Happy Birthday to the Queen!

Last Friday we celebrated the Queen's birthday at the British High Commissioner's residence with several hundred other people of various nationalities.

We were greeted by these rather fine looking gentlemen in the front of the photo who had been flown in especially for the occasion, along with a vast selection of British cheeses and smoked salmon - such a treat!

Waiters carrying trays of Pimm's and glasses of wine circulated the lawns with great frequency - too bad we don't drink alcohol here! In addition to the British cheese and smoked salmon (neither of which you can get here normally), the British theme was extended through the serving of miniature cones of fish and chips.

The British High Commissioner and a Ugandan Minister were piped in to give their speeches by a bagpipe player (also flown in specially) sporting his very best Scottish attire. No doubt there are Ugandans who now have the impression that us Brits parade around in some very strange outfits back in our country!

It was a really enjoyable evening - even more so for us this year as we actually knew a number of the guests- but the evening was topped off rather dramatically with an earth tremor! There we were sipping our drinks and making small talk when the whole earth started shaking beneath our feet.....now that's a good birthday party.

Coaching it to Kenya

We have just returned from a 5 day trip to Kenya - our final opportunity to spot African wildlife before we leave, with Kenya being a top choice of destination to see a wealth of fine creatures.

We travelled by bus and chose to pay a little more (still only £13!!) to travel 'Royal' class - we were lured by the promises of extra large seats, on-board refreshments, 15" DVD screen and best of all, air-con. The reality was:

• whilst the seats were indeed super wide, leg room was a little lacking and Ruth spent 13.5 hours sitting behind a woman who insisted on reclining her chair the whole way


• the refreshments that were served as we boarded in the morning consisted of a polystyrene cup of passion fruit juice and a brown paper bag containing either french toast or vegetable samosas. Whilst 'Royal' class breakfasts elsewhere might be more a case of tea served in china cups and silver platters of smoked salmon and hot, flaky croissants, we were very excited about our breakfast effort and indeed felt like VIPs, but we guess that means we have been living in Africa for too long!


• the DVD screen was there but didn't work for the whole journey


• we think the air-con was actually fresh air coming through windows - all very hi-tec

That aside, travelling by bus is a great way to see more of the African continent. In one journey, we crossed the River Nile, crossed into the southern hemisphere, passed sugar and tea plantations, countryside that could have been in mid Wales, Kenyan mountains, arid, rocky terrain and through busy, colourful trading centres.

The downside of travelling by bus is that the roads and road-side facilities are generally appalling. Never have we dreamed so much of smooth British tarmac-ed roads or a good old Granada service station. Here, the roads are ridiculously potholed and fall away at the edges and the en route toilet stops are often disgustingly smelly and dirty holes in the ground or of course a traditional road-side bush. The bus we travelled on when we returned to Kampala was so old, with apparently no shock absorbers that our bodies were being jolted ferociously every second and we had to shout at each other to be heard.

Travelling aside, we had a great time on safari, visiting the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru National Parks, along with our friend and colleague Dave. We joined 3 others - a Russian, a Jew and an Indian, so if you include Matthew's Welshness and Dave's Brumminess, we were quite a diverse bunch.

We stayed in tents (see photo) just outside the Masai Mara and apparently narrowly missed an elephant invasion on our first night. It was amazing how many animals we saw at really close range on the game drives. It was hard to believe we were in Kenya and not in Windsor Safari Park.

Check out the lioness under the safari vehicle!

Searching for the Shoebill in the Swamp

Whilst many of you would spend your Saturday afternoons traipsing around crowded shopping centres, I (Ruth) spent last Saturday afternoon with my buddy Helen paddling around a papyrus swamp.

We were in search of a 'shoebill stork', which is a bird which is generally accompanied by the descriptions 'shy' and 'elusive'. As such, I wasn't holding out much hope of seeing it and thought I would have to be content with having seen the 'zoobill' (as Helen calls it) - its captive brother at Entebbe Wildlife Centre.

Mabamba Swamp is about an hour and a half outside Kampala and not the easiest place to find. As is the case with many places in Uganda, it's a case of knowing which mango tree to turn off at, bumping along a red, dusty potholed road and asking for assistance (using a mixture of English and Luganda) from smiling, bike-riding villagers along the way until you reach your destination.

Much as this swamp is noted for its birdlife, don't think in terms of an RSPB reserve with wooden walkways, children's nature trails and a tea shop. This was more of a case of finding a man with a pair of binoculars, finding a man with a boat and a paddle, negotiating a price and off we go. Even the pit latrines were not in operation and toilet facilities consisted of a bush - I'm sure I had a concealed audience of giggling children when I went to spend a penny. Oh well, whatever makes them happy!

Whether or not you are interested in birds, it is hard not to be impressed by Uganda's birdlife - over 1000 species and very few 'little brown jobbies' - many have the most spectacular colours and others are just plain bizarre - maybe God was trying out his most wacky designs here.

Well, we did indeed eventually spy the shoebill stork (as pictured), a rather large 4 feet tall and so named as its bill looks just like a shoe (I appreciate I may be stating the obvious). It was quite exciting as these birds are notoriously difficult to find.

However, if you are more of a city dweller and find it hard to appreciate such rapture over a bird, at least you can appreciate that your home is probably slightly more substantial than this one - built in the middle of the swamp out of sticks and straw, with a family of at least 5 living in it. Judging by the children we saw, they don't eat too well either.

Uganda continues to challenge us with its immense beauty and abundance on the one hand but with pervasive poverty on the other. It may sound trite but we really have learned to count our blessings and acknowledge that some of the things we take for granted - somewhere safe to live, regular meals, education and access to healthcare - put us in the top 5% of the world's population. Did you realise that?

Our Bambejja Child Support Project has seen a recent change with all 122 girls now being sponsored to attend schools in the local community. Our younger girls come to the centre for lunch and stay for afternoon activities which give extra educational support as well as help the children learn life skills (self-esteem, listening skills, how to treat other people etc), play games and receive some Christian teaching.

This is a picture of our 'circle time' activity - common in UK schools but very uncommon here. Children have to learn to sit still and quietly and listen to each other as each child expresses herself when she is holding the toy giraffe (so culturally appropriate!) It has worked really well as a way to develop girls' confidence, to help them learn to express themselves and to talk about things which affect them. The girl in the middle also gets full marks for sitting nicely!

Whereas most Ugandan teachers struggle to teach a class of 100 children (alone) we have the benefit of having small classes so the girls can really benefit from a high level of interaction. It is so exciting to see them enjoying learning and making great progress and these are all girls who, if it wasn't for Oasis Uganda, would not be going to school at all.

Having not written much recently about our work, we thought it was time to update you with some encouraging stories and cute photos.

This is Noel, the son of Letitia, one of our Bambejja Skills Training Project trainees. Noel was born with some brain abnormalities and as such has suffered some serious developmental problems. As a young single mother and unable to cope with the costs of medical care or the challenges of a demanding baby, Letitia almost abandoned him. Fortunately someone came to her aid and now she is training with us and Noel is receiving excellent care in our Bambejja creche.

The Bambejja staff have worked really hard to help Noel. When he first came to us he was unable to sit up, had little control of his limbs and he found it difficult to interact with people and play. Now, thanks to physiotherapy, a standing frame (in picture) and special attention from staff, he can do all of these things. The change in him has been incredible and we are so thankful that he wasn't abandoned and left to die but was given a chance. We pray that he will continue to have such opportunities as he gets older.

Hopefully, as his mum completes her training with us, she will be able to find employment so she can look after herself and Noel more adequately in the future.

We thought you might like to see a photo of us and some of our colleagues here at Oasis Uganda. It's not quite everyone - we are 46 in total, including volunteers - but it gives you an idea.

Most of our staff are Ugandans, with 6 international staff members (including us) and varying numbers of shorter term UK volunteers here at different times. Recently we have had an accountant, a physiotherapist, a teacher and an engineer, all doing very helpful things either for us at Oasis or partner organisations.

Gill Olaaka, who will be taking over as Country Director when we leave in August, is above Matthew to the right. She is an Irish lass, who has been working for Oasis Uganda for nearly 6 years and has married the most muscular Ugandan man we have ever seen! It's worth keeping on the right side of him!

We were just about to sit at a picnic bench but changed our minds when we saw this rather lengthy snake just where our feet would have been. Apparently it is harmless but we didn't want to take the risk.

Snakes aside, we had a great weekend recently at a place called 'Hairy Lemon', a small island in the River Nile. We went with a couple of friends who are leaving Uganda this week after 9 months of working with us at Oasis.

It is an idyllic place, as long as you are not a 5 star hotel type.... or any star for that matter! But for us intrepid African explorers it was a perfect weekend retreat from the noise, dust and grime of Kampala. Highlights were wallowing in the river, sitting under the vast starry night sky and monkey-watching.