Blogs from Kampala, Central Region, Uganda, Africa - page 3

Wanted: A guide to Kampala historical buildings I started the trip in Uganda in Hoima and worked my way back to Kampala from there. However, many places in Uganda can be seen as day trips or excursions from Kampala. One place I saw as a day trip from Kampala was Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a wildlife reserve dedicated to preserve rhinoceros aka rhinos. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is not far from Hoima where I was the first two days I was in Uganda. I therefore thought about seeing it while I was in Hoima. But the lack of public transport between Hoima and Ziwa and the condition of the roads made it much easier to visit the rhino sanctuary from Kampala. Rhinos all over the world are hunted for their horns. The horns are sold for a higher ... read more

My intro note : the challenge with writing a joint blog, in particular for these first two weeks, is that we have had individual and shared experiences of joy and sadness. I hope that what we write conveys that feeling. There will be one or two items of duplication along the way, and difference in writing style. And so to my first day away from Jane and the medical team. An easy introduction for the build team with a walk into town to buy some material for our 'African' themed dinner next week. Simon, our Mission Direct staff team leader took us on a brief tour of the town, and to the market, which was an attack on the senses, in particular, the butchers section. It more portrayed a scene from a horror film and would ... read more

Kampala. The second half of the course was based here, so over six weeks I got to know it pretty well. We were studying at Mulago hospital, an institution famous throughout Uganda and beyond. Anyone who’s seen the film Last King of Scotland should recognise it. A sprawling assortment of imposing 70s towerblocks, official capacity of 1500 beds, bursting with maybe 2500 inpatients. Buildings stretched far beyond what they were ever designed to handle, staffed by people doing far more than can reasonably be expected of them. By the time we left, some of the interns had apparently not been paid for three months. To call it a challenging environment doesn’t even begin to do it justice, but it was a privilege to study here. Kampala itself split opinion in the group. Some people hated it ... read more

Before travelling out to Uganda, Vanessa had to do 2 weeks of Africa School. This consisted of everything she would need to know before working in a Ugandan Hospital. 2 days of the course was ‘security training’, which I was invited to attend the second day, which was led by Big Dave. The course ran through everything we would need to know about being safe in an African country - what to do in the event of a mugging, hijack of a car, being arrested or being kidnapped. The day was full of scenarios and group exercises for us to think about what to do certain circumstances. Was funny watching Ness pretending to be a hijacker, using a rolled up piece of paper as a weapon and shouting at a fellow paediatrician to get out of ... read more

Hello all, Almost a year to the day since we left Uganda, Drew and I were heading back! We spent 6 or so weeks there last year, making many friends and experiencing first-hand the needs of the amazing people that live in such a beautiful yet disadvantaged part of our world. It was tough, physically and emotionally, but we left compelled to do what we could to support the communities we met. The reasons for their disadvantage are complex and whilst we knew we might not be able to change the world, we thought we could try to help some people – every little bit helps! On the 1 May 2012 Drew, his sister Hannah and I left Australia for Uganda. We spent our first few weeks with the Kigezi Healthcare Foundation (KIHEFO), a small grass ... read more