June 23 - 25 (erin)

Friday, June 23



Carli left for Kampala in the morning so I “pushed her off” as they say. Then I went on one last outreach with Timothy, luckily it was in Masaka. We went to a school to check up on a boy that was getting his school fees sponsored by USDC. What a strange school. There were boys guarding the entrance which was a big gate locked with a chain. We had to enter by ducking through a small door in the gate. There was only one teacher in sight and no one knew where the headmaster was. The students were all milling about, some still in their dorms. Weird. Anyway, the boy we met with was very friendly and had a good spirit. He has a problem with his legs and cannot walk but he gets around quite well by crawling. He was probably 15 or so and he had knee pads on his knees and used flip flops on his hands. He had a wheelchair to get to and from school.



The wheelchairs here are definitely worth describing. They are fashioned with bicycle parts and there are many people around town with them. There are two wheels attached to the sides of the chair and one in front. The pedals and chain are used as a hand crank to turn the wheels and the seat is usually just hard wood or sometimes a plastic chair attached to wood pieces (no cushion). There are a lot of people with very visible and very severe physical disabilities but from what I’ve noticed is that they are not discriminated against in schools or in town. Perhaps I have just not been here long enough or been in the right place to see negative attitudes. It’s probably worse in the villages where children don’t get to go to school because there is only enough $ to send able-bodied kids to school. Some people with misformed legs and feet get around by wrapping their leg around a big sturdy stick and using it as a type of crutch. Quite amazing how people get by.



The previous day, Carli and I had bought enough cinnamon buns for all the students at the vocational school and so on Friday I bought 70 sodas and we took them to the school along with some clothes we were donating. The plan was to discreetly drop the stuff off as a surprise but Timothy wanted to make a big production out of it. He gathered all the students and we all ate and drank together and they said a big thank you to Carli and I. He even made me say something. Why do people continually force me to speak in front of large groups? Is it some form of Ugandan torture? Anyway, it ended up being a nice time and they said they were very happy. Then they distributed the clothes to the girls and some pencils and pencil crayons one by one, by one, by one…



After, I had posho and beans with the staff and then did more errands in town with USDC. Finally I got home! I really felt like I needed some exercise and it was a really nice day after so much rain so Jen and I played badminton in the front until the birdie got stuck on the roof and it killed our fun. When Chandra got home we got ready to go for dinner at Chris and Nora’s (bank manager). Junior dropped by to charge his phone as there is no power in Tekera and Jen’s pal Richard also stopped by (he has the worst timing really) and so they two boys walked us to our dinner destination.



Oh my goodness, dinner was so fantastic. There were so many dishes that there was no room on the table for our plates! It is more food than we even have at our Christmas dinners. And the food actually resembled things that we eat at home including sauces with spices and everything! It was so good. Afterwards, Chandra and Jen went to the Tropic Inn for another exciting night of dancing. I had an evening to myself…sort of. Basically all I did was go to bed. But some nights I am just so excited to sleep!



Saturday, June 24



I set off early to Kampala all by myself. I’m getting very brave. I walked into town to the taxi park. I wanted to board a coaster (medium sized bus) but they were all empty and since they don’t leave until they are full I might have been sitting there for awhile. The taxi recruiter people convinced me there was room on the matatu that was just leaving. Well there wasn’t really room but I squished in anyway. I was stuck between two seats that were different sizes so my body was all twisted up. Most uncomfortable two hours ever. Dr. Carole come fix me! But otherwise the ride was rather uneventful…which for me is a good thing…I’m not complaining.



The taxi park in Kampala however, is another story. What I didn’t know is that the matatu pulls into this huge parking lot and squishes it’s way into a line of other matatus…so we’re amidst (no exaggeration) a hundred identical looking taxis. When I stepped out I didn’t know what to do or which direction to go but I was afraid to stop and look lost so I just kept walking and pretended to look like I knew where I was going. Somehow I made my way out to the street. I was still too afraid of stopping for fear of my bag being stolen so I kept walking. Eventually I realized I would have to cross a street which in Kampala, is no easy feat and it’s very dangerous (just ask Carli). But I figured it would be safest to get to the gas station so I just tried to walk when others walked. There are absolutely no rules of the road here, it’s just best to not look really. Pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way.



While I was waiting at the petrol station for Charles to pick me up it started to rain, actually it was just a drizzle, but oh how the people ran! It was quite funny, the entire gas station was filled with people, even where the pumps were. A guard had to clear the way to let a car get gas. So there were some guys that came and stood next to me under the overhang. Two of them looked suspicious and I’m pretty sure that when I bent over they opened one of the pockets of my bag and stole my MP3 player as I discovered it missing later on. That was annoying, but here you learn that things are just things and there’s much more important things to be upset over. And you learn what to do and what not to do in Kampala pretty quickly!



The rest of the day was busy doing stuff for USDC. Taking the truck into the repair shop, taking a computer part to head office, photocopying etc. We taxi’d around in different matatus so it was kind of fun. We even saw a female matatu conductor which is not only rare but basically unheard of. Earlier on in the week I saw the only female taxi driver in Masaka as well which is a really big deal because women don’t often drive in Masaka. Come to think of it I’ve never seen a female taxi driver in Vancouver.



I went to Shoprite to buy some groceries for me and the girls. We even had a boda driver get contact solution from another branch to bring to us because they had run out. What service. You wouldn’t see that happen at home for sure. And I saw President Musevni drive by in his motorcade. They don’t drive by slowly like they would for our Prime Minister or the Queen. They speed by with police cars in front and behind and you’re lucky if you catch a glimpse of him.



Sunday June 25



I arrived home in time to go with Jen and Chandra to visit our friend Louise’s family home. It was a long drive into cattle country in the West. Her mother is caring for 11 orphaned children most of whom are from Rwanda. A lot of her family members were slaughtered in the genocide. Louise is helping to build a new house to hold all the children because there are only two beds in the home they have. They make money through their cattle. We learned that they are breeding English cows (the black and white ones) with local cattle (brown with huge horns) to get the best of both breeds. The local cattle survive well in the heat eating dry grasses and the English cattle give more milk. So it was funny to see our black and white cows with huge horns on them!



Louise’s mother cooked us a freshly slaughtered chicken (which I luckily hadn’t met beforehand) and matooke. The local chickens are very tough and I felt like a real carnivore ripping it apart with my teeth. Only because I was starving and knew it would be a while before I would get other food that I was able to chew the bones clean. Never again. I swear I will become a vegetarian again when I get home to make up for all of this meat eating. At least the animals here are free range and don’t take hormones or antibiotics.



We left one of Mike’s soccer balls, some tennis balls and children’s toothbrushes for the kids. The ride home was torturous for me because I had a bad migraine. And Nasser only has one tape that he plays over and over and over…

“…I’m not an actor, I’m not a star…I don’t even have my own car;

But I’m still hoping that you will stay, that you will love me anyway…”

It’s growing on us. Chandra and I can sing along now. I will always remember Ben’s comment on the National Park trip: “How come when the music comes over to Africa, all the good stuff gets filtered out?”