Sunrise over the planes at Kajjansi Airfield, approximately 7am.
Early morning over the Nile river - you can see one of the airstrips we use just off the river. The rapids were impressive, even from above.
My pilot for the day, Dave Forney.
Our day started by flying a Dutch missionary from Kampala to Moyo. She has been making the commute every 3 weeks or so as she visits her teenage sons in boarding school in the city. Along with her husband, they help run an orphanage in Kajo-Keji, South Sudan. From Moyo, it's about 3 kilometres to the South Sudan border, where she will have to cross the Nile by boat before continuing on to go through immigration. I admired her strength in being able to do the trip so often, and it was so apparent that she loved her work in South Sudan, so much so that the commute was nothing to her. She was amazing!
Landing in Moyo, 3kms from the South Sudanese border. You can see our Caravan's shadow over the fields :)
Unloading in Moyo, and picking up two more passengers for another destination.
The Moyo terminal and bathrooms.
From here we took off again, flying about an hour east to the Karamoja region. We flew along the South Sudanese border, so for a while I had South Sudan on my left and Uganda on my right. What a cool feeling! The terrain became desolate and dry so quickly, I couldn't believe it! This area of Uganda hasn't had a drop of rain since November. The riverbeds were completely empty and there was hardly a speck of green to be seen. In Karamoja, we dropped off some World Vision staff who will be working in the region for the next while and were met by some boys from the Karamoja tribe. They had been herding their cattle but like to meet the planes to collect empty water bottles from the passengers :)
The villages in the Karomoja region almost look like alien formations from far above. So beautiful!
The Karamojong people are a herding tribe in northern Uganda. These boys all wear the traditional dress and carry long pointed sticks that they use to control and defend their herd, and also use them as makeshift tools for numerous other things - kind of like a Leatherman. They love to have any extra water bottles from the aircraft.
The boys loved having their pictures taken and then laughing at themselves when they could see them after. I'm sure they were arguing over who was the most handsome!
The World Vision truck was waiting for us at the airstrip as well.
Our welcoming committee!
The herders have started to dig down into the dry river beds to find moist soil or water for their herds. They cover them with brush when they're done to try to keep other animals from taking advantage. You can see a few of the makeshift wells in the picture above.
A closer view of one of the intricate villages in the region.
Last October, this river was full and the land was lush and green! We are all praying for the rainy season to come soon.
From Karamoja, we headed even further east, to Moroto. Moroto is about 2 kms from the Kenyan border, and the winds coming in from Kenya were intense! I guess this is just all part of the dry season here. The mountain behind the airstrip had a red haze around it from the blowing dust. Here we dropped off two workers with Concern Worldwide Uganda. These guys are helping people produce sustainable livelihoods, like proper farming and irrigation techniques, and how to sell their harvests at fair market price. The winds created quite a few bumps on the way in here, and I think we were all pretty happy to be on solid ground for a few minutes!
The Concern Worldwide vehicles waiting for their passengers in Moroto.
The layer of dust lingering just above everything - even making it hard to breathe in the heat and wind!
Ladies in Moroto carrying jerry cans of water on their heads.
And then we were off! Bumping our way back to Kampala, crossing over the Nile a few more times and spotting parts of Lake Victoria, turquoise and green swamps, mountains, valleys and deserts. Uganada is such a beautiful and diverse country, and I know the people living here are as enchanting as the landscapes.
As we were coming into Kampala (feeling pretty squeamish by this point!) Dave was willing to fly me over the kids school, Rainbow International School and our house before arriving safely back in Kajjansi. I managed to snap a couple of pics while grasping my airsick bag!
Co-Pilot for the day.
Rainbow International School - You can see the three long buildings, parking lot, soccer field and pools.
Our house is in this picture... from the bottom centre it is the second house in from the main road! I wish I had a way to mark it for you.
I've always had a respect for what the pilots do here - but it was great to see all the work that goes into one trip on one of our planes. Not only do they keep us all safe in the air, deliver the passengers and cargo; they are in and out of the plane more times than I can count all day. Checking fuel levels, loading bags, installing the tail stand and many, many other things, and they do it all with a word of prayer to start the day and a smile on their faces.
Thanks Guys!
And thanks to the endless teams that make these flights happen: our aircraft engineers who keep our aircraft safe and reliable, we couldn't do it without you! To our flight followers at the office here in Makindye, who volunteer their time to keep track of us and make sure we are safe. To our ops teams who make our bookings and weigh our cargo, and many, many others here and at home who make these amazing flights possible.
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