Nov.7 Dark Territory

Dark Territory

Uganda turned out to be a whirlwind over four days and we were unable to correspond for a number of reasons, one being the need for a Ugandan SIM card, and another being blackouts so we couldn't charge up our equipment!

After crossing the border from Rwanda, we stopped at a service station for a rest stop.  Unfortunately, as we were disembarking from the bus, one of those wicked, sudden rain squalls came up in a rage...horizontal rain, winds that shredded the large, fabric highway sign, throwing it onto the power lines and causing some sparks.  You couldn't stand under the garage canopy for shelter because the rain came and drenched everything.  Passengers scattered and we headed for the little convenience store.  The rain beat so hard against the glass doors that the store began to flood and the proprietors were rushing for brooms and rags to stop the influx of water.  Branden had to use the facilities so urgently that he ran through the downpour about 50 yards and got into the latrines which had NO roof!  He came back absolutely drenched and shaking with cold.  Back on the bus we both changed into dry t-shirts, but Branden continued to shiver uncontrollably for quite some time.  We still had another 7 or 8 hours to go before reaching Kampala.  Branden was feeling very poorly and I began suspecting malaria since he was fluctuating from a fever to chills.

When we got to the Jaguar Bus Line depot in Kampala, we were mobbed by taxi drivers vying for our business.  Meanwhile, Branden, dizzy and unable to stand is lying flat on his back, eyes closed and moaning.  One driver insisted he was going to die if he didn't take us to a hospital immediately.  I got suspicious when a lady nearby continued to loudly harass the drivers.  I asked what the problem was and she said they were thieves who had taken her money and refused to return it or give her change.  I didn't know where to go, since Prima was supposed to meet us.  One taxi driver loaned me his cell phone so I could call her since my phone wasn't working.  Prima had just called the bus service five minutes previously and was told the bus wouldn't be in until 7:00. Well, we had arrived just before 5:00.  It would take her almost an hour to get to us given it was rush hour.  Now Branden is vomiting out both ends and needs to find a washroom to clean up.  A couple of taxi drivers help him walk to a nearby restaurant with a washroom, come back for some clean clothes that I dig out of his suitcase.  We again go through the ritual of insisting that he take us to a hospital, but I insist we have a friend coming to "pick us".   Eventually, Prima shows up and the two drivers insist on being paid.  She demands, "For what?". And they reply, for offering to take us to a hospital!  But you didn't!  I took out the money I had changed at the border and she took a 5000 shilling note and gave it to them whereupon they began to fight over the note and how it should be divided.   (Equal to about $2.00).

Prima took us to the International Medical Center located at Watoto Church, formerly Kampala Pentecostal Church.  The doctor took him in immediately, ran a complete blood work up and had the results in less than 30 minutes.  No malaria.  It was food poisoning.  An IV drip with two litres of saline  and glucose, an injection to stop the vomiting and a regimen of antibiotics.  If he improved within two hours, he might not hospitalize him.  In two hours, the fever and headache were gone and Branden, now feeling good somewhat better, was able to stand and walk quite well.  Prima drove us to the Watoto Guest House in Kansanga.  We got there about 10:30 at night.  It was a long day, over 18 hours since we had woken up to catch our taxi to the bus station in Kigali.

Tuesday (Day 2)

Early to rise, with breakfast at 7 a.m. We are picked up at 7:30 and arrive at 8:30 for team devotions.  There are 600 people present, some of them country representatives who have been here for director's meetings over the past week and a half, people from Canada, USA, Norway, Holland, UK, Australia and other countries.  An amazing worship band leads off for about 20 minutes and then we have some reports from team leaders in charge of self-sustainability projects.  There are amazing reports of the progress in establishing farms, chicken ranches, goat herds, vocational and trade schools that all contribute to the sustainability of the community.  In northern Uganda, two parcels of land, one 600 acres and another 1000 acres in size have been purchased for farms.  A good report included the construction of a dam 20 acres in size that would irrigate the 200 acre vegetable farm and store enough water to carry them through the dry season.

Bonny was assigned to us as the Watoto leader who would be our guide for the duration of our stay.  He and Benson were absolutely amazing, full of information and good ideas.  Benson was our van driver, and I must compliment him on his skills and patience, driving in the Kampala traffic.  Kampala was designed for a city of 65,000, but it now has a population of 3 million, with another million commuting in and out of the city each day for work!  The traffic jambs are horrible, causing commuters to spend up to 5 hours a day in their commute.

In the morning, we went out to the 207 acre farm that is almost in full production with crops like corn, maize, watermelon, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots,  cabbages, sweet potatoes and rice.  We were told that last  year they harvested 35,000 tonnes of rice from 70 acres.  A lot of the crops are planted in sequence so that the crops mature over a period of time rather than just the one harvest.  A lot of the crops are used to feed the 2400 orphans in the Watoto Villages.  This was the farm where they have constructed the 20 acre dam and have irrigation pipes throughout the fields so dry season will not have the dire impact it usually does.  With irrigation, it's possible to grow 3 full crops a year.  Uganda is on the equator, thus creating ideal conditions for growing.

We visited the chicken production plant where they currently have 8200 3 month old chickens that should start laying eggs in February 2014.  The entire operation is automated, from feeding to watering and egg delivery to the egg crating room.  Plans are for two more chicken barns which will result in approximately 2000 dozen eggs per day.  It will have a positive impact on the community providing local employment and supplying eggs and meat.

We then visited the goat pens where there are a couple hundred goats that provide about 500 litres of milk per day.  There were a whole lot of goats in the milking stalls ready for milking.  Each goat has an ID number and the quantity of milk from each goat is logged at each milking.  It was the funniest thing getting Branden to milk a goat.  He was squeamish and uncertain and freaked out just touching the udder and teats.  Eventually, he did manage to produce a couple of streams of milk!  It provided a lot of laughter for the hands present as they observed his antics and exclamations.

We went back to the church for the supper hour, and then back to the guest house for bedtime.

Wed (Day 3)

Pick up was a little later because of heavy traffic. We first went to "Bulrushes", the Watoto Baby House.  Interestingly, it is located on one of the seven hills of Kampala where all the important buildings, the seats of power and economy, are located;  the parliament buildings, the state house, the Supreme Court and justice buildings, and the 5 star hotels.  The Baby House formerly housed the officers quarters during the reign of Idi Amin Dada.  It had been confiscated from Asian owners under the Asian Properties Act.  After Amin was deposed, the property sat vacant for quite awhile.  Watoto saw an opportunity  for an orphanage for abandoned children, so close to the seat of power for the country, much as the baby Moses in Egypt survived under a death decree by being placed in a basket in the bulrushes and being rescued by the Pharaoh's daughter and raised under the shadow of the authority in the land.

This is the first orphanage I have ever seen that is equipped with incubators.  Newborns, including pre-mature infants, are rescued from hospitals, garbage heaps and latrines.  "Rescued, Raised, Restored" is the motto of Watoto Childcare Ministries.  The number of babies under care during our visit was 32, but there have been as many as 120 under care at one time.  The babies remain here until about the age of two and then are integrated into a family unit in one of the Watoto Village homes to be raised in a family unit with a "mom and dad and siblings".  Children with disabilities are kept longer because they need specialized care.  We found some that had cerebral palsy, scoliosis, blindness, asthma and other debilitating diseases.  But they were all being loved and cared for.  The staff is amazing!  There are nurses and trained professionals and pre-screened volunteers who give the babies the care they need.  We were surprised by the height of little sinks in the washrooms, just 16" off the floor, giving toddlers ready access to washing facilities so they learn good hygiene.  Our visit here was very moving as we were able to hug and hold these babies.

Richard had spent a year on oxygen.  Now at 3 years of age, he is very lively and has an attention span of 15 seconds before he's off running or climbing onto something.  We turned around to find he had overturned a desk on the lawn and climbed up onto the pedestal like a monkey.  He didn't seem to need any oxygen at all now and will likely graduate to a proper home environment.  I was able to hold him for less than a minute, the whole while his head turning in every direction for his next conquest.  It took 5 attempts for Branden to finally snap a picture with Richard looking towards the camera!  We met Jason in special care.  Jason has cerebral palsy and scoliosis and had contracted pneumonia.  He was on oxygen to help him breathe.  Couldn't help but stop and pray for him. There were six volunteers from Newfoundland who had come to help care for these children, some coming for six weeks, others for a little longer.

 We then headed out to Subbi Village which has 1240 of the 2400 children.  We had met Brian earlier at CLA in Kigali where he is the head cook.  He comes from Subbi and asked us to greet his family there, which we did.  Mama Maureen is a widow with 4 of her own girls (now grown up and in university) who is now a house mom to 4 girls.  Josephine and Bernadette (aged 19 and 20) and Jemima (11) hosted us for lunch.  Lunch included matoke (cooked green bananas), potatoes,  cooked peas and carrots, beans, sweet potatoes, beef stew, peanut sauce and cabbage.  It was delicious!  

We brought some gifts for the children, but they are pooled in storage for special occasions, like Christmas, and distributed fairly to all the children.  We interfered just a little, asking for a little grace for the girls who had prepared lunch for us.  They received a small note pad and pen, and were so delighted.  Whew, third suitcase down.

After lunch we toured the trades section where students are able to learn automotive, metal work, welding, amd carpentry.  A tradesman came from Canada and trained 4 young men over a three month period, who in turn trained others, now numbering about 50.  At the facility, they make the furniture, chairs, metal window frames and everything the homes need as they are built.  Very impressive!  Each new home is a duplicate of all the others that have been built.

Thurs. (Day 4)

We left at 7 a.m. and headed for Jinja at the headwaters of the Nile River where it flows out of Lake Victoria.  Three countries share this massive lake with lots of papyrus flourishing on its banks.  We took a chance that we might arrive in time to catch a rafting trip.  We arrived just before 10 a.m.  A group had arrived at the rafting company office at 8:30 and were still there waiting to leave, having donned life jackets and helmets.  Could we join them for a half day of whitewater rafting on the Nile River?  Had we booked in advance?  No.  But Moses talked to the big Australian, suggesting we could ride on the support raft and be picked up at a certain point by Bonny and Benson in the van.  So it was that Branden got to live out a dream and take on Class 4, 5 and 6 rapids on the Nile!  Well, the Class 6 we portaged half way down before putting in the rafts in a slightly calmer section of the rapids.  We got good and wet, often jumped out of the raft in the warm, calm waters and hung on for dear life in the raging waters.  Three hours later we were put ashore to join Bonny and Benson with the van.  We drove back to Kampala for a fantastic Thursday evening service on our last night in Africa. We stopped to get a couple of pizzas to go as we made our way to Entebbe and the International Airport.

Farewell Africa and all the new friends!  Wheels up at 1 a.m. on Friday morning.  We flew for 18 hours plus a 2 hour layover at Heathrow in London to land in Seattle at 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning.  How do you get to live the same day twice?  We caught a bus from Seatac at 3 pm for Surrey, BC.  Hello Canada and home!  And unforgettable 3 weeks...

Rwanda Wrap Up

The last couple of days have been ones of finishing up our time in Kigali, Rwanda.  Saturday was a homework day for Branden.  Remarkably, he has not only caught up, but completed all his assignments.  That gives both of us some relief as I don't have to keep on him about it.  We also took time to hand wash all of our dirty clothing and set them out to dry on the porch railings.  With all that work, we also had to have an afternoon nap.

Our bus tickets also arrived for our trip to Uganda.  What we were quoted was 10,000 francs each, but having Sarah get our tickets for us, we got them for 8,000 each.  That's about C$12.00 each!  Compare that to flights ranging from $950 on Kenya Air and $1800 on Ethiopian Air for two of us.  White a savings, I'd say.

We spent time visiting people on campus over lunch.  Especially Brian, who is from Kampala and had a lot of good information for us.  He is actually from one of the Watoto Villages.  He gave us his house number and wants us to visit his home.  That may even be possible!

Sunday morning we went to church here at CLA, but Branden had a bout of something that sent him running for the washrooms.  No need to elaborate, but we have been laying low all Sunday afternoon.  We met up with Fulgence who came to bid us farewell from his country.  We had supper together and a good visit.

We met another interesting young man of 28, named Felix.  He survived the genocide at 11 years of age and described to us the conditions at the time.  It was horrible and hard to imagine.  He has studied to be an accountant and will finish his fourth and final year in August.  Bit his passion is to serve God and bring reconciliation to his nation.  There are many here who have been marred by the genocide, having lost family, missing some who fled to Uganda or Tanzania.  Now some of the refugees are returning as things have returned to some normalcy in Rwanda.  But the damage done inside of people will take a long time to heal.  We have met so many of the casualties and they have their struggles coping in various ways.  I have a much better idea of what post traumatic stress syndrome is.

Well, our next communication will be from Uganda.  Looking forward to it.

Nov 1. Return to Kigali

Once again it was an early morning at Peter and Diane's, but this time Branden and I packed our backpacks so we could leave from the school and head for Kigali.  There were still some things to firm up regarding the next leg of our adventure, traveling to Uganda.

Once again we got to ride in the cool of the day in our short sleeved shirts while Peter and Diane donned clothing fit for fall or early winter. Branden and I didn't find it too cold.  Even the motorcycle drivers had coats and scarves over their faces.

At the school, Peter and I spent some time going over his plans for 'rent to own' sewing machines and how to calculate fair trade value for work the women would be doing, either mending and alterations, or sewing custom clothing.  As the women startup a small business enterprise, some may need a micro loan to get going. We fleshed out a plan that could be taught the women so they could determine a fair value for their services.

We struck out for the bus stop well before lunch.  The first bus was already packed and we would be forced to sit on the uncomfortable fold down aisle seats.  We turned the tickets back in and demanded a refund.  We paid top price for the tickets and we wanted a comfortable seat this time.  We would wait for the next bus.  And a good thing we did.  The next bus was almost empty.  We took the back seat as we would probably be the last ones off.  Finally we had leg room.  This was a little larger bus than the matatu minivans.

We got into Kigali in good time and I followed the route into the city on "Maps" on my phone which showed us where we were.  Instead of getting off at Nyamagogo which is quite a ways from our quarters, we jumped off in unfamiliar territory and asked two mototaxis to take us to CLA/Wellspring Academy.  One of them new where it was and we were off.  Only 5 minutes and we were there.  A lot sooner than the 15 it took us on the day we left.

Now we needed to organize for our Kampala trip.  I went to the office to pay for our guest house lodging and in passing asked the girl about the bus to Kampala.  Wouldn't you know it, turns out Sarah is from Kampala and has taken the same bus many times.  What we didn't know was you had to pre-purchase tickets for the bus.  It meant another trip to Nyamagogo.  But Sarah offered to pick up the tickets for us and bring them on Saturday.  At the Main office, I was trying to arrange for a taxi for 4:30 am Monday morning.  Both those girls were also from Uganda and found an English speaking taxi driver who would come that early in the morning and get us to the bus on time.  Then there was the matter of arriving in Kampala without Ugandan currency, no SIM card for the phone and no phone number for the guest house we will be staying at. I checked my email and Susan from Nairobi office bad contacted her sister in law in Kampala who had already agreed to pick us up.  Amazing!  Everything was set without hardly any effort on my part!  How does that work?  In Kin-rwandan, "Murkoze, Emana".  Thank you, God!

Well, not much else to do now than go for a late lunch/early supper and catch up on posting blogs and Facebook messages for the evening.

Oct.31. School in Ryabega Village

The house comes astir at 5:00 o'clock with the sound of roosters in the yard and the maid setting the table and the clanging of pots and pans and she begins preparations for breakfast cooked on a charcoal burner.  We sit down to a meal of pancakes with peanut butter, honey or jam toppings and coffee.  We are out the door at seven to two waiting moto taxis and wait for two more to arrive.  Because they are late they are called "masasa" or old men because they move so slow.  Actually the term is one of respect if you happen to be older, like me.

It's about a 15 minute ride to the village school where Peter and Diane teach.  The school is actually in someone's home where the living room and dining room have been rented and transformed into a sewing classroom complete with blackboard and treadle sewing machines made in China.  The dynamics are interesting as Peter and Diane teach through an interpreter and a national teacher teaches by writing notes and drawings on the blackboard.  It's a very thorough 6-month program at the end of which the students receive a certificate.  There are two sets of students a day, one class in the morning and one in the afternoon.  They range in age from 20 to 50.  Some of the students become very good at sewing and go on to successfully start a home business and to support their families.  They can use the sewing machines and make purses, handbags and clothing to sell.  The sales are split 3 ways between fabric costs, sewing machine repair and maintenance, and student income.  It doesn't take long before a student has raised enough money to buy their own machine.  Each class starts with prayer and a devotional for half an hour and then the classwork begins.  Peter is working with local pastors and church leaders to see the construction of a sewing center for a proper school and a cooperative that will produce items for sale and generate income to support the teaching staff.

While Branden was excited to try his hand at sewing on a treadle machine, Peter and I took a long walkabout through the village.  We visited the site of the new sewing center that is being built which should be finished by the new year and receive final inspection and approval by the government.  The sewing center will serve as a classroom for teaching sewing and also a cooperative where former students can sew articles for sale or garments by order.  It's great concept that will help women become self-employed and self-reliant.

On a construction note, they were digging the septic system which looks like a three-foot diameter well that is hand dug about 40 feet into the ground. One, and is down in the hole with a shortened pick and shovel, another is on top with a rope and bucket to pull up the dirt from below.  There are foot hold carved into the side of the banks of the Bole.  I peered down into the hole and could barely see some movement as the man was probably over 25 feet down to the bottom.  A good way to bring on a case of claustrophobia!  They don't  use cribbing or any of the safety protocols we have in Canada.  The sewer system empties into the capped off hole and fluids gradually seep into the ground.  Solids eventually just compost and there you have it, a septic system.

Our walk took us past a one room home where a man and his wife and three children lived.  They don't seem to need a lot to be content.  Here you can host dig up red dirt, add a little water and form mud bricks that are then dried in the sun.  When they assemble the bricks into walls they just moxie ip so fresh batch of mud and "glue" them together.  The government is now insisting that public buildings like churches use fired bricks.  All buildings need to be covered inside and out with a cement stucco coating.  It prevents deterioration and possible collapse during heavy rains and flooding.  We walked through planted fields of maize and corn and beans, staples here in Rwanda.

Our walkabout took us to the village center where new shops were in various stages of completion.  Only a couple actually sported signs.  We continued on to where a daughter church had been constructed and enough money had recently been raised to install the doors a day windows.  There is actually quite a building boom going on and Peter pointed out all the houses that had sprung up in just the past year.  As we passed mud home after mud home, the children who are out of school right now until January, would come running out to us and hug our legs or waist.  Their clothing is the same color as the ground because they sleep on the ground.

We got back to the classroom and ate the lunch Alphonsina had prepared for us.  During the afternoon class Branden and I distributed bouncy balls, skipping ropes and postcards out on the street.  Branden played soccer in the dirt lane with a dozen neighborhood kids and sure looked like it afterwards.  To go home, we walked to the highway and flagged down a Toyota pickup.  Peter and Diane got in the front and Branden and I climbed into the box.  It's amazing how many people wave and smile along the way.

We were dropped near the open market and went in search of inexpensive fabrics for Diane's sewing students.  I was able to barter some good deals as well and donated the fabric to the school.  We had a bit of an entourage following us through the market and a lot of laughing and yelling.  When we had more than we could almost carry, we summoned moto taxis and the four of us headed home.  Long days and you sure are ready for bed by 8:30.  So ends our first full day in Ryabega.

Oct 30. Nyagatare

In the morning, I did some laundry by hand, had a shower and repacked in preparation for a trip north to Nyagatare.  We took moto taxis to the Nyamagogo Bus station.  It only cost us 1000 francs each or $1.50 for a 15 minute ride.  Pretty reasonable, I'd say.  We asked at the front gate which bus would take us to Nyagatare and immediately a young man called us to follow him through the crowded bus lines to a matatu (15 passenger mini-bus) already crammed with people and often crammed with as many as 21 people and not all of them small as Branden found out.  They squeezed us on board and we waited...and waited.  We noticed the front seats were up and the engine cover was up on the front seats.  Looking out the window we saw a couple guys and the driver comparing some parts with some more on the ground.  I didn't recognize the parts very quickly, but they looked similar to starter solenoids.  We were sure we were catching the 2:00 o'clock bus, but were we sure we were going to Nyagatare?  The sign on the bus showing fares along the route didn't seem to include the name of our destination, but we were assured that we were on the right bus!

Finally, at 5 minutes past the hour, the engine roared to life and the engine cover and front seats assumed their normal position.  We had been told the bus trip would be around 2 to 2.5 hours long.  Well, this bus stopped frequently to let off 3 passengers and let 4 more on.  How is it even possible?  The traffic in the city of Kigali was really congested and sllw moving, but once we got out on the en highway there was only large lorries to contend with.  Underpowered with the weight of too many passengers, the bus driver still tried to pass everything on the road, including transportation trucks.  At one point we were halfway past a transport and the driver had to use the brakes (thank God those still worked) to slow down and slip in behind the transport before coming heading with a gravel truck.  There are always a number of close calls that make you wonder if you made the right decision about the trip.  One lady that got on the bus at a particular stop eating dedicated up sitting by Branden.  She was a bit taken with him and tried communicating with every Effort glish word she could muster.  Failing in that, she dug out some oranges and offered him one which he declined.  She would not be deterred.  She peeled the orange and was about to hand feed it to Branden.  He decided to take the now-peeled orange and feed himself.  Eventually, after more stops than we could count, we were told to transfer to another minibus that would take us to our destination.  The purser wanted 6000 francs and we were told not to pay another fare on the new bus.  I saw our driver pay the other driver from the funds we had given him. OK.  It's a good thing it wasn't much farther to Nyagatare because a rather large woman got on board and took the place of the 'orange girl'.  I was scrunched up in the back seat with my knees around my ears.  Branden was squished between me and the big one.  We're we ever glad when the bus pulled to a stop at our destination about 10 minutes later.

We got into Nyagatare about 5:30, only a half hour before dark.  We were immediately surrounded by moto drivers on their bikes wanting us to hire them to go where?  We didn't know where to go as we expected Peter would be there waiting for us.  One moto driver pushed up to Branden and asked him if he was a boy or a girl.  His hair is short enough that it was hard to tell for an African, and besides, he was wearing lime green shorts that were gender neutral, so the guy felt he could honestly ask the question.  Branden was pretty angry about that, but he remained calm and didn't give the guy a knuckle sandwich.  We moved over beside a soldier carrying an automatic weapon, exchanged pleasantries and called Peter on the two numbers he had given me.  The call would not go through on either number.  What now? I sent a request to his Facebook address, still no response.  Meanwhile, we are drawing a lot of attention from bystanders and it is getting darker.  I find a phone number for Diane and rang it.  Whew!  Diane answered and Peter is at home waiting for my call, which I had tried both on the bus and at the bus stop. He would be on his way shortly.  I think I asked at least three times if he was on his way yet and he hadn't even left the house!  Finally, Diane said he was out the door and on his way, really.  Eventually, he showed up on a moto taxi. That's what they usually use for transportation. We hired two more and rode to his place, arriving at 6:00 just as the curtain of night dropped down around us.

Alphonsina, the house maid, had a wonderful supper prepared for us and I caught up with about 17 years that had passed since I last saw Peter and Diane in Watson Lake, Yukon.  They are now over here in Rwanda affiliated with Youth with a Mission.  I called my Diane in Canada on Skype to let her know we had arrived safely.  I forgot to close the call as the phone was passed from person to person.  During that time I brought out the package my Diane had prepared and sent along for our friends.  It was Thanksgiving dinner!  Including a stuffed turkey!  Well, their was an excited scream as I brought out each item and placed it on the table.  A can of pumpkin pie filling, a can of cranberries, 2 packages of gravy mix, 2 packages of Idaho mashed potatoes, a package of cake mix, cupcake liners, scented candles in glass candleholder and a hotpad.  Then I dug deep to bring out the stuffed turkey.  Now I have taken a real frozen turkey all the way to Thailand, to be sure.  With baited breath, everyone waited as I slowly pulled out a ”webkins” stuffed toy turkey!  The beauty of it was that my Diane heard it all through the open phone line on Skype without us realizing it!

Soon after all the excitement, we prepared to call it a night as Peter and Diane's day starts early at 5:00 a.m. And we are going to be up and gone with them at 7:00 a.m. to the school.