Note: In October of 2014, Project Redwood granted $25,000 to the St Paul and Rose Orphan Centre in Uganda. The funds will be used to start a piggery, purchase cows and build a shelter for them, build a new kitchen, establish a store to sell baked goods and produce, and install a water catchment and storage system. Project sponsor Ann Gordon McStay visited the Centre this past November. In past funding cycles, Ann has also sponsored projects for grantees Educate! and Development In Gardening.
In November 2014, I went to Uganda for the second time to visit the St Paul and Rose Centre, an orphanage I’ve been working with for nearly five years. I had gone from being just a visitor in June 2010, to a contributor, and most recently to a sponsor of the Centre’s Project Redwood 2014 grant application. The return trip was a chance to see the many new children who’ve been brought into the Centre’s family, to help the home’s directors, Paul and Rose Bogere, get ready for the upcoming school year, and to plan in detail for the use of Project Redwood grant funds this year. It was a “business” trip, really–but I did get to see Lake Victoria and the beautiful national zoo in Entebbe, and to enjoy fabulous Indian food in Kampala, so it wasn’t all work!
Getting Involved
My first trip to Uganda was with a group of donors to multi-year Project Redwood grantee Development in Gardening (DIG). On that trip, we were treated to several days at DIG garden sites in Uganda and Kenya, visits to nature preserves and day safaris in the Maasai Mara. We ate meals with local people, stayed in modest guesthouses and luxurious resorts, and saw much of daily life in villages and in cities. All the things that you read about–the material poverty of many, the incredible wealth of a few, and the gorgeous mountains, plains, rivers, lakes and waterfalls were ours to take in. The animals were magnificent, and the green land was refreshing, but for me the best part was meeting the people, especially those with few possessions but great hearts. I thought then, and still think, that we in the United States are often only rich in things; Uganda to me was a place where people were rich in love of family, friends, home and countryside. That stayed with me in the months after my first trip ended.
When Paul wrote to thank the tour group for coming to visit, and for the school funds provided by our purchases of necklaces the children had made, I wrote back to ask what I could do to help further. I had been completely taken with the children at the home–they were incredibly polite, well-spoken, careful with the gifts our group brought, attentive to the little ones in their extended family, and clearly loved. Of all the places we visited on the DIG trip, this orphanage stood out in its direct, simple accomplishment of its mission–to care for vulnerable children. I’ve always wanted to adopt about a dozen children from around the world; this turned out to be my chance to adopt a whole village of children in Africa. I didn’t go on the trip with that intention, but when the opportunity to make a difference arose, I knew I had to do it. So that’s why I got involved with the orphanage.
Arranging the Trip
As for the trip last fall itself, I was very fortunate when preparing for it to be put in touch with the travel agent DIG used in 2010, and to secure the services of the driver DIG used then also. I obtained plane tickets through an on-line agency that specializes in mission and non-profit travel, had all my guesthouse and hotel reservations made by the travel agent once I had my itinerary settled on, and had the driver’s commitment made through the travel agent as well. So I wasn’t really alone on this trip–I knew and trusted my driver, Ojok, who had taken stellar care of our 2010 tour group for two weeks, and I was going only to places I’d already visited before. No surprises–or so I thought.
On November 11th I flew eight hours on United from Dulles airport to Brussels, and then eight hours on Brussels Airlines via Kigali, Rwanda, to Entebbe. The plane was practically empty, so I was able to stretch out and get a little rest. When I arrived at 10:00 p.m. on the following night, it took nearly an hour to get through a line where a nurse checked temperatures, for the possibility of Ebola; then it was on to the visa line (available on arrival, no need to get one in the U.S.). At last, about 11:30 p.m., I was able to head out to the airport entrance, where Ojok was waiting. The first surprise for this night was that my reserved hotel room was not available–the hotel was undergoing fumigation and I wound up at a very basic guesthouse instead. It was only for eight hours, fortunately! The second surprise was that, while I was deplaning in Entebbe, Paul texted me urgently to meet him and Rose the next morning in Jinja to deal with a banking problem.
Problems!
A little background: In October, Project Redwood arranged to wire grant funds to Paul and Rose’s special account. I hadn’t counted on simple clerical errors making things difficult. I learned quickly. The bank in Jinja had sent the wrong account numbers for the transfer, and it took the entire time I was in Uganda–ten days–to straighten out the problem and get the funds re-wired to the correct account. I can’t express how grateful I am that I was in the country when this situation arose–and how much I appreciate being able to call on the phone in the U.S. to resolve problems. Doing everything by text and e-mail, especially when networks aren’t always functioning, when power outlets aren’t always working, and with the complications of an eight to eleven hours time change was a challenge. My hat is off to all the organizations and individuals who are dealing with this all the time!
So back to the banking crisis: Instead of getting to rest for a day after the two long flights, I rode with Ojok from Entebbe to Jinja that first morning in Uganda. It takes about three and a half hours to make this trip, and requires going through the heavy traffic in Kampala, so needless to say I was a bit rummy. With Ojok dodging trucks and motorcycles, we made it to Jinja where we met with bank officials. Uganda, as with much of Africa, suffers from a great deal of bribery, fraud, theft and other skullduggery in governmental and corporate circles, so Paul and Rose were worried that the money would be “lost” in the banking system and never found. After some diplomatic back-and-forth, we all agreed to wait for the world’s banking system to show that it could be trusted.
Because of the banking issues, I found myself going to Jinja every day from the start of the trip, rather than spending the first two days in Kampala, where I had hoped to do a little shopping for appropriately cool dress-up clothing before plunging into work with the children’s home. I’d only brought a couple of “nice” jackets and tops because my carry-ons and two allowed suitcases were completely stuffed with shirts and toothbrushes, smoke-alarm equipment and other items for the children at the Centre and other various organizations with connections and supporters in Pittsburgh. Oh, well…so much for plans! Ojok drove me back and forth between Kampala and Jinja that first day and the next, and then we moved operations to Jinja for most of the rest of the trip.
Life at the Orphanage
When we drove to the orphanage, the children all ran up to greet us, and as soon as I got out of the van their hands were pressed to mine–with the youngest ones holding on and not letting go! One by one the older children who are in school all came up to me, either that first day or thereafter, and thanked me for their schooling and their uniforms. They surrounded me with hugs and smiles and laughter. It was humbling to see what getting to go to school means to these young people. And the littlest ones–some so shy, and some coming right up to me to take my hand…no matter how tired I felt after riding along for hours on the rutted dirt roads, they always took the fatigue away just by being so happy to have this visitor from far away.
On a typical school day, the children, who reside in the small dormitories, eat breakfast and then walk to their schools. They come home in the early evening about four or five o’clock. While they are at school, Rose and the cook prepare the evening meal, feed the workers at lunchtime, and take care of the smallest children. On Sundays, there is a service where the older children perform–dancing, singing, playing drums and giving testimonials; after preaching and the celebrations, there is a big community meal for anyone who wishes to come.
Everyone walks everywhere, except when a ride to Jinja or far out in the countryside is necessary; then, if money can be found, one can get a ride on a boda-boda (motorbike) or in a van with many people jammed inside. But most of the time, people in the villages work their plots, fetch water from the local borehole, go to school, buy necessities at little local shops and visit their neighbors on foot.
On my first days of visiting the home, after giving out new toothbrushes to everyone (Paul asked me not to give out candy!), I walked the property with the children and Paul and Rose and other adults from the community, so I could see the flourishing matooke (banana) grove, the huge eggplant plot (grown for market), the produce garden, and three acres of corn.
On subsequent days, Paul, Rose and I visited pig farms, school agricultural programs and the DIG training center in the nearby village of Budondo, so we could gather information on best practices for the income-generating projects Project Redwood is funding with its grant. And every night I collapsed at the Hotel Paradise on the Nile–after enjoying Indian food in the open-air restaurant overlooking the river. It was like a Best Western, and was the hotel we used on the DIG trip in 2010. It was nice to be in a familiar place!
Ah! The Food
Speaking of accommodations and amenities, I have to say that I love African food, especially sikuma-wiki (spelling may vary!), a kind of stew or saute of African kale and other vegetables or groundnuts (peanuts). And the corn (maize) is gorgeous, with huge creamy-white kernels. The mangoes are lovely, the pineapples the sweetest you may ever eat, and the Indian food is delicious, whether in a small café in Jinja or at a beautiful restaurant in Kampala. Ugandan coffee is mild, and the little local bananas (not the plantains that are used as a starch staple) are like honey–heavenly. I was treated to wonderful meals of vegetables and fruits at the orphanage, and we even had beef at the special Sunday meal I attended. That was a treat not often available–maybe at Christmas or Easter, but seldom otherwise. But if you’re in a city, there is plenty of fish and meat to be had, so don’t worry if you’re not a vegetarian!
Schools
I also visited several of the children’s schools. Most of the children attend day schools, from primary through the first two years of secondary school, The older ones who are in the last two years of secondary attend boarding school, and live in Jinja in a room rented from friends of Paul and Rose. Some of the schools have only a few buildings, and some have fairly large grounds and facilities. The rooms are very simple, always–bare floors, crowds of desks or benches with some tabletops to write on, one or two blackboards, windows and a door. But the students are eager, and it made me appreciate the system of requiring uniforms–as expensive as they are and unaffordable for so many–because they give all the children, poor or well-off, the same presentation. Now, if we could only find a way to fund uniforms, books, fees and tuition for every child in Uganda and across Africa!
Soldiering On
On my last day in Jinja, I got my third surprise while visiting the DIG training center in Budondo that a Project Redwood grant is helping to develop, I badly twisted my right ankle on a rutted dirt pathway,and at first thought I’d broken it! But I could walk on it a little, so we ploughed ahead, visiting two more farming sites, learning about bio-gas possibilities, and observing different crops. It was then or never–so we kept at it! Everyone helped me, and I learned how to vault into the van and slip out of it again without putting any weight on the right foot. Could come in handy again one day!
Parting Thoughts
It was hard to say goodbye to the children, Paul and Rose, and staff and friends of the orphanage. I can still see their smiles, and feel their embraces. Rose gave me a little woven purse and a knitted placemat she had made–and I saw that talent lies undiscovered in so many places. The cook and the matron were in their best dresses, kept for Sundays. All the children waved…and then Ojok and I were off for Kampala for my last two days.
It was hard to leave. There is so much to be done, so much need, and so few resources for the poor. The government spends millions on new buildings and dams, with funds from China and other countries, but doesn’t pave the roads or put in water systems. Instead of using excess power from Ethiopia’s new, huge dam, the Ugandan president has decided to dam up the beautiful, wild Nile River and replace its internationally revered whitewater expanses with power plants that are redundant. Corruption is widespread. It would be daunting, except for the wonderful young people who want to make a difference and who are doing all in their power to learn, to create businesses for self-support and wider employment, and to be part of their country’s future.
I hope this provides a bit of a window into what it is like to travel on one’s own (with a driver, to be sure!) in Uganda. Having Ojok as my driver–knowing him from a previous trip with the DIG staff, who have been to Uganda many times and are knowledgeable about the people and the customs–made it infinitely easier than if I’d tried to do this otherwise. I hope you have a great adventure of your own soon, if you haven’t tried this kind of thing yet!