Uganda
Jinja

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    • Day 13

      Kenya to Uganda

      October 28, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      We started of with an early morning waking up at 6:50 and had breakfast at 7:10 and met Wycliffe,Mary and there 3 boys to have breakfast.After planning to leave at 8 eventually left at 9:30 (African timing).It took us an hour and a half to get to the border in Busia and spent 2 hours there getting through customs it was an interesting 🤔.There were people in yellow jackets trying to get you to exchange money 💰 into Ugandan shillings but it wasn’t a great rate.You had to pay 20 bob to go to the toilet.Eventually we got through and had a 2 hour drive to Jinja where we stoped for some lunch.We then had another couple of hours to Kampala and then another couple of hours through Kampala due to heavy traffic which was very boring🙄🙄.Read more

    • Day 286

      Jinja Part 2

      August 12, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Am Samstagnachmittag kamen wir in Jinja an. Wir trafen den Rest des Teams im Büro. Ein paar der Kinder waren ebenfalls da und wurden vom Team betreut. Noels Mum lud das ganze Team abends zum Essen in ihrem Haus ein. Danach freute ich mich eigentlich nur auf mein Bett mit Moskitonetz, da ich in Luuka komplett zerstochen wurde und auf einer Matratze auf dem Boden schlief. Tony und Hanifa waren allerdings so motiviert, dass wir im Endeffekt noch in einen Club gingen 🙈😂 Der Abend bzw die Nacht war wieder einmal sehr witzig. Sie versuchten mir wieder coole dancemoves beizubringen, sie wollten einfach nicht aufgeben und akzeptieren, dass ich im Vergleich zu ihnen nicht tanzen kann 😂😂
      Sonntag wollten Mariam und ich eigentlich einen Ausflug starten aber wir entscheiden uns nach der Nacht dann doch einen ruhigen chilligen Tag einzulegen :)
      Montag starteten wir dann wieder mit der Arbeit. Noel hatte auf meinen Wunsch hin einen Tätowierer kontaktiert, der aus der Hauptstadt zu uns ins Büro kam um mich zu tätowieren, damit ich mich für immer an diese unvergessliche Zeit erinnern kann 😍 Als mein Tattoo fertig war, fragte ich aus Spaß den Rest des Teams, ob sie sich nicht auch tätowieren lassen wollen... Die verrückten entschieden spontan, sich auch ein Tattoo stechen zu lassen 😂😂😂 4 vom Team bekamen ein Tattoo, lediglich Mariam verzichtete, da es mit ihrem Glauben etwas komplizierter ist 🙈 Der Tag war einfach unfassbar witzig und ich war echt begeistert über die Spontanität und wie sehr sie mich doch mögen und sogar bei einem Tattoo mitziehen, da es für drei von ihnen sogar das erste Tattoo war 🙈😄
      Abends kochten wir dann zusammen und ließen den Abend ausklingen. Dienstag, Mittwoch und Donnerstag waren normale Arbeitstage, die eher organisatorisch geprägt waren, da ab nächster Woche das Ferienprogramm startet. Wir besuchten nochmal ein paar Familien in den Slums, damit ich ein Video zusammenstellen konnte für mögliche Spenden. Dienstagabend wurde ich von Noels Mum zum Essen eingeladen, um noch mehr local food zu probieren 😍 Die restlichen Abende kochten wir jeweils zusammen und verbrachten die Abende gemeinsam. Donnerstag gingen wir dann nochmal spontan feiern 😍🎉 Freitag stand arbeitstechnisch für mich nicht viel an, aus dem Grund entschied ich mich, einen gemütlichen Tag zu machen und lediglich in die Stadt zu gehen und mir diese etwas anzusehen. Samstag wurde ich dann von Mariams Mum, die mich mittlerweile Tochter nennt, eingeladen mit auf eine traditionelle Hochzeiz in der Nachbarschaft zu gehen. Mariam, ihre Mum und ich trugen traditionelle Kleider. Beim Anziehen half uns eine Frau aus der Nachbarschaft, da es wohl eine bestimmte Technik beim Binden des Kleides gibt. Die Hochzeit ist komplett anders als in Deutschland. Eigentlich heißt es übersetzt "die Vorstellung des Ehemanns" hier ist es allerdings mit unserer Hochzeit gleichzusetzten. Die Feier findet bei der Familie der Frau statt. Diese kann so viele Personen einladen wie sie möchte. Die Freunde und Familie der Braut finden sich früher ein. Geladen war ab 11 Uhr, wir waren um kurz nach 12 dort. Dann wird auf ein paar ausgewählte Familienmitglieder und Freunde des Mannes gewartet. Diese trafen erst um 15:30 Uhr ein 😱 In der Zwischenzeit bekamen wir dann Essen vom Buffet und der Entertainer von Seiten der Braut versuchte die Gäste bei Laune zu halten. Ich war die einzig Weiße auf der Hochzeit was dazu führte, dass der Entertainer mich aufforderte zu tanzen... Vor ca 100 Gästen 🙈😄 Das war etwas unangenehm aber naja, in der Situation konnte ich nicht nein sagen 😂 Immerhin musste ich mich nicht in der Buffetschlange anstellen, sondern wurde ganz nach vorne begleitet damit ich direkt mein Essen bekomme 😂😂😂
      Als dann endlich die Familie des Mannes eintraf, bekamen diese ersteinmal Essen, während wir warteten. Danach ging es dann endlich los 🙈
      Alle Schwestern, Cousinen, Tanten und Brüder der Braucht kamen nacheinander aus dem Haus getanzt und knieten vor der Familie des Mannes nieder und bekamen Geschenke. Danach nahmen die Tanten, die übrigens hier eine sehr wichtige Rolle bei den Hochzeiten ihrer Nichten einnehmen, da sie für die Aufklärung der Nichten verantwortlich sind, den Ehenmann mit ins Haus. Die eigentliche Vorstellung fand dann im familiären Rahmen im Haus statt. Danach kam dann die Braut endlich zum ersten Mal heraus. Anschließend brachte die Familie des Mannes unendlich viele Geschenke. Aber nicht für das Brautpaar, die Geschenke waren lediglich für die Familie der Braut 😂😂😂
      Danach gabs dann noch Torte und es wurde ganz viel getanzt. Wir verließen gegen 21 Uhr heimlich die Hochzeit und gingen zurück zu unserem Haus 😊 Die Hochzeit war wirklich eine echt schöne Erfahrung und wirklich komplettes Gegenteil zu deutschen Hochzeiten. Eigentlich wird durchgehend getanzt 😂😂

      Sonntag, an meinem letzten Tag, starteten Noel, Rogers, Mariam, Mariams Schwester und ein Freund von Noel einen Ausflug. Wir fuhren zu einem "Wasserfall" der eigentlich eher eine Strömung war. Hier konnten wir mit Tubes im Wasser herumtreiben und herumplantschen. Der Tag war wirklich richtig schön 😍
      Abends verabschiedete ich mich dann noch von Mariams Mum und sie schenkte mir eingerahmte Bilder von uns von der Hochzeit und ein Kleid 😱😊 Die Menschen hier sind wirklich unfassbar freundlich und scheinen mich wirklich zu mögen 😍😊
      Heute morgen ging es dann für mich weiter in den Norden zu den Sipi Falls. Da ich aber danach wieder in den Süden fahre, habe ich dem Team versprochen nach den Sipi Falls noch einmal für ein oder zwei Tage zurückzukommen und dann aber endgültig weiterzuziehen 😄
      Dementsprechend war es heute nur ein kleines "goodbye" und ich fuhr mit dem Minibus, welchen ich einmal wechseln musste und anschließend mit dem Boda zu meiner neuen Unterkunft. Nach ca. 5 Stunden kam ich endlich an 🎉😊
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    • Day 5

      De bron van de Nijl

      July 20, 2022 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Na een heerlijk ontbijt op onze veranda (onder het toeziend oog van een stel apen) zijn we naar de bron en oorsprong van de Nijl gewandeld.
      Een mooie en warme wandeling van zo'n 10 km. Met een bootje zijn we stroomopwaarts gegaan tot aan het begin van s' werelds langste rivier.
      Althans dit is de Oegandese versie en een Britse ontdekkingsreiziger uit de 19e eeuw heeft deze plek ontdekt. Ene meneer Speke.
      Morgen vertrekken wij naar Kabale. Deze middag hadden we nog een bijzondere ontmoeting met Ingrid Wilts, de eigenaar van Mto Moyoni.
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    • Day 24

      Jinja- the source of the Nile

      October 9, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Today, we're searching for the source of the mighty river Nile. Which, fortunately, has already been discovered, and is a short bus ride from Entebbe.

      The source of the Nile holds an evocative allure- the mysterious point in the heart of Africa that feeds the world's longest river (the Amazon has nothing on the Nile). Chris grew up reading a book which had a section on Africa, detailing the Nile river and the efforts to find the source of it, so it's incredible to come here and view it ourselves.

      It turns out that the source of the Nile is not really set in stone, but rather a hotly debated topic: Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC all claim to contain the real source of the Nile. However, as far as we're concerned, it's in Uganda, and it's here, next to a small town called Jinja.

      We're staying at a White Water Rafting company which is sat about the town itself. Jinja is famous for its rafting, but at over $100 per person per trip, it's a little above our budget. Instead, we hire out Stand Up Paddleboards, and head down to the river. We've never tried this before, but it's pretty easy- the boards are large and bouyant, so fortunately we don't fall in. And in no time, we're able to paddle around and explore the source of this mighty river. We navigate down the river for a while before turning back and heading around a small island. There are large birds everywhere, nesting in every nook and cranny, and it's times like this that we wish we had more knowledge about birds. As it is, we can barely tell a crow from a blackbird (we don't think there's an actual difference, let's be real).

      As we head back to shore, we see a long green snake SWIM across the surface of the water, gliding just a few inches past the front of our boards. It then jumps onto a low hanging branch and slithers up a tree, just below our campsite. We're happy that we've managed to figure out this Stand Up Paddleboarding lark, so that we're not falling into snake-infested waters which also contain Bilharzia (more on that frighteningly awful parasite in a later entry).

      We spend a couple of days here, lazing by the river and enjoying the amazing sunsets, before heading back to Kampala. We had planned to hop around Uganda by bus, but the bus networks don't seem as reliable as they were in Kenya. Instead, we decide to hire a cheap 4x4, so we head back to the capital to pick it up.

      The owner of the 4x4 rental agency is a bit of a strange chap, who insists on sending us indecipherable voicenotes over whatsapp, but we eventually sort out the exchange. We pick up the car without issue, and hit the road. We're a bit nervous about driving in Uganda, and with good reason. The traffic is unlike anything we're used to. Cars and Boda Bodas (motorcycle taxis) come from every direction, requiring constant 360 degree awareness in order to make it out of the city unscathed.

      We stop off at a shop to buy camping supplies, and buy a small cooker. It requires liquid kerosene to run, so Chris heads out to source some. At the petrol station, they tell him that they've run out, so to check the market instead. Chris heads deep into the market and eventually finds a kerosene seller, who asks if Chris has a bottle to fill up. He doesn't. Instead, the kerosene is poured into a plastic bag, reminiscent of those containing goldfish at funfairs, and hands it over. Holding a bag of highly flammable kerosene, Chris heads back to the car.

      We navigate out of the city, and hit the road.

      (A couple of weeks later, at the end of our road trip, we would head back into Kampala. The roads leading into the city are intensely busy, but fortunately, Google Maps has a trick up its sleeve. Rather than taking us into the line of traffic, it tells us to turn left into a construction site. Not realising our mistake until too late, we head down the unconstructed highway, which runs parallel to the kilometres-long line of traffic. At the end, we navigate between some construction barriers, and reach the front of the queue, feeling incredibly guilty.)
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    • Day 6

      Jinja Uganda

      January 10, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ 🌩️ 24 °C

      It's time to travel again..!
      Today we are making the long journey back to Kampala and then on to Jinja. 9hrs to Kampala and the 3hrs to Jinja.
      Driving often gives you time to think and reflect. The last couple of days have been truly amazing and I have manage to tick off some from my bucket list.
      Nkosie and I are so inspired by the Ugandans.
      Their passion to be self sufficient.
      After a long drive we arrive at Kampala ready to meet out new driver and the lady that has assisted us to purchase the farm here in Uganda Paula.
      We pull into a shell garage and then from no where Paula arrives with her big smile and crazy hair. To be honest it was her hair I noticed first.
      The driver arrives and hour later and we say our good-byes to William.
      We pile into our now posh car and off we go we don't go very far when we end up in a traffic jam. Now I know why we have to have a driver. It's chaotic, complete madness the border border motorbikes come back to you from all directions cars do I have where they like it seems to be a complete free for all.

      It gets dark and we are still travelling. Then suddenly there is an almighty bang. Fortunately, our driver hits a police, spike blockade that goes across the road, piercing straight through a front driver-side tire. We limp along until the car comes to a halt. Now what?
      There are no police on site so both and causing me start to do what we have done many times before and change the tire. Driver calls the owner of the company and within minutes he arrives and takes over.

      We are once again up and away travelling to the hotel.
      After travelling for 15 hours, all you want is a bed and a shower, but maybe not in that order. We arrive at the Nile village spa hotel, place that was chosen for us to be able to relax after a hectic day at the children's home. As we walk up to reception, the lovely lady behind reception says how many I help you. I show her the booking confirmation and then she types away on her computer and unfortunately our booking has been cancelled.
      But in a very sweet manner, she says she has a room available for us in her sister hotel across the road. Exhausted I'm not ready to pick a fight. We then pick up all our bags and walk 250 yards down the road with men walking around with machine guns. We finally get to a hotel and get booked in shower and bed. I am exhausted and Mr and Nkosie looks like a walking zombie.
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    • Day 11

      Last day........

      January 15, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ 🌩️ 27 °C

      Been a Sunday we felt we deserved a little lay in. So we got up an hour later and asked if our driver could meet us at 9am.
      We had decided last night that we would visit Jinija to buy some hola-hoops for the children to play with. We told Paula and she made it her mission to find them. Whilst on the search we found a pack of bubble blowers so we brought them all up.
      5 more shops later and we found the Hola-hoops. With everything packed into the car we traveled to Bugiri which was a little quicker than before because it is a Sunday.

      We arrived at the children's home and this time park our side. The children all came around the car and started peering into the boot. Great cheers and shout came has they spotted the bubbles and the Hola-hoops. They carried them to the main hall and then asked if we would could move our chairs to be out side because the children wanted to dance for us again.
      Part of visiting God In Action was to see if the children were safe and secure. You can tell just feel how happy they are, particularly when they are dancing.
      Mandela suggested that we go on to the playing area again with the bubbles and the Hola-hoops for the children to play.
      Whilst they were all playing Mandela and 2 other started to play volleyball not something I have played since my school days.
      With the sun burning my skin it was time to go back to the home of the children.
      We then were then treated to the kids giving us a fair well dance and Nkosie treated them to a Zulu dance.
      Once all the dancing and celebration finished Mandela's father and mother turned up. In what I thought was respectfully I went up to he's father and dropped to my knees to shake his hand as the children had done to me. The soon pulled me to my feet and no no your are our guests. Manadela mother was beautiful. You could see where he got his looks from and that huge smile. With all their children around them
      It was time to take a few photos to capture the moment. They are Alson so proud of Mandela and what he has achieved. It was one huge happy family.
      Mandela and his brother presented us all with T-shirt's and also one for Pete and Hannah from Club House in the UK.
      We made our way to the car where our driver was once again waiting for us. We were surrounded by the children and the team. As we stepped into the car the emotion started to hit. I always find it strange often when you travel we are all nervous but people are so kind around the world 🌍 always wanting to help and show the best of their culture and country to you. You quickly become friends and then the parting is always a challenge. But I always say to be people you have to go home to come back......

      Through out this whole trip we have had our trusted driver beside us and Paula our guide which seems like of an insult really to call her a guide. She is a female version of Nkosie who has guided, supported, laughed and cried with us, who has now become a great friend.
      Never afraid to speak her mind always fights for the underdog and has the children at the heart of everything she does.
      On the drive home she said we could of came to Uganda without seeing the source of the Nile and she had planned a little boat trip that evening up the Nile to the source.
      Reflecting is not something I do I tend to look forward all the time but has we made our way up the Nile with the sun going down, Uganda has been kind to us and as a Charity that supports children that can not be heard it is our time to allow them to shout very loudly.
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    • Day 9

      Breakfast in Jinga!

      February 13, 2023 in Uganda

      - Lisa and Sam woke up early to bird and spotted 20+ varieties of birds!
      - Sam graciously cooked us a traditional Ugandan breakfast including Milk Tea, Fried Eggs, Toast, Ground Nuts and Jackfruit straight from the tree outside our door. Issac the property manager cut it down for us and we invited him to join us for breakfast!
      - I enjoyed the pool, Sam and I played some volleyball and we got back on the road!
      - We stopped back by Igar Cafe on the way out because we wanted to get Lisa’s treat for the road, fresh Mandazie (a sweet baked good).
      - On our drive we stopped for some excursions including a local fruit stand where we had fresh pineapple! It was my first time having pineapple in over 15 years because I have an allergic reaction to the ones in the states. But for some reason, not this one! We also made a stop to learn about how tea is grown and harvested from the local farmers.
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    • Day 121

      Jinja

      September 4, 2017 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Jinja will be our final destination in Uganda. It’s a very charming, somewhat dilapidated colonial city with loads of very interesting art deco architecture.
      We are staying outside of town on the banks of the Nile River. It’s an absolutely beautiful campsite – one of the best of our trip so far. It has an amazing view of the Nile, good shade, grass, spotless showers and a beautiful restaurant/bar overlooking the rapids. The best part is that at night you can only hear the roar of the rapids, frogs and crickets. It’s incredibly peaceful.
      While here, we’ve visited the town a few times, spent lots of time admiring the beautiful river and bird life from our camp, and Christy went horseback riding. A fun fact: apparently there are only 100 horses in all of Uganda and the stables where Christy went riding had ¼ of the country’s horses there. It’s owned by some expats that are very serious about competing in events around Africa. Christy loved her experience and has vowed to get back in the saddle more often.
      While John was waiting for Christy at the stables, he was able to enjoy watching some red tailed monkeys playing in the nearby trees. A very pleasant visit all around!
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    • Day 15

      Jinja - A Fight For Survival

      October 28, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Three days ago, we made our first border crossing, leaving Kenya and heading into Uganda - the pearl of Africa. Our first stop was the action town of Jinja, which sits right at the source of the Nile and Lake Victoria.

      The thing to do here is water sports on the Nile and I decided to try white water tandem kayaking on grade IV and V rapids. Some in our group did rafting, but I never did white water kayaking, and so thought, yeap, let's try something new. It was one hell of a ride.

      At the start, the guide asks how we should tackle the rapids (easy, medium and hardcore) and of course, we went full on, which a chance of flipping over at 95%. The first few rapids were already challenging, but the kayak did not flip. Then came a grade V rapid, called "A Bad Place" (every rapid has a name).

      Finding ourselves in the middle of the rapid after making a solid start, we flipped upside down with the guide and me under water. We received a safety briefing before, but when flipping in a grade V rapid, survival instintict kicked in first. The guide was supposed to flip the kayak back up, but my position did not allow him to do just that. After being under water for what felt like an eternity (it was in fact 'just' about 15 seconds), my brain started to go through the safety process of how to get out of a kayak via the 'ejection handle' that we were taught before. Once I felt it, I immediately pulled it. By the time I was out of the kayak and floating above water with fresh air in my lungs, I was surrounded by 5-6 safety kayaks that would have flipped our kayak back up or gotten us out of there within the next few seconds. I guess the key learning is, do not panic, stay rational, go through the process step-by-step and you'll be fine. Easier said than done in a grade V rapid.

      After that little adventure, there was still a few grade IV rapid, called 'Vengence', to tackle and we went again full on straight through the middle - not flipping this time!
      What a crazy, adrenaline-fuelled, fun, and great experience - what do again in a heartbeat.

      Anyway, the following day, we explored the local village for a bit and ended our three days in Jinja with a sunset booze cruise on the Nile river, before falling asleep in our tents to the sound of the African rain.
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    • Day 17

      Source of the Nile

      October 26, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      I woke up still unsure of what my plans would be for today. Some were doing white water rafting, but my travel insurance didn't cover me for it, despite the fact I paid out the ass for it. Either way, I was keen to see what the others were doing. After a chilled morning, Nick, Vic, and I decided we would do a kayak tour that showed the source of the Nile. They told us that it was a bottomless drinking event. Which was shocking and strange given it isn't easy to drink and kayak at the same time, but we were excited. Given it was barely 11am when we started, the guy loaded up the esky, and by the end, the 3 of us had finished a whole bottle of gin and 9 beers. So it's safe to say we were hammered. In terms of kayaking, there wasn't much, it was mostly just drinking liquor. We paddled out into Lake Victoria, where he showed us a prison and explained some of the history of Uganda, and we basically began chatting and drinking with him, while we floated downstream and crossed the end of lake Victoria and the beginning of the Nile River. This is interesting because it is the longest river in the world and flows north up to Egypt. So we basically did very little actual exercise and essentially just got caught up chatting amongst ourselves... and drinking, of course. Because we were on the water, I did not get any photos, which is a shame, but it was too difficult to do. At the end of the 3 hour tour, we were smashed and had to head back to the campsite drunk as all hell in the early afternoon. We hung around for a bit before Nick, Jack, and I decided to do a huge slide that the campsite provides. It was massive and quite scary but so much fun. I chose to go first, and was so shocked at how far you flew when you hit the water. Going feet first was fun but after that they give you the option to take a body board and go head first. It was hilarious to see how much distance you could make skimming the top of the water after the slide. It's definitely worth listening to with sound to hear everyone reaction. After this we had a few more drinks, and went to bed a bit early. We were meant to go tubing this afternoon but chose the slide instead as we were too drunk and slack to do tubing (which was also bottomless drinks).Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Jinja, Джинджа, Τζίντζα, גינגה, JIN, ジンジャ, 진자, Džindža, 金賈

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