Wheelsblog: Kumi, Uganda 2020 -- 5th Feb
We've got a fantastic team working for Wheels for the World in Kumi, Uganda from the 4th to the 15th February. They'll be sending back updates as often as possible, and we're looking forward to sharing the trip, and the stories of lives changed through the gift of a wheelchair. Friday Feb 7th will be the team's first distribution day at Kumi hospital, and they're planning a day of set-up tomorrow (6th). We'll bring you all the information just as soon as we can--please keep praying for the team, and for the people who are travelling to meet them.
Day 1. 4/5 February
I left home around 11 am and caught a train to Kings Cross where I met up with Lynne and Neil at 12:45.
The team started by gathering at London Heathrow where old friends greeted new team members.
Shaun from Wheels met us to see us off and we made our way through the bag drop and security to get to the departure lounge and had a bite to eat before boarding the plane and leaving the UK around 20:30.
The overnight flight took us to Addis Ababa where we had a two hour stop before the next leg to
Entebbe. The second leg was uneventful and we touched down in Entebbe on time. We made
our way relatively quickly through immigration, although the health screening was a little more
detailed with checks on the last time we were abroad (presumably due to the coronavirus
epidemic).
On entering the bag hall our bags were quickly retrieved and Charis, Hannah and Dave went to
get phone SIM cards, which took an age. After getting those sorted we joined the others and
met Peter (from Australia) and Peter and Abdul our drivers who took us to the Victoria Travel
Hotel where we were to spend the night.
We had lunch there and whilst some of the group decided to take advantage of the lovely
weather and hotel gardens, seven of the group headed into town to change money and do
some shopping. They left around 16:30 with the words, “We won’t be too long’’. They actually
didn’t make it back to the hotel until 20.15 having spent nearly 6 hours doing a 26km round trip
due to the excessive traffic in Kampala! The traffic was absolutely crazy with cars, trucks and
motorbikes competing with pedestrians selling everything from bananas to peas and sugar cane
by the side of the road.
However, despite the long time spent in a van they did manage to change the teams money and fit in a quick trip to purchase locally made souvenirs at a shop called ‘Banana Boat’ that Elspeth (our partner and local contact for this distribution) had recommended. They arrived back tired and hungry so the team met for dinner at 20.30.
The atmosphere around the table was good and, despite the tiredness, an enjoyable time was had. Following the meal, we shared the highs and lows of the day. They ranged from our safe arrival (high) , to the Kampala traffic (low) ; the way the team had gelled (high). After that, we headed to our rooms for a well deserved sleep, with the knowledge that we were needed at breakfast at 07:00 so we could get an early start to make the 7 hours bus journey to Kumi.
