But we are so lucky, we have been able to get a fridge, the furniture we need and most importantly a car! We have a volunteers allowance, which feels very small compared with a UK income, but is actually a good wage for Uganda, especially when you add on the rent for the apartment. We have savings available we can use for the extras, like the car and holidays and those expensive treats that are available in Kampala when you feel the need for them.
We sign when the electricity suddenly disappears, usually just when you need something to charge up, or when we get home to no water, but here in Kampala the supply is reliable when you compare it to more rural areas. One of the volunteers is based in an area where the electricity is only on for 7 hours out of every 24. His fridge is simply a sealed cupboard to keep out the cockroaches!
Compared with the lot of most Ugandan citizens we are very comfortable indeed. In the villages I visited I saw their way of life. Their huts look reasonably comfortable and cool in the heat of the day but there are none of the things we take for granted. Approximately 80% have access to a radio, either their own or a neighbours and generally listen to the local radio stations. Televisions are only available in bars in the nearest town, assuming there is power! Football is really popular, particularly the UK premier league and the champions league. In the winter the matches are screened between 11pm and 1am or even later but there is still a large following.
Most cooking is done using charcoal or wood burners. Our projects are teaching the construction of energy efficient stoves, made of mud at coffee table height with a fire in one side and two bowl shaped areas at the top to put the pans onto.
Water has to be fetched, if you're lucky from a borehole in the village, if you're not so lucky from the nearest river or stream, which can be several kilometres away. Whenever we are travelling we see so many people, generally children, walking along the road carrying large yellow jerrycans with water, either on bikes or on their heads. We've been quite shocked to find two villages who have been provided with boreholes but these have now broken and they are back to trekking miles to get water from a stream. This water is not clean so the incidence of illness rises in the village when this happens.
Work hours are 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, whenever there is daylight. Today is a bank holiday but there are still lots of builders working on the new flats behind us and the road construction in front. Live in guards and maids can be on duty for 24/7, 365 days a year. The same is true in the villages where the ground needs digging (by hand using a long handled tool a bit like a large hoe), crops need weeding, animals need to be attended to, bee hives need looking after, fruits need harvesting etc. etc. Then there are children, often 6, 8 or more in a family, the sick and the elderly to look after, washing and cooking to do. There's no opening a tin of soup or putting some cheese on toast under the grill!
But everyone is so cheerful and friendly. They support each other and often farm collectively so they share the chores. They don't understand the concept of being alone, if you're on your own they will come and sit in the house so that you are not lonely. The welcome they have given to refugees coming over the border from South Sudan puts Europe and the US to shame.
Suddenly life seems very rosy. Even if we do get 'Muzungu, muzungu, hello' shouted after us wherever we go. Usually followed by 'Give me money!'. At least in Uganda with a simple 'no' or 'not today' you will be left alone, not true in other African countries I hear. Today I will really enjoy our trip out in the car and the coffee and cake we've promised ourselves as a treat and give thanks that I was born a UK citizen.
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