Day 14 - Sweet sorrow

I waken early and check my flight details. It is showing on time and Alicia completes the online application for residence at Georgian College in September. Arnold scoots up to the table for a snuggle.

A farmer in southwest Uganda, near the Rwanda border went to his field one morning a couple of years ago and noticed some blood on the soil by his gate. Thinking perhaps one of his livestock had squeezed through and injured itself, he followed the blood trail and was shocked to find a newborn infant on the ground, long umbilical cord still attached. That is the story of Arnold. As Victoria says, he is a fighter.

The Arnold: fighter and stealer of hearts

I drop by to chat with Rose a few times during the day and we check over baby Don who's struggling with a cough but we only find evidence of an upper respiratory infection. I have been trying to gently temper Rose's enthusiasm for starting antibiotics early. I reassure her she has a rare opportunity to recheck the kids twice a day or more and watch how an illness progresses, rather than feeling pressured to treat the worst case scenario off the hop.

I speak with Alicia several times again about safety and caution once I have left. I am very reassured she will be responsible and careful, and I know that everyone at BKU will watch out for her.

Auntie Esther, the matron for the little ones, leaves today. She's been with BKU three months and says she has learned a lot and will miss the kids, but her parents want her to accept a preschool teaching position more in line with her training. She is close in age to my daughter Sarah, and says she very much enjoyed their chat on Skype. Unfortunately, Skype seems to drain data like crazy from our prepaid Internet stick, so we have been curtailing its use.

Auntie has purchased little banana-flavoured pancakes from a vendor up the road which she gave to her little ones as treats.  She offers a snack to Alicia & I.  We marvel at the beauty of Vicky, who is daughter of the older ones' matron.

Vicky

Alicia enjoys a hot pancake

Janat shows us the fearsome cow can be really quite docile

Auntie Esther with breakfast gifts

Salima will act as Auntie's temporary replacement

The little ones have been brought to the front of the big house to allow Auntie to pack up in piece, so I grab the opportunity for a few last day snuggles and hugs while Alicia snaps a few pictures. There is a road race scheduled today on the busier road a couple of blocks away, and some of the toddlers startle when some loud engines pass by the gate.

Robert & Alicia - good buddies

Gloria & Robert enjoy a pancake

too beautiful for words

Pauline will help mind the little ones

Salima overcomes her shyness and shows off her baby bump

Faith

Sue was agreeable to us sponsoring a child when I raised the issue a couple of days ago. I have spent the most time with the little ones, and I would love to take them all home, but when I reviewed the stories of the kids for my portrait work, Victoria mentioned that Justine was the longest standing  unsponsored BKU child and tended to be overlooked because she's shy. I am sure that the darling babies will all secure supporters eventually, so Justine is my choice.

Lydia

Faith

Jovan, Sanyu & Robert

Jovan models my cap

Rona

Don

I recruit Alicia and Kato to accompany me to the older kids' compound to grab some more portraits. We take Justine aside to announce our intention to sponsor her, but she misunderstands and keeps nervously saying "no". She comes around and jumps for joy when Victoria explains the situation to her in Lugandan after choir practice at the big house. Being sponsored means Victoria can afford more choices for this child's schooling, including boarding school for her upper grades.

smoke from burning dead brush at the big ones' compound

I recall how downcast this girl was, fighting back tears a few days ago, when I tried to explain that her vision is low and she will need to be tested for glasses. I make a mental note to research the timing of the next Rotary Club vision clinic near Entebbe.

Justine

After dinner and a shower, I have a few minutes for chatting with the adults and one last long Arnold snuggle before the car arrives. Alicia and Victoria ride with me and I remark on how quiet Entebbe is compared to the villages which are a hubbub of activity at 10 o'clock this Saturday night.

Obama and little Esther (hair unleashed)

Jovan & Sanyu

Isaac, Gloria & Dan

Lydia & Sandra

Big hugs and fond farewells to the ladies and I'm off through security at the small terminal building.

I will continue posting photos as I edit them, but no longer daily.  I also plan to add to the portraits page, so check back from time to time.  Thanks for all the good wishes and kind comments!

Day 13 – witchcraft and malingering

We waken to the crashes & flashes of an early morning thunderstorm which brings a few hours’ relief from the heat and lowers the dust levels in the village.  I reflect with some sadness that I have only one sleep remaining before my flight back to Canada.

Jannet and Rebecca are already at the clinic with Rose when I arrive.  Rebecca spent a good night with no further evidence of bleeding from her mouth but says she doesn’t feel very well and seems content to nap on & off on the stretcher.  Jannet says she felt nauseous  this morning and vomited after lunch.  Again, her physical exam is unremarkable, and she also lounges in the clinic most of the day.

Rebecca rests

Nurse Rose checks bowel sounds

Rose summons the remainder of the older kids for vision screening, aided by Alicia.  Everyone else has decent distance vision of 20/25 or better, so Justine is the only child with poor vision who will need further assessment.

Rose teaches Rebecca to write her name while Janat looks on

I visit the young ones’ dorm and laugh as they ham it up for me once they realize the purpose of the video function of my point & shoot camera.  I am saddened to hear their auntie will also be leaving tomorrow.  She had accepted the job as a temporary position, and Victoria always knew she would be seeking work in her vocation as kindergarten teacher.  Salama, the pregnant girl who is now staying with Rose will combine efforts with Pauline, a young woman awaiting the start of vocational school, to fill auntie’s spot until a more permanent candidate can be found.  The current auntie has been devoted and holds an obvious love for the children.  She will be missed.

Jovan

Obama guards the door

Jovan & Lydia

Nurse's job includes drying tears

Rona meditates

This evening Alicia & I are invited to dinner at Herman’s house.  Victoria spirits us off immediately following afternoon prayer service.  It is about a 2 ½ km walk in a direction which is new to me, taking us by some interesting homes, including one that was abandoned after the neighbours drove out a couple for practicing witchcraft and tried setting the building ablaze.  Apparently witchcraft is still quite common, and witch doctors thrive, particularly in the countryside.

Vincent & Rubegga

Arnold's nose is an endless spring

children watch dinner cooking (food is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pot) at Victoria's childhood home

Victoria's childhood home

buildings tainted by witchcraft practices

Herman’s home is on his father’s property.  We first visit the home of Victoria’s childhood, and she points out that the bricks are mortared with mud rather than cement.  A poor family is allowed to live in the house provided they keep it up.  We also visit the adjacent family plot, which includes the grave of Herman & Victoria’s father.  Herman has built a newer place just a little further along the road.  He describes the ups & downs of his life, from studying aeronautical engineering at Brown University in Rhode Island, to living as a refugee in Kenya during the Idi Amin years, and later getting a job with the International Civil Aviation Authority based in Montreal.  He lived in Mozambique during those years, then relocated to Halifax when the US wouldn’t allow his family to move as permanent residents, and the Canadian immigration lawyer advised his best chance would be to apply as an entrepreneur in a maritime province.  He spends at least two months every year in Uganda but says his children feel very much Canadian and are not all that happy about visiting Africa when he does.

After a lovely meal including tilapia from Lake Victoria, we walk back along the now very dark roads and shudder as the many vehicles & boda boda on the main dirt road pass us by. 

cleaning out the chick's area

Richard tends to the chickens

Arnold helps with laundry

the morning thunderstorm leaves a few puddles but causes surprisingly little mud

boys plan another football match