Reisblog CLV 2017
Jjaja Bbanga groep
(Zaterdag 7 oktober 2017)
Schiphol, Amsterdam
In de vroegte bevonden wij, 20 leerlingen en 5 begeleiders, ons met aanhang naar het vliegveld Schiphol in Amsterdam. Na veel knuffels en tranen konden familie en vrienden toekijken hoe we onze bagage incheckten. De laatste groepsfoto in Nederland werd gemaakt, we zwaaiden nog even naar familie en vervolgden onze weg langs de douane en paspoortcontrole. Na een klein uurtje op Schiphol te hebben doorgebracht mochten we alweer boarden. De 3-uur durende vlucht naar Istanbul verliep voorspoedig. De eerste stap in de richting van Uganda was gezet.
In Istanbul moesten we ons 2 uur lang vermaken voordat we het vliegtuig in mochten. Velen deden dit door middel van een bezoekje aan de Burger King om de laatste luxe calorieën naar binnen te werken. Na een korte tussenstop in Kigali (Rwanda) vlogen we door naar Entebbe waar we om half 4 ‘s ochtends, Oegandese tijd, landden. Toen stond ons nog een klein busreisje te wachten naar onze overnachtingsplek in het ICU guesthouse in Kampala. Al met al lagen we om 6 uur in bed en zouden we om 9 uur weer op moeten staan om een kerkdienst bij te wonen.
7 oktober 2017, Jjaja Bbanga group
Schiphol, Amsterdam
In the early morning, 20 students and 5 leaders went to Schiphol in Amsterdam. After a lot of hugs and tears, family and friends could watch how we dropped our bagage. The last groupphoto in the Netherlands was made, we waved to our family for the last time and continued our way to the douane and pasportcontrole. After spending a small hour at Schiphol, we were ready to board. The 3-hour flight to Istanbul went by quickly. The first step to Uganda was a fact.
When we arrived in Istanbul, we had to entertain ourselves before we were allowed in the plane. Many of us went to the Burger King to get the last luxe calories. After a short stop in Kigali (Rwanda) we flew to Entebbe where we arrived at a half past 3 in the morning. There was waiting a short bustrip for us to bring us to the ICU guesthouse in Kampala. We finally were in bed at six o’clock and we had to wake up at 9 o’ clock to visit a church.
(Zondag 8 oktober 2017)
De kerk genaamd ‘Robert Kayanja Ministries’ was opgebouwd uit honderden plastic stoeltjes waarvan sommige onder een tent geplaatst voor bescherming tegen de zon. Een podium tegenover de dansende menigte weergaf de sfeer van een concert. Zodra de band klaar was met zingen, kwam Robert Kanyanja naar voren om de menigte toe te spreken. Voordat hij de Bijbel erbij pakte, gaf hij de mededeling dat ze gasten in hun midden hebben, waaronder wij. Tot onze verbazing nodigde Robert ons uit om het podium op te komen. Een paar van ons spraken de menigte toe en op zijn beurt sprak Robert ons toe. Na elke toespraak barstte de kerk uit in enthousiasme, klappen en juichend. Vervolgens kregen we 2.000.000 shilling (500 euro) cadeau met de bedoeling om ons te stimuleren om in hun land te investeren. Aan ons de opdracht om een goed plan voor het geld te bedenken. Tot slot zongen wij het ‘Onze Vader’ en mochten we weer op onze plaatsen gaan zitten. Na afloop van de dienst liepen we terug om onze spullen in te pakken en te lunchen.
De tijd was aangebroken om de groep te verdelen in ‘Jjaja Bbanga’ en ‘Masaka’. Het vervoer, dat bestond uit vier busje, werden bepakt met onze bagage. Twee busje gingen naar Jjaja Bbanga en de andere twee naar Masaka. Na twee uurtjes rijden kwamen we aan op de evenaar waar we een fotostop maakten. We werden meteen opgemerkt door een grote groep Ugandezen. Het was net of wij de toeristische attractie waren in plaats van zij. Ze wilden met ons op de foto en vonden het ontzettend bijzonder. Wij ook natuurlijk. We vervolgden onze weg naar Masaka en zwaaiden de helft van de groep uit. De Jjaja Bbanga groep moest nog een stukje verder rijden. Na een lange weg langs heel veel groen en hobbels kwamen wij ook aan bij de kliniek van Sarah en Sander. Sarah leidde ons even rond langs de gevreesde gaten die we wc’s noemen en langs onze kamertjes. Ondertussen was het alweer 8 uur ‘s avonds toen we gingen avondeten. De opmerkelijke volgorde van gangen: fruit-popcorn-aardappels met groente was voor ons niet echt een probleem. We wilden voornamelijk gewoon lekker naar bed. Na nog even aan het kampvuur te hebben gezeten zochten wij ons bed op en gingen een normale nacht van ongeveer 9 uur slaap tegemoet. Heerlijk!
8 oktober 2017
The church named ‘Robert Kayanja Ministries’ was built out of hundreds of plastic chairs from which some were placed under a tent to protect the people from the burning sun. A stage in front of the dansing people seemed like a concert. When the band was done with singing, Robert Kayanja came to the stage to speak to the people. Before he grabbed the Bible, he announced that they have guests, us included. To our great surprise, he invited us out on the stage. A few of us spoke to the people and Robert spoke to us. After every speech the crowd went wild and clapped and yelled. Next up, he gave us 2.000.000 shilling (500 euros) as a gift to stimulate us to invest in their country. For us the instruction to come up with a good plan. Lastly, we sang ‘Our Father’ and we went back to our seats. After the service we walked back to the guest house to pack our stuff and have lunch.
The time had arrived to divide the group in ‘Jjaja Bbanga’ and ‘Masaka’. The four busses were packed with our bagage. Two busses were going to Jjaja Bbanga and the other two to Masaka. After driving two hours we were at the equator, were we took some pictures. We were immediately spotted by a group of Ugandans. It felt for us like we were a touristic attraction instead of them. They wanted to make some pictures with us and thought we were very extraordinary. We did too. We continued our way to Masaka and waved at the other half of the group. The Jjaja Bbanga group had to drive two hours further. After a long way with many green plants and holes in the road we arrived in the dark at the clinic of Sarah and Sander. Sarah gave us a tour through the horrified holes in the ground, which we call toilets. Meanwhile, it was already eight o’ clock in the evening when we had some dinner. The unusual order was: fruit-popcorn-potatoes with vegetables which was not a problem for us. We just wanted to sleep. We sat at the bonfire for a while and went to bed for a nine hour sleep!
9 oktober 2017
Iedereen was heerlijk uitgeslapen. Sarah had voor ons een paar jerrycans neergezet met warm water om te douchen. Op een echte Afrikaanse wijze wasten wij ons met warm water. Een ontzettende leuke ervaring en super fijn om ons haar weer te wassen. Na het ontbijt kregen we de opdracht om onze meegebrachte laptops en opladers mee te nemen naar een klein schooltje op hetzelfde terrein. Op dit moment zitten we in een klein kamertje met z’n tienen om uit te zoeken hoe de organisatie precies zit op gebied van gezondheidszorg, hiv-bestrijding en onderwijs. Vanmiddag mogen we de dorp in om meer kennis te verwerven over deze onderwerpen. Nu gaat het echte werk pas beginnen!
Groetjes van Maxime, Yasmin, Loes, Demi, Aniek, Anna, Martijn, Rens, Tjeerd, Coen, Natasja en Rosanne vanuit Jjaja Banga
9 oktober 2017
everyone was had slept well. Sarah had placed some jerrycans with warm water to shower. We washed ourselves the real african way. A great experience and it felt lovely to finally wash your hair. After breakfast we were given the assignment to bring our laptops and chargers to a small school near the clinic.
At this moment we are with the ten of us in a small room to find out how the organisation is in the field of healthcare, hiv and education. In the afternoon we can go to the village to get some knowledge about these subjects. Now the real work is starting!
Greetings from Maxime, Yasmin, Loes, Demi, Aniek, Anna, Martijn, Rens, Tjeerd, Coen, Natasja en Rosanne from Jjaja Banga.
Reisverslag dag 3
Na een goede nachtrust van zo’n 9 uur worden we met z’n alle rond een uurtje of 08:30u wakker. Met de meiden hadden we afgesproken om op Afrikaanse manier lekker te gaan douchen; in je bikini met een teiltje en jerrycans (met gelukkig warm water). Hierna waren we heerlijk schoon en waren we klaar voor het ontbijt. Na het ontbijt zijn we aan de slag gegaan met onze opdracht van de dag; het onderzoeken van de rol van de vrouw in Oeganda. We spraken met 2 Moslimmeiden die met ons meereizen. We zijn veel te weten gekomen en we hebben heel erg veel gelachen, want wat is Nederland voor hen toch een raar land. Na een pittige regenbui was het tijd voor een heerlijke lunch van een kok die Sara voor ons had ingehuurd. Met een volle buik was het tijd voor ons om onze spullen in te pakken en dan richting de uitgekozen families te gaan om daar een dag en nacht door te brengen. Dit keer hebben we de andere hobbelige wegen van Jjaja Bbanga ondervonden. Eenmaal bij het huis aangekomen trokken de kinderen meteen onze aandacht. Gelukkig hadden we ballonnen en cadeautjes meegenomen waarmee we ons de hele middag hebben vermaakt. Inmiddels hadden we zo’n 30 kinderen om ons heen staan en was het verkleuren van de Mentos in je mond wel een heel bijzonder tafereel. Dit ‘buitenspelen’ duurde ongeveer 4 uur; dit was ook de tijd die de vrouwen erover deden om ons eten te bereiden. De maaltijd was erg bijzonder en aten deze op de grond en kregen een voor een 5 borden naar ons toegeschoven met verschillende gerechten.
Webale Kufumbe ! ; Bedankt voor het eten!
Na dit alles was het ook echt een keer tijd om te gaan plassen… in de tuin stond een huisje met 2 gaten en een ‘’’’gordijn’’’’. De gaten in de grond waren zo klein dat richten nog al moeilijk werd. Om ons vocht alweer aan te vullen, kregen we een kopje thee en besloten wij de dag af te sluiten met een pakje meegenomen stroopwafels. Waardoor we vervolgens weer naar de ‘wc’ konden gaan… in het pikkedonker. Tijd om te gaan slapen samen in 1 bed… slaap lekker….
Yasmin & Maxime
Day 3 – 9 October
After a good night of rest we woke up at 8:30. With a few girls, we showered ourselves in the African way, luckily we had warm water to wash ourselves. We had a lot of fun and we felt very clean. After our shower we went to breakfast and after that we started survey: what is the position of the woman in Uganda. We had a conversation with two Muslim girls. These girls are traveling with us. We got a lot of information and we had a lot of fun together because The Netherlands is such a strange country for them. After a lot of rain, it was time for a great lunch from a cook Sara hired for us. When our belly’s were totally full, we had to pack our bags to go to family’s where we would spend the day and night. Arrived at the family, the children caught our attention immediately. Fortunately we brought balloons and other presents so we could enjoy ourselves the whole afternoon. In no time there were like 30 kids gathered around us. We had a great time. Afterwards it was time to have dinner, it was very special to have dinner on the ground with more than five plates per person.
Webale Kufumbe ! ; Thank you for this meal!
We drank a lot of water so it was time to go to the toilet. It was a hole in the garden with a ‘curtain’. The hole in the ground were so small that it was very uncomfortable. We ended our day with tea and dutch waffles. Time to sleep… good night…
Yasmin & Maxime
Dag 4 – 10 Oktober
Na een onrustige nacht in ons gastgezin werden wij om zeven uur gewekt door de in uniform geklede kinderen van ons gastgezin. Om eventjes afscheid te nemen voordat ze naar school toe gingen. Onverwachts vroeg kwam Sarah langs om ons terug te brengen naar het Jjaja Bbanga kamp waar we hebben ontbeten. Door het bezoek aan het gastgezin realiseerden we dat de gaten in de grond bij Sarah nog een luxe waren vergeleken met andere huizen. Toen we weer aankwamen bij het kamp moesten we wachten totdat de andere helft van de groep terugkwam van hun gastgezinnen voordat we konden beginnen met de zogenaamde “village challenges”. Dit hield in dat we bananen gingen schillen en met waterkannen balanserend op ons hoofd naar de waterput en weer terug gingen lopen. Sarah gaf tips zoals te focussen op een punt en vooral niet te denken aan de waterkan die op je hoofd wankelde. Toen we terugkwamen mochten de jongens proberen hout te hakken, gras te maaien en te schoffelen. Vervolgens moesten wij onze tassen weer inpakken omdat wij ‘s middags naar Masaka zouden gaan. Met twee bussen hebben we eerst de Masakagroep opgehaald en vervolgens doorgereden naar een fabriek. In de fabriek, Afripads, werd uiwasbaar maandverband gemaakt. Wat grotendeels met de hand gebeurde. Om onze korte trip naar Masaka af te sluiten hebben we nog met zijn allen een markt bezocht, waar voornamelijk voedsel en potten werden verkocht. Daarna zijn we weer naar “huis” gereden waar we gingen avondeten. We sloten de dag af met een gezellige avond rond het kampvuur.
Welaba vanuit Jjaja Bbanga!
Loes & Anna
Day 4 – 10 October
After an restless night we were woken by the children of our host family. They were saying goodbye because they had to go to school. Sara came by very early in the morning to pick us up. We went back to the gueasthouse to eat breakfast. When the rest of our group came back we begun the village challenges. What means that first the girls had to peel the bananas and carry water source Sara gave us tips to focus on one point and don’t think abouth the water on your head. When we came back from the water source the boys could chop the wood and hoe the land.
After this we had to pack our back and we went to Maska to join th ather group. There we went to the factory from afripads. This was a place where they were making bandages for your period. We also visit a market and then went back to Jjaja Bbanga at the and of our day we chilled around the campfire.
Loes & Anna
Woensdag 11 oktober
In de morgen stonden we rond 7 uur op. Nadat we hadden gedoucht, kregen we ontbijt gemaakt door Loes en Martijn. Het ontbijt bestond uit chapati, ei en brood. Na een gezellig ontbijt hebben we ons klaargemaakt voor de tandarts, oogarts en huisarts, die vandaag allemaal naar de kliniek kwamen om de mensen gratis te behandelen. Omdat deze wat later kwamen, hebben we de mensen tandpasta en tandenborstels gegeven, en hen uitgelegd hoe ze hun tanden goed moesten poetsen. Na het nummeren van alle mensen, hebben we met de kinderen gespeeld en met verschillende patiënten gepraat. Tijdens de lunch werd besloten om met de boda boda naar een dorpje in de buurt te gaan, om ook daar nog met de mensen te praten. Na een korte onderhandeling vertrokken we per 2 met de boda boda naar het dorpje. Bij aankomst kwamen er veel kinderen naar ons toe, waarna we met de kinderen foto’s hebben gemaakt en gedanst. Eenmaal teruggekomen hadden we nog een cadeautje voor onze gastgezinnen. ’s Avonds hebben Demi en Yasmin wentelteefjes gemaakt en pasta voor ons gekookt. Na nog een tijdje gezellig rond het kampvuur te hebben gezeten zijn we gaan slapen om morgen weer vroeg naar Kampala te kunnen vertrekken.
Tjeerd en Rens
Wednesday 11 October
In the morning we woke up around 7:00. After a quick shower, Loes and Martijn cooked us breakfast, containing chapatie, scrambled eggs and bread. After breakfast we prepared ourselves for the dentist, optician and doctor, who were coming to the local clinic to treat everyone for free. Since all three were late, we handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste to the children who were waiting for the doctors, and taught them how to brush their teeth. After giving everyone a number, we played with the children and talked to various patients. During lunch, we decided to go to a nearby village with a boda boda. After some short negotiations, we left in pairs on a boda boda. At arrival, many local children ran towards us, and after making pictures and dancing with them, we went back to Jjaja Bbanga to hand out some small presents for the families we slept at. In the evening, Demi and Yasmin made us wentelteefjes and cooked us some delicious pasta. After sitting at the camp fire for a while, we went to bed in order to leave for Kampala in the early morning tomorrow.
Donderdag 12 oktober 2017
5 uur stond de wekker, en werden de tassen ingepakt om naar Tula te gaan om een schooltje te bezoeken. Ontbijt zonder licht maar wel de heerlijke Ugandese pannenkoek.
Er stond ons 4 uur lange busreis te wachten, wat bestond uit slapen en presentaties voorbereiden.
Aangekomen in Tula werd de aanval van de kinderen ingezet. Je kon geen stap zetten en je had wel een kind aan je arm. We kregen een rondleiding door het dorpje daarna, wat voornamelijk erg warm was.
Gelukkig toen we weer bij het schooltje waren stond der een bak met watermeloen en ananas voor ons klaar hierna hadden we weer een gelegenheid om met de kindjes te spelen. Na dat we met de kinderen hadden gespeeld ging de reis weer verder naar de Islamitische vrouwen campus in Kampala. Hier aangekomen werd verteld dat de jongens in een groot gedeelte van de campus niet mochten komen omdat de vrouwen hier afgesloten zitten van de manen en het was al heel iets dat wij hier mochten komen vooral met jongens erbij.
De kamer van de meiden viel tegen en de presentatie gingen niet door, door de regen hierdoor was de regen niet het enige water dat stroomde, dat was echt de druppel die de emmer liet overlopen. Gelukkig klaarde het weer op, dus ook ons humeur. Hierna gingen we zwemmen jongens en meiden moesten wel apart en de jongens mochten ook pas bij het zwembad toen de meisjes weer een lange broek aanhadden.
Na het zwemmen werden we opgehaald om bij het Elizabeth project avond te eten wat erg lekker was.
We zijn allemaal moe dus we gaan lekker slapen!
Our alarmclock rang at 5 in the morning. The bags were Packed to go to visit a school in ttula. We had breakfast without any light but the lovely Ugandan pancakes were there.
A four our trip was ahead of us, Which was used to sleep and prepare the presentations.
Once we arrived in ttula, we were immediately attacked by the children of the school. You could not take a step or you had a child on your arm.
We got a tour trough the village, which was very warm. Luckely a plate with watermelon and pineapple was waiting for us once we arrived back at the school. After this we had the opportunity to play with the children again.
After that we continued our trip to the islamic female campus in kampala. When we got here, they told us that the boys were not allowed in a large area of the campus, because some woman here are not allowed to see man. It was a acceptation that we could come sleep here especially with boys. The room of the girls was a disappointment and our presentation was canceled, because of the rain this is why the rain wasn’t the only water flowing it was just the drop that let the bucket over flow. Gratefully the weather cleared up and so did our mood. After this we also went swimming, the boys and girls needed to go separate and the boys could only enter the pool when the girls were dressed. After swimming we went to the Elizabeth project where we were going to eat what was very good.
We are all tired right now so sleep tight.
Aniek & Demi
Masaka groep
7 oktober 2017
After months of waiting the moment was finally there: TAKE-OFF TO UGANDA!13
Everyone was very tired and all the parents were crying, but we were still fairly motivated.
24 hours later and two stops, in Instanbul and Rwanda, we finally arrived in Uganda. Four buses were waiting for us and brought us to ICU Guesthouse where they greeted us with open arms. Meanwhile, it was six o'clock and we had to wake up at nine, so we could only sleep for three hours.
8 Oktober 2017
After a delicious breakfast, we walked to the church. This was very overwhelming and full of happiness. We were even invited on stage and then they asked us to sing a Dutch song, so we sung het Onze Vader for everyone. The people were so kind, they gave us a financial contribution! After three hours we walked to the Guesthouse and got a tasteful lunch, namely a potatoe salad and fruits. Cees picked up four students who are travelling with us to Masaka and Jjaja Banga. After this lunch, we packed our bags and we travelled further to our new destination. During the trip, we stopped at the equator and toke a lot of pictures. When we arrived at our destination, it was time to say goodbye to the other half of the group which were going to Jjaja Banga. We met our new host family. We have had already two amazing days!
9 oktober 2017
Soooo today was a really intensive day. How could you even start to summarize this day?
Well let’s just start at the beginning. We started this day at 8.40. Our breakfast was made out of eggs, some sweet bread and bananas. After breakfast we got our stuff together and left the house. Here is where our day really started.
So, it was a 50 minute drive towards the first school; St. Mary Immaculate. It was a primary school and when we arrived the children prepared a dance, a poem and a song for us. To be honest was this kind of intense because they put us (‘white people’) on a stage and they all looked at us like we were saints. After the performance we had some time to speak and connect with the children. In the beginning this interaction was kind of awkward, but in the ending It was a lot of fun and we hated it to leave. It was so weird, the way the children treated us. They were touching our skin, pulling out hair and not wanting to let go of our arms.
Then we left and went to St. Theresa S.S Bwanda. This was the primary part of school as well. This was very different from the other school. This school building was shockingly old and in a bad state, but the children were awesome! We interacted with them and we all felt a connection to them. At first they performed a dance for us and they asked us to dance and we were like ‘yes of course!!’. It was a bit awkward at first, but the children were laughing at us, so we danced some more! after the dance they acted out a play for us. After the dance they were performing a act. While they were acting, it started pouring rain so we ran into one of classrooms. Inside the room it was so different from our school. Everywhere were posters with English quotes and description. The building was also really old and unorganized. Some people were giving away stuff, like balloons and magic paper. The hair from the girls were being braided by the little girls. When we went outside the children were like ‘fighting’ about the balloons, so we felt a bit guilty that we didn’t bring enough balloons. They were so happy with a balloon and that is a different with the Netherlands, they aren’t always happy with those little things.
The third school we visited was St. Theresa as well. This was the first secondary school of the day and a different part of the las school. We went to the principal’s office and the sister gave us a little speech about the school and the foundation of it. After the sister told us about the school, we went outside to communicate with the pupils. This was very interesting, because they were around the same ages so we could connect with them and have a really good conversation about the differences and similarities in our school systems. We also showed them some dances in the Netherlands, like the Chicken dance and the Macarena. At a moment we all danced and it was so much fun.
Tuesday 10 oktober 2017
Today we woke up at eight o’clock. For breakfast we had a omelette with bread. Than we went to the farm of Vincent and Justine. They are the host of our guesthouse. There we saw how pineapples grow, some people were surprised because they thought pineapples grow on a tree. Than we walked further op the plantage, were we saw coffee plants. Vincent told us how you make from coffee beans coffee. That was very interesting and fun to hear. Than we planted our own coffee plans. Later on we came by a well were they take water to irrigate the land. Because we made fun of going into the well, one of the man who worked by the well, showed us that it is possible to go into the well. That was exiting, because we were afraid that the robe would snap and the man would be stuck down the well. Because of the rain this morning our shoes were very dirty with mud. We didn’t manage to get them clean.
After our visit at the farm we drove back to the guesthouse were we had lunch. The lunch was tjebata with egg, tomato, guacamole and you could also pick some fruits. Later on we played weerwolven, a game we brought with us from the Netherlands. When we were finished the other group came and together we drove to the Afripads factory. There they make reusable pads for women. We saw how the pads were made and packed. Everything was handmade, that was very special to see.
Nearby the factory was a local market were they sold fruit, vegetables, chicken, fish, clothes and many more. We walked through the market and we learned about products we never had seen before.
Than we went to the bus and drove back to our guesthouse. Where we walked through the area were we stay in. We gave our little presents to the children from the neighbourhood. We made them happy and that made us smile. For us it was very special to see that the children were happy with such little gifts.
For our dinner we had pumpkin soup with a kind of spaghetti and bread. The food here is very nice, like this dinner.
Wednesday 12 October.
We went to Children Foundation Uganda. It is run by Eddy, who uses IT to learn, because the children, according to Eddy, don’t have a lot of concentration. Thanks to the IT, it’s easier for the children to concentrate and pick up more. Also, the parents can pay in goods instead of money, if they can’t afford the school. They also give lessons outside, and they pick up and drop the children from their village. He gave us an introduction to his school and the challenges they have to overcome. Also, Job, Dirk and Lisa presented in front of the school.
Then we went to go outside, and sat down on the veranda. The children were performing different acts for us; for instance dancing, acting, debating and playing. After that, the teachers, fathers and mother did a race for us. Even some of us competed in it: Dirk even won! Then, we went to play with the children and take pictures. They were really surprised by Sander’s skin, as they all wanted to feel it.
After that, we went to the community. We saw eddy’s house, which was really small for our standards, but in Uganda it is seen as a luxury home. We also went to a women, who was twenty and already had three children. She dropped out of school to feed her kids and she lived in a house that was almost as big as some of our bedrooms. After that, we went to lunch at the foundation.
We went to Ibrahim’s chicken farm, where 96 chicken breed, that were bought by the S2U organisation. They are now almost two months old and are almost ready to breed. Ibrahim then gave us some sugar cane to try, and it was really delicious! We walked to a nearby school and played a lot with the children.
We then went back to Justine and Vincent, where we were surprised by the presence of the children from St. Maria school and sang and danced some Ugandan music for us. We also danced for them, but it wasn’t a success. We then ended the night with a party, and slept really well…
By SANDER and DIRK.
Thursday 12 October.
Today will be the last day here in Masaka at Vincent and Justine’s because today we will drive for Kampala, the Islamic Womens university.
While everyone was packing their bags and cases, Justine was making breakfast, consisting of some slices of bread, a boiled egg and a watermelon smoothie.
This is the last breakfast we will get from Justine, but it’s delicious as ever.
While having breakfast everybody is still talking about yesterdays after party with the students from ST. Mary. After breakfast we got the bags and cases to the bus drivers who had figure out how to fit everything in the small vans. A few of us had already taken a seat in the bus, but we still had to say goodbye to Vincent and Justine, so we all got inside where Justine had made some chapati’s for us before we left.
Justine blessed us and we all prayed together with Vincent, after the prayer the goodbye had finally come.
It was difficult because Vincent and Justine had made us feel like we were home, after the hugs and goodbye’s we still had to make a group picture so we went into the garden and made a few pictures.
Everyone got into the vans and we left Masaka, a 3 hours drive to the university but it was an easy ride because the road was quite good.
When we arrived we parked at the parking side across the university because we would wait for Cees and Julius,in the meantime we ate our lunch made by Justine, we asked her for some chapati’s as lunch because they are the best we ever tasted.
After 20 minutes Cees arrived and we got a few instructions about how to behave and what kind of clothes we were allowed to wear.
Then it was finally time to get inside, and when we were inside we got a tour from our 2 students, a few places where the men were not allowed but overall a nice campus.
We installed ourselves in the bedrooms, girls and boys separated and then we went to the hall to talk with some students.
After the talking we went swimming, and then quickly to ST. Elisabeth where we had our dinner.
A quick tour and then back to the university where we went to bed.
Joris
Groepen samen
Zaterdag 14 oktober
one part of the group woke up in st.elizabeth girl center and the other half woke up at the female campus. After a good breakfast, we went to multitech university. Here we listened to three presentations. We had to pick the best one, so we could give them some money to help them start up their own business. We chose for the group, which had according to us, has the biggest chance to succeed.
They designed their own clothes with African prints. Coen and Dirk even buyed a piece of clothing from them..
we got a tour around the school, which was really boring, and after that they had a snack ready for us, even though the use of snack isn’t really appropriate because it was a lot of food . We took a group photo and said goodbye to the students and teachers.
We drove to the female campus and we had a lunch, but not everyone was hungry because of the ‘snack’. After the lunch we had free time, because everyone was tired. Some went to the challenge, where a lot of people had a competition against each other. They were swimming, dancing and yelling a lot.
Others went to sleep or had some wifi. The sun was shining, but in the afternoon some of us got sick and didn’t come with the rest to got some dinner.
During the diner at st. elizabeth more of us got sick. Half of the group stayed at st.elizabeth and the other half drove back to the female campus. When we arrived at the female campus most of us went to bed. It was kind of a horror night, but the group was so sweet and every person who didn’t get sick helped the people who did. Eventually we got through the night together.
Aniek, Lisa & Sophie
16 oktober ’17
We werden wakker in fort Murchison rond zes uur. We ontbeten allemaal met een broodje en een kopje thee. Ondertussen was iedereen weer beter en konden we om zeven uur vertrekken naar de safari. Eenmaal aangekomen bij de poort zagen we een hele groep apen in de boom zitten. Dit was nog maar het begin van alle dieren die we hebben gezien die dag. We konden ook op het busje zitten om alle dieren nog beter te kunnen zien. We hebben onder andere giraffen, olifanten en hertjes gezien. Na twee uurtjes safari was het tijd om weer terug te gaan naar de pond en de rest van de groep te zien bij het restaurant.
Toen onze groep weer compleet was, zijn we naar een bootje gereden waar we een rondvaart hebben gedaan. Hier hebben we olifanten, giraffen, nijlpaarden en verschillende soorten vogels gezien. Ook zijn we naar een waterval gevaren en deze bekeken. Hierna gingen we weer terug naar de busjes en zijn we teruggereden naar de safari om de mensen die vanochtend gemist hadden ook nog wat van de dieren te laten zien.
Inmiddels was het al donker en kwamen we aan bij ons verblijf. Dit waren luxe tenten waar we met twee in konden slapen. We kregen nog een erg lekker diner, een viergangen menu. Hierna was iedereen erg moe en vies. Dus was het douchen en naar bed.
Anna en Martijn
16th October’17
We left fort Murchison around seven o’clock. We all ate breakfast which consists of bread and a cup of tea. In the meantime everybody was all better and we could leave for the safari. The first animals we saw were monkey’s. Those were only the start of what we were going to see that day. We could sit on the van to see even more animals! After two hours it was time to go back to the ferry and to see the other half of the group.
When the whole group was together, we went to the boat on which we got a tour through the Nile. We saw some elephants, giraffes, hippo’s and a lot of different species birds. But not only that, we also went to the waterfall and looked at it from a distance. After this we went back to the van and drove back to the game drive to show this to the people who missed out on it in the morning.
It was already getting dark when we arrived at our accommodation to sleep. Those were luxurious tents in which we could sleep with two. We got a delicious diner of about 4 courses. Everyone was extremely tired and dirty after this so we had a shower and went to bed.
Anna & Martijn
17 oktober 2017
Vroeg in de morgen, nog voordat de zon opkwam, werden we gewekt. Na eindelijk onder een normale douche gedoucht te hebben konden we genieten van een heerlijk luxe, internationaal ontbijt. Tegen de tijd dat de zon opkwam vertrokken we met de busjes richting het park. We zagen overal impala’s en everzwijntjes. Na een tijdje lieten ook de eerste olifanten en giraffen zich zien. Een olifant kwam heel dichtbij de busjes, begon te tetteren en rende net voor het voorste busje langs. De hele ochtend lang hebben we nog gezocht naar leeuwen en luipaarden, maar na heel wat uurtjes staren konden we geen van beide ontdekken. Het werd alleen maar warmer en warmer toen we richting de Nijl reden om daar een groepsfoto te maken. Na de groepsfoto was het een lange, hobbelige en zeer hete rit richting de top van de waterval. Het water van de waterval gaf gelukkig veel verkoeling. Toen zijn we op de bus gestapt onderweg naar de lunch. Na de lunch gingen we terug naar Kampala. Dit was een hele lange rit. In het ICU-Guesthouse kregen we een heerlijke maaltijd en hebben we ’s avonds spelletjes gespeeld.
Anna en Martijn
17th October, 2017
Early in the morning, before the sun rose, we woke up. After having a shower in a normal douche, we could enjoy an awesome, international breakfast. When the sun came up, we left with the vans to the National Park. We saw warthogs, giraffes and elephants everywhere. One elephant came very close to the vans, started to make a lot of noise and ran away, close to the first van. We searched for lions and leopards the whole morning, but after a few hours of staring we gave up. It was getting warmer and warmer when we reached a hippo pool in the Nile where we took a group photo. After this photo it was a long, hot, bumpy ride to drive all the way to the top of the waterfall. Luckily the waterfall was refreshing. By the time everyone was feeling less hot, we went to lunch. We had some spaghetti for lunch to survive the long trip back to Kampala. When we arrived in the ICU guesthouse, we had a delicious meal and played games all night.
Anna en Martijn
Woensdag 18 Oktober
First day that we could sleep longer than ever, Loes forgot to turn off her alarm so we woke up at 06:30 but we could have a sleep till 08:30. After we had a (cold) shower, we had a nice breakfast with toast and Nutella. There was a visit planned at KIU, this is the best international university in Uganda. We could interact with the students and we also had a tour around university. It was one of the most developed places that we visited in Uganda. We went back to ICU Guesthouse to have lunch and play games with eachother. Short after lunch we had to go to a restaurant to have dinner but we didn’t mind because it was a very nice restaurant with pizza’s, fries, burgers, milkshakes and mooooore. It was so hard to choose. With a full belly we went to a theatre to watch an African show. There was a lot of dancing, singing, music and very beautiful costumes. It was a very nice show but it took more than 3 hours so everybody was very tired. After the last dance we were allowed to come on stage and dance with eachother, it was amazing. At 22:30 we went home and we went to sleep.
Yasmin & Maxime
De laatste dag in Oeganda is aangebroken... We konden lekker uitslapen want we gingen rond kwart over 9 ontbijten. Heerlijk brood met oer-Hollandse chocopasta en pindakaas. Nadat iedereen klaar was konden we kiezen tussen twee ‘excursies’, je kon naar het paleis gaan met de martelkamers of naar de één na grootste moskee van heel Afrika. Gelukkig werd dit goed verdeeld en was het ongeveer helft om helft. Het paleis was erg indrukwekkend. We mochten helaas niet naar binnen, maar leerden wel veel over de koninklijke familie: zo mag de koning niet rond de rotonde maar gewoon rechtdoor. Het gevoel in de martelkamers was ook erg indrukwekkend. De moskee was erg mooi en hebben ook nog in de Koran gelezen. Daarnaast konden we heel Kampala zien vanaf de toren. Na deze twee uitstapjes kregen we heerlijke pannenkoeken en daarna kon het hamsteren beginnen: souvenirs! Onze identiteit werd ook weer lekker benadrukt met het afdingen 😂. Nadat iedereen hun tassen vol hadden vertrokken we naar entebbe om onze laatste avondmaaltijd te eten 😉. Helaas moesten we daarna toch vertrekken naar het vliegveld... zakdoekjes klaaaar!
Job
