Uganda update from Rob D....

Hi Folks

2 weeks to go, the time has gone very quickly and there won't be enough time to do everything I wanted to do. Building is progressing along well. We are currently putting the roofing iron on one wing and trusses on the other. The floors have been concreted and half the internal walls rendered, we have also been working on the internal plumbing Thanks to Nathan for all the gear and setting it up for us and giving us lessons. Have 10 working days left these will be busy.

Lynette my girls, Emily, Sam and Michael Campbell left last Thursday, so I am missing my family. Lindsay, Rachael and Jim left on Saturday, I made sure I was not around for the goodbyes from the kids this time because this would have been the 4th lot of goodbyes since I have been here and kids get very emotional, sad and a lot of crying. It takes a little bit of adjustment every time, team members leave because the group dynamics change every time

Paul Wenger’s sugar levels dropped very low the other night for the 2nd time and at approx 2.00am I woke up by the noise of his legs going into spasms. I sensed something was wrong so tried to wake him up but couldn’t because he was in a semi unconscious state. This time I knew what to do feed him lots of lollies, so we did this and he came round after 45 minutes. Praise God he woke me up and Paul was healed.

Looked at Land with Pastor Tom after taking the Girls to the airport. We looked at a block 36kms north of Kampala, I could not believe how remote it was and how bad the roads were that close to the Capital city. Near the land there were lots of grass hut type villages, I saw lots of kids in one village so I jumped out of the Mini bus to greet them and they all ran for there lives fearing death was near, I don’t think they see white people very often. Anyway eventually I got them back and took some video of them whilst they were watching the camera screen. They were fascinated. (great footage). The Land was good and fertile but very far out from any major town also It would be unaccessible during the wet season. It was cheap but not realistic. After looking at this block we then proceeded to look at another block, but our guide took a wrong turn, so 3 hours in a bus on bumpy dirt roads was in vain.

Looked at some Land with Pastor Moses yesterday around the Jinja area one block I felt quite positive about. It is 3 acres for approx 10 million shillings ($8300) . The block next door is also being sold by his brother similar size. This is a good price because other groups have paid around 18 Million shilling for 2.6 acres, 2 years ago. Also importantly it is accessible in the wet season and not far (15 minutes) from Jinja town. We also looked at another block similar size and they wanted 30 million shillings, this is because some Americans purchased the block next door for that price.

Will be looking at more land with Pastor Moses in the next few days to do a comparison. Pastor Moses has proved to be a worthy friend and has a lot of humility and integrity. He also runs his own children’s home with almost no help from the west. Mostly self sufficient.

Have been working 6 days a week and are being hampered by power blackouts and rain. We are now moving into the wet season so we are getting more rain thunder storms and tropical down pours. We all were woken up by the loudest thunder clap we have ever heard. It is interesting watching the weather change so rapidly. Had a great day with the kids on Sunday, being my one day off. We flew the stunt kite I brought along, on an oval we found down the road. I cannot tell you enough how beautiful these children are and how happy they seem even though they do not have much. There seems to be a great need in and around Jinja. I miss you all a lot and looking forward to seeing you all again...... Please pray for the following:
- Conditions will be suitable for building in these last 2 weeks as we move into the wet season.
- Safety on site particularly now we are working on the roof
- Sustained health for all the team members
- God's leading in the Land purchasing and wisdom for all of us
- That God will use us to proclaim his name, particularly to the Muslims in the area

Regards Rob

Oli otia (how are you)

Greetings from Uganda

We have got the roof on the first wing and the renderers are working very hard covering our 'nuff nuff' brickwork, we have put most of the plumbing in for the showers and taps and on Monday we will focus on the second wing roof. We have met up with some Dutch missionaries: Fransca and Sanne, who are taking some leave from Kenya given the circumstances there, and they have been helping us with some painting and other odd jobs. They have been good company at a time when the number of Muzungu's (white fella's) are depeleting.

Team morale is high and production is good, we are confident we will meet the February deadline.

Well I have to go, because the bus is leaving town shortly... Blessings Rob Vandenberg

More news from Rob...

Generally things are going OK and my health is being sustained. I have being spending most days on site in a management/working type roll. In a typical day we will work until lunch time and then have a 2-3 hour break back at the base. This break is needed because we are all exhausted after working in the heat all morning. Quite often we will have a nap during this time.

We have been able to use most (who are wanting to work) of the team members on site in doing useful tasks such as joining a bricklaying line or a brick passing line. We are working on average with approx 15 Ugandan men and 1 lady who came looking for work. 3 or 4 are builders and the rest are porters (labourers). The Builders get paid 10,000 shillings each per day ($8.30) and the porters get $3000 shillings each per day ($2.50). So as you can see labour is very cheap here. I keep reminding myself how little they get paid when I see them working with a lazy attitude.

Samuel is the main leader of the Ugandans so I have been working with him to organize the project and the labour. This was an important link because they do things so differently so I needed to make plenty of adjustments in the way I would normally do things. Samuel has also been good to work with because he has a basic understanding of English meaning I can communicate with him, and he also has access to an unlimited amount of Ugandan labour either skilled or unskilled. Whilst the boys (Nathan, Macca Paul and Ben) were here we took Samuel and his offsider for tea to a very nice Restaurant in Jinja. This was a good for team building and it cemented our relationship. Samuel is a honest hardworking guy and will be a great contact for any work we need to do. Being involved 1st hand in the building project has been a great experienced and have gone through a real learning curve and have gained a lot of valuable information both on the board level and building side

Have met with Hopebuilders contact Pastor Tom several times as well as the kids we are sponsoring. Pastor Tom seems to be a very upfront and honest sort of person. He is quite keen to build on what we have on the ground over there currently but is realizing the next move is up to us. Pastor Tom is based in Kawempe and heads up the Kawempe Penticostal Church Kawempe is approx 10 Klm north of Kampala and is a slum area and a high population of Muslims. This church is a church plant from Kampala Penticostal church known as KPC. KPC is headed up by a Canadian Pastor called Garry Skinner. They are also the driving force behind Watoto. Kawempe is approx 2 ½ -3 hours drive from Jinja depending on traffic conditions. We have 8 sponsor kids that we look after totally ie schooling, food, accommodation. We also have 2 sponsor kids we look after where they are fostered out so we only look after schooling needs. There are many more kids we could be looking after but we don’t have sponsors for them. It is through Pastor Tom we hope to be setting up a base for children that cannot be fostered. Self sufficiency is the goal but it is not instant.

Have only looked at 1 block of land so far as I have been to busy managing the construction of this childrens home. The block I looked at was approx 20 Minutes out of Jinja, was approx 15 acres and they wanted approx $30,000 for it plus $20,000 for the old house in front. Will be looking at more land options over the next 3 weeks. Pastor Tom is talking about Land in and around his area that is very cheap, but wont get to excited till I have seen it. Last time I went to look at land with Pastor Tom there was a fuel shortage due to the troubles in Kenya and the Taxi was wanting crazy prices to show us so ended pulling the pin on that day. Will try to stay in touch a little more regularly from here on if I can, but it is not that easy, it seems to take half a day to get into town and send an email.

We had a scare one day when we came home at lunch time from work, Paul Wenger went straight to bed. When we left for lunch Paul was still asleep so we left him. Later on when we came home he was still in a deep sleep so we tried waking him. This was hard and when we did finally wake him he could not get up and his brain was totally scrambled. He was on the virge of being unconscious and we knew something had gone wrong with his sugar levels as he is a type 1 diabetes. So we forced many lollys on him and also gave him an Insulin shot. After an hour he came round and brain was unscrambled enough for him to know what he had to take to get everything stable again. We took him to the clinc that night to get his sugar levels accesed and generally checked out as he left hi glucometer at home. They tested him and confirmed that his levels must have been dangerously low. We praise God that it was not worse.

A couple of us have had the opportunity to share in church and give a message. This is interesting when everything you say needs to be translated. Have also done childrens miistry a few times in different churches and when a white person comes they expect you to give a message for half an hour. Quite challenging.

Rob's journal of first few weeks...

The first week - Arrived on the 5th of December after a 2 day flight via Cairns, Tokyo, Heathrow and then to Entebbe. Didn’t get much sleep and was covered in a bad rash during the whole flight, possibly a reaction to the malaria tablets. 3 hour drive from Entebbe airport via congested polluted Kampala to the base at Jinja . Never seen so much polluted air as there was in Kampala. Arrived at the base and was warmly greeted by 35 of the most beautiful kids who live at the home.Took a few days to get familiar with their names and the family relations.


Building - Started 15 Ugandans on the footings and base brickwork after setting out the house. The footing structure was a lot different to our standard. Am needing to be very flexible with building standards. Communication with the locals has been OK as some of them are reasonable at English you just need to get used to their accent and them ours. The flat block of land wasn’t so flat it has 4 foot fall over the house! Building is going well, worked with nationals in the 1st week, the only other people that were on the ground was Daryl who was working on an internet café that ISA are trying to set up and 3 older ladies from dubbo. Also Amanda and her husband Tony had arrived on the 1st of December who are part of ISA. Spent a lot of time looking at windows and doors and getting quotes. Working with the locals a bit frustrating because they seem very unmotivated and stand around a lot.

The kids in the home have a awesome worship service every second night they are very passionate about God and praise. They have a prayer time and a lot of them end up crying as there is a lot of hurt there still.

Jinja - this was one of the biggest surprises it is a very structured neat rural town, very livable. You bump into lots of Muzungu (white people) in town most are involved in different mission organizations. We have met Aussies, Americans, Dutch, English all helping the kids and widows. There are also many street kids in town trying to survive by begging. Jinja is on Lake Victoria which makes a very nice back drop for the Town. Where we are working and staying is approx 5 miles from Jinja. Also nearby is the nile and Bujagali falls which is where we did a day of white water rafting on grade 5 rapids. The boys will bring a video back of this. I think Roy and Mat will be suitably impressed.


Base - Our base is the childrens Home approx 35 kids, bedrooms for us are crowded, showers are cold, the main area can be noisy and congested. The power goes out every second day, and one time the power went of for 3 days in a row, had to charge my phone up on the site generator. The driveway is like a rough 4wd track. There are kids around all day and go to bed at approx 9.00 PM.


The Kids - What can I say, the kids are beautiful, they all have those beautiful brown eyes that are full of life. Every time we come home from site or being away they are so excited to see us back and greet us with hugs and much joy. On the way to the site all the local kids are so excited to see us as we move though the area, they wave and sometimes dance and are jumping for joy. We feel like celebrities!

The Doedens family has arrived and more pics..

Well Lynette, NIcole and Katie arrived safely and are starting to settle in to life at the base and with the kids and the building. However, they are getting ready to farewell Robbie, Ben and Nathan who arrive back in Melbourne on the 3rd. Here are a selection of various pictures that give you a feel for the happenings in Uganda.

Possible land for Hopebuilders and more arrivals..

We went and looked at some land on the 24th. The land was 20 mins north of Jinja. It was about 16 acres covering 2 blocks (see sketch). The block boundaries are just defined by landmarks - i.e. a couple of boundaries follow a path which is not that straight. Some corners are marked by certain trees. The land is mostly agriculture and has a house and a couple of other buildings on it. They're asking 50 million UG Shillings (about US$30,000 or AU$32,000).
We will be looking at some more land soon east of Jinja.

Rob was also quite excited today (27/12) as he was on his way to the airport to pick up Lynette, Nicole and Katie and other team members. It is around a 2.5 hour trip but it will be good to be reunited with family and the new members should inject more energy. Life is pretty busy on the project and getting things done with coordinating building supplies and the like is quite a challenge. Communications is also a challenge and getting around sometimes proves to be tough. The boys found quite a good inernet cafe in Jinja, which is about a 10 minute drive from where they are staying.

From the team...

Nathan - Yeah trip is going great the building is really slow because of the slow supply of materials... I have done my part in the plumbing anyways. We have done some awesome things like white water rafting and we went on a safari tour which was good. (see post from Ben pprevious) White water rafting was the best though we went down grade 5 rapids which is like massive, people die in that level.

Here are some of the kids from the Village we are staying in. Every kid that sees us goes nuts because they hardly ever see white people. They all yell MZUNGU BYE! Muzungu is white in Luigandan. We are staying in a house with some of these kids, its fun but at times you really need a timeout in your room. We have no hot water, which isn't really a problem cause its so hot here. The power goes off a lot but again its not really an issue cause they have candles and we also have torches.

For christmas we stayed in a place called Kewempi its a town just out of Kampala which is the capital of Uganda. Kewempi is where we have our churches sponsor kids. It was cool to see them and even cooler to join in their church service, church African style!! Jumping, singing, dancing and all sorts. Rob D is known as pastor Rob! He doesn't like the name but he does seem to have to preach a sermon everytime we go to a church. He is getting good at it too.

The kids are great, they faith in God is like nothing I have ever seen. Everything they do is totally focused on giving God praise. They have there own little services in the home, it's intense. There is no holding back they go crazy singing, dancing and carrying on. Well I have to go now but one thing that is for sure, one day you all have to come here and experience this. No excuses.

Ben - We got told not to go to work yesterday morning because it was raining, but it was nothing - I only felt about
3 drops, and after half an hour at work it was sunny! It's probably about 30-35 today. The building is coming along, we've finished the base brickwork and started on the main walls. On the 24th we watched them slaughter and skin a goat for their Christmas lunch at the base. For christmas day we went to Kawempe where a few people from Wantirna have sponsor children from Rob's last trip. It was great to spend the day with the kids there and their church. The trip to get there was through Kampala, which has the worst smog!!! It gave me a headache and made me nauseous, and I'm still feeling the affects now. We spent Christmas day in Kawempe with the sponsor kids from our church in Wantirna. They live in a lower-class outer suburb of Kampala, the capital city. The day was fun, and we joined them in their church for a 3 1/4 hr service - it seemed to drag on a little bit. We all stood up the front and introduced ourselves to the church and (Pastor) Rob D shared a christmas message. After church we had lunch with Pastor Tom and gave gifts to the sponsor kids.

I think I already mentioned it but here it is again - we went white water rafting last friday on the nile. It was awesome, awesome great fun and if we had time I'd do it again, but I don't think Rob will let us go.

This week we will be working every day setting up profiles and scaffolding for the bricklayers. I'm really enjoying my time here, but at the same time i'm missing some of the creature comforts back home - mainly my own bed and car.

The transport has been very interesting. We have been on the back of push-bikes (bota-bota), motor-bikes (bota-bota) with my suitcase, squeezed four into the back of a small taxi car, squeezed 17 into a taxi van (some people had live chickens with them!!!), and had about 30 in a coaster bus. The roads aren't very good quality and the driving is a bit mulalu (mad/crazy)!