Wheelsblog -- Uganda 2019, Day 5
The Wheels for the World team are in Moyo, Uganda from the 5th to the 15th June. We'll be bringing you their stories and news as often as the internet connection allows. Here's the fifth report, covering the work they're undertaking and the people they're reaching while they attempt to plan around the late delivery of the container. Please keep praying for the team!
Monday 10 June
Today has been another interesting day. At breakfast we were told the the shipping company wouldn’t accept the cash payment we planned to give this morning to get the container on the way. There have apparently been discussions between Through the Roof and the carriers and the latest at 15:30 local time is that the container is being loaded in Kampala and will be driven here through the night; so it might mean we have an early morning unloading at 02:00 or so,but this will at least mean we will have some to distribute in Moyo area before we head off to Yumbe tomorrow afternoon with part of the load of chairs on a lorry.
Earlier we went to some homes and met children with various disabilities, including cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Some had been given wheelchairs and trikes and others had nothing and are unlikely to get anything on this distribution.
We have been continuing to mentor the HHA staff to support them with skills for their future wheelchair provision work. It was great to see them involved in the decision making, contributing their ideas, practising handling skills and looking at how poor posture can be improved.
We continue to be in awe of how resourceful these people can be with absolutely nothing. There have been so many smiles as puppets were distributed with the insistence that they need to SHARE: a very hard concept when you probably own little. Whilst waiting for the other team and writing this blog, Lucie and Jill were ‘hemmed in’ by half the village children who are just wondering what these crazy white people are doing. The toddlers were in danger of getting trampled so Dave came to the rescue by showing them pictures of themselves on his iPad.
At dinner we found out the latest with the container. It appears that it was loaded onto the lorry, but the security guard in the compound refused to allow it out as the company policy is that lorries should not be driven overnight. So we have another delay as the lorry will not leave until until 08:00 tomorrow morning; arriving in Moyo hopefully tomorrow evening. We have decided to stay an additional day at the Multipurpose accommodation and leave for Yumbe the following day, allowing a day at Bidi Bidi camp which has never has a Wheels distribution.
Please continue to pray for the team as they try to adapt to the ever changing situation and especially for Jill and Rob who have the task of remaking plans.
