Jinja Weekend

To let off steam and get a great chance to hang out and have some fun, the volunteers from The Real Uganda as well as my friends from KACCAD Brooke and Chris decided to head to Jinja to do a day of white water rafting on the Nile! It was especially cool because at this time next year, the opportunity will be gone; a dam will be built to provide water powered energy to more villages. Of course, this is a good thing but these incredible rapids will no longer be up for rafting. Besides being the last opportunity ever to raft this area, its’ the NILE! The birthplace of civilization, the most well known river in the world, the, well, the NILE!

This in mind, we all met in Mukono Friday night at stayed at The Real Uganda guesthouse. Dinner was amazing street food including rolexes, chicken, chapatti, and roasted corn which apparently I am the only one who likes! Instead of boiling the corn and then roasting it, they just go right to roasting which leaves the taste slightly chewy but tough. I think it’s great where everyone else is not a fan!

Saturday morning we walked to the way too pricey for us hotel in Mukono where we were picked up for the trip to Jinja. At this point I jumped in the front crammed between the driver and another passenger, both Ugandan men who happened to notice the book I was reading discussing AIDS and why during the 90’s the rate of transmission went dramatically down in Uganda while shooting up in almost every other Eastern African country. That led to a great discussion where I was asked if people in the U.S had a cure for AIDS and if they had to take drugs. I had to keep telling them it was JUST my opinion since they seemed to be regarding what I said as medical gospel when it came to future HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness problems and issues. It was really interesting to hear their viewpoint and encouraging to listen to an open discussion where did not seem uncomfortable to talk about it!

Arriving in Jinja, we had breakfast INCLUDING real coffee (with milk!) and listened to one of the guides explain our day. I guess at this point I should mention we were doing Grade 5 rafting which is the highest level allowed before safety becomes a serious issue. Anything higher than grade 5 is considered “unraftable.” I shoud also mention my incredible experience in the water. And by experience I mean lack of. A guide asked all of us if we had been rafting before. Feeling a little nervous and wanting to see his reaction I volunteered the information that while I have never rafted before, I HAVE been tubing twice and paddle-boating once! He didn’t seem impressed and that made me a little nervous. I started envisioning my National Geographic Most Amazing Moments video where people are plowing through rapids crashing over their heads and according to the narrator in an Australian accent, “inCREDibly Surviving!!” Whatever. I was excited!

(Picture: Rafters on the Nile. Interesting to note the contrast between those rafting and the women of the village washing their clothes on the bank. However it is important to note that NRE the group I went with DOES give a major discount to Ugandan citizens and residents of Jinja.)

We ended up lucking out fitting all 6 of us in one raft with our Australian instructor Johnnie. (There were 7 of us but Chris had already been rafting and decided that he should try out the golf clubs a former volunteer had left at KACCAD on the links!) I was a little nervous as we went through training when I realized my jacket was a little big and it was hard for me to get back in the boat because the jacket would come up to my neck. Then, when he explained about the “get down” cry and what it meant, I wondered if international insurance would accept a claim where I voluntarily jump into a situation lacking experience. (Actually, they do!) To make it short, our boat was awesome. Apparently it’s very rare to not tip and yet we managed to do it even on rapids called “50/50” and “waterfall” which is in fact, a small waterfall you go over. I had a great time and could not believe I swam and rafted the Nile river!

Arriving back to the hostal I found out another perk was showering over the Nile where you are surrounded by three walls but one is knocked out so while you shower, you are literally overlooking the Nile. It’s a pretty cool experience and is wild when you think about how you are near the mouth of one of the greatest rivers in the world that starts in Uganda and ends in Egypt!

(Photo: The view from the shower in Jinja. The river below just happens to be the Nile, source of life. No big deal)

If anyone has the opportunity I highly recommend this experience. Going with the company, Nile River Explorers (NRE) also gives you the satisfaction of knowing your money is helping the community. Most of the safety river guides-the guys who ride in mini kayaks and are always there to help rafts that tip or people that go over are some of the best kayakers in the world. Some have competed and won really prestigious championships throughout the world and they are from Uganda. Not only that, they support soft-power education, a program founded by an Englishwoman to use tourist dollars to improve the education system in the nearby communities. After marrying the head of NRE, the program really took off and you see signs everywhere showing where soft-power aid has been given to schools and neighborhoods.

The other must? Trying a rolex burrito. Finally, some guys with savvy business sense. Everywhere you go you can buy a rolex-chapatti with eggs and usually cabbage and tomoato. However here, they give you options including diced avocado, meat, and potato to add to your rolex! It’s a few 1000USH more depending on your preference but absolutely worth it and very filling!

Again, my weekend was amazing and it was really nice to spend some time with the volunteers who are leaving. (Have a blast in Zanzibar Greg and Todd!!)

Outside Look at Life in the Slums

With no testing this week, I asked Patrick, head of Raising Up Hope for Uganda if I could go with him today when he visited the street kids in the Kampala slum. We agreed to meet at 9:30am so following the rule of Ugandan time, we headed out around 10:15 into Kampala. The minute we arrived, I realized I was about to witness a new level of poverty and sadness I had not yet experienced.

Walking into the first muddy and dirty street lined with huts and and stands made from anything found on the street (pieces of aluminum, wood, corrugated metal, etc) we were greeted by several kids calling out to “Uncle Patrick.” I immediately found my arm was now the resting spot for three little children’s hands and my own hand was now in control of an older boy who began to walk in front of me and lead me down the street. I had brought my purse carrying my camera, water, and money to get home and became extremely contienscious remembering all the advice I have received throughout my life regarding street kids and theft. Concentrating on my purse, I allowed the kids to lead me forward closely following Uncle Patrick.

Stopping at the first “house” Patrick stepped into the entrance and talked to a few of the boys inside. Some peered out and stared at me and it was easy to see that they were clearly using drugs. Less than a minute later, Patrick told me we could head onto the next house as this one was not appropriate to stay in due to the fumes and drug-use inside. I wasn’t surprised to hear this and can’t imagine many of the older children coping without some form of mind altering chemicals to help them escape the reality that is their life.

The second house was about the same size meaning the size of a nice walk-in closet. These rooms were specifically rented by Patrick to keep kids off the street at night. Unlike many big cities in the U.S, it is illegal to sleep on the street here and the police tend to enforce that by beating anyone found out at night. Therefore, these two small rooms usually hold around 80-90 kids every night.

(Photo: A look out onto the street from the "house" in the Kampala slum)

Walking into the second house I heard Patrick visibly upset talking to two women in the doorframe. Apparently and without any shame, they had kicked out many of the kids the night before and slept in it themselves. However frustrating it may be, it’s hard to demonize these women as anyone who fought to sleep in that room clearly was also suffering. However, these rooms were specifically rented for the street children and that room was for the younger ones which is why they were able to kick so many out.

After they left, I walked in and took in my surroundings; The room, if this makes sense, is depressingly hopeful. It’s two-toned walls are dirty with some graffiti. Paint is chipping everywhere and bugs are visible crawling up the walls. The dirt and grime on the walls can be ignored if only for a minute when your eyes zero in on two things-the chalkboard where in the top left corner a previous bible lesson has not been fully erased and the handprints. On two of the walls Patrick and the other Raising Up Hope workers have put their handprints along with their name around the top half of the room. Near the middle the words “Trust in God” are written.

(Photo: The view into the room rented for younger boys. On the wall behind graffiti you can see their handprints. To the left is a chalkboard where words still remain from their last bible lesson.)

There is one bench where I can see the feet of a boy sleeping underneath. Patrick and I go sit on top of the bench and while the kids come in and sit-down, he begins to take out the supplies he brought in his backpack; gauze, cotton, scissors, ointment, and wrapping tape. Last time he came he ran out of the hydrogen peroxide he uses to treat the wounds so telling me to talk to the kids so they can practice their English, he leaves. I am in a room with 7 kids between the ages of about 4 and 15 and I have no idea what to do. Only one speaks enough English to communicate with so I immediately look at him as my new friend. “Hello what is your name?” is my first question. He tells me his name is Joseph (he really gave me a Ugandan name that I interpreted as Joseph and he let me roll with it) and then asked me mine. Meanwhile, there is a boy behind him looking at me and pointing at his chest, head, and finally writing something in the ground. I decide to ignore it for the moment and focus on my translator. He asks me if I have a father. “Yes,” I tell him. He tells me he doesn’t and then points to the sky wanting me to understand he is in heaven. I have no idea what to say so I just tell him, “Yes, but he is watching you” and he smiles. Another kid sits down next to me and looks like he is in pain. He pulls down his shirt to show me his should and Joseph tells me he was burned in the fire on the street. They cook and burn garbage everywhere and apparently when this child was walking by, one of the fires burst and burned him on his shoulder and legs. He is clearly uncomfortable and keeps touching the supplies Patrick brought. Now, I notice the boy who earlier was in the room is outside on the ground and still looking at me. He is again, pointing at his chest, head, then pretending to write something on the ground. “What is he doing?” I asked Joseph. Joseph tells me, “he is telling you he wants to go to school.”

(Photo: Patrick treating one of the street children's wounds with water, cotton balls, and hydrogen peroxide.)

I’m so uncomfortable with this situation that I start to almost feel a little panicky. I can’t communicate with these kids and I just want Patrick to come back and start helping as clearly I feel I can’t do anything that will improve their situation. Minutes later, Patrick is back and following him is a boy with a small tub of clean water he places on the floor. The first kid sits down and Patrick gets to work. He cleans the wound and put ointment on it. In my lack of medical knowledge and little to work with, my task is to rip the cotton to form cotton balls which he uses to clean the wounds. One little boy starts to carefully “organize” them on the floor so I start to hand them to him first and he seems to like the responsibility.

The 4th boy that sits down is older and immediately I notice his knee. Apparently he had been sleeping on the street one night when the police came and rounded all the boys up to take to jail. He tried to fight to avoid getting in the car and was shot by one of the policemen in the knew. He knee is literally flapping and looks pretty disgusting. Patrick tells me how they took him to the clinic after it happened and the bullet is out. And, disgusting as it looks, it is much improved and getting better. Wow. I am surprised at myself for how calm I remain and how I voluntarily watch him clean it.

(Photo: One of the young boys getting treated for burns on his shoulder. Patrick treated his raw skin with ointment and hydrogen peroxide which clearly hurt. Although grimacing in pain and crying silently, he never complained. I took this right after he was finished.)

When all the kids are treated, we leave and walk down the street to where two women are filling up plastic bags with beans and posho. Patrick tells me I am going to help them and I sit down to put in the rice. Its steaming hot and I scoop it out of a giant metal pot with a plastic bowl and plop it in the bag. It looks like a stew with the juice from the beans mixing up the rice and posho. The two- seconds I have to look up, I see we are right outside of a barber shop where business is going on as usual. It’s insane. Here we are sitting on stools with enough food for 50 kids being shoveled into bags while about 15 kids watch and right behind us is a man getting his head shaved and listening to the radio. It seems so bizarre that chaos surrounds the calm pockets of the slum where sights like these are a part of life and life continues…

We get back to the home (I keep fighting what to call it, a home, room, shack?) and I ask Patrick if I can take some pictures while he passes out the food and two of his helpers pass out the containers of juice. He encourages it and so I just kind of watch as all the kids get in a line. I help pass out the food to the kids who are inside of the room but Patrick stops me-5 of them live at home and although this might be the best meal they have seen in a few days, the food is for the street kids.

Insane, sad, overwhelming, hopeful. There is no way any one word can sum up an experience like this. I am inspired by Patrick and hopeful for the kids but at the same time overwhelmed with the situation and discouraged by their odds at getting a better life. I came in protecting my bag like I did every day on the metro of Madrid and leave feeling a little ashamed that not once did a child try to look inside or take anything. They all gave me hugs and thanked my like I had done something for them when all I had done is smile at them, give them a hug, and take their pictures.

As this was only morning/early afternoon, I had more to write about but for now, this is enough.

Where Am I!?!?

Kampala shopping list;

2 tshirts size: for a small 11/2 yr old boys but big enough to last 2 years.
Warm peanut butter
Rolling pin
Sanitary Chapatti plate
2 small kids toys
salt bread
gum
True list of things I was searching for when I headed back to Kampala this afternoon. I went to meet Leslie, the head of The Real Uganda, the grassroots organization I am working for and who placed me at KACCAD for coffee. I read about a place called Café Pap in my guidebook which got a 9 for wifi and good coffee so I suggested it. Of course, Leslie knew where it was and told me she goes there all the time for coffee. Basically that means it must be good! It was really nice to sit down and get feedback and have her give me advice or suggestions on things I can do to improve my time here helping others. That is definitely one thing I am so grateful for; going through GVN I knew I would have someone on the ground in Uganda who lived there and knew the people. Leslie has been so helpful and clearly cares about what she is doing.

After a great Americano and discussion, Leslie left me to check out their wifi and possibly another item on their menu! Their food was expensive so I decided to go with just one more coffee and tried the latte. Best. Decision. Ever. And I never EVER exaggerate…but seriously. I drink the flaky shells of coffee beans for breakfast in the morning or if splurging on instant,

consider that a huge upgrade so imagine my joy. Now this really is true. I sat and admired it for 20 minutes wanting to take a picture but not wanting to embarrass myself doing so with people on both sides of me. During this time I was also on the computer and even debated via facebook chat with my friend Kathryn if I should take one! The evidence will show you I submitted myself to an embarrassing moment and took the opportunity to get a photo of art in a cup. Even when the connection accidently was terminated 5 minutes early on my internet session, I was feeling so overly indulgent, it almost seemed righteous that something would inconvenience me a little! But, I’m not done. I left to walk over to Garden City Shopping Center (it’s like Mzungu HQ, you find all the tourists there because it caters to western taste) to meet Brooke and Chris for dinner. We had all gone to Kampala for different reasons but wanted to meet up to eat. There is a place called New York Kitchen which everyone talks about and I really wanted to try. It serves pizza, salads, calzones and basically incredible food impossible to find anywhere else. The food was great though pricey for our standards back in Bulenga but worth it. I honestly felt like I wasn’t even in Uganda today which also made me feel a little guilty. I did not come here to have a day this incredible and delicious and it’s hard to justify it when I know tomorrow I go back to reporting how people don’t have enough to eat or can’t send their kids to school.

So I guess I will try to enjoy and appreciate moments like that without forgetting what I came here for. I will also use all the nutritious variety I experienced to help me get energized for tomorrow!

You should have a boda-boda driver in your "top five" and other things I learned today 8/17/09

There is a point in any new experience where you feel relaxed enough to ease up a little without feeling comfortable. It’s after you pass the point of feeling like you’re not in control or could lose it at any second. Then, before you get to the point of comfort and are acclimated, you hit that stage where you get a little confidence, feeling like you can handle the challenges and you may actually like not knowing what’s coming! THAT is where I am and I love it!

I know enough to be ready for some really sad mornings hearing from concerned HIV positive clients worried about their children when they are gone or getting enough to eat. I know to expect hugs when I walk into the orphanage and to see kids playing with a few bricks, a stick and a mesh cage having as much fun as a little American boy who just got a new remote controlled car. I also know at all times where my flashlight, phone, and keychain light are so when the power goes out or my boda driver makes a wrong turn on the way back, I’m going to be able to see what I am putting into my bowl for dinner and skip over the giant pothole filled with mud walking towards my home.

(Photo: A fruit stand near my home. I learned you don't need a lot of anything besides creativity when it comes to entrepreneurship!)

What I don’t know are things like how to best help all the people I meet so obviously in need or even when I do, how to get the results I want! I still don’t know which store within two miles sells diet coke or where I can buy peanut butter and I also don’t know how in the world I am going to wash the pee out of my jeans from the pantsless twins at the orphanage staging a sneak attack before I could hand them off to someone else!

“Knowledge is Power” but it can also lead to settling. Settling for being comfortable rather than pushing yourself to the next challenge. Since I view myself as slightly lazy or complacent, I try to keep myself in a place where I am forced to learn new things every day!

A few things I learned today:

Wasuze otya means “good morning” when you don’t want to say oli otya which is “how was your night?” This is super useful when you are just passing someone who you don’t want to stop and converse with but you don’t want to ignore either. I learned this from Derrick’s 3 year old daughter. Technically I learned it 3 days ago but I just got what she was finally saying to me every morning.

A charcoal stove that is big enough to make chapatti costs less than the pan that goes on top. I bought a small stove today for the woman I want to help start a chappatti stand for herself. She needs to generate enough income to support caring for her grandsons and hopefully be able to visit her brother in the hospital. Even with bargaining, I only managed to bring down the price of the pan 500USH and it was STILL more than the stove!

I don’t like noodles for dinner. Or lunch. Or really ever. I have had enough noodles to sustain whatever part of my brain would ever crave them for years.

I really like the kids at the orphanage.

I also have favorites; Carlos, the kid who for whatever reason loves Spanish and wants to learn. I teach him a few words every time I come and he knows them the next day. He’s also really smart in general and just an overall great kid. Vic, whose real name is Victoria and whom everyone else calls Victor (because that’s somehow more girly than Vic?!?) or Victoria even though she likes Vic. Vic it is for me! Rebecca because she’s just really smart and I am so impressed with how eager she seems to learn. John Bosco because he’s three and the chillest three year old I have ever met. Plus he played catch with me. And his name is John Bosco. And finally the little Rachel (there are 2) who is the cutest kid ever. So sweet and adorable!

(Photo: Carlos, one of my favorites asked me to take his picture "looking smart")

Apparently you can tie a string around a finger and it will fall off. At least that’s what is happening at Bbiri clinic.

You can use a fork for anything. That includes making eggs, opening cans of instant coffee and later as the utensil to stir the muck up in the bottom of your cup.

And finally- it is good to make nice with at least one boda-boda driver. Geoffrey is now a valued contact saved to my phone. Even though the first time we met, he started asking me if I knew Jesus WHILE driving and WHILE turning around to hear my answers, he gives me a fair mzungu price to the orphanage and back everyday. Now, I no longer have to “compromise” with the others where they look at me straight in the eye and try to charge me 4 times what a local pays. Please.

All of these pieces of knowledge have different shelf-lives for usefulness but I still love knowing that I learned them!

(Photo: Brooke using a tupperware container as her "cup" and a fork as her "teaspoon" makes for some decent morning coffee!)

Bargains at the Equator

Amazing weekend! On Saturday morning, Brooke, Chris and I met up with Rachel and took a matata (van taxi) into Kampala. There we were meeting Greg and Todd, 2 other volunteers from California who work in another area of Uganda. Morgan, (also from Cali) was also coming but a bit later. I met Morgan, Greg and Todd through The Real Uganda when we all stayed for a night at the volunteer house in Mukono. We had decided to meet in Kampala since it was a convenient middle point for all of us. Not to mention it would be nice to get a little bit of city life, functioning internet, food, and a night out!

We booked a night at a hostal called Red Chili which is in every guidebook and known by any mzungu remotely near Kampala. It’s pretty incredible when you are living with few luxuries; a shower, a flushable toilet that you can sit on, DSTV, cold drinks, western foods and internet! We all stayed in the mixed dorms-the cheapest option and therefore the total price was a whopping 12,000 USH, roughly $6.00. It was great to have a little time to unwind and actually feel like the dirt was coming off my body instead of feeling like I am just redispersing it.

(Picture: Typical hostal dorm room complete with your very own mosquito net!)

We stayed there for awhile before heading out for the night and were shown a place for dinner (by our lovely tour guide Chris who navigated the streets of Kampala like he had lived there for 20 years) not yet in the Bradt Travel Guide which I guarantee will/should be in any future books! Tuhende Safari Lodge, run by a native Ugandan who spent 35 years living in California is the owner. For 13,900 USH, you get an appetizer that appeared to be something like pita filled with different vegetables and served with a chili salsa. Following 3 plates of that for 8 people, we each got a bowl of onion and crouton soup. As a main course, you have a choice of several options including steak, several chicken or fish dishes and 2 vegetarian options. I choice one of the vegetable dishes and it was absolutely amazing. Since vegetable are considered a poor man’s choice or an afterthought here, (besides potatos, beans, and cassava, a root vegetable) finding anything more than a miniscule piece of tomato in your pasta or rice is a miracle. I was in heaven. Collectively we probably said “this is sooo good” or in my case, “this is unreal” about 50 times.

(Picture: The group of volunteers at Tuhende Safari Lodge in Kampala for Dinner

Later on we went to a bar called Parkside Inn where I got killed in the Ugandan pool game. Here I got to try my first baggie of alcohol. Since I am not a beer drinker and everything else gets a little more pricey, I was eyeing the sodas when I noticed on the chalkboard it said “Beckham, 700USH. I decided I had to try it and ordered one with a Krest Bitter Lemon soda. For those fortunate enough to have missed out on this opportunity in life, Beckham is gin in a baggie which I now realize I have seen many people sipping OUT OF A STRAW on the street. Due to the poor balancing skills of a plastic bag on a table, the half I managed to have before spilling the rest left me pretty sure I wouldn’t order it again. We left to go to Effendy, a bar/club likelier to be found somewhere in the U.S rather than anywhere else in Uganda The music was loud and the drinks overpriced but it had an outdoor area in the back and it was nice to have fun!

Sunday Brooke, Greg, Todd, Morgan, Rachel and I headed to the area in Uganda directly on the line of the equator. We were warned it was two ugly circles where a bunch of mzungus go to take cheesy photos. If you know me, you realize hearing that, I was DEFINITELY going! I love the cheesy tourist spots just as much as I love the off the beaten track locations. We really got lucky with our timing. It poured almost the entire 1 ½ hour drive and just before we arrived, the rain stopped! We got out to a clear sky and the picturesque view of two, clearly out of place circles that you could step in and shamelessy take numerous photos of yourself. Of course I did just that and loved every second.

Since it’s clear this is a tourist hotspot, there are also several stores that sell everything from postcards and miniature animals to incredible artwork and handmade instruments. I had mistakenly put several 1000USH in my wallet for the weekend believing them to be 10,000 bills so I had NO money to be spending so I took on the roll of “admirer.” I still loved looking at all the incredible crafts made by hand and got some good ideas for a few souvenirs for my family!

(Picture: Duh. THe Equator! Climbing up is harder than it looks though. Apparently other lame tourists have done the same thing so it gets tricky when the letters "D and "A" are loose!)

While my adventure up to that point had been frugal, I assumed lunch would be where I would spend the last of my money. In fact, I ended up spending less that $1.00 on a great lunch! We decided to skip the café near the shops where everybody else went and walked about 20 minutes down the road to get some local food. Of course everyone stared and we had kids come up and watch us buy some food at one of the stores.

Here is what we came out with for about 2500 USH for 6 people; 2 avocados, chipatti, “pancakes,” (which I can best describe as fried unrisen banana bread that’s about the size of the “O” your hand makes when you give the “ok” signal) sambosas (trianble shaped bread filled with rice, chickpeas or meat,) and mini bananas. I also got a the delicious Krest Bitter Lemon soda which cost me more than my meal at a whopping 1000USH (50 cents!)

This post will end like it started; amazing weekend!