Blogs from Northern Region, Uganda, Africa

Since I started my new job I have tried to find an excuse to ‘engineer’ an opportunity to travel up to Karamoja and visit our field office there. The slight obsession is perhaps due to the opportunity to travel to somewhere fascinating that I would never go if not for work. As a monitoring and evaluation person working from head office I would read these amazing stories from our work there about cattle raiding, warriors, reformed rapists and a land that seemed a fantasy from the comforts of Jinja let alone the UK. Admittedly, there was probably something of the thrill-seeking in me that wanted to experience somewhere deemed ‘dangerous’. As much as I knew there was a lot of hyperbole about the danger of going up there, as the time approached I did find myself ... read more

It's official! Our new office in Sudan is officially open and serving the war affected community of Magwi in the Eastern Equtorial State of South Sudan... not without an interesting ordeal, however!! Carl attempted to head up to Sudan over the weekend to deliver his staff to his new post - but satan had other plans. Initially, his tire shredded on the busy Gulu road, sending him almost out of control. He made it to Gulu on his spare, purchased another used tire and headed toward Sudan the next morning. Two hours out of Gulu, that tire shredded and they had to turn around and drive back to Gulu. Carl purchased 2 new tires and prayed about whether or not they should make the trip. Carl believed strongly the trip should happen so they headed out ... read more

Yes, it’s true… and I am not just putting that as a header of our blog to get you to read our update! This past week, we became the proud new parents of a 14 year old pregnant girl from Gulu! It has been a whirlwind of an adventure, with excitement and feelings of overwhelm, but God is directing it all. We first found out about Judith in passing, when I was chatting with a friend of mine. She works with young Congolese women, who were formally prostitutes. A mutual friend of ours referred Judith to her program (though Judith was certainly not prostituting and not Congolese). This friend was not able to take Judith in, due to a waiting list. Though we hear frequently about children in need, for some reason, God broke my heart ... read more

The final day of the Murchison Falls trip saw us up at a resonable time for once! :) We had a relaxing breakfast and then got back onto the bus for the drive back to Kampala with a stop at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where they are breeding Rhino's for reintroduction into the wild. At the centre we were given a brief by our guide we had a short drive to within a Km of the Rhino's, and then went on foot to within 30 meters of them! along the walk the guide showed us things that indicate the rhino's have been in the area, such as footprints, markings on tree's and piles of poo..... We got to within 30 meters of the Rhino's where we were allowed to take pictures! then the guide took us ... read more

I had to be at the main reception/bar by 8 for an 8 30 leave. The weather even at that time was hot! We got onto the mini bus that we'd be using for the trip! As we drove through Kampala you could see the locals queueing up to Vote, as it was election day (the 2nd democratic election in 28years!!) Driving through the suburbs shows a real mix of large industrial units surrounded by the housing of the majority of the population of Kampala. All along the side of the roads are stalls selling hand made wooden furniture, Sofa's, Iron Gates, coffins?? and a variety of foods, ranging from bbq'd chicken, to pineapples and bananas, and almost every 20 meters was someone or a stall selling simcards or phone credit, even in the most remotest ... read more

On the 2nd day, we had to be up really early, for the game drive which began at 6 30! We picked up a packed breakfast and then got back into the minibus, which took us down to the Paraa ferry which took us over the Nile for the beggining of the drive, we got to the ferry just as the sun was rising above the river! On the far banks we could see a school of hippo's just wallowing in the water. The Vehicles all boarded the boat, and we all got on! the crossing took 5 minutes and once on the other side we all got back into the bus and began the drive! we drove for a few KM's through the bush, seeing only various species of antelope! after about 7 kms we ... read more