Visit to Parliament House

Three days of compiling a very graphic and descriptive Report to the Ugandan Parliament on the reality of child sacrifice in Uganda came to a climax on Thursday and Friday. 

Peter asked us to accompany members of the End Child Sacrifice (ECS) Team from KCM to present a draft Report and Documentary on the work of the Team to Glorious, the Private Secretary of the Honourable Minister for Children, Ethics and Crime Prevention. The idea was that Glorious would offer constructive criticism for the ECS Team to respond to prior to the final Report and Documentary being presented to the Full Parliament.  

To cut aong story short, we spent many hours waiting around, only to be told that Glorious would meet with us the following day - which did happen, but without Dale and I, as we were required at Kyampisi for our day of PD. 

The issue and associated issues of child sacrifice in Uganda is an absolute blight on this beautiful country. Please join me as I pray for Peter and his ECS Team as they work in this very difficult area. 

Teacher PD at Kyampisi

Friday saw Dale and I drive to Kyampisi for a full day of PD with the local teachers (similar to the day we ran for Barnabas Project at Busoke Christian School). As we were expecting to commence at 9am with 30 participants, we arrived a little before 8.30am to make sure everything was set up and ready to go. 

To cut a long story short, we didn't end up commencing our training until around 11am and there were only about 8 teachers. Interestinglly we had close to our full measure of participants by about 12pm. It was actually quite difficult welcoming new teachers every 15 minutes while also keeping the program moving along.

Another challenge took the form of lunch - about 30 minutes prior to the time we had planned to break for lunch I was becoming increasingly concerned that I hadn't seen anyone cooking outside. When I enquiried into this I discovered that there was a good reason for this - the ingredients were yet to be purchased. After a quick dip into my wallet, the matter was resolved. 

At close to 2pm we were able to break for lunch. I think everyone was pretty tired after such a long first session. 

Following lunch Jamie, Anna, Dale and I ran a planning session with the assembled teachers. In an attempt to facilitate  some strategic planning, we asked them to draw the design of a new school at Kyampisi. The teachers worked in small groups drawing their design on butchers paper. After about 45 minutes of discussion, each group presented their design and explained the reasons behind their respective decisions. 

The day concluded in prayer. 

Visit to Bbira village

Thursday saw Dale and I drive to Bbira, a Watoto village about 40 minutes from Kampala. 

The road to Bbira is mixed. The bitumen section is excellent - including a new section that was being upgraded when we were here 2 years ago - but the dirt component requires much patience as it needs to be driven VERY slowly. 

On arrival at Bbira, we met Maureen, the  Principal of Hope Secondary School. Maureen took us on a quick tour of the Secondary facilities. As always, the quality of the Watoto buildings and the positive attitude of the Watoto students is striking! 

Following this we met up with John, the Head teacher of the I D Reymer Primary School. John took us on a tour of the primary facilities - again, very impressive. 

John also took us down to one of the P7 classes - where we met Hufusa, our Watoto Sponsor Child. It was amazing to see the spontaneous delight on her face when she came to the classroom door and saw  who was there - she ran up to me and gave me the BIGGEST of hugs. To be honest, it was quite an emotional experience. 

Hafusa took us on a tour of the Watoto village, including her cluster of homes. She introduced us to Eddy, her brother and Freida, her Watoto mother. It was great to sit with Hufusa and see the excitement on her face as she read letters from Sonia and Hannah. She was speechless (and teary) when she opened her gift box.  I think she'll have lots of fun showing all her friends her new silver bracelet. 

As we'd promised John that we'd return Hufusa to her classroom at 6pm for her practice Examination as a Candidate for Secondary schooling (marking the end of her Primary education) we quickly made our way back to her classroom. On our arrival we were met by three P7 teachers. We prayed with Hufusa and said goodbye.  We also prayed with the three teachers. 

As I'd promised John that I would drop into his office before leaving, we also did this. Two hours later we were on our way home. We had a very interesting chat with John about his upbringing and his passion to see his students excel whilst under his care. He also shared a little about his work as Head teacher. One of the interesting things we found out about his work was that he wrote the Watoto Anthem - which he happily sang for us. 

Our trip home was fairly uneventful except that I took one too many left turns, which resulted in a much longer trip home and the need to access Google Maps as I wasn't quite sure where we were and I was certain that I hadn't been down some of the roads before. 

Eventually we made it home - safe and sound. 

Peter's Introduction

Trying to explain a Ugandan Introduction is quite difficult, as we don't have anything quite like it in Australia.

The Introduction constitutes the Traditional wedding and usually falls one week before the Western wedding service - usually in a church. In the case of Peter, who comes from the Kingdom of Buganda, it is also full of tradition and custom.  For many Ugandans, they view themselves as officially married following this celebration as it constitutes a formal wedding service. 

The Introduction is held at the home of the bride and includes the presentation of the dowry to her family. There is a lot at stake in this regard, as the father of the bride can refuse his daughter's hand in marriage if he's not sufficiently impressed. Peter was required to provide 2 cows (I paid for one @ 1.1 million shillings), 2 goats, 10 chickens, 300kg of rice, 300kg of maise, 1000+ 500mL bottles of soda, a butchered hind leg of a cow, 75 hand-woven baskets filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, butter, tea bags and tinned food, 50 bags of powdered milk, outdoor furniture, flowers, suitcases, clothes, umbrellas, a map of the Kingdom of Buganda, a print of the King of Buganda and a large amount of freshly picked leafy-green vegetable that constitutes the 'muckertay' or deal-sealer. 

Joeline's parents live on the outskirts of Kampala on a large parcel of land. As there were around 1000 guests, there were probably more than 300 cars parked on the block. There were also four large tents - one for Joeline's family (holding approx. 75 people), one for Peter's family and guests (holding approx. 150 people), one for Joeline's guests (holding approx. 750 people) and one for much of the official proceedings (in the centre). The three tents faced the smallest tent in the middle. 

As guests of the groom we were asked to meet at the Ndere Cultural Centre at 12 noon. Vincent led the formalities which included speeches, prayers and instructions for the day.  After hearing these messages we drove to Joeline' house. We parked on their back yard and walked to the official tents. 

According to custom, we were asked to enter the celebration in 2 rows - one for men wearing Kunzu's and one for women wearing Gomezi's. We entered to the sound of traditional music, traditional dancing and traditional drums - courtesy of the Ndere Dance Troupe from the Cultural Centre. 

The official ceremony commenced with a Family 'Speaker! (or MC) from both families competing for the affection of the crowd - to and fro with jokes and prayers. 

Following this, six bridesmaids danced into the ceremony followed by six flower girls. According to custom, the groom's Speaker and his Assistant gives each of these girls gifts. I understand the significance of their arrival is to 'tease' the groom - as none of these girls are his 'wife to be'. The ladies were all wearing matching Gomezi's and looked AMAZING! 

Following this, a selected number of guests - the 'elders of each family' - entered Joeline's home for official photographs, prayer, private gift giving and a family meal.  This lasted about 1 hour. 

For fhs first half of the ceremony, Peter 'hid' amongst his guests. Once it was established that Peter and his family were credible, Peter moved to the front of his guests and was accompanied by an aunt from Joeline's side of the family, the one who vouches for his good character and noble intentions. They sit on a lovely leather lounge suite facing the middle tent. 

Following this, all guests were invited to enjoy lunch. This was served buffet-style. We entered the home and sat around large round tables set in a very large lounge room. We were served matoke, rice, G-nut sauce, chicken, beef, casava, pineapple and coleslaw - and plenty of it! 

During inch, there was more dancing, more girls and more gift-giving outside. This was repeated multiple times - with one exception - when six men came into the centre tent and were given gifts from the bride's Speaker. 

Following lunch, ALL guests from the groom's side were ushered outside to a waiting pick-up truck full of dowry gifts. One by one we carried them into the celebrations and presented them to Joeline's side of the family by placing them on the ground in front of their family tent. There were two lines of people walking in the gifts - one for men and the other for women. 

Following formalities between Peter and Joeline, selected guests of the bride walked the gifts into the family home. I understand these gifts will be distributed throughout the family. 

Towards the end of the ceremony, the groom's Speaker and Assistant invited selected guests of the groom to present framed pictures to Joeline's parents. These included a framed print of the King of Buganda and a framed map of the Kingdom of Buganda. As this is quite a significant part of the service, I felt very honoured to be asked to participate in this. 

Throughout the celebrations there was lots of traditional dancing and traditional drumming. 

Joeline and her brother then cut the Presentation cake - a traditional design, but five-tiers high. Apparently Peter wasn't able to do this as he wasn't fully married as yet. This was distributed to all guests. It was a traditional Ugandan mixture - a little like a heavy ginger sponge. 

Prior to the formal speeches from Joeline's father, Peter's sister gave Joeline a 'love' gift on behalf of Peter. Annette explained the symbolism behind the various gifts. Following this, Joeline gave Peter a 'sustaining' gift as she and Peter will live apart for a further week. This was a very intimate and romantic moment. 

The celebration finished in a similar way to a Western wedding - the couple (and their bridal party) stood together while guests walked past and gave them hugs and greetings.  

The 'official' photographer sold a large collection of photos he had taken throughout the course of the day. Bridesmaids also gave guests a bottle of sparkling Apple Juice to help commemorate the special day. 

We returned to Kisaasi well into the evening. The celebration took about six hours and was very memorable. For the record, all proceedings took place in Lugandan. 

May God bless Peter and Joeline - and their respective families. 

Borda Borda Ride

Our ride home from Nandos on Friday night was a little adventurous. 

Once we'd selected our Borda Borda driver, based purely on observation - we chose him not the other way around - we negotiated our fare. Given that we were travelling from the city centre to Kissasi, I thought 12,000 shillings was quite reasonable. 

En route our rider asked us to hop off as we had a flat tyre - to be more precise, he kept saying 'pressure' while pointing to the wheel. He hailed down another Borda Borda driver and we re-negotiated our fare - 10,000 for the first driver and 5,000 for the second driver. 

Interestingly and probably due to the shorter seat on the second bike, Dale's level of comfort was compromised - Dale sat on the back!  Having said that, we both really enjoyed the exhilaration of being on both bikes. 

Visit to Naggalama Hospital

Friday saw Dale and I drive to Kyampisi to collect Ja Ja (Grandma) Justine and Joseph as both needed to be taken to Naggalama Hospital, a 30 minute drive north of Kyampisi. 

As Justine was unwell last Sunday, I had promised to take her to the nearby  surgery for examination. The community believes she is suffering complications from a hernia operation nearly 40 years ago. 

Joseph on the other hand, is a 16 year old teenager who I've been told has become increasingly lethargic and listless over the past few weeks. 

Luckia, Head teacher from Kyampisi Christian School, drove with us to the hospital. I was keen for her to join us as she speaks both Lugandan and English. 

En route to Naggalama Hospital we dropped into St Peter's Secondary School at Kalagi to pay the outstanding school fees for John (630,000 shillings) and Angel (450,000 shillings). 

On arrival at Naggalama Hospital we met in an open waiting room. Justine and Joseph were ushered forward for an initial consultation with a nurse and were required to pay a fee of 10,000 shillings (at the cashier) prior to seeing the doctor (in her consulting room).  Justine, Luckia and I met with the doctor in her consulting room for well over an hour. She appeared to be very thorough in her examination. She gave me a copy of her notes and her list of suggested medication. The conversations between Justine and the doctor were conducted in Lugandan whereas the conversation between the doctor and me were conducted in English. We repeated the process for Joseph. 

Following these conversations I paid for the required medication. It seems Justine will require further surgery ASAP whereas Joseph will need an assessment from a Psychiatrist as he may have Autism. 

On our way back to Kyampisi we dropped into Hardware World at Kalagi to buy 4 bags of cement (27,000 shillings each) for the work being completed on the Kyampisi Church. 

On arrival at Kyampisi we spent time meeting the students and teachers at the Kyampisi School. There are about 150 students working in 5 classrooms. Each of the rooms are very small. One of the rooms would be about a third of the size of a typical Australian classroom but hold close to double the students. 

After returning from Kyampisi Dale and I decided to drive to Watoto Central to meet with Dorcas to discuss a possible Teacher PD at Suubi and Bbira next week. 

Following this we decided to have an early dinner (late lunch) whilst in town. We bought a large Peri Peri Chicken pizza at Nandos and a cup of coffee at Mateos, both in the city centre of Kampala. 

Bogged outside St Paul's House

Our return trip to St Paul's House on Thursday night ended with us getting bogged. 

Our young driver felt the best way to travel up the slippery and wet dirt road was quickly. What he hadn't factored into the equation was side-ways slippage. With encouragement, he quickly realised that we were about to slide off the road and into the deep drain on the edge of the road. With some further encouragement he decided to engage 4WD. Unfortunately I think we were already bogged, but more importantly, we were on the edge of the drain. 

To cut a long story short, we invited a number of onlookers to assist us - which they did. We manually maneuvered the ute to the centre of the dirt road and encouraged our driver to slowly reverse down the hill. He successfully managed to reverse the car back onto the bitumen - and the whole exercise only cost us 12,000 shillings!