Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:40:16 +0000

Sorry that this letter did not go out until today. I started it Sunday night, but we had to leave early Monday morning, so I wasn't able to finish it.

Hi Everyone,
 
I had planned to send out a daily email but since this trip is so short- this will probably be the only one. It sure is a long way to go for the weekend, but that's basically what we did. We left Wednesday night, flew 6 1/2 hours to London where we had a 12 hour layover. We got on the "tube", went into Central London, found a kosher restaurant and then spent the rest of the time touring.  We arrived back at the airport with a couple of hours to spare. I won't bore you with the details of Heathrow's security measures. Suffice it to say that they don't make much sense and we spent an hour or more haggling over the size of a suitcase that had no trouble in any other airport. After that aggravation there wasn't much time to quickly look thru the bookstore and get to our gate on time. We settled in for the 8 1/2 hour flight to Entebbe.  During the flight we were up walking around and we met some people who worked for one of the orphanages in Kampala. They were traveling with the choir from their school and had just finished up a 6 month tour of the United States (wouldn't it be wonderful if someday the Pearl Children could do something on that scale?). The flight attendant made a special announcement welcoming them on the flight and inviting them to sing. When the plane landed in Entebbe, they cheered and applauded, they were so happy to finally be home. Then they burst into song. It was such a wonderful way to arrive in Uganda.

I had a window seat and before we landed I looked out and was reminded how green it is here. It was Winston Churchill who visited Uganda and declared it the Pearl of Africa. It's hard to imagine Africa in this context but Uganda is special. It has rolling green hills and tall mountains. The Nile river with its waterfalls and rushing rapids, deep forests filled with monkeys and gorillas (you can see them sunbathing on the side of the road sometimes) and the beautiful Lake Victoria.  There is something about this country that draws people to it. Once you see it- you forever want to go back and experience it again.

Chuck and I went to visit the Pearl Children today. Last night I looked online to try to find some mosquito nets. Since our charity isn't up and running yet- we needed to find a person or an organization to donate them.  Bossa needed 50 more mosquito nets for the children. The nets prevent the children from being bitten at night by mosquitoes that carry malaria. It could be easy to get this disease under control. After all, by our standards, a net that cost eight dollars is not something we'd think twice about. At the Pearl Children Care Centre, however, food takes precedence.  At any rate, Chuck called Leo, our friend here who I have mentioned before. He asked him if he knew of any government agency that gave away or subsidized mosquito nets. He called us back 15 minutes later to say that he can get us some and asked how many we would need. I told him 50 and he said that he would get us 100!  It's great to have friends in high places. You should have seen Bossa’s face when we showed up with 100 nets!
 
We knew that we would be returning to Uganda, and we wanted to bring what we could for the children. I want to thank my cousin for sending out an email to a few friends and soon after giving me enough children's clothes to fill an oversized duffel bag.  Another dear friend parted with some very special stuffed animals. Thank you to all of you who donated school supplies including calculators and also the big bag of hotel size shampoos, soaps and body lotions. The children had never received gifts like this before and neither had the adults. It was so much fun to unpack the duffels. The surprises just kept coming. Imagine the joy and excitement on the little children's faces when we took out all the stuffed animals! We took pictures and a video, which I will send along shortly. 

I gave Justine, the woman who has given her home for these sweet babies, a large bag of lotion and perfume that was also donated.  She was overjoyed. Things that we all have laying around our houses that we don't even use mean the world to them.  Thanks to all of you that gave small donations of cash.  It actually adds up to a lot in Ugandan shillings. To us, it might only be pocket change but to a small village in Africa it is like gold. Bossa showed us the water pipe that they were able to put into the ground with the money that I gave him last time.  It was about the same amount that I brought this time and it paid for the fresh water to be piped in with a small faucet attached   (pictures to follow). The four or five adults that care for the 35 little children under the age of 5 do not have to walk 2KM to get water anymore.   They can do so much with so little.

We visited the primary school next.  We presented them with the rest of the nets (there were plenty to go around) and also enough math sets and exercise books for the rest of the children.  (The last time we sent Bossa back with 10 mosquito nets and ten math sets- I think that I mentioned that in one of my last emails. He told us how happy the children were to receive them and how he could see tears in the eyes of the ones who didn't get- my goal this time was to make sure that all the children had both). They were expecting us and when we arrived, the headmaster gathered all the children together to show them what we had brought for them. The school choir had prepared songs to sing for us- thanking us and thanking God. It was quite moving.  I don't like to be in the spotlight and as last time, it made me a bit uncomfortable to sit in front of all those children and teachers. However, this time, I wanted them to know who we were.  I wanted them to remember our faces so that when we came back to visit, they would recognize us and know how much we care.

I have been doing a lot of research in order to provide up to date information on the website I am building. One of the things that I came across was a school/ orphanage that made sure that each child had a mentor-someone to encourage them to excel and build solid futures emotionally and financially.  The mentor is usually someone who lives in the area, has a good education and who can see them daily. I think this is a wonderful idea. We are going to work on getting the primary school children pen pals, but they could also probably really benefit from an adult "pen pal" or mentor, someone to offer worldly insights and hope. This is an idea that only came to me in the last day or two, but if anyone has any suggestions or comments, they would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has children that might want a pen pal or teachers that might want to arrange for their classes to pen pal, please let me know.

This was a very short trip and as some of you already know- we will be going back soon. We will probably be leaving a day or two after Passover on the 28th or 29th of April.  I want to try to fill both duffel bags again. If anyone would like to help me fill them please let me know. We are looking for children's summer clothes of all sizes (since it is always warm there- usually about 24C), children's summer shoes or sandals, school supplies like calculators, pencils, anything  that you have around the house that you don't use anymore.  For the little ones (in the infant school as they call it) toys are the biggest gift.  They don't understand the workings of the Centre or the need for money and food but here are no words to express the happiness that radiates in their faces when they are handed a stuffed animal. 

On another note, we found it very interesting that the name of our driver this time was Moshe. We were looking forward to hearing his story since the only black Jews that we were aware of were in Mbale (pronounced Em Bal e). It turned out that his father had a close Israeli friend named Moshe. He named his son after his friend. One of the bellhops at out hotel has the last name of Cohen. Maybe next time we will find out the story there. I have to tell you that each time we come to Uganda; we stay in the same hotel. The people there are so warm and welcoming and we feel right at home. The first time that we stayed there, the hotel was only ten percent full. It had just opened in October, but it was so quiet and we were concerned. We never had to wait for an elevator and the staff didn't have much to do- so everyone wanted to wait on us. With each successive trip it has gotten busier.  This time when we checked in there were six notices by the elevator announcing different meetings and conferences going on.  Now we have to wait for the elevator. The entire hotel is booked for a conference at the end of the month- I hope that they have room for us!  They are finishing up two new elevators, shops and a currency exchange. We feel like we are part of it all- and it's exciting to watch it grow.  I know that I have mentioned it before, but Uganda has had some bad PR. Idi Amin has been gone for almost 30 years and President Museveni has been in power for most of that time. From a poor African country torn apart by strife and war, Uganda is making a comeback. There are beautiful resorts, new construction and good opportunities for investment. Ugandan people are friendly and gracious and it has really been a wonderful experience for us.

I will keep you all posted and continue this travel diary on our next trip. If you have any questions, concerns or ideas, don't hesitate to email me.

Warm Regards,

 

Dvora

Dvora Rotenberg

613-282-1060

dvorarotenberg@sympatico.ca

www.pearlchildren.org

www.pearlchildren.ca

 

Hi,
Sorry about the mass mailing but I'm still slightly jet lagged ( I was told it takes a day to recover for every hour difference between the countries). I'm not sure if you know that we went to Uganda on a business trip. I have posted pictures on facebook.  If you did not see them- please let me know and I will forward the links to anyone that wants them.

I was deeply moved by this trip and want to share it with all who will listen.  What a learning experience it was and the plight of these people, especially the little children, will forever be imprinted on my mind.

Our trip was amazing. The country is beautiful, incredibly beautiful, with rolling hills, tea estates,  huge classy resorts and many lovely homes- but the poverty is what is unbelievable. These people are so poor that it is impossible for me to describe it as it really is. Even the pictures that I tried to take don't show the extent of it. There are villages off the road everywhere you go. When we first landed in Entebbe and drove in to Kampala, which is the capital, I was truly shocked. I have never seen anything like this sort of poverty in my life. Later, when we did some touring, we passed areas that were even worse- even with my own eyes, I couldn't believe it. These people live in dirt huts, no running water, of course no electricity.  Some make their own bricks and then have something stronger to build their homes from. Brick making is done everywhere and anywhere. They take the red earth, put it in crudely made rectangular forms and let it dry. Then they pile it into a mound and make a fire out of what I believe are dried plantain plants and they let it bake in these mounds for 24 hours. If a person is doing it alone he must stay up the entire time.

When you drive along the main road between the bigger towns you see these mounds every few feet.  Most of the people walk barefoot unless they are going to Church. If they do have shoes, they are usually those cheap plastic flip flops. The ones we wore as kids to the pool, thin foamish stuff with plastic straps. The littlest ones run naked- who has money for diapers. Many walk one or two miles to get water and carry huge water jugs on their heads or fill jerry cans and pull them on a bike. The ground is red earth and very fertile and there is dust everywhere. There are little markets and shops (not as we know it) - basically little lean tos, dark inside, not somewhere I would stop, all along the roads. Everyone trying to make some sort of living.

The main source of food is Matooke- which we call plantains. Everywhere you look someone is selling, lugging or trucking bunches of matooke. ( it is a simple food and easy to cook- they served it in our hotel everyday as well) Most people don't have anything near a motor vehicle and pile things high on the backs of bicycles ( I don't know how they do it). We would pass people lugging unbelievable load up hills on a simple old two wheeler.
When I was little I heard, " eat your food, there are starving children in Africa". Little did I know how true that was. The food we eat on a typical day most of these people won't see in their lifetime.

The people who were a little better off had motor bikes. They used them as taxis, family "cars", and for transporting water, matooke, sugar cane, pineapples and more.   These small motor bikes are used also for taxis all over the city ( that or these little mini vans- like the old volkswagen bus). Many times you  would pass two or three people on the bike taxis as they weaved thru traffic in the city. We even saw a man and woman and their two kids on one. The other taxis crammed in as many people as possible ( about 10) and with no air conditioning in 80 degree weather- well, it looked pretty awful.  Did I mention that there is only one traffic light in the city? Its each man for himself, with people cramming the intersections, motorbikes weaving thru, bicycles carrying loads; just crossing the street on foot was scary. Also, they drive on the left side of the road, so we were always looking the wrong way first.

After all this, I want to tell you that this was an incredible trip. A once in a lifetime experience .

 At the hotel we were given more VIP treatment, basically waited on hand and foot (Ugandans as a whole are extremely helpful and very friendly anyway- you must always greet someone and ask after them and their family before even asking directions).  Things are very different in Africa ( not to mention being the minority in the country- that was very strange and you have to think what black people must have felt like growing up in the States), even in their good hotels. For instance, your key also turns on the power in your room (We tried to leave my key in and take Chuck's out with us so that the AC stayed on- but the maids come in about three times a day to deliver towels, bottled water and the like- and they turn off the air and open the windows) There is no air conditioning in the main part of the hotel ( boy was it hot in the elevator!), and the food is mostly local. 

We lived on fried bananas, mashed matooke, other assorted vegetables ( lots of Indian spices) and Talapia. In fact the only fish we saw sold anywhere was Tilapia. Since Uganda is part of the British Commonwealth, they do some things English.  When ordering coffee we had to specify COLD milk and COLD soda with ice. Otherwise we got steamed milk and warm soda. 
The ambassador himself gave us our first tour when we were settled, and then we had the honour of being invited to his home. We found ourselves a tour guide, an educated young man, whose family owned a safari business. He first took us to  Entebbe ( Entebbe was actually the capital before and they are considering combining the two cities). We saw the old airport where the raid of  Entebbe took place, the President's estate ( sort of like our white house on a smaller scale) and the Natural habitat zoo.

The next day we went to the Source of the Nile, where the Nile river begins. It is a beautiful place, with so many waterfalls and white water rafting ( no- we didn't). They say it takes four months from there down the river to get to Egypt. Then we went into the town of Jinja ( about an hour from Kampala). Another dusty town with outdoor markets and some tourist shops. The villages around Jinja are about the worst poverty in the whole country.  We slowed down near some children and they ran to us to have their picture taken (see photos). It just breaks you heart. You want to help them all.

The ambassador found out that we had hired a tour guide and assigned us a driver. Although he was very nice, his English was much more accented than Abbey's( our guide), and it was hard to understand him. Still he took us to the equator- Uganda is one of only ten countries that the equator runs thru. Its a big tourist attraction and we played tourist to the hilt. We bought tee shirts and crafts and took pictures with one foot on each side. ( just want to mention that you get a lot for a dollar- for instance 5,000 shillings equals about $2.97- we bought a two cokes off the street in Kampala and it was a thousand shillings- about 60 cents). After the equator he took us to the tombs ( I could have lived without). In Uganda ( in Kampala) is the Bugandan tribe. They have a king called a Kabaka. The tombs are the past kings. It goes like this- he is a mooganda of Buganda in Uganda.

Further highlighting our trip was the chance to meet the Ugandan foreign minister and the Ugandan Chief of military intelligence and security. Chuck was further fortunate enough to go with his client to meet the President of Uganda. While waiting to be received by the president he met the others who were waiting- the finance minister and the minister of investment securities( or something like that).  He said that the president is a very warm soft spoken man. Its hard to distinguish this man from the guireulla that he was back in the 80's. 

That evening we were considering going down to the Speke hotel ( one of the oldest hotels in the country) for pizza. One of the hostesses in our hotel recommended that we go to a place called Nandos. We following her directions and wound up on the main road (one end of Kampala Rd becomes Jinja Road). It was the first time that I felt unsafe the entire time that I was there. We walked to the corner to cross the street and these homeless children came out of the shadows, thin gangly arms grabbing at us begging. I was totally freaked out.  I wanted to go back to the hotel and wash my arms, that's how horrible it was. We did end up going back to the Speke hotel and things turned out fine.  Afterwards we walked thru the grounds of the Elegant Serena hotel which was like the fanciest hotel here at home- maybe a Westin). I got my bearings again ( funny how I needed familiar and luxury to feel better) and we went back to our hotel.  In the morning we got up early and went touring- we saw where the present Kabaka lived ( a castle on the hill) and a prison where Edi Amin kept and tortured his prisoners ( Uganda has a very unpretty recent past).  This was our last day there and the one where we took the equator trip that I described above.

Afterward, we collected our luggage and our driver, along with the ambassador took us to the airport, stopping on the way to show us other beautiful resorts along Lake Victoria.  We were again taken to the VIP lounge where our passports were processed and our bags checked and allowed to stay there until we boarded ( did I mention lots of leather couches, a snack bar and a flat screen wall tv in every corner).

While in Uganda I contacted an organization in Jinja and shortly before we left I met with the director. The organization is called Pearl Children of Uganda and they help the children of Jinja to have a better life, thru education, food clothing, etc. Like the ads on tv, you can adopt a child and for very little money you can feed, clothe and educate a child for a year. After seeing this place with my own eyes, its impossible not to help. Furthermore, the business side of our trip is not finished and if it works out, we will be going back soon ( within the month).

So, I will be able to meet the child that I am going to sponsor, and see what the organization is doing. I plan to be involved in any way I can. On another note, the first secretary of the Ugandan embassy has asked me to work on a project to empower women. If the women in these poor villages got more education and had someone helping them get on their feet- we could stop the cycle. Of course, its not an overnight thing, but no one learned to walk without taking baby steps first. If anyone is interested in any of these projects, let me know. This is not an ad for charity but this is very close to my heart and I wanted to mention it.

Dvora on her second trip

Today was one of those days that stay ingrained in your memory for the rest of your life. When we came to Uganda the first time and drove from the airport in Entebbe to Kampala, I was shocked. I had never been near a third world country, let alone in one. The poverty all along the road between the two cities had me  speechless. We have been on the road to and from Entebbe six times now as well as the roads leading to Jinja where the source of the Nile is. Nothing prepared me for today. We see things behind the safety of a car's glass windows. We can look the other way. It's not the same when you get out of the car and walk into a village.

I went to visit the Pearl Children's Care centre ( PCCC). I had plans to see these little children, hug them, hold them. What happened was totally different. I was so overwhelmed and appalled by how these children are forced to live. I smiled, I took their pictures and I "toured" the centre. How do I tell you what this was like? We drove down a dirt road- a nice smooth dirt road, to a small rutted road where I thought that our 4 wheel drive would turn on its side. There were so many deep holes in the dirt I was amazed that we got down the road at all. I must tell you that my driver was from Jinja and is accustomed to the  driving there. I could not have gotten there alone.  Bossa met us halfway down the road and hopped in the car. I've been waiting to meet Bossa. He is the director of the center and what he has undertaken is really brave when you consider the circumstances that he finds himself in. We drove the rest of the way with him guiding us.  We arrived at the center and got out of the car.

The only thing that any North American would find familiar, that would resemble any sort of centre, is the sign. All recognition ends there. Its a sign with their name, address, phone number AND their email address. What the sign doesn't tell you is that Bossa walks 5 Km to town to the internet cafe to check the mail.  The center doesn't have fax machine either. They must also pick up their faxes in town.  In fact the center doesn't even have electricity or running water. Still, Bossa has found a way. The children are two and three, and maybe four years old. Their mother's either work in the fields all day and leave them alone or they are are orphans with a family member to be a guardian who have their own families to take care of- or worst of all some are babies that were "thrown away". People can't feed and care for another mouth so they throw their babies away!  Bossa takes them in, gives them clothes and food and a place to sleep and school. Without school these children have no ticket out of this hopeless poverty.

The school is set up in this small hut. It has a wall between the two classes, the babies and the older ones. They sit quietly and well behaved and listen to their teachers. The school is basically a dirt hut- built with mud and sticks. Little light comes in from the cut windows and the rooms are very small. Still, these children are learning.

Later, when we went to the primary school which is a boarding school, the children ran to hug Bossa when they saw him. They went to the baby school and now were real students in regular school. More on the primary school later.

After the school we walked on the dirt to another small mud hut. This, Bossa explained, is where some of the children sleep. I looked in and saw a dark little room with two small beds and only enough room to walk in between. I took pictures. I couldn't believe how they lived- how could they stand it. I turned around and asked how many children slept in that room. I was told ten. TEN children in that tiny room with two beds. We saw more similiar and equally disturbing rooms, all housing 10 children. Ten children who are happy, happy to have a place to sleep and food to eat. The next dirt hut was the "kitchen". This is also a small mud hut with a smoky fire on the floor and someone tending it and cooking beans. Thats what they live on. They walk 2 km to get fresh water.  They use the water for cooking, and if there is enough,for washing. They showed me around and I took pictures of all the children.  I brought a suitcase full of things. I had asked Bossa what I could bring and he suggested footballs (soccer) and basketballs for the primary school and maybe some treats for the little ones.

So we packed a suitcase with tons of treats from the dollar store, and two soccer balls and two basketballs deflated, with a pump. We bought some pens in the dollar store too and the teachers were very excited to receive them. I have to tell you the truth, once I was there and saw for myself, I felt bad that I hadn't brought more. I looked thru my backpack for what else I could give and came up with some cleansing wipes and my first aid kit. I gave them that as well.  The things that they need to survive are so basic and are really very inexpensive when translated to U.S. or Canadian dollars. A mosquito net that is treated, to protect a child from Malaria is 15,000 shillings. That is about 8 dollars. Eight dollars to save a child's life and prevent the spread of deadly disease.

I'm sure that this is a lot to hear all in one letter and I think I've told enough for today. I will write again to tell you a bit about the primary school, but I am still trying  to  process all that I  have experienced. It changes your perspective of life and makes you appreciate so many little things that  we all take for granted; a hot shower, a hug, a full stomach.
More to follow.
 
Warm Regards,
Dvora 

This is the second letter from this past trip

Hi Everyone,
 
I know that I told a lot of you that I would be sending daily updates. The fact is there aren't enough hours in any day or enough days of the week when you are in Africa. There is so much to see and so much to experience. Uganda is a very special place. It seems that everyday we experience something new.
Wednesday I visited the Pearl children's center and I wanted to finish telling that unforgettable experience.

I believe I left off before I even told you about the primary school. The primary school is also a boarding school for some children who live too far to walk, or don't have homes to go home to. The Pearl children move into the dorm at the primary school when they are old enough. I can't portray in words the way that these children live. 

We started at the girl's dorm The dorm has triple bunk beds. Only about half the beds have mosquito nets - if your parents can afford it. Also, there are some thin dirty mattresses in the corner that some of the children sleep on. They can't leave them on the floor in the middle of the dorm during the day so they pile them up. It's really a pitiful sight and it breaks your heart. They have started to build indoor bathrooms for the girls.  It has stalls and area for private showers and sinks. It's built with nice wood and looks strong. The only problem is that they ran out of funds. So, the girls still have to go outside, which is not safe for them at night. I'm not going to go into any more detail. I think that you get the picture. If anyone is interested in hearing more- I'm glad to tell you.
 
However, there are  some things that I wanted to touch on. I brought a suitcase filled with candy, pens, and 4 balls, two soccer, two basketball. The balls were such a big deal that they gathered the students and the teachers together so that I could present them. You should have seen the kids faces light up. They clapped and sent two down to accept them from me. They took so many pictures. One of me presenting the balls and then another with the headmaster and Bossa and the children. They are such sweet kids. Just like all Ugandans, reserved until you smile. Then their faces light up and they are so wonderful.  Before we left the primary school the headmaster asked me to address the teachers. I was a bit taken aback. After all, this is my first project like this and I didn't know what I would say. Somehow though, when you speak from the heart, the right words come. They smiled a lot, thanked me and took my hand afterward. I was so overwhelmed. Here I came with 4 balls, some pens and treats. I felt as if I came empty handed and yet, they are so grateful for the small details. Afterward we took Bossa back to the little ones and sat down to discuss some things. We left soon after- I with a heavy heart, Bossa's maybe a little bit lighter.
 
We drove back to Kampala and the driver dropped me off at our five star hotel, with air conditioning, food, clean beds and hot showers. I couldn't wait for the hot shower and realized how much I just expect and take for granted.
 
Bossa came to Kampala the next day and met me and Chuck in our hotel. We asked that he come for lunch since Chuck had meetings in the morning.  Truthfully, I think that they only time Bossa had stepped foot in a five star hotel was during our last trip when he and I met for the first time. He came into the little bar on the side and we had a coke ( did I tell you that that was quite a trip for him and he sent me an email to tell how wonderful it was). 

We told him that he could go to the buffet and take whatever he liked.  He leaned toward me and whispered that this was a new experience for him. I enjoyed watching him, like a kid in a candy store and it made me realize how much we have and how easy it is to forget that there are those in the world that have never, and will never, even eat a decent meal  once in their lives. Before Bossa came, Chuck and I had some time, so we went down to Garden City and bought ten treated mosquito nets and more treats for the kids. They were having a promotion with the nets and for each one we bought we got a free boxed math set (ruler, compass etc).  It felt so good to give them to Bossa to take back with him and know that ten more children were protected. We also bought a  big bag of candy for him to bring to the children.  We told him that we would be in touch and do our best for him.  Lately, I have been careful not to waste any food.
 
Thursday Chuck had some more meetings but we had time to walk around the grounds of the luxurious Serena Kampala Hotel. We took some video  and still image pictures.  The grounds as well as inside and by the pool are absolutely gorgeous. There are many resorts and luxury hotels. Most of us don't think of Africa in those terms but the weather here is absolutely perfect everyday. Sometimes there are clouds and quick rain storms (it is the rainy season) but they go away and the sun comes back. If you have the money, there are beautiful and fancy restaurants, hotels, nightclubs,etc. There is also a lot of room for growth, in business,technology, you name it.
 
Hi Everyone,
 
I know that I told a lot of you that I would be sending daily updates. The fact is there aren't enough hours in any day or enough days of the week when you are in Africa. There is so much to see and so much to experience. Uganda is a very special place. It seems that everyday we experience something new.
Wednesday I visited the Pearl children's center and I wanted to finish telling that unforgettable experience.
I believe I left off before I even told you about the primary school. The primary school is also a boarding school for some children who live too far to walk, or don't have homes to go home to. The Pearl children move into the dorm at the primary school when are are old enough. I can't portray in words the way that these children live. We started at the girl's dorm The dorm has triple bunk beds. Only about half the beds have mosquito nets - if your parents can afford it. Also, there are some thin dirty mattresses in the corner that some of the children sleep on. They can't leave them on the floor in the middle of the dorm during the day so they pile them up. It's really a pitiful sight and it breaks your heart. They have started to build indoor bathrooms for the girls.  It has stalls and area for private showers and sinks. It's built with nice wood and looks strong. The only problem is that they ran out of funds. So, the girls still have to go outside, which is not safe for them at night. I'm not going to go into any more detail. I think that you get the picture. If anyone is interested in hearing more- I'm glad to tell you.
 
However, there are  some things that I wanted to touch on. I brought a suitcase filled with candy, pens, and 4 balls, two soccer, two basketball. The balls were such a big deal that they gathered the students and the teachers together so that I could present them. You should have seen the kids faces light up. They clapped and sent two down to accept them from me. They took so many pictures. One of me presenting the balls and then another with the headmaster and Bossa and the children.They are such sweet kids. Just like all Ugandans, reserved until you smile. Then their faces light up and they are so wonderful.  Before we left the primary school the headmaster asked me to address the teachers. I was a bit taken aback. After all, this is my first project like this and I didn't know what I would say. Somehow though, when you speak from the heart, the right words come. They smiled a lot, thanked me and took my hand afterward. I was so overwhelmed. Here I came with 4 balls, some pens and treats. I felt as if I came emptyhanded and yet, they are so grateful for the small details. Afterward we took Bossa back to the little ones and sat down to discuss some things. We left soon after- I with a heavy heart, Bossa's maybe a little bit lighter.
 
We drove back to Kampala and the driver dropped me off at our five star hotel, with air conditioning, food, clean beds and hot showers. I couldn't wait for the hot shower and realized how much I just expect and take for granted.
 
Bossa came to Kampala the next day and met me and Chuck in our hotel. We asked that he come for lunch since Chuck had meetings in the morning.  Truthfully, I think that they only time Bossa had stepped foot in a five star hotel was during our last trip when he and I met for the first time. He came into the little bar on the side and we had a coke ( did I tell you that that was quite a trip for him and he sent me an email to tell how wonderful it was).  We told him that he could go to the buffet and take whatever he liked.  He leaned toward me and whispered that this was a new experience for him. I enjoyed watching him, like a kid in a candy store and it made me realize how much we have and how easy it is to forget that there are those in the world that have never, and will never, even eat a decent meal  once in their lives.

Before Bossa came, Chuck and I had some time, so we went down to Garden City and bought ten treated mosquito nets and more treats for the kids. They were having a promotion with the nets and for each one we bought we got a free boxed math set (ruler, compass etc).  It felt so good to give them to Bossa to take back with him and know that ten more children were protected. We also bought a  big bag of candy for him to bring to the children.  We told him that we would be in touch and do our best for him.  Lately, I have been careful not to waste any food.
 
Thursday Chuck had some more meetings but we had time to walk around the grounds of the luxurious Serena Kampala Hotel. We took some video  and still image pictures.  The grounds as well as inside and by the pool are absolutely gorgeous. There are many resorts and luxury hotels. Most of us don't think of Africa in those terms but the weather here is absolutely perfect everyday. Sometimes there are clouds and quick rain storms (it is the rainy season) but they go away and the sun comes back. If you have the money, there are beautiful and fancy restaurants, hotels, nightclubs,etc. There is also a lot of room for growth, in business,technology, you name it.