Follow Martha Hoffman to Uganda

Follow Martha Hoffman's blog here on Zip06.com as she and crew revisit Tumuhebwe Jonas and check in on humanitarian projects in Uganda now through Saturday, Nov. 20.

On Nov. 4, while the rest of the world takes a big, post-midterm elections' breath, Madison's Martha Hoffman will be flying to Uganda for a more than two-week stay to oversee her organization Call to Care Uganda's many humanitarian projects. Along the way, she will blog for Zip06.com and offer an insider's look at her group's mission work, which features a visit to Tumuhebwe Jonas, mother of six who received prosthetic limbs in Connecticut under Hoffman's care this past summer. Jonas lost her hands by the machete knife of robbers who also killed her husband a few years prior to Hoffman's chance meeting with her in 2008 (find this story to the right).

Since the incident, Hoffman says, Jonas had been living in a "very rustic home" with no ability to eat, drink, or even clothe herself independently.

This past June, with the help of Madison resident Kathy Wargo, Jonas was flown to America to receive prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation therapy courtesy of North Haven-based Connecticut Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics.

Jonas received her new limbs and the first thing she did was drink from a cup all on her own. Jonas returned home to care for her family and will be reunited with Hoffman this week.

Looking forward to the trip, Hoffman commented, "I'm so excited. I can't wait to see her really be able to function and really care for herself. It means she'll be able to feed herself, able to farm, able to get water. Simple things are the big things."

And while Jonas's progress is one element of Hoffman's return trip to Uganda, she and her team, which includes Daniel Hand High School graduates Haley Garrity, 23, and Kailin Garrity, 25, is focusing on well water projects.

So far, Hoffman says, Call to Care Uganda has established five wells and is in the process of drilling six more. Hoffman hopes to catch some of the drilling and construction action with her camera to share with readers on Zip06.com.

Hoffman reports, the first village to receive a well through Call to Care Uganda serves more than 800 people a day.

Hoffman notes that Call to Care Uganda works on well projects with the financial support of Rotary International, Rotary clubs in Uganda, and local Rotary clubs from Madison, Guilford, Branford, North Branford, and Stamford.

"Water is so, so important," said Hoffman. "It changes the whole life of the community."

The group also plans to visit 10 schools and/or orphanages during its visit to bring supplies and check on working projects.

In Kaberamaido, Call to Care Uganda is working on a community center, which Hoffman says is a place for the community to come for water, medical treatment, clothes, and food. With a special focus on children, the center, when officially opened, will serve 75 to 100 people daily.

Along roads she calls "impassable and impossible," Hoffman intends to travel all over Uganda to various work sites and will take this local community along with her through frequently updated blogs. Join Hoffman and her crew on their journey found in the Special Feature section of Zip06.com through Saturday, Nov. 20. Feel free to leave comments and words of encouragement.