February seems to have flown by.  I’m feeling very settled in the team at Hands for Hope – all the staff here are really friendly and I’m enjoying getting to know them better.  A leaving party was held for Tammy, now the former administrator of Hands for Hope, recently and it was a great opportunity to have some fun with the staff.  Ugandans love to dance and many of the team entertained us with their impressive African dance moves!  

Staff Party

Having had time to get to know how Hands for Hope operates and to work out how I can be of most use to the organisation, I’ve decided to pursue a project researching what support services are available for people in the slum with an alcohol problem (a big problem here in Uganda).  It’s great to have something to get my teeth stuck into and to be able to put my skills and knowledge to good use.

I’m also still thoroughly enjoying teaching the children on the Afternoon Programme (those who are not sponsored but receive an informal education from Hands for Hope).  The kids are really keen to learn and are such fun to teach.  I get to challenge my creative side too by thinking of fun ways to teach the kids and making sure different levels of ability are catered for.

 The Fantastic Afternoon Programme Kids Hard at Work

Of course all is not rosy here. I visited an orphanage this month and found the visit really difficult. The children had few toys and did not appear to be stimulated by staff. They also all had wet trousers due to their nappies not being changed.  I’d like to think this sad picture was due to lack of resources (as unfortunately there are many, many orphans in Uganda and insufficient government support to meet their needs) rather than staff neglect. Nevertheless, it was distressing to see.

On a much happier note, two children from the Afternoon Programme started vocational training in mechanics a couple of weeks ago.  They have been sponsored by a previous volunteer to do a vocational course to improve their chance of getting a job in the future.  They were so excited about going, with beaming smiles – it was such a joy to see as we waved them off.  Gaby and I have promised to visit them at some point to see how they’re getting on – I’m looking forward to it already! 

This month I moved out of the guest house as I was the only one staying there now that the others have left and Jenny (new administrator) has moved into her flat.  Another volunteer at Hands for Hope, Gaby, invited me to live with her and her friend, Jens.  We’re all getting on really well – I feel like I’m a student again!  At the guest house I was cooked for everyday so I didn’t have to worry about food shopping, but now a trip to the local fruit and veg market is an almost daily occurrence, which I’m thoroughly enjoying! It’s great fun haggling with the locals – especially if I speak a little Luganda as they always chuckle at this.  I can’t see myself getting sick of eating fresh pineapple and mango everyday either.

One of the local market stalls 

The European Union hosted a week long film festival recently, showing a variety of European and African films for free in an attractive theatre.  We obviously made the most of this and I ended up seeing 10 films in a week! (If you haven’t seen The Untouchables (Les Intouchables) go seek it out - it’s a lovely, heart-warming and amusing French film about a very unlikely friendship). 

I had my first taste of the Ugandan countryside by taking a trip to Murchison Falls National Park.  It was an incredibly hot weekend so being stuck in traffic in Kampala for nearly three hours before being able to get going was a bit frustrating.  However, it was definitely worth it. The waterfall was impressively powerful and we were able to get close enough to feel the water spray on our skin (very welcome indeed!).

Murchison Falls

The game drive through the national park was brilliant.  My childhood wish to see elephants in the wild very quickly came true, with not just one sighting but several both of individual elephants and large groups.  I also was very happy to see several Rothchild’s  giraffes, baboons,  buffalo (including a massive caravan of them heading for water), Nile crocodiles, numerous hippos and many beautiful birds.  Warthogs were everywhere and were free to roam around the campsite – Jenny and I were even graced with a visit from a wandering adult warthog at our tent door one evening.  No doubt looking for tasty treats (foodstuffs or cosmetics – they’re not fussy!). Luckily we were helped to shoo it away – I wouldn’t have liked to try to fight it off!

 My first sight of an elephant in the wild!

 Grumpy looking buffalo 

 This lovely giraffe agreed to pose for the camera!

 Hippo getting some sun

Elephants and hippos hanging out

The highlight of the game drive had to be seeing a lion cub tucking into the neck of a dead buffalo very close to the track.  The rest of the pride was close by but neither mum (accompanied by another two young cubs) nor dad seemed concerned that we were there and continued to relax under the shade of a tree.

 Mum and cubs

This male was very happy lazing in the shade

 Lion cub tucking into a tasty buffalo

We visited a rhino sanctuary the following day, which was also utterly impressive.  We were taken by a guide into the bush of the sanctuary and very soon spotted a large male rhino sleeping in the shade of a tree.  We then saw a group of about 10 rhinos with the piece de resistance being that the group included a one month old baby!! The guide had pre-warned us to run up a tree if a rhino charged us.  I’m not great with guessing at distances but suffice to say it would’ve been tricky to outrun any of these powerful creatures had they taken a disliking to us tourists-come-paparrazi! Indeed at one point a few of them did turn to face our group, lined up like soldiers ready to charge.  My heart certainly beat a bit faster at this point but thankfully they soon decided we weren’t a threat and moseyed  on to find more shade. 

Unfortunately my pictures are taking ages to upload so I will have to delay the rhino pictures until next time as my internet time is running out and I'm determined to post this today!! Hope you enjoy the view of Murchison Falls from the river boat though :-)