Day 10 (Saturday)
TODAY is our last working day of the week. We worked from 9am until 1pm. We finished off the internal painting in the old classroom and the holes in the same room were finally filled in. The new rain drain was nearly completed and all the hardcore was used as the filler.
The external walls of the two north classrooms were decorated in crème paint and the roof rafters on the apron were also stained and treated. For a week’s work, a lot of work has been done, and apart from slight delays with supplies, everything has gone really smoothly.
We all said how much we had accomplished and how we are looking forward to week two’s tasks. Realistically, we might not complete the whole school in its entirety, but we have vowed to transform the school into a place which is conducive to a safe, secure, fit-for-purpose environment for both pupils and teachers.
The pupils there have been fantastic towards us, and seem to have really appreciated the work we have done so far. It’s really good to see the fruits of your labour and the impact that has already been made in a relatively short space of time.
After work we travelled to a place called Lake Nkruber. This is one of the trips that was pre-organised and which we paid for separately. The place has no electricity and is in the sticks.
When we got to the reserve we were treated to a Ugandan tribal dance by the local schoolchildren. It was great to taste some of the culture; arts and dance and was a really nice touch to the day. Needless to say, a lot of pictures and videos were taken to take back with us. We then had some lunch in the shape of barbequed pork ribs that were as big as my forearm. They were huge!
Then we took a walk down the lake and were surrounded by playful baboons and other colourful forest life. Our accommodation there was in the form of huts with thatched roofs and single beds with no windows. This was really back to basics and served only to enhance the feeling of living in the outdoors.
Unfortunately for some, this was a little too much like the outdoors and some of the group didn’t sleep particularly well. I thought that was quite funny, but that’s my strange sense of humour for you.
During the evening, we went to another nearby restaurant called Endali Lodge for our tea. When we arrived it was pitch black and candles were littered throughout the restaurant’s dining and sitting area. The ambience and atmosphere was the ideal setting for presenting John Kule (driver and project helper) with one of the laptops that was donated by HHT.
You couldn’t be blamed for underplaying John’s involvement with the project for, to most people, he is simply the driver. However, his involvement runs much deeper than that. John plays a key role in organising the events in Fort Portal and acts as a translator between the locals and us when needed.
John is fluent in nine languages as well as English and Ugandan. He was overwhelmed when we gave him the laptop and was clearly emotional as he delivered a ‘thank you’ speech.
The evening ended back at camp, when we turned the barbeque into a mini-camp fire and listened to the sounds of the forest nightlife come alive. A few beverages were enjoyed and a few moments of silence, too, where each of us spent time reflecting on the past few days. It was a great end to a productive and satisfying week.
Day 11
OUR full day off. We woke up at the lodge. John Maddocks was up bright and early at 6.30am but Andy McWhinnie had only an hour’s sleep all night as he was suffering with back pain. He caught up with his sleep in the Jeep later.
Before we left the lodge some of us had the opportunity to go on a trek with the local guide. Me, Andy, from Seddons, and Mark, from CDHT, decided to take advantage of this.
The guide took us through a great part of the forest, and we saw some great wildlife and plantations. When we reached the top of the mountain, the views were amazing.
There was a slightly hairy moment, though, while we were admiring the views. The guide reached forward and grabbed something out of my hair. He showed me an insect he had caught that was just about to put a barb in my scalp and inject me with poison.
He explained that instead of a wasp – which would sting and leave the barb in the skin – this particular insect would pierce, inject, release and then fly away. The consequence of the sting would mean localised pain and swelling and then swelling of the brain caused by excess fluid. A trip to the hospital to have my head drained would have ensued. Nice.
Needless to say, I thanked the guide for his help and continued to walk back down towards the site.
Afterwards, we had lunch back at Endali Lodge and drove back to the Mountains Of The Moon hotel to watch Liverpool finally win a game: they defeated Blackburn 2-1.
Day 12
WE all woke up to a hearty breakfast, ready for the hard day and week ahead. Most of us thought we would lose weight on this trip because of the physical work needed at the schoo but the food at the guesthouse is plentiful and delicious.
Today, my team were instructed to again go over the internal walls in the classroom in crème paint as our previous attempt didn’t provide the finish it needed. The classrooms are made with uneven bricks so subsequently there are missing chunks of mortar missing in between. This makes it really difficult to apply an even coat of paint throughout. However, once we had filled the gaps with mortar and given it a second and final coat of paint, the classroom was transformed.
Everyone stayed behind after 5pm to finish off the concrete footings for the new toilet block for the female pupils we had started to build a day earlier. It was another productive day. Tonight for tea at the guest-house we had a curry. I was overjoyed, because I had suggested it a couple of days ago to Enika, the guest-house owner.
She hadn’t made many curries before so this was a challenge for her, plus she realised I was a little bit homesick and was missing my favourite food! She did a really good job of the curry and everyone said it was delicious. After tea, we all made our way to the rooms for another early night.
Day 13
AS a result of an early night last night, everyone slept long and well and we were all raring to get going at the school. We didn’t need to go to the builder’s yard today and went straight to site for our briefing.
Ciaran announced that he had sourced some additional local help for the school a week on Thursday. Local companies and sponsors are going to turn up on the day and help with painting and planting shrubs to help us with the landscaping. This is great news. In addition, Ciaran will also be interviewed on the local radio station next week to further advertise the project.
More internal painting and mortaring was done today. The heavens opened for at least an hour. All external work had to be stopped and all resources were sent inside to help with internal work and flooring.
The project relies on heavy rain, as there is an on-site storage container that collects a lot of the rainfall which is used for various tasks like mixing the cement and cleaning the tools. If there is no rainfall we have to go to the local river and fill up 20 litre cans. This can be quite time-consuming.
The children at the school are now used to our presence and understand why we are there. They always say hello and thank us for being there which is really nice to hear and drives us on to make sure we do a really good job for them. We have all taken pictures of us and the children at the school to take back to the UK as a memento.
After work we went to the Sunrise Hotel for a drink and to reflect on the week so far. Then we went back to the guest-house for our tea. Most of us made way to our rooms at 9pm and some of us stayed at the dining table chatting to the other guests.
Day 14
TODAY was probably the most productive day so far. Ten tonnes of volcanic rocks were delivered at the school earlier in the week. The whole team, plus the 24 trainees, hand-balled it to another part of the school where a new stone wall is being built.
Each piece of volcanic rock weighs about 25kg each so you can imagine the effort it took us at 9am! Today was a good day for materials, too, so there was no delay in the work-rate as a result.
The south side of the school had its apron dug up as the pathway was in really poor and unsafe. Fresh concrete was made and laid down to form a new and level walking area for the pupils and it has already made a difference to the block.
The corrugated roof is also being painted with red oxide paint which protects it and also looks great when you drive through the school gates. New concrete and brick steps shaped in a semi-circle have been created in a part of the school which was previously inaccessible.
A new wall has also been made to complement this. The whole area looks really sharp. Three of the classrooms have now been completed and the pupils have moved their workbenches in.
At 5pm we got everyone together and moved the entire contents of the store room – which was taking up one of the classrooms – down to an unused classroom at the south side of the school.
We also moved a ton of swamp sand near the new stores via a wheelbarrow to enable a more efficient way of working tomorrow. We eventually finished at 6.30pm and it is sufficient to say that everyone was dead beat afterwards. We all gave each other a pat on the back.
This evening we all went to the pizzeria again (as it is Pizza Wednesday). Everyone had a good time but the yawns came early as the hard day’s work had taken its toll on everyone. Unsurprisingly, we all slept very well.
Day 15
TODAY we spent half an hour at the builder’s yard waiting for materials. We were subsequently quickly allocated our trainees for the different teams and set about our daily tasks.
At lunch the heavens opened and the ensuing thunder reminded us that we are still in the rainy season! You really haven’t seen rain like this in Britain. The raindrops are like golf balls and if you stood in the rain for less than a minute you would be soaked to the bone.
Today I had been allocated a trainee who proved to be quite troublesome. The trainee in question kept walking off the job and when he was found he was either on his mobile phone or sitting down somewhere. He was reprimanded by John Kule but continued to go missing throughout the day.
My team was doing painting and he obviously didn’t want to participate. At the end of the day I advised Lyndsey that I didn’t want him on my team tomorrow as he was affecting the team’s morale and overall performance. Subsequently he was spoken to after work about his behaviour. Later, he approached me and apologised and promised he would make it up for it tomorrow.
Just before the end of the day another few tonnes of volcanic rock were delivered for the boundary walls. It will need hand-balling to another part of the school in the morning. This will mean another early night and a hearty breakfast.
We have found that as work has progressed, more and more children have approached us and thanked us for the work we have been doing to their school. One schoolgirl, who must have only been about six years old, was watching me as I was applying a coat of paint to the steel girders that hold up the canopy over the apron.
She grabbed one of the paint brushes and started to help me paint, copying every upward and downward stroke, and releasing the excess paint from the brush back into the tin. Even though it sounds quite insignificant, it made me smile and it was another way that we connected with the schoolchildren.
After work, five of us went out for tea and treated ourselves to steak at the Mountain Of The Moon hotel. The rest stayed at the guest-house and ate in.
Tonight was also the first time some of us had ever seen fire-flies. We spotted them on the way back from the restaurant when it was pitch black. They danced, darted and glowed on and off over the hedges. It really was like something out of a children’s book. Magical.
Day 16
THIS morning we went straight to site and didn’t have to wait for materials, which was a relief. Everyone had to move another 20 tonnes of volcanic rock. The whole thing took two and a half hours.
We carried out the task in a long line, not unlike a chain gang, as we passed the rocks one by one to one end of the line to another. Unsurprisingly, some of the trainees had to be pulled out of the line as they were exhausted. It was extremely tiring but afterwards we all felt a sense of achievement.
While I was painting the roof rafters in one of the classrooms today I noticed that someone had written “Never Forget......” with someone's name and a date next to it. I thought it was graffiti at first because I had seen similar scrawls throughout the other classrooms in the school.
I asked one of the trainees what this was and he explained that when a child from the school died of Aids they wrote their names on walls to honour and respect their passing. It was both sad and humbling and served as a stark reminder about the terrible disease and how it affects this part of the world. In fact, Fort Portal has the highest rate of people with the Aids virus in Uganda.
At lunch time, as it was Friday, we had another football match against the trainees. This time we won 3-1, which was made even more rewarding by the fact that the heat was in the nineties, and we struggled. Next week will be the last Friday before we go back to Britain, so the match will be the ultimate decider. Both teams have become very competitive suddenly.
In the afternoon, Ciaran and John were interviewed about the project at the local radio station and appealed for any help towards the school. Although I didn’t hear the interview, reports suggested it went well and hopefully we will get more volunteers to help at the school.
In the evening after work we went to a resort called Kyanwga. It a lodge made entirely out of wood and thatch, and each part of the building is separated by bridges and stairways.
It is set on top of a mountain with breathtaking views over the valley. The food and service was the best we have had so far on this trip. After our meal we sat with the owner of the lodge and his friends. Tomorrow we are going to the famous Queen Elizabeth National Park, and we have been told it’s an amazing trip. Can’t wait.
Day 17 (Saturday)
We went to work in the morning (it’s worth mentioning that Saturday mornings are an important time for us to work). Most of the children at the school, apart from the pupils who live there, are at home. It makes access to the classrooms a whole lot easier. There is potential to get a full day’s work done in half the day. This morning was no exception as we all got stuck into our tasks.
John Maddocks had a close encounter with a poisonous snake. He was removing some tarpaulin draped over rocks, revealing a small, black and common – but poisonous – snake. Thankfully, it was as startled as John and quickly slithered off into the undergrowth.
Straight after work we piled into the Jeep and minivan and set off to the Queen Elizabeth National Park. En route we stopped off at the equator, so I made sure I stood over the dividing line of the Earth with each foot on either side. Don’t ask me why I did it; it just seemed the right thing to do!
The heat on the equator is stifling and well into the nineties. But, when we drove into the first leg of the national park, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. This was a sure sign that a storm was brewing, and a few minutes later the heavens opened.
It made the drive down into the park from the mountains treacherous as the Jeep regularly lost traction and slid precariously down the mud-ridden paths. We made it eventually after a few close calls, but the rest of the guys in the mini van were not so lucky.
We received a phone call from John Kule, who was driving the minivan to say that they had lost control and ended up in a ditch. Everyone in the vehicle had to get out and try to get the van back on the tracks. This happened several times before they actually got to the park an hour later.
We finally caught up with them at the Mweya Safari lodge bar before we ate dinner. The lodge was in the middle of the national park and we stayed the night there in the cottages and chalets.
After a nice meal, we were warned not to leave the accommodation once after nightfall as hippos are known to roam around the place. Hippopotamus are one of the biggest killers in the wildlife, and have known to charge at the passing vehicles and unsuspecting people.
Day 18
WOKE up at 6.30am to get ready for the first drive around the national park. I went out on the veranda to look at the magnificent views over the park (which is 2000km square) and noticed massive footprints leading into the bushes outside the cottage.
I carefully followed the footprints to find out where they came from and realised they were hippo footprints. One of them must have walked past my bedroom and had scraped its side against the wall, leaving lots of mud and blood.
God knows how I didn’t wake up as it must have shaken the building. Not sure why there was blood on the wall, although one could probably assume that it had a confrontation with another hippo or other large animal. Scary stuff.
Breakfast was being served at a café about 100 metres away which was visible from the cottage and, although it was daylight, I didn’t take any chances so I ran to where the others were sitting eating. Can’t take any chances can we?
We left in the minivan at about 7.30am and took a tour around the national park. We saw lots of wild animals such as elephants, warthogs, deer, antelopes, buffalo and rare birds close up during the tour
Afterwards, we went down to one of the park's huge lakes and took a boat trip around the bay. The tour guide took us to places where the wildlife were. We saw plenty of wallowing hippos, monkeys, eagles and even a crocodile.
The boat trip lasted just over an hour and finished off the trip nicely. When we got off the boat we were greeted by 10 to 15 meerkats who wandered around as if were weren’t there. It was a truly great experience.
The drive back to the guest-house was long and tiring, and some of us, including me, fell asleep during the journey. To finish off a great weekend we went to the Mountains Of The Moon hotel and watched Liverpool beat Bolton 1-0.
Day 19
Everyone was up bright and early and we made our way to the building yard to pick up some cement and other materials for the day ahead. Ciaran confirmed that on Thursday, between 10 and 15 volunteers would be arriving at the school to help us with the painting and other tasks.
This would help us finish off the other mini-projects that we had started – such as the new toilet blocks – and to weather guard some of the frontage of the classrooms. It is help that is much appreciated by everyone as this week will be the last full week at St Peter and Paul's school.
We put a lot of resources and labour into the remaining classrooms were so far untouched. The wooden rafters in three of the old classrooms were treated with wood preservative and the brick walls were treated with PVA before being painted on Thursday.
A lot of concrete was done on the remaining aprons: the wooden shutters were wire brushed and sanded down, more brickwork was done on the walls, holes in the concrete classroom floors were patched up and a burst water pipe had to be fixed. We are working very hard this week as we are nearing the expected completion date, and everyone would was anticipating seeing the school finished and completely renovated.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be used to prepare the final block of classrooms before the additional help arrives on Thursday. Ciaran has advised us to expect the most frantic week so far. We are ready for the challenge and can’t wait to see the end result.
Day 20
WE went straight to site, but today was different. Ciaran and Lyndsey, who are usually present all day to oversee works, were not in. They were doing other jobs off-site to secure further funding for the project and other important paperwork.
This meant that, apart from John Kule, we were left to supervise our own teams. We all rose to the challenge and ensured that we and the trainees were kept busy doing the tasks needed. In reality, we actually accomplished more than Ciaran expected. When he eventually arrived on site later on in the afternoon he was amazed by how much had been done, and thanked us.
It was difficult today because of the fact we had no rain so all water had to be transported from the river for the concrete mix. The pupils are having their exams in the north end classrooms so we were restricted to the south side of the site only.
The flowerbeds and stone walls for the new plantations which are built using the volcanic rocks that we had shifted late last week are nearly complete, and it really transforms the landscaping.
It’s exactly a week today before the work finishes and we are all conscious that the clock is ticking. Plus, we are all getting prepared for the big push on Thursday when all the volunteers arrive to help us.
In the evening, Enika, the owner of the guest-house cooked, us a Chinese meal for our tea. It was super-spicy and some of the people with a more delicate palate struggled. Of course, as an avid fan on Indian food I found this extremely amusing.
Unsurprisingly, everyone went to bed after tea and most were asleep by 9.30pm.
Its worth noting that so far only three people have been ill and have missed a day’s work. This is good considering the climate, food, workload and other factors.
Day 21
USUAL 6.30am start. Breakfast was served slightly later than usual as there was a major power-cut in Fort Portal. The guest-house then has to rely on the generator to supply electricity in order to keep it running. Some of us use the sound of the generator being switched on to wake us up in the morning!
Extra cement and stones were ordered for the concrete mix. The remainder of the apron was concreted so the paths are now completed and safe to walk on. Another big push was put on the internal painting of the classrooms.
The painting is considered a laborious task to some, but it’s an important part of the project as it really does transform the look of the classrooms and adds much-needed kerb appeal when you walk into them.
I'm confident we are well on the way to complete the school before the deadline as long as we keep our feet on the accelerator. It will be fantastic if we do.
Ciaran confirmed that 15 volunteers will arrive tomorrow and John Kule said he had found an extra two people, too. There is going to be a real buzz about the place tomorrow and we all can’t wait to see the end result.
In the evening, as per every Wednesday, we all went to the pizzeria. We ate, had a drink, relaxed and watched the football. It wasn’t too late of a night and we were all in bed by midnight.
Day 22
EVERYONE was up and ready for the big day today as we anticipated the extra help we were going to get. As soon as we got on site – and before we were given our tasks and teams for the day – we all dug up the edgings of the schools and moved fresh soil to the main flowerbed we had finished building yesterday.
As soon as that was done, and 9am arrived, the volunteers started to turn up. It was great to see fresh and willing faces wanting to do their bit for St Peter and St Paul.
Some of the volunteers planted the new plants and bushes that had been donated to the school and a lot were tasked with helping with painting the inside of the remaining classrooms.
A lot of the volunteers were new to this type of work but they quickly adapted and did a fantastic job and stayed to the very end. The trainees worked great as well, and you felt as though they wanted to impress the newcomers with their skill and enthusiasm.
It rained today but not enough to halt progress, and we were still planting eucalyptus trees well past 6.30pm. Rain and heavy thunder eventually halted work, but not until I had planted the last baby eucalyptus tree near the school entrance. I said a little prayer for the plant as it was fighting to stay upright in the increasing wind. I will check on it tomorrow to make sure it made it.
Afterwards, we went back to the guest-house with some of the volunteers and thanked them for their efforts today. We all cheered ourselves for a job well done, and enjoyed a cheeky beer before our tea.
As we are in the final leg of the project I've got mixed feelings and emotions. On one hand, I'm glad that we are going to complete what we had set out to do, but sad because the time has gone so quickly and I'm going to miss everything that Uganda has made me feel inside.
Day 23
TODAY was like any other working day, apart from the fact that we have only three full days left to complete the school.
We had a briefing on site and Ciaran reminded us that although time was running out a big push was still needed to get the school complete on time. Monday and half of Tuesday will be spent finishing off mini-projects and snagging.
Unsurprisingly, the pace was quite hurried, but at the end of the day we had painted every single classroom. The shutters still need painting mahogany, but we will start that tomorrow morning.
The remaining posts holding up the canopies were painted red oxide, and more stone walls were being constructed to hold the rest of the donated plants. The joiners started work on constructing a ceiling in the head mistress’s office, which will help with privacy with the rest of the adjacent offices.
At lunch, we played the deciding match against the trainees. The oldies (us) won 2-1 but some of the more competitive trainees didn’t take the loss very well. It wasn’t a problem, however, as we needed some of these players for a match we had against the students at the Mountains Of The Moon University at 5.30pm.
The match against the students was pre-organised. John Maddox had arranged 22 Liverpool football shirts which were donated by LFC and had been worn by the players of yesteryear.
The match was played on a full-sized pitch and a crowd turned up to cheer the students on. We were in unfamiliar territory and it’s safe to say we expected to get thrashed.
The students were part of a team which had won their local league and were younger and fitter than all of us. I’m not sure whether this spurred us on, or whether they went easy on us, but the end result was only 2-1 to them.
Even though we lost we felt proud. The shirts were donated to the students afterwards and a photograph was taken of us all arm in arm.
Afterwards we went for tea at the Mountains Of The Moon hotel. Shortly after – as certain as rain and taxes – tiredness quickly set in and we all retired back to the guest-house to a well deserved sleep.