I’ve been gone for a week today, and it feels like 3 times that with all that I have done in such a short amount of time. My days are so long, and by 9:30 I can’t keep my eyes open.
Last Thursday, I hastily packed up all of my belongings only to find out that my suitcase alone weighed 80lbs. With only minutes before leaving for the airport, I decided to bring another bag and pay the excess fee. With the help of my mom, we filled a large duffel with my extra things (to bring down the weight of my suitcase) and stacks of clothes my sister has grown out of. And we were off to the airport!
Once we arrived, I found out my flight was delayed 30 minutes. Unfortunately, because of lousy booking on the behalf of STA, that mere 30 minutes caused me to miss my next two connections. After much confusion (and I’ll admit… a few tears) I had to settle with a later flight out of Detroit, a much later flight out of Amsterdam, a reroute through Nairobi, and finally an arrival in Uganda on Saturday morning instead of Friday night with Ben and Holly. I was blessed, however, that the agent felt bad and waived the 3rd bag fee.
Saturday
I finally arrived at Entebbe Airport at 9:40AM on Saturday (so 3 days after I left Nashville) and received a warm welcome from Holly, Ben, and dear friend- Honorable Betty Udongo. Were they a sight for sore eyes! Too bad my luggage failed to make it to the airport, too.
After filing missing luggage claim forms with Kenya Airways, we rushed off to the Sheraton Hotel so I could freshen up. Within 2 hours, we were on our way to the North, to a district called Nebbi in the northwestern corner of the country. Betty is from there, and that is the district she represented as a Member of Parliament.
What should have taken 5 hours took 9 because our land cruiser broke down twice along the way, but we finally arrived in Nebbi after midnight. Before going to our hotel, we stopped at Betty’s village and ate traditional food at her brother’s home. There was no electricity, so we sat by lanternlight as we enjoyed our meal.
Sunday
We woke up around 8AM after only 5 hours of sleep and visited Betty’s secondary school, Nebbi Standard College, where we were greeted by the headmaster and several of the staff. The school is on recess until February 4th, so we hope to go back later in our trip to visit the students.
There were several inspirational stories awaiting us there. The headmaster was an orphan that Betty invested in as a child. She paid his way through school and university, and after studying education, he returned to run NSC. He was quite posed and well spoken. Also, another person that touched my heart is Rose, the Bible and Religious Studies teacher. She has been accepted a Christian university in Kampala, but she cannot yet go there because she does not have her school fees. It will be $700 a semester for 3 years for her to receive a degree in Development Studies. She needs the first $700 for this semester by February 4th or she will have to forfeit her enrollment at the university. Holly has contacted her parents’ small-group, and we are waiting to see if they are willing to fundraise for Rose. Hopefully if a few families will donate $100 each semester, then she can receive her degree then go back to invest in developing Nebbi.
Betty brought microscopes and science textbooks so that she can introduce “A” level next year. A level is like 11th or 12th grade in America. She is offering two scholarships to the first boy and girl who register for A level science.
After lunch, we drove to Arua to visit Betty’s father’s grave (he passed away in October) and to see where she was born. Arua is like Gulu only larger. It is a bustling village. There are not as many mzungu (white people or foreigners) in Arua as Gulu, though. While visiting Betty’s family, we walked through the bush and saw a watering hole where kids had thrown off their clothes and were taking a dip. It was so cute. I have been on baby alert there. I can’t get my hands on enough babies.
That night we stayed at Gaf Apartments back in Nebbi. The hotel reminds me slightly of Acholi Inn in Gulu. It is very nice and comfortable.
Monday
On Monday morning we began our drive back to Kampala by stopping at Paraa Wildlife Park in the Amuru District. We woke up late and missed the Nile Riverboat Cruise, and instead just drove through the park. We saw elephants, giraffes, buffalo, a hippo, and gazelle-esque animals. My favorite are the birds that ride on the back of the elephants and buffalo.
The best part of the drive was riding on top of our SUV. We climbed on the roof to take pictures and ended up riding up there for a few minutes to take in the sights. It was up there that we saw the Nile. Betty later blessed us by washing our hands in the water of the Nile. Ben said he felt very biblical and kept asking us to turn around and look in the water because he thought he saw a baby floating down it in a basket. He told us to leave the baby for the pharaoh.
After leaving Paraa, it took us 12 hours to get back to Kampala because our vehicle kept overheating. By the end of us we were all extremely irritated and exhausted. I hadn’t been predominantly in a sitting position since Thursday. To make matters worse, when we had to have another car pick us up, the driver put my backpack (the only luggage I had) in engine oil. I got that all over Holly’s clothes when I put on my backpack at the Sheraton. The hotel was nice enough to wash my bag for free, though. They have been so nice and accommodating to us.
Tuesday
We woke up and enjoyed a delicious buffet breakfast, and then began to run our errands around town. Betty took us to Parliament where she introduced us to the Director of Human Resources. She told us to complete an “application” and bring it back as soon as possible so we could be placed with committees or departments that match our interest. I was ecstatic! What a fantastic, invaluable experience to intern at the Parliament of an African nation.
Betty left for Tanzania in the afternoon, so we took a private hire taxi to Dick Kawooya’s home outside of Kampala. He and his wife have been gracious enough to let us stay where while we are in Kampala. Betty works in Gulu and Dick commutes back and forth from the US. We arrived at his home in the trading center of Kissasi, about 30 minutes outside of downtown Kampala. There are two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. There is running water, but the shower is cold. Brr. You get used to it. In the kitchen there is a propane stove on the ground with a single burner. We’re getting by with cooking and have made most of our meals on it.
Vincent took us by taxi (the van public transportation used here) to Ntinda, the large trading center a short ride away. There, there is a “supermarket” where we bought groceries. We have been devouring the nuttell we bought. That night the electricity was out, so we had to light candles to be able to see.
Wednesday
We woke up before 8AM and cooked eggs and toast for breakfast. I received a phone call mid-morning that answered all of our prayers… my luggage had arrived at the Sheraton! So in the afternoon we ventured out to catch a taxi into Kampala to pick up my bags. After getting off slightly far away from the hotel, Holly followed her nose and delivered us to the hotel without much trouble. We took a private hire back to our home, since there was so much to carry.
Right down the road from our home, the car got stuck in the road. Luckily, it was right beside a field of soccer players, and they rushed to help. They pushed and pulled on the car and finally got it out of the mud. Holly and I had to walk the rest of the way since we had mud all over our feet and didn’t want to get it in the car. A delegation of 30 high school boys “escorted” us home. We made them stop at the corner because we don’t want them knowing exactly where we live and harassing us.
Thursday
Today we woke up and rushed to print off our resumes, recommendation letters, and cover letters for Parliament. We successfully navigated our way by taxi to Kampala for the second time. This time, I felt more comfortable, and when the money collector tried to cheat us because we are mzungus, I publicly embarrassed him on the ride and demanded that he give me the correct amount of change back. The 14 people riding with us all chuckled, but he was very rude and deserved it. If you are too nice here, people will take advantage of you and cheat you out of money.
At Parliament, we were told to come back on Monday with passport size photos. I am sooooo excited! I wrote down the different committees I am interested in, and I believe I am going to be able to rotate around and spend a few weeks in each one. I am researching the reconstruction in the North and the Juba peace talks, so my first choice is the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs. Bernard, our Human Resources officer, told me there will be opportunities to go into the field with the difference committee members.
Holly and I also met a female Member of Parliament named Rose in the restroom who is a representative for a district neighboring Kenya. She really rooted for us visiting her district, and she said that there are refugees from Kenya staying in camps in her district. Once we get settled in, we will try to arrange a trip with her to see for ourselves what is going on.
I cannot believe what an incredible opportunity this will be. They are so accommodating to us, and I know that we will be able to tailor our internship to our interests. Holly is going to work more with economics and foreign affairs, and Ben is going to work on social service and education. Then, we are getting a more comprehensive experience of Parliament. We will end our internships on March 14th when Dr. Hackett and Patricia arrive, and then travel to the North to relocate. The 2nd half of our trip will be based out of Gulu.
We haven’t had many opportunities to interview people yet because we have been settling in, but we had a very interesting conversation with Dick’s brother, Vincent. He is such an informed man with so much potential. He is 25 and is seeking sponsorship in a Master’s program in the US. He wants to study graphic design and animation, since there are no programs in that in Uganda. He wants to create animations with African characters because he says there are none like that. Even in South Africa, the animation I saw this summer was stressing the hybrid culture in South Africa and did not fully embrace African culture.
He is an artist and we are going to recruit him to our Gulu art therapy project “Dreams and Nightmares.” He seemed to be as excited as us.
We spoke politics for awhile with him, as well. He is very informed on the US Presidential race, much more so than most Americans I know. We also spoke Ugandan politics. As a Bugandan, he was largely unaware of the situation in the North until he traveled there himself for the first time in June 2007. He went to Gulu and said “I was shocked when I saw what was happening.” We spoke some on the landbill (which I will write more about later) and Museveni’s tactics as a President. He compared Museveni and Uganda to Animal Farm, which I found so fascinating. I need to speak to more southerners about the country to get a complete view of how this nation is viewed.
All in all, we have had a great time in the last week. I can’t wait to begin working at Parliament, so I can have more substantial updates.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
