Day 6 - The Source Of The Nile

Being Saturday today we had the day off to explore. Myself and 3 other volunteers decided to go to Jinja to see the source of The Nile.

This involved getting a taxi to Kampala taxi park and then on to Jinja. All in all it took about 3 hours to get there. About half way there we stopped and were swamped an all sides by people selling food and drinks. They were sticking their products through the windows and shouting. One of the volunteers, Lauren, is a vegetarian and literally had chicken shoved in her face. When we got to Jinja we got on 2 boda bodas and headed to the source of The Nile. It was strange to feel like a tourist and there were white people everywhere! We went on a boat with a guide. He showed us some of the local wildlife (though no crocodiles thankfully!) and took us to the point that Lake Victoria combines with underground springs and becomes The Nile. Apparently Gahndi's ashes were poured into the river here, which I didn't know.

After this we had a little walk around Jinja and then got the taxi home. It was an awful journey. I managed to draw the short straw and ended up in one of the welded in seats with no cushioning. The woman next to me had a big bag and a sleeping child and the man behind me kept stroking my arm and shoulder. Not my favourite 2 hours ever, but the trip was worth it.

We decided to go for a beer this evening and headed in to Kasangati. As always, being the only white people in town we were receiving a lot of attention. Tonight though we were very tired and the insistence became very frustrating. At one point, 2 men followed us for at least 10 minutes before we managed to get rid of them. Later, as we were leaving, a man grabbed my butt as I climbed on to the boda boda, as they all stood around encouraging him. While it can be amusing seeing people's reactions to you looking so different, I don't feel that we deserve to be treated as pieces of meat simply because of the colour of our skin. I can only imagine what would happen if the situation was reversed in London.

It was really an unfortunate way to end what was a nice day.

A couple of other exciting things did happen today.
1. I washed my clothing. This includes soaking in a bucket with travel wash, rubbing it together, wringing out as much water as you can and hanging. The colour of the water afterwards was amazing. A real murky brown/grey colour.

2. The electricity came back on and I was able to charge my phone. This coincided with a slight drop in temperature. I've been wondering if the power cuts have had to do with air conditioners. Not that I've seen any air conditioners, but there are bound to be some more well off people using them in the area.

Today's sightings:

• A small mud hut shop called "shop dot com"
• A bicycle with 3 children on it, the rear 2 carrying scythes
• A man emerging from a dirt track on the forest wearing a business suit
• A man begging in Kampala covered in blood
• A man smoking. This is really rare as smoking is massively frowned upon in Uganda.
• An Indian convenience store owner in Jinja!

Day 5 - School Checks

I didn't sleep much last night. I kept waking up thinking about what I was going to say to James to sell him the microfinance idea. His English is very good, but it's quite complex and I'm scared it will get lost in translation.

This morning we went out to see some of the school children in their homes. We set out on foot in what must have been around 33 degrees with the sun scorching our already seared flesh. Edward was joking that he was once a mzungu but after being in the sun for so long his skin turned black and he became Ugandan.

The other person we were with was Ronnie. He is a volunteer teacher with the organisation while he studies. Once he finishes though he will need to find a paying job to support his mother and 4 siblings. Ronnie is an incredibly happy person with an infectious laugh. He seems to think everything we do is hilarious.

We made 7 visits in total, 3 of whom weren't home. The others all seemed to be doing well. The students had mostly completed their holiday work, with the exception of one who had been ill with malaria most of the holidays.

Everyone was so friendly in the way they greeted us and welcomed us into their homes. One woman wanted to cook us lunch and asked for our phone numbers,

After this we came back to the school and had a pancake. I'm not entirely sure what this was, but it was about the size of the mouth of a pint glass, chewy, tasted slightly of bananas and was a bit gritty. This might have just been dirt though.

We then sat in on an English lesson Ronald was teaching to the kids who had come for extra study during the holidays. The kids obviously love him and have a real thirst for knowledge.

After school we tried to get to the internet cafe. Our village still has no power so we went to Kasangati (a few villages over). The first internet cafe was offline. We went into the second, but after 10 minutes (which is about how long it took to log in to facebook) the network crashed. We went for a beer and cam back. This time I had almost transcribed an entire day from my journal into the blog when the power to Kasangati went out. We had to give up and go home. It's becoming very frustrating being so cut off. With the power situation in our village I have one bar of battery left of my phone and no idea when I may get to charge it.

Day 4 - Getting Started

This morning we met the project director, James. He told us some more about his reasons for founding it. His aims are:

• to provide schooling where children are not beaten
• fight HIV, malaria and other diseases
• protect girls from slavery, prostitution and trafficking
• support children's development

James also discussed poverty mentality syndrome. He feels that this explains the begging we see in the streets, and also the governmental issues. He gave an example of a minister who may own 3 houses, but still feel that it is not enough. In a country where 40% live below the poverty line it's easy to see how this way of thinking can develop. Though really, it's not too dissimilar to the west.

He then went on to thank us for coming. He said that while our project fees help, what they really need is our ideas and to spread the work of the help needed in Uganda.

After meeting with James we went on our first outreach visits.

1. The first family we saw was a single mother with 6 children. They all live in a single room house. This family have been sponsored and have 2 pigs, some chickens and fruit trees. James pointed out some lumps in the youngest boy's toes. Theses were jiggers - a tick like animal that inserts itself under your skin and feeds of your blood.These are as a result of the family not living hygienically. The mother went to her knees in the dirt to welcome us which I found really uncomfortable though I know she was just expressing her gratitude to the organisation.
2. Our second visit was to a household with 10 children living in it. There were the grandparents, their orphaned grandchildren and various other orphans that they had taken in. A volunteer that has met them before brought clothing for them as their were ripped and torn, with some of the children not having any at all. The kids were so funny, alternating between being terrified and inquisitive. The love cameras though! It's the only chance they have to see what they look like.
3. The third visit was to the new regional office of the organisation that is really to open. Up the road a bit we went to see a woman named Margaret who is to be the organisation's eyes and ears in the region. Margaret will also be permitted to run her business from the office and has been provided a start up loan by the organisation. This new business will mean she can send her children to school.

On the way back to the school we stopped for a rolex. This is an omelette, wrapped in a tortilla. So stodgy, but so yummy.

After lunch we were taken to a slum, Kisenyi and were guided around by the 'slum manager' for our safety. The slum floods every wet season as it is in swamp land.  We saw water lines almost to the rooves of house. Many had make shift shacks, knowing that they would be ruined next month.

It was upsetting to see groups of kids filling jerry cans from filthy water with sewage channels running into it. Ali, the field coordinator who took us said that while some boiled the water before drinking, many could not afford the coal to do so.

While walking around we gathered a large group of children, including one who clutched my hand and didn't let go for an hour or more.

We were introduced also to a woman and her son. Her son has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, but they have no money for medication. He cannot walk or move and just stares at the wall. He has been that way for years now. I felt as though we were being asked for money for medication, but that's not the solution. When the medication runs out he would be back in the same situation. Ali translated for me while I discussed means of earning in the slums and we discussed that with some start up capital she could sell yams, rice and coal. She could do this from outside her home, so still care for her son and it would become a sustainable business so she could purchase his medication on an ongoing basis.

I have found the details of Kiva.com's microfinance partners in Uganda and will be trying to set up a meet between them and my organisation. Hopefully this woman will qualify for a loan to start her business and others that the organisation identifies can also be assessed.

One thing I learned later that I couldn't quite believe is that many of the homes in the slums are owned by landlords. They rent these to people during the dry season who have no idea what will happen when the rains start. At the beginning of the wet season they are not prepared or the floods and will lose all of their food. It really bothers me the most when people who are in such bad situations already have even more advantage taken of them. I don't understand how these landlords can do what they do, though it's no doubt also out of desperation.

Writing this journal (later transcribed to a blog) I am sitting at at the entrance to the slum waiting to be picked up, watching the clouds roll in. I am told that if it starts to rain everyone will panic. I can understand why...

Day 3 - Kampala

Yesterday after I had finished posting my blog, I was sitting outside the internet cafe waiting for another volunteer whose computer had crashed. A man started walking towards me, shouting and pointing at me. He was speaking in Luganda so I have no idea what he was saying, but that he kept saying mzungu so I knew it was about me. A group of men nearby picked up rocks and started throwing them at him and eventually he went away. It made me think of a warning we'd received during induction. "Don't be out after 11pm. Until then there are lots of people who are near if you need them, but after 11 they disappear." After that incident I'll be taking that advice!

Back at the volunteer house it's become apparent that our side of the house has quite a cockroach infestation in the bathroom. I'm not too bothered, being from Queensland and all, but it's funny seeing the reactions of the girls from England to the bug situation. There was a big incident involving a rhinoceros beetle yesterday.

I've been hearing terrifying stories about the witchdoctors. Benedict, one of our project coordinators was discussing the advocacy and lobbying side of the business and told us how people would sacrifice a child for wealth. This involves beheading the child and taking them to the local witchdoctor who would in turn guarantee that they become rich. I'm assuming this sort of thing only happens in the remote no travel zones of Uganda but it's pretty awful to hear that it happens at all. There is a witchdoctor near the school as well. I haven't seen her yet, but 2 of the other volunteers saw a cat's head on the ground outside her house the other week.

Today we went to Kampala with Silvia who works for the organisation to show us around places we may need to go. While showing us local hotels and shops she was saying that she finds it strange that er are here on our work holidays because in Uganda they don't get them. If you work for the government you may be lucky and get 3 days off in a row once, but it's not likely.

We were also taken to a market set up for mzngus. I was sad to see ivory for sale there.

At times when we were walking around Silvia would take hold of my hand. This is a sign of friendship in Uganda so I was flattered, but as a non-touchy person had to fight my instinct to pull away.

Last we went to Oweeno Market. A labyrinth of cluttered alleyways dealing mostly in clothing from charity. When I said earlier that Ugandans are reserved, this is with the exception of stall owners in Oweeno! There were many calls of mzungu, people grabbing our arms and disturbingly, stroking our arms. I think I also received about 3 marriage proposals. 2 of the men simply pointed at me and said "my wife".

Crossing the road in Kampala is a  nightmare. You basically have to just step out and hope for the best.

Our taxi back to the village decided to turn around early but still demanded full payment. Silvia had an argument with them, at which point the taxi conducter threatened to tell us that she was going to steal us.

We decided to go to the school afterwards as it was still early. There wasn't anyone available to drive us though, so that meant getting a boda boda (motorbike). It was me and another volunteer on the back of one. Silvia went side saddle with another volunteer on the back of another, up a dirt track with no helmet. You can specify the speed you want to go so we said 20km/hr. His speedometer was broken though so who knows what speed we actually went.

Once we got to the school, we decided to do some painting. The kids all rushed in to the classroom and took the brushes and did all the painting for us. I felt pretty guilty but they seemed to be having fun. We came across a weird looking frog and being mzungus didn't want to touch it. The kids stood on it and threw paint on it until we chased them away. They really didn't understand why we would not let them kill it. Animals command no respect in Uganda.

I'm starting to lean the backgrounds of some of the children. One of the girls that has been taken in by the school was found when she was 11, working as a prostitute in the slums. I can only assume she is also HIV+ as a result.

I'm still trying to work out where to spend the donation my grandma has given me. It's so difficult to stay conscious enough outside of emotion to make sure it's spent in a sustainable way.

This evening we went to a bar called Afro Bar a few villages over and tried one of the local lagers. It's called Nile Special and costs equivalent of 65p for a 500ml bottle. So including transport, I spent 1.30 for a night out. We had to get boda bodas home though as taxis don't run late.They really are good with scared mzungus and travelled around 40km/hr the whole way home.We left shortly after they began showing the Chelsea match. You just can't get away from football!

All of the Ugandan staff here have been so welcoming and lovely so far. I really appreciate that while they are all very religious (like most Ugandans) they leave religion out of their work.

I really do love Africa. There's something about the simple life that feels so honest. Here, the problems that occupy your mind are human rights and poverty, rather than the fact that the man next to you on the tube is a space invader You can derive pleasure from a 65p bottle of beer, rather than a 65 pound bottle of whisky.

I really don't mind that the electricity has been out for 24 hours or that the water doesn't run. It makes me conscious of my consumption of these resources. Uganda is definitely getting under my skin.

Today's Tidbits

• There are giant birds here like ibis', but the sit in the trees. I'm terrified of getting a giant poo on my head.
• I saw a man today on the back of a motorbike holding a car windshield between him and the driver. So dangerous!!
• Silvia showed us a guitar. A harp like instrument with fur on it...
• Went past a shop called At Obama Butchery
• The kids think it's very strange that I'm 27 years old and don't have a baby.
• We saw a chicken shop. Though it sells deep fried whole fish.

Day 2 - Induction

This morning I was reminded that there is no need for alarm clocks in Africa. I was first woken by local women going about their chores at 6:30am. They seemed to be taking turns shouting directly at our very flimsy back door. They were soon replaced by roosters, then children squealing, then taxis honking their horns.

I did however lie in bed for some time in procrastination of my morning wee. You see, this consists of lifting a large jerry can of pumped water (I'm guessing 20L), decanting into a smaller bucket on the floor, pouring that into the cistern and then flushing. I know we're very lucky to have a working toilet so I won't be complaining, but I won't be drinking much water before bed either!

The electricity is off today so after a slice of bread with melted margarine, we were off to our induction. The mobile network has come back up though so that's something!

First we went to the local school that our program runs. We were shown around everything by a lovely man named Edward, including the cramped bunk rooms where the orphans sleep. When doors were locked he simply opened the windows and beckoned us to peer in. The school generally seems quite well equipped, except for the water situation.

We were taken down the dirt track to the local water source and shown the muddy water that has to be collected and carried back up the hill. While the school has a filtration system, many of the locals drink it as is. Edward told us that someone had once convinced him it was clean and he had drank it. He fell very ill as a result.

I'm deliberately not mentioning the name of the organisation I am working with in this blog so that I can be as honest and objective as possible. I did learn more about what they do today that I can share though.

We learned a little of Uganda's history. In 1979 Tanzania overthrew the Ugandan government in retaliation to an invasion into their country. Around this time AIDS began to become an increasing problem in Uganda. At the time people didn't understand, they blamed witchcraft and so didn't take any preventative measures. Many children were left orphaned. This is when the group began initially.

Now they are focusing on children that are working on the streets of t he city as pickpockets. They school and rehabilitate the children and encourage them to return to their communities to pass on their knowledge

After our induction we were taken to see a local woman named Deborah. Her grandsons attend the school. She makes jewellery from recycled and natural materials to see for food money. We sat with her for a while and made some beads from old magazines listening to the kids singing.

Once we'd done beading we went back to the school for lunch. Uganda's staple food is posha. A flour made from maize, mixed with water and formed into a kind of mash. We had this with beans. It has no taste at all, but I'd better get used to it!

While driving around we were behind a motorbike that was traveling with a woman side saddle in the back, loosely holding a baby that can't have been more than 3 months old.

Now here I am at the internet cafe one village over (as ours has no power). I got here via mini-van taxi with about 20 people in it. It only cost about 10p though. Bargain!!

Day 1 - Arrival

Well here I am in Uganda. After a long flight with the knee of an extremely tall man behind me jammed into my spine I was happy to see the ground approaching.

Uganda from the sky is breathtakingly beautiful. Endless hills, rainforests and lakes entered my vision and got me really excited.

Myself and 2 other volunteers were collected on time (amazing and totally unexpected). Getting a visa was no hassle. After scanning every single one of my fingerprints, the guard tossed my 50USD casually on to a pile of cash in an open drawer beside him and sent me on my way.

Security in the city is really tight. Everywhere you look there are guards with rifles and metal detectors. We had our bags searched going in to the supermarket and had a metal detector passed over us. This is a by product of the terrorism that Uganda has experienced in the past.

From the airport, we went to Kampala, Uganda's capital city, and experienced African road chaos. The really scary thing is that women are expected to ride side saddle on motorbikes here! I'm all for adapting to culture, but that's one thing this Muzungu (white person) won't be doing!!

I also noticed that all the manikins outside the shops have especially large hips and bums. For once I can look at clothes on the manikin and know what they'll look like on me!!

Overall though, the initial impression is much like Ghana. People and animals sitting/standing.lying around in the oddest of places. The really notable difference is that the Ugandan people seem much more reserved.

After Kampala we went on to the volunteer house. I'm sharing a room with another girl from London. It's very basic but clean adn comfortable enough.

We had a thinderstorm this afternoon. IT was amazing to wake from  a nap to the sound of rain pelting down on the tin roof.

The water in the house doesn't run so that long awaited shower turned into freezing buckets of water over my head.

I am also not in the same volunteer house I had thought I would be. I am now 10km north of Kampala rather than the planned SW location. But hey, this is Africa.

I've had the chance to have a little walk around the local area today and there's not a lot around here. There are  a few shops with out of date merchandise, a couple of local restaurants (I use the term loosely) and a couple of places you can drink beer.

I have managed to get a local SIM, but apparently the network has been down for a few days. My UK line isn't receiving texts either, so apologies if anyone is trying to reach me.

The day finished up with meeting some more of the volunteers. 5 girls in total now, all living in England. They had some interesting stories about their time here.

Really excited to find out more about the project tomorrow.