Ellie in Uganda: Easter in Uganda

The past few weeks have been slightly boring and uneventful here in Kisoro. Life is slowly moving on after the death of little Moses. I am making plans to create a notice board for photos of every child who Potter's Village have supported, saved or lost.

With no commercial build up to Easter it felt very odd indeed. Ruth and I were invited to breakfast at a German couple's house before church. The breakfast was an absolute feast! Sweet bread freshly baked that morning, cheese, chocolate spread, jams, eggs. A real treat compared to the norm of dry bread and a banana. The church service was a slight mess compared to the rehearsed and smooth church services in England. For starters, none of the church leaders had a clue what any one else was doing, the preacher decided to talk for an hour and the music... Well... Lets just say that the music is interesting. The keyboard guy runs his fingers down all the notes half way through a quiet hymn because he only knows about 4 notes on the piano. (he also thinks that leather trousers and waistcoat is a good look, but I wont go into the Ugandan's idea of style..) When I found out that the family back in England were going to be eating roast lamb, I was not the slightest bit jealous because Jenny had cooked my favorite food in the whole wide world – Lasagne! Along with an apple and tree tomato pie and then for the second pudding (yes, 2 puddings!) a huge chocolate cake. An interesting alternative to the Easter I am used to, but the lasagne made it worth it.

On Sunday, Jenny was made a Cannon. She organised a big party back at Potters Village to celebrate and invited 150 people. There was enough beans and cabbage to feed everyone! It was a really nice day and we totally enjoyed dressing up (very casual compared to dressing up in England!)

Little baby D (aka Little Baby No-Name!) has moved down to Potter's this week as he is growing quickly and doing really well. This means that Jenny has got no little babies up at her house for the first time since the beginning of this year.

Another new baby has arrived at Potter's. Baby A was 9 months old and was in foster care in the community, but after a recent health check we realized that he weighed only 6kg! We admitted him to Potter's for 3 months until he puts of lots of weight. Even after just 1 week with food and warmth he has learnt to sit up! He is such a sweet little boy, and wouldn't mind bringing him home with me!

Grunt and Squeak are becoming happy little boys. They are both in the same cot and they can just gaze at each other and smile for hours. Grunts fits have not become any less frequent and after a visit to an American paediatrician from Rwanda we have been told his future doesn't look very bright. Unfortunately, people here do not understand brain damage and disabilities. They are often made outcasts because people are scared and don't understand why they are like it. Witchcraft and black magic are so close to the surface here that people also usually think that those with disabilities are cursed.

In fact, there has been a little bit of drama with the twins family. Some of the baby carers had noticed that after their family come to visit, Grunt and Squeak become very agitated and have sleepless nights. The baby carers expressed their concern about how they think that the family might be giving the babies herbal medicines during their visits (the herbal medicines are often linked with witchcraft) so it was decided that their visits would be strictly supervised. The grandmother denied ever giving them anything, but one of the sisters (who probably is only 10 years old) was spotted throwing a little packet of herbs into the disposable nappy pit. It is really worrying that the boys might have a family involved in witchcraft...

Ruth and I are preparing for a little holiday for a few days. We were meant to be going with Jenny and Hannah to Kenya so that Hannah can have her entrance exam to an amazing boarding school but with the rioting in Kampala and Mbale, Jenny decided it would be safer to fly from Kigale direct to Nairobi than drive through all the danger zones. Unfortunately, Ruth and I cannot afford the flight but we are traveling to Kigale with Jenny and Hannah and are going to stay in a hotel for a few nights and then travel home with them when they return from Kenya. Just a few days luxury is needed!

The fact that we are renewing our 3 month visa this weekend is a scary thought! 3 months down, 3 to go..