Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The Faith of the people of Uganda is the strongest I've seen anywhere!!

I want to start out by telling you what a “higher end” motel is like in Kitgum. It is beautiful as you drive up. The grounds are well kept and the staff are wonderful. Our rooms were missing shower doors, plaster off the walls, windows would not close and the screens were missing. Some with different expectations were taken by surprise. Most of the team were aware of the struggles in larger communities too. For me, Stephanie, it did not matter. Here is why:

We traveled to Palabek for outreach. Opopo, the leader of the village forewarned us that his people were starving. In preparation for the travel we picked up beans, sim sim, cooking oil and sugar. Our thought was we could gift the food to them in hopes that it would give hope for the future crops. Part of the outreach already planned was Seeds of Hope. They are seeds for different vegetables generously donated by great people such as those reading this blog. Along with a drip irrigation system gifted to Palabek the seeds should be sprouting and bringing new hope soon! We also did our Malaria outreach program with the gift of mosquito nets following. Toward the end of our visit Opopo apologized that they did not welcome us with song and dance. The reason, a child 3 years of age had been missing for 24 hours. Through their tears they were still welcoming us with smiles and hugs. I could not even imagine the amount of sorrow they were dealing with and still they welcomed us with open arms! When was the last time you were able to face poverty with little or no food, illness, and grief and were still able to welcome strangers with an open heart and open arms?? I have met the strongest people in the world over the last 2 weeks!

Following Palabek we traveled to Awal. Awal has a story all its own. One of the team members, Bosco, was adopted out of Awal. We had to traverse a very wet muddy road but thanks to Peter and Noka we made it safely! On arrival villagers from all over were bringing small wooden chairs for us to sit in. No matter how many times I see it I will never get used to people giving me their chair to sit in front of them while they sit on the ground. It is a tremendous show of gratitude from them so I would never dream of denying it however, I wish I could sit with them. One of my favorite sayings is “do not walk in front of me I may not follow, do not walk behind me for I may not lead, but walk beside me….” I would like to be beside them. While I may not physically be beside them my heart and prayers will always be!

From all of the villages I have visited I have learned 2 amazing things: 1. The faith of the people of Uganda is the strongest I have seen anywhere! 2. The Ugandan villagers are incredibly happy even though they are facing many, many tough challenges. God truly is great!

The team took a day off and visited Murchison Falls Park.

There were baboons everywhere near the ferry crossing. Before getting into the tour boat the baboon jumped right up into the van and took some of the food and trash and ran out so fast that nobody was able to get them back. The ferry to take us from the North shore to the South shore was not working. Thankfully the place we ordered lunch from figured out a way to get it to us and the boat tour company came over to the north shore to pick us up. We took the tour and saw many species of birds. We also saw the spot where Ernest Hemmingway survived a plane crash! The falls were amazing and beautiful! So powerful! Since the ferry was not running when we left we could not do the hike to the top of the falls because we could not guarantee we had transport back. It was still beautiful! On the river trip we also saw many hippos and crocodiles! Upon arrival back to the crossing the ferry was still not running. Our drivers chose to stay with their vehicles and the boat tour company was gracious enough to let us grab our luggage and take us across for no extra charge! Thankfully our drivers were able to make it across before bed time! We had dinner and went to bed for an early rise. Leigh and Martha got to see Gloria, the resident hippo while waiting for dinner. We hired a guide and were able to see lions this morning before leaving the park! We have a whole list of animals we were able to see! We also got to see the baboons steal someone else’s stuff this morning before leaving!

We have 2 more nights here at the farm. There is so much more we would like to get accomplished before leaving but will do what we can in the time we have left!


- Steph Bond

Friday, November 13, 2015

Transducers placed in wells, Palabek Village and Opit Farm visits. "We have goats!!"

Hope 2 One Life Uganda Blog, 13 November 2015





As we have in previous years our team was led this year to Palabek in far northern Uganda by Opobo Witty who lived on this land many years but was displaced by the LRA War. He had five sons killed by the LRA, some before his eyes. But survivors of his family have recently resettled here and are trying to reestablish farms and communities.

Although it is not known outside this region, sustenance farmers in this area are facing famine and severe hunger. The typical wet and dry season cycle was disrupted by El Nino, according to local opinion, causing the last crop to fail in September when normally wet conditions turned dry. Although it is raining now, the next crop is not ready. We were able to distribute sacks of dry food such as beans and maize to alleviate the immediate hunger. But we also brought seeds so that their next planting season would be good.

A few items we brought to Palabek were big hits, namely the soccer balls, baseballs and bats. The kids here have no toys- nothing. So a real toy brings all the kids running and cheering. The other item the women were delighted with was a ¼-acre drip irrigation kit. This will allow them to irrigate vegetables during the dry season using groundwater from the nearby water well we drilled in 2014.

We took water samples from both Palabek wells for E. Coli bacteria. We chose the more productive of the two wells to install one of the donated In Situ Troll 100 transducer. This instrument will allow us for the first time to monitor seasonal water level and temperature trends, and also see the effects of daily pumping by area residents. The data will contribute greatly to our understanding of the sustainability of the groundwater resources in Uganda as people increasingly turn to this resource for clean drinking water. We are grateful to the In Situ Company for their generous donation.



Today we traveled about 60 km to a small village called Opit and another called Awere. We were formally received in Awere with a village delegation, dancing and singing, and speeches from the village leaders. Their water well broke 7 months ago and we sampled a spring they are now forced to rely on for drinking water. As the spokesperson for H2O, Tom was the proud recipient of two plump chickens given by the village in honor of our visit.

At Opit we met the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu for a tour of the newly constructed goat house and fence. H2O has entered a business partnership with this community of nuns for rearing of boer-cross goats to sell to support our clinic on the FEM Farm. Sister Zapporo there has formal training in agricultural and animal husbandry. Moreover, she is a ball of fire and totally excited to jump into this project.

H2O drilled a new water well at the goat property. We chose this well to monitor water level trends and temperature with the Solinst Levelogger transducer, donated by Solinst of Canada. This instrument will give us a long term record of seasonal water level trends and impacts of daily pumping for human and animal use. Such data are not available that we have seen. We are grateful to Solinst for this generous donation.


- Tom Osborne, Professional Hydrologist, HydroSolutions Inc.  Hope 2 One Life Vice President


Thursday, November 12, 2015

"I see you, I see another life saved"

We arrived in Entebbe without difficulty! All flights were on time with no delays. All team members received their visa without issue as well. All tubs made it with only a few opened. With Tom and Bosco’s muscles all 24 tubs were pulled from the baggage claim carousel and loaded onto carts. We lined up and moved out! All members made it past the custom agents and guards without getting stopped. Richard, Jackson, and Roger met us outside to load the bus and drive us to Lake Victoria View for the night.

In the morning we did introductions with the team. The most striking thing stated that morning was “I see you, I see another life saved” by Jackson. Jackson was kidnapped by LRA soldiers and forced into the army. He was able to escape and find refuge at the farm. Once introductions and breakfast were completed we were left for the city to complete supply shopping. Uganda time had set in! It took far longer to complete the supply shopping than any of us expected. We hit the road for the farm late. The traffic was so thick it took and hour and half to get out of Kampala! We did finally reach the farm about 1:00 a.m. on the 6th.

We all were travel tired so stayed in bed late, about 830-9am. We got up had breakfast and planned the day. The first order of business was to tour the farm. It is amazing to see the improvements from visit to visit! After the tour the people all met to talk about the microloans. Many business ideas were brought forward. They will be writing business plans and submitting them for approval when we return to the farm next week. Once the large group meeting was over The crafts team met in a separate area to talk about new craft ideas. The women seemed to automatically want to start sewing! The men saw new woodworking ideas and wanted to start right away too! We then unpacked many tubs for the clinic. We loved seeing how happy Susan was to receive supplies to care for the people.

Today was a day for the nursery school! Ranae lead the students in the story of Noah’s arc. Rae, Eva, and Stephanie assisted the groups. The story was followed by a puppet display of the story and masks! We went outside and found the animal that was like our own and ran and played!

Tom is currently testing wells. Neal, our soils expert, is in high demand! He is out going plot to plot and testing soils. Many are anxious to hear what may help their crops grow. Nadine has been very busy continuing with planning. The rain water collection system is being started and she is overseeing that.

Travel up north has caused some concern as it is the wet season here. Nadine is working on planning for travel since we are certain the bus will not be able to make it.

That is al for now! We will right soon…

What a blessing this trip has been and so many more blessings to come. We need to remind ourselves every day how fortunate we are, what we have and and to appreciate every gift God has given us!

- Ranae Parker


PS:  we convoyed up to Kitgum and Palabek with 3 4 wheel drive vehicles and it worked out very well. More news of palabek, Kitgum, awal and gulu projects to follow....Thanks for the prayers.  The team is doing great!

Family Empowerment - soil testing, Farming God's way and more updates

Soils testing was completed by Neal, Richard, Jackson, Apopom and Bosco with 8 fields visited. There is need to have treated seeds with Rhizobia to help soybeans grow. Soils are all low in nitrogen and phosphorus. Soil is high in potassium. Soil pH is around 6.0. Bosco learned how to do some soil testing. Neal was a great teacher. The farmers felt the time they spent together was very helpful to all. Leigh arrived today with Martha. Leigh also noted how much progress has happened since her last visit 2 years ago. SHe is excited to catch up on all the activities! She joined us for the afternoon Emmanuel clinic meeting with the VHTs. Village Health Workers are volunteers from nearby villages who have been trained to care for small medical situations such as wound care, burns, vital signs, malaria prevention, ect.

VHTs noted the successes to include great working relationship with the clinic and other VHT volunteers. Brought up the need to vaccinate our VHT workers against Hepatitis B. Many Sudanese are immigrating with Hepatitis.

The clinic is running so well there has been NO deaths in the clinic. The Ugandan government has come to the clinic and noted it is the "best clinic they have seen". The government has financed a mass vaccination clinic where over 300 children were vaccinated against Polio and measles.

Rain water collection planning and building continued today. The height of the north and south sides of the building are different sizes. Due to this the final decision was made to complete the rain water collection on the north side of the building will be completed. It was recognized that there is need to develop water drainage on the south side of the building. When it rains the water pools up so high it comes over the cement veranda. We witnessed this today in a short but powerfully wet rain! A gift to the farm from Charles KIng of Absarokee Montana, a former professor. He gifted a book of flowers of Uganda.

Richard spoke to the interest of the people to earn the knowledge of how to make their crops better. Neal was so patient in describing the issue and educating the people on the issues and how to fix. Richard feels with this help they will make great strides. Richard thanked Neal specifically for his help.

30 bags of mosquito nets are on site for outreach. That is 1500 nets!! Thank you to the people back home for this. Sunday will be 2 outreach clinics at 2 different church services. Kampala and Katamara village will be the destinations.

Sunday afternoon Farming God's way representatives will come to give a demonstation. We are excited to see what knowledge he has to offer!

Kenny has been so wonderful to us in preparing our food! God has truly blessed him with a talent!


- Steph Bond

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Canaan Farm

We arrived in Entebbe without difficulty! All flights were on time with no delays. All team members received their visa without issue as well. All tubs made it with only a few opened. With Tom and Bosco’s muscles all 24 tubs were pulled from the baggage claim carousel and loaded onto carts. We lined up and moved out! All members made it past the custom agents and guards without getting stopped. Richard, Jackson, and Roger met us outside to load the bus and drive us to Lake Victoria View for the night.

In the morning we did introductions with the team. The most striking thing stated that morning was “I see you, I see another life saved” by Jackson. Jackson was kidnapped by LRA soldiers and forced into the army. He was able to escape and find refuge at the farm. Once introductions and breakfast were completed we were left for the city to complete supply shopping. Uganda time had set in! It took far longer to complete the supply shopping than any of us expected. We hit the road for the farm late. The traffic was so thick it took and hour and half to get out of Kampala! We did finally reach the farm about 1:00 a.m. on the 6th.

We all were travel tired so stayed in bed late, about 830-9am. We got up had breakfast and planned the day. The first order of business was to tour the farm. It is amazing to see the improvements from visit to visit! After the tour the people all met to talk about the microloans. Many business ideas were brought forward. They will be writing business plans and submitting them for approval when we return to the farm next week. Once the large group meeting was over The crafts team met in a separate area to talk about new craft ideas. The women seemed to automatically want to start sewing! The men saw new woodworking ideas and wanted to start right away too! We then unpacked many tubs for the clinic. We loved seeing how happy Susan was to receive supplies to care for the people.

Today was a day for the nursery school! Ranae lead the students in the story of Noah’s arc. Rae, Eva, and Stephanie assisted the groups. The story was followed by a puppet display of the story and masks! We went outside and found the animal that was like our own and ran and played!

Tom is currently testing wells. Neal, our soils expert, is in high demand! He is out going plot to plot and testing soils. Many are anxious to hear what may help their crops grow. Nadine has been very busy continuing with planning. The rain water collection system is being started and she is overseeing that.

Travel up north has caused some concern as it is the wet season here. Nadine is working on planning for travel since we are certain the bus will not be able to make it.

That is al for now! We will right soon…

What a blessing this trip has been and so many more blessings to come. We need to remind ourselves every day how fortunate we are, what we have and and to appreciate every gift God has given us!



11/08/15 What a beautiful Sunday. I attended church and what a warm welcome we all received. All the people were so kind with smiles on their faces. One of the ladies kneeled and approached us on her knees to shake all of our hands. I have been helping with the school children doing many crafts and teaching about God. Eva Edwards

11/08/15 Our experiences here have been so uplifting. Neal and II attended a very rustic Catholic church with a dirt floor. We received a very warm welcome. In the afternoon we attended a demonstration for the farmers Farming Gods Way.

11/09/15 I have been helping at the schools with the wonderful children of the village. Many crafts and teachings presented by Ranae. What a blessing she is for this program. Rae and Neal



Saturday, November 7, 2015

What a Blessing! We have Arrived and Activities Begin

We arrived in Entebbe without difficulty! All flights were on time with no delays. All team members received their visa without issue as well. All tubs made it with only a few opened. With Tom and Bosco’s muscles all 24 tubs were pulled from the baggage claim carousel and loaded onto carts. We lined up and moved out! All members made it past the custom agents and guards without getting stopped. Richard, Jackson, and Roger met us outside to load the bus and drive us to Lake Victoria View for the night.

In the morning we did introductions with the team. The most striking thing stated that morning was “I see you, I see another life saved” by Jackson. Jackson was kidnapped by LRA soldiers and forced into the army. He was able to escape and find refuge at the farm. Once introductions and breakfast were completed we were left for the city to complete supply shopping. Uganda time had set in! It took far longer to complete the supply shopping than any of us expected. We hit the road for the farm late. The traffic was so thick it took and hour and half to get out of Kampala! We did finally reach the farm about 1:00 a.m. on the 6th.

We all were travel tired so stayed in bed late, about 830-9am. We got up had breakfast and planned the day. The first order of business was to tour the farm. It is amazing to see the improvements from visit to visit! After the tour the people all met to talk about the microloans. Many business ideas were brought forward. They will be writing business plans and submitting them for approval when we return to the farm next week. Once the large group meeting was over The crafts team met in a separate area to talk about new craft ideas. The women seemed to automatically want to start sewing! The men saw new woodworking ideas and wanted to start right away too! We then unpacked many tubs for the clinic. We loved seeing how happy Susan was to receive supplies to care for the people.

Today was a day for the nursery school! Ranae lead the students in the story of Noah’s arc. Rae, Eva, and Stephanie assisted the groups. The story was followed by a puppet display of the story and masks! We went outside and found the animal that was like our own and ran and played!

Tom is currently testing wells. Neal, our soils expert, is in high demand! He is out going plot to plot and testing soils. Many are anxious to hear what may help their crops grow. Nadine has been very busy continuing with planning. The rain water collection system is being started and she is overseeing that.

Travel up north has caused some concern as it is the wet season here. Nadine is working on planning for travel since we are certain the bus will not be able to make it.

That is al for now! We will right soon…

What a blessing this trip has been and so many more blessings to come. We need to remind ourselves every day how fortunate we are, what we have and and to appreciate every gift God has given us!


- Steph  Bond

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

By amazing grace, Uganda Mission 2015 departs with a new team!!

November 3, 2015

Today another mission team embarks on a journey to Uganda with Hope 2 One Life.  We are always amazed at the process and effort, planning, sharing, connecting, sacrificing and giving that goes along with this leap of faith to serve 1/2 a world away in a foreign land.  This land is now very familiar to me after this many trips spanning 12 years. Yet with each trip and each year it is always a huge relief to get through the packing and airport check in and get on that plane!  We are blessed to have 5 Hope 2 One Life board members with us and 3 newbies, and an LRA war torn Ugandan who we first met in 2006 and subsequently was adopted over to the US.  24 fifty pound tubs, 8 carry ons, 8 personal bags and 8 people made it through check in (at 4 am) and security in one hour.  This went as smooth as smooth could be!  We are grateful to our true friends getting up at that hour to transport us and see the tubs get weighed, tied and through the searches.  Thank you Doug Parker and Dan Rieland, you both were godsends and we are grateful for the prayerful send off and blessings!   As we journey we will introduce you to the 2015 team.  We will assess all of our ongoing water and health projects and community development projects, as well as new soils/agriculture assessments and educational and women's empowerment projects!

....Stay tuned as we travel to Entebbe Uganda via Amsterdam and head to the Family Empowerment Uganda - Canaan farm as our first leg of the trip.  It is sure to be an adventure!  I know we all simply want to "do good for others and love thy neighbor" with all of our hearts and souls.  We are grateful to those at home who are praying and supporting this effort.  Emmanuel, God be with us...

- Nadine