Today was another great day as we visited a rural area about 45 minutes
outside of Kampala
along with staff from Voluntary Action for Development (VAD) which is one of WaterCans’
partner organizations who implement projects.
Unfortunately, it rained for most of the morning which is not typical at
this time of year. This meant that our
plans for the day were slightly altered and we ended up visiting a rural
homestead for a couple of hours in the morning.
Following this visit, we had lunch prepared by local residents and then
visited our first school.
The rural homestead was quite something!
A woman named Victoria
(80 years old) lived on the property with her 10 year old grandson who’s name
was Andrew. All of us quickly became
friends with Andrew as you can see from the pictures. Near the end, I gave him one of the soccer balls
and he was totally thrilled. The
pictures tell the rest of the story.
Victoria and Andrew
 |
| Brian giving Andrew a soccer ball |
 |
| A new Hand Washing setup for the family |
 |
| The toilets on the property |
 |
Victoria and Andrew's house
|
After lunch, we visited our first school – Sacred Heart
Nalubudde Primary
school. The
school children were absolutely thrilled to see us and put on show for us (singing,
dancing, plays, etc.). Through funding
from WaterCan and VAD, a new latrine block (toilets) has recently been
constructed adjacent to the school. And,
improvements to the water supply (a spring) are now getting underway.
 |
| school children |
 |
| New latrine funded by WaterCan |
I had the privilege of presenting the school headmaster some soccer
balls and soccer jerseys (Tim Horton’s) for the children to keep. I explained that the soccer balls came from Canada and were
signed by school children the same age as them. The kids were totally thrilled with the balls
and it was something I will never forget!!
 |
| Soccer ball presentation to the headmaster |
 |
| Kids with soccer balls on new jerseys |
 |
| One of the younger siblings!! |
We are off tomorrow for a 2 day trip to Fort
Portal in Western
Uganda. There is no
internet connection where we are staying so the blog will be silent for a few
days.
I hope everyone is doing well back home in Canada!
Looks like the soccer balls were a hit! Great pics Brian definitely capturing the essence of your trip.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they liked the soccer balls. I think that was a great idea that all the children can participate in. I hope they like those balls there too!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you arrived safe and sound! Looks like an amazing experience so far, safe travels - Tiffany
ReplyDeleteThank you for the news and pictures Brian. How far do the children travel(walk?) to get to the Sacred Heart Nalubudde Primary school? Safe travels. Heather
ReplyDeleteHi Heather - We were told that some children can walk up to 4 hours to get to school one way. This is probably not the norm but they sure have more obstacles getting to school than Canadians do!
DeleteGreat progress being made thanks to organization such as yours.
ReplyDeleteStill too much to be done. Don & Val
In a recent article posted on MSN, the heading read " Soccer can Change Lives" - the photos surely are proof of that both for those who receive and those who are giving. Thanks for sharing your journey thus far. Hey, how are the mosquitoes? Staying away or has it been pretty buggy with the onset of rain? - Roz
ReplyDeleteWe have thoroughly enjoyed following your blog, Brian, and can sense how touched you have been. We look forward to hearing a lot more about this experience. Marjorie & Rosie
ReplyDelete