|
In
the summer of 2008, the Wade and York Families made a trip to Uganda,
and this is a summary of the trip as previously published in our
bi-monthly church magazine
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VERY
BRIEF HISTORY
The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East
Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
on the southwest by Rwanda,
and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a
substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders
with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda
kingdom, which encompassed a portion of the south of the country
including the capital Kampala.
Uganda became an independent nation in 1962,
with Milton
Obote as Executive Prime Minister. Idi
Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with
the military for the coming decade. Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated
300,000 Ugandans' lives. He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from
Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian
forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda.
Museveni has been in power since 1986. In
the mid to late 1990s, he was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders.
His presidency has included involvement in the civil
war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other
conflicts in the Great Lakes region, as well as the civil
war against the Lord's Resistance Army. In 2007, Uganda
deployed soldiers to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
Religions:
Christianity (85%); Muslim (11%), some
Hindu, Jewish and Tribal animist faiths.
Major Industries:
Agriculture is the basis of livelihood for
about 80% of the population (including coffee, tea, fish, fresh flowers,
tobacco); there is also some mining, construction, manufacturing and
textiles.
HIV/AIDS
Uganda has seen one of the most effective
national responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the
African continent. Following the end to the civil war in 1986, the new
government created and implemented comprehensive policies that
dramatically slowed the rate of new infections. It has been estimated
that the HIV prevalence stood at 18.5% in the early 1990s while it
declined to 5% in 2002. The latest figures show, however, that the
prevalence has increased somewhat to some 7%.
It is estimated that AIDS has orphaned 2
million children.
Life
expectancy has declined to an estimated average of 44 years.
OUR
TRIP
Saturday 2nd August we
flew overnight from Cairo down to Entebbe, in Uganda.
Our flight was delayed and we arrived in
Uganda about 5 a.m. (on 3rd August) where we
were met by our driver who took us to our hotel in Kampala. We arrived
at our hotel at about 6 a.m. and were due to be collected by Pastor
Wilberforce at 6.30 a.m. So after a quick shower and a hasty breakfast
we set off to Jinja where Wilberforce’s home and church are (about a
two hour drive from Kampala).
When
we arrived the congregation had already been worshipping for about 2
hours! The music group was leading the congregation in singing and
dancing – very up-tempo and exuberant praise. There was a mixture of
English and Luganda (their local dialect) used for songs, prayers and
readings.
The thing we noticed straight off was the
age of the congregation, which was made up of mainly young people and
children. There were not many people of our age there.
Wilberforce then led a Bible study on the
letter of Paul to the Romans. This was in the form of a lecture with
questions asked occasionally to the congregation. At the end there was
an opportunity for questions from the congregation about the study.
After the Bible study the Junior Church
children came and performed a couple of dances and so did the young
people from the local senior school (many of whom are orphans supported
by the church (see below). They all seemed to be really enjoying
themselves!
I
had the opportunity to preach, which was a very interesting experience
as my sermon was translated from English to Luganda. What would normally
have been a 20 minute sermon took 45 minutes! The sermon was
interspersed with clapping and ‘Amens’ – it was very encouraging
and humbling.
After this there was more singing and then
Mark had an opportunity to bring greetings from both our home Church –
St. George’s - and our national Church, the URC.
After
the service, which had lasted in total 5 hours, we had an opportunity to
meet the congregation. The ladies’ group (made up from some of widows
from the congregation) showed us the handicrafts they make to generate
an income. The necklaces are made from paper magazines!
We then had the opportunity to share lunch
with Wilberforce and his family and the Elders from the Church and spent
the afternoon with them hearing about their hopes and dreams, visions
and plans: -
-
They
would like to find a market for their ladies’ handicraft work.
-
They
would like to set up other cash generating projects to help support
the widows and orphans within the congregation.
-
They
would like to set up a short-wave Christian radio station, to enable
those living in rural areas who have no TVs and electricity, but do
have battery powered radio to hear the ‘Good News of the Gospel’
-
To
increase the ‘Pig Ministry’ - the gift of a pregnant pig to help
generate cash for a needy family or community.
-
To
set up a DVD editing suite as a cash generating project e.g. filming
weddings etc.
-
Several
of the elders are currently involved in basic theological/Bible
training along with some of the pastors from the rural area.
Currently only Wilberforce has had any official theological
training. They would like to see this continued and increased.
-
They
are currently in the process of building an extension to their
church building. They have been able to put down the ‘slab’ and
some of the sidewalls but are waiting to raise funds to continue
with the work.
Monday (4th) we had a
quiet day in Kampala as we had both been unwell in Egypt and were still
feeling the effects of our short stay there.
Tuesday
(5th) we set off early to meet up with Wilberforce in
Jinja at his farm. The farm helps Wilberforce support his immediate
family (his wife and their 5 children) as well as the orphans they have
taken into their home (currently 4 boys), Wilberforce’s brother,
Godfrey, and their sister and her family (who live at the farm and help
manage it).
As
a pastor in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Uganda Wilberforce does
not get paid so this is the only source of income he has and we could
clearly see it is quite a struggle for him to juggle oversight of the
farm, with the work of a local pastor, overseer of a group of local
churches within the Jinja region and as General secretary of the RPCU.
The
land is very fertile, but ‘seed’ is very expensive so they are not
able to farm the land to its full potential. Wilberforce would like to
have an area where he could grow more vegetables, but the farm is in
need of proper fencing to prevent straying animals from neighbouring
farms wandering in and eating the crops, and/or spreading infections to
Wilberforce’s livestock.
While
we were at the farm we saw the pigs which members of our Church family
had brought (12 in all) and met some of the people who would be
receiving them. We also had the opportunity to meet the vet who will be
providing back up and support to these new pig farmers as they establish
their pig farms. He showed us the manuals he had produced with
guidelines for caring for the pigs and a plan of how to build a pigpen.
This manual, along with medicines (de-worming tablets, vitamins etc.),
and bags of cement where given to the people who would be receiving the
pigs. Mark then named the pigs and handed each one over to their new
owner.
After
this we then went into Jinja to find our hotel for the next two nights,
which had a beautiful location right next to the shores of Lake
Victoria. As I had still not fully recovered from the bug I picked up in
Egypt I stayed at the hotel whilst Mark went off to visit a senior
school. He was very touched by what he saw there. Out of a school
population of one hundred and seventy, one hundred and twenty students
were orphans who live at the school all year round. They were thrilled
to meet Mark and performed songs, dances and a drama for him.
The
school has lots of needs: the dormitories were overcrowded and in bad
repair, the other buildings needed repair works, the young people had no
mosquito nets, the teachers had not been paid for the last three months
and the school could not afford the exam fees to enter the students for
their exams. In addition to this the school has outstanding debts and
the owners of the land are threatening eviction. Even amidst what
appeared such a hopeless situation Mark witnessed hope and joy.
He then went on into the more rural area to
visit a couple of churches. It was so dark by the time they got to the
last one they visited they had to use the lights from the car to light
up the church – which was an area with a few benches under a large
tree.
Wednesday (6th)
Wilberforce picked us up bright and early as we were setting off deep
into the ‘rural’ area to see some of the other churches that
Wilberforce has oversight for and to meet the local pastors and
congregations there. Most of the church buildings were simple structures
made out of wood with tin roofs, while other churches have no building,
meeting outside under the trees. Wherever we went, we were met with a
warm welcome.
Wilberforce
had warned me that I might be offered gifts and I should accept them, as
folk would be offended if I didn’t. By the end of the day we had quite
a collection: two hand made mats, two (live) chickens and an assortment
of veg. and had been offered drinks and food - It is quite humbling to
receive gifts from people who have so little to give. Mark and I were
quite a novelty, as some of the children we met had never seen a
‘Mzungu’ – White person!
Again
the things we noticed most was the number of orphans and the real joy of
the Lord that these folk had as we worshipped together. It was also,
here in the rural area down muddy, dusty tracks, miles from the main
roads and villages that we saw the most poverty we were to encounter
during our trip.
Thursday (7th) we went to
visit a couple more local schools in Jinja. One was a senior school and
one was a primary school. Again the buildings were in disrepair and the
accommodation that the children live in very depressing. We met with the
heads of both of the schools, some of the teachers and met some of the
children, many of whom were due to go home for the summer holidays (the
exception being the orphans who have no family member to return to).
Again we found a great joy, faith and hope in the people we met despite
the circumstances they were living in.
After visiting the schools we went on to
visit the Romans 1:11 Trust training centre - This training
centre was funded by members of GEAR through the Romans 1:11 Trust
and is to facilitate the training of the local pastors. It is hoped it
also may be developed and used as a retreat centre. On Sunday the local
Church uses it.
Before returning to Kampala we had the
opportunity to visit the ‘source’ of the Nile and to watch the white
water rafting.
We then drove back to Kampala where we
visited Wilberforce’s children at their boarding school, before
returning to our hotel (Cassia Lodge).
Friday (8th) & Saturday
(9th) we spent two quiet days at our hotel in Kampala (as
I was still feeling unwell).
We left our hotel on Saturday at 5 p.m. to
travel across to The White Crest hotel where we would be meeting up with
the Mission Direct party who would be flying in early Sunday morning.
Sunday
(10th) Having met the
‘in country’ team the night before we had an opportunity to meet up
with the rest of the team at breakfast time, (most of whom we had met on
the orientation day in May). After breakfast we went to a local
Presbyterian Church for worship, where we were warmly greeted, but felt
a bit quiet after our experience at Jinja!
After
the service we were taken to a local hotel to have lunch and an
opportunity to chill out and get to know one another a bit more. The
young people and children seemed to click immediately. There was also an
opportunity to swim. In the evening we had a presentation from the “in
country” telling us in more detail what we would be up to in the
coming two weeks.
Monday
(11th) - On our way to Rukungiri we had an opportunity to
stop for a break at the “equator”, where we had a demonstration of
water draining clockwise, anticlockwise and straight down depending
whether it was north or south of the equator or on it – amazing!
We also had a ‘Kodak’ moment for a group and family photos
with the equator signs.
We
finally arrived in Rukungiri at about 7 p.m. where we were warmly
greeted by the staff and shown our room (these were so much better than
we had feared and each day we had a bucket of hot smoky water to wash
in!).
Tuesday
(12th) After breakfast and morning devotions (led by
different folk from the team each day) we went to visit the children at
the Rukungiri Modern Primary School and the Nursery building site. As we
walked to the school through the village we were greeted
enthusiastically by the locals who greeted us with the word “Agandi”
(how are you?). As we came to the school we were welcomed by the head
master of the school and the school band. We then had the opportunity to
meet the children in the school at their end of term assembly.
They
sang us their school song. And we were invited to introduce ourselves to
them. We then sang ‘I’ve got a very big God O’ to them. Mark was
asked by John (the Principal of the school) to present some children
with prizes and to pray for the children and staff.
After
we had had an opportunity to visit some of the classes we then went up
to the building site to see the progress on the new Nursery and see what
we would be doing.
Our
next stop was the Gables vocational school. The students were on summer
break but the Principal showed us around the classrooms. The
students can learn tailoring (As material is so expensive they practice
on cement bags before being allowed to use material). The clothes they
make are then sold at local markets. The school also has some knitting
machines, where they make, for example, school jumpers to sell to local
schools. There is also a computer room – but unfortunately none of
these are currently working. And they teach students: woodwork,
metalwork and bricklaying. The school also runs a driving school – but
I’m not sure if the car would pass an M.O.T.!
After
lunch some of us we went back up to the building site to clear a pile of
bricks from one spot to another, whilst another group stayed at
Rondavels to plan a holiday club.
In
the evening after dinner we had a chance to hear some of the stories of
the orphans that live with John and Alice. John and Alice are helped to
fund the children and young people’s keep and education by a child
sponsorship charity set up by an English friend of theirs.
One
boy who was originally from Rwanda told us of how when he was a young
boy his mother dressed him up in girl’s clothes to prevent him from
being killed during the civil war and genocide. Eventually when he was
too old to be hidden any longer he was smuggled into Uganda and finally
arrived at John and Alice’s.
Having
heard their stories we then had and opportunity to pray with them. After
that they taught us some of their local dances. During the time we were
at Rukungiri it was a real privilege to get to know these children and
young people better as we saw then each day. The young people in our
group often spent time with them in evenings, just chatting and having
fun.
Wednesday
(13th) Mark went off to the building project to help move
a lot of earth, whilst James and I went to the school to help with the
holiday club. By the end of the morning we had about 120 children and at
lunchtime Alice fed 160!
In
the afternoon Mark and James went back to the building site. James and
Katie moved a lot of the boards for safe keeping at the school whilst
Mark moved tons of earth in a wheelbarrow. Whilst the boys were hard at
it on the building site I took the opportunity to join the visit to the
Nyakibale hospital. Quite an eye opener!
The
local hospital is a training hospital for nurses and most of the staff
we saw there were student nurses. There is a grave shortage of doctors,
surgeons, nurses, midwives etc in Uganda. Unfortunately even if they had
more trained medical professionals they would not be able to pay them.
We
learnt that when you are ill in Uganda and need hospital treatment it is
necessary for a family member or friend to stay with you during your
stay as they are expected to do all the cooking, feeding, washing etc.
for you. In Uganda all medical treatment has to be paid for. Often this
means people have to take out loans to pay for a hospital stay.
We
also visited the local clinic in Rukungiri, where the head of the clinic
took us round. At the clinic they have an outpatient clinic where they
do a lot of work educating people about HIV & AIDS and provide
antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. They also have a small ward to care for the
sick. One lad we saw was receiving medicine following a bout of malaria.
They
also have a maternity unit. In Rukungiri they are trying to encourage
local women from the rural areas to actually come in to the unit to give
birth, so they can receive care and treatment, especially if they are
HIV positive. An HIV positive woman can transmit the virus to her baby
during pregnancy, labour and delivery, and through breastfeeding.
If she takes no preventive drugs and breastfeeds then the chance of her
baby becoming infected is around 20-45%. Modern drugs are highly
effective at preventing HIV transmission during pregnancy, labour and
delivery. When combined with other interventions, including formula
feeding, a complete course of treatment can cut the risk of transmission
to below 2%. Even where resources are limited, a single dose of medicine
given to mother and baby can cut the risk in half.
In
the evening after dinner we sorted out the 60 cases and boxes full of
aid we had brought with us. The aid was then boxed up ready to go to the
various recipients:
The
school (uniforms, books, stationary etc.), The clinic and
hospital (medical supplies), The Mothers’ Union vocational
training centre (material, wool, cotton etc.), The Learning Life
Skills for brain damaged children & Club Foot Clinic (toys and
books), The additional clothes and shoes would stay to be given out
by Alice to those in need.
Thursday
(14th) James went to
help with the holiday Bible club, whilst Mark and I went back up to the
building site. Again the work involved moving lots of earth, mixing up
cement and transporting it in ‘wok’ like containers to the guys who
were plastering. I managed to get one all over me!
In
the afternoon we went to visit the Deaf school. Whilst there we learnt
that some of the boys have to share beds, as there are not enough to go
round. Linda and Kevin, along with Paul and Rachel decided they would
pay the Gables vocation centre to build the school the additional beds
required and provide mattresses and mosquito nets for them.
Having
seen the school the children and staff came back with us to Rondavels
for games and tea.
As
it was so hot we got out some paints and colouring books which they
really enjoyed. Rebecca took some of the children off to find shoes for
them. Janice and Andy (who are both doctors) held an impromptu surgery
under the trees and Linda painted the nails of the staff and some of the
children. In the evening after supper Rosemary and Pamela taught
us some more about the language, customs and culture of Uganda - e.g.
only bossy women cross their legs!
Friday
(15th) We set off after breakfast to visit one of the
smallholdings in the rural area, which is part of the Chilli Income
Generation Project. The family we met consisted of a Grandma who looks
after her six orphaned grandchildren. The Chilli Project helps to
provide for the family. The chillies were growing under the Banana
plants - they were very small but extremely powerful so we had to pick
them wearing gloves. Only the red ones were ripe. Once picked,
they are then dried before they are taken to a central collection point
ready to be transported to the buyer. After lunch Mark and I went back
to work on the building site. As the window frames had now arrived and
been fitted it was our task to paint them. James and some of the
young people went off with Pamela to paint one of the boy’s
dormitories. All the walls had to be cleaned and washed down before any
painting could begin.
In
the evening a local dance group came in to entertain us and to teach us
some of their dances too!
Saturday
(16th) We had a day out to Lake Bunyonyi. The scenery was
amazing; not at all like I thought Africa would be like – very green
and hilly. On the way we saw tea plantations. When we got there we went
for a swim in the lake and had the chance to go in a canoe. After lunch
we took a trip across the lake to an island by boat, where some people
got very daring by using a rope swing into the lake.
Sunday
(17th) We headed off to church at St. John’s in Nykaina.
One of our group – Rev. Roger Woods - was asked to preach and Rosemary
gave her testimony (these were translated in to the local dialect). The
worship was lovely with just drums and percussion enhancing the singing.
The offertory was the highlight of the service, for as people came to
the front they not only brought gifts of money, but also produce and
livestock! We had learnt from Rosemary that it was customary for there
to be an auction of these gifts after the service – the money raised
going to the church projects. So in the true spirit of things we joined
in: Rachel bid and won a picture of the local church, Roger some
bananas, James, Janice and Stephen cockerels, Jane some avocados and
carrots, Paul a squash and Linda got a goat!
After
church we walked to our host’s home for lunch. After lunch a dance
group entertained us. The dance group is made up mainly of orphans who
dance to help support themselves. James and Mark and Linda gave
their purchases from the church to them. During the afternoon we also
had an opportunity to visit the farm and see the banana plantation.
Linda even got to milk a cow!
In
the evening we spent our time after supper getting the Holiday Bible
Club craft activity ready for the next day.
Monday
(18th) saw half the team off to the building site and the
rest of us to help at the Holiday Bible Club. The theme was about the
message of the cross and James and I showed the children an illustration
of how sin can make us prisoners, but Jesus frees us from it on the
cross. The children then made crosses out of Banana plant fibre and
decorated a large cross for each group. Then it was off to the field
again for games.
After
lunch Mark went back up to the building site, James went off to put a
second coat on the dormitory and Linda and I cleaned the big hall and
washed its windows! - which had not been done since they were first put
in and still had all the builders’ putty marks all over them.
In
the evening we went up to the local parish Church to show the Jesus
video. The evening started with an act of worship, Sue gave her
testimony and then the film (in the local dialect) was shown.
Tuesday
(19th) Unfortunately I was ill for the next two days and
had to stay in bed, but James and Mark and the team went off in the
morning to visit the Club Foot Clinic and the Learning Life Skills
Centre (which helps parents learn how to care for and play with their
mentally handicapped children). After lunch it was back to the building
site or to the dormitory to finish off the painting. In the evening it
was movie night!
Wednesday
(20th) Working on the building site (more painting!) and
the last Holiday Bible club. After lunch there was free time, some
people went shopping whilst the others had ‘16’ a-side football
match with the older teenagers.
Thursday
(21st) In the morning we said our goodbyes to the
children at the school and the builders at the site. It was a good
opportunity for everyone to see what each other had been up to. After
lunch we set off on a long drive to the Queen Elizabeth National Park.
On the way we saw the beautiful countryside including more banana
plantations, tea plantations and traditional rural homes. On our way
into the National Park we were greeted by baboons. As we drove through
the park on the way to the hostel we also saw water bucks, buffalos,
Ugandan cob, warthogs and elephants.
The
next morning (Friday 22nd) we got up early to go on a
game drive – we saw lots more of the animals we saw the evening
before. Unfortunately we didn’t see any lions. After lunch we had an
opportunity to swim at a local hotel and then we went on a boat ride on
the lake, where we saw lots of birds, hippos, crocodiles, water buffalo
and hyenas.
In
the evening we had a lovely meal at the local hotel. The following day (Saturday
23rd) we drove back to Kampala (10 hour journey!) When we
got to Kampala we had the opportunity to go to a craft market.
Early
on Sunday 24th we flew home via Cairo.
|
