24th August Blog

Today the hard labour commenced after some delays due to the late arrival of materials… and it was hard. Half the group drove to Kazuru, on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. We were greeted by two large piles of sand and stones that needed to be carried two kilometres to the site of the new gravity flow scheme. The only catch was that for the first half of the walk, there was an incredibly steep incline - probably 30-40% in places!

The team managed between three and six journeys each and by the end we were completely knackered and dripping with sweat. However, we were put to shame by some of the locals (many of whom were children) who had been carrying loads from 7am in the morning. At the site itself, a few members of the team less able to carry heavy loads were put to work digging holes and shoring up them up.

It was a joy to interact with the local people and many of us ended up making friends with them. We also enjoyed chomping on sugar cane to help fuel us!

Orphanage

A team of nine visited the Kajugansoma CDC, a day centre for over 500 orphans. The team was met by the Director and his staff before joining the 12-19 year olds.

Kate led the worship with several songs (starting with the infamous Superman ice-breaker); ably assisted by Lydia who read the story of Zacchaeus with accompanying visuals and dramatisation by Liz. Abi interpreted the reading and the message was reinforced by a memory verse and a quiz.

After a tea break, the team manned 4 craft and sports stations including mask and bookmark making. Face painting was a huge success as was the parachute game. The day ended with speeches of thanks, presentation of gifts, and African drumming and dancing.

The team ate a delicious lunch with the staff and after prolonged farewells returned to Ngoto exhausted!

Later in the afternoon, there was a shopping trip to Kanugu so that we could stock up on snacks (Ugandan food is delicious but there isn’t much variation!).

At the same time, James, Sarah and Henry went to the Diocesan offices to pre-record a Sunday church radio service that will be broadcast on three different stations. Reverend Bob, who is in charge of technology, as well as children and youth ministry, did a fantastic job of guiding us through the process. James delivered a sermon, with Sarah and Henry assisting with prayers and readings.