Masaka and Elizabeth!

Dear Blog World,

  Please forgive the lack of posting… the following posts I am sure will explain why I haven’t been writing much this month!

On Oct 3^rd, I traveled to Masaka for meetings about the S5 school program, and other upcoming work in the area.  I was informed that the program is going ahead as of February (which is the start of the new school year for secondary school here).  So this is now my major work, or my baby.  I need to finish writing the program and see about getting it pitched to a few other schools.  I also met with Fred Muwanda about the incoming NET team.  They are a team of 10 college grads who work with young people in a Christian setting for a year.  I worked with them some last year, giving some trainings and such to them.  They want me back… that’ll be the 3^rd week of November.

Anyways I arrived back to Kampala, and had a few hours before going to the airport to collect Ms. Elizabeth Saunders!  J  My first visitor.  Hooray!

We had a lovely chat on the ride home, at 3 in the morning.  Slept in the next day, went to the market to get her dress started, ate some food, and hung out.  The next morning we got up and headed to Arua.  Elizabeth was a trooper, learning how to ride boda (motorcycle taxis) and how to navigate the world of public transport.  The bus actually left on time, which almost never happens!

However, that was the end of our good luck for the day.  Our bus broke down about 2.5 hours out of Kampala. We sat for over 3 hours, waiting for a new bus.  Finally it came, but took forever to get to Arua.  12 hours later, Jan, Chris, and Ruth (a new Zealand family who come to Uganda every few months and have a connection between Ora New Zealand and Ora Uganda.) collected us at our drop off point.  We finally made it to the Ora International compound, but had missed the party which was going to be partly in our honor.

The next day, after seeing the compound and meeting the team, we ventured out with Chris and some of their Ugandan staff to see about buying land.  We trekked through a beautiful field, and sat under a mango tree talking with the village women for a long time. It was great fun.  The one woman who spoke English started talking pictures with E’s camera.  They are pretty cool.

In the afternoon, I went into town with Jan, Ruth and Rogers.  I needed to buy our bus tickets for the next day, and also talk with Jan about future collaboration and programming.  Ali, a New Zealand volunteer, had Malaria, so we picked them up her and her husband Marty from the clinic on our way back.  (Side Note:  Marty is an Olympic level Tri athlete… he’ll probably be in the London Olympics!  So cheer for New Zealand during the triathlon!)

Jan and I finished up some practical business, and Elizabeth listened in.  I was really tired, so I took a late siesta, while Elizabeth spent some time with the kids who live on the compound.  I’ll be doing an organizational leadership training course for the Ora staff in March. 

That evening was really fun.  We had dinner, and then I picked up the guitar.  I have a habit of writing impromptu music, about the people I am with, the places I am in, or about totally random things.  They are, actually, usually pretty hilarious.  Elizabeth and Ruth (who is 14 and a new little sister) found them to be so!   

We spent most of the night laughing and enjoying.  Jan had to travel down to Kampala that night to get some a new volunteer who would be staying with Ali once Marty went to Kenya to train.  So we said bye to Jan and she was off.

We scheduled to leave the next morning at 10 am, and we did.  It was nice to have a bit more of a restful morning.

The trip that day was not one I care to talk much about.  It was probably in the top 5 most stressful and hard experiences I have had in Africa.  So we won’t dwell on it.

None the less, we arrived at Murchison Falls National Park, and by the evening were talking with other white people and relaxing in the beautiful park.  

Northern Uganda is still struggling to recover after years of civil war, life is not easy for the people

Sunset over the Nile... the little glimmer of water is the Nile!