Building Betty's Kitchen!

So! One of the projects that we were specifically raising money for was the building of a Kitchen for a young girl named Betty (and her family). Thanks to Friends & Family (again!!) we were able to fulfill this task and the project was set into motion before we ever left Canada!

I'm not sure what you imagined when we said we were "building a kitchen"... it may have included a sink and countertop? We weren't sure what to expect either! It's actually more like a mud-hut with an aluminum roof. It is costly for them to build and quite necessary for keeping a fire burning all day and trying to keep unwanted "guests" out!

*** Let me tell you something neat things about Betty! ...For one, her smile is infectious!! She is a very shy girl but such a sweet girl! Her Parents were very gracious and welcoming (and THANKFUL) and her Dad is very involved in her family (which, we found, is not very common). Also, they are a family who shares their resources with the people living around them (many families take from their water collection tank and share their existing kitchen) they really give back to their community.

(when we arrived to work, the Bamboo-framed structure of the Kitchen was ready and Betty's Dad and some of the KCC workers were busily making mud with water that KCC trucked in)

(Joel came on a Field Trip!... Hard to say which course it was for... could have

been Socials, Science, Home Ec.... He was a hard worker!!)

(the Women in Uganda work soooo hard! It's kind of crazy that they always have to

wear a skirt! ...at least I thought so when I was mudding in mine!)

Betty's Family was so pleased with their new Kitchen! Her Mother prepared

maize-porridge for us as a token of their gratitude. (Seriously, I think that

accepting people's "gratitude" was the most challenging part of being in Uganda

for me!... this one was literally a bit of a tuff one to swallow!).

This is the Lovely Betty on the day that we gave her her baskets of household items and cooking supplies to go with her kitchen. She was so pleased to be bringing these items home!

Thanksgiving...

Jeff & Shannon hosted an awesome Thanksgiving Dinner...with all the comfort foods of home!

Kibaale Town, Jeffy's Soccer Match & Kibaale Hill...

This is Kibaale Town ...the crowd of people is just a portion of the

Spectators for Jeff's football match!

We totally enjoyed watching Jeff's team play. ...the spectators were REALLY into it

...and pretty ruthless when Jeffy made an error (they all laughed out loud). It was

pretty hysterical! Jeff can totally "hold his own" out there though.

Sunday afternoon, Joel lead us on a hike up Kibaale Hill.

This view is of the KIBAALE COMMUNITY CENTRE property from the hill

SAFARI!

Jeff & Shan took us to one of their favorite Safari destinations in Uganda... Queen Elizabeth National Park. We had to drive about 4hrs away to get there but it was spectacular!! This was our first Safari (ever) and the Dycks said that it ended up being one of the best one's they'd been on! (what else are they supposed to say?!). We saw hundreds of Hippos, over 50 Elephants (our favorite!), 19 Lions, lots of Crocodile, Water-buffalo, Warthogs & Cob, 1 Leopard and 1 Hyena! ...(we even saw Zebra when we were driving home!!).

This sign cracked us up (it's posted on the road on the way to the Park!)

(Queen Elizabeth National Park - I told you... beautiful!!)

We went on a 2hr Boat Safari! We had a driver & a guide all to ourselves! Very Cool.

Countless Hippos!!

The Elephants were amazing! Some were 10 ft away from us, and a couple

even made noise at us when we got too close! (Jeff was a GREAT guide

... got us in as close to everything as he could!)

Jeff drove us off track a couple times... and we ended up very "up close & personal" with many Lions! The first time there were only 2... the last time was at dusk and we drove right into 2 different Prides of Lions! We enjoyed watching them so much that by the time we left them it was so dark out that we could only see their red eyes glowing in the headlights!!! CRAZY!

We stayed somewhere J&S had never stayed b4... the Bush Lodge. It was so neat. We stayed in permanent tents on the Kazinga Channel, where we could watch Hippos from our veranda during the day (and hear them munching grass outside our huts at night!!). ...we had a Night Guard who wouldn't let us out of his sight!!

(cool outdoor shower/backyard behind each tent ...all lit up with lanterns in the evening).

forgive me...

Of course I've been trying to complete is in sequential order... what a hassle! Now you have to scroll to the bottom to get to the start. ...And as I'm sure you can see... it's a work in progress (I'm just working on the end of week one! ack! - yes, this is the scaled down selection of our pics!!).

some random, but typical, pictures...

(the line up to collect water at a local Borehole)

(...it's not typical to see pavement - this was on our way to Kampala.

It is VERY common to see bikes LOADED with oversized items!!)

Mazzy's B-day Party

On Wed night we had little Birthday Party for the Lovely Miss MAZZY! …yup, she’s 2!

5 Home Visits in 1 Day!!

On our first Wed in Kibaale, we started the morning with leading Devotions for a P4 class - Nassuuna Grace’s class, actually. (I think she was mortified to have us there …kind of like, oh my! What are THEY doing here??! This is so embarrassing! But that’s just b/c she’s verrrrry shy and she seemed OK once she realized that we were not going to draw any special attention to her!). We led our Devotion on the topic of PRAYER… but truthfully, WE had already learned so much more from them on the topic!

Here’s a little “aside” …their class settings are amazing! At 8:00am (sharp!) the kids all line up outside the main school building – here they sing songs, recite the Lord’s Prayer, and receive announcements from their school leader. They dismiss to their select classes… singing loudly all the way!

Once they get to their classes… there is MORE (loud!) singing!! This is initiated by one of the students (no matter what age… from 4yrs old and up, this happens!) and it is infectious!! I LOVED hearing the kids sing. The kids would praise God like this for ~10min. and shortly after the Teacher arrived the singing would turn into prayers… the kids would spontaneously kneel down or turn to a corner and begin praying – outloud, all together – it was amazing. We were blessed to experience it.

(this is Grace)

After Breakfast we loaded up the Truck and went on 5 more Home Visits!! It was pretty wonderful to be able to be the “vessels” for delivering the items that our Friends and Family had bought! This day, we delivered WATER COLLECTION SYSTEMS (pretty basic – but costly and necessary – they consist of a gutter which was fixed onto the house, and a large (220 Litres) plastic barrel for collecting the water.

The first home we visited was George’s. He is one of 7 kids in his family (he had one sibling die from Malaria). He is the only one in his family who attends KCC – he has siblings at the local Muslim school. He is doing well in school (is in S1 – which is rare for kids in Uganda …many do not pass p7 – and if you fail this 2x you cannot go on in school). His Family had a nice house (in good condition) and some ways to make a living…. Goats, Matooke crops (which were not doing well b/c of the extended dry season) and coffee trees. Until now, George has had to walk 1hr each way to a Borehole in Kibaale to collect water for his Family’s needs. His Mother was very grateful …and was leaning over the barrel singing, “God is so good…” as we drove away.

The second home we visited was James’s. James is the 5^th child of 6 in his Family. Both his parents died from AIDS about 10yrs ago and his older brother stopped attending school to raise the kids. James is in S3 and his favorite subject is Physics. His Jaja (Grandparent) lives with them now and they have to walk 30min to the nearest Borehole to collect their water.

The 3^rd home we visited was Joyce’s. She is the 3^rd of 6 kids and her Mother works hard in the nearby fields. Joyce walks 1hr to get to school each day and around 20min to collect her water for the Family.

The 4^th home was Bennett’s. I have to confess… he stole a pretty special part of our hearts. His house was in terrible condition (not really even suitable for attaching a gutter to!). His Mother died ~10yrs ago and his Father left his family. Bennett lives with his Jaja (who is very frail and not healthy). I don’t even know how far he has to walk for water… I got too caught up with how little he had (his Grandma had NO supplies for cooking or cleaning, no food). It seems that Bennett probably only eats what he’s given at school. ….But you should see this Boy! He’s soooo lovely! Bennett is in P4 at KCC. We left his house knowing that we would be back with some basic household items and food staples …and hopefully a plan for getting him a more stable house.

The final home we visited that day was Annet’s. Her parents left her… for better opportunities in the City (sad, huh?). She is cared for by her Jaja. Annette is in p4 at KCC and walks about 1hr to get water. Annet was very excited to come home with a new Water Collection Unit!!

One thing I am quickly realizing is that pictures are not going to do these experiences any justice!! Hopefully they will give you at least a glimpse of what we’ve been able to be part of!