Uganda Update

I arrived in Entebbe Uganda- where the airport strip meets Lake Victoria- and was welcomed by the warm afternoon sun. Compared to the weather in Nairobi, it felt like I had landed in the tropics. Entebbe airport is not exactly an ideal location for the national airport of Uganda, as it is one hour from Kampala and 3 hours from Jinja, the town at the source of the Nile and a popular tourist destination. After an hour wait to pass through immigration, collect our baggage, and wait for the delegate from Ethiopia to arrive- our group of 12 finally made our way to the shuttle bus to start our 3 hour journey to Jinja.

The meetings in Jinja were for the TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub Saharan Africa) programme that I am a part of- all together there were 35 delegates from 12 different countries there for the two day meetings. Our hotel was right on the Nile and was incredibly beautiful- however as it goes with business travel, you rarely get to see more than the conference room when staying at these nice hotels, but so it goes.

After two days of meetings in Jinja our delegation headed to Kampala for the DETA Conference (Distance Education and Teacher Training in Africa). The theme was “Enhancing the quality of education across Africa”, the slogan “Enough quality teachers can save Africa”.

Kampala is quite a contrast to the modern Nairobi. The streets are full of potholes- HUGE potholes. Matatus are even more dangerous than in Nairobi- sporadic drivers avoiding potholes and dismissing stop signs. In many ways it reminded me of India, a bit dusty and chaotic. But despite the poor quality of infrastructure the people of Uganda are both friendly and hospitable. Everyone I met was warm, friendly, and welcoming.

One evening a group of us decided to hit the town and since we had been eating Uganda food everyday for lunch and supper we decided to try something new and as is the case all around the world, there is ALWAYS a Chinese restaurant to be found! I had heard through a friend of a great Irish pub in town called “Bubbles O’Leary”. I somehow convinced members from the delegation to join me in a couple of pints at Bubbles O’Leary- mainly because I just had to check out a place with such a name in Uganda, no less! It turned out to be a great evening and Bubbles is a highly recommended stop in my books.

The talk, as usual, when you go to countries where major films have just been released - was often based on Idi Amin. It was interesting to hear people’s account of that time- and hard to believe that it was not so long ago. One woman, who currently lives in South Africa and is Indian, was born in Uganda. When she was 4, her family was forced to flee to the UK because of Idi Amin’s ruling that sent thousands of Indian families to the UK as refugees. Her mother was pregnant with her 9^th child (her brother was the first refugee born in the UK) and each family member could only bring one suitcase on the airplane. Jay said that they do not have one wedding photo of their parents as a result of the exodus.

Overall I had a really nice time in Uganda, I would love to go back there to explore some more- go rafting on the Nile and see more of the country.