Roads and traffic

Acacia Hotel

I am beginning to feel like Goldilocks as I will be changing to yet another hotel tomorrow. The first one was too expensive and poor WiFi. The second has good WiFi and is cheaper but poor restaurant area and you have to go out into the hallway to turn on the switch for the hot water heater when you take a shower. Time will tell about the truth of it, but we visited the new hotel, the Acacia Hotel, for lunch today and the restaurant was indoors and the food was good. The rooms and bathrooms are nicer and the WiFi seemed adequate. Plus it has the advantage of being closer to Nakivale so will cut some off the driving time.

Mbarra

The thing that really made up my mind to see another hotel was that the road to this hotel goes through the only golf course in town. And on days that they have high government officials playing or have a tournament they simply close the road off to all traffic. This makes it significantly more difficult to leave the hotel, trying to find alternate routes of travel. Almost all of the side roads, anything off the main roads through Mbarra, are very poor. They have been neglected for many many years. At one time most had been paved but the asphalt has been chipped away from the edges making a one lane road of pot holes. And the edges have been eroded by rain and traffic over the past decades.

Black top

The traffic in and around Mbarra is extremely congested, not as bad as Kampala but very bad. Drivers have no respect for lane markings or even divided highways. If there is a traffic jam going in one direction then people will cross over and drive into on coming traffic in opposite lane. You add to that mess about 10 motorbike taxis for every car and they are flying around in every direction like a swam of bees. And of course you have the larger taxis, about the size of an old VW bus, that carry about 18 to 20 people with all their worldly possessions tied onto the top and you have a pretty good picture of the traffic.

Once we get out of the city area we have approximately 34 miles to travel from Mbarra to the school on the Nakivale Settlement. The main road is 21 miles of really nice asphalt highway, the only real challenge is the extreme speed bumps they use in every little community that you pass trough. And of course you have the herds of cattle and goats that are free grazing along the

Dirt road

way and may at anytime cross from one side or the road to the other.

At the end of that 21 miles of good highway you enter the Nakivale Settlement road system. There are probably hundreds of dirt road miles that crisscross the 75 square miles of the Settlement. We have to travel on about 13 of those miles. These roads are ether very dusty when dry or very slick when wet. And wet or dry they are terribly rough with pot holes, washboards and washout areas from heavy rains. 

To give you an idea of what those roads are like, it takes us one and a half hours to travel the 34 miles. A half hour of that is on the 21 miles of pavement, the other hour is to travel the remaining 13 miles. I’ll leave you to do the math from here. Let me just say that it is a long tiring trip twice a day, and it gets to be simply bone jarring.

Village trails

I do need to make it clear that even though there are a number of challenges we face here and the driving and traffic being just a part of that, the end result of being able to help these precious children is more than worth it. I tell you about the challenges not to make it sound difficult or that we are not happy doing this work. It is because the way of life here is so very different than most people will every encounter. We truly love the people here, they are the most friendly and welcoming that you will ever meet anywhere. We are truly humbled daily by their generosity and love for us. 

Cow paths

Poured Out For The Nations is a very small organization. We are not like the huge NGO’s like World Vision, USAID, Compassion, or any number of others. We do not have lots of money to throw at huge programs. We are trying to help 600 orphans live a healthier life, get an education and maybe have a few of them get to a place where they can get out of the poverty they are now in and go on to help others. These children are receiving a Bible based education from a cadre of dedicated teachers that is teaching them that to love others is more important than loving ones self. That God loves every one of them and that one day it may be one of them that will make a difference in someone else’s life.

That is where you can be an vital part of this ministry. These children need your help. The Bible tells us not to store up treasure houses here on earth. I know right now there are some of you that need to open your store houses and give to God’s work for these children in Uganda.

Remember that you cannot take it with you, but you can “SEND IT AHEAD”.

If you can help we have a way for you to donate to these children’s needs. Go to www.watchtherefore.tv click on the donate button at the top of the page and please make sure you designate your tax deductible donation to the “Send It Ahead” program. You can further designate your funds by adding; Water, Teachers, or Food. While you’re at the web site please click on the Send It Ahead button at the top of the page to look for more updates and photos from the school.