The Boy Who Went Out

I wasn't sure if I'd manage a blog...there is yet another storm, and power may go off. There is a generator, but it isn’t always used. The hotel promised Moses (Global Care’s Rukungiri Manager) WiFi. There’s no WiFi. The hotel manager told us his boss is coming from Kampala to sort it out. We know what that means… It ain’t likely to happen! Tom's Uganda sim is providing a mobile hotspot which seems to be solving the problem for now.  We have a lovely big room, and hot water when the power is on, so there are plus points. There’s no laundry but one of the waitresses offered to do my washing. We didn’t get supper last night despite ordering food, so this morning we ordered our meal for tonight and we’ll see if that works.  Moses decided we should try this new hotel and he told me, ‘It’s a bit cheap.’ It’s £15 a night. This morning he asked, ‘How is the hotel?’ I said, ‘It’s a bit OK!’

Welcome to Rukungiri – a town in South West Uganda. Rukungiri is a mountainous region, it rains a lot and is often cold.  After our trip in March we were so cold that this time we brought Down jackets and fleece jumpers. We’d worn them within a few hours of our arrival. Today we started in 4 layers but by the end of the day were down to 1. Rukungiri is stunningly beautiful. It’s a shock after the flat plains and swamps of Soroti, the hills are high and steep and most of the time you can see huge mountain ranges in the distance. The crops are different here too – lots of matooke (plantain) and sweet potato.  The trees are tall.  The main road is good but all the roads out of town are local marram and rocks which turns into thick red slimy mud in the rain. Once we’re off the wider roads, the paths become narrow footpaths. Somehow Charles negotiates the Super Custom most of the way.

We arrived in the office this morning at 9am and after a quick catch up set off ‘into the field’.  The Global Care project we’ve come to visit is focussed on supporting children with mobility difficulties to go to school. In March we visited children at home and worked on individual care plans for each child. Accessing school poses many problems but the key things we considered were mobility aids, transport, school fees, welfare support such as a mattress for home or extra feeding, medical help, and accessible school latrines. We met children who had started school but who arrived late because they had to crawl or were in pain, couldn’t make the journey every day, stopped because of discrimination, parents couldn’t pay fees or who couldn’t use the latrines. Other children had never gone to school for all the same reasons, or because the family prioritised able-bodied children. Some children were isolated and neglected.  Over the last 8 months we’ve read reports and seen photos as the children have started attending school regularly and on time. This week we’re visiting children and schools that Moses and his colleague Penelop want to discuss with us – and we’re helping them conduct an annual review and start planning for next year.

Today we were out from 9.30am till 5pm with a one hour stop for lunch and to give Charles a break. Slight digression… when we’re here we eat local food at lunchtime. Today I had chicken stew and mini egg-plant stew with rice, matoke, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Don’t judge, remember I missed tea yesterday and trust me, I ate half the quantity of the others. Anyway, in the 6½ hours of work, we visited 3 schools and 4 children – that’s how far apart the children live. Up and down muddy hillsides occasionally sliding into hedges and then stomping over muddy and waterlogged school compounds. Great fun!

The highlights were visiting our old friend William* who isn’t well enough to attend school, but who received a wheelchair which has totally transformed his life and the life of his family. When his family used to go out to work or shop, they locked him in the house, unable to move himself. Now they take him to a neighbour who looks after him for the day. His friends take him out in his ‘Muzungu Car’, they took him to a friend’s house last week so he could join in their end of school -leaving exams celebrations. In March he was shy and quiet, today he was laughing and smiling. His brother and sister take him with them when they go to look after the goats. He has a life! His family are no longer worried about him and exhausted from lifting and carrying him. Brilliant.

We visited Mary and Grace at school. Both girls are happy to be able to learn, to be with friends, to play with other children. We saw a change in them too – smiling and laughing and singing to us with their classmates.  Mary has cerebral palsy and we saw a definite improvement in her walking. Grace has a wheelchair and has learnt to get in and out of it herself and her friends push her round school. It’s such a privilege to come here and see the changes in the children and their families. To see laughter where there was no interaction, hope where there was no hope, playing with others where there was isolation.

Today I’m telling you positives, parts that gladdened our hearts and excited us. But behind these beautiful mountains and glorious views children and families are struggling with total poverty. Disabled children live with community discrimination and family rejection. Some schools take a long time to accept disabled children and some teachers are unkind and disrespectful to children with disability.

So don’t get complacent – I’ll tell you the hard stuff another day…

PS - Timmy update, he and his mother are travelling to Entebbe and CORSU hospital tomorrow.


*these are not the children's real names