I hopped on my 1st MAF flight yesterday, flying to Pader in northern Uganda - hurrah! On the flight was Joshua Kyallo, country director for AMREF and his colleague Diana. AMREF is a medical organisation which serves and assists at the government hospitals. The hospital/health centre in Pader serves more than half a million people in the area, so the medical care they provide is so valuable.
We then continued in the small Cessna 210 through the heat and haze on the shorter hop to Gulu, where we picked up 3 people who work with Watoto Childcare Ministries. One of the workers, Carl, works in trauma counselling for children. With the area only recently recovering from long-term conflict with rebel groups, the work they do must be again so valuable.
Thursday 4 February 2010
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Off the beaten track
Imagine the branches of a tree - as the branches and twigs get further and further away from the trunk, they get smaller and smaller. Similar with roads going out of Kampala and away from the few 'major' routes. We discovered this on Monday night when we joined Sam Tsapwe, a former MAF worker who now almost single-handedly runs Jesus Film Ministries. Sam is a gentle man of God, but with a big heart for outreach in the remote areas. Showing Christian films on a big projector screen is novel and a great way of getting people to hear the Gospel message.
So off we set in his ageing Landrover heading north to a village about 40km away - or 2 hours.
The roads in Kampala vary from fairly good to the smaller bumpy dirt tracks with emormous potholes. On the roads are an ecclectic mix of taxis, mopeds, people and otehr vehicles, all declaring their right of way at the same time!
While the main roads are not too bad, but head off that the roads are seldom paved and get narrow and narrower, and can quickly develop large potholes with the combination of use and stormy weether. By the time we reached the village of Bugabo, it was like an overgrown narrow bridleway.
We collected a pastor, called Steve, on the way who has established many churches in his area. He helped and showed the way. So that was 7 people and lots of equipment in the vehicle!
When we got there, Sam was calling out to every home we passsed, 'Filimo! Fimimo!' Soon after we arrived in a clearing near a new church, children started running towards us. By the time the big projector screen was set up, a crowd of 100-200 people gathered.
This was Sam's 2nd time in the village, and this time he showed a film centred around the character of Mary Magdalene. This was shown in English and translated throughout by Sam in his mic. The kids particularly love watching these films and listening to the Chrstian music at the beginning, dancing away.
The weather was good - a growing orange moon rising behind the screen was quite something - though an isolated gust blew over the screen at one point!
Several adults reiterated Sam's prayer at the end of the service. Pray for the church to continue to grow in Bugabo, and particularly for Sam's ministry - it only takes something as small as a faulty cable for the film to be in jeopardy, so pray for the small details!
So another early night - or then again, maybe not!
So off we set in his ageing Landrover heading north to a village about 40km away - or 2 hours.
The roads in Kampala vary from fairly good to the smaller bumpy dirt tracks with emormous potholes. On the roads are an ecclectic mix of taxis, mopeds, people and otehr vehicles, all declaring their right of way at the same time!
While the main roads are not too bad, but head off that the roads are seldom paved and get narrow and narrower, and can quickly develop large potholes with the combination of use and stormy weether. By the time we reached the village of Bugabo, it was like an overgrown narrow bridleway.
We collected a pastor, called Steve, on the way who has established many churches in his area. He helped and showed the way. So that was 7 people and lots of equipment in the vehicle!
When we got there, Sam was calling out to every home we passsed, 'Filimo! Fimimo!' Soon after we arrived in a clearing near a new church, children started running towards us. By the time the big projector screen was set up, a crowd of 100-200 people gathered.
This was Sam's 2nd time in the village, and this time he showed a film centred around the character of Mary Magdalene. This was shown in English and translated throughout by Sam in his mic. The kids particularly love watching these films and listening to the Chrstian music at the beginning, dancing away.
The weather was good - a growing orange moon rising behind the screen was quite something - though an isolated gust blew over the screen at one point!
Several adults reiterated Sam's prayer at the end of the service. Pray for the church to continue to grow in Bugabo, and particularly for Sam's ministry - it only takes something as small as a faulty cable for the film to be in jeopardy, so pray for the small details!
So another early night - or then again, maybe not!
Initial impressions
Initally arriving at Enterbbe International, it was hot - unusually hot for the time of year. Situated right by Lake Victoria, the views were stunning. The same has to be said of Kampala in general - situated by the lake means it's relatively green compared to much of the country, with lush exotic plants and tropical fruit trees and all that. Seeing Malibu storks and parrots and other birdlife was also great. After a good night's sleep - or should I say a night's sleep - I was ready to embrace Uganda!
Amidst the beauty, it's clear that it can be hard work to earn a living here. Alongside almost every road are lines of 'shops' which sell all kinds of things. Many of these shops are still open gone midnight - it's a very social city and there are always people walking around the streets - some working even at night. But the people are as a whole very friendly and welcoming to us - not that strange British habit of completely ignoring someone who walks past you on the street!
The 3 reps managed to get on a flight on Monday morning to the north, as part of a regular shuttle flight to the Karamoja area. Also on board with them was a ladt from Action Contra la Faim (Action Against Hunger), and people from a couple of other orgnisastions also joined during the hop.
I was left at MAF's base in Kajjansi, which gave me the chance to have a wander around and see the hangar and terminal etc. Also situated right by Lake Victoria, it is in a fantastic area. Work on constructing a new hangar was about to commence - more on that later (along with news from a flight I joine today, plus a film showing. Right - I'm off for dinner at a pilot's home, and I'm heading for Sudan tomorrow to be based for a few days.
Amidst the beauty, it's clear that it can be hard work to earn a living here. Alongside almost every road are lines of 'shops' which sell all kinds of things. Many of these shops are still open gone midnight - it's a very social city and there are always people walking around the streets - some working even at night. But the people are as a whole very friendly and welcoming to us - not that strange British habit of completely ignoring someone who walks past you on the street!
The 3 reps managed to get on a flight on Monday morning to the north, as part of a regular shuttle flight to the Karamoja area. Also on board with them was a ladt from Action Contra la Faim (Action Against Hunger), and people from a couple of other orgnisastions also joined during the hop.
I was left at MAF's base in Kajjansi, which gave me the chance to have a wander around and see the hangar and terminal etc. Also situated right by Lake Victoria, it is in a fantastic area. Work on constructing a new hangar was about to commence - more on that later (along with news from a flight I joine today, plus a film showing. Right - I'm off for dinner at a pilot's home, and I'm heading for Sudan tomorrow to be based for a few days.
Monday 1 February 2010
From the air...
Flying from Dubai to Uganda, I got my first viewing of Africa. I have to say that the views are stunning! God is such a great creator. It was interesting to see very sudden changes of landscape - arid plains, dried-up river beds, spectacular mountain ridges of the Ethiopian highlands and the lush, green landscapes of Uganda. I saw some villages scattered around which must have views to die for.
Contrastly, the vastness of the continent and weak travel infrastructure was clearly evident in places, and one can begin to understand that, should an emergency happen in one of those places, it would take a long time to receive help. They're the kind of barriers that MAF aircraft help to overcome.
The plane flew close to the border of Sudan. I was reminded of the decades of unrest and hardship in so many parts of that country. A sad paradox in my mind while I wached the great scenery passing by...
Contrastly, the vastness of the continent and weak travel infrastructure was clearly evident in places, and one can begin to understand that, should an emergency happen in one of those places, it would take a long time to receive help. They're the kind of barriers that MAF aircraft help to overcome.
The plane flew close to the border of Sudan. I was reminded of the decades of unrest and hardship in so many parts of that country. A sad paradox in my mind while I wached the great scenery passing by...
Phew!
What happens when you cross a Boeing 777 with a Gatwick de-icer truck - quite literally? A very, very long trip to Uganda. We finally landed late yesterday afternoon, about 26 hours later than planned!
At least we were given hotal accommodation at Gatwick (pictured right) and Dubai, we we probably spent more time queuing than sleeping.
But nice to finally make it, bleary-eyed and the rest of it!
At least we were given hotal accommodation at Gatwick (pictured right) and Dubai, we we probably spent more time queuing than sleeping.
But nice to finally make it, bleary-eyed and the rest of it!
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