After hanging out in the airport for nine hours at Heathrow, London I couldn't help but be excited to get on the plane heading to Entebbe, Uganda. The flight was full and God's presence was known in so many people. I experienced both peace and excitement.
When we arrived there were so many officials waiting for all of us (so I thought), but come to find out we had the Prime Minister of Australia on our flight. Apparently the next couple of days are a special holiday and security is extremely tight. I gasped for air as I breathed my first breath off the plane for the humidity is so high here, making it even that much hotter. I saws military people all around the airport but then as we traveled to Kampala I saw a military person every 100 feet or so. I am not allowed to take pictures of any military officials or sights, consequences would be a minimum of having my camera confiscated or even worse me thrown in jail.
People are friendly. As we drove there were so many people walking. There are so many "stores" too, but be
cause poverty was obvious I saw a lot of opportunities to sell and wondered who did the buying. I also noticed a lot of young boys on motorcycles...otherwise known as "Borda Bordas" (motorcycles taxi service that is willing to take you anywhere) - an extreme risk for your life! I couldn't pay attention to the driving because I would have given our driver a nervous breakdown - they drive on the "wrong" side of the road as well as drive on the "wrong" side, and there doesn't seem to be any driving laws. People continue to stare at us as we drive to the guest house and then I remember - I'm white! Kids continue to wave at us. The guest house is in the "rich" part of the city.
Facts I've learned -
When we arrived there were so many officials waiting for all of us (so I thought), but come to find out we had the Prime Minister of Australia on our flight. Apparently the next couple of days are a special holiday and security is extremely tight. I gasped for air as I breathed my first breath off the plane for the humidity is so high here, making it even that much hotter. I saws military people all around the airport but then as we traveled to Kampala I saw a military person every 100 feet or so. I am not allowed to take pictures of any military officials or sights, consequences would be a minimum of having my camera confiscated or even worse me thrown in jail.
People are friendly. As we drove there were so many people walking. There are so many "stores" too, but be
cause poverty was obvious I saw a lot of opportunities to sell and wondered who did the buying. I also noticed a lot of young boys on motorcycles...otherwise known as "Borda Bordas" (motorcycles taxi service that is willing to take you anywhere) - an extreme risk for your life! I couldn't pay attention to the driving because I would have given our driver a nervous breakdown - they drive on the "wrong" side of the road as well as drive on the "wrong" side, and there doesn't seem to be any driving laws. People continue to stare at us as we drive to the guest house and then I remember - I'm white! Kids continue to wave at us. The guest house is in the "rich" part of the city.Facts I've learned -
- Uganda has 25 million in population - 52% of which are 15 and younger. The older generation has been killed from war or AIDS.
- The average lifespan has been raised from 40 to 50.
- In 1992 Uganda became a Common Wealth country. Queen Elizabeth is arriving today to meet other Prime Ministers for Chogm.
- Watoto has over 1500 children in their care, either in the homes in the villages or in foster homes.
I miss my family. I wish they were here sharing this experience.
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