A Meander in Uganda and Beyond

Coming Home

2010-05-13T17:01:00.004+03:00

In four hours I'll board a plane bound for Sydney, Australia. I've spent the past two days in Rome at World Food Programme headquarters debriefing with my fellow Vodafone peers who also participated in the World of Difference Programme.

This past year was jam-packed with so many amazing experiences. I will never forget the places, the work, the music, the food and - above all - the people. I know I'll come back.. Uganda feels like a second home.

Tracking Gorillas in Uganda

2010-04-19T18:00:00.004+03:00

In the early hours of 3 April 2010, we rolled out of the beds in our simple but comfortable bandas at Buhoma Community Rest Camp to pursue mountain gorillas. Here's a snap of us carb-loading before our gorilla trek with the magnificent forest in the background.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest lies on the edge of the Western Rift Valley (also known as the Albertine Rift) in southwestern Uganda. Bwindi is home to four habituated gorilla groups that can be tracked by tourists. There is an additional habituated group that is preserved purely for research. We tracked the Rushegura or "R" group.

Our gorilla guide, David (pictured below), started by briefing us on the nuances of tracking gorillas, basically - what's respectful and what's not. One extra tip from David was to tuck our trousers into our socks literally to avoid ants in our pants. A group of enthusiastic trekkers from Sweden were on the case immediately doubling over to tuck their hiking pants into their socks. We played it cool, only "tucking in" before we stepped into the forest.. vanity still counts for some, even in the Great Rift Valley.

Rushegura group is made up of 19 gorillas each with their own personality. The unique identifier for a gorilla is its nose print, in the same way humans are uniquely identified by a fingerprint and giraffes by their distinct coat pattern.

In a group of eight (I'm talking humans here) we set off to find the Rushegura gorillas. David told us that a group of trackers head out earlier in the morning to locate the gorillas to a general vicinity in the forest. They then radio this position back to base so that when we (the tourists) come out we can head in the general direction of their whereabouts. Locating the gorillas can take anywhere between 15 minutes to six or seven hours! We had braced ourselves for the 'worst'.

From our first encounter with the gorillas the clock started ticking. Visitors are allowed one hour with these amazing animals which is tightly controlled by the guides in deference to the gorillas. After a 45 minute hike up a dense forest hill David, our guide, asked us to pause and inhale, "Do you smell that?" It was the smell of animal.. we were in the gorilla's hood. Before we new it about five of the Rushegura gorillas crossed our paths (or did we cross theirs?) as they were descending the hill into the valley below.

David informed us that they hadn't been down in the valley for the past two months. For this we were lucky, yes, but it also meant that we had to race down the hill through dense forest as David and the other guides created a path for us to scramble down. As we slipped and slided down the hill the Rushegura gorillas trailed a parallel path much more gracefully than us!

The sun was shining brightly in the valley which is reflected in the improved clarity of my pictures from my basic point and shoot camera.
We were not allowed to touch the gorillas but they came close to us of their own volition.

Check out those hands.
A pensive G.

This video starts with a focus on one of the two silverback gorillas in the Rushegura group. It then pans to some of the smaller gorillas in the group. What an amazing experience.

On the Right Wavelength

2010-04-18T20:00:00.001+03:00

I'm down to my last few weeks in Uganda and it's sad to think my time working for WFP in East Africa is almost over. I'll be back in Australia next month.

Here's some short reading about what I've been up to at work during the past year. It's an article that appeared in WFP's "Wavelength" magazine: http://ictemergency.wfp.org/web/ictepr/48. I hope you enjoy it.

Ntarama and Nyamata - 1994 Rwandan Genocide

2010-04-18T14:30:00.001+03:00

Ntarama and Nyamata are the sites of two Catholic Churches in Rwanda which now serve as memorials to the heinous Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Freddy, from East Africa Eco Explorer tour company, took me 30km outside of Kigali - the capital of Rwanda - to the location of these harrowing sites where thousands of Rwandans were murdered.

A sign at Ntarama that reads: "If you knew me and you really knew yourself, you would not have killed me."

The images and video speak for themselves.

To Timbuktu and Back! (PART I)

2010-04-18T14:00:00.004+03:00

Earlier in 2009 one of my great friends from childhood - Nada - suggested a plan to meet at a desert music festival in Mali over New Year. Concurring it was a great idea, the trips were soon booked with Nada travelling from Perth, Australia (via Paris) and myself travelling from Kampala, Uganda (via Nairobi).

Mali is in West Africa, also the musical heartland of Africa. We met in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and from there we hatched our plan to travel to Timbuktu on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert some nine hundreds of kilometres from the capital.

Alhassane, our pinasse driver and guide who took us for a ride on the Niger River. A pinasse is a traditional wooden boat used to transport people and various goods on the river.

Mahmoud, a new friend from Timbuktu, pictured below. A fluent English speaker and a charming young fellow, Mahmoud runs a tour business in Mali. If you are looking to travel in Mali I recommend Mahmoud as a guide. Get in touch with Mahmoud.
Nada and I in tradition Touareg head-dress. It protects one from the harsh elements of the desert - that would be sun and sand!

Cruising the Niger River in Mopti - Nada and me. Mopti is a port town between Bamako and Timbuktu.

Dogon is a popular area for travellers because of its beautiful panoramas, and rich history and culture. Dogon is a series of small towns between which you can hike. Each town has its own unique history and cultural mix. I was particularly interested by the history of the Tellem, the pygmy inhabitants of the area who left centuries ago but whose abandoned dwellings still exist in many of the Dogon towns. One of the first towns on the way to Dogon Country is Jigibombo - what a brilliant name (definitely more exciting than the name of my hometown in Australia - Adelaide).

Here is a short video of a dance at a mask festival at Ende one of the many towns in Dogon Country and the third and final town we visited in Dogon.

In my next post I'll tell you more about the Touareg music festival we attended and some other stories from Mali.

Jozi

2010-02-02T17:58:00.001+03:00

Any airport that has an airline called "Mango" is my kind of airport!

I arrived in Johannesburg on Saturday 5 December for a weekender with my good friend, Natalie, who had just finished a one month tour through East Africa and was on her way back to Australia. Natalie and I worked together at Vodafone some years back - that's how we met. The flight from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg is a two and a half hour direct flight. Given it was just a weekend trip I borrowed a small suitcase from my neighbour, Janet, in Dar es Salaam. Travelling light is not usually my forte but I think I did pretty well although my plastic bag is not the epitome of stylish travel luggage (I am yet to find Louis Vuitton in Uganda).
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and the capital of Gauteng province. It's a modern city in terms of infrastructure and services. I stayed in a well-to-do area of Joburg called Sandton which has one of the largest malls in Africa called Sandton City. Sandton has become the financial hub of the country. Walking through Sandton City was an almost strange experience as I realised I've become quite unaccustomed to large malls since I left Australia. Mr Westfield is yet to travel across the Indian Ocean - thankfully! This shoe or 'all-terrain vehicle' I spied in a shoe store in Sandton City gave me a new appreciation for the understated second-hand shoes on offer in Kampala's Owino Market.
Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum offers a comprehensive view of the apartheid struggle in South Africa. Apartheid was an official policy of the South African government between 1948 and 1994 although well prior to 1948 discrimination along racial grounds was commonplace. A special exhibition on Mandela was open at the museum during our visit. Here is a picture of Natalie and I outside the museum in front of the special exhibition banner.
When you purchase your museum ticket you are also randomly allocated a special pass which says "white" or "non-white". This pass dictates which entrance by which you are allowed to enter the museum - serving as a small taste of the overt discrimination people experienced during the apartheid era.
Below is the South African flag which was adopted in 1994. It marked the dawn of a new era in South Africa.
Nelson Mandela lives in the upmarket Joburg suburb of Houghton. This is a picture of his home which I drove past.
Through my hotel I organised a trip to Soweto, one of the largest black townships in South Africa. The name Soweto is a shortened form of the words "SOuth WEstern TOwnship". With my guide, Trust, we drove through Joburg CBD, across Nelson Mandela Bridge and past the strangely named Housewives Paradise (both pictured below) in the direction of Soweto. Soweto, not known as Soweto until 1964, was established to house black labourers most of whom worked in the many gold mines around Johannesburg.
A small home on Vilakazi Street in West Orlando, a suburb of Soweto, is the site of Mandela's first house. Mandela moved there with his first wife. Later he lived there with his second wife, Winnie Mandela. Much of Mandela's time was spent away from the small red brick home as he was on the run and later during his incarceration. Winnie stayed in the home with their two children Zeni and Zindzi. The tree pictured in Mandela's garden below is where the umbilical cords of their two children and grandchildren are buried. This is a tradition of the Xhosa people, the ethnic group to which Nelson and Winnie belong. Xhosa language is famous for its click sounds.
Across the road and a few doors down, also on Vilakazi Street, is the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Unlike Mandela's house, Tutu's remains a private home to this day. Winnie Mandela did not have an easy run whilst her then husband was in prison. Their home in Soweto was regularly attacked and under surveillance by the police. In the picture below you can see a patched up bullet hole on the lower right of the window. This is only one of the bullet holes that are visible on the facade.
The Soweto Uprising of 1976 was a significant event in the apartheid struggle in South Africa. The uprising was triggered by the governing National Party policy that enforced the use Afrikaans as an official language of instruction in black schools for key subjects such as mathematics. A peaceful protest was organised by students in Soweto to express their discontent at yet another of the oppressive policies of the apartheid government. Police opened fire and the protest transformed into a full scale riot. Some hundreds of protestors were killed or injured in the brutal display of police savagery. An enduring image of the Soweto Uprising is a photo taken by a photographer of the dying young boy - Hector Pieterson - who was only 12 years old. In the impressive Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto there is an outdoor area with hundreds of granite tiles each bearing the name of a person who died in the riots. Here is a picture of Hector Pieterson's tile. Wikipedia has an interesting writeup on Hector here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Pieterson.

This is the soccer stadium in Soweto where a number of World Cup games will be staged.
This is the major stadium called Soccer City in Johannesburg for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Soccer City has been built to resemble a calabash and is an impressive structure.
This oversized beaded replica of Nelson Mandela was on display at the Joburg airport. I didn't make it all that far past his knee!

Interestingly, today - 2 February 2010 - is the 20th anniversary of the speech given by former president F.W. de Clerk announcing the release of all political prisoners, including Mandela, and marking the decline of the policy of apartheid in South Africa.

Kibo .. Kili .. Kilimanjaro

2009-12-12T13:17:00.020+03:00

On Saturday, 28 November I boarded a Dar Express coachline at Ubungo bus terminal in Dar es Salaam. My destination was Moshi, a town in Northern Tanzania. A couple of weeks earlier, Felister (a colleague of mine at the WFP Tanzania Country Office), and I were chatting over lunch and I mentioned how much I'd like to see Mt Kilimanjaro. All the while I had been thinking it was out of the realm of possibility given my time constraints. Hailing from the north of Tanzania, Felister not only said it was doable but also said I would be most welcome to stay with her family in Moshi. I planned my trip north on the Eid-ul-Fitr long weekend.

I paid 25,000 Tanzanian shillings (appx US$21) for a one way ticket from Dar es Salaam to Moshi. Departing at 8am I arrived in Moshi at 4:30pm. Here's a picture of a rainbow we passed about 4 hours out of Dar es Salaam. I didn't have time to collect the pot of gold.

Felister's family welcomed me with open arms at the bus stop. Below is a picture of her wonderful family in Moshi. Mr (right of pic) and Mrs (left of pic) Msuya are both teachers. Mr Msuya is also an engineer.

That evening I was invited by Mr and Mrs Msuya to join them at a post-wedding thank you party at a local restaurant (pictured below). The party was hosted by the parents of a recently married family friend to thank the wedding organising committee for all their help organising the event. In Tanzania, when a couple gets married close friends of the couple's family form a wedding committee to help plan and organise the event. We dined on tender roast goat and chicken with cooked shredded cabbage and grilled bananas. The parents of the bride gave a thank you speech to their friends in Swahili.

After the party we walked a few doors down to the small convenience store that Mr and Mrs Msuya own. They sell a variety of goods such as drinks, cooking oil, mobile phone recharge, snacks and more. In the back Mr Msuya has a small office.

Moshi is a beautiful town - if I remember correctly it is the tidiest town in Tanzania. The air is fresh and the rains create a luscious oasis of green. The pictures below are my first sightings of Mt Kilimanjaro (also known as Kibo by locals or affectionately as Kili). I took these pictures of the Mountain as we drove into town from Mr and Mrs Msuya's house on Sunday morning. The first is taken through the back window of the car!

At 9:30am on Sunday morning I met Felister's friend, Abisai, who was going to take me to the base of Mt Kili and on a tour of sights in the area. At least five days is required to climb Kili so I had to settle with planting my foot at the base.

Marangu route, also known as the 'Coca Cola route', is the easiest and most popular route to reach the top of the mountain - hence the name 'Coca Cola route'. The picture below is the start of the Marangu route with a couple of climbers setting off on their expedition. I smiled at the sight of tall Australian gum trees at the base of the mountain which you can also see in the picture below.

This sign indicates the five key stops along the Coca Cola route. The peak of the mountain sits at an altitude of 5895m where the depleting ice cap is located.

After spending some time soaking up the fresh air at the foot of the mountain we headed to other sights around Marangu town. At the start of the day we picked up a guide - Kenneth - in Marangu. As you drive through Marangu a number of guides wait by the side of the road and you can negotiate a price with a guide to show you around for the day. Here's a picture of Kenneth showing us through some caves.

The people of Kilimanjaro are known as Chagga. According to Wikipedia they are the third largest ethnic group of Tanzania. Below is a picture of Edward, the curator of Chaggaland Museum which documents the history of Chagga people. The traditional Chagga home is a round hut with a thatched roof. The outside of a Chagga hut is surrounded by pineapple bushes whose serrated leaves protect the occupants from snakes or other creatures who can easily cut themselves on the sharp leaves. A Chagga family traditionally keeps their cattle inside their hut. This is a picture of Edward, the curator of the museum, with a cow inside a hut.

Inside the Chagga hut there are two beds. The father sleeps on his own bed near the entrance ready to protect his family from intruders. The mother sleeps with her children on the second bed. Here is a picture of me baring my pearly whites on the mother's bed.

I ended the day by having a swim in Kilasiya Waterfall. The water is cool and fresh - run off from Mt Kilimanjaro. No one else was game to join me so it was a solo dip.

A snap after the swim on the way back to the car.

After a wonderful couple of days I left Moshi at 8am on Monday morning. This shot of ladies selling fruit and vegetables was my last memory of Moshi as I left on the bus back to Dar. Don't those fresh carrots look delicious?

Zanzibar

2009-11-20T14:43:00.014+03:00

It's been a while since I last posted on my blog, my apologies for that. It's nearing the end of my time here in Tanzania and tomorrow I'll be jetting back to Uganda, my home away from home. My time in Dar es Salaam has been eventful. On top of work and weekend trips away, I managed to contract malaria which put me out of action for close to a week. After 30 pills in three days and a few days of rest I am happy to report I am back to normal.

My second weekend in Tanzania was spent in the idyllic locale of Zanzibar, a small island off the coast of mainland Tanzania. You can reach Zanzibar by plane or ferry. I opted for the latter, taking the 4pm express ferry after work on a Friday (I understand there are slow ferries too). For a foreigner a one way ferry trip to Zanzibar costs US$35 and takes about 2.5 hours from Dar es Salaam. Through a lovely friend I met in Maputo I joined a group of 10 people on a weekend getaway to Kendwa in the north of Zanzibar - a one hour drive from Zanzibar's ferry port. The first picture below is of the beach front at our destination, a place called Kendwa Rocks on the northern tip of Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is actually an archipelago made up of two main islands - Unguja (usually referred to as 'Zanzibar') and Pemba. We stayed on Unguja which is home to the capital Zanzibar City where the historic old city of Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located.

At Kendwa Rocks I met a Zahran (pictured below) who showed me some of the stunning beaches around Kendwa Rocks. Zahran manages security at Kendwa Rocks and is a sound technician by training. Let's just say security is sound there (apologies for the poor joke).

After two nights and a full day kicking back at the beach I headed back to Stone Town, the historic heart of Zanzibar. On Sunday morning I jumped on a shuttle bus from Kendwa Rocks for the one hour trip back to Stone Town. Driving the shuttle was a fellow called Mohamed, who kindly offered to show me the many sights of Stone Town. Our first stop was a local street stall for lunch pictured below. For 1,500TSh (about $1.35 Australian dollars) we enjoyed grilled chicken in a hearty broth with potatoes, fresh greens and topped with finely sliced crispy cassava chips and a dash of chilli. We ate our lunch seated on a thin wooden bench on the side of the road.

Freddie Mercury, of the musical band Queen fame, was born in Zanzibar. Born Farokh Bulsara he later changed his name to Freddie Mercury. The house below is said to be Freddie's family home in Stone Town. It is now a souvenir and gift shop.

My friend Mohamed standing inside the Old Fort in Stone Town. The Old Fort, also known as the Arab Fort, was built by the Arabs in the 1700s to protect themselves against attacks from the Portuguese.

The Old Fort stands next to Beit-El-Ajaib, also known as the House of Wonders. The House of Wonders is a majestic building and is now a museum describing the history of Stone Town and significant figures of Zanzibar including Princess Sayyida Salme - a pioneering figure of her time (one worth reading more about). Built in the late 1800s, Beit-El-Ajaib was the first building in Zanzibar to have electric lighting and a lift. Unfortunately I did not capture a picture of the building on camera.

Zanzibar was a hub in the East African slave trade during the 1800s. Our guide Nicholas, pictured with Mohamed in one of the preserved cells, told us that approximately 4.5 million slaves were traded through Zanzibar's slave market between 1811 and 1873. Slaves from East Africa were sent to the Middle East. As the picture and short video shows, the cells were small and cramped. Slaves were kept in the cells for 3 days and then whipped. Many died of suffocation in the cells as there was only a small window for the circulation of air. Those that were able to withstand the whippings better than others were sold for a higher price.

After a packed day seeing the sights of Stone Town and wandering through the alleyways of this historic city I boarded the 4pm ferry back to Dar es Salaam.

Touching Down in Tanzania

2009-11-01T01:07:00.012+03:00

I left Mozambique on my mum's birthday. As I sat in the plane and during my five hour transit in Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport my mind moved between the celebratory family dinner in Melbourne and what lay ahead for me when I touched down in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania (TZ). Dodoma is the administrative capital.

Here's a picture as the plane was coming in to land in Dar.

Unable to find my luggage on the arrivals carousel, I was instructed to fill in the requisite paperwork at the lost and found counter only to have my suitcase tracked down as soon as the paperwork was finalised! Following that mini-saga, in the wee hours of Saturday 31 October I made my way out through customs to meet Msafiri the WFP driver who was there to pick me up. Worn out after a long day Msafiri took me to my hotel and we made arrangments to meet at 10am the next morning to scout around for more permanent accommodation for my six weeks in Dar es Salaam.

From Mozambique I had made contact with Timo, pictured below on the right with Msafiri (left) and me, to help me find a house. Timo is a part time property agent and a full time IT professional in Dar es Salaam.

Between the three of us, we visited three places and I settled on the last one. Afterwards Msafiri took us to his family home where we met his father and refreshed ourselves with a cool drink.

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's major port city situated on the coast of the Indian Ocean. In between house hunting we visited the port where WFP has two large warehouses and a logistics office. The warehouses contain large quantities of WFP food supplies to be distributed to those in need. In the pictures below you can see some one of the warehouses and USAID food bags being loaded onto a carriage.

Here is a street view taken as we were driving near downtown Dar.

And a picture of the port behind the trees.

The Bike Story

2009-11-01T01:04:00.001+03:00

I'll let Hugo explain:

www.mozambiquebikeculture.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-i-meet-salma.html

A Prison, an Explorer and Two Communist Leaders

2009-10-31T23:45:00.009+03:00

Where Kim Il Sung meets Mao Tse Tung, I met Vasco.

It is common to find vendors selling second hand books by the side of the street in Maputo. In Kampala, Uganda, such stalls are a great way to pick up decent books at bargain prices. In Kampala motivational books seem to be the big sellers - I had never seen so many copies of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in my life! In Maputo the books are in Portuguese but I always tried my luck to spot an English language book. Owing to my regular surveys of numerous book stalls I ascertained that "economia" is the Portuguese word for economics and "biologia" is the word for biology thanks to the selection of ancient text books for sale!

On my daily walk home from work about 10 days ago, past what I recently found out was a prison "cadeia" (pictured), I found an English language novel at the book stall on the corner of Kim Il Sung and Mao Tse Tung Avenues.

I stopped to negotiate with the vendor. As I was talking to the book stall owner there was a fellow also browsing at the books. His name was Vasco.

Vasco and I got chatting and it just so happened we were heading in the same direction, himself on the way to his chappas (bus) stop and myself on the way home, so we walked and talked. Vasco, named by his father after the 15th century Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, is a graphic designer who freelances on the side. We exchanged emails and ended up having a cup of tea a few days later - just before I left Mozambique.

Over tea at Cristal cafe Vasco showed me work from his portfolio including sketches from one of his current assignments. His images in watercolour were beautiful. I told Vasco a bit about Aboriginal art in Australia and sent him some information so he could read more. True to his name, Vasco would like to explore the world more and exhibit his artworks. I encouraged him to include Australia on his list of destinations.

A Boost from Australia for the World Food Programme

2009-10-29T14:48:00.008+03:00

On 26 October the Australian Government and the WFP announced a partnership agreement that will see the Australian Government contributing US$137 million in cash over four years and a further directed cash donation of US$37 million over four years for school feeding in Southeast Asia and Africa. WFP's Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, visited Australia's capital, Canberra, on 26-27 October 2009 to sign the new Strategic Partnership Agreement (2009-2012).

Read the announcement posted on the WFP website here: www.editurl.com/4j5

That Rhino

2009-10-28T11:08:00.006+03:00

I promised in my last post that I'd put up a picture of the handmade beaded rhinoceros head I bought at the Saturday craft market in Maputo. Here it is. Ugly or beautiful?

Ned Kelly the Tap

2009-10-25T12:31:00.007+03:00

I know water security is very important in the world today but this contraption I spotted on a tap at Xipamanine Market is quite something else. It reminded me of Ned Kelly.

On Saturday I went to Xipamanine. Xipamanine is a bustling market (it's also the name of a suburb) in Maputo similar to Kampala's Owino Market. Fresh fruit and vegetables, secondhand clothes and shoes, open air bars with pool tables, rat poison in small plastic bags, bicycles, pots and pans, fresh meat including whole heads of cows and goats (I was told they are tasty when cooked in a broth), and all the ingredients for a voodoo potion can be found at Xipamanine.

My company for the trip were Custodia and Miguel. Miguel (pictured below) is a property agent in Maputo and was one of the first people I met when I arrived in the Mozambican capital as I was searching for an apartment. Custodia is the embregada (maid) where I live. Custodia and I mostly converse with hand signals and smiles so Miguel, with his impeccable English and Portuguese, helped us to communicate.

We met in the morning at the chappas stop near my house on Avenida 24 de Julho (24 July Avenue) and jumped on a chappas to Ximpamanine. The 20 minute trip cost us 5 meticais each - about 20 Australia cents.

We ate lunch at the the market perched on top of small stools and water containers with our plates carefully balanced on our laps. I had rice, salad and grilled chicken with a good dose of piri piri (hot chilli paste) which I have become quite fond of whilst I've been here. It seems that mayonnaise - not one of my favourite condiments - is quite popular here so I carefully separated the blob of mayonnaise on my salad to the side of the plate. Other than the mayo situation the meal was hearty and good.

After the Xipamanine we "chappa'd" it back to downtown where I bought a rhinoceros head made out of beads which had captured my attention when I was downtown the previous week. It's quite a piece - I'll put up a picture of it on my next post. You'll have to let me know what you think.

Hola Matola!

2009-10-11T17:09:00.006+03:00

Meet Celio, my friend waving in the picture.

I met Celio by chance one day when I was walking home from work. We got talking and decided to have a chat over a cup of 'cha' (Portuguese word for tea). Celio is Mozambican but completed high school in Swaziland so he speaks English. Without the barrier of language Celio and I shared stories from our lives.

Celio is from the capital of Maputo Province called Matola - a place I had heard about and wanted to visit. In the true Mozambican style of hospitality Celio offered to take me on a tour through the interior of Matola so on a Saturday a couple of weeks back we met in the afternoon and headed off on a day out.

Before we took a chappas (public minibus) to Matola, we started with a ferry ride across the bay to Catembe, literally a 10 minute trip on the small ferry "Mapapai-I" pictured below.

The photo is of me with the jetty from which we caught the ferry in the background. In the far distance is Catembe which you can see across the water.

After having a cool drink overlooking the water and dipping my feet in the sea - for the first time since I'd left Sydney - we took the ferry back to downtown and boarded a chappas for the 20 minute drive to Matola.

You can see the chappas we took driving off on the left of the picture below.

We spent hours walking through different parts of Matola whilst Celio told me about the history of the area. After working up an appetite we sat down for a lovely lunch prepared by Celio's mum.

The Disneyland of Game Parks - Kruger

2009-10-10T15:26:00.016+03:00

Kruger National Park is a unique experience. Packed with animals, it is also a place packed with the other modern conveniences of life - an airstrip, sealed roads, supermarkets, hotel accommodation, an internet cafe, gift shops, petrol stations, post office, supermarkets and plenty of cars.

The park was founded in 1898 to preserve wildlife and was officially named Kruger National Park in 1926. The founding fathers who introduced the motion to the Volksraad (the parliament of the former South African Republic) appear with me in the picture below. One of them looks rather grumpy.

Visitors to Kruger stay mostly in the south of the park which is more densely populated with animals and easier to access. Morag and Chris, the owners of Wayfarers Guest House in the town of Sabie where we stayed recommended that we enter the park at Phabeni Gate about a 45 minute drive from Wayfarers. After a cooked breakfast served lovingly by Morag, we set sail in our orange Peugot 206 rental car for our second attempt at Kruger. This time we made it in.

4 October was Peace Day in Mozambique, a national public holiday celebrating the end of the 12 year civil war (the peace treaty was signed on 4 October 1992) hence the reason for the long weekend.

The weather was hot, unlike the previous two days of our road trip, so we made our way through the Kruger with our windows wound down driving slowly looking out for animals. The maximum speed limit in the Park is 50km/h. Our first encounter was with a zebra.
When it comes to game parks people speak of the Big Five. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_game) the animals that make up the Big Five were chosen for their difficulty to hunt on foot, not for their size. They are the lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. The only one we didn't see was the elusive leopard. Admittedly, the rhino we saw was a small dot in the distance. The lions also proved to be quite hard to spot, but we did manage to spy two lionesses basking in the sun and another on an afternoon stroll. Unfortunately their male companions - the ones with the manes - were nowhere to be seen.

The monkey in the photo above had a baby monkey clutching its belly. The photo below is of a pod of hippos with two crocodiles in the foreground.
Here are a couple of warthog and then an African elephant.

This group of four giraffe walked past our car and gathered around this tree for a bite to eat.

And lastly, the elephant walk. Press play..

A Road Trip to South Africa

2009-10-10T12:58:00.019+03:00

Last weekend I jumped in a car with three friends and drove across the border from Mozambique to South Africa. The drive from Maputo to the closest border crossing is about 95km - not too bad. I took the wheel for the first stretch given my experience driving on the left which my continental European travel companions, pictured, appreciated. The roads were good and the speed limit reached 120km/h. Sadly, the speed limit reduced to 0.001km/h when we reached the border, compounded somewhat by the long weekend.

On the Mozambique side of the border we parked the car and joined the queuing masses (pictured) to get our passports checked and stamped, doing the same 100m down the road at South African immigration. We managed to find a system to speed up the process in our favour so in about an hour we were back in the car and on our way to our first stop - Kruger National Park.

Despite our good looks we were rejected at the Kruger Gates. The park ranger informed us that if we hadn't pre-booked, there was no way we could enter as the Park was quite simply "full". Our appeals that we may never again travel all the way from Australia (it was the furthest home country between us) fell to deaf ears. I knew something was wrong when I found myself kneeling with clasped hands begging for entry trying my best to muster a non-existent tear. When we were certain we had exhausted every avenue, other than ram-raiding the gates, we quickly replanned our trip - a bit like when you take a wrong turn and the GPS has to recalibrate - it's not quite optimal but does the trick. We were now going to enter Kruger on the third and final day of our journey.

South Africa is divided into nine provinces each with a capital city (similar to Australia's states and territories). Our trip focused on the province of Mpumalanga in eastern South Africa where we visited Mac Mac Waterfall (we actually visited many waterfalls but Mac Mac was the best), Blyde River Canyon - said to be the third largest canyon in the world, God's Window - a lookout across the stunning canyon, the Three Rondavels - a rock formation that resemble traditional African rondavel huts, and the Potholes named for obvious reasons. The pictures below are of these sites.

In between our stop-offs at different sites we visited lots of small towns including Graskop. Harrie's is a cafe in Graskop famous for its pancakes ("pannekoek"). We afforded ourselves two stops in Graskop which allowed us to take in two visits to Harrie's. I opted for pancakes with ice cream and chocolate, pictured, for lunch on the first visit and something a little less decadent on the second.

Outside Harrie's cafe was a young troupe of dancers performing on the street. I recorded a short video which you can watch below.

I saw these hideous 'crazy clay' handicrafts in a gift shop in Graskop. To me they looked like something I'd find in a two-dollar shop back home, but in Graskop they retailed for 398Rand about 52 US dollars. Needless to say, I didn't pick up one of these treasures to take home.

In the next post I'll write more about our day in Kruger Park.

Fruit Man

2009-09-26T20:10:00.006+03:00

Around Maputo it is common to see young men pushing carts piled high with fresh fruit for sale. Here is a sequence of photos I took of a fruit vendor wheeling his cart near my apartment. On my way to work each morning I pass a man who pushes a cart of bananas. One time I will stop him and buy a bunch.

Capulanas, Crafts and Cashews

2009-09-26T19:49:00.004+03:00

I arranged to meet a friend from Belgium at the popular Saturday craft markets in downtown Maputo. In our text message exchange sorting out the when and where, we agreed to pick up some capulanas before heading on to the nearby markets. I purposely skipped breakfast at home to enjoy sampling “capulanas” as agreed. It was only after arriving at the capulana shop (first picture) that I realised that capulanas are actually traditional Mozambican fabrics, not some sort of food item as I was expecting… ‘capulana’ - ‘cappuccino’ sounds similar enough I had thought! Thankfully our next stop was the central market.

From visual observation alone it is not difficult to deduce that cashew nuts are big in Mozambique. At Maputo’s central market there are cashew nut stalls aplenty. Cashew nut vendors lure the unsuspecting with the offer of free taste tests knowing quite well that a small nibble is enough to make anyone acquiesce. The picture below is of one cashew nut stall complete with grinning vendor. The bags of cashews in the picture sell for 100 meticais a bag, the equivalent of four Australian dollars.

Here are a stack of juicy pineapples.

The Saturday craft markets are the place to go to stock up on gifts for friends back home. Batiks are very popular and sellers neatly peg their batik artworks on thin lines of rope tied tautly between tree branches as you can see in the picture. By the time I had done my rounds of the market I’d wizened up to the bargaining game and also determined that enquiring after price, when not serious about a purchase, makes you feel cruel and heartless as you walk away. Here’s a picture of me in front of a colourful bag stall at the markets.

The central market, capulana shop and craft markets are all within a 5 minute walk from one another.

After the markets we went to Maputo Shopping Centre also in downtown. The Maputo Shopping Centre is one of the few malls in Mozambique and, to be honest, it wouldn’t be the first place I’d run to upon arriving in town. It has a few brand name stores which I’m told are overpriced. Interestingly, many people in Maputo cross the border to Nelspruit in South Africa to do their shopping to take advantage of the cheaper prices.

Eid-ul-Fitr Celebrations in Mozambique

2009-09-26T19:18:00.007+03:00

Last Sunday was the Muslim festival, Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Muslims across the world celebrate Eid by spending time with family and friends and enjoying food together. The day starts with a visit to the mosque for prayers. In my family home my wonderful mother often makes a special dish for Eid, called 'biryani', of rice, meat, potatoes, fresh herbs and fragrant spices cooked in a big pot for half

a day over a hot stove. A true taste sensation.

Approximately 20% of Mozambicans follow Islam, although some say that figure is higher as mentioned in this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Mozambique. The largest concentration of Muslims are in the north of the country in the direction of the Tanzanian border.

I had the good fortune to spend Eid with a Mozambican family in Maputo. My WFP colleague and friend, Tamimo (in beige pictured with his brother in white), invited me to join his extended family for Eid at his mother's home - a 20 minute drive from central Maputo along the coast.

I stay in a central area of Maputo city called Polana. If you don't venture out of Polana you could be forgiven for thinking that Maputo is a built up beachfront city. As we drove out to Tamimo's mother's house the built-up city buildings disappeared replaced instead by more earthy abodes and a local vibe - the good stuff.

A long set table greeted us upon arrival. Before we sat down together to enjoy the delicious feast Tamimo showed me around his mother’s home. I was delighted to find native Australian eucalyptus gum trees mixed in with tropical palms (both pictured) in the backyard.

The children had a great time climbing trees and running around in the large yard. I captured a slice of the energy in the picture below.

The meal included rice, breads, salads, Mozambican BBQ chicken, roasted meats and curries, and numerous short eats (including homemade prawn dumplings - yum!). Lunch was followed by cakes, puddings, sweets and hot spiced tea. I baked a flourless orange cake for the occasion doing the best I could without the measuring scales or spring-form cake pan that the recipe called for. I topped the cake with a thick coating of chocolate – all else failing I knew that a layer of chocolate would generate some appeal!

Below is a picture of a mosque in downtown Maputo on Rua da Mesquita ("Mosque Road").

By the Sea Shore in Mozambique

2009-09-13T19:02:00.011+03:00

"Hola" from Mozambique! I've spent the last week orienting myself in the capital of Mozambique, Maputo, and enjoying the cool sea breeze of the Indian Ocean. I will be based in the World Food Programme (WFP) country office here until the end of October working on the first common IT network deployment for the One UN project that I have been assigned to since I joined the WFP in June this year.

Maputo has a very different feel to Kampala. Maputo, which has a population of around 1.7 million, has wide boulevard style palm-lined streets, which you can see in the picture below, and is Portuguese speaking. It is also located on the coast unlike landlocked Uganda. The Portuguese influence in Mozambique gives it a distinct feel informing everything from the language and cuisine to the music, clothing and street names.

I took this picture from the balcony of my room. My apartment is a short walk to the water.

I have arrived at an interesting time. Today is the first day of campaigning in the presidential elections to be held on 29 October 2009. Campaign posters went up overnight. I initially thought the posters plastered around town were for a Mozambican music festival, only to realise they were election posters from the main political parties (Frelimo, Renamo and MDM). They're definitely more visually appealing than the dull election campaign posters we get in Australia. Unfortunately I can't understand Portuguese so I am unable to make a determination whether election slogans here are any wittier than some of our homegrown Aussie gems. My Portuguese phrasebook does not extend to political words and phrases so that one will most likely go unanswered.

Talking Straight at Straight Talk Uganda

2009-09-13T18:38:00.008+03:00

A couple of Fridays ago I had the opportunity to visit an NGO in Kampala called Straight Talk Uganda. Making use of a friend-of-a-friend connection I was given the number of Julie Wiltshire (pictured in front of the Straight Talk office), an Australian who has been living in Uganda with her family for the past 10 years. Julie is a Director at Straight Talk Foundation and was kind enough to show me around the office.

Straight Talk (www.straight-talk.or.ug) was founded by an Australian, Cathy Watson (Cathy left Australia when she was a toddler), to help Ugandans between 10-24 years on matters of mental, social and physical development.

Straight Talk occupies a sizeable office block in an area of Kampala called Kisementi. The brainstrust of Straight Talk is the large team of journalists who produce material for over 50 radio shows in 14 languages and numerous publications which are distributed in Uganda’s government owned The New Vision newspaper and through other channels such as schools and youth centres.
Straight Talk also produces two environmental publications for young people called Tree Talk and Farm Talk. Tree Talk, as the name suggests, is all about growing trees and environmental issues whilst Farm Talk addresses poor nutrition and encourages the planting of school gardens so that students can grow and harvest vegetables to balance their otherwise basic school lunches. Agriculture employs more than 80% of the Ugandan population (Wikipedia).

A New Mosque in Old Kampala

2009-08-25T16:10:00.009+03:00

On the second day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan I visited Uganda's largest mosque perched atop Old Kampala Hill. Gaddafi National Mosque, named as such because its completion was funded by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was officially opened by the Libyan leader in March 2008. Building of the mosque commenced during the reign of Uganda's late dictator Idi Amin in the 1970s but was halted due to political upheavel and money problems only to recommence in 2003 when Gaddafi stepped in with funding.

Gaddafi National Mosque can accommodate approximately 13,000 people and overlooks the city of Kampala. In the first picture, taken from downtown Kampala, you can see the mosque's minaret in the centre-left of the picture in the far distance.

From downtown we walked to the mosque passing Kampala's teeming Old Taxi Park and Owino Markets on our way. Once inside the mosque's gates I was struck by the size of the building and the surrounding space. Inside the mosque the cream ceilings and domes were adorned with ornate calligraphy and the floor was covered in plush decorative carpet.

About 12% of the Uganda's approximately 31 million population follow Islam. The majority of Ugandans follow Christianity. According to Wikipedia the numbers are as follows: Roman Catholic 41.9%, Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%.

The Wheel Deal

2009-08-20T14:54:00.005+03:00

Take no prisoners is the prevailing philosophy of your average Ugandan driver. Boda-boda (unlicensed and unhelmeted) motorbike taxis wind their way through even the narrowest of gaps. The UN does not permit us from driving on boda-bodas due to their safety issues. If you're without wheels a special-hire (what we would call a taxi in Australia) or a matatu (a public bus that can seat about 9 people) are your next best options. A couple of times I have even seen young men on rollerblades sneaking a free ride by holding onto the back of a matatu. I would suggest the rollerblade option is more dangerous than a boda-boda, matatu and special hire combined! The picture below is of a matatu - and attached rollerblader - taken in the centre of town on Kampala Road. Most matatus are blue and white. This one in black looks a little sleeker which belies the real nature of the beast.

Last week I was a passenger in a private vehicle that was scraped by another car as we were navigating our way around a busy roundabout on Mukwano Road on the way home from work. As you'd expect we stopped the car and alighted to inspect the damage. The other driver, who was clearly at fault (and I'm not just saying that), was not willing to admit guilt until we called the nearby traffic police who mediated the dispute and apportioned blame to the other driver where it rightfully lay.

As I was rummaging around for pen and paper to swap particulars (driver's license number, registration details, phone number etc), a quick chat ensued between our driver and the offending driver, and before I knew it we were on our way in convoy to a car repair shop in Kampala's Industrial Area. There and then our scraped bumper was repaired, the dispute settled and we were on our way home.

I observed a strange efficiency in this incident. Within the space of 60 minutes our car had been damaged and repaired - something that at home would have involved insurance companies, various quotes and paperwork followed by days or even weeks to schedule the repair.

Who Won?

2009-08-13T15:53:00.005+03:00

A couple of posts back I mentioned I was going to a rugby Super Eight grand final last Saturday between two rival teams - Kobs vs Heathens. The result, a draw: 16 apiece. But Heathens claimed the cup due to a controversial disciplinary issue earlier in the season which saw the URU (Ugandan Rugby Union) dock Kobs 3 points which ultimately lost them the cup.

Here is an excerpt from a writeup in the local Uganda media (The Observer, 12 August 2009):

Kobs self-destruction

There is no doubt that Kobs should have won the league if they didn’t let issues off the pitch bother them. They could even have wrapped up the league much earlier if their concentration was on the field. In the end, they lost three valuable points in the boardroom after local governing body URU found them guilty of employing the services of their banned coach Fred Mudoola. Had it not happened, they would have had 59 points, two ahead of Heathens.

Bags of Money, Bags of Food

2009-08-05T13:48:00.007+03:00

Yesterday was a big day for the WFP office here in Kampala with the official visit of Sheila Sisulu, WFP Deputy Executive Director. You can read Shiela's short bio here http://tiny.cc/sisulu.

At 2:30pm in the afternoon WFP staff in the Kampala Regional Bureau and Country Office gathered under a marquee on the roof (level 6) of the WFP building to listen to Sheila speak. Stanlake Samkange (Uganda WFP Country Director) and Sory Ouane (WFP Deputy Regional Director) started proceedings with a few words each and then Sheila took the mic to talk about the activities of the WFP and how the Programme is evolving to adapt to current world conditions.

In speaking about the perceptions of the WFP she said that many people associate the WFP with ‘bags of food’ much like they may associate the World Bank with ‘bags of money’. This view alone, however, is too simplistic. Whilst emergency food delivery is a critical function of the Programme it is also the last measure in dealing with hunger. Focus on hunger prevention with a view to averting the need for emergency food delivery is where success can also be measured. Today, stocks of surplus food are no longer available like they once were. Only a handful of donors donate food in kind (eg. USA and Japan) with most now donating cash. This is directly linked to food being used for fuel and changes in food production due to environmental conditions making ‘surplus’ food almost a notion of the past.

It is imperative that the WFP frames policies in areas where donor funding is forthcoming. A good example of this is in the area of climate change which also has significant ramifications for food security. The need for emergency relief in areas of natural disaster such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and droughts and events such as war will always exist. However, donors do not want to see emergency food relief institutionalised as a long term method of food supply. Strategic initiatives such as WFP's Purchase for Progress are establishing sustainable food procurement practices that assist small scale farmers, uplifting local economies and building better futures.

Creativity and adapting to new global conditions were the key messages I gleaned from Sheila's talk. In progressing we must not dismiss past experiences and simply replace them with something brand new. Rather we must build on our existing base to form a slightly different bedrock.

Union in Kampala - Rugby, that is

2009-08-04T16:12:00.009+03:00

Although I herald from Australia I have never really understood Rugby Union. In my own defence, I was always more of an AFL person due to my South Australian heritage. Until arriving in Uganda the only Union match I had ever attended was the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney some years back courtesy of freebie tickets I won at Vodafone.

There are two ovals in Kampala I have visited to watch the rugby - Kyadondo Oval ("Cha-dondo") and Kampala Rugby Club. Games start at 5pm, finish up at 7pm and then the music cranks up as the post game festivities begin. Truth be told, it feels like more people are there after the match than during it! This coming weekend is the final between two arch rivals - Kobs vs Heathens. I've been told the stakes are high and honour is on the line. I'll let you know what happens but in the mean time here's a photos of Uganda's rugby elite in action (Kobs in blue, Pirates in white) followed by an after-match snap of some friends. The two girls in the second photo - Mette and Maureen - were holidaying in Uganda from Denmark.

Rafting - Nile Style!

2009-08-03T14:46:00.017+03:00

I'll start with a picture of me in Jinja standing in a luscious garden with Lake Victoria behind me. Yes, the adjective "idyllic" springs to mind .. referring to the scenery, not me.

Jinja is a town about two hours east of Kampala by road (an 80km roadtrip). From a traveller's standpoint, it could be likened to New Zealand's Queenstown as Jinja is the home of bungee jumping and whitewater rafting in Uganda. Two weeks ago I went whitewater rafting there which is home to the source of the Nile River and the beautiful Bujagali Falls rapids. When I think back on the rafting experience I pinch myself to think that I was swimming in the rapids of that most amazing River which plays such an important role in the lives of so many in Africa. Would you believe I managed to pass as a local, gaining entry at $50 US dollars rather than the muzungu (foreigner) price of $125! I now feel I can authentically call Uganda home. Unfortunately damming of the River is having a severe impact on the environment in the area and I was told by "Big Jay", the captain of our raft, that locals have been compensated for lost livelihood and that rafting companies will have to relocate downstream in the coming years as the rapids are diminished by the dam. The picture below is where we set off on the half day rafting adventure. Unfortunately my camera was unable to make the trip in the raft but there's a great article and slideshow from the NY Times about rafting the Nile in Uganda here: http://tiny.cc/raftuganda

As we left Jinja I picked up some fresh fish (Nile tilapia) near the banks of the Nile which we transported back to Kampala on the front grill of the car as you will see in the picture. I was advised that this was the best way to transport the fish to avoid any unwanted smells in the car. I never envisaged "grilled" fish looking quite like this!

I'd like to close out with a picture of a pavlova - a traditional Australian summer cake - that I made for a friend's birthday recently. I topped it with tropical fruits from the local market and the end result wasn't too bad. It was so nice to sample a sweet homegrown delight.

A Pang for Home

2009-07-27T15:51:00.004+03:00

This morning as I was getting ready for work I found a small item in my pocket. When I dug it out I found myself staring at a train ticket, dated 26 March 2009, from Redfern to Chatswood - my regular route to work when I was in Sydney. It made me think of home sweet home.

Walking in Another Man's Shoes

2009-07-21T09:06:00.011+03:00

In my zeal to pack for Uganda before I left Australia I was told at Sydney International Airport that I was "overweight".. my bags that is! My sports shoes were one of the items I sacrificed to avoid the exorbitant excess luggage fee that the airline attendant threatened me with.

So, after work yesterday I went in search of a pair of replacement sport shoes. The place to go? Kampala's iconic Owino Market. As a friend described to me "Owino Market is the sort of place where all and sundry can be obtained. It used to be a place only for the veterans of the hard knock life, but as soon as word got round that authentic goods from the world were to be had at basement prices, two things happened: just about everyone including the most obvious tourists would frequent the place, and the prices went up considerably."

The heart of the Owino is a cavernous maze of laneways lined with goods of all sorts. Thousands of people - both shoppers and vendors - makes for a buzzing atmosphere even on a Monday after work when I was there.

So back to my task at hand, sports shoes. I had two choices 1) buy a new pair of shoes, or 2) buy a secondhand pair of shoes. Option 2 concerned me a little because shoes are a rather personal item and, as Cinderella's ugly sisters demonstrated, squeezing your feet into someone elses shoes can be plain ugly. In the end I ended up with a new pair of "Nike" shoes which upon closer inspection were actually "Bazooka" brand shoes with the famous swoosh logo stitched on the side. Not exactly happy with the quality of the Nike/Bazooka shoes I ventured deeper into depths of Owino and picked up a pair of secondhand New Balance shoes which were the real deal. Now to decide, am I willing to walk in another man's shoes?

Salma's Quick WFP Overview

2009-07-15T15:42:00.008+03:00

At the World Food Programme projects are categorised into one of four groups:

EMOP: Emergency Operations - respond to immediate crisis situations typically a food distribution activity. Generally up to 1 year.
PRRO: Protracted Relief & Recovery Operations - more strategic activities such as food-for-work projects www.wfp.org/food-assets. Generally up to 2 years.
CP: Country Programmes - intended to support capacity building such as purchase-for-progress (P4P) www.wfp.org/purchase-progress. Generally 3-5 years.
SO: Special Operations - this is a special activity such as an air operation or the 'One UN' project which I am working on.

Understanding the acronyms used within the WFP is vital as conversations are peppered with these shortened references. I have started to maintain my own glossary of terms to refer back to. A newcomer to Vodafone may well experience the same challenge as the world of mobile telephony has a language unto itself as well!

The global activities of the WFP are split between six Regional Bureaus:

OMD - Operations Management Dhakar - responsible for West Africa
OMJ - Operations Management Johanessburg - responsible for East, Central and Southern Africa
OMP - Operations Management Panama - responsible for Latin America & Caribbean
OMC - Operations Management Cairo - responsible for the Middle East, Central Asia & Eastern Europe
OMB - Operations Management Bangkok - responsible for Asia
OMS - Operations Management Stand Alone Countries - responsible for Sudan

I am based in the OMJ Regional Bureau here in Kampala and my focus countries for the One UN Project are Tanzania, Mozambique and Rwanda initially. WFP headquarters are in Rome, Italy where approximately 1500 personnel are based. However, the majority of staff are based in the Regional Bureaus, Country Offices and Field Operations where the critical activities of this UN agency take place.

The current top three external challenges impacting the WFP are food prices, the global financial crisis, and climate change. Interestingly, the increased production of biofuels, which are produced from edible crops, is pushing up global food prices. Wikipedia has its own entry about this "fuel vs food" debate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_vs_fuel.

Donors are critical. The WFP does not have a fixed budget, rather it operates on the voluntary contributions of governments and the private sector. Vodafone is the WFP's first corporate technology partner. There are two aspects to the activities conducted by the WFP: 1) Preparedness and 2) Emergency. Emergency activities receive the majority of donor attention with less flowing through to preparedness activities. The Vodafone - WFP partnership focuses on this 'preparedness' area which is vital to ensure that when emergencies arise the organisation is on its best foot to respond.

In 2008, the WFP delivered food aid to 102 million people in 78 countries. No small feat.

A Team Dinner with Colleagues at Cafe Ballet

2009-07-10T12:11:00.018+03:00

Ronald aka "The Chairman" is the driving force behind the social organising committee of the ICT team that I work in at the World Food Programme. Generally there is a team dinner every month. The team camraderie is such that even those that have left ICT for other pastures return for the monthly team dinner to catch up with colleagues, share a drink and chat over a meal. In addition to meeting new colleagues, this particular dinner was significant - I sampled matoke for the first time. I described this staple Ugandan dish in my previous post if you'd like to know more.

We dined at an eatery called Cafe Ballet, named because of its proximity to a neighbouring ballet school, located on Kyadondo Road in Nakasero. As I embarrassingly found out the road name is sounded "Cha-dondo" and not "Ky-a-dondo" as I confidently blurted out as I was leaving the office!

Geoffrey, head of ICT at the WFP Uganda Country Office, gave a warm speech and cracked a few jokes whilst welcoming the newcomers, which included three local university interns and myself coming from Vodafone Australia, as well as the regular faces.

Local Produce at Kansanga

2009-07-07T12:28:00.011+03:00

Bananas in Uganda deserve their very own special category... fruit'n'veg'n'bananas. As I travel through the area called Kansanga each morning on my way to work large stalls of green bananas (or plantains) are visible on the side of the street. The matoke banana is a mainstay of the Ugandan diet much like rice is in Asia. Matoke, the national dish, (sounded "mat-o-kay") is based around this green cooking banana which is then combined with groundnut sauce (a peanut based sauce - not like the style you find on satays), beans, vegetables and even meat to form a hearty and filling meal.

The first two pictures depict the matoke banana on display at Kansanga Market. To prepare it the banana is peeled, steamed, mashed and seasoned. It is then served with a variety of accompanying sauces such as those I mentioned above.

The third picture is of a fruit and vegetable market tucked behind shop fronts on Gabba Road, also in Kansanga. I have been here a couple of times to pick up fresh produce including mangoes, pineapple, freshly shelled peas, eggplant, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, fresh coriander and potatoes. I am yet to try my hand at the matoke banana..

No Time for Wimbledon!

2009-07-06T10:52:00.033+03:00

My sober plans to watch the Wimbledon grand finals on TV were left in the disarray this past weekend. Tennis on the tube was trumped by: 1) a Michael Jackson impersonator at Ange Noir, 2) fresh fish by the "seaside", 3) a swim in Lake Victoria , and 4) the "Ekiggunda Ky'Omwaka" music festival at Nakivubo Stadium.

I'll start from the top..

On Friday night I had my first sample of Kampala's nightlife - a pulsing mix of clubs and pubs scattered across town. The Industrial Area seems to be where two of Kampala's big nightclubs are located - Ange Noir and Club Silk. Ange Noir, where we went, could be likened to Sydney's "Tank Nightclub" or "The Planet" in Adelaide. The gathered revellers were privy to a floor show by an MJ impersonator clad in mandatory cropped black pants, white socks and sequinned jacket, who commanded the stage with his dance moves (moonwalk, crotch grabbing etc).

On Saturday I joined Richard - whom I've blogged about previously - and a good friend of his Chris (first pic) on a day trip to Entebbe to eat freshly cooked fish at Ssese Beach (second pic). After a big meal we continued a little further to Imperial Resort Beach for a swim in Lake Victoria.

The third picture is of me and Richard before we jumped into the water (you can see a large crowd swimming behind us). Swimming in Lake Victoria was a wonderfully refreshing experience. Admittedly, it felt a little strange to swim in a beach devoid of salty water. Local music was blasting from large speakers for the beachgoers to enjoy providing a great soundtrack to the afternoon. I met two young girls in the water who asked me to teach them how to swim. For once in my life my swimming skills were admired. Mum would be proud - those weekly classes as a kid at Clovercrest Swimming Centre finally paid off! I did my best at an impromptu freestyle lesson but I'm not sure how much transfer of knowledge actually occurred.

The Ekiggunda Ky'Omwaka music festival is in its 11th year and is staged annually by Radio Simba, a local radio station found at 93.7FM. It's basically Radio Simba's annual birthday bash held in the outdoor Nakivubo Stadium in downtown Kampala. For an entry fee of 5000 shillings we enjoyed local artists all day Sunday from 8am until midnight performing on a massive central stage. In addition to all of the music there was food, trinkets, festival merchandise and plenty of drink for sale. I was heartened to see vendors walking around selling green apples - a healthy change from the Cornetto and Magnum ice creams sold at equivalent Australian festivals. I dined on fresh pineapple (sliced and diced to order), small pouches of lightly salted peanuts and sim-sim (sesame seed), sweet potato chips and some sort of savoury doughnut snack. As the evening wore on the gathered masses danced collectively to the music. There was a great vibe in Nakivubo Stadium. I've included a short video so you can sample some of the energy we felt in the stadium.

Signs of the Times

2009-06-29T12:08:00.030+03:00

The newsworthiness of this first story may be a little yesterday given that Obama has been swanning around in Air Force One since November last year but I will persist nevertheless.

I snapped these photos on the way to work this morning. The "Obama Shop" (second picture) seems to be a heavy duty freight container of some sort whereas the kabalagala (first picture) is a multi-purpose joint - car wash/bar/restaurant/cafe/beauty clinic all-in-one. In case you were wondering, I don't believe the 'AFK Beauty Clinic' (first pic) bears any connection to the dearly departed JFK. Obama's father was from Kenya which borders Uganda to the east, so his election was greeted with much fanfare here hence why you find the odd reference to his existence in a shop name, bumper sticker or the occasional t-shirt.

A couple of other signs that piqued my interest. The third picture is of Woolworths - Ugandan style! Woolworths (or "Woolies" as it is affectionately called in Australia) is the supermarket juggernaut of Oz, however, the Ugandan version is a clothing shop tucked away in Garden City a western style shopping mall popular with buzungu (plural of muzungu - see previous post).

The final sign "Swimming at your own risk" - signed off by 'Management' - was taken at the luxurious Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort and is a warning to those getting ready to dive into Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. The resort is 12km from the heart of Kampala and is a playground of the more well-to-do around town. If swimming is really your thing fear-not, the resort has a large pool which you can swim in for a fee (around 20,000 UGX which equates to about 12 Australian dollars).

Mangoes, Books and my First Week

2009-06-26T09:27:00.024+03:00

It's Saturday afternoon and I have just downed half of a fresh pineapple that I bought yesterday at Nakasero Markets in downtown Kampala.

This week marks a special milestone - the completion of my first full week in the WFP Regional Office here in Kampala. After the usual "first day" challenges of setting up my computer and getting onto the local network, I started get up to speed on the project that I will be working on during my time working in the WFP's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) team. The project I have been assigned to is called "One UN", a UN-wide reform initiative announced by Kofi Annan in 2006 with the aim of consolidating overlapping activities of UN agencies operating within the same country. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/oneun. The WFP is one of the leading UN agencies coordinating the harmonisation of ICT systems as part of the One UN reform agenda. Robust communication systems are fundamental to the delivery of aid - if areas of need cannot communicate back to base quickly then human lives can be jeapordised.

Last Sunday I had lunch with Richard, a young man from Kenya who has been living in Kampala for the last 4 years. Richard is a counsellor at two AIDS orphanages in Kampala and is also studying towards his bachelors degree. We dined at a cafe called La Madonna where we had rice, chapati, vegetables and a meat curry. There is a strong Indian influence in many Ugandan meals due to the Indian community in the country. Afterwards we went for a stroll down Kampala Road (first picture), a main thoroughfare in town where I saw the High Court and sat on the grass in Constitution Square (second picture). I also sighted an inventive man travelling down Kampala Road on rollerblades whilst holding onto the back of a taxi.

At Constitution Square I purchased 3 mangoes from a street vendor for 1000 UGX (Ugandan Shillings) - about 60 Aussie cents (third picture) whereupon I hotfooted it back to my apartment to tuck in (fourth picture).

I have found that life in a new country has given me new time. Whereas I would usually be talking to friends and family or visiting my local Sydney haunts, I now have more time to read a book or simply think about things without the diversions, albeit enjoyable ones, of home.

Books finished this week: The White Tiger (by Aravind Adiga), Breath (by Tim Winton).

New words for the week: "Kawa": great (Luganda word), "Muzungu": pretty much encompasses all foreigners, "Matatu": shared taxi (like a small bus).

Arrival in Kampala, the Capital of Uganda

2009-06-21T11:13:00.011+03:00

Today is my fourth day in Kampala. I have included a few pictures in this post that I took on the drive from Entebbe (where the airport is) to Kampala, which was about a 35km trip. The first picture shows Lake Victoria, and the second is a view of the Kampala skyline as we were approaching the city. Alex, a driver from the WFP, picked me up from Entebbe Airport on Thursday afternoon and after a little confusion - he was looking for a man named "Farouque" - we found each other!

I reported in for my first day at work in the WFP office on Clement Hill Road on Friday morning. My first briefing was with my new manager, Greg Vanny, the Regional ICT Officer for the WFP's Southern, Eastern and Central African Bureau. It was not so much a formal discussion but rather a chat about my journey thus far and how I have been settling in. Greg is originally a Sydneysider - he spent 30 years in Maroubra on the southern beaches - so we discussed a few homegrown topics too. I also met Michelle (Greg's wife) who works in the HR department at the WFP office here in Kampala. After a security briefing with Solomon I was issued my official WFP ID pass. It's a half day at the office on Friday's so things wrap up by 2pm.

Yesterday (Saturday) was full of fun and revelry. In the afternoon I met some new friends (introduced to me by a friend of mine from Uganda who lives in Sydney) and we watched a game of rubgy union at O'Leary's an Irish pub in Kampala. My knowledge of rugby is slim but I managed to pick up a few rules of the game as we watched the second half. South Africa beat the Lions in what turned out to be a close match. A raucous crowd had gathered at O'Leary's to watch the match. It looked to be quite a popular expat meeting place.

In the evening, I joined Greg and Michelle at a Bollywood party hosted by the Head of UNICEF Uganda on the beautiful lawns of his house in Kampala. The soiree was quite extravagant with an ice bar, dancefloor with "DJ Ali" mixing beats, electronic light display (I'm not just talkin' disco ball) and more. By the end of the night we were burning up the dancefloor and it was a great night. I could get used to this town...

A Brief Transit in Ethiopia

2009-06-18T15:57:00.002+03:00

I'm writing from the capital of Ethiopia where I am transiting for a few hours on my way through to Kampala. I can't tell you much about Addis Ababa as I am confined to the airport, however, the information desk at the International Terminal was very helpful when I needed assistance converting some Euros to local currency, called "birr". 10 Euros gave me 156 birr, not sure if that was a good deal or not but at least now I can afford a cup of tea and an hour on the net. The simple pleasures.

A Roam in Rome

2009-06-17T17:15:00.002+03:00

At 1am tonight I am flying to Uganda. This flight marks the beginning of my next 11 months working at the World Food Programme's (WFP) Kampala Regional Bureau Office as a technical specialist.

I have spent the last 3 days at the WFP headquarters in Rome learning about the ways of this leading United Nations agency and meeting my Vodafone contemporaries (from Turkey, Germany and the UK) who are embarking upon the World of Difference Programme - a partnership programme between the WFP and Vodafone. The last picture in this post is a group shot of me with my Vodafone colleagues outside the doors of the WFP Headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Over the last few days I have absorbed so much information, met so many great people, sampled some of Rome's fine cuisine and overcome jetlag after a long flight from Australia (Sydney->Hong Kong->Zurich->Rome!). Tonight's flight to Kampala is via Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.