Day 8 - From Bushenyi to Kampala to Murchison Falls
Sorry this is a few days late - we lose power very often in Gulu. Over 50% of the time there isn’t power and so we need to try to save our computer battery for research work. But here is an update of what we did up till we arrived in Gulu! Update on Gulu coming up soon…
Day 8
On Friday we left the South-west district of Bushenyi. We had visited five centres across the district run by Compassion International and met amazing people. The project directors at most were so passionate and dedicated and really cared about the kids they were helping. And the kids were always so happy. These kids really were “the poorest of the poor” (this is an explicit requirement in their recruitment objectives) but the centres had given them a shot at living a normal life. Say what you will about the proper place of religion in humanitarian work, there’s no denying that these kids are better off irrespective of how they’re being helped and by whom.
Religion is actually one area in which Uganda is very different from (most of) Canada. Whereas religion is more of a private matter in Canada, here it precedes politics (and Ugandans are very political) as a topic of conversation. This has required some adjustment. The two of us are not opposed to religion in any way, but we’re also not comfortable with discussing our beliefs with strangers. That’s just part of our culture, and although we’d prefer to have discussions revolving around other matters, it seems that we have to get used to this.
Anyways, on Friday we decided to leave Bushenyi for Kampala – craving Indian food and excited to see a few places we’d read about in our Uganda guidebook before heading to Gulu. We had to take a 7 hour bus – and we were not only accompanied by street vendors, that would hop on at every stop selling anything from gum to grasshoppers (a delicacy!), but also by live chickens! We even made a friend who ended up talking to us for five hours…And although we were a little bit annoyed – Sima pretended to fall asleep halfway through the conversation – he ended up helping us find our driver in Kampala.
Kampala is not a tourist’s city. We woke up early on Saturday, and Sima and her mom were excited to “explore” even though Sal told them there was not much to do. We went to Gaddafi’s mosque, which was right across the street from our hotel. It is an absolutely massive building that costs a fortune to run. Needless to say, the staff were feeling uneasy about what’s up in Libya. After buying cell phones from an Airtel (i.e. Rogers sans monopoly) office that was definitely part of the post-9/11 world (i.e. airport-style security), we had lunch and visited the National Museum. This place was no Louvre, but it killed an hour and provided some shelter from the heat.
After spending a few hours trying to tie up some loose ends with our research, we excitedly set out for an Indian restaurant. Sima was so happy and of course planned to order butter chicken. Sal resolved to get the spiciest thing on the menu, which he ended up enjoying, but would soon regret. On the way there we saw the side of Kampala that had largely been hidden from us by our driver. We drove through a “Somali slum,” so-called because it is a magnet for Somali refugees. These people lived in refurbished shipping containers, selling their many wares in squalor. Although it was an upsetting sight, especially since we were off to a restaurant that would probably give us more delicious food than we could eat, what stood out was the resourcefulness of these people. Despite their poverty they were really living, and making do with what they had. We also encountered many children begging on the streets. Our driver told us they were all people from Gulu, who’d come South to Kampala during the war and from their IDP camps in search of jobs. He said that now, these kids we saw knew no life other than begging and had become accustomed to, not to mention quite good at, it. If you’re ever in Kampala, we’d advise you to plan ahead so you’ll be able to see more of the city than we were brought to.
For mother’s day, we went to Murchison Falls National Park, a trip Sima’s mother was really looking forward to. The drive was long, but the park was beautiful. We saw many baboons and warthogs. We took a boat ride along the river to the falls, and saw many hippos, crocodiles and an elephant. So incredibly beautiful! Then we stood above the falls and took pictures – a truly amazing sight. Pictures speak louder than words here. Check it out!
After a night in tents at the Red Chilli Hideaway, we were off to Gulu. We arrived two days ago and it’s a lot of fun. Sima’s mom made her first ultrasound presentation today and everyone was very impressed. Stay tuned for more details and pictures!
Day 8
On Friday we left the South-west district of Bushenyi. We had visited five centres across the district run by Compassion International and met amazing people. The project directors at most were so passionate and dedicated and really cared about the kids they were helping. And the kids were always so happy. These kids really were “the poorest of the poor” (this is an explicit requirement in their recruitment objectives) but the centres had given them a shot at living a normal life. Say what you will about the proper place of religion in humanitarian work, there’s no denying that these kids are better off irrespective of how they’re being helped and by whom.
Religion is actually one area in which Uganda is very different from (most of) Canada. Whereas religion is more of a private matter in Canada, here it precedes politics (and Ugandans are very political) as a topic of conversation. This has required some adjustment. The two of us are not opposed to religion in any way, but we’re also not comfortable with discussing our beliefs with strangers. That’s just part of our culture, and although we’d prefer to have discussions revolving around other matters, it seems that we have to get used to this.
Anyways, on Friday we decided to leave Bushenyi for Kampala – craving Indian food and excited to see a few places we’d read about in our Uganda guidebook before heading to Gulu. We had to take a 7 hour bus – and we were not only accompanied by street vendors, that would hop on at every stop selling anything from gum to grasshoppers (a delicacy!), but also by live chickens! We even made a friend who ended up talking to us for five hours…And although we were a little bit annoyed – Sima pretended to fall asleep halfway through the conversation – he ended up helping us find our driver in Kampala.
Kampala is not a tourist’s city. We woke up early on Saturday, and Sima and her mom were excited to “explore” even though Sal told them there was not much to do. We went to Gaddafi’s mosque, which was right across the street from our hotel. It is an absolutely massive building that costs a fortune to run. Needless to say, the staff were feeling uneasy about what’s up in Libya. After buying cell phones from an Airtel (i.e. Rogers sans monopoly) office that was definitely part of the post-9/11 world (i.e. airport-style security), we had lunch and visited the National Museum. This place was no Louvre, but it killed an hour and provided some shelter from the heat.
After spending a few hours trying to tie up some loose ends with our research, we excitedly set out for an Indian restaurant. Sima was so happy and of course planned to order butter chicken. Sal resolved to get the spiciest thing on the menu, which he ended up enjoying, but would soon regret. On the way there we saw the side of Kampala that had largely been hidden from us by our driver. We drove through a “Somali slum,” so-called because it is a magnet for Somali refugees. These people lived in refurbished shipping containers, selling their many wares in squalor. Although it was an upsetting sight, especially since we were off to a restaurant that would probably give us more delicious food than we could eat, what stood out was the resourcefulness of these people. Despite their poverty they were really living, and making do with what they had. We also encountered many children begging on the streets. Our driver told us they were all people from Gulu, who’d come South to Kampala during the war and from their IDP camps in search of jobs. He said that now, these kids we saw knew no life other than begging and had become accustomed to, not to mention quite good at, it. If you’re ever in Kampala, we’d advise you to plan ahead so you’ll be able to see more of the city than we were brought to.
For mother’s day, we went to Murchison Falls National Park, a trip Sima’s mother was really looking forward to. The drive was long, but the park was beautiful. We saw many baboons and warthogs. We took a boat ride along the river to the falls, and saw many hippos, crocodiles and an elephant. So incredibly beautiful! Then we stood above the falls and took pictures – a truly amazing sight. Pictures speak louder than words here. Check it out!
After a night in tents at the Red Chilli Hideaway, we were off to Gulu. We arrived two days ago and it’s a lot of fun. Sima’s mom made her first ultrasound presentation today and everyone was very impressed. Stay tuned for more details and pictures!
Glad to hear from you two. keep us up to date when you can, this is like reading a best seller.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have asked for a more special Mother's Day.
ReplyDeleteCruising the Nile with one of my daughters!!!
Thanks for making the day so memorable.