For the last few days I have enjoyed getting to know my travel buddies as we dove into the beginning of our month long trip. They hit the ground running, having a Uni graduation party to attend only hours after touching down. Sunday was a day of ministering in churches, Monday spent sorting out sim cards, internet bundles, braving the Kampala jam and eating tilapia. Which brings me to today.
Irene, our first HOPE sponsored student, celebrating her University graduation, all dressed up for church and a photo of me with my new friend, Surprise.
Today we visited schools, a hospital, a medical clinic, a home, played cards and I had the privilege of going to Immigration. I haven't talked about my immigration process for a while, mainly because nothing was happening. But finally last week a guy told me that I could come today to pick my file so that it can be submitted to the next office in the process. Of course despite these offices being in the same location and all that is required being to hand over a file and get a new file number, this process must be done by someone outside of the NGO/Immigration staff. So whether I or another person goes is irrelevant but someone MUST turn up physically to bear the file from one office to the other.
Visiting Kasengejje HOPE Nursery and Primary School and visiting the house of a sponsored student.
So I went there today like I had been told to only to find out after a long waiting time that my file wasn't ready. In fact it wasn't even in the office. The guy assures me that this is a good thing and that (Praise God!) I do actually have the NGO recommendation I need, it just needs, in his words, tidying up. So the directive given to me was to turn up tomorrow and it 'will' be ready.
Only one small problem. I will be on my way to Bunia, DR Congo, in a little MAF plane at about the same time!
Luckily, due to the fact that it doesn't need to be me in person and I have a lovely friend who has offered to help, there is a chance that by the time the team leaves I will be almost to the end of the process (although the person sitting next to me as we waited in the 'waiting room' (marquee) told me that she had been in Uganda for three years applying and had never once held a work permit. I however have faith, if not in the system then in a much bigger (and more powerful than the men and women in the Ugandan NGO Board and Immigration offices) God.
While I was meeting frustrated and resigned foreigners at Immigration, the rest of the team were in Mulago Hospital which is the main Government hospital in Uganda. Our Australia HOPE International partners COME Uganda, run a ministry within the hospital that feeds, clothes and cares for the poorest patients who without this care, could spend their last days alone and unheard.
Their team of volunteers go in every day to pray with patients, as well as to attend to the physical needs they can. Our team were taken into maternity, children's, general and cancer wards where they prayed alongside those volunteers who go in daily. It is a real privilege to be able to go and minister hope to people in this way.
While I missed this part of the time I did manage to get back for the final tour through the facilities that have been handed over to the responsibility of COME. We visited their laundry room where they have two industrial washing machines working that the hospital gave them for a price after failing to fix them for several years. At their disposal are another two machines, should they be able to fix them (and have a need for them). We also visited the kitchen, both that of the hospital and that of COME. The kitchen is very recently renovated thanks to COME workers and the reward for COME was to be able to renovate at the same time a small kitchen for themselves. The hospital kitchen is able to feed patients a meal or two a week. COME targets those patients who are particularly vulnerable, who don't have any family around to care for them and would likely not eat if not for COME.
Frank proudly showing us his ‘babies’ and the industrial kitchen that COME can now use.
It's been a big day and I have a feeling it's just the tip of the iceberg as tomorrow (as you know) we leave for DRC. I'm looking forward to again seeing my friends Mozart and Sephora and their family and all the kids I got to know so well during my five week stay there mid 2012.
So with that being said,
Goodnight, oraregye, sula bulungu, lala salaama.
Mukama akuhe omugisha
bron
