Blogs from Uganda, Africa
May 15th 2012
“The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you… so Abram left as the Lord had told him…”(Gen. 12:1&4) I love this scripture, and the one in Gen. 22:1-3, where Abraham was tested and asked to sacrifice Isaac. Verse 3 tells us that “Early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey…” Obedience in its truest sense!! Transition has been in our thought process for a while, as we have experienced God nudging us to take the trauma rehabilitation to other war-affected regions. However, thinking about it and obedience to it are two different extremes. God had recently made it very clear, however, that we were to take that great leap of faith into His more than capable arms and ... read more
Uganda - Kampala & Kabale with KIHEFO Week 1/2
Published: May 24th 2012Africa » Uganda » Western Region » Kabale
May 11th 2012
Hello everyone J So...I’m now in Africa! I’ve been slow (again!) with photos and updates because I’ve been behind with my Uni course, sorry! In my last update we were getting ready to leave Brisbane… in typical style it was pretty hectic which was good in a way because it stopped me from getting too emotional… L Tuesday 1st May - BRISBANE to MELBOURNE (Australia) and then onto DOHA (Qatar) We finished packing in the morning, not easy! I’d sent a lot home and to New Zealand but still had far too much. The challenge was packing for cold and warm climates (both in Uganda and back in Melbourne and New Zealand) and I wasn’t 100% sure on appropriate dress for Uganda – would vest tops be ok or would it need to be T-shirts? Gem ... read more
Kampala (Uganda) - Nairobi (Kenia) - Amsterdam
Published: May 7th 2012Africa » Uganda » Eastern Region
May 6th 2012
Omdat bakkerij Brood (uit Kampala) niet in Masaka bezorgt, ben ik na een paar dagen door Kampala gestruind te hebben teruggegaan richting Masaka (zie je wel Sanne, nu sta je er wel in :P). Er was weinig veranderd, nog steeds was de helft ziek (nu zelfs zo erg dat ze ter observatie naar het ziekenhuis moesten). Na een weekendje ziekenbezoek waren ze me wel weer zat, en was het tijd om een tijdje op een tropisch palmenstrand op de Ssese Eilanden in Lake Victoria te gaan zitten. De route was vrij eenvoudig: ga in een minibus zitten, rij een uur, vaar met busje en al over, rij nog 2 uur en ga op strand zitten. Helaas was het regenseizoen nu aardig losgebarsten (gelukkig buien van een paar uur, niet de hele dag regen), en had de ... read more
April 29th 2012
Try as I might I have not found anyone who can translate ‘thank you for having me’ into Luganda. People look puzzled. It was eventually explained to me (after it had become quite apparent) that there is no gratitude that you should show your host in Baganda culture. The emphasis is on the host to show gratitude. For a Bugandan, when a visitor first comes to your home you say you are pleased to see them (whatever you think of them), give permission for them to enter and the command them to sit. Command is an important part of Luganda, it has its own tense and forms a large part of everyday speech, which initially comes across to Brits used to asking everything. Then follows the introductions, a series of questions in which you ascertain that ... read more
Long time without posting a new blog...
Published: April 15th 2012Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Masaka » BinyobiryaApril 15th 2012
Monday, March 19th to Sunday, March 25th This week we'll have some visitors this means that we'll have lots of good food. The visitors from the Netherlands will stay with us and the British visitors will stay nearby. The whole week we had good food and a great variety too. By the end of the week we needed two tables! Wednesday, Machiel and I went to Masaka to work from there. Both of us needed power and usually it is available in Masaka. First, we went to Bukomansimbi to find a shared taxi. They are cheaper when you travel by yourself or with two people. A shared taxi is a normal sized car with 5 seats. Here you squeeze 4 people in the back and 4 people in the front. Luckily we saw a small bus ... read more
April 15th 2012
(ja, ik weet het.. ER ZIT EEN VLEK OP M'N CAMERA! :P Nouja, in m'n camera, en hij gaat niet meer weg..) Omdat alle veerboten tussen Tanzania en Oeganda òf gezonken zijn, òf liggen te verroesten aan de kade, en de nieuwe high-tech catamaran nog aan het proefvaren is in Oeganda, was de enige optie om Lake Victoria over te komen de MV Victoria, een boot die al 50 jaar op Lake Victoria vaart, totaan Bukoba, aan de grens met Oeganda. Geleerd van de regen-ellende in Malawi deze keer toch maar een hut genomen, al duurt de overtocht hier maar 1 nachtje, en geen 3. Moet zeggen dat ie het na 50 jaar nog prima doet. Het hotel boven op de berg in Bukoba had een prachtig uitzicht over het stadje en de haven.. kunnen hebben, ... read more
Kampala: Hot and Dusty and Full of Ugly Birds!
Published: April 10th 2012Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala
April 8th 2012
Kampala was full of ugly birds. They wandered around parks with their long spindly legs and scrawny necks and sometimes even gathered in trees. As well as being ugly they were also massive. Marabou Storks were the biggest birds I had ever seen in my life. Seven of the hideous things were sat in a tree just near my hotel and a couple more were wandering about below it. They looked like they had been living rough for a month and now needed a damned good wash. Their heads were the worst part, bald and covered in red blotches with a dirty great beak at the front. If ever there was a less glamorous bird to be seen, then I would be interested in seeing it. Suddenly one flapped its gigantic wings and it was like ... read more
April 5th 2012
In the last seven days we have had the privilege of being invited in the lives of so many amazing people, young and old to assist us in our journey of our documentary. From playing with small children to providing leadership tools to girls and young women, and hearing the trials and triumphs of women and their views about the future. Tia and I have had endless conversations in the last week about our experiences, at times so overwhelming. We have traveled thousands of kms, taken various flights, been in a number of cars, and walked on a few dirt paths, been on a couple scary evening motorcycle rides, and had quite a few unbelievable conversations that have moved us. Almost everyone we have met (both rich and poor) has lost at least one family member ... read more
April 1st 2012
There is no question that I knew that running this journey on such a tight schedule would be challenging both personally and professionally.In the last few days not only has my body been adjusting to time change and diet change (yup we’ve pretty much been eating the same food -eggs and stale toast for breakfast, beans, rice, and greens for lunch and dinner) but we are also working within a system that is much different than our own. Trying to gain answers to questions that do not belong to a system or neighbour’s advice is challenging enough but add a language barrier and we are having to get pretty creative in putting all the information together. At same time the laughter, smiles and community are so beautiful. Each place we go in the world will be ... read more
March 29th 2012
We’ve made it! After a 9 hour flight from Vancouver and San Diego Tia and I met in London for our seven hour lay over to Entebbe. Plenty of time to catch up and check in about our journey. Even with a seven hour lay over we ended up having to run to make our flight (to add a little excitement) We arrived at 745am on Wednesday morning in Entebbe and were met by Dan our coordinator for this part of the trip thanks to Jane from Stratosphere International. Jane mentioned to me a few months ago there would be some girls from York House in Vancouver going to Ibanda, where Dan was born, to assist the school/children in building a library. Since I know what often happens when people do volunteer initiatives overseas (foreigners giving ... read more
