Our final stop on our Tree of Wisdom tour across Northern Uganda was in Paidha, a small village in the west, just on the border of Congo. What a beautiful part of the country! On the 3 hour drive there (not so bumpy this time) we saw amazing animals as we approached the river Nile. We saw many antelopes and birds and a whole pool of hippos. The ones that stole the show though were the elephants. They are huge and beautiful, 5 of them, just hanging out about 40 feet off the road. They were flapping their ears and chewing on grass just enjoying the Ugandan sunshine. Africa as you would imagine it from reading the pages of National Geographic!
Paidha is a quiet, beautiful village. It is lush with coffee, bananas and avocados. Last year they were without running water or electricity. Since then a great group of people from the US called Pros for Africa came and dug a well in the village. Such a simple thing that makes the fetching of water not nearly such a daunting task. The water quality from the well is far better too. How thankful they are for this new luxury! Prior to this well, many people were taking water from a little muddy river that serves as the border between Congo and Uganda.
"The bridge to Congo"
Yes, we stepped across it without our passports and enjoyed a little afternoon walking tour of the jungles of Congo guided by 2 little 10 year old boys from the village. What a great day.
The TOW party with the children was on Sunday. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it was great! There are 35 children in this group, so much less mayhem than in Atiak. The children are much younger on average–most ranging from 4-11 years. They were adorable and incredibly well behaved. When we sat them down to draw pictures for their sponsors, they took their jobs very seriously. 
Next came the singing and dancing– always the highlight. They always sing about how grateful they are for their chance at an education, and sang individually about their plans for their future. Even the youngest ones sang at the top of their voices. 
The tears always come to me when I see the impact on their young lives, and the smiles on their faces.
Every time we meet with a group of children and guardians, the overwhelming message from all of them is THANK YOU to all the people in America who are making all of this possible!
As we start the journey home in 2 days, I find myself thinking of all the stories yet untold. There are many. We plan to keep posting even after our return so please stay tuned.
Thank you for all your support, comments and prayers. We could never have made this a reality without all of you!
God bless you all,
Monique and Stan
Beautiful post!!! Great descriptions – I felt like I was watching on the nature channel! Elephants are my favotite – how awesome to have been so close to them in their natural habitat! I seriously think you should put all of your blogs together and publish a book. Have a safe trip home!
Great picture of the elephants! And the picture of the place where the people got their water before the well was dug – makes it so clear that there is GREAT NEED. We look forward to your safe return and many long talks about what you have seen and done during this mission.
Dr. Richardson! What a beautiful place! I love the elephants. Your picture looks like it should be on a postcard:)
Kat
—your patient