Out with the (not so) Old, in with the New!

It is with mild embarrassment, incredible joy and not even a hint of regret that we announce that our super-annoying pup Kibuto is now a resident of Mukama Mukulu farm (which is in fact a REAL farm belonging to our friends, not a euphemism for doggy heaven!) after we finally realised that having an over-exuberant pup that constantly leaps and bites is not compatible with a happy baby enjoying the garden.  But fear ye not, we already have another dog in residence, a fine beast called Sierra, who was previously being looked after by some of our friends who have now left Uganda.  Whilst it may seem ridiculous to get another dog so soon when we’ve struggled with disciplining the one we had, this one is gentle and sweet, but will also (we hope) be a good guard dog.  

The poor little girlie had been the victim of vicious rumours where she had been staying in the village, accused of being a fierce chicken murderer!  we say rumours, as 2 days after we brought her to our house, an indignant village member turned up to complain to her previous owners that Sierra had butchered yet another of her prized chickens. It makes us wonder whether the villagers have had a good little income generating project based on falsified ravagings and subsequent reimbursements for chickens they had actually eaten or sold themselves! Full marks for the sheer cheek of it! 

Doggie Daycare!

We haven’t seen our feathered friend Mr Loverman for some time, since naughty Kibuto made his life intolerably miserable and he chose to flee.  For a while, we could still hear his very distinct (and peculiar) cockadoodledoo, but lately there’s been silence on the cockrel front.  Certainly Shabba thought that he was a bit of a “tasty dish”, as evidenced by our three thriving chicks, but it seems possible that someone else may have enjoyed this particular “tasty dish” for themselves! Perhaps we should blame the neighbours dog, cheeky villager style, claiming expenses for 1 chicken plus emotional damages and hence begin our very own income generating project!  

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Lake Nabugabo for an overnight trip for some R&R, monkeys, fish ‘n’ chips, dirt for Noah to play in (and eat) and a fire for Timmo to make!  What more could you want?  The lack of internet access and phone reception was annoying and delightful in equal measures!

Whilst we’re on the subject of enjoyment, a certain young man turned 1 this week!  We celebrated by eating cake and taking Noah for his first Ugandan swim (or float to be more precise), which he embraced with great gusto, despite the surprisingly glacial temperature of the pool.

As you know, the power this past few months has been a source of challenge for us, and we recently had a Monday to Friday stint with no power at all. especially annoying as all the surrounding houses were unaffected.  Our next door neighbour Tom, thought this was hilarious and took the chance to have a good laugh at our expense, but he obviously hadn't heard the expression "he who laughs last, laughs longest." Less than a week later we found ourselves one of only 2 houses in Bwala with power in a sea of darkness, and Tom turned up with his tail between his legs to ask whether we could charge his phone at our house! 

It’s not been a boring month, and other new opportunities for medical work have come up for Sarah.  This time, it’s a new(ish) refugee camp near the Tanzanian border called Sango Bay (sounds like a great holiday resort, doesn’t it?  It isn’t!), with 4700 people needing medical attention.  Anyone who has worked with Sarah will know that the chances of her ever seeing even a small proportion of that many people in a short period of time is about equal with pigs flying – no, probably less likely.  But she’s been joining a team of doctors/clinical officers/nurses to offer what she can.  One small hitch.... they don’t speak Luganda, let alone English – but this led to the wondrous realisation that Luganda isn’t quite as useless as Sarah had feared (sorry.... not useless, but useful only if you’re in the Buganda region of Uganda... perhaps “limited” is a better word?), as their language resembles Luganda enough for Sarah to understand a little.  But she definitely needs a translator!! 

That translation is necessary was confirmed on her last visit, when someone decided that there was no space in the car for her translator.  “But don’t worry, there’s an old man at the camp who can translate; one of the camp chairmen”.  Much as Sarah couldn’t much imagine an elderly man asking young women about their menstrual cycle and other such things in an effective way, she didn’t have a choice, so went along with it.  Finally, after 2 ½ hours of trying to make do without a translator (which was really not possible, since many people that day spoke the Rwandese local dialect, which even Sarah’s Ugandan colleague couldn’t understand), the man arrived.  Drunk as a skunk.  And proceeded to shout abuse at all the waiting patients. Thanks mate! 

So yes, all in all, an eventful few weeks for the Crow Clan and as always never a dull moment here in Uganda!