The U Factor 08 in Uganda

Apologies for the delay in this blog, but we had no computer on site as they took it apart to use for the PA on Saturday! Better late than never eh…!

Written by Dave Bonner

Before I tell you about the work of the building team let me say that we are scrupulously adhering to all Ugandan health and safety regulations. Except for scaffolding, which none of us will get on as it is constructed from whatever lengths of wood are available tied with various bits of rope – enough said.

The team is very ably led by Graham “buckets of blood”, supported by Krazy Kaz (Lance Corporal Karen Lessels), “Tedious” Tom Haynes, Dennis “Open” Gates, Tony “Raging” Bull, “Dangerous Dave Bonner and Ezekiel our excellent Soroti guide and Civil Engineering Consultant. During the week we have had the help of apprentices Ben & Beth.

Our job was to convert one of the rooms upstairs from building site to a training room for the girls who live on the Global Care site and undertake vocational training such as tailoring and craft. The room measures 23ft x 21ft and needed door, three windows, ceiling, electricity, lights, plastering and a screed floor. This would allow the training to be moved from several rooms downstairs and these ‘freed up’ rooms then available for bedrooms. Along the way we were given other jobs to do: repair the oven chimney which had blown away in a storm (along with the kitchen), help with preparations for the Saturday celebrations, fix the diesel electricity generator, clear our storerooms, checking the gates at the Global Care ‘garden’ plot and any other bits of fixing and mending that we could help with.

When we arrived, there were no material on site so we had to estimate what we needed and Ezekiel took us into Soroti to order the materials. This is nothing like going to B&Q. We visited the saw mill, carpenters shop, ironmongers, blacksmiths, sandpit, electrical shop and various other places to get what we needed. At each place bettering the price to ge the best deal. Nothing is bought with delivery so we had to find someone with a truck to deliver and negotiate a price. For the timber we negotiate 15,0000 shillings (£5), he needed payment up front so he could go and buy diesel for he his truck to get to the centre. This was likely to be his only job for the day so his take home for the day was about £2.

The building team has probably seen more of Soroti town and how it works than anyone else. A fascinating place of shops and markets with distinct trade districts, wood, iron, bicycle repair, markets etc.

To get sand you first of all find and hire the truck you need then go to the sand pit. At the sand pit you go and choose the grade of sand you need for the job you are doing, each trader having a pile of sand as a sample. You go around and barter price before choosing. Once chosen, the sand is loaded onto the truck by hand, in our case we needed 7 tons. So a gang of men with shovels loaded the sand from ground level into the back of the truck in the mid day heat.

What have we done?
We installed the 3 windows and door frame. All made of heavy metal with security shutters. Each one took four of us to life and carry up the stairs.
We put a false ceiling in the room to make it cooler. This required installing ceiling joists and then 8 x 4 boards. All timber has to be treaded with preservative to stop the termites eating it.

Electricity was installed for lighting and power points. The cables had to be run through conduits all the way back to the meter board in the ground floor stair well. We changed the exciting fuse box for a better and safer distribution box.

While doing this we also installed power points and ceiling joists in the second room ready for the next visit.

We needed a team of 5 plasterers to plaster the room and lay the floor. Their job took 3 days. The negotiated rate was 10,000 shillings per day (£3.50). they had to carry the 7 ton of sand and 10 bags of cement from ground level to the first floor room by hand using washing up bowls.

The oven in the kitchen now works again and will be a lot more efficient than the individual small fires that have had to used.

So this is our last ‘building’ day and we are confident that the room will be finished ready for use, a transformation by any standards.

During this we have had time to see parts of Soroti and Uganda, and the work Global Care is doing to help these children. You cannot help but be moved by what you see. Members of the building team have committed to sponsor 4 children and we hope to meet our new ‘nephews and nieces’ later today.

Uganda is a lush green country, the people friendly and beautiful. They live in abject poverty and with a history of wars and Aids there are many ‘child headed’ families, youngsters aged 8 or 9 looking after their younger siblings. In the UK we would not let a child that age carry a hot cup of water in case they got burnt. Despite these challenges they are happy and smiling, their clothes may be old and ragged, but they are clean and proud.

At the Soroti Global Care Centre, there is an 8 ft high chain link fence around the sit. Most day there is a group of children ‘outside’ that fence, 30 or 40 of them, looking in. You cannot stand and look at this without wondering what you can do to help just one of those children move across that fence into the centre. Our ‘changing room’ project will create space, sponsorship of a child is what will help them move across the fence.

(The rest of the group were busy preparing the site for the tomorrows celebrations, jobs like putting up the marquees, sorting chairs and decorations, meeting the sponsored children on site and practising as a ‘choir’, a worship song which we will be doing for tomorrow!)

Bye for now,
“Dangerous”

Day 9
Written by Fiona Toole

Hi everyone, yes it’s my turn to write the blog, I’ll try and keep it brief but if my journal is anything to go by I wouldn’t count on it!! Hope everyone is well back in the UK, we are all fine up to know, I just hope I haven’t spoken too soon. This morning we had our breakfast at the usual time around seven thirty. There was the usual fair sausage, beans, fruit and would you believe chips, which is my daughters’ idea of heaven!!! After breakfast Dr Tom did a short devotional, he talked about how our actions influence others and the importance of living by example. He read several verses from the bible but one that springs to my mind is we shall be known by the fruits that we bear.

As many of you know I am on the medical team but today we didn’t have any visits planned, so we were able to go with the rest of the team to a school in Abeko, which is two hours north of Soroti. It was a welcome break for me as some of the visits to various HIV centres have been pretty emotional. Some of the building team stayed behind to work on another room in the training centre at the Global Care children’s centre. They have done a brilliant job and are way ahead of schedule in providing bedrooms for the young girls who are doing vocational training in tailoring and needlework at the centre.

The journey was a pretty bumpy ride as most of the road was no more than a dusty dirt track, and as I’m usually late I ended up at the back of the bus!! We took packs of stationary and tables and chairs for the children, which when we got there we realised were much needed. The reception we got when we arrived was amazing, the children were chasing the bus and cheering, they were just so happy to see us!!! There were hundreds of children and they all want to shake hands with the “mazungos” (white people) even if you just make eye contact with them and say “Yoga” which is “hello”, they love it, many laugh and giggle, others are a little shy of these strange people who have descended on them.
After a short while we gave out the stationary packs in order of year, when they are first given their pack many look a little unsure and don’t quite know what to do with it. However later I saw many of them sitting opening their packs and showing their friends with an expression of pure delight. The school itself is situated in the bush, several miles from the nearest town. The classrooms are so basic, there is a concrete floor which is uneven and has big holes. The walls are not painted but are covered in graffiti (like diagrams of flowers or biology drawings), There is no children’s work on the walls as we see back home. Some of the classrooms don’t even have tables and chairs and the children have to sit on the floor. Some of the children have lessons outside under the shade of a mango tree and I must admit the beautiful views compensate slightly for the very poor facilities inside.
These children with their huge smiles and ragged uniforms are an inspiration to us all, how they can be so happy, loving and strong in spite of all they endure is beyond my comprehension. They sang many songs beautifully for us and when we sang for them they rewarded us with thunderous applause, despite us being a wee bit off key!!

During our visit we also had a talk from several of the Global Care representatives who work with the children in Abeko. It sounds like they are doing great things, encouraging many to return to school, teaching them about good hygiene practices, giving them support and counselling and much more. We also heard how Global care has been active in supplying wells and latrines for the people of Abeko, this has dramatically reduced the incidence of dysentery.
After a lovely afternoon we said our goodbyes and headed of back to Soroti, for another long bumpy ride home (but I made sure I wasn’t at the back this time.. hee hee)

After leaving the school we did a small detour to go and see one of the wells that have been provided by Global Care. It is very accessible for the people to fill their jerry cans and has made a huge difference in terms of health to the community of Abeko.
Unfortunately on our way home the bus started to overheat, apparently it was leaking water so we all had to get of the bus while the driver topped up the water. Thank the Lord it worked and it managed to get us back to the hotel in one piece, I really hadn’t relished the thought of walking back to Soroti in the Ugandan sun!!! Well folks sorry I went on a bit but there is just so much going on here I could write all night. Thankyou everyone for your prayers we are blessed to have so many family and friends praying for us. Thankyou also for logging on to read our daily blog we’ll all be back in rainy England very soon. God Bless and goodnight Fiona xxxxxxx

Day 8
Written by Trish White

Today we split up and either went to visit some local bee keepers, or visit Emmanuel (a now grown up sponsored child) or to the medical centre to view the children’s aids clinic. The Bee Keeping was interesting because we got to see the worker bees and we saw Bee Man (a man in a bee keeping suit). We also got to taste sugar cane on the way back which was amazing to taste! Some people went to Emmanuel’s house now and then to his old home and village which he lived when he was still a sponsored child. The medical team all went to the medical centre and saw all the children with aids.

Then we all went to the hotel and got changed for the thanksgiving for Ron’s life.
It was all very emotional for everyone and there were lots of tears. The speeches were all amazing and really hit home about how much Ron has done for Global care. The service went a bit over by 1 hr but it needed to otherwise not as many people would have been able to say how much Ron had meant to everyone and the effect he had on most people. I just want everyone to know that he was probably the most amazing man I’ve ever known.

Trish White

Day 7
Written by Sandy Lochhead

Today the medical team had a busy day. We started visiting Uganda Care, one of the many NGOs in Uganda specialising in caring for patients with HIV/AIDS. Our main purpose is to learn about all the practices and services already available in the country, by NGOs or the government, and try to find the best way to help those of our children who also suffer from this illness. The staff at Uganda care were very helpful and even allowed our team to sit through part of their clinic while they were seeing some patients. In the afternoon we met with the District Medical Officer, the person representing the government in Soroti responsible for dealing with all medical issues. He gave us some valuable information and offered the government’s support to our cause – which hopefully will be translated into action. During this trip we have also visited the Soroti General Hospital and two other NGOs –YWAM and TASO. Being originally from another third world country myself (Mexico) the lack of resources has not been a surprise, but what has really touched me is the faith and contentedness with which these people live, considering what little they have.

The building team had a break in the morning since it was time for the plasterers to finish the walls, but they were back to work in the afternoon

The children’s team had a lovely time visiting one of the schools supported by Global Care. The children were very happy and grateful since the team arrived with furniture, stationary packs and games. The team was very impressed with Richard, the headmaster, a very enthusiastic and inspirational person.

Overall it was another wonderful and productive day in Uganda. I won’t complain about how hot it has been considering it was snowing this morning back home in Scotland! God bless all of you who are reading this blog and saludos a Mexico!

Monday - Day 6
Written by Ben Savjani

Today, which is now yesterday (Monday), it’s my turn to write the blog. We shall play a game. Try to figure out who has written this – for those who know me it should be easy, so here we go….

Breakfast was at 7.30am. Liver was a choice?? Ugh!!! We had a devotion / sermon from Tony and then headed out. We were supposed to leave the site fast. Ha ha ha. We didn’t. When we finally did leave, we (the children’s team, two camera people and other random dudes) went to a school first. The school was a lot better than Sun City (the last school we went to). They had a lot of field, staff accommodation and midday meals. (this is a big clue as to who has written this).

We gave them the school packs which kids in Coventry collected and a football. They had a “very inspirational” deputy head (quote).

After this we had a goat delivered to us, to take to the family we were going to see next.

The bus driver did his usual heroics on the ‘path’ ?!!! The family was made up of seven kids and a father. The mother was mentally ill and the last babies were twins she had after being raped while she was ill. The father looked after them too. Some people on the team found it very distressing.

We got back to the site on time!! Lunch was great. We had chapattis. After this we just chilled. Played with all the kids etc. Lee did the display board for the celebration which looked very good. John White scored a goal playing footy. What!!! That’s what I said. Sorry, I can’t believe it myself.

The building team built. Nothing more I can say.

The medical team went to the YWAM clinic place which apparently was informative and also distressing.

It’s nearly tea. Yes!! Then we will chill. SOUND.
That kinda concludes today.
PS: Arsenal won!!! If you still don’t know who wrote this, my name is Ben.

Sunday - Day 5
Written by Bethany Haynes

This morning the whole team went to 4 different churches – Church of Uganda, Assemblies of God, Deliverance Church and Baptist. The Baptist, Pentecostal and deliverance (Pentecostal) were very happy clappy and the C of Uganda was not so happy clappy, they had hymns that we knew but were sung in Ugandan. We were all very warmly welcomed and felt right at home. It was definitely a very different experience for everyone. We had a buffet lunch back at the hotel and then set off for a fishing trip! To get to the lake we had to go down a narrow track with the banks either side with a small drop down to the water’s edge. When got there and saw the boats most of us said no and were a bit warey. Seeing the boats on the bank they were shallow and you could see the water pouring in. The first 9 went out and caught a few fish, a couple of us decided to have a go too! Paul Slater claimed to have caught a fish but John didn’t believe him. Quite a few people caught some fish also, they were very small fish so too small to eat really…but it was fun! The fishing was absolutely amazing and quite an experience. I will definitely do it again.

After the fishing some of us were ready for a hot shower and a wash. The rest went back to the centre. There was still some sorting out of gifts from home to do and the building team to pick up as they’d been working hard while we were out fishing. Tom and Ben kicked a football about with the boys. Dilys took a Frisbee to the field and ended up surrounded by local children again so we ended up with an organised Frisbee throwing lesson with the usual giggles and jostling for attention.

Saturday
10.30pm

I’ve actually got to bed on time but I can’t sleep. My head is buzzing with all I have seen and heard. I think I was glad of a quiet afternoon on site this afternoon – although perhaps ‘quiet’ should be in inverted commas as it involved up to 40 children playing with the parachute purchased through Barbara’s friends and family, laughing hysterically, probably another 20 playing football with Ben, our UK footy fanatic, the building team going full pelt and assorted office staff from Uganda and the UK busy working. Oh, and the unpacking and sorting of all the goodies (baby clothes, pencils, sewing kits etc) brought out by members of the team from England, and another 15 or so African teenagers practising their dancing for Saturday’s celebration. Believe it or not, after the few days we have had, all that qualified as ‘quiet’!!

The last few days have been people-packed, activity-packed and emotion-packed. This morning was no exception. A number of us went to visit an IDP camp (Internally Displaced People) on the outskirts of Soroti. At the height of the civil war, a few years ago, up to 14,000 people crammed into the camp, under the protection of the Ugandan army, fleeing from the rebel soldiers pillaging the countryside to the north of Soroti. Now only around 3500 are left. The government is trying to make them go home, to the rural north, and all NGO intervention and outside help has been closed down for the last three years. Conditions are very poor and families are surviving at subsistence level.

Yet, once again, people living there were without exception warm, welcoming and friendly to us. The arrival of our bus was greeted immediately by a teeming crowd of children wanting to shake our hands, hold our hands, touch us somehow. As we walked around so many team members were drawn into so many fascinating heart-rending conversations – with parents who fear losing what little they have if they go home, with children asking for school books, with brick-makers who cannot afford to buy the bricks they make themselves, who build their own homes with mud and water, with a teenage mum who became pregnant while at school and now lives alone at the camp with her two month old baby and another teenage friend with a six week old baby – scratching a living selling tomatoes and raw cassava. Such beautiful babies, such a precarious existence. For them and for so many others we met.

At these times I try to remind myself of two things. One, as Ron Newby always said, ‘you can’t do everything but you mustn’t do nothing’, and I thank God for the work of Global Care, which is reaching out into at least some of these desperate lives and giving people hope. I am privileged to be seeing first-hand exactly what a difference even a little giving can make. Secondly, and possibly even more importantly, I am reminded to “fix my eyes upon Jesus”. He endured all things, betrayal, abandonment, torture and an agonising death, for the joy set before him. “Consider him… so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.” In him are my answers, and Uganda’s answers, ultimately found.

Carolyn

* also on Saturday, various members visited Soroti market. Others visited a successful citrus farm in the afternoon. Lee and Kathryn taught our sewing teacher, Gertrude, at the Soroti centre, how to do macramé – a new skill she picked up very quickly and was keen to use, to make crafts for sale.

Day 1

After traveling from 4am til 8pm at night (including a 1hr flight and 8 hours flight, as you would expect we were very tired! I think some people were able to sleep during the flight but others were just too excited for the trip ahead. The in-flight entertainment was amazing – 50+ movies to choose from and snacks and drinks offered every hour (I have only traveled on budget airlines so this was a real blessing!)
We arrived in Entebbe airport at 7.45pm and traveled from there to the local catholic guesthouse. After a bit of room sorting we got settled. The rooms were basic hostel accommodation but perfectly ok, we were all so tired I don’t think it would have matter where we were sleeping!

Day 2

Waking for breakfast at 6.30am, we packed up the bus while watching fruit bats fly overhead, with some of our cases on an open pickup truck (tied on with tarpaulin and string! we were a little concerned!) and left at 7.30am to start our 8-9 hour trip to Soroti. During the trip there was so much beauty to see, some of us actually got a sore necks from looking out the window for so long but it was definitely worth it! We passed through Kampala town centre and we amazed to see fuschia painted shops and open market stalls selling the fresh fruit. There were many cars and bicycles all fighting for a space on the road and traffic lights that were horizontal rather than our vertical light pattern! How strange but quite a good idea too. After Kampala we passed through various villages, schools and churches, all so unique and different. There were plenty of children during the journey, all smiling and waving, so special and carefree. We stopped during the trip to pick up some tasty samosas for lunch break (John’s idea) and what a great idea, they were so nice, I had 3! We also stopped at a hotel in Jinga, the source of the nile, very briefly for a much needed toilet break after about 3 hours on the road with crossed legs!
We continued our journey and traveled through Mbale town, which was very pretty and much less busy, but still had lots of shops selling all you could want, many Paint shops for some reason! They must really like painting things!
After this we continued to travel in our bus through more villages, with the scenery getting more rural and picturesque with fields of tea, rice, sugarcane and bananas…such diversity and lush greenery (from the recent rains). I’m when the documentary is ready you will be amazed by the beauty of it all.
We arrived at Soroti around 5pm, a little tired and achy but happy for the week ahead. Soroti itself is a small but busy town with many shops and people.
Our first real impression was a car with blaringly loud music and people handing our leaflets as they drove by, I thought it was adverts for a concert or disco or something…but it was for a company marketing clean safe water and (I think) tablets that purify the local water. Saying “don’t drink unsafe water”. This was so refreshing to see. What a great idea.
We arrived at The Soroti Hotel and after a bit of fuss we got our room keys. I think we were just relieved to have a space we could call ours and relax after such a long journey. The rooms were very nice, I didn’t have high expectations in case it was very basic but it was a good as some 3 star UK hotels, which was a really pleasant surprise. Each room had a balcony area, mine with a view of the surrounding countryside. Really lovely.
We had dinner at 7.30pm, after another bit of fuss, but I think we were all happy with the meals we received and again we were so hungry by that stage that it didn’t really matter so much.
Most of us phoned our families after dinner and personally it was nice to be able to let my mum know all was well. Some of us were called upon to do our video diaries for that day, which I think we are getting used to doing, if a little daunting at first, I found it hard to remember what I did and felt but I think it will get easier . There was a heavy rain storm during that evening also, which was a great experience if a little slippery to walk in flip flops! We went to bed tired but content at around 8.30pm.
NB – on first impressions Uganda is a very beautiful country. The towns are a more rustic version of England with similar shops and things going on but in a very different setting. A blend between the past and the present. With modern and basic living entwining throughout.

Day 3

We enjoyed fresh fruit and would you believe a full English breakfast minus the bacon at 8am together in the outside but covered seating area. During our breakfast we saw what we think was a dung beetle, although I think it could easily have been a child’s wind up toy from the way it was moving, it even looked like it was made from plastic...amazing.
We had a meeting after breakfast to sort out our plan for the day and John shared from the bible on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. How Jesus was tempted by power, food and to test God. He talked about how this related to our trip and that we have a lot of power being from the west but we need to be guided in how to use this for good, also that we will see a lot of need and we need to be wise in how to respond to this in the right way instead of trying to fix it with giving money or what we think is the right thing. We need to be sensitive to each situation. How we are going to see hunger when we have plenty and also become frustrated with seeing the lush and fertile land and next to this the starving children, what injustice. But how to turn this anger to righteous anger and action. Also that we can provide food to the people of Uganda through our projects but they cannot survive on bread alone, they need the full life that Jesus brings to complete the picture, so we are to be ourselves and share this with the children and adults we meet, as with physical food they will get hungry again but with spiritual food (the bible) as well they will never hunger and God will provide for them also. I think it was very good for us to be reminded of this, for our first day of work in Uganda.

In the morning we went for our first visit of the Global Care centre where we will be based for the week. It was lovely to see it in real life, after seeing it in photos many times, it’s never the same. We had a really nice welcome from Anne, the centre manager for Global Care Uganda and Steve who is the area manager also. We were introduced to the Ugandan staff and volunteers and felt very welcome. After a tour of the site and some discussions with Anne & Steve, we confirmed each team’s plans for the week. The Children’s activity team (including myself) went to a local primary school (which we have sponsored children at) in the morning to experience some Ugandan lessons, one group went to an English Lesson and the other to experience a Relationships/Sex education lesson. Both groups said they enjoyed seeing how school was for the children of Uganda. The children were so welcoming and kind to us, always smiling and interested in who we were (staring at us in amazement) this mini bus full of Europeans! We must look quite strange. After the lessons we joined up to take part in Physical Education (sports) which was very energetic as you would expect at any primary school I suppose..too tiring for me, esp in the midday sun, but some of the group joined in and really loved sharing in this with the children. It was nice to show that we are not just there to take photos but because we are interested in them as people. During their afternoon, they split into two groups, one going to a local families home to talk about sponsorship and their life, the other organizing various games and activities at the centre for the children and teenagers that had come.
The Medical team spent time at a local hospital, I think they all were quite challenged from the experience but pleased to be able to see the situation even if painful to see people with aids and long term illnesses. They returned at lunchtime to discuss their plans for the week and the issues that had been raised during this initial visit.
The Building team spent their day buying materials for the work to come. Travelling to town and back several times and moving equipment into place. I believe they will start with doing the inner flooring and ceilings and then move onto the electrics also.
The Media team traveled with all the groups to film and photograph the experience as part of the documentary.
The IT Team – Liz (from GC office) spent her morning in the local bank changing peoples extra spending money and sorting out all the accounts for the trip, which is a big job with 27 people and teams buying equipment etc and as you can read, I (Laura from GC office) spent my morning with the children’s team and afternoon writing this blog (for the past 3 days diaries) I hope I have remembered everything!
You can see I know much more about the team I was with, but hope to find out a bit more from each team with our debrief at the end of this day.
We returned to the hotel for 5.30pm, for a 7pm meal.

This picture shows some stuff that we have been given to take to Uganda, or that we have bought with money gifts. Barbara is busy trying to pack it as I write. There is 23kg of it including reference books, writing and drawing materials, sewing kit and toys and games. The gifts came from friends and work mates. Our church also gave £400 to Global Care for the work.
From The Heyes Family.

Hi everyone,
I am writing lists of things to take, to do and to order at the moment...

I hear most of the team are doing the same, along with packing suitcases with craft supplies and toys for the children's activities and filling any gaps in our suitcases with thimbles, scissors, dressmaking scissors and stationery to give to our girls at the Soroti centre and local children also, so if you want to donate these items - please give them to your nearest U Factor team member!

At the office...it's all go! we are ordering equipment for the video cameras (watch this space for the mini documentary in the spring), collecting hardcase suitcases for packing extra supplies, sending out insurance documents to each team member, answering any queries ordering gifts and plaques for the anniversary day on 1st November at the Soroti centre but mostly writing checklists so that nothing is left behind!

Everyone has now paid their final deposits which is great news..so we are all going now for definate! only 14 days til we leave on our 6am flight from Birmingham!

Paul & I have our final vaccinations for yellow fever today (the live virus, which sounds quite scary)..then only malaria tablets left to take..all these injections and tablets are quite expensive but at least they cover you for 10 years, so here's to future trips abroad!

Take care everyone and see you soon.