Blogs from Jinja, Eastern Region, Uganda, Africa - page 4

Though I do not have any comparison, Uganda is a good place to train for a marathon. For one, the reservoir of sweat that I produce running any time before 9am means that is has forced me to see some wonderful sunrises, very underrated in the African sun movement ratings. You get a wonderful mist over the rough green patches of Jinja and look out to the Nile. I often run down to the Source of the Nile where you can avoid the entrance fee if your there before 7am. It is there, just five minutes from the gym, that the hardcore of Jinja’s fitness community hang out. I struggle to get down to the river side and back up again as an assortment of sweat-banded people do press-ups, sit-ups, star jumps running up and down ... read more

The first thing we noticed when entering Uganda from Kenya was how green it is here. It is a nice surprise to see this instead of the constant dust that is thrown all over us when a breath of wind passes. As well the roads are surprisingly good and our head got a nice break from hitting our head all the time. After a hectic hitching experience from the border we arrived in Jinja which is famous for being the town at the beginning of the mighty Nile River. To be honest, if the Nile wasn’t here there would not be too much of a reason to stop in the town since everything is based around the river, well and Lake Victoria as well. The town itself is pretty basic but compared to Kenya (it is ... read more

Despite now having been in Uganda for eight months I still struggle to understand, or adjust to, the completely different concept of time here. In my early days I remember being completely exasperated attending community meetings and waiting for the obligatory couple of hours for people to turn up. It is not like I had not been prepared, I had been warned that it was one of the hardest things to adjust to but nothing can quite prepare you. Thinking that I may one day want to be employed in a 'developed' country again, I vowed not to lose the improvements I had made in timekeeping from days where I would head the class for being late to school. I came prepared for any meeting with a few hours work or language books. It helped. I ... read more

The charity sector in Uganda has attracted a number of innovative thinkers spurred on to make a difference by the plight of so many disadvantaged, vulnerable people within different communities. It also attracted a number of people spurred by the chance to become 'somebody' in their community, in Uganda and even internationally. Often these people will be the same. The evident wealth and success of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the UN and even successful homegrown charities such as TASO also provides motivation as a way of making a decent living. There are few positions in Ugandan society where you have access to the resources we take for granted in the West and working for a large NGO or development agency is one of them. During my first weeks in Uganda I commented on the large number ... read more

Last day in Uganda. What will I never delete from my memory? • Riding on an old, rusty Boda- boda (motorcycle) with two more passengers without helmet and on a sketchy, dusty road where you would normally only use a 4WD- car or quad. • Delicious chapatti and African chai. I love it more than pizza! • Traditional, lovely and colorful dresses worn by all Ugandan ladies. Even women selling potatoes or working in the field look quite amazing with their almost carnival outfits. • Hundreds and hundreds of children playing on the streets and greeting us every time we walk by. However, leaving our new African family and new established NGO is thousands of times more difficult than leaving Uganda. We did a great deal of work. Within two months we managed to create the ... read more