Full Day in Entebbe

Relaxing day today in Entebbe. Have recovered from jet lag. The forecast called for rain but the day was, in fact, quite lovely. Some cloudy periods but lots of sun. I met a missionary from Michigan who now lives in Uganda. He is working near the region that I will be visiting next week. We compared some stories and thoughts about our African experiences over the years. I visited the Botanical gardens, a short walk from my hotel. Rather than what you might imagine it appears to be a park area where native trees have not been allowed to be cut down. Apparently the 1957 version of Tarzan was filmed, at least in part, here. And speaking of filming, I was treated to the filming of a music video in the lake at dusk. Lots of twerking and offers of bananas. I am not sure but I think the song playing, in the background, was called "Sweet Banana" by Badman Denzo, a Ugandan reggae artist! Below you can find a few shots from the day. Check the link below to see Tarzan, and the park, yourself! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTUnZtZs2Y8

Mother Love!

The tree identification for the very large tree below.

Waldrop Ibis

Open-billed stork and Pied Kingfisher

Army ants, and yes, one bit me!

Very large tree!

Can you find the avocado hiding in this photo?

Cormorant

Little Egret

Not sure about this one?

White-browed sparrow weaver

Little Egret

Let's Dance!

Bananas Anyone?

Filming Truck

Time + 2 Airplanes + 3 Airports = Success!

Well, I am in Entebbe, Uganda at the start of my two week journey where I will be take a short safari followed by a week of CanAssist project management work.  I left Toronto at 10:30 am, on February 18th, and arrived at Addis Ababa 13 hours later to a beautiful sunrise the next day.  It was a long flight with lots of restless children.  I watched two movies, "War For the Planet of the Apes" and "Good-bye Christopher Robin".  The Planet of the Apes movie was quite bad but I watched it for the chance to see the Hollywood version of the wild mountain gorillas which I hope to see later this week.  The second movie was a touching rendition of the true story of the life of A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin.  I won't give the story line away but it is worth watching if you enjoy human drama.  The little boy who plays Christopher is as cute as a button.  One more flight and I arrived in Entebbe.

After a quick trip through immigration my shuttle picked me up and now I am comfortably settled into the 2 Friends Beach Hotel in Entebbe for two nights.  The hotel, located on the shores of Lake Victoria, is quite nice with lots of flowers and mature vegetation.  The beach front is very small and you can't swim in the lake but I did enjoy a dip in the small swimming pool this afternoon.

I spent a bit of time down at the lake watching the shore birds.  They were catching small fish, perhaps the stickleback that are the source of ongoing research.  I saw several Egrets and some Pied Kingfishers.  Have just been trying to stay awake so that I can sleep in Uganda time and then quickly get used to the time change.

My Ethiopian Air flight in Toronto

Arriving in Addis Ababa

Nice view of the small pool from my own patio

Large mature trees surround the property.

Putting my feet up on the shores of Lake Victoria

Made these two friends, a Yellow-billed Egret and a Little Egret

Getting Ready for Africa

I have been busy these past two days getting ready for my next trip to Africa.  This time adventure is taking me to Uganda where I will fulfill a bucket list item by studying the wild mountain gorillas for two days in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.  Then I will hit the road, visiting associates and sites of numerous CanAssist projects.  Stay tuned and check in frequently to stay informed.

Historic First: New Sports Pad in Siaya District

This September we installed the first concrete sports pad in the rural Siaya District region of Kenya.  This new sports pad, located at St. Catherine School, was a year in the making.  It all started with a fortuitous trip to Kenya and the delivery of a basketball and some uniforms and culminated with the successful fundraising of sufficient dollars to build this first court. The staff and students at the school are thrilled to have this new addition and now the school has 4 teams, two girls' teams and two boys' teams.  The young Kenyan children are keen to learn a new sport and along the way they develop great teamwork, problem solving and other important life skills.  The team is also celebrating another historic first by hosting a competitive match at their school this Friday.  Stay tuned for the results.  Go team!

Ground breaking ceremony:  September 2017

The site!

Building materials

Staff and students watch the progress!

More materials!

Levelling the site!

Progress

Laying the concrete!

Getting there

New backboards and rims!

Athletic pride.

Happy faces eager to play.

Let's Go team!

Historic first!

Big news: Equity in Sport!

The last time I updated this blog, I was announcing that the St. Catherine School had developed a girls team.  I am happy to share that they played in their first tournament on Saturday, July 29th and they won all of their games.  Well done girls!

The girls played wearing Kingston Impact uniforms, donated by our local club team and shoes purchased in thanks to a kind donation from the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Limestone Local.  I provided money for transportation and lunch and our joint collaboration meant that a successful and rewarding day was had by all.  Special thanks to the teachers and coaches at this rural school for making this happen.

Yes, we can play basketball!

Kingston's teams in Kenya!

Benefits of Sports For All

I am a teacher.  My wonderful students energize me and inspire me.  In the context of developing sports opportunities for students in Africa, we discussed the importance of sports generally.  All students could identify the benefits of sports and physical games and most recognized that they take these opportunities for granted.  They were surprised to hear that there are kids who do not get opportunities to play sports and use sports equipment like they do on a daily basis.  I asked them to write about the benefits of sports and they rose to the challenge.  Here are just a few of their entries and the resulting bulletin board display!

Students are inspired to develop basketball in Africa!

Parker gets it!

Thank you Erin for your thoughtful comments!

Right on Emma!

Fundraiser is a Huge Success!

Well, the results are in.  Chloe Charron and her Impact Basketball team raised $577 for basketball development in Kenya.  Well done Chloe.  You are a Changemaker.  Your hard work will benefit boys and girls at the S. Catherine's School in the Siaya district of Kenya!  Due to your help, and the help of other caring individuals, the students at St. Catherine's can say, "Yes, we can do basketball!"

Student leader supports peers in Africa!