Rachel in Africa

Yes, one more thing, I just remembered that I promised to leave my postal address for some people. It is Rachel Vickers Restless Development Uganda PO Box 1208 Jinja, Uganda And for those who want to know - I also have a Ugandan cell phone number - +256 771 469 831. Any contact is (as Ugandans would say) 'most welcome'!!!!!

So I am now three weeks in! And the fact that this has been my first real chance to get into town to update you all is probably evidence enough to how busy we have been! Nevertheless it has most certainly been a fantastic three weeks; there is so much to say but I will try and keep it brief! From arriving in the heat of Entebbe and driving through Kampala to our training centre which is located just near a town called Mukono, I felt like I was back in familiar surroundings! It is simply great to be back, eating Ugandan food, enjoying Ugandan weather and spending time with lots of Ugandan people!!     We are staying at the centre from which we are training and sleeping in dormitories of about 12 people, a mix of ‘internationals’ and Ugandans. It has been pretty intense so far with both core sessions about Restless Development and the work of the NGO sector in Uganda as well as specialist training about, what will soon be, my area of expertis...

So yes, the adventure begins here. But not before packing all my things! The excitement of going back to a country, and a continent, that I have come to love over the last couple of years and doing some really worthwhile work, coupled with the nervousness of going away for 7 months, has rather overshadowed the practical elements of working out what constitutes my worldly possessions for the next half a year! But with 4 sleeps left until departure I can’t go on just laying things out on my bedroom floor – I have to face the challenge of getting it all in a rucksack and my carry on backpack! This is a pressing task but another thought holding me back is that this still doesn’t seem quite real! But I don’t think it will until I actually set my foot on the tarmac at Entebbe airport! Anyway, this all seems very dramatic!! ‘Why is she rambling on?!’, you might wonder, but all these musings ultimately lead to one goal – to enhance the lives of young people in rural areas of Uganda and to gi...

So I am writing this from, what I hear is, an unusually sunny England after being back just over a week. It feels very strange so far and I’m sure it will take a while for me to settle back in fully but for now I just wanted to update you on the progress of our projects in Kumi, how Team 2 got on and what everything looks like now we have left. Team 2 were a fantastic team! It was made up mostly of a youth group from a church in Kent with 7 13-16 year olds and their leaders as well as 4 other adults. It was a lovely mix and they were different to Team 1 which made it all the better I think! But they worked equally as hard and at the end of the trip overwhelmed me and Louise with their generosity towards all of our partners. It wasn’t without hiccups however as we suffered a few more problems with our transport; a broken alternator and three punctures! But hey, it wouldn’t be Africa without those things!! Once we arrived in Kumi all the team were eager to start work and we got so much...