A few incredible days in Jinja

Before my week of activities began, Alina, another volunteer I met on a travel buddy site invited me to stay at the orphanage she was volunteering at near Jinja to make my schedules easier and give me a different experience. I accepted and it turned out really great and full of adventures.

The Orphanage

The orphanage contains 20 children and 2 helpers in addition to the facilitator and Alina. A few children were away but otherwise it was full of them. They were really cute, playful, hardworking and just great. I soon learned that all of them also have sad stories. In the best case their parents may have died and in the worst cases there’s stories of mothers just abandoning them because they found another man who didn’t want them around. Some kids were even sexually abused by their parents. 

Kids brushing their teeth in the morning

Super excited to receive a wafer biscuit

I spent a lot of energy playing with them which was really fun. I don't t think I'm good at playing with kids but running after them, picking them up and spinning or running around carrying them seems to be infinitely enjoyable :)

One day the house required water and I offered to help carry it. I set off with one of the children and soon it became apparent that I’d have to carry it a long way home and uphill. After waiting 40 minutes in the queue to fill up our two 20 liter jerry cans we set off home. This was hardcore. 1 kilometre uphill with such a heavy container was crazy. We stopped about 8 times to rest as it was so hard. The weight was mostly a problem for my fingers but despite the trouble I made it home without giving up. This was a great experience though and fully made me feel the ordeal that getting water can be. I was later told by the facilitator that he had to carry 2 jerry cans 7 km when he was younger…

Other notable thing was the 20 year old helper who had only days before sampled chocolate for the first time. I on the other hand, saw fireflies for the first time. I thought it was a dropped phone initially but no, there are amazing insects which glow really bright.

Finally, the facilities were not as good as where I stay. The children had only recently gotten bunk beds due to Alina’s fundraising but were previously sleeping like 4 to an old foam mattress on the floor. Now they sleep in pairs on beds 'like kings'. She also helped to paint the walls among other things. The before and after photos were amazing. The inside bathroom was quite an experience. It was not tiled, has no light and at night it is used as a toilet too. It was an interesting experience to sweep my pee into a hole in the side of the wall!

This always-ready flush never breaks

Possession

One morning the facilitator started to ask me if I believe in demonic possession. I don’t obviously and then he mentioned that one of the kids there was possessed. And he was right behind him in the bunk bed. This was strange indeed. It seemed like some kind of absent seizure as this kid was just lying there unresponsive for about 10 minutes. This apparently happens whenever he needs to go to school so they think the devil doesn’t want him to get an education. He sometimes speaks in this state apparently and claims he is possessed.

I checked his pupil reflexes which were present and later as his eyes began to open he seemed to flinch just fine as well. Pinching him really hard however didn’t get a response although this is hard to determine whether he was resisting although it didn’t seem like an act. He eventually woke up but seemed really confused and upset not remembering what happened.

It’s hard to witness and it’s clear he needs to see some kind of specialist doctor but they will take him to a priest instead for the second time. I guess it’s cheaper but I did find it really incredible to be faced with a situation where someone was actually considered to be possessed. I felt powerless to help although they can’t afford to see a specialist, or buy the medication he would need anyway. So it’s just a sad situation that’s not uncommon and definitely not the worst here.

Break Dancers

I will write about the activities and safari I went on later but I had quite a good last day in Jinja. Before going back to Mukono, I went for a walk down the road. When I reached the end of it, I saw a group of guys in a crowd doing something active in the distance. One who was close to the path called me over. I was a little scared of getting mugged as I had all my valuables on me but figured that I’d somehow be safe. Well, it turned out to be one of the highlights here.

This was a group of dancers and really amazing ones at that. They were breakdancing right there on the grass without shoes. It totally blew my mind and expectations. They asked me to dance which while usually alright in a club, was pathetic compared to these guys’ moves. I ended up recording a lot of their dancing which I will compile into a video when I get back to Australia. The organizer was originally an orphan fortunate enough to have a plot of land left by his parents and he works in the local community helping people with various issues like AIDS, jiggers and also trying to give the youth a creative and constructive outlet via this dance group. They are hoping to get more attention so I’ll try my best to help them when I get back. 

So random and such an amazing encounter. It really reminds me of the quote: “How much do we lose when we fear to lose anything?”. If I had just walked on like I initially was going to, I’d have missed a really amazing adventure. And having just a few such adventures is definitely worth losing your phone, wallet and camera one day. Otherwise, I will have my gadgets but without these amazing memories.

Random Adventures

Public Transport

There is no public transport system here. But in an amazing free-market fashion, a private one has materialized consisting of boda-bodas (motorcycles) and taxi buses. The boda-bodas are useful for short-trips of 1-2 people though I have been on one with 4 + the driver. 5 people on a motorcycle is crazy and funny at the same time. You can catch these anywhere although they tend to congregate at “boda stages” ~ 1km apart along most roads. They are akin to taxis back at home in that they just take you wherever you ask them to go.

This is an extreme example of a boda boda. There's usually only 2 passengers.

For longer trips people here use taxis. These are private vans licensed to carry 14 that manage to squeeze in 17 people + the driver and conductor. These taxis follow predetermined routes but each is a private and just travels around on its own. It’s amazing to me that a system of bus routes has emerged organically here and with anyone being able to buy a van and run these routes, they are pretty much always available in the right quantity based on supply and demand. The free market can be quite impressive.

Albino

While going to carry some water back to the construction site, we passed by a house where I suddenly saw a white child that turned out to be an Albino. My friend John asked if I could take a photo with this child and they agreed if I could just spare 1,000 shillings for milk so I gave them 2,000 which is still less than a $1. It was really interesting to see all the Ugandan facial features on a white face with bleached looking hair.

I felt a bit uncomfortable though as I didn't want to make them feel like their child was some kind of oddity on display. However, everyone seemed happy and amused so along with the 1.5 litres of milk they will get, I guess it was ok. 

Forced pose

Barefooting

Last week I decided to try walking barefoot since I always wanted to do that at home where it’s not socially acceptable. Everyone said I’d give up and start crying but it’s been 3 days at the construction site (including the trip there and back) and 1 day on a bushwalk and I’m mostly fine. It’s actually really enjoyable. Sometimes the rocks can hurt a little and I've been attacked by ants on two occasions but that's a much more interesting experience than I'd have if I had worn shoes! Many people ask me where my shoes are as it really confuses them to see a muzungu (white person) walking barefoot alongside Ugandan with shoes. 

Bushwalking without shoes was incredible

When I told my facilitator Isaac he was shocked again and begged me (at partly in jest) to stop trying new things. He says I'm the most adventurous volunteer ever and that he will avoid warning me not to do stuff as it means I always end up doing it. I’m glad that I am the most adventurous volunteer he’s had :) It means I am making the most of my experience!

No Bins

It’s very strange to me and I still don’t quite feel comfortable with it but there are no rubbish bins here. Basically, anytime I have an empty bottle or plastic wrapping I just throw it on the floor (or out the window of the bus). If it’s in a town, the council is responsible for cleaning the streets regularly but even a little further out and then there’s nothing. Some people may pick up a few things to recycle them like bottles but otherwise, it just lies around, hopefully bio-degrading.

Meat and Hygiene

The butchers here seem to just have their meat out in the sun and on not very clean pieces of wood yet it's alright. I haven't had any hint of food poisoning so I guess as long as it only stays out for a day or however many hours then it's fine. It must mean that people are a bit too paranoid back at home.  

If you look closely, you can even see the flies.

Hygiene in general is different here. People rarely wash their hands and when they do, it's often with water that isn't clean or even remotely drinkable. And despite me being used to the clean environment back in Australia, I haven't had any issues with this either. I guess it shows what I always thought: we didn't evolve to need anti-bacterial soap and unless you're dealing with wounds, we can handle a surprising amount of dirt.

It get's worse!

I have been struck with a cold in the last few days which has put me out of action for 3 days so far. I should be well for next week though.

I learned something interesting recently. What I thought was really poor flooring in houses (flat / chipped concrete) is actually not so. I recently went into a house where it was just uneven dirt. It's hardened but still quite an uneven floor of packed dirt. This is the low end.

I was told that if you have the means, you can get cow dung to smear over such floors regularly so as to avoid jiggers, a parasitic flea that can burrow into your feet and cause some serious problems (google for images of Chigoe Flea). It only smells when it's fresh I'm told. Life is tough when having cow dung smeared over your floor counts as lucky...

Daytrip to Kampala

I went on a daytrip to Kampala recently. I visited the museum and then a large mosque which is the second largest in Africa. Both of these were quite interesting and I learned a bit more about Ugandan history. The museum seemed dark, dingy and low budget but I later learned that this was due to a blackout (a common occurrence in Kampala) which killed all the lights. It wasn't huge but I really enjoyed the museum.

The mosque was interesting. It was nice inside, especially the chandelier type stuff hanging off the ceiling. The ceiling itself looked painted but was actually all carved as well. I particularly liked the large tower which allowed a great view of the capital. I was really surprised with how undeveloped it is. There are no skyscrapers and no obvious CBD.

The most developed view of Kampala

I walked quite a bit through various parts of Kampala as well and I can’t say I liked it. I’m strongly leaning towards spending my last free week in Mukono after this day. The problem was that it was just really crowded and the air was more polluted. I prefer the more relaxed and simple Mukono. The only advantage was the common and cheap western food which Mukono lacks. Though overall I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay there especially since it’d probably be more expensive. I guess the last factor will be the travel buddies I met and where they will stay but even so, it’s just a one hour bus to Kampala.

A really strange peculiarity about Kampala is how many reasonably busy sidewalks have uncovered manholes in the middle of them. I am certain many people fall into them by accident as they are just everywhere without warning. Some are small, some are huge and one was even filed with water giving it a deceptively flat appearance. Interestingly, one nightclub in Mukono had a similar thing which was funnier since alcohol and darkness don’t mix well with random holes in the ground. My fellow volunteer Cynthia even fell into the same one twice!

A typical Kampala street with regular manhole traps

Food in Uganda

It will be hard to top my previous post about the riot though I should write about some of the food here.

I haven’t had the chance to try any strange foods yet but there have been some surprises. A common street food here is the rolex. It is a pancake (chipati) with egg and onion inside. I have also been getting these really tasty BBQ skewers. They leave my mouth feel waxy after 3 of them but I haven’t gotten sick so I keep getting them.

The egg part of the rolex being prepared

Really good BBQ street meat

I was also surprised one day on the construction site when I was offered popcorn. Here I am in a place with no running water or electricity, poverty all around and yet, they have popcorn. 

Popcorn!

Otherwise, common food is quite bland due to the poverty. Many people have to eat rice, beans, potato, posho or matoke. I'm fortunate that at home I am often spoiled with surprises like egg, French toast, meat, samosas and other foods. I bought some chilli sauce which adds a lot of flavour too and is quite popular around the house.

French toast!

Getting my hands on western food has been a bit challenging. There’s only one place that has burgers and pizza in my small Mukono town and the price is higher than in Australia. And as is true back at home, the more you pay for food, the longer you sit there waiting for it like a fool. I waited over 30 minutes for a AUD $11.50 burger. Good and big but definitely not coming back!

While walking around Kampala the other day I came across the only western franchise here which is a Nando’s restaurant. It was not what I expected and looked like the simplest of take-away store fronts in a food court. Not even worth taking a photo of. There was also a Dominos restaurant nearby but I don’t think it was real as in addition to pizza, it served chicken, chips and burgers as well. The logo was a bit off too. 

Finally, Nutella is very expensive, along with other stuff from home such as Cadbury chocolate. It’s pretty much the same price, if not more in the case of Nutella.

My First Riot Experience

Today Isaac messaged us warning not to go into town because of a riot and tear gas. So of course I quickly got ready and went with one of the staff, Lillian. Apparently, a few days ago some guy was trying to steal timber from some company and the forestry guards shot him 4 times and he died. The government response to this excessive force was unsatisfactory so the people started a riot. 

Some children running from the scene

Unfortunately, by the time I reached the outskirts of the town it was mostly over. We saw the road littered with large rocks, bricks, signs and anything the people could find to slow / block the police. Some fires were also burning on the road for the same reason. People were actually encouraging me to take photos and post them on the internet so this made me feel safe as long as the riot police didn’t see. There was large gathering of people shouting and waving sticks and bats. 

The sign on the road is priceless

The road was littered with debris for around 1km

At this point, we hadn’t seen any police but all of a sudden people started running away and I could see a riot truck and police slowly walking towards us from a distance. As they got closer, people started to throw stones and we then heard really loud explosions of tear gas can and / or just blank firings. Unfortunately, I never got to smell the tear gas… 

My 20x zoom came in very handy in snapping the approaching riot police

We decided to go into an adjacent street while the protesters cleared out and then walked back. We then just chose to walk directly through the advancing police on the main road. Reasoning was that we were not throwing stones or holding any weapons so they wouldn't be concerned as long as I wasn’t pulling out my camera. Some locals said it would be fine especially since i was a foreigner. Naturally, I set my phone to take photos discreetly every 10 seconds and we walked past the advancing riot police and trucks. One guy about 15 meters behind us was thrown to the ground and arrested because he was holding rocks. I also saw the firing blanks into some side streets. We just walked on calmly past the police towards the town centre without incident.

Walking past the advancing riot police

In the town centre, there were also a large group of onlookers looking down the road at the police walking away. That was really the end of it. We went to the super market to buy some groceries and gin. Then headed back on a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) passing several groups of riot police along the a slightly damaged road with several black remains of burned out debris.

Throughout the whole experience, I felt quite safe and relaxed. I trusted that since the people were angry at the government and not me, I wouldn't be touched. Especially after they encouraged me to take photos and even posed near a fire. I got a bit scared when I saw the people start throwing rocks as I didn't want to get stuck between the rioters and the police. I also got a bit of a shock when I heard the tear gas guns being fired but I got used to it pretty quick. Otherwise it was all good and quite interesting.

It is sad to see people so frustrated with the government which has been in power for almost 30 years and has failed to really help the country sufficiently. This is the only way to affect change these days as anyone in the developed world knows, all the polls and newspaper comments in the world have no influence on our captured politicians. In Australia, housing affordability is one of, if not the most important issues and yet there is no mention of it before the election.

Life in Uganda

I’d like to write about how life is for the typical Ugandan. It’s good to start with the fact that a typical income is around 7,000 shillings ~$3.20 per day. However, many people earn as little as 3,000. ~$1.50 per day. I once thought that $2 goes far in a country like this but it actually does not. A 1.5 litre bottle of fresh water costs 1,500 though you could boil a lot more with 1,000 worth of charcoal. A basic meal might cost 1,000 in ingredients for something really bland. Rent would be at least 1,000 per day for a really run down house. 

As you can see for a poor household, the budget is already blown. And remember, this is for the lowest end stuff. If you want the luxury of eating an apple, that’ll be another 1,000 per fruit. A BBQ meat skewer another 1,000. Of course, buying many such things requires a trip to town which will cost 3,000 for the round trip. School is not free either. As you can see, having anything but the minimum can blow the typical income very quickly. 

Everyone has to work

What was that? Oh what you need soap? Some pants? Well, you’re just gonna have to go to bed hungry. How about some chairs and a table? You’ll be saving for a while! And you better not get sick. Paying for medication while you can’t work will is going to be one hell of a challenge. Any extra expense requires going without something important.  

Now that we’ve used up our budget here’s how a typical household works. There is usually no running water. We often hear about this but it’s a huge problem. At home we just turn on the tap to get drinkable water. Here it requires people to go with jerry cans to the local water pump and carry it home. This is often done by children even younger than 10 and may involve 500m of up and down muddy hills twice a day with a 20 litre container. Young teenagers and below will tend to carry smaller bottles. I’ve even seen small children probably around 6 or 7 dragging a small water bottle up a hill with a rope. It’s very sad, especially when thinking about the tantrums we see kids having back at home. Recently I had to carry the 20 litre containers a few times and it is insanely hard. If I was a child without sufficient food I don’t know how I'd cope.

A communal water pump

Children carrying water

This little girl is still training with a smaller container

When the water reaches home, the parents have to boil it by burning charcoal in a ceramic bucket. Keep in mind that this can cost up to a third of some one's daily income after factoring in cooking food.

At home, there will usually be no glass windows (if there are windows) but rather wooden flaps. Although often they just have cardboard or cloth. Walls are usually old and crumbling onto a concrete floor. Walls might be brick but many are mud huts still remain from the past.

This windowless house is only slightly bigger than the chicken coup

This better-off house has cardboard and cloth instead of glass

Walls are crumbling, the floor is dirty. And you can't handle a even a little mess?

Then it’s time for food. Many families are peasant farmers who have to eat whatever they can grow. Any money they make is from selling whatever surplus food they have at these makeshift store fronts that appear in front of many houses. Due to seasonal availability, the whole family may have to eat just sweet potato or some other vegetable for a whole month or two. This is bland and not very nutritious which is why many children have fluid-filled bellies. Even if you have a job and buy your food, you would usually be eating rice, baked beans and potato. My friends speak of people who can have a varied meal with bread, eggs, fruit as well as the above as well off! 

Many homes have these store fronts to sell surplus food they have grown

When it’s time to sleep you have to bathe with cold water and the toilet is always an outhouse. Even the toilets can range from luxurious with a door and roof like mine, to ones without either. A hot bath is out of the question. Back at home I can just turn the other knob. Here, a household would need to use around 1,000 shillings worth of charcoal to boil it for and that is money many don’t have. 

This toilet has half a roof and even less of a door

I have always appreciated the higher end stuff I have such as my amazing Galaxy S3, the power windows in my car and miraculous microwave. I am also always amazed when I fly through the sky to anywhere in the world. However, I never really felt appreciation for the basic stuff. I knew I had things that people here didn't but you have to see and experience this place to really feel it. If I want to drink water, I turn a tap rather than exhaust myself carrying it from a local pump and then boiling it. If I want to have fun, there’s a paralyzing array of things to choose from. Getting soap, or other basic necessities doesn't require sacrifice. If I want to eat at home, my problem is choosing between a variety of delicious and nutritious food whereas here they may have to eat the one bland one all month long.

Just today I was struggling to eat my meal at the construction site (rice, beans, sweet potato and posho (cooked cornmeal). It’s so bland that after I’m not hungry anymore I have trouble eating it. So after 10 minutes of this I gave an almost full plate to group of 4 children. Within 90 seconds, they came back with a cleaned out plate.

Again, this is all stuff I knew but I never felt it until I had to actually carry the water container up hill, take a cold bath or eat the bland food. And I live in a relatively luxurious house here with a covered toilet, electricity, glass windows and varied food! Plus we have helpers that carry the water to the house and cook it for us. 

I'm only experiencing half of the issues really yet it still a huge mix of emotions with mostly awe. It's just incredible that life can be like this here while it's so incredibly wonderful in Australia. Everyone should come here and help out while learning first hand how many issues back at home are just embarrassing to even mention. it's just been a bit over a week and it's already better than any holiday I can imagine. It's a country with massive contrasts. Beautiful green landscapes and hardcore poverty. The people are really amazing, and I'm not just saying that. They are very friendly, honest and hard working.

They are not playing farmers

First School Visit

2 days ago I visited a small school for the local children who live around the community centre we’re building here. It was me, Cynthia and her brother. As soon as we arrived the children ran at us and latched on. They were really really happy and cute. Just loved to just simply hold our hands, legs, be picked up and carried and basically any interaction! 

Cynthia's brother managed to film the moment we arrived

Notice the 3rd kid wanting to be picked up!

The school they had was very rudimentary, pretty much like the images people would expect though it is quite another thing to actually be there and see them. 

Me being me had to be a bit rougher so I would throw them up, flip them around upside down and later gave them turns on a running piggy back. This was exhausting and may have been a mistake as I still had a whole day of construction ahead of me but was really fun. They seemed like they were going mad with happiness.

Cynthia’s brother took a lot of photos so I will get those when I get back home. I was lucky to trust one slightly older girl with my camera and she was able to go around taking photos for me.

The main purpose of this visit was to hand out the clothing donations. These kids really did often have old clothes and most didn’t have shoes. Many also had swollen bellies which I am told can be due to various reasons, all of them bad. It was deafening when I started to open the suitcase and proceeded to preview the stuff they’d receive. They were so excited! After a while they had to be beaten back, literally!

They were then put into a line so that they could all receive a toy while the clothes were handed out on a case by case basis. One of the donations was a bunch of stickers which they decided to stick on their foreheads. I still saw these stickers later in the day when I was going home and walking past their homes.

Breaking it down in her new skirt

It was a really good experience. These kids were very happy despite having very little possessions or even health. Many of the clothes were high quality so they really loved them. We stayed there for about an hour playing with them. 

I guess the most memorable thing about it all was how happy and excited they were to just run and hug me. I've never seen so many children being so happy and affectionate!