Poppleton is generally so quiet and peaceful, especially at night. There are the occasional parties or people getting home late at night from York, or very occasionally a house or car alarm goes off, but generally you can pretty well guarantee a peaceful night.
Not so in Kampala, even in a relatively quiet suburb like Muyenga. Luckily it's amazing what we've learnt to sleep through. Or we wake up but quickly get back to sleep again and it's only later that we realise just how many different things we heard in the night! In general the challenges are:
1) The gate to the compound. First there is a car hooting, or the sound of knocking and a boda driving away, then the rattle of the gate as the night guard opens and then closes it. Plus of the course the loud greetings and thanks. No one seems to consider people might be sleeping and speak at the same volume day and night.
2) Music. Luckily we are not close to any nightclubs or bars so music is usually at a distance. However, it is normal to go to bed with background music at various levels and also to hear it up to 3 or 4 in the morning.
3) Stray dogs. There is a real problem in Kampala with packs of stray dogs roaming the streets. Not so much of a problem during the day, apart from avoiding them when you are driving, but at night the barking and howling can be very annoying.
4) Cockerels. I thought cockerels only crowed at dawn! Well if so no one has told the ones in Kampala. Nearly every family will have several chickens roaming around their land so cockerel's crowing comes from every direction.
5) General wildlife. Crickets, birds, frogs etc. everything is more prolific and noisier in Africa!
Last night was particularly bad. In the last couple of weeks some builders have started to build a house across the track from the compound where we live. Our landlord has agreed that they can use the compound, which of course has a security guard, to store some of their tools and materials. Builders here work dawn to dusk 7 days a week.
So last night:
Music in the distance until about 2
Midnight - loud banging on the gate, a rattle as the gate opens and a loud conversation in Lugandan
4am - booming music and then hooting as a car arrives and then the rattling as the gate opens and closes
4.15 - An alarm going off in the distance
5.30 - The call to prayer across the valley
6.30 - A very loud preacher with a loudspeaker in the grounds of the international school across the road. We couldn't even understand him as he was speaking in Lugandan, but at least he stopped after about 15 minutes!
7.00 - The builders start work by fetching their wheelbarrows and a barrel full of water out of the compound, with much banging of the gate and conversation in Lugandan.
I wonder how long it will take when we get home before we start taking our peaceful nights for granted again?
Sunday, 17 May 2015
Sunday, 10 May 2015
An A-Z of Uganda (Part 1)
I've been thinking about an A-Z of Uganda for a while to pick up all of my random thoughts about the placement and, hopefully, to give a real feel of what it's like to live here. This is Part 1 as there will be 4 or 5 parts to cover everything!
A
Ankole cattle
You see these long horned cattle everywhere along the roadside as you travel, or even in the road as here! They are particularly popular in the South West, the Ankole area, and are prized for their long horns.
Avocado
One of the most important fruits in Uganda. There is an avocado tree in the compound at work, which is full of fruit that are just ripening now. I have 3 avocados from the tree sitting in the kitchen ripening.
B
Boda Boda
The motorbike taxis are everywhere, particularly in the towns and cities but you also see them on the roads in the middle of nowhere. They often carry more than one passenger and I've seen whole families, Mum, Dad and 2 or 3 children on a boda. Ladies sit side saddle and look very elegant if slightly unsteady. I'm afraid I've never tried side saddle, I sit astride the boda and hang onto the back rail!!
They carry huge loads, far more than you would think it was possible to fit onto a motorbike. We've seen a 3 piece suite, lots of live chickens, a woman, goat and baby, a bed, a motorbike, the windscreen from a lorry, a solar panel, lots of matoke and a large pile of mattresses. It isn't easy to get pictures but here are some we have managed to catch.
Bananas
Uganda is, I think, the second highest consumer of plantains in the world. But a banana is not just a banana here there are lots of different varieties used for different purposes, in the same way as we have varieties of apples or potatoes. The matoke or savoury green bananas are sold in large bunches and make the mashed savoury banana cooked in banana leaves that is such a feature of lunch buffets here. Then there are beautiful small sweet bananas I had not seen before and the more familiar larger eating bananas.
C
Call to Prayer
A significant minority of the populations are Muslim and there are mosques in most of the towns and larger villages. I love hearing the call to prayer drifting across the valley at around 5.30 in the morning and also in the evening.
Climate Change
Travelling around the country you really notice climate change here. The dry seasons are longer and hotter and the wet season less predictable. The programmes to be delivered in the Sustainable Livelihoods area are starting to focus more on Resilience to Climate Change with training around water retention and irrigation methods. But changes are also needed to reduce the impact on the environment of activities such as charcoal burning and deforestation. Local people need help to find alternative ways to make a living.
Bags of charcoal for sale by the roadside in West Nile
D
Drums
A huge part of African culture, it sometimes feels like life is conducted to a drum beat. In the centre behind the house they have a traditional dance troupe, who practice on Saturday mornings and we hear the drum beat drifting down the hill.
Driving
Driving in Uganda and in much of Africa and other countries such as India, is just not like driving in Europe. Cars rarely keep to their own side of the road crossing to the other side to overtake or avoid potholes, often with little warning. Traffic comes straight out from a turning without even looking let alone giving way to traffic on the main road. Ugandan drivers are very impatient and will overtake on the inside or outside or both without a thought for traffic coming the other way. Glen somehow copes with it all, I will only drive on the quiet local roads to and from work!
E
English
English is the official language of Uganda, a fact for which I am very grateful. I have never had a problem talking to people as everyone speaks English, usually very well. Understanding the different accents on the telephone can be a challenge but everyone is used to me now and understands my English accent a bit better.
F
Farming
In a country where something like 80% of the population earn their living from farming, of which the majority are subsistence farmers, farming skills are incredibly important. Sadly many of the people we are working with are relatively recent returnees from the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps, where they stayed during the war in the north of Uganda. They only came back to their villages around 5 to 7 years ago and many of the skills normally passed from parent to child had been lost. Our partners are working with farmers groups to teach skills and give initial inputs so that they can start again. I was astonished to see oxen and ox ploughs featuring in the budgets and expenditure for the programme. Then a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a picture.
(I know I included this picture only a couple of weeks ago but it's a worth a second look!)
A
Ankole cattle
Avocado
One of the most important fruits in Uganda. There is an avocado tree in the compound at work, which is full of fruit that are just ripening now. I have 3 avocados from the tree sitting in the kitchen ripening.
B
Boda Boda
The motorbike taxis are everywhere, particularly in the towns and cities but you also see them on the roads in the middle of nowhere. They often carry more than one passenger and I've seen whole families, Mum, Dad and 2 or 3 children on a boda. Ladies sit side saddle and look very elegant if slightly unsteady. I'm afraid I've never tried side saddle, I sit astride the boda and hang onto the back rail!!
Bananas
Uganda is, I think, the second highest consumer of plantains in the world. But a banana is not just a banana here there are lots of different varieties used for different purposes, in the same way as we have varieties of apples or potatoes. The matoke or savoury green bananas are sold in large bunches and make the mashed savoury banana cooked in banana leaves that is such a feature of lunch buffets here. Then there are beautiful small sweet bananas I had not seen before and the more familiar larger eating bananas.
C
Call to Prayer
A significant minority of the populations are Muslim and there are mosques in most of the towns and larger villages. I love hearing the call to prayer drifting across the valley at around 5.30 in the morning and also in the evening.
Climate Change
Travelling around the country you really notice climate change here. The dry seasons are longer and hotter and the wet season less predictable. The programmes to be delivered in the Sustainable Livelihoods area are starting to focus more on Resilience to Climate Change with training around water retention and irrigation methods. But changes are also needed to reduce the impact on the environment of activities such as charcoal burning and deforestation. Local people need help to find alternative ways to make a living.
D
Drums
A huge part of African culture, it sometimes feels like life is conducted to a drum beat. In the centre behind the house they have a traditional dance troupe, who practice on Saturday mornings and we hear the drum beat drifting down the hill.
Driving
Driving in Uganda and in much of Africa and other countries such as India, is just not like driving in Europe. Cars rarely keep to their own side of the road crossing to the other side to overtake or avoid potholes, often with little warning. Traffic comes straight out from a turning without even looking let alone giving way to traffic on the main road. Ugandan drivers are very impatient and will overtake on the inside or outside or both without a thought for traffic coming the other way. Glen somehow copes with it all, I will only drive on the quiet local roads to and from work!
E
English
English is the official language of Uganda, a fact for which I am very grateful. I have never had a problem talking to people as everyone speaks English, usually very well. Understanding the different accents on the telephone can be a challenge but everyone is used to me now and understands my English accent a bit better.
F
Farming
In a country where something like 80% of the population earn their living from farming, of which the majority are subsistence farmers, farming skills are incredibly important. Sadly many of the people we are working with are relatively recent returnees from the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps, where they stayed during the war in the north of Uganda. They only came back to their villages around 5 to 7 years ago and many of the skills normally passed from parent to child had been lost. Our partners are working with farmers groups to teach skills and give initial inputs so that they can start again. I was astonished to see oxen and ox ploughs featuring in the budgets and expenditure for the programme. Then a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a picture.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
May Day
The first of May is a public holiday in Uganda to celebrate international Labour Day. This year the holiday fell on a Friday, giving a 3 day weekend. A volunteer I arrived with 18 months ago, but who was only here for 9 months, has come back to Uganda for a holiday. There were also several other friends visiting Kampala for a long weekend.
The weekend started with a curry evening at our flat on Thursday evening while we planned our days out. Then on Friday morning we drove over to Acacia Mall. This is a new, very smart mall in an area of Kampala where a lot of the embassies are located. Working escalators, glass lifts, smart cafes and patisseries! It's where we go when we feel the need for a bit of luxury!
There is also a cinema at the mall so we were meeting up with 4 volunteers and ex volunteers to see a film. We decided on The Avengers and bought tickets for after lunch and 3D glasses. Not my first choice of film but it was actually a good escapist adventure for a bank holiday afternoon. We found somewhere for lunch and were a little apprehensive about whether the food would arrive in time but it did and was very good.
After lunch we all met up with someone else for a drink and long chat in The Bistro. We finished the evening sharing wood fired pizzas back in Muyenga.
A lovely day and a good rest from my placement, which is a little hectic at the moment.
The weekend started with a curry evening at our flat on Thursday evening while we planned our days out. Then on Friday morning we drove over to Acacia Mall. This is a new, very smart mall in an area of Kampala where a lot of the embassies are located. Working escalators, glass lifts, smart cafes and patisseries! It's where we go when we feel the need for a bit of luxury!
After lunch we all met up with someone else for a drink and long chat in The Bistro. We finished the evening sharing wood fired pizzas back in Muyenga.
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Integration
We are currently exploring how the partners on the different programmes can work with the same beneficiaries to provide a more complete package of assistance and avoid some unintended consequences. For example if a women is given a goat to provide milk for the family and increase income then there may be an unintended increase in domestic violence if the husband hasn't been involved in the planning. A family who have been helped to prove their ownership of a piece of land need to learn how to farm to provide food and an income from planting crops on the land.
So a large team spent the first part of the week in Soroti exploring the options with partner organisations based in the area. It also gave me the opportunity to follow up on work I did last time I was in Soroti at the end of January. Not surprisingly it rained heavily on Tuesday night. A member of staff at the partner tells me I'm a blessing, as it always rains when I visit!
On the way back to Mbale we passed several yoked oxen ploughing fields in teams of 2 or 4. Our rather bemused driver helpfully stopped so I could take a picture.
It's not so unusual in Uganda, although I have never seen so many teams in one stretch of countryside. But it is like taking a step back in time in the UK where now ploughing is all done by machinery.
We are also at the start of the mango season again and the roadside stalls between Mbale and Jinja were piled high.
One of the big boxes containing around 10 mangos costs between 75p and £1 at the moment dropping to 50p at the height of the season.
I spent the rest of the work working with partners to agree budgets for the next year. We are working with partners to bring direct costs up to 70% of the total. Still quite generous when I remember some of the grants in York where even 10% of indirect costs had to be defended.
Yesterday we went back to the Ba'hi temple in northern Kampala and had a short walk around the grounds. It is very peaceful and beautiful with fabulous views out over Kampala.
So a large team spent the first part of the week in Soroti exploring the options with partner organisations based in the area. It also gave me the opportunity to follow up on work I did last time I was in Soroti at the end of January. Not surprisingly it rained heavily on Tuesday night. A member of staff at the partner tells me I'm a blessing, as it always rains when I visit!
On the way back to Mbale we passed several yoked oxen ploughing fields in teams of 2 or 4. Our rather bemused driver helpfully stopped so I could take a picture.
It's not so unusual in Uganda, although I have never seen so many teams in one stretch of countryside. But it is like taking a step back in time in the UK where now ploughing is all done by machinery.
We are also at the start of the mango season again and the roadside stalls between Mbale and Jinja were piled high.
One of the big boxes containing around 10 mangos costs between 75p and £1 at the moment dropping to 50p at the height of the season.
I spent the rest of the work working with partners to agree budgets for the next year. We are working with partners to bring direct costs up to 70% of the total. Still quite generous when I remember some of the grants in York where even 10% of indirect costs had to be defended.
Yesterday we went back to the Ba'hi temple in northern Kampala and had a short walk around the grounds. It is very peaceful and beautiful with fabulous views out over Kampala.
Sunday, 19 April 2015
A Small Portion!
I spent last week in Lira and Gulu, travelling to Lira last Sunday and back to Kampala on Friday. There was quite a sizeable team travelling with 5 of us in the car including the driver.
As usual on these trips I ate a mixture of local food, mainly at lunchtime with the rest of the team, and more European hotel food. Generally in Uganda people tend to eat one large meal, either at lunchtime or in the evening and a lighter snack of chapati or fruit. The one main meal is enough and you really don't want a second meal in the evening.
A meal in a local food restaurant consists of a choice of meat or vegetable dish with a range of carbohydrates, usually referred to as 'food' to go with it. There are rarely menus as what is available changes on a daily basis. The waitress just lists today's menu, fresh fish, smoked fish, pasted beef, chicken, goat stew, boyo, beans etc. and you make your choice. Then you choose the 'food' from a range available, typically, matoke, rice, posho, cassava, chapati, potato (sweet potato) and Irish (plain boiled potatoes). It is usual to choose 2 or 3 of the carbohydrates.
After 18 months I'm quite used to eating in local restaurants and the food arrives very quickly. But the portions are huge. You get a large plateful of carbohydrates together with a large bowl with your choice of chicken etc. If you choose fresh fish it is not unusual to be served a whole fish including the head and tail in a bowl of 'soup', basically a stock of tomatoes and vegetables. It's impossible to finish the plateful.
A bowl of Boyo, a green leafy vegetable, a bit like spinach, mixed into a peanut sauce.
On Tuesday we were eating at a very good local restaurant in Lira before heading onto Gulu. I thought my colleague asked for a small portion so I did the same in the hope of getting a manageable plateful. A couple of minutes later the food arrived and my plate included a large dollop of posho, a mix of cornflour and water. My colleague had asked for 'a small posho' and I had the same!
On Thursday in Gulu I had decided on chicken when another colleague asked if the 'beef' came from a cow! The answer should be obvious but apparently not, in this case it was from 'some wild animal'. Not surprisingly my colleague also decided on the chicken!
When I'm away from Kampala I enjoy the opportunity to meet up with other volunteers around Uganda and we usually go out for a meal together. This week I was in both Lira and Gulu so I had 2 opportunities. On Monday night I had a fabulous meal at the flat of a volunteer from India and on Wednesday joined 5 other volunteers and staff at an Indian restaurant in Gulu.
I have a favourite stopping place on the road north about halfway to Gulu called the Kabalega Diner. It has good coffee and a reasonable menu of sandwiches and treats such as brownies.
As usual on these trips I ate a mixture of local food, mainly at lunchtime with the rest of the team, and more European hotel food. Generally in Uganda people tend to eat one large meal, either at lunchtime or in the evening and a lighter snack of chapati or fruit. The one main meal is enough and you really don't want a second meal in the evening.
A meal in a local food restaurant consists of a choice of meat or vegetable dish with a range of carbohydrates, usually referred to as 'food' to go with it. There are rarely menus as what is available changes on a daily basis. The waitress just lists today's menu, fresh fish, smoked fish, pasted beef, chicken, goat stew, boyo, beans etc. and you make your choice. Then you choose the 'food' from a range available, typically, matoke, rice, posho, cassava, chapati, potato (sweet potato) and Irish (plain boiled potatoes). It is usual to choose 2 or 3 of the carbohydrates.
After 18 months I'm quite used to eating in local restaurants and the food arrives very quickly. But the portions are huge. You get a large plateful of carbohydrates together with a large bowl with your choice of chicken etc. If you choose fresh fish it is not unusual to be served a whole fish including the head and tail in a bowl of 'soup', basically a stock of tomatoes and vegetables. It's impossible to finish the plateful.
On Tuesday we were eating at a very good local restaurant in Lira before heading onto Gulu. I thought my colleague asked for a small portion so I did the same in the hope of getting a manageable plateful. A couple of minutes later the food arrived and my plate included a large dollop of posho, a mix of cornflour and water. My colleague had asked for 'a small posho' and I had the same!
On Thursday in Gulu I had decided on chicken when another colleague asked if the 'beef' came from a cow! The answer should be obvious but apparently not, in this case it was from 'some wild animal'. Not surprisingly my colleague also decided on the chicken!
When I'm away from Kampala I enjoy the opportunity to meet up with other volunteers around Uganda and we usually go out for a meal together. This week I was in both Lira and Gulu so I had 2 opportunities. On Monday night I had a fabulous meal at the flat of a volunteer from India and on Wednesday joined 5 other volunteers and staff at an Indian restaurant in Gulu.
I have a favourite stopping place on the road north about halfway to Gulu called the Kabalega Diner. It has good coffee and a reasonable menu of sandwiches and treats such as brownies.
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Easter in Kampala
Easter brought a welcome 4 day break from work. We decided not to go away this time but to use the opportunity to holiday in Kampala. In York we have a 'Residents First' weekend, usually at the end of January, when residents are invited to visit the tourist attractions in their home city. We decided to apply the same principle to Kampala.
We did still have the same chores to do, washing, cleaning and shopping and we also invited the volunteers in Kampala over the Easter weekend to a get together in our flat on Monday evening. So our tourist activities were a little curtailed. We also had the background of a major security alert in Kampala at the moment. However, you can't spend your life in the flat just in case so we carried on but with caution.
We started with pizza on Thursday evening to celebrate the start of the Easter holiday. Then on Friday we had coffee on the terrace by the pool at the Golf Course hotel then went to the Uganda Museum.
The museum was an interesting insight into Ugandan history and culture. It had a very 1960's feel to it with rows of display cases full of exhibits. It was good to go after having spent some time in Uganda as we were able to fill in some gaps in our knowledge. There were areas covering the history of the area, including the development of the current day Ugandan borders and the geological development of the Rift valley. There was a display of traditional musical instruments. Then there was a science and technology room which was a strange mixture of information on the Bujagali hydroelectric dam, malaria and posters and photos of Ugandan teams at the Olympics.
On Saturday we finally found some chocolate Easter eggs! These have been surprisingly difficult to find in Kampala. We bought ourselves an Easter bunny to share.
On Saturday evening we went to the Biryani House restaurant on Acacia Avenue for an Indian meal. We enjoyed a very good chicken biryani, butter chicken and naan bread but the restaurant was nearly empty. Kampala was quiet over the weekend, probably a combination of people returning to their villages for the Easter break and the security alert, but I would expect more than 3 couples in a large city centre restaurant on Easter Saturday.
On Sunday we met up with one of our companions from the trip to Murchison Falls last Easter and had a very leisurely Sunday lunch in Cafe Roma. This has to be one of our favourite restaurants in Kampala and has the advantage of being within walking distance from the flat.
Monday was a busy day doing the final shopping, cooking and preparation for our evening get together. It was great to see everyone and hear how they had all spent Easter. Later the guitars came out and we all sang along.
Two years in Uganda and two very different but enjoyable Easter weekends. But we are also looking forward to returning to our traditional Easter at home including the village church services and a family lunch of roast lamb and lemon meringue pie.
Saturday, 4 April 2015
A Taxing Time
A few days ago I attended a 2 day course on Ugandan tax run by KPMG Uganda in one of the smart hotels in the centre of Kampala.
I have been struggling to find comprehensive and coherent advice on the tax system in Uganda since I arrived 18 months ago so the course was really useful.
I wasn't too surprised to find that a lot of the Ugandan tax system is based on the UK law and practice. But there are important differences. Much of what was said was very familiar, which made it much easier to spot and note the differences. There were even references to UK tax cases used to define terms used in Ugandan law but not defined here.
Generally the rates are much higher than in the UK. The main income tax rate is 30% instead of 20% and starts with earnings of just £100 pm. The top rate of 40% applies on earnings of more than £2,500 pm. There is no system of tax codes making tax for people with more than one job difficult to manage.
The rules are complicated and not well understood, with the result that often they are not followed properly. On top of that there is a large informal economy of small shops and market stalls that seem to fall outside the system. I do get the feeling that if tax compliance in Uganda was at the level it is in the UK then the level of services that could be funded would increase dramatically.
The Ugandan Revenue Authority do carry out audits and are trying to increase the tax take. If an organisation, commercial or charitable, is audited and found to have been calculating tax wrongly then the level of interest and penalties charged can be very high. Unpaid tax of $1,000 turned into a bill of $30,000 in one case mentioned.
If the art of taxation is to extract the maximum number of feathers from the goose with the minimum amount of hissing then I'm not convinced that the Ugandan authorities are taking the best approach. I would look to do a lot more education to enable people to calculate their tax correctly.
All in all a very interesting and useful 2 days. I will be using the information to produce several tax fact sheets on different aspects from basic PAYE and NSSF to more advanced VAT and Company tax so that these can be provided for the partner organisations. I also plan a series of training courses for partners in different locations or on different programmes and for staff members.
I have been struggling to find comprehensive and coherent advice on the tax system in Uganda since I arrived 18 months ago so the course was really useful.
I wasn't too surprised to find that a lot of the Ugandan tax system is based on the UK law and practice. But there are important differences. Much of what was said was very familiar, which made it much easier to spot and note the differences. There were even references to UK tax cases used to define terms used in Ugandan law but not defined here.
Generally the rates are much higher than in the UK. The main income tax rate is 30% instead of 20% and starts with earnings of just £100 pm. The top rate of 40% applies on earnings of more than £2,500 pm. There is no system of tax codes making tax for people with more than one job difficult to manage.
The rules are complicated and not well understood, with the result that often they are not followed properly. On top of that there is a large informal economy of small shops and market stalls that seem to fall outside the system. I do get the feeling that if tax compliance in Uganda was at the level it is in the UK then the level of services that could be funded would increase dramatically.
The Ugandan Revenue Authority do carry out audits and are trying to increase the tax take. If an organisation, commercial or charitable, is audited and found to have been calculating tax wrongly then the level of interest and penalties charged can be very high. Unpaid tax of $1,000 turned into a bill of $30,000 in one case mentioned.
If the art of taxation is to extract the maximum number of feathers from the goose with the minimum amount of hissing then I'm not convinced that the Ugandan authorities are taking the best approach. I would look to do a lot more education to enable people to calculate their tax correctly.
All in all a very interesting and useful 2 days. I will be using the information to produce several tax fact sheets on different aspects from basic PAYE and NSSF to more advanced VAT and Company tax so that these can be provided for the partner organisations. I also plan a series of training courses for partners in different locations or on different programmes and for staff members.
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