Bridge Project Trip to Uganda 5/08

June 9th, 2008

The Bridge Project is finally in place and ready for construction to begin in August of 2008, which is the driest part of the year in Mulanda District, Uganda. I arrived in Kampala, the capital city, ready to open a bank account and to organize all legalities, so the Pilot Light Foundation (PLF) could do business in Uganda. This was not as easy as it sounds. After five days of much frustration, disbelief, trips back and forth in traffic, paperwork done and redone and then done again, technological difficulties, secret feelings of never wanting to return to this country and the hiring of a Ugandan lawyer, the government of Uganda seemed ready to allow PLF to legally open a bank account! I decided to take a deep breath and chalk it up to lessons learned for the future of my dealings in Africa and also to instill in me the extreme appreciation and gratitude for the efficiency of our own banking system here in the US. I won’t bore you with he details.

Next, it was time to go to the village where we would meet with the district engineers and the villagers, so all would be in place for a smooth start to construction. We arrived near dinner time at the small hotel we stay at in Tororo, the town closest to the village. Upon arrival, all the stress of the city melted away as soon as I walked inside and was warmly greeted by the women at the desk as an old friend who had been away for a long time, although they had only met me once a year before. In the morning, sitting on the porch drinking my coffee I remembered exactly why I was there and how much I actually love to be there. The sounds and smells of the morning are amazing, my favorite time of day anywhere. There are so many birds that it is almost too loud and then there is the vague smell of cooking fires. There was rain in the distance, but the sky was a hazy blue, at least for the time being. We set out to meet with the engineers in town.

In speaking to the head district engineer, Mr. Okello, it was agreed that we would use local contractors and materials and that his associate, Mr. Andrew Asaya, would be on site during construction at all times. We discussed the benefits of offering villagers non money items, such as food and other household goods, as incentive for labor and investment in the upkeep of the bridge. We went to the site and I learned that what we are calling the bridge is actually going to be a series of small bridges and culverts that span about 400 feet of swampland and river. During the rainy season, the water rises to cover the whole area. We also visited a small series of bridges that are constructed in the same style as the ones that will be built for this project.

Then, we were off to meet the villagers on the Lwala side of the river. They were assembled at the orphan daycare run by my friends and partners in this project, Mr. Fabian Odongo and Dr. Dorothy Ochola. The village chairman came eagerly to greet us with a big smile on his face. He looked at me and said, “you listened to me and returned to bring us a bridge.” He was referring to the fact that I had been there the year before to deliver money raised for the 2 orphan daycare centers and HIV/AIDS clinic run by my friends through their oganization, Sikiliza Leo. This is where Dorothy and Fabian come from, these villages. This is how I found myself in this beautiful place to begin with. Last year, this man had insisted that I take a long walk with him to see that the bridge was in very bad shape and to make sure that I knew they desperately needed a functioning one and that I should make this happen. I think he was very surprised to find that he had been so persuasive that I had gone back to where I came from and asked other strangers to help out with this problem and that, they in turn, had also been convinced that it was a worthy cause. He held a town meeting, of sorts, where several people had an opportunity to talk about the hardships caused by the lack of bridge and the improvements that would be made in their lives because of it. A committee was discussed and then elected to maintain the bridge.

Finally, we were off to Mulanda to have lunch cooked by Dorothy’s cousin Helen at the HIV/ AIDS clinic guest house. This is always my favorite meal in Uganda!

When the construction begins, I will post progress reports and, of course, pictures…Thanks to all whose generous gifts made this project possible.

Carol Levy