EMI, Homeschooling, Central Kampala and Gem!

I’ve left all the blog writing to Jim and Zoe so far but thought I should probably get involved so here are a few thoughts from the past week, starting with a bit of Engineering!

EMI

Engineering Ministries International is a charity made up of Architects, engineers, surveyor and construction managers whose mission is to “develop people, design structures and construct facilities which serve communities and the Church – facilities like hospitals, schools, water systems and more”.  Last week I had the opportunity to join a site visit to a secondary school near Jinja where they have been designing and overseeing construction of a number of new classrooms, a chapel extension and various wellness buildings, and this week I went into their offices for the day to meet the team and see some more of the work they have going on. (Note - feel free to skim over the next couple of paragraphs if you aren’t interested in the engineering..!!)

It was firstly interesting to see the differing construction techniques here compared to the UK (predominantly reinforced concrete beams/columns infilled with non-load bearing bricks which are made in the villages - makes sense as low cost material/high labour) but it was also fascinating to see the impact of EMI as a charity, comparing their buildings to some of the other construction I’ve seen around the place so far. Most buildings are fully rendered/plastered meaning that in the end they do look solid and well finished, but underneath there is often a slightly dubious level of concrete cover (or none) to reinforcement as well as “honeycombing” where the concrete essentially still looks all bitty due to not being compressed properly (partly due to the expense of vibrating equipment)

EMI’s approach to impacting construction habits on site is to aim for “one rung up” at a time on the ladder… so not try and swoop in and change everything (for example it is standard for power tools still have two bare wires at the end which someone wedges into a socket, rather than actually having plugs…) but rather to make gradual tweaks over time. And looking at the quality of the buildings compared to others I have seen around, they are doing a great job, both in terms of architectural design and construction quality! I’m hoping to do a bit of work with them over the next couple of months, and if anyone in the Construction sector fancies getting involved, they are always looking for people to join short term Project Trips! Project Trips | EMI (emiworld.org)

Homeschooling

Whilst we don’t have much of a timetable going on, the kids are doing a reeeeasonable amount of homeschooling while we’re out here! This has ranged from “school trips” (on Thursday to Namirembe Cathedral and the National Mosque – a beautiful and fascinating place where we learnt a lot, had great views of the city from the top of the minaret and enjoyed the fact that Jim had to wear a particularly fetching long tunic due to having turned up in shorts), to sitting round a table doing maths (occasionally interrupted by monkeys visiting our outdoor classroom), to Zoe leading a lesson on “why is the climate here different to the UK” using an orange impaled on a chopstick for the Earth and a bouncy ball for the sun.

(yes, the boys do all look like they would rather be playing football...)

Central Kampala

This week we ventured into the centre of town to

a) get a feel for the city and

b) (more importantly according to Theo and Josh) buy a decent football

I was struck by the slightly paradoxical feeling of Kampala. On the one hand this is a super relaxed, “sitting around” type culture – see Jim’s previous comments on petrol stations, people walk slower than London, no one seems phased by being stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam, nor by driving at 5 miles an hour down a main road due to the level of potholes.

But at the same time, the city centre is teaming with noise and just a sheer density of people and vehicles. Bus conductors with fog horns calling out the window for anyone who might want to join their route, Bodas (motorbike taxis) mounting the pavement as a matter of course, shouts of “Muzungu! How are you?!” with such regularity that they blend one into the next (but always said in a genuinely friendly way).

One of the most helpful bits of driving advice we’ve been given here is to treat Bodas as a fluid…. Make slow purposeful movements and they will simply part and rejoin around you (which genuinely does seem to be the case!) And I think that essentially extends to life here as a whole – chill out, go with the flow and embrace the chaos!

^--driving a pretty major road into central Kamapala

Gem

We have met an amazing family who run the Gem foundation, a home for abandoned children with special needs. These are children who are often unwanted or considered a curse and Emma and Josh’s vision statement is to “rescue the abandoned Gem and restore their God given value”. They currently look after almost 60 children with a whole range of needs and ages, along with running a sizeable farm (currently complete with very cute baby animals!). They have also just installed an amazingly well thought through and beautifully designed fully accessible playground, which, as it happens, was designed and constructed by EMI!

Some of the kids of the family who run Gem are also avid football players and Friday football club with them has become an excellent weekly feature for our boys already!

Here’s the Gem website for anyone who fancies looking them up further: Caring for children with special needs in Uganda | The Gem Foundation