Friday 8TH April
We have been cleaning and packing clothes today ready for lift off tomorrow. It poured down this morning and we were very glad that we did not have to rush off to work at the hospital. We were meeting Sarah (VSO programme manager) for lunch at a café at Kisimenti later for a de-brief and a farewell. Just before lunch Marise called and collected all the equipment she had lent us over our time here and then dropped us off at our meeting place. We had a lovely lunch and chat with Sarah who thanked us for our hard work and contribution to the SLT course as she is committed to making it a success.
Home to finish packing and have a nap! It’s lovely and sunny now and the children are out playing as usual. This will be our last evening in the Brown Flats and this will be our last posting as we go to Entebbe tomorrow. We have stocked up on some chocolate and are all ready for a DVD evening. Hopefully the power will not go off or else we will have to watch Pride and Prejudice again as it’s the only one we have that does not need the extra plug in speakers!
Can’t believe we have got to the end and are delighted and proud that we have managed to do what we set out to do. This is not the end of our contact with the programme here in Uganda as will continue to support them. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us and supported us in every way. We could not have done it without you.
We've also added some new photos! CLICK HERE to see them.
SEE YOU ALL VERY SOON!!!
LOVE JULIE AND LORRAINE
Friday, 8 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
more Safari and the last week!
Saturday afternoon.
We set off in a very shallow bottomed boat with about 30 people. Fortunately we were able to sit in the shade as the boat moved slowly so we were deprived of a breeze. We were travelling up towards Murchison Falls on the Victoria Nile! We noticed that the multitude of hippos were a long way from the shores but they still had their feet on the river bed. We were continuously surprised by the bird life and we saw 4 different types of Kingfisher. These were the Pied Kingfisher, the Giant Kingfisher (a very rare sighting) the Malachite and the Chestnut bellied Kingfisher. Fish Eagles put in an appearance and many Black headed Weaver birds weaving their basket like nests. Eat your hearts out all you Twitchers!!! We eventually came across an elephant that had come down to the river to drink. Sadly he had also lost the bottom portion of this trunk in a snare. Although our guide kept pointing out crocodiles they were all secreted beneath vegetation with only their snouts visible and actually looked like logs. We were careful not to get too close to the hippos and on one occasion the “Skipper” needed to take evasive action as a group started to move towards us.
Further on still someone shouted “Lion” but when we looked noted that this animal had spots and we realized it was a leopard stalking 2 warthogs. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm had alerted the leopard to our presence much to the annoyance of our guide who told us to be quiet. Consequently the warthogs turned back on the distracted leopard and chased him away. There were a few magical moments when the leopard looked straight at us and we all held our breath. Our guide told us that it was very rare to get such a sighting. We felt very fortunate as did the warthogs!
The boat went about within about a quarter of a mile of the Falls and then stopped in the middle of the river and we were invited to climb off the boat onto some rocks!! The young things jumped off and had their photos taken but Julie and I were far more sensible and quite frankly terrified and so stayed put on the boat. We watched a glorious display from the weaver birds before turning round to head back .
We arrived back at the camp at 6.00pm and shared our evening meal with our fellow travellers and flying bugs. We counted ourselves very lucky that we had not been bitten by tsetse flies. We slept very well but we were both woken by loud hippo roars after all we were only 15 minutes from the river. Needless to say neither of us visited the toilet block that night either!
Sunday April 3rd
After breakfast of tea and toast and plum jam we packed and set off for the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which was part way back towards Kampala. The last native rhinos were poached to extinction by 1983. In 2001 the first rhinos were brought from Kenya and South Africa to Uganda in an attempt to re-establish a colony. These are white rhinos and they presently have 9 animals, having bred three male calves in the last year. We were told that armed rangers guard these precious creatures 24/7 as otherwise they would be poached. They breed very slowly so recovery of numbers will take years. After a short ride and then a 15 minute walk into the bush, Julie and I were privileged to see 4 rhinos, 1 male on his own and a family of mum, dad and baby. We had to stay behind the armed ranger at all times and had to obey his instructions to run behind a large tree should the need arise. We did exactly that! But were surprised to get to within about 30 metres of them and even had our photos taken, Amazing! We had to keep pinching ourselves.
By this time we were very hot and weary and glad to get back in the bus to set off to Kampala. We said our goodbyes to some of our new friends who were staying on at the camp a while longer. We arrived back in Kampala about 2.30 and entered the usual traffic jams that we have become accustomed to. Sula our patient bus driver was very happy to drop us off at the Brown Flats for which we were very grateful and our young friends bid us a fond farewell. Home at last, a welcome cup of tea and a wash in a bucket ------perfect!
Monday 4th April
We woke up for work the next morning to find that Julie felt poorly with a tummy bug. As Lorraine was leading the teaching, Julie stayed at home to rest and Lorraine set off with Solomon to Mulago. Helen SLT course coordinator had been in touch to say that a local newspaper reporter had contacted her wanting to interview Lorraine as it was International Autism week and Helen was hoping to get publicity for the SLT course at the same time. Unfortunately the reporter did not show up at the arranged time so it was a lost opportunity. Lorraine introduced the students to autism specific approaches and found Julie a little better once she got home at tea time.
Tuesday 5th April
Julie felt it wise to rest for another day and Lorraine went off to Mulago. The students were really missing Julie and came to sit with Lorraine at lunch time to keep her company. Lorraine introduced the students to signing which was enthusiastically embraced but felt that she lost control of the session somewhat as they wanted to make up their own sentences. They were all good signers and enjoyed making up their own signing names!
As Lorraine was leaving Mulago , she noticed a well-dressed man and woman standing in the foyer chatting and the man was holding a live chicken upside down by its legs. Perhaps it was for his tea. We have seen all sorts in the hospital but this was a new one!
In the evening the power went off for 2 hours and we watched Darcy and Miss Bennet AGAIN !To cheer ourselves up further we partook of a small portion of our rationed chocolate and a cup of tea of course.
Wednesday 6th April
This was our last day teaching and the students were delighted that Julie felt well enough to come to work. We did lots of revision and looked at plenty of case studies. We gave the students the afternoon off to do some revision while we treated ourselves to a spot of retail therapy and a nice coffee---Heaven!
Thursday 7th April
Our students sat their LD/ASD exam today and then we finished for the day. This was our last day of all with the students so we invited them to share some lunch with us which we provided. We all took lots of photos and the students thanked us for our efforts and for sharing our knowledge with them. They gave us some presents and a card with some lovely messages. They wanted to sing a “Happy song “for us and we expected some African singing. Instead we were treated to “If you’re happy and you know it…clap your hands” which of course we could join in with. They didn’t know the line “If you’re happy and you know it shout Hurray” but were very pleased to add this to their repertoire! Fredrick gave a lovely farewell speech and we received lots of hugs and requests to come back! We wished them all well and every success for the future. We intend to follow their progress through keeping in touch with Helen.
We retired home to start tidying the flat and to pack. Lots of tea and sitting down was also required. We are feeling tired now and we are both ready to come home.
We set off in a very shallow bottomed boat with about 30 people. Fortunately we were able to sit in the shade as the boat moved slowly so we were deprived of a breeze. We were travelling up towards Murchison Falls on the Victoria Nile! We noticed that the multitude of hippos were a long way from the shores but they still had their feet on the river bed. We were continuously surprised by the bird life and we saw 4 different types of Kingfisher. These were the Pied Kingfisher, the Giant Kingfisher (a very rare sighting) the Malachite and the Chestnut bellied Kingfisher. Fish Eagles put in an appearance and many Black headed Weaver birds weaving their basket like nests. Eat your hearts out all you Twitchers!!! We eventually came across an elephant that had come down to the river to drink. Sadly he had also lost the bottom portion of this trunk in a snare. Although our guide kept pointing out crocodiles they were all secreted beneath vegetation with only their snouts visible and actually looked like logs. We were careful not to get too close to the hippos and on one occasion the “Skipper” needed to take evasive action as a group started to move towards us.
Further on still someone shouted “Lion” but when we looked noted that this animal had spots and we realized it was a leopard stalking 2 warthogs. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm had alerted the leopard to our presence much to the annoyance of our guide who told us to be quiet. Consequently the warthogs turned back on the distracted leopard and chased him away. There were a few magical moments when the leopard looked straight at us and we all held our breath. Our guide told us that it was very rare to get such a sighting. We felt very fortunate as did the warthogs!
The boat went about within about a quarter of a mile of the Falls and then stopped in the middle of the river and we were invited to climb off the boat onto some rocks!! The young things jumped off and had their photos taken but Julie and I were far more sensible and quite frankly terrified and so stayed put on the boat. We watched a glorious display from the weaver birds before turning round to head back .
We arrived back at the camp at 6.00pm and shared our evening meal with our fellow travellers and flying bugs. We counted ourselves very lucky that we had not been bitten by tsetse flies. We slept very well but we were both woken by loud hippo roars after all we were only 15 minutes from the river. Needless to say neither of us visited the toilet block that night either!
Sunday April 3rd
After breakfast of tea and toast and plum jam we packed and set off for the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which was part way back towards Kampala. The last native rhinos were poached to extinction by 1983. In 2001 the first rhinos were brought from Kenya and South Africa to Uganda in an attempt to re-establish a colony. These are white rhinos and they presently have 9 animals, having bred three male calves in the last year. We were told that armed rangers guard these precious creatures 24/7 as otherwise they would be poached. They breed very slowly so recovery of numbers will take years. After a short ride and then a 15 minute walk into the bush, Julie and I were privileged to see 4 rhinos, 1 male on his own and a family of mum, dad and baby. We had to stay behind the armed ranger at all times and had to obey his instructions to run behind a large tree should the need arise. We did exactly that! But were surprised to get to within about 30 metres of them and even had our photos taken, Amazing! We had to keep pinching ourselves.
By this time we were very hot and weary and glad to get back in the bus to set off to Kampala. We said our goodbyes to some of our new friends who were staying on at the camp a while longer. We arrived back in Kampala about 2.30 and entered the usual traffic jams that we have become accustomed to. Sula our patient bus driver was very happy to drop us off at the Brown Flats for which we were very grateful and our young friends bid us a fond farewell. Home at last, a welcome cup of tea and a wash in a bucket ------perfect!
Monday 4th April
We woke up for work the next morning to find that Julie felt poorly with a tummy bug. As Lorraine was leading the teaching, Julie stayed at home to rest and Lorraine set off with Solomon to Mulago. Helen SLT course coordinator had been in touch to say that a local newspaper reporter had contacted her wanting to interview Lorraine as it was International Autism week and Helen was hoping to get publicity for the SLT course at the same time. Unfortunately the reporter did not show up at the arranged time so it was a lost opportunity. Lorraine introduced the students to autism specific approaches and found Julie a little better once she got home at tea time.
Tuesday 5th April
Julie felt it wise to rest for another day and Lorraine went off to Mulago. The students were really missing Julie and came to sit with Lorraine at lunch time to keep her company. Lorraine introduced the students to signing which was enthusiastically embraced but felt that she lost control of the session somewhat as they wanted to make up their own sentences. They were all good signers and enjoyed making up their own signing names!
As Lorraine was leaving Mulago , she noticed a well-dressed man and woman standing in the foyer chatting and the man was holding a live chicken upside down by its legs. Perhaps it was for his tea. We have seen all sorts in the hospital but this was a new one!
In the evening the power went off for 2 hours and we watched Darcy and Miss Bennet AGAIN !To cheer ourselves up further we partook of a small portion of our rationed chocolate and a cup of tea of course.
Wednesday 6th April
This was our last day teaching and the students were delighted that Julie felt well enough to come to work. We did lots of revision and looked at plenty of case studies. We gave the students the afternoon off to do some revision while we treated ourselves to a spot of retail therapy and a nice coffee---Heaven!
Thursday 7th April
Our students sat their LD/ASD exam today and then we finished for the day. This was our last day of all with the students so we invited them to share some lunch with us which we provided. We all took lots of photos and the students thanked us for our efforts and for sharing our knowledge with them. They gave us some presents and a card with some lovely messages. They wanted to sing a “Happy song “for us and we expected some African singing. Instead we were treated to “If you’re happy and you know it…clap your hands” which of course we could join in with. They didn’t know the line “If you’re happy and you know it shout Hurray” but were very pleased to add this to their repertoire! Fredrick gave a lovely farewell speech and we received lots of hugs and requests to come back! We wished them all well and every success for the future. We intend to follow their progress through keeping in touch with Helen.
We retired home to start tidying the flat and to pack. Lots of tea and sitting down was also required. We are feeling tired now and we are both ready to come home.
On Safari!!
Friday 1st April
This is the beginning of our trip up to the North West of the country and to the Murchison Falls and the National park. We were being picked up at the Shell garage at 8.45pm but it was rather later than that when the small people carrier arrived. We joined a group of young people all less than 27yrs on our first back packers’ holiday. They were very friendly and we were entertained with lots of chat about where they had been and what they were doing in Uganda. One young man had been in Sudan for 18 months working and learning Arabic. His sister and her friend had been teaching in a Ugandan village school for 3 months. There was a PhD student finishing med school by doing some work at Mulago Hospital and one girl working and travelling. We met more young travellers when we were at the camp with similar stories. We were very impressed with their sense of adventure and all the skills and talents that were being shared around the different countries in Africa. It was very heart-warming.
We did find we were not the oldest packers in town. One retired gentleman had visited 140 countries in is life time and half of them since retiring! It made us feel tired just listening to his tales.
We travelled from Kampala to Masindi which took about 4-5 hours’ drive. Fortunately the main road wasn’t too bad and we stopped in Masindi to have some lunch at a little café. We then had another 2 hours off the beaten track to reach Murchison Falls. The road was very bumpy and Lorraine felt that she had had some skeletal re-arrangement by the time the trip was over. It was certainly hot and dusty and testing of our stamina.
There is a short walk to the Falls and we had great views of the Victoria Nile and the Falls. The water is pushed through a narrow gap with a long drop creating lots of spray and foam with a rainbow appearing in the water vapour. It was an impressive sight. We took lots of photos.
We arrived in the camp at about 6. An hour or so before it gets dark which happens very quickly. We were shown our two woman tent and warned about the night visitors! There are a group of warthogs wandering about but baboons and hippos are also visitors on occasions. We might hear munching noises around the tent. We decided there would be no night trips to the shower and toilet block no matter how desperate.
We slept surprisingly well but we were exhausted and there were no midnight visitors.
April 2nd Saturday.
It was a 6 o’clock start for us that morning with just enough time for a cup of tea and to collect a packed breakfast which consisted of cheese sandwiches and fruit before the transport left at 6.30 to catch the ferry. We were able to watch the sunrise as we waited for the drive on car ferry. On the far bank we could see hippos lazing in the water and the baboons came to see if there were any spare sandwich bags. We had been warned not to have our packed food visible as they have learnt that they are worth stealing. After crossing the Victoria Nile we were met by George our guide. He wanted us to be quick to get on to the bus so we could be first on the Safari trail. The transport we were in had a raised roof so that you could take photos and observe the wild life. The young people started off standing straight away but the road was a bumpy dirt track and it was a challenge to stand up and take a photograph. They did assist us standing up when we felt the need to take a photo. For the first hour we just drove watching on the lookout for big game. There were plenty of deer, antelope and warthogs but no lions! The terrain was a surprise to us as it is not like a flat plain as you might expect but rolling hills and changing vegetation, palms, trees, large cacti and scrub like bush. Lots of places for lions to hide! Eventually the four or five vans in front of us began to slow and converge on one particular spot and the excitement in the bus rose as George got his binoculars out looking for lions. Amazingly as we edged forwards across open land, we were told to be very quiet and there under some cover we spied 2 young male lions. We had to be very quick as they got up eventually and wandered off looking for a better place to hide.
George said we were very lucky to find lions. In the Murchison Park the groups of lions are very small and not the large prides one sees in other African countries.
We continued our journey down towards the Victoria Nile Delta to observe a large group of hippos. There must have been nearly a 100 in groups in a shallow part of the river. They spend all day resting in the water and only come out night to graze on the vegetation and can sometimes be seen in the camp. We were allowed out of the van right down to the water’s edge to take photos! George our guide made hippo noises at them and had a little chat. He had a very interesting story to tell about an incident with hippos. Whilst he was living in some accommodation near the river, one night he heard hippos fighting and he said it went on for about 3 hours. Eventually, the loser backed off and crashed through his door. He left swiftly by the window and went to his neighbour, who said "what are you doing here?" and he said he was sharing a room with a hippo and it was time to get out. When he went back the next morning there was quite a mess and no sign of the hippo!
The local people are allowed to fish in the river to supplement their income and to try and discourage poaching which is still a major concern. Many animals were lost during the conflicts that have troubled Uganda and their numbers are slowly recovering.
We continued to see deer, warthogs, buffalo, water buck, antelope and lots of birds. We saw an elephant in the distance that slowly walked towards us. It was a young male, and George pointed out that his trunk was shortened. The poachers set traps which snares the elephants’ trunks and in their agitation to get away they severe the lower part of the trunk. Surprisingly, many do survive this trauma and can still feed but it does shorten their life span.
We were still on the lookout for giraffe and eventually we came across two feeding but not at a close distance. As we travelled further on to our surprise we began to see increasing numbers of giraffe ambling along over the rolling terrain. There must have been 20-30 of them and it was just like on the telly! There were other animals travelling along with them moving down towards some water. George kept his binoculars trained as this could have been a lion opportunity.
We arrived back for lunch at about 12. We collapsed in a heap before the net part of our safari adventure – a boat ride on the Nile.
This is the beginning of our trip up to the North West of the country and to the Murchison Falls and the National park. We were being picked up at the Shell garage at 8.45pm but it was rather later than that when the small people carrier arrived. We joined a group of young people all less than 27yrs on our first back packers’ holiday. They were very friendly and we were entertained with lots of chat about where they had been and what they were doing in Uganda. One young man had been in Sudan for 18 months working and learning Arabic. His sister and her friend had been teaching in a Ugandan village school for 3 months. There was a PhD student finishing med school by doing some work at Mulago Hospital and one girl working and travelling. We met more young travellers when we were at the camp with similar stories. We were very impressed with their sense of adventure and all the skills and talents that were being shared around the different countries in Africa. It was very heart-warming.
We did find we were not the oldest packers in town. One retired gentleman had visited 140 countries in is life time and half of them since retiring! It made us feel tired just listening to his tales.
We travelled from Kampala to Masindi which took about 4-5 hours’ drive. Fortunately the main road wasn’t too bad and we stopped in Masindi to have some lunch at a little café. We then had another 2 hours off the beaten track to reach Murchison Falls. The road was very bumpy and Lorraine felt that she had had some skeletal re-arrangement by the time the trip was over. It was certainly hot and dusty and testing of our stamina.
There is a short walk to the Falls and we had great views of the Victoria Nile and the Falls. The water is pushed through a narrow gap with a long drop creating lots of spray and foam with a rainbow appearing in the water vapour. It was an impressive sight. We took lots of photos.
We arrived in the camp at about 6. An hour or so before it gets dark which happens very quickly. We were shown our two woman tent and warned about the night visitors! There are a group of warthogs wandering about but baboons and hippos are also visitors on occasions. We might hear munching noises around the tent. We decided there would be no night trips to the shower and toilet block no matter how desperate.
We slept surprisingly well but we were exhausted and there were no midnight visitors.
April 2nd Saturday.
It was a 6 o’clock start for us that morning with just enough time for a cup of tea and to collect a packed breakfast which consisted of cheese sandwiches and fruit before the transport left at 6.30 to catch the ferry. We were able to watch the sunrise as we waited for the drive on car ferry. On the far bank we could see hippos lazing in the water and the baboons came to see if there were any spare sandwich bags. We had been warned not to have our packed food visible as they have learnt that they are worth stealing. After crossing the Victoria Nile we were met by George our guide. He wanted us to be quick to get on to the bus so we could be first on the Safari trail. The transport we were in had a raised roof so that you could take photos and observe the wild life. The young people started off standing straight away but the road was a bumpy dirt track and it was a challenge to stand up and take a photograph. They did assist us standing up when we felt the need to take a photo. For the first hour we just drove watching on the lookout for big game. There were plenty of deer, antelope and warthogs but no lions! The terrain was a surprise to us as it is not like a flat plain as you might expect but rolling hills and changing vegetation, palms, trees, large cacti and scrub like bush. Lots of places for lions to hide! Eventually the four or five vans in front of us began to slow and converge on one particular spot and the excitement in the bus rose as George got his binoculars out looking for lions. Amazingly as we edged forwards across open land, we were told to be very quiet and there under some cover we spied 2 young male lions. We had to be very quick as they got up eventually and wandered off looking for a better place to hide.
George said we were very lucky to find lions. In the Murchison Park the groups of lions are very small and not the large prides one sees in other African countries.
We continued our journey down towards the Victoria Nile Delta to observe a large group of hippos. There must have been nearly a 100 in groups in a shallow part of the river. They spend all day resting in the water and only come out night to graze on the vegetation and can sometimes be seen in the camp. We were allowed out of the van right down to the water’s edge to take photos! George our guide made hippo noises at them and had a little chat. He had a very interesting story to tell about an incident with hippos. Whilst he was living in some accommodation near the river, one night he heard hippos fighting and he said it went on for about 3 hours. Eventually, the loser backed off and crashed through his door. He left swiftly by the window and went to his neighbour, who said "what are you doing here?" and he said he was sharing a room with a hippo and it was time to get out. When he went back the next morning there was quite a mess and no sign of the hippo!
The local people are allowed to fish in the river to supplement their income and to try and discourage poaching which is still a major concern. Many animals were lost during the conflicts that have troubled Uganda and their numbers are slowly recovering.
We continued to see deer, warthogs, buffalo, water buck, antelope and lots of birds. We saw an elephant in the distance that slowly walked towards us. It was a young male, and George pointed out that his trunk was shortened. The poachers set traps which snares the elephants’ trunks and in their agitation to get away they severe the lower part of the trunk. Surprisingly, many do survive this trauma and can still feed but it does shorten their life span.
We were still on the lookout for giraffe and eventually we came across two feeding but not at a close distance. As we travelled further on to our surprise we began to see increasing numbers of giraffe ambling along over the rolling terrain. There must have been 20-30 of them and it was just like on the telly! There were other animals travelling along with them moving down towards some water. George kept his binoculars trained as this could have been a lion opportunity.
We arrived back for lunch at about 12. We collapsed in a heap before the net part of our safari adventure – a boat ride on the Nile.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Penultimate week- back next month.
March 28th Monday
We introduced the topic of autism to the students, but unfortunately we have not had all the students attending due to illness. We were tired from the weekend and sat and watched the 3rd DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean and fell in to bed.
Tuesday 29th March
Lecturing continued with Autism and there was some lively discussion and Lorraine had some great DVD material to illustrate some of the features. All good stuff!
We have become very settled into our daily routines, washing (self and clothes in buckets) cooking, ironing, sweeping and mopping all of which gets us very hot and sweaty! We have a lovely taxi driver called Solomon who greets us cheerfully and is on time every morning. He’s very patient when we go shopping for groceries and helps us carry it up the 3 flights of stairs. He’s much safer than a boda boda!
Last night it rained and did it rain! We had thunder and lightning and this time Julie didn’t sleep through it. Just when we thought that we had got the flat sorted Lorraine woke to some drops of water on her face during the thunderstorm. It was only a small leak which lasted about an hour until the rain eased. She had to keep moving around the bed to find a dry spot. We’ve moved the bed today as there might be more rain tonight.
We do hear thunder storms and we have solved the problem of why we can’t hear mosquitos. We realised, with some hilarity, that we are suffering from high frequency deafness! We told Helen (Course Coordinator) and she was thought this was hilarious and couldn’t wait to tell her husband Steve.
This weekend we are off on another adventure as if life isn’t varied enough. We are going to Murchison Falls in the North West with a back packing group and we will be sleeping in a tent! More washing in a bucket? Marrise (SLT at Mulago) kindly arranged this for us and told them we are not the usual back packers so let’s hope they will be a bit kind to us. The trip includes a visit to see the Falls, a boat ride on the Victoria Nile, and the chance to see lions, giraffes, rhinos etc. And we will tell you how we got on next week.
Wednesday 30th March
Fortunately the rain had eased by 8.30 as we went to work. The day’s plan introducing taking a case history for a child with Autism and we were fortunate in the afternoon to have a Ugandan parent come and talk to us about having a child with a disability. It was very interesting to have her describe the experience of health and education for children with disabilities in Uganda.
We managed a bit of shopping today in a African crafts shop called Banana Leaf which was a treat as there are very few places to buy anything.
We introduced the topic of autism to the students, but unfortunately we have not had all the students attending due to illness. We were tired from the weekend and sat and watched the 3rd DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean and fell in to bed.
Tuesday 29th March
Lecturing continued with Autism and there was some lively discussion and Lorraine had some great DVD material to illustrate some of the features. All good stuff!
We have become very settled into our daily routines, washing (self and clothes in buckets) cooking, ironing, sweeping and mopping all of which gets us very hot and sweaty! We have a lovely taxi driver called Solomon who greets us cheerfully and is on time every morning. He’s very patient when we go shopping for groceries and helps us carry it up the 3 flights of stairs. He’s much safer than a boda boda!
Last night it rained and did it rain! We had thunder and lightning and this time Julie didn’t sleep through it. Just when we thought that we had got the flat sorted Lorraine woke to some drops of water on her face during the thunderstorm. It was only a small leak which lasted about an hour until the rain eased. She had to keep moving around the bed to find a dry spot. We’ve moved the bed today as there might be more rain tonight.
We do hear thunder storms and we have solved the problem of why we can’t hear mosquitos. We realised, with some hilarity, that we are suffering from high frequency deafness! We told Helen (Course Coordinator) and she was thought this was hilarious and couldn’t wait to tell her husband Steve.
This weekend we are off on another adventure as if life isn’t varied enough. We are going to Murchison Falls in the North West with a back packing group and we will be sleeping in a tent! More washing in a bucket? Marrise (SLT at Mulago) kindly arranged this for us and told them we are not the usual back packers so let’s hope they will be a bit kind to us. The trip includes a visit to see the Falls, a boat ride on the Victoria Nile, and the chance to see lions, giraffes, rhinos etc. And we will tell you how we got on next week.
Wednesday 30th March
Fortunately the rain had eased by 8.30 as we went to work. The day’s plan introducing taking a case history for a child with Autism and we were fortunate in the afternoon to have a Ugandan parent come and talk to us about having a child with a disability. It was very interesting to have her describe the experience of health and education for children with disabilities in Uganda.
We managed a bit of shopping today in a African crafts shop called Banana Leaf which was a treat as there are very few places to buy anything.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Week 5 March 26th Saturday
First proper weekend off and a trip to a place near Jinja with Helen and Steve. We left Kampala at 9am for a 2 hour journey passing through busy towns and villages. There seemed to be lots of road side markets and shops. You get the impression of people shopping, chatting and children playing. We have tried to take photos as the car moved along or when it got held up in traffic so we hope that we have captured some of the daily activity that is the norm for the people of this region.
We noticed in 2 places that women were using a pump to bring up water from a well and filling large yellow jerry cans. Along the road side there are cows and goats tethered and grazing. There are lot of people walking along the road side carrying sticks, baskets, matoke, and water, often on their heads. We passed a bicycle with a single bed frame on it and Lorraine spotted a boda boda with a whole dead pig on the back.
After an hour or so the scenery became very rural and as we have had some rain the trees and grasses are looking very lush. We turn down a dirt track for about a mile and then came upon “The Haven” aptly named as it turned out. Helen and Steve camp here on a regular basis at weekend as the views across the river, Victoria Nile, are breath-taking. We were not camping ha! Ha! We treated ourselves to an ensuite lodge called a banda. It had a lovely thatched roof and two verandas one up and one down. The reception area was also the bar/restaurant and we could sit with our drinks overlooking the river. It was very comfortable and we had excellent service.
The river here has rapids up to a grade 5 and we watched a few hardy souls go white water rafting! It is a “twitchers” paradise and just sitting in our chairs we have seen some fabulous birds, including a pair of Fish Eagles, a Woodland Kingfisher, yellow weaver birds and Ross’s Turaco to name just a few. It was very quiet and peaceful. Dinner was a buffet and was very good. That night there was a terrific thunderstorm which Julie slept through much to Lorraine’s great surprise.
Sunday March 27th
Two weeks to go!
We were back home at 2pm as Steve had to go to work up country. We just had a quiet afternoon preparing for the week ahead.
First proper weekend off and a trip to a place near Jinja with Helen and Steve. We left Kampala at 9am for a 2 hour journey passing through busy towns and villages. There seemed to be lots of road side markets and shops. You get the impression of people shopping, chatting and children playing. We have tried to take photos as the car moved along or when it got held up in traffic so we hope that we have captured some of the daily activity that is the norm for the people of this region.
We noticed in 2 places that women were using a pump to bring up water from a well and filling large yellow jerry cans. Along the road side there are cows and goats tethered and grazing. There are lot of people walking along the road side carrying sticks, baskets, matoke, and water, often on their heads. We passed a bicycle with a single bed frame on it and Lorraine spotted a boda boda with a whole dead pig on the back.
After an hour or so the scenery became very rural and as we have had some rain the trees and grasses are looking very lush. We turn down a dirt track for about a mile and then came upon “The Haven” aptly named as it turned out. Helen and Steve camp here on a regular basis at weekend as the views across the river, Victoria Nile, are breath-taking. We were not camping ha! Ha! We treated ourselves to an ensuite lodge called a banda. It had a lovely thatched roof and two verandas one up and one down. The reception area was also the bar/restaurant and we could sit with our drinks overlooking the river. It was very comfortable and we had excellent service.
The river here has rapids up to a grade 5 and we watched a few hardy souls go white water rafting! It is a “twitchers” paradise and just sitting in our chairs we have seen some fabulous birds, including a pair of Fish Eagles, a Woodland Kingfisher, yellow weaver birds and Ross’s Turaco to name just a few. It was very quiet and peaceful. Dinner was a buffet and was very good. That night there was a terrific thunderstorm which Julie slept through much to Lorraine’s great surprise.
Sunday March 27th
Two weeks to go!
We were back home at 2pm as Steve had to go to work up country. We just had a quiet afternoon preparing for the week ahead.
Friday, 25 March 2011
March 24th Thursday
The expected rain did not arrive. Another warm night. Last night we only had Tom and Dick, Harry must have found a new home.
Off to Mulago this morning with our taxi man Hassan. He was telling us all about the motor bike men called “boda bodas”. They weave in and out of the traffic making up the road rules as they go along. They can appear from anywhere, ignoring traffic lights and like the matatus if there is a traffic jam they will go on to the pavement to get to their destination. We have seen whole families on a boda bodas and it is quite common to see at least 3 people (including the driver) travelling round on them. Hassan told us that they are not a safe mode of transport and there are many accidents every year as not many of them wears a helmet. Most Ugandans we have spoken to know of someone who has had an accident and many of them are serious head injuries. When we walk back from the supermarket which is only 10 minutes away both the matatus and the boda bodas shout and wave and beep their horns to get us to use the transport.
Our taxi drivers have been great but the rules of the road are that people just cut you up all the time and it’s like a game of chicken as you force your way in and out of the traffic! Lorraine says if we ever get used to it, it is definitely time to come home.
Today we had a whole day on Downs Syndrome led by Lorraine. We had some great video to show them of children playing and eating and we had an interesting discussion about the place of Down’s syndrome people in society: sometimes agreeing to disagree.
As we have said we have defined roles and responsibilities. Lorraine irons and Julie cooks. We have two rings on a calor gas system. We never quite know what we are going to have as Julie has to make up a meal from what’s there without the usual store cupboard ingredients. So last night we had stir fry. Doesn’t sound very remarkable, necessity being the mother of invention, this is what was cooked:
Pan roasted Cashew nuts, then added one sweet potato (not like ours but white and not so soft but takes up flavours well), one orange pepper, some onion, garlic, a few green beans for some colour, and fried them off for a while and then a little later added a slightly under ripe avocado. When they had fried for a while I added soy sauce and some tropical juice out of the fridge for a sauce. So when it was served and Lorraine said it was ok then I asked her what she thought the secret ingredient was. I used a big spoonful of marmalade to give it some sweetness and made the sauce nice and syrupy.
Lorraine has enjoyed Julie’s cooking and has encouraged her to post some more "Brown Flat 2 ring recipes" in the Blog. So watch this space.
Later that night the power went off for 2 ½ hours and we had to work by kerosene lamp and torch light. The trouble with the power going off is that the fans go off and the kerosene lamp puts out heat so we were sweating and cooking whilst we worked on the computer by torch light. We were very pleased to hear from both of our husbands that night. Julie was relieved to hear about her mum who went in for surgery on Monday. She hasn’t been too well or comfortable in the last few days but there are signs of improvement. She will be staying in hospital until next week although it is quite hard being out here and not being able to see her. I know the rest of the family are looking after her very well.
Lorraine is teaching tomorrow on Epilepsy.
March 25th Friday
We had 5 out of 6 students this morning and two of the students knew a lot about epilepsy and we had a productive sharing of information. It was a very lively session and we appreciated the contributions that the students made. The second part of the morning was looking at case histories of children with a learning disability. There was real evidence from the students that they were beginning to understand the multi-faceted approach of being an SLT and how to problem solve with the information from a case history. We really felt that we had had a major breakthrough in their understanding. There is a real mutual understanding between us and we are sharing humour and jokes! All in all a very good morning.
We had agreed that we would have the afternoon off as they have lots of work to do and we wanted some prep time before our weekend away in Jinja. We are really looking forward to some well-deserved R&R.
The expected rain did not arrive. Another warm night. Last night we only had Tom and Dick, Harry must have found a new home.
Off to Mulago this morning with our taxi man Hassan. He was telling us all about the motor bike men called “boda bodas”. They weave in and out of the traffic making up the road rules as they go along. They can appear from anywhere, ignoring traffic lights and like the matatus if there is a traffic jam they will go on to the pavement to get to their destination. We have seen whole families on a boda bodas and it is quite common to see at least 3 people (including the driver) travelling round on them. Hassan told us that they are not a safe mode of transport and there are many accidents every year as not many of them wears a helmet. Most Ugandans we have spoken to know of someone who has had an accident and many of them are serious head injuries. When we walk back from the supermarket which is only 10 minutes away both the matatus and the boda bodas shout and wave and beep their horns to get us to use the transport.
Our taxi drivers have been great but the rules of the road are that people just cut you up all the time and it’s like a game of chicken as you force your way in and out of the traffic! Lorraine says if we ever get used to it, it is definitely time to come home.
Today we had a whole day on Downs Syndrome led by Lorraine. We had some great video to show them of children playing and eating and we had an interesting discussion about the place of Down’s syndrome people in society: sometimes agreeing to disagree.
As we have said we have defined roles and responsibilities. Lorraine irons and Julie cooks. We have two rings on a calor gas system. We never quite know what we are going to have as Julie has to make up a meal from what’s there without the usual store cupboard ingredients. So last night we had stir fry. Doesn’t sound very remarkable, necessity being the mother of invention, this is what was cooked:
Pan roasted Cashew nuts, then added one sweet potato (not like ours but white and not so soft but takes up flavours well), one orange pepper, some onion, garlic, a few green beans for some colour, and fried them off for a while and then a little later added a slightly under ripe avocado. When they had fried for a while I added soy sauce and some tropical juice out of the fridge for a sauce. So when it was served and Lorraine said it was ok then I asked her what she thought the secret ingredient was. I used a big spoonful of marmalade to give it some sweetness and made the sauce nice and syrupy.
Lorraine has enjoyed Julie’s cooking and has encouraged her to post some more "Brown Flat 2 ring recipes" in the Blog. So watch this space.
Later that night the power went off for 2 ½ hours and we had to work by kerosene lamp and torch light. The trouble with the power going off is that the fans go off and the kerosene lamp puts out heat so we were sweating and cooking whilst we worked on the computer by torch light. We were very pleased to hear from both of our husbands that night. Julie was relieved to hear about her mum who went in for surgery on Monday. She hasn’t been too well or comfortable in the last few days but there are signs of improvement. She will be staying in hospital until next week although it is quite hard being out here and not being able to see her. I know the rest of the family are looking after her very well.
Lorraine is teaching tomorrow on Epilepsy.
March 25th Friday
We had 5 out of 6 students this morning and two of the students knew a lot about epilepsy and we had a productive sharing of information. It was a very lively session and we appreciated the contributions that the students made. The second part of the morning was looking at case histories of children with a learning disability. There was real evidence from the students that they were beginning to understand the multi-faceted approach of being an SLT and how to problem solve with the information from a case history. We really felt that we had had a major breakthrough in their understanding. There is a real mutual understanding between us and we are sharing humour and jokes! All in all a very good morning.
We had agreed that we would have the afternoon off as they have lots of work to do and we wanted some prep time before our weekend away in Jinja. We are really looking forward to some well-deserved R&R.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Week 3 and more than half way!
March 21st
Thank you to all who posted comments on the Blog. Can't tell you how supportive that feels and its great to know that you are following our exploits.
Beginning of a new week and we have planned two days of Dysphagia. We did normal swallow and treated the students to banana yoghurt, crunchy crackers and some dried chewy banana chips to practise their eating and chewing skills and help them appreciate some of the difficulties our children with disability might have. There was a very African thunderstorm last night and I said to Lorraine that I was very worried about Tom, Dick and Harry! They perch right on the top of the tree and I can’t explain why they don’t get struck by lightning. In the middle of the night I did consider getting up to see what was happening and then thought better of it and went back to sleep.
March 22nd.
Today is revision day as the students have their first internal exam on Wednesday. The first one is based around a case study of a child with cerebral palsy. We have given them lots to think about so I hope we have given them enough information so that they can pass. The final University exams are in May.
As we let them go home a bit early it also gave us some extra time at home. Lorraine has a small video camera so she had a wander around the flat recording for posterity our time in the Brown Flats!
We had some down time that evening watching a DVD accompanied by chocolate a cuppa as we thought we deserved it.
March 23rd.
Exam day for the students.
They have to work in very difficult circumstances. The internal exam is taken in the room where we teach. As we have said there is no lighting and there is only one table in the middle of the room and some of them are writing with paper and a book resting on the knee. The outside corridor is noisy and there is a television just outside which can be quite loud and is on to entertain the waiting patients. They had plenty of time and most finished in about an hour and a half. The good news for me is that my part of the module is now finished and it is over to Lorraine.
Around the hospital today there seems to be more washing laid everywhere by relatives than ever. The day has been warm and sunny and we haven’t had rain for over 24 hours so everyone is taking advantage of it. After a warm day it is almost inevitable that we will get a thunderstorm.
We had a longer break today and I have been trying chai which is a Ugandan tea with ginger in it. It was very nice and I had a doughnut which was still warm but rather solid and sticks to your ribs. I think that is typical of most Ugandan food that it is solid and filling.
Today Lorraine saw a hospital porter moving 4 huge vats of steaming matoke covered by banana leaves through the hospital. It could probably feed a small army!
We are still a source of fascination rather than the WOW factor; we are still waiting for any evidence of that. People still stare as they pass us whilst we are waiting for our lift home and the children are particularly curious. Some of them wave and say “hello” and in best Uganda style we respond and then they get shy and giggle. Lorraine says they are more puzzled by me because of the fair hair. There is a school nursery matatu which arrives about 4 o’clock as we are going home and we now have a bus load of children giving us a shout and a wave. Yesterday whilst we were doing our household chores we had the door to the flat open and the little boy across the landing was crawling about and when he got to his door grill pulled himself up and shouted to us. When we first came he was struck dumb by our appearance but he’s used to us and wants our attention. We have both decided he is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!
We have done our planning and whilst writing up this journal we have been watching a fantastic lightning storm which has played across the sky for the last 45 minutes, but strangely no thunder to go with it. I think we are going to have a big rain storm tonight!
Will I need to check on T, D and H? I will let you know.
Thank you to all who posted comments on the Blog. Can't tell you how supportive that feels and its great to know that you are following our exploits.
Beginning of a new week and we have planned two days of Dysphagia. We did normal swallow and treated the students to banana yoghurt, crunchy crackers and some dried chewy banana chips to practise their eating and chewing skills and help them appreciate some of the difficulties our children with disability might have. There was a very African thunderstorm last night and I said to Lorraine that I was very worried about Tom, Dick and Harry! They perch right on the top of the tree and I can’t explain why they don’t get struck by lightning. In the middle of the night I did consider getting up to see what was happening and then thought better of it and went back to sleep.
March 22nd.
Today is revision day as the students have their first internal exam on Wednesday. The first one is based around a case study of a child with cerebral palsy. We have given them lots to think about so I hope we have given them enough information so that they can pass. The final University exams are in May.
As we let them go home a bit early it also gave us some extra time at home. Lorraine has a small video camera so she had a wander around the flat recording for posterity our time in the Brown Flats!
We had some down time that evening watching a DVD accompanied by chocolate a cuppa as we thought we deserved it.
March 23rd.
Exam day for the students.
They have to work in very difficult circumstances. The internal exam is taken in the room where we teach. As we have said there is no lighting and there is only one table in the middle of the room and some of them are writing with paper and a book resting on the knee. The outside corridor is noisy and there is a television just outside which can be quite loud and is on to entertain the waiting patients. They had plenty of time and most finished in about an hour and a half. The good news for me is that my part of the module is now finished and it is over to Lorraine.
Around the hospital today there seems to be more washing laid everywhere by relatives than ever. The day has been warm and sunny and we haven’t had rain for over 24 hours so everyone is taking advantage of it. After a warm day it is almost inevitable that we will get a thunderstorm.
We had a longer break today and I have been trying chai which is a Ugandan tea with ginger in it. It was very nice and I had a doughnut which was still warm but rather solid and sticks to your ribs. I think that is typical of most Ugandan food that it is solid and filling.
Today Lorraine saw a hospital porter moving 4 huge vats of steaming matoke covered by banana leaves through the hospital. It could probably feed a small army!
We are still a source of fascination rather than the WOW factor; we are still waiting for any evidence of that. People still stare as they pass us whilst we are waiting for our lift home and the children are particularly curious. Some of them wave and say “hello” and in best Uganda style we respond and then they get shy and giggle. Lorraine says they are more puzzled by me because of the fair hair. There is a school nursery matatu which arrives about 4 o’clock as we are going home and we now have a bus load of children giving us a shout and a wave. Yesterday whilst we were doing our household chores we had the door to the flat open and the little boy across the landing was crawling about and when he got to his door grill pulled himself up and shouted to us. When we first came he was struck dumb by our appearance but he’s used to us and wants our attention. We have both decided he is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!
We have done our planning and whilst writing up this journal we have been watching a fantastic lightning storm which has played across the sky for the last 45 minutes, but strangely no thunder to go with it. I think we are going to have a big rain storm tonight!
Will I need to check on T, D and H? I will let you know.
Monday, 21 March 2011
Sunday March 20th
It is raining regularly at night and wakes us up for a while with it fierceness. Nothing like the rain we get in England. The days are generally moderate with temperatures at about 21c. Today we went out with Helen and Steve to a very nice restaurant with its own garden and swimming pool. We had an early lunch as Steve was going “up country” with his job for a couple of days and so we were back home again at about 4pm. But the menu was quite European which surprised us, Lorraine had a pasta and basil dish and I had chicken and couscous.
Helen and Steve have been very kind to us and we appreciated a trip out. Helen trained at Manchester and she is doing a fantastic job as course coordinator which with the organisation in Uganda is not an easy task to say the least. She has many admin things to think about and she also lectures. A bit of a super woman really!! I hope she doesn’t mind me saying.
We went home to so some more work and to prepare the first of the exams for the student which is on Wednesday. I will have finished my part of the sessions! It has been a challenging assignment even with all our planning and Lorraine has helped to share the burden. Her Early Bird experience with parents has stood her in great stead and she has been marvellous at helping keep the day rolling along.
We hope you are all enjoying the Blog and do keep posting your comments and words of encouragement we read them all and they are a lovely reminder of home. Thank you and keep them coming.
It is raining regularly at night and wakes us up for a while with it fierceness. Nothing like the rain we get in England. The days are generally moderate with temperatures at about 21c. Today we went out with Helen and Steve to a very nice restaurant with its own garden and swimming pool. We had an early lunch as Steve was going “up country” with his job for a couple of days and so we were back home again at about 4pm. But the menu was quite European which surprised us, Lorraine had a pasta and basil dish and I had chicken and couscous.
Helen and Steve have been very kind to us and we appreciated a trip out. Helen trained at Manchester and she is doing a fantastic job as course coordinator which with the organisation in Uganda is not an easy task to say the least. She has many admin things to think about and she also lectures. A bit of a super woman really!! I hope she doesn’t mind me saying.
We went home to so some more work and to prepare the first of the exams for the student which is on Wednesday. I will have finished my part of the sessions! It has been a challenging assignment even with all our planning and Lorraine has helped to share the burden. Her Early Bird experience with parents has stood her in great stead and she has been marvellous at helping keep the day rolling along.
We hope you are all enjoying the Blog and do keep posting your comments and words of encouragement we read them all and they are a lovely reminder of home. Thank you and keep them coming.
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Thursday March 17th
Last night we uploaded 3 photos into Photobucket.com. We can only put a 2/3 in as it takes bout 4 minutes to upload each picture.
But you will find us in the albums Julie.lorraine.uganda.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW PHOTOS.
The days here now are cool and grey with a chill in the air at night and we are putting a blanket on our beds where previously we could barely tolerate a sheet. The blankets have pictures on them flowers, scenes or animals. Lorraine’s has a horse on it but interestingly I am sleeping under a strange vision of the Virgin Mary! The colours are a rather odd limey green and she is wearing a blue cloak with white spots on it, she has her hands in prayer and a crown on her head so we think we have made the correct identification. Let’s hope she keeps an eye on us until we get home.
We felt we had a good day with the students today. They are getting used to us and as we were doing management of severe special needs we had some practical demonstrations so we had some joining in with circle time and gave them a rousing version of “Row, row row your boat” ! Explaining sensory toys and treasure baskets is a challenge. Schooling here is very formal and the children are expected to sit in rows and learn by rote.
We have had one of our usual days around the hospital. It is an interesting place. As we have said the relatives have to stay around the grounds to look after the relatives in hospital, do their washing and prepare meals. They sleep in the open air balconies that run right round the hospital; this gives some shelter from the rain at night. Generally they are not allowed to stay there in the day time and there are security guards who check the relatives into the wards. For us it is quite an adventure to go to the toilet. Upstairs in some office corridor hangs THE KEY for the staff toilet. So we have to go upstairs and see if it is there. Lorraine hangs out in the corridors to mug doctors who have the key to get it back. It’s the only the toilet which has any paper.
The room where we are teaching has no lights and sometimes early in the morning or if the rain clouds are coming it can get quite dark and it helps to put the projector on as it gives us some light. A couple of days ago one of the more senior doctors brought a hospital workman in to tell him there was no light. As there have been no lights for many months and as things move very slowly we are not expecting any change in this situation. When we were in the Dean’s secretary’s office we had noticed a poster that said “PUSH” which then explained Pray Until Something Happens. We now know that’s how Uganda works and what we need to do!
This evening we have lots of rain and thunder.
Very dramatic and continuingly cool temperatures.
Friday March 18th.
End of a perfect week!! It was brighter this morning but the rains are turning the dust into red mud and have to be negotiated along with water filled potholes.
With the students today we finished introducing AAC and they enjoyed the video about AAC and particularly the high-tech users case studies.
In the afternoon we started Dysphagia. On the journey home we got very wet as and when we got home we filled containers with water as “when it rains the water goes off”.
Tomorrow we are going to the city centre with our reliable taximan Fred who will pick us up at the end of the day. In the night we were woken up with very heavy rain on out tin roof which lasted 3/4 hours accompanied by loud thunder.
Saturday March 19th
It was raining in the morning at first but cleared up very quickly. Fred arrived as promised and pointed out landmarks and buildings on our journey into the city of Kampala. He dropped us off outside Nandos another well-known land mark. The plan was to try and change our travellers’ cheques and it proved very difficult. We went to three large banks and none of them could help us. In the end we found a money exchange bureau which was an Asian based company who were happy to help us. So now we had money for shopping but very few places to spend it that we could see. After that little saga of two hours duration we treated ourselves to coffee and muffins in Nandos and used a toilet without a key! We had a street map of Kampala, as Fred advised that we didn’t ask anyone the way. Kampala is so busy and crossing the road is a gamble as they don’t tend to take any notice of the traffic lights, particularly the boda-bodas. Julie, of course, navigated us up Parliament Avenue past the smart Parliament building to the National Theatre compound. Lorraine thought she recognised the parade of shops opposite the theatre thinking that this was where she had her hair cut when she first came to Uganda as a child. It was a real feeling of deja-vu so she took a photo to look at later with her family.
The compound has a craft village of about 35 small stalls of African crafts from batiks to baskets, carving and drums. We spent a happy hour and a half shopping and browsing amongst the stalls. We had a lovely chat with a lady who loves David Beckham and she also knew about Wayne Rooney. We were able to update with the news that Victoria Beckham was expecting a baby girl and she was very pleased to have this news! She asked why we were in Uganda and she thanked us for coming and helping.
In another stall we had a laugh with some ladies who suggested that we should have a t-shirt with “Musunga …..is not my name” on. Musunga is the Ugandan name for white person which we frequently hear used. They thought it would be funny for us to wear them but we politely declined!
Having spent the house-keeping Fred brought us home for a well-deserved cup of tea.
Last night we uploaded 3 photos into Photobucket.com. We can only put a 2/3 in as it takes bout 4 minutes to upload each picture.
But you will find us in the albums Julie.lorraine.uganda.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW PHOTOS.
The days here now are cool and grey with a chill in the air at night and we are putting a blanket on our beds where previously we could barely tolerate a sheet. The blankets have pictures on them flowers, scenes or animals. Lorraine’s has a horse on it but interestingly I am sleeping under a strange vision of the Virgin Mary! The colours are a rather odd limey green and she is wearing a blue cloak with white spots on it, she has her hands in prayer and a crown on her head so we think we have made the correct identification. Let’s hope she keeps an eye on us until we get home.
We felt we had a good day with the students today. They are getting used to us and as we were doing management of severe special needs we had some practical demonstrations so we had some joining in with circle time and gave them a rousing version of “Row, row row your boat” ! Explaining sensory toys and treasure baskets is a challenge. Schooling here is very formal and the children are expected to sit in rows and learn by rote.
We have had one of our usual days around the hospital. It is an interesting place. As we have said the relatives have to stay around the grounds to look after the relatives in hospital, do their washing and prepare meals. They sleep in the open air balconies that run right round the hospital; this gives some shelter from the rain at night. Generally they are not allowed to stay there in the day time and there are security guards who check the relatives into the wards. For us it is quite an adventure to go to the toilet. Upstairs in some office corridor hangs THE KEY for the staff toilet. So we have to go upstairs and see if it is there. Lorraine hangs out in the corridors to mug doctors who have the key to get it back. It’s the only the toilet which has any paper.
The room where we are teaching has no lights and sometimes early in the morning or if the rain clouds are coming it can get quite dark and it helps to put the projector on as it gives us some light. A couple of days ago one of the more senior doctors brought a hospital workman in to tell him there was no light. As there have been no lights for many months and as things move very slowly we are not expecting any change in this situation. When we were in the Dean’s secretary’s office we had noticed a poster that said “PUSH” which then explained Pray Until Something Happens. We now know that’s how Uganda works and what we need to do!
This evening we have lots of rain and thunder.
Very dramatic and continuingly cool temperatures.
Friday March 18th.
End of a perfect week!! It was brighter this morning but the rains are turning the dust into red mud and have to be negotiated along with water filled potholes.
With the students today we finished introducing AAC and they enjoyed the video about AAC and particularly the high-tech users case studies.
In the afternoon we started Dysphagia. On the journey home we got very wet as and when we got home we filled containers with water as “when it rains the water goes off”.
Tomorrow we are going to the city centre with our reliable taximan Fred who will pick us up at the end of the day. In the night we were woken up with very heavy rain on out tin roof which lasted 3/4 hours accompanied by loud thunder.
Saturday March 19th
It was raining in the morning at first but cleared up very quickly. Fred arrived as promised and pointed out landmarks and buildings on our journey into the city of Kampala. He dropped us off outside Nandos another well-known land mark. The plan was to try and change our travellers’ cheques and it proved very difficult. We went to three large banks and none of them could help us. In the end we found a money exchange bureau which was an Asian based company who were happy to help us. So now we had money for shopping but very few places to spend it that we could see. After that little saga of two hours duration we treated ourselves to coffee and muffins in Nandos and used a toilet without a key! We had a street map of Kampala, as Fred advised that we didn’t ask anyone the way. Kampala is so busy and crossing the road is a gamble as they don’t tend to take any notice of the traffic lights, particularly the boda-bodas. Julie, of course, navigated us up Parliament Avenue past the smart Parliament building to the National Theatre compound. Lorraine thought she recognised the parade of shops opposite the theatre thinking that this was where she had her hair cut when she first came to Uganda as a child. It was a real feeling of deja-vu so she took a photo to look at later with her family.
The compound has a craft village of about 35 small stalls of African crafts from batiks to baskets, carving and drums. We spent a happy hour and a half shopping and browsing amongst the stalls. We had a lovely chat with a lady who loves David Beckham and she also knew about Wayne Rooney. We were able to update with the news that Victoria Beckham was expecting a baby girl and she was very pleased to have this news! She asked why we were in Uganda and she thanked us for coming and helping.
In another stall we had a laugh with some ladies who suggested that we should have a t-shirt with “Musunga …..is not my name” on. Musunga is the Ugandan name for white person which we frequently hear used. They thought it would be funny for us to wear them but we politely declined!
Having spent the house-keeping Fred brought us home for a well-deserved cup of tea.
Friday, 18 March 2011
March 16th
Wednesday March 16th
This morning there was still no water but with what we had saved in buckets and plastic containers we were able to get clean and be presentable for another day.
The locals tell us that when the rains start the water goes off!! Incomprehensible! But now we know we are getting more prepared and filling spare vessels with water whenever it is on. Tonight we are in the dark!! Hysteria is setting in as we don’t know what else can happen. We are experts at getting a bath in a bucket by torch light. Please send chocolate!!
At least at work today we got through a lot of stuff. Lorraine suggested after a couple of hours that they had a move round and get some exercise to keep themselves awake. Suddenly we were given a demonstration of different types of African dances with great enthusiasm. We are managing to get some good feedback from them so that we can respond to their learning needs as working with special needs children is a new concept as they are not seen in school or the wider society.
Tom, Dick and Harry our 3 Marabou storks fly in at about 6.45 each night and keep us company standing to sleep on the top of the tree just outside the kitchen window. They disappear at day break when the sun comes up. We wonder if they join the huge group of storks at Mulago hospital.
Time for a cuppa! At least the calor gas still works. Goodnight all.
This morning there was still no water but with what we had saved in buckets and plastic containers we were able to get clean and be presentable for another day.
The locals tell us that when the rains start the water goes off!! Incomprehensible! But now we know we are getting more prepared and filling spare vessels with water whenever it is on. Tonight we are in the dark!! Hysteria is setting in as we don’t know what else can happen. We are experts at getting a bath in a bucket by torch light. Please send chocolate!!
At least at work today we got through a lot of stuff. Lorraine suggested after a couple of hours that they had a move round and get some exercise to keep themselves awake. Suddenly we were given a demonstration of different types of African dances with great enthusiasm. We are managing to get some good feedback from them so that we can respond to their learning needs as working with special needs children is a new concept as they are not seen in school or the wider society.
Tom, Dick and Harry our 3 Marabou storks fly in at about 6.45 each night and keep us company standing to sleep on the top of the tree just outside the kitchen window. They disappear at day break when the sun comes up. We wonder if they join the huge group of storks at Mulago hospital.
Time for a cuppa! At least the calor gas still works. Goodnight all.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
March 12th
Saturday
The weather is beginning to change and there are signs that the rains are coming. Today we had some massive rumbles of thunder and finally at about 2 o’clock a big down pour. It comes down in buckets and you begin to understand why everyone disappears and makes for cover. It would be impossible to keep dry in any way. The rain brought the temperature down for a while and put the power off!
We had a very quiet day at first as we were both very tired after a long week and a very long Friday. In the afternoon Rose from VSO came and took us out and we went to Garden City shopping centre which was something that was familiar to us. It was built in 2004 and is quite small and the parking is a bit frenetic on a Saturday afternoon. Rose took us to get our WiFi connection sorted out—at last! She lent us an Orange Dongle and we took the laptop to the Orange shop to find a suitable computer geek. I was beginning to suspect that it was our hardware that was at fault. We spoke to a very pleasant young man who took the laptop and started his magic. He was very serious until when he made it work we said he was an “absolute star” and then he laughed his head off!
Sunday 13th
Sunday is washing day………. and preparation for the week of ahead.
After a clear-up in the morning we settled down to email family and get going with the WiFi. What a relief to be back in touch with everyone! Hope you are all reading our emails and blogs. Responses would be nice so we know you are still out there!
More rain and thunder this afternoon followed by much cooler temperatures. Helen (Course Coordinator) and husband Steve called later that evening as they had been away for the weekend in Jinja to see how we were and how we have settled in. They brought chocolate which we haven’t had since we left home for some reason. It was very welcome when we settled down to watch Mr Darcy and his smouldering looks while courting Miss Bennett!!
Monday 14th
This is another public holiday due to mayoral elections. They didn’t get the result they wanted last time so they are doing them again. We had a day checking working on lectures for this week, cleaning the flat and Lorraine’s favourite occupation –ironing. It seems that every time I look round she has the iron in her hand. Its bug killing really to make sure we don’t get attacked by the Mango fly larvae- yuck.
Big heavy rain today and the temperatures are almost English and we are beginning to realise that the power goes off for a while every time it rains We are beginning to see the grass become greener- more like Lorraine remembers from her childhood. The children around the flats are out playing making mud pies.
Our address is “The Brown Flats” and they are brown. They look very unprepossessing but the grassy play areas, paths and roads and pot holes are swept and cared for by staff on a daily basis. There are a group of men washing the residents’ cars nearly every day from as early as 6 in the morning. It is all very neat and tidy and there is always washing hanging out, on the balconies and strung out between the trees. The children are out playing sometimes on bikes. It appears to be quite a nice area with professional and employed people.
Across the main road are the white flats which are identical in every way and yes, they are white.
We have noticed huge contrasts between more modern and cared for buildings next to shacks/ homes made of wood, corrugated iron and anything else that will do to give shelter. On our trip to Masaka we did see traditional dwellings made of mud and thatched roofs. They make their own bricks with clay from the local marshland in the same area and leave them to dry in piles in the sun. The infra-structure is frail to non-existent and people make a living in any way they can.
Tuesday March 15th
It rained very heavily last night and you do hear it on the tin roof. At about 6.30am the bed shook for about 30 seconds? I wonder if it was a shock wave following the earthquake in Japan. Lorraine thought it was a dream and had only half registered it.
This morning is very grey and overcast and there is heavy rain and then heavier rain! We have seen a man go out for work and then come straight back in again. It’s no wonder you would be soaked in seconds. The students are in this morning doing some computer research training so we are not teaching until this afternoon; we are going to treat ourselves to a taxi. The plus side for us is that the temperatures have some right down and we are so relieved not to be feeling sweaty and exhausted with the heat.
A frustrating day as the students did not appear in the afternoon I think they thought they had done enough after their research training and it was raining ……………. We will just have to fit in twice as much tomorrow. There was respite from the rain in the evening and the cool temperatures persisted. This evening at about 7.30pm the water went off! We feel that just as we manage one hurdle this country throws up another one, every simple thing demands effort. There was a short period when it came back on and we quickly filled buckets and used drinking water containers in case in hadn’t come on again by the morning. The lady across the way from us asked if we had a jerry can and could we manage. It does explain why there are a pile of cans underneath the stair well on the ground floor. You live and learn! A cuppa and some chocolate were needed to recover.
Saturday
The weather is beginning to change and there are signs that the rains are coming. Today we had some massive rumbles of thunder and finally at about 2 o’clock a big down pour. It comes down in buckets and you begin to understand why everyone disappears and makes for cover. It would be impossible to keep dry in any way. The rain brought the temperature down for a while and put the power off!
We had a very quiet day at first as we were both very tired after a long week and a very long Friday. In the afternoon Rose from VSO came and took us out and we went to Garden City shopping centre which was something that was familiar to us. It was built in 2004 and is quite small and the parking is a bit frenetic on a Saturday afternoon. Rose took us to get our WiFi connection sorted out—at last! She lent us an Orange Dongle and we took the laptop to the Orange shop to find a suitable computer geek. I was beginning to suspect that it was our hardware that was at fault. We spoke to a very pleasant young man who took the laptop and started his magic. He was very serious until when he made it work we said he was an “absolute star” and then he laughed his head off!
Sunday 13th
Sunday is washing day………. and preparation for the week of ahead.
After a clear-up in the morning we settled down to email family and get going with the WiFi. What a relief to be back in touch with everyone! Hope you are all reading our emails and blogs. Responses would be nice so we know you are still out there!
More rain and thunder this afternoon followed by much cooler temperatures. Helen (Course Coordinator) and husband Steve called later that evening as they had been away for the weekend in Jinja to see how we were and how we have settled in. They brought chocolate which we haven’t had since we left home for some reason. It was very welcome when we settled down to watch Mr Darcy and his smouldering looks while courting Miss Bennett!!
Monday 14th
This is another public holiday due to mayoral elections. They didn’t get the result they wanted last time so they are doing them again. We had a day checking working on lectures for this week, cleaning the flat and Lorraine’s favourite occupation –ironing. It seems that every time I look round she has the iron in her hand. Its bug killing really to make sure we don’t get attacked by the Mango fly larvae- yuck.
Big heavy rain today and the temperatures are almost English and we are beginning to realise that the power goes off for a while every time it rains We are beginning to see the grass become greener- more like Lorraine remembers from her childhood. The children around the flats are out playing making mud pies.
Our address is “The Brown Flats” and they are brown. They look very unprepossessing but the grassy play areas, paths and roads and pot holes are swept and cared for by staff on a daily basis. There are a group of men washing the residents’ cars nearly every day from as early as 6 in the morning. It is all very neat and tidy and there is always washing hanging out, on the balconies and strung out between the trees. The children are out playing sometimes on bikes. It appears to be quite a nice area with professional and employed people.
Across the main road are the white flats which are identical in every way and yes, they are white.
We have noticed huge contrasts between more modern and cared for buildings next to shacks/ homes made of wood, corrugated iron and anything else that will do to give shelter. On our trip to Masaka we did see traditional dwellings made of mud and thatched roofs. They make their own bricks with clay from the local marshland in the same area and leave them to dry in piles in the sun. The infra-structure is frail to non-existent and people make a living in any way they can.
Tuesday March 15th
It rained very heavily last night and you do hear it on the tin roof. At about 6.30am the bed shook for about 30 seconds? I wonder if it was a shock wave following the earthquake in Japan. Lorraine thought it was a dream and had only half registered it.
This morning is very grey and overcast and there is heavy rain and then heavier rain! We have seen a man go out for work and then come straight back in again. It’s no wonder you would be soaked in seconds. The students are in this morning doing some computer research training so we are not teaching until this afternoon; we are going to treat ourselves to a taxi. The plus side for us is that the temperatures have some right down and we are so relieved not to be feeling sweaty and exhausted with the heat.
A frustrating day as the students did not appear in the afternoon I think they thought they had done enough after their research training and it was raining ……………. We will just have to fit in twice as much tomorrow. There was respite from the rain in the evening and the cool temperatures persisted. This evening at about 7.30pm the water went off! We feel that just as we manage one hurdle this country throws up another one, every simple thing demands effort. There was a short period when it came back on and we quickly filled buckets and used drinking water containers in case in hadn’t come on again by the morning. The lady across the way from us asked if we had a jerry can and could we manage. It does explain why there are a pile of cans underneath the stair well on the ground floor. You live and learn! A cuppa and some chocolate were needed to recover.
Monday, 14 March 2011
March 14th Public holiday
March 7th
Our teaching sessions start at 10 am In our group there are 4 men and 2 women. ( Frederick, Tonni, Rukiya. Aidah, Joseph, Godfrey). Two of the students are from other African countries: Rwanda and Tanzania. We are a very multi-cultural group as they speak many different languages. We had some sharing of introductions and we played our staff DVD to send good wishes from SLT in Middlesbrough. This was our first day with the students on our own and we discussed disability and an introduction to the definitions of cerebral palsy. We are all getting used to each other’s accents and pronunciations which can cause some hilarity.
We are getting used to the numbers of people around the hospital. Many relatives stay and sleep in the balconies and corridors around the grounds as they have to help care for their families.
At lunch time there is a cooked food and snacks to buy. The Ugandan diet consists of a lot of starch; potatoes, rice, and matoke (which is a dish made from bananas) are around at every meal. We are now into the routine of taking our own lunch boxes.
At the end of the day about 4 we had our first experience of the local transport system. There are boda bodas which are motor bikes and we are all advised not to get on one of them. They are the cause of many accidents and injuries and the traffic is a site to behold. I think there are some rules of the road but they are hard to fathom! The next type of transport that buzzes about the city are the matatas. They are a Toyota Hiace with seating. They take 14 usually but we are having a competition to see how many people they can get in. Our last ride we had 16 and a baby, a large wash basket and a cardboard box!
March 8th Tuesday
After one day at work we had a day off! It was Women’s International Day and this government is making great effort to give more recognition to gender
issues. This gave us some time to review our previous day and do some more planning in the light of this first experience.
We had a walk to the supermarket and tried to get our internet connection set up with the help of a lovely young woman called Evelyn. We are making more friends with the staff and being greeted by the locals.
Wednesday March 9th.
On Wednesdays and Thursdays we get a morning lift with Marisse. She is an SLT trained in the UK which she does voluntarily. She is developing services for Adults (acquired) and works 2 days a week. She is a petite Indian lady with loads of energy and drive and is a great support to visiting SLTs and the present long term placement coordinator Helen.
Today we continued with cerebral palsy and the areas effected in the brain. We were pleased that we had taken videos and photos to demonstrate and explain signs and symptoms.
Every day is a new learning experience for us; from the major issues to the minutiae. There are many challenges of resources and access to an SLT service for the local people. The government has still to decide if it is going to fund some posts so that some of the first graduates are doing teaching jobs and similar posts. We met Clemence (she is the lady speaking on the U-tube clip) who is employed as an SLT and another graduate David who is working voluntarily whilst trying to get a job in Kenya. They are both a credit to the course.
March Thursday 10th
Our lift from Marisse is always very welcome as it is very hot here at the moment. The locals say it is unusual and too hot for them too. We are still waiting for the rains although there have been some showers in the late evening. The change between day and night is quite dramatic and over in half an hour. Outside our kitchen window across the estate road is a large tree which is the roosting home for 3/4 storks. They absolutely fascinate us. They are very large birds and when flying overhead they look positively prehistoric! They come into land about 6.30 and perch on the very top of the branches and sleep standing up with their wings around them like a large black cloak. They are a distinctive silhouette in the evening darkness. They are a very common sight and a great number of them gather and forage around the hospital grounds.
Today at work we did introduction to assessment and a first discussion about PMLD.
As far as we can make out there are no special schools and the students were somewhat puzzled by the extent of the disability of the children that we see. The students felt they perhaps didn’t have very disabled children in their community but it is more likely that they are not seen but kept hidden away in back rooms Today at work we did introduction to assessment and a first discussion about. This was certainly a challenging afternoon but we wanted to do some preparation work about early stages of pre-linguistic assessment as the next day Helen had arranged a trip to a school in Masaka which is supported by SENSE. (The charity for multi-sensory impaired children).
March 11th
A very early start today! We had to be at the hospital for 7pm to get the bus for our 2 ½ hour ride to Masaka. Oh the roads!! We might complain about ours but at least they are there. There would be some stretches of roads without too many potholes and then some which were not much more than mud tracks. There are workmen about doing some stretches as there is still a fair amount of traffic. This is also the main road into Rwanda so it will keep improving. We stopped at about a 1/3rd of the way to take photos of the line of the equator that passes through Uganda(pics to follow eventually). Some bone rattled time later we arrived at the school. The school is for Deaf and hearing impaired children with 16 places for Deaf-Blind children and is run by a Catholic sister and her staff and some trained teachers. This is a very innovative and new venture for Uganda and they have outreach workers who are going door to door to find these children. The head of the SENSE project in Uganda was there to greet us and explained that nearly all of the children were damaged as a result of mum’s contracting Rubella during pregnancy. He confirmed that there are probably a lot more children like this across the country but they are not seen in public. They have no idea of the numbers of disabled children generally in Uganda and this school is doing pioneering work helping families and children be more integrated into their society.
They were very gracious in the welcome and Sister is hoping that there will be a valuable link between the school and the SLT course and students in helping develop services for the children.
We spent some time visiting the class rooms and as you would expect Lorraine and I enjoyed the younger more disabled children. Their classrooms were sparsely furnished and equipped by our standards but there was a commitment and desire to improve learning and development for the children which was very evident.
It was a long bumpy ride home and we were very tired, but we are hopeful that some of this experience will help our students begin to understand about disability particularly PMLD.
Our teaching sessions start at 10 am In our group there are 4 men and 2 women. ( Frederick, Tonni, Rukiya. Aidah, Joseph, Godfrey). Two of the students are from other African countries: Rwanda and Tanzania. We are a very multi-cultural group as they speak many different languages. We had some sharing of introductions and we played our staff DVD to send good wishes from SLT in Middlesbrough. This was our first day with the students on our own and we discussed disability and an introduction to the definitions of cerebral palsy. We are all getting used to each other’s accents and pronunciations which can cause some hilarity.
We are getting used to the numbers of people around the hospital. Many relatives stay and sleep in the balconies and corridors around the grounds as they have to help care for their families.
At lunch time there is a cooked food and snacks to buy. The Ugandan diet consists of a lot of starch; potatoes, rice, and matoke (which is a dish made from bananas) are around at every meal. We are now into the routine of taking our own lunch boxes.
At the end of the day about 4 we had our first experience of the local transport system. There are boda bodas which are motor bikes and we are all advised not to get on one of them. They are the cause of many accidents and injuries and the traffic is a site to behold. I think there are some rules of the road but they are hard to fathom! The next type of transport that buzzes about the city are the matatas. They are a Toyota Hiace with seating. They take 14 usually but we are having a competition to see how many people they can get in. Our last ride we had 16 and a baby, a large wash basket and a cardboard box!
March 8th Tuesday
After one day at work we had a day off! It was Women’s International Day and this government is making great effort to give more recognition to gender
issues. This gave us some time to review our previous day and do some more planning in the light of this first experience.
We had a walk to the supermarket and tried to get our internet connection set up with the help of a lovely young woman called Evelyn. We are making more friends with the staff and being greeted by the locals.
Wednesday March 9th.
On Wednesdays and Thursdays we get a morning lift with Marisse. She is an SLT trained in the UK which she does voluntarily. She is developing services for Adults (acquired) and works 2 days a week. She is a petite Indian lady with loads of energy and drive and is a great support to visiting SLTs and the present long term placement coordinator Helen.
Today we continued with cerebral palsy and the areas effected in the brain. We were pleased that we had taken videos and photos to demonstrate and explain signs and symptoms.
Every day is a new learning experience for us; from the major issues to the minutiae. There are many challenges of resources and access to an SLT service for the local people. The government has still to decide if it is going to fund some posts so that some of the first graduates are doing teaching jobs and similar posts. We met Clemence (she is the lady speaking on the U-tube clip) who is employed as an SLT and another graduate David who is working voluntarily whilst trying to get a job in Kenya. They are both a credit to the course.
March Thursday 10th
Our lift from Marisse is always very welcome as it is very hot here at the moment. The locals say it is unusual and too hot for them too. We are still waiting for the rains although there have been some showers in the late evening. The change between day and night is quite dramatic and over in half an hour. Outside our kitchen window across the estate road is a large tree which is the roosting home for 3/4 storks. They absolutely fascinate us. They are very large birds and when flying overhead they look positively prehistoric! They come into land about 6.30 and perch on the very top of the branches and sleep standing up with their wings around them like a large black cloak. They are a distinctive silhouette in the evening darkness. They are a very common sight and a great number of them gather and forage around the hospital grounds.
Today at work we did introduction to assessment and a first discussion about PMLD.
As far as we can make out there are no special schools and the students were somewhat puzzled by the extent of the disability of the children that we see. The students felt they perhaps didn’t have very disabled children in their community but it is more likely that they are not seen but kept hidden away in back rooms Today at work we did introduction to assessment and a first discussion about. This was certainly a challenging afternoon but we wanted to do some preparation work about early stages of pre-linguistic assessment as the next day Helen had arranged a trip to a school in Masaka which is supported by SENSE. (The charity for multi-sensory impaired children).
March 11th
A very early start today! We had to be at the hospital for 7pm to get the bus for our 2 ½ hour ride to Masaka. Oh the roads!! We might complain about ours but at least they are there. There would be some stretches of roads without too many potholes and then some which were not much more than mud tracks. There are workmen about doing some stretches as there is still a fair amount of traffic. This is also the main road into Rwanda so it will keep improving. We stopped at about a 1/3rd of the way to take photos of the line of the equator that passes through Uganda(pics to follow eventually). Some bone rattled time later we arrived at the school. The school is for Deaf and hearing impaired children with 16 places for Deaf-Blind children and is run by a Catholic sister and her staff and some trained teachers. This is a very innovative and new venture for Uganda and they have outreach workers who are going door to door to find these children. The head of the SENSE project in Uganda was there to greet us and explained that nearly all of the children were damaged as a result of mum’s contracting Rubella during pregnancy. He confirmed that there are probably a lot more children like this across the country but they are not seen in public. They have no idea of the numbers of disabled children generally in Uganda and this school is doing pioneering work helping families and children be more integrated into their society.
They were very gracious in the welcome and Sister is hoping that there will be a valuable link between the school and the SLT course and students in helping develop services for the children.
We spent some time visiting the class rooms and as you would expect Lorraine and I enjoyed the younger more disabled children. Their classrooms were sparsely furnished and equipped by our standards but there was a commitment and desire to improve learning and development for the children which was very evident.
It was a long bumpy ride home and we were very tired, but we are hopeful that some of this experience will help our students begin to understand about disability particularly PMLD.
Sunday, 13 March 2011
First two weeks in Uganda
Uganda Journal
March 1st
Setting off from the airport at 4pm from our houses we went in Lorraine and Derek motor home so that we could carry the luggage. We had 3 bags each with a max capacity of 23 kilos. Thanks to all the generous donations we had books, toys equipment as well as 5 weeks worth of lecture notes handouts worksheets and information for the students. We were relieved to get all our bags through the check in. We had some breakfast with our husbands before going through to security.
Lorraine had an interesting time through security! She set the alarm off and was caught lying to the personnel! Lorraine went through and she beeped and was body searched and scanned. Then as she went to the desk he asked her did she have anything electrical and she had forgotten to declare the laptop projector. So after the bag was unpacked and scrutinised we eventually made it into the departure lounge to await our flight and the first step in our big adventure.
Departure was on time and we were at terminal 5 BA by 9.30. Our flight to Kampala was at 10.45. Fortunately the flight was not full and we had 3 seats between us which made it quite comfortable. We passed the time watching videos and eating airline meals.
Arriving in Entebbe we were met by a taxi driver sent be VSO and were taken to a small Guest house just near the VSO offices. The 20 kilometre drive from Entebbe to Kampala was our first glimpse of Uganda. There were lots of small shacks and wayside businesses and the two settlements are now joined along this stretch of road.
We arrived at the Guest house which was inside a compound with a guard on the gate. This we discovered is very typical of the security arrangements of many households. We were very grateful to find two rooms with showers after a long journey. We were also beginning to appreciate that it was going to be hot.
Wed March 2nd
We spent the day in the VSO compound getting information about security and other procedures.
Later in the afternoon we were taken to our accomodation across the city with two of the VSo staff.
We arrived at the “Brown Flats” and climbed to the 3rd floor Sam and Fred helped us with our cases. We did have sheets, a blanket, mosquito nets, pots and pans as promised. Sam showed us how to use the 2 ring gas hob.
All seemed well and so we went to our local supermarket to get provisions. It wasn't until we returned that we discovered that we had no water. We were just debating how we were going to manage without water when there was a power cut so we had to admit defeat and call for help.Because the SLTS from the programme had already phoned us to welcome us we rang one of the staff.
Marisse arrived 2 hours later and looked at the situation and agreed we couldn’t stay there. She very kindly offered to put us up for the night. We were glad of a meal, shower and a bed. We met her 2 girls, husband and 2 black Labradors much to Lorraine’s delight. Marisse offered to contact VSO in the morning detailing all the problems. As a seasoned VSO volunteer she knew how things would work.
Marisse took us into Mulago Hospital the following morning to show us round and we met Helen the SLT in charge of the BSc course. We met our 6 students and sat in on one of her lectures.
Finally speaking to VSO at the end of the day we were told that we still did not have water and so Helen kindly offered to put us up in her flat. That evening again grateful for a bed and shower we offered to take Helen out for a meal and we went to a lovely Italian restaurant and had a very nice meal.
Friday 4th
At Mulago Hospital
The hospital was built by the British and handed over when Uganda became independent in 1960s.It is very old, basic and everything has been mended over and over again. There are no facilities for cooking food for patients who are admitted so their families have to live in the grounds, cook food for them and wash their clothes.
The SLT s both Ugandan and visiting staff are working under very difficult circumstances. We had adopted a phrase “that everything works in a fashion” or actually sometimes not at all! We have had discovered that the rooms have no electricity and we have no lights in the teaching room. On Thursday all our efforts to get connections to other electrical sources failed to get us any power and we were back to talking and pen and paper.
Saturday 5th
We spent the day cleaning out the flat and making it home. The red dust of Africa gets into every corner and every surface.
Cooking is done by calor gas on two ring and we are getting quite inventive. Washing is done in buckets: that includes us and our clothes. We have to heat hot water in a large pan in place of a daily shower or bath! This is probably the same for many families around here. On the plus side we have nice neighbours a young couple and their baby son Nathanial. He is mesmerised by our white faces!
Our local supermarket is only 10 minutes’ walk away and is well stocked. The locals tell us that it is quite new but is much appreciated by us. We are getting to know the staff quite well and are making the Ugandan greeting of “ Hello how are you” a question to which no one expects an answer.
Sunday March 6th
This was wash day and the buckets are in action as well as a big plastic wash bowl donated by Marisse. Also now on loan are two fans which are such a help in the heat. The rains are late this year and the temperatures are high even for Ugandans. Lorraine has volunteered to do the wash action and she trampled the clothes with her feet and we have the photographs to prove it. They dry well in the sun and we have been told to iron everything as there is the mango fly that lays its eggs into the clothes and when you wear them can bury its way into your skin: charming!
Later we prepared for our first day for the students introducing disability and then definitions of cerebral palsy. We have brought some DVDs with us and we watched “Rainman”. Lorraine commenting that it was a bit like homework.
Monday March 7th.
The walk to work.
The sun comes up and down in Uganda in half an hour. It is like pulling back the curtains. So we set off about 8 and by the time we got there at 8.40 we sweating nicely. You have to learn to walk like the locals which is much slower otherwise you won’t survive.
March 1st
Setting off from the airport at 4pm from our houses we went in Lorraine and Derek motor home so that we could carry the luggage. We had 3 bags each with a max capacity of 23 kilos. Thanks to all the generous donations we had books, toys equipment as well as 5 weeks worth of lecture notes handouts worksheets and information for the students. We were relieved to get all our bags through the check in. We had some breakfast with our husbands before going through to security.
Lorraine had an interesting time through security! She set the alarm off and was caught lying to the personnel! Lorraine went through and she beeped and was body searched and scanned. Then as she went to the desk he asked her did she have anything electrical and she had forgotten to declare the laptop projector. So after the bag was unpacked and scrutinised we eventually made it into the departure lounge to await our flight and the first step in our big adventure.
Departure was on time and we were at terminal 5 BA by 9.30. Our flight to Kampala was at 10.45. Fortunately the flight was not full and we had 3 seats between us which made it quite comfortable. We passed the time watching videos and eating airline meals.
Arriving in Entebbe we were met by a taxi driver sent be VSO and were taken to a small Guest house just near the VSO offices. The 20 kilometre drive from Entebbe to Kampala was our first glimpse of Uganda. There were lots of small shacks and wayside businesses and the two settlements are now joined along this stretch of road.
We arrived at the Guest house which was inside a compound with a guard on the gate. This we discovered is very typical of the security arrangements of many households. We were very grateful to find two rooms with showers after a long journey. We were also beginning to appreciate that it was going to be hot.
Wed March 2nd
We spent the day in the VSO compound getting information about security and other procedures.
Later in the afternoon we were taken to our accomodation across the city with two of the VSo staff.
We arrived at the “Brown Flats” and climbed to the 3rd floor Sam and Fred helped us with our cases. We did have sheets, a blanket, mosquito nets, pots and pans as promised. Sam showed us how to use the 2 ring gas hob.
All seemed well and so we went to our local supermarket to get provisions. It wasn't until we returned that we discovered that we had no water. We were just debating how we were going to manage without water when there was a power cut so we had to admit defeat and call for help.Because the SLTS from the programme had already phoned us to welcome us we rang one of the staff.
Marisse arrived 2 hours later and looked at the situation and agreed we couldn’t stay there. She very kindly offered to put us up for the night. We were glad of a meal, shower and a bed. We met her 2 girls, husband and 2 black Labradors much to Lorraine’s delight. Marisse offered to contact VSO in the morning detailing all the problems. As a seasoned VSO volunteer she knew how things would work.
Marisse took us into Mulago Hospital the following morning to show us round and we met Helen the SLT in charge of the BSc course. We met our 6 students and sat in on one of her lectures.
Finally speaking to VSO at the end of the day we were told that we still did not have water and so Helen kindly offered to put us up in her flat. That evening again grateful for a bed and shower we offered to take Helen out for a meal and we went to a lovely Italian restaurant and had a very nice meal.
Friday 4th
At Mulago Hospital
The hospital was built by the British and handed over when Uganda became independent in 1960s.It is very old, basic and everything has been mended over and over again. There are no facilities for cooking food for patients who are admitted so their families have to live in the grounds, cook food for them and wash their clothes.
The SLT s both Ugandan and visiting staff are working under very difficult circumstances. We had adopted a phrase “that everything works in a fashion” or actually sometimes not at all! We have had discovered that the rooms have no electricity and we have no lights in the teaching room. On Thursday all our efforts to get connections to other electrical sources failed to get us any power and we were back to talking and pen and paper.
Saturday 5th
We spent the day cleaning out the flat and making it home. The red dust of Africa gets into every corner and every surface.
Cooking is done by calor gas on two ring and we are getting quite inventive. Washing is done in buckets: that includes us and our clothes. We have to heat hot water in a large pan in place of a daily shower or bath! This is probably the same for many families around here. On the plus side we have nice neighbours a young couple and their baby son Nathanial. He is mesmerised by our white faces!
Our local supermarket is only 10 minutes’ walk away and is well stocked. The locals tell us that it is quite new but is much appreciated by us. We are getting to know the staff quite well and are making the Ugandan greeting of “ Hello how are you” a question to which no one expects an answer.
Sunday March 6th
This was wash day and the buckets are in action as well as a big plastic wash bowl donated by Marisse. Also now on loan are two fans which are such a help in the heat. The rains are late this year and the temperatures are high even for Ugandans. Lorraine has volunteered to do the wash action and she trampled the clothes with her feet and we have the photographs to prove it. They dry well in the sun and we have been told to iron everything as there is the mango fly that lays its eggs into the clothes and when you wear them can bury its way into your skin: charming!
Later we prepared for our first day for the students introducing disability and then definitions of cerebral palsy. We have brought some DVDs with us and we watched “Rainman”. Lorraine commenting that it was a bit like homework.
Monday March 7th.
The walk to work.
The sun comes up and down in Uganda in half an hour. It is like pulling back the curtains. So we set off about 8 and by the time we got there at 8.40 we sweating nicely. You have to learn to walk like the locals which is much slower otherwise you won’t survive.
Monday, 28 February 2011
One night to go!
We are packed and ready. We have a very early start in the middle of the night but it will be the beginning of the adventure.We have managed to pack all the books, equipment and other things that people have given us to take out. Going to get an early night. We will be writing from Uganda soon we hope.
Friday, 25 February 2011
Uganda Photo Album now active
We have just set up a photo album online to post the photos of our adventures.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW UGANDA PHOTO ALBUM
CLICK HERE TO VIEW UGANDA PHOTO ALBUM
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
One week and counting!
After 6 months of hard work training, preparation of presentations and fund raising we are nearly ready. 
As you can see we made jam,chutney until Lorraine's husband nearly left home. Julie made aprons, bags, cooking sets, and chutney. We had many contributions of Xmas cakes, table decorations and lots of scrummy cakes and food.many thanks to everybody for bringing, buying and selling. We are sitting tonight looking at the stuff we have collected together with the help of all the money that has been so kindly donated and wondering if it will fit in.
This is just the beginning of the start of Lorraine and Julie's Big Adventure watch out for the next installment. We fly out on 1st March and we will be teaching for 6 weeks.
As you can see we made jam,chutney until Lorraine's husband nearly left home. Julie made aprons, bags, cooking sets, and chutney. We had many contributions of Xmas cakes, table decorations and lots of scrummy cakes and food.many thanks to everybody for bringing, buying and selling. We are sitting tonight looking at the stuff we have collected together with the help of all the money that has been so kindly donated and wondering if it will fit in.
This is just the beginning of the start of Lorraine and Julie's Big Adventure watch out for the next installment. We fly out on 1st March and we will be teaching for 6 weeks.
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