Well after nearly 24 hours I am back home and already find myself missing Uganda.

We had two very different experiences but everyone we met made us feel welcome and made us feel safe and special.

The Bishop and his team were extremely grateful for our support and the money that we raised will fund the Five Talents project for the next 18 months and we look forward to hearing how that develops.

Patrick our guide and the other guides and people that we met during our tour of the country looked after us and we were so lucky to see and do everything that we did.

But what will the future hold for the park and it’s animals. Many of you may know of the huge investment being made in Uganda and the exploration to develop it resources. To do that you need access :::

The top is now and the second is the new road being built Through the national park which will be covered in tarmac. I totally get that there needs to be progress but at what cost? I also wonder about the impact on the rustic charm and experience of future visitors and of course the impact on the animal population.

But I don’t want to end on a negative and I want to reflect the sense of positivity that we found from the Ugandans. They were proud that their economy is growing and that people’s lives are improving and I admired the support that they have given to a neighbouring country. And for the South Sudanese who hope to ‘go back’ to their country next year. We wish them well and to the success of the Five Talents scheme and business community.

We love Rhinos 🦏

Meet Joseph who was an exceptional guide. So passionate about the Rhinos and answered all of our questions. In summary there were no Rhinos left in Uganda. They introduced 6 in 2006 and due to an enormous amount of work they now have 28 and hopefully 29 by the end of the year. Hi

The rhinos have to be looked after 24×7 by round the clock dedicated guides and rely on tourism to help to cover their costs. well worth a visit that actually pays for the future of this species.

After leaving the sanctuary we headed back to Entebbe. Finding ourselves back in 2 Friends which feels like home.

Thank you to the wonderful cooks from Auruba Safari Lodge for making David’s birthday cake which was delicious 😋

We now have to say good bye to Pakuba Safari Lodge which has been a fantastic oasis of calm, very friendly staff and great source of Bells lager. We would absolutely recommend it.

We first went to the top of the falls and then on a chimp Safari.

The chimp Safari was fab and also recommended although we did not need any rain to end up very wet as it is in the rain forest.

On our travels again we went to the Rhino sanctuary staying at the Auruba Safari lodge which was fab.

On our second day we hired a guide and were on our way by 6.30.

But boy were we lucky to see 7 lions.

We then went on our nature trail with Patrick our guide where we saw elephants 🐘 a tortoise and many other animals but on foot rather than the safety of our car.

Another lovely meal followed and a few bottles of beer.

Our first full day was incredible. Patrick our driver is fantastic and took us on our own Safari.

I was not sure what to expect but we were amazed at the number of Giraffes and many other animals you can see. We especially enjoyed seeing the buffalo heads popping up to see what was happening as we drove by.

Other highlights included:

We then went on the Nile

Hippopotamus and…..

Graduation day seems such a long time ago…

We have laughed cried and been overwhelmed by the experience and I will reflect over the next few days.

The rest of the team flew home a couple of days ago and have arrived safely back in the Uk and it was sad to see them go.

I would like to say massive thanks from all of us to Andrew and Adrian projectsdeliveringhope.org.uk for giving us the opportunity to be a small part of their vision delivering tangible support to those that need it most.

So where are we?

Barbara-Anne David and I are up country. We undertook a 7 hour journey to the National Park.

The journey was eventful (partially due to some poorly tummies) but also due to the colourful experience of buying fast food Ugandan style.

As a final taster of what I will write about tomorrow:

Leaving our hotel this morning we reflected on our experience and in particular the fish curry for breakfast.

It was great to see how the runway was cleared of goats and interested children before the plane can land. Also a number of our group (David Core) who was being our version of David Bailey.

And … we are back at our hotel with Electricity and internet connections and I am reflecting who is the richer those that work together as a community who have nothing or us in the western world

After our last bumpy road home looking more orange than ever we managed to grab a shower and then we were of to the Bishops house.

The Bishop and his extended team welcomed us all and reflected that they were delighted at how well the workshops had been received. We achieved our objective to bring the community together and to reinforce the basic business skills required.

We then departed back to our hotel for well earned refreshments.

Day 4 yesterday was graduation day and there was an air of excitement all round.

Also we heard from Five Talents and the level of sign up from the participants was fantastic. With over 60 at last count.

We ended our workshop with many speeches singing and dancing which we did as a united community. Another first for me was to sign our team special song of reflection and thanks to the tune of Amazing Grace.

After a team photo many handshakes smiles and tears we left for our journey home. On the way we stopped to purchase some gifts and to see our new friends in the businesses along the way.

I have learnt Never to take electricity or internet for granted.

We wanted to provide help not just give money away and the five talents model supported by the training will do that. The Sudanese are proud people who hope to return ‘home’ next year. But even with our ‘business’ people you see signs of the trauma they have experienced. There are systemic issues with drinking and drugs particularly amongst the young. However the church and Mothers Union do fantastic work with families through various projects and training opportunities. The sense of a community trying to help itself is overwhelming.