Tunaalabagana Uganda!

Dear family and friends,   

I am writing my final update in English, because I would really like the wonderful people I have met in Uganda to read how much I appreciated them and my time in Uganda.
My last week in Nkokonjeru was crazy! We planted hundreds of trees, I said goodbye to the people who are so special to me now, and I cried, cried and cried even more. I am at Entebbe airport now, waiting for my plane to depart. Of course it is good to see my Dutch family and friends again, but the fact that I am about to leave makes me feel so sad. However, being sad about leaving usually means that you have been at a good place, and in this case that is absolutely true! To cheer myself up, I made a list of everyone and everything that made me so happy and grateful the last seven weeks. Webale nyyo nyyo nyyo nyyo:

-          Dear Charles: You were a big source of inspiration and enthusiasm to me. You were like a father making me feel at ease in a foreign country. You were the one who made me believe that big things can be possible if you just start off with the first step. You were and you will always be someone I admire for all the great work that you are doing, the great ideas that you are spreading and the way you help people to use only their own talents and resources to do great things! I will never forget that day I met you in Kampala, like I told you! You are very valuable to me.        

-          Dear Mister Damulira, thank you so much for all your help, for visiting me, just to ask how I was doing, thank you for the great present you gave me on Wednesday. I have been laughing with you, but you also solved so many of my problems! Thank you for understanding or trying to understand when I was in ‘mzungu-need’. Keep up the good work!

-          Dear Matthew: I was so so so happy to see you that day at St. Paul’s school. You really helped me out! Thanking you for all other times you have been working so hard to make sure the trees will grow well, thank you for bringing me home when it was already dark, thank you for making me laugh. It was so nice that you visited me during my last evening. When I come back, we will visit the lake and play netball on the first day that I will arrive! When I am back in Holland, I will enjoy a sandwich with peanut butter, honey and bananas.

-          Dear Ruth: We had such a great time! I am so happy we enjoyed the beach, you visited me on my birthday and gave me a lovely present. Even when you were not around, we kept on chatting. I am sure we will still talk when I am back in the Netherlands. Please pass my greetings and best wishes to your mom, I hope she is fine and her avocados are growing well. Thank you for being such a nice friend.

-          Dear Sundaaaaaaaaaaaay: You told me but I forgot how to say I miss you in Luganda. However, I will miss you so bad!! Thank you for the great surprise in Kampala, I am so happy with your present! When I see my bed, I will always think back of Uganda and my great friends like you!

-          Dear Feddy: The second time we met you thought that I had already forgotten your name. Of course not, and even now I will never forget you!

-          Dear Emma: Thank you for showing me Kamuli. Thank you for the great work that you are doing at the school as a volunteer. Thank you that I could meet your mother. Thank you for the warm welcome in a new part of Uganda that I did not know. You asked me not to forget you, I am sure I won’t!

-          Dear Peace, Joan and Sabrina: I will miss you so much!!!!! It was so nice to live with you! We had a lot of fun and you made me the best food. We will keep in touch.           

-          Dear teacher Stefen: thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach your good class! It was so nice to meet you! I always liked visiting demonstration school, had a great time!

-          Dear clinicians Stephen and matti: It is wonderful how both of you try to provide the best possible care to all patients only with the little resources you have. You are doing a great job! It was so interesting for me to see what you are doing! Thank you for making time for me again and again and again. I especially liked that day when I was allowed to listen to the lungs of the children.

-          Their Doctor Lennard: Thank you so so so much for calling me that night when you performed a C-section. This was one of the best experiences I had in Uganda, probably the best one! It really motivated me to finish my study.

-          Dear Sister Harriet: Thank you so much for showing me the hospital and taking such a good care of the patients. I am happy we can keep in touch via whatsapp now, we will meet!

-          Dear Sister Cleophas: I clearly remember that Tuesday when I arrived in Nkokonjeru. I just arrived one day ago, I had seen Kampala, matatus, people screaming mzungu all the time. And then I came at your peaceful place. You made me feel at ease from the first day and kept on doing that during my whole stay. Thank you for understanding my struggles, being a mzungu in Uganda. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come home and rest. Thank you for telling me your stories. Thank you for showing me the projects of the Little Sisters. You are doing great work! It was sad that you were in Jinja this week, but I am happy that you called me.

-          Dear Benna: Thank you for taking extremely good care of me! I absolutely enjoyed the delicious Matoke, the fresh fruit, the chapatti. My most valuable memory is about my last evening at your place, when we had a birthday dinner together. It was so much fun!

-          Dear Madame Berna: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach at your fantastic school! I had such a good time! Thank you for appreciating me with a very nice present. Thank you for keeping mzungu times ;)

-          Dear Ronald: Thank you for bringing so many trees to Nkokonjeru. Thank you for the delicious pineapples and showing me your land. I wish you good luck with the start of your nursery bed.

-          Dear Anthony: Thank you for taking very good care of all volunteers. I am happy I have met you!

-          Dear Sister Immaculate: Thank you for walking all the way to your land with a sore leg. Thank you for working very hard. I am absolutely sure that you will take very good care of the trees. Enjoy the avocados and I hope you will plant your passion fruits soon.

-          Dear Edward: Thank you for translating in class. Thank you for helping to plant so many trees.

-          Dear Richard: You did a great job! Last wednesday I was so happy  that you showed me what you had done for the trees. It was great to see that you exactly new where all of them were located and how they had been growing. It made me happy!

-          Dear Philex: Thank you for being so enthusiastic about health education. Thank you for helping me during the peer support group. Thank you for escorting me to new hope school. I hope you will become a lawyer.

-          Dear Madame Margareth: It was so nice to meet you at school and see you in the village. You were always happy and that made me happy as well. I really enjoyed the MDD at St. Peter’s!

-          Dear Bogere: I spend so many hours on your motorcycle. It was fun, it was safe, there was no vomiting, thank you! Thank you for transporting so many trees to all possible places in Nkokonjeru.

-          Dear Derek: Thank you for the nice conversations we had! Thank you for working out with me. Thank you for your nice stories about Uganda ánd about The Netherlands / Houten. Good luck with your swimming career!

-          Dear Class p7: You were such a good class! Thank you for your attention, digging holes, planting trees and making fun!

-          Dear Ynkago: Thank you for preventing the trees from being eaten by goats. Thank you for your nice message before I left.

-          Dear paulurbus: We met only once, but you are doing fantastic work. Thank you for that!  

-          Dear Coen: I was very happy to see you after I had had a hard week! It was very nice to meet you. Thank you for planting trees in Kamuli, thank you for the nice conversations. Thank you for preventing me from feeling the only ‘ALWAYS hungry person’ in Jinja. Thank you for watering my trees. We had fun!

-          Dear Samir: We had a great time in Jinja, but also in Nkokonjeru. Teaching together at St. Paul’s was fun!

-          Dear Dagmar and Sitara: Thank you for the great weekend I had at the Sipi falls!

I will never forget my time in Nkokonjeru and in Kamuli! I will try my best to come back, because I strongly feel I need to! Maybe as a doctor, but hopefully before that time! In the past seven weeks, I learned to enjoy the small things in life and always believe in the good intentions of people. People can be so nice to each other and can make fantastic connections. The world is beautiful, but we need to take good care of it and of each other. Together we can do great things. I came here alone, but I found a big, loving Ugandan family Thank you for your hospitality and taking very good care of me! This is not a goodbye, Tunaalabagana! 

Love, Florence