Anne had gone to run errands, so Esther and I sat and talked with John, who knows a lot about the different issues in Uganda and Bushikori. He had 12 children, 10 of whom are still alive. The oldest died recently at age 40, leaving 3 children, whom John is helping to raise. It is difficult for them to meet all the school fees and university fees, and even with a university education, unemployment is high.
Something that has recently come in in Uganda is the official discouragement of caning in schools. This is very new, and the transition isn’t very smooth in some areas, with some students acting up in school because the teachers can’t cane them.
Anne came back and we went to have lunch. I got to try posho, which was pretty bland, but was okay when you dipped it in the bean stew. I ate lots of matoke!
Then we started the long drive to Mbale. I took two videos, one of the streets of Kampala, and one of the countryside between Kampala and Jinja. Kampala is very busy, while the countrysides are quieter but much less prosperous. I fall asleep a lot on the bus.
Before we went to Anne’s house, we stopped off at the school where Esther’s son, Aaron (pronounced Eren) was boarding. We asked the head teach Jeffrey (pronounced Joffrey) if my two oldest children, Ingrid and Joash, a brother and sister, were there too. They were! I was so pleased, because it was one of the top secondary schools in the district. They both must have worked very hard to get in. I did not get to see Ingrid, as she had gone home sick, and I only got to see Joash for a few seconds before we had to go (I didn’t even get to talk to him because we needed to go) but we will be coming back and I can speak to them both.
Esther and Aaron
Jeffrey - the principal
We got to Anne’s house, and they showed us to our rooms, then we had dinner. There was rice and beans and avocado, all of which I love, and pineapple and mango for dessert. I met Anne’s two children who are at home, Mary and David. Both have finished uni and are volunteering at Bushikori while they look for jobs. Mary studied social work and David clinical medicine, which is the 1st half of a medical degree here. Mary has been sick, but they don’t know what is causing it, because all the tests are showing nothing is wrong. Esther gave David a stethoscope, and he was so excited, especially because it was such a good brand, which will work well even in the noisy clinic.
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