8th February 2015

What a weekend and its not over yet.
Shopping for the weeks food and I got left alone to carry it home. One girl went to trap her husband who was having an affair, then tried suicide, our gate I lock at 8pm and everyone knows it and I had to lock it when a boy was out.When the guard said he would fetch me he left. Thankfully he came back and it was a 2 hour counseling session as many issues were raised. Today he back to his amazing self. Woken by people calling my name, a boy from the street turned up with one of our boys who is having problems at home and has left and come back from the village for help. Street kid who I will call Bill has spent so much time in prison and he was relaying life on the street and the number of people who he has seen killed there. he refused tea and bread for breakfast because he said he was not allowed it in prison now he feels scared to eat it. Needless to say persuasion, kindness and love conquers all and he enjoyed it. Over breakfast he said he is putting his life in Gods hands now. He thinks we are Gods message to him to be a good person. He fell asleep as he doesn't get any sleep on the street during night time because he fears being murdered. As he slept the sun crept round so I went to wake him to move. As I touched him he reached up to take my hand and said ''I love you'' Wherever can you buy such treasured moments?? 
We have shelled thousands of monkey nuts to mix with sesame and make a paste like peanut butter which everyone loves. It will be a shared treat. Ronald is frying the beans to eat with potatoes today and then I am going for dinner with Daniel who is one of our boys who wants to cook for me and make a party. I will go on behalf of Julia too who is supporting him in his mobile phone technician business.

1st February 2015

What a weekend. I need an hour to write it all down but it should be told as a day which really is not untypical of life for children and families here. It has been a complete full on emotional roller coaster and with no staff working at the weekend I was completely alone. It started with an issue for a claim over a medical bill and threats to take us to court. That took lots of kindness and actually counselling of the man as he clearly had some of his own pressures. In the end he confessed he made threats because he felt alone and now he could feel he trusted us and would negotiate. I gave him a Sandra hug which he made last a long time and held so tight. Sigh of relief but that will be back tomorrow for a solution. Boy A declared that he was not happy in his current training and would like to change to driving so some explanations to be had there. Boy B talked to about running to town all day. Girl A is staying with me here with her 6 month old baby because she went to look after her husbands mother who was sick in the village. When she got home a day early she saw her husband had someone in her bed. He then offered her £5 to leave. He became hostile and she was scared he would kill her which is not unheard of in this country. Then 2 boys from the street came to visit. They are boys who were with us and one decided to go back to street life. He has been in prison 4 times and one of our boys told me he is now on cocaine. The other is a boy who is studying but in the 3 month Xmas holidays has been persuaded back. They had clearly not slept all night and fell asleep dirty on our verandah.I will not accept that here as an example to the other children and kept waking them and gave them a 20ltr jerri can to go to the well for water. That woke them up. They bathed, washed their clothes and I fed them beans and posho ready for the road. They left with a hug and a thank you as they have great respect. One promised to go back to his village and prepare for school and I wait for a call from the uncle to confirm his arrival. We never condemn these children when we know their background. In the street they are at great risk of death and if that really happens I want them to die at least knowing someone loved them. Isaac, staff, arrived at the office and could see the situation so offered to take me into town to get me away but I then saw one of those boys back in our kitchen asleep on the floor so I went to deal with that and Isaac abandoned me there. Anyway all settled I set off for a walk with Geoffrey to a peaceful hotel garden for African tea. The evening picked up again with Ronald not arriving home and I text him to say the gate was being locked in 5 mins. He arrived absolutely perspiring and his heart beating fit to burst. That brings us to today. I had to get out of the office so got ready and went to a dancey singey clappy church where we had cake and apart from one woman on the ground have 'The sins of the Devil ' shot from her by an over zealous pastor all was well. Visited Morris who had 2 seriously aching teeth then to town to buy a treat....... newspaper, an apple and a yoghurt. On arrival at home I found Ronald had left home soon after I left and had not showered before going to town. Unusual behaviour for my last visit but sadly I am seeing some changes in him. Long chat with his mum tomorrow has been requested. Geoffrey and I set about cooking lunch and Girl B rushed in to bathe as she was going to the village to rescue her cousin Girl C. In the year this family has lost both grandparents and Girl C also lost her mum in a fatal road accident. She was left a total orphan and lived in a hut that was occupied by her mum alone, which was not safe. She came to the office and sobbed last week and we had plans to visit her at home on Tues this coming week. However, we heard that the relatives had accepted a goat and chickens for this 15 year old girl to be his wife. This is actually a family matter which we could not get involved in so we paid the fare for 2 aunties and a cousin to go to the village and convince her to come back while we support them to get things sorted. They both arrived back at the office around 8.15 and had clearly had a difficult day. I also had Ronald and boy A staying who actually were acting exactly as stupid as 16 year old boys do. As they went to bed I started to talk to the girls. Girl C sobbed saying that she knows she is going to die very soon if she has to take tablets or poison. I held her tight and wiped her eyes but the pain and sadness I felt from her was unbearable. I did what i believed was best and told her I loved her and promised I would help her to not feel like this if she trusted me. She did so I persuaded her to go to bed where I tucked her in bed and placed my hands for a reiki fix. When I returned to the dining room Girl B was sobbing. @I just have no family now, my mum is in the village, my auntys husband will not allow us to stay there and there is just no one. What am i going to do for my baby will she suffer like I did?? Well that is a question we have to take seriously and break that mould. However she is right they are 2 young girls with no land to build a house, if they had land I have an offer of building a hut for them. That my friends is a story for another day. I am completely cream crackered and a full on day tomorrow. On a positive note one of our boys who is moving on to do his A levels this year has enrolled in a computer and admin, management course for 8 days over 4 weeks. We found it sponsored by a local MP and costs £8 total. Just looking where we can get that money from but what an absolute opportunity for him, I am as excited as he was. He said ''this has been the greatest week for me mum with you. You taught me how to eat raw cabbage on my beans, I tasted yoghurt for the first time, I have the computer training and you gave me rice and showed e how to do an e mail. Maybe I will never have such a wonderful week again'' Well folks how did that compare to your week??

27th January 2015

Yesterday was a public holiday here so Ronald and I took the opportunity to go and visit his old great aunty who he calls Grandmother.  Ronals mum died when he was so young that he doesn't remember her. He had no clue of how she died and he knew he had a younger brother who died as a baby shortly after the mum died. He knew his mum was buried in a field but that they were growing crops over her grave.  He doesn't know who his dad is/was but understands that he is also dead. Not good for a boy here as he has no entitlement to land. So there were questions to be asked.  I also wanted to go and talk to his mum at her grave to say thank you for letting me have her son, to promise her my care and love for him as my own for my life and to give her some lavender from my garden.  It was a very hot day, we took a small car to the trading centre and then walked about 4 miles deep in the bush. My poor skin was sizzling but I made it. I met an uncle who told me he had been in Erute prison for 17 months for domestic violence on wife No 2.  Another daughter sat nursing a bruised eye, done by a stick in her husbands hand. Both due to alcohol.  We found the mums grave, and I spent 10 mins alone there feeling so emotional. Lovely to leave a gift from my garden but there was no cement on the grave.They said it was under the soil but it wasn't my place to scratch around.... next time.  We also saw the grave of the baby but the greatest part was that an aunty had a photo of the whole family at his mum Sarahs burial.  The baby was there in Aunty Agnes arms and his grandmother who he remembers vaguely.  We brought it home and I will copy it and buy him a frame.  An amazing day of revelation.  The relatives said another aunty may know the dads family so a visit planned there in the next few weeks.  Reached home to one of our girls, who has a husband and a baby, who sadly revealed that her husband had brought another woman to her bed.  So counseling, chatting, hugging and giving food was the order of the evening. In a better place today but such is the vulnerabilty of women at the hands of men in this country.

22nd January 2015

I am pleased to say that the power came back on today and now the water is off. A digger was repairing a small bridge and dug through the water pipes and it happens EVERY TIME. So thinking about the effects of no water.

1 No flush toilet so I am outside at the latrine in the dark.

2 Walking to the well to collect water in convoy.  I only managed a 10 litre jerri can as it is uphill on the way home.

3  Washing in a plastic basin with limited water

It is all in a days work in Uganda here

Ronald and Peter have carried bags and bags of bricks to make a higher path on the road outside the front gate. We have problems with rain water coming into the compound under the gate and eroding the soil.

I have bought shears so tomorrow is trimming the bushes ready for our Family Day on Thursday.

A few more jobs around and I will post photos of the improvements.

19th January 2015

It is now past midnight and I am being bombarded by some flying almost pre-historic creature. Can't stop though as I need to get to bed. I have a stressful day ahead investigating an issue on training for one boy and doing some detective work to gain the truth. Had a relaxing day waking at 9am and missing church. Did some washing, a bit of gardening in scorchio heat then sat for bread, peanut paste, pineapple and pau pau from the garden. Ronald, my boy, washed up and then put the beans on the charcoal fire. He cooked lunch telling me, you relax mum, I am cooking for us today. It is great having a working fridge as we cook for 2 days at a time. Today yellow beans with rice. I have persuaded him not to fry the onions and tomatoes until they are 'dead' so tasted lovely. Been a bit spoiled today but actually he has a bit of a conscience going on. Went to visit one of our old boys who trained as a carpenter. He has planted his land with sugar cane which he will have to sell around Easter. Good boy. Called to see a couple of friends and sat with my neighbour in her shop discussing the world over a bottle of cold water. Got home to find the grass in the plot opposite on fire. I saw what a bush fire is really like, It creeps along at floor level and when it finds something dry it bursts into 20 ft flames roaring so loud and throwing out unbearable heat. Very scarey. Some passion fruit almost ready in our garden so looking forward to that helping towards my 5 a day.

16th January 2015

Still not sorted with a camera but at least the straps are on the camera and case. WELL!!!! It is a start. Been a busy one again. Rebecca visited us with her new family. She lost her mum a few weeks ago to cancer and now she and her 3 siblings are separated. Dad took 2, 1 stayed with aunty they were with originally and Rebecca is with an uncle. She is 6 years old and was a little lost soul. She came and chose her school shoes, got measured for school uniform, given a mosquito net and school exercise books pens etc. She told us she had nowhere to sleep and shared a mat on the floor with another cousin. Thanks to her sponsor Becky we will be able to visit and provide her with her own sheet. Sue bought an African doll from one of our sales and asked me to give it to a little girl who would enjoy it. Well Sue it found its home and it made a sad little girl very happy. Sara called with her 9 month old baby Jessica. Marjorie supported Sara through school and then a catering course. Sara had been with the father of the child and as Ugandan culture requires had moved to live at his place with the in laws. The mother in law was hostile from the beginning and told her she didn't want any grandchildren from Lira in her house and went on to make her life unbearable. The mother lied to the husband and he chased her away. Sara came to an uncle who gave her a hut to live in but she had nothing for food. A neighbour was feeding her once a day and her aunt would feed them if the uncle was there but if not... well she just went hungry even though she is still breast feeding. She is a very mild mannered girl and she was so desperately unhappy. She believes her husband loves her but his mum was so spiteful and he doesn't stand up to her. After conversation, hugs, a cuppa and a piece of our cake it was agreed with the uncle he would go back to the husband with Sara and talk to the family. My purse is a bit dizzy at the moment and she now has money for food for the week, the cost of the transport for her and uncle, a mosquito net, and baby Jessica went off with balloons tied to her jacket and a big smile. Prayers for a successful trip for Sarah and Uncle. Today we had a security light fitted at the rear of our property and so feel safer. Ronald just cooked our supper, fresh peas with cabbage and posho. Nice to be waited on for a change. Then filling the fridge with water to get cold and all electrical items plugged in to charge as we have been advised over the radio that there will be no electricity for 2 days. Tomorrow we are gardening and then I am off to do a healing for someone who is on the verge of a breakdown, a bit of relaxation has got to be beneficial. Off to sleep now as it has just clicked past midnight. Nigh night all.

13th January 2015

Yesterday I managed the journey arriving tired but happy to be at my second home. I was met at the bus park by Ronald, Isaac and Morris 3 great young men and driven by Isaac our project manager. Bags packed in the car, along with 29 bananas for £1 and 16 oranges also for £1. On arrival the chatting began. I had cold water from the fridge and the power has made so much difference to working life here. No more cycling to town to find somewhere to work from. Isac has just sat his O levels and needs to make a decision about whether he takes A levels or moves to do a certificate in a specific subject. After long discussions he decided to do a 2 year certificate in the medical line, then a year diploma followed by a year to achieve his degree. Great decision for a boy who had nothing. Thanks to his sponsor Wendy who supports him. 
We then went out to get some food. After 6 mouthfuls I felt sick and had to leave the place only to find myself in peoples compounds. Help where can vomit??? I always carry a scarf here and today it found yet another purpose. Everything was contained within as the crowds gathered to watch a wretching 'mono' woman. Once my task was completed with rolled scarf in hand I said '''' you see we even vomit the same.'' I carried the scarf home in a carrier bag and all was well. Aron visited in the evening, he had an operation for an infection on his foot, his family had been fighting because of alcohol, one boy had beaten Arons wife and he had sold his phone to pay transport to sent her back to the village for some peace. Because of all the problems he had not eaten for 2 days and was in pain. I gave him painkillers for 2 days, bread, banana and tea. Ronald gets money for lunch and supper and had eaten with me and I spoke to him about Arons condition of no feeding. He gave Aron money to go and get a meal. That's how families should be. 
Today I woke up to the use of a kettle and a toaster so breakfast was hot tea and toast with banana.
Isaac was called to a meeting over some land we are selling and our visitors began.
Meeting with Ronald about his future. His past trainer came and gave him his certificate for completion of his motor cycle training, so a big day.for him. Thanks to Janette for supporting him through these 2 years. Photo to be posted later. 
Then Bonny arrived at the office, he had been beaten by his dad in the village and he had told the boy to leave home because he was not his biological child. He had come to and now lives on the street. He had not eaten and he was very dirty. As I hugged him I could smell the glue that street children here sniff. He bathed and took tea and bananas then we began chatting to him. He said he felt sad that his mother did nothing to stop the beating. She often gets beaten by that man and so we asked him not to be harsh on the mother and we will visit the home. I discussed the issue of glue and he does it because everyone else does it so we asked if he was a sheep following the crowd?? He has said he will use his money on food now instead of glue but it is yet to be seen if he can manage.
Teddy came and announced we should not call her that any more because her name is now Sandra. She has joined a football team at No 4 and tae kwondo, she demonstrated her ability to kick her leg above her head.
I am preparing some paperwork for tomorrows trustee meeting in England which will be hosted by the lovely Keighly with Viv and Richard attending as virgin trustees. Welcome to them. They will also welcome Lynn as a visitor to the meeting and who is interested in becoming more involved. Great days!!! It is now 2pm here so we don't know what the afternoon/evening will bring.