Preparing for Uganda

I plan to use this blog to communicate with anyone who is interested in my doings over the next couple of months. At the moment I am trying to get everything together for my trip to Uganda in June and July. I will be staying at the Global Care children's centre at Soroti, where I am assured there is reasonably comfortable accommodation and often electricity, so I should be able to keep posting updates once I am there.

My objectives are to do some things that will be useful to Global Care and to complete research for my masters dissertation. No doubt other works will be prepared for me to walk in (Eph. 2.10).

On previous visits to Soroti I was mainly concerned with children affected by HIV/AIDS. The project to ensure that all were tested has been completed and I want to see how the kids are doing and whether there is more we need to do to ensure their welfare. I can also contribute just by being on site and meeting people. Fortunately my wife Barbara is able to join me in Uganda for the last part of the trip and will be able to bring her unique gifts to the party. Friends at Hope House Church have offered items that will help to encourage and support the various programmes to aid vulnerable kids in Soroti - more details next time!

My supervisor was happy today with my research proposal and it seems on track for a good outcome. I will be studying the subject of childhood disability and I hope to find out how this problem is understood and handled locally by talking to adults who deal with children and to the children themselves. The biggest challenges I anticipate will be getting children to communicate freely, and I have some ideas how to do that, and then finding ways to analyse and present the data that I collect. This all has to be related to existing knowledge and theory and combined with reflection on my own work to produce the final dissertation. The reason for choosing this topic is that Global Care is starting a new project this year to help children with disabilities who have been excluded from school.

I'll spare you the details of planning for the practicalities of the trip like food, transport and money.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,

Tom