Appreciation Meal

On Friday night after our last day on the building site, the team were taken out to an appreciation meal for the building work we’d done.



We went to a place called Mamba Point, an Italian restaurant up on a hill in the city of Kampala. It was beautifully decorated and we all dressed up as best we could so it was quite a smart evening in comparison to the dirt and muck of the week. Kathryn (from the Canadian office), Craig (CompassionArt) and Jane & Alan (CEO of Watoto) joined us for dinner where we were given small gifts of woven baskets as thanks. I was a little disappointed not to be sitting near Craig as he would have been fascinating to talk to. He collated the reflections of the songwriters for the CompassionArt book from which some of the proceeds go to Watoto. Money from the CD goes to Watoto as well, which I happen to think is a brilliant album. It was still a lovely evening in spite of this and I enjoyed the opportunity to sit down in the open air for dinner, even if liberally sprayed to avoid mosquitoes!

Build - Day 5 (last day)

The day started normally except for a slight detour enroute to the supermarket for “sodas” and biscuits for our dedication party later on. After we arrived on site, we heard two songs from the builders and then we sang twice. Quite a few of the guys were on a different site today and we didn’t get to say goodbye to them which was a real shame. They weren’t needed on our site because there was so little to do so I can understand them not wanting to lose a working day, but it would have been nice to know the night before!



We worked for about three hours and I managed to slap a bit of mortar down, place a few bricks and almost fall off the scaffolding (Chas rescued me) before it was time for the dedication at midday. A man called Craig from CompassionArt had arrived on site to observe the work being done, so he was able to see our finished product and hear all that was said.



I got a bit emotional thinking about the fact that this was the last day on the site. We all laid hands on the building, dedicating it to God and asking for blessing on those who will dwell there… I cried again! It is amazing to think what we’ve accomplished in just a week. We were told that there are a total of 115 confirmed teams coming to build this year alone which is just phenomenal… the project surely is being blessed by God! A few people spoke, Moses the foreman and one of the men from KPC, all thanking us for our work and telling us how much of an impact it would have on the community. Not only for those who will live in the house, but for the builders who need our money to stay employed.



After the dedication and a few photos, we treated the builders to refreshments, with music from the minivan to add to the party atmosphere. Some local village children (not Watoto kids) came and danced with us and we celebrated for some time before the builders had to go back to work and we left for the day.



One year ago, this was all the beginnings of an idea… a “what if?” Now here I am, praise the Lord! I don’t look forward to returning home, life seems dull and cold in the UK. I know this will be just another travel story all too soon but I hope the memories of this trip stay sharp and last a lifetime.

Build - Day 4

It’s getting harder and harder to get out of bed at 5.30am, thankfully tomorrow is the last time this week.

Martin, Gretl and myself were the only ones going to the building site today. Chas and Ope went into the KPC Office and of course Janet and Peter are yet to come back from Mbale. We were greeted at the site with some tragic news from Fred, that a Suubi boy was killed on the road yesterday in a bicycle accident, most likely a hit and run. It seemed to really affect Fred and he kept busy helping out a lot on the site, mostly brick laying.

We started off the working day with a couple of songs from the locals, followed by a prayer and then finally proper introductions of all the workers. We had to correct a few names we had misheard (like Frank instead of Fra!) but it was good to finally know who everyone was. Gretl and I weren’t needed up on the scaffolding, there were enough people doing brick work. We did move a lot of bricks during the course of the morning though, so weren’t sitting around doing nothing all day!



There were times when there literally was nothing we could be doing and I felt guilty sitting about when others were working. The break was nice though and I got to sit and chat with Gretl for a while.



We had an early finish, lunchtime came and we were done. Martin, Gretl and I went back to the guesthouse with Chas (who’d been driven out to the site from the office unnecessarily because we were finishing as he arrived) and then the three of us decided to find a hotel whose pool we could use. We tried the Sheraton, the Serena and the Imperial Royale but didn’t swim after all that. The pools were either not very nice or in the case of the Serena, too expensive for just a couple of hours. We did end up stopping at the Serena though so Martin could have a haircut and Gretl, Fred, the driver and I waited by the pool and sipped non-alcoholic cocktails in the sun.



There were seven of us once more at dinner tonight and with everyone talking at once about their various activities over the last few days, I couldn’t cope for long and retired early to my room. Ope came in and we chatted for a bit. We are experiencing a lot of the same emotions over the trip so it was good to be able to share them together. Have I said before how grateful I am for her company?