Volunteer support

Dorota's farewell party with volunteers and friends in Kamwenge

For those of you who may have wondered about the repeated jumble of photos last week - the group around the table were not animals in Lake Mburu National Park but our family in Pinner!!
One of the great things about being a volunteer in Uganda is meeting other volunteers. In the 14 months that we have been here (is it really that long?) we have met some truly amazing people. We have many volunteer friends in Kampala and other large towns, but the ones that make a huge difference to our lives on a daily basis are those few in Kamwenge.
When we first came here we were the only volunteers in this District. Within a few weeks we were joined by Dorota, a delightful Polish girl who had spent many years in Spain and was volunteering with a Spanish organisation called Africa Directo. Dorota’s organisation are building a much needed health centre in Kamwenge and her job was co-ordinating the project. Dorota quickly became a good friend and we shared scarce books and enjoyed many an evening drinking Nile beer and chatting. Sarah and Stuart came here from Canada just before Christmas and Rakel joined Dorota from Spain in January. Suddenly we were six and have been able to support each other, far from home, and also have fun together. Sarah and Stuart are a young Christian couple and have really made a difference to our lives at our local church.
Sadly Dorota’s time in Kamwenge came to an end in late May and she has now returned to Spain. We really miss her. Although Rakel, Sarah and Stuart will be leaving in August, we are fortunate that Goiko, a guy from Spain who has been a volunteer in Malawi for 2½ years, is coming to Kamwenge to move the health centre project on to its next phase. All of these (much younger than us) people have taught us so much and have made being a volunteer in remote Kamwege much more fun.