July 29 – Goodbye Abayudaya, Hello Road Trip
We had planned to leave Mbale at 8 AM sharp, yet I found myself waking up at 8:10 and the rest of the family was still sleeping. I hurried out of our room and found Sampson and Deb in the front of the Guest House waiting for us. We gathered everyone and ate a quick breakfast. Drew was able to say goodbye to Binah and we took some pictures with Rachael and her family. I was able to go up to the facility that will house the U-TOUCH Center and take “before” pictures to compare them to pictures we will take when the computers are installed.
In speaking with Rabbi Gersham last night he thought that the plan was excellent and was excited to move forward. The only challenge is that he doesn’t have the budget, it needs to be approved in San Francisco by the non-profit that runs the community. Deb and I agreed that the $2,300 investment up front would be laid out by U-TOUCH or our family to make this happen ASAP. Deb would like to come back before she leaves the country to take pictures of the completed center. We know that once we say go they will get this project done extremely quickly. They are very motivated to make this center work.
I am writing this post as we are driving from Mbale to Gulu and a young man just crossed the road in front of us with about 10-12 cows. The sites, the smells and everything about this country is different than anything I have experienced in my life. We have been traveling for more than two hours on a road with more potholes than the Cross Bronx Expressway, time 100! It is truly amazing how underdeveloped this country is, yet most people seem very happy and connect4d. I have known for a long time that happiness has nothing to do with what you have, and this trip is reinforcing that tenfold. The sense of community and belonging is something we miss back in the US.
I am looking forward to our time in Gulu and getting to see an area of the country that is even further behind than where we have been. Deb keeps telling us about all the kids that she has worked with over the years and who we are going to meet. I am looking forward to meeting them all.
What I am most happy about on this trip is how Noah and Drew have behaved and handled themselves. They were amazing on the plane trip and even these long car rides have been enjoyable. We have been told by all of the people we have visited how wonderful a family we have. I look forward to many more family adventures like this one in the future.
‘Til next time …..
Larry Kesslin 