on the day in which I take you on a little tour...

I realized this morning that it has already been a month since I left for Uganda. Wow, time has gone by quickly! So, time to take you on a little tour of where I have been spending my days...

Welcome to Baby Watoto ~ the Bulrushes! This facility opened early in 2007 as an outreach of Watoto Church in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The home is located in the heart of the city, within walking distance of the downtown area. As Watoto’s first babies home, the Bulrushes was originally home to infants and toddlers up to the age of two. However, with the addition of two new homes that opened in 2010 (in Suubi and Gulu), this home is now used as an intake facility and provides specialized medical care for premies or sick babies. 

As the babies get healthy and grow a little older, they are moved out to the Suubi or Gulu homes until they are old enough to move into one of the Watoto Children’s Villages with a new mom, brothers and sisters. We can take up to 50 babies at this facility, 120 babies out in Suubi and 80 up in Gulu. 

This is the entrance to the home. The building is surrounded by beautiful grounds and there is an outdoor playground which is used daily by the toddlers. 

Just inside the main entrance is “the centre”; used for breakfast time as well as before-bed and indoor playtime on rainy days. 

This is “the Nursery” which is home to the tiniest babies; both premies and newborns that require special medical care. This room comes equipped with incubators, oxygen machines and a photo-therapy lamp to assist with the medical needs of the more fragile infants that come to baby Watoto. 

Watoto has a number of special needs babies that come with a variety of conditions ranging from cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus; most require tube feeding and as a result, they live full-time in Kampala despite their age. This is their room, along with a sunroom that is used during the daytime.

The rest of the babies are put into groups based on age. The "monkey" room is for newborn to 3 months. In behind is the "hippo" room, for babies 4-12 months, and below is the "elephant" room for the toddlers, ages 12 months +. 

This last room pictured below is the clinic and is the room used to care for any of the children that are malnourished or sick and require special attention. We currently have 6 children being cared for in this room. The last picture below is one of our boys that is currenlty staying in the clinic. It is remarkable to see their progress improving day by day. 

We currenlty have approx 40 babies in Kampala, so it's strange to say, but it seems "quiet" at the moment. The number is ever changing though, and being under the maximum intake means that we have space to take new babies when the need arises... always a good thing :)


The next "tour" will be out in the Suubi village as I will be transfering out to that home at the beginning of December. Slight change of pace with over 100 toddlers out there....

on the day in which the reality of life in Africa hits too close to home...

Tuesday started off like any “normal” day. My roomie and I are working the afternoon shift this week, so we headed into the babies home for our 11am start. When we walked in the door, we were pulled aside by one of the supervisors who explained to us that one of our babies at the home had died early that morning. Never having worked with that particular baby, I did not know him at all, but nonetheless, the thought of one of our little ones passing away is still hard news to take. 

His story was a little bit more unique than most of the babies that come to Watoto. He was only 3 months old, and was referred to Watoto due to a medical condition that required specialized care. He was not an orphan. He was not abandoned, as is the case with too many other infants that suffer from his same condition. In fact, when he was brought to Watoto, his young mom moved right into the babies home with him to help with his care. Not the most comfortable place to live... no space to call a home; no bed to sleep in at night. But she loved her little boy, and wanted to be there with him. 

A few days before he passed away, he was scheduled to have surgery to help with his medical condition. He got sick just before the surgery, and it had to be postponed. He passed away shortly after.

We had a funeral service for him that afternoon at the babies home; with the mom, the nannies and the volunteers. Watching her mourn the loss of her baby was very difficult. He was her second child and he is the second child that she has now lost. 

Shortly before his funeral, the police brought in a new little boy to us. He is ten years old, and weighs just over 22lbs. Definitely one of the most severely malnourished children I have seen, and in his short little life has been mistreated in ways that you cannot even comprehend. 

I realize that in spending any significant amount of time in Africa, there will be many experiences just like this past Tuesday. But it doesn’t make them any easier when they come along. In a world that has so much, there are still countless little ones that are robbed of even the most basic care. I will never understand that. 

But at the same time, my heart is grateful that I get to see and experience hope every single day that I am here. Watching some of the most fragile and tragic beginnings turn into stories of restoration. It will never grow old. 

I’m spending the next week working in the clinic with the sick and malnourished babies that are currently in our care. Today was my first day, and one of the little boys that I spent the day with was this 10 year old that arrived on Tuesday. This afternoon, when I turned on some music, he started smiling and swaying to the songs. Amidst it all... there is hope. 

on the week in which I moved into Kampala...

So on Sunday morning I made a move from the guesthouse in Kabalagala into one of the volunteer apartments in town in Kampala. A spot opened up after a couple of girls headed back home, and I was very happy to move. The apartment is just under a 2km walk from the babies home so I can now walk to work either to or from, depending on the shift that I am on. Here are a few pics from my new home away from home...

(front gate outside the entrance to our building)

(just outside the gate - this hill leads up to the main road)

Our place is directly across the road from a large golf course. Makes for a lovely view, but unfortunately also makes the street a bit more unsafe. We stick to daylight hours only when walking outside the gate.

(our building - the flat that I live in is on the bottom floor/right hand side)

(living room/dining room area)

(our kitchen)

(my bedroom which I share with one of my other roomies)

Not quite sure how long I will be here; depends on when I get moved out to the babies home in the children's village, but nice to get settled into a place that feels a bit more like a home. 

on the day in which I’m thankful to be back in Uganda...

So I’ve officially arrived... well a couple of days ago now. Got in just before midnight on Sunday and was met at the airport by a Watoto staff member. There were two other Canadian teams on the same flight, so we were all taken into town together. One team is from Saskatchewan and the other is from Newfoundland. They are both here to work on infrastructure projects at the children’s village. 

My first full day here had nothing on the schedule. I unpacked a bit, and then headed into town to sort out a phone and internet connection. It’s been 2 years since I was last here, but it still feels the same. I am temporarily staying in a guesthouse in the Kabalagala area... so about 10 minutes drive from where I lived last time, and about 30 minutes outside of the city. 

Watoto Guesthouse 1 - my temporary home :)

One of my first priorities was to make a couple of good connections with special hire taxi drivers. As I’m the only babies home volunteer staying at this house, I’m doing all of the transportation on my own, so it’s important to have a couple of good drivers that I feel safe with and that are reliable. I quickly learned that the cost of petrol has increased significantly since I was last here, and the cost for transportation has pretty much doubled. A couple from New Zealand gave me the numbers of several drivers that they have been using, so for the most part, things have been pretty simple. Tonight’s ride home proved to be a bit of an adventure, as the driver that I have been calling was in an accident, and the other two were already busy. So ventured home with a local taxi company, and between me and phone calls with my regular driver, managed to explain how to get home. Not gonna kid you... there was a bit of prayer involved, and I now know that I live just off Gaba road :)

I went in for a meeting at the babies home on Tuesday. It felt strangely familiar to be back. Saw a few of the nannies that I worked with last time I was here; in some ways it’s  as if no time has passed. The facility in Kampala has changed with the addition of the other two babies homes, so there were a lot fewer babies than the last time I was here. This home is now used as an intake facility as well as a special care facility for babies that are premature, malnourished, or need specific medical attention. Within about 10 minutes of playing with the kids, fell in love with one little guy, who has the absolute best little personality!

Today was a tour of the Watoto villages with 3 other volunteers that arrived last week from Norway. Although I have been to all of the villages before, we had the opportunity to visit the medical clinic at Bbira, along with the production unit at Subbi. My first trip to Uganda was in 2007 as a part of a building team, and while we were at Bbira today, we stopped at that home for a quick visit with Mama Mary and two of her children that were home from school. Her oldest Watoto boy, Eric, has now graduated from University with a degree in computer  sciences and is now employed. Love hearing about Watoto success stories! 

When we headed over to Subbi, the majority of our time was at the Subbi Babies Home, which opened in 2010. What a beautiful facility! They currently have 92 babies in their care, and in the majority of cases, the babies move straight from this home into a house in one of the Watoto villages. There are a few of the special needs kids that I worked with in 2009 still in this home, but it was nap time, so all were in bed with the exception of one. The Suubi village is located on top of a large hill, so the surrounding view is really quite amazing. Although I didn’t take too many pictures today, here is one from the rooftop of the home. 

My first official work day is tomorrow (Thursday); so time to get into a daily routine and get to know some of these little kidlets! By the sounds of things, I should be moving out to Subbi within the next few days; which I’m very excited about! 

A dear friend from home sent me a lovely email today, and these words really stopped to make me think. “... some people dream about doing this their whole lives and never get on the plane...” And amidst so much change to my normal “every day” life, and in the sometimes frustrating moments of living in a whole different culture, those words bring great perspective. What a privilege it is to be here. 

on the days in which I wandered around Ireland...

Okay, so I know that this blog is supposed to be about my travels in Africa, but the start of my trip was stopping in Ireland for a few days to visit a great friend. I’ve always wanted to see Ireland, and I can now say that it was exactly the way that I pictured it would be. Beautiful green rolling hills, amazing scenery and truly lovely people. 

It was so wonderful to spend a few days with Clo; seeing where she lives and meeting some of her friends and family. I have to say, she really is the ultimate tour guide, and in three short days we packed in a LOT of site seeing. 

One of our first stops was a lovely place called Powerscourt House & Gardens. A beautiful building with a restaurant, a garden centre, cute little shops and incredible gardens. We had lunch and wandered through the shops for a bit. On the drive to Powerscourt, Clo took me through “P.S. I love you” country. Very gracious of her, considering she really can’t stand that movie! 

Next up was a hike in an area called Glendalough (pronounced Glen-da-lock). The scenery here was amazing, and it was so nice to be out in the fresh air after many hours of traveling the day before. We walked through an old monastery that is home to a tower used by the monks approx. 1200 years ago. 

Around the trails at Glendalough

After a brief stop in for a visit with one of Clo’s good friends, we continued our drive where she had booked us in to stay at Cabra Castle for the night. Seriously... a castle. What a fun experience to be able to wander the halls of such a great building. It was definitely a treat! 

The next day we were on the road again, this time headed for a tour at Knowth and Newgrange; two historic sites in Ireland that contain some of the largest clusters of underground tunnels built under these large mounds. Both sites have been dated back to almost 5000 years. We went on a tour that allowed us to go inside the underground tunnels/tombs. Not every day that you can say you are standing in a structure that was built 5000 years before. It was pretty amazing! 

The mounds at Knowth

Inside the underground tunnels

Beautiful view of the Irish countryside from the top

The stones surrounding the base of the largest mound were carved with  ancient art

The large mound at Newgrange

After heading back to Dublin that afternoon, we went to one of local Irish pubs for dinner, music and some good classic Irish dancing... you know, the Riverdance stuff. Quite entertaining, and a great way to end the evening. 

On Saturday we spent the day walking through downtown Dublin; did a bit of shopping and met up with Clo’s cousin Grainne for lunch. I met her when they came to Vancouver this past summer, so it was great have the chance to catch up. 

And much too quickly, it was time to head back to the airport. I flew back to London on Saturday night; spent the night in the airport, and then caught my flight to Uganda on Sunday morning. I think I am truly convinced now that everyone should have the chance to see Ireland at least once. What an incredible place! 

on the day in which the journey begins...

As I write this very first blog post I’m sitting on a plane destined for London. Leg 1 of the journey. I’ve been in the air for about 45 minutes now. I love that we flew over downtown Vancouver on the way up. Such a beautiful city, especially at night. The very fact that I’m on the way still seems very surreal. I made the decision to go back to Uganda well over a year ago, and so even though this trip has been a long time coming, departure day crept up quickly. The past couple of weeks have felt like a whirlwind of activity. Apparently there are a LOT of details to take care of when you move out of the country... even if it’s only a temporary move. 

I’ll admit that it’s a little strange to think that I don’t exactly know when I will be back in Canada again. Yet of all of the “unknown” details surrounding the next number of months, that is probably what I feel the most at peace about. Saying goodbye to friends and family and the places where I spend my days is certainly tough. But God absolutely graces me to walk through this door... thank goodness for that!

When I look back on the first 10 months of this year, I can’t help but be in awe of all that has transpired already. Let’s be real... there have been some incredibly tough moments to walk through. But there have also been many beautiful and life-changing moments too. And for all that I have learned up to this point, through the sweet and through the sorrow, my heart is forever grateful. 

Many years ago, one of my pastors said to me... “you should always be able to look back at the past 6 months of your life and see the way that you have grown”. More than ever, this has been a year of growth and change for me. And I see God’s hand at work through every season. 

And so with no house or car keys, my Canadian life packed up in a storage container, and three very full (okay, I admit it... OVER full) bags of luggage, the journey begins. I move to Uganda... the place that has stolen a piece of my heart. Not forever. But for a season. To love on little orphans that have been discarded by the very ones that should have loved them the most. To serve the nannies and staff at Watoto. To be careful enough to look for each and every God-opportunity to be an encouragement to someone else. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces back in Uganda. To see some of the babies that I met on my last trip, who certainly are not babies anymore. To go and visit children from past Watoto choirs that I’ve had the privilege to get to know as they traveled across Canada on tour. 

But perhaps my greatest anticipation lies ahead in what I am going to discover about myself. I realize that the road ahead will not always be perfect and easy. But I also know that I do not walk the road alone. I arrive in Uganda next Sunday and start a whole new adventure. And I am determined that the best is certainly yet to come...

(send-off at the airport with wonderful friends)