving he is keen to go faster than 5 mph, and when following a slow vehicle he needs to hurry the driver along using his horn for fear of stalling.Using the horn involves touching another smaller bare ended wire with the steering wheel to complete a circuit that only electrical engineers can fathom .

Fortunately the drivers vision is not obscured by a considerable star shaped crack on the passenger side of the windscreen.For health and safety reasons the sliding passenger door must be kept closed at all times, which is hard to achieve as the runners are very worn, one one occasion the mechanic applied grease to make it easier to close, sadly we were not aware of this and closed the door with the same force, resulting in the door parting company with the bus.

Needless to say everyone except David, who has to struggle with the buses eccentricities, finds a ride in the works bus a source of amusement.Most journeys are achievable but the deeply potholed and rutted dirt roads that David skillfully negotiates are not especially comfortable as the bus has no surviving suspension. The driver is relatively comfortable as he can adjust his seat according to his height by propping the back of it up with the spare wheel and clinging on tightly to the steering wheel.The passengers have iron bars and each other to cling on to, but the privileged few in the back seat are bounced around like rag dolls. Its definitely "the best ride in the park"!

What about the scariest ride in the park? A once only and never to be repeated ride ,I hope, was a couple of weeks ago when returning from doing physiotherapy in the community. I should tell you that the journey involves crossing a very deeply trenched railway line as there are no formal level crossings on the road, and most vehicles struggle to negotiate. I was told  that the trains travel very slowly but never stop for anything, nothing ; motorbikes , people carrying beds, children, walkers ,because the railway lines are used as an  alternative road. Trains are not very frequent and I had never seen one before, until that day, David was slowly encouraging the minibus across the railway track and we noted to our right side a train blaring its horn and flashing it's light.By the time David had managed to extract every last bit of knackered horse power
out of the engine,which mercifully didn't stall, we had cleared the line with only about 20 yards between us and a rumbling fright  (freight) train .

Western Uganda

We have just returned from western Uganda - a town called Kamwenge. The area is very green and beautiful and the sunsets as you might imagine for Africa. The bad news is that the outward journey took 7 hours much of it on unmade roads with huge ruts! However we had the excitement of crossing the equator en route. There were 8 of us in the team and we set off at about 9.30 am and bought lunch from vendors who wait around the major petrol stations. Lunch was a quarter of freshly cooked chicken on a kebab stick plus g nuts and a banana. There are no places to sit at these stops, it is fast food on the go!.
We arrived at late afternoon and were offered a hot drink of sweet lemon grass water to which most people added coffee but it was great on its own!
After this we were treated to a trip down to lake George -a huge lake where the local people were collecting their water in their jerry cans. Unfortunately cows use the same area for defaecating so perhaps not as clean as one would hope. Local fishing boats arrived and we bought a fish (we attached it to the front of the vehicle to transport it back to the house).
The hospitality was wonderful and there was food in abundance on our return - matoke, rice beans, meat, fish, cassava, bananas etc. Local people had contributed in abundance. The house where we stayed was very exceptional having a large number of rooms as most only have one or two! We were allocated rooms and the two couples each had their own room with a rush mat and a largish single bed (very cosy). Most rooms do not have doors only a partial curtain but there is always a front door.The house also has an internal bathroom (almost unheard of) although no running water. Water was provided in jerry cans for washing and to flush the western style toilet (another exception as most households share external drop toilets). For those who wanted to shower, hot water was provided together with a large bowl in which to stand. I believe that cooking and water were heated outside on charcoal burners.  It did mean that the bathroom was rather a wet place especially as more than 10 of us were using it. The pastor had a number of children but they did not join us at all and we only saw them peeping from behind the curtains.The house also had electricity which was an added bonus but is very costly so has to be used sparingly. During the night a phone rang (mobile as no one in Uganda has a land line. It was a call from the neighbour of one of our party. It would appear that groups set  their own 'neighbourhood watch' system whereby if there is an intruder all the neighbours contact one another, grab a suitable implement and deal with the intruder themselves. No details required!
Day 2 began with a breakfast of avacados, chapatis, bananas and lemon grass tea. Then off to the local village school where we did  fun factory style activities with the younger children in the school - four classes with 240 pupils and 4 teachers - yes around 60 pupils per class with one teacher for each!!! There are 500 pupils in the school and 200 of them are boarders with 16 teachers.Then assembly where various classes performed songs of welcome and we spoke briefly before doing an 'open the book' session about the storm on the lake and the children enjoyed wearing the costumes and acting. Children in the villages are not always grouped according to age but more about years of education so P7 (our year 7) has children aged 11 to 16 as the school arrived relatively recently and many children therefore joined late! Teachers are not at all well paid and many give up  after a few years but those at this school seemed very committed. Meanwhile David started seeing patients - the queue was enormous as consultations and medication usually require payment and these were a free gift from wellspring! Translators were provided by the community as most people do not speak English except in the case of teachers as education is always in English.
Then back to the house for a generous lunch. In the afternoon I offered a workshop for teachers and gave them some phonic materials funded by your generosity and made by us! They were very excited and we has a good couple of hours work. Meanwhile a makeshift cinema was created in the church with a big sheet hung from the rafters. I helped with dispensing medication. As David and I are 'mizungas', we are considered to be celebrities. People in this areas rarely see white people and everyone wanted to meet us and be treated by David! The children are shy and want to shake hands but many need to pluck up courage! Seeing us makes tiny children cry!!  We were able to make a quick visit to the house of the pastor's brother who has a smallholding. He grows banana, coffee, mango and sugar cane and gave us some canes to take - a machete is often carried by farmers. He also has some cows.
Back to the house for an afternoon 'snack of tea, g nuts and bananas then back to the hall for setting up the film. Another big meal then the film 'Jesus of Nazareth'. By now it was cold but people arrived in large numbers, many sitting on the floor on sacking. The film was in Luganda so had to be translated, via microphone, into the local language. Every miracle was met with a cheer!
Saturday morning was very wet so everything started late as people are reluctant to set off in the rain. Eventually the 'surgery' recommenced and another teacher workshop. This time it included the making of pom poms which created much amusement and excitement. After another large lunch the surgery recommenced and I resumed dispensing till after 6 when it was getting dark. One of the teachers brought me a fresh egg as a gift and I was really appreciative as eggs are a bit of a luxury.  David had seen over 70 patients and constance had seen even more! Entertainment was provided on the screen but the attempts to show another film in the late evening were unsuccessful as the technology ie the disc, was faulty.
All these events took place in the church. Churches are used although incomplete. This one has rough walls and a roof but the doors and windows are not yet funded nor is any flooring. There were three side rooms, one of which could be locked and the bats were happy in the rafters (no belfry!). Little by little it will be completed but it seems the case with all buildings - they are used as soon as the walls and a makeshift roof is in place.
On Sunday morning the church gradually filled up as the service continued. The music and singing were absolutely wonderful. Testimonies were offered and one of David's 'patients' stood up to say that she was rather perturbed at being prescribed only one medication as the Ugandan way is to be prescribed several each time. She had the problem for several months without cure but she took the single tablet that night and already the symptoms had been vastly reduced 'praise God'  mizungo magic. David preached on miracles to great applause Teachers wanted more input so I did a makeshift session under a tree.
After lunch we took a new route back which involved 4 hours of driving along what we would deem somewhat uneven unmade roads, made worse by the heavy rain. Ruts (and I mean really deep ruts) makes driving really difficult and hazardous.
We passed a large refugee camp of refugees from DRC who had been there for up to 2 years and are still coming! Some are in tents but many have created the usual 'wattle and daub' houses. The only difference is that the roofs (usually made in uganda of expensive corrugated iron ) were made of unicef provided plastic sheets held down by wood any old jerry cans. The return journey took 8 hours - this time Sam had driven all the way. It was nice to return to the 'luxuries' of our house at wellspring.!!

Primary school

Wellspring primary and nursery school is different to the norm in that most children in Uganda attend boarding school from a very young age  - can be as young as nursery but most attend from about the age of 6. This is partly due to the fact that boarding school can be a cheaper option once you factor in transport and food costs. Well spring is entirely a day school so inevitably the classes are smaller as the classes go up in age. Corporal punishment is still the norm in schools in Uganda but does not occur at wellspring at all. Again many parents prefer this as a suitable punishment in school.
School starts at 8 am and finishes at 5pm. There is a half hour morning break at 10..30am where, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all children receive a warm drink of porridge made of millet rather than oats so similar to a watery Reddy Brek. Lunch is provided at1pm for the whole school and staff (posho, beans, rice and some beef) and the younger children get an afternoon snack and a drink. Year 7 is the equivalent of our yr 6 - these children will be assessed by the national tests which appears to affect the choice of secondary school. Yr 7 pupils also attend on a Saturday morning for extra classes. For some children education will be complete. For some education will have been completed before that! All education has to be paid for, exercise books and all equipment as well as text books must be provided. Parents are also expected to provide photocopy paper for the school. Some parents pay termly but many pay weekly or even daily. Education is the priority in the family
The curriculum is very knowledge based and exams are held at least three times per term (there is no half term - this term has been about 12 weeks). Exams are generally 'bought in'!
Social studies includes history, geography and everything else - sanitation, health, jobs etc. There is also maths, English (grammar only) and religious studies, debate and and PE. There are no creative subjects! After school children go home and do homework. There are no extra curricular activities in school or anywhere else. On Saturday (once a month) wellspring offers FunFactory - a free afternoon of fun and games with a free drink and snack and a bible story. About 100 local children attended. There are no playparks but wellspring has a couple of swings, a slide and a very old fashioned roundabout and many children queued patiently for a chance to use these!
There are no resources available nor technology - chalk and talk is the norm. Teachers use the text book or their own school books for information - very different from our methods. Each 'fact' is read aloud by the teacher and then repeated a number of times by the pupils before the children copy it into their exercise books e.g. in year 2 class "a community is a group of people who live and work together." - this is written on the blackboard and repeated 3 or 4 times by the whole class then by some individuals. New words are read aloud by a number of the other pupils. The concept is not open for discussion - the exam will merely require that children can give this definition. Correct spelling is essential for an exam answer to be correct. Virtually all work is taught in this way at the primary level and the exams require the children to repeat such definitions rather than engage in any original thinking or questioning.
There is no provision for remedial work and children may only repeat a year once. David and I have provided (thanks to your financial help and our ingenuity) 600 wooden hand made wooden blocks for the lower school to help with the phonics.
All in all primary education is very different to that in the UK - children aged 7 know what a spiracle is and now I do too - do you?

contraception

The community called Kito is situated in a very swampy area where large holes have been dug for brick making, but have subsequently become filled with water making the inhabitants very susceptible to malaria. .The people there have a lot of young children who are especially vulnerable to malaria, but the poverty there preclude the purchasing of mosquito nets.A need for contraceptive instruction was rather obvious.
So we organised a morning of instruction with questions and answers, the date was set, but unfortunately the
community pastor decided he would not allow us to use his church premises as he felt contraception was not a good idea.In fact as a result of the good pastor donating part of his church roof to a needy person in his parish , and the deluges ofthe rainy season had caused the church floor to become a quagmire , something akin to walking across a freshly ploughed field in winter which made it unusable anyway.We finally found some partially constructed houses we could use as a venue, but come the day we heard that a local official had not given us permission as a major road is planned to be constructedin the area. I was at a loss to find the relevant connection between the two issues!  So I visited the official and got a reassurance that the meeting would not be cancelled next time. Indeed it was a success three days later lots of ladies came
and some decided there and then to have the treatment, which consisted of an injection in a secluded area where their husbands could not see them.This week we wanted to offer the same opportunity in a different part of the community. We first had to liaise with another official who felt we should give him some money. The ladies in the team responded to him in their own language, which I did not understand, but the outcome was that no money passed hands and the chairman offered his garage as a makeshift surgery to see patients, and duly moved his car from within. This was very helpful and another first for me-a surgery in a garage.
I had the pleasure of meeting a lady who had adopted a two year old boy with Downs syndrome, he so reminded me of Sam at that age, mum and I spoke for some time as she spoke good English.

Four days later Doctor Sheilah from Wellspring and I went to the garage hoping this time to give contraceptive advice. On the way we met a lady carrying her child who expressed a wish to receive contraception there and now. This was slightly difficult as we were in a public street. Fortunately ther are many unfinished buildings in the community so we escorted her into one in order to give her some privacy. We asked her a few medical questions and checked her blood pressure. Finally some pills were given, we turned to depart and saw that behind us had been a gathering group of inquisitive youngsters
onlooking! The lady seemed totally unconcerned confidential in Uganda doesn't seem to be the some issue as it is in the UK.
Unfortunately no ladies arrived at the chairman's garage for our talk , but word had spread that we were present and another informal medical clinic evolved that morning. At the end we were about to depart when a group of stern looking young men and a policeman with an accompanying nonuniform gentleman carrying a truncheon. They spoke Lugandan which I didn't understand, but the medical team I was with seemed unconcerned. " What was that about ?" I asked, apparently they'd been dealing with some disputed land and afterwards had drifted over, being curious as to our activities in the garage.

Rainy season

.Well the rains have come and the perennial dust has turned to sludge but not all the time! We still get hot, sunny days
But when it rains it seems relentless and an additional problem is that when it rains the power often goes off.
Kito z(the area where David is giving out wellspring nets and I am doing adult literacy) has become a swamp complete with frogs and toads. The church where we work is under water as the pastor gave away some of the roof to a needy resident.
The physiotherapist arranged to take us around Kampala on Saturday which was great. He and his friend took us to the museum ( much of which had been looted in the 1970's), the Catholic and Protestant cathedrals, the royal tombs (burned by all shebab in 2010) and a beautiful Baha'i temple. In return we took them to a Greek restaurant for dinner. It was very authentic as it was run by a Greek and a very new experience for our guides who knew of its existence but had not eaten there. We chose a meze which they really enjoyed. Our waiter was Ugandan tho' David insisted on calling him Stavros. Luckily he had a good sense of humour!
On Sunday evening we were fortunate to be invited to the graduation party of one of the younger staff members. This was a formal affair with a compare,  young people dancers in national costumes and sppeches. Speeches were made by work colleagues (including us), pastors and family. A lovely meal was provided for all then the graduate made a speech of thanks after which people gave gifts to the graduate. It was delightful to participate in Carol's celebration together with many of her friends, neighbours and church family.
Note -although the official language is English, most people speak Luganda amongst themselves. The church sermon is always in Luganda. However, as with the graduation, there is always a translator so we do not miss anything. Those who have not been to school do not speak English and those with little education speak only a little. Luganda is the language of the majority of people who are from the banda tribe. In other areas they speak other languages so need English to converse with one another.
Well I am over half way through my time here but there is still plenty to do whether literacy, special needs, making pom POM's, secondary education or community work. David and i also enjoy doing a practical science lesson once a week -this week it is volcanoes!! We have just had yellow fever injections in preparation for a trip to Western Uganda next month. We may also be revisiting tororo.
Continue to keep in touch and pray for us.

Island in the sun

QA week of variable activities, but for me the highlight of the week was to go on a cruise to an island in the tropical sun.
OK, maybe the image is a bit pina colada by the pool?
In fact we drove to the edge of lake Victoria which incidentally is the largest single lake in the world, and got on a fishing boat with our bags and mobile dispensary. We were greeted after a two and a half
hour trip by very friendly locals who treated us to a lovely fresh fish lunch. Afterwards we stopped through beautiful lush tropical  countryside where there were no roads only footpaths. On arrival at a school we set up a mobile clinic, limited dispensary, HIV and cardiac counselling services and blood testing.  We all worked hard and certainly felt somewhat fatigued at the end of it. Night came fast as it does in these parts and we spent some/time sitting/around a fire by the lakeside with the flames, moon and fireflies to illuminate the area , fantastic! A late supper finished the day,and we retired to our respective tents and bunkhouses.
4.30 am and a tropical storm arrived to test our/tents! Sadly they all leaked and the advice that no showers were available on the island was incorrect, we all got a free cold early morning shower. It wasn't all roses in the bunkhouse, the thunder scared the goats and they all fled into the bedroom for shelter. My friend woke in the morning with a couple of them by his feet!
Next morning we did a second session, I chose a position under a large shady tree overlooking a bay ,that was another first for me. The locals hospitality was wonderful , they made us feel so welcome .We returned back to Wellspring refreshed and exhausted , what an amazing experience.

Daily life

Well you may be wondering what daily life is all about. Suffice to say that every day brings a new surprise! However we do have a vague routine!
We are generally awoken by a noisy bird (nicknamed cheeky chappy) at around 7am. Breakfast and shower (if electricity is on or even if it is not!).
Monday is Kito - a community about 20 mins away who lack basic amenities like water and electricity. One toilet per 10 families.David visits homes in this community offering basic medical advice and will be giving out mosquito nets provided by wellspring to those in need. Malaria is a major problem. He is accompanied by a local lady who may continue health promotion classes with my group Meanwhile I teach basic literacy to a group of ladies and one gentleman plus basic English -quite a challenge as they are unfamiliar with any English as most have only received one or two years (or in some cases no) education. That lasts for two hours then back to base for lunch  - posha rice and beans. After lunch on Monday is PEP which is prayer and worship for half an hour. After lunch I go and teach in the secondary school and David visits the clinic to see patients. The day finishes around 5pm (ish) then back home for me to prepare work or both of us to make resources. David often goes up the road to buy vegetables - cabbage, aubergine, avocado and maybe a few carrots and some Irish's (potatoes to us). David cooks dinner and I wash up -water heated in the kettle or on our calor gas stove. Drying up is necessary as we do not leave anything exposed! We might chat, play games or (as a treat) watch one of our DVDs brought with our own portable player!
Tuesday school for me starts around 7.30am as teachers meet and greet the primary pupils as school starts at 8am I take 3 SEN pupils for an hour and then go to the secondary pupils - 4 pupils of mixed  ages following an English on line curriculum.  Meanwhile David does the washing (by hand of course heating water as he goes)  and then deals with medical matters in the clinic. lunch is as usual and the rest of the day is as Monday.
On Wednesday  my day is similar but David visits a different community with a physiotherapist and visits disabled children in their homes. A house here comprises of one room, no running water or toilet nor electricity in many cases. Many are now using splints and frames provided (with donations) by wellspring. Some have not yet got seats or frames as money is limited and wellspring has to allocate their limited funds judiciously. More funding is always needed. In one case food is also provided as many people still consider that disabled children are cursed so parents are reluctant to acknowledge their existence. Wellspring, by their actions,  put lie to this and parents seem very grateful.
Thursdays are similar to Mondays and Fridays are like Wednesdays. However we have started Open the Book sessions after lunch in the primary school acted out with the help of the secondary pupils.

Every other Saturday has required us to be available - we went to Tororo one weekend and next weekend david is off to a rural island community (camping as no accommodation is available and providing medical services!) and I will be doing in-service literacy teaching with the primary teachers. On one Saturday per month, the children's workers provide a fun factory I.e games, a bible story (which we do), snack and a drink for up to 100 children from the local community then more washing up! It is the equivalent to a party provided to the community by wellspring
Sunday is church from 10am till 12.30pm.
That is not a complete picture as different things crop up on a regular basis - now I know why baden Powell said 'be prepared'!

Tororu (think that is correct spelling)

Well we have just returned from a 3/4 day trip to Tororu or rather a rural area north of there. The journey took about 5 hours. Wellspring have close connections with two or three communities and we went to offer help in education and health. We were a team of seven with me offering education, David, the physiotherapist Ronald and the midwife offering health provision and two children's workers plus Herbert (who runs wellspring with his wife Eve). The people speak a different language in this part of Uganda and people walk several miles to school or church. To see a vehicle caused people to line the tracks (not quite roads as we understand them) and to have white people caused them to come out their homes to view us even where there was a village center! The communities are very rural with a nursery school in one and tiny classes in the other. The school is in the process of being built and two classes held under trees. There is a blackboard for all but nursery and plan international sponsor the education. We were told that the local government school has 150 children PER CLASS!  On Thursday morning David held clinics with Ronald under the trees and once I had taught the nursery class (thereby showing teachers how one could teach number) I helped with dispensing medicine provided free of charge thanks to donations which you (our friends) have made. There is no running water so people travel to nearby bore holes with large jerry cans and yet each community prepared a lovely lunch on each day and we were given the only chairs available.The clinics were vastly over full with insufficient time to see everyone. In the afternoon we went to another community and we played games with the children. Due to lack of daylight (and no electricity) all finish by 6pm. Friday saw me training teachers (most are untrained) while David and others continued in a 3rd community. They were due back by 1pm and patients started arriving at 12. There were games for the children and then each was given a drink of squash and two biscuits - a real party. By 4pm the queue for the clinic was enormous and I had been teaching phonics for two hours to the infant staff surrounded by fascinated ladies. The clinic ( with the midwife and I dispensing once more) began with only children being seen till nearly 6pm.
Sunday began with the most amazing service of worship -fabulous singing without musical accompaniment and the children doing an amazing music and action presentation. David was the preacher.
The journey home began well until our fan belt went! Oh for the RAC! Pius and Ronald went for help and found a highway policeman who contacted a mechanic who came on his bicycle and sorted us out. Two hours later - flat tyre (wrong jack) but Pius got under the van (in the dark on a busy highway) and managed to get it to work. The traffic on the main roads is hairy to say the least and the only rule appears to be that if you can get past another vehicle on left or right then you do ! After over 6 hours we turned onto side roads (nowhere is tarmac apart from the very major highways) and after an 8 hour journey we got back. Herbert had driven all the way back!

Medicine

Outreach clinics at a community called Kito have been a challenge  because resources are limited. The local pastor and his wife have been extremely supportive. They have allowed us to use a corner of their church which as yet is only partially constructed, it has a roof and walls giving shade from the equatorial sunshine. The rest of the building is used for Lynne , Harriet and Jackie's adult literacy classes, so before starting the morning surgery a couple of pastors and I have to construct a separate surgery area using nails, a ladder and several spare beams from the construction site. This is then separated using some curtain material , we have pair of benches and a drum doubles up as table. I don't yet have an examination couch, but no doubt the ingenuity of the locals will come up with something!
We've also started an health promotion volunteers team who identify a local health need for example, malaria, then we discuss the basic health promotion message and they produce a short drama to illustrate the issue. When  I was in Malawi with the LINKs team, it worked very well, here's hoping and praying.

On a different note, Lynne and I did our first open the book presentation for about fifty children yesterday. We used a lot of children as mime actors, ably directed by Lynne while I read the story, which was about Jonah. We had plenty of props provided by Cathy and Teresa, and the spectators were enthralled. We also played games during the afternoon, tennis balls were highly useful so thanks Maidenhead tennis club, Sue  and Stella. Bean bags were in abundance thanks to Fran and Teresa.

Forgot to mention

We went shopping to a shopping center and bought lots of necessary items like bucket and mop, washbasket, beer, juice, cheese and other necessities and decided to get a couple of garden style chairs. Little did we realize how difficult these last two items would be! First we needed a docket so the staff could take them the 50 yards to the counter. We showed the docket at the cashout but it needed approval by customer service. Off to customer service who stamped it. Back to checkout to pay. Back to customer service to prove payment, back to checkout where the assistant called someone from customer service to bring the chairs to the checkout. Then they got someone else to carry the chairs the 10 feet to the door. Total cost  of chairs was about 12pounds so less than many other items. Could they potentially be dangerous or is there something about garden chairs which we do not know? We welcome your thoughts on this!

Third week

We are beginning to have a routine (of sorts now).  I spend part of my week in the secondary department where the 4 pupils are following an English curriculum working English school hours and terms. I am also doing some special needs work with various primary aged children some of whom have missed school due to illness. It is a very knowledge based curriculum with two sets of exams per term and league tables in year 7. Wellspring school was 304th out of 6000 schools. Unlike many schools they accept children with special needs (sound familiar?). One parent was so excited about finding a school for his son that he arrived a day early to register as he had been unable to sleep and was prepared to wait all day if necessary! School day is 7.15am until 5pm.
We go into a very deprived community twice a week to teach English and some basic literacy. We have two groups _ one of whom have had primary education and one of whom have not! We have lots of fun and in the church ( a partial roof and partial corrugated iron walls) we have learned the okey cokey and heads, shoulders, knees and toes as part of our curriculum. David does health promotion and a basic surgery behind a makeshift curtain. On two days a week when I am in school, David does physiotherapy in another community where these children rarely see daylight. One has now got his splints and we are about to deliver two standing frames and a seat specially designed for them from us.
We were asked to explain the term 'unwanted present' as there is no concept of receiving something which one does not want. Everything is so precious here so how can anything not be wanted. Makes you think.
Everyone has been having fun making pom POM's. We are completing the bean bags for community day on Saturday so no time to be bored. As we have had 24 hours without electricity, it is lucky we have solar lights!

One week on

School has not yet commenced, but during the past week we have begun to see some of the items ,time and money that people so generously gave beginning to be used. The heat is taking a bit of getting used to, but generally a very pleasant 27 deg. Everyone here is so friendly , and we were welcomed back very warmly. Today is  Sunday, so I went for a short afternoon walk. I took the alternative route home and now realize I would have gone the wrong way had I not met a member of Wellspring to guide me back! Lynne stayed at home very sensibly and stitched bean bags (as you do).

Arrived

Well we have been here for four days already. On Sunday we experienced envisioning Sunday - three hour service then staff demonstrating local dance and drumming followed by lunch for all attendees. A full cooked dinner and drink provided for over 150 people then the fun of washing up with no running hot water! Local lads joined in but only two tea towels which we regularly squeezed out! It took a couple of hours and one has to admire the perseverance - there was much laughter involved as industrial amounts of washing up did not come naturally to the teenage boys.
Primary school returns next Monday but teachers are planning now. Secondary school in full swing as it goes by UK school year. They really appreciated receiving tracing paper, squared paper and extra pencils!
Yesterday we went into the community on boda bodas -motorbike taxis which each carry 2 passengers. I won't go into detail but traveling the wrong way up a dual carriageway without a helmet because our side of the road was congested is an experience!
David continued with physio and we gave one girl two tennis balls to grip - she was so excited as she had not held any items until now. Splints which we ordered in November should arrive this week and will make a huge difference.
Tomorrow we go out to begin some adult literacy and English speaking lessons as well as basic medical intervention in another community (even less well provided for) a little further away.
Suspect that things will become even more interesting as the week continues when there are so many needs to be met.

On our way

Well we are off tomorrow with OVER 150kg of luggage!! Most of it is comprised of "gifts" for the wellspring community - 6 full suitcases plus 2  hand luggage cases but we only expect to return with two full ones - the plan is to put one inside another for return journey!
Once again a BIG thank you to all of you who have given their time, effort, donations and prayers for this trip. You will be in our prayers as we hope we will be in yours. Do keep in touch with us via email/texts/Whatsapp/Viber or any other means and we will pick up your messages when we access the internet.
BBC weather says to expect lots of rain next week so the raincoats and umbrellas are packed as well.

Mid January

Wow - I cannot thank people enough for their amazing generosity over the past couple of weeks.
Thank you all for contributions of material and tennis balls which we will be taking with us  and financial contributions which we will put into the wellspring account before we leave as a blessing to the people there. Donations have amounted to several hundred pounds with yet more promised. Thank you also to those who have helped us provide things by offering their skills. People who dropped in for a cup of tea and piece(s) of cake enjoyed seeing our limited number of pictures and now have a clearer picture of where we will be based and some of the people we will be meeting. If you missed it - let me know and I'll put the kettle on!

January 2014

We are in the process of getting things ready for our trip to Uganda on the 25th January. We are taking lots of goodies and some generous donations from friends and family. Pound shops and charity shops have been our saviour but mean that we will need the extra suitcases! Well that's about it with less than three weeks to go!