Safari Junkie

Addictions come in all forms. I think I am addicted to safaris!  I just never get tired of God's creativity seen in the beauty and  abundance of variety in animals and birds of Africa.
In 2003 I took my first safari to Masai Mara, Kenya.  Dec 2011 my son joined me at Amboseli in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro and then last weekend I was blessed to go to Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda.

Our little group of 8 lined up just before 7 am, waiting for the car ferry, pictured here to carry across the Nile to the other side of the park where we would take a 4 hour safari through some of the 3,000 odd square kilometers.

Anticipation was high. At this point we had already gotten glimpses of hippos popping up all across the river.  You'll see more about them later.

When you go on safari anywhere on the continent of Africa you hear the term "The Big Five." This refers to five animals that you want desperately to see and check off your so called list.
This beautiful big guy you see here is one of the 5. We nearly missed him as he was hiding in the grasses.
Imagine staring eyeball to eyeball through the binoculars with Simba?
(Swahili for lion)
He posed nicely for us about 20-30 meters from our van.

Another of the 5 is the Cape Buffalo.
These guys just look mean, there's no two ways about it.

Sometimes you see small birds on their backs living in a symbiotic relationship. It's a strange sight watching birds riding around picking stuff of the backs of these massive animals.

The beautifully elegant giraffe is not one of the 5 but they rank high on my list.

I just love to watch them them walk around, awkward yet graceful at the same time.

Note the little antelopes who share grazing land.

We did see one that had it's foot almost torn off, injured by wire. We were happy to see later in the day that a Vet had been called to help.

Sadly poachers are still  a threat here.

Here you have the amazing Jackson's Hartebeest.

We saw large herds,as well as a few loners that sometimes broke out in a run. So fascinating to watch.

Remember the movie "Lion King" ?

These little guys were so cute. I wonder if they have every heard of the song " When I was a young warthog"?

We saw so many that we got a little blasé about them, "Oh there's another warthog!"

Isn't he/she sweet? This is a Bushbuck. They are very shy. It stood quietly, almost motionless while we took our photos.

We saw many in what you would call the antelope family ( of which there are over 90 different species)

The main ones we saw were the Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Kob antelope,( part of Uganda's Coat of Arms, in the national emblem) Orabe antelope and the Hartebeest

Of course no safari would be complete without elephants. They are also one of the Big Five.

This small group didn't seem to want to move out of our way, so our van and the one behind us had to resort to loud clapping to get them to back off.

It's not a nice feeling when these massive creatures just stare and then start moving toward the vehicle.



Well I could go on and on, but you probably don't have all day just to sit and read this blog. if you have been counting you have realized I have only mentioned 3 of the Big Five. The Rhino is also on the list but is not in this park. They became extinct here during Idi Amin's rule of terror. I did manage to see one in 2003. The remaining animal is the Leopard. Unfortunately it again eluded me. I guess the only thing to do is go on another safari! I'm adding Krueger National Park in South Africa to my bucket list.

Mother's Day Getaway

Sometimes, you just need to get out of Dodge, if you know what I mean. This past weekend was one of those times. I have lived in Uganda for 2 years and had never been to one of the most popular tourist spots. I decided to be refreshed for Mother's Day in a little getaway.

Bright and early, Friday, June 10th, with 8 passengers on board we made our way slowly out of town.

And I do mean slowly. This is one of the roundabouts. As you can see, more than one car is going around the roundabout. It's actually quite normal for there to be 4-5 cars abreast going around!!!!

Once outside of Kampala, the road north was actually pretty decent.

About half way, we stopped in the town of Masindi, so our driver, Hassan, could pick up some supplies such as the pineapples you can see on the top of the van.

As the kilometers clicked by we got to know our fellow travelers. We are a mixed bag. That's one of the things I enjoy about traveling around and living here, so many interesting people from many different backgrounds.

Our group included, 2 Brits, 2 Kiwis, 2 Americans, 1 German and I opted to be the token Australian :-)

After a 5 1/2 hour drive we made it into Murchison Falls National Park. We were all hot and hungry. The stretch of road just inside the park entrance to the top of the falls was like a chinese fire drill. You see there are an abundance of Tsetse Flies. They are the ones responsible for Sleeping Sickness. We were told they no longer carry the disease, ( hope that's true) but their sting is apparently painful. The driver told us when he slows down, "close the windows". When he speeds up, "open the windows."We had some intense moments when a few got in, but we found creative ways to annihilate them.

 Aah! Nothing like a nap in the midst of raging waters.

I have had the privilege of visiting Iguazu Falls in South America, and Niagara in the U.S.A and several other smaller ones and although Murchison doesn't compare in size or volume it's still very impressive.

There is just something amazing about all that power being unleashed, rushing over rocks and falling from heights.

I am glad that God set boundaries for the waters.

Now for a bit of touristy type information for those who might be interested.
The Nile River funnels through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley Escarpment. The river splits in 2 for a short while becoming the Victoria Nile and the Albert Nile. There are 2 different types of parkland because of this.
In the days of Idi Amin, the park was closed to visitors in 1972. After he was ousted in 1979, surveys showed the huge toll his rule of terror had taken on the wildlife in the park.

There is so much more to tell but I'll finish here today and continue later so come on back for the rest of the story.

African Nights

Have you ever felt like you are part of an episode of National Geographic or could see yourself in the background of one of N.G magazine photos?
Recently I have been having that feeling a lot. I first experienced this whole awe of going to and being in Africa in 2003. I can remember clearly flying over the Sahara Desert, looking out at the vastness of it, and saying to my mission team friends, " We're going to Africa! "

During that 2003 trip to northern Kenya and the refugee camp where I first had the privilege to minister to South Sudanese,I  also had the opportunity to go on safari in Masai Mara. After a very full day, seeing all kinds of animals and getting to have "tea" gazing across the Serengeti, we were headed back to camp when God showed off and placed a double rainbow in the sky. I thought I would burst. My very being was flooded with the goodness of God and getting to see the absolute beauty of his creation was more than I could stand.

A few nights ago, I had similar feelings and thoughts.  It occurred to me anew, I LIVE in AFRICA!


The original University of Kampala campus is very close to my apartment, in fact the photo you see here is taken

   

from the balcony off my bedroom. The dorms are in the multi storied building and the official, learning part of the campus in the lower white building.

Despite what you might think, there are usually no loud noises going far into the night. The students come from all over East Africa.

Several times a year they host different campus events.



 One such event is apparently a drum contest. In the dark of night I  heard all kinds of drums accompanied by sounds of obvious enjoyment and participation of the audience. The women make a sound in their throats that I really can't explain and I'm sure a musicologist could probably give it a name, but it's distinctly African. The outside air was warm, a typical night for this time of year. When I turned out my bedroom light, I became aware that the room was filled with light. When I went over to the window, I was awed by the moon shining brightly and sending a glow across Lake Victoria. Wow! I get to LIVE on Lake Victoria!!

The brilliance of the night sky in Africa is best demonstrated in this photo taken using time lapse photography in Yei, South Sudan. In earlier blog posts, I mentioned the photographer, Adam. One night he set his camera up in the center of the compound and let it run all night. It was amazing to see millions of stars (Genesis 1:16 says God made the stars and set them in place) When I read Psalm 8, which coincidentally my son had to memorize for kindergarten graduation ceremony, I love verses 3-4,
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" This kind of dissuades you from being full of yourself :-(

Anyway, back to the drumming. I have been watching and listening most of the morning. Housework was more fun when I could dance around to the beat of the drums.

These people have been practicing movement to music. From this distance it looks like they are telling a story. I am fascinated. Maybe the big event is tonight!! Can't wait.

I think I need to go over and investigate a little more, so I'll be right back. Check later for the next blog.

Fish Market

Several months back when I was walking in the neighborhood. I came across a small fishing boat.

The boat owner had just pulled in to the shore off Lake Victoria, and
was selling fresh fish to some local women vendors.

It's hard to see, but the fish are actually just lying right in the bottom of the boat.

The color of the water isn't exactly inviting.




I've been wanting to go to the weekly market in Gaba, which is a a 5 minute walk down the road, but have lacked courage to show my white face and know that I may be over charged. I found out that one of the ladies at my Tuesday evening prayer group, who happens to live very close to me, was going to go, so I asked if she would be my guide.

My friend and her 2 little boys ages 3  and 4 set out on our fishy adventure.

As we reached this point in our walk down towards the fish market my senses were assaulted and permeated with all that is Africa.

You can see goats, dead fish, dried fish, fish heads, fish skins, large storks, vultures, trash, smoke and dust.

And then there are the smells....

My friend, Tocks, has a lady who helps her around the house named, Anna, she was kind enough to step in to help me with the purchase of my Tilapia.

She first checked behind the gills and inside the mouth to make sure it was fresh. Some of the fish were still moving so I was convinced!
We settled on the price of 18,000 Shillings, so about $6.92.

Now I was feeling none to keen on taking that fish home with the head, bones and eyes so it was necessary to get it filleted.

The cost for filleting was 38 cents!!
I would have paid double. There were fish scales everywhere and if I had a close up of the table they cut it up on I feel most of you would not think too highly of it.

Now for the bargain price of 8 cents I have my fish put in a plastic bag to carry home.

We made out way through the market to look for some other things. Everything is all mixed together. Here you see stalls where people are cooking chapatis etc and right in front women are selling used clothes.

Tocks' youngest son, who is 3 and  just a month younger than my grandson, is helping decide on which lemons look best.

I ended up buying papaya and watermelon as well.

Tocks, is part Nigerian, part British and married to a Ugandan. I love listening to her British accent, we''ll be getting together for tea sometime soon :-)

This waterfront area is bigger than I had realized and so full of life and color.

Back at home I weighed my fillets and have approx. 1 1/2 pounds. Total cost $7.38.

Not sure what the prices are at HEB supermarket these days but this is so much more interesting than the sterile environment, gloved hands, quality controlled temperatures and clean, white wrapping paper. Let's not forget the signs that tell employees to wash their hands.


Now about that lesson I just wrote on Typhoid. Hmmm...
Well at least I will be thoroughly cooking my fish. I just need to decide what to make. Will it be fish tacos, fish strips, baked fish or Fish Masala. Bet you wish you  were coming for dinner, huh?

Last look at Yei, South Sudan

After a pancake and french toast breakfast by my wonderful host Simone, she drove me to the airport. It's funny how things work sometimes. We picked up the Eagle Air representatives on our way, to take them to the airstrip so they could check us in. Their vehicle was being repaired. Eagle Air only flies into Yei  3x a week on Tues., Thurs. and Sat.
Yei has been a very strategic location since it is close to the borders of Uganda and DRC. The prevalent languages are Kakwa, Bari and Juba Arabic.

This is the River Yei. If you look carefully you can see some people on the banks. They are doing washing and collecting water.

According to history, British missionaries, set up a clinic somewhere along the river banks  and the town was born.

Remember in a previous blog post I told you that these snails like to inhabit the bottom of the rivers and cause terrible health problems.

Every time I see people bathing and children playing around the water I think about the consequences of seemingly innocent activities.

Due to lack of understanding on basic health issues and no other real options for bathing or washing, people still go to the river.

Well here it is the mighty Yei airstrip!
The main building is a concrete structure with 2 rooms.

 The immigration people come out from town for Eagle Air flights that are arriving, but they don't bother for MAF flights, like the one I came in on. In that case you present yourself in town at their office so you can get a stamp in your passport.

After we had taken the photo we heard others say staff got vey upset with some other (Kawaja's or  foreigners) who took photos and wanted to take their cameras. Oops!

Location change and transport

After 8 nights on the Harvesters for the Nations compound it was time for me to move on to learn more about another ministry I had heard about for a very long time.

Elizabeth Perry, wife of Dr. Perry, who directs His House of Hope Hospital was kind enough to drive me to my next location along with 8 of their 11 children.

That's Adam, the photographer, setting up a video camera to film the drive.

Distances usually aren't that far within a town but because the roads are so terrible it can take a while.

This might not look too bad but let me tell you it takes 4-5 hours to drive from Yei to the capital, Juba only 100 miles away!

Now if you are looking for quicker transport, this is probably your best option.

It never ceases to amaze me, what people carry around.

This woman has her baby swaddled on her back, 2 Jerry cans for getting water somewhere along the route and then a bag of other goods.

This ministry has been around for 40
years in South Sudan.


If you would like to know more about them see
www.across-sudan.org

I spent half the day meeting staff and learning more about their radio programming in particular. We, that is Every Village, share a lot in common in that area.
I enjoyed eating dinner out under the stars with some of the local staff including Simone from Switzerland, Ruth and Christine from the U.K and 2 of the Perry children who came for a sleep over.

Education is the key

I came to Yei, specifically the House of Hope Hospital, to learn about the problems and struggles that prevent people getting health care. It is a multi faceted problem.

I have been participating in medical missions for the past 19 years. My first trip was to Romania and since then I have been to  5 Latin American countries, 1 other Eastern European country and 5 African countries. It is the same the world over. Education is the key to prevention and better health.

One of the main keys to changing the horrible statistics regarding maternal and infant mortality is teaching women what to expect during pregnancy and what the risks are without proper care before, during and after delivery.

Don't you just love when a plan comes together? I'm a kind of a plans person, but I know that it was God who set this plan into action. On the Harvesters for the Nations compound this week I have had the privilege of meeting many interesting people who are serving the Lord in unique ways. Adam, is a gifted in photography and multi media work. He even worked on the set of the film "Lincoln" in Hollywood.

Far from the glitz and glamor of big picture studios, Adam, was kind enough to shoot a video of Stephen, the head nurse for the hospital. In the photo you can see Adam's sister, Victoria, assisting by holding up the microphone, that was mounted on a pole.
 The topic was discharge instructions for mothers leaving the hospital.  The video can be played in the ward as mothers are resting and caring for their infants.  This will allow staff extra time to do other things in their busy day and it ensures that this important information is given out in a clear, simple and concise manner.

I am so excited about this and for future possibilities using this media. Thank you God for helping us change the face of health in South Sudan.

Points of interest around the compound

If you have read my blog before you know that I have had a growing interest in the bird life of Uganda. Guess what? There are some interesting birds that I have found here also.

Unfortunately my bird guide book is back in Uganda so I have to wait to properly identify him. He is solid black except for a bright red band around his beak. His tail is quite long and stiff looking.

Little 4 year old Josiah calls them Lizard birds since their tails resemble lizards. The name is catchy so I'm going with it.

This little guy is quite stunning. The actual bird is small, but his tail is at least 2 feet long.

He kind of sails majestically through the trees.

The tails reminds me of a wide,white ribbon.

Any bird enthusiasts out there who can identify him?

( After research I am pretty sure this is an African Flycatcher )

Not to change the subject or anything but... We are going from birds to bugs.

These are snails. They look pretty and harmless, but looks are very deceiving in this case.

They are capable of causing Shistosomiasis. No, it's not a dirty word.  You may have heard it called Bilharzia. Either way you don't want to get infected by this parasite.

Some of the orphans on the Harvesters compound found a coconut to eat :-)

It is not like the coconuts I know. The outside has a smooth light orange skin. One of the boys threw it on the ground a few times to crack it open.

The flesh inside was orange like a pumpkin and very stringy in texture. There was no juice either.

They were thrilled with their find so I left them to enjoy it.

I usually carry my camera around and was so pleased to take the radiography techs photo as he hung his latest X Rays of someones skull outside to dry or set or whatever they have to do.

Maybe he was just looking at in a better light. I am thinking as I blog this that it might belong to a man who has a brain injury. No accurate diagnosis can be made from here due to lack of ability to do CT or MRI. The closest place for him to be seen is in Kampala, about 15 or more hours away using public transport on local roads.

Family has not made the decision yet to take him. Praying for his brain to heal and rejuvenate itself.

Future generations of South Sudanese

Like all nations around the world, South Sudan, will look to their youth to lead their country in the future. Sadly here,  many will die in childbirth or early childhood. The stories of resilience, persistence and strength in spite of obstacles and huge challenges continues to amaze and inspire me.

Let me share a heart breaking story with you.
In her 35th week of pregnancy, the woman pictured, went into early labor. She had attended a local clinic for her pre natal care. Unfortunately the clinic she attended does not have an ultrasound machine, so care is limited. This is the normal standard in most places. This lady was carrying twins but no one knew.

I was 9pm when her first baby was born. She continued having pain so her family tried to get her help. They live far away and no transport could be found. Now I want you to imagine this scene with me. They are desperate and the woman is having contractions. Four men, two of whom are in the photo, laid her on a mattress and carried her in the dark of night to His House of Hope. At 4 am, 7 hours after her first baby was delivered she gave birth to a stillborn. It makes me so sad that there will be hundreds more just like her.

Thankfully God cares about these precious little ones.

Next time you see a pregnant woman, would you please say a prayer for those in far away places that don't have the privileges of healthcare, good roads, transport systems, communications, and a multitude of resources that we so often take for granted.

Around the compound

The day begins here with a clanging metal bell sound which wakes up the 160 orphans at around 6-6:30 am.  The next sounds are of singing as they get ready to do chores before school. They sweep the grounds, use machete's to cut grass etc.

Sometimes after chores there's time for a little goofing around. The children took wood stumps and some sticks and voila, you have a band! It seems they just can't help but dance to it.

Meanwhile up in the kitchen, cooking for 400 is a lot of hard work.!!! These big vats are used for cooking massive amounts of rice and such. The stirring stick is lying on top.

I stood next to one for a short time and the heat was intense. The women stand on a small platform to stir.

Here are a couple of the women who work in the hospital kitchen. They are preparing cassava leaves for cooking. The leaves help provide some needed " greens".

Unlike a lot of places in S. Sudan, this hospital cooks food for the patients. Mostly, patients have to fend for themselves or families come and bring food.