The last day starts with a morning breakfast business meeting. There are several things we definitely want to cover. Fortunately, Victoria appears with the new BKU accountant and reviews the purchases made for the home and the schools from the funds generously donated by our community back home. These include a month's worth of food for BKU, milk and mattresses for the Noah's Ark school, a table and chairs for the preschool, and sewing machines for girls who choose a vocational career path.
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| Meeting in the Banana Village dining hall |
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| new "i-chairs" purchased for the pre-school |
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| food supplies for the BKU kids |
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| gleaming new Singer sewing machines |
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| Victoria instructs us on how the machines will be used |
We then walk to the dormitories and visit the younger children. Most of the older kids are returning or have returned to schools for the first term of the new school year. We meet a couple of young Israeli volunteers who have been here for the past month, and they encourage the kids to entertain us with some lively dance numbers. It's wonderful but sad to hug these great children and know we may not see them again for more than a year.
Check out the YouTube dance video on the link at the left hand side of this post.
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| a quick hug for Jovan |
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| Sue needs more arms |
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| Ida looking coy |
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| Carly ecstatic to be reunited with Praise while Sanyu gazes off |
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| Nadine poses with some of the girls |
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| Dan helps Obama show off his artwork |
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| Sue & Maggie in discussion in the dorm |
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| Obama takes over the GoPro, to the fascination of other boys |
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| Nadine with Don - the baby has grown! |
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| Sandra's front teeth have erupted, completing a beautiful smile |
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| a neighbourhood child poses |
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| Sanyu, ever beautiful |
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| Obama sports Dan's shades for the dance moves |
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| Praise & Don snuggle on Nadine's lap |
Alan snaps the latest in his series of portraits of Jovan wearing Alan's hat, and we tour Ruby's Room, a structure built with funds donated by our friend David Moore in honour of his mother. This building is dedicated to prayer and meditation.
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| Jovan makes a perfect poster boy |
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| Ruby's room situated in a quiet corner of the property |
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| Arnold & Sandra rocking it to the music |
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| they started with an Indian tune then switched to an African beat |
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| baby Joanne (left), Sue & Hope |
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| solid gold dancers, as John Turner would say |
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| Hope with Alan |
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| Kato is maturing and looking well |
Then it's "divide and conquer", as Carly & Scott head to Noah's Arc school while the others view the primary school supplies and the shiny new Singer pedal-operated sewing machines. Carly is impressed by the qualified staff at Noah's Arc, the sense of good programming, and the fact that her beloved Moses appears to be happy and well. She almost melts into a puddle when he pulls out a ragged photo of she and him together from a couple of years ago, points to her and signs "mother."
The other four are treated to a visit at Rose's house while she prepares lunch for herself and beautiful Angel.
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| Sue shares Rose's umbrella with baby Angel |
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| Esther plays "mama" to Angel |
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| Maggie gets a turn cuddling Angel |
The day ends with a swim, some entertainment by a local biker dude, and a great Banana Village pizza dinner. Dan and Nadine spend some quality time with Ronald, a BKU lad who is attending university studying pharmacy. It's an early bedtime as we need to leave at 2 am for Entebbe airport.
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| Women pound rocks into gravel using hammers at the quarry we pass. We hope education will spare our kids a similar fate. |
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| Bikers are a rare breed in Uganda |
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| an encore with the Big Boys |
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| Jackie and Sue have a moment while the girls show off their Ugandan dresses |
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| Nadine & Dan being "cool" with Ronald |
