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Uganda
Today we distributed our last 550 bedkits. Your 8,000 bedkits have been greatly appreciated by the children and their parents. The days ahead will begin with a good night’s sleep.
My most memorable moment today was when a small child with challenges was soothed by a cookie and bottle of water. He could then calmly receive your generous gift. He went away very happily with his Mom.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Wow! What a day. . . . Again we travelled up the mountain roads to a site that had a 360 degree view of valleys and green mountains. The sun shone all day and the pictures all had this spectacular background. It was probably the best distribution yet as all the pieces fell together. To top it off, we were treated to a phenomenon most of us had never seen . . . a Circum Zenithal Arc . . . to us a rainbow that instead of touching the ground at each end remains as a circle above us.
Circum Zenithal Arc
We had a bit of a scare when we arrived at the site . . . our large truck carting the 550 bedkits was completely on its side in a ditch! Apparently they had off-loaded all the kits and then turned the wrong way out onto the road and tipped over. Heaven knows when they got out, but that was the only wrinkle in the whole day!
We were then treated to a performance by a group of women who sang, danced and brought gifts of fruit and vegetables, not for us but for their community. It was a joyous occasion for all.
Gifts of food for the family
We then went on to a lunch again hosted by one of the women in the Inner Wheel which was followed by a home visit right next door. The woman had 6 children living in a 2 room mud hut and her husband had died during Covid. Needless to say, she was overwhelmed by the gifts of food given to her and her children. This is always one of many sobering moments in our distributions. However, there are also a number of joyous moments such as seeing the children’s faces and the faces of their families, when they receive their bedkits.
It was a perfect day from every aspect!
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Bananas are a staple food in Uganda and that is obvious when you see the many, many banana palms planted in every nook and cranny around the country.
There are five different types of bananas grown here, each with a specific use.
Gonja bananas are for roasting on a grill or in the oven. This variety can also be fried.
Embidde bananas are fermented to make a local brew. The ripe bananas are mashed with grass releasing the juice which can be consumed or have sorghum added to it to begin the fermentation process. The resulting brew is distilled producing the local drink.
Ndizzi bananas are very small and eaten as a raw fruit.
Bogoya bananas are larger that the ndizzi variety and also eaten raw as a fruit.
Matooke bananas are steamed, mashed and eaten hot.
We have had the pleasure of having many of these varieties at our distribution lunch feasts.
Bananas are transported in every imaginable method from boda bodas, on the backs of bicycles, in baskets on the top of women's heads, to large transport trucks.
Bananas being transported by boda boda.
Bananas figure prominently in local art as well (picture).
Clearly, bananas are an important part of this culture.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
We had the opportunity to go on another home visit after today’s distribution. We all remembered the family: their son has a disability - his Dad got to be in the photo with him, as he couldn’t sit unsupported. Their house was a duplex made of clay and their side had two rooms. There was a cooking area out back, some goats, and a pumpkin garden.
The family consists of mom and dad and four children - the two youngest are disabled. They are 11 and 6, but look considerably smaller. The team referred to them as “having vulnerabilities”. The children were so happy and it was a joy to meet them. We sang “if you’re happy and you know it” and they clapped during the whole song.
There were three home visitors at their home, part of a government initiative. It’s a peer mentorship program, with folks from the community mentoring their neighbours, mostly on health-related topics. They visit each family monthly and teach them.
We gave the family some money and two Canada T-shirts and a Canada ball cap. Plus, they now have a bedkit. One of our team members told the mom that the bedkit is for the child but that the items could be shared. Mom shook her head. We don’t speak the language, but if we understood her, she was saying, “No thank you - this is for my child.”
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Yesterday, after our distribution in a remote village, we got to do another home visit. We had to climb a steep hill which was very rocky and muddy. Unfortunately, we arrived to find the mom was taking one of her children to hospital and the father wasn’t home. Luckily, grandma was home to take care of the other three children. We brought the family a gift of food to say thank you for letting us visit their home.
It was a sort of compound - two small homes made of mud and sticks, and a “shed” with a fire burning. Mom and Dad’s home had a cooking area and a bedroom, and Grandma’s home had 2 bedrooms and a main room. We saw that the new SCAW mattress was still rolled and sitting on a bed. The bedkit recipient was already wearing her new shoes! Shoes continue to be the hottest item and the one that the children AND their families cheer the loudest for.
On a related note, one of our team members spoke with a community volunteer today at the site who said there are many children with intellectual disabilities in the community, largely due to maternal malnutrition during pregnancy. We hope the gift of a bedkit relieves some of their burdens and allows for healthy development overall.
It is a gift to visit these families and have them open their doors - humble as they may be. It is illuminating and bittersweet: knowing we made a difference yet seeing just how much work there is to do.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Today was day 6, distributions 7 and 8. We hit a wee snag when the truck carrying the mattresses and bedkits broke down a few kilometres from the site! The team set up as best we could and the children got dressed while we all waited, fingers crossed and breath held. Luckily, the truck arrived about an hour after the team, and we all set to work: Inner Wheel, SCAW, and families. We rolled and tied 550 mattresses in no time at all, thanks to all the helpers.
Then we put the bedkits into the basins, again a team effort that moved smoothly and was much quicker thanks to families jumping in to help.
When the distribution happens, we have community volunteers, all of whom had children receiving a bedkit today. They stayed with our team for the whole distribution - lifting bedkits to be given out, and helping children carry their new bedkit and mattress. The help was most welcome as the bedkits are heavy- they are so filled with gifts for the children! $40 can go so far and gives children amazing opportunities to rest and to learn at school.
It was a smooth distribution, thanks to the amazing volunteers.
It takes a village to make a distribution.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Some quirky things we’ve seen along the way.
The traffic in Kampala was dense and chaotic; cars, buses, and motorcycles sharing the road. And oh my, let’s talk about the roads! Many were constructed with the red dirt of Uganda, and the potholes (craters?) were massive. It was common to see 2 or 3, or even a family of 4, on a motorcycle. But it’s the cargo that has been so entertaining. I wish I could’ve photographed all of the things we have seen! We see people carrying crates of fresh eggs, bananas, or other food (sometimes prepared food for sale), live animals such as chickens and turkeys, construction materials like slabs of drywall or 10 feet rebar (carried sideways), furniture, and even a stack of boxed mini-fridges.
The condition of the roads slows the traffic down considerably, and so an economy has emerged where people sell goods as they walk through the traffic. We were offered everything from food and clothing (men’s boxers), to windshield wipers and rat poisoning. Also to be seen on our long bus drives is the beautiful landscape of Uganda, lush green plants, rolling hills, and the red mud. We’ve also spotted both Toronto and Montreal hockey jerseys! And of course, we’ve seen several SCAW bedkits making their way home on motorcycles.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Well we had quite a day today with a start at 6 a.m. We headed north from Kampala to the Rwentobo Centre, one of the schools in the Ntungamo district. The ride was a real change from previous days not only in terms of traffic and roads but the scenery was spectacular. We moved up in elevation and into lush green hills and valleys. The temperature dropped too which we found very pleasant but the Ugandans find it cool and were donning sweaters and jackets.
The farming became tiered and housing was well spread out. It reminded me of the book, How Green was My Valley. The ride was VERY long, about 9 hours total, but we were entertained by the Inner Wheel with gospel songs and sometimes up-tempo dancing. They enjoy life so much!
Tiered farming
We did stop at the Ugandan Equator and had a group photo taken and finally drove on to the school, arriving about an hour late, but it did not lessen the excitement and we were greeted with the usual clapping and cheers. Emily, one of our team, had a great time entertaining the kids by blowing bubbles while they were being lined up.
Emily blowing bubbles
The Community is so grateful for what SCAW does for them. As volunteers, that alone makes our day worthwhile but then the children get super excited when we display the gifts they are going to receive. I spent some time watching them greet their parents after they received their bedkit and headed off by various modes of transportation - bikes, motorcycles, trucks and of course walking. Some have walked a long distance to get here and we would pass them on the bus miles down the road on our way back to our hotel with the basin on their heads and mattress rolled up. Many also had hard climbs as they live up the steep hills.
Another successful day !
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
This blog was sent on April 5th and was lost. I apologize and will post it now. This is the second day of the distribution.
Our adventure began early this morning after a lovely breakfast. We boarded the bus for our first interaction with the group representing the Inner Wheel and had a hands-on tour of the factories where the the school uniforms and back-packs were made. A very enlightening conversation with the owner ensued, and he has only good things to say about SCAW and its continuing support of the business he self-started with the idea of employing untrained Ugandan women and men. It was very uplifting to see how it was a win-win operation for all parties. We then moved on to the mattress factory to see the process from beginning to final product and again saw the behind-the-scenes operation.
The photos posted above show the kits put together, the finished mattresses, and the cutting of fabric.
We ended the visits with a wonderful introduction to all the Inner Wheel women and were treated to a luncheon. They are a force to be reckoned with in their dedication to SCAW. We are very blessed to have such industrious partners!
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Before each distribution begins, we speak to all the families and children. We tell them “a day of hope begins with a good night’s sleep” and that sleep is good for their brains and their bodies. We show them all the incredible items in the bedkit. From both the families and the children, the biggest cheer seems to come when we announce the new “ngato” (shoes). In fact, we’re not even sure that the children know they’re new - they are so accustomed to “new to them”. The shoes in the bedkit are sandals which seem quite durable and come in red, black, or navy blue.
We have noticed that many children wear no shoes at all. Others wear winter boots. Some wear dressy Mary-Janes. Many wear crocs. Some wear socks, though that is a rarity - a perhaps frivolous extra piece of clothing that would cost more money. One child was seen wearing men’s shoes - many sizes too big for her small feet. One of our team members noted that sometimes a family has “family shoes”- one pair of shoes shared amongst all members. The person with the most important event gets to wear the shoes. Getting a bedkit is a big event - worthy of the family shoes.
Each item in the bedkit changes the life of both the child and their family. The cheers, dancing, and “waveles” (thank yous) tell us that your donation is making a difference.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Our 7 member Canadian SCAW team was up and ready to board the bus at 6:30 this morning, ready to do a ”double distribution” today. That means that 500 bedkits are given out in the morning and 500 bedkits given out at a different site to 500 more children in the afternoon. It’s a challenging task but one which means we can maximize our time in a region and know that an amazing 1000 children will be having a good night’s sleep tonight.
It was a 3 hour drive to our first bedkit distribution site and when we got there, we were greeted by crowds of parents singing and clapping for us, even a few dancers in the crowd. The 500 children selected to receive their bedkit in the morning were already in their new shorts and t-shirts or dresses, singing a joyful and boisterous song of thanks to us.
We were greeted similarly in the afternoon with the addition of posters held up by the kids.
Parents with tears in their eyes, some doing “happy dances” were seen amidst all the hundreds of smiles surrounding us when children received their bedkits and returned to their patiently waiting parents.
I even got a special wink from one little girl as I lined her up to get her picture taken and then went to pick up her bedkit. Another child did a formal bow as he moved on. It’s moments like these and the opportunity to make a real difference that makes SCAW the incredible charity that it is.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Day 3 of the distribution took us to the region of Wakiso, where I spoke with one of the teachers about sleep in children at his school. The teacher described the children at this school as “extra poor”. He told me that he often does home visits and that most children had no mattress for sleeping, but if they did, it was often for 3 or more kids. Children often improvised for bedding, for example using clothing as covers. He also told me that the mattresses from SCAW would be “exceedingly helpful for people”. When the teacher heard that the Ladies of the Inner Wheel of Kampala were coming with SCAW to distribute bedkits, he told his students the good news. He asked them how many had ever had a new blanket or sheet for their bed? None of them ever had. He told me that the mattress and bedding would “transform their sleep”.
Later that day, we had the opportunity to visit the home of a single mother living in an 8x8 single-room house with her 6 children (two of whom were new-born twins).
Nalongo (meaning ‘the mother of twins’ in Lugandan) showed me the house, explaining that she slept on the old small couch, and all of the children slept together on a mat on the floor. Nolongo’s oldest child had received a bedkit that day, and I could see firsthand how the mattress and bedding would indeed be transformative for the entire family.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
It was very early on a dark morning with rain threatening when we started off for our first distribution. After three and a half hours on some suspension-punishing roads we arrived.
And, oh, what a welcome we had! The guardians/parents lined the driveway to cheer us in and the children were gathered, singing a wonderful song to greet us.
Wonderfully warm welcome
We gave the guardians and children a preview of the items in the bedkit.
Bedkit Items - Preview
Each item was received with thundering cheering and clapping, confirming that the ladies of the Inner Wheel had chosen well. After, the children changed into their new clothes and we set up the bedkit display, the distribution began.
Heading home with the bedkits
We were treated to a delicious lunch after the distribution.
Lunch
As I write this blog we are on the way back to our accommodation as the rain that held off all day has finally begun to fall in torrents.
We are thrilled to know that 500 children will be home tonight having a restful sleep to awaken to a new day tomorrow refreshed and ready to face the day.
Team Uganda
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
After a variety of travel arrangements, the group finally met in Amsterdam and off we went on the last leg of our journey to Uganda.
We arrived to a wonderfully warm welcome from the women of the Inner Wheel of Kampala.
Today was a day of rest and settling in to our comfortable accommodations. Tomorrow the work begins in earnest. We are looking forward to seeing the children at our first distribution.
Inner Wheel of Kampala 🇺🇬 and SCAW 🇨🇦
Today we enjoyed a scenic drive into Kapchorwa District for our final SCAW Uganda distribution. This area is known for its natural beauty, quality coffee, and is the training ground for Uganda’s national marathon runners who enjoy the flat and hilly landscapes.
Our distribution site was perched on a hilltop and surrounded by lush greenery and hills and valleys as far as the eye could see. We arrived at the site at the same time as the Crestfoam truck so we were able to see the entire team, including the community volunteers, set up the distribution site from the ground up. Mattresses were loaded off the truck and rolled, basins were separated and filled with bedkit items, and the photo area assessed. At the same time the children were registered and dressed and in no time we were all ready to begin!
It was a wonderful feeling to see the entire team come together for one last distribution. As the last child received his bedkit, our 7000th child over the past two weeks, we all hugged, high-fives and thanked each other for our dedication and hard work. It was a great team effort.
On the way back to Kampala we enjoyed a stop at Sipi Falls.
Well done everyone!!
Our distribution today in Ililim was lively and joyous! The children light up when that basin full of goodies is placed upon their heads. They take great pride in carrying it themselves to their excited parents.
After the distribution we stopped to see the Nyero Rock Paintings, a nearby historical site. A short but challenging hike allowed us to view three sites with etchings in the rock, some of which are believed to be over 5000 years old.
Tomorrow is our last distribution. I will be sad to see this wonderful adventure come to an end.
Today’s distribution was in the Kaukura area. There were lots of children milling about, all very anxious to entertain us with their dancing.
We visited the home of a family a short walk through corn fields from the school. The property was a mini -compound of clay huts with thatched roofs. The four children sleep together in one hut which is perhaps 8 feet in diameter and the parents are nearby in a slightly larger hut. A third hut serves as the kitchen and a tiny forth is for the pigeons. The children's hut is also home to a turkey which is minding her nest of eggs in the corner.
550 very happy children received bed kits today!
Today we continued our journey north-east of Kampala. As we left the city life behind us, we enjoyed seeing less traffic, lush gardens and the beautiful smiles and waves along the way.
We distributed another 550 bedkits to very deserving children. As the children left the distribution site balancing their mattress on their heads and holding their other bedkit items in their arms, the parents cheered! We especially loved hearing the beautiful sounds of the mothers ululating, showing us their happiness and gratitude.
Our visit today was to Nalugalu Public School which had no glass in the windows, no water and no electricity but it did have 550 adorable children ready to receive bedkits. We enjoyed lunch after with all the volunteers in one of the classrooms.
We were fortunate to visit the happy and loving home of a single mother and her 4 youngest children. They all live in a 10' x 10' tin shack with one small bed. We brought them a gift of flour, salt, beans and soap.
Today we travelled over three hours outside of Kampala and found ourselves in the beautiful countryside village of Bulawula. We received a very warm welcome from the children and their parents as we exited the bus. We then explored the property and all agreed that the cow field next to the school would be the perfect back drop for the photo area! We quickly set up and the distribution got underway. Thanks to our wonderful Inner Wheel teammates, we were able to give 550 children the gift of sleep today!
