Update 2

Lots to report, but first a fun pic:

Alicia & I are very much missing the company of our new family

I have been very busy editing (a labour of love) and sending images to Leonard Lies of Dream Catchers Films in Pittsburgh.  He is putting the finishing touches on his documentary film about BKU, and he may be able to use some of my pics.  Very exciting.  I have replaced many of the unedited photos on the blog with updated (some funky) edited ones so, if you haven't reviewed the old posts in awhile, you might want to go back and breeze through the images.

Guys & Dolls

Sue & I booked a bed & breakfast in Niagara-on-the-Lake in April and spent a weekend in the delightful company of Pauline Greenlick and Louis Picard who traveled up from Pittsburgh.  We were also joined by Martin & Marie Pinto who live in nearby St. Catherines.   We became fast and true friends, bonded by our mutual love for Uganda and its' people.

Louis worked with the Peace Corps in the 1960's and taught at a school in East Africa, where he met Manuel Pinto, another teacher who lived in Uganda.  They continued their friendship and regular contact through Lou's frequent return visits to Africa as he went on to become a professor of International affairs & African studies.  Manuel met Victoria through work and together they founded what became the Bright Kids home in Uganda.  Tragically, Manuel died in an accident several years ago.

Pauline works tirelessly for the Bright Kids Foundation in the USA, for whom she serves as treasurer.  She enjoys accompanying Lou on his trips to Africa.

Martin Pinto is the son of Manuel.  He trained in medicine, worked as a family physician in Florida where he met Marie, the love of his life, married and accompanied her to Canada where he is finalizing arrangements for his Ontario medical license.  Marie's family is from Haiti, but she grew up in Montreal and works caring for nursing home patients.

Martin (behind) then Pauline, Marie, Lou and me.  Sue in front.

The six of us talked for hours, enjoyed some entertainment and meals, teased our delightful B&B hosts, and brainstormed plans to advance the cause of BKU.  It was truly enlightening and harrowing to hear what Martin and his family endured, and what Lou witnessed during the dark days of the Idi Amin regime in Uganda, and the more recent butchery in neighbouring Rwanda.

Lindsay Fundraising

Sue & I collaborated with Leslie & Maurice to sketch out some fundraising plans, the centrepiece being a gala dinner with entertainment, live & silent auctions, and speakers.  We booked the Moose Lodge Hall in Lindsay for the evening of Friday, September 13, and printed tickets for sale for $30 each, which will include a full buffet meal and door prizes.  Friends and new acquaintances came to our home one evening to hear about the plans and take tickets to sell to friends and contacts.  We are also soliciting donation items for the auctions.

Gathering in our back garden

 I am absolutely overwhelmed by the generous and enthusiastic response of our local community.  We estimate we can seat  170 souls comfortably for the gala, and tickets are already becoming scarce!  Auction item donations are coming in, and we are excited to announce that the volunteer musical entertainment will include our good friend and very talented entertainer John Turner, young country singer Crystal Lewis-Yaworski, and (hot off the press) the wildly popular Lindsay band, Montana Sky has just confirmed!

We had very supportive articles published in our community newspapers, The Lindsay Post and Kawartha Lakes This Week.

Several friends have indicated they wish to sponsor a Bright Kid.  My mother just wrote a cheque to sponsor Hassan Wasswa.  Various folks have expressed serious intentions  to accompany Sue and I when we visit BKU next winter!

We are not a registered charity under Canada Revenue Agency rules (tons of paperwork, legals & accounting to make that happen), so we cannot issue tax receipts for deductions.  Rest assured that all monies collected will go directly to BKU, net of the cost of renting the hall and the catering.  No money is going to administration or to subsidize anyone's travel.

Alicia's flight to Uganda is booked for late July, and she is thrilled at the prospect of spending a month with her new family and some of the Florida interns who will be there.

Many thanks to everyone who has expressed love and support.  I'll leave you with a little more eye candy:

Update 1

Alicia is settling back into life in Canada, and is happy to have secured a summer job at Garry's Garden Centre.  Congratulations, Alicia!  Our rashes have resolved.  The craziness of returning to work is beginning to wane, and I am making plans to meet again with the Fleming College faculty and dean to further discuss plans for sending a contingent of student volunteers in January 2014.

Sue and I are also arranging to meet with Pauline & Lou, board members of the BKU foundation and very active supporters, and also Martin & Marie Pinto.  Manuel Pinto was the co-founder of Bright Kids with Victoria.  They met through Scouting, and the idea of a children's home (originally called Sunshine) was born.  Lou had met Manuel while teaching in Uganda during his time in the Peace Corps.  Manuel unfortunately died in a freak accident, but his son Martin is a doctor in St. Catherines, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from our home in Lindsay.

We will discuss BKU in general, our recent experience, and plans to increase exposure and support for BKU in Canada.

Sue and I met with our good friends Leslie and Marylou yesterday, and their husbands Maurice & John.  The ladies are connected with Fleming College, and the guys are keen to promote fundraising efforts locally, so we did lots of brainstorming.

Victoria has taken Justine to the optometrist and she soon will be modelling her new glasses.

I have updated the portraits page and there will be more to follow.  Please check them out.

Rose in the upstairs clinic doctor's office before the new desk & chair are installed

View from the upstairs balcony at the clinic.  Centre is the field where boys play soccer.  The big house compound is behind the field.  A small neighbourhood road on the left, and the piggery on the right.

Again from the upstairs balcony.  Central is the carpenter's shop, with the church under construction behind that, and Sister Immaculate's quarters further back.  To the left is Rose's & Richard's quarters.  The little one's dorm is just out of the frame on the left.  In the right foreground is a neighbour's place & yard, with the boys who love to joke & pose for me.  

One follows the road between Rose's quarters and Sister's place (heading right & away) to get to the small village centre, and beyond that to the Entebbe-Kampala highway.  Coming back towards us, the road turns 90 degrees to the left of the picture and continues on to the brickworks (quarry), past Banana Village and eventually to the neighbourhood of the big kids' dorm.

The clinic building was erected with materials & labour donated by University of Florida volunteers, hence the American flag on Rose's desk.  I'm thinking we'll have to balance it off with a Canada flag on our next visit.

natural-born hams

Fundraising

Alicia has arrived back safely and seems to be adjusting to Canadian living again.

The roads and paths around BKU are very dusty with a red sand reminiscent of Prince Edward Island.  In the latter part of my stay, I developed an eczema-type itchy rash on the inner folds of my knees and elbows.  It is resolving since I returned home.  Alicia likewise has broken out in a similar eruption since returning home.  I think our sensitive skin is reacting to something in the combination of the red dust, sweat and heat.  Mild issues that are settling well with some cortisone cream.

Our friends and aquaintances are most thrilled to hear about our adventure and help out if they can.  Several folks have expressed an interest in sponsoring a BKU child, and we have had good success selling T-shirts and beads that Victoria sent back with us.  Alicia also brought back some sewn bags which apparently Sister Immaculate produces, and those are a very popular item.

attractive sewn bags

closeup detail of beadwork

Neighbour lady tends her produce stand

school on the outskirts of Kampala

chicken vendor

just happy to be here at your service, sir

Awaiting Alicia's return

It's been 10 days since I left Alicia at BKU.  She's currently in Brussels (I think - the little turd didn't get on the internet to reassure us she made it that far).  Sue's trying to catch some sleep and hopes to pick her up later today in Toronto.

Victoria is joking that Arnold couldn't be consoled, so Alicia's suitcase is now heavier than when she arrived in Africa.

Some more images for your viewing pleasure.

Jovan

Alicia & Obama

Gloria & Janat

kids on the way to school

livestock can be stubborn

typical neighbourhood home

Vicky

Epilogue

The trip back to Canada is long but uneventful. It is strange being immersed in a multicultural society so suddenly, with in-flight movies and €3.50 Starbucks coffees purchased with a credit card.

The experience of the past two weeks seems already mystical and other worldly. How quickly will this amazing time fade into the pale pastel shades of memory? I know I can never forget the wonderful people I have met and the visceral stimulus of Uganda. I know too that I will want badly to return and greet the older versions of the children that Alicia and I have come to know and love.

Supplies needed would include children's clothing, durable toys, craft items, vitamins, medications and probably more soccer balls.

Alicia now has just two days remaining before she will tackle the long journey home.  I have sent her detailed instructions about airport terminal transfers and negotiating Canadian immigration and customs.  She is resourceful, so I am confident she will manage well.  She hasn't been wanting to spend much time on the computer, but has messaged us that she would like to get a hot shower and a few good meals, then return to Uganda.  I am thrilled she has made such a strong positive connection to these wonderful people.  Victoria emailed me that Arnold took to sleeping with Alicia when thunderstorms and a leaky roof kept him up at night, and the two are now inseparable.  I hope the separation is not too traumatic for him.

I have edited some of the existing photos on this blog, and added more below.  I am also updating and adding to the portrait page.  Check the links on the home page for new Youtube videos.  I will blog a little bit, but mostly will add pictures over the next few days.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Alicia snuggles with Don

the kids enjoy sucker treats

everyone's head is shaved to minimize care and problems with lice

happy music makers

Sandra

Lydia, Arnold & Sandra

little ones' dorm

Victoria has donated a small space to an enterprising young carpenter who does work for BKU at a discount, with the understanding he will start paying rent after six months if his business thrives