Kampala daily
It’s hard to believe it, but it’s true: I’ve been in Kampala, Uganda as an Acumen Global Fellow for over one month.
I have already learned so much and have many stories to tell. The first one I thought I would share is pretty simple — my walk to work each day.
When things are new, you notice a lot. I’ve been doing the same walk to work now over 20 times, and it’s still new; I still notice something brand new every day.
Let me try to paint a bit of a picture:
At around 7:45am I leave my house and walk along my small, very uneven, quite muddy (in the current wet season) dirt street that is just off a very busy road. There are times when a small girl called Marcy from down the road comes running at me and flings herself into my legs. It’s one of the most uplifting moments of the day when it happens.
As soon as I reach the main road I see taxis AKA matatos (imagine van-sized buses but essentially they stop anywhere along the route) and they start hooting at me; waiting for me to hop on. I shake my head politely and turn the corner.
Then the boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) start calling out “Mzyungu, Mzyungu. We go!”. Mzyungu literally means “white person” but is not meant in any derogatory way. In a similar way, Ugandans call each other “boy/man” and “girl/woman” to get attention. Again, I quietly shake my head with a smile and keep walking. I rarely see other Mzyungus on this route and I don’t feel threatened or concerned by these call outs, it’s just part of the friendly interactions that I enjoy so much with Ugandans as I make my way up the street.
The main road is very busy, full of boda bodas, matatos, regular cars, open trucks sometimes filled with 30 people or more, bikes, people and pollution. Traffic doesn’t move too quickly at this time of the day (unless you’re on a boda, and then weaving in and out of traffic is obligatory!). Conversation about ‘jams’ (and not the conserve type) occur every day here; it’s a natural part of life. With the exception of when it’s pouring with rain, I’m happy to be on foot.
Everywhere you look you see some sort of enterprising activity occurring. Ladies selling cassavas (local root vegetables), men carrying buckets of grasshoppers (a local snack), small stalls making Rolex (rolled eggs), women setting up fruit and vegetable stands, people carrying goods on their heads (anything from clothes to watches), men unpacking loads of bananas for sale, small booths selling phone credit popping up every 50m or so. It’s buzzing with activity.
Halfway along my walk is a market. During the day it is quieter and hidden behind a set of buildings. At night, the footpath comes alive with people as they buy fish, meats and vegetables for dinner that night.
Ugandans seem to love their signs. Buildings are branded. Everywhere a building is painted with a particular company’s logo (even if it has nothing to do with the shop itself!). Billboards advocating for presidential candidates are pretty common at the moment in the lead up to the election next year and USAID has caught onto the obsession and currently has public health posters about tackling HIV all the way down the street. When the Pope visted a few weeks ago, there were signs everywhere — nearly every large institution had a Welcome Pope Francis banner! Most days, on my walk to work, I discover a new sign.
I walk for about 20 minutes, take in as much as possible with such a feeling of gratitude, awe and amusement and then gear up for a big day at the office and a similar but oh so different walk all the way home!
Stay tuned for more stories soon!
