Day 4: The Drive to Jinja and Arriving at Sole Hope Guesthouse

We were all very excited to head out to Jinja 
after getting our bearings in Entebbe. 

Our day's adventure started immediately upon leaving Entebbe... we stopped for gas.  All stations are full service.  To our surprise, as the gas tank was filled, the van started rocking and jerking back and forth.  Apparently, this was a (common) attempt to siphon any bubbles from the tank, so it could be filled to the max.  We are still laughing about that experience...

Just past the gates of the Airport Guesthouse, we quickly had our eyes opened to the undeniable and impactful presence of incredible overcrowding and material poverty.

I will never, EVER forget my first looks out of Francis' van windows. I was completely overcome with the shock of the sheer number of PEOPLE and how physically busy they all were. It was the  Ugandan version of Richard Scary's "What Do People Do All Day", times a million. I was so struck by the contrast of so much blood, sweat, and tears backdropping their absolutely beautiful & bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables at the roadside. So much consistent work poured into their daily lives.  

It was a bit of an adjustment, to get used to seeing the grazing, emaciated cows and goats, tied up with rope, everywhere and anywhere.  And every road seemed to be under construction, but there were no machines or really even any tools.  Lots of elbow grease. 

This life here, it's full.  

Full of work.  

Full of JOY.  

Full of hope.   

And these things things do not hinge on their earthly circumstances.  

Christy had recommended to us, the podcast series, "Poverty Unlocked."  I did some listening during our layovers.  It's excellent for anyone desiring to know God's heart for poverty and what His children are to do about it. One takeaway I had, was the idea that an entire culture in poverty is typically a result of one or more of a couple of things: lack of education/knowledge or lack of resources - NOT because of general laziness!  In fact, we ALL can be, and are lazy at times... the difference is that we don't call it 'lazy' here in America; we label it procrastination.  Another contrast is that when people in under-developed nations 'procrastinate', they don't eat.  Their livelihood directly depends on their efforts and actions.  Let's be honest, when Americans procrastinate/are lazy, there may be consequences, but it's not usually that of immediate starvation and suffering.  I can think of many adjectives to describe the Ugandan culture that I witnessed... friendly, hard-working, joyful, sincere, inspiring... but lazy?  Nope.

video of our first time through the streets of Uganda

I definitely struggled some, with getting the best shot/angle of daily life.
 I wanted to be careful so as not to give the impression of an ignorant and disrespectful American,
snapping pictures of people as if they were animals on display in a zoo.
I was already being stared at continually, as a light-haired and skinned mzungu (non-African.)
As a result, many  pictures are blurry or catch the van window on the sides. ;)

Eggs, eggs, and more eggs...!

Anything... and EVERYthing can be seen being transported on the back of bikes and bodas!

 soccer stadium

Boda drivers, waiting for jobs.  This motorcycle taxi ride costs 1,000 shillings, which is the equivalent of about 33 cents.  Also, the legal driving age in UG is 18, but we later learned (toward the end of our trip) that no license at all is necessary to drive a boda!

We made a quick bathroom stop at the mall in Kampala, which was armed with rifled guards.  This started in April, as the ISIS threat to East Africa increased.  As we drove into the parking lot, the guards would open the back doors of the van simply to make eye contact and say hello! 

We got back into the van to head over the bridge and into Jinja, crossing The Nile.  We'd be here we'd be for the next week.  As we traveled over the bridge, Francis reminded me to keep my camera down.  As in many third world countries, the Ugandan police can be corrupt in some areas.  Francis said they could pull him over for no reason at all, and take any cameras they found.  (Taking pictures of any armed guard/officer is illegal in UG.) 

After about a 4 1/2 hour trip, we arrived at the Sole Hope Guest House.  Ok, this place is simply: MaGiCal! What a blessing.  From the house itself, to the staff, to the work done their by the shoemakers... ALL of it. 

As we pulled up to the gate, we spotted the familiar, green, ZERO JIGGERS vehicle. :) And Gorret (Goretti) greeted us with the huge, warm smile that we'd all grow to love deeply in such a short amount of time! She gave us a tour of the guesthouse and also of the area in the back of the house, where the shoemakers do their work.

Learn more about how Sole Hope began, here!

fresh eggs, daily

A very common sight in UG... barbed wire or alternatively, broken glass, atop gates/fences.

the beautiful guesthouse grounds

Lanterns throughout the house... 
the power goes out frequently in UG.

Every night at 6pm, a deliciously prepared dinner was ready for us!  It was incredible to come "home" to a hot, homemade meal each night - we definitely felt spoiled!  The first night was spaghetti with homemade sauce made from garden tomatoes, with pineapple.
Oh, Ugandan pineapple, how I loved it!!!!

Cook, Mary!  (left) And Gorret (Gorreti) on the right :)

The warming basket... every night after dinner was made, it was delivered by boda 

to Dru and Asher Collie (Sole Hope founders) and their family :)

 

bathtub at the guesthouse

My bed!

Kerry and Sonya on fish and fries night!

Joyce, the guesthouse housekeeper!  She is raising 5 children of her own, 

plus 3 orphans.  She is one of THE most joyful women I've ever been priviledged to meet.

stocked kitchen - we were welcomed so many ways!

Where the guesthouse laundry service goes down!

Shoemaker, Okello, telling us about the shoe pattern (upper) sewing process.

Recycled tires, drying in the sun to be used later for shoe soles!

Shoemakers, at work.

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Gorret helping explain what happens after the shoe uppers are sewn...

gluing the sewn shoe uppers

placing the soles on the shoes

Ohhh, we already loved it here, and were so looking forward to the week ahead :)