A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!  Lots of things have been going on here in Uganda.  However, a good water supply has NOT been one of them, in fact we’ve not had showers for about 2 weeks now (bucket baths are better than you’d think, though, so we don’t pong too much!). 

Emily wishes you all a merry Christmas!

A story that might bring you some Christmas Cheer is that of Marvin.  Do you remember him?  The little starving 4 year old boy who we sent to the Nutrition Unit?  If you want to read a little more about him, and be encouraged, go to the River of Life blog at: http://ugandariveroflife.blogspot.ug/2015/12/meet-marvin.html

Marvin before & after - what a difference 6 weeks makes!

Marvin is going to join our White Eagle Home today! No doubt this little fella is going to need a sponsor soon enough, so if you feel a tug on your heart to be part of his story, please do let us know!

We’ve also done our best to cobble together a Christmas video as usual – this time around with a reggae flavour. Lovers of 10cc’s song ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ will hopefully appreciate! Having said that  time has been tight so please don’t have high expectations!  Ready?  OK, now, click on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9kzOZ6R-X8

As for Synergy, we have finished the first half of the season in both Big League and Junior League. Our junior squad have had an excellent start and lie second in the table at Christmas. 9 out of 12 of the matches the senior squad have played in Big League have been away matches (away matches are notoriously tough as most teams focus paying the ref bribes on their home matches), so we can be fairly happy with sitting mid table in 7^th with lots of home matches to come in the new year.

Synergy Academy Star Ssali in action!

We’ve also continued to see lots of exciting things happen in our players wider lives. We have a number who have been excelling in their education one example being Ssali Abaasi who has finished his first year on a full scholarship at the prestigious London College in Kampala. Up against some of the most academically gifted students in Uganda, he has been the top performer in his year of all those on scholarships.

It has also been wonderful to see some of our players’ parents coming to support their boys during Big League matches. Much as they are not particularly football lovers, we have a number who have come simply because of the difference they have seen Synergy making in their sons’ lives. Time and again we are seeing parents’ gratitude thanks to the vast improvement in attitude and application that they are seeing in their sons. It spurs us on in the face of the challenges we sometimes face!

Speaking of challenges, in home life, we’ve been “challenged” daily by Noah and his capers, as well as his outstanding ability to elevate the blood pressure.  And if he isn’t enough to induce hypertension, not to worry…. a delightful shower with a rabid grasshopper will sort that right out, as Sarah recently found out!

And then out and about in Masaka, Sarah has been really enjoying a weekly run with the Masaka Running Club!  A good opportunity to see a bit of the countryside around Masaka, and (dare I say it) enjoy being out of the house CHILD-FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!  So she is very grateful to Tim for looking after the babies during the run – even though she always returns to a house full of water, usually with everyone screaming (and Tim rocking slowly on the bathroom floor!).

Also we’ve been learning lessons about who we trust, after a text from a friend apologising for our pick-up breaking down.  Our response was “do you have the wrong person?  We don’t have a pick-up.”  Turns out it was the River of Life pick-up, which had been rented out (without any of our knowledge) to another NGO by our mechanic who then pocketed the money from his shady dealings!  Needless to say he has now lost our business.

Finally a cute mama and baby pic.  But not our usual Baby Unit fare.  This time it’s a beautiful bovine pair, the mum having been kindly donated by one of you, some time ago, to give to the Nutrition Unit – and we wanted to show you the “fruit of her womb”, not to mention the reason that our little Marvin had lots of delicious milk to drink, and was able to thrive.  Thank you so much again!  And for all of you who helped us to accept the most recent girls to be helped by the White Eagle Project.  Your support means so much!

Journeys

It’s been another difficult month or so since we updated our blog.  In particular, we were very sad to say goodbye to a wonderful man and leader, Pastor Duncan Kibaya, who after a 5 year battle with cancer, has ended his journey on this earth, and started a new one in Heaven. He was the one who sagely rubbed his chin back in March 2008, and told Tim: “I feel it in my spirit that she is the one for you” – so he has a lot to answer for….
And who could forget his melodious ululations, setting the tone and calming nerves at our wedding in 2009?  He will be greatly missed by all of us here at River of Life.

On the baby unit, we continue to see baby's fighting as their journeys just begin. We’ve also had up times and down times, but  one of the most gorgeous moments (which Sarah failed to capture on camera!) was walking into the Unit to find a mum and dad together in the isolation room, bathed in the blue light of the phototherapy machine, with dad feeding the tiny baby by dropping little bits of milk from a syringe into her eager mouth.  It’s always particularly touching to see dads really getting involved, as this is quite rare here in Uganda.   That said, here’s another proud daddy, showing off his preterm daughter, Precious!

And here are two contrasting babies for you… one, the tiny nipper of Asiimwe, born at 760g (that’s 1.67 pounds in old money), and at 27 weeks gestation (below the official Ugandan “survivable gestation” of 28 weeks).  We saw her back for review this week and she looks amazing!

Baby Asiimwe before and after!

Contrast this with Margaret’s baby boy – much respect for this mama, who delivered (by caesarean) a 5.62kg baby (12.39 pounds).  When Sarah expressed admiration, Margaret merely shrugged and said that her first baby was 7kg (15.43 pounds).  SEVEN KILOGRAMS.  Is that even possible???  Makes us feel a bit faint.  It definitely wouldn’t have been easy having a 7kg baby in the old Fiat Punto… Oh Baby Emily, we thank you for your petite 3kg frame!

Sarah made Asiimwe chortle by pointing out that Margaret’s baby looked like it had eaten 4 of Asiimwe’s (though strictly speaking, it would have been 7.39 of them, if you compare birth weights!).

Outside the Baby Unit, a lot of Sarah’s free time (hahahahahahahaha!) is spent managing the ROLC facebook page, so if we’re not that good at updating our personal blog these days, that is why.  But do have a look at the River of Life page to see what the ministry as a whole has been up to!

https://www.facebook.com/riveroflifeuganda/?ref=br_rs

On other news, we had a visitor staying with us for a couple of weeks in October - Pastor Nick from Saint Paul’s Church in Bristol.  This was good fun, as he was very laid back, well up for ripping up the dance [living room] floor during Saturday morning family dance sessions, and he was surprisingly tolerant of Noah’s delightful tendency to scream for no reason whatsoever. The night life in Masaka is not exactly “rocking”, so we have to find our fun where we can.  This means that whilst dancing in the living room is a highlight, we’ll also get amusement from other simpler things.  On that note, is this not the most astonishing pineapple you’ve ever seen?

And finally….

Lost in translation:

If you ever visit Masaka, don’t get over-excited if someone says they’ll flash you later.  It may not be quite as saucy as you think.  In fact, in Uganda, to flash someone is to give them a missed call (they "flash" you; you call them back, they save money!).  No, not quite as exciting, is it??

Not an Easy Start!

Adapting to life as a family of 4 has been challenging at times, not least for Noah, whose first act in greeting his new sister, Emily, was to give her a hearty slap in the face! We do wonder whether people who post adorable photos of their toddlers tenderly holding their newly born siblings have been using the powers of photoshop (or perhaps even behaviour enhancing drugs), as it took us all of 13 weeks to finally get the photo below of Noah actually showing some sort of affection to his sister! Thankfully since then things have steadily improved and he is finally on his way to becoming a very loving big brother!

It was great to spend time with family whilst in the UK and whilst it was not always easy, Noah in particular testing our powers of patience, there were also many moments to treasure.

Sarah continued to show her mixed abilities when it comes to her hairdressing talents. Thankfully she has moved well beyond her inauspicious beginnings which left Tim looking like Jim Carry from ‘Dumb and Dumber’, but still managed to leave Noah with a sizable bald patch on the left side of his head, when accidently using the wrong setting on the clippers (3mm instead of 13mm!). Still, a dodgy haircut or two is par for the course when it comes to toddlers!

Whist Sarah may be accused of negligent hairdressing, Tim may be accused of worse as it was on his watch during a function whilst in the States that Noah sneakily chugged someone’s cup of vino before announcing that he would like some ‘more special water please!’

Emily has played her part as well, including her most prodigious guffs (to which Noah will announce “Emily did a BIIIIIG fartie!”) and a wondrous 7 day poo amnesty (I’m sure you can all guess how that ended!).  

 

Our return to Uganda in August was not the easiest of transitions. Arriving back to a dirty house, a car that wouldn’t start and an empty water tank may have had more than a little to do with Sarah announcing on the very first day that she was getting on a plane and going straight back home! Things then got even more challenging as we discovered a poisonous snake in the house, just a meter from where Emily had been lying on the floor. 

Enter Katende and Tim with sticks to give it a good battering and after that our trusty farm manager Stephen (usefully formerly a pest controller) to come and spray the house, requiring us to move out for a night. 

Stephen strikes his best Winston Zeddemore
pose as he prepares to vanquish snakes!

Thankfully it has got a little easier, although the fact that this month’s water bill is just 85 pence gives you an idea of just how little water we’ve had to survive on this first month back!

We are all getting back into the swing of things, Sarah picking up things on what has been a VERY busy Baby Unit as well as taking on River of Life communications (Facebook and Blog - do take a look!), Tim preparing for a new season at Synergy, Noah settling back into playgroup and Emily doing her best to make her presence felt with squawks, screeches, giggles and of course BIIIIIG farties!

As the ever-expanding Crow Clan we ready ourselves for another year in Uganda and look forward to what God has in store!   

Labour, truly a Fiat of endurance!!

They say that good things come to those who wait... But beware... Sometimes you can wait too long. For example if you delay going to the hospital when in labour. Although in fact, we went to the hospital alright, to be told to go home as nothing was happening. An hour later, we were careering back in our fiat punto, after sarah felt the urge to push whilst lying in our bed at home!! By the time we got there, the baby's head was out, but luckily Sarah's tights kept the baby off the car floor, and then a midwife dashed out and delivered the rest of baby Emily Mirembe Crow! Within 10 seconds, sarah had turned to Tim and said: "oh well, at least it's good for the blog!". Nice to see we have our priorities right! Mama & baby well... Fiat punto less so. 

On a completely unrelated topic, we have a high quality item to sell - the front passenger seat of a Fiat Punto, nearly mint condition, slight (ahem) discolouration, giving it an original and quirky appearance. Viewing really not necessary!

Still Waiting...

We’ve now been back in the UK for a month and are, quite frankly, getting fairly keen to meet our new arrival, but no sign as yet (due date has now come and gone).  So I’m afraid this is the visual that the world is having to endure…

DOWN ON THE BABY UNIT...

Sometimes a bit of encouragement can go a long way in our Baby Unit, so when Juliet was struggling to see a future with her tiny new arrival, who had been born in poor condition (APGARS 1 +3, at one and five minutes respectively), and weighing just 860g, Cathy decided to ask Babirye to come, with her baby Grace (who you will remember was born at 820g), to encourage Juliet.  Well it’s been quite a few weeks since then, and Juliet’s little baby Pamela has been at home a couple of weeks, and is doing very well indeed! 

We’ve also seen a bit of what can only be miraculous healing, for a little baby Kellen.  This little fellow had experienced difficulties during his birth, and had had convulsions since (though these had stopped with medication).  In addition, he was continually oxygen dependent with intermittent low oxygen levels despite high flow oxygen, for no obvious reason (no heart murmurs, chest sounded ok etc).  Things were not looking good.  Well, I think it must have been prayer, because a week after he was transferred by ambulance to Kampala (sent for further investigation), he was off oxygen, breast-feeding well, and was even sent home (all the investigations having been ok).  Apparently his parents had been continually praying for a miracle, and a miracle is what they got!

SYNERGY CLOSE IN ON BIG LEAGUE SURVIVAL

It has been quite a turn around since Christmas when Synergy FC looked sure candidates for relegation from Big League. An excellent run has seen us win 5, draw 1 and lose only 1, pushing up to 4th in the table with even a possibility of reaching the play offs! Considering the challenges we have had to overcome and the fact that this is only our first season in Uganda's second tier, it is a great  achievement! We have also managed to gain 30 new scholarships for Synergy players for 2015, taking the total to 80 players who now have educational opportunities they would otherwise have lacked. 

Madi, first Synergy player to be
signed by Super League Club!

And Synergy has also reached another exciting milestone: the first signing of a Synergy player to a Super League Club (top division in Uganda) Madi, a player we started working with when Synergy first began, has been signed by SC Villa, one of Uganda's top clubs. What is even better is that they have loaned him straight back to Synergy as they are happy with the way he is developing with us. That means he is getting paid by Villa, but he is still playing for us, until they feel he is ready to move to their senior squad, either next season or in 2016/17. Awesome!

And on a final note...

...being people that are always looking for ways to save a bit of dosh, we have come up with a novel way of transportation that overcomes the high price of petrol in Uganda. The only problem is that Noah loves it so much it is something we are having to continue here in the UK (albeit just round the back garden!)

Football is great but....

...there are much more important things in life! As I reflect on my beloved Spurs failing in their attempt to overcome Chelsea in this years League Cup final I have also been thinking about Synergy, and the task ahead. And the truth is that our task goes well beyond what happens on the pitch.

I have often talked about the on-pitch struggles and successes of Synergy, but to focus just on football would be a misrepresentation of what we are really about. At Synergy we love football, but that is just one facet of what we do. Football is the point of contact which gives us an opportunity to get along side young people who, for the most part, have little experience of church, and would normally be unlikely to think about ever going.

Firstly football gives us that opportunity to broaden their horizons and opportunities. That includes 50 Synergy players this year, whose talents have enabled us to find bursaries for their education, from primary right up to university level. For some players this means lightening the financial load on their already overstretched parents and enabling them to attend better schools than they would otherwise be able to afford. But for many others it goes beyond that; for them it’s the difference between educational opportunity and no education at all.

Take John as an example, his single parent is desperately poor to the point that even though he has a bursary, his parent is not even able to provide the other school requirements beyond school fees that his bursary covers, such as a uniform and books. Despite our limited funds, we do our best to provide these requirements where parents have no way to meet them, ensuring that the offer of a bursary doesn’t go to waste for the want of money for a uniform.

Secondly football gives us a chance to speak into their lives, not just on matters of a sporting nature, but through lessons for their wider lives. Take 2 of our senior first team players, David and Paul, who have recently become fathers. The small match day allowance they receive from Synergy for being Big League players certainly helps in some small way, but perhaps more valuable than that is the continued life skills and mentoring they receive that is challenging them to be the good fathers that this nation so dearly needs.

Or then there is Tony whose poor decision-making led to problems with alcohol resulting in him being thrown out by his parents. The mentoring and discipleship that Synergy provides has helped Tony get his life back on track, sobering up, changing his behaviour and bringing reconciliation with his parents. Time and again, we have been thanked by grateful parents and teachers who have seen the work of Synergy bring about real change in our players attitudes and behaviour.

Whilst trophies and titles are great, they are not the measure of our success. It is the stories and testimonies such as those above that is what really matters, and what Synergy is all about.

If you would like to support us in what we are doing, we are in real need of monthly sponsors, so please do get in touch!

And on another note, some new staff for the Baby Unit…

Good things come to those that wait – after months (really, about five to six months) of waiting, frustration, and yes tears (on Sarah’s part – God (and most other people) knows she’s a cry-baby!), we are now (whisper it) fully staffed on the baby unit.  Yes, we can’t believe it either!

OH… No…. wait for it…. Now we’re not fully staffed anymore…. The new member of staff has had to go back to school to retake an exam.  Frustrating?  You think?????  It’s like a roller coaster!

Anyway, now once again we’ve been provided with another staff member, so now once again, we’re fully staffed, and Sarah is doing training *again* today – not a thing that she greatly relishes, in view of her ever-increasing girth and general discomfort.

Assisting her in training will be head nurse Cathy, so that, should any staff leave during Sarah’s absence, it will be no challenge for Cathy to whip out her new baby unit computer (kindly donated by one of you!) and train up any new staff!

Of course no story about the Baby Unit would be complete without a cute picture of a ex-tiny baby, now chubby and healthy.  Here’s Baby Wasswa (who featured in our mid-November blog).  His little sis died very soon after birth, but Wasswa did well, despite his tiny size.  And now look at him – not so tiny anymore!  Time for some exercise, m’boy!

Waswa as he left the Unit

Waswa Today!