I have been home for a while now. But part of me is definitely still in Uganda. I think every day about the people I met and can imagine what they are doing as they go about their daily lives. I am so proud to have been apart of it and honoured that I was lucky enough to go. I feel I have a real understanding of what WaterAid do and how they work. I had had a fear that I would find the whole experience overwhelming and may think that our fundraising efforts equate to a drop in the ocean and how can we really make a difference. Are we just salving our consciences rather than really helping people?

But no – I have seen the way people have changed and how they are influencing others to change. WAU work in small areas scattered over Uganda and there is a spreading effect. People near the improved areas see what has happened and want their lives to improve in the same way. I also really appreciate the importance of the community involvement. The partnerships and the close working with the local governments make sure that the money is well spent and fairly allocated.

To know that all of the money we raise in Wales for WaterAid goes to Uganda is particularly heartening. Any we raise will be helping 78 year old Maraim – NEXT year!

Thanks to Welsh water for allowing me to go on the trip – apologies in advance as I am going to be talking about this for a long time to come! If you get sick of hearing me talking about it – I will shut up, but my silence has to bought – a donation to WaterAid!!

Most of the 8th September was spent returning to Kampala. Same deal - very bumpy roads, poor bus! The scenery changed from rural remote, scattered straw topped round houses to brick built, tin roofed slums. As we approached Kampala the contrasts were noticeable. Grand buildings alongside shacks!

We had a few hours back in the hotel before going out for a sundown drink at a local hotel that had a panoramic balcony and then a curry with the WaterAid Uganda staff at the Indian Summer curry house!

Splash the glove puppet was once again kidnapped and forced to eat curry. A donation to WaterAid was required to secure his release! (The previous time he had been taken out of my bag on the bus and there was a series of ransom notes, video footage and photos taken before I could get him back!)

Splash may not agree but the night was a pleasant one (and my stomach survived the input of curry!)

On that note as I am sure that you are dying to know… I took three packs of Immodium with me and they returned – unopened!

The following day we had a debriefing meeting at the Kampala offices and bade our final goodbyes to the WAU staff.

We spent the day in the National park. We left the hotel at 6am and were due to catch the 8am ferry across Lake Albert. As we approached 8am you could sense the tension – were we going to make it? The 4X4 we were following went on ahead to hold the ferry as we were only 10 mins away. The bus bounced around and skidded to a halt at the potholes! So close….so close! Then – puncture!!

But as it happened, the ferry was broken anyway and had been since the previous day so even if we had got to the lake we wouldn’t have been going anywhere! We were assured that the ferry should be fixed in two hours! So we went back on the bus (for about an hour!) to drive to the top of Murchison Falls. It was great to get out of the bus and look around. Fantastic landscape, amazing waterfalls where the Albert Nile is squeezed between a narrow gorge – well worth the trip.

We travelled back to the shore of Lake Albert with fingers crossed. The ferry was working – yeah!! We crossed the lake and went to Para Lodge an amazing Safari Lodge for lunch. (The food was superb and it wasn’t just goat and plantain!)

In the afternoon we went on a 3 hour boat trip up the Albert Nile to the bottom of the falls to see hippos, crocs, water buffalo and loads and loads of fantastic birds etc etc!

Then we just had time for a very quick game drive with our guide George and his very big gun! He told us he didn’t hold out too much hope that we would see much as we didn’t have long. But good old George certainly delivered the goods! We rounded the corner to be greeted by a whole elephant family and had to wait while a very large bull elephant passed in front of the bus! Then we were allowed off the bus to see the giraffes. He called one Susan and she really performed for the video camera! There were masses of water bucks, buffaloes and many other ‘antelopey’ type creatures (to use the technical term – you can tell I have a degree in Zoology, can’t you??)

Just amazing!

We returned to the hotel at about 9.30pm after a very long but very pleasant day.

Another early start – I got up at 5.15am and we left for Marram village at 6.15am just as it was getting light. The village was much more close knit with houses not so scattered. This was an area where many improvements had been made.

It took about one and a half hours to get there and Larry sat on my lap in a box (Yep – he had survived the night!) When I had gone to collect him at reception in the morning there was no one there so I asked a cleaner to look for him. He started to look in the cupboards around the reception desk! Another man came and was opening cupboards as well. I had to do a chicken impression to get my message across. They laughed and Larry was found!

It was a very bumpy ride (as usual) and several times the poor bird almost bounced out of his box!

In Marram village we split into groups to do different chores. There was a choice of latrine digging, spring protection, drying rack construction and smearing! I went with Dave and Chris to a house owned by a lady called Grace. She was very pleased to see us and welcomed us to her home. She had already been busy for over an hour smearing the outside step and walls with a mixture of soil and water. She had also started on the inside of her house. We got stuck in straight away (8am) and quickly got very messy. Dave, Chris and I did one wall in the time that Grace did a wall by herself. Hers was also a lot smoother than ours! She showed us how to get it smooth by pouring water and then running both hands over it. You had to press quite hard! We did quite well though – 2 walls and a floor inside and then we started on the outside. She had already done the basic brown layer.

Grace produced a bucket of orange soil. I asked her where it had come from and she replied ‘the latrine’ By now I had already been up to my elbows in it for 10 minutes! To my great relief she went on to explain that when they had dug the latrine the soil deep down that they dug out was this colour! She also said that you could get white soil and later we saw this being sold as we drove around the Masindi area.

We did an orange pattern on the`outside walls of her house and were well pleased with the results. By now I was plastered in mud. We had many onlookers who thought it was very funny that the Muzungu would work in this way!

Grace had 3 children, 18 and 12 year old boys and a 14 year old daughter. All three of them went to school. The oldest boy spoke to us for a while and helped to bring in soil and water.

Grace kept asking us if we were tired but we were determined to do as much as we could. She wanted us to do the outside walls of a rough outhouse ands we said we would. We had run out of water so we had to go to the spring to collect some. It wasn’t very far – about a ten minute walk. I was given a large bucket that must of held about 20 litres and was game to give it a go --- until I saw where the spring was! There was a very very steep descent to the water source. It was among trees and the way down involved clambering over tree roots down steep wet footholds. The land has been eroded and it was really hard to get down. At the bottom there were about 6 people filling containers. Grace filled up my very large bucket to the brim but then, thankfully, handed me a smaller 10 litre bucket! Going up was actually easier than going down. I only slopped once and arrived at the top with the water still only 2 inches from the top feeling very proud! It was very hot now and we stopped a couple of times on the way back. Grace didn’t though and was home way before us.

We walked past a house where Caroline was making a drying rack. We could see a latrine had been dug so we went to have a look. It was very deep (about 8 – 10 feet). A lady called Rose Loma had dug it by herself. She had only been living there for 2 months but had already done a huge amount. She had a house, latrine (on the way) and now a drying rack. She was 32 years old and had 5 children. She had split with her husband because he couldn’t be bothered with the children. Lisa spent a lot of time with Rose and was really impressed by her. She was a lady who had nothing but was trying so hard to get on with it and help herself.

We finally made it back to Grace’s in desperate need of a drink. Our bags had been taken by the ‘muzungu’. We went in search! They were on the bus in the middle of the village but we didn’t get to them because there was a meeting going on and we hadn’t realised. We pulled up a bench and listened in. I felt bad because Grace was expecting us back to help with her walls.

The meeting was the usual thing – the chairman made a speech and gratitude expressed. Liz made a speech on behalf of our group. We were then taken around to see some of the model houses. I was still feeling bad about Grace!

Lisa suggested that we gave the rooster (sorry – Larry) to Rose so I collected him from the bus and carried him to Rose’s house. She was very pleased. She will get a hen and Larry will continue to be very happy and hopefully go on to produce many little Larrys!

We (Chris, Dave and myself) managed to call back on Grace to say goodbye and apologise for not getting any more walls done as it was now time to go.

Back onto the bumpy bus! We drove past fields and fields of sugar cane and the large sugar factory.

We stopped to admire the piped water supply at Kabango. First stop was at the pumping station and then on to the reservoir which was a water tower. There was enough water in the reservoir for two days’ supply so in the event of a power cut (we had experienced many of these in the Masindi Hotel!) or other breakdown the engineers would have two days to repair it. The town had water points but we didn’t have time to visit these. There were public points where people would pay 50 shillings for a 20 litre jerry can (just over 1p)and private water points where the owners would pay 30 litres. They would then look after the point and sell the water on to other people.

The population of Kabango is about 4,500. Most people use the piped water supply but some still go to the boreholes.

We had lunch on the bus (fun!) while driving on to Nyakasagazi village. On arrival we were greeted with singing and dancing – the whole community was there and they had dressed in their best clothes. There was a really different atmosphere. The children looked quite clean and there were less runny noses, runny eyes and distended stomachs. They were very keen to show us around their village. Nyakasagazi was a real success story. They had a very assertive chairman who had really motivated the people of the village. Sanitation had been 0% and within 6 months nearly everyone had a latrine (just 7 households without) They had 3 improved water sources and Davis Byaruhanga (Senior District Water Engineer) gave a very moving speech praising the people for what they had achieved. He kept commenting on how the children looked so good. He said when he had seen them 6 months before they had been dirty and sick. He told them their request for a fourth water source had been granted. I was slightly surprised as have vistited places where people have no safe water and these people would have four! I guess it is about making a showcase of this village so others can see what is possible.

Then it was my turn to make a speech. I had been sat in their best chair and I was filthy! I talked about why we were in Uganda and what we had seen and praised them for their beautiful village. I even introduced them to Splash and explained that he would be telling the children in the UK about Uganda. It went OK but was quite scary! But I was glad I did it! (Just a pity I was so dirty!) What was difficult was talking through and interpreter!

We had half an hour to talk to the people and meet the local village character and his whistle!

Caroline, Emily and I did one last Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with the kids then it was back on the bus!

The field trips were now over but what a lot we had seen!

We arrived back at the hotel and 7 of us went straight to the local football field about a ten minute walk away. David and Ian bought a ball and we played football with a group of 8 – 11 year olds from the Masindi Steels FC. Their coach (Godwin) was there and I spent quite a while chatting to him. He ran all of the youth teams and had 80 kids on his books. A lovely chap (I forgave him the fact he was an Arsenal supporter) He decided I should play for his lad’s side as goalie (bad move) I did improve though when ten minutes in I remembered that goalies are allowed to use their hands (Hey, I’m Welsh!) Despite the poor efforts of the goalie we still won 5 – 3. They were very sweet though and when I let the goals in and apologised they just said ‘Don’t worry Keeper!’ I had a little fan club build up along the sideline and they cheered whenever I touched the ball.

I felt quite strange that evening. It was if our work in Uganda had come to an end but we still had a few days left (R&R to come – safari, boat trip and so on)

There were highs and lows - The smell of the slums to the dancing in Nyakasagazi. And yet… there wasn’t a sense of despair anywhere. People need help but just so they can help themselves!

Up at 5am. Another bat had joined me in the night and was hiding in the bathroom. Bit puzzling how they get in through all the mosquito screening!

We left just after 6am and travelled to Rwenjojo Ntooma. Basically there are no facilities for the people there (or very few). We were in a very remote area and I was amazed how the bus managed to get down these tiny dirt tracks. It took us over an hour to drop everyone off at their households - this was described as a village but it was very spread out. The household I was going to couldn’t be reached by bus so we had to transfer to a 4X4. I was with Anna and Pat and when we arrived there was no one home so we had to go and find them. The head of the household was Maraim Kaharu. She was 78 years old and her husband had died recently so life had become quite tough. She lived with her daughter, Floria, and her 5 grandchildren. Floria had returned home after her husband had hanged himself in 2005. The family had 20 acres of land. We eventually found them hoeing a field! We joined in and quickly got very hot and tired. This was usually the first chore of the day and they would do it for 5 hours! It was surreal to see this elderly lady wielding a hoe. I was bashing away but couldn’t get through the more woody stems – I went round them. Maraim followed in my wake and the woody stems were gone! Hmmnn – not going to add hoeing great big fields as a skill on my cv!!

We were saved by Alex our photographer who wanted to take our photos back at the house.

During the day we helped the family with their daily routine – this included taking the goats out to pasture. I picked a really lovely, large glossy black goat to lead out – mistake! The little devil knew where he was heading and took off with me in tow. He dragged me between two banana trees and there I stuck until Bisoborwa, our interpreter, rescued me and we swapped goats!

I helped Floria washing some pots. This she did meticulously with a scourer and a block of soap. But the water was filthy.

The family get their water from the swamp which was about an hour’s walk. There is a borehole with cleaner water but that was a two hour walk with a 1 – 2 hour wait when you got there. They had a bike and the children would go with two 20 litre jerry cans to collect the water from the borehole. We were told they went every day but when they were in school the old lady would have to go. I really couldn’t see that happening. Some neighbours arrived. One girl, Christine, spoke good english and she told me that families didn’t use the borehole very often as it was too far away. They used the swamp and they got ill, she was very matter-of-fact about it.

Probably the most memorable part of the day was collecting water from the swamp. They had offered me a 5 litre container but I insisted on having a 10 litre jerry can. I was a little disappointed that the 20 litre jerry cans weren’t available as I wanted to collect as much as I could for them.

We went with Bisoborwa and Maraim. It was very very hot. We walked along a rough track to the main road. Loads of people were walking back and for, many had bikes. There were yellow jerry cans as far as the eye could see! I had a 10 litre can. They had tried to give me a 5 litre one but I really wanted to experience carrying the larger one and I thought I may save Maraim the second trip. The 20 litre jerry cans were saved for the bike trip to the borehole (phew!) It was quite dangerous walking along the road. Bicycle bells would ring and you had to jump out of the way! Some bikes didn’t have bells so you were just yelled at. The road was very straight and long. We went quite a way up the hill and then we turned off. The borehole was way up the hill, another hour’s walk but we were going to the swamp.

We snaked our way through the vegetation on rough muddy ground. We had a sunny day and the going was fairly hard – it would have been very difficult in the rain. Maraim walked quite slowly and we tried to hang back so she didn’t tire too much. She smiled and waved us on as if to say, it’s ok, I’m coming. We rounded a corner and after about 45 minutes of walking we were there. We were all shocked. Pat just looked in disbelief and said, ‘No way.’ A small, muddy stagnant pool was our family’s main supply of water. There were reeds and swamp plants all around us. The pool was about a metre and a half in diameter. Bisoborwa told us that when this part of the swamp dried up, they had to battle through the vegetation and find another area further out.

It was quite tricky to fill the cans. I was trying to take water off the surface in the hope that it was cleaner but it made no difference – it was all filthy. I wondered if I really was doing the family a favour with my gift of 10 litres instead of 5 litres of this lethal liquid. It really brought it home to me – I have seen so many pictures of people collecting dirty water but today at that swamp it hit home. To see Maraim squatting down by the swamp filling her can I felt quite angry. She seemed quite satisfied with her lot; it was just the way her life was and she got on with it.

As Anna squatted down to fill her can, her phone beeped and a text came through. It provided a moment of light relief. I took a photo of her after wards walking along carrying her can while texting – yet another surreal image!

Walking back was tough – very tough! It was hot and there was nowhere to escape the sun. The first part of the walk was on the very rough muddy ground and it was difficult not to spill the water as the jerry cans have no lids. When we reached the main road the ground was easier but the jerry can just kept getting heavier and heavier and the road stretched interminably into the distance! I kept swapping hands and imagining my arms growing longer. I joked that I would be able to scratch my knees without bending down by the time we got back! Busoborwa was carrying a 5 litre container and offered to swap with each of us in turn. I was determined to do it though and I did! It didn’t take us so long to walk back – about 40 minutes. Thank goodness I hadn’t taken a 20 litre jerry can! We were greeted with a cheer and many cries of thanks on our return. Our collection of water cans looked quite impressive although I had issues with their contents. Anna, Pat and I had collected 30 litres of water – perhaps we had saved Maraim a few trips?

We sat down and had a short break. We played with more balloons and I gave out some bouncy balls. The bubbles came out again as well.

Then we went to collect firewood with Maraim. She gave us some dried banana leaves to use as twine to bundle the sticks up and she provided us with a plaited ring of banana leaves to put on our heads so we could carry the wood back. Luckily it was not far – my arms were killing me and I kept getting tangled in the vegetation as I walked past! When we returned Floria was peeling plantain (cooking bananas) and I asked if I could help. She found this quite funny. I asked Bisoborwa to explain that I wanted to learn how to do what she was doing. She would let me near the knife but did allow me to pull the bananas off the stalk. She was concerned that the juice would stain my clothes! The peeled bananas were wrapped inside banana leaves and then steamed in a large pot over the fire. As we sat on the bench Anna and I noticed Christopher grabbing a cockerel. Our eyes widened – oh no, not a gift! This family had so little. Christopher brought it over and Bisoborwa explained that the family wanted us to have it. They would cook it for us there and then or we could take it away. I thanked them and said we would take it with us. We had been briefed that if we were offered gifts we were to accept and that the family would be compensated in some way.

The rooster was taken inside the house and let out a huge squawk! Oh no – we were going to be taking a dead rooster with us. Ten minutes later the 4X4 arrived. One of the boys went into the house to collect the bird and …joy! It was still alive! The squawk had merely been an indignant protest at having had his legs tied together with banana leaves!

We returned to the village centre for lunch. We had to wait about half an hour for the others to arrive and the chicken was getting very hot and sweaty in my arms so he was put into a box in the boot of the bus.

After lunch we returned to our families. They were very pleased to see us. The boys taken their shirts off while we were away and as we pulled up they rushed off to put them back on. The afternoon was lovely. We sat around in the shade and chatted. Bisoborwa was much more relaxed and we found out that he was a teacher. I asked the children what they wanted to be when they grew up. Christopher said he wanted to be a Minister. Nikki asked him Minister of what and he said ‘of water’. I asked what he would do to help people and he said he would put more boreholes so people didn’t have so far to go. I suggested he had one put right next to his grandmother’s house. Mbaba was back and for to the cooking area but she was desperate to join in. Both her and Christopher spoke a bit of English, Mbaba said she wanted to be a nurse. Steven wanted to be a doctor as did Gerad. Fred said he wanted to be a truck driver. When I asked what he would have in his truck he said ‘people’! It seemed a strange answer at the time but you see so many trucks in Uganda overflowing with people. If you have your own truck it could be a great asset and it is a bit like having a bus!

We showed them our photos from home and it was a lovely relaxing hour. The only bit of ‘work’ we did was to move the goats to fresh pastures. I avoided the black glossy one but still had a fair bit of trouble with the little cute one (video to prove it!!)

As we waved goodbye I reflected on my day – I will never forget it. What we did was different and exciting for us but for Maraim and her family it was a mundane tough way of simply surviving. Perhaps the pictures of the family will be seen by others in the same way as I have viewed such pictures in the past – just people. How I will be able to convey the story to make those people come to life in the minds of others I have no idea but I will certainly try! I made some new friends today. I think they will also remember us – the day the Muzungu came to visit.

Mary and Larry.

I had spoken to Sarah from WAU at lunchtime about what compensation the family would have for the chicken but she said they couldn’t because WAU were not currently working in the area. This made me feel very guilty – the family struggled as it was and they had given away a precious and valuable asset.

As we left Sarah gave them a Tshirt and I gave Maraim pens for the children for school. (Dwr Cymru pens!) We travelled back to the centre of the village in the 4X4 and met the rest of the group who were singing the Hokey Cokey and Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with the children gathered there. I gave a pack of pens to Bisoborwa for his pupils at his school.

We piled onto the bus and we were buzzing. It had been an exciting day and there were so many stories to exchange!

The rooster was in a box on the floor. Sarah didn’t see the box and kicked it. The chicken fluttered out and flapped up the aisle breaking the ties around his legs! Amy screamed. I grabbed him and sat him on my lap. Anna was rather unsure as his back end was pointing at her! He was quite happy and dozed away clucking occasionally. Amy commented that he was happy as Larry and thus he was named!

It was decided that he would be given to a villager at the village we were visiting the following day. I checked him into the hotel! Lisa was with me and stressed that we wanted him kept alive. I found out later that Sarah (WAU) had suggested that we ask the hotel to serve him for dinner!

I returned to my room to find bat number 3 and a gecko!

We spent much of the day travelling to Masindi. It took us about 5 hours on the bus. The roads were terrible, we bumped and lurched around. What really surprised me as we drove along was the number of people we saw. We could be in quite remote areas and yet there were still people walking along the road. Where were they going? Many were carrying jerry cans so we all knew what they were doing.

We arrived at the Masindi Hotel – an amazing looking place steeped in history. We didn’t have time to digest our surroundings though as it was off to the Masindi District council chambers for yet another courtesy call. The meeting was brief – just 2 hours! We were told all about what the Masindi district had achieved in the Water and sanitation sector. The presentation was done using PowerPoint and the projector they had was the only one in the Masindi area. (The Masindi district has a population of 488 000)

They had held a sanitation week in March and had highlighted particularly poor areas for this. We were told of one village that had only 10 latrines, by the end of the week in March they had 29 latrines and now they have 129.

After lots more info we went back to the hotel. Tomorrow is the biggy! We are spending a full day with a family in a pre intervention area. WaterAid will be working with this community in the next financial year.

I went to bed and found a bat in my room. It was taken outside and released!!

We were up early and had left the hotel by 7am for a meeting at the offices of the Busoga Trust (an NGO) and were given lots of details about this partner organisation. WaterAid worked with many partners and this was a particularly effective one. We were in the Mpigi district not far from Kampala.

We then travelled to the Kayabwe parish to find out about the water jar project. We met Peter Juko who very proudly showed us his water jar that collected rainwater from the tin roof of his house. The jar holds 1,500 litres. He had only had the jar since mid July and so there wasn’t much water in it but was hopeful that the rainy season due in October should help.

He said when the family used more than it could supply his wife and 7 and 13 year old children had to walk to the well about a mile away to collect water.

He had a very impressive homestead, everywhere was very neat and tidy – it was a stark contrast to the slums we had seen the day before. He had a thriving veg patch and livestock including pigs, goats and chickens.

He regarded himself as very lucky to have a rainwater harvesting jar, none of his neighbours had one yet and they were often ill from drinking the water from the well and he knew of children that had died.

We met his very shy 13 year old daughter, Milly. She told us that now she didn’t have to go to the well to fetch water she had more time to help her father in the garden and to read her school books.

The other problem with this well that so many people still had to use was that it was on the side of a main road. Many people travelled along the road and girls had been raped and children injured crossing the road.

To qualify for a water jar, households had to meet certain criteria – they had to have a latrine, shower area, drying rack for pots and had to keep the area clean and separate their rubbish.

The main problem for the people in this village was access to water and the water jars were a potential solution. For Peter and his family it had made a huge difference, I just hope they can help more people as there were only 10 water jars in the whole area.

The next field trip was to a village on the shore of Lake Victoria. It was classed as an island. A road had been laid across the swamp to reach it – previously access had only been by boat through a channel cut through the reeds! We went right through the heart of the swamp for over an hour. This was Lubembe Island and we met Abduno and Safina Mugeria. They had an ecosan latrine. This area had a problem with pit latrines because the water table was so high. If you dug a pit you would soon reach water and the sides of the pit would collapse. This meant the only place where you could successfully construct a pit latrine was on a termite mound because the termites effectively ‘cemented’ the soil together. They showed us their old pit latrine. Safina said the children often became ill because they would hang about in the latrine watching the maggots! When the pit latrine was full you had to find another termite mound which may be a long way away. I asked what would happen if people had no termite mound on their land and was told they would just defecate on the land. The ecosan latrine was a superb alternative. In these the urine is separated from the faeces (two separate holes). The collected urine is collected and treated and used as a fertiliser and pesticide. (against banana weevils and nematodes apparently!)

We then had a guided tour of his plot! He showed us watermelons that had been treated with the urine fertiliser and those without – there was a huge difference in size. Likewise his banana trees that had received the magic juice were much bigger. He didn’t know if they would produce bigger and better bananas but he was hoping so. Before we left I tried out the ecosan latrine – it was hard work trying to wee into such a small hole but I did my best and hopefully made a small contribution! Banana weevils watch out, I say!!

We then visited Lubembe secondary school. The children were on school holidays but they had come back to school for our visit. We also had members of the local primary school (The Ugandan martyrs) come along as well. They looked very smart in their uniforms. We stayed there for a couple of hours and they entertained us with singing, dancing, poetry and a play. The schools run health clubs to promote hygiene education and this was certainly the theme running through the perfomances. The Head from the school told us that they used to have to collect water from the swamp. Now the school had a borehole and an ecosan latrine that was also used by the local community. He said we had saved their lives and thanked us profusely – it was quite overwhelming.

When WaterAid had started working in this area the latrine coverage was 0%. Now it is 4%, a great improvement but still a long way to go!

Kampala

Just two days into the trip but I feel like I have been here for a week!

Yesterday we met the WaterAid Uganda team and found out in detail about their work here. In the evening we met them again and some of the partner organizations that they work with. Everybody has been extremely friendly and you are greeted everywhere with smiling faces!

I slept very well last night in the Kampala City Hotel which is a very nice new hotel that was apparently built for the Commonwealth Conference that was held in Uganda. However, I had to be up at 5.45 and so I set two alarms to make sure!!

Today we spent the whole day in the slums in Kampala. Again I was struck by the friendly faces with people so keen to say hello. Some parts can only be described as appalling. The stench was disgusting. There were streams of filthy water running everywhere filled with rubbish of all sorts. The slum we visited was on a hill and the further down the hill we went the worse it got. But the people were no less friendly.

Crowds of interested children followed us everywhere. The main greeting was “Hiya how are you?” or even “Hiya is life good with you?” They wanted to shake hands and give high 5s and they loved to have their photos taken! I took a couple of video clips and turned the screen around so they could see themselves which caused great excitement but they got so close that I probably only have footage of their noses! Splash my otter glove puppet made a brief appearance but soon took refuge back in my rucksack after overenthusiastic kids tried to pull his head off!

Later we visited other slum areas where WaterAid has been working. The main problem facing the area is poor sanitation. The streams I mentioned are a natural source of water but very contaminated. People defecate everywhere and there is lots of other refuse. Flooding is also a major problem. We witnessed a major rain storm on our first evening here.

Harriett at the latrine block.

In the improved areas, we visited latrine blocks that had been built and met the ladies that ran them. One lady called Harriet spoke of the huge difference the latrine block had made. She said that before it was awful with people going to the toilet everywhere and there was lots of cholera. She feared for her 6 children who were sometimes ill. She said that people used to die from cholera. Since the latrine block has opened no one has died from cholera. She said she was so happy that her children were safe. The poverty level has also gone down as people don’t have to pay for medical services and drugs. Harriet gets up at 2am to take delivery of charcoal that she sells near the latrine. She had a helper who manages her charcoal sales while she manages the latrine from 6am until evening. Both ladies from the latrine were so so grateful for the support of WaterAid – it was quite overwhelming.

The other major improvement was the digging of a lined channel to divert the wastewater and the rainwater. People couldn’t stress enough how much of a difference that had made.

Today has been amazing! The kids who were so excited to meet us. Two teenage girls – Maria and Rosemary - spent ages walking around with me and wanted me to go and visit them in their house and meet their family. People were predominantly happy and many told me that they liked living in Kampala. They are very dignified and spend hours trying to make their environment better. There was washing hanging everywhere and many women up to their elbows in bowls of soapy water. I even saw them with makeshift brooms sweeping the area in front of their ramshackle homes. But there is no need for people to live like this in these awful conditions and to see the changes and hear how people’s lives have been improved just served to strengthen that opinion! I really admire the people I met today!

We were filmed by Ugandan TV and were very excited to watch the footage on the news this evening.

After visiting the Mayor of the parish we were in and the Divisional Health Inspector for the area (Kawempe) we went to the Community Sanitation Centre. We were shown how the communities wanting to build latrines were given information and trained. There were lots of small models of all the different types as it is important that the latrine is appropriate for the area. We were then shown 2 working latrines used at the center – a simple pit latrine and a type of flushing toilet.

Tomorrow we have another early start and we are looking at more of Kampala and taking a boat trip across to a small island in Lake Victoria.

Thoughts before I go!

It has been a very busy run up to this trip and I just haven’t had time to reflect on my feelings about my up and coming adventure! But now as I look at my packed rucksack leaning against the front door (always my insurance scheme to make sure I don’t forget something!) I know it’s going to happen; in a couple of days I will be on that plane!

Following my initial shock and delight at having been selected to go I then had to focus on the remaining term. I had so many school groups left to teach but I didn’t miss an opportunity to tell both the pupils and the teachers of my trip. Most were very envious which further fuelled my excitement and confirmed my belief that I was very lucky to have this opportunity to do something so very different. I have had to promise many schools that I will go in and speak to the pupils about my trip when I return.

The end of term finally arrived and I was free to think about the trip and start making serious preparations. Jabs and more jabs and advice such as ‘don’t drink the water’ and ‘keep taking the tablets’ were just the start. Then came choices – which type of insect repellent, mosquito net, clothes, shoes… Oh it was too much to think about but I knew that at the end of July there was a meeting planned at the WaterAid offices in London and I was hoping that the information provided there would help.

The meeting really made the whole thing real. For the first time the group was going to meet a room of complete strangers. My first reaction on meeting them was one of relief that they weren’t all in their twenties – I didn’t want to be the granny in the group! But my fears were unfounded as there was a complete mix of ages and types of people. I am really looking forward to seeing how the group gels, as I know we will all become very close and dependent on each other. During the day we didn’t really have much of a chance to get to know each other but that will come! A lot of the time was spent on practicalities, details of the itinerary and advice on coping with culture shock! We were also asked to express our fears and hopes for the trip and it was interesting to find that so many of the others had similar thoughts to my own. Spiders and biting insects seemed to be a common theme.

Having had a chance to look at the itinerary, I am most looking forward to the ‘Day in the life of…’ when I will spend a dawn-to-dusk day with a family in a remote village where they have no proper water provision or decent sanitation. The aim of the day is to experience life as they do and to really find out what they need. On the one hand I am looking forward to this, as I know it will be such an amazing experience but on the other hand I have severe misgivings as to how I will deal with it. I am known as a bubbly outgoing person but I am not as confident as many may think I am. I don’t show my feelings and I tend to internalise. It takes a lot to make me cry – hmm we will see! I almost have a fear that I won’t be as affected by my trip as everyone keeps telling me that I will be. Perhaps it is my self-preservation defence strategy, I don’t know!

What is likely to get to me though is happy people. I have never been one to be deeply affected by the tragic scenes presented by the media of unhappy people living in awful circumstances. I don’t approve of the guilt trip appeal. It is not that I don’t care and I will try and help where I can. However I do admire those who, despite it all, manage to look on the bright side, who get on with it, make the best of what they have got and strive to make things better. Children can be particularly good at this and I know that the kids will have a profound impact on me. Being a mum-of-two there is bound to be some comparison, some feeling of ‘what if this was happening to my kids?’ I know I will find it difficult to deal with happy kids who are making the best of it when I am feeling angry at their lot. Perhaps it will lead to inward reflection on what is actually important to make a life happy. However I am sure that I will still feel that clean drinking water and basic sanitation are a minimum requirement.

So, a last chance to think of what is ahead?

Hopes?

• That I am not ill (or at least not very ill!)
• That I have this amazing fantastic experience that everyone tells me I am going to have!
• To make some very good new friends and meet people I will remember forever
• That I will feel that I can actually do something to help
• To come back inspired!

Fears?

• That I will be ill!
• Mosquito bites (Most biting insects will have a go at me – I am obviously tasty!)
• That I will find the situations I am exposed to hopeless and overwhelming.
• That my attempts with the camera fail and I get fuzzy decapitated images!

So… off I go – I will be in touch!

Day One – Early arrival in Entebbe.

Rest and acclimatisation during the morning and briefing with WaterAid Uganda in the afternoon.

Day Two – Drive to Masindi.

Briefing with partners and protocol visits.

Day Three – A day in the life of a rural community in Masindi.

Day Four – Rural projects in Masindi.

Day Five – Drive to Wakiso.

Project visit in Wakiso and return to Kampala.

Day Six – Day off.

Day Seven – Project visit in Mpigi.

Day Eight – Visit to urban projects in Kampala.

Day Nine – Debriefing with WAU and partners.

Day Ten – Return to the UK.