UK News - Events and Visits
Visit to Uganda: April 2009
Val Talbot and Lorna Brown went out to Uganda from 1 to 16 April. The main purpose of the visit for Lorna was to evaluate the existing Goat Units run by Gideon Nadiope and Moses Ekoi, (together with the one at Busoga University), to see how ready they would be to receive the imported pedigree Boer and Toggenburg breeding stock from South Africa. Arrangements for this vital shipment are ongoing and work needs to be done at both Units, particularly on water supply.
For Val it was to observe and monitor the Kumi Orphan Project out in the communities; to meet beneficiaries and their guardians, committee members and volunteer workers; prepare for the next Christmas catalogue and discuss future developments with Miriam and Emmanuel Maraka.
A volunteer member of Dolen Ffermio, Carole Ashurst, was there at the time, exploring ways to encourage villagers to use fuel-efficient cooking stoves. These cost nothing to make as only readily available materials are used and training on how to make and use them is provided free by an organisation funded by the German government. They help to reduce deforestation (a big problem in this part of Uganda) as well as respiratory diseases and blindness caused by the smoke and burns caused by accidents. Carole was also there to set up links with Kumi Hospital.
It was Val’s first visit to Uganda, so this will be her account mainly, especially as Lorna has done any number of diaries over the many years she has been going out to Uganda. She will file a report on the Goat Improvement Project when there is something more tangible.
“Gideon was waiting for us at the airport, a very welcome sight, and we made straight for Jinja, 3 hours drive away, to avoid the horrendous traffic jams if we had stayed overnight in Kampala. Jinja is a lovely little town about halfway between Entebbe and Kumi and we enjoyed spending the following day there to recover from the journey. Lorna and Gideon got straight down to planning the “goat” programme. We set off early the next morning, passing hundreds of people walking or cycling along the road, with long lines of children making their way to school in their brightly coloured uniforms. The shanty towns by the side of the road soon gave way to countryside, dotted with clusters of mud huts.
It was very noticeable the closer we got to Kumi that there were fewer trees and the crops and vegetation nowhere near as lush. Kumi District is clearly one of the poorest areas in Uganda and the town itself is small and quite basic. The facilities here are not as good as in Jinja either – water is only available for 2 hours a day and the electricity supply was off more than it was on. Out in the villages in the bush, of course, there is no running water or electricity at all.
However, what the people of Kumi don’t have by way of infrastructure, they make up for by their warmth, resilience and positive attitude to life. Everyone we met went out of their way to make us feel welcome, shaking our hands and beaming at us. There was a constant stream of visitors at Miriam’s house, where we stayed and we were invited out to many meals. It was wonderful to see Miriam and Emmanuel again and to see at first hand this remarkable Project which they founded and now spend so much of their time and energy administering. They are true visionaries and do everything they can to improve the lot of disadvantaged children in Kumi District.
The highlight of the visit for me was going out to the communities of Ogosoi, Kodukul, Olimai (twice) and Olupe. It took a whole day to get to each one, along rough and rutted roads, then off into the bush along even rougher tracks, just wide enough for walking or cycling. How the taxis manoeuvred their way is beyond me. We aimed for a central place, usually a school, where a rapturous reception awaited us, with everyone crowding round to shake our hands. We were entertained by singing, dancing and music by school pupils and adults, always under a huge, spreading mango tree. The songs seemed to follow a similar format – welcome, thank you, cultural and ones with a social message. One such group was led by a volunteer youth worker called Max whom I recognised from the picture I had used of him on his bike in the 2007 Christmas catalogue! He was a real star. I saw other orphans as I travelled around who had been featured in the catalogue – fortunately, I had a supply with me so I was able to show them and they were absolutely amazed to see themselves.
After the entertainment, there were lots of speeches of welcome and appreciation by the committee members and usually followed by some of the volunteer youth workers. In two communities, a number of orphans and their guardians also stood up to speak. The gratitude which was expressed through the songs, speeches and ordinary conversation was simply overwhelming.
After the formal proceedings, we then went off to visit the surrounding villages to see the beneficiaries and the gifts “at home”. Sometimes these villages are just a few mud huts, others are slightly larger and they are very widespread. Mind you, the word gets round very quickly and people gather almost as soon as you arrive. This is where you see at close quarters the real poverty and hardship that they live under. The huts are unbelievably small, dark and with very few possessions – cooking pots, a brush, an open fire. They all have their plot of land to grow their vegetables and trees, hens and chickens are running round everywhere and the goats are tethered and well guarded. They spend a lot of time fetching water from the pump, which is often a mile or further away. We met a lot of grandmothers who are caring for any number of children. I didn’t see one toy or book in the villages but the children seem able to amuse themselves with nothing. We were obviously a great diversion for them and they followed us everywhere.
Despite all this, they are remarkably cheerful, and no one asked us for anything – apart from seeing their photographs or bits of filming on the playback. They absolutely loved that. The sun shines for them every day, thank goodness, and most children are able to go to school now that primary education and the first two years of secondary are provided free of charge. Mind you, that has created its own problems, as pupil numbers have doubled or even trebled, but without any increase in the number of teachers or classrooms or resources. The largest class I went into had 239 children in it, sitting on the floor, all crammed together. Over 100 is common. As a retired teacher, I was dumbstruck and full of admiration for the hard-pressed teachers.
Lorna only visited two communities as she had to leave with Gideon to spend most of her time at the two Goat Units. I visited both of these earlier on and was really interested to find out as much as I could. We also took the opportunity to visit schools, other goat projects, local council officials, churches, farming groups and a Fairtrade coffee co-operative. We also spent a day at the three schools linked with Llanfyllin High, Llansanffraid Primary and Llanfechain Primary. It was lovely to see Moses, Patrick and Andrew again and to go round their schools. With Carole, we made two very positive visits to Kumi Hospital and she is now working on a number of health projects, as well as the fuel-efficient stoves.
No matter how many times I go to Uganda, this trip will obviously have a very special place in my heart as it was the first one. It made me feel humbled, yet uplifted at the same time. The gifts from the catalogue give the orphans some status and the means to make a contribution to the family which takes them in. The income they earn enables them to buy uniforms and the other essentials they need for school. The responsibility given to the volunteer youth workers is obviously very good for them and we were very impressed by the ones we met. They are proud of their roles and really value their bikes. Both the Goat Improvement and the Kumi Orphan Projects are tremendously worthwhile causes – I knew that before I went but seeing everything at first hand makes it even more pressing to redouble our efforts to raise as much money for them as we possibly can”.