Denis in Uganda: 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