Visits to Uganda are always a treat, and
there is always so much more that I could fit in, if time allowed. This visit
has been no different, but because it has been such a brief visit (5 days
actually in-country), there has been even less spare time to do such things as
post a blog, remember to take photos etc, that help keep others updated on what
is happening.
But, in a determined effort not to let this
trip go completely without comment, here is a bit of update on the week and
various conversations.
And by the way, I’m not listing all of the
below just to try and big up what I have achieved over here. I can’t do any of
this on my own. Instead, I list it to
give an insight into the range of wonderful things that are going on here, and
also to honour those who are carrying out these projects and programmes day in
day out. And of course to give thanks to God for graciously allowing me to be
involved in all this exciting stuff!
So, here goes – 5 days in Uganda
Acholi
Community in Kampala:
I managed to fit in a couple of brief
visits there, as always accompanied by the wonderful Harriet and Miriam, which
resulted in:
-
Seeing the 150 3-day-old chicks
that are the start of Lubanga Ber group’s poultry business, thanks to some
generous donations from folks in UK and Denmark. The money that the ladies make
from this will go into a community savings pot from which they will then be
able to make small loans to group members.
-
Visiting Alice, the lady who
won the recent Dragons Den competition that we held there. Her proposal was to
start a stationery business, something much needed in the community.
o
She sells books, pens, pencils
etc and also has a photocopier that she uses to generate extra income. Two
regular clients are the church, to get their Sunday notices copied; and the
police when they need copies of case files etc.
o
All of this is done from her
little one-room ‘house’ that is approx. 6ft
x 8ft in size – wonderful to see her in action as a ‘business lady’, and
to see the increased self-belief that this has engendered in her.
-
Visiting with a lady whose
2-year-old daughter has a hole in the heart.
o
Over the course of the
conversations, a visit to the pharmacist, and a bit of online research, I was
able to help her fully understand what treatment the child needs ie interpret
the doctors reports, explain all of the acronyms that were scattered
throughout, and work out the cost of the meds, as well as the dosages. Am so
glad of my distant medical knowledge to be able to understand what the doctor
had said, as the mum had got reallyquite confused about it all and wasn’t sure
what to do for the best.
o
Definitely a case of being in
the right place at the right time, and thanks to an offer by someone from UK,
we might have the cost of the medical treatment covered as well so the child
can start to thrive a bit more – praise the Lord!
-
Visiting the children at
Hopeful Haven, the educational day ‘club’ for children who aren’t able to go to
school due to poverty. Apparently word had gotten round that I was in the
neighbourhood, so lots of little ones turned up as well as the older children
who were supposed to be there!
-
Collecting a tub of g-nut paste,
freshly ground by Evelyn, one of the ladies of the group, which tastes
absolutely delicious and I’m hoping will get home in one piece and not end up
spread all over my luggage! A very tasty way to support a small local business J
-
Collecting an order of beads
made by the ladies, and so being able to support their income generating
activities even more
Nkuru
Business and Vocational Training College.
This has been, and continues to be built by
John and his team, in and around the house of his dad in rural Mityana. Before
the college was there, the young people had no such facility anywhere near, and
so vocational skills were very lacking in the area, and options for
non-academic education were almost non-existent.
15 students are now registered, with more
appearing on an almost weekly basis as word gets out, and it’s lovely to see
how the college is being embraced by the community and bringing fresh hope to
the area.
-
I visited the college for a
day, and met with some of the staff to have discussions around Whole Brain
Approach (WBA) and what issues they are coming across as they try to adapt
their teaching methods to incorporate this.
-
Particularly interesting
conversation with the maths teacher who is very logical, single methodology of
teaching, quiet, and doesn’t feel confident thinking outside the box regarding
coming up with alternative ways to teach maths concepts, especially to students
who aren’t natural mathematicians. He is keen to learn though, so various ideas
and suggestions have been left with him to try out.
-
Training given for Ronnie who
is taking on the role of WBA champion, which includes orientating new students
and staff to the concept, carrying out the assessments, and supporting other
staff as they all work together to embed the ethos into the college.
-
Good to chat with John about
all sorts of aspects regarding next steps for the college – what extra courses
to run (full and short ones), supporting the students with their range of needs,
new staff that are appearing as well as others that need to be found,
registration process etc – and all over a cup of tea served at the newly opened
‘Sophie’s World College and Community Café’, which sits on part of the college
site.
-
Excited for the future of the
college, and all the students who finally have access to some good-quality,
locally-based vocational education
Mercury
Free Gold:
-
Spent a day with the wonderful Margaret
and Patricia from EWAD in Entebbe, working together on a funding proposal for
some more money to expand the Mercury Free Fairtrade Gold project in Busia
-
If successful we will be able
to get another suite of equipment (kacha, masta, konker and smelter) so that
more of the artisanal small-scale miners can access the machinery and as a
result
o
Get more gold from the diggings
o
Get Cleaner gold that doesn’t
require the use of mercury
o
Avoid leaching mercury into the
soil and water-table
o
No longer have to spend hours
doing the back-breaking ‘panning’ of the gold
o
Be able to carry out other
activities of life eg growing food, cooking, household chores, being parents
etc
o
Allow their children to go to
school thanks to more income, and less need for the children to supplement the
working hours
-
Not surprisingly, praying that
the proposal is successful!
And finally, had various conversations with
Patience, now 5 years old, about all sorts of things that popped into her head
including:
-
petrol stations and their
underground tanks,
-
jesus and why he had two dads
but only one mum
-
the tooth fairy
-
saving money in a bank, and
whether that is better than in a purse
-
and how to make paper
aeroplanes
Plus of course some lovely catch up time
with Sophie – wife to John, mum to Patience, and studying full-time at
university: one absolutely incredible lady.
So there you have it. 5 days in Uganda –
what a joy, what a delight!
