Blogs from Eastern Region, Uganda, Africa - page 8

Let me introduce you someone really special to me. Alien - a 3-years-old princess who cries the most and laughs the most of the whole family. She is one of 30 kids who live with us under the same roof. An orphanage can seem a sad place, but because of Alien it’s the most alive place on the earth. I have gotten used to calling her Princess. Why? Because even barefoot, sitting on the ground and playing with a stick she has a sort of elegant grace about her and above all she loves attention. She wants sweets, she wants to be carried, she wants to see everything and she wants to be hugged. If she doesn’t get what she wants – be careful – because she could scare the biggest lion in Africa with her ... read more

Off I went on my Jinja tour today which apparently included the source of the Nile however I had to pay my entrance fee seperately when I got there hmmmmm. not to worry I got refunded when I got back - I was sure of it! Jinja, the second largest town and industrial heart of Uganda is 80km from Kampala, here is found the source of the Nile! so Levi (my very friendly tour guide) and Silent Bob (my driver) took me on my trip to Jinja, first we headed over the Owen falls Dam which was my first ever glimpse of the Nile and it looked beautiful, I was really excited about visiting the source now. We drove through Jinja which looked like a mix of the wildwest and the Australian outback - it was ... read more

We took off from Kampala at around 14.00 on Monday the 17th. Covering the 80km to Jinja I supposed to take around 1h30min, but that is wishful thinking! It took us close to 2h30min, however I suppose that around that time there was a lot of traffic. We opted for the “minibus taxi” that leaves from the old taxi park in Kampala. I think those types of minivans are probably made to seat maximum 10 people, but the driver and his assistant pushed in close to 20. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride, however 4000Ush (approx. $2) per person is quite cheap. As I said the ride was uncomfortable and if I were anywhere in Europe I would probably have s*** myself from the reckless driving. But I thought to myself: “Your in Africa…live fast, die ... read more

Highlights: - Crispy chapatis from our local market - Getting allot of hugs from the babies and PCA kids - Visit to Jinga and having a Nile beer on the Nile - Witnessing an awesome hail storm which caused our local road to look like the river Nile - Watching and listening to the amazing performers from Ndere Centre ................................................... We have been in Kampala now for 6 weeks now but somehow it feels like we have been here forever. I know this as we have made several "friends" in the various local shops including the local market near our hotel. We have met Rion and Ivan who we term "the chapati boys" who we believe cook the best chapatis in Kampala. (A chapati for those who are not familiar is a flat bread fried in ... read more

"Mzungo" is what Africans call white people. It comes from a Kiswahili word which means "to move around in circles". I believe they coined it when there were a lot of Christian missionaries moving around in Kenyan, traveling from here to there. It is generally a positive term, and most places you go, the children will holler some sort of cheerful greeting, like "Jambo mzungo!" or " Mzungo bye-ie!" The last few weeks here have been full of different activities and learning opportunities. I want to recall a particular Sunday evening, which will remain burned in my memory forever. After arriving home from being gone during the day, Martha, who is not related to, but lives with Edith and David, informed us that there had been a bad accident just nearby where they live. Apparently a ... read more