David’s Visit

I had the wonderful opportunity to bring my son to Gulu, Uganda and share with him the things I have been doing here and to meet these wonderful people. I wanted to share with him another side of life, because I believe that Africa changes a person for the better. People bring aid to Africa, but Africa gives them a gift in return; a bigger heart, more patience, more compassion and love. One cannot return home without more gratitude for all of the blessings we enjoy living in the US; electricity, clean water, and good health. The most important discovery, though, is the recognition and appreciation of the opportunities that exist for us in our developed country. And let’s not forget that wonderful thing called democracy. Most importantly, Africa taught me to simplify my life, and I no longer desire so many worldly things. I love my simple life in Gulu.

David is very sharp and interested in politics, so he talked to people about the government here. Uganda has a dictator. He would discuss the lack of laws or the enforcing of laws, the lack of sanitation and infrastructure, etc. David will be writing his thoughts about his trip to Gulu and sending them to me and I will post them on my blog. I can’t wait to read what he says. Now I will just tell you about the things we did.

David's first day at St Jude's Orphanage

Umm, this bike lasted about 2 hours and it broke twice.  It's walking or bodas for us :)

We went to St Jude’s Orphanage on his first day in Gulu. We picked up my bike so that we both would have a bike to ride. My bike plan did not work out because the bike I borrowed from a friend for David broke two times within hours of riding it! We returned the bike and decided to walk or boda to places instead.

David at the Market

We bought fresh fruits and vegetables at the market. An African market is an amazing adventure of narrow walkways and good and bad smells and unusual sites! I was so engrossed in watching David enjoy everything that I almost bumped right into a huge slab of stinky beef that was hanging from a nail! David steered me clear of it ! You will find everything you need in this market. David’s favorite meal every morning was a cut up avocado mixed with chopped tomatoes and onions and a little salt. He loved it! And it is so simple.

David and Innocent

After leaving the market, we went to Acholi Inn for a swim. He made friends with Morris and Innocent. Just that afternoon, David got to go with me to the bank to pay Innocent’s school fees. I was glad that David could be involved in an activity I have spent so much time and money on; paying the school fees of 35 kids so far! Now, he had met Innocent and they were friends. I had told David the food rules; if you can’t peel it, and it’s not cooked, don’t eat it. He forgot. He had the buffet at Acholi Inn and he ate the coleslaw that had been sitting out for hours. He paid the price the next day by being very sick. I put him on cipro, a big anti-biotic, and he was better the next day.

David is very sick, but the monkey doesn't care!

One of the days we walked to St Jude’s, although we were fearing the rain. We played with a large trail of monster ants and confused their path and watched them scramble around; all while being very careful not to get bitten! At the Orphanage, David played soccer with some kids. On a different day, he entertained the kids by playing his harmonica for them. He met Stephen again, the driver for the Orphanage and the young man who picked him up at the airport. Stephen has a monkey, Nicky, and we played with it for awhile.

David is playing his harmonica for the handicapped kids at St Jude's

David and Stephen

The next day, Stephen took us to Paraa Safari National Park. It was awesome! We did everything in one day! We left Gulu at 5:30 and arrived at the park by 8am and immediately enjoyed seeing tons of wildlife; elephants, giraffes, Uganda cob, antelope, warthogs, etc. Eventually, a park ranger joined us in our vehicle and showed us 5 lions! I thought we got a little too close to them, but I was sitting in the backseat and new the lions would eat the people in the front seat before they would come after me ! After a three hour rest at the lodge, we ate a great lunch at a local food joint. At 2pm we caught a boat for a ride on the Nile River to Murchison Falls. We saw so many hippos and crocodiles. We returned to Gulu after dark on VERY bumpy roads. I forgot to mention, we did the whole safari in an ambulance! It was a very fun day.

Thursday, we spent the day with Aid Africa in the remote village of Rowotbillo. We assembled rocket stoves for the people. I think this was probably David’s favorite experience. First we had to load the very fragile bricks. Then we went to the plant nursery where Aid Africa grows the fruit tree seedlings that they distribute to the villages. They have grafted a mango tree with 5 different fruits on one tree! It took several hours to make almost 50 rocket stoves. David was able to go inside a mud thatched house and mingle with the local people. He has a great sense of humor and makes people laugh. We always have a great time together. The staff of Aid Africa really enjoyed David’s company and hard work.

Just loaded the special bricks for the rocket stoves 

Aid Africa showed us their plant nursery 

David is making rocket stoves with Aid Africa

Our days flew by fast and before I knew it, we were riding a bus back to Kampala. We spent the night at the Nimerembe Guest House in Kampala. The next afternoon, Moses drove us to Entebbe to catch his flight back to the US.but because we had so much extra time, we took a beautiful walk along the shores of Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week. I was so sad to say goodbye. It had many a couple of years sense we had spent this much time together; we had so much catching up to do.

David and I at Lake Victoria

My prayer for David is that he will take this experience and use it to do great things in his life. Success isn’t just getting an education or getting a good job. Success is using your life to make the world a better place; starting with your family, your friends, your country, and then the world. Thank you, David, for letting me share with you my love for Gulu, Uganda, Africa.

CONCY

I met Concy when I was walking with David to St Jude’s Orphanage. I knew that school had started for most kids a couple of days ago, so I asked her why she was not in school on this particular day. I was startled by her answer, and decided to make a blog entry especially for Concy.

Concy sells a pig every once in awhile for her medicine.

Concy is a 17 year old young lady. She is very small for her age. Concy is attending Graceland Secondary School, Level 4. Concy has sickle cell anemia, a genetic bone disease that causes extreme pain in her bones and body, and often causes growth problems. Her pain is controlled through medication and diet, but there is no cure for it. Graceland does not like any of their students to be sick with anything, for they fear infection of the other children, even though sickle cell anemia can never infect others like that; it is something you are born with genetically. She showed us the very large scar on her thigh from one of her surgeries. Because she has such occasional bouts of pain at the school, and the school has no means of transporting her to the hospital, Concy is finding her life difficult. But she is a survivor and has every intention of graduating from Graceland in two years and would like to move on to college.

I asked Concy who was paying her school fees? She is living with her brother as both parents are dead. She informed me that she paid her own fees. She sells broiler hens for her school fees and she sells pigs to pay for her very expensive medicine that relieves her pain. I asked her to show me her little farm, and indeed she did. I was very moved by her hard work and her extreme desire to attend school. She showed me her chickens, which were just a few now, as she had just taken them to the market to sell in order to pay her term two fees. Her pigs were healthy and fat. She showed me the medicine that she had to take twice a day. I was very touched by her whole story. How many of us can overcome such problems and achieve independence like Concy?

Here is a 17 year old young lady who has to take care of herself, and she found a way to do it without depending on anybody else to support her. She will go far in this life; she is already a success. She is an amazing girl. One of my very best friends in Hawaii is going to send $50 to go toward some of Concy’s school fees for term three without Concy even asking for any help at all! What a surprise it will be for Concy when she sees how far $50 US dollars will go in making a dent in her school fees (which are about $450/year)! This is what life is about; giving to others in need.

Mango Days in Gulu

The kids at St Judes are enjoying the mangos!

The trees are ripe with mangos in Gulu, Uganda. There are hundreds of trees heavy laden with fruit. It is the one time on year that the orphanage children can eat their fill of fresh fruit until their bellies are swollen. Of course, this comes with some tummy aches and diarrhea as well as some worms. As the first fruits matured and dropped on the ground, the children would wrestle over its ownership. Now the fruits lay alone and untouched as the children have reached their fill.

I brought some bubbles one day for the kids to chase and play with.

6 people on a bike?  Drive slow please!

As I ride my bike through the villages (and often through the cattle), the air is thick with the smell of rotting fruit. There is someone on every corner selling mangos for a very cheap price. It is a wonderful site. They are delicious. I have learned to peel them with my teeth and eat the mangos like the local people; sometimes with the peeling and all. I should probably consider taking a de-worm pill before I leave Uganda, yeah?!

Sometimes I have to ride through cattle to get home!

The weather in Gulu is cooler now. The days are still hot, but the evening gets cool and I need a jacket. It rains every afternoon now and usually into the night. The thunder and lightning shows are fabulous. I have pulled a chair outside just to watch nature’s fury at work. It’s hard to even dry my laundry on the line because of the rain. It often gets washed again. I've arrived home several times drenched, but I still prefer the rain and mud to the dry red dust during the dry season.

Dont take my picture!

Crops are planted everywhere. The grass is greener than green. It is a VERY dark, rich green and the brown and red dirt is fertile and bursting with crops. It is a beautiful site to see. Growing food is not a problem here.

One evening, I was at the Ethiopian Restaurant, which is a bit out of town, and this HUGE rain storm came trapping all of us in the restaurant for quite awhile. It was too dangerous to walk and it was impossible for a boda to get us (gigantic potholes cannot be seen when filled with water). Eventually, as I was in the company of Peace Corp Volunteers, a car came and took us all to our homes. Thank you Peace Corps! Joining the Peace Corps is something I might be interested in someday….

This is the offices of Frontline Engineering.  I live in the guest wing to the very left by those motorbikes.

Mombasa, Kenya

Mombasa, Kenya

After the Rotary District Conference in Kampala, Uganda, some Rotarians headed to Mombasa, Kenya. I was lucky enough to join them. We stayed at the Shelly Beach home of Rotarian Dr. Ben Abe. His home is situated right on the Indian Ocean with a beautiful view and wonderful amenities. Though, personally, I have to say that coming from Gulu, where it is difficult to find good food in a restaurant, I was most impressed with the awesome seafood that was cooked for us by Muhammad. We were there for just 4 days, but it was relaxing, fun and another adventure under my belt. We swam in the pool, walked by the Indian Ocean, read our books, discussed Rotary, and shared stories and laughter.

This is the house that Tom lives in.  He is the original builder and caretake of the entire place. 

This is the home Angela and I stayed in.

Tom is the original builder and Muhammad is the award winning chef!

A Rotary Club in Seattle, WA, had emailed me wanting to get some information about a food project sponsored by the Kilindini Rotary Club in Mombasa. This just so happens to be the Rotary Club that had a Group Study Exchange in Edina, MN with Rotarian Tim Murphy’s club. So we spent a wonderful day and evening with the Kilindini Rotary Club. We toured several of the member’s businesses, went to the home of one of them, then had a dinner with other club members. It was a great time for everyone.

Rotarian Tim Murphey, USA with the past president of the Kilindini, Mombasa Rotary Club.

Mombasa, Kenya is a really beautiful place. I am glad I was able to go to Kenya. Maybe someday I will live there.

This is the beautiful front of the pool.  It goes through a channel to overlook the ocean. 

The pool ends with a breath taking view of the Indian Ocean. 

Rotarian Angela is my roommate under this huge mosquito net.

I suppose I need to add one photo of myself just to prove that I was really there!  I didn't take many photos at all in Kenya.  I think I posted everyone of them!  I am in this photo with Rotarian Tim Murphy from Edina, MN Rotary Club.  He was also with us during the Rotary Convention and the World Vision project tour in Gulu.

And a big thank you to Ben Abe for letting us all enjoy his home in Mombasa!