I arrived safely in Entebbe late Friday night. So far, everyone that I have met has been so kind and welcoming. I had told the man sitting in my row on the flight that I loved his shirt (it was an embroidered bird and was absolutely lovely). He proceeded to inform me that his mom created it by hand and even offered to take it off and give it to me because I liked it. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who was so genuinely nice right off the bat. Today we visited the poorest slums in Katanga. I was nervous about how the community would feel about a group of American students touring the slums. However, we were greeted with “Most welcome!”s, hand shakes, and smiles. We met with the vice chairman of the community who explained how the community was governed. We also met with one of the founders of Hope 4 Katanga Kids where 55 orphaned children are being cared for and sent to schools (check out hope4katangakids.org). We then went to Thread of Life, where two women voluntarily teach women to sew so that they can beat poverty and move their families out of the slum areas. The students are provided with housing and food during the six month period that they attend sewing and English classes. After the semester is over, if the woman would like to start their own business or send their children to school, they can take out micro loans from Thread of Life to get them on their feet. The ladies at Thread of Life cooked us a delicious, traditional Ugandan meal in the beautiful area behind their shop/campus. I was so inspired being around women leaders who are doing good for their communities (check out threadoflifeug.org).
Kampala is not like how most people picture Africa. Kampala is a large city with beautiful landscape and many big buildings. We were able to drive through the city and see it all after leaving Buganda. We had a nice dinner close to where we are staying and I am finally planning a whole night’s sleep for tonight. The internet here is not always accessible so I will update again when I can!
Alexa's Travel Blog 