Better Late Than Never

Okay, so I admit that this blog entry is a bit later than I originally planned or promised. Whilst I would like to try and blame the internet (or rather lack of), the real reason for my rather late correspondence is that I didn’t really know quite where to start. So much has happened in the last couple of weeks that every time I sat down to try and write this blog, my thoughts jumped from one topic to another with not even a hint of any logical progression. After re-reading my earlier attempts, which all gave the impression of them being produced by a four year-old child fuelled on Coca-Cola and E-numbers, I decided to scrap them all and start again.

Our trip to Kagando started bright and early on the morning of Monday 14^th April, and took a little over seven hours. Whilst Kampala has its attractions (the endless traffic jams are not one of them), I failed to feel even remotely upset when we left the capital city behind us, and the skyscrapers and smog gave way to the endless greenery of the Ugandan countryside. During my last visit to Kagando I was still a student, and in a bid to try and save money we decided to take a public bus to Kagando (a non-air-conditioned bus, where the suspension was non-existent I may add). I’m not sure if anyone reading this has ever taken a public bus in Africa before, but after spending ten hours sat next to a goat and an old man with a chicken on his lap, I can only say that this was an ‘experience’.  In comparison, for our current trip we decided to travel by a private taxi to the Hospital; I’m not sure if this is sign of getting older, or just a realisation that we are no longer poor students. Either way, this journey to Kagando was vastly more enjoyable than the last.

During our journey we passed banana fields, tea plantations and many small shacks selling anything from pineapples to coffins. There were even a couple of baboons casually sitting by the side of the road watching us as much interest as we were watching them. The last part of the journey was spent travelling through the Queen Elizabeth National Park, which was where I had been lucky enough spot elephants during my last visit to Kagando; this time I had to make do with just buffalo and warthogs. Now, I can try in-vain to describe the view that we experienced during the last part of our journey. However, I do not feel that I would be doing it any justice. With endless savannahs on one side of the road, and the breathtakingly beautiful Rwenzori Mountain range on the other, it is really something that you had to be there yourself to witness. Nestled in the foothills of this mountain range, some 20km from the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was Kagando Hospital. At last, after spending four days in Kampala, I finally felt like I was in Africa.

Our Drive to Kagando

The hospital itself consists of the chapel and hospital grounds on one side of a narrow, pot-hole filled road, with the accommodation on the other side. For our first couple of days here we stayed in a guesthouse (we both had a room each, but all of our cooking was done for us). Whilst the food that they were able to produce on a small charcoal stove was pretty impressive, there really is only so much rice, beans and matoke (mashed plantain) that I can physically eat in one week. As nice as the guest house was, both me and Sophie literally jumped at the chance to move into our own house. Okay, so it may be basic (cold water, intermittent electricity and currently no light our bathroom), but with a lounge, gas hob and own pet gecko running around the place (who we have decided to name Frederick), it really does feel like our own little home in Africa. There are a few stalls in the village that all seem to be selling the same thing , and we have fallen into a routine of going out each day to buy ingredients for our dinner - I think we have developed quite a wide repertoire of  what we can do with just tomato, aubergine, potato and egg!

An Average Night's Meal

Of course, it goes without saying that we are unable to walk anywhere in the village without a group of children following behind us, shouting Mzungu - the rather affectionate term used by Ugandans to describe a white person. It never fails to amaze me how many small children's day you can make just by saying hello back. Everyone in Kagando has been incredibly friendly, which has helped us to settle in and feel at home. Our neighbour, Rita (a British nurse) has been amazing, always offering to helped when we needed it. She even found us an oven so that we could bake a cake, which really did make our week!

Whilst I know that I haven’t actually gone into what I have been up to here, I am very aware that this blog entry has turned into a mini essay, which is more than enough for one person to read (and indeed write) in one sitting. I will therefore leave you with this for the time being, and promise to write again very soon explaining exactly what I have been up to, including children’s parties, boat rides with crocodiles, and even the odd day or two spent in the hospital.

Speak To You Soon (I Promise).