Bufumbo Team Swings into Action

26/08/13 – Monday

The morning started with our first drive up the very bouncy road to Bufumbo. We are finally there !  The local council chairman greeted us and we signed the visitor book. There was a brief visit to the Health Centre and a very healthy ‘break tea’ at James Masaba’s house. We then headed off up ‘Wanale Rock’, the huge escarpment that overlooks Bufumbo. Up some very steep and bumpy roads to the cliff edge overlooking Bufumbo and Mbale. Fantastic views over the surrounding countryside for miles around. James did his best to fall of the cliff, but fortunately we all survived. We visited the local church and had our first experience of ‘welcome speeches’ both given and received. The sky was really threatening and rain started to fall, so there was just time for a quick penalty shoot-out with the local teenagers before heading back down the mountain.

The evening was spent at our friends John Faith and Annette Magolo’s house for tea. Our walk to the house was lighted by hundreds of glow worms, and accompanied by the deafening roar of the local bull frogs.

Highlights of the day included:

• The view from the top of Wanale Rock
• Meeting people in Bufumbo that we had heard about from previous visits
•  waving to the children as we drive through the villages
• Glow worms, frogs, shooting stars in the dark
• Mary finally feeling a bit better

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27/08/13 – Tuesday

Today was based in Bufumbo. The morning was taken up with a visit to the Jewa Child Development Centre and a Tour of the Health Centre. We played ball games with the local kids and then lunch at Samwiri’s house courtesy of his new wife (married June 28^th). The most important event of the day was the inaugural football match between the Mulembe Football Team (Bufumbo !) and Team Thornbury-Bufumbo (Thornbury !). We gave a good account of ourselves, but skill, talent, fitness, speed etc etc told in the end with the final score being 2-1 to Bufumbo. The event was a real success with hundreds of local adults and children making the match into a real festival occasion. We were told that we had ‘made history’, and the Bufumbo team would remember for years the day they played the Muzungoo team, and beat them !

In the evening we met Martin Nangoli for dinner at the Delicious Delight Indian Restaurant. Martin is a real power-house in effecting change in the local communities and it was a pleasure to discuss life in Uganda with him.

Highlights of the day included:-

•         Fiona having a hot doughnut for breakfast and Jill having real coffee out of the fancy German coffee machine
•        The festival atmosphere at the football match
•        Meeting Sam’s new wife
•        Watching Mick and Jill crossing the road in Mbale, clutching their newly purchased toilet seat, still in its cardboard wrapping (It’s best not to ask !).

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28/08/2013 – Wednesday

Today was again based in Jewa, Bufumbo, the morning was spent in the chuch listening to the morning devotion, then we split in to two groups; half of us starting the mural in the child development centre and the other half watching and listening to local dance routines and performances and then exhausting ourselves with Frisbees and rugby balls. We were then served a lunch of rice, posho, potatoes, beef, bananas and pineapple. After lunch we went to finish the mural only to find that some of the locals had finished it during lunch, so we spent many hours of the afternoon throwing frisbees, tennis balls and attempting to teach the children rugby. It was exhausting. And don’t forget about the ballons!!!

Highlights of the day included:

• Rugby
• Mary being able to eat
• The choir
• Mural
• Balloons!