Travel
Uganda – Kamuli and Plan International
After the chimps we undertook the relatively long trek to Kamuli. One of the reasons we travelled to Uganda in the first place was to visit a village in Kamuli. The previous year, Merv, the other mad photographer on the trip had visited Kamuli and seeing the state of the water source for a village had raised (with some help) the money needed to drill a well for the Village. The drilling of the well and the management of the well was organised by Plan International, the childrens charity.
Plan set up a village committee to maintain and protect the well. The well itself is a simple manual pump. The clean water, easily available is in stark contrast to the grey dirty water previously available to the village. The committee was very well organised and everyone had a designated role in the maintenance of the system.
The trip is pretty much right across the country from Kibale to Jinja via Kampala. We stayed overnight in Jinja and met the Plan people the following morning. We travelled to Kamuli and onto to the village. I have to say, this was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. The difference something so basic made to peoples lives makes me realise how lucky we are in the west and how petty some of our complaints are.
As part of the trip, we visited the Plan offices and a number of their school projects. The commitment of the Plan people was very impressive as was their connection and empathy with the people they worked with. This is a charity I will certainly be supporting in the future.
Butende Parish Bore-hole committee
The day was a revelation both in terms of how ordinary people in Uganda live and how Plan makes a difference in their lives. I came away from Kamuli with a new perspective on the world and my own faily petty complaints and a determination to do something here to help.
Watch this space for details on what we plan to do in the Kamuli area
