On Wednesday we had the opportunity to visit Otwal, the other community that is interested in partnership with us. We expected to see much devastation and perhaps a downcast spirit among the people as it is a war torn community. There was much rebel activity there in the last number of years, with most people being driven from their homes and having to live in IDP (internally displaced person) camps. Children were abducted, raped and trained as child soldiers, and homes were burned to the ground. In the last two years people have been returning to their land and beginning the process of rebuilding, persisting through famine and psychological impact. Despite all that they are dealing with, we were greeted with song, dance, hugs, and huge smiles. The people of Otwal were very gracious hosts and so excited about working with friends from Canada. We met with local government leaders, school teachers, health workers and church leaders. All were very motivated to rebuild their community and had good ideas on how to move forward. The people of the church set out a feast for us with traditional Ugandan foods, and as we set off in the evening, presented Kristin with a gift of two live chickens which they named Kristin and Pieter :) Today, we are in the main town in the region, Lira, preparing for our final partnership discussions with the leaders of Aduku & Otwal tomorrow.