In the Jungle the Mighty Jungle,,,

Hello Everyone!

I am currently staying in a hostel in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Seth and I have been traveling for the past few days and although we had planned to trek back to Kasese today, we cannot bring ourselves to do it. The six hour bus ride is very hot, bumpy and crowded and we have spent most of this morning traveling on small crowded mutatus to get to the capital. We have decided to break up our travel and enjoy Kampala for a little while! In the past week we have traveled to Murchison Falls, where we went on safari. While in the park we saw elephants, warthogs, giraffes, antelope, hippos, crocodiles, lions, and much more. We also took a boat ride down the nile river, where we spotted many hippos and took pictures in front of the falls. Following our trip we went to Mukono district for a dinner with one of the organizations that AGRADU works with. The food was wonderful, and we liked the place so much we decided to stay for a day and see the city! After staying in Kyetume for a few days we went down to Katosi, which is a small fishing village in Mukono District. We visited the two girls who are working there, and they showed us around town. We went to Rhea's english class, fed monkeys on Monkey Hill, and took a boat ride with a local fisherman out on Lake Victoria! It was great to see the girls, and totally worth the bouncy rides on the mutatus to get there (mutatus are rickety vans that serve as taxis and ugandans load 20 or more people on them) It has been really interesting to see the other interns CBO's and where they are living. It is also just nice to hang out together, it is a bit of a reminder of home!

So now, Seth and I are relaxing for the day and updating our blogs. Tomorrow we are back to Kasese, and we plan to go to the local schools to begin teaching or tutoring in whatever subjects are needed. One difficulty we have faced in Uganda is that although there are programs for us to work on, they rarely fill our day. In order to take full advantage of my time here I am going to help out in the schools as much as possible in the next few weeks. I am also working with a secondary school on a health program, and with another local organization that supports children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Many of the children have HIV themselves, and they are often teased in school for it and tend to drop out. The organization aims to counsel the children, give them ARV's, pay their school fees, and push them to get an education. I have also recently begun working with the Rwenzori Empowerment Center, an organization that is doing a lot of good work in the area. The organization has an orphanage for street children, a training center for women to learn how to sew and make a living, and a microfinance program. R.E.C. also pays for landmine victims to travel to proper hospitals and get prosthetic limbs. I am constantly impressed by how many people are working hard to improve lives in this country. I am also surprised at just how kind Ugandans are, and how willing they are to help out whatever the situation.

I suppose that is everything that has been happening for the past few weeks, I am having a great time but also looking forward to getting home. As the weeks progress its funny how much more often the interns talk about foods we miss when we are all together. I will try to post some pictures, but Ugandan internet is quite different than the speeds we are used to.

Megan

Under African Skies

We have been unable to post until this point as we have been out on the farm for the beginning of the week, and the internet has been unavailable until recently. There are many things to catch up on!

Perhaps the best place to start is the bus ride out to Kasese. Seth and I caught a cab at 5:30 am to the bus park and upon arrival I couldn't help thinking that it was little more than a mob of people in a dirt lot. Before the car stopped people were opening the doors of the cab and taking out our luggage. John has warned us to keep an eye out for people who tend to run off with bags, so Seth and I sprinted to opposite sides of the bus to ensure nothing was stolen. Finally, after quite a bit of struggle we made it onto the bus and we were off. Although a bumpy six hour ride, the road through Mbarara offers some of the most spectacular views of Uganda that I have seen thus far. While riding through the foothills of the Rwenzoris the road passes by Lake Africa. Our friend Isaac was kind enough to explain the lake to us once in Kasese- he told us that the lake was shaped by volcanic lava, and it is a perfect replica of the African continent. In addition, the water source that feeds the Lake runs out the top in the same place as the Nile Delta. The bus passes right by what would be the border of South Africa and Mozambique!

According to all of the guide books Kasese is a hot and dusty town that isn't worth making a stop for on the way to Fort Portal. Although undeniably hot and dusty, I have enjoyed my time in town. Much to my surprise there are a lot of other mzungus around, and when I spot them I almost get the urge to point and yell "mzungu!". The phenomenon must be contagious. Everyone in the CETRUD office is wonderful and has been very helpful in showing us the local markets and restaurants around town. Our stay at the CETRUD garden was luxurious when compared to everyone else- running water, electricity, fans, showers, three meals a day, even air conditioning (for one night). However we made up for it quickly during our stay on the farm. During our three days we learned a lot about the day to day operations of the farm, and the pace at which things happen in rural areas. We also learned that it is possible to survive without running water electricity. The CETRUD farm provides food to local markets and hotels in Kasese, and prides itself on being a teaching farm. Training programs about nutritious farming, produce yield enhancement, and other topics are held for community members. One of the most inspiring programs CETRUD offers is the Caretakers Program, in which proceeds from the farm are used to support over 200 children orphaned and families affected by HIV/AIDS. The money pays for school fees and provides scholastic materials for those who could not otherwise afford school. Despite doing so much good in their community, CETRUD suffers in the sense that the CBO desires to do more than there is funding for. In my time here I hope to find more grant funding for the community so that they can continue to make a difference.

Welcome to Kasese

I have arrived in Kasese yesterday, the small town where I will be spending the rest of my summer. Kasese is a small town that serves as the base for the surrounding farming communities, and is located in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. I will post pictures when I get the chance, but this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We are about a mile away from Queen Elizabeth National Park, which Godfrey (the organization director) showed us when we first arrived. He drove us to Lake George and we bought fish from the community who live in the park in homes provided by the government. Absolutely breathtaking views, and on our drive to the hotel we saw gazelle about 20 feet away from the car- our own safari on the first day!

The hotel that I am currently staying at is nicer than my apartment now- there's a shower and toilet which is pretty ritzy here. The hotel is in a gated compound and has a wonderful garden full of all kinds of exciting tropical plants, which I have been asked to identify and make labels for. The owner of the hotel is interested in the agrotourism industry so many people visit him to learn more about East African plants.

The hotel is expensive, so I am going to be staying in town at a motel or on the organizations farm in a place called Karusandara. There are fewer amenities, but hey I am in a third world country. People are surprised to see Seth and I walking around, many of the Ugandans in the rural town have never seen a white person before. The most amazed are children, who will follow us around if we are "footing" about town pointing and shouting "mzungu!" which means foreigner. It is hard to get used to it! We have a program outlined for us so that we get to see a bit of everything that is done here at CETRUD, which is a ton. One week will be spent on community training, one on a poultry project, one on HIV/AIDS etc. I do feel like all of these things will meld together in our time here. CETRUD really does some amazing things with the community and I am looking forward to getting started. In the mean time I am adjusting to the heat and the food, and learning some of the local languages.