Bikes and Bodas

Bicycles and boda-bodas (motorbike taxis) seem to be the majority of the traffic here. Bodas are a nuisance and very dangerous. They drive between lanes of cars, drive on the wrong side of the road and pull in front of cars and trucks. Drivers rarely wear helmets and helmets are not provided for passengers. I have uploaded pics to my photo album of bodas and bikes carrying people and goods. I have yet to get a pic of 5 people (usually 2 of whom are babies or small children) on a boda but will keep trying.


Hauling matooke to market



http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/sets/72157606330651974/

Irish Student Teachers

For 6 weeks we’ve had 4 recent graduates from colleges in Dublin living on the campus and teaching in the local schools and at the college as well as painting and doing odd repairs at a school, etc. They raised and donated a great deal of money for the college and intend to raise more for the local schools. They made quite an impression on all of us and will be missed. This 6 week stay of graduates from Dublin occurs annually. If next years group are half as nice as this lot, we'll be very fortunate!

Photo is Mary, Elaine, Des and Anna.

Potholes from hell!!!

On our trip to Kampala yesterday I calculated that if we were driving on a UK or US motorway or even a properly paved 2-lane road, the trip would take half the time. However, since driving on these roads is like manoeuvering on an obstacle course, it takes 5 hours instead of 2.5. It is also thoroughly tiring and stressful for the driver. Some of these potholes can be compared to Grand Canyon. Ok, not quite, but they are the biggest I have ever seen. And so numerous! I believe many of them are due to trucks which are overloaded. They are also made and repaired with low quality materials.

I have tried to take photos of these but the depth and overall size and frequency of them cannot be shown in a photograph.

Trips are unlike those in the UK or US. Rest stops or motorway stops? No such thing. Public restrooms? Not that you’d want to use. Fast food? Nope. Nice petrol stations filled with goodies to snack on? Well, to be fair they do have some things to eat or drink. And there are a couple of places to stop with decent food and proper toilets.

A local school

On a recent visit to Bushenyi we paid a brief visit to one of the local schools as which a recent Bishop Stuart PTC graduate now teaches. A new wing is being built on the school.

Mobile phone companies – advertising

All over Uganda there are buildings painted bright colours with the logos of mobile phone companies. Since landlines are rare outside the capitol of Kampala, most people own a mobile phone thus making competition between companies fierce.

In trading centres, towns, and villages many shops have been painted as advertising. Some buildings appear to be used as homes. Not sure how this is arranged – do the business/homeowners get a free paint job in order for the company to obtain advertising? I will have to ask. Anyway, amongst all the dull, brown buildings there are the following very bright colours which cannot be ignored:
Warid – White with red and a dash of blue
Zain – Hot pink (formerly Celtel)
Uganda Telecom – bright blue
MTN – bright yellow
Celtel – Red, yellow and white (now Zain)

Visiting a Ugandan home

A couple of weeks ago we visited the farm of one of our college drivers. Tugume lives on the campus but visits his home which is about 1.5 hours away by car as often as he can. Not owning his own car, as most Ugandans don't, he must travel by public transport which makes the journey very long.

Tugume is a former school teacher and is very intelligent, has an excellent command of English, and is very interesting to listen to. He is also one of the nicest and most helpful people we've met.

We were warmly welcomed at Tugume's home by his wife, several of his children and some grandchildren. His farm has a very large garden with many matooke trees, some cows, chickens, and other crops. As is typical in Uganda, guests are given an extra special meal - definitely not the typical meal a Ugandan family would eat. This meal was superb! The family was so welcoming and happy we visited. Their English was excellent and it was obvious that education is extremely important in the family. The eldest son is soon to graduate from a university. I had a chat with a teenage daughter, Rose, who said she loved to read (unusual for a Ugandan to read for pleasure). She said she liked novels and also Shakespeare. Impressive! I have loaned her some of my books and am keeping an eye out for more.



Grandson



Daughter Rose