The Garuga Road - bends and blockages

As I write my wife is in the UK seeing her mother. The dreaded news, anticipated many times, that she might be dying came through this week and a whole set of actions with it. Trying to reschedule the existing Emirates return ticket, only to find that there wasn't a single empty seat for 10 days ... and then phoning every airline to find an alternative. Couldn't afford to lose the Emirates ticket and book a return with a new operator without knowing what day we would be coming back to Uganda, and thus maybe having to pay a further £75 fee for rescheduling. Several tickets were available but at such exorbitant prices .....

Finally BA came up trumps, and with it our teammates - who paid for the £350 ticket home. It is always those with the least who give the most. Thank you, dear friends!!

So .... I will be here alone until 25th May and then two months in the UK, and we will be back mid-July together. Sandy will be away 3 months! If Luigia does pass away I will have to find the wherewith all for an unexpected return ticket, as I cannot stay away at this time as so much needs to be done here, with construction just about to start.

In the midst of all this my sister Jojo, plus family, arrived for three months in Mukono Uganda and stayed with us for three great days. And Frida, the person about whom Sandy is currently writing her story of survival and forgiveness in the Rwandan genocide, arrived in an emergency with her husband Stephen to stay here as her pregnancy is in some sort of crisis. This was less than 5 days after Sandy returned from Rwanda and staying with them to do the final research into the book, including seeing her home and the spot where her entire family was murdered and buried ... ...

A packed house and to-ings and go-ings; three visits to Entebbe airport in 4 days. This is Africa!

I had hoped to see a start of work on site this week, but once again Africa throws the dice and it is a double 1. The track grader broke down and the setting out surveyor couldn't find a 'total station' to do the setting out from AutoCAD. Then another neighbour starts to dispute a boundary and threatens to pull up the fence, plus the old one still has opposed the fencing and it remains incomplete after two failed attempts. Our solicitors seem completely disinterested in helping us.

I am not discouraged; this is the way things go here, but the miracles and help that one looks for to overcome these glitches are not here this week, and I am wondering why? I am sure there are reasons and I know I continue to learn trust and patience. Maybe that's enough reason.

Lat week it was miracles all the way. Someone gave their entire City bonus of £21,000 to pay for another house for 8 orphans. We got Ugandan NGO registration. Planning and EIA went in. Life was wonderful. But life is still wonderful, even when things go wrong because the overall target still remains the same and the opportunity to change lives for the better. No-one can take that away.