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