Volunteering Uganda field report

Uganda - a wonderfully diverse country

Africa, Uganda, Nkokonjeru... One continent, a lot to marvel at! A country much to love! One village, a lot to help! Hard-working women, lovely, wide-eyed, amazed children, eyes of melted chocolate; dancing people to music that makes you forget everything else in the world and puts a smile on your face.

The magic of Africa, the magic of Uganda. The magic of a language reminiscent of mother's beautiful vinyl music. A magic that invites you to dream, to marvel and enjoy; reminding of the authenticity of life and its value.

Uganda touched me in many different ways. The smells, tastes, colors, voices, sounds, scents. The nature, the people, the animals. When you stop and give yourself time to breathe. If you close your eyes and listen with your heart. The senses are already carried away by the drums from Nkokonjeru and the sounds of the animals. From the invigorating sounds during the day or the calming ones at night. Of the sounds of nature, animal and human, which announce life and dreams.

The first days in Kampala

I spent my first and last days in Uganda in the capital Kampala. A city that never sleeps, a city full of life. Music, shouts, car noise combine to form a single background noise that is always reliably present. Shop after shop color the streets with their clothes. The markets are lined with stalls where traders advertise their wares. Shoes, corn, beans, carpets, fruit... a smooth transition. Can't tell where the market begins, where the stalls end. Kampala is a confused, lively chaos of traders, travellers, workers, children, families, those returning home and those leaving in a colorful mixture of music, noise, smells and stench. And one thing is for sure: it's alive!

Nkokonjeru and my host family

I spent the six weeks after my early days in Kampala in the small village of Nkokonjeru, which means "white chicken" in the local Luganda language. There it was two and a half hours on a bumpy track in a crowded Matatu, the usual taxis. Up to 14 people squeeze into an old Toyota minibus, approved for 24 people. Surprisingly, it doesn't even get really uncomfortable in Uganda, the mood remains relaxed, exuberant, happy. Africa!

In "my" village I then came to my family, a lovely mother, Prossy, with a total of 6 children (four to 19 years) and her husband, Ignitius. It was a great time with them, I miss them a lot here back in Germany. Thanks for the nice time and hospitality! So I got to know the everyday life of a Ugandan family, for example I was allowed to help in the garden or I learned to cook a few African dishes.

The work in the well construction project

I worked with Ignitius and two Ugandan NGOs during these 6 weeks. Together we built a well, created and carried out questionnaires, planned projects, gave advice, taught how to wash hands properly, laid out gardens and planted trees. It was a very special, wonderful and unique time with a lot of fun!

Travel and excursions

Through life in the village and my trips on the weekends, I got to know the nature of Uganda better and better. Beautiful trees, forests, meadows, fields, rivers, waterfalls and villages. Luckily I met another German girl (Freddie) and two American girls (Amber and Emily) in my village, so I traveled with them almost every weekend. So I saw quite a bit of Uganda: Fort Portal, Jinja (source of the Nile), Mbale, Ssese Islands, Entebbe, Murchison Falls National Park, Ngamba Islands.

My work in the chimpanzee project

Finally, we went to the chimpanzee project at Lake Victoria. There I fed chimpanzees, watched them play, cleaned their cages and even walked through the forest with two smaller chimpanzees (ages three and a half and six)! A wonderful experience to be able to look at chimpanzees up close and see how little we differ.

The two weeks on the island were very relaxing. You get up early in the morning with the first cry of the numerous, colorful birds and the sound of the sea. With every step out of the house towards the lake you can feel the air drinking from the water and bringing with it a pleasant breeze with the slightly salty smell of fish and lake. The animals, the screaming of the chimpanzees, the chirping of the birds, their colorful variety accompanies you throughout the day, until in the evening the sun says goodbye to you with a last red-orange glowing wave over the lake and the sky bathes in heated embers, so that the reliable sound of the water lulls you to sleep. My stay ended with a rapid one-hour speedboat ride back to the mainland.

Conclusion of my volunteer work in Uganda

After a few more days in Kampala, because unfortunately (or fortunately!) I missed my return flight (note, Ugandans are not very punctual. So plan a two-hour buffer for important appointments!), then it went safely back home.
It was nine incredibly beautiful weeks in Uganda! I recommend everyone to go to Uganda (or Africa in general); I really want to go back one day! Thank you to everyone who made this stay possible for me and thank you to everyone I was able to share this wonderful time with! You guys are great.

Volunteering Uganda Report by Sofia P., October 2014