May 2007

Bram Moolenaar, treasurer of ICCF Holland, visited the Kibaale Childrens Centre in May 2007. These pictures were taken then.

You can find even more pictures on Picasa.

Children write a letter and create a drawing for their sponsor. Rose is helping them make it look nice. We try to do this three times a year.

Posters in the waiting area of the clinic explain the patients what AIDS is and how HIV is transferred. Unfortunately there are many people who cannot read. Therefore one of the staf members also gives a lecture every day.

A new building with two big rooms for chemics and physics classes. The teachers have improved the area in between the secondary school buildings and planted trees. In a few years the students will be able to sit in the shade.

The old science class is now being used for art classes. One of the walls is covered with beautiful pencil drawings of the students.

Last year we asked the sponsors to give something extra for buying a sweater for their child. This was a big success. Many people gave extra, so that we could also give a sweater to unsponsored children. Kibaale turned blue!

The families that we help are poor. Often they don't have money to maintain their house. The family where Jackline lives is a good example. Their kitchen that has been deteriorating over the years.

Fortunately there is a generous sponsors now and then. Without an extra donation this family would be cooking in the open air.

There is a new staff member for community development. One of the things she is working on is starting womens groups. This goes in a quite formal way. The women put money together or apply for a loan. This is then used to make money. One group hired a piece of land and grows beans. Another bought fabric and makes clothes. This turns out to work very well. A group is much stronger than each of the women alone.

For ten years I had wanted to see the famous and rare mountain gorillas. This trip I finally had a chance to do it. The silverback in this picture is called Guhonda. It is the biggest gorilla in the area, about 220 Kg. We were very lucky to see the group of eight gorillas out in the open. It was especially fun to see the baby (about 1 1/2 years old) play around. It was amazing how these huge creatures let us come close and almost ignore us.