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| Six days together going to Pian Upe and Kidepo. Amazing experiences and stories shared with Robert and Charles, birders extraordinaire. New friends made. |
Questions from Sixth Graders:
Have you encountered any wild animals, like lions?
Have you met any people who are hostile to you?
Have you become close to anyone there, so far?
Why did you decide to start a blog?
What is your favorite blog post, so far?
Why did you choose to go to Uganda?
What is one of the biggest things you’ve learned, so far?
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| Look there, was that a flicking tail? Is that a sleeping lion----or two? |
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| With patience and wonder we get to see the younger male and female lions |
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| The nervous buffalo herd pushes toward the sleeping lions |
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| A mother and recent ly born baby Rothcshild's giraffe----what a thrill to behold! |
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| A small elephant group nurturing their young |
Lions: We have
seen lions in different countries in Africa----and we just saw a male and
female pair in Kidepo National Park in Uganda 3 days ago. Schools in Uganda have three terms per
year. We just ended the first term and
everyone is on a three-week break. Karen
and I used the break to head north to Kidepo for a five day birding and game-spotting
trip. We also wanted to see and learn
about this part of Uganda, which we had never seen before. On our first day in the park, as the day was
ending, we luckily came across two lion tails swishing in the tall grass near
the dirt road we were on. The lions were
lazily sleeping in the tall grass (it is the wet season in Kidepo). We sat for some time taking in the beautiful
landscape of the park waiting for the lions to move. From the other side of the road a small heard
of buffalo nervously moved closer to the lions.
The buffalo wanted to graze in the area of the lions, but moved very
cautiously with several different opinions in the herd about which way to
move. We also made them nervous with our
presence. Eventually they moved across the road and closer to the lions. The lions got up, a magnificent young male
and female, and graciously moved along out of the buffalos’ way. This entire
scene unfolded over an hour’s time. We
felt grateful to be able to witness such things. The next day, about this same time, we finally
saw our first giraffe in the park. There
are several different sub-species of giraffe and the one that lives in parts of
Uganda is the Rothchild’s giraffe, the most endangered giraffe. We knew they were in Kidepo and really hoped
to see one. As we moved closer to this
amazing animal we were totally delighted to see it was a mother with a very
young baby. Karen and I have seen young
giraffes, but never one this young. As
with the lions the day before, we stayed with the giraffes for some time, but
moved on because we were making the mother nervous. We were so happy to have been with this
mother and baby.
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| Some newer friends: Justine and her children: Betty, John, and Isaiah |
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| Dear, long-time friends: Edwin Makui, age 86, and his sister-in-law, Agatha, and their grandchildren. Sadly, Edwin's brother, Johnny, passed away two years ago. We spent much time sharing ideas and dreams 12 years ago. |
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| Visiting the fish farm at the home of James, the carpentry teacher at Bududa Vocational Academy. His wife, Irene, and their children show us around the farm |
Relating to Ugandans:
I first started coming to Uganda to help build the vocational school and
orphans’ program in 2003. I last came
here in 2006, so it has been 12 years since I was last here and 15 years since
my first visit. Karen last came in 2005,
so it has been 13 years since she was here. In that time, Karen and I have
gotten to know many people in Uganda and feel close to many people here. We have never been treated hostilely by
anyone, but we have met folks who try to charge us more money for things than
Ugandans might pay for the same thing----but that is a pretty common experience
for travelers around the world. Of course before going, we try to learn as much as we can about the places we visit, including being able to speak a bit of the language. We also try to move about with an open mind and an open heart as well as ask for help whenever we need it. One of the
best things for us coming back to Bududa after 12 years has been seeing old
friends we made from the past. Catching
up with each other, sharing some tea and groundnuts together, and meeting new
family members are special moments for us.
Of course, no matter how close we are to our Ugandan friends, there are
things about their lives we can never fully understand and the same is true for
our Ugandan friends fully understanding our lives in America. Be that as it may, our caring for one another
and our support of each other is strong and continues to grow.
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| A mother and baby Common Bulbul feed just in front of us at the Guesthouse front porch |
Our blog: We started our blog as a way to share our time in Africa with friends and family back home. We’ve also enjoyed talking through our blog to a few classes, like yours’! It’s been a lot of fun to put the posts together. Karen really enjoys taking photographs and it’s been a great way to share some of her terrific photos. My favorite post is The Ballad of an Eagle in Bududa. I still can’t believe our Eagles are Super Bowl champs----and following them from Uganda was quite a ride. Making that post just recounted all the fun and frustration of rooting for the Birds from over here. Hi everyone….this is Karen and my favorite blog is actually in two parts and is called View From the Front Porch – Parts 1 & 2. The front porch of the guesthouse we live in is a wonderful place serving many purposes. It is a gathering place for friends who come to visit us. We often make some hot tea and enjoy visiting with one another and sharing stories. Also, we sit on the porch every day when we return from school to relax a little and to see our feathered friends….an amazing assortment of birds that always delight us with their antics and their beauty. Most recently we have seen a few babies who follow behind their mothers like glue, calling for food with open beaks. We’ve seen moms fly down into the field and return seconds later with a big cricket to feed their hungry babies. The front porch is also a very peaceful place to sit and read a good book, or look out on the beautiful green valley below us, or to watch the moon rise over the mountaintop.
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| Long-time friend, Grace, Director of the Children of Bududa program, and two former children from he program who have gone on to become nurses and now volunteer to help at the Saturday proram |
Coming to Uganda and learning: I came to Uganda in 2003 because a Ugandan Quaker
named George Walumoli came to Germantown Friends School in 2002 to see if
anyone wanted to come to Bududa to help start a vocational school. It was his dream to help the young people in
his village. There are many African Quakers in East Africa, particularly Kenya,
and George visited America through his Quaker connections. He arrived at GFS unannounced and since I was
teaching Quakerism to 7th graders that day, we invited him to speak
to our class. He spoke about the need to
create a vocational school in his village in order to train young people in real
skills so that they could find employment and earn a living. He also told us that many adults were dying of
HIV/AIDS in Uganda at that time. So,
that there now were many children without parents who needed help with school
fees, clothing, medical care, and food.
I went home that day after school and told Karen that I was going to
Uganda next summer to help----when I heard George speak I knew I had to go. After my first summer there in 2003, Karen
and our son, Derek, who was ten years old at the time, decided they wanted to
come, too. I had a six-month sabbatical from GFS in 2004 and so we were able to
spend almost six months in African, the final two months in Bududa. We think that folks in Bududa had seen white
adults before, but never a white child.
Derek was quite the celebrity! Karen went back in 2005 and I went back
in 2006. By 2006, the school was built
and starting up and the orphan’s program was also underway.
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| Agnes, received medical help from the program as a young girl is now a beautiful young women. Her father, John is a Quaker pastor and a long-time friend |
There are so many things I feel I’ve learned from coming
here and I feel like I’m learning new things almost everyday----I could go on
about this for a long time. Probably one
of the bigger teachings for me has been to witness people who live in real
hardship continue to push ahead with hope and caring-----and be willing to
share the little they have to make me and others feel welcomed and
comfortable. Living among such courage
has been a true privilege for me. Hello again. This is Karen and I totally
agree with what David just shared as one of my biggest learnings as well. In addition, I have learned much about the
resilience of the human spirit. Even in the midst of dealing with some very
difficult challenges, for example, being orphaned, or not having enough food to
eat, or getting sick with malaria over and over again, or having to walk miles
to school every day (just to name a few), Ugandans smile so much. They seem to
appreciate what they have and are happy to be alive. Approaching life with such
hope and courage is a great teacher to me.
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| Eddy and Isaac, both orphans, and long-time members of the Children of Bududa, often stop by and light up our day! |
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