Laughter and tears

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Where to start! It has been five weeks since the first short blog at Heathrow and what a five weeks. It has been five weeks of laughter and tears, getting to know new people and a new culture.



A background of Uganda.



Population 36 million.

Over 20 tribes.

93,104 sq miles.

English official language. Swahili and Lugandan widely spoken.

Mostly Christian.

Land locked . 20 o/o of country covered by lakes. Lying on the equator the rest, tropical rain forest, savannah and mountains.

Tropical climate.



We are here in the rainy season which started in August and goes on until December. It rains every day to different degrees. From rain so heavy the landscape disappears into a mist in seconds to longer periods of steady rain. In between the sun can be very hot and mostly when it is raining we wouldn't retreat indoors but squeeze under one of the covered tables in the garden to chat and drink endless cups of tea.



Our team consists of a building team and medical team but we are one big team which became even more obvious as the time passed. A mixture of back grounds, education, religions, ages and spread over the UK came together as a whole.

Judith and Mark, Steve and I and Derek and Sue were the three married couples. Then there was Margaret and Gill, friends. Aaron, Cat, Xavier, Jane, Alison, Ian and Kirsty who is a new member of staff with Mission Direct who send staff to experience what the volunteers do. Organising the project in country the team were Lisella (medical) and Simon (building).

We arrived in Uganda after an 8 hour flight to the first challenge of moving 40+ bags of luggage and aid without trolleys in sight. Entebbe airport is pretty basic! This was our first challenge of team work.



There is so much to tell that I will start with the first two weeks when Steve and I were mostly working separately. Didn't see much of each other except at our customary tea after work when we would all come together to chat I would be with the Medical team and Steve with the building team. I will start with my account of those two weeks and Steve will add his later. After our first experience of Ugandan cuisine at our overnight stop Banana Village a short drive from the airport we had a fitful nights sleep and a very early morning to start the 10 hour journey to Rukungiri. This was a time for getting to know the group and meet out wonderful gentle giant driver, Columbus. You could not be in safer hands. On the journey there was plenty of time for chatting. First stop, The Equator for photo and water experiment that proved that the water really does go down the plug hole in opposite directions each side of the equator (only a few feet apart ) and straight down directly on it! Onwards passing small communities and larger towns, ever changing scenery, waving smiling children, stalls selling produce, unpredictable road conditions (known as an African massage). All along the route we were greeted as a novelty. Muzungus (white people) in parts of Uganda are still rarely seen. Children and adults alike waved and smiled as we passed. There was an eclipse of the sun which we were lucky enough to see through several pairs of glasses and squinted eyes. We stopped along the way for a delicious lunch and Steve had a little accident with some very hot milk in his lap. With a group of nurses (one of which, me, works at a burns hospital) and two GP s at his disposal and a lot of cold water I can report no damage done.



We arrived tired and aching to a warm welcome in darkness. Water and electricity being unpredictable commodities here. After settling into our rooms we had a tasty filling dinner. Food in Uganda is very much carb based. Meat being expensive. Rice, Irish (british potatoes) and matoke (a plantain type vegetable) being present at most meals. We did get meat at Rondavels. Steve was noticing how many chickens were left in the coop and by the end of the second week there were none! We had chicken , lamb and pork. None particularly tender or plentiful but tasty. After moving ( not for the last time) the aid cases we retired to not the peace off a small African town but noisy all night celebrations of the nearby Church!



An early start for devotions(this being a Christian Charity). We found this a little awkward to start with but soon felt more comfortable as we got to know the rest of the team and realised we were not the only 'non Christians' in the group.

For the medical team day one was spent visiting some of the areas we would be working in over our time here. Our driver Eliakim also a lovely man. His English not quite as good as Columbus but a safe driver none the less. Number one being Nyakabali Hospital which has operating theatres as well as a mixture a wards and the School of Nursing and Midwifery. I described this as 'an assault of the senses' and could not have been further out of my comfort zone. For me a very moving experience. I had a picture of what to expect but coupled with the heat, noise and smells it was worse than I expected. It appeared on the surface to be very unorganised and dirty. Hygiene levels very poor. Lack of resources and basic equipment. Beds rusty mostly without mossie nets. Malaria still being one of the main reasons for hospital admission. It's hard to put into words. The positive experience there and everywhere was the greeting and welcome we received from the Ugandans. Always beaming smiles, a firm hand shake and 'you are welcome' . It was agreed that the following day I would be going back to Nyakabali to spend time in theatre to look at how they recover patients. A daunting prospect! Our visits to Kysheni Clinic and Rugarama, a small cottage hospital where a theatre is being set up were not nearly as bad even though basic. So work was to begin on the Tuesday for us. The medical team, Margaret and Gill, retired nurses. Cat, practice nurse. Jane and Xavier, G P's. Sue, pharmacist. Lisella, team leader. A fantastic team of people who I thoroughly enjoyed working with and spending time with. We all supported each through good and bad times, in sickness and in health. To explain. Hand hygiene very important here. The water in the taps isn't clean so gel used frequently and always after handling money. The accommodation at Rondavels very basic and not particularly clean, by our standards, and so over the two weeks several people were struck down with diarrhoea.



Evenings were spent in various ways dependant on the programme. One evening John, who owns Rondavels, and has been responsible for setting up several initiatives talked to us about how he got to where he is. He was a down and out alcoholic not far from death when he went to a church for help. It's hard to describe from a non Christian point of view but he felt he had been healed. He has set up schools, a vocational centre and farm for disadvantaged children and youths to give them prospects. Another was spent with Sue and Sunday (Sues right hand man).The ' in country' team here are a married couple, Simon and Sue. They came to Uganda as volunteers like us and have now been living here since 2010. They do not receive a wage and have to raise the money any way they can to afford to stay here. This is mostly from UK support in the form of sponsorship. Sue has now her own charity, Mission4water. She and her team travel Uganda putting in bore holes so that the people can have clean water. So far they have completed 37. This is in partnership with an American Charity. Lack of clean water is at the root of illness and disease in Uganda. It isn't unusual to see people collecting water in jerry cans from dirty streams at the side of the road where animals are sharing the water and mosquitoes are plentiful. A contradiction when we are here in the rainy season and every day it rains!



Other evening entertainment included sorting of aid, mind blowing when it was all laid out in the hall. When out of cases we had all brought with us from the UK the variety and quantity was staggering. We sorted in into categories before it was sorted for the areas it would be given to. Very enjoyable. Watching a film, The Fastest Indian. A traditional group of dancers and drummers, fast, loud, colourful. Wonderful. The 3 year old girl stole the show! Sitting round a camp fire, drinking beer playing fizz buzz and a new game to us, Mafia. Great evening. Thanks Xavier for your brilliant accents we saw a different side to you that night. My sides ached from laughing. A games evening which consisted of a short play written by Mark and with parts by Cat, Alison and Xavier. Hilarious. Mark has a wonderful dry sense of humour. This was followed by a very sad song about a special goat called Ella composed and sung by Aaron (more about Ella later) and then a pub quiz organised by Ian.



The days for the medical team were quite tiring with little time off. So Tuesday dawned and we visited Rugarama cottage hospital. Rugarama consists of an out patients, maternity and inpatients ward. There are clinics held here for gynae. Warm welcome as always from Patrick (administrator) and the rest of the team. Margaret and I felt very comfortable there and Dr Medad wanted advice about his new theatre that he is setting up which I agreed I would do as some point. Education and training is very welcome here so plans were made as to what and when we would all teach. Mine being Basic Life Support. Then onto Nyakabali theatres with Margaret who had agreed to come with me for moral support. Little did we know what life changing event lay ahead.



When we arrived we were shown into the theatre changing room which consisted of a small room with a cupboard and two pairs of odd scrubs which by some amazing coincidence fitted both Margaret and myself! We were then very much left to our own devices. There are two theatres and this day both were working. My first sight of inside the theatres was shocking. A theatre bed sat in the middle of a bare grubby room. There were two rusty drip stands, an oxygen compressor with a pair of dirty well used nasal specs attached, a trolley with instruments on, litter on the floor and a man on the bed having an infected leg wound debrided and closed under a spinal anaesthetic. Asepsis in these conditions impossible to achieve. We located the recovery area! A laminated notice on the wall outside the theatre. Again no oxygen. Oxygen isn't seen anywhere. In theatres or on the wards. The laminate was good with similar guidelines as used at home as to when the patient would be safe to go to the ward. I didn't get to to see a patient after a general to see what actually happened. We investigated the 'drugs cupboard' . No two key system here. One small cupboard with a very small selection of drugs. Ketamine is used a lot as is Halothane. No IV analgesia is given during surgery or after. Only IM which is pethidine mostly. By this time the leg surgery had finished and we were observing when a heavily pregnant lady came walking in with a gown on which didn't cover very much of her swollen belly. She was due to have caesarean. We decided to observe. It was to be done under spinal. She was helped onto the bed and then as the team got things ready was ignored. It was at this point at at future times that it would become apparent the lack of bedside manner and explaining to the patient happens here. In the UK a patient will receive all care when spending time in hospital. This isn't the case in Uganda. The personal care of the patient, bedding, washing of clothes and food is expected to be supplied by friends and family. Therefore the staff do not build a relationship with the patient and appear quite cold towards them. A cultural difference we found hard as nurses.



The anaesthetist prepared his spinal tray with worrying lack of asepsis. We were both finding it difficult. We didn't want to offend or overstep any boundaries but this poor lady by then looked terrified. The anaesthetist proceeded with the spinal without explanation or reassurance which we gave. When he had finished he pulled her down onto the bed by her shoulder where she lay totally naked. This was particularly shocking as we had strict guidelines of dress when working. Not to show our knees. This lady must had felt incredibly vulnerable and exposed in more ways than one. A second cannula was inserted without firstly cleaning the skin. It was obviously painful and Margaret held her hand which is where she stayed for the rest of her surgery. She didn't understand English but she understood kind words, facial expressions and touch in any language! She was cleaned and draped and the surgery started. For those of you with a delicate disposition I apologise. It took a very long time for the first few cuts. The scalpels are reused and this one was obviously not sharp! It felt like ages but I think it was about 20 mins to get to the womb. Then suddenly an opening appeared and out popped a chubby grey leg. I have never seen a baby born before, let alone in such circumstances. It appeared quite brutal how the rest of the baby was yanked through the small opening with the head last to appear. It was grey and silent and it seemed an age before the baby girl suspended by her feet started to cry. So did I !!! The nurse took the baby and wiped it clean whilst chatting to each other. They started to walk towards the Mum but then stopped to talk to the surgeon. I wanted to take that baby from them and show it to her Mum. Eventually they briefly showed the baby to her before whisking her off again. As she was born we had visibly seen merconium. Some of which was around and in the wound which was very quickly and without much care sewn up. Margaret and I then had to leave. We were both visibly moved by our experience and were both concerned about the Mum and her chances of post op infection. This played on our minds. This isn't the end of this story! Nurses regularly reflect and we had reflection time at the end of each day as we had often been split over different sites during the day and it was a good chance to talk things over with each other. We would share the day. What had challenged, shocked, pleased, saddened us. It was useful after such an experience as this.



Margaret and I spent time at Rugarama where we were greeted warmly each day by Patrick. On one such visit there didn't appear much that we could do but on being shown to a room to put our bags discovered the nurse on duties 3 month old baby happily on the bed. It is quite common for staff to bring their babies to work. Often they are strapped around their middles in the style of a piggy back. Whilst in the from in the corner coated in dirt was an electric observation machine much like those I use back home. It and a lot of other equipment we found had been donated by an American charity that collects and donates out of date hospital equipment. We alerted Patrick to our discovery and with him organised for 'Aussie Bob' who is an electrician and comes here for several months each year to have a look at it tomorrow. It would be great for use in the new theatre. We also delivered the medical aid that we had shared out between the three sites. Patrick was very pleased with it. We have noticed that the aid we have delivered is much admired when it is placed on shelves and in cupboards. We just hope that it is used and not just admired! Margaret and I spent our last working time at Rugarama in the maternity ward. We chatted to the nurse and a lady called for her 36 week ante natal visit. I was able under guidance to palpate her tummy to feel the head down getting ready to engage. This was this ladies 8th pregnancy. Ugandans tend to have large families although contraception is available everything here is paid for at the point of contact and money is not plentiful. The other issue here is that the man is very much the head of the family. In many areas women cannot own property only chattels such as pots and pans. In Northern Uganda the women is still the property of the man so therefore anything she has is his. Many men still see the number of children they have as prestige and they do not have any part in caring for them. Women fear that if they do not keep producing their husband will leave them for someone who will. Responsible men are realising this cannot continue. Columbus our driver being such a man. He has two children and although asked by family when he may produce more knows that this is the number of children he can afford to feed, clothe, house and educate.



During our two weeks the team have given on teaching on many subjects.

Hypertension, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, family planning, pharmacology and basic life support. I had great fun teaching Basic Life Support to various size groups at all three sites. It caused a lot of giggling when we got them singing along to Staying Alive and they all love a certificate! We do not realise how lucky we are with the facilities in our clinics, surgeries, hospitals, ambulance and other emergency services. In the main hospital. No piped oxygen. Didn't see any cylinders either. As for a defibrillator. They have never heard of one. The only place I found they had some oxygen was at Rugarama where it's in a store room under lock and key for emergencies!



I haven't yet mentioned Kysheni clinic much. This was where I spent the least amount of time but a wonderful place in a small village just outside Rukungiri. It is run by a small team. It has a few beds for inpatients. When we first visited there were an 8 year old and another man were inpatients being treated for malaria. The lovely nurse Fiona is only 22. She works 24hrs a day most of the time. She would snatch sleep when she could so that she could give the patients their meds when they were due. She is beautiful with a captivating smile and loves a hug. She lives away from her family but we never heard her complain. It is very humbling. I spent an enjoyable morning teaching and listening to Doctor Janes talk on family planning.



The weekend arrived and we all had Saturday afternoon off. The plan was for a ramble up to a place called Prayer Mountain. We are 5000 ft above sea level here and at first even the slightest bit of exertion would have us all puffing like steam engines. Except that is for Cat, Xavier and Jane who go jogging. It was a beautiful route. Winding our way upwards with amazing views to left and right. All along the way we joined by groups of children who would walk with us shouting"muzungu, how are you". As soon as a camera is visible they would crowd around for a photo and then love to see the result. The pinnacle, when we reached it was beautiful. A church perched on an outcrop with a 180 degree view.



On the Middle Sunday we all went off to church. Columbus' church. This was a highlight for both Steve and I. It was going to be a thanks giving service so as is a custom here parishioners would bring produce to auction at the end of the service and then the money is used for the poor of the parish.



Time is so different in Uganda which is great when you get used to it. When we arrived there were a few people milling around. Then two drummers outside the church called people to church. Very stirring. We were guests of honour and had been invited for lunch afterwards with the rev and his wife. What can I say. It was how I imagined and better. The singing, music. Wonderful!! Gradually the church became completely full. We all had to introduce ourselves to much laughing and clapping. Particularly when Steve mentioned I was his wife. Much clapping! Xavier and Ian took part in the service. Xavier, very impressively and to the amusement of the congregation, in the local dialect! A member of the Sunday school, A girl of around 12 sang the most beautiful solo. Starting quite shyly her confidence grew as she sang. Wonderful. Then to the auction. I hope you have all been paying attention and remember a goat named Ella being mentioned. Well this is where we return to her story. So we were at the end of the service and as the congregations voices filled the church they came forward with offerings. Much more than we expected, potatoes sugarcane spears towering above as they swayed down the aisle, cherry eggplants by the bag and basket, sweet potatoes piled high in hand woven baskets, pots, pineapples, bananas and the piece de resistance a goat later to be named by Aaron, Ella! So the auction started with the goat up first. Aaron was determined to win the goat which with a little bidding by the Rev to increase the price he did, for 150,000 shillings and home she came with us on the bus to Rondavels until she would go to her new home.



We all got into the bidding with Simon attempting to keep a record of how much we had spent and the Rev bidding to get those prices up, which we would later divide between the group. I won some pineapples one of which I gave to the 12 year old soloist to be thanked with the most beautiful beaming smile when a lady in front of us translated for me. Between us we bought a lot of produce which we gave away to the poorest in the congregation. Columbus handed the bananas out to the children. They are so well behaved! We then were treated to a wonderful lunch with the Rev and met his lovely wife Jolly.



A joint afternoon was spent learning sign language in preparation for a visit by 35 either deaf or deaf and mute children to play. Steve will describe this afternoon in more detail. I had to make a quick exit from play and spent the rest of the afternoon not far from a toilet. The one thing I did before I left was to be given my sign name. This is done by the children looking at your face and picking distinguishing feature which in my case was a slightly sagging chin. Yes, I can hear you all laughing. When they meet you in the future they remember the name they gave you.



I said before that the story about the lady who gave birth was not over. Margaret, Sue and I took aid to Nyakibale on the first Friday and sorted it. When we had finished Margaret and I had a little time so decided to go the the maternity ward to see if she was still an inpatient. We were first taken to the caesarean ward by a student nurse. She wasn't there. We were told she had been transferred to another ward which concerned us until we arrived. We scanned the beds as we walked into the ward until the last bed on the right we saw a smiling face shyly looking back. The ward nurse took us to her. We were greeted with a very well mother and child. She was as pleased to see us as we were her and we all had big hugs and held her gorgeous daughter Rainer (means blessing). She weighed a healthy 4.8kgs. A truly wonderful end to her story. She was to go home that very afternoon. I will never forget her or the birth and it brings tears to my eyes as I recount her story. I hope that Rainer goes on to have a healthy and happy life. I'm sure Margaret will be praying for her.



A joint visit for the building and medical teams was to visit the Chilli Childrens Project life skills centre. This is all about disabled children. Disabled children are shunned by their families and the community and this project in partnership with Mission Direct is trying to change this. Mission Direct are funding and with the help of volunteers building classrooms etc at the local school appropriate for disabled children otherwise they do not get an education. The team headed by Evase an occupational therapist are passionate about helping to change attitudes. Once a month they hold a clinic and parents bring their children to be checked out if they have concerns. Many carry their children on their backs for miles. By doing this they are seen by the local community and this is helping to break down barriers. They also have toys for therapeutic play with the children and a clinic for children with club foot. The builders played while the medical team set up a clinic with two nurses and myself, Sue our pharmacist and Jane and Xavier, the two GP's. It was a slow start and before long out benches were full of Mums and mostly very young children. We would take names, age, weigh them and take temperatures. All but a few were high. They would then be seen by the docs with their interpreters where notes and diagnosis where possible was made and medication needed noted. A few needed further blood test for malaria which we sorted by using our bus to take them to the clinic. Sue the pharmacist then went into town to buy the meds needed which we paid for out of Mission Directs funds. It was great to be a bit more hands on. We managed to have all seen by the docs. There were a couple with more serious concerns for two children that some volunteers want to pay for out of their own pockets and these are being arranged. This was another day for a some tears for me.



We were told a story at the orientation day before we came on this trip and I keep reminding myself of it when I feel I can't help enough.



A boy is walking along a beach with his mother. The beach is covered with thousands of dying starfish. The boy starts picking them up and throwing them back into the sea. " why are you doing that" his mother asks "how can you hope to make a difference ". The boy looked into his mothers eyes and said "Well I made a difference to that one and that one ....."



We spent a noisy afternoon at The Mothers Union where Gill, Cat and Jane gave talks on "womens stuff'. This was made more difficult as the heavens opened as they started and thundered onto the tin roof of the rather dark hall we were in. Well done to the two ladies who interpreted over the rain.



Spent last clinical day at Nyakabali Hospital. I felt so much more comfortable by the end of the two weeks. It's all about acceptance. Getting to know the people, their differences whether cultural or financial. They do what they are able the way they do it. Hopefully some of what we did and taught them will stay with them and be passed on and that the aid will brought with us will be put to good use.



The last reflection was interesting. It ended with gifts to us from Kysheni clinic. One gallon of beautiful honey. There were photos and prayers said so that the bees will carry on producing. We thought that was all. But no. Out of the boot of a saloon car appeared a sheep! This sheep will be a wonderful community Christmas dinner.



So this is the end of my medical team account. I loved it. Laughed, cried, met and worked with wonderful people. So glad I came!



We then travelled north to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This was purely relaxation. This is a joint account by Steve and myself.



We had an early start to load all the bags onto the two buses for the 6 hr trip. The first 1 1/2 hrs we got the Ugandan massage travelling along a beautiful unmade road which wound it's way around the hillsides. We passed Columbus' house and the church we had visited and along the whole of the 6hr route running, smiling, waving children. One site we won't forget was rounding a corner four children who had been running alongside the bus reached a school. The whole of the school ran to the gate. Approx 100 beautiful faces smiling up at our bus. Along these country roads they do not see many MAZUNGUS (White people).



The scenery gradually began to change. Around Rukungiri it is lush green rolling hills covered in palms growing bananas, patches of millet, sugar cane and coffee. A few cows grazing and everywhere goats tethered munching at whatever is within reach. Soon we began to see large areas covered in a low growing shrub. Steve guessed this was tea which was confirmed by Simon. This area is renowned for its good quality tea which is grown for home use as well as export and we have drank many a cup either the traditional british way or as Ugandan tea. This is a warm milky tea which has a mixture of spices added and is delicious.



We rounded a bend winding our way down one of the many hills to be greeted with the site of the branch of the Rift Valley that winds it's way into Uganda. We stopped to gaze from the top of the hill at the beauty of this totally flat savanna stretching into the distance. We wound our way down onto the plain and after an hour reached the National Park everyone gazing left and right hoping to glimpse an animal or two. We reached our accommodation soon after. On the top of the hill ahead of us looking out over the Kazingi Channel to one side and Lake Edward and George to the other was a beautiful game lodge. Simon then said"guys look at that, isn't it a beautiful spot. You won't be staying there". We turned right and ahead were three cottages owned by the Ugandan wildlife authority. Our accommodation for two nights. We were divided up between them with a box of supplies. This was for two breakfasts and that evenings snack. The challenge was how. Have you not had pudding of honey, apple and biscuits? It's a taste sensation. How about beef luncheon meat sandwich for breakfast. That evening we were treated to a boat trip to gaze at the wildlife that congregated along the banks of the Kazinga Channel. Wallowing hippos and water buffalo and many beautiful birds.

We were in lockdown after dark. Don't really fancy being eaten by a lion or charged by a hungry hippo! We couldn't get to sleep that night because of the constant munching of the hippos that surrounded the cottage.



The next morning we were up when it was still dark for a game drive at 6.00 am. We set off in the two buses. Neither really the sort of vehicle that you would take off road. About halfway the big bus got stuck in the mud. We were in the small one. Eliakim tried to tow Columbus out with a very thin rope which broke twice and the wheels dug deeper into the mud. This is where Alison, (building team) who has towed many a vehicle out of the mud, came into her own. Organising branches to be put under the wheels to give it more traction. Gradually more and more vehicles surrounded us. Some offering help but most just watching. Eventually the bus was freed to applause all round and we continued on. We saw pretty much the same animals we had seen from the boat. Water buffaloes warthog, birds and elephant. Steve and I were a little disappointed with the variety. No zebra, giraffe or lions. It started to rain while we were at the 'shops' and we all huddled into the cutest smallest coffee shop for a hot drink after our purchases. The rest of the day was pure relaxation. We were able to make use of all of the facilities at the lodge. Steve and I had the cocktails we had been dreaming of, a swim, lunch, pedicure for my tired dirty feet, and gazing at the view. It was a lovely relaxing day with the whole group topped off that evening with an African four course dinner. We all dressed up. The men wore their African style embroidered shirts. They have to be seen! Steve, Mark & Ian looked a little ill at ease. Don't worry I have photos! I wore make up for the first time since leaving the UK. The evening ended with Simons photo presentation of the two weeks. A little tear jerking for all but disappointingly few photos of the medical team at work.



The next morning another early start for the 11 hour trip back to Kampala. Didn't go quite to plan for Steve and I! I had in the night been unable to go too far from the loo and by the morning was not feeling at all well. It was decided that it would be best if Steve and I stayed on another day and organised a room at the hostel as we didn't have a plane to catch. Xavier, one of our two GP s agreed that would be the best plan. This was not the goodbye to the rest of the group that we had envisaged and goodbyes were said and hugs given through a lot of tears. Simon would help to organise transport for us the following day. As the day went on and I felt better we discussed that it would be better for us to go back to Rukungiri instead of Kampala as originally planned which Simon agreed was the best plan. He said that Sue (his wife ) and Sunday would drive up to collect us the next day in the Mission4water 4 x 4. Although we didn't do a lot that day except sleep our thoughts were constantly thinking of the rest of the group who we were missing and what they were doing and how they coped with that long trip followed by a long flight home to the UK. The trip back was meant to be a long goodbye with the group and it didn't feel right.



However, out of a negative always comes a positive and we felt that coming back was the way it was meant to be. The next day Sue and Sunday arrived in the morning and we spent a very pleasant and comfortable few hours with them travelling back to Rukungiri. We were greeted warmly by the staff at Rondavels. We had requested room 21, Xavier's room. Well what a contrast to our last room in one of the round houses. The rooms in the main building are so much nicer. Clean, hot shower, balcony, flushing toilet and two beds to stretch out in. This would be our home for the next three weeks.



So many highlights. Deep fried grasshopper. Goat in church and on the bus. The birth and visiting the mum. Long chats with the whole group over endless cups of tea come rain or shine. The warm welcome we received everywhere we went. Smiles. The care everyone showed to each other when ill.........!



Well done those of you who have stuck it out to the end. I hope it wasn't too boring!



The next part of the blog will be Steves account from the building teams perspective which after a few well earned days off we will both be part of until we leave Uganda

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