Jan
13
2018

Uganda – Day 7

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So we start the long journey home.

Things I have learned In Africa…

1. You can survive on a lot less water if you have to. I drink loads at home but due to being worried about having to find toilets I restricted my intake a little.

2. I will never, ever complain again about the toilets at Greenbelt. This week I have pee’d in some truly grim places – most of them have been a simple hole in the ground with a cover you shift out of they way and you squat like nature intended! I have learnt that when you have to go you just have to get on with it!! I have also learnt it is much easier to wear a skirt or a dress when visiting rural communities.

3. I have learned that rice, beans and chapatti are a very acceptable lunch. Don’t bother with t he chicken – it is so scrawny it’s hardly worth the hassle!

4. If you want your evening meal to come on time them place your order at breakfast.

5. The children are beautiful. They are curious and at times shy but they love seeing themselves in photos. My happiest moments this week have been sat surrounded by children.

6. A Ugandan welcome is like nothing else I have ever experienced. It is generous and loud (Ugandans are very quietly spoken!) and participative. They love a good party it would seem!

7. It is entirely possible to carry a full load on a motorcycle. So far we have seen one motorcycle carrying four adults. Other times they have been loaded up with banana stalks, about 40 pineapples, barrels or something, sacks of flour or concrete and mattresses. We have also seen live chickens and pigs strapped to the back or the bike.

8. This week I have discovered that he Ugandan women are amazing. They are resourceful, diligent, very hard-working, creative and above all else they are committed to their families. Very often grandparents are caring for grandchildren as their parents have died. They are incredible.

9. The people in the rural communities are often incredibly poor but their generosity is shaming to those of us who have so much. In some of the places we have been we have been given food, drinks, gifts of chickens and eggs and fruit and veg. We have also bought mats and craftwork but sometimes we have been given more than we paid for!

10. Above all else this week I have learnt that community is what makes VSLA work. The groups run on trust and accountability to each other. Without that trust the group will not be successful.

This week has been life changing. I think a tiny piece of my heart will stay firmly here in Africa and it may just have changed me forever.

 

 

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |

2 Comments »

  • It’s been really interesting reading about your travels. Thank you for sharing your thoughts & experiences. I am supporting two women through Lend With Care, both of whom are supporting families in difficult coircumstances.

    Comment | January 13, 2018
  • How blessed are, we have so much…..yet maybe we are not as rich as some of the people you met……their commitment to each other and their joy and fun in very difficult circumstances are a lesson to us all!

    Comment | January 14, 2018

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