Friday, Novmeber 8, 2013 - Dancing and lunch for 121 children!

What a brilliant end to a brilliant week! Today was our last full day of activities and interaction with the kids (although we will be popping in tomorrow) before most of the group fly home.

We have spent the full day at the Tiger club which is the original drop-in centre in Kampala. The day started with some games involving mime as not all of the kids speak English as we don't speak Lugandan. This created many laughs with the highlight being Sir Peter Fahy the GMP Chief Constable doing the Gangnam Style dance! The way Sir Peter is with the children and the way he is with us, has to be admired. He is not afraid to sing, dance and make a fool of himself and for that I have a huge respect.

After the games we all went with the children and the staff to a local football pitch. I say football pitch but in reality it was an area of dirt with some welded together metal acting as goals. It is only a five-minute walk from the centre but when we arrived the atmosphere was very different. Lots of people following us and watching to see what was happening and where we were going.

A gentleman wearing a helmet, swimming goggles and a huge coat followed us and decided to expose himself to some of the group! Just a general feeling of uncomfortableness came over me for the first time on either this or last year's trip. This feeling soon left me.

We organised a huge football tournament with the kids from the centre and other kids who had come to play as they do every Friday. Retrak use football as an "Outreach". An outreach is where kids come, play and interact with the Retrak staff giving the staff the opportunity to talk to them and offer help if needed! This is done so very well.

After the tournament all the kids are sat down and it is explained to them how football can help them! It gives them exercise, helps them make friends and teaches them teamwork and respect (for the referee). The staff then introduce Retrak and get some of the kids currently staying at the centre to explain the benefits to the new kids. We finished by praying together and then all 121 kids plus staff members and volunteers went back to the centre to enjoy lovely lunch.

Retrak play football at that pitch every Friday and then on the first Friday of each month invite boys not staying at the centre for lunch. This gives Retrak the opportunity to get the names and ages of the new boys and starts to breakdown emotional barriers. After lunch we had a huge Ugandan disco where everyone sang and danced for hours. Everyone was laughing and joking and the problems these kids face seemed so far away.

You will remember, from a previous blog, me talking about a little boy called Omar who I met last year. As I explained, Omar is unfortunately back living on the streets after a couple of attempts to reintroduce him to his family. Omar came to football and to lunch today and it was amazing to see him again. The staff were telling me how Omar has very different problems to a lot of the other kids. He is a fantastic dancer and feels that he can do better for himself on the streets. He is currently dancing on the streets and getting tips from people. He seems to think that this will lead him to fame and fortune and has previously been encouraged by other boys to find a way to get to America to fulfil his dream. I prey that he does catch a break and that in a few years he is making millions of pounds and staring on MTV. The reality is though his chances are very very slim and a better life would be receiving proper education with a stable family.

However, today we revived lots of positive news on some of the boys we met last year. Of the six we asked about, five had returned home and were now back in school and living with their families once more! Tonight we are going out for a meal with all of the staff who work for Retrak here in Uganda and formally end our week. It's difficult to sum up the week. It has been a real mix of emotions and thoughts.

Seeing the developments that Retrak in Uganda have made in 12 months only drives me to raise more funds for this fantastic charity. I am aware of the stigma that many charities have but I can assure you that all money is being used to the best of their ability and they are reaching out and helping as many kids as they can! There are so many children in so many countries that need help. As I said earlier in the week we are just scratching the surface here in Uganda but if we keep scratching away eventually we will get there and ensure all kids deserve the chance and opportunities that they deserve!

Retrak provide the love, support, medical care, sports, friends and guidance that any child could want! They really are making a difference!

Adam