I’m on the plane to Nairobi waiting for take-off. I’ll miss Uganda. The people I have gotten to know here and the new ones I meet each trip have made me fall in love with this amazing country. I am so grateful for their help with The MoonCatcher Project and for their friendship.

Phoebe brought us to the airport this afternoon and sat in the parking lot until she knew we had made it through check in and were safely at our gate. What a dear. There is a lot of talk about the Corona virus and lots of hand sanitizer everywhere. The virus isn’t in Uganda and I hope it stays that way, but they are trying to be prepared. We had to get out of the car, have our temperatures taken and wash our hands before entering a shopping mall to get a bite to eat before going to the airport. Part of me wonders what we’re doing. It’s safe here and not so much back home yet my family is there so it still seems like the best place to be.

On the way to Entebbe we stopped to see Father Francis at his seminary and then visited      St. Dennis, his vocational school. I’ve been to the vocational school many times before and am always amazed at the changes. Years ago, Maureen and I suggested that they build a better bathroom: one with privacy, plenty of light and a shelf for a girl’s possessions. We asked that water be brought to the room each day so that girls can clean themselves when they change their pads. Father Francis was excited to show me that such a place now existed. As a matter of fact, three rooms are equipped this way.

We went to visit the girls’ dormitory too and took photos of the girls and the room. The girls loved  looking at themselves on the camera. The dorm is fairly new. I’d seen it two years ago when the beds were just about to be moved in. It’s spacious and I was happy to see plenty of mosquito netting for everyone.

We took lots of kitchen photos at both the seminary and the school and asked plenty of questions about how the ventilation system works. Maureen had requested this, and we were so glad that we had time to make this happen. It’s always interesting to see how these things can work without electricity and modern appliances.

I got to meet another of Phoebe’s MoonCatcher Project trainers. Bonaventure is totally committed to teaching our curriculum and spoke of how happy he is to help the boys and girls of Uganda learn this important information. He just glowed when he spoke about this work. I can’t believe Phoebe has found all these truly dedicated people. We’ve now met three of them and they are wonderful.

We’re about to land in Kenya. I’ll add pictures later and send this on. 

Good-bye Africa!