Somehow I was having a couple of terrible, no good, very bad days… (15th July)

The last few days have been “somehow” and haven’t been my favourite days in Uganda. I have been very disappointed with a couple of things here, the major thing being the work I was asked to prepare for and present hasn’t happened. To be honest, I’m not sure of the exact reasons but think it was due to poor organisational skills and a lack of regard for the effort I had gone to. I wouldn’t have minded so much if there were other things happening but Mum and I have spent more time twiddling our thumbs than spending time constructively.

Our stress levels blew up yesterday on our way to Murchison Falls National Park, where we had arranged to take our host family as a ‘thank you for having us’, as although the kids have seen kangaroos in the wild in Australia, they had never seen elephants, hippos, etc in the wild in Uganda. I don’t want to bore you with details of a petty argument, but it evolved because we found out we weren’t going to reach the park until late at night, not a good idea when there are still a few rebels around and the British owner of the place we were staying had been killed ~12 months ago, when he had been out on the road at night time. Such a risk may have been justified if there was a good reason, but instead we spent the morning again sitting around and later ended up sitting by the road in a remote town for 2 hours after our host stormed off. We certainly provided a spectacle for the locals and somehow attracted the local “crazy man” who stood staring at us for the 2 hours.

So it was a tense start to our “fun” weekend away and I was having a few “I shouldn’t have come” thoughts. But during the weekend I was reminded of what I love about Uganda:

The first thing was the natural beauty of this country. I had never been to Murchison Falls NP before and was taken aback by its beauty. We went on a fantastic game drive and saw hippos, elephants, giraffe, hyena, warthogs, monkeys, crocs, different types of antelope and bucks plus even saw a lion feeding on a small animal. We also did a boat cruise to the bottom of the fall and again saw lots of wildlife. The kids were very excited by all the animals, especially 10 year old Daniel, who has an amazing thirst for and retention of information.

The second thing I was reminded of, was the friendliness of the Ugandan people. Mum and I were sitting alone at dinner (we had been ditched by our “family”, so were feeling a bit down) when a young Ugandan woman, Olivia and her 18 month old son Dexter came and joined us. The conversation flowed easily and we were soon joined by Olivia’s husband, Peter. They were lovely people, very natural and friendly and Dexter was gorgeous. It’s difficult to describe but it was one of the best nights I’ve had on this trip. I don’t know if I could talk so easily with a couple of complete strangers back home. They were an inspiring couple too – Peter works on the Refugee Law Project at Makerere University (main uni in Uganda) and Olivia for a paediatric neurosurgery hospital. After having a couple of bad Ugandan days, it certainly lifted my spirits. Peter and Olivia would have had no idea, but our brief encounter with them renewed my faith in the people of Uganda and reminded me of the many positive experiences I have had here.