Hiking and Building a House

It has been a busy couple of days. There is a group of students here from Scranton Pennsylvania who are taking a winter semester class. The class is looking at how Christianity has impacted 3^rd world nations by touring around Uganda and seeing different places and talking with people. They are a fun group of about 18 people but the guesthouse is now packed and a little loud and crowded. The staff from the hospital have been avoiding the crowd so I have not been able to spend time with them in the evenings. But the students are also enjoyable to talk to and provide a good change of pace.

            Yesterday I went to the staff church service down at the hospital and enjoyed seeing an Anglican service with a great message on our calling from God. After a good nap and lunch several of us did I hike to see the border between Uganda and the Congo. It was about a 4 mile hike roundtrip but we had to hike to the top of a pretty tall hill. It was a great hike and I got to know some of the other med students from Uganda better. The trail was actually the main road/walkway for many of the people who live on the hillside and have farms. It was crazy to find all the people walking up and down this steep hillside who were carrying jugs of water or baskets of food. It was not a short or easy trip up and down this hillside. We found many different kinds of things being grown on the hillside as well as many mud and brick homes built up on small terraces. At the top we were greeted by a cooling breeze from the Congo and could see just across the border. The air was filled with a moist haze which limited our view but it was still spectacular. The surrounding hillsides were covered in thick jungle and we could here the sounds of birds all around. It was such a beautiful place and all I could do was thank God for the people I was with and the place he has allowed me to see. I’m certainly overwhelmed when I try and consider the variety of places and people God has made. If anything, this trip has shown me that God is a creator who delights in diversity: diversity of places and diversity of people. The other day I started singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” which goes: Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world. 
Red and yellow, black and white, 
All are precious in His sight. 
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

     

Beginning of hike: leaving the main road.

Houses on the hilside.

I enjoyed learning about the different plants on the way up.

Children coming out to greet us. on the way up. We saw many children this age carrying water jugs up the hillside.

Houses perched on hilltop.

Ugandan boy on edge of Congo. All the hills down below are in the congo.

Playing on a homemade scooter.

 Today the nurses, Jonathan my new roommate, and I joined the students and went to a Batwa community about 45 minutes from here. There are about 11 of these communities where the Batwa have been given land and the Batwa Development Program helps them with establishing a living, building houses and attending schools. There is a push to get the batwa to live in mud houses rather then grass ones. The mud houses improve the health of the family by keeping animals out and giving them a place to hang mosquito nets. It also helps to give the family and the batwa people a greater since of pride since they have a more established residence. The house is made from a lattice of reeds with mud filling in the walls. There are two layers of mud placed on the wall and a final layer of manure/sand which seals the house well. These layers are all done in phases and can take some time to complete. A well made and maintained mud house can last 60 years. It was a great experience to help build this house and something I’ll never forget.

Grass house. Not the best of living conditions.

The mud for the house was prepared in pits with water that was brought up from a stream nearby. There were two pits this size and we used them both completely.

The framework was a lattice work of bamboo like plants and timbers. The woman here is just doing some sweeping before we got busy.

Mud was stacked in-between the reeds. It was fun to do and of course we got very dirty.

Women demonstrating the throwing technique (very enjoyable) and then man showing how mud is stacked in the walls.

Me and my new roommate from Ontario Canada. His name is Jonathan and he has been traveling the world since June. He is very interesting to talk with and get to know.

Showing the phases of construction. on the right is a wall with 1 layer of dried mud and on the left is the finished product after 2 layers of mud and a coating of manure mixed with sand. This was the village chief's house.

Students who raised money for the house and family who will be living in it.

            Thank you for reading the blog it is fun to write and I’m glad to share this experience with you.