My charities & safari expedition to Uganda (picture heavy)

[Miss Z]

I'll sort my pictures into 3 categories; Scenery, People (and our work), and Wildlife. I think that covers most of the areas.

Scenery

Starting with the capital, Kampala. We stayed here for the first week, then returned for a few days after our trip to South-Western Uganda. From our guest-house atop Namirembe Hill, we could see the expanse of the city. It really is a city of two halves: half number one is traditional 'street-side-shack' Kampala...





... and half number two is 'Western-influence' Kampala.



Nevertheless it is heaving with culture. People are everywhere, the streets, the roads, working pockets of land; day and night you cannot find a street without people on it. Likely spots are the boda-boda, possibly the most dangerous taxi service in the world - a pad on the back of a motorbike, and most passengers choose to ride without holding on!



Also every morning the trucks bearing matoke, the local bananas, are delivered to the floor markets. They are used traditionally to make a sort of stew of the same name, by mashing with plantain, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. It's not the tastiest thing you will ever eat in your life, believe me.



The beauty of misty Kampala at sunrise, and the country stretches at the other side of Namirembe at sundown, is awe-inspiring.





More next post...

[Miss Z]

6 days into the trip we visited possibly the poorest area of Kampala; the slums at Katanga. This is a place where many refugees from Rwanda and other surrounding countries have ended up, as well as unfortunate Ugandans who failed to find work in the city.

Walking down the streets is like stepping back in time to working-class Victorian London. The streets are littered, narrow, slicked in sewage, and stifling from the aura of cramped living. Yet these are the places people wash, cook, sell from tiny stalls, and where children play. It really is, from the perspective of an MEDC inhabitant, a piteous existence. Yet, even here there is music, and smiling, and the kids' faces light up when you sneak them some sweets from your pockets. No-one complains, life just goes on. They are fully aware that until the Ugandan government acknowledges the severe state of their living standards, very little can be done in the way of improvement, so for the moment, they carry on.

We were advised not to take people's photograph in the slum unless they gave permission, not for fear of a violent reaction, but because some people may be suspicious about what we would do with the photographs. In which case, I snapped the rooftops of the slums. The sad thing is, I took this photograph from the grounds of Kampala's Mulago Hospital, a place the slum residents desperately need, but cannot afford.



Now, moving on to Kabale; a smaller town about 200 miles south west of Kampala and in the Southern Hemisphere, hence the touristy-ness.





Here was quite the experience! Our arrival to our place of residence for the next three nights was not without complication. A twelve hour minibus journey meant we arrived in the dark, and the weight of people plus suitcases restricted the bus scaling the imposing dirt track up a hill. When we did manage to walk/be dragged to the top, our accomodation was a shell of a building, basically walls, a front door, and some beds. 'Roughing it' is rather appropriate. Yet after a few days, we did learn to love it, pit latrine and all. And later I shall come onto our transformation of the place.

Whilst we were in Kabale, we visited beautiful Lake Bunyoni, the deepest lake in East Africa. This is definitely a prospect for Uganda to set up a tourism base. Unlike more famous Lake Victoria, it's suitable for swimming and boating on, and virtually untouched and unspoilt by mankind.





Lastly on this topic, a few scenes of Queen Elizabeth National Park. I have plenty of wildlife photos taken here coming up later.





The Kazinga Channel, the place where I got my best wildlife snapshots. It's said that the boat trip across its waters is one of the things you must do before you die. Can't disagree with that one.



Sunset in the park is unlike any other. The sky becomes brilliant orange, and ground dusky, and the naked eye can see the sun sinking behind the mountains.



People photos coming up next post.

[Miss Z]

People of Uganda, and our charity work

Our first week in Kampala was orientated primarly around visits to a small primary school on the outskirts of the city called Good Samaritan Primary School. Travelling down a dirt track through a tiny village takes you to two small buildings, without floors, paintwork, and many classrooms without doors. It's the bare minimum only. Kids rushed to greet us, and I have so many wonderful memories from there. I didn't think I'd enjoy my time there half as much as I did.

Starting with our welcome, the choir sang and danced for us with songs of joy and praise to God for our visit. You'll notice a few don't have shoes, and some cannot afford the very small amount for the uniform either.





My best friend and I became ingrained with the reception class, which the Ugandans call 'Baby Class'. At this stage, their English is very limited, but it didn't take them long to learn the words 'Sweetie please, muzungu.'







Putting on sunglasses is another popular benefit of having visiting muzungu.



The two photographs below were taken by friends. The first is my best friend, Katherine, and I with Baby Class, with the children 'pointing at the teachers'. The second is a little girl who quietly came up to me for a hug and stayed there for a good while. She was too shy to speak, but I did learn later that she was an orphan. Indeed, many of the children there are orphans, their parents part of the missing generation killed off by AIDS.

Sadly, when we returned to Kampala after our week in Kabale and on safari, three children in our class had died from complications related to HIV. I didn't notice this little girl there that day. I hope she was not one of those poor kids.





Many, many more....

[Miss Z]

Once it was break time, all hell broke loose as the muzungu were free to be dragged about, petted (one particular muzungu had her long brunette hair repeatedly pulled up, down, tucked behind her ears and generally fiddled with ), and mobbed for sweets. It was one of the funniest but greatest experiences of my life. I started quite a little following, since my name must sound vaguely Ugandan as they found it quite simple to pronounce, and I soon had a little gang forming. I did have to clear up a few scraps about how many could hold my hand at once without it being yanked off.





Zara's gang in full:



We took donated clothes from local primary schools back in England to give out, as well as pencils, exercise books (since many kids have to share, meaning only some can do work at once), crayons, balloons and footballs, as well as plenty of sweets and biscuits bought in Kampala centre. A few days into our visits, we had a more organised distribution of our donations!





Yes, these are school sweaters, and the temperature is pretty warm in Uganda. Yet for Ugandans, this is their cooler weather and so think nothing of wearing them at midday when muzungu are seeking fans and shade!





Katherine and I on the right with our class.



Myself on the left with the teachers of the youngest classes and Katherine. The 'war-paint' is brick dust from earlier assisting in the building work our school has sponsored for a new hall area. The soil colour is quite something and makes shoes an interesting colour. They could earn a pretty penny in the fake tan business.



Lots more on the way...

[Miss Z]

Moving on now to Mackay Memorial College, we saw the upper end of Ugandan education. Still, by MEDC standards, the buildings and grounds were basic, but it was a world away from the primary school. I believe that struggling Ugandan families would not be able to afford to send their children here. Nevertheless, the school was very welcoming in keeping with Uganda in general, and again we were welcomed with dancing, music and singing. This display was so colourful and vibrant.









The school has many worldly projects, such as teaching about global warming and the importance of recycling (here they are making material for burning from old paper and bark)...



... to very clamorous debates on Ugandan affairs.



Now to the excellent Nbere dancers, a popular attraction for tourists that do make their way out here. Possibly the best way to experience Ugandan musical culture. They make full use of the traditional dress, dances and instruments.







Experimenting with the shutter speed to show the colour, energy and fluidity of movement of these amazing dancers.



More on the way...

[Catty1]

Wow