UPDATE

It's been rather a long time since I have updated this blog. Time seems to slip by more quickly in Kampala: life has become busier and busier. This appears to be one of the natural consequences of living as a family in a large city.

Another significant demand on my time has been my decision to enrol on a TEFL course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). This course has been divided into two sections.

First of all, I have been completing an online grammar course. This course saw me refreshing my knowledge of, or even adding to, my knowledge of English grammar.

What a complicated language we native English speakers have! I have had my brain challenged by modal verbs, gerunds, transient and intransient verbs, participles, compound nouns and adverbial phrases, not to mention the thirteen tenses of the English language!

The second part of my course was a classroom-based, intensive course. This took place during the recent half-term week in October. For this section of my TEFL course I travelled from Kampala all the way to Scotland's Edinburgh!

In Edinbugh's Glasshouse Hotel I joined a group of other TEFL students. where an excellent tutor took us through several days of theory, grammar practice and practical skills. It was time well spent! It was a brilliant course, with plenty of time for us to engage in activities, plan and deliver English lessons to our fellow students and to give and receive invaluable feedback.

Edinburgh's Glasshouse Hotel conference room: a world away from the heat and chaos of Kampala!

Admittedly, Edinburgh was a lot colder than Kampala- but it was rather fun to wear a different wardrobe! Fun to wrap up in a toasty coat and don a colourful scarf, to wear furry boots and long jeans!
 I had the privilege of being able to stay with good friends from University- although as we met up we found it hard to believe that it is 25 years since we first met at Nottingham University! I don't feel old enough to have a history like that!

Here is a Monday morning selfie at a breezy 7 a.m.- I prepare to take the bus into town, as Fiona kindly gets up early to make breakfast for me and accompany me to the bus-stop for the first day of my course:

I got very excited on the bus into town because I discovered that Edinburgh buses offer free wi-fi to their passengers! This may not seem particularly exciting to some of you readers, but for me, living in Kampala, it seemed like an ultra-modern perk! In Kampala, it's always a bonus to actually arrive safely at our destination on the local motorbikes or mini-bus taxis, let alone have the comfort of wi-fi !!

The bus carried me through the streets of Edinburgh, with plenty of time to admire the Autumn vistas afforded by my front seat on the top deck of the bus:

 

Since returning home to Kampala, I have been able to fully complete my TEFL requirements. Two weeks ago I officially received my certificate! Horray! 

Each Tuesday, I now volunteer at a local education centre for refugees where I teach English to students who come from several African countries. It is wonderful to have interaction with these willing learners and to be able to put into practise what I have recently learnt on my course. I am still learning how to effectively teach English, but with each lesson I teach comes more awareness- and I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge!

Fun on the School Run

Each weekday, Esther, Ben and Joel climb into a car for a 20 minute drive across Kampala to their school.

What should be a simple drive across town is never simple here. In fact, driving across Kampala is never boring!

We have unforeseen delays, bizarre encounters and plenty of interesting sights to make the school run a fascinating trip!

Here are some photos of what has come across our path on some of our school runs. Enjoy the experience from the comfort of your armchair! Imagine some of the sights, sounds and decision-making challenges which are part of a daily drive in this developing city of East Africa!

It is not uncommon to see trucks loaded to the brim as I drive along the narrow, hilly roads of the city. The truck in the photo below was full of matoke (savoury bananas) with the added bonus of a matoke-seller sitting on top of his wares!

Getting stuck behind a truck like this can mean a frustrating delay, since they trundle laboriously uphill.

The temptation to overtake conflicts with the very real knowledge that over-taking uphill, with limited visibility, could be disastrous, as mini-bus taxis and motorbikes have a nasty habit of zooming into our path without warning. I don't want any collisions- so I often hold back and end up driving far slower than I would like, where others might be bolder and get ahead!

Here's another example- but this time it is mattresses loading the lorry right up to the hilt:

The sights we see make me smile sometimes. I know in the UK we joke about people going on holiday with "everything but the kitchen sink". Well, in Kampala, you can take the kitchen sink too!

All you need is a friend with a motorbike- and you can transport that legendary kitchen sink wherever you would like it to go!

Just to illustrate the point, I even saw ANOTHER kitchen sink zipping past me on the back of a "boda" motorbike this week!

On a different occasion, a motorbike carrying a broken motorbike pulled up next to me in a traffic jam!

Driving to school last week, Ben calmly pointed out that the cyclist travelling along beside us had strapped his gun onto his back so that he could steer his bike more easily.
Now this is not something I would expect my children to point out if we were driving along the route to school in England!
I passed my phone to Ben to snap a shot:

Another morning, a table drifted past us, held on by the passenger on the back of the bike!

Sometimes it is animals who block our way. 

We don't have any zebra-crossings in Kampala (not that I've noticed so far!) but there is an unspoken understanding that cows have right of way. Cows are such a precious commodity here and it would mean Trouble, with that capital T, to hit one- so we always stop to let cows saunter across the street:

Cows aren't the only animals we encounter on the Kampala roads. There are often goats who get in the way as we drive.
But some goats are luckier than others- instead of hanging about on the muddy streets, some goats get to ride in style across town! Esther grabbed my phone to get this photo of a goat on a motorbike a couple of weeks ago:

Some mornings, we have delays caused by the terrible road surfaces. Last Friday, I came down one bumpy, single-lane track to discover a vehicle stuck right in my way- with no way around for me to continue the route to school.

No amount of pushing or shoving would shift that car!

My passengers alighted and tried to assist by placing rocks under the back wheel to stop the car slipping on the mud.

But all attempts were futile. Time was racing and I needed to get 5 pupils to school as soon as possible.
The road was too narrow for me to turn around- so I decided to make a detour into the nearby field. Then I thought I would be able to back-track up the hill and take an alternative route to school.

The children got out of the car and watched as I turned- but then I realised that the pot-hole leading back up to the muddy track was at a terribly steep angle. I was worried that the car might rock to the point of tipping over!
Maybe I was being melodramatic, but I definitely lacked the confidence to manoeuver our huge vehicle back into the correct position for continuing our journey to school.

In a flash of inspiration, I called one of the MAF pilots who lived close to where I was stuck and asked him to come and move the car for me! At this point in the morning, Andrew was already too far away for me to call on him. Thankfully, the other MAF pilot could make it to us easily- and came to rescue us while I took photos from a safer vantage point- OUT of the car!

As irony would have it, just as we got back on track to return the way we had come from, the stuck car was finally moved!!!! With a little bit of patience, I could have continued on my way without all the drama- but things just weren't working out smoothly on that Friday!

We drove a different way and of course, I was then running late. I was keen to get going as quickly as possible.... BUT then I encountered a huge grader machine on the other muddy track that leads to school! The driver seemed determined to block the road and to lumber along as slowly as he could... ARGH!!! What a frustrating drive to school!

Here's another example of some of the interesting road surfaces we contend with, depending on which way we choose to drive as we pick up or drop off other MAF kids on our school route:

And when it rains, like it did last week, even the tarred roads become unrecognisable. They are transformed into slippery pools of mud, spreading out like lakes of liquid chocolate:

With all of these challenges, I shouldn't be surprised when our car breaks down. 

The wear and tear on our fabulous, fearless car gradually takes its toll. Scenes like the one pictured below, on the side of the road, have sadly been my experience a few times in Kampala already.

This break-down happened on a hill about 1 km from home and the mechanic had quite a job to identify the problem before our car could be towed back home...

Once parked back in our driveway, some very curious and excited boys had fun investigating the problem and examining the workings of the engine:

Finally, I sometimes have the world-wide, generic problem of getting stuck behind a learner car, forcing us all to slow down. 

However, I had to laugh at the slogan on this learner's vehicle:

 "Divine Brother, Defensive Driving School". 

What a great catchphrase! Firstly, because we all need Divine help to stay safe while driving and secondly, because it is VERY wise to learn to drive defensively - especially within the context of some of our Kampala challenges :-) 

MAF Makes a Dream Come True

This is a story of how one journey on a MAF plane made a dream come true in Uganda this month.

Fifty years ago, in 1967, a British girl in her twenties with a heart for mission and a vision for teaching arrived in Uganda.

For two years, she lived and worked among the people of the Karamajong tribe in northern Uganda. Teaching at a school for Ugandan girls, she developed a love for the people of this region and a passion to see education transform the lives of her pupils. Education was the key to opening up new opportunities for the young girls she taught- girls from a tribe steeped in ancient traditions. A tribe where stepping out of the basic life of their African village was something brave and extraordinary.

Sharing her Christian faith with her students was also a privilege and joy; she loved to see the freedom this brought into the girls' lives.

In 1969, this teacher had to leave Uganda and head back to England. Although she was returning to a happy event, preparing to marry her future husband, her heart was heavy and her emotions raw as she said goodbye to her beloved Karamajong students.
Her deep grief at the goodbyes spilled over into tears which she endeavored to hide behind dark sunglasses. She told me how her eyes ached from crying and the tears kept flowing as she sobbed her way out of a country she had come to love.
She thought she would never return to this land- and never see her beloved Kotido again.

Meanwhile, in Uganda, rumblings of trouble and darkness were beginning to brew as the notorious Idi Amin began his quest for power. Life was about to change and progress halted for the people of this nation as Amin's reign of terror took hold.

Fifty years later, Uganda is a different land. Peace was eventually restored. Uganda's capital city, Kampala, has seen great development. Education is more freely, although not universally, available.

The missionary teacher has followed Uganda's progress progress keenly from her home in England. She has been faithful in praying for this country. She was able to keep contact with some of her former students and was delighted to see some of them continue their education and move into professions they may never have dreamed of a generation before. One student even visited her in England many years later!

But still she never returned to Uganda...

...until now! Forty-eight years after leaving Uganda, my Mum finally came back to step foot on the land she has prayed for and dreamed of for so many years!

In October last year, when my Mum heard that her daughter, son-in-law and three of her grand-children would be moving to Kampala, she allowed herself to dream of returning to Uganda. And not only returning to Kampala, but perhaps even joining Andrew, her MAF pilot son-in-law, to fly over the place where she once lived and worked all those years ago.

That would be amazing.

Three weeks ago, my Mum's dream became a reality! Whilst visiting us here for a holiday, Andrew found that there was space for Mum to come along on a MAF flight as an extra passenger, up to Kotido. Exactly the region where Mum had been based and wanted to fly to! In addition, Dad was able to join her- and there was even space for me!

This was super exciting for Mum, as she now had the opportunity to show her husband the place where she had invested two years of her life shortly before their marriage- and her daughter would see part of her history too.

So it was a significant day, that Monday in August, as my Mum joined a MAF flight and brought some of her family along, piloted by her very own son-in-law! After so many years, it would be exciting to see what had changed, moved on and progressed- and incredible to revisit a place that held such meaning for Mum.

We arrived at Kajansi Airfield early, as the mist was still lifting and dew was heavy on the grass around the stationary MAF planes:

There was plenty of time to get our tickets issued in the passenger's office and even enjoy a cup of tea before heading out to board the plane:

Mum and Dad settled into their seats as our friendly pilot prepared for the journey ahead!

Although there were other passengers flying to work projects, mum and dad were able to get front row seats. They enjoyed the views over Lake Victoria as we took off into the African skies:

Andrew lent them his aerial maps of Uganda. Mum pointed out the places she had worked and travelled through in the 1960s, relating stories of terrible pot-holed roads and frightening bus journeys! This modern-day MAF flight was a breeze compared to her travels of yesteryear!

The plane lifted higher and the views were striking, as we sailed over villages set out in traditional style:

One passenger alighted at Moroto- so we took advantage of that to stretch our legs and grab a photo opportunity!

At Moroto, Mum was promoted, as she was able to join the pilot right up in the cock-pit at the very front of the plane! She was happy to be in a prime position as Andrew now prepared to fly us on the next leg- to Kotido:

Eventually, our MAF plane swept low and came in to land at Kotido to drop off two of Andrew's passengers who work with a Catholic mission. We were greeted by the sight of a young herder, busy throwing rocks in the direction of the cattle to warn them off the airstrip:

Now it was time for Mum to climb down and stand upon the rocky soil of the land she once lived on. It was time for her to greet the curious children gathered around the plane- children who were part of the people group she had lived among a few generations earlier.  Suddenly overwhelmed by emotion, it was hard for all of us to watch as Mum's eyes filled with involuntary tears: her love for the people she cared for welled over.

Trying out her little-remembered Karamajong language, Mum addressed the children on the airstrip- causing them to roar with laughter! They erupted with even more hilarity when she attempted a song she had once known!

The other aid worker passengers on the flight were interested in my mother's history and gathered us together for some photos, which one of the ladies joined us for:

All too soon, we had to board the plane and say farewell to the Kotido airstrip and the children who had congregated around us, greatly interested in us foreigners.  My Mum sat by the window and prepared to wave goodbye for a second time to the place she has held in her heart for the past fifty years.

It wasn't an easy time for her... Let's just say that many tissues were needed on the following leg of the journey. For me, seeing my own mother so moved meant that she wasn't the only one needing those tissues either!

One of the aspects of the visit to Kotido which gave rise to emotion was the shock my Mum felt at seeing so many children existing in poverty, still herding animals and wearing basic cloths as coverings.

Where was the progress? 

Why weren't these children in school?

It was hard for my Mum to see so little change after such a long period of time and after all the aspirations she had for the children of this region as a teacher such a long time ago. Sadly, the Karamoja region remains as one the most neglected areas of Uganda. It was tough to see this reality and not be in a position to bring any radical or lasting change for the better. 

However, she has steeled her determination to continue to pray for the people of Karamoja and uphold their cause as best she can once she returns to England :-)

Andrew still had one more passenger, an aid worker with "Food for the Hungry" to fly up to Moyo, near the border with South Sudan. This time, my Dad had a turn riding next to the pilot. We had some stunning views to marvel over as we headed up to Moyo, swooped over the great River Nile and landed on the bush-strip:

At Moyo, we said goodbye to the last passenger of the day. We were able to hop down from the plane and use the VERY basic long-drop facilities situated near to the airstrip. (I have to say that we were grateful when that experience was over!)

Finally, our MAF pilot guided us back into his plane:

An hour and a half later, we landed at MAF Uganda HQ in Kajansi:

It had been a wonderful, enlightening, poignant day. 

My Mum was thrilled with this special  opportunity that she had been blessed with. We were all so thankful to be part of it- including the other passengers on Andrew's flight, who loved hearing my Mum's story and way she was able to share part of her history and love for Uganda with us all.

What a privilege to join that MAF flight and witness a dream come true!