Follow the Journey

Welcome to Uganda! We arrived on the 30th of October, and the next day we found ourselves at the home of Edirisa. Our first volunteer program was based at a place called SNEC (the Special Needs Education Centre), located just outside of Kabale Town. Here, the group mixed cement and built a side walk for kids who have physical disabilities to get to and from class everyday. The work was hard, tiring and sweaty, but at the end of the day it felt good to get done and to see all the work you have had accomplished. On the 31st we brought America to Uganda by celebrating Halloween the Carpe way! Halloween was awesome.

Amanda was a stylin showgirl

Kellie, Liv, and Katie were SPAM     (spamtastic!)

Nicole was a ghetto-thug don’tgiveadarn street guuuurl/snoopdog/snoopnic

Gwen and Grant were Gwen and Grant (swaparoo’d)

Liam and Jack were ALSO Gwen and Grant.

This was the first week where we had to do all of our own cooking, cleaning, and organizing of food supplies which really put us to the test on our cooking skills. All & all it was a very physically demanding week, but the work was very rewarding.

Our Canoe cuts through the night as we paddle harder and harder with each roar of thunder and crack of lightning overhead. Everything goes white for a second and then silence.

Our journey on lake Bunyoni starts off normal with the sun shining and everybody having an awesome time as we paddle island to island exploring the lake. We end our first day of canoeing at Mama Benas where Liam, Kellie, Katie and I go for a dip in the lake as the local kids watch in amusement until one of them strips down to nothing and swan-dives to belly flop in after us, and another follows.  We end our day with a big feast held at Mama Benas around a camp fire, with all of our local guides playing music over each other on there phones. We woke up the next morning for the big hike and set off in our canoes to land. Here we began our journey up the mountain. Before we began our expedition we stopped by a local tribe called the Batwas  who are a pygmy tribe who were moved from their land when the Bakiga people came to Bunyonyi. When we arrived it was nothing like I expected it to be. Kids kept telling us give them money and mostly everybody was drunk. They were to perform a dance, but I couldn’t watch so Liv, Katie, Nicole, Grant, and I opted out from watching these locals.  Liam, Kellie, Amanda and Gwen stayed for the experience, even though it was an awkward one.

Liam:  After some of the group members opted out, this drunk Pygmy man showed us his home and some of their traditional cooking supplies.  We then asked them to perform a dance for us, because we wanted the experience.  The dance was a very drunken one and it was definitely different.  After the dance, they showed us some of their local crafts, but our guide, Martin, assured us that they were NOT good quality.

It was sad seeing how tourism had affected a local community, and that they depend on tourists for income to which they spend on local alcohol instead of putting it towards buying new land to settle or ways to be more self-sustainable. After we began our hike, our initial route had to be changed due to weather (rain, and some more rain), but the hike was still beautiful and Martin was awesome in telling us local stories, about the ecology, and even pointing out a Chameleon or two. Towards the end the rain began to fall down hard, and we ended up seeking refuge in a local bar where they were drinking fowl smelling alcohol out of a jerry can. I can say it was an interesting cultural experience watching a mom trying to feed her baby this sludge, and watching kids no more than 10 years old walk out with their own cups. As the rain began to die down we took the opportunity to get a move on, but by then it was getting dark and we had to walk down a slippery slope (it was quite slippery). One by one we slowly inched our way down the mountain hoping not to faceplant in the mud. I would look back occasionally to see Grant leading Amanda down the mountain, and to see if anyone had taken a tumble. By the time we had reached the canoes it was pitch black out, as thunder bellowed over head, and lightning lit the sky. We jumped into our canoes and began to paddle through the darkness as rain drenched us from head to toe. Lightning lit up the sky and with each roar of thunder, Kellie would scream “Oh god I am going to die”, and Grant trying to console her saying “at least if you die you’ll be with the people you love in a country you love!” We landed on Tom’s island soaking wet and climbed the slippery slope until we reached the top, unsure of if we were even at the right place..  We shouted out “Is this Toms Island?” and eventually Tom rushed out saying “Welcome!” We were all very relieved.  The following morning we explored the island and were given the jist of the history there.

Our last canoe trek of the trip ended at the Birds Nest Hotel, where we satisfied our bellies with heaping piles of food. We said our goodbyes to the canoe boys and we were on our way back to Kabale. We are now in Kampala, and are ready for our next journey to the Rhino sanctuary, wish us luck.

-Jack, Liam & KIFARU