So I have come of age!

A 2 metre black mamba has been trampled underfoot.

Coming back from Luwero yesterday after a staff wedding, in the dark, the snake appeared in the headlights, and seconds later, with the weight of 9 people in a Pajero.little is left to the imagination.

The wedding was a great affair Dan + Saphina (now renamed Susan) from the lab had a packed service and busy reception with traditional dancing and extensive karaoke. I was a driver for the day, so found myself eating breakfast with the grooms party and was honoured to be offered some ileum and biliary tree from a cow to eat. Chewy would be a true description.

The rains have been slow coming in Kiwoko, so the malarial load which follows the rains has still to fully materialise. We have been making use of the less busy period to erect mosquito nets for patients on the wards. The money for this was raised by Christmas un-gifts which proved very successful. So successful in fact that after purchasing a net for every bed in the hospital (we had initially the goal of purchasing enough nets for paediatric ward which obviously is the greatest priority,) there was some money left over. We have used this money to redecorate some of the wards. They had not been painted for some time and were somewhat gloomy. Already the wards are more conducive environment to being sick, and recovering in! Thank you thank you to all who were involved.

Easter was good. After church we had a BBQ just like every Easter day should be celebrated. My brother Connor was here, with wife Lynda, and Anna and Rory. On Easter Monday we went travelling out West for 10 days. It was good to spend time together, see animals, read stories, play I-spy, and see more of this beautiful country.

Everything is not always idyllic here. This week has seen much of my time spent dealing with disciplinary matters for nursing students, and staff grumbling about salaries. Many of the big NGOs are working in Kampala, or in the north of Uganda, and pay huge salaries to try and attract staff and are driving an exponential wage inflation. Our patients cannot pay more as their coffee and bananas are not worth any more, but if we cannot pay our staff better, however committed they are to Kiwoko, it is hard for them to stay when they could double their salaries by moving to town. The Ugandan medical workers union has been stirring matters, and there has even been talk of strikes.

Guidance, leadership, and courage to make difficult decisions are obviously needed. Prayer would be much appreciated.

Please also pray specifically for doctors. Our two Ugandan junior doctors are likely to leave this month. We obviously cannot run a hospital without doctors!

For those who share my horticultural bent, I have planted a few things in the garden. The flowerbed in front of my house is now no longer a weed bed. Some plants are coming up despite the scant rains. Two bushes were obtained from the botanical gardens at Entebbe (thanks Conn) and seem to be happy in their new home. I have two bird of paradise plants growing from seed (one healthy and onealive) and this week while out on my bike I noted some red hot pokers growing in a swamp area not far from here. I intend to return with a spade this week, and liberate a few for my flowerbed. My Avocado tree is so laden with fruit that it cannot hold it all, and the discarded fruit falling at night makes enough noise to wake me intermittently!

Thanks for the interest, support and prayer.

May your endeavours flourish this week.

Rory