After a season of transition, we are grateful to reconnect with all our friends, supporters, and partners through our blog once again.

Els van Teijlingen has officially retired from Amecet. After 24 years of faithful service and 100% dedication to the children of Soroti and the surrounding area, it's time to return to the Netherlands.

In the last blog, I wrote about Francis, a little premature baby. Francis went to be with Jesus... It was sad to let him go, we have fought for his life till the end, but we couldn't safe him. He was 2 weeks with us and also 2 weeks old. His mother had died after the delivery, which had happened in the village. We bought a small coffin and drove to the village of the grandparents. They received the coffin and we gave a report from aal that had happened. They had not been to Amecet to visit Francis, because they live far, deep in the village. They were grateful for the help we gave and would bury Francis next to his mother. When we drove back to Soroti, I was thinking about all the children who had died in Amecet, during the last 24 years... There have been many... and quite a number died in my arms. I have cried over all the children we had to let go. We always wanted life for them and we did everything to help them, but for those children we were a doorway to Heaven. We knew that they would be safe in His arms, no more pain, no more rejection, no more medicines or injections. Francis is with Jesus now.

Baby Francis, here on the picture, is one of them. A little boy, who was brought by his uncle. He was born that very morning at home. His mother died after giving birth. She was multiple handicapped, mentally and she was also blind and deaf. Nobody knows who the father is of this little boy.  His weight was 1.3 kg. and he was feeling cold, so he was put in the incubator. He is now a week with us and he is doing a bit better, we have to feed him with a NG tube, because he is too weak to drink himself.

After being 28 years in Uganda, more than 15 Visa's (tourist, work permit, residence visa and special pass), I received this morning my last one!! I feel mixed about it, happy that I don't have to go to immigration again and not to have to pay a lot of money every time, but `sad that this part of my life, here in Uganda, is almost over.. The cup of coffee definitely helps a lot!! 

Last week , the police brought a newborn baby to Amecet. This baby was rescued from a pit latrine. A pit latrine is a toilet, it is a deep pit, with a small building build on it. The baby was found around 5am, but it took some hours to break the little building to get the baby out. The baby was rushed to the hospital, where the first aid was given, cleaned and the baby was brought to Amecet.. The baby had been thrown into the pit, together with the placenta, in the hospital they had cut the cord. The baby was cold and had problems with breathing. He had all kind of rashes; his eyes were swollen.

July was a month with assessments and report writing.. On this picture you can see our Management committee. Every registered children's Home in Uganda has a Management committee. In our committee is the Probation Officer from Soroti District and the Probation Officer from Soroti City, The Mayor from Soroti City West, The health inspector and the Health Officer and then our Amecet leaders team. We had our 6 monthly meeting. It was also time for our 6 monthly report to the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, this time, together with a report of Probation Office and a report of the health inspector.  We got a lot of inspectors checking Amecet. Everything went well and every inspection was good. So a good report went to Kampala.

Robbert was the first victim, and he was just doing so well, gaining, happy and playing.. He is feeling miserable now. Chickenpox might be a normal childhood sickness for many of us, but for malnourished children with a low immunity, it can be a killer. When I heard in the morning, a couple of days ago, when I arrived in Amecet, that we had 3 children with chickenpox, my heart almost stopped. And my mind went back to 2005, when we had a chickenpox outbreak in Amecet. Many children got it and also some of the aunties. Two children died because of the chickenpox, both children were HIV+ and new in Amecet, they were very, very weak and this sickness was just too much for them.

We have a steady flow of people who come at our door for help, some come to ask for transport money back to the village. They were admitted in the hospital and discharged, but no money anymore to travel back to their village. Other people come for reading glasses, which we receive to give out to people. Sometimes people come for help to buy medicines which are prescribed by the doctor and there is also a group of mothers who come with their child who is suffering from hydrocephalus  (water in the head). Sometimes the heads are huge and very heavy to carry. The mothers are struggling so much, they come with the baby to Amecet for help, it is very hard to carry the child, they have to be very careful with supporting the head, which is too heavy for the neck. 

Sarah was the first baby, who was brought, she was born 2 months too early and her weight was only 1.1 kg.  She was laid in our new incubator, which we just received from a Dutch foundation: Verenigde Hoop. We had to feed her by a NG tube, because she was too weak to drink.. She is now 9 days with us and she is doing good, she has gained a little and looks alert.  Sarah was born by a caesarean operation and the mother died, due to multi organ failure after the operation. The very sad thing was that Sarah was part of twins, the other baby was a still born and already deteriorated when the baby was taken out. Sarah was brought from a hospital, by ambulance.

In the blog of two weeks ago, I wrote about baby Paul, who was abandoned by his mother. And how one of the local leaders, the situation used to get richer himself. We had been hanging posters around the area and one of the uncles recognised the baby on the picture.

When the rains are coming, people start to plough  their gardens.... After a couple of months of drought, the land is dry and sandy, but even after one good rain shower, the new grass is coming out and when you thought that there was nothing growing, it was all dry and soil, you are every time again so surprised what there is all hiding in the ground... The ground is green again and the plants are growing....