Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year everyone!
Uganda
is a landlocked country in east-Africa, slightly larger than the state of Victoria
in Australia, and has a population of 22 million people. Not many people are
very familiar with this country but most people have heard of the Major-General
Idi Amin Dada who took over the government from the Prime Minister Obote in
a coup in 1971. He managed to ruin the country in a reign of terror but the
Tanzanian forces overthrew Amin in 1979. Unfortunately chaos and civil war followed
until 1986 when Museveni took power and brought back some kind of stability.
Adi Amin now lives in Saudi Arabia.
Uganda
is also the home of half the world's remaining mountain gorilla population.
Kampala, the capital, suffered a great deal during the civil war but has come
back from a looted shell to a shriving modern city of 774,000 people. The traffic
though is amazing, there are no traffic lights or any rules so when you arrive
to an intersection everyone try to go through, the result is some incredible
traffic jams.
Sunday
8 Dec.
They charged an extra fee at the border because it was Sunday. I was able to
buy a visa for Uganda for US$30.00 and again they charge me for the road permit
US$20.00. They kept on harassing me to buy insurance for the bike but I was
in no mood for spending more money, even though I knew if the police stop me
I would be charge a fine, I was prepared to take the risk.
I rode all the way to Kampala without any problems. The price of petrol surprised
me though, at nearly US$1.00 per litre that makes it as bad as in Europe and
that is the highest that I seen so far in Africa.
Dodging the traffic in Kampala was something else especially when I was not
too sure which way to go. I finally found the backpackers camp after some heavy
sweating, put the tent up and meet some of the other guests.
The next day was spent at organizing my visa for Ethiopia (US$63.00) and visiting
the national World Vision office where I was welcomed by James Monge, James
is the CRS Manager. He took me for a very nice buffet lunch and explained to
me in details the involvement of World Vision in Uganda. He also arranged for
me to visit the Kammengo and the Buwama Development Project for the next day.
Tuesday
10 Dec.
Kammengo is located at 55km south from Kampala; it took me just under 45minutes
to ride there, the scenery along the road was beautiful, very green and fertile.
I was meet by Francis Eswap (pictured) who told me a little more about the project.
It was started in October 1995 and is now helping around 30,000 people with
1,646 sponsored children but the objective is to have 2,500 children sponsored
in the coming year. They have already built 2 schools but 4 more are under construction,
they have provided children with schools uniforms, desks, books and supplies.
There are also schools for adults to teach them how to write, read, business
management and other skills. On top of that, health clinics are established
and children are immunized against common diseases. Springs are protected to
provide clean drinking water to families. Community members are learning to
work as AIDS counselors,
birth
attendants and health -care workers. Using bicycles which have been provided
for this purpose, they make home visits, teaching others about various aspects
of health-care including nutrition, disease prevention and nursing those with
AIDS. Community members are also learning new skills including tailoring and
carpentry.
Some of the villages are only accessible on motorcycles so Francis joined me
on his little Honda and together we rode on some of the smallest paths I have
ever rode on. First we visited one of the water springs then one of the health
clinics where I had the chance to have a chat with the doctor. He sees around
80 patients every day, treating them from minor illnesses to more serious cases.
We, then, rode on to a primary school were 500 pupils were playing around as
it was the end of the year and only one more school day before their Christmas
break, they will be back early February.
We also visited quickly another project at Buwama; there we had lunch with some
of the head of the community as there were having their monthly meeting. Later
on we visited some of the local families; they were able to show us their crossbreeding
goats and new ways of fertilizing the soil.
Those
two projects definitely need more sponsored children, some of them are pictured,
if you would like to sponsor one of those children just send an e-mail to Jay
Robinson at robinsonj@wva.org.au she
will be more than happy to help you.
The next couple of days were spent at catching up with the laundry, the e-mail's
and visiting the town centre.
Saturday
14 Dec.
Even though I was starting to enjoy Kampala, it was time for me to get moving
again. I had the tent folded by 9am but lost 1 hour trying a short cut to get
out of Kampala; I was heading to Jinja, 80km away and the home of the Nile source.
Jinja is a charming town on the shores of Lake Victoria (third largest lake
in the world) but I went straight to the Bujugali falls 8km from the town centre.
I was able to camp right next to the falls in
a beautiful setting. This is where the River Nile starts and runs all the way
to Egypt to the Mediterranean, 6,500km further away, via Sudan. Obviously the
extra water runs down from the Lake Victoria. Apparently, it takes the water
3 months to reach the Mediterranean. . Lots of tourists come here to do some
rafting and
kayaking
but soon all this region will disappear under water as the government is building
a dam not far down the river, pity because the sceneries are just amazing.
The next morning, after an unscheduled but necessary 10km run, I left this most
beautiful place and headed toward Kenya as planned. The plan was to visit my
last World Vision project in Uganda, at Tororo to be exact, just 10km from the
border. I decided that I would give camping a miss for once and found a guesthouse
with a very reasonable price. That night I nearly died when I got the worst
electrical shock of my life. I was working on my laptop when a violent unexpected
thunder storm exploded above us sending a charge of electricity through the
computer. Likely there were no damages on the machine or myself but everything
was unplugged in record time and put away for the night.
Monday 16 Dec.
I started the day with a 10km run again, (have to stay fit somehow) it's actually
a nice way to explore the surroundings first thing in the morning and also to
see the locals at the start of a new day. Then I rode to Iyolwa where Peter
Walyaula, community development facilitator, was expecting me.
The Iyolwa project is very new, it started in 2001, so I was keen to see what
it was actually like at the beginning of a project and Peter was the perfect
person to explain it to me.
The community members struggle daily with a number of poverty-related problems.
HIV/AIDS has again had a major impact on the area. Outdated farming practices
have also affected crop yields. Lower incomes have limited the community's ability
to deal with its health issues.
Poverty and its causes are complex and cannot be remedied overnight. The poor
often feel powerless to change their situation - yet they have the best understanding
of their own community, its unique history, and its problems. World Vision workers
encourage the people to identify the causes of their poverty and to plan project
activities which meet both their urgent and long term needs.
Community members decide which needs should be met first, and who should benefit.
This helps restore a sense of dignity and control over their lives, naturally
creating a positive environment for children to grow in.
Obviously health, education, income generation and leadership have priority.
Being such a new project there were not much for me to see but we still meet
with a few of the locals HIV/AIDS sufferers and had a chat with them, a good
chance for me to see what sort of life those people are facing every day. They
did tell me though that the counseling is a great help to them.
We also went to a primary school where the community had organized a Christmas
party for the children. Again I was welcome like a king, with singing and dancing.
So far they have 600 children sponsored but are looking at 2000 more to be able
to see the project through.
I did not get to see any of the gorillas or to do any rafting on the Nile while
in Uganda (too expensive for my budget) but what I have witness lately is worth
so much more and if you and me can bring more smiles on those children faces
then my trip will be a success.
Tomorrow I will cross the border into Kenya once more and will have to face
my first real dangerous road later on in the north of Kenya on my way to Ethiopia.
That road is not only in appalling condition but also very unsafe due to attacks
from locals bandits who shoot at you, so you have to travel in convoy for two
days with an arm soldier at the front and another one at the back. My worry
is, will I be able to keep up with them, if not
I hope to be able to tell the tales in my next update in the meantime have a
wonderful Christmas and a great new year! There will not be any turkey or ham
for me this year but plenty of dust and stress. Click
here for more photos.
Joyeux
Noël et bonne année à tous!
L'Uganda
est un peu plus petit que la France avec une population de 22 millions d'habitants.
Peu de monde connaît bien ce pays mais tout le monde a entendu parler
du Général Idi Amin Dada qui a renversé le gourvernement
du premier ministre Oboté en 1971. Il a ruiné le pays sous un
règne de terreur mais il a été renversé à
son tour par les troupes tanzaniennes en 1979. Malheureusement une guerre civile
a suivi jusqu'en 1986 quand Museveni a pris le pouvoir, il a ramené le
pays dans une sorte de stabilité. Idi Amin habite maintenant en Arabie
Séoudite.
Kampala, la capitale, a beaucoup souffert pendant la guerre civile mais maintenant
c'est une ville de 774,000 millions d'habitants presque moderne.
Dimanche 8 Déc.
Comme c'était Dimanche j'ai du payé 5 Euros pour passer la douane.
J'ai pu acheter le visa sur place 30 Euros et aussi la taxe de route 20 Euros.
Ils m'ont harcelé pour acheter une assurance mais je n'ai pas cédé,
j'ai préféré prendre le risque de rouler sans assurance
que de payer encore 30 Euros pour une semaine en Uganda. Une autre surprise
m'attendait, c'était le prix du litre d'essence, à 0,80 Euro
c'est le mème prix qu'en Europe je crois, c'est le plus cher que j'ai
vu en Afrique.
Je suis arrivé à Kampala dans l'aprés-midi sans ennuis
et je suis allé directement dans un terrain de camping. La circulation
en ville est incroyable car il n'y a aucun panneau de circulation, ce qui
donne des bouchons partout car tout le monde essaye de passer en même
temps aux intersections.
Le lendemain j'ai passé la journée à organiser mon visa
pour l'Ethiopie et aussi à contacter le bureau national de World Vision.
La visite d'un des projets était prévue pour le lendemain.
Mardi 10 Déc.
Je suis parti de bonne heure en direction de Kammengo, petite communautée
à 60 km au Sud de Kampala, la route était superbe, verdoyante
et fertile, beaucoup de bananiers et de plantations de thé. C'est Francis
Eswap qui m'a accueilli, c'est lui le responsable du project et nous avons
passé le reste de la journée à visiter des écoles
primaires, des cliniques de soins et aussi des points d'eaux. Il n'y a pas
de route pour accéder à ces villages, seulement des chemins
mais avec la moto le problème était résolu.
Les jours suivant étaient consacrés à faire la lessive,
visiter la ville et à répondre aux E-mails.
Samedi 14 Dec.
Bien que Kampala me plaisait il fallait quand mème continuer la route,
donc je quittais le camp à 10 heures en direction de Jinja seulement
80km de Kampala.
C'est à Jinja que le Nile prend sa source en direction du Soudan puis
l'Egypte avant de ce jetter dans la Méditerranée 6,500km plus
loin. Beaucoup de touristes viennent içi pour descendre les rapides
en canoé kayak. Je suis allé directement au bord des chutes
de Bujugali ou j'ai pu camper dans un endroit vraiment super. La plus grande
partie de l'eau vient du Lac Victoria qui se trouve tout prés. Ce lac
est l'un des plus grand lac au monde, en fait c'est le 3ième.
Le lendemain matin, aprés un petit footing de 10km pour garder la forme,
je reprenais la route vers le Kenya comme prévu. Ma derniere visite
en Uganda était à Tororo, seulement à 10km de la frontière.
J'avais organisé avec World Vision de visiter le projet de Iolwa. C'est
un projet qui vient juste de commencer et je voulais en savoir plus sur cette
communautée et comment WV allaient le développer. Encore une
fois le sida est un grand problème dans cette région, j'ai rencontré
et parlé avec quelques-uns des souffrants pour connaitre idées
sur cette maladie et aussi pour savoir comment W V les conseillaient et les
aidaient à se débrouiller avec leur problème de santé.
Nous avons aussi rendu visite à une école primaire qui célébrait
Noël. Les parents faisaient cuire un grand repas sous les arbres, à
l'aide de feu de bois et de grosses marmites. Ils faisaient cuire du riz et
de la viande.
Demain je retourne à Nairobi et de là je continue vers l'Etiopie.
Cette route est trés dangereuse et aussi en trés mauvaise état,
elle n'est pas goudronnée et s'il a plu elle est presque impassable,
en plus il faut rouler en convoi avec une escorte de police armée car
il arrive que les convois soyent attaquer par des bandits. Cela prend 2 jours
de route. Je vous raconterai tout sur cette aventure dans mon prochain journal.
Joyeux Noël à tous et gardez moi des huîtres et un morceau
de Bûche car je ne pense pas en manger cette année.
A bientôt, j'espère !
A local cow with a big pair
of horns.
La vache sans le prisonnier.
Visiting the school in Kammengo.
Visite d'une école à Kammengo.
Riding around Kammengo.
Les chemins de Kammengo.
Relaxing along the River
Nile.
Un moment de repos au bord du Nile.
Those children need you!
Ces enfants ont besoin de votre aide!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOURNAL 10
20/12/02. Uganda . Tolal mileage
so far 14,200km.
(Pour la version française
du journal, allez au bas de la page ou cliquez
içi.
Pour revenir à la version française du site, cliquez
sur Français)
How
can you help make Ride4Kids a worthwhile project? To find out,
click here.
|
|