Rachel in Africa

Can you imagine that as I am typing this we are having one week remaining in Butagaya?! Because I definitely can't! Its a little scary and sad all rolled into one because I can't think where the time has gone and I am most certainly going to miss all the friends I've made. Looking back on our time here however, not only can I see the physical changes in the landscape as a result of the rainy season (ie a lot more green and maize is growing everywhere!) I know that we have made a positive change in the community. Evidence of this is perhaps seen through two things this week. First thing - we formally registered a new youth group, specifically for disabled young people, with the local sub-county chief which will enable them to access government funds more easily and other practical support for their work in their particular village. We were very excited to have helped those guys acheive that, especially as we have seen them right from their formation. Now they have even rece...

Hi everyone! Greetings from Jinja town! This is just a quick update to all my lovely friends about life here in Uganda - which I might add is feeling increasingly like home! After a fab break with Mum and Dad, I met up with all my fellow volunteers for a weeks worth of top up training before heading back on placement. It was great to see everyone again and find out how they were doing in their respective villages, and also somehow a comfort that the challenges we were facing were also being faced by others - so we really weren't alone and we are doing a good job!!!! So since we've back in Butagaya we have been working closely with our youth groups to try and draw alongside them and support them in not only issues of sexual and reproductive health but also with their income generating activities. One of our groups wants to build their poultry keeping - of which they have 20 chicks! We have also recently set up a drop in centre for the young people of our area in the village tra...

So I can hardly believe that I am writing this post to mark the half way point in my placement! Time really is flying by! Currently, I am on a mid-placement holiday break and mummy and daddy Vickers have come to visit! It is amazing, if not a little strange, to have them here and to show them this country and its people that I love so much. So far we have spent Easter in Kumi, the community which I worked in last year and tomorrow will be heading to the banks of the Nile in Jinja for some much anticipated R and R! Although I'm hoping to squeeze in a small day trip to Butagaya so they can see my stomping ground. But what can I tell you about our programme since the last time I wrote?! So much as happened as usual and we are keeping busy but there are two things that I want to share which will hopefully keep you entertained! The first is a story about a boy called Eric. He lives in a village in our parish and for the last two months I had been teaching him in my P7 class at primary ...

Mwasuze Mutya basebo ne banyabo! Or for those of you who are clearly not as fluent in Lusoga (the local language) as I am 'Good Morning Everyone!' So hopefully that gives you a slight hint into the fact that I really am now settling well into the village and fully embracing my status as the only 'muzungu' or white person around! Our daily tasks like teaching in schools and working with the out of school youth groups are continuing to go well and I am particularly enjoying having sessions with our secondary school kids. With fewer students in a class and a better level of english I feel like I can really draw alongside them and offer them support as well as knowledge; as a mentor and peer rather than a teacher.  Now that our baseline survey is over for February, our work is getting a lot busier with more events and activities that are intended to reach out to the whole community. Just this week we have had community outreach talks about HIV and condom demonstrations in p...

10 days into life in Butagaya and it is already beginning to feel like our Ugandan home. I have had so many wonderful experiences of village life already, and of course a few challenges along the way too but I will try and just give you a snapshot of life and work in Jinja District. For the most part of this month, our work is focused around conducting a 'baseline survey' with meetings and introductions and us gathering information that can inform our work over the next 6 months. From meeting flamboyant political leaders like the local council chief and other councillors, to meeting Primary and Secondary School teachers and health centre staff, we are slowly by slowly getting to know the community - and especially their attitudes towards young people and what we can do to help them. For me, a highlight has definitely been meeting with some out of school youth groups who are so eager to start up some income generation projects but are just desperate for the skills and knowledge ...

Yes, one more thing, I just remembered that I promised to leave my postal address for some people. It is Rachel Vickers Restless Development Uganda PO Box 1208 Jinja, Uganda And for those who want to know - I also have a Ugandan cell phone number - +256 771 469 831. Any contact is (as Ugandans would say) 'most welcome'!!!!!

So I am now three weeks in! And the fact that this has been my first real chance to get into town to update you all is probably evidence enough to how busy we have been! Nevertheless it has most certainly been a fantastic three weeks; there is so much to say but I will try and keep it brief! From arriving in the heat of Entebbe and driving through Kampala to our training centre which is located just near a town called Mukono, I felt like I was back in familiar surroundings! It is simply great to be back, eating Ugandan food, enjoying Ugandan weather and spending time with lots of Ugandan people!!     We are staying at the centre from which we are training and sleeping in dormitories of about 12 people, a mix of ‘internationals’ and Ugandans. It has been pretty intense so far with both core sessions about Restless Development and the work of the NGO sector in Uganda as well as specialist training about, what will soon be, my area of expertis...

So yes, the adventure begins here. But not before packing all my things! The excitement of going back to a country, and a continent, that I have come to love over the last couple of years and doing some really worthwhile work, coupled with the nervousness of going away for 7 months, has rather overshadowed the practical elements of working out what constitutes my worldly possessions for the next half a year! But with 4 sleeps left until departure I can’t go on just laying things out on my bedroom floor – I have to face the challenge of getting it all in a rucksack and my carry on backpack! This is a pressing task but another thought holding me back is that this still doesn’t seem quite real! But I don’t think it will until I actually set my foot on the tarmac at Entebbe airport! Anyway, this all seems very dramatic!! ‘Why is she rambling on?!’, you might wonder, but all these musings ultimately lead to one goal – to enhance the lives of young people in rural areas of Uganda and to gi...

So I am writing this from, what I hear is, an unusually sunny England after being back just over a week. It feels very strange so far and I’m sure it will take a while for me to settle back in fully but for now I just wanted to update you on the progress of our projects in Kumi, how Team 2 got on and what everything looks like now we have left. Team 2 were a fantastic team! It was made up mostly of a youth group from a church in Kent with 7 13-16 year olds and their leaders as well as 4 other adults. It was a lovely mix and they were different to Team 1 which made it all the better I think! But they worked equally as hard and at the end of the trip overwhelmed me and Louise with their generosity towards all of our partners. It wasn’t without hiccups however as we suffered a few more problems with our transport; a broken alternator and three punctures! But hey, it wouldn’t be Africa without those things!! Once we arrived in Kumi all the team were eager to start work and we got so much...

Wow! What a two weeks!! So the first team have come and gone and it has been fantastic! We have got so much done and all the volunteers left feeling really tired but really pleased with all the work they achieved. Our team 1 trip started a bit behind schedule as the volunteers were delayed at Entebbe airport due to heightened security....this has seemed to be the flavour of our stay here in Uganda this year but for a variety of different reasons; first for the bombs but then for the arrival of a large number of African presidents who were attending the African Union summit being held in Uganda. Anyway, we finally met the volunteers and took them straight to Jinja to see the Source of the Nile stopping there overnight before the second leg of our journey to Kumi. Our first day in Kumi got off to a fantastic start as we had a great morning on the building site laying the first few bricks of the 6th house at the COHAD orphanage, intertwined with playing with some of the children who wer...

I can’t believe we are now pushing the three mark, although it does feel like we have been here quite a long time as we begin to settle in even more! It’s been a strange mixture of time the last few days with finalising our visits and witnessing some real hardships in the area around Kumi, where we are living, followed by taking in some of the sights of Uganda in one of the National Parks and on a short break from work! But whilst we were still in Kumi we confirmed two of our projects with a small development organisation linked with our partner church. We are going to be visiting a small rural village with each team where we will renovate a typical house made from grass thatch and mud and, on a separate visit; we shall be distributing food to needy families suffering from HIV/aids. As a staff team we went to visit both these villages to form the links before we take the teams, accompanied by a Ugandan man named Patrick who is quickly becoming another one of Uganda friends, we felt li...

Saturday 10th July Nearing the end of our first week in Uganda we have arrived at what is to be our home for the next two months in Kumi Town and are beginning to slowly unpack and adjust to lots of really big insects, permanently dusty feet and the heat but hey....this is Africa and I am loving it! Over the past week we have certainly not been idol as from the moment we arrived at Entebbe airport (without any bags!!) our ‘set up’ trip began. In the first two weeks of our trip we are charged with ‘sus-ing everything out so we have spent the first few nights in Kampala, the capital. It can truly be called an ‘African city’ with bustling streets and crazy drivers! The boda-bodas, which are like motorbike taxis, are lethal and it can take a rather long time to cross the road in safety!! We bought a few necessary things in town and prepared for our journey up to the North. On Tuesday we spent the night in Jinja, which is Uganda’s second largest city outside Kampala and one of the more tour...

Writing this on my final evening at my house in Leamington Spa, before I go back to Harpenden tomorrow to get things ready is really exciting as I feel like I have been building up and looking forward to this coming week all through my exams! This excitement is coupled with me realising that I've come to the end of second year at university and also the fact that this time next week I will be back in Uganda!!! But despite the busy-ness of the end of term and end of exams, I am still reflecting on how my preparations have gone so far and how it will be to be back in a country that has grown to hold a special place with me! First of all I have been overwhelmed by the generous support from everyone who has contributed to our fundraising for our projects so if you are one of those people then thank you very much! I'm also beginning to realise that two months is a long time to be away but I am definitely up for the challenge! It is also good to think about how much work we can get d...