Again...again... and again!

Fred had kindly granted us a lie in this morning and we all looked forward to an extra hour in bed. Unfortunately the hotel kitchens hadn't had the memo and began clattering and dropping pans at 5:30am, followed by the gardener at 6am who was strimming the hedges outside of our windows. Nevertheless we enjoyed a more leisurely breakast, greeted by Troy and Mark who talked to us more about their charitable work. When we got to The Ark Fred and David were waiting for us. "How did you sleep?" enquired Fred. "Like a log" replied Collette, again Fred was beside himself giggling having never heard that saying before.

We loaded 3 wheelchairs on to the bus roof, Charles strapped them down and we all headed off to Abeko. Abeko is very rural, it is the larger of a group of villages where they have built a community school and residents travel miles by foot, bike or boda boda to bring their children. The road from Soroti took us about an hour... well that is if you can call it a road! The first 15 minutes led us out of town on a smooth and wide tarmaced road laced with the occassional over zealous speed bump which we found interesting. That was until we took a turning in to, essentially, a field. We followed the narrow, and then extremely narrow, track from Attirir to Abeko. We passed tiny communes made up of about 10 mud huts and shelters, where they would cook and eat dinner, and usually a ragged dog sat for security. People tended the fields and children in brightly coloured uniforms negotiated the bushes as we passed them. Occassioanally we came acorss a more substantial and larger hut, sometimes decorated with stripes and diamonds in various shades of brown and beige. These are used for community gatherings, for teaching or worship. Some 'estates' were even luciously surrounded by a privett hedge!

I'm not sure you could call the potholes, potholes! Ditches maybe! Embankments perhaps! I'm fairly certain we lent on to only 2 wheels at one point. The tree branches scrapped aross the windows and many a motor cycle almost wobbled into the crops to make way for us. The really impressive/terrifying moment was when another minibus came from the opposite direction. Seriously this road was not wide enough for us never mind double that. We marvellled how both drivers, at some speed, actually managed to pass one another without either of them seeming to leave the track. It truely was a miracle... or a scene from Harry Potter; we were actually travelling on the knight bus.

As we pulled up to the school in Abeko we found an L shaped brick built building with a tin roof, it was painted in white and blue and over looked an astounding view of fields and forests. We parked up beside a small hut where smoke from the fire drifted out whilst they cooked lunch. A little in the distance was the 'pit drop.' This was much needed by Laura and Linzi but was not met with any delight whatsoever. They held hands in support as they approached the toilets which were in fact a very poorly sanitised hole in the ground. A festival portaloo would have been pristine in comparison. It's a memory I'm sure will stay with them and a stark reminder of how lucky we are to have flushing toilets and a door on our public cubicles. The grass had been cut to allow access and even a roundabout had been sculpted to allow boda bodas bringing students from afar to move out quickly.

The Abeko model is a wonderful example of community sustained support, spear headed by David from The Ark, who came to the area a few years ago and recognised a need for disability support. In the surrounding villages 113 children have been identified as having disabilities and their local councillors and care givers have rallied together. The project offers advice and assitance where they can to all of the children but has chosen 24 children who are in the most need to attend the playscheme each week. Another David, Agnes, Vicky and Christine volunteer to run the group solely out of the goodness of their hearts, some parents come along to help too, and co-ordinators from each of the villages communicate and action what needs to be done next. This is a very forward thinking and revolutionary plan, particularly in Uganda, and particulalry as they also self sustain it through keeping chickens, goats and bees and selling the produce. Gobal Care is needed to fund very little here and so the arrival of toys, resources and the knowledge we had brought from the UK was exceptionally welcomed. With the money we fundraised we were also able to purchase 3 wheelchairs, and we relish in the joy that we, and our supporters in the UK, have made a direct positive impact on those childrens' lives. 

After an address by the chairperson where he informed us about the work they do, how they are organised and telling us some of the individuals' stories we were given time to present the gifts and more importantly to play with the children. Some arrived late strapped to bicycles or clinging to their parents on the back of a motorbike. One young girl was carried in with a leg and a wing and placed on the rush mats which covered the floor. We lay out the quilts which had been made by one of our supporters back home on to the floor and immediately Vicky picked up a small and fragile looking girl and placed her down on the soft fabric, she smiled as she lay there. The children who were to recieve the wheelchairs tried out their seats and a young boy enjoyed pushing a cow puppet around the room in one supporting his mobility. Initially the children were stand offish as we tied to interact with them, demonstrating how different toys worked and saying hello. They were understandably aware and it was obvious they hadn't had many Mzungu visitors. They began to warm to us though as we sang and rolled hoops to them. The staff delighted in trying out some hulahooping and Collette taught the children "chick, chick, chicken" as they were amused at the actions. Pop up toys, the spinning top and stackers were a firm favourite amongst the group as were the bubbles... obviously! 

A small group of children delighted in hugging and throwing and catching the teddy bears which had been knitted especially for them and were amazed by flashing balls and a bottle filled with coloured rice, one of which was shaken constantly for 15 minutes. It was an absolute joy to stand back and watch as the children shyly smiled at one another and the playworkers threw themselves in to engaging the children sharing the different methods they had been learning. We also donated a CD player and rechargeable batteries which one boy in particular was thrilled to get his groove on and boogy to the disney soundtrack. Christine requested "Rosie take a picture of me dancing" as she embraced swaying to the music. One of the parents had bought with her a very tiny baby dressed in a gorgeous little white frock, turned out especially for the visitors. Laura gave the child a cuddle, talking and cooing at her, and fulfilling both of them with delight. That was until the little lady urinated all over Laura and her skirt. A second trip to the toilet was needed and a sense of overwhelming awe came over Laura and us all. This truely was a magnificent place. The people here were so committed, so enthusiastic and yet so deprived and seemingly neglected by their own country. They had a fierce sense of what was right and a passion to enrich the lives of these children and each other, and above all they showed immense willing to overcome the challenges. We all loved and appreciated David a little more after seeing the vision he had and how he was helping others to achieve it. I hope this will not be my last trip to Abeko, it will certainly remain in a piece of my heart for a long time to come. 

As time drew to an end we were offered water and chicken which had been prepared for us. We washed our hands outside from a cup of water and sat down to our meal. Admittedly it looked unusual by British standards but the smell was amazing and as we picked off the slighly chewy meat it was seasoned to perfection. The men discussd how it was 'local' chicken, the sort that freely ranged the streets and that now genetically modified chicken was becoming more popular in Uganda, which couldn't ring further from the trend in the UK. We said our goodbyes to these special children and their remarkable leaders before setting back off to The Ark. Following our squeals and grappling on to seats infront of us, Charles decided we would drive a slightly different track back. The road was wider but the potholes bigger, and now filled with pools from the rainfall. We came acrss many cattles sculking in the road and pleaded with Charles not to run over the goats and chickens. The men again giggled at our ignorence and we were remided how lucky we are. As we drove back in to the towns Fred explained why some houses had "THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR SALE" graffittied along their walls. When you fall behind your mortgage payments in Uganda the bank comes along and wirtes "HOUSE FOR SALE" on the side. If you then manage to catch up on your debt the residents amend the writting! 

We arrived in Soroti to find we had a puncture, Charles spent the afternoon in town getting both the tyre and his spare replaced, which came to the astronomical amount of 30,000 shillings, or £6, for both!!! We got back to more beef/goat stew and rice, with potatoes and spinach for lunch. Each meal has been accompanied by a bottle of 'soda' since we've been here. Sprite, pepsi, coke and fanta are all familar, but we have all discovered an appreciation for pineapple Novida, and today reminisced our school days with a bottle of Mountain Dew each. We had one last opportunity to play with the children before we left. I know we shouldn't say it but we all had our favourites and secretly plotted to pack them up in our suitcases to bring home. We bundled in to the room and had one last embrace, high five or tickle with each of the children before we went to Amecet. 

Amecet n'ainapakin (meaning shelter of peace) is a short term home for children and babies who are orphaned or abandonned, some even rescued from sacrifice or trafficking. Els is yet another miraculous person we have had the honour of meeting here. She came from the Netherlands to Soroti with another charity, Youth with a Mision (YWAM) in 1997 to provide help to people with HIV and AIDS. Seeing more and more children neglected and women dying in labour she was spurred on to open Amecet in 2001. It first began as an orphange for all chilren who were HIV+ but has now evolved and accepts children for many reasons. Els has come to realise the importance of reestablishing the children back in to their communities where possible and the young children only stay at the home for a few months. Those who cannot be reintroduced are adopted through the Soroti custody council to local and, in the past, international families. As you walk in to the living area careworkers and nurses sit cuddling and feeding the babies. The walls are heavily adorned with photographs of all the chidren that have come through Amecet. There were over 900 people pictured on the wall, and each who has died was marked with a star. We went around and met some of the children, holding their hands and stroking their heads, each one was truely beautiful. We left Amacet with a lump in our throats and respect in our hearts for waht this amazing lady has achieved.

From the balcony of The Ark I watched Linzi, Laura and Ella-Sophia talk with the local children; the smallest being intimidated but the bigger ones much braver handing Ella-Sophia a baby who she rocked to sleep in her arms. Collette and I talked through the events of the day and how inspired and emotional we felt as the dark grey storm clouds began to roll in. It had come to the end of our time at The Ark. We were deeply saddened and immensly proud to be involved in the next steps of this wonderful place and it's children. Fred announced he would like to "make a communication" a term we took great joy in, alerting us to listen to thier notices... and refrain from our usual hysteria. The people of The Ark had grown use to us and our ways, they joined us in our jokes and understood we used laughter to get us through our challenges. They recognised how we hold the children in our hearts and put them at the fore front of everything we do. They thanked us again, again, and again. The goodbyes were hard, I was a blubbering mess as the others managed to choke back their tears. We are truely thankful for all of the staffs positive comments, well wishes and prayers. We look forward to sharing our stories and continuing their good work when we return home.

Let to right: Laura, Collette, Linzi, Aida (Careworker) David (Soroti manager) Me/Rosie, Doreen (cook) Ella-Sophia (Global Care UK), Brenda (Sponsorship administrator), Sam (Gardener), Lucy (Careworker), Delphine (Head careworker), Michael (caretaker) and Fred (Soroti manager)

Find out more about Global Cares projects in Uganda here https://www.globalcare.org/project/uganda-disability/

To sponsor a child go to https://www.globalcare.org/sponsor/