UGANDA – Days 1-7
I honestly had no idea what to expect in Uganda. Particularly
in the main city. I haven’t watched any doco’s on Kampala or seen pictures that
I can remember were actually Kampala and so when I arrived I was amazed. What
an incredible city. Very busy, lively, colourful and vibrant. The streets are
filled with people working or riding bodas (motorcycles used as taxi type
services) or sweeping the streets or selling fruit and vegetables or the
occasional gate or bed…. It’s a vibrant city and I love it.
Although here we stand out like a sore thumb… Mzungu’s we
are called. White people. They speak the language called Luganda although
English is widely spoken as well. In Uganda, I’m white. LOL. In Australia I’m
not. It reminds me of my trips to Samoa where we are called palagi’s.
(Pronounced palangi). Which also means white person. I kind of like it. In no
way is it used as a racist term but more of a term of affection.
We, my friend Hannah and I, arrived here on Monday 6th
late at night and headed to dinner with David and Savannah, my brother and
sister in law who are living in Kampala at the moment. The restaurants in
Kampala are much like our restaurants in Australia. Although a lot cheaper.
11500 UGX will get you a massive burrito filled with avocado, rice, verduras
etc. That’s about $4. I’m pretty sure Mad Mex sell burritos for $10! And the
food is delicious. Avocado’s are about 3 times the size of ours! You can get a
Coke here for 800 shillings… that’s about 40c!
WATOTO
On Tuesday, after a delicious brekky, we headed into Kampala
to go to Central Watoto church. This is where Dave and Sav have been working. Watoto
means child in Luganda. The ministry looks after abandoned, orphaned, and less
fortunate children. It is quite a large organisation with a couple of large
villages where the children are raised and looked after by foster mums. What
they are doing is very heart warming and selfless. These children have nothing
when they come to Watoto but the love shared for each individual is endless.
Some of the children participate in the choir as part of their program. Dave is
currently filming their new promo video for the children’s choir before the new
tour next year in January and Savannah has been assisting in choreography of
the choir. Dave took us on a tour of the church and we met his friends and
colleagues and then had the opportunity to watch the kids in action. Aunty
Alison and Aunty Hannah thoroughly enjoyed the warm welcome and the incredible
singing and dancing that the kids showcased for them. I even got the chance to
learn the dance and join in. However I can’t show you that because it’s top
secret information. ;) Followed by some
warm loving hugs. I could hug those kids all day.
In the afternoon we popped into Living Hope which is where
the ladies make bags, jewellery, toys and other items for sale. The money
raised goes back into the community to less fortunate women. I am getting a bag
hand made and can not wait to showcase it in Sydney. J
We then headed to Baby Watoto. This is where the babies are
looked after before heading to the villages at an older age. We played with
gorgeous babies and had plenty of cuddles. For privacy reasons I can not show
you those photos but here’s one I can and it happens to be my favourite one
anyway.
MOUNTAIN GORILLAS
Wednesday morning we arose bright and early and hopped in
the van with Bonny our driver. He was driving us out to Bwindi Impenetrable
Forest to see the mountain gorillas. While it was a long drive it was totally
worth it. Along the way we drove through Queen Elizabeth National Park and saw
elephants, baboons, plenty of birds, Uganda kob, and vultures. Unfortunately we
were unable to locate the famous climbing lions which was disappointing but the
sanctuary will satisfy my need for lions. Haha.
Before dinner we went down to see the local kids do some
singing and dancing for us. They were so energetic and even did a little kind
of weird gorilla dance and song for us. Settling into our lodge we had a
delicious meal and met the team looking after us. We were the only ones at the
lodge.
Thursday. Finally! Mountain gorillas! It is seriously
unexplainable so I’ll try with photos. We were lucky and didn’t have to trek
too far to see them. I made sure that I was living in the moment… spending more
time observing and watching the gorillas with my eyes rather than through the
lens the whole time and I don’t regret that at all. Having said that, here are
a few of my favourite photos.
In the afternoon we went for a walk with Sam one of the men
looking after us at the lodge and we walked down to the local hospital.
We spent some time chatting down by the fire before going to
bed.
Our trip back on Friday was long but we still got to see a
lot of Uganda. Including some crested cranes but as we were going so fast I was
unable to take a photo.
This experience is one that will remain with me for the rest
of my life. With the only thing between us and the gorillas being nature, it
was magical. Like something out of a fairytale. The soul and softness in the
gorilla’s eyes is humbling. And I don’t think I’ll ever experience something
like that again. They came so close to us when walking past us, almost brushing
our legs. Amazing.
On the way back we stopped at the equator so that we could
be in two places at once. J
WATOTO – SUUBI VILLAGE
Saturday and Sunday were spent with Dave and Sav doing some
filming for the promo. We headed up to Suubi village which is on top of a
mountain and has the most breathtaking view. The village is equipped with a school,
a church, houses, a medical centre and playgrounds. It houses close to 1200
children and their foster mums. Word spread around the village pretty quickly
that we were using a go pro helicopter (which I brought for Dave from
Australia) and the looks on the kids faces when they saw that helicopter fly
was worth every kilometre of transport.
We enjoyed a traditional lunch at Winnie’s house. Winnie is
one of the singers in the choir. Her foster mum welcomed us with open arms and
we had a traditional Ugandan meal. I really enjoyed it.
We filmed in the school, in the playgrounds and in the
cluster of houses. I can not wait to see
the final product that Dave and his team produce.
On Sunday we went to church in the morning and I loved the
service. A beautiful message on Jesus’s miracles and that they are not a thing
of the past. They are very present today. Afterwards this beautiful girl showed
me her home and we met some more wonderful Mama’s. I have so much love and
respect for these women who dedicate themselves to God’s work.
We had a late lunch and drove back to the apartment where
Hannah and I hopped on a boda just for the experience before leaving Uganda.
Dave hopped on another one and filmed us on the sony cam. It was actually a lot
of fun! Although we witnessed an accident occur right in front of us with two
cars! Crazy. Mum if you’re reading this… don’t worry, we were very safe and the
driver was very good. J
We stopped in at the markets and bought some fresh fruit for dessert.
A lovely dinner at home with fellowship with Dave and Sav
before we fly off to South Africa for the next adventure. Stay tuned for
stories from the Lion Sanctuary.
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