Writings from Carrie's Personal Diary in Uganda

Julie walking off the plane in Entebbe, Uganda

The beautiful rainbow is behind us just as we stepped off the plane.

Driving in Kampala. Lots of water being carried by bike.

6/17/2012  We arrived early this morning in Uganda after a 10 hour layover in London.  We walked off the plane to find a huge rainbow greeting us after a short shower of rain.  Our names were written on a small white piece of paper from a man who was waiting to pick us up.  Julie Stephen and I went in 1 cab and Steph and Dave went into the other.  It was an eventful 1 hour ride passing thru traffic on 1 lane roads with cars, bicycles, carts, people walking and crossing the street.  Our taxi driver would pass on a one lane road going up a hill.  Crazy!  It is green in Kampala.  Beautiful trees and plants! Can't wait to try the fruit.
When we got to our hotel outside the gate we had to wait for security to check the car.  He held a mirror on a long stick and searched underneath the whole entire vehicle. For bombs I'm assuming as they have had an increase of terrorist threats in the area.
We all came in and slept and then met later for dinner.  Our group gets along great and we are starting to gain our energy back from the long flights and travel.
The people here are quiet, humble and very welcoming.  I hope to show as much kindness to them as they show to us.
I am feeling blessed to be here.  I love this work and I am excited to get started.  Tomorrow we head to Gulu which is about a 6 hour drive.

View out of hotel room in Gulu.

Our FOA group along with Brenda at Map International's office in Gulu.

6/20 So we arrived in Gulu where we had lunch and stayed for the night.  The next day we went into the city to go exchange money at the bank.  I had to exchange $1000 US dollars.  They wouldn't take some of the bills if they were ripped or marked with ink.  The lady kept flashing our money everywhere and there was a big line behind us. They exchanged $450. They handed me a huge stash of shillings which was so nerve racking with everyone watching.  Then we went to Western Union to exchange the rest. Also, a bit nerve racking.  Then with our money stashed away we went to the store, the MAP office and then we were off.  The road was immediately bumpy not missing a pot hole every few seconds.  And, yes that was our next 6 hours.  The terrain was gorgeous.  Some of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen.  We finally arrived!

Road that we traveled on to Kotido. 6 hours!

Kotido, We checked into our questhouse and went to dinner. Oh, on the way to Kotido, Brenda our guide showed us where Kony lived and went to school.  She was almost abducted by Kony in 1996.  She was 15 years old and at school in Gulu.  He came with his rebel soldiers to capture her and the girls.  The Uganda soldiers were able to fight them off and she fled to Kampala where she finished her schooling there.  Brenda has been so amazing to work with so far.  She is so kind.

Our first water filter presentation!

After Filtering the water from their water hole I drank it in front of the crowd.

So today we went to 3 villages and handed out 33 filters at each one.  The people are happy but live in extreme poverty.  These water filters will be so amazing to them.  They were so accepting and ready to learn and understand them.  They understood that the water they have been drinking is making them sick.  They see the value of the filters.  It was a very successful day!

Julie helping put together a water filter for a family.

Going over the water filter set up individually with each family.

Drinking the filtered water out of anything they had to store it.

Presentation by the water hole. Notice the cattle using it also.

6/21 Last night I was so tired that I fell asleep writing in my journal.  This morning we went to the Map office in Kotido.  We drilled holes in the last of the buckets.  We headed to a new village in the Karamoja region where we did a demonstration.  We then walked to their water source(about 2 miles) to show them how to clean and use the filters.  As we walked back I was speaking to our leader and interpreter and a lady told me that she wanted to give me her child.  Oh my! I know they just want their babies to be taken care of but I just told her that I couldn't take him but that I would gladly hold him for her.  Everyone was so thankful for the filters.  They say the clean water is sweet and tasty and I have to agree.

Showing the crowd how to put together the filter.

 6/24 Okay so yesterday turned out to be a different adventure.  We woke up at 6 to leave by 6:30.  After 3 hours of bumpy driving we came across a fallen down bridge.  There were crews working on a new bridge but it was too muddy and deep for us to cross.  So sadly we turned around and headed back to home.  On the way back the rains began.  Our car (van) got very slippery on the road.  I decided to take a little snooze.  All I remember is feeling the car go out of control and I grabbed onto the seat in front of us as we went straight into a ditch head first and then the left side of our van followed. Holy crap! We were able to reverse out of it but this did happen a second time.  To say the least it was a bit intense in the car.  Jeffery our driver just turned up the happy music to ease the silent intensity.  We got back safe. :)

6/29 I am sitting at the Nairobi, Kenya airport.  Everything went so well on our trip to Uganda.  We were able to go back and visit the people in their villages and see them using their filters in their homes.  It was awesome!  They knew how to clean them and some were already storing their filtered water for use.  It was wonderful spending time with the families.  I feel so grateful to everyone who helped get these families and their beautiful children clean water to drink.  It will be life changing.

The last day we traveled 15 hours in the van.  Everyone was tired.
This morning I saw everyone in our group off to the states.  That was a great feeling.  I am exhausted but happy.  I am excited to see what new adventures await me here in Kenya! - Carrie

The Sick Man

Today we went house to house to visit those who were sick.  Pamela from Diakonia Compasionate Ministry has sponsored me to go on this trip to view their projects that are in need of clean water solutions.  She is also a nurse which proves to be quite useful and needed here in Kenya.
The first lady that we met had extremely high blood pressure.  Pam was worried that she may have a stroke so their family sent someone to go get her the medications that she needed.  At each house I would survey the area, house inside and outside and ask necessary questions pertaining to their water needs that would help us implement future water projects in the area.
The 2nd house we went to we found a man lying on a couch.  We were welcomed in by the family.  Pamela asked about his injuries and he showed us his left arm.  It was swollen very bad from the fingertips to the upper arm.  On his chest were many sores and a big open one the size of a kiwi.  My first thought was this poor man is suffering so greatly.  He used to be a soccer player and coach and now he is lying down too sick to do anything.  With more investigation after Pam cleaned his wound and read his Dr's notes she said that it was cancer.  The wound and Dr's note indicated that this was the case.  Many Dr's in Kenya are not very good about telling people the truth about their condition.  If they don't know what to do they just send them home with prescription.  I sat there looking at this sick man with his extremely swollen arm and knew that there were not many options for him.  I ache for his situation.  He has 5 children.  I spoke to his son about their water situation.  Him and his brother have gotten typhoid from the bad water that they drink.  They have many other illnesses from not drinking clean water.  Although the situation for the father is so saddening FOA along with Diakonia Compasionate Ministry would like to see this family receive a water filter to eliminate unnessesary future sickness and better health.  If there is something more that we can do for them I will be sure to let you know.  Please keep this family and John's painful condition in your thoughts and prayers.

7/2 Today was a wonderful day in Kenya! I set up 2 water filters at the office and this girl Linda turned out to be a pro.  She was so good at putting them together that we made a video of her instructing.  Just this last Feb. Linda was suffering with a case of Meningitis and ended up in a coma.  The doctors did not believe that she would live.  She smiled at me as she instructed everyone how to use the filter.  She said "God didn't let me die for a reason. I was supposed to meet you and learn this to teach to other people"  Well that made my whole trip to Kenya worth while to hear that.  I will post pictures and an upcoming video on our website of Linda the water filter pro. :)

So we are in Kotido Uganda. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It took us we calculated about 12 hours to arrive to this town.  We have been working about 2 hours out of town in the Karamoja region.  The villages we have been providing water filters for are in desperate need for clean water.  They share their water holes with the animals.  They are mosteltly cattle ranchers so goats, cows and donkeysall come to the water hole to drink along with wild animals. I knew this before we came but I am still shocked to see that it is true. The situation here is desperate. About 75% of the people and kidsa re malnutritioned.  That can be very hard to see but it is so wonderful to see how clean water can help give them some reliefr and better their  lives.  For the children under the age of 5 this clean water will be life saving.  The sympotms that they are describing having are diareaha, stomach pain, malaria, guinea worm, parasites, eye infections, growths etc. The villages so far have responsded so well to our training of the water filters.  We go back on Monday and tuedsday to continue training. The people are so grateful as they kare very aware that they have a problem with the water.  Everyday when we travel along the road towards the villages all i have seen are reliefr vehicles and trucks.  There is not enough water to feed the crops here and so the people are very hungry.  There are a lot of needs and many organizations are working together to help create long term sustainablitly to this region.  We are so glad to be a part of this work and hope to help much more in the future.  This is just a short update as the interneet is slow.  I have to say thank you again for everyone that is supporting this mission. You have helped those in need more than words can describe. Thank you!

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.

Well here we are just a few days away from heading to Uganda.  I can't believe that it is finally here.  We are off to Africa to give clean water to over 1000 people.  I am so thrilled to be a part of this amazing work.  We have the great opportunity to give to others something that they have never had before. Clean, safe water to drink for their families and themselves.  This is something that we can take for granted every day but to those that have been without this basic need it is a struggle for survival everyday.  I can't imagine what this gift will be like to these families.  Our team will be ready to install the water filters, teach and assist as we travel from village to village daily.  We are ready for the task ahead of us and excited for the adventures that await us.

I never imagined that my life would be used in such a capacity as this and I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to continue to give to those in need.  In saying that I know this dream wouldn't be possible without so many people in my life that have supported these efforts in huge ways.  In planning and working towards this trip I have seen so many people stand up and show they care by getting involved in many different ways to help support this cause.  A huge thank you to all of you who have been involved and helped support bringing clean water to Uganda.  We had fundraisers going on in Burlington, Vermont - San Diego, CA - Monroe, CA, - Sacramento, CA - Rocklin, CA and Visalia, CA.  From Yoga to Comedy Shows, Coin Drives to Recycling, Rummage Sales to Dinners everyone came together to make this happen and it was so much fun along the way.
All of you go with us in our hearts as we travel to Uganda to complete this mission.  We will update the blog as we can so that you can experience the work right along side us.
Please send your prayers, thoughts and good energy along for our team.  Thank you for your amazing support! - Carrie