Jinja

I can now officially say I've rafted grade 5 rapids on the Nile River! The weekend at Jinja was definitely an adventure and a great escape from the busy city of Kampala. I had always imagined the Uganda that I'd be going to as more of a rural setting than an urban one:

The banana trees and farming villages were exactly the refuge I needed from the smog and congestion of the city. 

We stayed at a camp on the Nile Saturday and went rafting Sunday.

I was at first afraid of getting injured/worse after hearing some stories through the grapevine. Thankfully I came out of the experience with little more than a thorough washing with Nile River water. I feel extremely lucky to have had the chance to go to Jinja and brave the Nile rapids-- it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Driving through the villages I definitely noticed the disparity in wealth between us "muzungus" driving through in our giant cargo truck and the local farmers we passed. The Nile River Explorers, one of the busies and most popular rafting companies, to my surprise, was owned by foreigners from Australia. The Nile River is a part of these people's homes yet the company that profits from it is run by foreigners. Our guide, Alex, had grown up in the neighborhood surrounding the rapids and could probably raft them with his eyes closed. I asked him about the company and he explained that they contribute funds to local charities and put money back into the community. That made me feel better about supporting their business but I wonder how the local people feel about the tourism in the area. I also wondered about the healthcare in the rural setting. If Mulago is the national referral center for Uganda.. what is it like in an even more resource-poor village? When we mentioned to the guides that we worked at Mulago hospital they had an obvious aversion to the idea of the place. One guide described walking into the hospital and feeling like you would get sick immediately. They seemed to view it more of a place that people went to die than to get help. "You're better off at a witch doctor", said one of the guides. Before rotating through the hospital I might have thought these guys were crazy. After seeing some of the things in the hospital I'm not sure I can blame them. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the hospital is quite what they describe... but there is no mistake that there is vast room for improvement. Perhaps the general perception of the hospital is why most patients don't present until their disease is in its late stages.

That's it for today but I'll leave you with this: Another animal sighting -- Monkey!