Uganda Update

Posting email of 3/25/009:

Hello folks,

Still no new blog posts but I thought I would give you all a quick update as to what I've been up to.

When I last wrote, I'd just returned from the project trip in Rwanda on February 18. On February 23, a small team of two architects and two engineers (including myself) went to Jinja to visit the site of my first project with eMi in 2006...Mto Moyoni. As it turns out, the ministry (whose purpose is to provide counseling and healing for those who have experienced trauma or who harbor feelings of anger as well as a retreat for missionaries and pastors), has been able to raise sufficient funds to begin construction of Phase 1 of the master plan that includes a community centre, conference hall and dormitories for conference visitors. The purpose of the two-day trip was to meet with the missionary to make some changes to the architectural drawings and to conduct percolation tests for the design of wastewater management system.

It was very special to be back, not withstanding the fact the retreat is beautifully located on the banks of the Nile. I was able to see friends I had made back then. Unfortunately, Peter, the caretaker of the retreat with whom I had worked closely the last time, had just lost a child to sickness. Something that happens far to often in Uganda. Nevertheless, it was a real joy to see him and his family, which had grown since the last time. And true to form, they hosted two of us for lunch and made the most exquisite herbal tea produced by their little garden.

We returned to Kampala for one day and then on Thursday, February 26, I was off to Masindi, in north-central Uganda, with Chad, EMI EA's office director for another two days to perform a land survey for Family Empowerment Uganda. This Christian ministry provides farmland to families who have been displaced from their homes because of war and fighting. For the past few years, ethnic cleansing in the Darfur Region of Sudan and activity by the Lord's Liberation Army (LRA) against Uganda has pushed many people out of their homes and many, approximately 250 families according to Richard who runs the farm, have found their way to the farm to stay until they are able to provide for themselves or return home. Many of the refugees are women and, sadly, many of them have had their husbands killed or their children kidnapped and forcibly recruited by the LRA.

The purpose of this trip was to survey a portion of the property to assist with the expansion of two fish ponds that produce fish for the families. Unfortunately, we did not have much free time but Richard was kind enough to give me a quick tour of a portion of the 500-acre farm and I visited the homes of two of widows.

As it turns out, this proved to be a fateful trip which was ultimately responsible for my latest trip to Kenya. Chad contracted malaria as a result of the trip (he isn't taking antimalaria medicine because it's not healthy to take it for an extended period of time) and he fell violently sick the day before he was to go to Nairobi on March 14. Between Masindi and Nairobi, I had a couple of weeks in Kampala to settle down a bit, become more familiar with the city and my neighbourhood, and work on the final report for the Rwanda project. A few of the guys and I also managed to attend a football match (soccer), Kampala's KCC (stands for Kampala City Council) vs South Africa. Kampala won 2 to 1 despite being the underdog and being much shorter than the opponent.

I was in Nairobi from March 14 to the 17. I joined a project team from the US that was doing a follow-up visit to a previous project to complete a topographic survey of the site and help the ministry with a marketing literature and to give them guidance on moving forward with their project, e.g., selecting a consultant, project management and organization, project time line, etc. I was there to perform the survey...a challenge just because I had never done land surveying on my own before. But this is the nature of the work in East Africa. It's like working for a small consulting firm where it is expected that one will do a very wide variety of tasks. At any rate, I was very keen on doing this because it would officially usher me into the field of civil engineering...and I've always helped surveying but never took charge of the task.

Lastly, and this should bring things up to date, the interns and I went on a retreat to Lake Bunyoni in western Uganda this past weekend. The purpose was to relax a little, enjoy the beautiful surroundings, and take an account of how we are doing thus far. We stayed at a rustic packpackers' lodge with three-sided grass huts overlooking the lake. It was great and well worth the 8+ hour bus ride to reach it. I, for one, returned rejuvenated.

That's about it for now. I'll try to at least post some recent pictures on the blog soon.

If you would, please keep the following in your prayers:
1. Please pray for the health of the staff. Several staff and interns have been ill lately ranging from the flu to malaria and giardia. Thankfully the doctors here are familiar with tropical diseases and know how to diagnose and treat them but it's still not fun. This is one part of the African experience we can all do without.

4. Please pray for the people of Rwanda as they strive to forgive the past and move to the future as well as all those in Africa who are suffering because of war, bad leadership, or natural phenomena (i.e. Zimbabwe, Sudan, DRCongo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burkina Faso, the list is too long).

3. Please for Uganda. It is a country with so much potential, beauty, and resources. Pray that God would appoint good leaders like Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, that will see that potential and strive to do what's best for the country and its people.

2. For clear direction as my time to return to the US draws near. There is a great need here and I feel that six months is not enough to make a good contribution. I am considering returning for a a longer term and I am seeking God's will on this issue.


IHMS,

denis
"Building, serving, defending my community in love and truth."
mind the gap
http://denis-blablabla.blogspot.com

Peter goofing off behind his wife, Josephine and 1.5 y.o. Abraham, Mto Moyoni, Jinja, Uganda.

A visit at l'Hotel Milles Colines (Hotel Rwanda), Kigali, Rwanda

Surveying at Kumbya Retreat, Kabusoga, Rwanda.


One of two wells provided by Family Empowerment Uganda, Masindi, Uganda.

Travel to Uganda

The Uganda gang on layover on London (from left to right me, Andrew (Texas), Lindsey (Texas), Brian (Edmonton), Nick (Kansas), and Michelle (Minnesota).

At first, the thought of a twelve-hour layover in London sounded like a good idea but in retrospect I think it only lengthened the effect of jet lag. At any rate, we had a great time in London. We actually hit a somewhat clear day in London whereas when we landed in Kampala it was raining cats and dog; go figure.

A friend of Andrew (the tall guy in the picture) met us at the airport and gave us a whirlwind tour of London and we managed to see the Big Five London attractions (Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, London Bridge, and the guards with the big furry hats). We also managed to duck into a an authentic London Pub for excellent pub fare (I had fish and chips complete with mushy peas). We landed in Kampala on a wet, Wednesday morning with everyone intact and all luggage accounted for. After a too short rest, our in-country orientation began. It included practical things such as buying furnishings for the apartment, exchanging money, visiting existing staff and projects, and a scavenger hunt to help us learn how to get around and where to buy things.

One the boys' dormitory. The mound of earth in the foreground is from the excavation of the soak pit.

One of our outings was to the construction site of the ministry Music for Life, which is a boarding school located near Entebbe. It was a great opportunity to see typical designs and construction methods that are routinely used on eMi projects.

Interior of the boys' dormitory. The clearstory in the dormitories provides additional ventilation to help reduce the spread of disease amongst the kids and it also provides some additional natural light.

The architecture was all fine and dandy but I was more interested in the guts of the project, the really important things, namely the septic tank and soak pit. I had designed several before but never saw one actually put in place. I am gladly providing these excellent views for your benefit. Unlike North America, labour is cheaper than materials and equipment in most of Africa. Therefore, much of the work is labour intensive. In addition, the ministry prefers to provide a means of livelyhood for workers rather than expedite the project by using machinery. In this case, the septic tank (one of several) is constructed of locally-made bricks rather than the more expensive concrete and the two 12 m long by 2 m deep by 2 m wide soak pits will be dug entirely by hand.

EMI Orientation I

I arrived in Colorado Springs (CS) on Sunday, January 11, 2009 to attend the EMI Orientation for interns, long-term volunteers (of which I am one), and new staff for overseas offices. At the airport I met four of the interns; Andrew from Houston, Texas who will join me in Uganda, Edmond from Edmonton, AB who will join the Calgary office, Edwin from Irvine, CA who will go to India, and Vicky from Virginia who will join the CS office.

A quick drive from the airport and we were soon at the Hideaway, a family-owned guest home secluded in the woods on the outskirts of CS. There we met the orientation leaders and the rest of the folks from across the US, Canada, and even Australia who will be joining EMI offices around the world for anywhere from four months to indefinite periods of time to do what God has called them to do; design a world of hope for the spiritually and physically poor (EMI's mission statement).

It was refreshing to be around young folks, either still in school or at the start of their careers with such an appetite to serve. It was equally a blessing to be around seasoned engineers and architects who have decided to set aside the comfort of their present lives to invest in the lives of others. All from a myriad of backgrounds; rich, poor, growing up in godly homes and not, of how they came to know Christ and how He called them to this vocation, each in very personal ways. I wish I could tell all of their stories in detail. Here are some of their stories in brief.

Phil and Emily Greene are former missionary kids (MKs) now living in San Luis Obispo, CA. Phil grew up in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Emily grew up in Chad. They met at Rift Valley Academy (RVA) in Nairobi, Kenya where they attended high school. They will be taking their two young children first to southern Sudan to bring building materials and oversee the construction of a bridge that will connect two sides of an existing village. The bridge will make it easier to transfer people and goods that are currently being transported by a small, man-powered barge. Afterwards, they will move to Jinja, Uganda for the remainder of the year to oversee the construction of the Mto Moyoni retreat centre expansion that I helped to design back in 2006.

Each person has similar stories and I wish I could relay them all. However, I promised I would keep these blogs short and sweet, present example not withstanding.

IHMS,

denis

"Build, serve, and defend my community in love and in truth."