Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream

 Friday was another public holiday, this one to remember Archbishop Janini Luwum who stood up and criticised  the atrocities carried out by President Idi Amin, and as a result was murdered by the dictator in 1977.

It was  an opportunity for the Management Team to walk round the boundaries of the hospital so that the new Medical Superintendent, Dr. Henry, would know the extent of the land owned by the hospital. This meant climbing up the muddy slopes of the surrounding steep hills. (For Malcolm this was a bit of a shock as in the flat lands of St Neots even a gentle slope seems like a mountain!)

Part way up we passed a typical small mud and wood hut where a worker lives. Outside was a fire used for cooking .

From here there was a view over the hospital’s primary school. Like most buildings the roofs are corrugated iron sheets, sometimes painted but often rusty. 

Very few buildings in Uganda have tiled roofs.However one of the hospital's oldest buildings, now used as surgical wards and the chapel, has recently had an extension with its clay tile roof refurbished.

Further up we met other members of the Management Team. Most had brought a walking stick – being a branch cut from local trees.

At the top of the hospital land the owner of a neighbouring plot approached us, very keen to sell us her land. Most people own a plot of land which they use to grow their food as a way to supplement their income – sadly at this time of year when school fees have to be paid, they feel forced to sell some of the land to pay for their children’s education, which means in the future they can grow less food to survive.

It is usually a woman’s job to farm their land. The tools used are traditional and basic – no power tools here, just back breaking work to clear the weeds and break up the soil

 

Making our way back down was as difficult as climbing up as the ground was slippy following the recent heavy rains (Malcolm only fell over once!) There were few pathways so it was a case of trying to find a way through the undergrowth.

Half way down we crossed the river which feeds the hospital’s hydro electric scheme.

Near here we spotted a chameleon making its way through the shrubbery.

 

Almost back to the hospital and we had a clear view of its location with the hill we had climbed behind