This is for anyone who is interested :)

 -Peace Out 

 Uganda Newsletter!

On the 24^th of May, an excited team of 22, (18 students and 4 teachers) met at Dublin airport at 3.45 in the morning and boarded our flight to Amsterdam at 6.00, the beginning of the long journey we would be making to Uganda, the pearl of Africa. The journey was exciting as we were all anticipating what was ahead and letting it sink in that we really were going to Uganda!

   Finally we arrived at Kampala (the busy capital) at about 11.30 at night, Uganda time, after the long day of travel. We were staying in a lovely hostel called ‘The Fields of Life hostel’ which had running water, comfortable rooms and accommodating and welcoming staff working there. We were all pretty tired after the long journey over so we went to bed soon after we arrived, wanting to get a good nights sleep so were ready for all the excitement that the next day would bring.

  Friday brought quite a culture shock when we saw Kampala for the first time in day light, I can’t describe how crazy it is! It is very busy; there are cars, buses and people going in all different directions- people beeping their horns and shouting across the street, pedestrians trying to make a run for it across to the other side, swerving cars as they go and people coming up to the car windows selling anything the can, trying to make some money. The road is made up of dirt/a sort of gravel and anytime a bus drives past you’re sprayed with orange dirt! It was quite hot, about 28 degrees, so were advised to bring bottled water with us as we walked around to keep hydrated and wear lots of sun-cream.

  We made our way to the markets, so we could get a taste of what Uganda is like when it comes to selling. The first market was a tourist market so we saw a few other Mzungus there (Mzungus are white people, in African). The teachers changed some of our euro into Ugandan shillings for us, so we were able to buy a few of the African crafts, which are lovely- all handmade, they even make beaded jewellery out of newspaper. We all bought something, for family or friends, also a support to the economy over there.

  After we went to a small place to have some lunch, we were introduced to the African food and it was actually really nice! Most of the Ugandan’s diets are made up of beans, a sort of maize-flour meal called ‘pocho’, fruit, (like pineapple, melon and papaya) meat, chapatti, a fish called ‘talapia’, bananas are also a big part of what they eat, they have ones the size of your palm as well as ones the size of your head! The small ones are sweet to taste and the bigger ones are used to make ‘matoki’ a   potato-like meal. This all depends if a Ugandan can afford to eat this kind of food, a lot of Ugandans might only be able to afford beans and pocho, if even that.

   The second market we went to was very different from the first; it wasn’t really a tourist market. It was very busy and, again, things and people were everywhere! You would see piles of clothes and big mounds of fish, bananas and nuts for sale. Children were sitting on the ground, most of the time very skinny and undernourished, their mothers trying to make a living by selling what she could. As we went through, we did get a lot of funny looks from the Ugandans, calling out “Mzungu, Mzungu!!” and suggesting we take a look at what they were selling, the men occasionally even asking to marry some of us! The atmosphere was so different to any market in Ireland, so it was a very different experience.

  Day two we traveled to Jinja where we taught the kids there. We sang the whole way on the bus and also stopped at Bujigili Falls which is a beautiful waterfall and river where you can do river rafting. Here we met two little girls who were fascinated at our skin; a lot of children in Uganda have never seen white people before.

  When we arrived at ‘Good Shepherds Fold Orphanage’ we got such a warm welcome, we danced and played with the kids, who are so sweet. Traditional dance over there is in a grass skirt and they sing and clap. Our stay at G.S.F was truly an amazing experience, we spent lots of time with the children and on the second day did some teaching which we had prepared for in pairs. We did things like face painting, blew bubbles, taught the kids Irish words and songs and dances and did Art with them, doing things like fortune tellers and drawings as we were limited with supplies. The kids were so happy with anything we did, most of the time they just wanted to run around outside and play with the inflatable beach balls we brought with us. We left all the toys and stationary we had brought, with them. I learnt a lot that day, I knew that they had so little but I saw the reality as appose to just hearing about it. We took so many pictures; wanting to document every moment.

  Church over in Uganda is also very different; they sing, dance, clap and play big goatskin drums- it is also a lot longer. We went to the GSF church and performed a few songs, but our singing wasn’t half as good as the Ugandans. We had a bonfire that night with the kids and sang songs and danced some more. They are such happy people, even though they have so very little. They are so welcoming and friendly and take your hand and put their arm around you, treating you like family.

After an amazing time at GSF orphanage we had to leave to go to Kisizi, we were on our way again after saying our sad goodbyes. It took about eleven hours to get there, but it didn’t seem like that. We called out “Aghandi!” to the people we passed which is a greeting over there, meaning “how are you?” to which you reply “neejay” meaning “I’m fine”. I think we must have said Aghandi about a hundred times! We also saw Zebras on the way, lying in the hot sun.

   We visiting an orphanage just up the road from where we were staying, which was very poor; it had no electricity and only a few chairs and desks. The man running it, Canon Charles invited us over to his house for dinner (chapattis, goat, pineapple and melon) and we went for a hike around where he lives, we weren’t prepared for it and a lot of us were in flip-flops, but it was all part of the fun. The kids at the orphanage were adorable and we sang and danced with them and performed a few songs we had rehearsed.

   The next day we went on a ‘scavenger hunt’ to get to know the village and the people living there, it took most of the afternoon and we got lost a good few times but it was great fun. We went up to the secondary school up the road, called ‘Rubrizi Secondary School’ that same day to meet the headmaster and go for a tour around, this is the school that St. Andrews donates to, it has been recognized as a good school so the government help support it now. We also went here for afternoon classes; it was interesting to see how an African school day compared with one in Ireland. They sang the Ugandan national anthem and raised the Irish and Ugandan flag and we sang our anthem too.

  One evening, with the projector that one of the teachers brought, we showed a movie and all watched it together, we left the projector with them, as a donation to the school.

  Another day in Kisizi; we were arranged in groups and went to the hospital where we had a tour around and visited the patients here; a lot were in a bad state. The babies in the maternity ward were literally the size of your hand. It was sad and emotional to see, but all a learning experience. We talked with the patients, and the next day about a quarter of us went back to the same hospital to paint and distribute balloons to the kids. Over half of us went on a hike, about 10k, to a beautiful lake where we swam and played with the kids. We were torn between going to the hospital and doing the walk, but both were really great. On the walk, kids came up beside us and took our hands, we gave balloons to them and took their photograph as they love seeing their picture; they are fascinated by digital cameras.

  When it came for the time to leave Kisizi, we were all emotional as it had been so wonderful and we had made friends with so many of the students at the school and at the hospital, we waved goodbye, piled our rucksacks on top of the bus and began our long journey to Bushara Island, were we went for a day or two’s rest. It was a chance to reflect and let the whole experience register before returning back to Dublin.

   I found the trip to Uganda a truly wonderful experience, I was so lucky to have the opportunity to go. I really learned from it and was so happy to be able to go out and help the people over there, we didn’t do anything huge, but by just being with the people, teaching the kids, performing songs and distributing and donating stationary and medicine etc for the schools and the hospital, I feel we helped them in some small way. I wouldn’t have been able to go to Uganda though, if it wasn’t for all the kind help and support I received from family and friends- I don’t think I can thank you enough. I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope you got some idea of what Uganda is like and some idea of what your kind donations went towards. Thank you again. Maybe I’ll go out again some day, if I’m really lucky- Watch this space!   J