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Published: August 1st 2012
Drew, Hannah and I
Our first crossing of the equator, on our way to KIHEFO in Kabale.Hi all,
It’s just less than 2 months since I left Uganda on 3
rd of June… and I’m now on my final Uganda update...
Thursday 31st May – GULU to KAMPALA continued
We arrived into Gulu after the drive back from Kidepo Valley National Park and had to find somewhere to spend the night. We went straight to the Alcholi Ber Country Hotel and they had room (they’d been full when we’d tried a couple of weeks ago). This was the only hotel I’d managed to find information on before arriving in Uganda so it was nice to finally stay there. It’s nice, not as modern and plush as Bomah but if I hadn’t stayed at Bomah I’d think the Alcholi Ber was absolutely brilliant, and it was about half the price (roughly £10 a night). We chilled out for a while then went to Coffee Hut which was nice, although all I wanted was chips and coke. The 5 of us (Drew, Hugh, Becky, Moses and I) had a great chat reminiscing about our ‘adventure’ to Kidepo and just talking about life in general. I was feeling under pressure back in the room because it seemed like
Lillian and Enouk
Our lovely guide and driver who looked after us so well in Kabale. I had so much to do; uploading photos, writing blog, Uni work and photo-shopping most of my pictures to get rid of the dust in the lens. I finally realised I was being ridiculous and got off to sleep.
Friday 1st June – GULU to KAMPALA
The drive to Gulu could take between 4 – 6 hours and we had been going to stop off at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which is attempting to rebuild the Ugandan population of Rhinos because they’d been wiped out. We decided not to go so spent the journey chatting and looking at the scenery. Hugh drove very carefully (although sometimes at 45 degrees off the side of the road to avoid the buses and lorries (we’d got used to that on the drive to and from Kidepo) because accidents are common in Uganda. The driving is erratic and there are so many people and boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) on the road to contend with.
Anyway we were not far from Karuma Bridge with its beautiful waterfalls. We knew we were close when we saw a random baboon in the road. On the approach Drew needed a bush pee and we reluctantly
Drew and Hannah.
Hard at work painting the medical centre with KIHEFO. let him out... We drove on and stopped for a break in Migyera at a nice café called Hotel Mamba. It’s worth knowing if you need to break up the journey between Gulu and Kampala.
Once back in Kampala the traffic was crazy! It took a while to get to Garden City where we stopped for some lunch, a look in the shops and then sat in the rooftop bar to wait for Hugh and Becky’s pharmacist friend (who they hadn’t been able to see in Gulu because he was on a course). It was really nice up there, a nice view. The pharmacist was pleased with the items Hugh and Becky had for him, especially the tablet counter that was waiting in Gulu Hospital (the HIV clinic 250 patients a day, 30 news patients every week). As the sun went down the bats came out! They’re not as big as the fruit bats in Australia but still weirdly fascinating. George and his friends arrived for dinner but Drew and I didn’t go so we had some drinks and waited for them. Once they were done we left George and his friends to their night and set off home
Drew, Hannah and I with lovely family...
...we visited on our rural visit with KIHEFO. after dropping off the pharmacist friend at the hotel Hugh and Becky had arranged for him (he’d had his phone stolen when he’d got off his bus so couldn’t contact the people he needed to). On the drive home we had an unpleasant experience with some people apparently chasing us on boda bodas but that's another story... the learning is don't travel around a big city at night with a car obviously filled with stuff (i.e. our luggage).
In some ways I was thankful it happened right at the end of our time in Uganda. It's not just in Uganda that this happens, so many countries have the problem (you read the foreign office advice for the likes of Peru, Brazil and even the USA). I resolved that when I come again (or go anywhere similar) I will not visit as part of a round the world trip because it meant I had too much stuff with me. We starting watching Along Came Polly to help us all calm down J
Saturday 2nd June – KAMPALA
I slept well, surprising myself considering the events of last night. I was even first up and had a nice breakfast
with George. I’d woken up with a random rash, just a small bluey purpley triangle shaped rash (Moses and George later had had a look and didn’t recognise it as being something serious). The plan was to head into the city but in the end I realised I had so so much planning and Uni work to do. For a start I had no idea what I was going to do once back in Australia (because we’d moved our flights I had nearly 3 weeks spare before I could fly to New Zealand) and I didn’t have any accommodation for my first night in Melbourne, a must do as I arrived late at night and would be knackered. So Drew stayed home with me and we spent the day sorting, I did some Uni work and we watched our last African sunset of the trip.
George, Hugh and Becky got home at 8.30pm laden with massive delicious pizzas! Moses arrived and we all watched Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. We didn’t go to bed too late as we had a long long day of travelling ahead of us.
Sunday 3rd June – KAMPALA to ENTEBBE AIRPORT to DOHA (Qatar)
It was leaving day today. For Drew and I this meant not only saying bye to Uganda, but also to each other; he was going back to England and I was going to Melbourne. We’d had a good sleep and spent the morning re-packing for our flights. I was expecting that to be a horrendous mission but it didn’t go too badly! It was almost as if I’d lost some stuff but I think I still have it all! We all (George, Moses, Jen, Hugh, Becky, Drew and I) headed into the city for lunch. We went to a lovely restaurant called Le Chateau where I had salad because I thought it would be safe there. If not I’d be in trouble on my flights! We said bye to Jen and then to Moses which I was really sad about. He’s such a decent lovely guy and we’d had such fun and adventures with him, he’d looked after us really well.
I enjoyed that last drive out to the airport, remembering the last time when I’d been a nervous wreck dropping Hannah off. I’d definitely learned to calm down on the trip - I was half relieved to
be leaving (so I could stop feeling nervous) and half sad to be doing so (Ugandan is just so amazing). Hugh and Becky were pushing it a bit to make their flight, I’d have been freaking out if I was them but they stayed calm. We all had to empty out of the truck to be searched before entering the airport complex then George parked up and helped us with our bags to the terminal entrance. We had to say bye to him at the terminal entrance because only passengers are allowed. I was sad because George is incredible. He’s such a clever, compassionate fun man and we’d learned so much from him, he’d welcomed us into his home and he looked after us so well. Drew and I were incredibly grateful to him for taking us on such a journey. On entering the terminal they asked if we had any firearms in our bags. I always find this so random, if you did would you tell anyone?! Or maybe you’re allowed to take them through…you just have to declare them. We had to have our luggage scanned before we could go through to check in and as we were
Rwandan mountain gorilla!
My first glimpse of the silverback! in the queue we heard the boarding call for Hugh and Becky’s flight. They hadn’t even checked in yet! So they rushed through and were allowed to check in for their flight. We had to say a very quick bye to them before Drew and I checked in and went to get something to eat (Samosas, bit of a staple for us in Uganda) and do some last minute shopping. I only bought postcards which I’d been looking for the whole time in Uganda but hadn’t found any that weren’t terrible. These were nice ones; I’d just have to write them quickly so Drew could post them in England.
The flight from Entebbe to Doha was about 5 hours and we were initially sat next to a nice Congolese guy who had lived in Canada for years but had been back to the Congo to decide if he wanted to move his family back. He went to sit elsewhere because there was plenty of space on the plan and we settled down to a nice dinner – I had fish and vegis – whilst I finished ‘Long Way Down’ so Drew could take it home with him (it was
really good to read it whilst in Africa) and quickly wrote my postcards (hope people have now got them…’Drew Post’ seems to be slower than Royal Mail if that’s possible. Also think I’d had a wine by then so apologies if they don’t make sense). We decided we’d watch a film together so once I’d finished Friends and Drew had finished Red Dwarf we put Safe House on. It was quite good, I was impressed with Drew who managed to pause and restart it perfectly in time if one of us needed to get up for any reason. There was quite a bit of turbulence and I had to help keep Drew calm. It was making me nervous too but I didn’t want to let on to Drew so just drank more wine. That wasn’t the best idea as it made me very emotional!
I was sad because Drew was leaving (I’d really miss him, especially after having his company every day for 6 months) and because he was flying back to England and would be seeing my friends and family before me. I knew my lovely Mum and Dad were likely to go to the airport to meet
Drew with Ronald and Drake.
A nice evening at home with KIHEFO him and his flight was only short so I was thinking ‘in 8 hours or so you’ll see my Mum and Dad’. I wanted to get on the plane to England with him! We spent an hour together in Doha airport and had something to eat before I had to go and get my flight to Melbourne (Drew had another couple of hours to wait for his flight to London). It was horrible saying bye so we’ll just gloss over it! I’ll just tell you that I was so emotional that I got asked to get off the bus transferring passengers from the terminal to the plane. How embarrassing is that?!!! They said “can you step off the bus please miss” and I said “are you taking me off the plane” and they said “no, we just want to make sure you’re ok”. They were relieved I was upset because I’d just said bye to someone, they thought I was upset because with them for taking my empty water bottles off me before leaving the terminal. I should have played on that, I actually wasn’t happy they’d taken EMPTY bottles off me – what harm can they do? The only
The lovely twins who we know as Vanessa and Purity
I'm now a proud sponsor with Hannah and Anthony's Mum Maria. comfort in the whole saga was that they referred to me as a “miss”!
Anyway, I was allowed on the plane. The stewardess kindly helped me with my bags because I was in a jumble (they are so so lovely on Qatar, I’m glad they won ‘Worlds Best Airline’ for a second year running, they’re such good value for money) and I eventually got to my seat by the window. I was sat next to a nice young girl from Melbourne called Sarah who was just what I needed because she was so bright and cheerful. We had a nice but spicy snack and settled down to watch the entertainment. I was feeling surprisingly ok considering but as soon as it got bumpy I had to take a tablet. There were plenty of spare seats so Sarah asked if I’d mind if she moved to the next set of 3, I didn’t because it meant I could lie down and sleep (she still came to eat meals with me bless her)! I did sleep a lot in between watching Young Adult (thought it was a terrible film) and Contraband (a bit better).
So that was Uganda. It’s now
been almost two months since I left and I still miss it incredibly and my heart aches painfully at all the injustice I saw both there and in Rwanda. It’s been hard to adjust to life back in the Western world and reconcile the lives of those people with ours. How do you make sense of coming face to face with sick starving children, the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide, seeing a young adult with no legs and one arm because the LRA chopped off the arm and shot him in the legs, or a young child with burn scars covering one side of their body? And at the same time deal with the ‘lump in your throat’ emotions when you see such kindness, generosity, determination and hope in so many people’s eyes. I’ve spent a lot of time feeling guilty about my life, when I spend money or treat myself to something I kept thinking how much further it could go in Uganda. I know Hannah and Drew have struggled as well, it was good for me to go back to Brisbane and stay with Hannah (next update!) so we could talk through it all properly but I feel
for Drew who’s such an emotional soul and hasn’t been able to sit down with anyone who really does understand.
In the end I got things into perspective and got back my belief in balance. I wasn’t born there, I don’t live their life, I’m lucky. I think they’re lucky too in many ways, because they live in a beautiful country and live a peaceful, self-sufficient existence. I’ve often thought how nice it would be for us to take a step back in time and live as we all once did, simply off the land without the rat race of modern life. It’s easy for me to say that when I’ve never wanted for anything, have never known what it’s like to be REALLY hungry or without electricity and running water. All any of us can do is remember to appreciate what we have and focus on the positive and practical things (however small they are) we can do to help people who are less fortunate than us, at home and away.
I’m lucky to be in a position to help. I’m absolutely committed to KIHEFO (
http://www.kihefo.org/), who we spent our first three weeks with. I’m now a
proud sponsor of the two twin girls we met in Kabale (were malnourished after being abandoned by their family) alongside Hannah and Anthony’s Mum Maria. Between us we’re not providing all of the funds needed to cover their costs (they’re expensive as youngsters!) but every little bit helps. As soon as I’m home and have a decent job (fingers crossed) I’ll think about how I can help fund the fresh water supply for the community we visited.
Drew is currently in the process of setting up a charity that we can use to legitimately collect any donations we receive. Hannah is going to do the same in Australia. It’s not just about money though. The biggest thing is awareness so anything anyone can do to help spread the word is great. We also need to get some contacts in the medical community…so if anyone knows anyone who’d like to offer their skills to Uganda let us know! Any help can also be as simple as sharing the messages, clicking ‘Like’ on KIHEFO’s links, following them on Twitter or encouraging anyone who wants to know more to contact Drew, Hannah or I. Or KIHEFO directly.All this will be to support
the work of KIHEFO and our lovely friends Hugh, Becky and George (
http://outreachuganda.blogspot.co.nz/) who are all amazing, really know their stuff and deserve all the credit for inspiring Drew and I into going to Uganda in the first place. And for being such brilliant people to spend time with. It’s so fantastic that Hugh has been rewarded for his efforts by being selected to run with the Olympic Torch in Nottingham.
The bottom line is that these people need some support. It’s not about hand-outs. It’s about a helping hand so they can sustain themselves financially. We are all human beings and the only difference is where we were each born.
If anyone has any questions or wants any additional information on KIHEFO or Uganda (including gorilla treks and safaris) let me know. If you don't have my contact details, you can contact me through Travelblog.
Miss you all.
Xx
ODD BITS OF INFORMATION I'VE READ AND OBSERVATIONS I'VE MADE
· There are billboards throughout Kampala warning against the risks of HIV/AIDs.
Links to:
KIHEFO Week 1
http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Western-Region/Kabale/blog-718870.html KIHEFO Week 2
http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Western-Region/Kabale/blog-719553.html Saying Bye to KIHEFO
http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Western-Region/Kabale/blog-722894.html Gulu Part 1
http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Northern-Region/blog-728531.html Gulu Part 2
http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Uganda/Northern-Region/blog-729040.html NOTE: I use these updates to capture my memories and share what I'm doing on my travels with friends, family and anyone who’s interested enough to read. The views are my own and I try my best to ensure any information I share is fair and accurate but I do sometimes get things wrong. I welcome any feedback so I can make improvements and corrections for future readers. Thank you.
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