Volunteering in Uganda

by Erin Byrne (Dublin Alum, Spring 2011)


Hey everyone,
          SO I have officially been in Uganda for 1 week. It has been one of the most interesting, long, crazy, difficult and awesome weeks every. I feel like I am basically learning how to be a person again. Almost everything we take for granted is different. I am relearning how to take showers, eat, use the bathroom, talk to people, walk, communicate, and function in the world.
            I arrived Friday evening to the airport in Entebbe. Luckily my bags were all there and I eventually found the two other interns in my program and the person who was to pick us up at the airport. We were taken to the airport guesthouse where we spent the night in what is most likely a Ugandan resort. The only thing odd about the hotel was that we slept under a bed net. I got a good night sleep after 2 days of living on a plane or in airports and woke up the next morning to meet the other interns. There are a total of 10 other people living in Masaka and working for the Foundation for Sustainable Development this summer. On Saturday we were met by the FSD staff. We went to Kampala to buy phones and exchange money. That place was crazy. Insane. It is like Masaka but on steriods. We were just there for the afternoon and then we began the drive to Masaka town. It is about a 3 hour drive, but we stopped at the equator to take pictures. It is literally just a sign on the side of the road! Its not a big deal here.
       We spent the first two nights in a hotel in Masaka which was great for group bonding. The other interns are from University of San Fransisco, Emery, and Gettysburg. It is great having other people here going through the same things I am. We moved in with our host families on Monday. I really really lucked out. My host family consists of a young mother and father (probably both under 30) who are a postman and nurse. They have a 2 year old daughter named Blessing who is pretty
much the cutes thing in the world. She doesnt understand me much but she imitates everything I do and is full of energy. 
        Since Sunday we have gone through training. We have had several lessons on Luganda (the language of the region), safety and security, living with a host family, culture, government, political issues, sustainable development skills, and more. We also took field trips to see an organic farm and blanket making from tree bark. The sessions are sometimes overwhelming, but over all have been extremely helpful. We begin work on Monday. I will be working for a microfinance group called South Buganda SACCO. I am really excited to learn first hand how these groups which give small loans for poor people in the region work. There will be more on my work in later emails. Between now and then I have a Ugandan wedding to attend! Should be interesting.
        For now I would say the really good things are the weather (about 80 degrees every day), beautiful scenery (yes just like all the movies and  pictures... but a lot more green than I thought), my very welcoming host family, the unbelievably cheap prices, the delicious fruit, and the other interns. The not so good things have been the food (it is relatively plain and I like the meals but is pretty much the same thing every meal), being stared at and called a muzundu (white person) about 50 times a day, not having real toilets, and not
being able to communicate back home.
      I look forward to writing more. There is so much to talk about, and hope to get to a computer again soon. 
Erin