The joy a bottle of soft drink brings

Pat and some of the kids at M-Lisada Orphanage

Day three - 30 July 2009

Today was one of the most amazing days. It all started with this rumbling noise early in the morning. No, it wasn't the Gorillas running over the roof, or a roaring African lion, it was the chain saw, the Hodby chain snore that awoke Sowerby first, but soon the whole crew. Many jokes were made, but round one went to me as it was all part of a cunning plan to get a room to myself.

The day soon had an extraordinarily sobering feel to it as we visited the M-LISADA orphanage in the heart of Kampala Uganda. Vaguely hidden amongst the chaos of a slowly developing country, we found ourselves dropped off by our ever dependable tour leader Remy in the slums of Uganda central.

It was here that we found some of the most remarkable and selfless people one could ever imagine to meet. Annette the matron, eagerly assisted by Bossco, Howard and Victor, immediately welcomed us into the makeshift orphanage nestled amongst some of the most appalling living conditions one could imagine. Somehow, however, they have managed to create hope and a warm and loving family environment against all odds for some 70 children ranging in ages from one to 18.

Our first task was to paint two rooms in the maze of concrete huts that were occupied by these special kids. The second of these rooms was like a short dark corridor and slept 15 young boys (each having to sleep with their tiny legs half way up the wall to fit) and stirred the emotions of even our most seasoned travellers.

After completing our painting, with assistance of numerous eager helpers, it was time for a bite to eat. The co-ordinators generously provided us with some ham rolls for lunch but the real reward came for us when we could witness the priceless smiles on the faces of the kids when we were able to provide them with a real treat, a bottle of soft drink and an unexpected second meal of the day.

There is so much more I could tell you about our day, but there is just not enough time to give the stories justice. The day finished with the children performing a concert for us using music, dance and even acrobatics from kids as young as six. Music is clearly one of the ways they can communicate and bind this special family together.

Before we departed amongst emotional goodbyes and hugs I was able to present a couple of Rooster Guernseys and a football to share to a couple of budding would be AFL stars. If only the world was a fairer place.

Pat Hodby

Olympia Hotel, Kampala

Day two - 29 July 2009

Jonty Kain, Jecka Kain, Mini Chia, Moose Walsh, Pat Hodby and Goggo Sowerby arrived in Kampala today after travelling for one and a half days (TV Vroulis, John Rhigas and Ben Sullivan are scheduled to arrive on Sunday 2 August). The travel was punctuated by the Kain/Kain combination destroying the Hodby/Walsh pairing 3 nil in the 2009 Perth Airpoirt Pairs Pool Championships before the 13 year old Loreto College hustler humiliated Moose Walsh in a singles shellacking.

An 11 hour flight to JoBurg, a nine hour lay off at the JoBurg Airport Intercontinental Hotel and a four hour flight to Kampala preceded an hour's drive to the sulubrious Olympia Hotel. The endless stalls and simple shops housing barbers, butchers, clothiers and every other imaginable emporium wedged side by side for the 45kms from the Entebbe airport to our hotel suggests that de-regulated shopping is alive and well in Uganda, if not Rundle Mall!

Mark 'Goggo' Sowerby's 32 hours of birthday celebrations (beginning at midnight at Perth Airport and ending several time zones later at the Olympia Hotel, Kampala) fizzled with a fitting whimper with a few beers to wash down the world's smallest and slowest burgers.

Tomorrow, we collect our 100kgs of donated goods from the airport and thence to Mercy Orphanage.

Jonty

Day one - Tuesday 28 July 2009

The first six members of our team, John and Jessica Kain, Sarah Chia, Patrick Walsh, Pat Hodby and Mark Sowerby, left Adelaide at 5.30 pm. The other three members will join them on Saturday 1 August 2009.

They landed in Johannesburg at 7.00 am on Wednesday 29 July 2009. They have a few hours to relax and stretch their legs until their flight to Entebbe departs at 2.00 pm.

The weather is a comfortable 18 degrees in Johannesburg and our team are resting at the airport and looking forward to the next part of their journey.

In Uganda, there are nearly 2 million children who have been orphaned because of HIV/AIDS, war and disease.

The aim of the Kain C+C Charitable Foundation's 2009 Uganda Project is to take part in relieveing the plight of these orphans. There are four aspects to the Project:

1. Send a team to a Suubi village in Kampala (Uganda's capital) to build a house for eight orphans. Suubi village has over 85 occupied homes, a nursery school, primary school, high school, a vocational training centre and a clinic. With the help of a team of 10 Ugandan builders, our team will build the house, pay the the costs of construction and spend time working with the orphans.

2. Donate $20,000 to an organisation to help Ugandan orphans. We have identified a number of different organisations and projects which we can help. We are still receiving donations and, through the sponsorship of one of our team, we are expecting to receive more money once the team return from Uganda. Once the final amount to be donated has been determined we will decide on the organisation and projcet we will donate to.

3. Work at M-Lisada Orphanage. M-Lisada Orphanage is in the heart of Kampala, Uganda and has a total of about 70 children ranging in age from one to 18 years.

4. Donate items such as clothes, books and toys to the orphans. Some very generous clients and friends have donated over 150kgs of clothing, books, toys, workbooks and more for our team to take to Uganda. These items will be divided up and donated to the children at Mercy Orphanage and the children at Suubi Village.

The Foundation is sending a team of nine to Uganda to work in the orphanage and build the house. The team comprises three Kain C+C team members - John 'Jonty' Kain, Sarah 'Mini' Chia and Patrick 'Moose' Walsh. They will be joined by Jonty's daughter, Jessica 'Jecka' Kain, and five clients and business associates of Kain C+C - Pat Hodby (Perks Chartered Accountants), John Rhigas (P & R Electrical Wholesalers), Mark Sowerby (Blue Sky Private Equity), Ben Sullivan (NAB) and Tony Vroulis (Shearer + Elliss).

Over the past 12 months, the team have been working hard to raise $40,000 to cover the cost of building the house and $20,000 to donate to help the Ugandan orphans.

Through the generosity and kindness of many people, they have successfully raised $61,750 to date, with more donations expected once the house is built.

The team left for Uganda on Tuesday 28 July 2009. They will be sending in updates and photos while they are away which we will post on this page so watch this space.