15 March 2005 05:11

Hi, just a quick update on Uganda. Last month I sent over some extra money that was raised in the village. Killeens had a jar full of change which amounted to 228 euros. Two table quizzes were also held in the KVT. One in January which raised 245 euros and one in February which raised 155 euros. Thanks to all involved. I sent this money over a few weeks ago. It will be spent on renovations and on food for the school. There was a drought this year so a lot of crops did not grow and food is scarce. All the kids are back in school after their 2 month break in December and January, some teachers have left and others have arrived to replace them. My accounts are now up on the web. So if anyone is interested in the cost of materials and labour in Uganda you can see them on my webpage by clicking on donations. I am working on some before and after photos and a sponsorship list for the kids which I will put up later in the month. Kate

14 December 2004 08:31

I made it to South Africa in one piece after an 18 hour journey from Windhoek in Namibia where I did some sandboarding in the desert. It was a bit like going down the water tower hill on turf bags in the snow - only it was sand and I was lying on a piece of chip board and it was a whole lot faster (80kph!). Cape Town is a beautiful city with lots to do, I took a walk up table mountain which is over 1000m high and the views from the top are lovely. I also went down to the waterfront which has a real holiday athmosphere. There are alot of jazz musicians here so Mick and the rest of the jazz crew would love it. I hired a car with some aussies and went to cape point and the cape of good hope for a day. We stopped off in a place called Fish Hoek on the way back for a swim in the ocean. Only later did we find out that a 77 year old woman had been eaten by a shark there last month! I travelled down the coast to Jeffreys bay, a famous surfing spot. Unfortunately there were no waves but the weather was beautiful and the people were great craic. At the moment I'm in a place called Outshoorn which is famous for its ostrich farms and Cango caves. It's so hot here you could fry an egg on the sand. It was 43 degrees here yesterday. Three ostriches died from the heat and I wasn't too far behind them myself. Today isnt too bad at 36 degrees. I got a tour of an ostrich farm and had a spin on an ostrich which is pretty funny. I have a lift back to Cape Town tomorrow with 2 Germans and then I prepare myself for the journey home. So see you all on Saturday night for a few pints. Kate

01 December 2004 06:14

Since my last post I've been to see Victoria Falls, it was roasting there, about 37 degrees! The journey to the falls from zanzibar took ages and involved an overnight trip on a ferry, 2 days on a train and a day on the bus. It was all worth it though as the falls are amazing. They are 1700m wide and 108mtrs high. I got a great view of them by taking a microlite flight which lastet 15 minutes. There's not a lot of water going over at the moment but it still looks spectacular. I was lucky enough to meet some local people who took me swimming at the top of the falls. I was swimming in one place called the devils pools where there is just one big rock stopping you from falling 108 metress over the edge. These locals also took me to their village where I sampled their local beer which comes in a 1 litre carton. Its made from millet flour and sorghum, its white in colour and is like drinking watery porridge, disgusting! I stayed a bit too long in the pub here and ended up having to spend the night in a mud hut in the village. While in Livingstone I stayed in a dorm with an english man who is blind and only has 20% of his hearing but this hasn't stopped him from travelling the world for the last 11 months. I also eventually bumped into a group of Irish people, the first i've met on the trip. I'm in the Namibian desert at the moment after a 30 hour journey, I had to spend 3 hours sitting on a bench in the back of a truck like Liam Keenas. The rest was in a normal bus which had to go at 80kmph as elephants sometimes come onto the road! Namibia is way more westernised than anywhere else i've been, its not like being in Africa at all. Tomorrow I am going out to the sand dunes to do some sandboarding, next stop South Africa, then Ireland!

18 November 2004 04:45

Hi, Its been a mad two weeks of travel so far. The bus journey from Uganda to Kenya was 12 hours over very bumpy roads. I will never complain about the roads in Ireland again. The pot holes here are as big as a bunker on a golf course and the bus driver has to drive on both sides of the road to avoid them. I went on a 4 day safari in Kenya to lake nakuru and the maasai mara. There were 5 of us on the first day, two Finnish girls, an Israeli couple and me. We were joined on the second day by an excited Japanese couple. They were a great addition as they oooh and aaaah at everything, even at the goats and cows! We saw loads of birds in nakuru. The shores of the lake were pink with thousands of flamingos. There were also storks, pelicans and many other birds. Our jeep broke down in the middle of the park so we all had to get out an push - not very safe in a park with rhinos, hippos, leopards and cheetahs! The Maasai Mara national reserve is amazing, it s a huge area of about 1500 square kms. Parts of it reminded me of Co. Kerry! Saw loads and loads of wildlife here - elephants, giraffes, lions, buffalo, gazelles, a leopard and a cheetah. We went to a Maasai village where the men and women danced for us. They got me into the middle of them for a little dance which was very embarrassing! All the Maasai wear a red blanket around their shoulders and carry a stick. They have huge holes in their ears which they decorate. The women wear loads of beads. We got to see inside their houses which are made from branches and cow dung. The roofs are really low, about 4 ft, but the maasai men are all around 6 ft! They live with their calves and kids (goats that is) as well as their children. There is no chimney and no windows so you can't see much and are blinded by the smoke! The children of maasai move out of home when they are 13, or after they are circumcised. All the teenagers live in the one house! At 15 the boys have to leave the village and live out in the bush for two years until they have killed a lion! They girls get married at around 16 or 17. And of course the men can have more than one wife. The usual dowry paid to the girls family is 10 cows, the man who can jump the highest in the village only has to pay 7 cows! While in the village we were shown how to make fire from rubbing two pieces of wood together - cedar wood and a twig from the sand paper tree. At the moment I'm in Zanzibar on a holiday from my holiday! It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There is a huge mix of Arabs, Africans, and Indians here. Zanzibar was a centre of trade for the entire Indian Ocean, trading with slaves, gold and ivory with places as far away as India and Asia. The old centre of Zanzibar is called Stonetown and has loads of narrow winding streets so every time you leave your hotel you get lost. I was lucky enough to arrive here on the last day of Ramadan when all the Muslims celebrate so there was a great atmosphere. At the moment I am staying on a beach in the north of the island. My room is 50 meters from a beautiful beach. It's pure luxury after spending 5 months in the school. So I wont waste anymore time inside - I'm off for a swim in the clear blue ocean under the roasting hot sun. Hope ye are all enjoying the Irish weather!

01 November 2004 05:04

Well the party's over and I'm going home - the children put on a great show yesterday which lasted for 4 hours and included traditional dancing, poems, songs and plays. It was not just my going away party, it was also speech day for the children. Their parents come to see the school and to see what they have been learning. I can't believe the trouble they went to or the amount of people who turned up. There were loads of parents, villagers, local commissioners and pastors. They even had a big sound system. They sang lots of goodbye songs which made me cry and then they expected me to get up and give a speech. I'm not great at this at the best of times and when I'm crying I'm a disaster so I mumbled a few words and sat down. They also had a graduation ceremony for the children who were graduating from nursery to primary school. They were really cute in their little caps and gowns. There was a photographer there and all the parents wanted a photograph of me with their child so I was like the bishop on confirmation day being dragged all over the place. I got a pile of presents, as follows: 2 handkerchiefs, 2 big ground mats, 3 mangoes, 4 bunches of bananas, a bag of eggplants, 2 wooden hearts, 3 wall mats, 4 matooke bananas, a tray, a bracelet, 8 paw paws, a beautiful wooden plaque, 2 passion fruits, a pineapple, 7 avocados, some nakatee, 2 tomatoes, a plate, an orange and 56 eggs!! Today we are eating most of the above. This week I've had the great job of telling children and their families that they have a new sponsored. One woman got down on her knees thanking god. She had to pay school fees for 4 children, and her only income was selling a few vegetables and some fruit. One of her children got polio as a child and cannot walk so he sits on the ground all day. I also picked my own sponsor child this week which was very hard as I'd love to sponsor them all! Maureen has decided to sponsor the little acrobat over here. Today I came into town early to get him clothes and shoes. I put a pair of runners on him in school, it was really funny as he's so used to no shoes he didn't really know how to walk in them. I found out more weird stuff this week about peoples names. If you are a Muslim woman and you have been to Mecca your name changes to Hajat, it changes to Hajj for a Muslim man who has been to Mecca. If you are a security man you are called Ascario. If you are over 60 you are called Jaja which means grandmother/father. I also saw more weird stuff being sold on the streets - a grey stone like thing which I found out was actually clay which pregnant women eat! I am still in masaka at the moment but I will be leaving the school in the next day or two, it will break my heart to leave but I'm sure I'll be back to see them all some day. Next up is Kenya and a safari - so I'll keep ye posted. Kate

03 November 2004 01:30

I left the school yesterday and I'm broken hearted. After spending almost 6 months living with the children it was very hard to leave them. I can't even describe how I felt - leaving was much harder than I thought, I cried the whole way to Kampala. It will be strange to stay somewhere where I can't hear children laughing, crying, shouting and playing. They were all great, really well mannered and they are very good to each other - they are like a big family and always share food or the few sweets they might get. In general all Ugandans are lovely people, very welcoming and friendly. I left about 10 tin whistles with the children in the school.I have been teaching them over the last few months and I hope they continue to play them. It looks a bit weird, an African playing a tin whistle! Coming out here is something I have always wanted to do and I am so glad I finally got up off my arse and did it. I'd like to thank all of you who worked so hard raising money and all who donated for giving me the opportunity to help these people - I wouldn't have been able to do a thing without the support from home. It's been a once in a life time experience and I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to come here. If anyone thinks they would like to come out and volunteer for a while they would be delighted to have you. Bye Kate

28 October 2004 06:28

Well the count down is on and I only have 3 days left in the school. They have erected a big tent like thing from eucalyptus logs and tarpaulin at the side of the school for the party on Sunday. I'm dreading it as there are a load of parents, local councilors, villagers and friends coming and I'll probably be crying in front of the whole lot of them. I have started giving away a lot of my things before I go - when you give a gift to a Ugandan they kneel down in appreciation which is a bit hard to get used to. I will miss my classes where anything can happen. I've often had to chase chickens out of the room or had to avoid lizards that fell into the room from the galvanized roof! I can't believe I have been here for 5 and a half months, the time went by too fast. For the whole 5 1/2 months I got the same oil soaked dinner twice a day every day. Taking away holidays and weekends that makes about 300 of the same oily dinners, which has made me fat! I'll have to walk the Clonmacnoise road every day when I get home! I was in the hairdressers again this week to get plaits as they are handy for traveling, it took 5 hours and my head is twice its normal size. Women over here are always grooming themselves and are very interested in their appearance. They think nothing of sitting for 8 or 9 hours in a hairdressers. They always have their nails painted and have the maddest hairstyles! Its only 35cents to get a manicure and pedicure! Getting hair extensions is only 5 euros! They also dress very well and you see a lot of them going around in what look like grad dresses! The older women wear a traditional dress called a Gomez. I got a present of one this week from one of the teachers. It's a long dress with a square neck and big pointy shoulders; they wear this with a very wide belt. The men's traditional dress is a cassock, which is like a white habit with a design on the chest. Laura the medical student was telling about one of her patients this week, a man came in with a massive cut on his head; his nephew had hit him with a machete. Laura said the cut was almost down to the bone from the top of his ear to his neck, the nurses were going to send him down to be stitched, but the man required immediate surgery. He didn't come to the hospital for a day and a half after it happened, he's 86 and somehow he survived the whole thing. Its amazing how some of them survive over here. She also met a 104 year old man up there! Saw some sad and some interesting things on the way to Kampala last week. In one village I saw a beggar woman drinking water from a dirty puddle! Then there is one certain stretch of road where fellas wave huge fish and chickens in front of the car. Lots of people stop to buy them, but instead of putting them into the car they tie them to the front grill. So lots of buses, car and trucks have fish hanging from either the front grill or the wing mirrors, its a very strange sight when driving around! The main fish over here are Tilapia and Nile perch,both are delicious, the only problem is when you order them they come with the head on and the two beady little eyes looking up at you! I eventually found and purchased two black stones today. I'm told Oliver Darcy wants one for Oliver Hillards brain! Bye Kate

24 October 2004 04:14

Hi, This week I've been more like a social worker than a teacher. I spent half the day Tuesday taking photographs and details from 35 kids who need sponsorship. I went out with Sr. Helen visiting the sick on Wednesday, then on Thursday I had to console one little boy whose mother beat him. They are really bad for beating their children here; I suppose Ireland was the same fifty years ago. I also took an 18 month old to the hospital as she had ringworm and a bad cough. It was hilarious, everyone was looking and wondering if she was my daughter - a few were brave enough to come up and ask me. Hospital treatment is very cheap over here, it only costs about 1.50 to take a child to hospital and get whatever medication they need. I also got some malaria tablets for myself which only cost 45cents a pack. They are around 30 euros a pack at home! I got a load of new toys this week so for the first time the yard looks like a play ground. Some of the teachers were as excited as the children about the toys! They had never seen badminton racquets, frisbees or tennis racquets before! I am plagued now every evening with them looking to play. On Wednesday I went to a place called Mokondo where more Irish nuns live. They run a school and health clinic out there. There are only 3 elderly nuns running it. They provide requirements (uniforms, copies, pens etc.) for 600 children! One of the nuns was telling me about a case where a headmaster of a private school took two of his female p7 students home one weekend. He got both of them pregnant. He was arrested but bribed both the police and the girl's families. He paid the families 1 million (500euro) for each of the girls, they are both missing now. He also bribed the police and is now back as headmaster of his school! Sr Josephine is going to try to get a lawyer and get the man to court. The vegetarians in my family will be disgusted with me as I bought and killed a pile of chickens this week so the boarders could eat meat. They never get to eat meat, they have posho (like semolina) and beans twice a day every day for the whole term. We had a big feast on Saturday which was very nice. Killing the chickens was gross though. They were telling me how to do it but there is no way I'd touch them. They started running around with no heads on! I can't believe I haven't turned vegetarian myself after witnessing the whole thing. More snake stories - a baby snake was found in one of the lads shoes this week, so they killed it - they have found 3 of them this term, I just hope the mammy dosen't make an appearance. Bye Kate

19 October 2004 07:23

Hi, More bizarre things happening this week. On Monday night I was woken at 3am by a strange noise in the room which I knew wasn't the rat, lizard or cockroaches. I reached for my torch, which I leave beside the bed for occasions like these, and shone it over the floor to find around 30 unidentified things crawling around. I hadn't a clue what they were but they looked like bees. I had to get up and sit on the side of the bed with a flip flop in one hand and a can of doom spray in the other for around half an hour killing the little feckers. I decided I'd leave them and sweep them up in the morning and crawled back into bed. When I woke in the morning they were all gone! The other little ants had eaten them! I went outside to find the children all excited, rummaging around outside my window. It turned out the beelike things were white ants and the love to eat them - alive or fried! They are attracted to my room as there is a security light outside, so they were coming in the ventilator and under the door. Anyone else in the school would be delighted to have them in their room; it would be like malteesers rolling around the floor! I'm told that once the white ants come, the grasshoppers follow. I just hope I am out of here before that - I don't fancy waking up to a load of them hopping round the room; my flip flop wouldn't do any good then! The soft boards have been put up in the class rooms so we are now able to put charts and poems up. They used to stick pages to the walls with porridge - surprisingly good - way better than glue! Last night one of the boys (Alex) was bitten by a snake. He was trying to drag our little acrobat back from town when he stepped into the grass verge and the snake bit him. He had to walk half a mile back to the school, one of the teachers wanted him to drink his own urine - it's supposed to slow the poison down! Luckily the hospital is just up the road so instead of drinking his own piss we took him up there. All the teachers were telling me mad local remedies for different things. If you get a fish bone stuck in your throat you are supposed to put a saucepan on your head and the bone comes flying out! If you pour paraffin on a snake it breaks in pieces. They also said if you have a special black stone and put it on a snake bite, the stone sucks all the poison out of your blood and then falls off the wound. You have to put it in milk to get the poison out of it so it can be used again. I was taking all these stories with a pinch of salt, but when the nurses took Alex to the ward they took out a tub with "the black stone" written on it. So they left that on the bite and he started to feel better. I'm getting myself one of these stones before I leave, they are supposed to be good for all snake and insect bites. Alex was let out of hospital at lunch time today and is fine. Will mail later in the week. Kate

16 October 2004 06:55

This week at school we have put in a new kitchen for our cook Molly, she cooks for 280 people everyday. She used to cook in a shed with no floor. She is over 6 foot and spends all day bent over stirring things in massive saucepans on the ground. We have built 3 ovens for her which should make things easier. It's good to hear there is an Irish contingent coming out in October - I hope they come to Uganda first as I'm leaving on November 2nd and will miss them if they go to Malawi first. I Found out there are more Irish nuns about an hour from Masaka. One of them had to stay in Masaka last week as there were armed robbers on the road to Mokondo where they stay so they can't travel at night! One of the sisters in Masaka works in the prison here, she was telling me it was built to accommodate 200 people but there are now 800 men and 32 women there! On our weekly trips Sr. Helen has been filling me full of information on local trees, fruits and birds. She was pointing out weaver birds last week. These birds are extremely noisy. The male bird makes the nest for the female; the nest hangs by one small thread. The female comes to inspect what he has built and if she doesn't like it she snaps the thread and the man has to start building all over again! When we were coming home from our village visit we gave a lift to an old Ugandan woman. We asked her to put on her seat belt, the poor woman didn't know what a seat belt was and tried to tie the two back belts together - most of them have never even been in a car and don't know what to do - I'm surprised they don't try to climb in the window. I got a westlife tape for the girls during the week and have regretted it ever since as it's all I hear. They are massive over here and are always on the radio. Celine Dion is another popular singer here; I certainly won't be buying her tape! I went out to visit the school Regina was in this week. While she was there she came across a woman who lived in a makeshift tent, made from branches and banana fibers. The woman stayed here with her 6 children and the chickens. Regina raised 400 and built her a new house - you should see the difference - it's like a mansion to them even though it only has two rooms. Some more mad news in the paper this week. Read that some female boarders found a boy in their dorm after 10pm - they killed him! Thats all the craic for now. Kate

14 October 2004 02:15

I'll make this short as I'm wrecked after being up half the night listening to the torrential rain pounding off the galvanize roof! Gifty, the little boy who went missing in Kampala last week was found. He was taken from a shop but they found him 8 hours later. They think he was taken to be used for sacrificing but they let him go because his ear was pierced. Sacrificing children is common here. They often cut off their tongue, genitals or head. Sometimes the children are eaten and sometimes slaughtered and put in the foundations for a house! Those who take the children want them to be perfect with no cuts or piercings, hence, a lot of children here have their ears pierced at a young age to prevent being taken. Part of the school was painted this week and it looks great. I got soft boards for the class rooms today. While doing so a woman called her child to come see the muzungu and even asked if the kid could touch me! Coming into town is great as a lot of people have got to know me. I can't walk down the street without someone saying "hello sister", "how are you my friend" or "how is Kitovu?" I'll miss the place a lot as the people are really friendly. I was just reading Derrys post on Sister McHugh and am wondering if she know the sisters out here. The hospital in Kitovu is run by the Medical Missionarys of Mary and the nun I go out with every week is also part of the order. They are amazing women and have faced all kinds of danger to help people out here. There was so much money raised for the school that I havent had time to use all of it on the building so I have decided to give 1000 to Dr Maura Lynch, a nun who has worked in the hospital for 16 years. This money will help pay for a generator for the emergency room. At the moment when the power goes they have to go around looking at the patients with parafin lamps!

09 October 2004 02:46

I'm glad to report that my favourite little acrobat has returned safe and sound. We were about to put an announcement on the local radio to find him, but on Thursday a very dirty Sebukenya turned up with pockets full of rubbish - including, two pairs of glasses, bottle tops, wires, old batteries, bulbs, a thermometer, some old containers and spray cans! All the children were delighted to see him and he did a few tricks for us which I videoed and will get Mick to put up on the web. Unfortunately we just got one back when another went missing. One of the teachers went to Kampala last night with his son - I got a call from him this morning in a very distressed state saying he had lost Gifty (his son)! They were in a shop, he put him sitting on a bench with another child and when he went back Gifty was gone! Kidnapping children in Kampala is very common so everybody is fairly worried. Gifty is only three years old. And if that's not enough drama - on Monday one of the girls was bitten by a snake! Her parents tried to treat her with local medicine but when her leg continued to swell they took her to the hospital. She's fine now. I just hope I don't bump into any of the snakes in the area. Another girl in school was admitted to hospital this week with severe malaria - she was discharged yesterday and will be fine. David sent me photos of the beard shave and the sponsored walk. I printed them out and stuck them up in the school. They love looking at the "bazungu", they thought Maureen was me, they thought Colin was Chinese and thought Mick was my father! They think we all look the same and find it hard to tell our ages. I also had to explain to them that we are not all millionaires. They seem to think we have servants and fly everywhere in private planes. They were surprised to learn that we do all our own cooking, washing etc. I was out with sister Helen again this week visiting aids patients. She always tells them to eat lots of eggs and drink lots of water to build up their strength so they can go on ARV's. We came across one woman who refused to eat eggs. In this particular area once girls reach puberty they have to give up chicken, eggs and milk and leave it for the men! We also came across a 32 year old who is a grandmother! Some new Mzungus have come to Kitovu. There are 3 lads from England and a girl from Edinburgh. They are doing their medical placements in the hospital and will be here until November. It's great to have some new company and we are planning a trip to Murchinson Falls national park next weekend. I'll let ye know how it goes. Kate

02 October 2004 06:41

Well Uganda feels just like home this week as it's been pissing rain! The rain gets so heavy that it breaks large plants and some trees. Its hard to go anywhere as the dust turns to muck so walking or getting a boda boda anywhere could result in falling on your arse. I am on my own once again as Michelle, the irish girl who was here on holidays left on Wednesday. She got a bus to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania which takes 26 hours, rather her than me! There was drama again in the school this week. One of the children in P1 was knocked down by a taxi driver. The driver ran into the woods after knocking her down. The P7 (6th class) boys and 3 of the teachers chased him. They found him hiding behind a tree and brought him back to the scene of the crime! The litte girl is in hospital with a large cut on her head and a few broken ribs, but she'll be fine. She is a twin and lives with her mother as her father left them and has had no contact for two years. He must have got word about the accident because he turned up on the school doorstep on Thursday asking about compensation from the taxi driver. The teachers told him to get lost, that the compensation will go to his wife. She'll probably let him back into the home until he spends all her money. The women here are right eejits when it comes to men. Because the men can have more than one wife alot of women live with their co-wives. There was a case in the paper last week where one co-wife killed another co-wife's 1 year only child! While on a bus in Kampala last week Michelle saw a man being very badly beaten. He was surrounded by about 8 people who were punching, kicking and stripping him of his clothes. One of the teachers was with her and explained that the man was a thief. In Kampala the police don't deal with thieves as they will just be freed again in a couple of days, they leave them in the hands of the public. It is common practice to strip and beat them, then pour paraffin on them and set them alight! I got some bad news from the teachers when I was told one of my favourite little boys has left. He is 9 and an orphan. He used to go to the nearest town everyday to do acrobatics to earn some money but he always came back for supper. The children told me that he now has a job carrying crates of empty bottles on his head for a few schillings a day. He is supposed to be sleeping on the streets. I am going to go looking for him tomorrow and try to get him back to the school. As for the building, the school is changing every day. There are now 12 builders who are finishing the washroom, the plastering and the pathway outside the classrooms. All the rain has slowed everything down. The carpenter is building shelves in the dorms, the electrician is coming back to put in a cut out (whatever that is), security lights and more sockets, while the painter will also be back to paint the outside of the building. We are also going to put a hedge at the front of the school to stop the children running onto the road. At the moment it's just barbed wire there,which is just lying on the ground. Most of the children are in bare feet so its not very safe. Today I am in town shopping for curtains for the dorms which is not really my favourite thing to do -i'd rather be buying cement! bye Kate

25 September 2004 04:36

Hello from a rainy Uganda. The wet season has finally arrived much to the delight of the farmers and to the disappointment of tourists. This week Michelle, two of the children and I took a trip to the Ssese Islands. They are a group of 84 islands on lake victoria with a population of about 35,000. It is only 35km from masaka to the ferry port and a further 40km to the main town on the island but the journey took 8 hours. Travelling african style takes its toll on your patience. We got on a bus at 9am which didnt move till 11.30am, we then had to look at a ferry for 2 hours before it moved! You'd want to see the way people travel over here. They go on the back of pick up trucks with dead fish, chicken, cattle, bags of potatoes, mattresses - everything but the kitchen sink. I even saw one fella in the back holding a big disco ball! They also pack us into the buses like sardines. The bus we were on was supposed to seat 30, there were at least 45 on it. Each time I thought they couldn't fit anymore they would stop again and cram more people in. We were five to a row with just 4 seats in the row. God knows how many were up the frount as I couldn't see a thing with all the bodies. People even started getting in the drivers door and were squashed up against him as well as 3 fellas hanging out the door. I was surprised they didn't put anyone up on the roof. As we were approaching the main town the police stopped us for overloading. This doesn't bother the drivers though as it is routine. Everyday they just bribe the police and are sent on their way. The county is very corrupt that way and almost all police can be bribed. Our holiday on the island was very interesting, we had rats in our dorm the first night and so had to jump ship and stay in a tent. We were threatened with the police for not staying in the lodge we booked with but thank god they never arrived. The poor children were terrified that we would all be locked up. All the drama was worth it though as the island was beautiful and the children had a great time - it was their first time at a beach! In masaka the school is coming along nicely and looks completly different from when I first arrived. People keep coming in to thank me for the work. This week the builders are finishing the washrooms, plastering more of the school and putting in a cement path and steps outside the classrooms. I have set up a bit of a library at the school and have been busy buying lots of books. The children in school have no novels or other reading material so they love all the new books and are in with me every night reading. I am also looking into buying a television and video for the school as they have nothing at the moment. So i'm off to the electrical shop now. Bye Kate

16 September 2004 03:42

I'm glad to say I finally got my visa and will be in Uganda until Early November. Just as well really as there is still alot to do at the school. We are building bathrooms and plastering the outside of the building. There is also a man in Kampala making teachers desks and chairs for the school. At the moment the teachers sit outside! The kids have moved into the dorms and are delighted with them. The boys dorm had no windows before and was dark and dirty - they now have 3 windows and the walls are painted, it looks great, so thanks to all who contributed money The best thing so far is the electricity. It has made a massive difference to everybody. The teachers used to correct books by candle light, now they just have to flick on a switch. I am just as excited as them about the electricity. The only problem now is the powercuts catch us all by surprise and we have to stumble around in the dark looking for torches and candles. Powercuts happen 3 or 4 times a week! Last wednesday I went out with Sr. Helen, the Irish nun. We visited loads of sick people. We visited a woman whose husband died 2 months ago - he left here with 4 small children of her own and two other children he had from another marriage. The woman is only about 27 and has to feed and look after all these children with no income. Helen gives them money for renting and cultivating land which will feed them for a few seasons. We went to visit another 21 year old who we had seen before. When we go to these houses we are not sure if the people will be dead or alive. We saw the door to her shed was closed so we thought she was dead. She wasn't thank god, but she had deterioriated alot. She is left in a shed beside the house on a dirty mattress. You wouldn't leave a dog in it! Her step mother is looking after her - but not doing a great job, the girl is about 5 stone and all bones. The family are loosing interest in looking after her and dont really bother to feed her properly or give her enough water. There are hundreds of cases like this all over the country. During the holidays the mother of one of the boys in my class died from aids, his father died a few years ago, so now he has no one. An aunt will probably look after him. I am in the process of getting a list of children who need sponsorship, so if anyone is interested in sponsoring a child just mail the shannonbridge website on info@shannonbridge.net and they will pass the information on to me. It costs just 12 euros a month. This pays school fees and gets mattresses, mosquito nets and many other things for the child. I saw more strange things this week. I was on the bus to Kampala recently and passed a house where a man was standing talking to a crowd of people. He had sticks organised in some sort of pattern on the ground. A man on the bus told me it was a witch doctor making a crusade to manipulate the people. I havent a clue what this means but I will have to find out. Another strange incident was at the born again christian church on sunday where I saw three people getting their demons cast out. One man was carried from the church shaking and was left outside on the ground to rest as when the demons are leaving you, you become weak! Another Irish girl arrived out yesterday. She was a volunteer here last year and has come back for a two week visit on her way to Australia. Its great to be able to go out and have the craic and chat properly! She just happened to arrive on the same day as the pearl of africa choir were leaving. There were 30 people travelling and over 50 came to see them off. It is a big occasion when someone travels abroad and the whole family come to say goodbye. We had to wait around in the lobby for an hour and a half to see the plane take off - they all clap and cheer and wave and are really excited by the whole thing. The choir will be touring the UK for 4 weeks and the US for 2 weeks. Hopefully next year they will come to Ireland and ye will get to see their great performance. Thats it for this week Bye Kate

06 September 2004 06:09

This week I'm back to school after a two week break. It was nice to have time off and to get to know the city better. I was a bit nervous walking around on the first day, but I found it to be a really safe city and I never really felt in danger. There's loads of security on the street. Everywhere you look there is a security man with a big gun. While in kampala the girls were teaching me how to cook african style. This involves lighting the fire at 6pm, peeling the matooke and whatever else is being cooked. The dinner is not ready until 9.30! So its a far cry from turning on the cooker and having dinner 30 minutes later. I also went to a few of the local markets. The fruit here is really cheap. You can get a huge pineapple for 50cents, mangoes are only 10cent and bananas only 5 cent! I arrived back to Masaka on saturday and was here before all the children. The school is terribly quite and lonely with out them. They are coming back in dribs and drabs and its great to see them all again. They all have to bring "requirements" back to the school. The requirements are 2 rolls of toilet paper and a brush made from some sort of grass. Tonight we should be getting back into the normal routine which involves going praising god at 7pm. All the children go outside with 3 drums and some shakers, they sing, dance and pray for around 45 minutes. Its great to take part in it - they are all excellent dancers and most can drum reall well. In the local trading centre I have become like the pipe piper. Everytime I go up to the shop the children who live there follow me around shouting "auntie Katie". They are hillarious. Some of the younger ones are terrified of me and run off crying and screaming to their parents. The dorms in the school are almost finished. The builder got sick last week so things have been delayed. The dorms are not ready for the boarders so they are all sleeping in a small house until everything is ready. Today I spent about 2 hours discussing plans with the builder. We are going to build bathrooms and also plaster the outside of the school. I am going back now to meet the carpenter to haggle about doors, shelves and cupboards. Bye Kate

30 August 2004 03:58

Hi, Well this week I am on my holidays in Kampala. I had planned to go on safari in Kenya for a few days but the ministry for foreign affairs took my passport! So the visa saga continues! On Monday I went to the immigration deptartment to sort out my visa only to find out that it actually expired on July 26th! so I have been an illegal immigrant for the last month! They took my passport and application for a special pass so I have to wait two weeks before they get back to me. I Have just come from the taxi park here in Kampala which is a crazy place. There are big toyota vans everywhere and there's hardly space to walk between them. Somehow everything seems to run smoothly and all taxis get out of the park, eventually. The transport here is desperate and the drivers are nuts. This week there have been 3 bus crashes killing around 20 people and injuring many more! The road to Masaka is one of the most dangerous in the country - a friend was ran off the road in his landrover last week! On the walk up to the internet cafe here in Kampala I passed a load of women sitting on the footpath selling things from chocolate eclairs and newspapers to coffee beans and twigs!! I asked what these twigs were for and they replied "for eating". After further enquiry I found out both the sticks and the coffee beans are aphrodisiacs. The men chew them during the day as they need to keep all their wives/lovers happy later on! With all the extra money raised I've decided to plaster the outside of the school and also to build new washrooms. At the moment the children wash outside in a makeshift room made from galvanise, they dont even have a floor or roof on it! The dorms are going well and should be finished next week. Then I have to start all over again with the haggling and buying hardware. I might become a forewoman when I come home - I hear Anderson and Darcy are looking for a start! This week I have been like an official photographer for the pearl of africa choir. They are a group of 21 children from the 5 different Molly and Paul schools who are leaving Uganda on September 15th for a 6 week tour of the UK and the USA. They do traditional song and dance and they are brilliant. They plan to come to ireland next year so hopefully ye will get a chance to see them. Thats all for now Kate

21 August 2004 06:47

Hi, I had just finished a message when the electricity went so I have to start all over again! aaaaggggggg. The electricity goes almost everyday in Masaka. The girls in the internet cafe have to lug this great big generator outside and start it up so it sounds like there is a tractor beside me. Apart from that all is quiet in the school for once as the children got their holidays yesterday. Some parents came to collect their children, one of whom was just 14 when she had her child! Those with no parents go to their aunts, uncles or some relative. The teachers also take some of the children with them. This week I have been mostly travelling. I went to Kampala last Sunday night so I could get money for the building on Monday. I stayed in Molly and Pauls with 18 other people! I went to the Irish embassy the next day to be told to go to the ministry for foreign affairs. The lady there told me I was working illegally for the last 3 months and could have been arrested! I have to apply for a special pass this week in order to extend my visa. While in Kampala I went to the Ugandan wildlife authority to find out about Gorilla tracking. There are only around 700 mountain gorillas left in the world. You can see them in Uganda, Rwanda or the Congo. As luck would have it there just happened to be a cancellation for Wednesday and I got it for half price! So after rushing back to buy cement and scaffolding, I headed off to Kisoro district in the southwest of the country. The journey took 10 hours and involved 2 mini buses, 2 cars, a big bus and a motorbike. The mini buses pack people in like sardines while the driver of the big bus spends half the journey beeping the horn so that cars, bikes and people get out of his way. They stopped once on the way for 5 minutes and people went running for the bushes and ditches which very funny to watch. The motorbike journey was a bit of a nightmare as I had to go up the side of a stony mountain and the bike was sliding all over the place, it didnt help that the the driver was 18! Anyway I made it alive and got to see the Gorillas. We trecked through the forest for 45 minutes and then came across a huge silverback eating bamboo. There were 11 in the group in total. They are amazing to watch and don't seem to mind humans coming up to have a gawk at them. I had to stay in a complete kip of a hotel after the trek, but sure what do you expect for 1.50! The gorilla guide stayed in the same place and the two of us got a bus at 5am the next morning! We passed some people planting in fields so I asked him what they were sowing. He just replied "Irish". They call their spuds "Irish Potatoes" over here to distinguish them from sweet potatoes. Things at the school are flying it, there are 4 builders and one electrician. All thats left to do is pay the bill and there will be light! The dorms will take a bit longer but hopefully will be finished before the boarders come back. Thanks to everyone who took part in the walk last Sunday, i'm glad ye got a good day for it. From what I hear alot of money was raised. A special thanks to the Killeens who have put alot of work into raising money and thanks to Fran who did great,raising 500 euros for shaving his beard off! I'm looking forward to seeing all the photos. Bye Kate

14 August 2004 06:46

Hi, Well its been a hectic week here. Yesterday I was up bright and early and haggling with the electrician by 8am! The outstanding bill for electricity is 180 euros and the cost of getting reconnected is another 180! I will email the costs home to Dave who will put them on the web. Then at 9am I went to buy materials with the builder and an intreperter. I spent 3 hours haggling in different places for roofing, timber and windows. When they see a muzungu coming they automatically up the price, so its a constant battle to get a fair price for anything. I'm getting good at it though and even managed to get a better price than the local builder to transport the goods home. He was told 20,000 and I got it for 10,000! The work has started today and will be completed in 3 weeks. We should have electricity by Wednesday next week. It is going to be strange to be able to walk in and just flick a switch. I took all the simple things like electricity and running water for granted at home. I have started taking some of the boarders into town at weekends as a treat. The town is about 3 miles away and most of them go in only once or twice a year. I usually bring them for lunch where most of them order chicken as they seldom eat meat at the school. They look at the knives, forks and spoons and wonder what to do with them. They always eat with their hands at home and at school. After lunch I take them for icecream. Alot of them have never tasted icecream! They are just as excited by the empty plastic container as the icecream. They also always come knocking at my door for my empty plastic bottles and one lads loves used batteries! I dont know how they'd react if they got a real toy. I'll find out soon though as i'm buying a load of stuff for them in the city on monday. They've been telling me about local medecines and cures that they use. The aloe vera plant is used to cure Malaria and lots of other stuff. Two of the boys broke bones when they were younger and were brought to a healer. The healer burnt some local medecine, put it on their arm or leg and the boys were cured in a week! Some religions don't go near these healers though as they think they are witch doctors using black majic! They kids find it very funny that if we break a leg we are in plaster for up to 6 weeks. Another strange thing I came across was a 6 fingered man! I met him while out visiting sick people with Sr. Helen a few weeks ago. I Thought I was seeing things but I got Emma in to confirm it. I see from Mick's post that Alf Stewart has sent his support - I'd love to be able to see it but it would take 4 hours to download it on this computer! I'll have to wait till I get home. One of the girls who went home had a video out here which I used around the school. She is making a copy and will send it to Shannonbridge, so ye can get to see what the school is like. I am picking up a good bit of the local lingo thanks to the children. The older men and women think it's hilarious that a muzungu can speak Luganda. When shopping for the materials I came across a whole load of auld ones preparing food for an introduction day. An introduction day is when a girl introduces her fiance to her family. It usually takes place a few days before the wedding and they have a big party. These women were amazed that I could greet them in Luganda. They invited me into their yard where they were preparing loads of food for the party. They wanted me to squeeze the matooke for them using banana leaves. There were 4 children plucking a heap of chickens so there were feathers everywhere. The guts and half formed eggs were in a bowl. They actually boil and eat these! The 21 year old boy in the house wanted me to look for a muzungu wife for him. All the black men would love to marry a white woman but say they are too expensive to keep as they would demand electricity and a house with more than one room! Damn right we would. On my way here today I was very surprised to hear Mary Black, a womans heart, booming out from one of the shops. It'll probably be the Wolfe tones next week! I Got a message from Carey during the week to say he met a fella in Killeens who is coming out here to work in the Irish Embassy. Small world! I'll be looking him up when he comes out as it's always nice to meet other paddys out here. I am going to the embassy on monday to get a residency permit as my 3 month holiday visa is almost up, and what a quick 3 months it's been! I see the walk is tomorrow so I wish all the walkers good luck and hope ye get a nice day for it. Enjoy the few beverages in the pub afterwards too. Good luck. Kate

09 August 2004 06:12

Well fair play to Fran for shaving his beard off - Last time I saw him was about 5 months ago and he had a big beard then so i'm sure there is loads to come off. He's off to a good start with 150euros. I am going to put whatever he raises towards getting electricity for the school. I can't wait to tell the kids, they'll be over the moon and I'm looking forward to getting rid of the candles and lantern. Thanks to the KVT staff for the tips too. They did well this year - tips weren't like that when I worked there! I have got someone to do the renovation of the dorms. I met him when I was walking around visiting the childrens homes. He is a qualified builder but he has been out of work for a long time. He came and had a look at the dorms this week. He has very little english so I had to do all my explaining and haggling through an intrepreter! We are going to extend both the boys and girls dorms. Then we are putting in new windows as the place is very dark. We are also putting up a new roof. All this comes to around 900 euro. 800 has already gone into the renovation of the classrooms. I found out a few interesting things this weekend chatting to the kids. When twins are born here they are given specific names. When two boys are born the first born is called Wasswa and the second born is Kato. So in our house it would be Wasswa David and Kato Kerrill. (If you ask a Ugandan their name they give their surname first which is really confusing as their names are impossible to remember). If there are girl twins the first born is Babirya and the second is Nakato so there are lots of Wasswa's, Kato's, Babira's and Nakato's. Also, if you are the mother and father of twins your name also changes. The mother becomes Nalongo and the father Salongo. Mad! I woke last week to the sound of things running in the roof. Rats! We put poison up twice and 6 rats were found dead. I woke last night again to more scratching and running around! I dont mind the lizards, cockroaches and ants in the room but I hate rats. Between waking up in the middle of the night and being woken by a bell at 5.30am i'll be a wreck coming home! I suppose i'll be a wreck anyway as I'm officially old now - I turned the big 3-0 the weekend before the girls left. We celebrated by going to a nightclub in the city. It was more modern than I expected with 3 levels and 5 dance floors. There were only 4 white girls in the whole club so we got stared at alot! We are having a bit of drama in the school at the moment. One of the lads in my class has run away from home. He was seen at the local disco on Saturday night and he's only 12! Another girl in my class has stopped coming to school. She was living with a 20 year old. She's 15. Her parents got the boy arrested. Theres another 9 year old who the kids think is crazy. His mother left him, his father died and then his guardian died. I'm told he was going to be sacrificed at one stage and that is why he is a bit weird. He wanders off to the town every evening to do acrobatics and make some money. He comes back at night time with pockets full of bottle tops, batteries and empty spray cans! He's the one who is doing the splits upsidedown in the photo gallery. Well thats just a few of the kids stories, I'm hearing new and unbelievable stuff everyday. Until next time - keep up the good work. Kate

05 August 2004 08:27

Hi, sorry for not posting in a while but we have been really busy here. The school has finally been finished and the rooms look great. All classes moved back in this week. There is a massive difference in the rooms and the kids love them. There's no more dust which means no more jiggers in the childrens feet. Jiggers are bugs which live in the dust over here - they burrow into your feet where they grow to the size of a pea and have to be removed with a pin. One of the Irish girls here even picked them up, but she's fine now. So its yet another thing for me to watch out for! Next up for the school is a few coats of paint to make the place look a bit brighter. The school colours just happen to be blue and yellow like the Inagh and Shannonbridge colours, where Emma and I are from, so we'll be painting all the rooms blue and yella! The girls left for home yesterday. It's very strange being in the school on my own but I'm sure i'll get used to it soon enough. We had a party for Emma the day she left with lots of singing and traditional dancing. There were also alot of tears shed. She got loads of presents from the students and parents including eggs, a mat, plates, jugs, fruit, vegetables and even a live chicken! I dont know where they thought she was going to pack it all! Before she left we took a day trip to lake mburo national park which is about an hours drive away. We saw hippos, water buffalo, crocodiles, warthogs and zebra. Emma also fell off a boda boda the week before she left. We got caught in the rain and her bike skidded into a ditch, luckily she wasn't hurt. I'll think twice before heading off in the rain again. Everyone wanted to meet us before we left including a bishop and the local priest! We visited the priest who asked us to ring the 4 church bells for mass. It went on for about 5 minutes and was extremely loud but great craic - it reminded me of ringing the old church bell with Tom Donegan when we were kids. We also went to visit some of the childrens homes. Most of them live in two or 3 bedroomed houses built from bricks and mud. Most peope have a pig or goat and alot have chickens. One of the strange things we noticed is that people bury thier dead relatives in their garden! We saw lots of kids out playing, mostly they play football. The younger children spend their days running around after a bicycle tyre with a stick! Before Emma left she sponsored a child called Rose. Rose only had one pink dress which she wore to school every day. We called to her house with 3 new dresses and other presents. I never saw a child so grateful and happy. Her mother died a few years ago and her fathers isn't around. She lives with her aunt who also looks after a young boy who is disabled. He spends his day lying in the dirt outside the house. On Wednesday we went out for a day with a nun called sister Helen Delaney from Wexford who is with the Medical Missionarys of Mary out here. She teaches nutrition to the sick and those caring for the sick. It was a tough day as we saw alot of very ill people, one of whom died shortly after we left. I am hoping to go out with her once a week into the different villages. A big thanks to Mick, Collie, Louise and Jib for all the work they put in to the website. Thanks to all the fundraisers who are doing a great job. The kids have holidays in two weeks time so we will be starting on the dorms them. I'll keep ye updated on the progress. Bye Kate

22 July 2004 07:55

Hi, I'll make this short as i have been here for over 2 hours sending photos home and I am about to go crazy! I'm amazed by all the support I am getting from home.  Thanks a million to Steve and Liz for donating the badges and to Derry for all the time and effort he is putting in to selling the badges - I never thought so much money would be raised. Thanks to all who are buying and donating money from near and far. I have told the people out here and they are very excited about the whole thing.  I will have enough to do the boys and girls dorms and there is lots of other stuff to do with any left over money. The school  is going well and will be finished next week.  All the floors have been cemented so we are having classes out under the trees at the moment! We met a lovely Irish couple last week called Jo and Bridgeen Cosgrave. Bridgeen is nursing in the hospital here and Jo goes out with the mobile clinic. They have been here since October and have lots of interesting stories and advise for us. They went to a village last week and came across a family of 9. The mother was suffering from depression and the father had elephantitis. The 15 month old, 3, 5 and 7 year olds could not walk and had very poor social skills. Jo taught the 7 year old to walk and how to shake hands. They had raised some money and decided to build a new house for this family. We spent a lovely night with them where we had a nice Irish meal and a great chat. Unfortunately they are returning to Ireland next week. But fortunately for me they are giving me their solar powered shower. I have no idea what this looks like or how it works but it has to be better than a bucket! Bridgeen gave us a tour of the childrens ward this week, most of the children have malaria. Alot of the babies die and the mothers pretend they are alive leaving the hospital as boda bodas charge more money for transporting a dead baby! While in the hospital we also came across a girl of about 17, she married at 15 - got HIV from her husband who then ran off and left her. She now has aids and will probably die in the next few months.  There are many other sad stories such as this but thats enough depressing stuff for one day. We got a new child in the school this week. He is from the border of Uganda and the Congo. He was a street kid who was taking drugs on the streets and smuggling goods from uganda to congo - and he's only 10 years old! His mother is hoping the teachers in this school will discipline him, it should be interesting to see how he gets on. We got great news during the week - the director of our schools drafted up a document with his laywers stating that if any teacher in his schools canes a child they will be dismissed. Caning is still widespread in Uganda. This document will protect over 4000 children in the 5 schools. So I'll leave ye with that good news. Bye, Kate

14 July 2004 07:05

Hi, From what I hear there's great fundraising going on back there. Thanks a million to steve and liz for sending on the badges, hopefully they'll prove popular and get some money in for the cause. Thanks to the lads in the pub too for their gambling winnings! The school is coming along great, there are 4 classrooms plastered now and all rooms have doors and windows. The builders are starting on the cement floors next week so I wont be tripping across bumps in the floor anymore! After that we'll get an estimate for the dorms and hopefully get them done in the next few months. I tried to get a video of the nursery to send home but it was too dark and nothing came out! We are constantly being thanked here for the work we are doing, but we wouldn't be able to do it without the help from home, so as they say out here, Weebale nnyo! We had to go to the bank in the city this weekend to get more building money. We met a fella from Dublin who was also there taking out money for building. He was a nurse in Temple St but packed in his job to come out here and build an orphanage. He is married to a ugandan woman and so spends half the year out here. The owner of the internet cafe here in Masaka is also building a new orphanage, so there is great work going on. On our journeys to Kampala we cross the Equator. Uganda is one of only ten countries through which the equator passes. I havent stopped there yet but will do before I leave. There are funnels on either side of the equator where you can pour water and watch it going clockwise, then hop across the line and see it going anti-clockwise. The 3 of us Went to a place called Jinja this weekend. It is the source of the river nile. The have a huge dam here which supplies all of Uganda and alot of Kenya with Electricity (that is if you're connected). We got from the bus to our hostel on big padded bicycle carriers, a lovely way to travel! We stayed at a beautiful place called Bujagali Falls. While there we did some white water rafting. Brilliant but terrifying. I fell out once when the boat flipped over and thought I was going to drown! We got off to a bad start when a south african woman broke her nose off an oar, and she was in the safety boat! We went to our first Disco here where we played pool on an L-shaped pool table! We Stayed in a mad guest house in the city on our way home. We had to walk across a building site to get to the entrance. The hostel was actually built around the building site so when we left our room we were faced with scaffolding and builders! It was across the road from the biggest market in Uganda called Owino market - a mad place full of people who sit on the ground selling loads of stuff. There were lads running around with massive bags on their heads and women with baskets of bananas and babies on their backs. Its was a crazy crazy place and everything was dirt cheap. You can get jeans for 6 euros! On our journey home to Masaka our bus broke down about 50 kms from home just as it was getting dark. So we all piled onto the side of the road. We ended up getting a lift in a matooke truck - a bit like a cattle lorry at home, Sure there's never a dull moment!!

07 July 2004 06:58

Well its been another exciting week here in Uganda. Last saturday we went to a lake for the day. When we found out the lake was free from bilharzia two of us decided to go in for a quick dip, thinking we were safe as houses. We were getting out when we noticed a crowd of people standing at the shore. We thought they were just looking at muzungus in bikinis. Then we spotted this black thing in the water. It was a snake! I nearly had a heart attack . We legged it out of the water. The kids started throwing stones at it and beating it with a stick. They eventually killed it and took it out for us to have a look at. Turned out it was a cobra!! A big black snake with yellow rings arond its neck. They told us a snake cant bite you in the water, but i'll be thinking twice before I get in for a swim again. Took the obligatory tourist shot so i'll send it on home. We also came across three monkeys while we were walking down the road! I'm waiting for a lion to jump out of the bushes one of these days! The building has started on the school this week and they are making great progress. Most of the windows are in and one room has been plastered. It should be finished in two weeks time and then we can look at improving the dorms. I met three Irish girls last week who are over as part of their medical course in the Royal college of surgeons. It was great to meet other Irish people. The weather here is starting to really heat up. I have to cover up going out into the sun as I am getting burnt alive. The kids are amazed at my red skin and are always touching my arms. They are also amazed with moles and freckles. I saw a white black man the other day, never knew there was such thing! He was an albino - white as me with white afro hair. Another strange thing out here is the sight of grown men walking around holding hands like 8 year old school girls. Its common to see men in their 50's walking round with their arms linked! We were helping some local kids carry water on sunday when we noticed one of them had very red and sore looking eyes. We called into her house to ask her mothers permission to bring her to the hospital. There are seven children and 3 adults living in a tiny two bedroomed house. So we took Night and her sister Juliet off to the government hospital the next day. Medical care is free here in Uganda so we couldnt understand why her mother wouldnt bring her. One of the girls turned out to be blind in one eye after someone poked a stick in her eye in school a few years ago! She wanted us to buy her glasses cause she thought they would improve her eyesight! The other girl had an alergy so we got drops for her and showed her how to put them in. The governement hospital was in better condition than we expected but the system here is terrible. If you bribe the nurses you can skip the queue and nobody says anything. We starting giving out to people who were doing it and tried to form a proper queue but i'm sure the minute we left they were all over the place again. Emma was wandering round looking for the maternity ward in the hospital but ended up going into the TB ward! We are hoping we wont end up in the hospital ourselves next week. Times up will mail later in the week Kate

02 July 2004 07:12

Hi, Its great to hear so many people are interested in helping the people out here. I m getting an estimate on the dorm this week and am hoping to double it in size, put in a proper floor and get some presses for the kids to put their stuff in. Building on the school starts on Monday. Emma raised over 2000 and is doing up 6 classrooms - Some very generous people gave me money coming over, so I am putting that towards doing up another room which will become the nursery. At the moment over 50 children are squashed into a tiny little dark room with 2 teachers. I have sent a photo on to dave so i'm sure he'll put it on the web. Myself and Emma went into town on Tuesday with our African builder and carpenter to buy cement, lime, timber, hinges, and lots of other stuff like that. We spent the whole day haggling with hardware men and builders. I will put the estimate on the web later so ye can see how much things cost here. We are collecting the stuff today so we have to sit on top of the load to bring it to the school - a bit like coming home from the bog i suppose! As for day to day life it is still as bizzare as ever. I took a boda boda to town the other day. The driver just stopped on the road, told me to get off the bike, then he got off and turned the bike sideways on the road. He was trying to get the last of the petrol into the tank! When we pulled into a petrol station to fill up he only put 20cent worth in! Petrol is very expensive over here compared to everything else so they nerver fill the tank. It rained very heavily again one day this week - I saw alot of the children coming to school with big banana leaves for umbrellas. I was teaching one of the days it rained heavily and had to stop as the kids couldn't hear a thing with the rain pelting off the galvanize. They all have to move into the middle of the room to avoid getting a soaking. I went up to the city last weekend. Three of us piled onto a minibus full of people with bags of rice and maize on the floor and a few chickens in the back. At every stop people surround the bus sticking chicken and pork kebabs in your face, or selling tea, fruit and bananas. On the way back we got a big bus which didn't leave the bus park for an hour and forty minutes, so we had to sit there in the swealtering heat. They dont go anywhere till the bus fills up which is a pain. You could do your weekly shopping on the bus. All these people get on selling stuff from watches, hats, shoes and glasses to Bread, buns and even dinner on a plate! We stayed in a hostel up there and spent the first hour walking round checking out the showers, toilets, lights and tv! It was great to have a bit of normailty but it was also very strange to be around so many white people again! I received books in the post today which should help alot with the teaching, so thanks to Dylan for donating them. We got new desks for the classes today so the children were very excited, it is alot easier to teach them now as they are not on the floor. Well have to go and jump on a load of cement. Bye Kate

23 June 2004 08:50

Hi, I've just read the local news and am delighted to hear 100 euro has been raised already. 100 goes a long way out here. A child can be sponsored for a year here for just 150, this pays for schooling, their shoes, pens, copies, bags, soap and basic things like that. They never ask for toys as they need clothes instead! A Danish girl came to the school today to meet the children she sponsors - It was lovely to see. I am hoping to renovate the dorms here. The girls dorm is very small and dirty. They sleep in bunkbeds 4 people high and some have two to a bed. Their belongings, which arent much, are in suitcases on the floor. The windows are missing alot of panes and alot of the chidren dont have mosquito nets so every week someone has malaria. Before I came here I thought Malaria was very serious but they talk about it like we talk about having a cold. Most of the kids here get up at 5.30am to do chores like wash clothes, sweep or wash floors. I've never seen such hard working people and no one complains. The older children start school at 6.30am and are in class till 7pm, they stop for supper and then go back at 8.30pm until 10pm. I dont know how they stay awake. I am getting a few footballs for the school today. At the moment they play with a home made ball. It is made from banana fibres and plastic bags and is surprisingly good. We went to the final of a traditional african dancing competition last saturday. We took 40 minutes of video which i will send home in august with one of the girls. We almost got knocked down on the way home. A bus came ploughing through a crowd of about 50 people walking on the road in the dark. We all had to dive into the ditch. Us three Irish girls were a bit shook getting out of the ditch but all the Africans were laughing at us. It really is survival of the fittest out here, if you dont jump you die! We got a break from the school last weekend, its hard to stay there 24hours a day 7 days a week. Went to a place called lake nabugabo which is about 12 miles away. It took 45 minutes to get there cause the roads here are terrible. We hired a row boat there which had home made oars and no oar pins so we had to row like Indians. Needless to say we didnt go very far. we pulled up at a half built resort and had a few drinks. The journey back was a bit nervewracking as we weren't too steady in the boat. The beer out here would blow the head off you - its 5.6% and only costs 75cents. So if you are like me you'd be drunk on 2 euro! I have started to teach the tin whistle in the school and am driven mad with them all shouting "auntie, me auntie" to have a go. They call all the teachers Auntie out here so I have become an Auntie to over 200 kids. Some of the children are picking up the tin whistle really quickly while others make a terrible noise. They are teaching me how to play the drum and dance to African music. One of the teachers was showing us how to carry stuff on our heads. He can carry 20 litres of water in jerry can on his head. He'd make a fortune in the circus! So when I come home I'll be able to carry a bucket of water on my head while drumming and dancing to african music! Until next week, bye. Kate

14 June 2004 05:41

Well its another beautiful day here in Uganda so i'm going to make this short and go out to enjoy the sun. We had a great adventure on Saturday when we went to the semifinals of a school festival. The traditional dancing was excellent and I took a short video which dave will put on the web soon. The journey there was very interesting. The new teacher emma and I got on the one scooter for part of the journey and almost crashed into the ditch cause it was pissing rain. We then got into a taxi with 6 other people plus the driver. This taxi ran out of petrol at the top of a hill so we had to turn around and freewheel down to a petrol station which didnt have petrol! So we freewheeled down some more till we got to "fill up". They only put about 3 euro a time into the tank so if someone steals the taxi they wont get far. Some of them would rob the eye out of your head over here! On the Journey back from the festival we got another taxi. This time there were 4 in the back, 2 in the passenger seat and 2 in the drivers seat. So taximan had to drive squashed against the window. I was expecting them to start putting people on the roof! We went to corpus christy (however you spell it!) mass yesterday which lasted 4 hours. Us three white people had to stand up in the middle of the congregation and wave to everybody. I'll be the holiest person out here if I keep going to all these masses. I hear a priest from Uganda is collecting clothes in the bridge. His parish is about 120km from here so I might get to meet him when he passes through Masaka. By the way they were white ants the kids were eating in the last post not white anys. So much for being an english teacher I cant even spell! Bye kate

08 June 2004 08:45

Hi, I am delighted to say I have been joined by another Irish girl here in the school. She arrived yesterday and will be staying for 2 months. She did some fundraising before she came over and raised 2000. This will pay for a cement floor and windows for all the classrooms. It will also buy desks for all the children. Work starts next week. I will be taking before and after footage and i'll try to get a few photos to post here. Another Irish girl started in a school about 5 miles away. Its great to be able to chat as fast as i like. Its also alot easier to go to town as there are now 3 of us to stare at. I am slowly getting used to the way of life here. We get up when the cock crows at 6.30am! They have lunch at 1 and dont eat again until 8.30pm. They think we are mad in Ireland having dinner around 6 and wonder why we dont wake up hungry in the middle of the night! I am also getting used to the long drop lattrines. There was great excitement yesterday evening when we smoked them to get rid of the cockroaches. This involved setting banana leaves alight and shoving them down the hole. The place was smoking away all night and all the nasty bugs are now gone. Speaking of bugs, one of the children came to the office with a tub of bugs which i thought he was going to play with - i got a bit of a shock when i saw him eating them. They were white anys and alot of children eat them here. They are also mad for fried grasshoppers. They come with the rain so next time theres rain i have promised to eat some! I went to a festival on Sunday where they had African singing, poetry, bible reading and traditional dancing. The traditional dancing was excellent. The bible reading was a bit mad and as usual the singing was excellent. Rose and all the other bird lovers would love it here, there are supposed to be 1000 spicies of bird here. The main one you see floating around the sky is the stork, hence all the little black babies. I was teaching about the family tree in one of my classes and was surprised to learn that Ugandans call their Aunts through marriage their grandmothers, so you can have 10 grandmothers! All very confusing. When they marry its their brothers who give them away and not their fathers. Today I am in town buying some much needed books for the school. They literally have nothing to teach with. We are also going to get some footballs and toys. I got my hair plaited today and it was the most painful thing i've ever got done. My head is killing me. 3 women were pulling at it for over 4 hours. I am starting to meet more & more irish people here. I Met a man from belfast today and in the hospital near me there is an Irish nun. There is also an Irish nurse and her husband from Dublin. If anyone wants to look at some footage of the children or the work being done in the schools here there is a website run by a couple from Denmark called Carsten and Ruth. They sold their house in Denmark and moved here with their 3 children for a year and have done great work. So check it out at www.ugandachildcare.dk -(click on english version), Thats all for Today. Take care Kate

01 June 2004 04:57

Hello, Ta me sa cyber cafe here in Masaka on a roasting hot day. I have finally arrived at the school where I will be spending the next 5 months. It is outside a town called Masaka in the south of the country. I was given the grand tour yesterday. Its not a very big school, there are about 300 students, many of whom are orphans and some also have aids. Alot of people died in this area as a result of aids. It is said that it was first detected in a village not far from here. As for the school, the classrooms have no floor just uneven dusty ground, there are windows with no glass and no doors either. The students sit on homemade benches and the only materials available are the blackboard and chalk. Each student has a copy book but they can't afford text books so they copy everything from the board. There is no electricity so one of the students showed me how to use a parafin lamp last night, it gets dark here around 7pm. Washing is done by hand and cooking is done outside using firewood as fuel. The main food is Matooke, which is boiled banana, but not as we know it , its quite nice actually. The other main food is pocho made from maize, its not great. And best of all is they have Irish potatoes so I won't starve. As for toilet and showers in the school - there are none! The toliets are a sight to behold. They are holes in the ground, along with holes in the walls and doors! There is no such thing as a shower so I have to wash out of a basin, it will all take a bit of getting used to. The school is about half a mile from an Irish run hospital and there is supposed to be an irish doctor there who i am looking forward to meeting so i dont have to speak broken english. There is also an order of Irish nuns down the road called missionarys of mary or something like that. I am sure I will meet them soon. East africans take their religion very seriously. Last sunday I went to a born again christian service, it lasted 4 hours! Lots of gospel singing and praising the lord, jumping up, whooping and hollering and raising your hands to jesus. There was also some MC Hammer style dancing. It was great to see. I was the only white person in a congregation of about 2000. I was also at a party thrown by a man who owns a chemical products company here, he presented me with a large fairy liquid size bottle of hand wash, there was a photographer who took a photo of the presentation - I just hope it doesnt make the news! Then he made me dance to african music with him in front of about 50 africans, they had a great laugh watching a muzugu dancing. I have also been to an african wedding. They are the same as home, with the bride dressing in white, then pageboy, bridesmaids etc. There was alot of singing at the reception and no dancing as the electricity went. It is traditional for the new bride to kneel before her husband and offer him food and drink. I'm sure all the Irish lads would love it out here - the women do everything and men can have 3 and more wives. This Sunday I am being collected at 6am, yes 6am to go to mass! I can't even get up at 12pm at home to run across the road. I'll post a message again next week. Bye, Kate

29 May 2004 01:13

Oliochita from Uganda! Well what an adventure this has been so far. First,I got upgraded to business class from London to Uganda and had the good fortune to be sitting beside a lovely man from Laois (Jim Scully) who was on his way out to some Ugandan priest. We were like a pair of kids reclining the seats, pressing all the buttons and drinking champagne to celebrate our good luck. I arrived into entebbe at 6am on Wednesday and was taken to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. So far the weather has been very nice at about 25 degrees. I am staying with the Wassa family in Kampala who run 5 schools. They have 5 children of their own plus about 10 adopted children, including one boy who was raised with chimps for 3 years before someone found him and this family took him in! He competed in the special olympics in dubiln and got a medal. Its hard to remember everybodys name in the house but I think I know them all by now. I am being taken around the city in a hiace bus by a fella called Alex who is very nice and trying to teach me some of the local language. I dont know how he manages to drive here, its the craziest traffic I have ever seen. 1.2 million people live here and most of them seem to be on bikes, honda 50's or in cars, vans, trucks, taxis and buses. There's only one set of traffic lights in the whole city so its complete chaos. Yesterday I saw one honda 50 with a driver, a passenger and her 3 kids on it! The city is bigger than i expected with about 20 skyscrapers, the suburbs are mostly shanty towns and there are people selling stuff everywhere. The people who run the organisation I am with have 3 schools here in kampala. I visited them all, and each time the kids came running to the bus shouting "muzugu" "muzugu" which means white person. They even run after the bus waving. Its very embarrassing really - I have to wave to them all like some celebrity and feel like a right eejit. The classes are huge and the rooms are very rundown. There were 90 children in one of the rooms with some sitting on the floor. The average class size is about 70 so I don't know how I'm going to cope. They seem very well behaved though. Yesterday there was a big parade at one of the schools, they were giving out badges to prefects - I was asked to say a few words in front of the whole school, again I was very embarrased and mumbled a few sentences. They children here really stare at me, some even come up to touch my skin. I thought there would be more white people around but I haven't seen many. On Monday I'm going to Masaka which is about a 3 hour drive from Kampala. The school here is supposed to be alot worse than the ones in Kampala. I will be teaching in Masaka for 5 months. Tonight I have been invited to a party by some Ugandan business man, we are going for a chineese in Uganda! I could write all day but my time us running out and I have to get out of this shed (internet cafe) So until next time. Bye. kate