Life in Lockdown

LIFE IN LOCKDOWN Dear friends, Good morning from Kampala. We know many of you in different countries throughout the world have experienced a unique six months as governments have tried to control the spread of COVID 19. We have waited and waited in sending this update, to try and bring you all some news on where things are going in Uganda, but in theory at least we are still in lockdown. Yes, you can wear a mask and drink a Having a hard life working from home smoothie! (office in a box) The blessings of a gas regulator. On the box it says "Blessed in the nation Fathers day in lockdown whose God is the Lord...." Uganda initially implemented a very strict lockdown with all public and private transport closed, markets and arcades restricted, international travel forbidden and schools and churches closed. While most workplaces were not formally closed the lack of transport meant that many people couldn't attend work. In theory we are still in semi-lockdown, not that you would really notice, the only things that now affect us are curfew, Geoff's working in the hangar being restricted to four days a week (sometimes), school being conducted over the internet, and not being able to return to the UK. However the situation for MAF Uganda is still difficult, with flying being restricted to cargo only and cross border flights requiring complex permissions. The quiet roads of the full lockdown are now as busy and polluted as before. The taxis (mini vans which can carry up to 14 people normally) have resumed service, but with social distancing (half the number of passengers = twice the price). Bodas (motorbike taxis) have resumed an almost normal service. In theory they have tighter restrictions on helmets, personal protective gear etc. but many flout them. Masks are meant to be worn by everybody and social distancing is meant to be observed in shops, but this is generally not the case. Sadly as the lockdown has relaxed there has been a significant increase in the COVID 19 infection rate in Kampala, although it has not yet approached anything like what has been seen in Europe or North America. On the home front, summer holidays from school have been strange. Mim had already been home from school since the end of March and glued to a computer screen. In fact the head teacher circulated a picture of the school being taken over by monkeys in he absence of kids! When the official holiday began the days became quite long for her. She has now resumed her drumming lessons with the teacher coming to our home. This has been good for her, and her friend who has brought his guitar along for a jam session at the same time, so that they can learn to play together. She has also worked with mum on various tasks to do around the house to earn some money. School resumed early, on 11th August, so that we can have a longer Christmas holiday. We hope borders will have opened by then so that we can make it back to the UK as we did not make it this summer. If not, well, maybe next year… On the whole school from home has worked well, a little too much screen time for mum’s liking, but that has been a common complaint, so should alter with the new term. However, I know that a lot of parents haven’t been so blessed with such obliging children as us and they have not taken well to home school. As a result of all the lockdowns we have enjoyed joining with many of you in Churches around the world, and with our own Church here in Uganda which has managed to collaborate with a small local radio station to broadcast some of its services. We attach a few pictures of how our lockdown life looks for you to share with us in these very different times. Lockdown cricket! School?!. How to get a 6 foot book case Geoff and a few members of the team delivered! giving blood Uganda style. Though the amount of flying done by MAF Uganda has been significantly reduced during the lockdown period there are a couple of things which are worth sharing. During June, there was huge flash flooding in the Kassesse district of Western Uganda where a number of rivers which run down from the mountains in Congo burst there banks and washed out villages, health centres and road bridges. MAF flew emergency supplies to the area for the Ugandan government and for a number of local aid agencies, including the Namirembe Anglican Diocese which several of our friends have connections with. This was very intense flying with 13 flights carried out in two days delivering short term food supplies, water filters and practical items including jerrycans and buckets. In view of the reduced flying, MAF Uganda have also been spending some time in investigating what parts of the Uganda population still have very limited access to the outside world and considering how MAF Uganda could develop to help them. Attention has particularly focused on the islands in Lake Victoria which are very isolated and have only an intermittent boat service to connect them to the mainland. There seem to be several relief and outreach organisations who would be really interested in working in this area. Reaching the islands by air is not straightforward, because there are currently no effective landing strips so one option might be a float plane. MAF did experiment with this 20 years ago, but the equipment available at the time was not really adequate. Things have moved on, however. and the Uganda programme is drafting a report to the MAF management team options to take this forward. Many of you will know that because of the height of the water in Lake Victoria we have had big issues with flooding of the runway at MAF's base in Kajjansi. The lake level is gradually receding and the airfield team have worked really hard and hopefully in the next few days 800m of the runway, enough for normal operations will be properly back in service. During the lockdown time Geoff has spent a huge amount of time on paperwork. Instead of carrying out their regular inspections of the aircraft the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority has kept social distancing by carrying out inspections by review of documentation and records for the aircraft. This has kept Geoff extremely busy compiling reports and updating documents..... what fun! Blessings, Geoff, Celia & Mim Flooding in the Kassesse area Delivering Relief Supplies News from the Hangar Before the job began Dismantled and paint stripped MAF's Cessna 208B Caravan registered 5Y-EST, better known as "Esther" is one of the longest serving aircraft in the MAF Kenya fleet, and has spent much of its time in the last 10 years operating in South Sudan, based in Juba. All the work done by the aircraft over the years was starting to take its toll and it was also the last aircraft in the Africa region to be in the old MAF paint scheme. In order to make best use of resources MAF Uganda volunteered to give it a thorough overhaul and to repaint it. So last autumn it was flown to Uganda and the project began. The engine was removed and sent to a specialist facility in the USA for overhaul. The wings and flight controls were all removed for a thorough inspection and repair of some minor corrosion damage. Geoff's friend and colleague Andy (thanks for the pictures) took charge of completely stripping the paint from the aircraft and re- repainting to look like new. The landing gear was thoroughly overhauled and one of the trainee Ugandan engineers bravely took on the uneviable task of installing a new headliner in the cabin to make look as smart as the outside. Finally during the lockdown everything went back together again. The engine was installed and pilot Andrew Parker carried out a test flight which showed that the aircraft flew beautifully with no significant adjustments required. We look forward to it returning to South Sudan to give long service supporting the people projects in that very difficult country. Andy painting primer Landing gear refurbished, ready for overhauled engine Painting the stripes Re-installing the wings Geoff's main role in the project involved inspecting components removed from the aircraft and determining what was required in the way of overhaul, repairs and replacements. He also helped with the re-installation and adjustment of the flight controls which is critical to ensure that the aircraft will behave as the manufacturer intended when it takes to the air and the "duplicate inspection" carried out on all the critical systems to ensure everything is safe to fly. Geoff also had lots of "fun" organising the documentation of the work carried out on the aircraft to ensure that all the details were properly recorded in the maintenance logs of the aircraft and the quality system and everything was done in accordance with all the airworthiness regulations. The finished product Captain Andrew Parker Carrying out the Test Flight Safely back in Nairobi, parked outside Yesssss......! It still flies the MAF Kenya hangar Please pray for Wisdom for the Government of Uganda: How to cope with the coronavirus pandemic in a country with limited resources, especially as more cases are now occuring in Kampala. The vision of MAF Uganda to reach out to the Islands in Lake Victoria. For the safety and security of MAF's staff when many local people are financially strained resulting in higher crime levels.

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