Friday, September 12:  Well – we arrived after a long, uneventful (in a good way) journey.   Eight of us left Memorial Presbyterian Church in Midland at 1:00 pm on Wednesday and Jan Babcock drove the Vieles where we met at the Detroit airport.  We all arrived at our hotel in Kampala, Uganda at 1:00 a.m. on Friday (6:00 pm Thursday USA time).   After a quick night’s sleep we were up having breakfast at 8:00 a.m. – a meat turnover, eggs, toast, juice and coffee.   Our hosts at the hotel are wonderful and the food is very delicious.  After breakfast five of us headed to the local market to shop for locally made wares and five of us headed for shopping at the “western” market to complete our purchases for Michelle’s eight-month stay in the village, some banking and lunch.  We all met back at the hotel for a little rest, then off to Steven Bandutsya’s home for dinner.  Steven is a local Rotarian who is familiar with ACT and has been very supportive with the development of ACT in Uganda.  We will be working with him in the future on a program for exchange students.   Another highlight was Toni Stanfield, one of our team members, meeting Rauben.  Toni has sponsored him as an orphan through Christian Children’s Fund for the last two years and he has just completed his first two years at a vocational school in Kampala.  It was a great day full of interesting sights, sounds and meeting many friendly and welcoming individuals.

Saturday, September 13, 2014  Saturday’s travel from Kampala to Kabale turned out to be a bit more interesting than our travels from Michigan to Kampala.  We woke, had a good breakfast and packed up the two vans.  All of this went very well and we were on the road on time!   However, 1.5 hours into the trip, one of the vans had some issues with one of the wheels.  Thanks to some helpful villagers and the expertise of our two van drivers, it was fixed and we were on the road in about an hour.  During that hour we made friends with some of the children of the village and tried to handle the heat and sun.   A highlight of the trip was the stop at the equator … that’s something you can’t do everyday!   Back on the road again, and believe it or not, about two hours later the same van blew the alternator belt.  Once again, because of the expertise of our two van drivers, the belt from the air conditioner was removed and replaced the alternator belt.  Once again, we made friends with more village children while the van work was being done alongside the road and we once again survived the sun and heat.  Those in the van then rode in a very hot van, with only the breeze keeping them cool.   But, the story ends on a happy note … we made it to our hotel in Kabale before dark to a wonderful dinner and nice rooms.   We’re tired now and getting ready for bed.  Tomorrow is another day and we will be splitting up and heading off to five different churches in Muko subcounty.  Those who’ve been here before and looking forward to seeing old friends, and those who are here for the first time are looking forward to meeting new friends!

Tuesday September 9, 2014:  Today has been a very busy day rushing and and checking off  items on our long list of tasks to accomplish before we leave for Uganda tomorrow evening.  Our team is comprised of ten persons, of which 5 have been to Uganda previously.  The fall team consists of John and Sue Waechter, Dave and Karen Viele, Bill and Diane Bush, Michelle Bush, Roger Vern Moll, Ginny Donald, and Antoinette (Toni) Petrella-Stanfield

Of the group 7 are from Midland, Toni is from Traverse City and the Viele's are from Holt.  You will recall that the Dave and Karen were members of the Spring 2014 trip.  This is the first time that two trips have been made to Uganda.  The Midland group with Toni will leave for the Detroit apirport around 1:30 pm for our flight at 6:16 pm.  The Viele's will meet the group at the airport with their 6 suitcases.  In total, we are taking 22 suitcases.

The flight is long, as stated we leave Detroit tomorrow at 6:16 pm and arrive in Entebbe, Uganda Thursday evening at 10:40 pm, allowing for the 7 hour time change our travel time is approximately, 21 hours. We will begin updating the blog daily beginning Friday.  We look forward to updating you on our activities and how everyone is doing in the village.

Saturday, May 10, 2014:  Greetings from Uganda!  Today, our last full day at the center, is a bittersweet day for us here in Muko.   We rejoice and give thanks for all the love and support we’ve received, both from friends and family back home and from our Ugandan friends here, and for all we’ve accomplished over the last couple of weeks They say friends are the family you choose for yourself…..we have a large family indeed here in Uganda!  It was a typically foggy day as we left Kabale, but as usual, we were greeted by smiles and music as we arrived in Muko.  The first order of the day was to officially hire and welcome Haward as our new music teacher, who will continue working with our violin students after we leave.  He’s so talented, and Karen is looking forward to having the music program continue on a more regular basis in her absence.  We were very fortunate to be introduced to Innocent Murunguzi this morning.  Innocent is from Muko and was a beneficiary of Compassion Intl, which has made all the difference in his life.  He now works in Colorado.  How fortunate to meet him here!  We look forward to interacting more with him in the future.  Lisa, Barbara and Diana handed out the rest of the pillowcase dresses to girls from the sub-county, while Karen conducted music lessons and Elizabeth continued working on the computer, entering information on the orphans and the violin inventory.  Diana and Generous also continued training on Quickbooks, and Dave worked on shelving.

We all then migrated down to the shores of Lake Bunyonyi for a wonderful and enthusiastic lunch with our ACT team, staff, volunteers, and violin students.  It’s been an amazing experience for all of us.  Looking around the table we all saw the true expression of agape……Americans and Ugandans sitting next to each other, expressing our love and appreciation for each other, looking forward to the next time we’ll be blessed to see each other again.  We’re ready to head home, but we’re not ready to say goodbye……

We’ll be heading back to Kabale soon, then Kampala on Monday.  We’re handing over the computer to the ACT Uganda staff today, so this will be our last blog until we reach Kampala.  Please pray for safe travel to Kampala on Monday, and for our flight back to the United States Tuesday night.  Signing off now from Muko…..

 

Friday, May 09, 2014:  Greetings from Uganda!  Our plan was for the group to split up, going separate ways and covering more ground.  Lisa, David, Karen and Diana headed out to Muko for the annual general meeting, from which Baker would return with Moses and Tito.  He then picked up Dave, Elizabeth, and Barbara for a trip out to Lake Bunyonyi to visit various plots associated with the Center for Rural Development.  We were supposed to see Dr. Wilson again, but he was unable to join us.  Escorted by the “mobilizer” from the farmers’ cooperative we were visiting, we crossed the lake in a wooden boat, which seemed to serve as a water bus since we stopped a couple of times to pick up people as we went.  We were shown around plots at Murandi and Kashambya demonstrating efforts in preventing soil erosion, reversing soil exhaustion and evaluating the effectiveness of different forms of fertilization, etc.  Everywhere we went we were greeted with singing and dancing which we very much appreciated. After the tours we answered questions about ACT and spoke with the farmers.  We gathered some good information, but it wasn’t exactly what we expected. After a good lunch overlooking the lake we headed back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, out at the center the first annual meeting of ACT Uganda was held.   The meeting was scheduled to start at 9:00 it started at 10:30 with about 25 people and by 11; 30 there were about 80 attendees.  This is what Generous termed Uganda time.  The meeting was being held in the front yard of the center until the rain started.  If you can imagine 80+ persons sitting on a porch measuring 20x25 you have an idea of how crowded we were.  The meeting lasted 3 hours, with numerous accolades given to ACT USA for our support of Uganda and the orphans in particular.  At the end of the meeting the group was allowed to ask questions of us. One guardian stated that when her son receives letters from his sponsors she cannot read them, and she cannot read his report cards.  Her wish is that ACT conduct adult education classes, as she said she will be our first student.  Others continued to thank us and Generous, Josiah and Alexander for what they are doing for the community. 

Meanwhile, the contractor continued to work on the Empowerment Center, the ceiling in Michelle’s room will be finished tomorrow, and construction of the shower addition will begin on Monday.  We have established the best internet access possible by creating an outside location for the phone card by using a 16 foot cable.  With the cable staff can now sit inside the training room and have access to a strong 2g signal.  Before we leave we hope to establish when the 2g tower will be converted to 3g which would allow skyping from the USA.

Tomorrow is our last scheduled day in the village as we will wrap up our efforts and say goodbye to the villagers.

Thursday, May 08, 2014:  Greetings from Uganda!  On our way out of Kabale we stopped near our hotel to say good morning to a large colony of large fruit bats, hanging upside down in clusters (for warmth) in the trees near the Jopfan; just not something you see every day back home.  After purchasing some replacement drill bits and filling up with petrol we were on our way.  As usual, we were greeted by the sound of music upon our arrival.  The boys’ enthusiasm is contagious and we look forward to their music every day.  Karen got to work on violin lessons, Dave Molzahn turned his attention to shelving, and Elizabeth settled in with the computer, transcribing orphan interviews and consolidating information.  David, Diana, Lisa and Barbara immediately left for the Ikamiro clinic.  They were greeted by Rev. Julius and served a snack.  They then toured the clinic and the nurse’s clinic, and also delivered a baby scale and resuscitator donated by Holt Presbyterian of Holt, MI.  It was quite sight watching grown men playing with the weights and lever while Lisa was trying to set the scale to zero.  Lisa stayed behind to talk with the nurse to discuss their needs and issues.  She then rejoined the rest of the group who were discussing construction on the proposed nurses’ quarters.  The contractors were informed of what improvements were wanted.  Afterwards everyone walked to a nearby farm to observe the cultivation of mushrooms, from spores to finished product.  They then returned to Rev. Julius’s for lunch before returning to the center.

Back at the center, we worked right through lunch….time is short now and there’s still much to finish before we leave.  All afternoon there was bustling activity in every room!  The shelves are awesome, and many hands are helping get them built quickly.  After returning from the clinic, Diana and Dave set to work training Generous on the Quickbooks accounting program which will be used after we leave.  Barbara worked on training Leticia on Word so that she can help out around the office here at the center, and Karen continued with music lessons.  We have a group of four excellent players and two more that are showing great promise. A few more students are interested in playing and will probably study with our appointed teacher over the summer. Stay tuned for more on this soon! Out back in the garden, Tito, Benson and our driver, Baker, worked on pulling thousands of cabbage seedlings to be transplanted to a couple of different plots, including some land donated by Josiah.  The pile of seedlings strapped to the back of Josiah’s motorcycle for transport to the growing field was quite impressive!  Lisa worked with Alexander inventorying more baskets and packing them into suitcases for transport back to the States.  The suitcases were then strapped to the top of the van to be stored at the Jopfan until we leave for Kampala on Monday.  We returned to the Jopfan for our usual dinner and fellowship, feeling very blessed to be here and very aware of how little time we have left.

Wednesday, May 07, 2014:  Greetings from Uganda!  We were very happy this morning to greet our new driver, Baker!  Rashid is on his way to Kampala to receive medical treatment and we’ll all be praying for him.  We always have interesting drives to and from Muko.  For instance, yesterday we fielded questions from our Ugandan friends about whether or not a member of our team was still fertile, do we have a say in our children’s marriage decisions, and wildly varying guesses about our ages!  This morning we were excited to finally get a close-up view of the crested crane family that lives near the Jopfan.  They are truly magnificent birds!  On our way out of Kabale we stopped at the supermarket to pick up the makings for lunch, peanut butter and jelly/honey sandwiches and Pringles, very popular with the boys and staff at the center.  As often happens, the boys were already in the training room making some quite beautiful music on violin and guitar, always a great start to the day.  We quickly got to work on different projects.  The boys cleared out the room that will be Michelle’s in the Fall and construction will begin soon installing a ceiling.  Work continued on constructing shelves and clearing out the secure room, burning several years of accumulated rubbish, and it’s amazing how much more organized things are already looking.  Unfortunately, the shelving work came to a halt after the one and only drill bit broke while pre drilling holes for installing the shelving.  In another mishap, the housing for the circular saw was broken, fortunately Dave V was able to work on the saw and make it workable.  We will attempt to locate another drill bit in the morning so we can wrap up the construction of the shelving.  Teaching the Ugandans how to use power tools is a work in progress is all we can say as no one in the village as ever seen a power tool.  Violin lessons were conducted, computer work done, and records organized.

Karen and Elizabeth prepared sandwiches for lunch, and were amazed at how much food these boys could put away; every crumb, both sandwich and Pringle, was devoured.  After lunch Karen, David and Elizabeth, and our older violin students visited Muko High School.  They met with Headmaster Medard, who gave us a tour of the school and grounds, and investigated internet strength available from the school.  Meanwhile, Lisa had a delightful lunch, discussion and tour with Father John, the priest at Uganda Martyrs (the sister church to Blessed Sacrament in Midland).  Leaving the center around 5:00, we decided to take a little detour and headed away from Kabale, winding up the mountains toward Rwanda and into the Echuya Central Forest Preserve.  It’s so beautiful up there, amazing views of Lake Bunyonyi, forests untouched by logging, vast stands of bamboo, and baboons.  Yes, baboons!  Sitting by the side of the road, several bold baboons eyed us, hoping for an ear of corn or a banana.  They were probably disappointed as we only had ground cherries with us but we got some pretty great pictures!  From an overlook we were treated to a great view of Mt. Muhubura, a volcano on the border of Rwanda and Uganda.  From the overlook we were able to see Rwanda, Uganda the Republic of the Congo.  It was a short side trip, but we really enjoyed it.  We ended the day with quality time together at the White Horse Inn, debriefing, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.  Here is a picture of one of the adult baboons outside our van window waiting to be fed.

Monday, May 5, 2014:  Greetings from Uganda!  Arriving at the ACT center, Karen and Diana began an inventory of all the music equipment, assigning each student a specific instrument and getting a better idea of exactly what we have and what we need.  Dave, David, Barbara, Generous, Justus, Stephen and the rest of the HANDS agricultural team would be at the cent in a meeting all day.  Josiah and Lisa set off on foot to visit Parkarasio, the MukoHOPE orphan she sponsors, in his home.  Being part of a team like this is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with our sponsored children and meet their guardians!  Dave Molzahn has been blessed to spend quite a bit of time this trip with his orphan, Andrew, and was able to visit him in his home today also.  Dave and Karen sponsor 2 orphans, but have visited their homes on past trips, so they stayed at the center for the HANDS meeting and music lessons.  Elizabeth also sponsors 2 orphans, and for her it became an all-day affair.  She and Alexander began by traveling across Lake Bunyonyi in a dugout wooden canoe with carved wooden paddles and stumps for seats, quite a different experience. The climb up an endless hill to Eudia’s home gave her a whole new appreciation for the walking these folks do every day!  After another trip in a dugout canoe, she climbed another endless hill to visit Moses, where she was gifted with Irish potatoes and avocados.  It was so rewarding for all of us to be able to spend this kind of time with our kids!

Back at the center, Diana and Lisa sorted, inventoried and packed baskets and other handcrafts from the MEP program to be taken with us back the United States. So many beautiful things coming back with us! Karen was happy to be able to conduct music lessons all day. She is leading classes at 2 different levels now, both beginning students and those who began last year and are more advanced. They’re excited to be studying and eager to learn more.  Today Karen was excited to be able to get 4 African songs down on paper, transcribing them as the students played.  Meanwhile, there was a marathon HANDS meeting going on.  

The HANDS meeting went on for the full day with discussion around the planting last season, the selection of plots to rent, and the realization that we need to contract for multiple years to build up the soil to help ensure a successful commercial farming venture.  We were educated on the various planting seasons of which there appear to be three, four or five depending on the arrival of the rains.  There was much discussion around crop rotation, which we could do with multiple year leases, and the location of the land to minimize transportation costs, as well as deciding on which type of potato should be planted on which plot and according to what season the planting is in.         

Upon returning to Jopfan we realized the charging cable for the laptop had neglected to pack itself for the ride back, bringing all computer activities to an abrupt and premature end! Frustrated as we were, we realize how fortunate we are to have as much internet access as we do.

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 06, 2014:  Well, today didn’t exactly start off as planned, and that just may be the understatement of the trip!  Our driver, Rashid, had been feeling unwell for the past several days, but had bravely carried on, getting us where we needed to go and taking good care of us as he has the past 2 weeks.  However this morning he woke up feeling much worse, to the point of being unable to even leave his bed.  Our friend Justus came to the rescue, finding a van and driver who could get us to Muko today and stay with us for the day.  We communicated with Rashid’s employer, Chipper Adams, who quickly came up with a plan B.  Within the hour an ambulance was dispatched from Kampala bringing a nurse and a new driver.  The ambulance will return to Kampala with Rashid, where he will receive medical attention.  Please keep him in your prayers…..

Arriving at the village a little later than we’d planned, the van quickly departed with the HANDS team, who would be spending the day visiting plots and doing research.  Lessons were begun with the violin students, and Dave, Alexander and Lisa began building shelves for the secure storage room at the center.  This will help keep things much more organized, and will be used to store the violins and music equipment. They quickly took shape, are nice and sturdy, and look wonderful! Generous and Elizabeth settled down to work on the computers, and Josiah, Karen and Diana left to visit Precious, the MukoHOPE orphan Diana and her husband have just agreed to sponsor.  We’re all very excited for them, and this means Precious will be able to start school with the rest of the students in a couple of weeks!  After returning, Karen and Diana prepared an “American lunch” of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit and potato chips (or crisps as they would say here) for everyone.  It was much appreciated and devoured quickly.

After lunch the music and shelf-building continued, Elizabeth went back to work on the computer, and Lisa and Diana worked on cleaning out the storage room.  Arriving back at the Jopfan four of the team members went down the hill to town for a walk.  Walking back along the golf course (use the term very liberally) we were able to photograph the elusive crested crane, which is the national bird of Uganda.  A photo is attached to this blog.

Barbara and Dave M spent the day touring around with the HANDS team. They visited four of the sites used for the first potato crop, two sites where HOPE seeds were planted, one site where potatoes were being grown using organic fertilizer and the NARO field research station. It was a long day packed into a vehicle packed with from 12 to 14 people.

At 7:45 pm Pro Ride arrived with an ambulance from Kampala to pick up our driver Rashid and deliver our new driver Baker. So we are all set for the rest of the trip.