3rd November 2014

On Saturday we walked to the Enro hotel where we stayed on our very first trip to Mityana  ten and a half years ago. We mainly went to see what the local craft outlet there was like but we met a trustee of another charity working in Mityana and we were able to exchange ideas while drinking our sodas. It was a very productive ¾ of an hour including discussions about water filters and rain water harvesting which are very much on our minds at the moment as we think over the possibilities for further rainwater collection tanks at Ekiwomulu.

Sunday morning was spent in church. After lunch we went for a walk but half way round our circuit torrential rain started and along with everyone else we bolted for cover. For the next half an hour we were sheltering in a local barbers shop along with about 20 other people.  No one seemed phased by the invasion. Its just what happens when it rains. When you have been out in rain like that you can fully understand why everything grinds to a halt until the rain stops. We had intended to visit “Mugaga”, a local wealthy man who breeds dogs and cats to see if any kittens were available but he was out. He has some very large Alsatians which are caged up during the day but free to roam his plot at night. The locals are terrified of him!

After discussion with Peter one of the local young men we went to pick up a kitten this morning. His family were looking for a new home for it. It is just 8 weeks old and we hope it will be a great help at the orphanage site to keep the rat population under control. The kitten was taken to Ekiwomulu this afternoon so we will check up on how it is settling in tomorrow.

The latest Esuubi recruit.

 

We spent the rest of the day starting to clear up at the Café and Ann spent some time cooking with Stella and Nora who will be working at the Café when it opens We had hoped to be open before we leave at the end of the week but it is going to take a little longer to finish everything off. The local team are anxious to open by the beginning of December to catch the busiest tourist time around Christmas and into January.

One of the sunshades in front of the Café under construction. Ann, Kisakye and Stella

Saturday 1^st November 2014

The last 3 days have seen us busy mainly with updating sponsorship details of children and taking fresh photographs. This meant visits to Ekimomulu and Ebenezer Secondary School. It has brought home to me the desperate need we have for more sponsors at present. Although ultimately we want to see the whole project self-funding we are very much in an in between stage with children in education needing sponsors and 2 houses at Ekiwomulu ready to use that cannot currently be utilised because we lack the sponsors to support the children who would live there. It is certainly my desire to  see all 9 houses in use Currently 5 are completely occupied, 2 ready for occupation and 2 needing some finishing work although largely structurally complete. Discussing the issue with Kisakye he has a large pile of files about children needing to transfer to the Ekiwolumu site so the need is there. I wonder if each of us who are sponsors could consider trying to recruit just one new sponsor each. The effect of this would be dramatic and touch the lives of a large number of needy children.

John Bosco who we have just found a sponsor for but there are many more like him who are in desperate need of a sponsor

Updating the children's profiles at Ebenezer Secondary School

 

We walked to the Café on Wednesday afternoon. It is about a 7Km round walk which took us through some places we hadn’t previously been to. Work is proceeding steadily on the Café with the builders working on the drive up to the Cafe, the perimeter wall and the main entrance porch to the rear of the Café. The plumbing is now largely complete. Signs and flags to show where the Café is situated are still jobs to be done but it is all progressing which is encouraging. Another job which I was able to accomplish one afternoon was drafting job descriptions for the staff who will be employed. Not very glamorous stuff but essential to making the Café eventually function smoothly.

On Thursday morning while Ann was updating children’s profiles, I took some time to wander around the site at Ekiwomulu. I spent an hour or so checking the louvered windows to check for panes of glass that were about to fall out and reposition them and ensure all the occupied houses didn’t have any broken panes. A piggery is currently being built which will allow us to generate additional income. The occupants will be German Pigs who are less fatty than the local pigs so this is truly an international effort!

A few window panes needed TLC!

Further essential work on retaining walls to prevent soil erosion

Work on the piggery in preparation for the new occupants

 

We also had an opportunity to see the work being done to clear some land for agricultural use. Currently there are 5 men clearing a sizeable area I would estimate to be 3-4 acres in preparation for planting Yams and Cassava. These should be at less risk of being destroyed by the local Vervet monkeys who enjoyed much of the trial planting of sweet potatoes!

Land being cleared for crop planting. The trees are being retained. You may be able to see multiple holes prepared for Yam and Cassava plants

Yesterday I went briefly for a further discussion with the local lawyer to try to increase my understanding of the various registration issues. He was extremely patient and helpful as he described the various options open to us. The route to his office involves traversing a crowded courtyard populated by chickens and young children. Not quite the plush premises his UK counterparts enjoy!

Last night all-out war on mosquitoes was declared. One had managed to slip into the net and spent much of the night buzzing around my left ear! Needless to say in my mind I already had malaria and visions of several squadrons of further mosquitos utilising an established route past our defences that the intruder had discovered!

Wednesday 29^th October 2014

The last two days have been full of a mixture of encouragements, frustrations and some interesting diversions.

Tuesday morning involved a trip to the local District Council Offices My heart always sinks a little as I am ushered into a long dingy rather grubby corridor with rooms coming off it with large untidy piles of files gathering dust and people sitting around often less than enthusiastically undertaking their duties! We sat down in a District Administrators office who proceeded to explain the tangled web we would need to work through to alter our status from a limited company with its tax implications to a CBO (community based organisation) and thence to an NGO (non-government organisation) It was clear that this wasn’t going to be straightforward but the official involved did his best to help copying a couple of vital sheets to guide us through the application process.

I left the offices somewhat downhearted but as we were exiting the compound a Mzungu( white person) stopped and offered us a lift back to town which avoided the ever perilous Boda Boda (Motor cycle taxi) ride. Geoff is a retired fireman now married to Rhoda who was brought up in Mityana We had a very stimulating discussion. Rhoda runs her own NGO helping women who have been raped so they have considerable experience in negotiating the administrative obstacle race. He like me has considerable reservations about how many different NGOs are now working in Mityana all working in isolation and not sharing their experience On Monday we had the pleasure of meeting a group who are working in a local community centre funded from the UK. We were very pleased to meet those who were spending between 1 and 3 weeks here but it was all a chance meeting as was the encounter with Geoff and Rhoda. I have a very strong feeling that there should be some kind of informal network of NGOs especially those from the UK to allow sharing of experience and helping each other to avoid mistakes and duplication of effort. We shall see…..

Yesterday afternoon we went again in search of the Railway Station-one of my favourite Mityana places. Somehow I can still sense where the steam engines once trundled through the now deserted station. Since we last visited 3 years ago the old road to the station has been opened up and the remaining track has been removed presumably for scrap. I still hope to find some small long forgotten memento hidden away in the grass but it was not to be!

No trains expected in the near future!

The deserted station Only one cow as a prospective passenger

 

 After stopping for a soda we then spent a very interesting 2 hours at the local farm project we wanted to visit.

The fruit farm

 

ON only 3 acres and over a 10 year period Moses has established a model fruit farm with a wide variety of fruit, some vegetables and rearing cows and pigs. He has developed a biogas system and developed ways of producing pesticides from a mixture of animal urine, ground up tobacco and ash. It is a truly amazing experience and a very profitable enterprise. We are hopeful that many of the techniques he has established could be developed at the Ekiwomulu site.

Giant passion fruit

The biogas system

Moses feeding the fish

A guava tree laden with fruit An excellent source of Vitamin C

This morning has again involved another bureaucratic tangle as we have been to see the local lawyer to discuss our Limited Company Registration and CBO application. It is matters like this which are not the attractive side of a project like Ekiwolumu but which have the capacity to cripple the project if not properly handled. At least I know why I didn’t become a lawyer or enter local government!

27^th October 2014

The weekend proved eventful. We were woken early on Saturday morning by the person who make the samosas for Kolping House where we are staying Ann was keen to learn how these were done and an early morning lesson proved very instructive making a good supply of 30 meat and 30 vegetable samosas to meet the days demands! We were even able to eat some of the produce for breakfast.

Susan and Ann with many Samosas

 

Busy at work!

During the course of the day we met with Nora, Stella and Phionah who will fulfil the different jobs needed to run the Café when it is ready. There are a lot of practical issues to thrash out at this stage not least who will dust the craft available for sale each day!  We did also fit in a brief visit to John Bosco's house he is the project assistant who was married just 2 weeks ago

John Bosco's new house

We did try to visit a local farming project in the afternoon but the owner was away for the weekend so that will be something to look forward to during the week. Moses is farming intensively a 3 acre site producing a wide range of fruit and other crops as well as some fish farming.

After going to church yesterday (we arrived an hour late but still we were in church for an hour and a half!) we went to Ekiwolumu for the Primary 7 leaving party. The academic year here runs January to December and the pupils swap from primary to secondary school a year later than at home at the end of year 7. This process involves exams similar to the old 11 plus so it is a stressful time for the pupils. The party is a pre exam jolly to help everyone relax and to encourage them. It was a series of entertainments interspersed with suitable speeches including one by yours truly! It was in fact great fun and some superb local food was provided.

"Slashing the cake"

The Entertainments

Message to the pupils from all their teachers

Today has been spent in some rather projected meetings to help develop the priorities for the structural issues at Ekimowulu, future funding issues for the school and discussing more details regarding the Café. It can sometimes be difficult to know what you have achieved at the end of the time but I used to feel that sometimes after meetings when I worked for the East Sussex Primary Care Trust! At least the solar panels have made it up onto the roof safely!

Solar panels in place

 

The teachers at Ekiwomulu

 

On a brief trip again to the Café we met Emanuel who has been producing some excellent carvings for the front service counter.

Emanuel's carvings on the front counter

As I write this the distant strains of Silent Night are ringing out. Christmas is coming even if the nights are not quite as silent as we would like!

Friday October 24th

This has been a busy week following our arrival at Entebbe on Sunday evening. We had a relatively easy journey from Entebbe to Mityana on Monday taking the opportunity to stop at Papercraft, a workshop using recycled paper to produce a wide range of stationary items.

We are staying in room A16 at Kolping House in the centre of Mityana which remains the best place for us to be based to allow us to meet all those we need to be seeing but having the disadvantage of being rather noisy at nights!

With a list of around 30 tasks to undertake while we are here, after discussing a plan for our 3 weeks here with John Bosco, we visited Ekiwomulu on Tuesday  to briefly see what was happening. We had the opportunity to discuss our forthcoming activities with Samuel the head teacher. Wednesday morning allowed an opportunity to visit the Café. The project is progressing well and the hope is that the Café will open while we are still here but time will tell. Work was being undertaken to complete the vehicle access and also a porch over the main Café entrance. It certainly is an impressive structure and has great potential to help move Esuubi forward to a self-sustaining state.

The vehicle entrance under construction

One major success on Wednesday was a trip to the tax office! We have been struggling to sort out tax registration for Esuubi here in Uganda to enable us to import a shipment of items needed for the Cafe. The process has been somewhat difficult but with the assistance of an amazing man in the tax office the necessary registration was sorted out and the necessary work to authorise the clearing agents at Entebbe to act for us  was completed I have to say it really restored my faith that things can function effectively here after all!

Yesterday was spent doing a walk around all the buildings at Ekiwomulu to make a job list. Overall the buildings remain in good shape but there is still the need for guttering and plastering of the walls of the various buildings. We fortunately were present when both the electrical installers and the water filter servicing agents were on site. We were able to avert a potential problem by ensuring the solar panels for the electrical installation were placed on the roof of the administration block rather than on top of 8 foot poles where they could have easily fallen victim to the 200+ small children on the site! The water filters were also serviced although 2 of the 6 sand filters have become non-functional and will need replacing but the filters nevertheless provide a regular supply of up to 60 litres of drinkable water for each house when they are fully functional.

The solar panels waiting to be roof mounted

The batteries for the electricity supply

Today we have visited Ebenezer secondary school and obtained up to date photographs of all the students. We ended up visiting 3 sites as the students have had to go to stay at various schools that are acting as examination centres for their S4 exams equivalent to GCSE.

There have not been too many casualties so far apart from one pair of glasses that Ann sat on!

Ann busy in the Office!

 

 

Saturday 2^nd February

This morning started with the joyful discovery that we both had a clean pair of socks left! It’s amazing how important such things can become as you travel around.

We have travelled today to Entebbe where we were able to meet up with John Bosco and discuss some more details regarding Ekiwulumo and the café which was helpful. It seemed very odd as he Patrick (who was driving) and Bob who we sponsor left us mid-afternoon to make their way back to Mityana

We took a walk to a new hotel on the edge of Lake Victoria to have a soda and reflect on all that has gone on over the last week and a half. It has certainly been a very full time with plenty of challenges and I think we will be grateful to get home for a bit of a rest (maybe!).

Until next time…….

A young black winged stilt on the shore of Lake Victoria

A sad and soggy day

Friday 1^st February

Today started very sadly with a phone call at 8.30 from Ann’s Mum to tell us that Dad had died overnight. He had been in hospital since Monday with pneumonia but died peacefully overnight. Our time today has been very much punctuated with many grateful memories of him.

The day has been dominated by more rain. We went out to Ekiwulumo again this morning which gave Ann an opportunity to see the new land. Still no Koalas!

Rather damp at Ekiwulumo!

This afternoon we saw the person who has been doing the tiling at the new café and I hope we have been able to secure a completion date for his part of the work of 10^th April. This evening we had a meal with Andrew who is studying medicine at Makerere University. We were able to let him have a spare Littman stethoscope (which Toby had given me) which he was absolutely delighted with. “This has been my dream”!

Andrew very happy with his Littman stethescope.