Muzungus have arrived…

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We landed in Entebbe, Uganda bright and early after a wonderful flight with BA, only to see UN soldiers boarding UN planes. Interesting… we arrive and they leave. To pass through customs Ness had to buy a 3 month tourist visa, so she could then convert it into a work permit at the Embassy. I had no worries as I had my six month visa sorted. The lovely lady asked me how long I was staying in the country?

I said confidently: “179 nights, as my wife will be working here”

The lady said “You have the wrong visa: you need to become a dependent of your wife or have a tourist visa and keep renewing it… I will let you in for 2 months”. Happy days… I’m in the country, but a wasted trip to the embassy in London.

So Uganda here we are. We were met by Nowela one of the UPA (Ugandan Paediatric Association) contacts. The UPA are organising Ness’ trip from the Ugandan side. We were taken to a Guest House, which happens to be on the campus of Kampala’s Makerere University. A home from home for me. The University was very quiet as the lecturers where on strike. They had been off for 3 weeks as they wanted a 100% pay increase, I’m happy to say the protest is over as they settled for 70% in the end. As we drove in we were taken past the main building which looked very similar to the main building at Nottingham University! Should all Universities have a clock tower coming out of the main building?!?

After a couple of hours’ sleep, we were ready to be picked up for a tour of Kampala. I decided I was fresh enough and not in need of a shower; to be honest I hadn’t yet psyched myself up for the cold water. Ness however did and it was funny to hear a little gasp as she went under.

We agreed to be picked up at 1pm. So 2:40pm the UPA girls turn up - the whole crew Nowela, Juliet and Cynthia - to give us a tour of Kampala. This consisted of going to a mobile shop to purchase a phone and modem (an internet dongle in UK terms) as they felt this was the most important thing to do. Ness and I reluctantly bought a phone, it would have been nice to be in Africa without one, but evidently Ness would need one in the hospital.

With that done it was off to the embassy for Vanessa and Anna (another medic) to sort out a work permit. I must say on reflection this process was quite comical. The Big Boss Lady at the embassy, and I mean Big Boss Lady, must only work to confuse/annoy Muzungus (word for ‘foreigner’ in Ugandan). After a long, long discussion between the Big Boss Lady, Anna and Juliet from the UPA, we left with two forms to fill out and a list of jobs for Juliet to do. Juliet did just that and left us to go back to the hospital.

Meanwhile, we were taken to The Martyrdom at Namugongo, a shrine to Christians who were burnt alive sometime ago as they believed in God and it annoyed the King at the time. The guide gave a very, very detailed personal tour to Ness, Anna and I. The site consisted of a Church (based on the Catholic Church in Liverpool) built on the exact spot of the fire and a sort of water area where thousands upon thousands of people gather each year to remember those that died.

The next day this was it, I couldn’t go any longer without a shower, well I say that I let Ness go first… As I lay in bed I waited for the short intake of air as she went under, only to hear a yell of surprise, “It’s hot, we have hot water Dai!”. Then I remembered I found a switch the night before which I thought may do something with the very old looking tank in the bathroom. It turned out it controlled the electric showerhead that heats the water as it passes through. Now I’m not one to complain, but it was boiling, too hot for my tender skin so ended up tuning it on and off on the showerhead to duck in and out as the water went from boiling to cold. Also free wifi in the guest house which made me think what was I worried about coming to Africa, they have all the mod cons here?!?

We were given a tour of Mulago Hospital, the National Referral Hospital – I’ll write a separate blog of this. After the tour it was back to the embassy for more fun and games with the Big Boss Lady. We were thankful to see she was not working and a very helpful lady checked the forms and paperwork and explained the process from then on. When you make an application not only do you have to pay $250, but purchase a file for your paperwork to go in. There was a toast that evening to Ness and Anna having a file.

Whilst at the embassy Cynthia who ended up coming with us as I think Juliet had had enough the day before, pointed out a very famous Ugandan singer called Cindy. I managed to discreetly take a photo. It turned out that Cindy was part of a duo called Cindy and Lillian. The following night Cynthia took us out and we ended up at a bar with live music and guess who was singing… Lillian! So three days in Uganda and we have seen two very famous Ugandan singers.

Food has been interesting; annoyingly on the first night we could only find a fast food place and had interesting pizzas. After the success of submitting the work permit application we went for tapas in a trendy bar, then a Thai dinner on Wednesday - eating outside as the kitchen took up the whole shack, but gorgeous food. Followed by lavish Italian food on Thursday, Ness and I agreed no more food treats for a while.

Lunches however have been Ugandan thanks to Nowela from the UPA. Next the office is “Mamma’s Box”, a very interesting shack with home cooked Ugandan food. We thought Nowela was joining us, but it turned out she ordered for us then went back to the office. Knowing Ness is veggie she had fish and chicken for Anna and I. Once we paid we were left to wrestle with the other hospital staff to be served. The main dish came with whatever veg sides you wanted. Ness’s fish was a large fish head blocked on top of the veg, it even put me off. The chicken leg was cooked within an inch of its life so we’ve decided to be veggie from now on, well depending on the eating establishment we’re in.

Wednesday was a day for waiting; we arrived at the hospital around 9am for one meeting with Dr Sabrina, who like Ness specialises in Adolescent Health and has setup a clinic. We waited till about 2pm, but was very worthwhile. I sat in on the meeting and it was amazing to hear all the good work Dr Sabrina has done and hoping to do. Ness was invited to join her Friday morning clinic. This gave us a free day on Thursday. Anna left for her placement in Mbarara Thursday morning, so Ness and I took the opportunity to see Kampala. We had a brilliant tour of the Parliament building. I was surprised when we racked up and asked the Police on the front gate if we can see inside. We were shown the debating chamber, which is based on the Houses of Commons. The Queen visited the parliament in 2007. On the wall outside the chamber is a timeline of all the past leaders and in the timeline is a picture of the Queen. A very young drawing I might add. We were near the National Theatre and decided to have a look. It turned out there was an event, with many different children performing. We managed to get inside and see a couple of dances. In the afternoon we met up with an interesting lady called Pat, who had been in Uganda for 11 years. Pat visits remote villages and educates the villagers on health preventative measures. I may have an opportunity to go alone with Pat in the a few months and see the training first hand.

So it was time to say good bye to Kampala on Friday and travel to our new home in Jinja. Ness went to the Adolescent Health clinic, which she really enjoyed and took lots of tips that can be used in Jinja. We had one last lunch at “Mamma’s Box” then it was a two hour drive to Jinja, which took 3 due to the heavy rain and huge thunderstorms….

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Comments

[Josh]

Have fun!
Hi David! I have read both of your blog entries and it looks like your really busy! Im really happy for you mate. Just to let you know i got a permanent job at Trent in a brain imaging lab so will be leaving nottingham in 2 or so weeks. Please keep in touch mate. Josh

[Jackie]

We are still in very Sunny Spain. Having problems with septic tanks and smelly sewers here, so not so different from you with your cold water I suppose? Keep safe and have a great time. Love Jackie x x x

[Elise]

Darn Muzungus
Shower 1 : Muzungus 0. Keep em coming, Dai - loving the blog! Best wishes to you both! xx

[Phil]

Just got back from my hols in Croatia, good to hear things are going well if a little 'interesting'! Keep us posted on whats going on, ill be curious to read about your experiences mate. Take care, Phil