Our final blog…

We’re in Mombasa, finishing our time in East Africa with a week on the beach. As we reflect on the last five months we thought we’d share the things we’ll miss and some of the things we won’t…

The monkeys playing in our back garden…

Boda bodas…

The chapatti guy (and more importantly chapattis)…

Cows with unbelievably big horns…

The walk down to our local market…

Our friends…

Our cleaner Susan, who we’re sponsoring to do a course and her family…

The anti-AIDS posters, which seem to be effective in lowering the percentage of Ugandans with AIDS (although why would watching Brokeback Mountain together be a good idea?)

The finance team at FICA where Swarupa worked some of the time…

Ismail and Moses who we’re supporting to start a taxi business…

Tom and Diana (our boss and his wife)…

Ugandan children…

MTN Heathens (Paul’s rugby team)…

Kampala itself…

Matooke (Paul claims he’ll miss this)…

The things we won’t miss are the bugs (especially the cockroach we found inside our mosquito net the other morning) and the power cuts – our recent five days without power were a little annoying.

It will take a while for it to really sink in exactly what we’ve gained from this experience and likewise whether we’ve given anything back. Paul’s study was published and showed impact investing is a worthwhile model that creates real social benefit…

Impact investment study

Above all, what we can say is that we’ve had the best five months of our lives. We both agree that we’ve changed slightly, we seem calmer and less bothered about things and as we looked around our very basic accommodation on our final morning in Kampala, we realised how little you need to be happy.

Goat racing…

A highlight of the Kampala Society calendar…

Big hats included, need we say more!

Managed to sneak into the VIP tent- free food and drink all day so very happy.

Our boss (angling for the prize for best dressed family) – goat #5 is his…

And they’re off….

The goats get followed around by this slightly scary mattress on wheels to stop them going in the wrong direction…

Predictably we kept backing the wrong goats in every race…

So we gave up and went back to drinking with our friends…

So much fun!

Oneness…

Last Friday we were invited out to the villages in the Kibale district by our colleague Edward (finance director at AAC). Kibale is part of the Bunyoro Kingdom in Uganda and has seen a lot of tribal fighting and, as Edward explained to us on the way up, his grandmother used to warn the kids not to go to strangers houses as cannibalism still exists. It is also the area in which a faith called Oneness was started by a chap called Owobusobozi Bisaka in the early 80’s when he discovered he had the power of healing people. Edward is pretty high up in the faith of Oneness and was keen to take us to meet Owobusobozi and pray with them – a real privilege for us as it’s not often one meets a living religious leader with 1.8m adult followers.

On our trip up, Edward explained to us the core beliefs of Oneness, principally the idea of unity but also the belief in polygamy (to avoid prostitution and therefore disease), no drinking and no family planning (we already had a inkling that this faith wasn’t for us). 5 hours and one flat tyre later we arrived at the place of worship. Having removed our shoes and greeted everyone by them saying “disunity” and us responding “it has ended” we went to the house to meet Owobusobozi. While waiting we spoke to one of the “bishops” of the faith and ended up having a fairly heated debate on religion. Then finally we met the man himself. He’s in his early 80’s and seemed pretty unremarkable except for his very shiny expensive shoes. We knelt before him and were told to ask him questions in front of a group of a dozen or so of the seniors in the faith. We quizzed him on his dislike of the bible and family planning and hoped we didn’t offend him too much when we kept arguing with him. Luckily we didn’t and he invited us to join them to pray….so we went inside the hall with 1,000 or so of his devout followers, his 3 wives and his c.30 children.

After a  bit of introductory stuff came the fundraising bit – first donations, then an auction of fruits/veg, which took some  time – this is a large pumpkin that took ages to sell. We picked up a jackfruit and some avocados…

Then a short bit of praying and a few hymns and then the entire congregation knelt before him and he touched everyone’s heads.

We left the hall not really knowing what to think, but hadn’t realized that, as the only mzungus there, and probably the only ones most people had ever seen, we had also developed minor celebrity status. This is Paul (along with Edward and Anne, our hosts) being engulfed with kids as we left the hall.

It's a Mzungu

A lot of sitting round in the house again (and a lot of photos with random people who wanted photographs of us with them) plus dinner (you can’t go to an African house without being fed) we finally managed to say goodbye to Owobusobozi and this is a picture of him presenting us with his book (unlike the bible he’s proud to have signed this as the author).

We then made our way back to Edward’s friends house where we were staying the night. The family was lovely, the husband and wife and their two sons looked after us so well, and naturally we had to eat yet another meal.

The next morning we went and looked at their cattle on a couple of their farms and Paul had a go at milking one of the cows. It took several hours to just get a glassful so eventually we let the experts take over.

This guy has no idea what he's doing...

After breakfast we went into the local town Kadage which is pretty typical of any town “upcountry”.

We took a trip out into a couple of the nearby villages and went on the hunt for some locally brewed waragi in the market (it’s a gin that’s 60% proof and most people warn against drinking it). We found we could only buy it by the jerry can (the seller was not keen on having his picture taken) so managed to obtain some from elsewhere.

Nice suitcases...

We finally ended up at Edward’s dad’s  farm (he has 13 kids thanks to the belief in no family planning!) and after yet another meal and a look at some more cows we made our way back to Kampala.

Awesome weekend – thank you Edward!

As an aside, this is a picture we took of a curious onlooker as we changed the flat tyre…

Rich American…

Paul visited a honey business in Arua, north West Uganda, about 20 kms from the Congolese border. The Arua flight is one of the smaller routes from Entebbe airport. The plane was a 6 seater (including pilot and co pilot seat). One of our group was an American called Rich…Rich American. He was part of the Lutheran church, who’d decided to relocate to Southern Sudan now that it had recently been granted independent status from its northerly neighbour. Rich American (RA) was a tall man about 6”6 and about 20+ stone. As we took our 4-birth seats, the ladies took the seats on the right, meaning that it was either me or my boss Tom to sit opposite RA. Tom left me to take the bullet and took up the pilot’s offer of a seat next to him. The seats faced each other, so RA’s legs straddled Paul’s with Paul tightly clenching his legs so that they would fit between RA’s legs. As soon as we were in position, RA apologized for the smell of his shirt, apparently he’d not had time to change that morning.  RA was a talker, he didn’t stop the entire flight; Paul was desperately trying to enjoy the view that the little plane was providing, with views of Murchison Falls, the Nile, expansive Savanna…Paul thought to himself that this was his Out of Africa moment, he could hear John Barry’s theme tune in the background…with Paul as Robert Redford and Rich American as his Meryl Streep.

To convey Paul’s plight, here’s a pic of the toy plane.

Sport in Uganda…

Paul’s started rugby training down at Kampala rugby club with some of the Ugandan national team. The standard at 15 man rugby in Uganda is pretty strong, they recently lost the African Cup to Kenya on points over 2 legs.  The players are very big and physical. At 32, Paul’s unsure whether he really needs this but he’s giving it a good go. Training has consisted of six mile runs and lots of contact drills and being Africa these boys are fast and big! Saturday just gone, Paul was selected to play for the MTN Heathens, they’re sponsored by a large Telco and are the no1 team in Uganda. Needless to say that at the moment Paul feels a bit out of his depth, mainly because of a lack of fitness from not playing for 15 months. Here’s a pic of Paul playing for the Heathens, see if you can spot the Mzungu.

All the lads have been really welcoming, coincidentally Paul’s  bumped into a Ugandan fella he used to play rugby with 10 years ago in London, Roger Lule. He’s become a bigwig down there and seems to be organizing things. Roger’s helped Paul settle into the club; here’s a pic of him (one in the middle).

A couple of Friday’s ago we attended a 20:20 cricket match, Uganda v Zambia. The atmosphere was electric, like something out of the Indian Super League. The crowd were blowing Vuvuzelas all game and Uganda won with two overs remaining, largely due to one of their middle order hitting 3 6s in 3 balls. Fantastic!

Dad’s visit…

Paul’s dad came to Kampala for 10 days. We were quite apprehensive about spending such a long time with him. We needn’t have worried, the 10 days were great fun. Although Kampala doesn’t offer much in the way of things to see, Dad filled his days sunbathing by our local pool, reading books and visiting central Kampala. On each of the weekends we did road trips, first up was Jinja, about 2hrs drive from Kampala. Jinja is at the source of the river Nile by Lake Victoria and is mainly famous for its rapids which offer some of the world’s best white water rafting (including 3 grade 5 rapids (scale goes up to 6 apparently)).  It was pretty brave of Dad at 65 to do the rafting but he took all in his stride and we had a really enjoyable day. Our hotel was right on the Nile, next to some rapids offering great views and even better swimming. Here’s a picture of Paul and Dad swimming in the Nile.

The second weekend we visited Queen Elizabeth national park which is in South West Uganda. The area was probably our favourite place in all Uganda with stunning savanna and excellent safari and boat trips. Both excursions offered much better animal viewing than Murchison Falls and Paul saw his first lion which was fortunate as it has likely saved us a lot of money, we may well have had to book a trip to the Masai Mara in Kenya if he hadn’t.  The lodge we stayed at was very intimate, only 6 cottages which had been taken that weekend by only 3 groups which was unfortunate as during dinner we were disturbed by a huge and I mean huge and aptly named Goliath beetle. It took us all by surprise but Dad no doubt inspired by his surroundings and stories of Livingstone in the jungle, jumped up squashed it with his size 9 feet. The whole dining room stopped and everyone turned round to see the huge insect mess in the middle of the floor, the ladies on one of the tables looked a little green, the Germans on the other table gave Dad deadly looks. The staff were also quite taken aback as apparently these beetles are lovely, harmless creatures and often kept as pets by the locals. Dad apologized to the staff and made it up to the various groups by making polite conversation the following morning. I promised Dad we wouldn’t mention the episode on the blog. Sorry Dad; it was great having you here and we’re pleased that we have someone to share the memories with when we get back home. For completeness, here’s a pic of the Beetle (not the actual one as it no longer looks like this!).

To make up for it Dad, here’s a nice pic of you and Paul.

Pool against Pros…

A few weeks ago we went out with a couple of friends to Kabalagala, an infamous area in Kampala (also the name of banana pancakes).  The area is known for its bars, restaurants and prostitutes so we felt we really had to check it out at least once. We went to Capital Pub, which I quote from the guidebook “single men may be flattered to receive considerable attention from a resident crowd of visually delightful young ladies…”

Paul’s eyes lit up when he saw the pool tables and that was it for a hour until one such lady offered the winner a game. Paul hadn’t been playing too badly and won the game so it was him against the pro – and she was a pro! Defeated after the first game Paul had to sit back until it was his turn again. This time he was determined to not be beaten by a girl, unfortunately his confidence increased having beaten her once and he thought he was invincible so started challenging others to a game. Needless to say eventually we had to get out of there quick and on to a nightclub.

Fishy but good…

Swarupa has spent most of her time working on 2 projects since we’ve been here. The first is a seed business in Kampala which needed help with management/financial controls, cash forecasting etc, the second a new potential investment in a fish business outside Jinja. The fish business is run by a Bishop in his early 80s who when Swarupa first met him welcomed her to the farm and explained that “this is where we start the fight against hunger”. We’ve not really talked about the poverty around us in this blog but every day we can see how with food prices increasing things are becoming harder and harder. Uganda doesn’t have the same drought/famine issues that its close neighbours are currently suffering but the country relies on subsistence farming and it’s tough and food security is a real problem. Anyway, the Bishop despite his humanitarian vision, was extremely commercial and very feisty. They took out some catfish to show Swarupa and this 10kg beast started flip-flopping away with the farm hands struggling to catch it. The Bishop hands over his walking stick and grabs hold of the fish by the mouth and offers it to Swarupa to take home.  Lake Victoria has been overfished (with a lot going to export), fish is now a really expensive protein so the project is really worthwhile and fingers crossed the investment will sign before we leave.

The introduction…

We were lucky enough to be invited to a traditional marriage ceremony for our bosses wife’s cousin in Wobelenzi, a small village a couple of hours out of Kampala. For most people, weddings in Uganda tend to be a traditional introduction ceremony followed by a more conventional civil/church service a few weeks/months later.

The idea behind the introduction ceremony is that the groom, along with an entourage of his closest 100 or so friends and family visit the bride’s family. With them they have to bring a number of gifts (some requested by the bride’s family) in order to get the girl. Most of the bride’s village is invited (there must have been 300-400 people) so they can check out the husband to be. We were part of the groom’s entourage and had met the rest of the group at a nearby hotel to get changed. Paul wore a Kanzu (a white tunic) and Swarupa dressed in a traditional Gomezi. Swarupa was horrified that her bum was made to look bigger by wearing a kiko underneath but big bums are considered attractive in Uganda… The group then set of (the more cars the better) down the little village alleyways.

After arriving at the bride’s house the groom’s party were given a feast of local food (matooke (green bananas), yams, rice, goat stew, groundnuts, vegetables, chicken). We were then invited to sit in the open air tent. Unfortunately just as the women and men all lined up to enter, the heavens opened up and the rain came. Despite rivers of water running through the village this did not deter proceedings.

Each side has a professional spokesperson and they seem to basically get on the microphone and banter with each other throughout. The ceremony started with the girls of marriageable age from the brides family greeting us. Then came the brothers, then the children, then the sisters, then the aunts. As each group came out they would dance for the groom’s party and then we would give them small gifts. It was all so vibrant with lots of music and dancing and colour – despite the rain.

Then the aunts would come and pick out the groom who was hidden amongst our party. Then the groom’s sister goes and picks the wife. This is Swarupa (in yellow) helping the groom’s sister “select” the bride.

Traditionally the groom brings some local brew with him and the deal is agreed between the parties, however, this was a Christian family and so the deal was agreed over half a glass of coca-cola.

Then came the real gifts – we had bought with us a fridge/freezer, a 3-piece sofa suite, a laptop, 50 or so baskets filled with fruits, vegetables and food, a few sacks of rice and sugar, several crates of pop, a leg of goat and of course a live cow. All the ladies carried baskets on their heads and paraded them in front of the brides family (Swarupa is somewhere at the back)…

After a lot more dancing, banter between the spokespeople and more gift giving it was over (thankfully, as you’re not allowed to leave the tent for the 3-4 hours during the ceremony). The groom’s side disappear home and the bride’s guests have a big party. The whole thing involves lots of people, not just the bride and groom, and lots of music and dancing throughout. This was one of the most fun weddings we have ever been to with all 400+ people having an amazing time without the aid of alcohol. We were so privileged to be invited and to be able to play key roles in the ceremony. We’re sure that it will be one of our favourite memories of Uganda.

Murchison Falls…

We went to Murchison Falls for Paul’s birthday, to take him for his first Safari. Murchison Falls is on the Nile, between Lake Victoria and Lake Albert (much nearer the Albert side) and has a good mix of boat trips and savanna safari. Stayed at Nile Safari Lodge which despite its hefty price tag included authentic lizard poo which adorned most of our lodge. Poo apart, the view of the Nile from the lodge was pretty amazing and you could see hippos from the porch. Took a boat ride up to the fort and saw a crocodile, elephants (with babies) and some decent wildlife on the bankside. Woke early the next morning for the safari which was excellent, saw everything we expected to see other than lions and leopards. This could prove rather expensive as might have to do Masai Mara in Kenya later in our trip as a result.  The local people were lovely…Paul met a crazy guy when he went running, who was determined to run the last half mile with Paul (in flipflops!). Shame when you meet people often the first thing you hear is “you give me money” – but it’s not unusual in moderately poor rural communities especially when there’s expensive places to stay nearby.  Murchison Falls, great place, would recommend it.

Some photos from the weekend…