Christmas with Christa

For 2 months we counted the days till our daughter Christa’s visit – together with 2 suitcases of important goods and letters. After picking her up we drove to SW Uganda, where Dave spent 6 years growing up as a teenager.

We spent two cold nights at 8,000 ft perched above a nearby lake, and one on an island, enjoying flowers, bird watching, and paddling dugout canoes.

Getting home involved 11 hours of rough twisty spectacular mountain roads, and a night in a game park. We saw rare birds (shoebilled stork), tree-climbing lions, and were seen off by elephants and hippos.

In Kagando there was a farewell service for 7 departing staff, that included carols and nativity drama, and gifts including 3 bicycles, a goat and a cow. The service ended with a meal in chapel for several hundred with a roast pig and a cow!

Christmas day we joined the chapel staff to take lunch to the local prison, and hold a service for them. In the evening we had a meal and games with neighbours. Boxing day we visited our language teacher’s mountainside home for lunch, and a lively service in his local church. See YouTube clip here.

Next morning we were off at sunrise on a 7 hours climb of the steep 2,500 ft Ruwenzori ridges that face us. Helen’s knee and Christa’s ankle coped with the steep inclines.

Kagando accredited to train junior surgeons

10 years ago a college of surgeons was started in East, South, and Central Africa (COSESCA) that was not tied to the universities (A bit like the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England, Edinburgh etc). At a ceremony last week Rwanda became a member country, and the president of the country was made an honorary Fellow, along with the most recent of the 45 graduates.

Yesterday the founding president of COSESCA (Prof Jamie James from Perth, Scotland) along with 2 other Ugandan surgeons inspected us, and gave verbal agreement for Kagando to become one of 10 hospitals in Uganda to train young doctors.

Afterwards hospital staff were thrilled to hear the news, especially the young doctors, who couldn’t believe it. Dave will be involved in mentoring 2 doctors for the 2 year course.

This step will raise the medical standards of Kagando, and help maintain staffing. Thank God!

Northern Uganda

After Nairobi we met in Kampala, and we drove 450 km to Lira in Northern Uganda where old friends of ours are working in a smaller Church medical centre. We met some of the tall nilotic black tribesmen there, who live in small round houses, and women who ride bikes and enjoy tribal dancing!

We crossed the mighty Nile in flood at Karuma on its way to Murchison Falls where it passes through a 21 ft gap! We spent 5 bone-shaking and slippery hours on a 100 mile section of dirt roads, averaging 20 mph.

Dave addresses International Society of Fistula Surgeons

250 delegates (including 60 surgeons) from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and all over Africa assembled in Nairobi for the 2^nd annual meeting. Meeting with people from such different places was most interesting.

I gave two scientific papers from Sierra Leone on urological topics, (hence pouring weak tea from glass to glass!), and enjoyed talking with some of the best people in the field. We also looked at many other aspects of Fistula, and discovered many new things.

Christmas Chicken!

Last week the school had their annual Christmas Carol service/fund raising event for the school and the church. All the children were issued with brown envelopes for donations. Contributions on the day included money, local produce and chickens. The photo shows one class’s effort. Produce was auctioned on the spot back to the congregation. Helen bid for and won this chicken, which caused great hilarity!

While on Christmas Carols, we recommend our son Dan’s Christmas music album just released. Click http://music.danlyth.com/album/the-fat-man-and-baby-boy?permalink&vis=equaliser3d