Post #2

During my first full day in Lugazi we went up to Jinja where the supposed source of the Nile is. Apparently the source of the Nile is debatable. We climbed over some rocks in lake Victoria and climbed the previous monument built to mark the source of the Nile. The current day understanding of the source of the Nile is about twenty feet from the monument.

On Monday we took some bota botas (aka cheaper slower versions of motorcycles) up to the top of the sugar plantation. The large sugar plantation is owned by an Indian who hires Ugandans to work the plantation and allows them and their families to live on his land. So far, I think it’s the prettiest place in all of Uganda. We went up there to meet with a local women’s to discuss what types of projects would be of most use to them.

Here’s a picture of the neighborhood kids who never tire of running out to greet us with a loud Munzungu Munzungu (which means white person).

One of the many projects that HELP International has had a lot of success with in the past is the adobe stoves. These stoves are built with materials found locally to reduce the cost of fuel used for cooking. These stoves also decrease the amount of smoke circulating in the home to reduce respiratory illnesses and catarcts among the women and children. We went around some of the more rural parts of Lugazi and evaluated the stoves that were built last year to make repairs and to decide if we needed to make any changes to the ones we will building this summer.

We also volunteered at an orphanage. This is Leslie and I playing the drums as the kids danced to imitation drum music.