Journey mercies and the dogs’ choir

Over the last two days we travelled from Lake Mburo Park in the west of Uganda, to Soroti in the north-east. Ugandans often wish you "journey mercies" when you set off and give thanks for them when you arrive. Since on the journey we passed three recent accident scenes, at least two of them fatal, you can see why. A minibus taxi with the front smashed in. As these only travel when they are full, the carnage must have been fearful. Three big trucks tumbled in the ditch by the road. If the drivers were wearing their seatbelts, I think they could have survived. And after waiting in a long queue to pass vehicles stopped in the road, we could see the feet of someone laid out in the back of the police pick-up. When you know something about emergency services and hospital treatments here, this kind of thing becomes even more intimidating. Accidents? Perhaps. But when you look at the old vehicles on the roads here, many puffing out black smoke, and the quality of the roads with few safety features apart from speed bumps, you realise this too is connected to poverty and poor governance. Charles our driver agreed that old vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life in “developed” countries are all that most people can afford. And that the system of annual vehicle checks (like UK MOT tests) has been abandoned as it was not working. So you have badly trained drivers in badly maintained old vehicles on a road system that is improving but still lacks most of the safety features we take for granted. No surprise that there is a high fatality rate. Police stopped us, making checks, but it is not always clear whether they are looking to enforce safety regulations or collect money from drivers.

So it was with a sense of relief that we arrived at the Global Care Centre in Soroti and walked into the familiar building. The offices were empty so we continued down the corridor to The Ark disability centre. “You are welcome Dr Tom!” Warm greetings from the staff giving the children their lunch. We greeted some familiar children and some unfamiliar new ones. Despite the new bunting the place seemed a little less bright somehow. I realised that someone was missing. A little girl that means a lot to me has gone …. to school! She doesn’t speak and most of her limbs hardly work but she is bright as a button and is reportedly doing really well, though we will need some additional funds to support her classroom assistant etc. Her smile is lighting up another room and we are all delighted. These successes are what we work for. To know more, or to help, go to  https://www.globalcare.org/project/the-ark/ 

Here in Soroti we look forward to the week’s programme, more details to follow.

And the dogs’ choir? At last night’s little hotel in Mukono, we were entertained by their singing mingling with the weird noises of Marabou Storks and local pop music. Unexpected talents are everywhere in this country!