Hoima and host homes
After a 5 hour coach ride through the luscious greenery of Uganda we arrived in the city of Hoima, the capital of Hoima District, and were dropped off at our host homes.
We are staying in pairs with a host family and as more people left the coach (some to be greeted by dogs and pigs!) I was becoming more nervous. When we drew up outside a gated house with proper walls and windows and a big yard I was informed this is where I’ll be staying for the next 2 months. We were greeted by the host mother (Immaculate) and shown to our rooms. Saying goodbye to the team leaders felt slightly like being dropped at your first day of school, but having my own room and a warm shower, I know we’ve got it good.
After the initial nerves I’ve become more comfortable and Daniel (the father who works for the diocese) and Immaculate (a nurse) are very kind and welcoming.
We’ve been shown their wedding photos, taught how to cook on charcoal fires (Immaculate picks up boiling hot pans with her bare hands and laughs that our skin is too soft to do the same!), and Holly and I have fought over who gets to do the chores in a bid to be helpful.
Treasure hunt and tasty food
After having the evening to settle in, on Tuesday we split into groups and ran around town doing a treasure hunt to orientate ourselves. Using the very basic map provided, we were given different challenges to score points: finding the VSO office, the market, the sports ground, the health centre, taking a photo with as many MTN mobile money kiosks as possible (of which there are hundreds!), and getting the contact details of a police officer (which led our group to get stuck at the police station for 20 minutes whilst Josephine was interrogated!).
Sadly my team was not the winner, but it did help me find my way around the bustling urban sprawl that is Hoima, with its mixture of huts, shops, roadside stalls, hotels, and residential compounds.
Lunchtime has been a favourite moment for me: finding a restaurant (most of the recommended ones are on the same street) , attempting to decipher the menu (or lack thereof), finding out that half of what is advertised is unavailable, and inevitably ordering beans with a variety of starches (my favourite is posho – a sticky substance made from maize flour – but would not recommend it’s millet flour equivalent – kalo – which is very thick and gelatinous).
Exercise club and expectantly waiting
A group of us live in host homes that are close to each other and have a football pitch in front. We’ve formed an exercise club that meets every morning to do yoga (led by me!) and circuit training. It’s tough in the heat, but is a great way to start the day; and doing it together provides good motivation.
We have also experienced Ugandan timekeeping with the cars that are meant to pick us up. I don’t think I’ve yet had one that was less than 2 hours late and after 2 days we gave up and started walking. The same goes for meetings, the initial time of 12 will be pushed back until 2, then 3, and eventually start at 3:30. It’s a different way of working, but is hard to adapt to for us Brits who are used to punctuality being a priority.
Church and chilling
In the evenings we have a bit of social time and we’ve played A LOT of card games. Then yesterday after washing clothes (which took 2 hours, several gallons of water, and a lot of effort) the team met at a different hotel for a social and a swim. The pool was refreshing and Caroline and Emily were teaching Emmanuel and Daniel how to swim as they’d never learnt before. We also played more card games!
Hellos and hopes
One of the oddest things to adapt to here is the fact that I’m now in a minority because of my skin colour. It feels strange to have everyone say hello and ask ‘How are you?’ as I walk down the street, often accompanied by calls of ‘mzungu’. Children get especially excited and will often run up to us to clasp at our hand (believed to bring luck because of our white skin). Whilst the children are very sweet and I enjoy seeing them happy, it feels odd because my skin colour isn’t something I have control over and receiving attention because of it is hard to get used to.
In the coming week we have two school debates planned, hopefully we will also be doing a community dialogue, and I should learn more about the work I will be doing with the union for disabilities. I’m hoping that as we do more events we will gain momentum and a clearer understanding of what we can achieve during the placement.
Sunday, 7th October
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