My charities & safari expedition to Uganda (picture heavy)

[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