Mixed Emotions...Sad to Leave Uganda

 Murchison Falls

We got up early and left in time to catch a ferry across the Nile. I am sad to leave the Paraa Safari Lodge. For me it felt like were living at sizzler... With an amazing buffet at every meal!

We drove through Wadongo forest where they do chimp tracking (we only saw Baboons though!), then stopped at Murchison Falls.. That was spectacular! There is such a sad history with these falls.  In the 1960s Idi amin was the army chief of staff he stormed the royal palace and through the kings out and anyone else who was against him into the River Nile.  Yoweri Museveni and his brother started tactics to take over from the government in the 80s and only came into power in the 90s when they put a stop to all the killings. Praise god!

Our return to Kampala was 6 long bumpy hours. Oh my gosh I wish Watoto added sports bra to the packing list!  We then stopped at the church office to pick up our passports, (they keep them in a safe for us during our stay).   And of course we got to stop at the markets one last time since we have been begging Colin (our host)to every day.   He just doesn't understand why women love babies and shopping so much! So we have been training him up for his future wife!  He was telling us that in Uganda you have to save up and buy cows, chooks and goats to give to the wife's family in order for them to allow her to marry him. And the quality and amount of animals that you give determines how well the husband will provide for their daughter! Talk about pressure!

For lunch we went out to a "western" restaurant it was great since breakfast was 9 hours earlier. For dinner we were shouted by Watoto to an Italian restaurant for an APPRECIATION dinner which they do to all volunteers who come to serve. We felt very privileged and honored to spend time with annie the director of the bulrushes baby home. We heard many amazing stories of some the babies that have come through the Bulrushes. She had our full attention all night. We asked many questions!
We are now back home (At Kampala) and trying to figure out how I am going to pack my suitcase and get all my African artifacts through customs!! Arrgh!


As our time in Africa draws to a close I am reflecting on James 1:27
Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after the orphans and widows and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I  would love for God to see me as pure and faultless or at least see that my heart wants to be. But not being polluted by the world is very hard when it is all around us.  This journey to Africa has helped me to see life with a different perspective. Sharing a life experience with 7 different people from around the world - the good time, the bad times, the ugly times, the sad times. But this has only made me stronger in Who I am in God. I endeavour to go home with my heart and mind enlarged and live life unselfishly by the grace of God. 
I think what it means is to enlarge our mind as well not just our capacity to serve in church or our workplace or even in our families.   Sometimes we can even put borders on our thinking.  My perspective of God after my journey to Africa has broken all mindsets and only enlarged the territory of my thoughts now. God is so much bigger than we can ask think or imagine just like the scripture reminds us. Ephesians 3:20

Sad to say goodbye to our amazing team...

God has totally exceeded all my expectations above and beyond anything I imagined before I came here....and this is only the beginning! 

We were so sad on the plane after saying good-bye at the airport

 

SAFARI

We left Gulu early to head for Safari at the Paraa Lodge. 

It was a four hour road trip that seemed to go fast because we were so excited.  Except for the toilet stop which was a hole in the ground... not a nice experience, but relief all the same!

Upon arriving it was so nice to see electricity and water was all working after being in Gulu!  Its a 5 star lodge and very warm and welcoming.  We were told that the wildlife is very close by and not to leave our doors open because baboons come in and steal things!  So funny..

Last night when we were getting ready for bed we heard noises, and right outside our door we saw hippos with a baby eating, then not long after we saw 3 large elephants and a baby.  They were knocking down trees in the process.  The guards nearby didn't waste anytime in making noise to encourage them to move on.  Apparently the hippos like to eat the short grass because it doesn't poke up their noses!

I have found out lots of interesting information while staying here on Safari.

Here are some of the things I have learnt:

• The animal like Pumba in the Lion King (Wart Hog) walks backwards into his home
• The Crane birds stay faithful all their life to their partner bird, (they are also on the Ugandan Flag and Money)
• Antelope are also faithful partners remaining with the same one for life!
• Antelope are also very forgetful, they forget where and why they are running then stop, and usually get eaten by a lion! (Hence the term "like a deer in headlights!") Thats why they are better in groups.
• The Safari we went on cover over 8500 square metres
• The Lodge is located right on the River Nile
• This lodge is 12 km from the Congo (Where the LRA are), but takes much longer by car
• When male buffalos get old, they kicked out of their herds and live the rest of their life alone
• The giraffes that are darker in colour are very old and male only
• If the lioness takes too long to bring back dinner, the male lion eats the babies!
• They sleep for 20 ours a day and divorce after mating
• People only fear elephants and not lions.  They look the lions in the eyes and they run off, but elephants charge
• Birds are always on elephants backs because they pick ticks off them to eat
• The elephants gestation period is 22 months
• They live to be 80 years old
• An adult elephant weighs 6000 kgs
• A baby elephant weighs 250 kgs
• Elephants have a 40 year memory, (If a poacher comes and tries to kill them, they will remember them years later!)
• Crocs fear hippos 
• I have also learnt to get out of the car and push next time when bogged in mud, and not to think of any unsuspecting animals lurking! 
• Hippos stay in groups of only one dominate male and the rest female
• The male hippo weighs 5000 kgs
• The female hippo weighs 3500 kgs
• Hippos like coming to graze on short grass during the night because they hate the long grass going up their noses!

LIVING HOPE, GULU

Living Hope...

Some of the Living Hope Women

Today we had the privilege of visiting Living Hope in Gulu. I have been so looking forward to this visit. 

Initially we all have dignity, but some have been stripped of that through bad circumstances. 
Living hope is here to restore dignity back to the women of Uganda who are vulnerable to or have aids. Also women who have been affected by the war. Some of these women have been physically mutilated and have lived to tell thier story. They come here to learn to be self sufficient. 

Living Hope is giving these women a hand UP not a hand OUT...

They have the opportunity to:

• Learn adult literacy and maths
• Have trauma counseling
• Have medical treatment for free
• To have Child care for free so they can go and work 
• Discipleship classes
• Receive food distribution for their family
• Make peanut butter and sell it
• Sew bags, and dolls and place mats to sell

Another incentive that they are about to launch is sanitary pads made by hand from recycled paper and papyrus paper. This is huge for living hope and will give freedom to all women as it will allow them to go out and continue working during their menstrual week when usually women are confined to their homes during this time.   

All of these things have dramatically changed the lives of the these vulnerable women who can now feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and contribute to the community with honor and respect. If women do not have these things at a young age, they have no choice but to leave school early and get married so they are not a burden on their family. Or get a job which they cannot do if they have no education. Many of these women have had facial reconstruction after parts of their faces have been cut off by the LRA.


Some of the experiences these women have been through are unthinkable and indescribable which is why they are vulnerable and feel hopeless. So living hope does just that... It restores hope alive in these women who have lost everything. Some of these women were raped by the LRA and fell pregnant. Some of these babies have been found in the bushes during the war, because they couldn't be taken care of or the mother was abducted.  These babies are now 18 months old and at Baby Watoto Gulu. 


If you would like to sponsor these women of find out more about their stories go to: www.watoto.com.org.