Ruwenzori

2 days and a night in the Ruwenzori, Africa's greatest mountain range, this week-end fulfilled a long felt wish. For 7 hours each day we scrambled through bracken, bamboo, and deciduous forest, balancing on precipitous ridges and crossing rushing streams. We climbed from 1,600 meters to almost 3,000. Opposite our mountain hut we looked up at a 4,700 meter peak (6,000 ft above us), and in the morning it was bathed in sunlight.

The forest is an incubator of living things with no sign of humans, apart from a path. We oohed and aahed over so much – including 40 ft heather trees, whispy lichens 8 feet long, ferns 12 feet high, the cries of chimpanzees. At one time we were surrounded by a troupe of monkeys. The roar of thundering waterfalls was in our ears for most of the time, water that will flow 2,000 miles down the Nile to Egypt.

Thank God for good weather and Helen being fit for such a climb. A year ago her knees and spine would not have stood up to it. Back in Kagando Dave now takes over clinical seniority for the next six weeks, till we go on leave.

Support for volleyball court

Under four mighty mvuli trees below the community hall a piece of land has been approved for a volleyball court. The court will be for the use of the 250 nursing students, and anyone in the community. It will be in constant use we are sure.

Charles and his team of 5 start work tomorrow with digging up the hard grass underneath, then covering it with 6 inches of black soil and six inches of red murram. The lower sides will be edged with large stones.

We have taken financial responsibility for the £400 budget, so if anyone would like to contribute towards it that would be a great help. Anything received beyond the needs of the court we will put to devveloping other sports facilities here. Make cheques to the ‘International Relief Fund’, marked volleyball court and send it to Vine Church, 131 Garvock Hill, Dunfermline. KY11 4JU. Tel 01383-631001.

School outing

An outing nearby for the senior class Helen thought would be easy to organise and finance. She knew our hospital hydro-electric scheme would be interesting and relevant; and also a project where citronella perfume is distilled from the plant grown to prevent hillside erosion.

So Helen partook in meetings with staff x 3, headmistress x 2, manager of the project x 1, details submitted in writing, a personal reminder on day of outing…..but sadly the 40 children were still standing under a tree an hour after leaving time! However, Dave was available, and ran around chasing drivers, mechanics, extra vehicles x 2 and additional funds. We finally set off in high spirits at 3.30 pm, complete with crates of sodas. On days like this we wish we had an African sense of time instead of getting frustrated.

In the end the visits went well, and no one got hurt. Risk of injury was considerable, as inspecting the dam involved clambering slippery surfaces on a 3-meter dam wall, and balancing along a pipe 2 meters above a roaring stream. Thank God!

Ambulance can’t stop!

A car bringing a sick patient to hospital couldn’t stop at the locked front gates of the hospital and flattened them. It then careered down the 100-yard steep and 3 yards wide covered walkway, miraculously missing the walkway supports, and a score of patients, staff and visitors. In the field below the car came to a stop and the patient and driver got out unharmed. Thank God!