Happy New Year!
Yesterday and today, I've had the chance to speak to Dan and Jared by Cellphone. Cellphones are quite common in Uganda (much more accessible than land lines or internet connections), and they were able to pick up an inexpensive cellphone to stay in touch during the trip.
They arrived in Gulu with the bikes yesterday - Gulu is a sort of military town in Northern Uganda, 70 miles east of Patongo, and the last stop before moving on to Patongo. Even though it is just 75 miles away, the roads are indirect, and the travel time between Gulu and Patongo is about 5 hours on unpaved roads.
We did encounter a brief hurdle this morning. The crisis in neighboring Kenya has caused a fuel shortage in Uganda, and fuel for the trucks has been hard to come by. Jimmy was able to help, making some arrangements with friends in Gulu, and we were able to depart this morning and make our way to Patongo.
So this afternoon around 4pm, Dan and Jared arrived in Patongo. Dan gave me some descriptions of Patongo as they arrived: the kids playing in the street, a soccer game underway, the houses and buildings. (I'm sure the pictures will do a better job describing the place than I could!). As is the case elsewhere, the schools are closed for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, so there is a generally festive atmosphere. And many of the kids are also aware of the 88bikes project, so Dan and Jared and the others in their group were given a warm greeting.
They settled in to "Hotel Kunet", a small visitor's residence in Patongo, to get some rest for the work that will start tomorrow. We have the help of a few men who joined us from Gulu to assemble the bikes; and Dan and Jared will also spend more time planning with the camp and school leaders tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, then the bikes will be distributed either tomorrow or the following day.
The weather is nice too - 90°F and sunny during the day, cooing off to 65° or so at night.
Happy New Year. Stay tuned for more!
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