A Trip to Jinja

Tuesday I returned from Jinja! I started my journey Sunday from Entebbe with Robin and her family. We drove through the Mabira rain forest and through Lugazi. Lugazi is the biggest producer of sugar in Uganda. We drove past the tea and sugar fields, then ended up in Jinja 3 hours after leaving Entebbe. They dropped me off and continued to Mbale. I was to meet my friends Julie an Rio in town. I checked into Paradise on the Nile because backpackers was full. I then took a boda boda along the Nile River to Flavours Cafe. Julie and Rio come into Jinja town on the weekends from one of the villages they are teaching at. I met them at Entebbe Backpackers about a month before and enjoyed a day of Botanical Gardens and pizza. I had a mocha and pineapple crumble, the best dessert since I have been here. I returned to my hotel around ten and had the worst sleep. For the price Paradise on the Nile is loud, doesn't have the best view of the river and a mediocre breakfast. I decided to go to Bujagali Falls to rest up.

I took a 30min boda boda ride to Nile River Explorers Backpackers. On the ride we passed on a bumpy road past many little villages set against the beautiful backdrop of red clay dirt and trees. I reached NREB around 10am and reserved a dorm bed for $7. I had the whole dorm to myself! I borrowed a book from the book exchange and read in the sitting area looking over the Nile. As I read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells the Nile River was swooshing over the rocks and birds were calling. NREB has a beach and an outdoor shower looking over the river. I decided to opt out of the shower because the water was cold. I have been spoiled sine being here and have mostly hot showers, even in the village. I continued to read H.G. Wells and tan on the beach, watching the kayakers and swimmers. I swam in the Nile along some very small rapids. You start on the rocks then the rapids take you for a little bit then you float around to the beach.

Later I had dinner and read some more. However, I didn't get a very restful sleep. NREB starts the music around 6pm and doesn't stop until 1am. It was a beautiful location and I would go back and try rafting for the day.

Decided to leave on Tuesday instead of Wednesday and missed the Riots that happened in Kampala on Wednesday. I took a coaster from Jinja to Kampala. The taxi didn't take us all the way to the taxi park so we had to walk all the way from Buganda road to the old taxi park. Then I found a taxi to Entebbe and reached here about 2:30 pm after leaving Jinga around 11am. I took a nap then decided I would eat chapatti for dinner. I walked to Kitooro Market and bought a Chapatti and pineapple for dinner and was satisfied.

They next day I went to work and stayed the night. The language barrier between the two new girls Beatrice and Eve gets a little frustrating. I know they understand some English but just smile at you as if you aren't going to do anything. They are very cute girls but very cheeky. Moses has gained so much weight. Last time I weighed him he was over 7 kilos! He has went from a size 6-9 months to 12-18 months in clothes. Zach is being adopted and we are ready for him to go home. He is crawling rather well and fussing more than anything. Zach's biological father also wants his other son adopted by the same family. They are considering Miracle, but need some tests done before they make a firm decision. Jonathan has been considered by a new organization in Jinja that deals specifically with special needs children. John Mark is gaining more and more everyday and talks all the time. The boys are doing great and are moving to better things.

This will most likely be my last post while I am in Uganda. Thank you for all your support and comments. I have learned a great deal about Ugandan society and how government services work here. I have a better understanding of what will and won't work in a third world country when writing a program. The infrastructure and educational system is vastly different from our own. Implementation of a program would take much longer here and getting people to stay in one place is hard. They need to look for work or go home to vote. Tracking or evaluating the people and the program would take considerable effort.

I am sad to leave all the amazing people that I have worked with and met the past 3months. I am happy to be going home and to share this experience with family, friends and classmates.