Getting into it at Village of Hope

The roosters woke us at 6.30 to the smell of the chappatis and rolexs well underway for our breakfast. We were all keen and ready to get started at the Village, so we headed off with energy and enthusiasm. The focus for the day was 3 main tasks: rendering and painting the farmers house and digging trenches for the drainage and sewerage. 

Get that slop on!!

Rendering has a new meaning in Uganda. No tins of ready-made product from the shop. Rather a combination of bitumen, good red Ugandan dirt, a bit of lime and the magic ingredient cow poo, made a delightful mixture to slop on the walls.  The aim was to make a mixture that resembled ‘runny yoghurt’. If the mixture started to dry, very helpful and brave Ugandan men would come and rehydrate the mix with some diluted cow poo. Our main objective became avoiding the inevitable splashes as the broom heads hit the walls.   

Anyone can paint here....

Painting the house was a much safer task. We needed to paint all the metal surfaces to avoid rust: doors, window grates etc. A great job for the younger kids to really get into.

Those who can, show their muscles..

Those of us in the team that were feeling extra strong tackled the digging of the trenches. Eager to keep up with the energy of the Ugandans and armed with shovels and picks, they worked hard to move the sticky red dirt.

Feeling the love...

Great progress was made on Day 1. We relished in the chance to contribute something to the Village. But for many of us the highlight was meeting the preschool children after lunch. As we entered the gate, we were flooded with the most beautiful children, all full of smiles and joy. They clung to our hands, and didn’t let go. They showed us their beds, the farm, the swings. Their excitement to see us was overwhelming!   We came home tired, really dirty and really happy…ready to go again tomorrow!