What a day...Monday, June 20,2011

We began our day at the Oturgang Girls School where we we given the welcome of a lifetime.  The Children met us at the street in a singing parade, they followed us in singing and clapping.  We were then greeted by the "Sisters" and given the biggest hugs ever, I mean really, really great hugs.  We were very disappointed to realize that the shelves in the library were not ready and we were unable to set up the books..it was very hard for us to leave.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that the shelves will be completed this week and we can return.

Our second stop was Ayaka Primary School where we were also greeting like kings and treated to a play complete with costumes.  The Library turned out wonderfully and the kids were thrilled.  As we watched the children choose their first book we were pleasantly surprised to see how interested they seemed to be in Science..

more to come as soon as the computer get charged....

Joy, Joy, Joy: Sunday, June 19, 2011

We have officially closed our second full day here in Zeu.  It is a beautiful place and is full of joy!  Today is Sunday and we attended the local church Saint John of the Worker.  It is technically our day of rest but we really just enjoyed the infectious cheer that surrounds you here.  We are all having a great time watching the "young girls" entertain the children.  Haley, Hanna, Carolyn, Libby and Aubrey have sang, danced and played games for hours on end.  Their energy seems to be endless and their efforts are not wasted, the children  adore them.  The town kids led them to a huge soccer field where the fun began.  They had the largest game of duck-duck-goose that you have ever seen and the highlight of the afternoon was the bubbles.  The girls had huge bubble wands and as the bubbles were released the kids chased, and chased them, it was really a sight.  Tomorrow we will begin our work...

Enjoy the pictures and the glimpse into our adventure.

Neat request

The headmaster from Ogalo Parents School, one of the poorest schools, but a personal favorite of Mark's, Carolyn's and mine came several miles this morning and asked me if I had a book on "the Methodists" that he could borrow.  This was neat because while we have made no secret of our church, we have only discussed that we are Christians and he had a apparently sufficiently appreciated our first group's approach that he wanted to learn more about us. I told him I was honored, I'd look and after some digging in our surplus religion books found a good book on John Weslely which he was pleased to receive.

We had a good day of introducing all to the village. Children were delightful, did work on the lantern project, had a good visit to Ogalo, spoke at legnth with Chairman Emmy about a number of projects, including the potential for producing health education dvd's in Alur in conjunction with the Where There is No Doctor series. Tonight's showing of the BBC series on the Oceans was well received.

Hope everyone at home is well.  Mark 

Group 2 here and fine

We picked up group 2 this morning and made a lot more efficient trip to Zeu than the first group and were here by 7:10.  Group 2 getting hotel rooms in London to catch up on sleep made a very big differfence in how they felt. Everyone is fine. Just finished dinner and everyone is moved in and good. Early rising and travel will help all sleep this evening.  We did, however, get a taste of village hospitality as the children rallied outside, all extremely haapy to see us again.  Tomorrow will involve visiting some schools with libraries already put togehter, teaching our new group what needs to be done and just having fun with the kids. Best, Mark

Chilling between Groups

The Cothams, including Andrew Price who is now an honorary Cotham since he was taught the secret knock, are trying to chill between groups. Tomorrow morning we get up early and will pick the new group up in Entebbe. The Loyds will temporarily head for Bethany Village (a children's home for mainly orphaned children-where all of the books have been delivered), but will meet back up with us by June 20th. Yesterday, we visited Jinja, including the Source of the Nile park and Bujagali Falls, where we took a short boat trip and saw some folks go over the falls. Our own efforts to white water raft were the victim of scheduling issues.

Today, I visisted again with my friend Abhay Shaw, who owns a Ugandan solar company, about a solar power solution to the DVD players we brought over.  It was very encouraging--it looks like a realtively small panel could power the player.  If so, with a little help from the manufacturer, we would be able to distribute a number of these players at sub $100 per unit, which would enable the schools to very easily share top quality educational DVD's.  That could provide a vehicle for introducing some excellent content for these children and might further serve as a proof of concept for a larger program.

I also re-visited Uganda McMillan and with a generous donation by friends of Nanette's acquired 65 more copies of Where There is No Doctor, an extraordinarily well-written and popular book by the Hesperian Society for villages who have no doctor but nonetheless have needs for health care information.  Both teachers and health professionals were extremely glad to recieve the copies that we had already brought (due to Chapelwood's generosity) and these extra copies will be incredibly well-received.  One recipient, upon reviewing the book, said "this book will save lives here." Again, thanks!

We all miss family and friends, but are still having a great time and looking forward to introducing a new group to the Zombo District. Thanks to all. We'll try to stay in touch.  Mark

Sunday, June 12-Tuesday, June 14

Sorry to have lapsed on blog posts for a couple of days.  Our modem that we use to access the internet at the compound ran out of minutes.  Even in Uganda, it's nice to feel connected to friends and family.

After our last day of working on libraries, We were on our own on Saturday to do what interested us.  Some went back to finish up something on a library, others went shopping right at the Congo border.  Even though the Alur tribe (group we have been working with) exists in the Congo as well as Uganda, there was a noticeable difference between the two people.  The Zombo District Alur (Uganda) are a genuine, kind-natured people.  The Congo Alur are more "stubborn" as one of the local Ugandans put it.  I'm not sure that's the right word, but the Congo people just had a different way about them.

Sunday was transfer to Murchison Falls day.  We saw some amazing animals:  elephants, girafffes, baboons, water buffalo, etc.  Monday morning we went on a river cruise on the Albert  Nile and saw even more animals up close and personal.  Lots and lots of hippos and a fair amount of crocodiles.  Fun time had by all.  We continued on our way back going through Kampala for the night and had a last hurrah dinner at a lovely pizza place on the beach of the lake.  We took a last group picture which I will post when I get back to Houston.

We all loved our project in Uganda and had a good time getting to know the local people there.  They have such good hearts, it's understandable how Mark has gotten so attached to them.

Looking forward to group 2's blog, Have fun!!

michelle williams  signing off!

What a Group

The first part of Group1 (those going through Brussels) were just dropped off at the airport. The group flying back through London are leaving very early a.m.  (The Cothams and Andrew Price are looking forward to a day trip tomorrow to Jinja and the source of the Nile). Group One sure proved to be a hard working, dedicated and fun crowd.  I'm sure that a lot of luck was involved, but everyone seemed to find a good and productive role and get along quite well. Nice to know that it is possible for people to come together so quickly and work so well as a group. Of course, I think that everyone enjoying and loving the children so much had a lot to do with the group being so tasked oriented and willing to work so hard. 

Vicki and both Marks had a nice visit this morning with Sam Mdune and the United Methodist Church's bishop for East Africa. Let me let Michelle update on other aspects of the past few days.

When Group One gets back, thanks so very very much for what you accomplished and being so wonderful to work and travel with. I can promise you that the people of the Zombo district will never forget what you've done for them.

A couple of days rest and then we're really looking forward to the new group and working on a bunch of other great libraries. 

Best, Mark