Africa - January, 2015 (Days 1, 2, & 3)

Jan. 11 – 13, 2015

The adventure begins, again. . . .  I am off on my third trip to Africa as part of a Give Us Wings volunteer group.  Give Us Wings (GUW) is a small Twin Cities non-profit that coordinates with local groups in Uganda and Kenya to develop and carry out projects that will improve the lives of the residents.  We’ll be spending most of our two weeks in Tororo, Uganda, a couple of days at GUW projects in Kenya, and a couple of days on a mini-safari in Masai Mara National Park.  There are ten of us volunteers, six of whom are members of my church, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal in St. Paul, MN.  Church members did “one good thing” five years ago and raised the money to build a clinic in Kayoro, a rural district on the outskirts of Tororo.  We volunteers will be participating in activities at the clinic and reporting to our fellow parishioners.

Eight of the ten of us flew together on Jan. 11 from the Twin Cities to Amsterdam where the plan was to meet up with our two other members for the Amsterdam to Entebbe flight.  Our plane arrived in Amsterdam at 6:59 a.m. on Jan. 12, and we were joined by Sharon who had flown in from Pennsylvania.  The nine of us were on the KLM plane awaiting departure to Entebbe when we learned that our tenth member, Jered, the rector of St. John’s, was standing at the gate not allowed to get on because his seat had been rebooked as the result of a late flight from Chicago.  The fact that he was standing there, the door hadn’t closed, and there were seats available had no impact on the airline bureaucracy, and we left without him.  Not the most auspicious beginning. . . .

Left Amsterdam at 10:10 a.m. for the flight to Entebbe (which involved a one-hour stopover at Kigali, Rwanda, where passengers had to stay on the plane); arrived in Entebbe at 10 p.m. and collected our baggage of which there was a LOT.  Each traveler had his/her own suitcase and one filled with medical supplies for the two clinics; three of us had an additional 3^rd suitcase with supplies.  So nine people had 21 large bags. 

We were met by 2 vans and a pick-up truck.  People went in the vans, suitcases in the truck, to the Golf View Hotel in Entebbe, the hotel I’ve stayed in at the beginning of each of the three GUW trips.  Finally went to bed about 1:15 a.m., more than 24 hours after travel began in Minnesota.

Woke up on Tuesday (1/13) a good half an hour earlier than I needed to get up.  Shouldn’t complain too much, though, because the 5 hours sleep, while not long enough, was solid.  After breakfast I checked e-mail and learned that Jered, who was supposed to arrive in Entebbe at 9 a.m., had been delayed on the Amsterdam-Nairobi flight so missed the morning plane to Uganda.  Now he is supposed to be in at 2 p.m.  So my 5 hours of sleep stretched out in a bed rather than spending hours in an airport and on planes did seem just fine.  Cammie, the group leader, will stay in Entebbe with one of the vans awaiting Jered’s arrival while eight of us squeeze into one van for the drive to Tororo.  It will be tight but doable, particularly since the truck is transporting luggage. 

We started out at 9:15. a.m.  The first part of the journey involved heading north, toward Kampala, the capital and largest city; traffic in and around Kampala is dreadful!  Turning east on the Jinja Road we began heading toward Tororo.  Jinja, the 2^nd largest city in Uganda, is, according to Ugandans, the source of the Nile (which eventually reaches the sea in Egypt).  There are other places that claim to be the source, but, since this is the one I’ve seen multiple times, I choose to believe the Ugandan claims.

We had a late lunch at the All Friends restaurant.  When we stopped there two years ago, the name was Two Friends.  Perhaps the new management wanted to be more inclusive. . . .

We left about 3 p.m. for the approximately 80 mile drive to Tororo, arriving at the Prime Hotel about 5:30.  We’d been scheduled for a 5 p.m. orientation meeting at the Give Us Wings Office.  The stalwart staff was still there so, after unpacking a little and looking longingly at our beds, we got back on the bus and drove the mile and a half to the office where each staff person summarized his/her program, and Sarah, the Africa director, gave an overview.  After the formal presentations there was a little time for informal conversation.  Sarah and Therese, the U.S. director, immediately got their heads together.

And the inevitable refreshments were produced – enjoyed especially by the African staff members who’d been waiting around for our arrival.

Returned to the hotel about 7:45.  Unpacking, then a group dinner at 8:30, during which Cammie and Jered turned up – in time to have some food.

To bed at midnight.