Where are we in Kampala?

So, it has taken me a little while, but I finally realized that we are actually living in a poorer area of Kampala. I figured that out when our driver - yes we have our own driver - took us to the post office, past the really fancy hotels and big beautiful homes. Hmmm. Maybe all the barbed wire and cooking fires - and just plain fires burning garbage on the corners - should have been a give away. Seriously, we do have barbed wire. But most of the barbed wire has absolutely gorgeous flowers growing all over it. And if the flowers are not enough, there are usually broken beer bottles artfully arranged and cemented down on top of the high fences. We do have a security guard (aka 17 year old with a rifle) at our iron gate. But, he has a great smile and has let us take his picture! The houses are mostly corrugated iron or brick. There are alot of people around, especially alot of young men on their boda-boda's (aka motorcycles) because there is a really high unemployment rate here - 80%, and they really stare at us when we walk by - not alot of white people here. HOWEVER!!!

Africa is a place of colour. Beautiful bold colours. Bright blue, yellow, pink, red, green. People wear amazing clothing. They paint their buildings amazing colours. There are wonderful animals everywhere. Dogs in the street, goats in the street, cows in the street, rats in the street. Some alive, some dead. And did I mention - people everywhere. And everyone we meet usually smiles at us. They laugh at our attempts to speak Lugandan. They encourage us to speak with them. They try to speak English back.

Jody and I usually wake up to clear skies, the sun rising and chanting from the large Mosque on the distant hill. Then the sky gets hazy as everyone starts their morning cooking fires. And it usually clears by the time we start our walk to the hospital. The scary young guys sitting on their boda-boda's now usually say hello and ask how things are at the hospital. We are getting more adept at leaping over the open sewage stream on our trek. Women at Ward 14 (Labour ward) smile and nod at us. They are happy to see us. We are happy to see them.

Africa is good!!!


From Tina