Blogs from Eastern Region, Uganda, Africa - page 22

We arrived in Jinja, Uganda at around 5pm. The bus to Kampala simply dropped us off on the side of the road to fend for ourselves, no bus stop or anything. However, as usual there is transportation everywhere you look and before you know it, a matatu swings by and we negotiate a price in a currency we have no clue about or even have in our pockets. We usually go to an ATM to get the local currency, in this case Uganda Shillings, about 1850 shilling to the dollar. You get really good at adding huge numbers. The highest bill only goes to 50,000 shillings, about 27 dollars. You pray to god you don’t get too many of these bills from the ATM because no one will have change for you, especially at the little ... read more

My (Gerry's) last week in Uganda was a bit frantic as the lawyer informed me that 'Jinja Food Company' had been incorporated as a limited company and the documents could be picked up the next day, which gave me one day (Friday) to open a business account at the bank. I'd found another very good candidate for being a manager of the company and I introduced him to the manager I've already employed, and I'm hoping they will work well together! I've been given 7 acres of land to lease for 10 years, which we will plant with pineapples. Three men have been employed to dig the land and prepare it for planting. Unfortunately pineapples take 2 years to grow before you can harvest them, so it's a long term investment. Also I'm trying to buy ... read more

After chickening out on Saturday, I got the courage to take my sprained ankle with me for a half day of white water rafting. So this morning I was picked up at the Blue Mango, said goodbye to my new friend from the US and headed to the Source of the Nile with 7 strangers who I would later get to know very well. It's funny how a little fear or struggling can make a bond form quicker than time can sometimes. So one the way to Jinga, where the rafting begins, we stopped at a lovely bakery and had some really delicious crossaints. Not sure if they were so good because I wasn't sure if I'd make it back from rafting in one peice or because I hadn't had one in several months. I sound ... read more

The moment we landed in Entebbe, the main airport in Uganda, we realized that we were in a tropical country. The landscape is so verdant, with plenty of banana and sugar plantations everywhere. The first morning, we took a matuta ride - a local shared minivan, into the city centre. We realized our ATM cards don't work here and our US 100 bills are not accepted ! Apparently, only $100 bills dated 2000 and above are accepted - to reduce conterfeit money. Bottom line: We had to scamper to get money using cash advances on our credit card... After a long day, we had some excellent Indian food at Haandi. As many of you know, there is a sizeable Indian community that has come back after Idi Amin had kicked them out in the 1970s. Most ... read more

Greetings from Uganda! For those who don't know, I (Gerry) am here for 6 months working with our great old friends, Sam and Eva who run an organisation called 'Uganda Family Resource Link'. They have done wonders here (the project in the village is called 'Bushfire'), within 2 or 3 years they have built 4 homes for 60 children-at-risk (mainly orphans), staff houses, a huge community-cum-church hall, a farm, a medical clinic and they are half way through building a primary school! It has grown so quick Sam feels somewhat overwhelmed and was keen for me to come and help organise things and give some management advice. I like the idea of being a management consultant and charging thousands of pounds per week for my services! But then that would be slightly unethical given that lunch ... read more