ICE Exec Committee blog update

Sally: Today was hot as there was little breeze. At the Soroti medical centre the EFOD/ICE crew is settling down and making some real progress, installing lights, internet connections, guttering and shelving. Momentum is gathering for the grand opening on Friday with local dignitaries to mark the occasion. Together with Liane we officially became the ‘joiners’ and we were elevated to fitting panels to door frames to the radiology room and making shelving. Much to my amusement I was working Uganda style this afternoon, sawing some wood for the aforesaid shelving, whilst four young Ugandan men stood round and watched!

I was delighted this afternoon to have borrowed the dongle which allowed me access to the internet whereupon I could create this blog. I heard today that next week I will be travelling to see the other EFOD projects; the orphanage that was finished just last summer and the grinding mill run by the widows co-operative. I also hope to visit Janet in Mbale before coming home to meet her class.

Friday 28^th: Official opening of the medical centre

It was a hot day and many dignitaries came along to the opening ceremony, including Bishop John Ecru, Pastor Sam Eibu and dep RDC for Soroti district, Joseph Osotu. I was invited to speak a few words in my capacity as ICE Cymru Chair, and Ian Flower and Stuart Gerrish spoke about EFOD. It was the culmination of a fantastic achievement by the team who have worked in Soroti for many years and was quite emotional.

We have developed a great rapport with the locals who are working with us to complete the last few details that will help to extend the building. We are completing fitting out of the radiology rooms and also creating a resource centre that will be used for training in technical, IT and craft.

Saturday 29 Jan : We made the trip to the lake – on a very dusty road. See the photographs of some spectacular scenery. The tiny villages we saw enjoyed the most perfect setting, overlooking the vast serene lake. There was a mixture in building materials from classic mud huts with thatched roofs, to small brick bungalows. Soccer was everywhere with football pitches dominating every village green! I expect they are all also vulnerable to flooding during the rainy season.

We passed a water station that was very busy where the young women and children were filling large yellow containers using the hand pump (perhaps WaterAid or Oxfam had installed this?) and the women were carrying the containers back to their villages on their heads. We have seen many women carrying many (challenging) items such as whole bales of timber and also very large baskets laden with fruit (bananas and mangos) carefully balanced on their heads.

Sunday 30 Jan :A day off at last – I have never done so much manual work in my career to date and in a heat of 35 deg and above! Sunday service at Soroti Baptist Church was an experience I shall never forget. There was much singing and dancing, and joyful singing; it was impossible not to be moved. There were even some pogo-ing (if you have ever seen The Blues Brothers film you will know what I mean!)