Tuesday, January 16, 2007
East Africa And Back
Well, I am home! Looking back on this blog I wish that I had been able to post a little more frequently, but figured that I can at least make some amends by adding a few of my pictures and wrapping up on the last few months. Here is the fruit of my efforts.
After our visit with Watema Emmanuel we had a couple of two-week service projects. The first of these was right outside of Lugufu Refugee Camp in Kigoma, Tanzania. We were working with a local organization called KIVIDEA that worked with youth to help alleviate poverty. Schools, farms, youth groups -- they were really tackling the problem from every angle. Our other project was in Kiganda, Uganda (a couple of long hard travel days north..) Father Achilles Kiwanuka, an acquaintance from the University of Portland was our host, putting us up with his parents (and 
quite comfortably too!) Kelly worked at the primary school around the corner, I at the local clinic. The small staff here did great work attempting to deal with the volume of malaria and AIDS cases considering their limited resources. Most amusingly, word got out that the clinic now had a white doctor and patients started coming in from hours away to see me!
The 10th and final country on my itinerary was tiny Rwanda, landlocked outside of its own Lake Kivu. As covered in a previous post, in 1994 the fastest, and arguably most brutal, genocide in the history of the world saw one million Tutsi's die at the hands of the extremist Hutu government. Much of our ten day tour around the country centered around this event, including a beautiful Memorial Center in Kigali and a haunting church where one of the slaughters took place. However, as horrible as their history has been, Rwandans were proving a hardy lot. Amazingly, thanks to a competent government, Rwanda truly seemed on the right path to peace and prosperity. (My trip here did indeed confirm my first impression from visiting the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that the UN trial was for the world, and the gacaca trials were for the Rwandans... a disconnect that needs to be better bridged by the ICT.)
Our last days of traveling were as enjoyable as ever, and we especially enjoyed the people and green landscapes of Uganda. Lake Bunyoni, the Rwenzori Mountains, Bujugali Falls on the Nile River, and Sipi Falls were among the most beautiful sites I had visited. Back in Kenya, trips to Lake Naivasha, the nearby Hell's Gate National Park, and of course, safari at Masai Mara Game
Reserve were pleasant if slightly too touristy for my taste. And successful navigation of Nairobi meant that I made it through the whole trip and only been robbed once (by street kids in Cape Town...) Our flight home was a long one (after a detour to Sudan separated us from our bags) but also a comfortable one compared to the 10,000 miles spent on some less than stellar roads in Africa!
I don't think I have to tell you that I had an incredible time. I was able to see some really spectacular places over these eight months, from Victoria Falls to Mount Kilimanjaro, but more importantly, meet some really spectacular people. All five of my longer service projects taught me a lot about the depth of the problems people are facing and, when I was really lucky, the corresponding solutions. This couldn't have happened without a whole lot of hospitality on the part of the people I met (and quite a few of you as well since I was often contacting a friend of a friend...) It goes without saying that I hope to return in the future to repay some of this debt.
I want to thank all of you that followed my trip as well as those who have just stumbled upon my blog. Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk more about any of these issues or especially if you are thinking of traveling and are wondering how you could arrange some independent volunteer projects as well. I would be happy to help and wish that everyone could have to opportunity to learn about the world by traveling as I have.
After our visit with Watema Emmanuel we had a couple of two-week service projects. The first of these was right outside of Lugufu Refugee Camp in Kigoma, Tanzania. We were working with a local organization called KIVIDEA that worked with youth to help alleviate poverty. Schools, farms, youth groups -- they were really tackling the problem from every angle. Our other project was in Kiganda, Uganda (a couple of long hard travel days north..) Father Achilles Kiwanuka, an acquaintance from the University of Portland was our host, putting us up with his parents (and 
quite comfortably too!) Kelly worked at the primary school around the corner, I at the local clinic. The small staff here did great work attempting to deal with the volume of malaria and AIDS cases considering their limited resources. Most amusingly, word got out that the clinic now had a white doctor and patients started coming in from hours away to see me!The 10th and final country on my itinerary was tiny Rwanda, landlocked outside of its own Lake Kivu. As covered in a previous post, in 1994 the fastest, and arguably most brutal, genocide in the history of the world saw one million Tutsi's die at the hands of the extremist Hutu government. Much of our ten day tour around the country centered around this event, including a beautiful Memorial Center in Kigali and a haunting church where one of the slaughters took place. However, as horrible as their history has been, Rwandans were proving a hardy lot. Amazingly, thanks to a competent government, Rwanda truly seemed on the right path to peace and prosperity. (My trip here did indeed confirm my first impression from visiting the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that the UN trial was for the world, and the gacaca trials were for the Rwandans... a disconnect that needs to be better bridged by the ICT.)
Our last days of traveling were as enjoyable as ever, and we especially enjoyed the people and green landscapes of Uganda. Lake Bunyoni, the Rwenzori Mountains, Bujugali Falls on the Nile River, and Sipi Falls were among the most beautiful sites I had visited. Back in Kenya, trips to Lake Naivasha, the nearby Hell's Gate National Park, and of course, safari at Masai Mara Game
Reserve were pleasant if slightly too touristy for my taste. And successful navigation of Nairobi meant that I made it through the whole trip and only been robbed once (by street kids in Cape Town...) Our flight home was a long one (after a detour to Sudan separated us from our bags) but also a comfortable one compared to the 10,000 miles spent on some less than stellar roads in Africa!I don't think I have to tell you that I had an incredible time. I was able to see some really spectacular places over these eight months, from Victoria Falls to Mount Kilimanjaro, but more importantly, meet some really spectacular people. All five of my longer service projects taught me a lot about the depth of the problems people are facing and, when I was really lucky, the corresponding solutions. This couldn't have happened without a whole lot of hospitality on the part of the people I met (and quite a few of you as well since I was often contacting a friend of a friend...) It goes without saying that I hope to return in the future to repay some of this debt.
I want to thank all of you that followed my trip as well as those who have just stumbled upon my blog. Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk more about any of these issues or especially if you are thinking of traveling and are wondering how you could arrange some independent volunteer projects as well. I would be happy to help and wish that everyone could have to opportunity to learn about the world by traveling as I have.
