On Monday, I had to make some further steps!
I started my journey to the South Western Part of Uganda. The district is called Mbarara, is about 300 kilometres away from Kampala (can be reached within five hours) and houses about 80.000 residents. Mbarara is the center of Ankole and its cattle with the abundant horns is characteristic for this region.
I had the possibility to go there with a colleague from the Technical Support Unit for Water Management. It was intended to start the travel at noon, finally we left Kampala, after picking-up some people and getting through the horrible traffic jam, at seven o’clock and we arrived one hour after midnight. In Africa the time is going another way… until now I get along with it pretty good.
However, I enjoyed the travel chatting and laughing with very nice people.
Next day in the morning, I have been picked-up for having breakfast and afterwards we moved to the office of the Water and Sanitation Development Facility (WSDF) under which I am going to do my research.
On Wednesday we have been going to the bordering district Bushenyi for visiting some villages. We have passed three villages which are also connected to the Facility.
By the time, I am trying to organize my field research. It is not so easy, because I do not know these villages and I would like to live with the locals for getting a deeper insight in their way of living. However, the project staff from the Facility is not really convinced that we can find a family where I can stay.
I joined my first meeting under the WSDF in the rural growth centre Kabira and I have been really surprised in what a respectful way they are communicating. And they are so willing to learn from each other and try to keep the project running in a good way. After the meeting we have had lunch and then we have been walking through the village to find out how the established Ecosan Toilets are working.
My first week in Mbarara has been very excited.
During daytime I have mostly been in the office, looking for village-related documents. But this research is not that easy because all documents are not well regulated. But people there, have been willing to assist my research.
I spent the evenings with very nice people, going out, having interesting conversations and even playing tennis. Unfortunately, I do not speak any local languages and that is the reason why I miss lots of important things they are talking about. It is interesting that people are always switching between the languages, in this case it has been Luganda and English. Absolutely, I want to learn a local language, but due to multiplicity of local languages, it is hard to choose one. Until now, I have started to learn a bit Luganda which is spoken mainly in Kampala and its surroundings. When I am back in Kampala for my internship I can continue with these studies.
On Friday, I went back to Kampala, because most of the people working in Mbarara go back to their homes in the villages or to Kampala. That’s why I also went back, because I did not want to stay here alone. And even this weekend has been longer, due to the International Women’s Day, which is a public holiday in Uganda.
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