Day 8,9, 10.
Hey team, take an easy morning today as I have some things to take care of for Rosa Mystica Rest Home and need to spend some time with these lovelies. Bosco is also coming to assess a chicken coop. Let's plan on heading to the farm after lunch. Okay? - Cone along....Finally, I am ready. Yes, we are leaving Gulu and surrounding areas today and traveling across the wild and rapid Nile River at Karuma Falls. The baboons are definitely out on the road and guard rail as we cross the other side of the bridge, waiting for food as usual. "Don't feed the baboons", I say. (Kinda like - "don't feed the bears" in our Montana neck of the woods - haha!). Some babies too! We aren't allowed to take pictures of the River or falls as it is a police post and photos could breach security. Don't even try it, as one team member did this once and we were stopped! Otherwise, the road is smooth and we make it in record time to the farm. Less than 2.5 hours. Sr Dr Vincentina is with us, Denis and Bosco and Isaac driving. I am still very well taken care of by all! We first came to Family Empowerment Uganda - Canaan farm in 2006. This was a safe haven and refuge for those who knew or heard of the Angoma family and fled the LRA war to safety. The Angoma's opened up their land of 400 acres and allowed those who fled the north to re settle until they got on their own feet. Richard their son, longed
to do so much more and started developing the farm land which was a giant bush initially. I met Richard in 2003 when working/volunteering for the same organization in Bugembe village (near Jinja) when I was given a 3 month leave of absence from my job at St Vincent Healthcare. Richard helped me with my Kenny for the year I was working on getting him to the US for hip surgeries. We had stayed In touch. He also married nurse Suzan who I worked with side by side in village clinic outreaches and in HIV AIDs dept at the same time in 2003. When our first Calvary chapel team visited, we found, all were drinking muddy pond water and malaria and diarrhea was rampant. Since, we drilled two boreholes in 2007, installed house hold bio sand water filters in 40 huts. Teams started coming in 2007 and 2008 and 2009 and yearly onward, many from the ED/Walk in clinic dept where I was working at St Vincent Healthcare. (Thank you Brenda, Leigh, Carol and the Parkers - this is all because of you!). From there the PRESM model was born. We did many pilot projects, such as VHT (village health team training), small scale vegetable garden drip irrigation bucket kits, jewelry and crafts income generation projects, school supplies and more. Once these were implemented and successful, we did smaller scale solar water and lights, began building a clinic - brick by brick, and large scale solar water project that was able to pipe the water to the clinic , community kitchen, latrines, showers etc which also included much larger drip irrigation project with this water stored in 2 large tanks (overseen by our faithful hydrologist, Tom Osborne! We have supported some microfinance business projects for the women's empowerment group, tailoring and vocational training and teacher training/literacy. This is where Hope 2 One Life started in 2007. It has taken years and years and many team visits over the years and many many prayers. The foundation was laid and other partners came in on other parts of the model. The projects on the farm and surrounding village are numerous! 2 more deep water wells - living water - drilled in a school and surrounding Kampala village and a grant pending for Mboira village. We have up to 26 VHT's this year who are developing their own group leadership and planning to train the new ones and do their own village outreaches without waiting for me or a team to come! Mariel and Terence - thank you so much for furthering this along! Soils projects for better crop yields and better Income as well as farming Gods way training are in the works. Just look at that bountiful tomato crop! I have plans for a regional conference and training of farming Gods way in gulu after my recent meeting with the director in Jinja - yikes! The ladies were so happy to see me and share what they were doing with the farming and solar household light small business - and get this...pay back their loans! They were able to pay their children's school fees and contribute more than their husbands even! Now they want to start a ginger farming plot they researched and I promptly reinvested the loan they paid back into them. The teachers we sent to training at the Joshua foundation earlier this year in Tanzania are not only using the curriculum but relay the children have changed so much! They are praying, interacting and learning! So much so they are sharing with their families at home! The photos and videos will show you some of the work. It is music to my soul, when an area nears sustainability and we are almost, "out of a job", thus forging forward to expanding the model to other areas who have requested our assistance as you have seen on prior posts. Teams love love the farm! It is an oasis in the rough! Beautiful! Even tho we stay in grass thatched huts, women's hut and men's hut, communal living style, with a walk to the latrine and outdoor shower and outdoor kitchen/ dining area. I love it here! I can't wait to snuggle in my hut! A few years ago I did a poster presentation on this post war recovery empowerment and sustainability - community development model with the help of Leigh, at an international medicine and public health - missions conference. First of its type and the reviews were very good! I so look forward to a great few days here on this peaceful farm where I don't have to travel on the roads and can stay put in one place finally! Lots of work to do here however, as the various groups gather to tell me all about it! Come meet the VHT's. Emmanuel clinic staff, ladies sewing purses from the beautiful materials I bought in Kampala, teachers, farmers and more! Come along, carry me along....
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