Please note – this blog is 14 days long.. To see all the blog you need to click the black box at the bottom ‘older posts’…

Day One – 22nd June 2014

Jeanette, Amy and I arrived on a Sunday afternoon and I was first struck by just how green Uganda was. For some reason I hadn’t pictured it to look this way.

My first hurdle was getting through customs, as the police lady had asked to scan my case and then proceeded to ask me to give her a football from inside. I figured my best course of action was to act dumb and just keep smiling at her and saying “yes, football” and act like I did not understand her request, as I realised that once I opened my suitcase here, I most probably would end up with very little resources left for the academy. This tactic worked and I walked away without any more hassle.

Francis met us and drove us to our hotel. On the drive to our hotel it was clear that I had underestimated just how bustling a place Uganda was, as the roads were crazy, full of cars and motorbikes (Boda, Boda’s) transporting anything from live cattle to door frames.

Once at the hotel we were given some time to unpack and settle in before we met Francis again for dinner to discuss the next two weeks programme. Later at dinner Marjorie (Social Worker) joined us and we discussed the exciting itinerary we had ahead.

Day Two – 23rd June 2014

Today we was being picked up at 8 am which we soon found out in ‘African time’ was anywhere between 9 and 9.30 am. I realised that the laid back approach to time keeping the Ugandans have would be one that I would have to embrace, as usually lateness irritates me.

Once we were picked up our first stop was to visit the Wells of Hope Office and meet the staff there. We were greeted there warmly with tea and biscuits and a morning sermon delivered by the lovely Steve and Gina (Missionaries from America).

We then visited the Wells of Hope Academy and were given a tour of the premises. I was surprised at how big the grounds were and impressed at the potential for this space to be utilised to enable the academy to be self sufficient.

The children greeted us in each classroom with information about what they were learning, song, dance and prayer.

After this the children put on a show in the hall filled with plays, song and dance which was truly inspirational! A song called Rejection was my personal favourite and will stay with me for long after this visit.

Jeanette and I was pulled up to join in with a dance, which usually would have me cringing at making an idiot of myself but the children’s laughter and smiles was infectious and I felt honoured to be asked to participate with them.

I was sad when the time came for us to leave the academy but extremely excited that next week we would be able to spend lots of time here getting to know the children.

Day Three – 24th June 2014

Today started with a 6am start, we were told we were in for a long drive as we were going to be tracing three families in an area called Pallisa. The day started with our driver Peter knocking the wing mirror off the car – this resulted in us heading into the centre of Kampala to a very dodgy looking street to have this fixed. Many people were walking past the van staring in at us, and I felt like a sitting duck! Later Francis informed us that this was one of the roughest areas in Kampala, and the people there are not so reputable, however, they fixed things cheaper than elsewhere. I suspected that after we left there a van nearby would also be on the lookout for a new wing mirror that we now had possession of.

We drove through a place called Jinja, over the beginning of the River Nile. I realised at this point how uneducated I am in Geography as I had no idea that the River Nile was anywhere near here! After an 8 hour journey (nearing Kenya) we finally reached the vicinity of the families we were tracing. I was surprised that in order to find these families, we was asking people on the road who was giving us directions in terms of… after the third tree and the fifth mud house etc.. I was also surprised that we could ask someone about half an hour away about a family and they knew them! I don’t even know the name of the people living two doors away from me! At one point I was astounded that we stopped and received directions from a blind man!

The more rural areas we reached, the more the deprivation of the people here became apparent. People were not wearing shoes and children had fewer clothes. Every time we drove past a group of children they ran at the van shouting “Muzungu, Muzungu” (Meaning White person) and they smiled and waved! I wondered if the queen felt this way, having everyone wave at her as she passes by.

We stopped and asked a young girl if she knew where the first family we were tracing lived and she said she did, Francis asked her to get in the van and direct us and she agreed. This was a shock to me, as in England this would never happen! Yet this young girl was more than happy to hop in and direct us. However, her father in the next village did not seem too happy about this, and came up to the van looking rather menacing, but as soon as Francis explained that we were a charity and his daughter was just helping us, he was happy enough. Once we reached the first family, I was surprised at how welcoming they were and were pulling out chairs for us to sit on etc. We found out the sad news that the man’s wife had died but was able to deliver good news to his son that he was still alive. We took photographs of his son so that we could take them to the prison to show him.

The next family we traced was further afield and this involved us leaving the van and walking through the ‘jungle’ for about 20-25 minutes to find the family. This was quite a scary experience as it was now 4pm and we were 8-9 hours from Kampala walking through the jungle, all the while aware that it goes dark at 7pm.

Thankfully, at this point we had not been informed of the possibility of snakes in the jungle and of the sightings of tigers in this area. After what seemed like a marathon we eventually arrived at Kapuwai village through a clearing in the trees

and found the family and were able to again inform the family that their husband and father were alive.

Two young boys were assessed by Marjorie as being eligible for a place at the Wells of Hope Academy but would need to wait until a sponsor could be procured. Both boys had never worn a pair of shoes before!

 

Lots of children gathered around us and were fascinated by us. One particular girl was just looking at me with this haunting look – I captured this on my camera and this image is one of my favourite taken on the whole trip.

After we left this family we then needed petrol, I panicked silently as I hadn’t seen a petrol station since Kampala! But low and behold we stumbled across a Ugandan Petrol station with a difference!

We did not get chance to trace the last family which was a shame, but it had been a long day and we finally was dropped off at our hotel at 1.30 am!

Day Four – 25th June 2014

Today we visited the prisons. We had chance to talk to the men in both the condemned section who were on death row and also the men serving anywhere from 4 years to 45 years. We also visited the women at the women’s prison. We were greeted warmly and it was clear that the men and women were extremely grateful to the Wells of Hope for reuniting them with their families. The spirit these men and women had and the optimism were astounding! I expected it to be a depressing place but on the contrary. Everyone was full of smiles and happy to see us.

Some of the men performed songs and dance for us and at this point I shed my first tear – it was something about the enthusiasm and optimism they had just moved me. Marjorie decided that we should all say something to inspire the men in the condemned section (Another Ugandan tradition we was soon to become accustomed too – they love a good speech!). I wondered what I could possibly say that could inspire these men! I decided upon telling them how Francis is spreading the word about children of prisoners and is making Wells of Hope known around the world – which had inspired me to be here! And their optimism was inspiring me all the more! I left the prisons feeling so grateful for everything I have in life and realising that I should appreciate what I have more, as these men and women have so little yet are still able to smile!

Day Five – 26th June 2014

Today we went with the children to visit their parents.

We went with the children to the men’s prison. The children were all very excited. It was so nice to watch the children reunite with their parents and to watch the men bring out the food they had prepared, drinks they had bought and gifts they had made (beaded purses, bags, jewellery etc). The dads were reading through the children’s school reports with them and helping them with their homework. The space was quite cramped but this did not seem to matter to anyone.

Most of the children seemed happy and excited to see their dads but a handful seemed a little quiet. I pondered what the possible reasons for this could be? Could it be that as they haven’t been able to see their fathers until recently, they may not know them and not had chance to form a bond, or that they did not want to allow themselves to get too excited because then they would get too upset when they had to leave. I did have the more sinister thought that with us not knowing the crime the father was incarcerated for, and hearing from Francis that between 60-80% of crimes committed are for defilement. I did wonder whether the crime committed could have been inflicted on the child and if so what affect bringing the child to visit would have on them. This is something we brought up with Francis after the prison visit, as although the prison visit overall was a joyful experience and I felt truly honoured to be able to witness this, the English Social Worker in me, felt uncomfortable with the thought of facilitating visits that could be detrimental to the children. Dads were wondering off with their children in the courtyard of the condemned section and I wondered whether even though there were many guards around, this was a safe environment for them to do this?

One of my observations that really made this visit so special was how the visit affected the guards. The day before when we had visited, the guards had all been quite officious, yet whilst the children were visiting they seemed friendlier and happier and it felt that this visit lifted their spirits as much as it lifted the children’s and parents.

Whilst there I purchased two beautiful quilled handbags from a gentleman called Pascal, he had three children – Vivien, Ian and Carolyn.

I bought both these bags for a mere 30,000 shillings (roughly £6.75) and he told me the money I had given him for these would go towards buying food to cook for when his children next visit. This made me feel that although this was such a small contribution, I was still able to help in some way and help this father provide for his children – something that all these men strongly portrayed the need to do.

Day Six – 27th June 2014

Today we was asked to participate in a Round Table Discussion with the Wells of Hope and Officials from the prison. True to Ugandan style we were asked to prepare a speech. We all put our heads together and wrote a speech about what we had learnt from visiting the prisons in Uganda and the differences we had noticed between these and UK prisons. Jeanette pulled the short straw and was to deliver this speech to the panel. She did excellently! I would have stuttered my way through I think!

The round table discussion was quite inspiring to see that the prison officers wanted to work with Wells of Hope to improve visitations and were utilising research from Kenyan prisons to trial more open plan visits. Overall very positive!

Day Seven – 28th June 2014

Today was our day off and we visited the Zoo in Entebbe. My favourite moment from the day was being able to stroke a baby elephant (Charles – aged 3) who was wondering through the zoo with his keeper.

I have always loved elephants so this truly was an amazing experience for me.

Overall we had great fun at the zoo seeing all the different animals.

 

 

Day Eight – 29th June 2014

Today we visited the Wells of Hope Academy again, to celebrate the June Birthday’s. Often the children do not know their date of birth or even their age! So when they arrive at the Wells of Hope Academy they are given a birthday. Every first Sunday of the month, all that month’s birthdays are celebrated with song, dance and cake!

We offered to do face painting on the birthday children and this they loved.

For the first time for some of the children they were receiving a birthday gift. Birthdays in my household are always a big event and my children are always spoilt with lots of presents and no matter what age they are, they have a birthday cake. It was really amazing that the Wells of Hope have incorporated this tradition and these children are able to celebrate their birthdays and feel special. I was truly honoured to be able to be a part of this experience.

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After the birthday celebrations I read out a letter sent from Rosemary Rae and handed out the sweets she had given them.

 

Day Nine – 30th June 2014

Today we spent the day in the office, carrying out inventory on all the items we had brought over

and helping Marjorie update the children’s files. It quickly became apparent that their paper filing system was quite unorganised and that they were working to improve upon this. We spent the morning reading and going through the children’s files, sticking in tick lists of what they should have in and highlighting what was missing. Steve and Gina was also there and were compiling a checklist of questions to ask whilst out tracing, to ensure that all the vital questions had been asked and vital information obtained. After all it could possibly mean another 8-9 hour drive to ask more questions!

Ellen prepared us a lovely lunch, with my highlight being the lovely sweet pumpkin.

After lunch we went to the Victoria University in central Kampala and met with Gloria who had previously studied at Huddersfield University. We were shown around the facilities and I was surprised at how modern the building was! (It had a lift!).

After visiting the University we made our way to Steve and Gina’s house where we was greeted enthusiastically by their lovely puppy Molly. Steve and Gina prepared us a lovely meal and we spent the evening chatting about the wonderful work they carry out in Uganda and also enjoying the privilege of wifi and hot water!