What an interesting day. First, a little background. For over 25 years the northern region of Uganda was terrorized by a rebel army. The rebels would attack small villages and towns during the night, killing adults and abducting children. Millions were forced to flee their homes and live in camps. When we were here in 2007 we visited one camp that housed over 30,000 people.

Peace talks between the government and the rebel army that terrorized the region began almost 3 years ago and although a formal agreement has still not been signed, the process of rebuilding is well underway and approximately 80 percent of the people living in camps have gone back to their villages.

But that isn’t as easy as it sounds. After so many years, most are rebuilding from scratch. And while there were many charities working in the region providing emergency services during the war, fewer remain to assist in the rebuilding process.

Today we visited three different communities that are benefitting from projects CPAR is implementing in partnership with UNDP (United Nations Development Program). They were all north of Gulu, closer to the Sudan border an area hard hit during the rebel activity.

What I saw were well organized, hard-working people who want so badly to be self sufficient and improve their standard of living. All are so appreciative of the help they are receiving. They remain optimistic in the face of many obstacles. For example, changes in weather patterns have been problematic for some of the communities, last year ruining their crops with too much rain, and this year with too little. They have been through so much; I wish they could cut a break.

On a humourous note, I was able to provide some laughs for the children…just by being there. The same thing happened last trip, in rural areas where they haven’t had much exposure to blonde, blue-eyed, pale-skinned women. First they look me over, from afar. Then, after I wave and smile at them, they venture closer. And before you know it they are right up close laughing like crazy! And, possibly the funniest thing of all seems to be my name…even the adults seem to get a chuckle from it. I guess Sue isn’t a name you hear too often in these parts.

(Above) “Sue”…ha ha ha ha!!! 

Remember yesterday I was remarking how the roads to Gulu had improved since our last visit in 2007? From Gulu to the north, not so good. Kinda made yesterday’s 5 miles of speed bumps seem not so bad in retrospect.

(Above) The road to Raa

Once we returned to Gulu, Dwight and I went for a walk to the market and around the town. As I mentioned yesterday, it is really bustling. Prices have increased since our last visit but are still very reasonable by Canadian standards. The currency here is the Ugandan Shilling…approximately 2000 shillings = $1CDN. Handing over thousands of shillings feels like you are spending a fortune until you do the calculation. My dinner of Okra, Rice, and a bottle of Fanta Orange drink was 3500 shillings…less than $2!

(Above) Me in Gulu

The streets of Gulu are filled with boda bodas (motorcycles) and the drivers call out to you offering their services as you pass by. Although it seems to be the most popular mode of public transportation, I can’t see myself climbing on the back of one in this traffic chaos. Walking safely was a challenge with traffic coming in all directions. We tried to stick to sidewalks wherever available.

I am so glad I got a short haircut before this trip. Although I forgot to consider the curl factor, so it looks even shorter since I’ve been here in this very hot and muggy weather.

Okay, enough of my yakking for tonight. Hope to get Internet access soon so I can post this.

Well, the first leg of the journey is well underway. I am writing this from a hotel room in Gulu, Uganda. I don’t have Internet access here but might tomorrow morning so I could possibly upload then.

So far we have spent a lot of time sitting in transit. Our flights from Toronto to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to Entebbe totalled almost 14 hours. Both flights were full and on the flight to Entebbe, our seats were in the very last row. That means we were pretty much at the end of the lines for the H1N1 screening and passport/visa check. By the way, the H1N1 screening just involves filling out a form so nothing scary. Fortunately they are quite efficient at the airport and the lines moved quickly.
 
Henry, a driver from CPAR was at the airport in Entebbe to meet us and take us to our hotel in Kampala. We met him on our last trip here and it was so nice to see a familiar face in the crowd at the airport.

The ride from Entebbe to Kampala took about 45 mins. I had forgotten what an interesting trip that is. It was Sunday night around 9pm and the route lined with shops, clubs, and bars was bustling with crowds of people. Apparently Ugandans don’t wind down on Sunday nights the way we do…all three weekend nights are enjoyed to the fullest.

After a quick stop to pick up some bottled water we checked into our hotel. Our room was quite small and basic but had everything we needed…clean sheets and a mosquito net with no holes! It’s pretty hot and humid here and at first we couldn’t get the fan working. There’s some little trick to plugging a two prong plug into the three prong socket and we couldn’t remember what it was. Problem was solved when we got a power bar from the front desk.

We were both exhausted from catching only a few hours sleep during our flights, and slept pretty soundly, until the rooster alarms started going off outside around 6a.m. We had set our own alarm for 7:30 so went back to sleep til then. Breakfast at the hotel was 2 thick slices of bread with margarine or honey, a hard boiled egg, fresh cut up pineapple and instant coffee.

Henry picked us up and we headed over to the CPAR office. After meeting with the new Exec. Director of CPAR Uganda, some other new folks, and some we met last visit, it was on to Gulu.

“North beyond the river upon Acholi ground, lies our destination all aboard for Gulu town.” The road to Gulu used to be riddled with really deep potholes, but over the past few years a project has been underway to repave the highway. It is pretty good now, except the area where they are currently working. There, for a stretch of what I think is about 5 miles, the road has speed bumps set every 25 feet to slow traffic. Not the smooth “traffic calming” bumps we are used to at home but rough, don’t mess with us bumps. Even at a very slow speed in a 4 wheel drive it’s a pretty intense organ jostling experience.

A note about driving in Uganda…I haven’t noticed any posted speed limits and other signage is very limited. Cars, trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles (boda bodas) weave in and out. There is lots of horn honking and pedestrians walking along roads and highways often literally jump out of the way.

When we arrived at our hotel in Gulu, the power was out…I think throughout the whole town. The hotel has a generator that went on at 7pm. Within about an hour from then though, the power returned. We were eating dinner on the front patio looking out onto a dark street til then. Dinner was great…I had beans and rice, while Dwight had beans, matoke (a mashed cooked banana dish) and posho (a corn meal dish) all of which I sampled. Everything was delicious.

Gulu has changed significantly since we were here in 2007…much bigger. There is so much new development. The town is thriving. Tomorrow we will head out to visit the CPAR projects in the area.