The back of beyond

I'm back in Kampala for a couple of nights whilst John is going to and from the clinic every day with a volunteer dentist from the UK who is here for three days, so I thought I'd let you know how things are going after my first week in Maya. 

I love living out in Maya! It's so beautiful and peaceful. Coming back to Kampala has actually been quite a shock - experiencing traffic, noise and busyness again. I am much more suited to living rurally I think. It has been so lovely seeing Sophie and Patience again. Patience gave me the most beautiful welcoming yesterday, running out and squealing when she saw me. She's never done that before and it was very humbling that she remembered me, didn't cry and was happy to see me!

Every day (except for Sunday) I have been at the clinic. I leave Joy's around 8ish each morning and get home between 5.30 and 6pm, so the days are pretty long. Patient numbers are slowly increasing as word gets around that we're open, but most of last week was pretty quiet. It meant I could record all our stock though and get things organised, which my perfectionist self found much satisfaction in! I afraid I don't actually have a photo of the clinic, which I will rectify soon, but this is the view from my 'office'.

We are having a few teething problems with finding committed staff though which is quite hard. Our doctor stopped after just four days of working, so now we are frantically trying to find people to fill in. But the medical system here is seriously messed up so greed is a huge issue we are having to tackle in recruiting for the humble, rural clinic. Doctors can have several 'full-time' jobs at various government hospitals and so get several salaries by going to each place of work for a couple of hours but signing for the whole day. Likewise dentists are 'full-time' lecturers and yet teach for two hours early in the morning and then sneak off to a practise and get paid for both. It's crazy! Finding dedicated, passionate and selfless people is very tricky. But John is so resilient and determined! He's done the clinic very cleverly - by building on already brought land, using solar panels for electricity and rainwater storage to provide all the water, at least monthly bills aren't a problem! Please do pray for the clinic and John as he continues to bring his vision into a reality.

My favourite part of the day is the walk to and from the clinic. It is a beautiful walk which takes between 30 and 40 minutes depending on the amount of mud and if I am joined by any of the villagers. Everyone is super friendly! They all smile and wave when I pass. The kids are too cute- they run out to the road shouting 'muzungu' and 'see you' or 'bye' everything they see me. They're all starting to trust me which is so lovely! I've had several bizarre experiences of intimidating looking men with huge machete blades in hand giving me the brightest smile when I say good morning. And an old man is calling me his wife - makes the proposal I got yesterday seem practically normal in comparison, at least that guy gave me the choice.

Last week was pretty rainy and so walking on the dirt roads was a messy business and I often reached the clinic or home a couple of inches taller thanks to the cloy-ey mud collecting on my shoes. Thankfully I haven't had any slips yet; that's one experience I will happily skip!

I love staying at Joy's orphanage. It is taking a while to get to know the kids there because they all stay in their houses and I am in a different one and being out all day means I don't see much of them. It's a lovely compound and they are all very polite and friendly when we do see each other briefly. Joy (the Korean lady who started the home) has been in Uganda for almost nine years and is full of insights into the culture, as well as into everything else. She is very chatty and so we have spent a lot of time sharing our faith, our experiences and our encouragements. It's really lovely to have someone so likeminded and open in their faith - we have really good conversations about God, which I have missed since leaving India. And she's a great cook! I am getting spoilt by having food from three different cultures most days - Korean breakfast, Ugandan lunch and either Korean dinner or European (depending on who cooks). It's just as well I'm walking twice a day or I would gain even more weight due to the food here!

Every Wednesday night and Friday night Joy's family have a service together. It's a wonderful atmosphere of community and despite having actually talked it many of them, being together in Christ makes you feel so united. On Sunday, we had church which was all youth and children, and after they had a sports day. Apparently this happens monthly, and it was a lot of fun. Some games were really bizarre and thankfully I didn't have to take part in many! I taught I game we learnt in Cambodia on outreach to them which eventually was understood and enjoyed, and I was coerced into playing netball with the girls too (not the proper version as we lacked goals and positions, but it was a lot more violent than I remembered it when I was in school). Having a day off from the clinic meant to got to hang out with the kids (most of whom are teenagers so kids is the wrong collective to use) which was so lovely! They are mostly shy, as am I, so it is pretty awkward with most of them, but the couple of guys who came and spoke to me made me feel very at home. It's a wonderful place, and being away for these two days has made me appreciate it all so much more, and miss it. 

As of tomorrow I will be back out in Maya with no trips to Kampala for the foreseeable future, which suits me just fine! I will probably start tutoring the three youngest boys (about 10 or 11) tomorrow in English and maths which should be fine - I'm just grateful I'm not having to teach the 18 year olds! So that's what's ahead - days at the clinic, evenings at Joy's, lots of walking and only God knows what else!

One week in the land of a thousand hills

Last week I was in Rwanda and it was seven days of much needed rest. It was about time I had some time outside of Uganda and, yet again, mum's contacts came in handy. I had no idea what to expect from the week as I'd been very African in organising it (i.e. vague with details) but I'd heard so much about this place from Mum and Rozzie that I was excited to see it, be in a new place and breath new air.

By bus, the journey takes 11 hours and it is the most beautiful journey! I could happily make that drive every week just for the incredible surroundings. 90% of the journey is through rural country and so the whole way has views like this. I wish I had taken a load more photos, but public buses where you are the only tourist isn't the most comfortable photography setting! The Rwandan part of the journey is much shorter than the chunk in Uganda, and is full of patchwork lime green paddy fields in the valley with terraced hills on each side and red dirt tracks cutting them up, contrasting with all the greenery. In Uganda, the hills are more rolling and rustic. It is idyllic! If you ever are in east Africa, please make this journey.

I was staying with a CRED partner, Pius, and his family in their home in Kigali, the capital of this small country. Pius is an amazing man who manages to balance being a father to three kids and a husband, with working constantly on various different projects. He was very busy the week I was there, which was fine with me as I hung out at his house a lot getting to rest up after the last two months and process all God has been doing in my life. I also got to see a fraction of his work, which includes somehow being involved with a catch-up education school for ex street children, all 226 of whom are still in vulnerable situations. The CRED team were here for a week last in July, so I got l see where mum and Rozzie had been and loved, which was great. Thankfully I didn't have to teach! The structured school setting actually intimidated me a little after the last weeks of chaos I've had. 

The school is doing a great job with very limited resources and provide primary education, as well as vocational skills, for those who otherwise wouldn't get any education. 

Kigali is worlds away from Kampala, especially the Acholi Quarters! I actually struggled with culture shock in the few days I was there (who knows how I will be coming home if I was that affected by Africa). In fairness, Kigali is very developed and growing quickly. It's clean, organised, well structured, full of huge houses, landscaped and feels a lot more like a capital city than Kampala does. There was barely any trace of poor people as far as I could see (I didn't see much of the city, but drove around most of it) which made me uncomfortable.

This year is the 20 year anniversary of the '94 genocide. Sadly, I didn't get to learn much about the history of the country until the journey home. Pius had lent me a book which included a brief account of the genocide and his incredible story of forgiveness. 

The week was just what I needed, and I really hope I will be back in Rwanda in the future. 

So now I'm back in Uganda and am about to embark of my next chapter of African life... rural life. On Monday I will be moving out of Kampala to a rural village an hours drive outside of the city. It won't be fully permanent as I expect I will be coming back to John and Sophie's a few times as this really feels like home, but the majority of my time will be living out in the green peace and quiet of Maya! A Korean missionary has a children's home where I will be staying, as well as teaching some of the kids every joe and then. There are 17 'children' (many of who are almost my age) and it's a little daunting but I'm excited for a quiet, simple life too. John is starting a general clinic out in the village where I will spend lots of time during the days helping set up systems, doing health posters and whatever else I can do to help make the opening weeks successful. So, that's my next seven weeks at least, until Kenya! I have no idea if I will be able to pick up 3G out there; if I can't, I will be very quiet for the next few weeks. Go with the 'no news is good news' stance for now and we will see how things pan out.