As it is Sunday today, we went to Church in Bombo. Church in Uganda is very unlike most churches in England - especially the rather conservative Methodist church that many of our team members attend! As Simon, our orthopaedic surgeon, plays guitar, and Peter, one of the trustees and a fantastic leader of the group, plays piano, the team had been asked to lead worship at church. This led to a practice in the coach, where I witnessed something I never thought I would witness... the Pretenders "I would walk 5000 miles" being sung from hymn sheets! It was very interesting to see the reactions of the Ugandan people passing by either on foot/ boda boda (motorbike)/ car/ coaches while the Mzungus (L'Ugandan for white people) were stuck in traffic bellowing songs out of open windows!
When we got to church, Pastor John Bunjo introduced us and asked us to lead the worship.... A few of us managed to escape by hiding in the back of the congregation, but it meant that we got photo evidence! The team sang valiantly at quite a high pitch and the Ugandan audience seemed captivated, politely sitting and watching - it seemed a little subdued compared to the levels of dancing, clapping and singing that we usually witness! Queue Pastor John Bunjo stepping in and commencing a Conga around the church! We all joined in with this - including a gentleman using rickety wooden crutches!
After we returned to our seats, Fresera, Pastor John's daughter, who studies medicine in China, sang beautifully. It was wonderful to see both her parents watch her so lovingly, at the same time as dancing and singing with her. Pastor John then led a thought provoking and lively service as always, although he had been given strict time constraints as we had to leave at 1pm to return to the Hotel to prepare for the clinics. He stuck to this brilliantly and thus, this was the shortest Ugandan service I have ever been to!
After the service, I was lucky to be able to spend some time with my Shakira, the beautiful and resilient girl who I sponsor. She introduced me to her 3 month old sister, Pastor Robert's little (but actually very large and thriving for 3 months!) baby, Sasha. I got to hold and play with her, although, as soon as I lifted her out of her stunning mother, Naomi's, arms, she screamed with fear and didn't stop crying the whole time. I would like to think that it is because she hasn't seen a Mzungu before, not my poor baby handling skills....!) The photo below of Shakira holding Sasha explains how Sasha felt about me quite well I feel!
When we left church, we took with us a few church members, in order to give them a lift to the charity office where they helped us by bringing all the medication and kit (that we had left from our time in Uganda in the Summer) back to the hotel. On our way to the office, I had a very interesting conversation with a lovely 19 year old young gentleman, ranging from Donald Trump, to Brexit, and then his views on the LGBT community. Although he delivered them in a compassionate manner, it was fascinating but also rather frightening to hear some of the rather rigid views that he held. I think the media have such a large part to play in how we perceive the world, and I know that I am not any less prone to it than anyone else. I did however spend a great deal of time trying to explain another (my) perspective, in the least aggressive manner possible: Eg "Hmmm, so stating that Brexit is a fantastic idea is a very controversial statement...." I must emphasise that this young man was lovely and I do feel that he was trying to live his life by the way he thought best.
After all the kit was together, we split off into groups: doctors, nurses, and organisers. We all sorted out our separate kits: Huge piles of medication were sorted into very helpful plastic drawers (which seem like a luxury when I am used to furtling through large cardboard boxes for a tiny box of antibiotics). Mounds of dressings were sorted out and packed into bags, in addition to stacks of reading glasses organised into cases (some of which cases Pauline made then and there!) Finally, we all felt a bit more organised. We had a rewarding dinner and then a helpful meeting where we made our plan of action! Let's just see how it goes tomorrow - I shall keep you posted! Please send positive vibes our way!
