The Wonders of South Africa

After two weeks in Bududa, Uganda, getting oriented to the school and its programs, and meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones, we headed to South Africa to meet our friend Sally and see some of her amazing country. She lives in the Eastern Cape region near the ocean in Kenton-on-Sea, an absolutely stunning coastal area on the Indian Ocean. Sally was an exchange student in 1969-1970 at David's high school in Perkasie, PA. They quickly discovered their mutual love for Jimmy Hendrix and they have been friends ever since.

Kenton-on-Sea, South Africa....Sally's home.

We spent a few days catching up on our lives....we have not seen each other since our 2004 trip to Africa....while planning and preparing for our South African journey with Sally. On Friday, October 20 hit the road. We drove all day and arrived in Underburg in the Drakensburg mountains, the highest mountain chain in SA. The bird life is delighting us and we saw Cape Weavers, Sacred Ibis, Red Bishops and Egyptian Geese there....just to name a few.

A trip up the Sani Pass into the Kingdom of Lesotho, a remote mountain top country in the middle of South Africa, was breathtaking. The road up the pass is dirt and gravel and very tough, but Roger, our expert driver got us up and back safely....and what a trip! Beautiful vistas as we climbed from 1500 meters to 3000 meters and entered Lesotho at the top of the world. We had lunch at the highest pub in Africa...what a claim to fame!

On top of the Sani Pass in Lesotho

Sheep herdsmen of Lesotho

From the Drakensburgs we moved on to Cape Vidal along the Indian Ocean for a few days. It is a hot spot for birding along the coast. We saw the Green Twinspot, the Red-breasted Cuckoo, Cape Weaver, and Wahlberg's and Martial eagles, to name a few. We also saw a host of mammals including red duikers, oribi, kudu, nyala, black rhinos and Semango monkeys.

Cape Weaver nest building

Our travels have now taken us farther north in SA into Kruger National Park, the largest game park in the country.  It is so vast, wild and remote. We visited Kruger for the first time in 2004 with our son, Derek, who was 10 years old at the time, and we feel very lucky to be able to return. In two days we have seen elephants, white rhinos, cape buffalo, wildbeast, impala and a den of spotted hyenas....with cubs! Birds include lilac-breasted and purple rollers, white-faced vultures, hornbills (grey, yellow and red-billed) and the gray turaco. We will be in Kruger for the next 5 days.

An elephant family in Kruger

Similarities and contrasts between Uganda and South Africa are striking, and we will try and reflect more about this later on. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from this part of our trip.

More beauty from Kruger

Every picture tells a story: A welcoming celebration for our return given by the Children of Bududa orphans' program.

Costumes were made in the BVA Tailoring class

When Every Moment is Worth Sharing.....

We are finding our time in Bududa, which is about to end for 6 weeks or so, filled with heart-felt connections,  challenging differences, grounding similarities, heart-breaking hardships, side-splitting humor, and out and out amazement. So then how can we truly inform you about the vast number of moments and stories that occur daily without being glued to the keyboard day and night?  Know we are fully immersed in this incredible place and we will continue to send you small, selected moments of our experience in hope you can create a picture for yourself that feels near complete.

Here then are a few new moments/stories:

Nakuti Medina is the School Nurse for the Saturday Children of Bududa program. We were so delighted and surprised to see her. Back in 2004 when David, Derek and I were in Bududa, she was in her early teens and one of the original Children of Bududa. What a success story! Now a nurse she is caring for a new wave of children in the same Saturday program that nurtured and cared for her so many years ago. And if that wasn't amazing enough, one of the CofB children, Doreen, who is an orphan who lives with her grandmother and her 4 siblings, had an awful case of scabbies, which is unfortunately not an uncommon medical problem because of the poor living conditions some of these orphans have to deal with. The treatment requires bathing each day, taking an antibiotic to kill the parasites and then applying a topical cream to lessen the itch. It was felt that Doreen shouldn't return to her home because it was not clean and her siblings were also infected, so Medina agreed to take Doreen home with her and administer the meds and keep her and her clothing and bedding clean for a week. What an angel....and she didn't even hesitate when asked if she could manage this. Because conditions at home had to also be attended to, the CofB social worker, Martha, arranged for Doreen's house to be cleaned, all bedding and infected clothing washed, as well as bringing her 4 siblings to the hospital for treatment. This kind of caring and help is commonplace in this program because some of the situations are so dire and the needs are so great. Many, many thanks to Medina and Martha.

Medina at her nurse's station at Saturday's Children of Bududa program

Monday, October 9 was Ugandan Independence Day.  Independence was declared in 1962 in the era when a number of African nations were born. The Bududa Vocational School (BVA), like most schools, had the day off.  There was little fanfare or celebration in Bududa and we were told that local villages rotate the annual celebration and this was not Bududa's year.  By Thursday we began to hear there would be a soccer match on Friday between the boys at BVA and another school and we were primed to see the match. On Friday we learned the soccer opponent would be a Christian boys school from some distance and they would be visiting the school before the match.  The boys school arrived in time to share lunch with us and after lunch there would be an assembly to officially greet the quests before the soccer match.  The assembly was spectacular!  After praying, singing the National Anthem, and introducing ourselves to one another (which often comes with words of wisdom from each person----all 20 of us!) the students then had their turn.  Two BVA students shared the BVA program with our guests, including urging them to send their friends and brothers and sister to the program.  Before the Christian school student spoke, Somali, the BVA faculty person in charge of the assembly, told them that they had no more than 15 minutes to speak so we could end the assembly to go to the soccer match.  This seemed a bit strange since the BVS student remarks lasted on 5 minutes each, but once the Christian school student launched into a full-blown sermon we understood the caution for the time limit.  The student was a master at preaching and had both schools in the spirit------and did push the 15 minute limit out to 20!  Everyone fully charged, we made for the soccer match----except-----we couldn't get onto the village soccer field by the school because they were now having the Independence Day celebration that did not happen Monday.  After Robert, the BVA Chief Operating Officer, pleaded and wrangled with village officials for 30 minutes, the two teams were allowed on the pitch.  Of course, the celebration continued on the sidelines which meant small children and chickens kept running onto the pitch.  In the end BVA was triumphant, 1-0.  The athleticism in the match was astounding and it was the perfect ending to an amazing day. 

BVA 1 - Boys Christian School 0

Soccer game commences during the Ugandan Independence Day Celebration

Today, we drove from Bududa to Entebbe to prepare to leave tomorrow to visit our friend Sallie in South Africa.  The drive takes about 7 hours, if all goes well, and includes navigating the 40 kilometer dirt road out of Bududa, the beautiful countryside around Mbale, the mind-blowing bustle of Kampala.  We had dinner with Pascal, a Masters level Business student from Makarere University, who we hope can help be doing some research to better understand job availability and interest in the Bududa District.  With good luck, he will start his research work when we return to Bududa in December.

On the road and arrival at school

Welcome sign at Bududa Learning Center

Students in Carpentry making doors for examinations

"Footing" on the road to school

Daily Life in Bududa

Bududa lies on a main dirt road, about 30 miles off the main tar road, that ends in 10 mile circle around the region.  The region sits in eastern Uganda in the foothills of Mt. Elgon, an extinct volcano, that marks the border with Kenya. Bududa sits at about 4,000 feet above see level and Mt Elgon tops out at about 15,000 feet.  We are very close to the equator, just to its north, so each day is remarkably similar with about 12 hours of daylight, 6:30am-6:30pm, and 12 hours of darkness.  Being in the center of the ball of the earth, sunrise and sunset occur quite swiftly and one always has to be prepared, especially to be blunged into quick and complete darkness.

Our day begins from the school's guest house as the sun rises.  The guest house is about a 45 minute walk from the school, about 2 miles.  It sits up on a hill overlooking the main road and the hills across the way.  Each evening, two Crested (Gray) Cranes, the national bird of Uganda, come to roost in a large tree by the road.  With luck, they stay in the tree until after sunrise so we can see them again to start the day.  The guest house is a very comfortable spot that has room for as many as 14 people.  It has a small amount of electricity, but no running water.  It also has a pit latrine.  Most homes in this area have no electricity or running water, and also have pit latrines.  We use headlamps and candles for light in the evening to better save electricity.  Electricity does come into the area, but is used mostly by businesses or wealthier home owners, and on a good week shows up just three times per week.  Our small bit of electricity comes from solar panels on the roof which is rare here. Uganda built a second hydro-electric dam about 8 years ago, but sells much of that electricity to Kenya.  Understandably, this is a sore spot for Ugandans.  The guest house is run by Justine, and she provides food and some cleaning for us---she is a wonderful host and person.  Sitting on the front porch before and after each day is a simple and wonderful treat.

After breakfast, we walk down to the school, which begins at 8:30am.  Once at school, we are busy getting to know the staff, students, and program.  It is an energetic, earnest place that is giving real skills to the students delivered by teachers that are well trained and dedicated.  During the next week, Karen and I will get individual time with each faculty to hear from them about their joys and challenges in teaching at the Bududa Vocational Academy.  We will send more information about this as we complete the interviews.

Once school ends, about 4pm, we make the return walk home greeting folks along the road and watching for any bird we can spot.  We are trying to find someone from Bududa who can help us with birding here, but have yet to make that connection----stay tuned on that.

Back at home, we relax, watch the birds from the front porch, bathe, prepare for the night, have supper together, enjoy some good social time, charge our various devices, and head to bed.  We've already had several invitations to visit folks in their homes and that will also become part of our routine in days to come.  Most weeks in Bududa, we will be working Monday-Saturday at the Bududa Learning Center, with Sunday off for relaxation, visiting friends, hiking and birding.

This is a simpler life style while still having all the complexity of helping in a school and joining into a community.  When the quiet arrives, it is deep, and nature breathes more fully here.   

Post Script:  It looks like downloading photos into our blog from Bududa taxes the system too much.  Our plan will be to add photos when we can get to Mbale, or a center that has a stronger wifi connection.  So, please forgive us if we get too poetic in our verbal descriptions as, until we load photos into the blog, we will try to paint pictures by words.

For all the birders out there:  An African Pygmy Kingfisher, a migrant to Bududa, visited the guest house this morning!!! Look him up on the internet. You will be delighted!

Greetings from Bududa!!!

Karen and I are sitting safely at the Bududa Learning Center after a three day journey that included a 19 hour plane ride and an 8 hour van ride that has transported us across several continents, 7 time zones, and a myriad of different sights, sounds, and habits to arrive once again back in Bududa.  Being able to publish our blog is proving a bit more complicated than expected, so we will be brief in order to get this post out to you.

On the way to school today, about a 1 mile walk, we have see a few old friends and many incredible birds---in fact we are just looking at the Wire-tailed Swallow from our school window! This morning, we've already toured the school and met all the teachers and many students. We watched students working in carpentry, masonry, tailoring, computer studies, and nursery teacher training, along with classes in math, English, and technical drawing. The school is an active, stimulating place with terrific programming in the classrooms.

A common theme we already have encountered is the tremendous set of obstacles that have to be overcome in order to move forward.  On the village level, it rained most of yesterday afternoon and the main dirt road in this region was reduced in spots to impassible mud.  We did finally make it through, but with great effort.  On the individual level, many of the students are orphaned (losing at least one parent) and most are needed at home to help manage family life.  This creates a pull for students and the school that is a challenge to manage.  We spoke a length with Head Master Steven about the complexity of operating the school and we know these will be challenges to face in the days ahead.

The guesthouse that will be our home for the next number of months is up a hill with a wonderful view of the one road below from the front porch that links us to the school and the village. It is quite nice and cozy with partial electricity and comfortable living areas. We will add photos to this blog as soon as we are able.

Hope you are all doing well. We miss you all. Stay tuned.