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