Ugandans find it hard to believe that not all westerners are rich. Their definition of rich is vastly different from ours. When I explained to someone that there are many very poor people in the US and UK they asked for a description of their living conditions. When asked if they had indoor plumbing and electricity, I replied 'yes'. I was then told that they are not poor.
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| Mud hut and pit toilet |
Someone asked me about transportation in our countries and I told them most people have cars and there is also the option of buses and trains. It was assumed that we also had boda bodas (motorbike taxis) and there was surprise when I said we don't have those.
People are surprised when we inform them that many of the things we see on the roads here would cause the driver to be put in jail in our countries. Things such as completely filling the back of a pickup truck with people, or putting 4 passengers on a motorbike, or putting 25 people in a 15-seater mini-bus taxi, or filling a 5 passenger taxi with 1o people are what is normally seen here.
Except in the capitol and possibly a few other places, mortgages are not something one gets here. One of our neighbours is having a house built on some land he bought in town. He saves his money and when he has enough for the next phase of the house, he buys the materials needed and pays someone to construct it. Many people we know have built their homes with their own hands. It is common to make your own bricks! As for licensing of plumbers, electricians, construction workers to build these houses....not here, no way. People are amazed when we tell them to buy a house in our countries we get a mortgage and then pay for the house for the next 20 or 30 years.
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| Lady on a boda boda - motorbike taxi |
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4 comments:
I love this post! I have been lurking around reading your blog for a while but this post remided me of what it is to be in Africa.
sometimes we forget how fortunate we are, we take for granted that we see our selves as not having much but compared to a lot of people out there we are rich when it comes to material wealth.
I hope you and Danny are well. I'm around but not posting much. Sending you both hugs.
Interesting post Annie! Poverty is relative--those of us in the west truly are wealthy.
We in the west are so very spoiled. I often look at the living conditions here and feel so fortunate to have such a comfortable life. Sure, I have 'inconveniences' here, but they are temporary. I'll be going back to my spoiled life next year. As much as I resolve not to take things for granted when we return, I'm sure it won't be long before I do.
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