Oriti Uganda

Long day yesterday – driving back to Kampala. Snuck another picture of the Nile River. Shame on me. Benjamin is going rafting tomorrow on the Nile as he has an extra day here. I am so envious – I love white water rafting – can’t imagine it on the Nile River!

Slept in Kampala at a Catholic Guesthouse. Nice place - although it felt like a convent. A convent with a watch dog, gates, and an armed guard. I'm growing fond of these guards!

Today, our driver and friend, Anthony, took Elizabeth and me to a market in Kampala to shop for souvenirs. I’m going to become an importer – the African handcrafts are very high quality and beautiful. And, Uganda must be one of the last places on Earth with a great exchange rate. Elizabeth bought Anthony a shirt and I bought a skirt for his wife who has been taking care of their eight year old, infected with malaria, while Anthony patiently drives us all around the country and watches out for our safety. Did I mention that he has a degree in Forestry? It came in very handy as we were always asking him the name of various trees, flowers, etc.

After the market, we met Felix, Dave and Joe, along with a man from D.R. Congo named Pastor Njoli (sp?) for lunch. Elizabeth and I think he’s L.L. Cool J in disguise. We kept waiting for him to bust out a rhyme. The pastor helped get a quick Visa for David from the Congolese Embassy as they’re leaving Thursday for two weeks to meet some MTI volunteers and assess the disaster there. Another small world thing – this Congolese pastor went to college in Portland and has an affiliated church in Seattle – I believe it’s called: International Full Gospel Church.

Later in the day, we met with the Lira District’s member of the Ugandan Parliament – the Hon. Charles Angiro Gutomoi. He’s a walking miracle – he was abducted by the LRA, tied with his arms behind his back (along with his brother and friend), and then shot three times in the head and once in the arm. He lived to tell about it – but his brother and friend were killed.

Charles was discussing the discrimination against the Luo tribe in Uganda and Kenya. As I mentioned, President-elect Obama’s father was a member of the Luo tribe, as are most people from Northern Uganda. The Luo have historically not supported the Ugandan government. Charles said that when Obama was running for president, the Ugandan government tried to enact a measure of non-support for his candidacy because of his tribe-affiliation. That surprised me as it seems that Africa as a whole is thrilled about his election. Charles is very amused that Obama is now President-elect of the most powerful nation on Earth – he claims that he’d never get elected in Uganda or Kenya.

We’re leaving tonight – driving to Entebbe for an 11 p.m. flight to Amsterdam. We’ll spend the day hanging out in Amsterdam, and then fly 10 ½ hours to Seattle. I have such mixed feelings about leaving. I care deeply for the friends I’ve made, my heart is heavy over the suffering of the Ugandan people, I wish I could bring some of the babies home, and I love the gorgeous country. I’m also sad that Joe will not be returning with us – but such is the life of someone whose job is to respond to natural and man-made disasters. On the other hand, I do look forward to seeing my family, to sleeping in my bed, to not worrying about mosquitoes, to being clean, and going to Starbucks. I realize now how spoiled I really am – however, I hope that I will have the opportunity to return soon to Africa, and hope that in my own way, I can continue to serve and help these beautiful people.