And Finally

And finally I thought I'd try some comparison photos of 2005 & 2011 if this works sorry some aren't quite taken from the same position but you get the idea.

2005

 

2011

2005

2011

2005

2011

 

The road from Sorroti to Atirir

 

2005

2011

Day 15

An early start! the alarm went of at 5am {that's 3am UK time} and having most of the packing done the night before I took my cases down to the dinning room to find that a member of the staff had got up very early to make sure there was coffee toast and fruit available for us before we left for Entebbe at 6.
Wilson was a bit latter than planned  but we did manage to get to the airport on time despite the best efforts of the local constabulary. As we drove past the end of the runway I noticed a large American Military transport plane was landing, may be the American Soldiers at the Sorroti Hotel did exist after all.
The flight from Heathrow was 30minutes late landing so that delayed our boarding but we started to taxi out about 20 minutes late, then we sat on the runway for what seemed like an age, eventual the engines went to full power and we shot down the runway . As we past the terminal building i notice through the window that the Military transporter was no longer there.....it seems like the Americans not only robed us of our drink at Sorroti but also delayed our take off!
We arrived at Heathrow 30 minutes late and with a little bit of tooing and frowing we met up with Joe who drove us back to Canterbury.

British Airways Boeing 767 awaiting us at Entebbe

All in all another interesting trip to Uganda.
Now when do I go back........................

Day 14

Having left Murcheson around 1pm on Sunday we had an unplanned day in Kampala.

We did visit the African Craft Market in the morning where we were presented with some 30 plus shops all selling much the same crafts at much the same prices. Some of us took the opportunity to buy gifts for those back home whilst I doggedly fought the temptation to buy another African drum........{a very nice Senegalese djembe}

Ok I resisted the drum but an African Drumming stool jumped into my shopping along with this nice batik

this was a gift from Wilson

We then spent the rest of the day reading or listening to music around the guest house. Apparently I fell asleep on the balcony but this I will strenuously deny.

Day 13 Easter Day

Woke early and watched the sun rise over the Nile valley then ate breakfast outside the thatched bar at Red Chilli Rest Camp, with other visitors. 

Breakfast Guests

  We then packed the van and went down to the ferry to take a boat trip up river to the base of Murcheson Falls. I had expected the same twin deck boat we had used six years ago but no it was a small boat that only carried 14 passengers this meant that we were much closer to the shore and had a wonderful experience of the wildlife.   

 

Murcheson falls from the river

Goliath Heron

After the boat trip was over we drove to the head of the fall where the whole river Nile is forced through a 7 metre wide gap in the cliff at a rate of 1000 cubic metres per second, amazing!

Looking down from the head of the falls

We then did a quick dash back to Kampala  through a tropical storm, to stay our last two nights at Kolping Guest House. 

 Comment of the day:
Dave to Wilson "When do you put your windscreen wipers on?"    
Wilson to Dave "When I cant see where I'm going"

Day 12

We set of from Sorroti to travel to  Murchison Falls nature reserve for a relaxing two days to finish our two weeks in Uganda. Not far from Lira as we started up a steep slope two lorries crested the ridge ahead side by side! It was only the skill of our driver Wilson that avoided a serious accident. We ended up on the edge of the road at an angle of about 35 decrees.
 
This wasn't the only problem on the trip as we found at the entrance to the park the $15 entrance fee is now $30 and only lasts for 24 hours with the difficulties we had had getting money out of the ATM in Sorroti this was a fee to far and we had to restrict our stay to one night. Fortunately the park officer accepted that the regular visits made by Dave Sally & Jen for School Connect made them honorary Ugandans so they got in for $15 each.     

Still we had a nice drive through the bush and saw Ugandan Cobb, Hartebeest, Duiker, Elephant, Warthog & Giraffe. When we arrived at the rest camp we were told that a Park Ranger would be telling stories round the camp fire that night if we were interested. 

The food was good if the accommodation basic but the stories from George need a hefty does of salt!!

George & his campfire

Day 11

We arrived at Atirir at around 10 to find 16 wheelbarrow loads of sand and four bags of cement dry mixed in class room one awaiting the water so we started mixing and supplying the plasterers with their needs. By the time we left the site to go the Mosses' house for lunch we had plastered most of both end walls of the room this was a great team effort by all of us.

Dave in a supervisory role

Rich & Paul hard at work

Lunch was in the  'village' of Mosses family and was rice and chicken {a staple meal served to all visitors it would seem} we then left as the rain started and by the time we reached Atirir to drop Francis off it was a full blow tropical storm, the first real rain that Atirir has seen this wet season, just what was neeeded.
It was sad to say good bye to the team of plasterers as there is still more work to do, but we have limited time so farewell it must be.

Days 8 9 and 10

We have two missions whilst in Soroti one is for the Schools Connect Staff to visit Ugandan Schools linked to schools in Kent. The Other is to do some more work on the classrooms I help to start on 2005.

I along with the rest of the male members of the team are charged with helping local personnel to plaster the walls of at least one of the rooms we built in 2005 hard work in this hot climate.

We were also invited to attend the graduation of 9 of the Schools former students this happened on Wednesday (day 9) and was not what I had expected.

The nine graduates having been greeted by flag waving cheering women

We preempted lunch on Thursday (day10) when William, a local farmer, picked some of the mangoes from the trees in the school grounds. The tastiest mangoes I have ever had the joy to eat.
In the evening Dave Cy' Sally and I went to the Sorroti hotel for a drink only to be turned away by a Ugandan soldier who said the hotel was close because American soldiers were staying there!!

Day 7

Waited at Nile lodge for Jens return from hospital all the staff and a number of the guest where very concerned for her well being, the manager had even offered to accommodate her for a couple more days if she needed to arrange for her separate transport back to the UK. But she returned as chirpy as ever and we traveled to Soroti stopping at Mbali on route for lunch. You have not tasted samosas till you have tried the ones served at Nurulis in Mbale.

We arrived in Soroti to find that the soldiers of the Ugandan army who had been staying at the Garden Guest House had not left and we would have to find alternative accommodation. Fortunately Francis the Director of Atirir Bible School found us a niece place called the Desert Island Resort. The down side is that its more expensive, the upside is that it is only two years old and therefore in better state of repair than the garden house.

My room Jabulani 2

a stone Jabulani

Day 6

17^th April

What will now be know to us as Jens Steps

What a beautiful morning  the sound of the river in yourv ears as well as the birds singing in the trees, AND it’s a rest day. We have nothing planed today except teaching Wilson to swim & a little bird watching with Jen. Well that’s the plan and the best laid plans etc etc. Wilson got his swimming lesson from David & Richard and I set out with Jen intending to go to the Head of the falls and see what we could spot. They wanted another 3000 shilings to let us walk past the gate so we turned round and went back to Nile Lodge. 

We found a path down the cliff past the Adventure Camps Tents leading to ‘Showers with a View’ and the beach. The showers were brick built up to around 5 foot the open to the view across the Nile! The beach was a very attractive swimming hole out of the main flow of the river which folk were making great use of. We stopped at the bottom for a while watching the local fishers both avian and human and a very brave young man who was body surfing the smaller rapids.

The rapids at the bottom of Jens Steps

Local fisherman

  
We started back up and Jen found was finding it harder going than I did so we stopped a number of times for here to catch her breath, then as we reach the top I watched in horror as her knees went to jelly and she tumbled backward just out of my reach!  Two of the ground staff arrived and helped me carry her to the bar where we laid her out on one of the sofas. Fortunatly there was a young American Fire Fighter Medical Technician there who immediately took over and cared for her. 

After two visits to doctors & nine stitches in her head she has been declared fit to travel and rejoined us on the trip to Sorroti.

Day 5

April 16th got up late well for Uganda and had a leisurely breakfast and a bit of work on the internet e-mail a few photos back to Canterbury Baptist Church for Schools Connect Wilson picked us up with the usual  African punctuality then we started the short trip to Jinja. This was an eventful trip being flagged down twice by traffic police the first time only to be waved on with no conversation but the second Wilson was chastised for not keeping to the nearside line on a hill and preventing others overtaking. This was a bit rich as we were stuck behind a lorry that didn’t pull over when the police flagged him down. We the visited the source of the Nile, the 10000 shilling entrance fee for non Ugandan’s was skilfully negotiated to 7000 by Wilson who argued that we had come out to help their country and therefore should deserve a discount. We declined the boat trip at an additional 10000 shillings! Both Dave and I have done this before and to be honest I’m sure it cost a third of that last time. 

The Market in Jinja {blue and white bars are soap}

We then proceeded to The Nile Porch Hotel being stopped on route by over  zealous Local Council workers who insisted that as we were in a Taxi not registered I Jija we had to pay 60000 shillings as Wilson was carrying passengers! After a long argument this was reduced to 6000 and we went on our way. Wilson's skills as a negotiator failed at Bujagaly Falls were we had to pay the full 3000 each but he got in free. This will be the last time I will get a chance to see these falls as the new Hydro-electric dam will be completed this summer and the valley will be flooded. Our accommodation is luxury bandas which are a cross between a brick built cabin and a tent with a solar heated shower & a wc in them. Each has a view of the River Nile and the top of Bujagaly falls from their veranda. 

Brown Headed Kingfisher

View from my Banda {sorry its raining}

We had dinner in the Black Lantern Restaurant which was very nice and fell asleep to the sound of the Nile passing over the rapids beneath us.

Day 4

Today we travelled out of Kampala to Kirougalouga a village school that has links to Swalecliff school we were welcomed to the compound by a large hiss as the rear nearside tyre deflated. Wilson our driver & Pastor of Kiswa Church assured us that it was a five minute job to fit the spare and we would get back no problem. We were shown the school by the Head Teacher & Pastor David who then shared boiled eggs with us a s a gift. We travelled back to Kampala to take part in Kiswa's sports afternoon travelling along at a much faster rate than is usual in the town we were starteled by a large BANG from the rear near side and Wilson pulled in to the side of the road.   



Thats what went bang than

The tyre had exploded!

Wilson hitched a ride for the spare wheel and himself from a passing Boada Boada {motorcycle taxi}and went on to the next village to have the tyre repaired.

We made it to the sports day just in time this was a great afternoon and enjoyed by us and the children.

This may be my last post as we travel from Kampala tomorrow and may not be able to find an internet connection there!

Day three

Well I gave a complete lesson today not quite the way I remember seeing it done in the UK but the children were attentive and behaved well. They are of quite a wide ability in a class of 37 what I think in the UK would be year 1/2 all could write when copying of a board they did make some simple mistakes but it was an interesting experience.

Furniture makers in Kampala {taken from a moving vehicle}

You may have seen some news reports about unrest in Kampala I want to assure you that this has not affected us other than some traffic jams as the police blocked off roads to control the situation. As I understand it an opposition politician has tried to campaign against the rise in the cost of living by walking along one of the main roads in Kampala, the rumours we hear tonight is that he was shot with a rubber bullet but I have no news of his condition.

Typical traffic on a Kampalan round about no giving way to the right here you just drive straight on

Please pray that this will be the only incident of this sort whilst we are hear.

Day two

Hi started the day with breakfast at 7am then travelled to Kiswa for a full'ish day. 

Kiswa Baptist Church School & Childrens Centre

Did some teaching and marking and also joined in with some games on 'the field' we were fed at lunch time and I was presented with a mango by the cook. I had foolishly mentioned to her that I liked mango and hoped that there would be some ripe ones around! {not quite ripe but refreshing}

Class P 1 Kiswa School

After lunch I was approached by a pupil who said "Mazungo come and teach us" That was my second English lesson of the day. I still can't get used to the traffic in Kampala! 

Rush hour in Britain many cars with only one occupant! Rush hour in Kampala many motorbikes carrying three people!! 

Who's got it right??? 

Travel & day one

Thanks to two friends of the team and a very empty M25 we were in Heathrow a full two hours before we could check our bags in. We finally boarded the plane at 9pm and after an eight hour flight landed at Entebbe at 7:33am on 12th. We were met by Pastor Willson from Kiswa Baptist Church who drove us too Kolping Guest House to drop our bags then took us in our own Matut to Kiswa to see the school. Very organised considering they have 250 children in one building sub-divided with wooden partitions. 3 nursery classes then years 1 to 7.

Kolping Guest House, Kampala

More information before we start

I am flying out to Uganda with a team from Canterbury Baptist Church we leave the UK at 21:10 tonight and land in Entebbe at 7:45 tomorrow morning Ugandan time.

We will be spending a week working at Kiswa Community Children's Centre then travel to Soroti with a two day break at Jinja. We will stay in Soroti for 5 days working with the Atirir Bible School where, in 2005, with another team from CBC, I helped start the construction of their classroom block. 
We finish with two days in Murchison Fall National Park, returning to the UK on 26th April.

The following links might be of interest.

http://kiswaccc.org/index.php

http://bit.ly/gmg219

Atirir Bible School when we arrived 16th August 2005

Atirir Bible School when we left 27th August 2005

 

Well here's a start

Right someone asked if I was going to do a BLOG whilst in Uganda well here goes cant guarantee to be able to update it much whilst in Uganda but if I do have Internet connection I'll let  you know what we have been up to.

Some start to the day milks gone off! No point getting any more so only black coffee & tea for the rest of the day!

Reviewed my packing! Cant get every thing in the small case and now have a half empty one to take!