The journey from the airport to the hotel gave me an opportunity to see a snapshot of everyday life in Uganda. My very first impression was the smell of dust which is very much like the smell when you open a bag of unwashed potatoes. Now that I have been here 2 days I don’t notice it anymore.
As we passed along the roads there were people everywhere, the children were walking to schools, adults were waiting for the Matatu. The matatu is a minibus that appears to be one of the main forms of transport for the general population.
The other main transport is the boda which is a scooter/motorbike used to take passengers. Some boda had up to 3 passengers on them. This is possible if everyone sits astride the vehicle but females using the boda usually sit side saddle. A variation on this is the bike boda which had the rear wheel cover strengthened so that a cushion fits onto it. The bike boda also seems to be used to transport anything heavy; I’ve seen sacks of rice, huge bundles of bananas, strips of wood or metal sometimes 10ft long, and water canisters several at a time.
Recycling is apparent in a big way although I suspect this is largely through need that choice. I’ve seen workshops where they strip down cars and lorries to sell on the parts, in one place you seemed to be able to purchase the whole front of a car. Probable quite good after a head on bump.
After few hours sleep to recover from the flight I decided to venture out into Kampala. The streets are very busy and the traffic is gridlocked coming into and going out from the city at the beginning and end of the day. The traffic moves quite slowly as there is so much of it – the matatu, boda, bike boda and pedestrians all jostling for a space on the road.
I’m surprised that I did not see any bumps as it was often centimetres between vehicles and pedestrians, but everyone seems to be very aware of other road users and actually it all moves very slowly which probably helps.
Street children were evident in some areas..
...when I spoke to some of the local people they said that the children were often brought into Kampala from outlying regions to beg. Because of this they felt that giving is probably best discouraged but it is very sad to see some youngsters about 6 years old sitting begging on the street or coming up and asking for money.
I was a bit stressed for a while when I tried to get some money from the bank. Our briefing pack said that ATMs are generally available, but not that the only card they take is VISA – and guess who had a MasterCard & Maestro card???? After visiting several banks and talking to their customer service departments I was advised that Barclays might take it which they did – but not through an ATM I had to pay for an international transaction or something along those lines. This had never been a problem before when travelling in Europe thee are widely accepted – but not further afield it seems.
Back at the hotel http://www.hoteltriangle.co.ug/ I had an in country briefing with Edward, who took me through all the main pints about the placement and the arrangements for the next day. He very helpfully took me through putting money on my phone which was a great help.
In the evening I tried to log on at the hotel. I thought I had problems with my laptop as I kept getting a message to say I was connected but obviously wasn’t. It seemed then that the internet was down for a couple of hours. The staff in reception were really helpful and phoned me to say that it was back on line.
My journey to Salem started at 9am on Tuesday. I was collected by a driver and we headed off toward Mbale. The road out of the city was very heavy with traffic again; some of the potholes were amazing. I’m sure I could have stood in them up to my knees, and one was right across the width of the road. I was impressed at how all the drivers skilfully navigated their way around them especially those with passengers precariously perched on the back. Soon we were on fairly clear and even road out towards Jinja. Jinja is known as the source of the Nile as this is where the water flows from Lake Victoria into the Victoria Nile. It is known for its white-water rafting by those seeking adventure. As we crossed the bridge the driver pointed out the hydro electric plant which is situated on the dam and which provides all the electricity for Uganda and also to some for neighbouring countries as well.
As we travelled along I also saw the sugar plantations, tea plantations, rice fields, and banana trees. Many of the new buildings that I saw were new schools provided by either religious groups or other charitable organisations. Some were very grand indeed which was not really the same as the other local schools.
When I got to Mbale at 1pm I was given a warm welcome by Vanessa the long term volunteer at Salem. We had some lunch and then got a private taxi to Salem which is just off the main road at Nakaloke. As I wwas dragging my suitacase along the bust street I’m sure a felt by bag being undone, but when I looked it was only the side pocket so I tucked it very tightly under my arm and prayed they hadn’t got anything else (which they hadn’t).
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