Mbarara, Uganda

No contract or definite departure date yet, but almost definitely our home for the next two years will be in a village just a few km west of the town of Mbarara which is the main municipality of the Mbarara District. It is located in southwest Uganda (see map in the sidebar). Danny will be working for a primary teaching college in education management. His duties vary and include supporting headteachers and teachers in the district, involving the community in education issues, and developing a resource centre for schools.

Links and maps are in the sidebar.

Mbarara District and Mbarara Town

Population:

• Mbarara Town: 70,000


• Mbarara District: over 1 million

Typical foods:

• Fruits: mangoes, pineapples, bananas (endless varieties), pawpaw, jackfruit, passionfruit, avocadoes, dudhi (melon), oranges, lemons, tangerines. A variety of vegetables are grown as well. Vanilla is a big export product.


• Matoke: a staple dish in Uganda which is a type of plantain banana. It is cooked in a peanut sauce with fish, meat or entrails.


• Stews, beans, smoked or dried fish, beef, potatoes, yams


• Junk food and chocolate can be found! I've been clued in to the ease of finding Pringles, Nutella, and Mars Bars but I will try to ignore them except for occasional treats.

Crime:

• Mbarara Town and surrounding areas seem to be relatively safe. Crime is generally of the type you will find in most cities in most countries--purse snatching, robberies, house break-ins. We are advised not to go out in the dark or travel on roads in the evenings.

Living conditions:

• Electricity is generally available every other day unless you have your own generator.


• Water must be filtered and boiled


• Clothes driers are obviously not used in most homes. All clothing must either be thoroughly ironed or not used or worn for 48 hours. The reason for this is that when you hang your laundry out to dry mango flies will lay eggs on them, which will then burrow into your skin after making direct contact. Ironing will kill the eggs or when left for 48 hours they die on their own. Yuck.


• Toilets. Apparently a flushing toilet is not that common outside of posh hotels. It's considered to be nearly a luxury to have your very own pit toilet. We will be given our own home or flat and will have running water-possibly only from an outside tap, and whether a pit or proper flushing toilet is a surprise we'll have to wait for.


• We will have a refrigerator but will need to limit the amount of times it's opened on off-electric days. There are bottled gas refrigerators which would solve that problem.


• In many areas it is expected that we will give a housekeeping job to a local woman. Hmm... do something good and get a maid!


• Shopping. It seems that Mbarara will have nearly everything we need. If we can't find it there we can probably find it in the capital, Kampala. Street markets will have a huge variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.


• We will have access to the internet and even if it is broadband it will likely remind us of the early days of dial-up connections.


• Mobile phones are common and we will use these instead of landlines.


• Uganda is in the process of switching from analog television to digital.
  

Climate and Critters:

• Mbarara District has a pleasant, tropical climate. Temperatures range between a night-time low of 14C (58F) to a maximum daytime temperature of 30C (86F). Sounds brilliant to me! The rainy season falls between mid August to December and mid February to May.


• Daily applications of sunscreen and Deet are mandatory. It is recommended that we wear light-coloured clothing including 100% cotton loose trousers, long-sleeved loose fitting tops. Wrap skirts or dresses are favoured by women and bright colours are common in many African countries. Wearing shorts by either sex is frowned on unless they are long shorts (3/4 or capri pants). Due to the elevation there aren't as many mosquitoes, but it only takes one to give you malaria. We will, of course, be taking anti-malarial medication faithfully.

Location:

• Mbarara Town is located at an elevation of 1,480 metres (4,850 feet)


• The equator is about 40 miles(?) north of Mbarara Town


• Mbarara Town has a university and several colleges

Republic of Uganda:

• Chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (since seizing power 26 January 1986)


• Independence: 9 October 1962 (from UK) It is still a member of the Commonwealth.


• Capital: Kampala


• Major airport: Entebbe


• Population: approx 30 million in 2007


• Size: 236,000 sq km - slightly smaller than the US state of Oregon


• Religion: Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census)

Landscape, Location, Attractions:

• Uganda's great natural beauty led Winston Churchill to call it 'the pearl of Africa'.
  
• Uganda is in East Africa and straddles the equator.


• The country is bordered by Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo. Lake Victoria forms much of the border between Uganda and Tanzania. See map in sidebar.


• Uganda has rain forests, mountains, lakes and the origin of the Nile


• Gorilla and chimpanzee tracking on guided trips


• Uganda has ten national parks, ten wildlife reserves and seven wildlife sanctuaries, some of which are acclaimed as being amongst Africa's best. The country's main wildlife attraction for foreign visitors is the rare mountain gorilla, found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, both in the southwest of the country.


• Safaris


• Wildlife: gorilla, chimp, baboon, elephant, crocodile, lion, hippo, giraffe, cheetah, buffalo, and a variety of birds

Language:

• English is the official language of Uganda and is used in government, business and in education.


• There are many tribal languages and we will be learning basic phrases of the language in our area. We can expect that many of the people we deal with in the markets, etc. will not be fluent in English. It also aids us in making local friends and endears us to them when we make an effort to learn their language.

Danger in Uganda:

• VSO does not send volunteers to dangerous areas and if an area becomes dangerous, volunteers are evacuated.


• 99+% of VSO volunteers return home alive and well. The majority of volunteers who die during their placement are due to road accidents.


• Rebel insurgents are in northern, northeastern, northwestern, and western Uganda at the DRC border. The southwest is safe except for occasional trouble at the Rwanda-Uganda border.


• A brief history of the Uganda Civil War.
  

Many people have visions of volunteers as those who go to war-torn areas, areas of extreme famine, or sites of natural disasters. However, we are not with the Red Cross or any other emergency relief organization. Danny will be working for a local employer who provides a reasonable living allowance and housing. VSO provides support and pays for all medical needs for both of us.