Two particularly interesting things happened this week. Firstly, on Wednesday we met Alfred at the border with Rwanda and Samuel tried his standing frame. It provoked such a lot of interest from people there that I don't know how we've got a photo without interested bystanders. Samuel was very excited and very happy. I have to say...it was a perfect fit and enables him to stand without collapsing which should help strengthen his legs. The VSO person who found funding for his Dad Alfred to come and help make it, has found funding for him to continue to come and work with us for a while. If he only lived our side of the border he would have made a great permanent member of the team.
The second thing was our invitation to the Giving Away Ceremony for the Bishop's daughter. This is when the Groom's family comes to ask for the girl and she then goes with them and gets married in their community.
It starts with a meal. Under the pineapple is matoke - boiled green bananas. I am still the only foreigner we know who likes it. Then clockwise it is pineapple, rice, potato, watermelon, cabbage, chicken and a chunk of beef. This comes with a bottle of coke or sprite.
After the meal we sit in the tents....for a few hours!!....waiting for the groom's side to arrive and then eat. I was wondering what they had put in the icing to stop it melting in the hot sun. Maybe they are not real?
Every half hour we were entertained with an energetic burst of colourful dancing accompanied by drums and singing.
After the two family sides have talked across the compound and the Bride Price agreed upon, the girl eventually arrives with her attendants. She is dressed according the culture of her father's tribe. She has to stay looking sad as she is leaving her family. When gifts are exchanged she leaves to get changed again.
She comes back dressed for her future family's cultural traditions. She then serves her new family and leaves with them. The actual wedding was to take place 2 days later further north in Uganda.
In all it took 7 hours!!!
Young Ivan spent a night with us again. He had become seriously dehydrated as he wasn't able to keep anything down so we had to spend the night with a syringe trying to get water in, 1 ml at a time. He kept it all down which was good. He had further blood tests and a chest x-ray which showed nothing conclusive. However it has been decided to start him on TB treatment as that most closely fits his symptoms and lack of ability to put on weight.
The new CPAP machine has come in great use and Mike finds it very reassuring to have it for those babies who struggle with breathing. Power cuts still come and go as does the water but we do have more rain now. So next is the problem of drying the washing. John, your big ball of string has been temporarily utilised as washing line in the carpentry workshop - a big timber shed. The ball of string is the size of a football so goes a long way.
On Tuesday a team of 4 join another 2 volunteers already here. We will then start stimulation and play training in earnest.
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