Back in Vibrant Uganda!

Saturday, October 19.

I'm thankful the long flights were very good, and I arrived safely on the 15th with all my bags.  Jolly, her daughter Eunice, Ronnie and Takka were there to meet me.  It has been so good to be back here with our friends.   The air was still and warm with the familiar smell of charcoal fires cooking all sorts of wonderful things.

The last four days have been very full spending a lot of time with Jolly catching up and learning about the changes since we were last here in February 2012.  I was able to meet all the staff again on Wednesday and I discovered that Elizabeth and Vanessa are both expecting babies within one month!  These women are social workers who work with very poor clients in the community.

It took me awhile to get organized with internet, phone and cash.  Uganda is mainly a cash society and they use Ugandan shillings so when you go to the bank you receive a stack of bills.  For example $130,000 UGX is $55 CAD.

On Thursday Jolly and I went to the village of Biika in Masuliita where the Jolly Children's Education Centre is located.  This property has the school with Early Childhood Development ages up to grade 7.  At the school, there is the sports field JNFC built last year through the Rotary Global Grant as well as the library which is used by the students every day.  JNFC received a donation of 33 soccer uniforms from a soccer club in Victoria which I brought to the school.  The teachers are grateful for them as they are very good quality...and the players look very smart in them.

There is also a medical clinic which serves the surrounding rural poor community as well as the school.  Sponsored children at the school receive free medical care while the community members will be required to pay something - whatever they can afford.  This is how they plan to keep the clinic sustainable...with some outside help.  This clinic has certainly made a huge difference in the community for the better.  The closest Government run clinic is 5 km away and it usually doesn't have any medicine.  I was able to bring a suitcase full of medical supplies donated by the Compassionate Warehouse and the staff are all very grateful.

I also was able to bring some baby clothes & knitted toys for the abandoned babies which are housed in a small house on the property called Queen Esther Palace.  The picture shows Sophie, the house mother, and I am holding a one month old beautiful boy who was found shortly after birth beside a ditch.  For anyone who knows me well, would expect me to shed tears...and I did.  But I was thankful that at least this place will give this little boy a chance to grow up in a healthy and loving environment until he can be adopted.

I saw the new kitchen which is almost completed.  All of the children at the school receive a hot lunch every day which is usually beans and rice.

One special moment was when I saw Sophia again.  She is the girl we have sponsored for over 5 years now and she gave me a big hug.  Next week I will be going to the school with Jolly to stay for the whole week.  I will then have time to meet with the teachers to discuss future plans and observe life at the school.  I will also be visiting all of the JNFC sponsored children which number 47 now.  Geoff, Jill and I have always loved this part of our time there because we get to see the children in their homes with their family.  Family for them might be parents, grandparents, aunties or older siblings.  So I'm looking forward to that.  Many sponsors sent me letters and small items for their sponsored children so I will deliver them at that time.

The weather is hot and humid now because we are in a rainy season right now.  Today we travelled north to a village where Jolly & George's relatives keep some cows for them.  We passed many mango trees with large sweet mangoes.  We also passed a lot of pine and eucalyptus trees which is something Jolly has always wanted to do so she is experimenting with growing some trees.

I 'm signing off now as it has been a long day of travelling on some good and some very bad roads.  Bye for now.