PRAfrica
Poverty Relief
2020年早春、例年並みの一時帰国のつもりで日本に戻りましたが、直後に世界中で拡がったコロナ感染のせいで、UGに戻れなくなり、2年半が経ってしまいました！ この間に失ったモノ、コトの回復に奔走、早くも1カ月強が過ぎました！ K’LAのアチコチの省庁を右往左往して、ようやく、クルマの再登録など肝心カナメの用件を済ませ、KITGUMに戻り1週間。失った、損なわれたモノ、コトの大きさにア然としながらも、少～しずつ前に進んでいる感じがする毎日です。その様子を、“百聞は一見にしかず”… 写真で、ご覧ください。
In the early spring of 2020, just after we returned to Japan for our annual visit, the coronavirus pandemic broke out and we were unable to return to Uganda for two
and a half years. Already one month has passed since we came back. During that time, we have been busy recovering all sorts of things that were lost. After running from one government office to
the other in Kampala, we were finally able to re-register our car and take care of other essential matters. We have been back in Kitgum for one week. While we were shocked by the magnitude of how
many things – both tangible and intangible – we had lost, we are moving forward little by little. “Seeing is believing,” as they say. So here are some photos.
ブッシュ化しつつある植込み。故EMMAのリーダーシップで苗木を植えたのが、もう2メートルほどにも成長！ 木々の間に、ヘビの抜け殻も発見！ 奥のTRC（古い図書館）には、サソリも‼
Overgrown shrubbery. Planted under the leadership of the late Emma, these shrubs are now almost two meters tall, and we found snake skins amid them. There were
scorpions in the old library building in the background.
成長が遅い日陰では、踏みつけられ、ゴミ捨て場と化していたので、ゴミを取り除き新しく植え直しを。 こちら雨期が始まったので、根付くことを期待して。
The trees in the shade, which were growing slowly, had been trampled down and trash was being dumped there. So we cleared the trash and replanted. The rainy season has begun, so we hope the trees
will take root.
ターマイト（こちらの白アリは日本の白アリと比べ、大きく非常に活動的。冬が無い熱帯の気候が関係しているのでしょう。見た目は違いますが、木材、家具、本などを食い荒らすことは同じ）やネズミ、ゴキブリなどに蹂躙された本棚、机、椅子、そして多数の本…。 壁、机、椅子に強力な薬剤を散布、固形剤を置くなど、シロアリ、ネズミ、ゴキブリETC対策、全てバッチリしていたつもりでしたが、3年は長すぎました…。一冊一冊手に取り中まで丁寧に確認し、焼却するかどうか決めますので、大変時間がかかっています。
Termites, mice and cockroaches had overrun the bookshelves, desks, chairs and many books themselves. (The termites here are bigger than those in Japan and much more
active, perhaps because there is no winter here. Though they look different, the way they devour wood, furniture, books, etc. is the same.) We had applied strong chemicals to the walls, desks and
chairs and set out bait in an effort to thwart the pests, but three years had passed. We are carefully checking all the books to determine which must be incinerated, but it is a time-consuming
process.
焼却処分が決まった本。今までのところ、60～70冊前後を処分しました。残念です。
Books to be incinerated. So far we have had to dispose of more than 60 books, unfortunately.
緊急の招集に応じて集まったPRIMARY P/S, PUBLIC P/S、PRISON P/Sに通学中の支援子供たち。3年近くの間にすっかり成長しました！でも面影表情はそのまま!! 奥にBABA OGENの顔も。
Students supported by the library who attend Primary, Public and Prison primary schools hastily assembled at our request. They had grown a lot in nearly three
years. But their facial expressions were still the same. Baba Ogen can be seen in the background.
2020年2月以降、KITGUMに届き、郵便局の私書箱で眠っていた支援者の方々からのお手紙、ようやく支援子供( ABER FORTUNATEとOTEMA BRIAN）の手に渡りました！ あと2通（LATABU JACKLINE宛てとOPOKA BRIAN宛）が本人の来館を待っています。
左からPIKICA MARVIN, ABER FORTUNATE, OTEMA BRIAN, AGENORWOT MERCY OYELLA, LUBANGANYEYO EMMANUEL
Letters from supporters that had been sitting in our postal box since February 2020. We were finally able to give them to the recipients, Aber Fortunate and
Otema Brian. Letters to Latabu Jackline and Opoka Brian will be given to them when they come to the library.
(l. to r.) Pikica Marvin, Aber Fortunate, Otema Brian, Agenorwot Mercy Oyella, Lubanganyeyo Emmanuel
正面入り口のドアのガラスに大きな穴と縦横に長～いひび割れが‼! 詳しい人たちの話では、Flying Stone（草刈りやクルマが跳ね上げ飛ばす石）で、よくあることと。原因も、いつなったのかも、全く分かりませんが、ガラス屋を呼び、リペア中です。
There was a large hole and many long cracks in the glass of the front door. According to knowledgeable people, they were caused by rocks kicked up when mowing and
by passing cars – a common occurrence. We don’t know the exact cause or when this damage occurred, but we hired a glazier to do repairs.