Sunday October 5, 2024

Good morning from Kampala!

I am only halfway through my journey to Atiak. I left Seattle early Thursday evening, arriving in Dubai Friday evening. As I may have mentioned in the past, I am unable to sleep on airplanes, so I arrived exhausted, stumbling out of the Dubai airport into heat and humidity that instantly fogged up my glasses. I tried to stay awake as long as possible but was unsuccessful and collapsed into bed much too early. I woke up at 1:30 am 😕. I was back at the airport by 8am and arrived in Entebbe around 2pm. 4 flights arrived in Entebbe at the same time, so the lines at immigration were quite long, but that meant the luggage was waiting when I got to the baggage carousel. I am happy to say, that although I did get called out at security, there was no shake down like my last trip, just a quick look into one of my suitcases and I was released. Allan was waiting for me outside and had picked up my personal items and blue towels from the ITW office.

I am sorry to say that just a few days before I left, I received an email from ITW stating that they have decided to shut down the NGO office and are going to focus on the for-profit school for the time being. There has been a lot going on within the organization since my visit in the spring, so although I am incredibly disappointed and frustrated about this announcement, I cannot say I am surprised. I am, however, incredibly grateful for the serendipitous opportunity to connect with the birth center through ITW. And here we are!

Allan took me to the store and ATM, then dropped me off at the cutest little boutique hotel that Rachel had booked for me. With the help of hotel staff, I lugged all of my supplies and luggage into my room, had a shower, walked around in circles trying to organize my things, then gave up and crashed and burned around 9pm. Of course I woke up at 1:30am, but I managed to go back to sleep until 3:30am. 

I have rearranged and repacked, had a shower, and now I am sitting outside in the garden restaurant, having fresh watermelon and pineapple for breakfast, along with a strong cup of tea. My driver, Frank, will arrive at 10am and we will start the drive north, stopping overnight along the way. It's not ideal to drive at night here, so I am sure that plays a role in the division of the drive. It's a beautiful, cool morning, with expected rain...another cause for slower driving. This is the end of rainy season, and the 10-day forecast for Atiak are thunderstorms and temps in the high 80's. My rainboots that I left here will come in handy! 

Well, I just wanted to check in with a POL (Proof of Life) post. If there is Wi-Fi at the next hotel, I will check in with some road trip pics and I will hopefully be able to get my NetGear router figured out when I am in Atiak, allowing me to keep in touch a little easier. 

Much love, Jo/MB

The restaurant at the Humura Hotel in Kampala

What I accomplished instead of sleeping on the plane! 

The view from my room