And this ACT’S coming to a close! (Tuesday, Feb. 10)

Sorry, bad pun. =D We’ve just returned from Bushara Island this afternoon, where we’ve been for the past three days, doing our final debriefing sessions. So, officially, we’re now done. We’ve said our goodbyes to the Ugandan crew, we’ve left camp for the final time, and now, we’ve concluded our debriefs too. I still need to do some more handover work with Chris, who needs to follow up on some of the work that we started, and I also need to complete my exit report; but, once those are complete, and it shouldn’t take more than a couple of days I hope, I’ll be done done. Following that, I hope to return to Another Hope orphanage for another week, and sometime next week, to meet up with Kevin, from the eMi Canada office in Calgary, who is currently leading a design team near Kampala.

I don’t think of myself as being sentimental. Alright, maybe a little… =p I just find it difficult to grasp that this is really over. ACTS, GFS projects, climbing hills and testing water, driving inconceivably bad roads, the list could easily extend for awhile. For sure, I look forward to no more excel spreadsheets for the next little while; I definitely look forward to going back to Another Hope and seeing the kids again; I look forward to traveling some and seeing more of East Africa; and then, but not too much yet, I look forward to returning home. Still, I can’t help but look back on the past five months and wish that it wasn’t already over.

Certainly, it hasn’t always been a blast; there have definitely been a fair share of ups and downs, disappointments, frustrations, and a ton of anticlimaxes (read: over one hundred sources investigated, less than a tenth suitable for GFS consideration). As we discussed and examined in our debrief sessions, there is, and always will be, much room for improvement. Yet, there’s no doubt that this has been a wonderful experience in most regards. I know that I have learned a great deal, many things which I may not realize for awhile, or maybe, ever. But I recognize that I’ve been changed by the work that I’ve done, by the culture that I’ve been immersed in, and by the people that I’ve met.

Who would’ve thought that someone of Chinese heritage, born and raised in Canada, and having grown up in the big cities, could be so comfortable working and living in the rural communities of Southwestern Uganda, near the heart (or at least the centre) of that foreign and mysterious place we call Africa? This region where Runyankole is the language of choice; where the majority of people haven’t completed secondary school; where boiled bananas and mashed maize is the be all and end all of their diets. Well, newsflash, one, it really isn’t all that different, or as different as one might expect anyway, and two, it couldn’t have been done without all the support that I’ve received from home. I’ve said it before but I need to say it again. Your emails, cards, letters, phone calls, and of course, prayers, are very much appreciated. The support, care and encouragement that I received made the work lighter, the problems insignificant, and the disappointments slight. So, to you, who, just by reading this, are testifying to the care that has been undeservedly granted to me, thank you once again. Webale munonga!