Sunday - Church, a visit with a Watoto family & some cultural entertainment

We travelled the familiar route to KPC West for church. At this time, it had just started using it's new premises for services, an open air brick hall with roof and floor but no real walls, just columns to hold up the roof. The worship was more lively than at KPC Central and I was dancing away, loving every minute of it. Unlike Central, West only have one service on a Sunday so we had a chance to stay around after the service for a while and talk to some of the members of the congregation.

Lunch was at Bbira Village & Ope, Martin, Gretl & I went to house 43 whilst Chas, Peter & Janet had lunch in the house of Chas's sponsored child. Our house mother, Frieda, made us a wonderful meal of matooke, beef & rice, potatoes, yams, peas, spinach & fried banana. There were a mixture of children in the house, boys and girls of various ages. Usually I find it quite difficult to converse with children but it was easier with help from other members of my team.




After we'd eaten, I went outside with a couple of the girls and younger boys and was showing them a dance I learnt in high school. They were very eager to learn the routine and we had a great time dancing together. Once girl, Kristine, was very keen and she seemed to take quite a shine to me. We went out the back of the house and she was showing us dances she knew and was having a great time performing alongside Frieda's biological daughter, Grace. All too soon it was time to go and Kristine walked me to the bus with her arm wrapped around my waist, sad to see me go - it was really touching.



Before we left, we went and saw Fred's house and met his mother and some of his brothers. One of them is also at University studying social work and social sciences - their mother must be so proud! Even though she didn't give birth to them, she still raised them to be the men they are.

We'd barely arrived back at the guesthouse and had a rest before we had to go out again. Although I didn't feel like going out, I am glad I went even if I was exhausted. There had been an Australian team at the guesthouse the week before us who had been to an African cultural show during their stay which they'd recommended, so we decided to put it on our agenda too. It was amazing! There were all sorts of different dances and types of music from various tribes throughout Uganda. The musicians were fantastic on their drums, wooden zylophones and harp like instruments and the women certainly knew how to "shake their booty"!



The costumes were designed with great feather bustles and the speed these women were shaking their hips for so long was astounding. The power went out twice whilst we were there but the host had such a powerful voice, he managed to entertain us even in the dark.



















During the course of the evening, the men displayed their acrobatic abilities balancing each other and in the last act, the women were balancing up to 8 clay pots on their heads whilst walking about the stage. Very talented people indeed. It was a very late night in the end - we didn't get to our beds until 11pm and considering the early start the next day, I wish we'd made it back earlier...

Saturday - Watoto Villages

Saturday saw us back in the minibus for a trip out to the villages for a tour. We stopped at Bbira first where we saw the vocational schools. There was one huge workshop where people were welding and doing woodwork. The items created in this workshop are all to be used in the houses, like door and window frames or in the schools like cupboards, desks, chairs etc. It is a lot cheaper for Watoto to build it’s own furniture and fittings where possible and the quality is much better than buying elsewhere. One day they hope to be able to sell their products but at the moment they can only cover the demand internally. We were able to see where students work in textiles or home economics as well, an amazing setup! All perched on top of a hill with beautiful views… these children are truly blessed.



The sound of singing drew us to the admin block where a group of Watoto mothers were rehearsing for worship on Sunday. They all gave us great big hugs and we certainly received a very warm welcome even though our visit was a surprise to them. Fred proved he had even more skills than we previously knew about when he played the drums whilst they sang. We joined added our voices in the chorus.

Suubi was the next village on the tour, where we were able to peer in the windows of classrooms and the library and we also got to see the medical facility which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As we were led around the village, I noticed all sorts of signs stuck in the grass. Things like “Respect your friends” etc. All wise words and good to be reminded of daily.





The whole team went with Chas to see his sponsored child Nicholas and his home. It was my first time seeing an occupied house and it was great to see how ours might look when it’s finished. All the children in Nicholas’ house are boys and mostly in their teens. They were very friendly and talked easily, most polite and respectful as well. We stood in the house with the sound of pouring rain pelting down on the tin roof and I pondered what it must be like to live there. It’s a lot simpler than anything I’ve ever lived in of course, but considering where these children have come from, they are now living in luxury.



Each child has a chore for the day which might be cleaning the internal/external floors, cleaning the bathroom or helping with the cooking. The children even help keeping the compound clean which is just amazing to me. I’ve never met so many polite, well behaved children before. I even observed one girl cleaning outside in the rain, such is their commitment to village life.



We left couldn’t stay too long in Suubi as it was nearing lunch time, so we left for Garden City and the chaos of the food mall.

Unlike other food courts where you wander about the stalls checking them out before deciding where you want to eat, here you sit down and eight or so waiters from different shops rush to your table with menus and start telling you what you should have, underlining choices with their fingers - sometimes two at a time which makes it very difficult to think!

Ope, Gretl and I decided to treat ourselves after our week at work and went to the Beauty Salon after lunch for some pampering whilst the others went back to the Guesthouse. The treatments were brilliant and my one hour facial for 30,000 shillings was definitely a bargain - one of the best facials I've ever had too!

When we had finished, Ope & I met Fred and his friend Charlotte whom we decided to stay in town with for part of the evening. We had considered seeing a movie but decided to go bowling instead - 7,500 shillings each for one game. There were no bowling shoes so we bowled barefoot which was incredibly liberating! I do appreciate the Health & Safety issue of how much hurt/damage might be caused by a dropped bowling ball on ones feet, but to feel the cool ground beneath my feet and to be comfortable was wonderful. After the game, Ope & I headed back to the guesthouse for another Tilapia dinner and a new instalment of the dubbed soap opera that Rachel & Rita (the guesthouse staff) love.