Nakawa

The days keep getting fuller and fuller. It’s 10pm here and this morning literally feels like 3 days ago 😂 Breaking the day into multiple parts so you don’t have too long of an essay to read!

We woke up early to begin our journey out of Kampala to our first National Park, Murchison Falls. Words can’t express the kindness of the Ugandan people. It’s truly unlike anything we have ever experienced and we witnessed it in big and small ways all day long. The first was our waiter Mohammad who we told we had an early morning the day before and already had a to-go breakfast packed with 2 cups of our favorite juice, passion fruit juice! We had a few minutes to enjoy some hot items from the buffet and we loved the fresh made omelets as well as the Indian offerings since the owner of the hotel was Indian!

We began the drive and it was our first time truly seeing the beauty of Uganda! We drove for hours in almost silence, soaking in the lush vegetation, rolling hillsides, animals, but most of all, the people. A few observations:
- Every village/community we drove through had a main market area where the community members could locally purchase the supplies to meet all their basic needs- water, fresh fruit, eggs, meat, clothing, even bed frames and mattresses. We witnessed thousands of small businesses run by families in just a few hours.
- The children!! Children always have our hearts but these cutie pies are next level. We watched them not only joyfully playing together but also as an integral part of their families and community. From running the family business, to helping to carry groceries. And if they were too little to help, they were strapped to moms back in a beautiful fabric taking a nap.
- The clothing! The women dress in long gowns equivalent only to the way we dress for weddings. Definitely not how we dress for day to day activities and absolutely not for heavy labor in the heat. They looked simply stunning, the fabrics and colors were to die for and I am in awe of their ability to look so stunning while working tirelessly.
- Work Ethic: Don’t even know how to sum this up but wow did my image of what “hard work” can look like take on new meaning. From pushing a Boda boda (motorbike) up a steep hill while balancing at least 10 dozen eggs on the back to hand tending their farms in the heat of the day. The photo of the truck was at least 20 people and all their supplies loaded in the massive truck bed (?) to drive their items to market. As soon as I snapped the photo they began smiling and waving at us :)
- Sense of Community: It’s immediately apparent that they way Ugandans view being part of a community is how we wish the world did!! We saw countless acts of selflessness and community members supporting friends and strangers alike. When our driver needed directions, he stepped out of the car, flagged down a civilian on a Boda Boda, asked for help and he then drove in front of us and lead us to where we needed to go. When a women dropped a large bag of coffee beans in the road, community members instantly all got on their hands and knees to pick up every last bean.

I’m running on just a few hours of sleep so sorry this isn’t as eloquent as I wish and I can’t find the right words. But overall, we are deeply moved by the hearts of the Ugandan people and the way they treat everyone who crosses their path.

Photo Disclaimer: I didn’t get as many good photos of the drive because a) things were flying by fast and b) I was soaking it all in! But in general whenever you see a closeup of a person we have asked their permission and they have joyfully accepted. They have told us that Ugandans love their photo being taken and almost every person has asked me to text the photo to them. ❤️Read more