Tips on settling in for volunteers outside of Kampala

These are tips only for volunteers outside of Kampala since Kampala is a totally different world from the rest of Uganda - plenty of shopping malls, etc.

Volunteers get houses/rooms/cottages/flats which will have no furnishings, partly furnished, or fully furnished. Be prepared for one which is completely empty so you won’t be shocked. You may have electricity and running water or you may not.

Our house had a table, 2 wooden chairs, 2 single beds with mattresses and a toilet brush. No dishes, nothing to clean with, no basins for doing laundry, no clothesline, no sheets, blankets, etc. It took many months to fully furnish our house.

Furnishing your home:
Before you leave for Uganda, take a good look around your house, especially your kitchen. We were discovering items we needed after many weeks even months. Being faced with an empty kitchen and a disorganized shop for purchasing kitchen items can be daunting. You suddenly are faced with trying to remember what was in your kitchen and you don’t realize what you are missing until you are cooking and need the item. Here is a list I made after furnishing our house to help volunteers who came after us.

Kitchen:
Knives, forks, teaspoons, big spoons
Spatula
Large spoon for cooking
Soup ladle
Water jugs
Pots and pans—don’t buy the ones with plastic handles as they often fall off
Large plates, small plates
Bowls for cereal/soup
Containers for leftovers and storage
Set of large, lidded containers - the largest can be used for food packet rubbish to keep out disgusting critters, etc.
Tightly sealed containers for flour, sugar, rice etc.
Mugs, glasses
Teapot
Tin/can opener
Bottle opener
Chopping knife
Set of smaller knives – paring, etc.
Mixing bowl
Strainer for rice and pasta, etc.
Chopping board
Shopping bags
Sticky hooks for walls for utensils, hand towels, etc
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Plastic Basins:
small for dishes
3 large for laundry
medium sized for bathing
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Misc:
laundry basket
Rubbish bin(s)
Dish drainer
Clothes pegs
Clothesline
Iron
Ironing board
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cleaning cloths
sponges
scouring pads
hand towels
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dish soap
laundry detergent
Bath soap
General cleaning liquid
scouring powder
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scrub brush
broom
floor mop and bucket
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candles and holders and lighters or rechargeable light
long handled squeegie for shower floor
Rolling plastic storage shelves or other shelving/cupboard
Plastic wardrobe
Jerry cans – even if you have running water in the house
Clothes hangers

Gardening tools
hoe, spade, rake, fertilizer, insecticide
slasher for lawn
heavy duty gardening gloves (hard to find good quality here – buy them before you come)

If you have electricity I highly recommend getting a small refrigerator and a surge protector. Unlike most of our neighbours we've had no trouble with cockroaches or rats, which we're sure is due to keeping all food in a refrigerator or in tightly sealed containers. Dishes are washed immediately after use.

If at all possible do your household shopping in Kampala. You can get just about anything at Uchumi in Garden City mall and Game at Lugogo Mall.

TO BRING WITH YOU:
Surge protector strips – power outlets are the same as the UK – the ones you buy are are likely to be of very poor quality. I bought one here and it caught on fire!
(Electrical items are poorly made in Uganda and will have Ugandan/UK plugs, European 2 pronged plugs, or South African which is another type altogether.)

Bring lots of tshirts as they will fade from the sun or get blotchy from the harsh detergents.

Hat with brim.

Bath towels – thin for easier hand washing (it’s hard to find absorbent towels here)

If, like me, you are allergic to anything perfumey and need everything unscented/hypoallergenic, bring it with you. I also had to bring large quantities of single vile eye drops (for dry eyes) as you can’t buy them here.

Other:
You can get a USB mobile phone modem for the internet here. It’s very s…..l…..o…..w… but worth it. At MTN the monthly cost after buying the modem and giving a deposit is 90,000 shillings. Uganda Telecom has a new high speed mobile internet but the price is 220,000 per month.

If you have electricity I recommend buying an electric kettle. You need to boil all your drinking water and doing so on a cooker takes a lot of time and fuel.

I will edit this post to add an additional information I think will be helpful.

Any specific questions, just post them in comments here.