The Ever Smart Aunt Saloon

I’ve woken refreshed and reasonably well rested – for the first time in 2 weeks no alarm! I’m in an air-conditioned room with a carpet, kingsized bed, desk, armchair, kettle – and large tiled bathroom.  Incredible luxury. We treated ourselves for the last night ready for an overnight flight tonight. Yesterday was mostly spent in the Toyota SuperCustom -  divided between hurtling down decent roads, negotiating unmade roads, and sitting in traffic jams.  We take turns sitting in the front as neither of us can cope with 7 hours of anxiety, fear and sometimes terror, between Mbale and Entebbe! The traffic jams were the worst, as cars, minibus taxis and boda-boda bikes jostled to get ahead – sometimes taking to driving down the wrong side of the road just to sneak advantage on the queue.  The situation is intensified by hawkers coming to the window selling everything from toys to bananas, map posters to kebabs. Roundabouts are worse – no-one gives way as every driver tries to prove he is the bravest- we came close to colliding with several taxis. The boda-bodas sometimes carry 2 adults and a child - I can’t look.  

Travelling from Soroti to Entebbe is fascinating (when your eyes are open) – watching the landscape change, different styles of houses, different produce on roadside stalls.  The nearer we got to the capital, the more produce was available to buy – and clear evidence of more rain in green scenery and variety of flourishing crops.  In the North, there were mostly food crops – cassava, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, maize, and in Mbale we saw coffee, bananas and matooke. Nearer Kampala were tea and sugar plantations- cash crops, and big nurseries selling plants and fruit trees. 

Snoozing in the back of the car, there was time to reflect on our trip.  To remember incredible stories from ex-sponsored children, how Global Care enabled them to lift their families out of poverty by equipping them with literacy and numeracy, practical skills, vocational training, or a school education leading to University. I thought of the village children sleeping on the floor in dark huts in the stifling heat, who told us rats shared their homes.  Then there’s the Ark, which cares for disabled children meaning families can work. We were utterly delighted with the progress of the Ark children, learning to read and write, stand and walk, toilet trained and feeding and washing themselves – skills we never imagined possible last time we were here.  The Disability Support Groups (DSG) were inspirational – with support and guidance from Global Care and people like Francis, they are empowered and given hope. Able to come out from ‘behind the curtain.’ 

The achievements of the staff of twelve are phenomenal: 189 sponsored children (and nearly 150 on the waiting list) who receive education, welfare and medical support. There was a constant stream of children, parents and ex-sponsored children at the office. Then there’s the Ark, on-site skills training centre (including looking after several boarders), vocational training schemes in partnership with local businesses, DSGs, community work, tent hire, wheelchair supply, and a garden producing food for the centre. They were the first group to respond to the drought crisis, their food distribution lauded locally and featuring on local TV as an example of great community care and service.

Schools partnerships are a fantastic initiative and include supporting development of land to feed the whole school once a day, improved buildings and latrines, and staff accommodation. This results in improved retention of good teachers – a national problem in Uganda. Parents want to send their children to Global Care partner schools. 

Behind all this, there remains huge injustice throughout the country. Rural families struggle to survive with subsistence farming or work as day labourers. In urban areas there are endless street sellers, children collecting plastic bottles from rubbish heaps, and day labour in construction. Everything costs twice as much in the big cities – Charles was reluctant to let us buy him a proper lunch yesterday as it was so expensive (£5).

As we turn into tourists, I am so grateful for my Mum introducing us to Global Care 34 years ago. We are humbled and privileged to have the opportunity to visit this awesome country – and see for ourselves how our money is spent. Every trip reinforces our trust and respect for Global Care. Our money goes so far here – and not just for individual children – for whole communities.  

This year we’re supporting the Global Care 35^th Anniversary Appeal for a boarding section for children with disability in Rukungiri in the south of Uganda. We’re also even more determined to help find more sponsors. We think it is an incredible way to spend money – to invest in the future of children who have no hope, and support communities with literally nothing.

For more info: https://www.globalcare.org/product/sponsor/

https://www.globalcare.org/2018/01/building-ability-in-disability/

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barbara-heyes-access-to-school-access-to-a-future

We've just returned from a trip to the Botanic Gardens - wow!

And the title – the name of a beauty shop we passed on the road yesterday.