Our week - from an Examination to a Mission

Irene has had a very busy week.

It is exam week for the Vocational Training Centre, and so an exam has had to be set for the Computer Students. This is always an ‘exciting’ time as to complete the exam there needs to be electricity, and most days there is usually at least one power cut – fortunately not during the morning of the exam.

Irene is also preparing a leaflet to advertise the Training Centre. She needed to get some photos for the leaflet, so persuaded some of the carpentry students to move a podium which has been sat in front of the centre ever since the Fund raising day a month ago. Being students, they took every opportunity to fool around for a group photo.

On Friday Irene went to Mubuga Parish to help with a Mission. Unusually for this area the church has its own steeple. Unfortunately, as is the case for most church buildings, there is no glass in the windows, and the iron sheet roof has gone rusty, which means it looks to our eyes to be derelict. In fact, the church has a large congregation and is being extended to give more room.

The church is also part of a complex with a Children's Centre run by the charity, Compassion, which is much more decorative.

Malcolm has also been busy. There was the first meeting to consider a training manual he has drafted for Church Treasurers, which is hoped to be used for a series of training courses next month. He has also been continuing to tile our kitchen – but more of that another week

Apart, but not alone.

Malcolm has spent the past week working at Kisiizi Hospital again. (see blogs of 6 May and 8 July).

Although the distance to Kisiizi is only about 100 miles, it does take about 10 hours. He choices for travel to the town half way, Kabale, is:

1. By Private Hire car – expensive



2. By ‘taxi’ – meaning sharing a saloon car with 13 other people – much cheaper, but uncomfortable / dangerous?



3. By coach – cheapest, more comfortable, but leaves at 6am.

So Malcolm takes the coach. The only problem is that he then waits until the afternoon (in a local hotel having breakfast, lunc, Coffee, reading and watching the news on satellite tv) until a hospital vehicle has arrived, and the driver has completed his work in Kabale. Arrival Kisiizi, 5pm.

Poor, old Malcolm – all alone?

Don’t believe it. He is lucky to have borrowed the house of the Mission partner, Ann Moore, who is on furlough in England. This means

1. Ann’s house keeper does the cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. Peace has worked for staff at the Hospital for over 20 years. She is a very cheerful woman who speaks very good English, but most importantly, is an excellent cook! In addition to lunches she has also cooked Malcolm a chocolate cake, which has now ‘disappeared’ even though he claims he doesn't like chocolate cakes!.




2. Parsley and Heidi, who are Ann’s two cats. They really own the house and are not too sure about this strange man who keeps on coming back, sitting on their chairs, and sleeping in their bed!!! However, they have given Malcolm a good welcome, with gifts of a bird (dead) and a mouse (dead, and eaten)

The hospital is in a picturesque location, next to a local ‘tourist attraction’ of a tall waterfall – not that many tourists would come so far to see it. The Hospital is said to have the most reliable supply of electricity in Uganda, because it has its own hydro-electric generator. However, this does not mean there are no power cuts – water levels are low in the dry season and power has to be conserved, so there have been about one ‘outage’ each day, but for no more than 5 minutes each time. We understand a previous use of the waterfall used to be to throw pregnant, unmarried women off the top - a practice which happily has stopped

And what about Irene? She continues to be busy in Kisoro at the Vocational Training Centre. She also has the company of our son, David and his wife, Sarah and has had one or two visits to our favourite café, the Coffee Pot.

Making Progress?

This week there are a number of developments to report.

Earlier this month the American Peace Corp volunteer (similar to VSO), Josh, returned home for a wedding with samples of tailoring done by students of the Vocational Tailoring Centre. He wanted to see if any of the shops near his home would be interested in ordering items made here as this would be one way of generating income for the Centre and to assist the students with their school fees. He took with him samples of dresses, trousers, bags and embroidery. Irene was involved in explaining to the teachers and students the type of samples required. This week Josh emailed to say that one shop may be interested in ordering 20 pairs of trousers.

The construction of a new baby unit at Potters Village continues to move on. This week the roofing timbers were put in place, and the shape of the new build ing, consisting of circular units linked together, become clearer.

There has also been a big astep forward in completing our kitchen. We originally oredered a cupboard last November and this week it was eventually ready to be delivered and installed. The time taken has been frustrating as the unit was almost completely built last year, just needing a new worktop and drawer to complete it. It is not quite finished yet, but does mean that we have our very first drawer in our house!!! What an innovation!! (The fact that the drawer did not have a bottom when it came is neither here nor there, of course.) Being competent at tiling Malcolm was keen to start getting the unit fitted and tiling completed. Unfortunately, whereas in England you can buy tubs of ready mixed tiling adhesive / grout combined, here you can only get tiling cement powder, which requires a very different technique to mix and use, plus separate grouting. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The good news is that tiles are remarkably cheap, so it is less critical if Malcolm learns by his misteaks! (Warning for Irene. The last time Malcolm installed units and tiled a kitchen he started when his daughter was born, and finished on her first birthday!!)

Finally, a possible happy development to the sad saga of coffee cakes. In previous blogs Malcolm has admitted to some disastrous attempts to bake a British coffee cake. Not to be beaten he has tried again, with a different recipe, and there has been progress!!! The only problem is that it was so attractive that visitors were keen to make too much progress eating it leaving less for us. Well, that proves that sometimes progress brings its own problems.

If you need a toilet, find Malcolm.

We knew we stand out here, but this is ridiculous!

On Saturday we went to the wedding reception of Jovan, an officer of the Diocese Planning and Development Department, to Annet. During the various announcements in Rufumbira we were suddenly aware that Malcolm, who was standing beside one of the tents, was being talked about and everybody was laughing. We realised why when someone translated that the MC was explaining that if people needed to find the toilet then they should walk past the white man. We never realised before that we were some sort of landmark.

The reception, after the service in the Cathedral, was a very happy occasion with about 300 to 400 guests. Unlike English receptions we all ate as soon as we arrived and had finished before the bride, groom, their families and wedding entourage arrived. They had been elsewhere having photos taken and refreshments and got to the reception over an hour later.

Malcolm particularly enjoyed the cake cutting ceremony where the bride traditionally kneels before the groom to feed him a piece of wedding cake. We are not sure how well that would have gone down with our children’s weddings – the grooms might have enjoyed it?

The main entertainment was given by a youth dance group with what we think is traditional Ugandan dancing. The most spectacular featured two men wearing long blond wigs taking up hunting poses and jumping to make their hair swirl around.

Talking of hair, it’s been over 5 months since we had a hair cut – and does Malcolm need one!! The choice of hair cuts for men here is either shaved, or extremely short (a number 1). Malcolm considered getting his hair braided, but decided it wouldn't look as good on him as Ugandan women. Fortunately David and Sarah had brought out some hair clippers so Irene had a go with them on Sunday – she thinks a vast improvement. (a number 6).

Malcolm needed to look his best as he spent the week working in the Finance Department at Kisiizi Hospital, about 70 miles from Kisoro. Since the previous Finance Manager left the Hospital chaplain has been doing a very competent job acting as Finance Manager, but it was felt useful if Malcolm helped prepare the Financial Statements for the year ending June 2011. Malcolm will return to Kisiizi in 2 weeks time to hopefully finish this job.

In the meantime Irene has been living it up in Kisoro, including an invitation from Jan (pronounced Yan), manager of the Travellers Rest Hotel, to the 80th birthday party of his mother, Miriam who is currently on holiday from Holland. It was a good opportunity for a celebration.

Malcolm returned to Kisoro from Kisiizi on Friday. To round off a good week, whilst waiting for a bus in Kabale, he got ‘splattered’ by bird mess, not once, not twice but 3 times within 1 hour– and each time he was in a different location! And the last time he had even taken shelter under the awning of a kiosk!!!! Falling bird mess here can go around corners. (Incidentally, one of the style of toilets here is called 'a Long Drop' being a basic toilet built above either a deep hole or over a tall base, where solids can collect, compost and be recycled. Malcolm just suffered from a different form of 'Long Drop'!)

Some people may call this lucky. Malcolm waits to find out, but the bus did break down on the way to Kisoro. (For those interested the birds were large, grey cranes roosting in tall trees around the bus / car park – and their mess stinks!).

Welcome to the Zoo

We have got used to be some sort of exhibit in a zoo. We stick out when we walk through town to the glee of all the children “Mzungu! Mzungu!”. On occasions it can happen whilst in our house. Here only a few, more expensive houses have gardens or walls as most homes are next to footpaths. There is not the same sense of private space here as there is in England, which means that children see no problem in coming up to our windows sometimes and see what a strange way we live, even though our house is surrounded by a stone wall and a 10 foot high gate. Last Sunday was one such occasion when 4 children persisted in coming up to our window to watch Irene playing a computer game, and Malcolm reading.

They are not the only ones. This week a stray cockerel has wandered into our garden and spends a lot of time looking at our French windows – though we suspect he is more interested in his own reflection than what we are doing.

The Cathedral's vicar, Rev Habert and his wife Immaculate who live next door have also recently bought a small herd of 4 goats. The two young kids seem to prefer the grass on our side of the dividing wall, and have found a big enough gap to get through.

This is on top of the usual range of Ugandan wild life, which often seems to be on the larger than life size.

David and Sarah are settling into their role at Potter’s Village Home for Vulnerable Children. Last Sunday we introduced them to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel for lunch. Typically, even though this is meant to be the dry season there was one of the heavier, African thunderstorms which turned the garden into a lake, and forced, yes forced us to spend longer drinking in the bar.

To make sure they feel welcomed to the world of child-care they have been sharing with Ellie the full time care of a baby born last weekend. Doreen is the surviving twin of a couple who had been trying for 8 years to have children. Sadly not only did the twin die, but also the mother. There are no other women in the immediate family to care for Doreen and so on Monday, the day of the funerals, her Uncle brought her for admission to the Village. Fortunately she is a very healthy and contented baby which means that apart from 3 hourly feeds she sleeps peaceably during the night. However, David and Sarah are looking a little tired.