To Jinja and the source of the Nile

Uganda is an amazingly beautiful country - stunning stuff to see and lovely people to greet you and show you round wherever you go. This past weekend we felt in need of a 'pick-me-up' away from the bustle of Kampala. Fifty miles from Kampala is the source of the river Nile at a place called Jinja. We set off on Saturday morning - we'd booked into a cosy guest house - we arrived in time for lunch and to our delight discovered that Rhona and Bobby (also VSO volunteers from Kampala) were also staying at the same place with a couple of friends from Edinburgh - where Rhona and Bobby are from. This was great as Rhona and Bobby had been to Jinja a couple of times already and so we were going to be in the hands of experienced tour guides!

Here's the group of us pictured on tiny Ripon Falls island in the middle of the brand new River Nile - just after it has left Lake Victoria. In three month's time the water passing this island will emerge into the Mediterranean Sea. The main body of water in the new River Nile flows north out of Lake Victoria but there's also an upsurge of underground water at 'the source' and in this photograph you might be able to make this out just below the white fringed wavelets
Here's a Kingfisher lining up its dive right above 'the source' - oblivious to us such was its concentration
A graceful beauty (I have no idea what it's called!) resting in a tree very close to 'the source' - it was about 3.00 pm and still very warm and many of the birds seemed quite dozy
The boatman who took us out on the River Nile had good local knowledge and after we'd left 'the Source' he steered a course directly towards this tree where he was fairly sure we'd see an African Fish Eagle - sure enough there was this sleepy beauty - she/he didn't move a muscle
12 kilometres north of 'the Source' of the Nile are Bujagali Falls - sadly soon to be submerged under a dam that is currently being constructed
As a way of earning cash from tourists local guys strap themselves to a yellow plastic 5 gallon petrol can and surf the falls - unfortunately several have gone permanently missing over the last few years - here's a guy getting into position for the best line through the falls
He's on his way - with a look of determination on his face?
He's successfully through the first rapids, just the really nasty ones with the jagged rocks to negotiate next - scary stuff
Mr and Mrs Smith posing for the family album!
In the distance is Lake Victoria and the Nile flows towards the foreground where below and to the right are the Bujagali Falls
The "Gately-on-the-Nile" guesthouse - lovely house, lovely people, lovely food and gorgeous gardens - perfick for a pick-me-up!
Bright coloured flowers are in abundance in the gardens
An early morning butterfly
Below is a "Google Earth" image showing the River Nile flowing out of Lake Victoria at the bottom of the picture. You can make out the white foam of the Bujagali Falls towards the top of the picture.

Renate's new job

Starting today Renate has begun a volunteer assignment with VSO Uganda. She has accepted the challenge of supporting the VSO Uganda team in developing a donor relationship strategy. To start with Renate will be doing detective work to find out who are the key donors in Uganda and whether or not they have priorities that might coincide with the priorities of VSO Uganda. Once the promising key donors have been identified Renate will be working with members of the VSO staff team to develop a plan for contacting likely looking donors to explore potential for partnership working.

Renate will be working from home most of the time but will visit the VSO Uganda office (which is on the other side of Kampala from here) a couple of days a week. Initially the assignment is scheduled to last for six weeks. Renate's very pleased and excited by the challenge.

Sam and Ian go West!

You can click on this map to enlarge it.

Sam (see earlier blog describing colleagues in the MARPs Network) and I embarked on a trip to the west of Uganda on Sunday 25 April. We focused on the districts of Kasese, Busheyni and Mbarara. The purpose of the trip was to recruit member organisations for the MARPs Network.

The journey from Kampala took us via Fort Portal, then down to Kasese, through the Queen Elizabeth National Park to Busheyni and then on to Mbarara before returning to Kampala via Masaka. Including a detour from Kasese to see a project near the Democratic Republic of Congo border we clocked up 1200 kilometres in 5 days.

What follows is a pictorial record of our adventure.

The car - a Toyota "Noah" - a sort of mini people carrier - goes OK and you can fit a few in!
Dawn in Kasese - our first morning - time to get cracking recruiting member organisations!
Meeting the 'Sisters' at the Kasanga Health Centre - very close to the Congo border - isolated up an unbelievably rough track!
We got an enthusiastic welcome from this group of children in Kasese
Sam discovers he has an army of young fans
North of Busheyni there are several large tea estates - here's an example
I have heard the expression "a pig in muck" - and here is the best example I think you could possibly imagine!
The trip was amazing and the car was good despite my attempts to wreck it - I managed to reverse it out of a compound into a ditch - which I knew was there as I had driven past it on the way in to the compound - senior moment!! Here's a picture of the car's tyre marks at the ditch in question
The gallant metal work guys who gladly came up the lane to 'lift' the car out and send us on our way - me with a sheepish grin and a blushing cheeks! -

Later that day we went to visit Sam's Mum and Dad who live just off our route up in the hills. Sam said that history was made on Tuesday 27 April as I was the first "Muzungu" (white man) to visit his village, let alone his parents! His Mum cooked a delicious and memorable meal of boiled chicken with about eight fresh vegetables from their farm/garden. His Mum and Dad were so warm and welcoming and so we stayed late - I was a bit nervous about driving after dark.

The first picture shows the landscape on the way to Sam's place, the next picture is of Sam's parents and the third picture is of a proud shop owner in Sam's village


All in all the trip was very enjoyable - great scenery - great roads (apart from the very beginning and very end of the journey) - we met and interviewed an array of lovely people doing astonishing work with most at risk populations (in terms of getting HIV & AIDS). We had a target of recruiting 15 organisations into membership of the network - and we managed 17 - helped it has to be said - by members of Sam's extended family in two of the three districts we visited. Here's a guy who Sam was at Makerere University with at the Integrated Community Based Initiatives project in Kabwohe near to Busheyni.

Sam and I got on well and learned a lot from each other. It was good - just the two of us - and Sam got to do a lot of up front interviewing which I am happy to say he is really very good at - and very thorough and patient too!

Here he is in the top picture interviewing Joyce Tibaijuka who chairs the Mbarara branch of the National Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDs (NACWOLA) and - in the second picture - Sedrack Bakulirahi the District Health bio-statistician in Kasese


Finally, when we got back to Kampala on Thursday evening there was very good news for us. The MARPs Network had just received it first grant! So on Friday Sam and the team got paid for the very first time - there were quite big smiles in the office.

ICT2, Entebbe and that cloud of ash