we are in Queen Elizabeth using the computers at the very swish Myewa Resort - our accomodations on the other hand is a flat piece of ground 6 km down the road overlooking the Myewa Channel - gorgeous scenery but the facilities aren't quite so falsh!
we have had a ripper of a morning, already seeing elephants, buffalo, hippos, kob, warthogs, antelope, a giant goanna (this was at our camp site) and plenty of birds. on the drive here from Kamapala we also passed a herd of about 30 zebra off the side of the road. I wish we could upload some photos for you from here so you could just see how amazing this is but did not plan ahead to have the camera with us and we have signed up only for 30 minutes each because internet use costs a bomb here.
this morning we got up early and were out in Brad by 6:30. the first big animals we saw were a herd of elephants and they had the most amazing african sunrise as thier backdrop - it is impossible to explian how gorgeous it is here - Dad you have to come, Suze and I keep commenting on how much you would love it. the park is enormous and surrounded almost entirely by mountains - so in the mornings and in the evenings the sky puts on a show of lights, colours and shadows that I have never seen anywhere else. simply breathtaking.
I had better stop so I can post this before the internet time runs out - love to you all, we will post photos for you of just how stunning this is next week if not sooner - L

we have wheels - short wheel base landrover with nothing but a steering wheel, diff lock and a spare tire - all set up and ready to SAFARI!! Suze and I have been banging around the capital (Kampala) in the car today today getting all our supplies organised for us to leave early tomorrow morning. We've packed up the gear we are taking with us (the bulk of our belongings will be staying at Red Chilli backpackers here in Kampala for our return).
the evening for us so far (9:30 pm here) has been spent in the bar/restaurant at our hostel eating a nice dinner and having a couple of beers, it is actually the first chance of the trip we have really sat down and just enjoyed each others company alone, we have always been with other people either during the day at BCC or in the evenings at John and Lyns or somewhere else for a meal for all of the time we've had up until now - so it has been a great day and evening, just the two of us.
in case I have not let you know - and I think i have not - we are no longer heading to Murchison Falls tomorrow but Queen Elizabeth instead, the ferry service that connects the two sides of the park together at M.F. is not operating... you can get across but not with your vehicle - which would have meant the additional cost of hiring a 2nd vechile on the other side, something we are not prepared to do, so the plans have gone back to Queen Elizabeth. something that those of you who were worried about the whole LRA safety issues will be happy with!
We love our car, we've yet to give it a name I realise - that will have to be done tomorrow - it is great to have the freedom it offers. Suze has been doing some amazing navigating for me today around Kampala. although all the guide books and most people you will speak to advise against driving here we have found it really quite easy, you just need to have the right attitude. the bigger your vechile the more right you have to the space you are trying to fit in - smaller vechiles will get out of your way and you just need to make sure you get out of the way of the ones bigger than you! we have fully comprehesive insurance dad so don't worry about a thing! plus i have been practicing Ugandan driving in Mbale for a couple of days driving the pick up back and forth to BCC and out into the villages and even doing the staff run on our last afernoon with 15 passengers in the minibus navigating around the less than sane traffic in Mbale. we feeling pretty good about the driving - the next challenge will be avoiding hippos and lions in our camping sites!! Much much love to you all - we will try and fill you in on our adventures as they happen, if not we will be back at these monitors in about a week to recap the week that was out in the wilds of Africa... L

tomorrow is the last day for us at BCC - Suze and I feel like we have seen and done so much but really you could spend a life time here and still feel like you want to do more. The staff at Bushikori have welcomed us with open arms and made us feel so at home, we are really going to miss them all especially those of them in the child care department because spending our days with them they have become our unoffical Ugandan guides and interpreters as they answer all our questions not only about BCC but everything else that crosses out minds.
for those not already in the know we are heading to Kampala on thursday morning and picking up a LandRover County then driving it up into northern Uganda to visit the Murchison Falls national park. the area is not exactly a tourist hot spot due to the LRA using the surrounding area as a hiding spot for the last couple of decades but they are safely hidden in the Sudan for the moment while peace talks are deliberated so the McLean girls will make the most of the cease-fire to go and visit the most beautiful (and prolific in wildlife) national park Uganda has on offer. there are many places you can camp in the park and it is quite safe so long as you have a vehicle to shelter in incase of an elephant stampede or late night lion visits - some of the camp sites are out in the middle of nowhere (or on the top of nowhere - there is a campsite apparently right at the top of Murchison Falls with an awesome rook pool safe for swimming that we intend to check out) and then some are situated in the grounds of plush resorts with thier facilities available to you. but they are all cheap
we will talk to you all from there!!

I am afraid that I have forgotten the name of this precious little girl but she is currently a patient in the BCC clinic with absolutely horrible burns. she fell into a cooking pot at home, was brought in for treatment and her mother was then instructed to return each day for the dressings to be changed - the clinic did not then see her for another 2 weeks. by that time the wounds were revoltingly infected. I have met the mother and she loves her girl dearly but with all her other kids she just did not have the time to bring her all the way in, problems like that are everywhere. the girl as an inpatient now and she improving a lot although the first two weeks were touch and go on whether she would survive, she has been standing in this doorway the last 2 days looking out at all the activity and watching the kids at Joshua playing in the distance - whenever Suze and I look over there she is smiling and waving - she is a real little stunner - we gave her a beautiful one of Margery's sewing angel dresses to wear when she heals

the plaque for the P4 classroom paid for by Fi and Adrians wedding present (they paid for the whole classroom - not just the plaque)

Robert and I are admiring the roof beams going up on his new house - we will head back there again tomorrow to see the aluminium sheets being put on - Robert is over the moon that his families situation is changing so dramatically, he is really quiet (he said to me today that he wants to meet you Gus - he is a little shy of girls and thinks it would have been easier to meet and get to know you instead of the gorgeous and intimidating Suze!!) but you can see the emotions running all over his face as he tries to be a strong man and keep it all in, I'm so glad that I've met him and established a real bond we can continue after I leave - he has always been shy of me up till now in his letter - but I think we've broken down that barrier now and are real 'mates'

although it looks like I am trying to get away from this nice policeman (lucky they don't ask to see your international license - or in fact any license - in Uganda) I was really just trying to get out of the way so Suze could take his picture - instead I look afraid he is going to climb in the window and get me!! we were suprised he let us take this really because as we have mentioned before you are not suposed to take photos of any kind of military, government or police persons/buildings/vehicles over here - but as with a lot of the warnings we received (like don't drive - you can see I paid attention to that) we have found out that things can be quite the opposite

Suze made some more MOO FRIENDS today - I think she is almost as facinated with taking photos of them alive and mooing as I am with taking photos of them skinned and hanging from a meat hook at a road side stall!!

I've named this one Bessie

If this site has not already been forwared onto Rebecca or Alison McDonald could someone do so? We finally got to North Rd Primary School today and met Joan! We gave her the parcel from Rebecca and she was so shocked/pleased to see us - Suze will bring home a little bit of video too of Joan when she gets home (along with video of every other kid we've met!!)

Friday morning there was an executive meeting at the Duffields house meaning John did not go into BBC the same time as us - so we walked up to the main road to catch the staff bus. while there Suze snapped this lady hopping onto the back of a boda boda with her baby tied to her back - not an unusual site for us at all now. we regularly see children as young as 2 sitting by themselves on the backs of these bikes on the main roads - and you would be amazed at how many chickens or matoki bunches can be tied to one.

this is Takan Bishop Milly!! the mattress is that rolled up thing with the crazy patterns and the plastic bag sitting on top has another woolen blanket for him, a full sheet set and a mosquito net - we were mobbed as soon as we arrived in the school grounds - John our driver had actually told most of the kids they had to get out of the background of the photo. I felt a little bad for Takan because it was not exactly a private meeting with 200 kids crowding in on us trying to get a better look, but we had a little chat to him and even met his dad too. I am looking forward to keeping in contact with him especially - really cool kid

this is Martha, her sister Agnes and their mother - Martha is another of Margs kids and we had visited her at home on Tuesday to meet the family and find out her needs. She especially asked us for some bedding for her sister and some clothes for herself. the mother also told us that food was a problem. we went back on the Friday afternoon with 3 store bought dresses for Martha, as well as 3 for Martha and 2 for Agnes her sister from Margery's sewing angel.
(Suze and I have been having a wonderful time handing out the dresses that Margery gave me - some have gone to BCC children and their siblings but on Friday we met a group of young young girls killing time on top of a pile of rubble at the side of the road while we were waiting around for petrol, so we handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste & pencils to the boys and dressed all the girls and their friends up in brand new outfits - you have never seen such big grins, Suze looked like and Aussie Father Christmas to them!!)
we also bought a woolen blanket, sheets and mosquito net for the Agnes at Martha's request and bought a 100kg bag of maize for the family and were then able to hand the left over money to the mother for other needs. the girls and their mother were over the moon - another good visit

this is me in the 2nd row of a 4 row mini van (and I mean mini van) that at the time was seating around 25 passengers - and if you counted the chickens tied by the leg in groups of 3 or 4 and piled on the roof it could have been tallied at about 60... these mini vans fly all about the place always loaded to the rafters with people - but they are a really cheap (and much faster than the boda bodas) way to travel - just not very comfortable all jammed in!

the taxi ride was required for us to attend a lunch invitation at the home of Phillis and Lydia. Lydia is one of the teachers at Joshua Primary and Phillis her sister is the BCC receptionist. In the picture with Suze are also Phillis' husband Micheal and their two young boys. we have really enjoyed spending time with each of these girls - they have been really cool to us

one of the streets in Mbale - Suze taking stealth pictures

ahh - this shop was a gold mine - I have been lusting after the 'free dresses' (kinda like kaftans with gorgeous embroidery around the necklines and in funky prints and tie dye) that you see many african women wearing and I have been desperately trying to find one for me to take home. anyway I have been passing this one shop the entire time we've been here and admired the mens shirts they had hanging over their doorway but was always unfortunately on the run and had no time to take a look inside - so after many other dissapointing stores we have peeked into Suze and I optimistically headed there on Saturday afternoon and were blown away. I have been looking for these since the day I arrived and most shops will have one or two but none I have liked enough to buy. this store though was the source - totally awesome - the walls were covered in them - the hardest thing was then choosing!!

an example of what you can carry on the back of a bike if only you try...

a entire living room setting?? peice of cake

we've stayed home this morning because it's Lyn's birthday - John is not much of a baker meaning Lyn has not had a birthday cake in 10 years so that cycle had to be broken. we are whipping up a Mclean Chocolate Cake Special - and we will be leaving detailed and fool proof instructions for John next year!
Emma and Annie made birthday cards with us last night when we returned home and Suze got up early to make a pancake breakfast for everyone this morning (I picked some flowers and set the table).
we've been settling into the routine here...we've become part of the (temporary) wallpaper at BCC and don't feel like the 'new kids' so much anymore.
I am still a bit anxious about getting everything done before we leave and have begun to chase Dan a little about what time everything will happen instead of just piling into the van and letting the day hapen like we did in the beginning - we really only have 4 1/2 days left out at BCC and lots still to get done. there are one or two kids we have not yet visited and a number who we want to get back to with gifts we have purchased on the sponsors behalf.
last night we had a flying visit back to Ibrahim's place - we posted a photo of some of his family early on - 8 small kids all being cared for alone by the grandmother. when we went back we took Ibrahim a new mattress, some lovely cotton bed sheets (you should see us rejecting bedsheets at the stores in town - they will try to sell you hession and tell you it is good quality sheeting!!) a warm woolen blanket, a mosquito net and a 100kg bag of maize. we also had 35,000 shillings left from the money Marg sent for him so we were able to give to the grandmother - more than enough to buy another 100kg bag in a couple of months when the first runs out or for other things they might need. 35,000 is about AUD$30 but to the Ugandan's living here it is a lot of money - it could buy a mattress for a child who has up till now slept on a packed earth floor or enough maize to supply a family of 9 with 2 meals a day for almost 2 months.

time here is a funny thing - I must admit that yesterday my patience began to wear thin trying to get things done on time. no one hurries, everyone walks at a slow pace - the only time you move fast is if you are on a motorbike or in a vehicle - then you move really fast. you'll be stoked to know dad that Suze and I have been making the most of all forms of Ugandan transport, yesterday we had our second trip with us both on the back of the same motorbike, it makes things a little cosy but at least there is now way you can fall off because you're so wedged on.
we've been told it is not a good idea to take photos or video in town because people can get angry with you so being on the back of the bike yesterday I took the oppourtunity to sit the camera on my knee and just let it roll taking in the streetside activity as our driver (who got lost) did a couple of laps of the town center getting me some awesome secret footage to show you guys when we get back!!
back to the time thing....I am struggling so much with wanting to get more things done in a day than seems possible with all the waiting around and time wasting that happens - and there is no point hurrying anyone up, it is simply how things operate here - probably the only thing I am finding really hard - Suze will confirm for you that I was not smiley Libby yesterday, I was getting to snap point with things taking way too much time simply because they had not been planned properly. walking to get somewhere for an hour when we could have got a ride if we had just waiting at the main road and hailed some boda bodas first, not leaving the BCC compound until lunchtime because of waiting for one thing or another so a morning was wasted, those kinds of things - John and Lyn tell me you just learn to be patient and accept how things are. but is is a little hard when you have self imposed deadlines to meet.

While waiting for Lyn's cake to cook Suze is sitting by me looking through the bradt guide and trying to find a game park for us to visit (Queen Elizabeth seems the best and camping sounds awesome but without a vehichle can be dangerous due to hippo and lion visits to camp! - maybe we will have to splash out a bit for something with walls). we've a week to decide where to go and to book it all because we like to go thursday next week and spend 3/4 nights for a long weekend. we had not originally planned to do any touristy things but who knows when we will get to come back to Africa so it seems crazy to miss the chance of some time in the back of a safari truck.
it is getting late in the morning and we will be leaving to head out to Busiu to see Nola and Lindsay Nobles boy Habert at 2pm so I should sign off and get my stuff together (video camera, film camera, lenses, spare batteries, spare films, disinfectant hand wipes, pens, journal, lots of water, gifts...the list goes on - Suze and I look like an advertisement for a luggage company most of the time) love to you all - thanks to those who leave us messages it is great to hear from you, please keep doing it and if you reading and not saying hi - then you should! it is great to know you are following us. lots of love Lib

one of the families that we visited on Thursday this week - the grandmother cares for 4 children (only 3 present in photo) and their tiny home is behind them.
3 of the children are forced to sleep at the neighbours house because they cannot all fit.
Dan the orphan co-ordinator is on the left of the family and Wanda the field officer for Bisiu area where the family are situated is on the right.

first meeting with Robert who I sponsor

it was worrying to find out that his family is in a bad way because the house he, his mother and his siblings have been living in belonged to the grandfather who recently passed away. in Uganda the male relatives come to claim the land and house and all possessions when someone dies - their law states that women cannot inherit.
BCC had the same problem when Sam Wandendaya the founder died and we had to send over a team of Aussie men to convince his brothers that Bushikori belonged to the Australian supporters not Sam so they could not claim it all.
building for Robert's new home on a seperate plot of land had begun but lack of funds have meant only the walls are currenlty complete - making the situation much much harder is that the community are persecuting the family, stealing chickens and maize and even defacing the half built house because they do not think they should still be living in the deceased grandfather's home. suze and I had a meeting and decided that we would use some of the boyle christmas fund to help put a roof on their new home and get it livable so they can get away from the hard situation they are dealing with.

spices for sale at market

innards - awesome
I was wondering how many cows you need to get this quantity of stomach and intestine?


close up of what you get for your money....there is still some good half digested grass in there


beer, straight from a petrol bottle to you!! this guy was desperately calling us over so he could show us how he was drinking his beer through a hose from an old petrol bottle

dried fish - this isle at the market had about 30 stalls selling these dried fish - it stank to high heaven

Mbale from the rooftop of an indian restaurant Suze and I've eaten at couple of times - we went for lunch on our second day with the Duffields and their friend Bex and then last night again with Steph and Laura. really the restaurant is two floors down at ground level but they have this concrete rooftop with amazing views so we prefer to sit up there - the food takes a terribly long time but gazing at the 270 degree views fills in the time

upstairs at Naralis with Laura and Steph - we knew Laura was coming from Tanzania with a friend but I was totally shocked to see the face of someone I knew with her!! Steph and I were in a bible study together for a year when I lived in Clifton Hill, the last place I thought I would bump into her again was Mbale!

I can't get enough of these meat stands by the side of the road, they look so awesome, and it is how everyone buys their meat (town of 50,000 and no butcher shop - go figure) you walk up, the person selling the meat machetes you off a bit, wraps it in a banana leaf and off you go. simple as that

ha ha - today we were the honoured guests at a farewell party for the graduating class at Oxford High School. due to our field commitments we arrived at 4:30 (proceedings began at 2) unaware that the event was quite so formal - we were ushered (very late) into the center of a hall that had about 150 people jammed in & many more outside pressed up against the windows watching and listening to the proceedings....3 massive armchairs sitting empty in the center of this room waiting for us to fill them - we felt so bad that they had been sitting there empty and waiting for us for 2 1/2 hours! we had been just told to just come, that it would go from about 2 till about 7 and had assumed that it was just a casual affair. oh no no no - we listended to an hour of speaches then we both presented certificates to the graduating class and then were expected to eat a meal with the other 3 honoured guests and the school principal before it would be polite for us to leave!! to add interest we were had to eat with our hands - a first for both of us that we did suprisingly well considering it was meat, rice and a whole lot of broth!

LIB HAS BEEN WANTING TO TAKE A PHOTO OF A MEAT STAND THE ENTIRE TIME WE'VE BEEN HERE. THIS IS THE BEST WE'VE GOT SO FAR. BE PREPARED FOR SOME GRUESOME SHOTS...

IT'S DIFFICULT TO SEE IN THIS IMAGE, BUT THE BACK OF THIS CAR IS COVERED WITH LIVE CHOOKS (ABOUT 30 OR SO) AND THE BOOT IS OVERFLOWING WITH MATOKI. WHICH ARE GREEN, UNRIPE, NOT-VERY-GOOD-TASTING BANANAS

LIB & I SAT FOR AROUND 3 HOURS, WHILE DAN TRIED TO COAX A PREGNANT SPONSOR CHILD OUT OF HIDING, FOR US TO GIVE HER SOME GIFTS AND MONEY. SHE NEVER CAME OUT.


THESE ARE THREE OF THE CHILDREN WHO FOLLOWED THE 'MUZUNGUS' UP IN THE MOUNTAINS WHILE WE WERE TRYING TO TRACK DOWN THE HARD TO FIND SPONSOR CHILD.

A CAMELION LIB'S SHARP EYE SPOTTED HIGH UP IN A TREE, WHILE WE WERE UP IN THE MOUNTAINS

A VERY HAPPY GEORGE AFTER RECEIVING A NEW MATTRESS, BLANKET, BED SHEET AND MOSQUITO NET.
GEORGE PREVIOUSLY SLEPT ON THE DIRT FLOOR.
IT WAS REALLY COOL MEETING HIM AND HIM TEACHING US HOW TO EAT SUGAR CANE RAW FROM THE FIELD.

LIB ON A BODA BODA HEADING DOWN JOHN & LYN'S ROAD

ENJOYING MBALE RESORT.
WORK, REST THEN PLAY.

I hope you guys enjoyed the photos. We're struggling a bit for internet time, but you'll get some writing very soon.

The last couple of days have been really relaxing. Today is the Monday of a long weekend and on Saturday we aquainted ourselves with the pool at Mbale Resort - we spent the entire afternoon there and received some wicked sunburn as a reward. The burn has fortunately faded so we are heading down there again in a couple of hours to fill in the public holiday.
The mornings here are nice and fresh with everything wet with dew, then it heats up as the sun rises until it is cooking hot in the sun but nice in the shade by about 9:30, then at about 2-3pm the rains come and drown everything in site so the air cools and then you get a nice balmy evening. It's a perfect weather system almost!
We attended a 3 hour and 40 minute church service yesterday during the hottest part of the day and it was pretty full on, African Christianity has a flair for the dramatic. But we made it through, but we did have to decline going to lunch with the pastor afterward, we just didn't think we could cope with that on top!!
We have both had a little trouble with exhaustion and are each sufferning from colds and general headaches and stomachaches but we are being looked after so well by Lyn being fed wonderful home cooked meals every night that we certainly cannot complain! The generator goes off in 8 minutes and I want to post this before so I will sign off - love to you all, hopefully the power will be on tonight (it is meant to be but you never know!) and I will write some more. L

It is a lot harder than I thought to get online over here - the power is off every second day but there are no guarantees that it will definitely be on for the days in between! You should have seen me tonight when the power was on and we had internet access!

FOUR OF IBRAHIM KIZAMBO'S SIBLINGS IN THE HOME THEY SHARE WITH THEIR GRANDMOTHER WHO CARES FOR THEM (SHE IS LOOKING AFTER 8 KIDS IN TOTAL)

FAIRLY TYPICAL VIEW IN AND AROUND THE SLUMS OF MBALE

PRIMARY ONE AT JOSHUA SCHOOL WITH PICTURES THEY DREW DURING THE CLASS WE TOOK TODAY


WALKING HOME THIS AFTERNOON WITH A STORM AND MOUNT WANALE IN THE BACKGROUND

THIS COW TOOK A LIKING TO SUZE AND DIDN'T WANT TO LET HER PAST ON OUR WAY HOME!!

It seems like so long since I was here last - we have done so much and met so many awesome kids, families and BCC workers that I am at a loss as to where to begin telling you about it... Monday we had the grand tour of the BCC site and spent some time hanging out with the kids at Joshua School before a relatively early finish to the day. We were both exhausted and suffering a little from the travel and time changes. Suze went back 7 hours and I came forward 7 so she was wanting to stay up late and talk to me and I was waking up early and talking to her - meaning neither of us was getting much sleep!
After a really early night to make up for it we heading in on Tuesday with our list in hand of all the kids we wanted to personally find and meet for people who sent physical and monetary gifts for specific sponsored children. Dan the orphan co-ordinator sat down with us and we worked out a daily program for the whole time we are going to be here - it has worked out that we will be out in the field with him every day except Thursdays which we'll spend at the Joshua School in BCC compound. We'd arrived unsure of what specifically we should do for BCC and fell into field work - and it is suiting us immensely.
Getting to see what it is really like here for people is just making the time so special for us and giving us a true picture of life in Uganda. The last couple of days have seen us out in the hills, in the slums and visiting schools in and around Mbale - tomorrow we will be going seriously up into the hills ("no long skirts girls, expect to fall over when climbing") to visit a couple of primary schools. You'll be pleased to know we have found George Mum and are seeing him up there tomorrow.
When we visit the kids at school we are greeted by hundreds and thousands of kids swarming the van and wanting to get close to us, Muzungu (white people) here are regarded as an oddity and quite often when you walk down the village roads you have tribes of kids chasing you calling "muzungu! muzungu!" they love it when Suze and I greet them in Lugisu and they climb all over each other to shake our hands. I think it is very possible that one day soon I am going to die, smothered, under a pile of Ugandan children.
Handshaking is a big thing here - everyone does it when they greet you no matter their age or sex and to shake the hand of a muzungu even better!! Suze and I spend all day doing it and Dan is often turning around in frustration at how long we take everywhere we go because we have to greet everyone we pass!
It is getting late here and we have a strenuous day tomorrow so I really should be finishing this up - I hope that over the weekend I will have time to write some more and tell you in detail about some of the kids we have met. We are having the most amazing time and just loving spending time with the Ugandan people - they have welcomed us so warmly and treat us as honored guests everywhere we go because of the good name the BCC sponsors have.
To all the people who sponsor through BCC you have no idea what your support means to these kids, what we have seen is amazing, we can't wait to get back and show you all the photos/video of them receiving your gifts.
Love to you all - Suze & Lib

The picture above is myself with Lyn, Emma and Annie at the Duffield's kitchen table - Suze used the flash on the camera but you can see we have a lantern on the table because last night was a power off night. I am sure it gets tiring living here and trying to keep food fresh, and living your life around the times that you can use lights, heat water, cook your food etc. but it is still a novelty for us and I think it is going to be kind of cool to spend every 2nd night by candle and lantern light!!
I might get tried of it when I want to post on this but Lyn and John also have a generator that gets used sparingly (petrol is $2 a litre here!!) so I am sure that there will be more than enough oppourtunities - could be a God-send for you all really because it will stop me boring you too much!
Suze and I are settled in, we have a nice room to ourselves and are sleeping under mosquito nets (another thing like the laterns that helps to make the whole experience more romantic and 'real'). The Duffield girls Emma and Annie are full of beans always wanting to play - they are such vibrant little girls and Emma has the funniest American accent - she has only been attending the American school here in Mbale for a few weeks but she already sounds like she's grown up in Jersey! Any word with an 'A' in it is repeated over and over - like Annie and can't. Annie is much quiter but John and Lyn insist that will not last for long as she gets to know us, she seems like a real thinker and was doing beautiful colouring with us last night.

Tomorrow is our first day seeing BCC, I am not sure what I am expecting. John told us when we went out for lunch today that we will be celebrities when we arrrive and that the kids will swarm all over us. I am really excited to meet all the children at the Joshua School - it's been so long planning to get here.
I forgot to tell you, I had some good luck with my excess bagage - SA Airways let me have 20 extra kilos above the limit which meant I only had to pay for 15kg - then I got them to check my baggage all the way through to Entebbe so I only had to pay the excess as far as Nairobi. So it all worked out pretty well.
When I speak to you next I will have been out to Bushikori - can't wait. Lib

This will be brief, have poor spelling and bad grammer - it is 11:30 pm at night here & after about 48 hours of travelling i am exhaused. If I ever suggest to any of you again that I am considering taking an 17 hour layover without booking a bed to sleep in talk me out of it.
We are finally here in Uganda and although we have only seen it in the dark it already looks cool beyond measure, i've had a hot shower, am with my most favourite youngest sister and have a comfortable bed waiting for me. Life is looking good.
There will be more later but wanted to write a quick note so you knew we had both arrived safe and sound, John and Samson picked us up at the airport and John is staying at a backpackers with us tonight and we are picking Samson up from his university in the morning as he is going to drive back to Mbale with us...i am bursting with excitement for our time to start so I am heading to bed so I can wake up and explore - oh P.S. Mum and Dad, you would be proud to know that I totally forgot my malaria medication but John says he can get me some here really cheaply, apparently you can also get about 1,000 tabs of valium for USD$10 so if anyone needs some just let me know!! ha ha
Talk to you all soon - Love Lib

It’s only 4 days until Lib and I will have both reached Uganda. 5 until we reach Bushikori. At the moment I’m in America, and very ready to leave for Africa. I’ve been working at a Summer Camp in Pennsylvania, which is predominantly for children with wealthy parents who work, or travel (without their children) during the Summer break. So going to work at Bushikori is going to be an enormous change of environment. It was great to work with those kids, but working at Bushikori is going to be life changing, and something which I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to do. I’m not all that sure of what to expect when I arrive, and I want to say that I’m prepared for anything, but I don’t know that I am. I understand that this experience is going to be difficult, rewarding, confronting, sad, happy… It’s going to be filled with emotion.
I’m extremely lucky, because I have my biggest sister Libby meeting me in Kampala, and she is going to be there with me throughout my entire stay at Bushikori. For those of you who don’t know her she is an amazingly strong woman, and I am so thankful that I will have her there for extra strength during this incredible journey.

Well it's 14 days and counting....after more than a year of thinking and planning I am still not all organised and quite ready to go yet!
Work is taking up the great majority of my time and the race towards getting everything finished before I clock off on the 22nd is speeding up.
I had a BCC commitee meeting on this past Saturday and it was in the back of my mind the whole time that this would be my last one till the new year....next time I sit in Lance and Ella's front room my personal perspective on the issues we deal with shall be changed dramatically. If nothing else, I hope this trip helps me better serve the committe when I get back.
Another event at Lance and Ella's this past weekend was Milly popped over after the meeting and signed up to sponsor a child! Mill (my 2nd youngest sister) is studying Occupational Therapy and her course work is very time consuming, so much that she is unable to work regularly, so she's not exactly cashed up, making her sponsorship mean all the more. The boy she picked is called John Baptist (dude of a name - I love it) so that means Suze and I will be adding him to our special list of kids we'll get to visit with gifts and love sent care of us from thier sponsors - I feel kind of gulity about all the joy and excitement we will have directed at us just because we are the ones handing them out...we have plans to video as much as possible so everyone who is trusting us with thier precious messages will witness the excitement of them being received.
talk to you all soon, Love Lib