Settling in

All in all I had a good trip over and enjoyed the Emirates experience, as much as one can when in transit for 35hrs cattle class. For those days I existed in a time warp somewhere in between not quite asleep and a long way from awake. Flying over the expanse of sea from Yemen and catching my first glimpse of the mother land was a real triumph, mixed with both joy and excitement. I finally made it to Africa! It was also a real thrill to fly over the origin point of the Nile. With passport stamped I was, met by the very friendly Fred and driven to a guest house for the night. Said guest house turned out to be much more luxurious than I had anticipated which was a real bonus.  Somewhere safe to unfurl and collapse. The next day I was driven into the centre of Kampala to change money and get basic supplies. I have a new appreciation of just how pale-skinned I am and felt uncomfortably conspicuous. I was then taken to my more permanent accommodation -another very comfortable apartment in Kololo, about 30 minutes walk from the main orphanage. Here I am camped out with 7 other girls from across the globe.

The next couple of days were spent settling in and trying to re-adjust my body clock. In those first 4 days I existed on just 15hrs sleep in total. Zombie. Thankfully I got my first 7hr stretch, just before I was due to start my first day of work at the babies home. Today was my second day on the job. The home has about 6 rooms, divided into different age ranges, under 2yrs of age. Each room houses about 10 babies. If I'd had a spare set of hands I would loved to have taken a photo yesterday which would have summed up the experience perfectly. Picture, if you can, me sitting on a 2 x 3m blanket surrounded by a sea of hungry 3 to 9 month old babies...about 20 in total... all screaming for bottles. The day revolves around cycles of bottles, bathing, feeding, changing and sleeping. There are delightful pockets of calm where you can scoop up a tiny little treasure and spend some quality time having a cuddle. The need is so great, despite the orphanage being well set up. Very little to stimulate a developing brain. There are a few boxes of dilapidated toys, but they are not always available. On my first day, I sat with 5 toddlers hanging off me and watched as  they crawled along the cold floor trying to find something to do. One found a rubbish bin lid, which I turned into a drum; another an empty plastic straw wrapper that made a crinkling sound; and another was content to play with my shoe laces. Here, you are the entertainment. A loving smile and sustained eye contact are your greatest assets.  The hope and joy of being noticed and affirmed are evident on each babies face when they see you smiling at them. In these precious and not-frequent-enough moments the love of God shines brightly. Blessed moments. This is what I am here for.

I am also working hard to build relationships with the men and women who work here. They have hard lives, working 12 hour shifts each day before going home to the demands of family life in a poor country. They pour out their all and are really the key to the whole operation. In just a short time I have seen the potential for further mission here. So much can be done, both at organizational level and at the coal face. Consequently, I am looking into the possibility of staying here in Uganda for the majority of my time away. Perhaps until the last week or so before I go. Then I might treat myself to a safari tour before coming home to regroup. Tomorrow and Monday I will be traveling to one of the children's villages in Suubi.  I have seen so much already but am struggling to take photos because it's so hands on, in the moment. It's also proving difficult to upload photos to this Blog, but I'll do my best. More soon.  Suffice it to say, I am absolutely in my element. Being here is all I dreamed of and more. Day by day the place is becoming more familiar and normal. Even the machine gun-toting security guards posted outside the local shopping mall don't seem as daunting and I have yet to clap eyes on a single mosquito!