We are here!!! We have made it safely to Uganda. After a stop in New York and a ten hour lay over in London we finally arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on June 17th. 2 cab drivers were there to pick us up. We passed the Lake Victoria and saw many different things on our way into the city. It is very green here right now. Absolutely gorgeous and tropical looking! As we arrived at our hotel gate the security guard came over with a mirror on the edge of a pole. He checked throughout the bottom of the vehicle for safety before allowing the vehicle to enter. I have only seen that done in movies so it was very interesting. No drugs or bombs under our car so we were good to go.
Our team rested for the day as we were lacking a couple of days of decent rest. It was just the break we needed.
Today we all met for breakfast and then Jimmy (our Country coordinator) met us in the lobby. It was great to meet someone that I have had so much contact with in planning our trip. He was a kind and delightful person. We met Brenda our mentor and guide for this trip and Jefferey our driver. They are so nice and we are happy to be working with such wonderful people.
Our journey to Gulu started with a backed up traffic stop that took 1.5 hours to get through. Jefferey turned the car off at several points because there was literally no movement. A two lane road ended up being a five lane road where we were jammed in the middle. Sometimes I just try not to look out the window as it will stress me a bit. The cars are so close and some drivers are so aggressive that our mirror was hit at one point. We finally made our way through it and off we went. The country side is gorgeous! So many people carrying large amounts of products such as sticks, grass, fruits, water on their bikes or the women carry it on their heads. It is amazing to me the lengths that people go, to bring water to their homes and family. You will see bikes with 3-4 jerry cans filled with water where people travel miles to bring the water home. Or you will see children carrying the cans of water home as a chore. And then the water that they do bring home is contaminated. It truly hit me today about how fortunate that we are to be able to turn on a faucet and have instant water. We don't give it much thought but here the people have to think about it everyday.
So we arrived in Gulu today. We are heading to Kotido tomorrow. We have been told that it is a 5 hour drive on a bumpy dirt road. That should be very exciting! Once we are in Kotido we will begin our work. I am very excited about that. I'm not sure what the internet situation is like but I will update everyone as possible.
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