Greetings from Uganda! (And a fantastic start to the UK team's trip...)

After a much-needed rest from travelling overnight Nicola, Helen and I are once again back into the swing of things and are very much enjoying our work here with S.A.L.V.E. International! As it is a return trip for all of us we were really excited to return to Uganda and experience the sights, smells and friendly welcome that we always receive from everyone.

Our work began this week with a long meeting with Mike, our Regional Director, discussing a few things before our schedule began. We were so glad to see his face after such a long time and it reaffirmed what a wonderful man and great example to the children he is. He then took us to the new S.A.L.V.E. home and we were welcomed by four new boys, all with smiley faces and infectious personalities. We enjoyed our afternoon playing, reading and getting to know them. The new house is brilliant and has much more space for the children and staff.

Mike and his lovely little girl Caren

Getting back to the street clinic was fantastic and my favourite moment here so far was when a boy, Waswa, who I met as an intern a year and a half ago recognised me and gave me a huge hug. It was a bitter sweet rendezvous as obviously this means he has remained on the streets all of this time. This changed today, however, as after some talking and time spent with him, Mike took him back to the S.A.L.V.E. home to begin his time as part of the family. We are all so pleased to have him join us and hope that he enjoys his new life! However, it can often be difficult for children who have spent a long time on the street to settle into life in a home straight away, so we will keep you updated on his progress as he begins his journey with S.A.L.V.E.

A group of girls we met on a S.A.L.V.E. street clinic

To complete such a brilliant day we then went to the Community Education project that is operating in Mafubira, an area just outside Jinja. We were met by a group of women, all making paper beads ready to make into beautiful jewellery that we sell in the UK. It was brilliant to see them all in action after hearing so much about the project from home! Our research has shown that poverty is a major factor in children coming to the streets. Some of the women attending our workshops have only the income from this project to feed up to six children, so we hope that this is a small step on the way to changing their lives and reducing the devastatingly huge number of street children in Jinja.

Women on our community education project put the finishing touches to some jewellery

All in all, I’m sure you’ll agree that it has been a very successful start to the trip! Nicola and Helen will be updating you on the rest of our time here so watch this space! In the meantime if you are interested in supporting our work then you can make a Splash for S.A.L.V.E. by swimming a length of the Nile! Take a look at our website for more information: http://salveinternational.org/id50.html.