of KM you could either be in lush tropical forests zipping along on
dirt roads, or never feel like you have left the city as you crawl
along the jammed pavement. The other day I took option number one as I
headed out to do some research in Kayunga District, about 80km NE of
Kampala.
From my seat in the back of a cramped minivan "taxi" (known as a
mutatu in Uganda), I eagerly watched as permanent brick buildings gave
way to simple brick structures with metal roofs, and finally adobe and
grass roofed huts. The streets went from paved to dirt and the
landscaped became more and more dense. Bicycles and motorbikes
(bodas) began to replace the mutatus and Japanese cast-off SUVs (every
vehicle here is from Japan, most being old company cars from Japan
with the names or departments still printed on the side in Japanese).
Throngs of well dressed adults turned to semi-clad children. Perhaps
the only thing that remained the same were the massive storks that fly
about Uganda, only this time they were resting in the trees rather
than roof tops.
As we sped towards Kayunga, the road become progressively more
potholed and rough, something that didn't seem to phase the driver as
he stepped on the gas and rocketed us at 100km narrowly past herds of
cattle and children. I really thought that any moment we would life
off the ground.
Kayunga is one of the forgotten districts in Uganda. While it's only
about 80km from the capital, it is incredibly rural. There are few
roads or services, and most people are either farmers or fisherfolk.
HIV infection is high, as are malaria cases and diseases stemming from
poor sanitation. It gets almost no assistance despite being so poor.
Geographically, it is sandwiched between Lake Victoria to the south,
Lake K to the north, the Nile to east, and a massive swamp to the
west. It's lush and very fertile, but also a heavy breeding ground for
mosquitos.
Electricity can be a novelty in some areas, particularly the north,
and most health centres have no reliable electrical source nor running
water (most water is retrieved from wells or "water bores"). Schools
are usually over crowded, with a 150 students to one teacher - few
professionals want to work in the region because it is so "rural."
Interestingly, it is incredibly culturally diverse. It has over 53
different ethnic groups, meaning it has almost all the groups found in
all of Uganda. Many theorists suggest that this should be a recipe for
disaster (conflict) but in reality is has added to the peacefulness of
the district as people learned to get a long many generations ago.
My days in Kayunga consisted of meeting local government officials,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other members of civil
society to ask questions about social services and assess whether or
not the district would meet the national development goals. Evenings
would be leisurely walks through the farmlands, finally ending up back
at the market where I would collect delicious fruits, chipati (Indian
bread), beans and of course the homemade steaming hot delicious chai,
which I would then take back to my hotel to eat. Back at the hotel I
would meet other guests or my fellow classmates and we would laugh at
the random 80s and 90s music playing in the hotel garden, or the
dubbed (into English) Spanish soap operas that are incredibly popular
here and played on every availed screen - but only when major soccer
matches aren't on.
I learned on this adventure that even in the poorest areas, people
still seem to be happy, on some level. They want more out of life and
hope they will have a chance to go beyond subsistence, but even in
their current situation they find peace and joy. It's a lesson we call
all take home.
In the end, there is no way Kayunga will make the country's
development goals, but the people of this area will continue to push
on, with or without electricity.
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