Come on girls!

Celebrations for International Women's Day.....girl power!

A very large stick insect on the outside (thankfully!) of one of the mosquito screens in my house

Last Sunday was International Women's Day - it's never been a day that I've given much thought to over the years or that I was even particularly aware of. But here in Uganda it's a big deal and there were lots of celebrations to mark the day, even in Masindi. The women from the local police force, prison service and army as well as various womens groups and girl's schools all congregated in the football stadium to march, wave banners and generally show off how empowered they were! They then stood in the sorching heat in the middle of the stadium for ages while numerous 'very important people' made lots of speeches - speeches are very important here! The weekend newspapers were also full of articles championing the empowerment of women in Uganda. There's still a mighty long way to go to match UK standards, but at least it's something that's openly discussed if not always practiced.

Recently a group of the hotel staff were watching the tv in the bar, the volume was off, so I couldn't work out or see what they were watching but figured it most be the UK premier league football, as it's really popular here. On closer inspection it turned out they were watching an African wildlife programme on the National Geographic channel. They were fascinated by lions chasing and killing buffalo and antelope - for the majority of them this is the closest they have or ever will get to seeing wild African animals. It amazed and saddened me because just 2 hours drive away is one of Uganda's most famous national game parks that's full of elephants, giraffes, buffalo, antelopes, crocodiles etc, but yet they had ever had the opportunity to see them all for real, they have probably never seen them in a zoo either. To many local people the park is inaccessible because of cost and transport, although compared to UK attractions it's not that expensive, but to most Ugandans it's well beyond what they could afford to pay.

The power has been been on and off quite a bit for the last week and a half, it's the worst it's been since I arrived. It was supposed to be getting better as Masindi has recently been connected up to the main power supply at Kinyara, the sugar plantation and factory about 20 minutes outside the town. But I'm becoming used to the kersoene lamps now, though I do have a really good rechargable electric lantern as well.

It's 12 weeks now since I arrived and I'd like to say it flown by but it hasn't, it feels like I've been here so much longer. Even the 4 new volunteers who arrived just over 2 weeks ago feel as if they've been here ages. I'm missing home, family and friends and things that are familiar to me much more than I ever thought I would. I feel quite far away from the 'real' world here, though with the current economic climate it's probably no bad thing but at the same time it can be quite isolating, thankfully I have the internet which keeps me in contact with people and what's going on in the world.

Life begins......

Ugandan-style birthday cake (lots of icing)!

I hit the BIG 40 (it's hard to believe I know!) at the end of last week, so I'm eagerly waiting to see if the 'life begins' addage is true (watch this space)! Though it was pointed out to me that if it is in fact true, then why do we have to put up with the all the rubbish of the first 39 years! (thanks Ian!)

I celebrated in Kampala with all the new VSOers -Stephen, one of the new arrivals also had his birthday last week. We went for a fantastic meal at a lovely Indian restaurant in Kampala, called Khana Kazana. The VSO Progamme Office had kindly organised a cake and cards for the two of us.

Some of the new VSOers

Cutting the cake with Stephen

The power has been off for 3 days now, though it did briefly come on for about 40 minutes earlier this evening - this is the longest it's been off since I arrived. There's also been quite a bit of rain over the last few days - I think the rainy season has arrived!

It's been a while since I last put a posting on. But I have a good excuse -the hotel was extremely busy for 10 days right up to last weekend and there wasn't much time to sit down and do the blog. There were two groups (one of 17 and one of 40) staying in the hotel who ate in the restaurant every evening. Unfortunately, there wasn't a head chef so I took on the role of head chef/kitchen manager. I've worked in some hot kitchens over the last 20 years but never one quite as hot as the one here, it was like working in an oven! The kitchen and restaurnat staff were fantastic and willingly gave up their days off for the week just so there was adequate cover on each shift. The group of 40 UK-based teachers ended their week on a real high as they were treated to a concert of music and dance put on by school children from the local schools in the district - the kids were great.

Local school children performing traditional songs and dances

I'm in Kampala this week on VSO In Country Training (ICT). Because I arrived in Uganda out of cycle and by myself in mid-December I went straight to my placement and so have now joined with a new group of volunteers who arrived last Sunday. I took the post bus from Masindi to Kampala on Saturday, a journey which should take about 4 hours, but by the time the bus stopped to drop off/pick up post at local post offices along the way and also made various stops to allow passengers to buy bananas and pineapples on the roadside, it ended up being just over 5 hours. The post bus is known to be one of the slowest public buses but also one of the safest as they tend not to travel at high speed unlike many of the bigger buses and they also limit the number of passengers they take.

I met up with a group of Kampala-based VSO volunteers on Saturday evening, we went out to a Thai restaurant, which was a real treat - there's not much social activity in Masindi and few, if any places to eat out. It was nice to meet up with other volunteers and to hear about their experiences, which are often very different to those placed up country.

Part of the VSO ICT training involves learning one of the local Ugandan languages, so today I started having lessons in Runyoro, which is the language spoken by the Banyoro tribe who live in Masindi district. It's certainly not the easiest langauage to learn as many of the words tend to be really long and have spellings like 'oi', 'ii', 'nny', and 'nd' that take some getting used to. Although Runyoro is the local language spoken in Masindi, the staff at the hotel come from many different regions, each with their own dialects and languages, so they generally tend to speak to each other in Kiswahilli. I'm planning to start Kiswahilli lessons when I return to Masindi as I think it'll be more benefical for me.

On Sunday evening VSO had arranged for the new volunteers to attend an outdoor cultural show at the the Ndere Cultural Centre in Kampala - it was a great evening, with lots of traditional dancing, singing and music - see photos below. The energy of the dancers and drummers is amazing especially as it is so hot here.

Work stuff.....

Business at the hotel has been very quiet the last fews weeks, this is due in part to the normal January slump that most businesses face but also because the new academic year for primary and secondary schools in Uganda started last Monday. As most good schools are fee paying, this means Ugandan parents have quite hefty bills at this time of year, not just for fees but also for uniforms, text books and all sorts of other school materials. Many Ugandans send their children to boarding schools that are often some distance from their homes and they have to provide mattresses, bed linen etc.

The hotel is expecting a group of 40 teachers from Bristol in mid-Feb. The teachers have formed a collaborative educational partnership with schools and teachers here in Masindi - they will be here for a week visiting local schools and carrying out training workshops. There are also some other smaller groups staying in the hotel, so hopefully business will pick up during the latter part of February and early March.

Staff morale is quite low at the moment, as many of them have not been paid for quite some time, some are owed salaries since September of last year. It's really difficult for me to imagine what it's like to work and not get paid and to still be able to survive, though many are really struggling at the moment to pay their rent and to buy basic neccessities. The majority of staff seem to survive on very little money - most will only have one meal a day (quite normal in Uganda and it tends to be quantity over nutritional value), though those with families also face the problem of how to pay school fees. Unfortunately there is little that I can do to help them, other than trying to make their working environment a good one, as I'm not involved in the financial side of the business. Some have considered leaving but there are few other jobs about.

Having said that, I'm enjoying working with the staff, they are all really nice people and have been very welcoming towards me. I'm trying to make sure that I have regular meetings with the staff in each department and the heads of departments - this was introduced in the past but had fallen by the way side. I organised a meeting with the restaurant staff last week to talk through a number of issues with them and to get their opinions on how the restaurant was functioning. I was surprised at the end of it how many staff thanked me and since then many have come up to me to say 'well done', when I ask for what, they say for what I'm doing at the hotel! They really seem to appreciate the fact that someone is asking how they feel about things and also that time is being invested in them - they are only small gestures but they seem to be having a positive effect.

I've attached some photos of the staff and the hotel below.

This is Milly - she's the Head Pantrymaid (that's the term used here for kitchen assistant) - she's an absolute star! She helps out in the kitchen doing basic prep, making fresh fruit juice, cooking the staff meals and doing the cleaning in the kitchen. She greets me every day with 'how is you?' 'how was the night?' (meaning how was your evening) 'how is the home?'

Rose (waitress) and Grace (gift shopp assistant) - they fell about laughing when I told them to say 'cheese'..... they thought it was hilarious! But as you can see it worked!! Me, Sarah (she works in the bar), Mariam and Silvia (they are both waitresses)

The girls are joined by Francis who's works as a waiter

The 'Made in Uganda Gift Shop'

Seating area in the garden with a thatched 'banda' (African-style self-contained cottages) in the background - I stayed in this one for a week before I moved into my house. There are 17 bandas in total (singles, doubles and twins) and they are all equipped with electric fans, mosquito nets, solar-powered hot water and showers.

There are two bandas like this one in the garden - they tend to be quite cool and provide an escape from the sun

The veranda (where most customers tend to eat), this leads into the bar area. There is a small dining room to the right - it tends to be used mostly by Ugandan customers, but also for functions, meetings and workshops

This tent completely collapsed 2 weeks ago as a result of a really fierce storm that only lasted about 30 minutes but did quite a bit of damage.The cash office, reception and managers office are all in the white building in the background.

Soggy Bank Holiday!

Yesterday, January 26th, was a public holiday in Uganda, commemorating the day that the National Resistance Movement came to power and Museveni was sworn in as president. The day started off very soggy and wet, after a torrential early morning downpour of rain. It's good to know that's it's not only the UK that experiences damp bank holiday weather! The sun did shine brightly again a few hours later though.

Last week the army had been practicing marches on a playing field near the hotel in preparation, we were told for a big parade to celebrate the day, but unfortunately there was no sign of it. Some of the staff at the hotel told me that because there have been some recent cases of meningitis in outlying villages, a decision had been made not to go ahead with the event. The hotel was busy at lunchtime, mostly with European tourists on their way to/from the national park. I thought we might of had more Ugandan customers as many had the day off work, but money is tight for many of them at the moment as the new school year starts next week and there are children's fees to pay.

The weather has cooled down quite a lot in the last week. It had been so hot, even the Ugandan were complaining. The rainy season isn't due to start till the end of February but there has been rain most days for the last week. The rain tends to come in really heavy downpours but then dries up pretty quickly. It keeps the dust down and the temperature is far more pleasant and bearable. It's also easier to sleep at night, I've even needed a light blanket the last few nights.

The hotel is relatively quiet at the moment, though it's pretty hard to judge quiet/busy periods as a tour bus of tourists can down up at any time - a full menu of food is served all day. A group of 23 turned up today and ate off the very extensive menu, so the kitchen was a tad rushed for a short while! It's due to pick up in early February as there are a number of UK groups booked in, many of them are teachers - they come to liaise with local schools and to do training workshops.

There have been some issues with staff at the hotel recently, their attendance and time keeping is not the best and they tend to work very much as individuals, it's quite hard work trying to get the chefs in the kitchen to communicate with each other, let alone work together as a team. I've just had a call to tell me that the head chef (I use the term loosely!), who's been on leave for the past 5 days and was due back at work tomorrow, won't now be back till Friday! Apparently it is quite common for workers not to return when they say they will.

I got asked by some of the hotel staff the other day, what was I going to do on my days off,when I replied that I would probably be doing my washing, ironing, cleaning etc. they were completely amazed and couldn't believe that I would be doing all this by myself (I have a lady called Rose who comes twice a week as well, all the washing is done by hand) - the assumption was because I'm a white woman I couldn't possible know how to do such things!! I had a carpenter fit a mosquito screen on my back door for me last week and he was also amazed that I had a screwdriver, let alone knew how to use it to undo the brackets on some curtain poles!

I've had a problem with my 'askari' (guard) this week - he showed up for work on Saturday evening having consumed quite a lot of alcohol and then fell asleep in his hut at the back of my house. Unfortunately, he's not much use in this state, even if he does have a bow and a handle of metal-tipped arrows! He's fallen aslepp once before, so unfortunately he's now on his last warning.

Mother and daughter digging up the field beside my house using only a hoe, they were delighted to have their photo taken.

More photos....

Maribou Storks - they're quite common in Uganda
Crocodile on the Nile

A family of baboons

Sunrise on the Nile

The Rift Valley with Lake Albert in the background

Elephant on the banks of the Nile

Above are some more photos from my trip to Murchison Falls.

By the way, my fridge arrived safe and sound and is now working fantastically, well, when the power's on, that is!

First four weeks

It's exactly 4 weeks now since I left the UK and I'm gradually getting used to life here in Masindi. The heat is incredible at the moment, it's just so dry, which means there is lots of dust. I leave my house in the mornings feeling relatively fresh, showered and cool, but by the time I arrive at the hotel 10 minutes later I'm ready for another shower! I've also been working along side the chefs in the kitchen quite a bit of late and I seem to be constantly dripping in sweat, which is not pleasant! It'll get cooler come February/March time, so I'm told, but the rains come then as well, so instead of the orange dust there'll be lots of orange mud. I'm also getting used to having almost permantly dirty feet, as all of the roads, other than the main ones are dirt tracks, so by the end of the day my feet are very fetching shade of orange!

Not long after I arrived I bought a mobile internet connection, lots of people have them here - you top up the sim card in it with about £30 a month and it gives you unlimited use. It's great having access in my own home and being able to keep in contact with everyone.

Work at the hotel is going well so far and the staff seem pleased that I'm working along side them. They are all really pleasant and very welcoming and so far seem very receptive to new ideas and improvements. I've been mostly in the kitchen, mainly organising the layout of the kitchen and the equipment and also trying very hard to get all the staff to be consistent in their cooking, hygiene etc. The head chef, Vincent, started working at the hotel the same time as me, so that has been useful. There is still a very LONG way to go, but so far so good. Once I've managed to get the kitchen working a bit better, I want to spend some time focusing on the other departments, such as the restaurant - the staff there are all really nice, but would benefit from some training.

I had a fantastic time at Murchison Falls - I went the weekend after New Year. Unfortunately, we got a puncture on the way there and another one on the way back - this is quite common as the roads are very bad and most of them have no proper surface. We stayed a lovely lodge, The Nile Safari Lodge, which is managed by a guy from Northamptonshire. The resort is made up of small wooden 'bandas' (huts) or tents - I had a tent but it wasn't at all like any tent I've stayed in before! It was really luxorious, it was basically a big tarpaulin on a raised wooden platform, covered with a wooden roof and a veranda overlooking the Nile. The tent was attached to a wooden hut that was the bathroom from which you walked out onto an out-door shower. The restaurant was a big round roofed but virtually wall-less hut, which allowed lots of very unwelcomed (on my part) visitors, such as bats, to fly around while you're having dinner! But the sound of the hippos splashing around in the river below and the monkeys in the tamarind tree made up for it. I did a boat trip up the Victoria Nile to Murchison Falls, and saw lots of animals on the banks and in the water -hippos, wart hogs, elephants, crocodiles, water buffalo and some fantastic birds. I also did an early morning game drive with Suliaman, who's the driver at the hotel, he knows the park really well so was a really good guide. We saw lots more elephants, some in quite big herds, giraffes, lots of oribi (small, very cute antelope-type animals). The park is quite untouched and there are no restrictions about where you can go, so the animals just roam where ever they want.

I have lots more photos but they take an age to upload, so will try to add some more on my next posting.

I went to Kampala last week for 2 nights with Maggie and Sallie - I needed to stock up on household supplies and food (Masindi is quite limited retail-wise), I also wanted to buy a fridge. Sallie had lots of shopping to do for the hotel, most of which is done in supermarkets as there is only one cash & carry in Kampala and it's product range is quite small. The 2 days were very busy, but fortunately I got most of the things I needed to make my house feel more like home, though I spent way over my VSO allow of £145.00 a month! Large electrical goods are quite expensive here and then they have to be transported to Masindi, which means further costs, but I would find it hard living without a fridge especially in these temperatures. I paid for the fridge but as yet have not had it delivered, it's quite a complicated system - I paid Godfrey (the driver Sallie uses in Kampala) to hire a pickup (also paid him for his time) to collect the fridge from the store and bring it to a lorry park somewhere in the city, it is then loaded (more money) onto a lorry bound (fingers crossed) for Masindi, where I'll pay for delivery and unloading!! It was supposed to arrive Tuesday, but there's been no sign of it (wed today) - I have been told that it can take up to a week, though where it actually is during that time is anyone's guess! I'm assured this is all quite normal and perfectly safe.....I'll let you know in my next posting.