they call me Mzungu

Kevin, Martin and I on the Nile River

                                                              

Uganda is known as the Pearl of Africa and for good reason. It is amazing here. It is the perfect temperature to me. It can get hot and humid but not crazy hot since we are higher up in elevation. Uganda is situated right on the equator so the temperature pretty much stays the same all year long. My favorite part about Uganda is how lush and jungle it is. When I think about Africa I always pictured the Lion King look, huge open grasslands and very flat but here in Uganda its all lush green jungles and lots of hills.

I live in the town of Lugazi. Lugazi has a population of about 39,000 to 40,000. It is located about 40 miles east of the capital city Kampala. There is a lot of work to do here in this country and there are many great people who understand just what needs to be done to improve their home country and they have a great desire to do so.

A typical road in Uganda

The people here are very friendly and very humble. Although not as open as Dominicans at first, but once they get talking they will tell you their whole life story and the life story of the person next to them. I feel like a celebrity here, everytime we leave our house we are surrounded by little kids who come screeming “MUZUNGU” They literally will come from every corner and they all start clapping in rhythym while chanting that word. Muzungu is Lugandan for “white person”, so I guess its only right that they yell that. Although its getting kinda old, always hearing the kids yell that everywhere we go. But I have started to teach all the kids to pound it when they see me. So I either get a high five or a fist when I walk by them now.

Most Ugandans speak english although they all grow up speaking Lugandan. I have started to learn some phrases in Lugandan and I am trying to learn as much as I can before I come home. It’s a hard language and without a teacher none of us really understand the grammar of it, but we all have fun and try to say what we know.

We have spent our first week in the country meetin with different local groups that have ideas they want to see done to help improve their country. With HELP International we are going to decide on different projects to setup and run this summer that will improve the country and people. We can choose whatever projects interest us and then we are the ones in charge. I am really excited to start meeting with hospitals and groups to get the eye camp set up and running this year. We also had the chance to spend the day in this remote village at a clinic that has just been built. We helped to test people for Malaria and other diseases and also got to hike around and see the village. The clinic is being run by an American lady that graduated from BYU and is a nurse practitioner. 

 Hiking through the jungle to the local well in the village