Goodbye Gulu

Today is my last day in Gulu and I am saying goodbye with mixed feelings. I've seen what I needed to see here, for now, and learnt what I needed to learn. It's time to go, but the leaving is bittersweet. I will really miss this place and the people -the beating heart of Africa. I will also miss the quality of the teaching and the intimacy of worship I have enjoyed here. I worked my last shifts at the Babies Home during the week and had the privilege of welcoming some new babies into the nursery - wee Daniel, who's mother died giving birth to him, arrived at just 2 days old; fragile Prossy, who is battling malnutrition and a host of other medical problems, who is a year old and just lost her mother to TB...her limbs are like matchsticks and she is not far off the weight or size of newborn Daniel; and a set of beautiful triplet girls, with mother in tow, who are staying in the unit temporarily to try and support the mother's breastfeeding.

My morning will be spent packing all of my gear, once again, and my afternoon will be spent doing one last circuit of town and one last visit to the Home for a round of goodbyes and cuddles. We will be setting out for Kampala at a respectable 8 am tomorrow morning and will reach the main city 5-7 hours later, all going well. From there I'll have 5 days in Kampala, before flying out to Kenya for a week on the 2nd. On the 2nd I have a very early 3.30 am start, to ensure I am on my 7.50 am flight. Arriving in Nairobi, I will be picked up from the airport by a tour company and start my 5 day safari with a gruelling 10 hour drive to camp! I imagine that my eyes will be hanging out of my head by the time I reach my tent in the middle of the Masaai Mara. With roads being as they are, hopefully my stomach won't be hanging out as well. After touring the Mara, Amoboseli and Tsavo (east and west) national parks I'll be heading back to Nairobi for 2 very quiet days at a backpackers, before heading back to the airport for my 36 hour journey home (departing 9th, arriving in Welly on the evening of the 11th). Phew! Then I will look forward to 4 short days to recover from all that before heading back to work!

I will probably manage one more post before leaving Uganda, but am unlikely to have phone or Internet in Kenya unless I find a cafe on my travels... until I hit an international airport with wifi...I'm guessing Dubai.