First impressions of Africa

So much in such a few days! I flew over half of America on Saturday, over Europe on Sunday, and Arabia and northern Africa on Monday. The drive from the airport in Entebbe, right along the shores of Lake Victoria, to Kampala took about an hour, and was fascinating. There seems to be one main, paved road, and everything everywhere else is dirt, so the entire drive was lined with vegetable stands, tire stands, lumber and hardware stands, car parts, shacks of merchants selling one or two items, and people sitting listlessly about. Then, there are people walking. Right alongside the highway, hundreds of people walk; some carry bags, most carry nothing. Hundreds of school children in their uniforms of bright pink and purple and green and yellow fabric make the road full of color. What is most striking, however, are the dirt roads and pathways which connect onto the highway; these are lined with shacks and shanties full of barefoot, nearly naked children who play and adults who sit. Huge numbers of people appear to live in these tiny, dirty dwellings- without electricity or plumbing- and they sit only feet from the major highway into the country’s capital.

Our two-plus days in Kampala were marked by remarkable encounters. We visited a house/ center where three young men lived in community with the goal of giving youth positive mentoring through art. One had lost his mother to AIDS, yet he sang (with words that made me cry) to teach children about avoiding AIDS.

We met the U.S. ambassador who spent an hour with us; he was part kindness, part propagandeur, part history teacher. He was excellent at his craft of diplomacy- appearing to have no agenda, but as we walked away we felt how intentionally crafted and even insidious his message had been. We felt honored to have this “high-level” meeting, but also perplexed as to the content of his message- it will take some sorting out.

Then on to a school- one of the best, according to Amy, (our director) in the country. 3350 students attends, 350 board in dorms with bunks stacked four high. We talked at length with teachers, and sat in on some classes. Amy’s intent is for us to now compare this school to the ones where we’ll work in Gulu. Our biggest goal is to give support and pedagogical ideas to teachers in schools that are overcrowded. (as in 90 kids in a class)

My arrival in Gulu was tough for me- the van had to stop once for me so I could be sick on the side of the road, and within the first ten minutes of our arrival I was in bed. (It was a combination of a migraine headache and car-sickness; the road to Gulu is full of potholes, so the driver weaves back and forth, swerving every few feet. But I am better now, and we’ve had a steady string of meetings and orientation lessons on history and language and culture. Tonight I’ll meet my partner teacher, view the school tomorrow, and start in the classroom on Monday!