One of the projects we were looking to advance was the setup of a eucalyptus tree farm. As an organization, Man Up was able to provide funding for the purchase of 3.5 acres of land. Pastor Andrew was able to make that purchase about 1 week prior to our team arriving in Jinja. The eucalyptus tree farm has serious potential to fully fund Bethel Primary School, the school Pastor Andrew started with support from Man Up (lots of love to Mitch and Shannon Hauschildt for their work and assistance getting this school started).
Pastor Andrew drove the team along with Kenny (Man Upper on the ground in Uganda for about 5 months) to the site of the tree farm. It was about a 30 minute drive, but hard to really estimate distance because of the roads. Upon arrival and inspection of the property, it was obvious there was a ton of work to be done. There is a small home on the property but it had been taken over by an ant hill. Ant hills in Uganda can be upwards of 8 feet tall and this one was almost to the roof inside the home. That was part of the project we were glad to not be undertaking!
We were armed with 3 machetes and an ax for the seven of us. The property was heavily wooded with thick underbrush and most trees at least 4-6 inches in diameter. 3.5 acres looked like 100 acres! Regardless, we said a prayer and got to work. After about an hour or so we had attracted a crowd of onlookers (Mzungus working must have been a funny site!) Given the daunting nature of the task, we asked Pastor Andrew what it would cost to hire a few of the local men to work along side of us. Fortunately, he was able negotiate a fair wage for the task and we were able to pay it. These men worked us into the ground. They worked barefoot and swiftly. We decided we were better off letting them do the cutting and we removed the cut materials. Here is a picture of the 4 guys we worked with.
After an awesome lunch we had a short time hanging out and playing with the children at Bethel Primary School. It's always a treat to spend time with them. We were then on to the community where we were scheduled to speak with men about the role of the man as a provider for his family. It really turned into a great conversation between the 6 of us and the locals. They had the opportunity to ask us lots of questions about our backgrounds, careers, families, etc. We were also given a chance to get to know their stories better as well. That's the advantage of being a small team. I think there were roughly 60 men in attendance that day, and our time together was great. At the end of our time together, we all decided we would come back the next day (Thursday) and speak more.
The end of day 1 was our meal at the travel hotel and then early to bed. We were all tired and frankly, not adjusted to the new time zone. Falling asleep was easy!
Below are a few more pictures from 6/18
After partial clearing.
These young kids wanted to help as well!
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