February already

PICTURES OF THE STORM AT COURT VIEW AND CHILDREN AT FAMILY SPIRIT WITH ISAAC THE FOUNDER

This has been a quiet week. The weather has broken and there have been some spectacular storms one of which removed the roof from the shop just out side are compound, luckily no one was around. The weather here is amazing it can change from bright sunshine to fierce rain within a few minutes. The rain is usually preceded by a wind which rattles everything in the house. You can often see the rain advancing up the valley. When it comes every one dashes for cover and everything stops. It may pass after a few minutes but sometimes you are stranded for much longer. The rain is just too fierce to walk out in it. I nearly got caught in a storm on Wednesday. The medical superintendent who is in charge of the hospital could not cash his salary cheque and needed some money to travel to Kampala on family business so he asked if he could borrow 200000 ush. I could go to the bank and withdraw it but he has no reserves. Even a man in his position is only just operating above the poverty line and has no spare cash at the end of the month. Most people here seem to live with out cash. Many people do not get a regular salary even when they are working it is not unusual for payment to be delayed. I have not had my salary from the district since July luckily we do not rely on it.
The rain hopefully will have helped bring the meningitis out break to a halt. The ministry sanctioned a mass immunisation campaign so the district rapidly trained staff and deployed them in the villages. I have not seen any one involved this week but I have not heard of a flood of cases and there have certainly not been any admitted to the hospital.It has been remarkable how the service responded to the out break once it was identified. It was not the most efficient response but hopefully it has worked. There has been no mass panic and hopefully no great loss of life.
This week has been busy with net sales. This has been the first time that the team have done it all on their own. I have not been out to supervise and it has been great to see that it all worked and three villages were visited. We are having a meeting tomorrow to plan the next stage. We still need to buy more nets and are now being approached by other villages demanding that they are involved in the project. There are no plans to extend to other villages until all the ones we identified have their nets but it is good that people are asking for nets. The rains will bring an increase in mosquitoes so it is important we get them supplied as soon as possible. A Peace Corps volunteer Chris has offered to arrange some fund raising in the US and we are hoping to raise some money when we return to the UK in March for Becky’s wedding. It looks like we will have to pay more for our next supply of nets but hopefully not too much.
I returned to the Family Spirit Centre this week end. A well wisher from the UK had sent some money for them. They had just been given two exotic goats by rotary international and needed a new goat house so the money came just at the right time. If all goes well they can breed from the goats and generate and income. I am always amazed by the centre. The children have so little but are always cheerful and polite. They are getting an education and somehow Isaac the founder manages to interest local people in the centre and gat them to offer services or food for the children. They are searching for a computer now as Susan the deputy has just done a computer course and wants to use her skills to keep better records. At the moment if they want any letters writing they have to go in to town and pay to use a computer and printer.