Weddings again

One of our students who is a headmaster came in to discuss a staff member who also was to be signed up for the course. But then the real purpose of the visit: His wedding to another student on the course on 23rd September. Being one of the most important people round here I am required to go to his his wedding and he also considered it most desirable and proper that I should drive him to the wedding. I am sure this was seen as a great honour: for both of us??. No commitment and I think we will have Austrian visitors at the time which is a good let out. Never occured to him that with a mature student population and a young staff I could be at a wedding virtually every week, starting late morning and ending any time in the evening and of course a speech to be made as i equate with local MPs and Ugandans love a speech. Never a dull moment.

Diaspora,Tax Laws and AIDS

At a wedding today of one of our students, celebrated by the bishop a massive affair. But as is normal, though I never like to assume, it started an hour late!

Later talking to our secretary, Zainab, got a new perspective on how UK laws impact out here. It is not widely known that one of the chief income streams for Uganda is the money sent back by the diaspora all over the world. Zainab had an aunt who, like so many died of AIDS some years ago leaving a number of children who Zainab now looks after.

Until recently another aunt living in UK who works in and old folks centre used to send back enough money to keep all these children in school. However the law in the UK now encourages employers to employ, largely women, on contracts of under 20 hrs per week as it saves having to deal with tax and pay various employment dues. It also improves employment statistics as these half time workers count as part of the workforce.

Nasty.

The aunt has been moved from full time to this effective half time and so no longer has money to send to look after her orphaned nephews and nieces. One of these is a 13 year old who was born before the 'prevention of mother to child transmission' scheme and is HIV positive, Currently on Anti Retro Virals, [ARVs] she is doing OK but what does the future hold for her and so many like her?

Because of the stigma still attaching her elder brothers refuse to be tested....... Every time I hear this sort of thing which is so common I find it really upsetting. Pray that AIDS never gets established in your own country where ever that might be.

Visits & Flowers

Back again after all this time. The dry season turned out to be quite different. Dry alright but overcast much of the time which made it surprisingly cold. I even for choice wore long sleeves several times.

We have had visitors staying in the house since the start of June. Johnny from Scotland for 10 weeks or so. He is here as a volunteer to help in the area of IT. A qualified and very experienced IT and electrical man he is really stirring the place up, not that the rest of the team are not good merely overworked.

Then Professor of Library and Information Systems from Dublin for three weeks, immensely valuable to our librarian, followed by visits from our benefactors in Ireland, staying nearby, having a holiday interspersed with a lot of work, advice, encouragement and a lot of fun.

Then a Visit from the National Council for Higher Education to see how we are doing, not perfect but also not too rude, as it should be. A day doing a SWOT analysis for the last year. Very valuable and supportive on the whole. This is not something organisations do as a rule so it generated considerable interest. All in all a pretty busy "holiday" period.

Now we are starting again with the new year but with several of the staff going off to study for Masters or PhD. This is essential if the University is to develop. Very good for morale, shows we are serious, and is the best way to build up the staff we need. It is so good to hear people say, as a matter of course that they wish to work for the University because of what it is doing and what they can give and that money is not so important.



This is a picture of our "Greenhouse", the best in the country outside the commercial growers. Now they want us to do research for them so that they can develop in the West where the climate is better for flowers and vegetables. Until now the transport out of the Region has been so poor it has not been possible. . Next time you see this picture it will be full of flowers!

For those interested the items dangling down are sprayers to control humidity and the "Fertigation"is done by trickle through the pipes in the troughs: fertilisation with defined chemical mixes, in time to be computer controlled, and irrigation. Great stuff if you are a rose. The plastic cover is designed to filter and diffuse the light so the flowers do not get sun burn.