Diary entry for 16th and 17th April 2011

Dear all,

I arrived after what was a marathon flight which called at Amsterdam, Kigali (Rwanda) and Entebbe.  The flight time passed really quickly mostly down to a friendly Ugandan man called Kamba who, after spotting me reading my guidebook offered to explain all about Ugandan culture to me so I no longer needed my guidebook!  He explain a lot about the country including the fact that they speak English and Luganda (the latter being the local language).  Later in the week I will learn some Luganda which I will show you when I return!

I was greeted with a fantastic reception by Maria, Mary and family (8 people in total!).  I would be driven by Andrew, Maria’s son who drove the mini bus.  I was then treated to a night-time tour of a wide variety of Ugandan spots in his minibus.  The main observation here was the crazy drivers who seemed to overtake wherever and whenever they liked!  We saw a near miss – which was very scary!  We passed through many towns as we approached Kampala which was a happening city on a Saturday night!  What I noticed about Kampala was the number of people who were out selling their products and the number of motor cycles… not a helmet in sight!  The roads in Kampala were in an unbelievable state – with some enormous pot holes!

We reached a hotel just outside of Mpigi which was the most basic place I have ever stayed and I fell asleep quickly.  I was awoken in the morning to the sound of a JCB digger digging a gigantic hole at 7:30 in the morning!

My first full day in Uganda!  I had a very intriguing day today.  To be honest it was almost too much to take in!  I was met at the hotel by Mary and Maria and I learned that Maria and Mary were from different schools.  Mary was the Headteacher of Buseese school whereas Maria was a Deputy head of a Private school nearer Kampala and also ran a boarding school for Ugandan children.  The amazing thing about this boarding school is that it was for children who were less fortunate.  In fact of the 78 children at the school, 39 of them were orphans who had lost their parents to AIDS.  The remaining children were abandoned or mistreated by their parents.  I visited the school briefly to find the local pastor teaching them religious studies.  The children, who were between the ages of 4 and 6, listened attentively.  The pastor, who was friends with Mary and Maria, then drove the minibus onwards.  I looked back to see a small boy’s face peer around the corner of the door to wave at us, I waved back. 

We then passed through many towns where every time I passed a group of people (mainly children) they would shout Muzunga (White man) and wave.  This was very friendly and really puts you at ease.  We drove until we reached the Ugandan equator where there was an actual white line painted where the equator is!  I was charged 19, 250 Ugandan shillings to see an experiment.  I know this sounds a lot but as there are 3850 Ugandan shillings to a pound, it means that it cost me about £5!  Crazy exchange rate!!  The experiment was unbelievable…  The best £5 I have spent!!  The guy poured water down a plug on the north side, the south side and right on the line of the equator.  To my amazement the water flowed anticlockwise on the North, clockwise on the south and directly down on the equator – amazing!!!  Why don’t you try this now – see which was it flows!  I have a superb video to show you when I return!

Following this we made our journey to Kayabwe, which is where I would be staying for the next few nights.  On the way I was amazed to see how poor these people were but how little fuss they made.  A lot of children were dressed in rags and most had no shoes.  I was the only white person in the town – in fact I only saw one other white person for the whole of the week.  I passed a headteacher’s house which was no more than a shed in England.  Wages are very low here and even a headteacher lives in a very poor house by English standards.  People were working on the edge of the roads undertaking jobs such as drum making, fixing their motorbikes or selling street food. 

I then spent the afternoon with Mary and Maria at the hotel, ironically watching the English premier league!!!  Blackpool V Wigan!!  It was 3-1 to Blackpool.  I then found out more about the Ugandan culture and was surprised by many things.  The main thing being that some of the children do not eat all day at school because they cannot afford it and Mary does not eat often as she cannot afford it either! 

I presented her with the scrapbook and they were absolutely spellbound and they thanked all of the teachers and children from the bottom of their hearts.  They would like me to take lots of pictures in Uganda so I can make a scrapbook with them when they visit Priory.  I am off to bed now to get some quality sleep before my first day at school!

Me standing at Ugandan Equator

My first Ugandan meal!

A local pet!


Life on the street!