Here's a tip for travel to Uganda - pack dark shoes. It's not that my shoes were particularly light colored to begin with but all I can tell you now is that they've been permanently rendered a murky shade of red by the constant red dust and mud that one encounters. Everywhere.
It's been a very long week! I arrived home to Mukono last night and was just exhausted, but let me start from the beginning. Actually, let me preface it all by saying I have pictures and videos that I'm going to try to post tomorrow from a far less virused and more reliable internet cafe in Kampala, wish me luck!
Last weekend after an an amazing drive west, I spent time in Fort Portal and Kibale National Park, checking out the town and doing some chimp trekking - it was unbelievable! There are hundreds of chimps in the park and a group of six of us set out with our trekker, Richard, to see what we could find. It turned out Richard was the man and after about 45 minutes we came across two males sitting in the middle of the pathway preening each other. (To be clear, the "males" were chimps, not human. ;)) The chimps were absolutely hilarious and as they're the closest relative to humans, it was a little insight into what might be going on in the back our minds....No, I'm like 50% kidding. :)
Richard also showed us some of the 250 species of butterflies in the forest, plants that double as things like chimp viagra or elephant alcohol as well as plenty of ginormous insects that I'd rather forget. My one disappointment was not coming across any pythons! They're the only natural predator in the park and there are some doozies! As we were driving back east, we encountered Uganda's common roadside animal - the baboon! What a funny creature they are, it's as though they couldn't decide if they wanted to be a dog or some sort of slightly, selectively, hairless creature.
So, the week began with a downpour and everything came to a standstill. "African time," I'm learning, means it'll happen when it happens so in the meantime, chill out and have a laugh. It reminds me a lot of how things operate in Boston. :)
Tuesday morning two locals and I set out bright and early for Bugoye, a village that's south of Mukono. Travel in Uganda usually entails taking both a mutatu (a group taxi that's packed more full than physics or gravity should allow) and a bodaboda, (a motorcycle type bike at which I am constantly appalled over the poor helmet use) both of these means are taken over, roughly, the bumpiest road you can imagine.
Bugoye has neither water nor electricity and their food comes strictly from the local environment. We walked through fields and saw coffee, avocado, guava, banana, sugarcane, passion fruit and, of course, corn. The family we stayed with was incredibly kind and accommodating; I was playing with their three year old daughter on Tuesday night and showed her a rubber ball that I'd brought from America. It wasn't much smaller than a tennis ball and would flash colors when bounced. Her reaction, her absolute and total joy over this $3 ball was the most touching and amazing thing that I've possibly ever seen.
On Wednesday morning we walked around doing home visits to view sanitation and agriculture standards in the area. What was amazing to me was that even though all the floors and yard were made of dirt - they were swept and groomed to be spotless.
That afternoon we presented twice - first to the village and then to a women's group from the next village over. I spoke to the necessity of sanitation and nutrition as well as well Malaria and HIV/AIDS control. My comrades spoke of agriculture and and a brickery microfinance project that MACRO's trying to launch. We closed each session by planting a communal cabbage patch. Apparently, a white person using a spade is HILARIOUS.
My main frustration about the presentations was that during the full community talk the men and women sat on different sides of the room. Okay, fine. But even if there were extra chairs, the women were made to sit on the floor. Like children. How can one POSSIBLY expect to empower women if they're receiving such a clear message that they're less valued. I already spoke to Travis, my director, about it and told him that I understand it's a cultural norm, etc. but I simply can't speak to groups unless everyone has a chair. I'm sure the fact that I did that surprises, roughly, 0% of you.
Thursday morning we set off for a tiny village on the shore of Lake Victoria. The Ugandans call these spots "landing sites" and the HIV/AIDS rates there are usually astronomically high, around 65 - 70%. The only way to access this village via land is down a single file foot path going four miles through the jungle. The entire time I was waiting for the raptor in Jurassic Park to pop it's head out from the bush next to me.
This village had thatched roofs and no latrines, let alone school or medical access. The people there drink water unfiltered from the lake and show no respect for their own lives. Most of the young kids there had never seen a white person and I reduced a few babies to tears, "What is THAT?!?!?!"
Once again it started raining and we took refuge in a hut and after noticing the fish hanging everywhere, chickens wandering in and out and some sort of corn boiling on the fire, we realized it was a community cooking hut of sorts. This was the most absolute and complete poverty that I could imagine. While we sat there, waiting out the rain, I had to put my head in my hands to keep from crying - how do you explain to someone that you're crying for their reality? We'd gone to speak exclusively about sanitation but due to the rain didn't get to do anything more than see the hole for the latrine they're attempting to build. The mud on the walk back was terrible but, somehow, this temporary reality for us wasn't so bad.
So that's all for now. I have SO much to say and it frustrates me to not be able to post more often and then feel like I have to cram everything into some mishmash. Often, I find I'm walking down the road thinking in blog quips and chuckling to myself. Well, it's either that or I'm just having a conversation with myself to be able to speak/hear some English.
Weebale,
Namotebi
This is the name that the men I was with over the week INSISTED I pick because I have to have a clan name to properly introduce myself in villages. This, apparently, is of the Mamba clan. I assume I was put in this one because I look like them? I just feel too silly about it. xo
Two women in traditional dress, looking on as we planted a cabbage patch
Fish from Lake Victoria being peddled on the road near Bugoye...the full bag of fish that was for sale on the back of his bike was a bit disgusting and covered in flies. It reaffirmed why I don't want to eat that fish.
Knowledge is power...they're on the right track
The artists behind the image above. There was a cow in their kitchen.
A school near Bugoye, as soon as this picture was taken the kids came rushing, RUSHING at me.
A baboon....handsome fellow, eh?
Our first discovery of the baboons....you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
