A new week has begun, we’re already on the eve of Monday, my days are full and fabulous, and I still owe you a part three to last week! I’ve spent these past couple days, back to back, visiting with orphaned children, which as usual, has been very fun indeed!
On Saturday, all the children at ACIO and I sat together in one of their open walled classrooms eating oranges that I purchased from a little boy who was walking the main street of Mbale selling them from a large sac. (40 or so fresh oranges cost around 60 cents.. plus a tip
for a couple treats, which was received with the cutest, sweetest smile ever!). We also shared several little bags of gnuts (ground nuts, quite like peanuts but a slightly different flavor, and very delicious) and hard knocks (a favorite of the children, these are roasted maize kernals that, yes, are very hard and I guess could actually knock one’s teeth out!) while we talked all about the visitors from Bee World that stopped by for a fun few hours last week!
The children were joyed by Bee World’s visit and they clapped with wonderful delight when they heard me say how very happy the visitors had been to meet them! We discussed what a clown is and I told them how their new friend Shlomo has visited with many, many children in several different countries, all around the world.. which led beautifully into a lesson about the world and presented my opportunity to introduce them to the awesome blow-up globes I brought along from Canada with me.
Here’s a great place to stop and acknowledge with gratitude the support of Derek at ‘Wanderlust’ travel store on 4th Ave in Vancouver who kindly gave LITA a discount on 3 globes, a travel Scrabble game, and, a Ugandan map! So appreciated, Derek, by all!
Last Tuesday, following our wonderful time with the bee keepers and children in Sironko, the Bee World Project group, myself, and our driver Fred, all left Mbale around 8am, very much on schedule.. none of us really knowing what to expect in terms of traffic, and all of us wanting to be (very, if it turned out that way) early for the group’s departing flight to Ethiopia.
The drive was a breeze, kinda quiet I felt, the day before had been so full, it seemed quite perfect and peaceful to just glide along together. It was a beautiful day. Miles and miles of green, and orange and bright
blue sky.. women, men, children, walking and playing, visiting along the side of road, busy at work in their compounds.. not too busy on any of the roads, it was Independence Day after all, and many were home and relaxing on the holiday.
We reached the airport at Entebbe easily, and well before 2pm, giving the Bee World group – John, Verna, Shlomo, Jane and Steph – a few hours time before needing to be at their gate.
Saying “See you soon” was over quickly, a couple photos and some departing laughs with Fred. We had picked up Isaac, the founder of the first bee keeping group we’d visited in Wampiti, on the way into Kampala, and he had accompanied us to the airport. Delighted to be able to discuss bee keeping, face to face, one more time meant a great deal to him and it was a wonderful way to wrap up the entire visit.
Deep and heartfelt thanks to the group.. it was just so very fun and full of Love to be with you here! Please also, a very special thank you to ‘your’ Angela who, through many an email, helped me to be able to do my best for you while you were here.
I hope you all enjoyed your time in Uganda, I thank you for your kindness to me and everyone we met on our journey together. Along with them all, I, and all of us at LITA, look forward to hearing more about which projects you may assess as viable and wish to move forward on here at this time.
I hope you all enjoyed your time in Uganda, I thank you for your kindness to me and everyone we met on our journey together. Along with them all, I, and all of us at LITA, look forward to hearing more about which projects you may assess as viable and wish to move forward on here at this time.
Please, always let us know how we may serve your most noble efforts to, as your website says, strengthen livelihoods and enhance village communities through bringing efficiencies to the indigenous practice of bee keeping, in support of hope, opportunity and empowerment for women, children and men.
John, Verna, Stan, Jane, Steph.. as is often said here in beautiful Uganda, ‘May the work of your hands be Blessed’.
With Love, Catherine