All good things have to come to an end

My 9 weeks in Uganda has been so much fun. Time really does fly when you are having the time of your life. What was so great about this trip was living life and being part of a Ugandan community. You can imagine after so many weeks you really do make lots of relationships which doesn't make it easy saying goodbye. 

Joy, Ruth, Bosco, Ishmael and Lillian

Above is a family I came across. Joy is the Grandma looking after her 4 Grandchildren. The only income she gets is from selling the odd crop she grows. This is usually not enough for all of them. Having no place to live, Pastor George let her stay in their mud hut store. Even though half of the mud hut was still used as a store, the 5 of them still managed to live in this terrible condition. After sharing this story with people back at home they agreed to help this family. Only paying £11 per month, they get a 2 roomed brick house. They were so pleased when I broke this news to them and that day I helped them move in. When my Parents and I moved recently it took at least two days with lorries, a van and many car loads. This took 30 minutes. About 5 sacks of clothes and blankets, 3 peaces of foam to sleep on and 2 cans of drinking water was all they had. Still looks so basic to us but for them, this was a dream come true. 

I was so shocked with what they had to sleep on. These piece of foam were smelly, dirty and full of bugs. All 5 of them including the old Grandma had to share these pieces of foam laid on the floor every night with no mosquito nets protecting them. To buy 5 mattresses and beds with mosquito nets would only cost £260. If you feel like you could help with this by donating money, even if thats in a small way, please get in touch with me because it would be amazing if we could bless this needy family.

We would never question not having our own bed, but the option is that or food for many…….

Please contact me if you think you would like to help. 

Trevor and Coline

 Above is Trevor and his Father. If you have read my other posts you would have met Trevor before. Coline didn't have a job so Trevor wasn't able to go to school. Again people were touched by his story and were able to support him by paying his school fees. He now attends school and has extra tuition to help him catch up with what he has missed.

Trevor in his school uniform 

It wasn't just money that was needed to make a difference. A lot of them just needed your time and love. This trip wasn't just about me going out there making a difference, I have actually come back feeling that they have made a difference in my life.

Hearing them pray is something that stood out to me. Often our prayers are about 'Wants'. Ugandans prayers are about basic 'Needs'. Food, water, somewhere to live, school fees……

…...Yet they are so grateful for what they have.  Realising that life is truly a gift is a lesson all of us should learn.   

This morning was the first day waking up here in England. What hit me was the choice of what I could do today. In Uganda there seem to be very little choice. You get up and do what you have to do to live.

Thank you to all my family and friends who have been a constant encouragement through my time away. It really kept us going through the hard times. You can imagine the emotions I am feeling right now and the questions I have about my own life.

One day I hope to return to see all those beautiful people again.

The last 2 nights we spent at the Maasai Mara in Kenya on Safari. This was a great way to end a fantastic trip. Seeing Gods creation at its best. 

 Here are some picture of the last week.

A gun made out of plants by Peter 

Teaching Joram how to play Piano

Raaja from the Village of Hope

Riding Pastor Georges boda boda

Ojiah from the Village of Hope

Regan

Trevor's Family 

'Set your minds on things above, not on earthy things' Colossians 3:2

A young Liam Neeson

The day starts when we were at a sports day with over 30 different schools competing. This was a truly Ugandan ran sports day……nobody really knew what was going on. Rachael had placed her camera in her bag, placed it with the other bags and turned round to watch the sports. Minutes later a child from the school we were with shouted to us, "they have taken your bag" All confused we turn round and saw loads of orange topped children running down the road. Rachael and I decided to follow them. 

As we catch up, everyone was following this boy Owen. Owen was a skinny boy about the age 12, wearing only a ripped vest, shorts and no shoes. With one eye partially shut due to being stung by a bee, a chimney sweepers hat and a Moses stick in his right hand, he points forward and says they ran this way. While both following Owen, Rachael with no shoes on falls to the floor in bits. As the local community see this they crowd round her and comfort her. 

Owen and I continue running for over 2 miles. As we ran through loads of communities, people were pointing and shouting to us to help us find these boys. Every time I turned round more and more people (with no shoes and sticks in their hands) had joined on to this mass search for the camera. We eventually stopped on this over grown train track. Completely out of breath I start to question myself, what on earth am I doing? Surrounded by 25 kids with sticks…..stood on a train track in the middle of nowhere…who do I think I am…. 

While questioning my life situation all the kids were shouting in local language. Owen was using his stick to point in different directions and addressing the group…all I can imagine he is doing is a 'Liam Neeson'

Eventually we followed Owen up the train track and miraculously came across a boy who was involved. They surrounded this boy holding their sticks at him shouting in local language. This boy was crying his eyes out looking at me. I was so confused because at this point I had no idea who this boy was. The situation escalated where a man came over from his house and grabbed the boys hands and instructed the others to bring something over. To my surprise and shock they brought over this huge bolder and started to raise it above his head……. Im stood in the middle of nowhere, with about 30 people I don't even know, with a boy about to be stoned. I start to ask questions and try and prevent this boy from being hurt, but I am completely ignored because no one can speak English. 

As Rachael catches up, a taxi man (Motorbike man) explains that this boy was involved and agreed to take us to the police station. Rachael gets on a bike with Owen and starts to set off. This little girl starts crying and people are saying its Owen's sister, so Rachael lifts the crying girl up and puts her on the bike. I'm on the bike with this boy who had just nearly been stoned. As my hands wrap round him as his seatbelt, I can feel his little heart beating so fast. 

When we arrived at the police station the police asked us who everyone was. When it got to the little girl we just said thats Owens sister. Owen denied this and said he didn't even know this girl. To cut a long story short….Rachael had basically kidnapped this child for the day !!

After spending 3 hours at the police station, the detectives idea was for Rachael and I to go round town and look out for someone spending a lot of money…. What a ground breaking idea, why didn't I think of that??

We then found ourselves advising the Police and telling them what the best strategy is. 

Unfortunately after many failed attempts we didn't get the camera back. But in this whole situation we both got to learn and see so much. What really touched me was when I was running through these communities, so many people joined us to help find this camera. There is such a sense of community to help one another. What an experience.

A few weeks later we went to find Owen, thank him and give him a present for all he did for us that day. If it wasn't for Owen we would have never had any leads. What a Legend.    

A Hard Lesson to Learn.

It's coming up to the last third of my trip and you can imagine time is scarily flying by. Finding time to fit everything I want to do and achieve is hard. Over half way through the home sickness and exhaustion hits you while sat hot, tired and dripping in sweat waiting for the water to come back on so you can cool down, or hearing the rat scratching at your door at night. But it makes it all worth it when you see the smiles, joy and love that the children have to share with you everyday. 

Mark and I

There is so much need here you just want to help everybody you see. I don't think a day goes by where someone hasn't requested my help in some shape or form. Because I am white they believe that I have everything and have endless amounts of money…. which I am starting to realise compared to them we do. A couple of days ago a man in the street was pushing this piece of metal that he would refer to as a bicycle, saw me and said hello as I was walking past him. I asked him how he was and he replied with, "I am not fine, I am poor and I am hungry" 

Pastor George came to me the other day asking if I would stand with him financially to help families in the community who have nothing. I have so much love for this guy! This is a great ministry that I would love to stand with. The easy thing would be to just throw money at these things. Sometimes this can do more damage than good. 

Trevor, Ronald and Myself

These boys live across the road from us. The boy on the left is called Trevor and the other boy is Ronald. When I was a child playing outside after school,  Dad would pull up in his mark 2 red Polo after a days work and as soon as I would see him I would drop whatever I was doing and run as fast as I could into his arms. I know I can't compare myself to my amazing Dad, but this is exactly what Trevor does when he sees me. The past few weeks we have been seeing him sat on the side of the road, chewing sugar cane in clothes that we would deem as unwearable when he should be at school.

Visiting a true ugandan family

So one day while walking home Rachael and I thought to go and meet his family. In one house there are 5 generations with many missing members due to death or running away. Trevor (sat on my knee) is looked after by his Great Grandma, his Aunty and sometime his Father when he is not out finding work. Seeing past all the poverty this was just a really close family that seem to be very happy with what they had. A couple of days later again Trevor came running over with a piece of paper. Written was his school fees, uniform fees etc… That they couldn't afford to pay anymore.

These are only a few examples of many encounters with people in need. It actually made me very upset and start to question a lot of things. 

Why ME? 

The only thing that makes us different is the location of where we were born. 

Why was I born into such a wealthy country? 

Why am I the one who has the power to decide if they get help or not? 

You could say that it is a pleasure and an honour to be able to help these people but what makes me so special to decide who to help and who to not?  

The problem is you can't help everybody, but you want to help somebody….which leaves you to decide. This is probably the biggest learning curve I have ever had to face. 

Even though there is a lot of need in this country there is still a lot of happiness and beauty. This week we got the chance to visit the source of the River Nile. Of course this meant SELFIE STICK TIME

Sarah, Rachael, Juliet and I at R.Nile 

Cant believe where the time has gone, but its not over just yet. Thank you for everybody's interest in what we are doing. Here are some pictures of the past few weeks. 

Promise, Their Grandma and Ronald

Bath time with Jeff

They love a selfie 

The Kitchen 

Trevor 

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground. 

Psalms 143:10 

A Mixed Bag of Emotions

Before I came out here one of the many things I was excited about doing was a bit of teaching. Of course teaching my little cousin Sarah as an 9 year old counts as 'experience in the classroom' right? So I sat down with Ron and Ann and told them I was interested in getting involved. Ron and Ann are the lovely couple who set up Jinja Christian School. They are basically our Mum and Dad in Uganda, you could go to them with any issue and they would sort it out. Plus they are from Australia, so I feel like I'm on a constant episode of neighbours. 

Teaching P3 Class

My first lesson as "Teacher William" was Maths, or for those Americans reading 'Math'. I had 10 kids from Primary 3. They try to sort classes to age groups however most of the time they have to do it on ability. I would say ability wise they were year 2/3 in England. Having an hour and a half to fill and not much time to plan I had to think on my feet for most of it. I have doubled my respect for all those teachers out there, especially those who had to teach me. Keeping the interest of a class is a skill and a headache in itself, however I was pleased with the way it went. By the end of it, they were all counting in a northern accent. 

I also taught an English lesson to many different groups throughout the day. Instead of doing a typical English lesson, I did a Drama lesson which was so much fun. We had a poem which we turned into physical theatre. This gave them the opportunity to have a go at speaking English aloud….again with a northern accent.

Finally I taught a Music lesson. This was also great fun as we did singing. However not having a piano in front of me tested my abilities. You would think all Africans sing beautifully…. pitching was challenging. Here is a video of one of the songs we did. 

Teaching the Senior class

This week we got an opportunity to visit the slum down the road called Masese. There are more than a 10,000 people living there in such a small amount of space. In the slum community poverty, Hunger, alcoholism and disease are part of everyday life. Many are forced to turn to prostitution, picking through trash for food and brewing alcohol to sell. Most children can't afford school so instead they are fetching water, looking for food or begging on the streets. 

We were taken round by a translator to four different families. We gave each family a bag of sugar, a bar of soap and prayed with them. This was very eye opening as you can imagine. Praying for food and water for a family isn't something I have ever had to do. 

A Mother and 4 out of  7 of her Children

This is one of the families we met. The woman is 29 and has 7 children already. Even though she is smiling for the picture, they hadn't eaten for at least 24 hours. Her husband said that he was going out to look for work months ago and hasn't returned leaving her with nothing. Her youngest children are twins which are aged 1 and a half, but because they are so malnourished they looked only a few months old. As we were talking with her, she was breast feeding them. However because she hadn't eaten or drank in a while she was completely dry. This was so hard to see such hungry babies desperately trying to get food. 

The sad thing is, when you work out what they have to pay for a place to sleep and think what you would use that money for at home, it knocks you sick. 1 McDonalds meal would give shelter to a family for a whole month. A pack of chewing gum is the amount of money someone would earn for a whole working day.  

The local Supermarket 

A 7 year old caring for her baby sibling 

The way most people travel is by a Boda Boda (a motorbike). Most journeys cost about 25 - 50 pence. Because I am white and they all assume I am rich, some try and charge you a 'white persons price'. After trying a few out I eventually found a decent, safe and reliable driver. He is called Charles. Charles is my personal chauffeur… well I like to think he is. Whenever I need to get somewhere I call him and he will arrive in minutes. As if he is waiting round the corner for my call. He earns from £2.50 - £6.00 a day. When he makes £6.00 in a day, he is over the moon. Again try and put that into perspective of your own life……its scary.  

After having many journeys getting to know him, I found out he was an orphan himself and had a really hard life. He has three children who are constantly being sent home from school because he hasn't been able to pay the fees. Last week his son Jerome, got sent home from school. I ask how did he manage to sort this and he had got a loan from one of his friends. The loan was for £25 with £5.00 added each 2 weeks. He didn't even have £25 to his name.

He then invited the three of us for sunday lunch. We were so pleased to be asked however slightly nervous of what we would be served.

(L-R) Charles, Joash, Jerome, Jemima and Justine  

Once we arrived to their two room house we were greeted by 4 huge smiles and 1 crying baby (he was scared of white people). They were all dressed in their Sunday best and had this huge meal set out. This meal would have cost them more than a days wage. They even bought bottled water for us because they knew we don't drink local water. We asked where do you prepare the food and she pointed to the floor where this small coal burner was. Charles plays keyboard for his church so he got out the church keyboard and he started playing some Uganda worship songs. This was so moving because the whole family got involved singing. After a while I played him a few English worship songs as the girls sang. This was so touching and a really special moment that I will cherish. After some thought about the loan, I decided to use some money that someone kindly donated to me to pay off his loan. We wouldn't bat an eyelid about spending this kind of money. For us such a small gesture…. for him it meant the world. 

The three of us and Charles' family

A selfie with the neighbours

                                                                                     

Over the past few weeks as I have been walking down the road our neighbours would often come running over to me and ask me to come and play. Eventually I got to know them all quite well. This one time they dragged me over to the bench and said "sit, you must eat with us" I didn't really have a choice…. Even though they don't have much, they are so willing to share their meal with me. As the sunset, all we were lit by was the stars and moon. I felt so African. However I have to admit I did get my head torch out to walk home.  

This is 'Momma Danny' when you have a child you are automatically called your oldest child's name. House group was at hers this week and she lives where I had dinner. She is my age and is already married to Moses and has one child, Danny. It came to prayer requests and she told the group she is pregnant and hasn't felt the baby move for days. She believed she had been pregnant since July yet wasn't showing at all. This left me very confused. We all prayed for her. The night I was over for dinner she told me she has really bad stomach pain. My alarm bells were ringing and I decided to get in contact with Nurse Dent. After some advice I got the girls to come across with me to chat to her about the lady things. We decided the best thing was to take her to hospital the next day. Of course this was never an option for her as that would be so much money. We left the next morning at 6.30 and there was already a large queue.  After a scan they discovered that she had miscarried a while back and was still carrying the baby. She was devastated. The only way of knowing if you are pregnant or not is if you miss a period. There are no tests, unless you can afford a scan which most people can't. For a consultation, a scan and medication, all it cost was £4. 

Sarah, Rachael and I all agreed that we should cook them a meal one day and buy them a soda each. So on Monday we cooked Chapatti, Beans and Rice and took it over to eat with them. We also bought them a soda each which cost us 18 pence per drink. As we handed them out, one girl said "It is Christmas" After we ate we put some music on and danced with all of them under the stars. Momma Danny was still recovering so couldn't dance however she had a good laugh watching me dance. The lady with the traditional dress on at the back of the picture is 80 years old. She is left to look after her 2 grandchildren because they don't have anyone else. It was great to see her having fun and dancing with us. 

Selfie with the neighbours 

Momma Danny's house 

This week has certainly been a mixed bag of emotions. However it is such a privilege to be here and to be a part of what is going on. Thank you again for all the support and for reading my blog. 

Jesus looked at them and said, "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" Matthew 19: 26

  

An Overwhelming Response!

The response from last weeks blog has been very interesting. If you haven't already seen, someone kicked it off with a rather strong anonymous comment on my blog. I would personally like to thank this person because not only did it confirm to me that I am definitely in the place where I am meant to be,  it brought more love and encouragement from so many people, it was an overwhelming response. I can't thank you all enough with the amount of support we are getting, from people reading our blogs, to people sending us personal messages it all means a lot. 

What we are doing is not going to solve world poverty or make masses of difference in Uganda, however if we can do our best to try and make a small difference in one persons life then surely this makes it all worth it. A close family friend always reminds me of this quote…. 

"If you give a man a fish, he eats for the day…If you teach a man to fish, he learns to feed himself for life" 

A Baby Goat… a Kid

At the start of the week, we were at Home of Hope and came across some really cute Baby Goats (Kids) As Sarah and I were quite happy appreciating them from a distance, we didn't attempt to pick them up, Ugandans have no fear which is when they grabbed the Goats by their back legs and handed me one of them. To be fair it was very cute and I enjoyed stroking it. 

That night we were invited to Robert and Rachel's house, the couple who set up the high school, for tea. Ugandan's believe that you give your guests (especially foreigners) enormous portions. This would be ok if it was Sweet and Sour Chicken from "Lucky Star" 

They say they want to make you fat so when you go back to your own country people will notice you have put weight on and you will tell them you have been to Uganda. People will then think you get fed really well here. Being called Fat is a compliment…. Ive been complimenting Rachael and Sarah ever since.  

When they brought the food out Rachael asked what were we having, their reply…. GOAT !! 

Never again will I think a Goat is cute. 

Peter and I

 Peter's Story 

This is Peter, he is one of the Children from Home of Hope. He is HIV positive, has Cerebral Palsy and is paralysed down his right side. This really doesn't get in the way of his adorable character. 

With limited resources and very little money Home of Hope have been able to give him therapy which has resulted in him being able to walk by himself. As soon as we arrived, Peter with his unique way of running and infectious smile comes towards us and welcomes us with open arms. 

Sadly he is an orphan, his Mother died of aids while delivering Peter and his Father disowned him because he had a disability. His Grandmother couldn't look after him for any longer so now he lives at Home of Hope. 

The Ugandan culture traditionally doesn't really accept people like Peter and when I say "don't accept" I mean dumping them and disowning them.  However with the amazing work the staff do here they are trying their best to enable families to care for their children. Without the work they do, many children like Peter would not be walking or even be alive. 

There is one Girl at the home who can't use her legs, they rescued her from a room covered in her own faeces. Her apparent family would make money by sending men in to rape her. She is now really happy and well looked after.




On Sunday we took Juliet and Sam (the people who look after the guest house) out for the afternoon. This was great because it gave them a rest from looking after their children. We went swimming and as we arrived Juliet decided to announce she had never been swimming before. Its ok…..I'm lifeguard trained.

Later that day Rachael and I were swimming and a load of children started jumping on us and wanting to play. Of course we enjoyed every minute of it, throwing them in the water and swimming with them on our backs. We then found out that they were from an Orphanage down the road which the staff invited us to come along and see. So on Wednesday we went to 'Sonrise'. It is a Christian run Baby home, Children's home and Street Girls home. While waiting for them to come home, we were shown round. We were sat on the swings and the school bus pulled in. I will never forget their faces. There was a pause, stare and mouth drop from all of them as it sank in we were there to play with them. After the pause, that seemed to be in slow motion, they all erupted with so much excitement you could see the bus shaking. The bus doors opened and they came running over. I will never forget this moment.

To the left is Junior. He wouldn't let go of me at the swimming pool so we had a lot of time to bond. He was abandoned just because his parents didn't want him. They found him all alone, malnourished and with 100s of Jiggers in his feet.

With there being so many Children with shaved heads I couldn't really recognise which one was Junior when visiting the Orphanage. So I asked the staff which one is Junior. After some searching they couldn't find him and realised they had left him at school. Can I claim I rescued him?

The staff asked if I would help bathe them. I agreed to this not really knowing what was coming. I was given a bar of soap, a bucket and sent to this room with what we would refer to as an outdoor tap in it. I stood there thinking how on earth.. What the heck do I do.. Then 10 boys came running in took all there clothes off and said, "Bathe me" I panicked…. and decided to encourage a water fight, which flooded the corridor. We had fun.

When Junior returned home the staff brought him over to me. He said 'Uncle William' I gave him a big hug and he went all shy. It reminded me of when my brother Matt used to bring his mates home, I would be all excited but when they spoke to me I would go all star struck.

I was so impressed with this organisation and all the work they do. Im really excited that God has opened this door for us and look forward to working there more next week.




On Tuesday I went to the Village of Hope to eat with them and join their evening devotions. Two houses of 8 Children and a Mother come together. Again I was given a huge portion of food. While the Mother wasn't looking I would sneak a spoonful of food onto one of the kids plate. After some singing we went into prayers and one particular prayer from a young boy struck me.

"Many people wouldn't have seen the end of today, thank you that we were able to"

Here life is a real gift which they are so grateful for. It is a shame in England we have lost this.

Jarred and I

I want to finish with this story. Today I met the boy on the Left. Yesterday he was dropped off by the police at Home of Hope. He doesn't have a given name, he doesn't know his own age and they can't work out what language he speaks if any.

The police referred to him as a Street Kid. They found him in a cage where he lived. They believe that he is about 8/9 and that he has been on the streets for over 5 years. He has had to fend for himself all those years. I can't imagine what he has gone through.

My heart dropped when I heard about this so I decided to spend the whole day with him. We couldn't communicate verbally much but we certainly had a laugh together.


He doesn't seem to have a disability but the police didn't know what to do with him. The whole time he would hold on to the teddy that's in the picture which seemed to be his only familiar thing. When we were playing he fell over and scraped his arm badly. It was very interesting watching how he dealt with this. It was almost the way an adult would react. It was bleeding so I went to get some cleaning stuff and a plaster. As I was wiping his arm and putting the plaster on him he just watched me as if this was alien to him. It was like he had never been cared for.

Please pray for Jarred (this is the name the Police gave him) as he settles in, pray he feels loved and wanted. All this boy needs is love and affection and you can't do that by sending a cheque.

These are only a few of many things that have happened in the last week. Please continue to remember us in your prayers.



"Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed, share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law." Galatians 6: 2 (MSG)

My First Week in Uganda

The farewell at the airport 

So Monday morning was very sad. A few of  our family and friends turned up to wish us well and wave us off. I don't need to go into detail but I'm sure you can imagine that a few tears were shed…not mentioning any names.

The journey was very pleasant but by the time we arrived in Uganda it was dark so we stayed at a guest house in the capital. The most chilled guy I have ever met came and picked us up, called Wilson. The saying "The English have the watches but Ugandans have the time" is so relevant for Wilson. Wherever he walks, he is practically horizontal. They never stress about time and are always late for things…. I fit in very well.

Tuesday morning we hit the road and travelled towards Jinja, the town we are staying in. Travelling by car is an experience in itself. Cars, motorbikes and people are coming towards you at all angles and you think Poynton's shared space is a nightmare…. However while driving we saw some very beautiful sights. Uganda is very pretty with its green fields and banana trees surrounded by the orange and red soil. The further we got towards where we were staying it went from large office blocks to "mud hut" style houses. You would think seeing these would be fine because we see them on TV all the time, but seeing it for yourself really does hit you. Seeing past the poverty I just see really cool dens.

The road we live on

Suubi House

To the right is a picture of the guest house that we are staying in. This is purpose built by the charity for volunteers to stay in. This is luxury for most Ugandans because it has running water and power (most of the time) however for us it takes a while to get use too. I get my own room which is great and I have to sleep under a mozzy net, which makes me feel very safe.

The house is looked after by a Ugandan family. The Mother of the house is Juliet, who does the cooking and cleaning, Sam the Father of the house who looks after maintenance and their three lovely children, Tendo, Blessing and Jeff. Jeff is just learning how to speak so I've been teaching him the YMCA with actions…. VERY CUTE! Now he just shouts one of those letters at me when he sees me. There is a team of 3 girls from Australia in the guest house at the moment so Jeff and I are the men of the house keeping them all in order.

Jeff and I 

On Wednesday Sarah and I went to visit the Village of Hope for the first time. This is Hope builders main project. This is 4 acres of land with 10 houses. Each house has 8 orphans and a Mother who is typically a widow. When we arrived, the children run up to you and just want to touch your white skin. We just played with them and tried our best to remember all of their names. 

Class 1 having it's lesson outside 

On Thursday we went to visit the school, Jinja Christian School. All the children from the Village of Hope go to this school as well as many other local children. Its the typical wooden tables and black board setting. I loved the school setting and looking forward to getting involved with teaching there. 

In the evening we went to Ron and Ann's for tea. They are an Australian couple who live on the school grounds. A few years ago they only came on a 3 week trip here and were so moved that they ended up coming back for longer and setting up this school. This makes me think of my Mum and Dad, one day if I bring them, they too might end up getting the bug for it. 

On Friday we visited the markets in Jinja. The food section was a sight! Hundreds of pieces of raw meat including cows insides, just out on tables in the heat with files surrounding it. A bit different to Waitrose's meat counter hey Sarah? 

Potty time 

In the afternoon we visited "Welcome Home" This is a home for orphans that are HIV positive. This is well established and well ran so all we had to do is play and give love to the children. We started in the baby room where Sarah got thrown up on, I got peed on and Rachael…..just laughed. One little girl was 7 months old and at around 3 months old she got dumped at the gates of Welcome Home. This is very sad however she is in the best place. 

Next was the toddlers area, which is where the picture on the right is from. They are potty trained so when they had to go they just took themselves off to the middle of the playing area and did their business. Some sat there crossed their legs and just watched the world go by. I found this hilarious that they had no care in the world while sat on the potty as other children played round them…. Of course I had to join them…..  

The final area is the Children's area, they are so loving and happy considering their situation. The sad thing about this place is that the children are waiting to be adopted. The place feels like a middle ground. I just wanted to adopt them all and be "Dadda William" 

At Home of Hope 

The final project we went to visit was the "Home of Hope" which I call "Hope of Home". This is a home for orphans that have disabilities. This was the hardest thing I probably have had to do. Having a disability is hard enough but to have a disability in these conditions…. wow. A very humbling experience. When asked what I thought, I said I didn't exactly enjoy what we had to do but knew there was a need for us to be there. Most of the children have Cerebral Palsy so they couldn't even eat on their own. The staff here work so hard so it was really nice to give them a hand. However ever since we have been there, I have been thinking of some of those children at the home and I just know that God has laid them on my heart. God really does push you away from your comfort zones. I definitely will be going back there. They don't manage to get out much so we took a few of them for a walk in their wheelchairs, they laughed so hard which was very moving. 

Taking the Home of Hope Kids out

Sunday Morning was doing church Uganda style. This was interesting. The service lasts 3 hours long consisting of African worship, Prayer, a Sermon and even an open mic for anyone who wants to do a solo. Many solo's were sung this sunday…… Lots of dancing, clapping and african tribal noises were a must. Most of the Children from the Village of Hope attend this church so the whole time I was surrounded by them fighting to hold my hand. 

Pastor George and I 

This is Pastor George, he is the most amazing man ever who has 12 children, some of them are adopted orphans. His Manse is the size of my living room at home yet he still has the desire to help these children. When you are with Pastor George you feel God radiating off him. I aspire to be like him.  

When I saw he had a Cow, I told him that milking a Cow is on my bucket list. He asked if I would help him one day which I gladly excepted. I asked is your Cow friendly to which Pastor George replied….. 

"My Cow is a very 'Humble' Cow" 

I agree because when I complimented her on her udders, she was speechless. 

This was so much fun and after we had finished he let us try some, it was very tasty. This is Pastor George's main income which he makes about 25/30 pence a litre. Thats £1.75 / £2.10 a day. 

Milking the humble Cow

Ishmael and I 

Finally this is Ishmael. His Father died in December so now he is an orphan. He came running over to us to say hello. So we played with him for a bit. I have a heart for Ishmael. 

Playing with Ishmael

This first week was a great start, it brought a lot of challenging and testing experiences however I am so excited to get stuck in to what God has planned for us all. Thank you all for your continued support, it keeps us going. Hope you enjoyed reading.

But I trust in you O Lord; I say you are my God. My times are in your hand.  Psalm 31: 14-15