Fort Portal - Visiting Christ Aid

                Although our time in Queen Elizabeth was over, it was not quite time to return to Kampala.  An organization my parents’ church had been supporting for the last ten years was only two hours away, so we decided to drive to Fort Portal to check it out.  Over the next 24 hours, we were introduced to the excellent work that was being done by Christ Aid.  Their programs ranged from bringing water to the village, building a school and a church, and financially supporting a group of grandmas.

                When visiting Christ Aid’s school, my parents and I were given the most memorable introduction of our lives – never have we been (and probably will we ever be) so warmly welcomed.  As we pulled up to the school, three hundred children lined the road dressed in purple school uniforms singing at the top of their lungs, dancing, and drumming – all in an effort to make us feel welcome.  Upon closer observation, there were three little girls each holding a bouquet of flowers; a bouquet for my mom, dad, and myself.

My parents with David Mporampora, the founder of Christ Aid.  I guess if we were celebrities, this is how everyday life would feel.

The principal with his students

Margaret and Margaret

Hanging out with some of the students over the weekend.  One of the little girls was showing me her doll made of banana leaves.

                As our visit to the school was just about over, the teachers revealed that they had a surprise in store for me.  I was asked to come outside to discuss something with one of the faculty members.  As soon as I stepped outside, I found the three hundred students gathered around my birthday cake and were singing to me.  I have had some pretty memorable birthdays, but this may beat them all.

Enjoying cake together

                After visiting the school, we went to visit Christ Aid’s Adopt a Grandma Program.  Although many organizations sponsor African children, Christ Aid saw a need to support the African grandmas.  It is these women who often use all of their resources to support the children in the community.  Therefore, by supporting one grandma, a sponsor is actually able to support several children.

Our visit was appropriately timed - it was the day for the grandmas to receive their sponsorship.  We saw the gratitude and appreciation each one had as we handed an envelope to every grandma.



My family with all the grandmas

                After being briefly introduced to only two of Christ Aid’s projects, it became apparent that this organization is doing great things and is positively impacting the entire community.  Because of the work David Mporampora has been doing, he has gained recognition and has made some pretty important connections in Uganda.  One of these connections was revealed to my family when we showed up at our “hotel”.  David had arranged for us to stay in a bed and breakfast which ended up being the home of the former Ugandan ambassador for the United Nations.  When I saw a picture of him shaking Nelson Mandela’s hand, it was pretty obvious that he was an important man…

The ambassador's wife, her housestaff, my parents, and me

                Hopefully, as the good work of Christ Aid continues, they will be further recognized and further supported so they can continue providing for and positively impacting the community.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

                After spending several days in Kampala, my parents and I made our way out of the city and drove about six hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Uganda’s most visited national park.  Along the way, we crossed the Equator, saw a few zebra, and enjoyed the lush rolling hills of Uganda’s countryside.

Proudly displaying the Hooker Advance at the Uganda Equator so we will make have our picture in the next issue.

Zebra near Lake Mburo National Park

Being a Colorado native, I am continually amazed at how green some places are

                  Since my parents traveled so far, I decided to splurge and booked accommodations at Kingfisher Lodge.  The lodge is modeled after an African village with quaint white bandas with thatched roofs.  The bandas are built into the hillside, giving a stunning view of the park below.

Although we packed a lot in while we toured Queen Elizabeth, we did manage to take advantage of Kingfisher's beautiful setting, relax, and play some games.

There were tons of lizards at Kingfisher and around Queen; however, this one was by far the best



                  Our time in Queen consisted of several game drives, a boat ride on the Kazinga Channel, a tour of Katwe Crater Lake, and chimp trekking through the Kyambura Gorge.

Ugandan cob mating grounds - because the lions prey on the cob, you can often find lions around.

Warthogs were often seen roaming around the entire park.  Did you know that when they are being chased by a predator, they run backwards leaving the predator to deal with its tusks? 

Baboons were often seen on the road near Kingfisher Lodge.  Since they are fairly large and not scared of people, they are actually quite intimidating.

Water Buffalo

Our driver, John, trying to scare the water buffalo.  John won.

Vultures in Ishasha - seeing them and the lions definitely made me want to watch the Lion King

While in Ishasha, we went to the Uganda-Congo border.  Across the river is the Congo.  The little island in the middle is No Man's Land.  I should have claimed it while I had the chance...

                  The animal we saw most often during our game drives was the elephant.  One day we probably saw over 200 elephants.

Everywhere we turned, we saw a new herd of elephants

Note the herd of elephants crossing the road behind us

One of the elephants decided to follow us

Elephant family with a 2-week-old baby

There's even an elephant named Mary in a village just outside of Queen that has become a member of the community and hangs out with the villagers and tourists.

Mary about to eat my dad's camera

About to board the boat for our ride on the Kazinga Channel

We saw tons of hippos on our two-hour boat ride

If I were a birder, I might know what these birds are, but as I am not, your guess is as good as mine...

Uganda is a bird-watcher's paradise

                  The most exciting part of the boat ride (and maybe even the entire safari) was our leopard spotting.  As we were motoring toward the dock to end the tour, I saw something move in the brush and immediately began yelling “I see a cat!  I see a cat!”  We slowed down and watched the leopard for 10-15 minutes as it thought of stalking some cob.  Ultimately, it just decided to get a drink of water.  

You should be thoroughly impressed by these photos.  Our safari guide, who has been on more safaris than he can count, has only seen the leopard nine times.

                  Next on the agenda was a visit to Katwe Crater Lake where the locals collect salt.  On our way, we stopped in the fishing village on the way and met some of the local fishermen.

During dry season, the lake is 65% salt and is able to be harvested by the villagers.  Each family has a plot they tend - kind of like a community garden - for salt.

                  The final excursion in Queen Elizabeth was chimp trekking through the Kyambura Gorge.  We had excellent luck in not only finding the chimps, but also viewing them at a fairly close distance. 

Kyambura Gorge

Aren't they adorable?

Peering high into the canopy looking for the chimps

This is what we found

                   Near the end of our viewing, several of the chimps decided to come down from the trees.  Against our better judgment, my dad, Sebastian (a friendly German we met), and I decided to run after them through the jungle.  Only two weeks later did I find out that our guide thoroughly disapproved of this decision.

Every time the chimp turned around, my heart would skip a beat as I feared he would come rip my face off.  Yet I continued following him...

All in all, we had an amazing trip to Queen

Nsibuka Okubalaba Maama ne Taata

                Translation: Welcome to my life, Mom and Dad!  For nearly three weeks, my parents stayed with me in my house in Kampala.  During this time, I was able to show them what my life is like here and we were able to travel around the country and do and see some amazing things.  Despite traveling across the world, they came well prepared – not only dressed in green for St. Patrick’s Day, but also toting a freshly baked lemon cake for my birthday, which was the next day. 

Little did they know that the cake my mom baked was the moistest cake I have had since my arrival and was greatly appreciated

                While in Kampala, they were able to meet several of my friends, see where I work, meet my co-workers, and sit in jam while accompanying me on my everyday errands (which often end up taking about 3x or longer to accomplish than you expect and helped them understand why I appreciate the help I get from my housekeeper, gardener, and drivers). 

Dinner at the Lawns with Darlisha, Britta, and Kara

A few of my co-workers - Miriam, Prossy, and Samuel

They couldn't believe that I still sometimes washed dishes despite having a housekeeper

A show at the Ndere Cultural Centre which showcased the traditional dances of the different Ugandan tribes

A Revolving Door

                Although there are innumerable things about my life in Kampala that make it very different than my life in Colorado, one of the hardest things is the transitory nature of the expat population.  It seems that every two or three months the people I have come to know and who I have begun considering to be my good friends return to their respective countries or continue traveling the world.  My house is especially notorious for this.  Since October, I have had at least 15 different roommates – some good, some bad – but due to logistics, it seems I often end up spending a lot of my free time with these people.  Anyways, here are just a few of the people who have come in and out of my life in the past 6 months.

Ann Vogt

Glen Drobot

The Come Let's Dance Crew - Tiff, Josh, Jonah, Tiff, Ian, Connor, and Morgan

Tihana and Lara

Nate Bahr

Melanie Lo and our Ugandan boss

Kara Lombardi

At least Britta sticks around!