responsible irresponsibility: Vocational Building

People have asked why there have been no recent posts. I even ask myself, or at least tell myself that I really should post something. But I don’t want to sound like a whiner, and right now the things I have to say about this place (Hopeland, not Uganda) would mostly be perceived as whining. I’ll just say that we have been frustrated, discouraged, disillusioned, disappointed, angry, and much more by the leadership here. But God is bigger, and there are changes for the better underway. So let me try to update.

We went home for the holidays. It was a great time spent with family and friends which passed too quickly. We returned the first week of January, just in time to attend the graduation of the most recent DTS. We had grown very close to some of the students, and we were thankful we were able to be there for the event.

We also quickly resumed the vocational school, but were challenged with what direction to go. Ultimately it was decided that we would work entirely within our own department and expand the vocational school kitchen. When the girl’s school is running they find it difficult to work in the area they have, and even now the space is being used for another program running during the week. So we have begun work to double the size of the existing 16’x30’ building. I have contracted with a local builder to work with the students twice a week for the concrete and bricklaying phase. The three days he has been here have been very helpful, and we have nearly completed the brick foundation walls. It has also given me a chance to work on some other things, including beginning the process of getting the plans for this and previous base construction sorted out with the local building department. Interesting so far, and I’ve just begun…

Today is national election day in Uganda. The months leading up to it have been filled with rallies, rumors, speculation, prayer, and a sense of instability. We’ve constantly been warned of the potential for violence, and cautioned to stay away from the cities and towns until it’s all over. Most schools have delayed their term break re-opening by more than three weeks because of anticipated unrest. Other than the noise from truck mounted speakers and associated crowds, we’ve really not been affected. Depending on the results, things should be back to normal next week
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Beth was recently able to bring all the necessary documentation to the capitol, Kampala, and received her license to practice nursing in Uganda. Bureaucracy here can be daunting, but because she had everything together the first time, it went very smoothly for her, requiring just two trips. The first to drop everything off, the second to pick up the license. Those trips became an opportunity to experience some very enjoyable dining in some of the ‘western’ restaurants in Kampala, as well as a relaxing weekend away from the base. Next week, after the election furor, she will seek out opportunities to use her skills away from Hopeland. (She sees several ‘patients’ a week seeking diagnosis and treatment for their ailments, nearly always perceived to be, but never really malaria.)

Israel is one of our students. He has a heart of gold, is a hard worker, and we brought him here for the school from western Uganda after getting to know him last year. He’s somewhat soft spoken, and sometimes things get lost in translation… Two recent conversations:

Good morning… may I sit down… I have some sad news… The son of Grace has died during the night.

What! You mean Lemeck?

Yes, we don’t know what happened, but we found him dead this morning…

It took a while, but I eventually realized that he hadn’t said ‘the son of Grace’, but rather, ‘this hen of Grace’. He was so proud of, and committed to his two chickens brought from the village which he was caring for along with Grace’s hen, and was very upset by the death. Another: