Frustrations and Jubilations!

Totally surrounded!!

We’ve now been in the UK for over a month, but we Just wanted to update you about the Sango Bay Refugee camp that Sarah has been working at...  we are delighted to report that *finally* their water source has been sorted out.  Just as well, really, considering the men were refusing to use the water purification tablets for fear that they might affect their “potency”.  I would argue that bloody diarrhoea might have a negative impact on your potency too, but who am I to say?

It’s quite full-on work when, since, most of the time, you feel like you’re in the centre of the World’s Largest Rugby Scrum, and sometimes you can’t even get out of your chair to select drugs for a patient, since you risk squashing several waiting patients in the process.  No problem, you might say, why not have a number system, a la Mr Bean, but when each patient comes with 4 children, even that system is not fool-proof (if you eventually want to get home in the evening!).  Suggestions on a postcard (airmail!) please….

Sometimes you just need Argos….

…know what I mean?  Well, if you don’t, you will.  We wanted to buy a washing machine that could handle all the stinky nappies that our little man produces, so off we went to Kampala.  Simple task, right?  Yep, it was simple.  Popped in, picked one, packed it into the car, bit of a pain to get it plumbed in, but sorted that out soon enough.  One good load of laundry done. 

And then it started clunking.  A bit like when you have tiny pixies in your pipes with large hammers, working away as if they were coal miners.  No problem, we had to return to Kampala to pick up visitors two weeks later, so off we trotted, to be told that the problem had been our fault – we’d forgotten to undo a bolt.  But never mind, as it’s now fixed.  Great!  Except once we got it safely home (3 hour drive, remember) it wasn’t.  Luckily our visitors needed to be dropped off again 10 days later, so our friend Mukiibi returned the machine again, with a polite but firm note demanding either a new machine or money back.  Sarah thought it wise not to ask about the bolt at the time of exchange, lest they refuse the exchange.  When we finally got through on the phone to them 4 days later, it turns out there IS no bolt.  Sarah was dumbfounded.  Tim wasn’t in the least bit surprised!

Baby Babirye!  

Another week, another heart-warming baby story.  This little poppet is our tiniest ever survivor, born at 820g (1.8 pounds), and 28 weeks gestation.  When she was born, there was another small baby born that same day, so it was rationing time on the Unit (you think you’ve got it bad in the NHS?).  So Sarah deduced that this tiny little creature couldn’t possibly survive, so the one infusion pump was used on another baby.  WELL, Baby Babirye was having none of it – she stuck her tiny nose in the air, clenched her fists, and fought a good fight.  She spent nearly 50 days with us on the Unit, but turned out very well indeed, thriving at home with her devoted maama, as well as returning to the Unit to encourage us periodically. 

 And finally, you know you’re in Uganda when...

You notice your small son is playing with a worm... oh no, on closer look, it’s a baby snake.  Best not eat that, then, boyo!

For Everything there is a Season...

So much of our lives are about seasons. As I sit here in the UK reflecting on this past season for Synergy, it is certainly one of expectations having been exceeded in many ways, yet also it highlights a need to refocus our vision and strategy in order to see our talented young players achieve in every area of their lives.

On the field we have thrived, securing a fourth championship and third straight promotion, to take the one spot available in our region to Uganda’s Big League, one division under the Super League, Uganda’s top tier. This success has in fact left us with the option of registering as a professional football club, complete with professional contracts for all our players.

However, this is where the trappings of success could so easily take us down the wrong road. And I have seen it before, where projects whose beginnings were built upon a strong Christian foundation with a clear gospel message end up being watered down to become success driven ventures that end up doing no more than paying lip-service to their Christian roots.

The Team before our Regional League Play-off Final Victory

That is why at Synergy and River of Life Church, we deliberated and prayed long and hard about what to do next, and whether to even take our senior team forward into Big League.

What we continued to come back to was our vision: To see young people fulfill their potential in sport, and their wider lives, through all the activities that we provide.

To sell the team on to another owner, or simply forego our place in Big League would not fulfill this vision. If anything it would undermine much of the hard work we have done to build relationships with, and invest in, our players. This is work which has seen them change in attitude and character, and has seen a good number take positive steps towards becoming Christians. Equally, we are wary of a professional status which could easily see our focus shift away from our grass-roots ethos and heavily draw upon finances that we don’t even have!

So what to do for the season ahead...

Thankfully Big League does not necessitate professional contracts, enabling us to remain an amateur outfit, but still take the place our lads have worked so hard to win. That means we will continue the journey with our players, hoping that success will not only be seen on the field of play, but also in our players wider lives as we continue to invest in their mentoring, discipleship and educational opportunities.

 

Football-wise, we may not be able to take them much further than where we now stand, but our hope is to see doors of opportunity open for our players to be scouted by bigger clubs as we move through the year.

I have always hoped that some of our players will become professional footballers, but my bigger hope remains to see them changed as individuals by the love of Jesus. As we look to the season ahead, I pray that both of these things may be achieved for at least some of our players. If it is, then we will have accomplished what we set out to do and yet another new season will begin!

In August we will be undertaking a football marathon to raise funds for Synergy. If you would like to take part, please contact me on tim@riveroflifeuganda.org. If you would like to sponsor us please go to this page:
https://www.justgiving.com/synergy-football-marathon-2014
or text SNRG77 £5 (or another value either £2, £3 or £10) to 70070. 

THANK YOU!

Wasssup Ma Jigger?!

Our visiting pastors Sam and Jenny are now safely back in the UK, but we had a wonderful time with them, despite the aforementioned plague (or similar) suffered by all but Sarah and Jono.  Whilst they were still with us, we managed a brief trip to Lake Nabugabo (which was really when Sam and Jenny started feeling unwell).  What started as a nice relaxing day was followed by a night of vomiting for Jenny, which then lead to a morning of torrential rain.  No problem, right?  We just drive home!  No.  No, in fact the road was totally flooded in one direction, and in the other direction, a deep pit had been dug across the road (for drainage).  However, this is just the sort of thing that gladdens the hearts of young men, as our intrepid three set out to build a fantastic (and very manly) bridge, so that we could drive to safety.  Cue pause of awe, whilst we admire their power and tenacity..... 

As well as visiting the Baby Unit, Sam and Jenny were able to visit the Nutrition Unit at Kitovu Hospital, giving out some sweet knitted hats that had been kindly donated.  The Nutrition Unit is actually currently struggling since an important source of their funding stopped in June (when the “contract” ran out).  Obviously the Unit can’t simply stop looking after patients, and yet these patients can’t meaningfully contribute to the cost of their stay, as by definition the children on the Nutrition Unit are some of the most vulnerable in Uganda.  Many of them come from families of subsistence farmers, who are increasingly going hungry as crop fail due to the unpredictability of rainfall.  Poverty and lack of food is compounded by the issue of families being forced to separate in order to seek work elsewhere, families lacking knowledge on the best methods of feeding children, not to mention the devastating impact of HIV on the health of children in Uganda.

Kitovu Hospital not only help these children when they are acutely unwell, but also offering excellent training for the carers (mothers, fathers, grandparents, whoever) on the best way of feeding their children.  The Unit cares for around 300 children each year, and really helps to save many children from the brink of death.  All children are tested for HIV, so that appropriate care can be arranged if indicated.

Sarah well remembers little Morris, whose parents had separated some years before.  His dad had gone to the capital to try and earn some money for the family, leaving Morris in the care of his step-mother.  This woman not only neglected this sweet little toddler, but also physically abused him, as evidenced by a poorly healed old fracture of his arm (which apparently he had never received treatment for).  The little fellow was extremely sick on arrival, freezing cold (32 degrees), his swollen malnourished body covered in deep abscesses.  It took 3 days before he even regained the strength to brush away some of the flies that swarmed around his wounds.  Yet, within 3 weeks, he was back on his feet, and found his smile again, due to the work of the Nutrition Unit.  Kitovu was able to involve child protection services in order to ensure a safe plan existed for this little lad’s future care. 

If the Nutrition Unit is forced to close, it will be to the serious detriment of the poorest of the poor around the Masaka region, and little children like Morris will suffer.  So please, if you feel you can, get in touch, and we’ll tell you how you can help. 

As we prepare to head back to the UK for the summer, it seems a timely moment to contract a parasitic infection.  Usually we would leave this up to Tim, ever thewilling volunteer, but this time Sarah stepped up and took one for the team.  Jiggers are these horrible little beasties (fleas in fact) that crawl into your feet head first, and create eggs, whilst simultaneously breathing and defecating out of a tiny hole in your skin.  The eggs then enter the dust and infect more people.  So gross.  Anyway, luckily our next door neighbour Tom is a seasoned Jigger remover, and was on hand to scratch away at Sarah’s foot with a hypodermic needle, and release this disgusting bloated creature from its cozy burrow.  Turns out that after labour, this really doesn’t seem like such a big deal after all!

Wassssup Ma Jigger?!