We woke to heavy rain this morning which should have been a warning that the traffic would be bad- Godfrey had been thinking the same and we took some back roads before hitting the highway out of Kampala.
The group were tired this morning so we had a rather subdued bus journey until Paul got on with his usual energy and panache!
The jobs at the site today were carrying on with much of what we had started during the week: building the supports for the columns out of tree branches; filling them with concrete; and taking the shuttering off the ones that had had a day to set. By the end of the day every pillar in the house had been started and many were finished ready for the brick laying to begin next.
Over the last couple of days the Homewood group has been really well spoken of. David, the site foreman, told us that we had been a very respectful group in the way we had acted and spoken to the workmen; this was different to other groups they had worked with who could be boastful or arrogant. We were complimented on the good relationships between staff and students and the fact that we hadn't had to discipline our students or repeatedly ask them to complete tasks. The students have been a credit to themselves and Homewood in their work ethic- always completing tasks as soon as asked and with no complaining.
There was a sadness amongst the group that this would be the last day on the site and the last day to work with these wonderful people. For some of the builders, it had seemed at the beginning we were just getting in the way but by the end of our time they were all encouraging us to get involved. The language barrier became less as the time went on as we sought to understand their words and actions and as we understood the tasks we were to undertake.
At one point Johnson was called away and Nathan was left to operate the Cement Mixer, with Julie adamant it was just like making a cake, some Concrete was poured that was the product of Mzungu hands!
At the end of the day yesterday we had performed the Cha Cha Slide for the builders, they found it hilarious and some even joined in.
Today we went for the YMCA and many of them joined in with the actions, the footage is quite amazing with the freestyle dancing in the middle, and can simply be titled ‘Where the UK meets Uganda’!
Before we left the site we had a tour round the farm with the manager. He showed us the crops they grow, the damn they have built to provide irrigation for the farm in the dry season and talked about the way the farm is all about providing for the babies and children in Watoto’s care. Watoto have 1 farm in the south and 3 farms in the north near Gulu which are in the early stages of development and are not producing food yet. They are also about to buy another farm of approx 1000 hectares which will increase their food production exponentially.
We asked him about his story and whether he was a farmer before. He explained to us that as a child he was abducted by the Lords Resistance Army and made to fight as a child soldier for 2 years before being rescued by Watoto, they looked after him and he had been to university to study a diploma in crop rotation and management and was now managing this farm for Watoto. As he told us his story everyone on the bus was emotional- Watoto do such an amazing work in Uganda. If you, reading this blog, don’t sponsor a child already with any organisation let me encourage you to do so- it is a way that you can change a life in another part of the world for a small amount of money a month. This boy turned man may not have had a future if he hadn't been rescued by Watoto and he is now managing a large farm providing sustainability to the project which he benefited from.
We left the farm with the ringing endorsement of Watoto in our ears and started the long journey back to Kampala for the last time. On route we suffered a flat tyre and had to pull into a garage; we stayed on the bus as the tyre was taken off, a new inner tube put in and the problem resolved.
We made good time back to Kampala despite our late departure and tyre problem.
Dinner was rice and meatballs which everyone enjoyed! We spent the evening looking at some of the 800 photos we have already taken of our trip and reflecting back on how far we have come. We have an extra hour in bed tomorrow morning due to being around Kampala and not having to leave so early so the group was in good spirits. The internet was also not working for much of the evening which meant conversation was a must!
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