The following is an e-mail update from Ken Goyer.

Dear friends,
 
Here is the short version---
 
I am here in Uganda working on the stove project.

I am fine, the weather is nice, having a good time.

Wish you were here. If you come, stay healthy and don't drink the water.

I am heading for three more stove projects, in Turkey, Armenia, and then to Darfur.

See you in a couple of months.

Much love,

Ken
 

Here is the medium version---

Sorry again to be so slow  in writing, but finally I have slowed down a little and will try and tell you the basics of what's been happening here in Uganda.

The stove project is continuing in spite of some growing pains.  We are seriously expanding the stove project in Lira with the help of The International Lifeline Fund.  With their contribution, ANCC has been able to acquire a very large and very nice truck which can be used to haul stove building materials as well as to be used by the ANCC well drilling team. Thanks to the International Lifeline Fund, Moses has been hired to assist Mathew as the field supervisor and manager of the stove project.  This will free Mathew for some of his million or two other duties.

I toured to Southern Uganda, to Jinja, to offer assistance to Rosette to start a new group home for emotionally needy children.  Then Rosette and I went to Tororo to offer assistance to the Tororo Rotary Club's Adopt a Village program.  They will build a thousand stoves and drill two wells (maybe with Mathew's help) as well as other things in the village of Mundo.

Returning to Kampala, we started the process of registering AidAfrica as an official Ugandan charity.  (As you know, AidAfrica was incorporated in the U.S. the first of this year and has attained official non-profit status in the United States.)  Returning to Northern Uganda, I went with VJ and Martin to visit the town of Gulu.  This was my first visit to Gulu.  We visited the office of the Invisible Children, and visited two camps. I n spite of the many NGO's working in Gulu, it is still a very needy place.

In anticipation of expanding the stove project to Gulu, AidAfrica has hired four staff personnel.  Freda and Priscilla will move to Gulu soon and start a field office.  Martin will remain in Lira and work for the time being with the stove team to document their work by taking pictures.  Eventually, he will join Freda and Priscilla in Gulu.  Rosette will remain in Jinja as the Administrative Secretary of AidAfrica as well her duties with the children's home.

Transportation has been a very big problem for the stove project and the medical project (and is for every project). T he distances are huge.  We haven't even started to approach the more rural areas of the North yet. There is very limited public transportation.  Gasoline (or petrol as they say here) approaches five dollars a gallon.

Vehicle rental has been our single biggest expense.  The purchase of the big truck answers some of our needs.  But originally we envisioned getting a smaller truck that could be used for more varied tasks.  But this large truck became available from Doctors Without Borders at a very attractive price and since it was so suitable for the well drilling team as well as the stove project, The International Lifeline Fund decided to purchase it.  This allows the money soon to be donated by the Eugene Southtowne Rotary Club to be used to purchase another vehicle that can be used for people.  We need this vehicle for transportation of patients to the doctor and hospital as well as our own general transportation.  People suffer and die for lack of transportation.  The best choice will be a Toyota Hiace van.  They are used here universally as taxis and are readily available.  William Okello, President of the Jinja Rotary Club has expertise in the importation and purchase of such vehicles and he has offered to aid us in this task.

The medical project is progressing nicely.  Phil and Rhonda's visit in May helped the ANCC accounting department organize using Quick Books, and Phil helped to make a new form that Helen, the ANCC nurse will use to help us better understand how we can help her.

The situation in the urban camps remains glum.  Their support has been cut off in favor of the more rural camps leaving many needy people with no resources.  I still find many people in need of medical attention and I hope to write soon at greater length on this subject.  In short, we need a campaign to ferret out the infants with MAD and get them treated before they die.  The death rate peaks a couple of times each year, November-December-January and again in March-April.  This helps to explain why we saw so many cases of MAD when we randomly dropped in for the first time last April.

Ethan is about to show up with 29 volunteers.  Mathew, Moses, and VJ will have their hands full helping them and I wish them all the best time.  I am now going to Turkey to work on the stove project started by Wilfred Pimentel with the Sehan-Adana Rotary Club.  I worked on this project last year too.  Then to Armenia for a week to train Peace Corps Volunteers, and to Darfur to start another Rocket Stove project with Dan Wolf, Deborah, VJ, Mathew, and the International Lifeline Fund in conjunction with Relief International.

Thanks for reading the medium version.  For now I will spare you the long version, although I know some of you are curious about parts of it.

Best wishes to all,

Ken