14th October – 24th October 2010

 

Day 1

It’s here!!! Finally after eight months of anticipation it’s here!
We all met at Liverpool Airport at the very early time of 2am!! Nick Atkin from HHT and Sue Bramley from CDHT arrived and waved us off to give us moral support (read: to make sure we actually went! Ha ha).

We all got acquainted with each other and spoke about the forthcoming journey and our expectations. Spirits were really high and we were all looking forward to an amazing experience.

The flight to Amsterdam took 55 minutes, where we changed over to a connecting flight direct to Entebbe. The eight and a half hour flight was better than we expected. The plane was only a quarter full which meant we could spread out and relax.

We arrived at Entebbe in the pitch black and were greeted by Ciaran Lavery, Lynsey Clark and John Kule (The event organisers and driver). We were all squeezed into a mini van and had to tie the luggage onto the roof. We then drove for an hour to the Mission guesthouse, which was run by a priest called Brother Hubert.

We had a quick bite to eat and were then briefed about the journey ahead and what to expect, although nothing could quickly prepare you for the journey from Kampala to Fort Portal.

By this time, our body clocks were all over the place, and a lot of us were over-tired. However none of us had trouble sleeping that night under our much needed mosquito nets. I can also report that John Maddox didn’t snore either, which was a relief – phew!!

 

Day 2

We all woke up and reported varied levels of sleep from the night before. It’s safe to say that the climate, new surroundings and the excitement had played havoc with our body clocks!
We ate breakfast and boarded the mini van again for the six hour drive from Kampala to Fort Portal. The weather in the morning was well into the high 80s, which made the tight fitting mini van………….. a challenge!!

The journey to the guest house itself was an experience. The roads and road safety is so far removed from what we are used to in the UK. The main form of transport seems to be old low powered city commuter bikes, and it’s not uncommon to see four people on one bike!

Drivers and riders communicate by means of beeping and constantly flashing lights at one another. I’m told it’s an unwritten language and that’s just how they do it.

However it’s worth noting that the death rate on the roads is alarmingly high, and to be honest I’m not at all surprised.

As the journey progressed the roads got better and we made good time. When we slowed through the villages and were spotted by local Ugandan people, we were looked upon with curious eyes and the children would often yelp “Muzungu”, meaning “White Man”. Thankfully they would say this in a friendly way and wave to us.

The amount of things we spotted and were in awe of was endless. It wasn’t uncommon to see cattle, chickens and goat grazing along the roadside and Ugandan people selling food they had cooked themselves.

At one stretch of road, which meandered through a thick forest, baboons decided they would chill out on the road, blocking our way. This was a great photo and video opportunity which we took advantage of.  However don’t be fooled, these baboons are not tame and are very wild indeed. We kept our distance and revelled in the moment!

We arrived at the Ruwen Zori View guest house and were greeted warmly by Enika and Maurice who own and run it. We were shown to our rooms which were very nice and comfortable. There were two single beds in each room and a shower/wet room. There were the obligatory mosquito nets around the beds and sufficient wardrobe space for our stay here.

We all had another briefing from Ciaran and Lyndsey about what the next couple of days were going to entail, and then relaxed and shared with each other our experiences over the last day and a half.

 

Day 3

We all woke and had breakfast and then made our way to the Mountain to The Moon University, which is partnered with the One Brick at a Time project.
The university is located next door to one of the dormant craters that were made by the last volcanic eruption many years ago. We all took a walk to the top of the crater and were astonished by the views across the Winsory Mountains.
Situated between these mountains was the infamous rift valley where the plates of the equator meet and move, which were the cause of the infamous earthquakes many years ago. 

We then drove to St Peter and Paul’s School where we were to start work. When we arrived the first thing we noticed was the work that the lads from the previous trip had already accomplished on two of the blocks of classrooms. Compared to the other classrooms they had totally transformed it, and it looked brand new with its freshly painted roof, glazing, rendering and mortar work.

This set the bar to which we had to work to. The students were already on site and looked at us with unfamiliarity, as they were used to the other guys from the last trip, but it didn’t take long till they approached us and greeted us with warm smiles and polite greetings. We all couldn’t wait to get stuck in and get working. That evening we all went for a fantastic meal at the Mountains of the Moon hotel.

 

Day 4

Today we went back to the school and did a full inventory check in the stores (which doubled as one of the nearly finished classrooms) and made sure we had a full list of materials needed for the next day.

We met the headteacher from the school and she was really grateful that we were going to continue to work on her school, creating a safe and secure teaching and learning environment for both tutors and schoolchildren. By this time everyone in the team had bonded and it was apparent we were all going to work very well as a team.

The afternoon was left free for us to go back to the Mountains of the Moon hotel to have a swim and watch the football before the start of our first week working on site.

Ciaran and Lyndsey had purposely planned the first days of our trip this way to ensure everyone had rested, acclimatised and were prepared for the working week, as opposed to rushing in with the risk of us burning out.

 

Day 5

Everyone woke at 6.30am and had breakfast at 7am at the guesthouse. We had the choice of an English breakfast or mixed fruit with tea and coffee. It was important that we had something to eat and to ensure we had plenty of fluids to drink, as the climate out here means that we were inevitably going to lose plenty of fluids while working.

We all climbed in the van and made our way to the school via the materials yard (our version of B&Q, but very different) to ensure we had sufficient supplies for the day.
Materials are quite scarce as you can imagine and it’s not uncommon to wait hours, or sometimes days for materials to become available.

When we got to the school we were greeted by the 24 local trainees who were assigned to work with us for the forthcoming weeks. They were very excited to meet us and we were excited too.

Each person was allocated between two and three trainees to work with during the day and they were keen to start. The tasks included digging up the concrete aprons that surrounded the classrooms, mixing cement, painting roofs and trusses, landscaping, glazing, mortar filling, building steps and much more.

After the first day the amount of work achieved was amazing considering the small amount of time put in.

What stood out the most from the day was the lack of available machinery that we take for granted back in the UK. Cement mixing was done by hand with poor quality sand, cement and hardcore. Ladders were hand built on site with whatever timber was available at the time and some of the trainees were working with no footwear on at all. 

The trainees are from the local college, aged between 16 and 24, and have a very high fitness and stamina level which is the result of their high carbohydrate diet and working ethic.

After our first day we had a briefing back at the guest house. Ciaran told us that he was very pleased with the work. We all chatted over dinner about what we had done so far and then it was off to bed.

 

Day 6

The second day of work was a continuation from yesterday and we were already starting to fall into a routine – up at 6.30am and away to collect materials from the local yard for the day’s tasks.

Every day each person is issued with a different set of trainees. It’s a good way for the trainees to do different tasks and keeps them (and us) motivated.
We are in the rainy season at the moment, so the weather is changeable. One minute it’s hot and sunny and then next it’s like a monsoon. The change in weather is without warning too.

Thankfully a lot of the renovation work is inside the classrooms, so it’s not uncommon to be landscaping one minute and then painting inside as soon as the heavens open.

Some of the students at St Peter and Paul’s are orphans and live on site. The classrooms they were living in were awful. The conditions were small, cold, damp, insecure and unsafe. Thankfully the new classrooms at the north end of the school had been completed, so the new mosquito nets were erected today.

In the evening all the beds were moved from the old block into the new. The children were thrilled with their new accommodation. There is so much more space in between the beds and the new glazing allows much more natural daylight in.

That evening we had tea around a campfire at the guesthouse. The food was delicious. It was really nice sitting, eating and chatting among ourselves and listening to the sounds of nature.

There is also a sense of comfort and camaraderie so it wasn’t long till we were all making jokes at each others expense!!  Another early night was had and we were all in bed before 11pm.

 

Day 7

Today was hot hot hot, which made working that bit more challenging. A new 3ft stone wall has been erected in front of the new classrooms, which adds kerb appeal and directs human traffic to specific parts of the school. It really does look like a trick job.

A lot of concrete mixing was done today because a lot of the aprons (pathway) around the old classrooms are in poor condition. In some places the holes in the floor are six inches deep. The children are supposed to walk through or around these potholes on a daily basis, which obviously increases the risks of falls and injuries.

We have already replaced a whole section of apron which has now set. The finish is smooth and now has no trip hazards at all. Jobs a good ‘un!

The trainees have now spent three days with us and are starting to show their characters and personalities. It’s amazing how interested they are about our lives back in the UK, but it’s also very sad to hear about the hard times they have had to endure while living in Uganda.

One of the trainees was an orphan whose mother and father were murdered during the Genocide. He managed to escape and walked tens of kilometres into Fort Portal where he now lives on a refugee site. However, he is one of the most charismatic and hard working individuals you could ever hope for.
One of the students who I’ve worked with a lot asked me to sponsor him so he could pay for his college fees, which I had to decline as advised. With no education or opportunities he will find it difficult to make a life for himself in Fort Portal. He even asked if he could come back to the UK with me and joked that he would sneak into my suitcase.

Life out here is really tough and today in particular was really humbling. This kind of interaction with the trainees has really spurred us on to make sure we do the absolute best possible job out here.
Tonight is pizza night. Yes, every Wednesday we will be going to a local restaurant which specialises in pizza. It was just a 10 minute drive and we arrived about 7pm. The restaurant was on the first floor of a concrete building which initially looked like anything BUT a pizzeria! However once inside, we were greeted by its friendly owner who catered to our needs for the evening. They had the football on too which was a bonus.

 

Day 8

We had quite a long wait at the stores this morning before we arrived for work at the school. With regards to construction materials and availability, the sense of urgency and organisation is not what we are used to in the UK, but its something you have to accept and quickly get used to. Like I said earlier, availability is a big issue, especially when transport and road networks are poor.

Before we started work Ciaran felt that he had to give the trainees a motivational talk, as there had been reports that the performance of some of the trainees had dropped. Ciaran applauded the hard work so far of the majority of the trainees but advised that if he continued to receive reports about certain individuals then there would be consequences.

What is worth mentioning is that the trainees don’t get paid for doing the work, like an apprentice would do back in the UK, and most of them also have to walk a few hours before getting to site and are tired before arriving. What ‘One brick at a time…’ does is provide three meals a day plus a bursary for each of the trainees that pays their college fees and gives them a small allowance.

Today the roof rafters were treated with wood preserve, which is a tricky and challenging task. The roofs are high and as previously mentioned, the ladders are hand made on site with no specific measurements.

Me, I preferred working from the ground using a paint brush with a fabricated extended timber handle!! Did the job though!

In the evening after dinner a few of us went to the Mountains of the Moon hotel, which is situated at the top of the hill not far from the guesthouse. It sports several eating rooms and a big plasma TV screen for the football. Unfortunately we had to witness Liverpool drawing 0-0 against an average Napoli and watch them continue their slide down the premiership league table.

As a Liverpool fan, this was not good to watch. Andy Mcwhinnie, who is an ardent Manchester United fan, found great pleasure in teasing us about the result. In fact even the trainees had started to refer to our team as ‘Loser-pool’ – thanks guys!!!

 

Day 9

We arrived at the school after collecting our supplies from the yard and had a briefing with the trainees. Unfortunately Ciaran had to name and shame one of the trainees as he had received reports that he was constantly missing or on his mobile phone.

This was becoming a problem for the other trainees too, as they were getting frustrated that he was behaving this way and letting them down.

Ciaran tasked him to dig all day for the new drain which will take all the rainwater down and off the site into the adjacent gardens. Ciaran added that if anyone was found talking to the said trainee during the day then they would be sent home and the college would be notified.

Today the old toilet blocks were given a new lease of life with a lick of paint. When I say toilets, I mean concrete units with small holes in the ground.

There is no flushing function and waste just accumulates below in a chamber. Chemicals are added now and again, but the smell from the block is something that you never want to experience.

Needless to say most of us made sure were did our business before we left for work. However, sometimes it was unavoidable and you had to go. The malaria tablets made sure of that!

The painting on the roof of the north classroom has been finished and looks smart. The concreting continued and the internal walls of the classrooms were PVC’d and painted to lighten the otherwise dark brickwork.

The door frames and openings were also sanded and painted. New steps had been constructed at the south side of the school, where previously pupils had to jump down 2-3ft onto uneven ground.

At lunch we had a football match against the students. It was 11-a-side and was fast and competitive. The trainees won 4-3 and deserved to win. It made us even closer as a team which paid dividends on site.

In the evening we all went for dinner in a place called Klugers which is like a guesthouse and restaurant. It was a 35 minute drive into the forest and was nothing short of stunning.

The grounds surrounding the restaurant were beautifully kept and the food was fantastic. It wasn’t long though till we all started feeling sleepy as the long, hard, but productive week was starting to draw to a close. We still had Saturday morning to work too, so we all went to bed handy.

Day 10

Today is our last working day of the week. We worked from 9am till 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 hard core used as the filler. The external walls of the two north classrooms were painted in cream and the roof rafters on the apron were also stained and treated.

For a week’s work, a lot has been done and apart from slight delays with supplies it has gone really smoothly. We all said how much we had accomplished and were looking forward to week two’s tasks.

Realistically we might not complete the whole school, but we have vowed to transform it into a place which is a safe, secure and 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 it’s already had given the 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 literally out there in the sticks.

When we got to the reserve we were treated to a Ugandan tribal dance by the children of the local school. It was great to taste some of the culture through 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 to 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 only served to enhance the feeling of living in the outdoors. Unfortunately for some, this was 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 restaurant nearby for our tea. When we arrived it was pitch black and the guesthouse had candles littered throughout the 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. One couldn’t be blamed for underplaying John’s involvement with the project, as to most he is simply the driver. However John’s involvement runs much deeper than that.

John plays a key role in organising the events in Fort Portal and acts as a translator between locals and ourselves when needed. John is fluent in nine other languages as well as English and Ugandan. John 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 BBQ into a mini camp fire and listened to the sounds of the forest nightlife come alive. A few moments of silence were enjoyed as each of us spent time reflecting on the past week. What a great end to a productive and satisfying week.