Kantaga Slum, overlooking Makerere University. Kampala, 27 August 2022.
An excerpt from my trip to Uganda with Play Action International. See Uganda: Jinja and Bukooli
We decided to stay in Uganda a little longer after our time spent at the school and in more rural areas. It seemed a missed opportunity to visit the Pearl of Africa, and not visit its vibrant capital city: Kampala.
Arriving by taxi we were plunged into a swirling sea of Boda-Bodas (hireable motorcycles) and Matatu (minibuses), that consumed every street in a wave of noise and upheaval. At the intermittent traffic lights we were beset by a number of children selling face masks, and later vendors bringing pork and chicken skewers, and warmed Cassava (a type of yam). We arrived in the early evening, just after sunset, and once checked into our Airbnb we decided to explore the city.
'Morning Commute', Makererere Hill Rd., Kampala, 27 August 2022
'Loading a Matatu', Owino Market, Kampala, 15 August 2022
'Monday', Central Division, Kampala, 15 August 2022.
'Waiting for Custom', Central Division, Kampala, 15 August 2022.
Kampala is fundamentally a safe city for tourists. As in any western cities there is a higher level of crime in some neighbourhoods, as poverty inevitable lends to a certain desperation, but this was hugely overwhelmed by the kindness and welcoming spirit we found in all that we met. It is a mistake to stray outside of well lit areas at night, and not to take one of the many Bodas after dusk, as there have been instances of kidnap and muggings. To reiterate, Uganda as a country is safe, and provided the risks you take are calculated, you will most probably be untroubled.
Mukama Afayo Textiles, Owino Market, Kampala, 15 August 2022.
'Dressmaker', Owino Market, Kampala, 15 August 2022.
'Public Transport', nr. Owino Market, Kampala, 16 August 2022.
Boda Driver nr. Acacia Mall, Kampala, 15 August 2022
Cyclist nr. Acacia Mall, Kampala, 15 August 2022
Diary Extract
Upon Leaving Uganda
"Staring through the window, Africa is inescapable. I feel slightly wistful. I am normally excited at the prospect of retuning to Wales, of returning to the warm embrace of the Brecon Beacons. I feel no such excitement today, flying into the African sunset over Lake Victoria. There is so much I love about the country I am leaving. The sincerity of speech, the abrupt sense of humour, the absolute, resolute courage, and the vibrant outlook which is guided so strongly by spirituality. Uganda wanted us, and welcomed us.
Yet, my life is tangibly altered. My dilemmas are not where can I get safe water, my next meal, money to afford shelter. They are which Dutch oven I should buy, and what rug would sit the nicest in the living room. How can such things be allowed to exist in parallel. How can we in the West have so little realisation, stumbling, profoundly blind in the shackles of our Pret and Oatmilk. These people’s lives are no different, and yet capitalism dismiss all but itself. I don't know how to make a difference."
Murchison Falls National Park, 9 September 2022.
