Amazing, Amazing Affffrrrriiccaaaaaa

First of all, apologies for the delay in the update – I know most of you are just sitting around waiting for these insightful ramblings and cant possibly continue your lives without them – so I’m sorry for the delay you have had to endure!

The reason for the lack of communication is down to the number of incredible things I have packed into the last 4 weeks of travel around East Africa and, therefore, the lack of time I have had to hang out in internet cafes writing updates! So, to make up for it, I have written an epic, brace yourself!

Sitting here now I am struggling to know where to start…but the beginning of the trip seems like a logical place!..

I met up with the tour group in Entebbe (a city South of the capital Kampala). It was a large mixed group of 28 people – mostly Aussies and Kiwis – a range of personalities, but on the whole people were cool. Being in such a large group on a big truck (think a four-wheel drive bus) was a such a change from the village – as we drove along it felt like we were in a big fish tank as we peered out and the locals peered in! I always prefer to take local transport when traveling rather than go on tours as the experience is much more ‘real’, but this part of Africa doesn’t have the same public transport network as, say, South America, and it would take a lot longer to get around (and ultimately work out more expensive). So, although I said I would never do a big tour after Peru in 2003, it was the only way I could really pack in as much as I did…plus it meant I had a ready-made group of friends to share the experience with.

The first big experience was to come face to face with the endangered Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda…and what an experience. I remember watching a film (Gorillas in the Mist) as a young boy and being fascinated by it…but the real-life experience was just magical. Words cannot really describe the feeling I had after trekking for 2 hours in dense jungle to suddenly turn a corner into a clearing and catch a glimpse of the silverback for the first time – just his left shoulder and the back of his head – he was huge! I was breathless and my heart was pounding. As we approached closer more adults (females) and a number of babies came into view…just incredible. It’s hard to write down how I felt as I stood, sometimes less than 2 metres away, from these gentle, and yet incredibly powerful, human-like giants – simply awe-inspiring.

After the gorilla encounter we spent a few days traveling back across Uganda to Entebbe, passing the equator point and the classic demonstration of water flowing clockwise down the drain in the Northern hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the Southern, and straight down the plughole on the equator line – it really does work!! We are also visited a chimp sanctuary and got to watch the chimps feeding (and having sex!) – pretty cool as they are soo human-like (98.6% the same as us!).

Next stop was Jinja – a town North West of Kampala and the adrenalin capital of East Africa. It’s famous for being the source of the Nile river and it was here that I spent an awesome day white-water rafting on the Nile – on the bloody Nile(!) – honestly, sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I am really in these places! The white-water rafting was quality – it’s always great fun, but this was definitely bigger than the rivers I have rafted previously in New Zealand and Ecuador…the last rapid being crazy – the raft flipped and I was under water for what seemed like an eternity (don’t worry mum, I’m here safe and sound!).

After drying off from the water (and a large night out in Jinja!) we crossed the border into Kenya, stopping at a very, very cool campsite (did I mention that pretty much the whole trip is spent camping) – it had a fantastic swimming pool, with a waterfall (think the famous swimming pool scene in Show Girls!) and an amazing bar with pool table, dart board and poker table (all of which we took advantage of!).

A couple of days driving took us to Naivasha and our first game drive. It was incredible to finally see some of the famous African animals up close and in the wild – including rhino, hippo, warthogs, giraffe, empala, flamingos and leapords to name just a few. That night we camped in the park with nothing separating us and the wild animals except a thin piece of canvass – surprisingly I had a very good nights sleep, only getting disturbed by the snoring coming from a neighbouring tent…at least I think it was snoring!

Naivasha was good, don’t get me wrong, but the next couple of days blew me away – we drove and camped in the Masai Mara – the Masai bloody Mara!! Another of those ‘pinch me’ moments in my traveling life! On the way to the park we stopped in a traditional Masai village to learn more about there way of life and watch some dancing (i.e. the jumping - think the trailor on the BBC before the news). It’s obviously quite a commercial enterprise now for this particular group of Masai, and these Masai were not short of some cash (most had mobile phones!!) but it seems they still do follow their traditional way of life, living in mud-huts fenced off from wild animals by a fence of thorny branches. So, even though it was slightly put on for tourists and taking videos/photos felt a bit strange, it was still really cool!

From the Masai village it was a bumpy ride (no change there) into the Masai Mara park itself..and what followed were two incredible days of gazing at animals that previously I had only seen in zoos or on TV… the annual migration of wilderbeast and zebras was in full swing – lines upon lines of animals, they looked like ants - magical – I don’t think words can describe it...we even saw two lions having sex (it only lasted a few seconds though so, boys, next time you are having problems in that department just say you are a lion in bed!!)

From the ‘Mara’ we drove to Nairobi (long, long drive!) and spent a couple of nights recuperating in a campsite and stocking up on meat in an incredible restaurant called ‘carnivore’! We also visited Elephant and Giraffe sanctuaries – both of which were cool in their own right – I even got to kiss a giraffe..!!

Next on the agenda was to cross into Tanzania and head for the game parks of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater – both, again, surpassing my expectations – animal after animal – lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, leapords, cheetahs – you name it we saw it. I can’t describe the feeling of sitting quietly in our small land rover type truck watching a female lion stalk a zebra – just breathless. Camping in both parks again added to the adventure – waking up one morning to see an elephant just 10 metres from the tents in the Ngorongoro crater was a great experience!

And then, after all the long driving, roughing it tents and going without showers for days on end, I arrived in paradise – its called Zanzibar. What a way to finish my trip – I spent 5 nights on this incredible island a few kilometers off the coast of Tanzania. It’s such a contrast to the mainland with a great mix of Arabic, Indian and Swahili culture – the white-washed buildings and winding streets of Stone Town remind me of some Mediterranean countries…but the real selling point are the beaches. We stayed in the North of the island and it was simply beautiful – walking down to the beach to watch the sunset for the first time was yet again a ‘pinch me’ / ‘take my breath away’ moment. It’s the type of place that you really should be sharing with someone special, someone you love, yep this is me talking about love. I learnt about it last year – and there are certain places, certain experiences that, although they are incredible in their own right, can really be enhanced when you share them. A Zanzibar sunset is definitely one of those... Bloody ‘ell, sorry boys, don’t know what came over me there – let me rectify it by saying that the island was full of beautiful women – Italian, Spanish and locals alike – definitely a place for mirrored sunglasses on the beach!!

Today I head back to Bajjo, back home. I can’t wait to get back, I’ve really missed the people and can’t wait to get stuck in with the project. The trip gave me a lot of time to reflect and think about what we are doing as well as providing a greater perspective of what Africa is all about (even if it was through the gold fish bowl of the truck!). I’m so glad I have this experience – to actually develop genuine relationships with local people and try, in our own small way, to make their lives a little bit better. I am a lucky, lucky boy.

P.S. Unable to load photos here but will endeavour to sort through and pick out the best from a huge batch I have taken over the last 4 weeks as soon as I can.

The Story Continues...

Another 2 weeks have flown by and I’m really getting into the lifestyle now!...

On arrival in Uganda I got in contact with a friend of a friend – Xi – who happens to be in Uganda for a few weeks on an ADP project with Accenture. She is working on a micro-finance project with Eva, a girl from San Francisco. I stayed with them on my first night in Uganda and subsequently on the two visits to Kampala. It was great meeting up with them at weekends as we don’t see any fellow Muzungu (it’s what white folk are called in Africa!) in Bajjo so it was nice just to chill out with them and add some new angles to the three-way conversations Anna, Karl and I have in the village!…staying in their luxery apartment with HOT showers AND a flushing toilet, was also extremely welcommed!! Xi and Eva even came out to Bajjo for the weekend - I think it was quite a shock for the villagers as not only did they have an extra 2 Muzungu to stare at but Xi and Eva are both of Chinese descent - it was the first time some of the kids had ever seen Asian people in real life! Xi and Eva have now left Kampala, but the contact with them did also make me think how different these 6 months would have been had I gone down the route of an ADP or VSO project...I've got to say, after 4 and a half weeks I am so glad I chose to come out to Uganda with 'wannabeamazin'. Living as the locals live and developing strong relationships with them is ultimately enhancing the experience I am having...and actually setting up a charity from scratch, off our own backs, is an incredible feeling...Anyway, enough of that, lets fet on to some stories!...

Our next door neighbour, Justine, keeps a small number of chickens and, most of the time, they are bloody annoying – waking me up by crowing at 5am in the morning as the sun breaks over the horizon, pooing on our steps (and in our house!) and trying everything they can to steal our food…so on Saturday I got my revenge..! It was a special occasion as two of Justines sisters had come to visit – and I was given the honour of killing the chicken for the ‘feast’! Yep, I killed one of the chickens by slitting its throat, before plucking, cooking and then eating it! It was a weird experience to actually cut the throat – I could feel its heart beat as I held its neck..and obviously it moved around quite a lot as I cut through the neck…but, contrary to what I thought beforehand, I did not feel any guilt afterwards…at the end of the day anyone that eats meat is a hypocrite if they say they can’t do it...or indeed if they deride me for doing it. This, after all, is what it’s all about when you purchase a nice clean chicken breast in those packets in the supermarket…

There are a number of kids living in a mud-hut next to our house and they are all incredibly musical - even the 1year old claps along in time to a tune! Utlising their skills we are now hosting a drumming/dancing/singing/limbo night every Wednesday in our backyard…it really is surreal sometimes as I stand there dancing away, shaking my booty beyonce style to the tribal beats of the drum (a.k.a jerry can/paint tin)…and yep, for those in the know, I am slowly introducing minimislistic dancing into Uganda (albeit to shreaks of laughter from the locals)…I have already got one of the kids pointing away as he shakes his ass!!

So, we have started to become friendly with a man-eating spider that we have named Simon…Twice now we have woken to Simon sitting on the wall, watching us in our beds – its as big as my bloody hand! Each time Karl and I have stood cowering in the corner like real men as we ask Justine (our next-door neighbour) to help us deal with it and get it out the house! Justine insits that it won’t kill you if it bites you, it will just “swell up massively and be very painful”. Now, from my observations so far, Ugandans are indestructible and dont really feel pain (they can pick up burning pieces of coal in their bear hands for crying out loud), so when they say “it will be very painful” I sure as hell don’t want to find out what that feels like!

Progress on the netball pitch is going well – the posts are now up and we just need to add the lines – the transformation from a jungle into a flat level court is quite amazing – but it’s been bloody hard work. I’m sure my biceps are twice the size they were (not hard I know) after all the digging and hoeing in the field! The volley ball court is now finished and we had the grand opening on Sunday afternoon with a mini-tournament (my team won of course!) Next we are turning our attention to football goals and a table-tennis table!

Our programmes are running 6 days a week at the moment, in the evenings Mon-Fri and all day on Saturday. During week days we are working on the sports fields, preparing for the programmes and visiting local organisations to see how we can work with them. All of which is very rewarding, but it also means we don’t really get a break, especially when we stay in the village over the weekend. Our main programmes are designed to run during the school term and, as the school term is coming to an end in a couple of weeks, I have decided to take a well-deserved break and see a bit of the country and surrounding area in East Africa. This is the only real window of opportunity to do some extended travelling here and, if I don’t do it now, I know I will regret it. So, to try and pack as much in as possible, I am joining a truck tour on Friday for a 27 day trip taking in the main sites of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania (including the Massai Mara, Serengetti, Zanzibar island and, of course, the mountain gorillas)…it’s also a bit of a scouting mission for the football safari tour we are running next summer with the charity (check out the website if you are interested!). I must admit I am already a bit sad at the thought of being away from the village for so long, especially as Anna and Karl are only going to be away from the village for 10 days during this period. I’ve only been here for a little over 4 weeks, but already I have fully adapted to the way of life (long-drop apart!) and feel completely at home here. Having said that, my lust for travelling is as strong as ever and I am incredibly excited about it. It will also be a good chance to refresh myself and get ready for the long school term that will lead up to December.

And, lastly, for those of you that are interested – my beard it progressing quite nicely…such a contrast to the days when I was a 17 year-old whipper snapper desperately trying to grow side-burns so as I could try and sneak into the pubs and clubs of Camberley! I have added a few snaps in the photos folder…although I must admit I am tempted to shave it this weekend whilst in Kampala…

Welcome to Bajjo!

Wow, ok, 2.5 weeks have flown by, where do I start…

Let me set the scene by describing my home for the next 6 months... Our 'house' is part of a building, separated into 3 living blocks – each with two rooms. The first ‘block’ is a ‘clinic’ used by Justine, the local mid-wife (and only medically trained person in the village we are in), the second is her living quarters, and we have the third. We have rented the two rooms (each about 10ft by 10ft) for a total of 50,000 UG Shillings a month – about £17! We use a small store room (4ft by 3ft) out the back of the ‘house’ as a ‘shower room’ (i.e. a room where we strip and pour water over ourselves from a bucket!). We currently share a ‘toilet’ with Justine and her children - Benja (3yrs) and Martha (2yrs) – who are incredibly cute and cheeky in equal measure…to clarify, when I say toilet I mean ‘hole in the ground’ – it’s a long-drop, and pretty disgusting! I am still trying to get to terms with squatting over a small hole while the flies buzz overhead, the spiders sit in the corner, the gekos wait patiently on the wall and the cockroaches move over each other in ‘the hole’! Going to the toilet is definitely no longer a time to relax and reflect – it’s about getting in and getting out as fast I can!!

Bajjo, the village we are staying in, is near a town called Bombo in the Luwero district of Uganda (between 1-3 hours from the capital – depending on the traffic, how brave the driver is, and the number of pot holes on the road..) Bajjo has one main ‘road’ running through it (one of those classic single-track orange dirt roads you see in the films) and several tracks running off this main road…apparently there are close to 2000 people living in the village, but it feels more like 200! It really is a classic African village, with single room mud-huts being the norm. The contrast between rich and poor, however, even in the small village of Bajjo, is very apparent. Houses range from small one roomed mud huts – to quite substantial brick/concrete buildings (like ours) – some with intermittent electricity…and some with none at all…none of the houses have running water – this we have to collect from a well about 1km from our house…its uphill on the way back and is an absolute killer…we have already got into the habit of paying a local boy to fetch it for us (it’s not child labour – its spreading the wealth – they are grateful for the work!) The clothes that the villages wear range from what can only be described as rags – right through to pristine white shirts, trousers and shining black shoes!...how on earth people get their clothes clean here I will never know – I constantly feel dirty and have already rubbed the skin off my knuckles as I unsuccessfully try to scrub my clothes clean in a bucket!

And so, on to the people…wow, what can I say – incredible warmth – we have been welcomed into the village with open arms. We have held/attended several community meetings to talk about what we are here to do – and to ask what they would like/want. Every time I am humbled by the appreciation they show to us just for being here. The kids are incredible – full of life and happiness, finding joy in the simplest of things; a bottle top..an empty plastic bottle..a bike tyre (the kids run along keeping the tyre moving with a stick – just as you as have seen kids doing in pictures from the Victorian times in England!)… And what the kids may lack in academic education they certainly make up for in their creativity, resourcefulness and ‘practical living skills’. The average 3 year old in the village can survive on their own all day quite happily without adult supervision and even walk to the local market (1km away) and buy some eggs…the average 5 year old can beat a tune on a drum and walk to the well to fill up a jerry-can with water (1km away)…the average 7 year old can look after their younger siblings, feed them and care for them…the average 10 year old can start a fire, cook dinner and chop down a tree…Amazing!

The people have nothing and yet they still give and share food with us – the sense of community and togetherness is very strong. This was highlighted when we attended a funeral of an elderly gentleman who passed away last week. He was quite an important man in the village and the whole community turned out – people came from neighbouring villages and towns at very short notice (it is the custom to bury the dead within 24 hours) – there must have been over 3000 people at the funeral - an impressive feat in logistics and organisation in itself! But the thing that really impressed me was how people from different religions mixed. The guy that died was Muslim – but the Christians and Muslims (the two dominant religions in this region) mingled as one at the funeral, sitting next to each other – the Christians waiting patiently as their Muslim kin prayed next to them – it was quite moving (we could really learn from this in the UK).

So, I’ve covered the accommodation, the village and the people…now a quick word on what I have been doing! The wannabeamazin team - me, Anna, Karl and Vincent (our newest recruit – a local we have employed to help with translation) have been working hard kicking off the programmes we came hear to run – 2 weeks in and everything seems to be going well. We have registered close to 150 kids and are running programmes Mon-Sat, including football, netball and English lessons for the adults (the level of English varies considerably, from relatively fluent to non-existent..the latter being the norm!). I’m really enjoying teaching the Arts programme. I have barely picked up a pencil or paint brush since starting work so its really nice to have time to do it again and to try and pass on some of the knowledge from my Art A-Level. As well as running the programmes we have been working hard with the community constructing a volleyball pitch and clearing (and levelling) some ground to make a netball pitch (almost there!). Next step is to build some football goals for the boys and dig drainaige channels in the field we want to play football on (half the pitch is a boggy marsh at the moment)!

Ok, I think I’ll end it there – lots more to write but you have 6 months of this to wade through and this has already turned into an essay! In summary; I’m living in a classic African village in a basic 2-roomed house with no water, a shared long-drop, a (very) small charcoal ‘stove’, and intermittent electricity…and I’m loving it!

So, what am I doing?!

Some of you are bored of hearing me talk about taking a year off, going travelling, doing voluntary work...and to be honest I had started to bore myself with the chat – I’d been thinking and talking about it for so long - pretty much since I got back from my last trip...and definitely since I started work!! Well, finally, I’ve ‘bitten the bullet’, I’ve got the ‘bulls horns in my hands’ – I have taken a year off work (unpaid)!

Over the course of the next year I hope to fulfil a few personal objectives:
1) To do something worthwhile, to give something back to society and to help those less fortunate than myself
2) To (finally) learn Spanish!
3) To have a real adventure...

Numbers 1 and 3 should be covered by the first part of my year out – I’m heading to Uganda (aka ‘The Last King of Scotland’) for 6 months to work on the charity I have helped to set-up (wannabeamazin). We are basically providing structured recreational programmes for kids – giving them an opportunity to do something they wouldn’t normally get to do and, at the same time, incorporating HIV/AIDS awareness messages in the programmes and encouraging the kids to look to the future and set goals for themselves (more information can be found on our website: http://www.wannabeamazin.co.uk/)

For the 6 months in Uganda I will be living with the 2 co-founders of the charity (and good friends – Anna and Karl) in a basic hut in a small village called Bajjo in the Luwero district of Uganda (it’s near a small town called Bombo which can be found on Google Earth..although there are several Bombos in Uganda!). As well as the recreational programmes with wannabeamazin we will also assess how else we can help the wider-community. One area I have already been asked to help with is to work with one of the charities we are partnering with in Uganda (SPAU) to help improve their business processes and efficiency (yep am keeping my hands dirty with some consultancy work!)

Number 2 on my list will (hopefully!) be fulfilled in the second part of my year out, when i will spend at least 4 out of the 6 months in my favourite continent – South America – travelling, visiting friends and taking Spanish lessons.

So, I start Part 1 of my year out – the African Adventure – in less than 5 hours when I board a plane to Uganda... Some of you may be asking yourselves – Am I crazy? - Maybe I am.....Am I scared? – Most definitely.....Am I excited? – Abso-bloody-lutely!!