It’s day three, and today we donned our smartest clothes to see the British High Commissioner, Martin Shearman.
Meeting the British High Commissioner
In a really positive meeting, he congratulated us on what he described as our “culturally sensitive” approach of talking to the locals and people in the know about what we want to achieve in Uganda. A common problem here is organisations just transplanting western ideas, rather than listening to what the local people really need. And we would be making a mistake if we simply replicated another charity’s model – ultimately our aim is to set up a project that no one else is doing and is really going to make a difference to the lives of abandoned babies. I’m immensely proud of our team – we have achieved so much in a short space of time. My wingman, Brian, continues to ask exactly the right questions, and his contacts have managed to set up meetings with the great and the good here. His dedication and passion for this project never ceases to amaze me – I have utmost respect for his opinion, and we would not be where we are now without his invaluable advice. And our Saff has pulled off a miracle – after producing weekly video updates on Bebo’s The Gap Year she promised never to attempt to upload a video in Africa ever again (the slowness and unreliability of the connection make it one of the most time-consuming jobs ever) but now she is doing it every day! Last night was a real test of her patience – after waiting 3 hours to upload a video, she discovered it hadn’t worked and had to start all again. Ouch! But it’s up now, and we really hope you enjoy the videos. We feel they give a great insight into what we are trying to do, so all those hours Saff spends watching a timeline is worth it. We would love to know what you think of our videos and welcome any suggestions.
Counting down the minutes
Tomorrow we are giving ourselves a much-needed day off. Brian is a fishing fanatic and has been looking forward to a spot of angling on the Nile all week, while I can’t wait to spend some time with the kids at Sanyu. See you on Sunday, folks, and please do keep those questions coming.
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3 comments
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April 17, 2009 at 6:24 pm
wendy
Just catching up on your Ugandan blog. Amazing, heart wrenching, focused, hopeful….. – very inspiring
lots of love
Wendy (harpenden!)
April 19, 2009 at 2:58 am
monika
lucy you area amazing. i love what you are doing. i just watched your videos – brian is right – it comes alive when you get to talk to the people. it’s coming alive for me that i get to see you there.
thank you for making this possible.
thank you saff for persevering through technological glitches. your time and effort is greatly appreciated.
i have a blogsite that my high school students go to. i’m going to post some of your videos there. i hope that is good with you.
maybe they will have some questions for you.
i must say – your flip flop story made a statement. i love that you wore them. i believe it makes the sincerity of your heart evident.
loving you.
April 19, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Lucy Buck
Hey Wendy and Monika
Thank you so much for your support
Wendy – I am very much looking forward to our UFU in Harpenden on my return.
Monika – thank you for your lovely message. We would love to hear from your high school students and please ask us any questions and we will do our best to find the answers to here in Uganda!
Please keep in touch
Lucyx