A warm welcome from Kampala
Posted: 17 September 2014
Blog 1 from Rob Dunn
I am extremely grateful for all of your encouragement, prayers and advice.
I write this from the office of the Ugandan Christian Lawyers Fraternity (UCLF) in Kampala, Uganda. UCLF are a close partner of a British Christian legal charity named Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF). You can find more information of exactly what I'll be doing if you scroll down the webpage: www.virginmoneygiving.com/robdunnuganda.
After a long flight from Amsterdam I arrived at Entebbe Airport on Monday (15th Sep) at 23.00. In a worrying and slightly uncharacteristic Ugandan welcome we were met off the plane by a group dressed in masks and surgical dress. Each of us was then swiftly screened for Ebola. Fortunately, despite a brief foray into Wearside the previous week, I managed to pass. I was then met by Ronald from UCLF. He drove me from Entebbe to Kampala to meet the host family I will be staying with for my first week in Kampala. My host family are the Chibatas, Mike and Monica, and they have been extremely kind much more welcoming. Mike is a High Court judge, and Monica a lecturer at the local university.
I have spent the last couple of days attempting to get to grips with the local culture. The food is predominantly a mixture of rice, beans, beef, banana and peanuts, a combination which is somehow delicious. Ugandan roads are also very different. Ugandans seem to be supposed to drive on the left hand-side of the road but except for that I have not managed to decipher the rest of the Highway Code. Anything goes. This makes crossing them perilous, but considerably funnier and more exhilarating, than the UK. A final new experience I should mention is that time does not exist in Uganda. Planning beyond the next few minutes is impossible and at times this has been incredibly frustrating. However, I have begun to see glimpses into how this can lead Ugandans to invest more in relationships and friendships, unhindered by dates and routine.
