Our Friend Tabu

Traffic is so bad here in Uganda that we have had to hire a driver to take us where we need to go.  Fortunately for Alex and I we have found our dear friend Tabu.  Tabu is a tall thin 62 year old man who has the most beautiful wife, Prossy, and fifteen children.  Not all fifteen children are really his, but he and Prossy can not turn a needy homeless child away from their door.  Maybe this is why Alex and I adore Tabu so much, because he and Prossy have such big hearts.

Whenever Alex and I need to go somewhere we call Tabu and he comes to take us.  This seems pretty simple except for the fact that Tabu lives on the other side of town.  In order to come take us where we need to go Tabu has to walk to where he can find a boda boda (motor cycle) to carry him through the busy streets of Kampala.  Again this does not seem like a big deal, but trust me it is.  I would not be stretching it to say Tabu takes his life in his hands every time he gets on that boda boda to come to us.  Of course we try to make it easy on him by scheduling him a head of time.

At first when Steven told me we were going to have a driver I was less than enthused about the idea.  I did not want to be treated like some stuffy American.  I also did not know what on earth I was going to talk to this man about during our trips.  Well fortunately for me Tabu has plenty to talk about.  You see Tabu loves to tell stories.  He reminds me a lot of my daddy who also likes to tell stories.  Maybe this is another reason I feel so close and comfortable with Tabu.

Tabu has told us many of his stories some involving body parts falling from airplanes, some about his courageous efforts to survive the hardships that Uganda has faced over the years, and some about how he loves visiting his daughter in Denmark and how he is very proud of his children, ALL of them.

So as we travel the streets of Kampala and fight the hectic traffic, Alex and I feel safe and comfortable having our dear friend Tabu behind the wheel.  Thank you Tabu for everything, but most of all thank you for your friendship and care.