The Low-Down on Uganda

(Kitchen in a Home in Munoko )


The Smell


Uganda has its own smell. When we first got off of the plane, the air smell fresh and cool. The airport was located outside of Entebbe so it was in a rural area with not much around. As we approached the city of Kampala the air became thick with pollution and a potpourri of undescribable smells. The cars/taxis in Uganda still run on leaded gas so you can see the black smoke coming out of the tail pipes. Ugandans literally have fires burning everywhere. Since most of them do not have electricity or gas(even in the city), they must use the fires for cooking and everything else. What they use to burn in the fires, I do not know…it smells similar to burnt garbage. It can be pretty overwhelming walking thru an area with lots of fires burning at once.

The Water

When we were working on Cissy’s house, there were homes in close proximity to one another. Since most Ugandans do not have running water they must fetch water in yellow jugs to use…yes, even in the city. In most cases, the water that they are fetching is full of bacteria. Because there isn’t running water, there are serious sanitation issues. Not only is there a lot of garbage but there is human waste that is not being disposed of properly. It is not surprising that there is so much disease. Even in our nice home in Kampala, the water is unsafe to drink. We shower with it but do not brush our teeth with it. We have large jugs of water to drink from. When preparing food, it feels strange washing your hands and washing off food under the faucet with water that is unsafe to drink.?? Purell hand sanitizer has become my best friend.

The Food

Honestly, we have had pretty descent food in Kampala. I have brought lots of snacks. I’m not big on cereal so I just eat a granola bar every morning. The milk comes in bags. We have had a lot of boiled eggs. They also serve African tea which consists of tea, milk and ginger…some people really love it, I prefer my coffee so I’m glad I packed some for the trip. We’ve had pasta and potatoes…nothing too crazy. Sivlia and I actually made Mexican food last night (Flo would be proud). We made Picadillo meat (sp?) with tortas and rice, guacamole and salsa. Everyone devoured it. For lunch, we are usually are not home so everyone makes a pb&j sandwiches…I actually packed those on-the-go tuna meals with a power bar and I’m good. I eat enough pb&j at home! On the road, there are lots of mini-markets with food stands selling fresh vegetables and such…maybe a cut-up pig, or grilled meat on a stick....not sure what the meat is but I’ve heard it is good. I had sugar cane the other day…its not bad.



( Facilities) (Goat)

Going Potty

Without going into too much detail, going potty can be tricky and yucky at the same time. We have regular bathroom facilities at the house. However, everywhere else has just a hole in the floor or ground. So it’s imperative that you bring toilet paper or something to wipe with when you leave the house. There have been situations when we were out in the rural areas that it was easier squatting over the near-by bush than in the actual potty hole due to the number of flies and the goat next to you that is heckling you the whole time…its funky stuff folks.

The Electricity/Technology

You’ve got to love technology. We all brought our laptops, video recorders, cameras, ipods, and so on. Well…when the electricity goes out for 48 hours for no apparent reason, we all go into a pre-tech time warp…all of the batteries die out and can’t be recharged. We just heard that all of Uganda was unable to use the internet also. So we are struggling to find something to do with ourselves when it gets dark. We all have candles and flashlights but it gets to be a real bummer not being able to communicate with anyone back home…yes, we’re spoiled. Hopefully, the power will be on when we get home.

(Road?)

Transportation

One word...Crazy. There are no rules for driving. The bodas (motorcyle taxis) weave in and out of traffic. Most don't wear helmets or have headlights at night. The taxi vans drive at warp speed. There are many round-abouts where you drive around in a circle and hope you can turn off on your street. The streets are kind of paved in the city but there are many ruts. Once you leave the city, the roads begin to get worse and may only be partially paved and become dirt in the rural areas...sometimes you wonder if it is a road at all. There are no street lights and their heaviest traffic is in the evening. You just have to hold on and pray!

(Cute Boy)

The Most Important, The People

Ugandans are grateful, kind people. They are very touchy feely. They love to hug and hold hands with you. They will try to bow to you on their knees when showing their gratitude. The kids love Mzungos (non-Ugandans). They are usually smiling from ear to ear with their eyes wide open, full of joy…that is if they are not sick. They love sweets like all kids do. Many of the people in the group brought soccer balls and tennis balls to give to the kids. I brought some frizbees. They love to look at their picture in our cameras or video recorders. The kids love to play with us and its amazing how they will follow us from house to house. Sometimes they will even run after the bus for a mile down the road. It is so fun to be with the kids…they are all so adorable and huggable even when they are dirty from head to toe:)

(Running after the Bus)