December 20th-23rd: Goli & Arua

On the morning of Dec. 20th we woke up at 4:30 a.m. (that is 7:30 p.m. CST the day before!) to prepare for our 5:00 a.m. departure. We were committed to getting through Kampala prior to morning traffic. We succeeded and are finally traveling in rural Uganda by 7:00 a.m. We encountered some really bad roads, so bad that dirt lanes lined both side of the road where the vehicles prefer to drive, in order to avoid the mega-pot holes. In spots where the pot holes weren't so bad, but the road still looks like swiss cheese, we drove around the pot holes. Anyway about 1/2 way through our 10 hour journey to Goli we hit roads which were re-tarmacked about 2 years ago and it was smooth sailing! We passed some refuge huts in several areas where people have been displaced from the Lord's Resistance Army. These people have been displaced from Gulu, a Ugandan town near the Sudan border. The LRA would kidnap young girls and sell them into the sex trade. Boys would be kidnapped into the army. Food is trucked in by the U.N. because it is rather arid in this region, unlike the more lush southern part of Uganda.

We arrive in Goli at about 5:00 p.m. We are visiting Ihla's friends, Peter and Gertrude, and their four children, David John, Joy, Hogla, and Dathan. Ihla used to work with Gertrude, teaching young children. Peter works for the Church of Uganda and is the Director of Programming and Development for the Diocese. This area of the country is beautiful and the river that sits on the bottom of the nearby valley borders Uganda and Congo. We stay in the Diocese guest house, which are lovely accommodations and join Peter and Gertrude and family for tea, dinner and breakfast with some traditional African foods like enya and porridge. We were also treated to some real coffee here, as Ugandans typically drink Nescafe. Gertrude knows how much Ihla likes her coffee!

We leave Goli on Dec. 21st after meeting Peter's mom, sisters, and other relatives. We also get a chance to check out a cooking hut. The straw ceiling was covered with black soot. The stove was made out of clay and stood about a foot above the ground. On one side they used wood and the other, charcoal for their cooking. Meat and other food items hung from the ceiling to dry and smoke.

Our drive to Arua took a little over an hour and again, great roads! We stayed at a guest house at the diocese are were treated to a gracious welcome. Ihla is truly loved by many in Arua. About 10 people greeted us and we were formally greeted by the Bishop in his office. We then headed over to the guest house where about 5 women, from the women's group, all wearing the same dress, greeted us. A few hours later after a generous lunch and a quick trip to town to run errands, Reverend Manoa (again an old friend of Ihla's) and about 6 women and a couple of other people had a prayer ceremony at John's (Tom's dad's) grave. It was very heartfelt, as many people had gone down to the grave earlier in the day to decorate it. The grass around the grave was hand cut, and the grave stone was lined with plumeria flowers strung together. Flowers were also scattered in the middle of the grave, along with eucalyptus leaves. It was very pretty. All the Ugandans spoke on behalf of all the good John, Ihla, and their friend GAD Beletti did for the community (Gad died the year prior to John). They told stories and sang songs. Ihla spoke about her gratitude for the community when she and John lived there and how much they helped here.

We visited a Christian college the morning of Dec. 22 and the facility is nothing like you’d find in the US. Students sit in wood benches or those old school desks from when we were young students. There is a blackboard and that is it. I think a lot of the primary and secondary schools don’t even have chairs and desks for students. If you saw these buildings you’d think they were old warehouses or farm buildings. But the people here are proud of them because that is all they’ve got. Later we visited the hospital, which was started by missionaries. I asked Ihla if she thought it was comparable to a hospital in the US from the 1930’s – she thought no, from before, except for the fact that they now have IVs, needles, penicillin, which we didn’t have back then. The wards have beds grouped, so its an open room, open windows to the outside. Families are expected to care for the patients in all ways except for the actual remedy. So, they are expected to feed them, bathe them, make sure their clothes and bedding are clean. The nurses, however, are responsible for open wounds, etc. It’s heartbreaking to consider.

The morning of the 24th we went to church at the new cathedral. The service was supposed to start at 8:30 a.m., but I believe it started at 9:30 a.m. (African time...). Ihla was asked to address the group of about 400 people; she did a great job. Shortly after that we did a little shopping, had lunch, and then went back to the market for more shopping. Our goal was to have a skirt and shirt made for us (Tammy, Jessica, and Dave had things made as well.). The market was amazing. The corridors were about 4 -5 feet wide. Litter laid on the dirt floor; ventilation was poor. On our walk to the textile row, I briefly thought about the chaos that would ensue if a fire were to start. It's like walking in a maze with limited entrances and exits. The textile row was very interesting. Each cubicle had many bolts of fabric from mostly Congo and Nigeria, but also from Uganda. We picked out fabric at 5,00o-10,000 shillings ($3-6) and spent 6000 shillings ($4) for labor to make the garment. I ended up getting two skirts made and am sporting one right now.

Our stay in Arua was chalked full of visiting with Ihla's friends. We had guests or went over to others' houses for tea all the time; from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Ihla truly is appreciated. There is more to tell, but my time and money are running out!