Shaken and Stirred

Saturday

What I expected to be a 4 hour drive from Entebbe to Fort Portal was actually just over 5 hours as a long stretch of road surface had been stripped prior to widening and repaving. No sign of the repaving however. Debbie managed heroically and is much better – must have been all the shaking and bouncing. We were welcomed warmly at the Lisieux Centre – Debbie crashed right away but the rest of us enjoyed a good dinner and soon recovered from the journey. Lisieux is a place of calm (at least it was, until we arrived) and a real sanctuary after long days.

Sunday

Lynda, Anna and I went to the English service at the Anglican Church of Uganda while the others went to mass. We had misjudged the start time so arrived half way through the service, but were still led to the front pew of a very full church. The theme of the sermon was an “Attitude of Gratitude” which I think we all had in spades, given our safe arrival. The highlight of the service was when, following the second offering, a live goat was brought up to the front, a bit too close for comfort- fortunately not to be sacrificed but to be auctioned as a fundraiser. Bidding started at about $50 (the auctioneer’s “going once, going twice” ...was accompanied by a loud gong as well as by some rather frantic bleating but no other misbehaviour) and eventually went for about $100. The successful bidder immediately donated the goat back to the church, presumably to be auctioned off again next week. If anyone is interested let us know your bid and how you’d like to take delivery.

In the afternoon we went to Rambia’s Health Centre to unpack all the meds and prepare for Monday’s patients.  For those of us who had visited Rambia before, we were thrilled to see the progress that had been made in the facility – the solar panel was powering 6 lights, water was available at a stand pipe outside, and the maternity ward and inpatient wards were finished and equipped with about 15 beds, 5 of which were occupied. We were able to fill the pharmacy shelves in the evening using the new electric light! But our new team members were overwhelmed by how basic everything is, how poor the people are, how confined the living spaces, and how ill some of the patients were. At dinner the tears flowed as we shared impressions of the day. Over dinner we talked through some of the reactions, comparing what we had seen with the situations in other countries – both good and bad. We planned the next day – Daniel wanted to us to be formally greeted by the Rambia Board and we need to decide how we will handle the flow of patients. We don’t expect many patients the first day so hopefully we will have time to get organized. We also need time for everyone to change money, do some basic shopping, and get phones and internet access organized.