As promised in my last blog here are a couple of pictures of the rhinos that I saw when visiting the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary:
Here's the one-month old rhino peaking out from behind his protectors!
My housemate, Jens and I visited the Botanical Gardens in
Entebbe a few weeks ago. The gardens showcased many beautiful
flowers native to Uganda, as well as some that were very
strange. For instance, there was a tree that had flowers that look like a human
brain and another that had pods that when opened up revealed swirls of silky
cotton! The gardens edge onto Lake Victoria, where we saw families enjoying the
beach and water. Although, very tempting the lake holds a disease called
bilharzia so it’s not safe to swim in, so it was just the view we could
enjoy.
Beautiful flowers at Entebbe Botanical Gardens
Brain plant!
Silky cotton-like substance from a pod.
Birds of prey (kites maybe?) enjoying a drink and a paddle at Lake Victoria.
In a bid to move forward with my alcohol project I visited a
drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in Kampala. The centre seemed to offer a similar type of
programme to what one might find in the UK. However, I found it odd that we
were unable to have a look around the centre’s facilities so was unable to get
a good feel for the place. Regardless, it was way too expensive for any of the
parents of Hands for Hope's sponsored children to access and so I won't be contacting them again. Luckily, my recent meeting with a member of Alcoholics Anonymous
was much more promising. The gentleman I met was very keen to help support
those suffering with alcohol problems in the slum by trying to arrange a
meeting in Namuwongo. Fingers crossed I'll be able to arrange this.
The children on the Afternoon Programme continue to work
hard and so are improving with their English and maths. We recently took
pictures of them to stick on their new workbooks – they love having their
picture taking so there were very happy to pose for a group photo!
Here are a couple of pictures of my walk to the office:
One chilled out Sunday afternoon was spent visiting Gaba fishing
village. I went with Jenny (administrator at Hands for Hope) to experience a Ugandan fish auction. Being a Devonshire
girl I was expecting lots of yelling in a garbled dialect similar to our farmers
markets back home so I was quite surprised to find that the fish auction was a
much more sedate affair. The locals all gathered around the auctioneer and quietly
passed their money over when they’d secured an inaudible bid. It was not an
uninteresting morning though, as whilst we were waiting for the auction to start we watched boat
after boat come in to the harbour from the nearby islands. each one was packed with a variety
of things including fish, vegetables, soil, people and even boda-bodas
(motorbikes). I was also taken aback (horrified actually) to witness the
filleting of several fish: rather than being knocked out and then cut up the
fish were hacked into and butchered into pieces whilst still alive and flapping
about. I haven’t eaten any fish since!
Gaba fishing harbour
One of the boats bringing in supplies from the islands
More of Gaba village
Last week I travelled to the South-West of Uganda with a couple of friends to a beautiful area called Lake Bunyonyi. The lake is studded with about 20 green and mountainous islands. I found it be an incredibly calm and peaceful place. Lea, Imogen and I stayed on Itambira Island in a geodome (a round wooden
hut with some of the wall missing so you can see the lake and the stars from
your bed!). It took us about 8½ hours to get there but it was really worth the
long drive. We spent two days there enjoying the scenery through walking, canoeing (in a dug out canoe),
swimming and reading: it was bliss!
Looking hot and sweaty after a hefty trek up to a stunning view of the lake
You can see a couple of the geodomes on the island we stayed on
One of the outdoor showers on the island (hot water on request)
Our geodome
View from the geodome
One of our neighbours on the island
Although the journey from Kampala to Lake Bunyonyi was a long one it was full of interesting sights of Ugandan life, for example, people selling fruit and vegetables along the roadside. We bought 4 pineapples for 4,000 shillings - that's a pound in sterling!
Pineapple anyone?
We also had to stop to have out picture taken at the equator!
Hawkers selling various foods and drinks to people on a bus.
