On to Gulu

On Sunday we headed for Gulu. Gulu is a town that was hit very hard by the recent war that ended around 2005. The town is full of NGO’s and from what we have experienced so far very friendly people. Gulu means Heaven by the way. Its about 4 hours to the north of Kampala. We pass many a grass thatch roofed huts on the way as well as the Nile river and baboons on the side of the road. I am all settled in at my new host home and the surroundings are much different than Kampala. A much more rural home but the same friendly people. I came to find my host home in the middle of a gathering for a newly baptized baby so we sat and had some beers and chatted. One of the in-laws worked in a job that helped get the mines out of the village areas as there are apparently still a lot of mines out of Gulu from the war. They instigated a chat about the U.S. and politics (see other post about the love for Obama) and We chatted about their perceptions of Sarah Palin's ignorance in reference to her referring to Africa as one big country. I of course enjoyed this!! Others including my hosts work at Gulu University which is one of 3 medical schools in Uganda. We have a full week here in Gulu including a visit to some schools some war refugee camps as well as some hospitals. Also we’ll visit our district’s rotary project dealing with water outside of the city. Should be a good week and a different side of Africa outside of the cushy houses in Kampala.