A few photos...

It’s been a busy week in Jinja. As my birthday fell on a working day, Chloe suggested that we have a trip out on Sunday to celebrate, perhaps by having a swim and leisurely meal at one of the posh local hotels. However, I was rather keen on the idea of an exploratory visit to Mabira Forest Reserve.  In the event, we managed to do both.

The Mabira Forest Reserve is only about 20km from Jinja.  It is easy to access as, unfortunately, the Kampala-Jinja highway runs right through it.  When Mabira’s boundaries were drawn up back in 1932, it was the largest forest in Uganda.  However, in the 1970s, Idi Amin encouraged locals to settle there, resulting in significant deforestation. The people were evicted again in the late 1980s allowing considerable self-regeneration to occur and now it is regarded as the second largest forest.

We left the apartment in glorious sunshine ready to attempt our first bus trip.  We weren’t quite sure how things would work out.  If you walk all the way into town to catch a bus from the centre, you have to wait until it is full before it leaves.  However, this also means that the buses are generally bursting by the time they reach us in Magwa.  We decided to take a chance and just stroll down to the main road.  As luck would have it, a bus arrived within seconds with just two empty seats. 

In reality, a ‘bus’ is a minibus that is able to hold comfortably a driver, ‘conductor’ and about sixteen passengers and can potentially stop at any point to pick up passengers if there is space.  The conductor is responsible for organising the seating as well as taking the money.  Despite seemingly being full, we stopped again shortly afterwards and another couple of passengers squeezed on, and to say that we were squashed would be an understatement.  However, when we stopped again to let somebody off, the conductor seemed to think that a full-scale reorganisation was in order.  Chloe and I were directed to the back of the bus where there was more space but that then meant that several people had to get out to allow us off as we alighted soon afterwards at Najjembe. 

A customary greeting here in Ugandan is ‘Hello, how are you?’ and complete strangers frequently say it to us.  I am under the impression that many Ugandan children rarely come across white people and the very young ones appear utterly fascinated by us and sometimes reach out to touch us.   As we walked down the track towards the tourist centre, there were lots of children out playing and several called out ‘Hello, how are you, mzungu?, which literally means ‘white person’.

At the centre, a young man by the name of Ones greeted us. We ascertained the type of tours on offer and were pleasantly surprised to find that, in terms of tariffs, we were considered to be non-Ugandans currently residing in Jinja rather than plain tourists. We made the necessary arrangements for the afternoon and then headed off for the Rain Forest Lodge where we had pre-booked for lunch.  I may be more than twice Chloe’s age but I think it fair to say that I was far less stressed by the hot walk up the hill. 

The lodge has been designed to be as eco-friendly as possible and architecturally it is very sympathetic to its surroundings. The accommodation takes the form of log cabins and it’s very pricey.  However, we were able to enjoy a swim in the little outdoor pool and a delicious four-course lunch for just 50 UGX (less than £12.50).  Red-tailed monkeys swung through the nearby trees as we dined. I was delighted to discover that the ‘pyramid of fruit’ contained no bananas, but the waiter misunderstanding the reason for my question offered to add some! We were the only people in the restaurant and the site seemed almost deserted. Uganda does not seem to attract many tourists and we are also currently in low season.

As we were running short of time, I consented to a boda-boda ride back down the hill.  Ones was there to greet us again and to be our guide. Originally, we had arranged to have a three-hour walk with the idea of perhaps returning another day for some early morning bird watching or a cycle tour.  Ones seemed concerned that we might not complete the route in the light and I think he also mistook my cautiousness negotiating some of the more slippery descents as a lack of fitness.  However, for the most part, he seemed determined to march through the forest at break neck speed although he was forced to linger when I was completely captivated by a group of monkeys. He’s recently graduated with a degree in tourism and I don’t think that he is much of a naturalist although he did stop to tell us some interesting facts about a few plants. However, he was most courteous. I’d like to go another time with somebody more knowledgeable regarding the amazing butterflies. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Ironically, we arrived back about an hour before it got dark.

Before leaving, we stopped off at a café above a large lay-by, which could be described as a service station.  We’d arranged to take a taxi back as we’ve already learnt that being out in the dark and rain can be exceedingly unpleasant. Ones insisted on waiting with us until the driver arrived. There was a large group of people in the lay-by wearing blue tops bearing numbers.  They were carrying various food items such as bananas, pineapple, bottled water, chicken on a stick, often on their head.  The minute a vehicle pulled up, they would all race to be the first to thrust their wares through the window.  I’m told that it is properly organized and regulated and that people can make a reasonable amount of money this way. It was quite a sight to behold.

Birthday celebrations actually continued on Monday with lunch out and a chocolate birthday cake. We were amused and surprised when young Susan asked me my age. When she found out she spent the rest of the afternoon saying ‘too many’ and calling me Baby Audrey. We didn’t ask her to explain!

I’ve just been distracted, as I sit on our back balcony, by a group of at least twenty goats, which broke rank whilst being herded along the railway line.  They made straight for a plot of land that has just been newly planted out.  I’m impressed with the speed with which the man managed to avert disaster and restore order. Incidentally, I don’t think I’ve yet mentioned the freight trains that run just yards from our apartment.  It can be quite scary when they pass by at night and literally make the apartment shake.  Sadly, there are no longer any passenger trains in Uganda.

There has been a lot to do on the work front. On Tuesday morning I was collected from the apartment by ‘our driver’ just before 7am by which time it was properly light.  Richard was recommended to us by one of the team and it’s proving a great success as he is clearly ‘sweet’ on Chloe and so charges us very reasonable prices.  Emily, our director, is very pleased! In general we have had to learn to bargain, as now that we have a feel for prices we are often aware that we are being charged a mzungu price.  It would be possible to take a bus to Kampala but it’s inadvisable to do this when trying to arrive in time for a scheduled morning meeting. On this occasion, the rush hour traffic was kind to us and the journey only took about two and a quarter hours.  

The National Menstrual Health Management Steering Group Meeting was being held at the Ministry of Education and Sports in Parliamentary Avenue. It’s the first time that I have been somewhere in Uganda that in anyway resembles a European city.  The building itself was not worlds apart from some of the older Department of Health venues I used to visit in London.   I have to say that the meeting itself also had much in common with many of the large multi-agency groups that I used to attend, notably in terms of getting any kind of firm agreement or actually making concrete arrangements.  There were some interesting differences too. The meeting started with a prayer about half an hour late when the chair of the group arrived, by which time a reasonable number of people were also present although others continued to turn up throughout the next couple of hours. Ugandans are really very polite and jovial and proceedings were interrupted every time somebody entered the room in order to give each person an opportunity to introduce himself or herself. The boardroom wasn’t actually anything like large enough to hold everybody and so once all the chairs had been taken at the table a second row was formed behind them.  People also broke into spontaneous applause whenever they particularly liked something that was said or somebody actually offered to complete a task.  Part way through the proceedings everybody was given a package containing a samosa and little cake.

I had to stop writing again just now as I heard a commotion coming from the kitchen. The neighbour’s cat had somehow managed to jump up and poke his head and front paws through the little circular panel on the front door, which is about a metre off the ground, such that he was just dangling in mid air….

Anyway, the other ‘notable’ work event of the week took place yesterday.  The Irise educators run community as well as school sessions and so Susan had arranged for me to observe one on the site of an army/police barracks, which we can see in the distance from our apartment. There is a clinic there where HIV positive patients visit early in the morning for a check up and to receive anti-virals, and the intention was to run a session for some of these people. We’d agreed a place to meet the educators at 7.30 am in order to be able to start the session at 8am.  Having got up early, we weren’t surprised or best pleased when the educators delayed the departure time by thirty minutes.  We went on foot up the hill to the entrance that Susan had used before.  A lone guard informed us that, for security reasons, we couldn’t come through and would have to walk some considerable distance round to the main gate.    I should stress that there are open fields surrounding the barracks and no perimeter fence.  A number of other people were just wandering through.  Neither Susan’s best diplomatic skills nor a phone call to her contact on site could resolve the issue and so we set off again in the very hot sunshine. This time when we arrived, we were greeted by a guard who initially spoke to Susan in English but then told her that he would only continue speaking in Swahili, which is not a language any of us are able to speak.  Through an intermediary we were told that we needed to arrange for someone to come and collect us and if they didn’t arrive in twenty minutes, we would be sent away.  Eventually, a very apologetic young man was able to lead us into the barracks without even a check of our bags.

Inevitably, we were so late arriving that the clinic attendees had nearly all left. It was then decided that we could work with a group of police cadets instead, but that they had just gone off to have their breakfast. Finally, we were led behind a building where a group of about thirty cadets, the majority of whom were men, were sitting on a small patch of grass. They didn’t seem too impressed when Susan introduced the session. However, an energiser in the form of singing and dancing seemed to transform their attitude. Once a prayer had been said, they enthusiastically started working in groups on a quiz. At that point, Susan was summoned into an office by a police chief who informed her that we were disrupting the planned activities of the police cadets as well as being too noisy, and should leave.  Amazingly, the police cadets were very upset. One said that there clearly couldn’t be a god, as he would have answered the group’s prayer for a successful session! We have promised to return.

A lot of work has gone into preparing for the Entebbe training course and we are heading there tomorrow morning. We suspect that the facilities and accommodation will be very basic but just hope that we can keep our IT equipment charged up.

It is only just over two weeks since I arrived in Jinja and yet it seems a very long time since I boarded the plane at Heathrow.  Chloe and I had only ever exchanged a couple of emails and skyped on one occasion before we arrived in Uganda. Now we spend all of our leisure time and most of the working week together, and it’s going extremely well.  Chloe had to get up very early on Tuesday morning in order to get to a meeting in Kampala and it felt quite strange being alone in the apartment and walking to work on my own.

We have a relatively simple lifestyle although we are no means devoid of modern comforts, and having twenty-four hour access to emails/Internet makes a huge difference.  Despite the minimalist facilities here in the apartment and the limitations of the airline’s baggage allowance, there are relatively few things that we’ve found it frustrating to be without.  I guess that’s a lesson in itself.  I’m really enjoying the uncluttered more leisurely pace of life although we still often seem to have to rush to get out of the house in the morning and into the office on time.  However, we really cannot work out Ugandan time.  On some occasions when we have arrived punctually for prearranged meetings the other members of the team have trailed in considerably later with no explanation or apology.  Then when we have adopted a more relaxed approach, they have been waiting for us!

Yesterday I finally had an opportunity to observe a menstrual health education session in a primary school run by two of Irise’s educators. We set off after lunch by boda for Help Primary School situated in a poor area just outside Jinja. I should just mention that Chloe and I appear to be the only two women who do not ride side-saddle. It is clear that the Ugandans view some of our behaviour as odd but, fortunately, they seem to find it amusing rather than offensive.

The first thing that struck me on arrival was that we were able to walk straight through a gate into the school grounds where children were playing, which is so unlike the tight security in English schools these days. I was a little surprised by that as the Ugandan police force recently issued a security alert referring to a specific threat to schools and educational institutions along the Kampala-Jinja highway.  Maybe we weren’t apprehended as perhaps they recognised the uniform worn by the educators. We paid our respects to the principal, who was most welcoming.

As I now understand it, the children have been doing exams and are shortly to begin the school holidays.  Pupils do not automatically progress to the next year group as in England but only move on when they have achieved a certain academic standard.  Many children may not have attended school consistently particularly if they come from poorer backgrounds.  Therefore, although we might have expected to find girls aged no more than eleven or twelve, a lot of them were clearly older. Part of my brief is to identify the training needs of the educators and to look generally to see how well the programme is working as I work with the director of the charity to develop a broader strategy for the next two years. It felt amazing to be sitting in a Ugandan classroom.  All the desks had been removed so that the girls could sit on chairs in a horseshoe. It was quite a challenging environment for the educators to work in, as there seemed to be a lot of noise from the adjoining classroom and surrounding field. There were no windows in the classroom as such, only holes in the wall with vertical bars through which other curious children peered. The girls were largely attentive and confident enough to ask plenty of questions. The session was very informative and has given me lots of ideas for going forward.

Other members of the team have been busy organising a five-day training course in Entebbe, largely for university students, which starts on Monday week.  I have found myself gradually being drawn into the planning and it has now been agreed that I should go across for the duration of the course too.  On Tuesday I am going to the Ministry of Education building in Kampala for some national steering group meeting and so I am certainly getting to see menstrual health education from all angles.

We are gradually mastering some of the practical skills required for everyday living, one of which is dealing with bolts and padlocks.  Initially, getting into our apartment took some time.  We have an outside padlock on the front door, which opens a little circular panel in the door.  The next stage requires putting a hand through the hole and feeling for a second larger padlock, trying to persuade a slightly bent key to undo it and then pulling across a rather stiff bolt.  The challenge is not to drop the keys inside before managing to remove the padlock.  We were getting much faster at it but now there is the added dimension of a cat that has befriended us. So I often have to try and open the door whilst hanging on to two bags of shopping and having my feet rubbed.  The last time I put the shopping down, the cat managed to bite his way into a loaf of bread and started scoffing it.  Our apartment is one of six and we are at the top of the three floors.  A high concrete wall surrounds the building and there is a large metal gate that also has a little circular hole and two stiff bolts to be negotiated.  We have a twenty-four hour security guard not that we feel that we need it.  In reality the guards are young lads who just sit around looking fairly bored.

I don’t have any particular interest in seeking out the expat community or trying to maintain my normal lifestyle whilst I’m here, although we are undoubtedly eating a mainly Western-style diet. However, Wednesday has been designated our ‘evening out’ and takes the form of a free film night in the garden of one of the local cafes frequented by expats.   So we cover up as far as possible, apply lots of insect repellant and sit ourselves in the front row.  I’m told that they show an eclectic mix of films but we’re happy to take whatever comes. So far I wouldn’t have contemplated viewing either film on the TV at home let alone watching them at the cinema.  However, we did laugh a lot at ‘The Wedding Ringer’. Last week they had to move us indoors as it started to rain but this week conditions were perfect.  There just happens to be a fantastic Indian restaurant situated between our office and the café.  The food is delicious, they keep topping up the naan, pilau rice and dal and they provide a free ice cream. The whole thing comes to 25,000 Ugandan shillings, which is about £6.  Incidentally, a lot of Jinja's architecture is Indian-influenced and the Mandhvani Building on Main Street is a grand affair.

Last weekend we were planning our first trip out on Sunday.  However, on Saturday whilst exploring a different route into town we realised that we were a stone’s throw from Jinja’s main attraction.  The town is located on the northern shore of Lake Victoria above the Ripon Falls, which were submerged following the construction of the Owen Falls Dam in the 1950s.  Its fame lies in the fact that Speke identified Ripon Falls as the source of the Nile back in 1862. There are tourist spots on both sides of the river.  We were able to walk to the Source of the Nile site on the eastern bank.  It’s a very pleasant area. In the absence of the Falls, there is a plaque marking the area’s significance, a monument to Ghandi, as some of his ashes were scattered in the Nile, stalls and a couple of restaurants.  At some point we will return for a boat trip and also visit the site on the other bank.

Tomorrow we are heading to Mabira Forest to celebrate my birthday.  I shall be posting a few photos soon although so far I haven’t taken many snaps as I gather that it isn’t really the done thing to go around photographing everybody and everything.

Thank you for all the appreciative comments and emails.   Until next week......

Hello again from sunny Jinja.

The BBC weather forecast constantly predicts rain, some sunny intervals and thunderstorms throughout the day for Jinja presumably because it thinks that we are in the rainy season. In reality I don’t think that the rainy season is fully upon us.  In the past week we have had a mixture of lovely sunshine and some cloud with only a few major downpours nearly all of which occurred at night. It’s an extremely pleasant temperature and I have not needed to wear a jumper or coat since I arrived. 

It has been good to receive various emails from friends this week.  We are gradually establishing a daily routine and I feel quite settled here in Uganda.  It’s about a half hour’s walk from home to the office. The quality of roads and pathways is extremely variable.  The main route between Kampala in Jinga is of better quality than most of Cambridge’s roads. However, many of the roads in the ‘city’ centre are heavily rutted dust or mud tracks and are something to behold.  I cannot believe that suspensions last very long. Everything seems to get coated in a browny/orange film of dust or mud.  There appears to be some kind of correlation between the affluence of an area and the quality of the road surface and we’re discovering that some of the residential side roads are much more pleasant to use.  Normally there is some kind of ‘pavement’ or path but it is often easier to walk along the edge of the road.  There are no road markings, signs or traffic lights in Jinja and so it is a free for all and very busy particularly in the centre. Getting around other than by foot is quite problematic.  There are the boda-bodas (motor cycle taxis) or buses (little minibuses).  There are no bus stops as such and the drivers tend to shout their destination out of the window and pull in frequently when they pass potential passengers.  We’ve yet to work out how to determine the bus routes. The boda-bodas have a very poor safety record, which isn’t in the least  bit surprising given the quality of road surfaces and standard of driving.  I did take my first ride on Wednesday evening, as it isn’t really advisable to walk back from town in the pitch black in the company of so many mosquitoes.  To be fair, the drivers will reduce their speed when asked to do so and I arrived home unscathed.  I believe that it is possible to hire bicycles but this would require careful route planning.  We are also trying to establish if it is possible arrange a taxi car as we would like to visit places further afield at the weekends.

We’ve now worked out a good walking route into town, which seems popular with the secondary school children.  We have a couple of maps showing some roads and names although the two maps are not entirely consistent. However, there are no road name signs and so we rely on the occasional information marked on individual buildings to help us navigate. It is very easy to get disorientated.  We haven’t yet been able to establish an address for our apartment, which has made the prospect of getting lost a little alarming.  We’ve tried to use the next-door church as a landmark.  This didn’t seem to mean anything to people.  However, we’ve now discovered that the church is known by a completely different name!

Lots of people say good morning to us particularly young lads but I have to acknowledge that this is often due to presence of my young, blonde companion.  We pass tethered goats, wandering chickens and one day we even spotted a monkey.  Most people stroll at a very leisurely pace even when it isn’t particularly hot.  One day I was walking back on my own at my normal, relatively fast walking speed.  A passing Ugandan woman greeted me and then simply said ’You are hurrying’!

Initially, the shopping experience came as something of a surprise as our office is surrounded by numerous small supermarkets. These are generally run by the Indian community and contain mainly imported foods that we would routinely eat and often come with recognisable brand names. Consequently, prices are quite high and clearly not accessible to the average Ugandan. Products contain lots of sugar and colouring and this is noticeable even when, for example, buying a carton of Del Monte ‘orange juice blend’.  There are several cafes that appear to be frequented and possibly owned by expats and provide fairly indifferent western food although one does make a divine milkshake containing kit kat pieces. 

We have now discovered an amazing indoor market that is packed full of just about everything and where we buy all our fruit and veg. The stall holders seem to find us amusing as they sell by the kilo presumably to feed large families and we often ask for quite small quantities.  I’m beginning to get a better understanding of more traditional Ugandan meals as I chat to people in the market.  Posho (or ugali) is maize flour cooked with water to a porridge or dough-like consistency and is pure white in colour with a fairly bland taste. Yesterday we inadvertently found a little restaurant where I had a great meal of posho, doodo (greens) and tilapia.

On the work front things are quite slow to get going.  I’ve been largely office-based reading through a lot of the charity’s documents and talking to the Ugandan team members. Unfortunately, the primary schools are on holiday for a while and so I cannot yet observe any of the health education sessions. The current model is not one that I would advocate if I were working in the UK but I need to understand the Ugandan education system before I can start to form an opinion.  However, I have been taken out to see the other arm of the charity’s work, which is a fantastic social enterprise based in a more rural area employing local women to produce reusable sanitary pads.  

We are keen to ensure that we get out and about at weekends and during the odd evening too.  Last Sunday night we were able to walk to a local hotel for a pizza(!) and jazz evening with a Kampalan band, which was most enjoyable. Next time I'll tell you about our visit to the Source of the Nile Memorial.