Our Man in... Uganda and Kenya

My bags were packed and I was ready for anything. Then I arrived in Kampala! Madness! If you want a taste of the real Africa then Uganda has it all- amazing people, extreme poverty, smiling children (sounds strange in the same sentence but so true), stunning scenery, great journeys, awful roads, good food, cheap beer and great weather... need I continue?  

The flight over was my first test. A test of my TEFL skills when the Russian gentleman I sat next to was hard of hearing and spoke no English at all! All my TEFL training was used to good effect when explaining the meal options of chicken or salmon. Doing the birdie song and flapping my arms was enough to get the message across and we both tucked into the chicken.

My departure from the UK’s constant rain was greeted with 30°+ temperatures in a sweltering city environment. Being a Brit abroad I donned my white vest and applied my factor 5 (token gesture) and began researching and reviewing new project opportunities in Uganda, otherwise known as the ‘pearl of Africa’. 

Kampala is now a modern, bustling capital city that boasts one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. However, the level of poverty is still very high and education is far behind that of other developing countries. I was fortunate enough to visit many different community development and teaching projects, all very keen to receive committed and enthusiastic volunteers to assist them in their development and provide the much needed cultural exchange for their children. The time spent with the children was amazing and the hardest part was leaving every project after a short time. An orphanage on the outskirts of Kampala was particularly challenging but equally rewarding. With over 350 children accommodated and educated on site there was plenty to do. In addition, the school has recently received a large number of books and has created a small library which they hope to further develop and open up to the local community. I introduced myself to every class and spent time with some children who were too ill to go to school. Seeing their faces light up was fantastic and certainly makes you think about what matters in this world.

Sadly my time in Uganda was up and my first taste of overland travel in Africa was all that separated me between my next stop: Kenya! With ticket in hand I boarded my bus for the 6-hour journey (or so they told me at time of booking) to Kisumu; Kenya’s 3rd largest city on the northern tip of Lake Victoria.  If you do one thing with your travels (in addition to volunteering) then you must travel overland in Africa. It is both amazing and insane in equal portions. Two hours into the journey and the tarmac road turned into what can only be described as a dirt track as we negotiated the oncoming traffic in a country where there are no road rules! With the roads as bad as they are we encountered our first bit of traffic. Looking ahead at the grid lock I expected a short delay but with the low battery on my iPod, last few pages of my book and lack of food, I wasn’t prepared for the 3½ hour delay. Day soon became night and we had hardly moved. It was now 9pm and my arrival time to Kisumu had approached and I wasn’t even across the boarder. Finally we began to move and slowly continued our journey through rural Uganda. With my passport in hand I joined the back of the line to patiently wait my turn. What I found amazing was everyone’s disregard for line-jumping! Always being brought up to respect order I was easily frustrated by the ease at which people just joined the queue at whatever point they chose. I clearly wasn’t getting anywhere so decided ‘if you can’t beat them… join them’. Tentatively I strolled to the front and squeezed myself in. Nervous at the thought of upsetting someone I was pleased to have my visa in hand a few minutes later and proceeded across the border to get my Kenyan visa. With an equally long line I thought I’d try the same tactic until I got shouted at and sent immediately to the back of the line. Thirty minutes later I was legally allowed into Kenya and ran off to find my bus hoping that it hadn’t gone without me. A six hour journey had turned into a 12-hour epic and I finally arrived in Kisumu at 3am!

In contrast to Kampala’s busy, loud and exciting atmosphere, Kisumu is a pleasant, sleepy town in the Western Highlands of Kenya. My development work would continue again as I visited a number of other fantastic community development and teaching projects eagerly hoping for volunteers to come and assist them in country. The projects were equally challenging and in need of assistance and again I was honoured to meet so many amazing people, all devoting their lives to those less fortunate. The project staff were dedicated and committed to the needs of their project and keen for the opportunity to work with volunteers from around the world.

In summary Kampala and Kisumu are places you should definitely put on your ‘places to go’ list. Both very different… Kampala never sleeps and Kisumu has a more relaxed way of life, but both have fantastic volunteer project opportunities and eagerly await some much needed assistance. Sadly my trip was too short for me to spend the time I would have liked at each project or even try some of the other highlights these fantastic places have to offer, such as visiting Lake Victoria and Victoria Falls, rafting the Nile or visiting the stunning mountain Gorillas in the Ugandan jungle. I have many fond memories of my first short but eye opening trip to Africa and look forward to returning with more time to make a difference.

Keep an eye out on our website for information on the new projects in Kampala and Kenya. You will not be disappointed!

Thanks and safe travels,

Simon