Blogs from Kampala, Central Region, Uganda, Africa - page 43

“RROOWW!” “HARRD” “HARRDERR!” Panic sinking in, nine oars thrusting into the foamy, white, roaring water, we row for our lives right into the thick of a Grade 5 rapid, and the impending doom that I somehow seemed to get a front-seat view of, stupidly volunteering to go up front. It’s fair to say I’m well and truly bricking it! “RRROOOWWW!” “HHHHAARRRDDDERR!!!” The noise is deafening, we’re drowning in the raft with 12ft mountains and valleys of gurgling water all around us. Rocking about in a washing machine, we all row as hard as possible into nature in its most powerful expression. Extreme chaos. An aqua-hurricane. Then, with a simple parting of waves, we see it, the G-Spot, the heart of the rapid and a huge hole with no visible escape, surrounded on all sides by 5m ... read more

I've finally found some time in an internet cafe.... I'm having a very challenging time, but I have to say it's the best holiday I've ever had. The people here are so welcoming and friendly, although for so many their living conditions are appalling. On Sunday afternoon, we went round the slums where some of the children at the centre live - and it's heartbreaking to see their homes and environment - I freely admit I was in tears. But they are not downhearted - amazingly they are happy, and they were delighted to see us and gather round us..... Phew! We went out Saturday and Monday to get the 160 shoes from the Bata factory in Kampala for the neediest children who live at the hostel - and yesterday we gave out the girls's shoes ... read more

FYI: I will be periodically posting pictures on my yahoo site in a folder cleverly titled "Uganda" http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/leslie_628/my_photos I arrived in Entebbe, Uganda on June 28, coincidentally my 28th birthday, which I celebrated the previous weekend while in London. Some quick background: I am here for 3 months working on a USAID/ JSI (http://www.jsi.com/JSIInternet) Project called UPHOLD (Uganda Program for Holistic & Human Development - http://www.upholduganda.org). It’s a five-year project that ends in September 2007, which supports education, health and HIV/AIDS interventions and programs throughout 29 districts in Uganda. I am working in the M&E (monitoring & evaluation) department. My terms of reference are pretty wide and we are still discussing the specifics of my responsibilities but generally speaking my responsibilities are: revising and editing survey materi... read more

Well we made it to uganda after a very interesting bus experience. Apparently in Africa they don't give you directions, they just unload you off the bus in the middle of the night and drive away! Luckily we were able to follow the people in front of us because otherwise we would have never found our way! We're now in a small town outside of Kampala called Entebbe working at the Uganda Wildlife and Education Centre. It's a really neat place because they have created a zoo, but entirely from animals that were orphaned or rescued from poachers. It's much hotter here than in Nairobi. We're sleeping on top of our sleeping bags because it's way too hot to sleep inside. I couldn't even imagine what their summers are like because it's winter here right now ... read more

It seems an age since our training at Sheffield, and yet it was only last weekend! Once back at school I've been submerged in rehearsals for our production of 'Oliver!' but have made good use of internet shopping for my Ugandan flag, wind up radio and several bottles of mosquito repellent. Still chuckling over 'DOOM'- the name of the mossie spray that Link give us! Yikes! Another weekend has passed, we're into the final month count down...... read more