Travel News

The HHC office (Dale and Janna) made a late year trip to Uganda and Kenya, Africa in September/October, '05. We were gone for fifteen days.

We were greeted at the airport by a driver sent from MSF - France (Doctors Without Borders). Whisking through the city of Kampala, Uganda that night, swerving around bicycles, cars and people at great speeds, what struck me most was the smell of smoke. Everyone burns garbage (that isn't left on the side of the road) and it creates a unique smell. We were generously welcomed and accommodated at the MSF compound and it was a very safe place to recover from the 24 hours of travel!

On our first day, we went into downtown Kampala and walked around. We were awe struck by the chaos of traffic, noise and people. Kampala is built on the side of a big hill and we had to climb from one street up, or down, to the next. At one point as we were walking along I had to grab Dale's arm to keep her from stepping into a 5 foot deep hole in the middle of the sidewalk. Idi Amin left the infrastructure of Uganda in shambles. Garbage is everywhere and the streets are chopped and broken, in some places merely beaten down paths around huge car-eating holes. We found food and drink to be cheap. After buying some groceries and beer we were $6 poorer!

On our second day we met up with Dr. Chris Hashimoto, Dale's long time friend, who had been serving as the sole physician for a refugee camp of 35,000 in northern Uganda. She (and about 18 others) arrived for 2 days of countrywide staff meetings. We were privileged to take our meals with the staff. At the end of the second day, through Chris's urging, I was allowed to present on Healing Touch and the field of energy medicine to the MSF staff. My presentation was followed by a staff party and BBQ, which was fun and gave the staff time to ask questions. There was much interest. The following day Dale, Chris and I left for Kenya with our hired car and driver, Andrew. This was the start of Chris's one week vacation as she had already served half of her six month contract. What she kept mentioning, and I noticed acutely by the end of our travels, was that in Africa you are never alone. The trip got interesting at the Kenya border as we were pulled (one-by-one) into the border guard's office and made to pay a 'bribe' in order to get our visas. We stayed our first night out in Kisumu, Kenya and arrived shortly before the coffee internet cafe closed, allowing a quick email home! That night Chris expertly directed us around town (walking in the dark) to a restaurant she remembered visiting.

By the second night, we were at the Serengeti and booked into Kichwa Tembo, a tented game park in the English safari style. This was one of our 'miracles' (and a personal highlight) as we were unable to call ahead due to cell phone issues, but they had an opening for us. They told us that wouldn't have happened a day earlier as they had been full for months until the day we arrived. We stayed three nights, enjoying game drives into the Mara with the Maasai, ate, rested and relaxed. We saw lions with cubs (and kills), elephants, rhino, hippo, cheetah, running giraffe and more! Chris was especially excited about eating food that crunched! When we left Maasai-land we traveled to Migori to pick up food and water before heading to Matoso on the shores of Lake Victoria. This is the tiny village where Chris had been the doctor for the Lalamba clinic two years previous. She was checking in on some of the orphaned kids and reconnecting with friends. The town has ONE motel-type structure that is run by a friend of Chris's from the clinic. However, there are no phones, electricity or running water and mail is very slow by unmarked, rough dirt roads. We did not know if we would have lodging. But fate was again on our side. As we drove to the motel, along the side of the road was Nancy walking home from the clinic for lunch! She was very excited to see Chris and welcomed us like royalty!

We took a walk that afternoon and quickly had a child hanging off each of our fingers. The kids learn English as soon as they go to school. Most of these kids could only say, "Hi, how are you?" or "What is your name?" The kids wore clothes (US discards) that were hanging off them with seams split from stem to stern and all had the yellow eyes of malaria. I challenge you though to find sweeter, more present and accepting children! What angels! In Kenya we noticed that there is quite a bit of begging. Dale thinks that because of all the non-governmental organizations (NGO's), they are very used to receiving handouts. Nancy and her brother Evan agree. HIV/AIDS has taken such a toll in Kenya that many of the households are empty of adults, or the remaining adults are raising combined families of children. [One single woman from the clinic was raising her two children and four others.] Many of the kids are turned out, or leave, for life on the street because a single, sick parent can't support them. Some of these children have only their school uniform to wear and don't eat regularly. That first afternoon we found the boy that Chris had helped support for a time after his mother (who she was treating) died of AIDS. Naftale was left in the care of his older sister (thirteen) when his mother died, but the sister had run off and gotten pregnant. Now he is under the part- time care of two co-brother's wives. (Children of his father by another woman.) He looked to be suffering and I felt his sadness like a bomb’s percussion. Chris talked to the woman who runs the orphanage (the same organization that runs the clinic) and the possibility of taking Naftale in was discussed. Hopefully, that is what has happened. His younger sister, two years old when Chris first met her, is in the orphanage. The next day, after Dale and I pulled in fish nets with the villagers and taught them songs, we all went to the orphanage to visit. The kids come home from school for meals and because greetings are so very important in Kenya, they all greeted each of us, shook our hands and told us their names. Chris was able to re-connect with Lorrine, Naftale's sister and we had lunch with the kids, listened to them sing us a song and were each greeted again before they went back to school. These are the very lucky kids. They sleep under mosquito nets, get three meals a day, go to school and even each have a toothbrush! Plus, they have adults in their lives that care for and love them. This is a new type of African family.

One thing very obvious in Africa is everything WE do. We are observed at all times and I noticed how true this is when we were traveling from the game park to Matoso. At one point we rounded a curve in the road and saw a couple with their driver on the side of the road. I said, "LOOK! White people!" No wonder that as we drove along children would run to the side of the road before we even got there, wave and yell, "Musungus"! (White people.) We definitely stand out. In Kenya we saw very little trash lying around. Andrew told us that you know an area is extremely poor when trash doesn't exist. Things are used so completely that there is nothing to throw away.

We remember many special highlights of our time in Matoso. We ate a fish dinner completely in the dark because of clouds of lake flies that roll off the lake at dusk, taught the locals songs in English and played cards (that come with flowers instead of clubs)! We taught Nancy how to shuffle the cards in the 'casino' style (that had Africans dumbstruck every where we went), which resulted in many laughs! We also took cold showers and drank watered down fruit juice (saves money)! We enjoyed long discussions on why we didn't pulverize Iraq after 9/11 (we could have but chose not to) and what it is like to live in our great country (US) with the challenges of affluence. We handed out toys, pads of writing paper, candy and toothbrushes. We made new friends, or renewed old friendships, and our world shrunk a little further.

Seven miles out of Migori on our way back to the border we had two side-wall flat tires. Andrew took them into town for repair (here you would have to buy new!) and we waited on the side of the road. As most people walk or ride a bike, everyone on their way to town greeted us as they passed. (We were about seven miles from town.) One young man stopped to tell us how sad he was about a school chum that had just died, presumably of AIDS. He had passed on his way to church, on his way home to change clothes and then again on his way back to town for the funeral. Another young man passing by asked, "Car trouble?" and then added, "Now you know what it is like to suffer like an African." He didn't mean it in a very nice way, although he flashed a beautiful smile as he insulted us.

After Chris returned to the refugee camp, Dale and I went to Entebbe for a couple of nights for some R and R in luxury! We had the whole hotel to ourselves, seeing maybe two or three people besides the staff! We walked to a wildlife park our first day there and saw the first re-introduced rhino to Uganda, after they had all been eaten from the wild! It was a really nice park in spite of its financial troubles. Entebbe also sits on the shores of Lake Victoria and the views from the park and our hotel were quite nice. We seemed to be far enough away from the shore to avoid the lake flies at dusk, but the air conditioning may have helped! On our last day there I felt an energy shift that left me a bit anxious and ready to come home. Whenever we had walked into town, we were escorted by a young man who wanted to practice his English. While in town, I carefully took a picture of a woman walking away from me with a basket of greens on her head, being very sensitive to her privacy. Suddenly, I was chased down by a very angry man accusing me of taking a photo of him while he talked on a sidewalk phone. According to our driver, Ugandans are very cautious of government 'spying' and it is specifically illegal to photograph anyone in government uniform. I wasn't able to put into words what I was feeling about the energy change until Chris was airlifted out of the refugee camp and sending emails again. What I realized was that suddenly it felt like Uganda shifted to an ‘us or them’ mentality and it was quite obvious that we are not the 'us'. Within a month of our return the situation in Uganda was deteriorating rapidly. Riots were breaking out against the government and the rebels in the north had declared war on the NGO's. (The only two out of thousands without armed government protection are the Red Cross and MSF because of their policy to remain neutral.)

After all is said and done, I loved visiting Africa and meeting her residents. I feel both countries we visited continue to need outside help and support. In Uganda's case, I feel an impotent (and selfish) government is the major block to aid resulting in independence from world support. Even though HIV/AIDS is not as pervasive as in Kenya, her people are suffering terribly. There’s an air of discontent and sadness among the people, although Uganda is very lovely; green and hilly and sits alongside the Nile. Kenya continues to be decimated by HIV/AIDS. A major issue for her is the continued practice of multiple wives and the resultant failure to 'get ahead' financially. The ones who can work have to support the people left behind. If you have family, including one extended to any degree, you have responsibilities. Kenyans are the happiest, most present, open and hopeful people I have met. Sadly, they are also the poorest. Please keep the people of Africa in your prayers.

I feel very blessed to have gotten this opportunity to travel to Africa with Dale. I hope to return one day to visit more of this incredible continent.

In February, HHC is again traveling overseas...this time to India. We (Dale and I) will be joining a group of mainly Healing Touch students and teachers and traveling across southern India. Chris and her sister Pam are joining us, too. I will be teaching two levels of the HT program and this trip should be another life changing experience! Watch for information on this journey in a future e-newsletter.

As always, thank you for your support and we wish you many blessings!

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