News flash! I have finally started publishing some of the individual formal portraits on Page 2 of this blog. Look for the link at the top of this page.
Janat is feeling ill and stays home from school – bit of a
fever and decreased appetite with headache.
Malaria quick test is negative and physical exam reveals nothing
alarming, so she just rests on the clinic stretcher, takes some Ibuprofen and
is feeling improved by later afternoon.
On one of my return trips to the clinic I meet Joseph, an interesting
young man who is Rose’s cousin’s brother.
He is very articulate and describes his job working for the Ministry of
Health. Trained as a refrigeration
technician, he now works with the government vaccine program and his job
entails travel to all corners of Uganda ensuring integrity of the cold chain
for vaccine storage, troubleshooting problems and maintaining the refrigeration
units which include regular electric, solar, kerosene and gasoline
technologies. He says there is still a
lot of misunderstanding & suspicion about vaccines among certain tribes and
the poorly educated. We have a lively
discussion about differences & similarities between Uganda and Canada. He says he’s felt safe traveling &
staying extended periods everywhere in the country, even along the Sudanese
border to the north where I’ve heard dire reports of atrocities by the Lords Resistance
Army. Joseph invites me and Alicia to
dinner this evening and Rose agrees to guide us there.
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Rose & Joseph at the clinic |
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Janat feeling better once school is out |
Friends who have visited or lived in Africa advised me to be
sure to take in a Safari or see some of the sights while visiting here. Reading the travel books, it seemed Murchison
Falls or a mountain gorilla trek would be exciting, but either would involve
2-3 days away from BKU which seemed excessive if we were only staying two
weeks. We compromised on a day trip to
an island on Lake Victoria which is a chimpanzee sanctuary, but after
spending time here and being told the Entebbe zoo is quite good, Alicia & I
agreed we would have more fun taking kids to the zoo. So, I asked Victoria to book a minibus and we
would take the young ones in the afternoon.
The older kids would be in school and have apparently gone previously
with other volunteers.
Auntie dutifully ensures the little ones nap before lunch
and bathes everyone right after lunch.
They arrive at the big house to dress in good clothes and it’s a bit of
a scramble to find clothes that fit everyone and sort of match. The minibus turns out to be a regular minivan
with seats for 7. Rona and Jovan stay
behind because they are so young and there is a lot of walking involved. The driver, 4 adults and 10 kids climb in and
we’re underway, bottoming out on a couple of the dirt road ridges despite the
driver’s careful maneuvering. A couple
of the little ones cry out of fear.
Possibly their only experience with an automobile is linked to traumatic
events and being uprooted from their family and community. They quieten when Angel threatens the next
person to make noise will have to walk.
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Ten kids (I kept count all afternoon), Angel, Richard, Alicia and our driver at the zoo entrance |
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Lydia: what do you mean that crocodile needs a meal? |
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Shira |
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fascinated by the mountain gorilla statue |
I am thrilled to see the Zoo box office takes credit
cards. My Mastercard works after the
VISA is declined. Monkeys scamper about
the parking lot and throughout the walkways, proving lots of entertainment and
sometimes anxiety for the kids. The
exhibits are quite good, but there is a lot of walking involved, and the
children soon tire. We finally make it back to the playground
area, but the best attractions (an inflated jumping castle and a motorized
swing carousel come at a price, so the kids make do with the free swings, slide
and teeter totter.
Since Alicia is staying, I want to convert the remainder of
my USD to leave with her and Angel directs the driver to a forex on the far
side of Entebbe which actually does NOT demand a premium for my aged $100 bill
or the 20’s. We purchase a supply of ice
cream cups at the supermarket and have the driver stop at a park where our
little companions enjoy a rare treat.
Lydia absolutely amazes me. She
is only half done her dish of ice cream by the time we load back into the van,
so I sit her on my knee for the return journey to ensure she doesn’t soil the
vehicle. She takes only tiny portions of
the dessert with each scoop of her wooden spatula, as if to savour every morsel
of flavour in that treat. She is not
even completely finished by the time we return to BKU.
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Rebecca in a dancing mood |
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the path to the giraffe compound takes us by Lake Victoria'sshore |
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kids terrorized by monkey |
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Angel points out a tortoise while Richard looks on |
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several of the kids had never been on a swing |
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don't know if you can see it, but swarms of gnats lifted when I ran ahead of the group to snap this shot |
Alicia and I shower and dress for our dinner out. I don the African themed shirt which Victoria
kindly gave me as a present. Rose
directs the minivan taxi about 2km up the road towards Kampala. Joseph operates a side business, a pub and
restaurant, beside the apartment he rents.
He introduces us to his cook and staff, then his business partner John,
who is a secondary school teacher in his day job. We are seated at one of the tables and Joseph
orders a Nile Beer for me and a Club Ale for himself. The girls have sodas. I quite enjoy the taste of both the Ugandan
brews. A platter of pork with vegetables
and a side dish of cabbage and tomato arrives some time later. Our hosts explain that the Ugandan custom is
to eat with one’s hands, although they have brought forks for the
foreigners. Much to Alicia’s chagrin, I
agree to try the local customs and wash my hands in the basin which the
waitress offers. Alicia reluctantly
joins in. I have grown leery of trying
meats in this country, but the pork chunks and this entire platter are quite to my liking and I eat with relish.
You may find this hard to believe, but I brought my camera
to this event also. Joseph quite
excitedly says he would love to have pictures for advertisement on the
web. After a couple of quick lessons, he
is running about with my Nikon snapping promotional shots which I promise to
forward. Rose talks to Auntie on the
phone and learns that Rebecca has had a little bleeding from her mouth when she
tried to eat dinner. A further check and
she discovers she’s missed five calls from Victoria, who is sure that her guests
have befallen some dire tragedy at this late hour. At 10 pm we bid our kind hosts farewell and
squeeze into a crowded minivan taxi back towards BKU. Friday is International Women’s Day, a national holiday in
Uganda, so the village streets are quite lively even at this late hour.
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Joseph's chef prepares a meal |
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John, Rose & Joseph |
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den of iniquity |
Rose & I determine that Rebecca’s bleeding is likely
caused by teething (her lower central incisors have just erupted) or a canker
sore on her tongue and possible early viral infection. Rose decides she will have Rebecca sleep with
her tonight, just to keep a closer eye on her.
In a lot of ways, these Bright Kids are now getting better
health care than the majority of children In the surrounding community. They have daily (and nightly) access to an
experienced nurse who knows their medical histories well – unless she is
chaperoning a visiting doctor to a neighbourhood pub. Some of the kids have serious chronic
diseases, but these have been well documented and are being monitored &
treated. In terms of improving overall
care and outcomes for these kids, I think probably early childhood
education/stimulation and reduced crowding in the dorms currently rank higher
than health care as priorities.
Rather than leave our extra suitcases here, Victoria has asked me to bring back some items for sale. Richard & Alicia are modeling the BKU T-shirts and hand-made necklace. The white ones sell for $15, the orange ones are $10 and the hand-strung bead necklaces are $5. I will start taking orders any time. All proceeds in support of the kids.
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Gloria |
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chickens are once again corralled after an attempted jailbreak |
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Dan |
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Victoria greets a couple of schoolgirls home from studies |
All the pictures are beautiful and looks like you guys are having an amaising time although allen your journy is soon ending but alicias is just begining i think it will be an amaising experence for her to stay down there for 10 extra days. looking forward to seeing u guys soon.
ReplyDeleteGratitude...thats all I can think about when reading your blog and seeing the life in Uganda. We are far more fortunate than we realize. I am sure that this adventure will be ever life changing.
ReplyDelete:D hugs to you both ~ Kim