Uganda - Kampala & Gulu Part 1 of 2

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Hello all,



We’d just say bye to KIHEFO (http://www.kihefo.org/) and were just saying hello to Hugh, Becky and George who we’d spend our next 2 weeks with.



Drew met Hugh when he sat next to him on a flight; they’d both been on stag dos in Portugal. They got talking about the work Hugh (a pharmacist) and his girlfriend Becky (a nurse) have been doing in Uganda for years. Whilst in Uganda on volunteer placements they met and became friends with George, a Ugandan surgeon. The three of them started their own project to support people in the rural communities in Gulu, Northern Uganda and Hugh and Becky have been returning to the area every year for several years. They raise money and awareness in the UK and make any necessary arrangements for the project (for example collecting clothes donations and then shipping them to Uganda) and whilst in Uganda deliver their shipments and run medical outreach clinics that include clothes distributions.



They always include a visit to St Jude’s (http://www.stjudechildrenshome.org/english/), a children’s home (orphanage), consolation home (for children with disabilities) and school in Gulu. Hugh’s parents spent 3 weeks in Uganda with Hugh and Becky last year, volunteering in the school and the consolation home. Over the last year they’ve arranged the purchase and shipment of 6 specialist push-chairs for some of the children in the consolation home, who are in poor equipment at the moment. Drew and I met Hugh and Becky for dinner last year and they and George kindly said we could join them on their next trip to Uganda. So here we are!



Hugh and Becky write a brilliant blog about Uganda, it’s very engaging and informative and includes not only an update of what they’re doing whilst in Uganda but background information to Uganda. It’s a must read so please take a look http://outreachuganda.blogspot.co.nz/. If you’re not interested in what happens in countries like Uganda before reading it, you will be after. If you want to talk about what you can do, let me know. The entries ‘The Outreach Clinics’ and ‘The Push-Chairs Arrive at the Consolation Unit’ cover mine and Drew’s time there.



Monday 21st May - KABALE to KAMPALA continued

Hugh, Becky and George met us outside of George’s house in Kampala and helped us carry out bags inside; George must have thought we were moving in because we had so much stuff! We spent the evening settling in and chatting away whilst George did us burgers for tea. I slept very well.



Tuesday 22^nd May – KAMPALA

We had a slow start. We headed into Kampala to the Garden City shopping centre. It’s very popular with westerner’s and has a really good food court, where waiters from each restaurant serve you at your table (they’re all keen to secure your business so can be very insistent). You can choose from a wide variety of foods including Italian, Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, Mexican… the front of each outlet is decorated to represent each style of cooking. I had a nice vege Indian dish. After lunch we wandered along to the craft markets, just opposite the hotel we’d stayed in Kampala with Hannah (avoiding the dangerous huge potholes) before heading back to Nakumatt for a look round the shops and a coffee. We spent ages chatting; Hugh and Becky have so many interesting stories to share from their visits to Uganda.

In the evening we headed out to meet George at an Irish Bar called ‘Bubbles’. Hugh was driving. I always love driving around foreign cities independently with friends. We got stuck in a huge traffic jam, no bad thing as we got to do some shopping! The sellers walk between the cars with their wares and you can always be sure of getting the daily paper or some phone credit. We got a mosquito bat…more on that later! As we walked into Bubbles Greenday ‘Time of my Life’ came on which always reminds me of my Maffy. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant called ‘Mambo Place’ with some of George’s friends. Drew and I were struggling with guilty feelings about spending money on dinner; our pizza’s cost about £3 each which is nothing compared to home but so much in comparison to what some people earn. We learned over the next few weeks to reconcile our guilt with our need to live; we were not brought up in Uganda and we simply wouldn’t survive if we lived and ate the same way as those that were. We had a great chat with a Dutch guy who runs a company in Uganda. We’d been struggling with the knowledge that western companies base themselves in Uganda, partly because they can get cheap labour (i.e. pay less than $1 a day) and saw this as exploitation. The Dutch guy explained that it’s not always a simple as that; yes they may pay little but any more would inflate the market and many companies do provide free healthcare and childcare. I guess it’s difficult to balance everything.

We didn’t have a late night and back at George’s we all had a go with the mozzy racket. You wave the thing about and it zaps the mosquitos. It’s not a nice concept, I don’t like killing things, and felt really bad at first, but in the end I figured it was a necessary, they wanted to bite us and could be carrying life threatening malaria.



Wednesday 23^rd May – KAMPALA to GULU

We were up early to re-pack; phew as I didn’t want to be carrying such a ridiculous amount with me up in Gulu so we were leaving some things at George’s. I managed to get it down to my big backpack and little rucksack…and my handbag. We also decided to change the date of our flights out of Uganda. Drew was running low on money, understandable at the end of his trip, but it would have been cheaper for me to stay in Uganda than Australia. I didn’t want to stay on my own though so we decided to change from the 17^th to the 3^rd. It was a mission! We rang Qatar in Uganda who after finding us new flights told us we had to go into their office to make our payment because they didn’t accept credit card - I know it’s Uganda but they do have Visa! So then we called Qatar’s head office in Doha who went through everything, found flights and THEN told us they couldn’t accept credit cards either! So in the end I called Qatar’s UK office who miraculously could accept credit cards and sorted everything.

We left for Gulu early afternoon stopping off at Mr Tasty for lunch – I had the nicest fast food burger and chips. Drew had a funny incident in the toilet… (don’t worry, it’s not one of his usual toilet stories…) He’d just washed his hands and went to the dryer, stopping to let some kids go first… they wouldn’t and insisted on him going first. All became clear when they started touching his skin, they were fascinated by the whiteness. The journey to Gulu was fast and slightly terrifying. The roads were good but in some places they were very bad, mainly because the edges were receding so badly there was a sharp drop off the tarmac. I wasn’t worried about George’s driving; it was everyone else, especially the lorry’s and buses! They don’t seem to care about anyone else on the road; they travel so fast and expect you to move out of the way. Which is ok as long as moving out of the way doesn’t mean you’re about to drop off a receded road. I had a few OMG moments and Drew was very quiet in the seat next to me! It’s scary watching them coming thundering towards you, with the back end swaying one way to the other.

We crossed the White Nile over the Karuma bridge which divided the unstable north from the south.The Karuma falls were absolutely breath-taking. This immense volume of water crashing over the rapids in the approach to the big falls. It’s one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen and it was such a nice surprise (George had said he’d wanted to get there before dark so we could seem them). We weren’t able to take pictures because there were soldiers on the bridge, I tried to find an example photo for you but none do it justice. We were confronted by a baboon on the road after bridge, and little monkeys, they were in no hurry to get out of the way. Neither were the cows we passed, who just wandered into the road, stood in the middle and looked at us with a ‘do you expect ME to move?’ kind of look. They eventually realised we did.

We were now in former LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) territory, the rebel group led by the infamous Joseph Kony. The LRA were active in Uganda from 1987 to 2006 and during that time committed widespread human rights violations. You may have seen the Kony 2012 video; you need to do more research to really understand the real extent and impact of the atrocities (the video isn’t very popular with the locals). They were pushed out of Uganda but have continued in murder, mutilate and abduct children in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic (where they’re currently thought to be operating). There has been no LRA activity in Northern Uganda since 2006, but their legacy remains and the people still suffer the physical and mental scars. Thousands of people were displaced and had to live in IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps. The IDP camps have now closed and the people have been encouraged to move home, but that’s in itself a problem. Many people’s land was sold whilst they were away. And where men were killed their wives had no land rights. It’s all a mess. The fertile land in northern Uganda helped people stay alive because they could sustain themselves.

I loved the drive into Gulu because the sun was setting. We were speeding along, whizzing past the countryside, passing the usual flow of people walking along the road home, the sky was all lit up in different ways and the clouds shone. That sort of drive makes me feel alive. Once in Gulu we stopped to let Drew use the toilet (that is one of his usual toilet stories, will spare you the details) and then headed to the Acholi Ber, one of the nicest cheaper hotels in Gulu. They were full so George gave us two more choices and after a look at the other (felt damp in inside) we settled for Bomah, one of the most expensive (for Gulu, we’re talking £15 each a night) but also one of the nicest hotels in Gulu. We had another guilty moment over cost (it was £5 a night more between us than the cheaper option) but we decided to stay there, it was employing local people and we were boosting the tourism industry. The rooms were clean and modern (although they still had only a hand held shower?!!!) and I knew I’d feel safe there.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and watched the rain and thunderstorm, it was pretty impressive. Hugh told us that lightning is a huge problem in the area; people are regularly killed by lightning strikes. We ran back to the reception!



Thursday 24^th May – GULU visiting St Jude’s

We were delivering the new push-chairs to St Jude’s today and it was going to be a big one. Hugh, Becky and Drew had a practice putting the prams up and adjusting the special features. The prams were from Mothercare and could be adjusted in different ways for children with special needs. I’m not very practical so was put in charge of photo taking. We headed out to St Jude’s, which is a little out of the town. The school looked nice; the buildings were long, low and brightly painted in the typical Uganda style and surrounding a large grassy area. On the right is the Consolation Home, a home for children with disabilities, and further over are the children's home buildings. We headed for the headmaster’s office to say hello (Hugh and Becky had been communicating with him by email so he was expecting us) and then went to the brightly coloured stone hut outside the Consolation Home, where the children we’d heard so much about were waiting for their morning physio. The Canadian volunteers who had been playing with them left and we were joined by Joyce, a nurse, and two Irish ladies who were helping with the physio as part of their volunteer work. Hugh and Becky went in search of Brother Elio (the Director) and Samuel (a teacher) who were responsible for the children and came back with Mairead, a ‘breath of fresh air’ Irish girl who’s also a regular visitor to St Jude’s. Mairead had organised a group of builders to come and help finish a new building at the farm that helps to feed and educate the children.

It was heart-breaking to see the children who all who had physical or mental disabilities. Some had Cerebral Palsy and were most in need of the new pushchairs. We could see the old prams outside and they were in a poor state of repair and heavily soiled. Some were more independent and whilst their wheelchairs weren't in great condition it gave them independence. A little girl was stood in a wooden contraption that didn't look great, she had a condition where she couldn’t straighten her legs so this was to help her, she was crying her heart out. Some were able bodied but unable to talk. We sat with the children whilst they had physio and tried to come to terms with the conditions they were in. They all looked lost and many were covered in flies. Drew found it incredibly upsetting at the time, for me I think I was more prepared for it then but I’m struggling to deal with it now.

All the children had individual characters. One so so so smiley, he catches your eye and grins and you can’t help but grin back. Another is incredibly playful, which is fun but quite hard work to keep her entertained, she doesn’t speak. One is very bright, when we first met him he was laid motionless on a cushion but we found that once he’d brightened up he was very observant. Another was very quiet but we learned she loved to be tickled. One was cheeky and kept escaping. Another was quiet and peaceful. One was watchful and bright, he was taking apart a mobile phone whilst sat watching everything that was going on. Another was lovely, older than the others. She observed quietly and didn’t talk. I started talking to her and found she could speak; we had a nice talk and played with my camera. You could tell it was all a little tiresome for her, before the tetanus she was a normal girl, I hoped this wouldn’t break her spirit and was so pleased to see later that she was going to school as normal. One little girl really affected me; she looked so lost, a skinny little girl in a long blue t-shirt who just looked confused and didn’t talk. I spent some time with her and when I gave her a hug she wouldn’t let go.

Drew got some toys out for them and I found a good home for the soft kangaroo I’d been given by Anthony’s grandparents for Christmas. Hugh and Becky talked Joyce through how the prams should be set up and together they decided who they should go to. The prams were adjusted to the needs of each child, with the foot rests supporting their feet comfortably. It was a long process but I don’t think I was imagining it when I thought they looked happier in them. Hugh’s parents have definitely made a different to their lives. A little lad was in need of a pram so he had the 5^th, he cried so much being put into it and didn’t look impressed until he fell fast asleep! The 6^th would be a spare ready for the next child that needs it.

We said a reluctant bye to the Consolation Home and went next door to visit the orphanage. As we walked in we were greeted by 10 or so youngsters, running from all directions to get to us. They clung to the boys, who had to give them turns being swung about, and one sweetly insisted on dragging Drew around to give him the grand tour. I said hello to a Kenyan volunteer who was looking after two babies and ended up feeding one of them. There were about 100 children in the orphanage at that time. The baby I was feeding was an orphan, there were plans to re-settle him with relatives when he was more independent. He was soaking wet. As I was feeding him I had children clamouring all over me, and one little boy/girl (they wear whatever they have, so it’s not easy to tell) wouldn’t let go of my hand and wanted him to pick him/her up. He was also soaking wet and I ended up covered in something unpleasant but I got over it because all these children want is a hug. The carers do a great job with limited resources; you can’t blame them for leaving children in wet clothes. They have around 100 children to look after and only there seemed to be two local volunteers and 2 Swedish volunteers there.

We left St Jude’s to get some lunch in town at the ‘town bakery’ next to Coffee Hut. They’re owned by the same family, Ugandan’s who moved to London before returning to Uganda. We got chatting to one of the boys and I was freaked out hearing the news that Malaria is becoming more and more resistant to medication. My biggest concern was that nobody would come and help the people if Malaria couldn’t be prevented or treated. I got the most fantastic call from my bestest Gemma whilst sat outside the bakery eating my samosa…! I was so pleased and excited and so happy that I could now tell Drew the news J

Hugh and Becky headed to Gulu hospital to drop some supplies off whilst Drew and I wandered around town, he was keen to find something that would reduce the flies at the Consolation Home. We needed those sticky fly things which we’d been told you couldn’t get in Gulu, so I didn’t hold out my hope. I had to admire him for trying though. I thought it’d be impossible to make a difference to the number of flies buzzing around the children, if there was a solution countries like Australia, which have some of the worst flies I’ve even seen in the outback (they fly in your mouth when you’re trying to eat!) would have them. Hugh and Becky picked us up and after a stop off at the supermarket to buy batteries for a tablet counter we went back to the hospital with them. On the surface it looked like a nice environment but I wouldn’t want to be admitted there. It was basic and didn’t give an impression or cleanliness. There were people outside sat on the grass everywhere, we learned that people admitted to hospital had to have a friend or family member to cook and care for them. If they have nobody with them, they might not eat. We went to the pharmacy and were pleased to see that the new batteries worked, the pharmacy workers were very happy to have working tablet counters.

Our next step was the Acholi Inn Hotel which has a nice outdoors swimming pool. I didn’t go for a swim, I was still in the damp clothes I’d worn with the children and didn’t fancy having to put them back on. I really needed a shower and some clean clothes. Once I’d got these back at our hotel we then went out for dinner to celebrate George’s friend’s birthday. We had Ethiopian which I’d not had before and it was very nice, we all ate off platters that were a mix of vege and beef and traditional bread. We weren’t out late because we were so tired.



Friday 25^th May – GULU and community outreach

We were up early again and George had got the truck packed up ready for our first community outreach. Hugh and Becky had made a huge shipment of donated clothes last year so we were stocked with boxes of clothes and medical supplies. We headed out of Gulu, through Kony’s home village of Odek, and after an hour arrived in the medical centre at Lalogi. We were greeted warmly and given a tour of the facilities which were of a high standard. The medical centre had been built through a MSF (Medics San Frontiers aka Doctors Without Borders) project; it was new, looked clean and was incredibly organised. The staff were clearly proud of their achievements and deserved to be so. I was struck by how good the facilities looked in comparison to those in Kabale. The north has received a lot of support from aid organisations to help them rebuild after the LRA conflict, therefore they have nice new buildings, but without ongoing support and funding this won’t be sustainable. In the south they’ve had less outside support so the facilities don’t look as flash, but dedicated people like Dr Geoffrey and organisations like KIHEFO have ensured great care is provided.

Becky and Dr George set up for the medical clinic whilst Hugh, Drew and I set about arranging the clothes distribution. Hugh knows from experience it can get crazy so we had to be organised and prepared. The clinic called Daniel, a local community leader, and he came down to help us. We ruled out setting up off the premises (our initial idea to avoid disrupting the clinic) and decided to distribute the clothes to people at the clinic whilst they sat waiting. David told them what we were doing and told them to stay put, we would come to them. We were helped by a lovely nurse called Lydia and whilst she helped us distribute the clothes, David kept everyone in check and stamped them once they’d received their allocated one item. It started off well and we kept order, only having to return to the truck once we’d run out of clothes. We tried to match up items to people but didn’t have time or the clothes to do that for long. Hugh had received a donation of T-shirts from someone he works with and they went to the men first. On our second round it got a little crazier and people who’d already received clothes were coming back for more, even though everyone hadn’t received one item yet. As we crossed over to the next building some of the first group came with us which prompted a few strong words from the second group who’d been patiently waiting. We were surrounded and had to head back to the safety of the truck whilst Daniel sorted them out! Daniel organised a queue and that worked quite well, with Drew and Hugh handing out clothes and me taking pictures. It was all very good humoured, in the end we had to give people whatever came to hand; some refused what we gave them (in a way understandable if there was a young man being given a women’s top) whilst others just laughed with us (they could swap it later), I had a real giggle with one lady.

We were low on clothes and needed to give some to people in the ward so Lydia came with me to walk around the wards, taking supplies of blankets and baby clothes with us. Lydia was fantastic, she’d already matched up the items for people that really needed them. The maternity ward was difficult as at times because I didn’t know if the babies were boys or girls. The women’s ward was tough because there were some really sick women in there, many suffering from illnesses related to HIV/AIDs. Lydia had allocated a blanket for a very sick woman and told me “she has nothing” as I handed it over to the confused woman and as our eyes met I saw desperation and gratitude. I was really affected so Drew and Hugh came back with me later to deliver some of our water to them; the lady was cuddled up under the blanket. Soon we’d distributed nearly everything and everyone was happy. It was great watching people put on their T-shirts and other items. They were keen to pose for photos and got such joy from looking at them afterwards, especially the children. If you see lots of my photos of people it wasn’t always me wanting to take them! They loved it and it was especially nice to see parents encourage their children to look at their photos. Their obvious delight made my day every time. We only had a few items left, we saved enough T-shirts for the staff, gave Daniel a nice shirt and some shoes he could take home to his wife and I chased Lydia around the hospital to give her a smart pair of sandals. There were some medical books for the clinical staff and it was great to see them sitting down immediately to pour over the books. We had many requests for bibles but unfortunately didn’t have one. We were soon down to the empty boxes and gave a way a couple. A really old lady, dressed beautifully in a bright dress and walking with a stick was keen for something or other. We didn’t have it so she wanted the biggest box we had. We were happy for her to have it but couldn’t figure out how she was going to carry it home. Her exchange with Hugh was fascinating; he was like ‘is there anyone who can help you?’ and ‘we’ll drive you’ but she was having none of it and pointed at her head. I guess we were daft to think she’d want to do anything else! It made such an amusing picture, her with this huge box on her head, I asked if I could take her photo, she insisted on having a look at it and indicated it wasn’t good enough so I had to take another. We all had a chuckle watching her walk out of the gate!

George and Becky joined us after a successful clinic, much quieter than usual because many were out of a town to attend a mass polio and measles vaccination programme.We headed back to Gulu, passing the usual traffic and notably a boy with his motorbike upside down. George told us it was to shift the petrol about – what George calls ‘local style’ J As opposed to ‘new style’. We headed back to the hotel and chilled out, watched some local dancing and had some dinner. We had an early night to get ready for another clothes distribution and clinic tomorrow!



Next up… more on Gulu!



Miss you all.



Xx



ODD BITS OF INFORMATION I'VE READ AND OBSERVATIONS I'VE MADE

· Life expectancy in Uganda is 52 for men and 54 for women.

· Worms cause the extended tummy’s we see in malnourished children. They’re easily treated by a chewable tablet. Drew and I bought two Albendazole each, one to take when we’d left Uganda and another a week later to ensure any eggs have been killed off. It’s useful travelling with a pharmacist, Hugh could tell us exactly what we needed for what! And handy being in a country where doctor’s prescriptions are not required for medication.

· I saw a chart showing how many people had been tested and received positive results for Malaria and HIV. To give you an idea of how prevalent it is over a 3 month period: 823 were tested for Malaria, 171 tested positive (21%). 1842 were tested for HIV, 158 tested positive (9%).



NOTE: I use these updates to capture my memories and share what I'm doing on my travels with friends, family and anyone who’s interested enough to read. The views are my own and I try my best to ensure any information I share is fair and accurate but I do sometimes get things wrong. I welcome any feedback so I can make improvements and corrections for future readers. Thank you.

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Photos

Lake Victoria
From the outskirts of Kampala

Drew, Hugh and George
At Lalogi Health Centre

Becky and I
At Lalogi Health Centre

Garden City shopping centre
Heavy security and a great food court make it popular with foreigners

Driving to Gulu
George (driving) and Hugh

An interesting way to travel...
...I'd be seriously worried about the position of them horns!

Crazy buses
You quite simply have to get out of their way.

Baboons and monkeys in the road
They didn't want to get out of our way!

Sunset driving...
...on the approach to Gulu. My favourite time of the day and favourite time to be on a journey.

St Jude's Children's Home
The Consolation Home shelter.

St Jude wheelchairs and push-chairs
The children at St Jude's are currently using these, for some children they offer independence so these children would not receive a new push-chair.

Meeting the Consolation Home children for the first time
They were waiting for their physio.

New push-chair with protector
One of the fantastic push-chairs that Hugh's parents arranged to purchase and ship to St Jude's.

Becky and Joyce settling Cynthia in to her new chair
The push-chairs could be adjusted to the needs of each child, the footrests were particularly important.

High and Becky with Geoffrey, Bridget, Cynthia and Gerard
All settled in their new chairs.

Jacqueline
Lost.

This is what it's all about
My kangaroo making someone very happy.

At the orphanage
Hugh and Drew were extremely popular, all the children wanted lifts and swings.

Lalogi Health Centre
Location of our first community outreach - this is what is looked like before word spread.

The crowd starts to gather...
at Lalogi Health Centre.

The ordered queue...
after the crowd had got a little hectic.

Drew and Hugh distributing clothes
I was helping as well!

New t-shirts
Some of the recipients of clothing.

A character...
Well, where else did we expect her to put it?!