Return to Medi's school

Medi was one of the very first bright kids, rescued off the streets of Kampala after he had fled an abusive home at the age of 6 or 7.  The fact he now rescues other street kids, runs a primary school outside Kampala for almost 400 kids and feeds and houses about 90 of those, is a tribute to his amazing spirit and an indication of how the good work at BKU can have ripple effects that could one day reach tsunami proportions for Ugandan society.

this little piggy went to market...

upscale roadside store

wouldn't meet Ontario building code

basic roadside store

We are amused at a large pig that is hog-tied alive to the back of a boda boda on the Entebbe-Kampala highway.  The back roads to Medi's school are as rough and dusty as I remember.  I'm excited about having Rose, Carly, and Susan along for this trip.  Medi starts off showing us performance certificates for many of his children.  How they manage to excel, coming from these crowded classrooms and impoverished backgrounds is a mystery to me.  He then presents us with a cake to thank us for our interest and ongoing support.

Victoria is impressed by Medi's students' school reports

Susan is impressed with the cake

do they come any cuter than this?

School does not officially start again until next week, so only half the students are present and classes are not in session.  The inquisitive young faces are adorable.  Medi tells us that our donation from last year was used to provide electrical power and lights to the dorms and office - a deficiency that the government was threatening to use to shut him down.  I am pleased to see the dorms cleaner with new bunks.

electric lighting brightens the dorm

little do these kids know - all their good fortune stems from Victoria's great work

Rose, the BKU nurse, has started visiting Medi's school 3 or 4 times monthly to provide outreach services.  I work with her to attend a "sick parade" of kids mostly suffering from abrasions and fungal infections.  One boy has impetigo and will need oral antibiotics and follow-up.  Another poor little girl has nasty infections of both external ears following home ear piercings.  She screams down the house and I need Medi's help to restrain her while we assess and cleanse the infected earlobes.  Hopefully with oral antibiotics, she will avoid complications and suffer minimal scarring.

sick parade - Rose leaves supplies for future visits

everyone is interested to see what transpires in the medical clinic

We are all very uplifted by Medi's story and the incredible work he is so obviously doing.

Victoria, me, Medi, Susan & Carly in the back.  The important people in front of us.

two boys clown around in front of the family shop

Our uplifted spirits are taken down a couple of notches when we pass by a boda boda accident that has obviously happened just minutes before.  A man (presumably the driver) is on hands & knees on the asphalt, dazed with blood dripping from a gash on his forehead.  I consider ordering Simon to stop, but I'm held back by the knowledge that the medical kit with latex gloves and bandages has been left at Medi's school, so there is very limited first aid we can offer, and the high prevalence of HIV in this country makes it hazardous to treat bleeding wounds without barrier precautions.

The next morning when driving through central Kampala in the pre-dawn darkness we have to brake sharply for a man scurrying across the busy multi-lane street crab-like on his feet and hands, belly upwards, obviously with some disability I could not readily identify.  These images from Africa will return to goad me repeatedly over the next few days.

Sue, Carly and I leave at 5:30 AM Friday morning for a safari adventure in Murchison Falls National Park, so it's an early bedtime for us.