::::I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda::::

- I wish God would send more people like you!

I left Arua today. I said good-bye to my staff working in my house and at the compund. It is never easy. The conversation below, however, turned out a bit more existential than I had expected when I got out of bed this morning.

My watchman; - I wish God would send more people like you!

Me; - You, know Angelo, God didn't send me. I came by myself. And I had to apply.

My watchman; - But you have been so good to me. For the money you have given me I could send my boy to school. Last night I prayed really really hard for you.

Me; - Well, I appriciate your efforts, but this praying thing doesn't do it for me.

My watchman; - You don't pray!!!!???

Me; - Well, I'm not against it, I just don't think it works on its own to pray. I think life takes more.

My watchman; Aha, so you're guided by your intellect?!

Me; (now smiling inside) – I doubt it...honestly, I doubt it. (I contemplate explaining him that I am mainly guided by emotions and strange impulses as in sex, drugs and rock&roll).

My watchman; - Then it must be something else. I will keep praying for you!

Me; - I appriciate that!

Tour De Arua

I took a friend of a friend to Arua last week, and he was put on the obligatory Tour De Arua;

1) Lunch at the Indian Restaurant (don't use the toilet before you have eaten your food, as you have to pass through the kitchen),

2) Buying vitenge in the market - where this tour came to an end - after short time Allan had to be gently supervised out of the market as he kept buying and buying like some woman with a free credit card in an air-contioned shopping mall (in spite, I had sensibly advised him first to have a look, think about it, then maybe return).

I have said it before, I'll repeat; the vitenge market in Arua is the best in Uganda - straight from Congo. - Vitenge, however, it seems is as addictive as all the other stuff you can get in Congo!

View the photos here.

Flying with Eagle Air to Arua Airstrip

A nice lady from Eagle Air called me this morning about 30 minutes after landing at Arua Airstrip to hear how I felt after the flight from Kampala.

Maybe I should have said something about the fact that the planes are relatively close to the trees and the rooftops when they go down to land at Arua Airstrip.

Or maybe I should have said something about how absolutely fascinating impossibly crazy it looked when Eagle Air staff did their best this morning to stuff the plane with passengers and a 1,5 x 1,5 meter pallet of books with a label saying 'Rumbek, Southern Sudan via Civicon (Koboko)'.

I didn't. I told her it was a pleasure. I actually really enjoy flying with Eagle Air. Uganda is one of the few places I have experienced to fly without paying for my ticket before, but days after, as I didn't have cash. I have left luggage at Arua Airstrip and deleted it from my mind, till the staff called me. The police at the airstrip is the best. They once looked after my car for three days, because I had to leave it there and fly to Kampala. Sometimes the police also double at the souvenir table and try to convince people that they should buy the kitenge shirts as the colors really match their eyes. I always meet people I know and get a quick talk. And I love the view of Arua scattered below in all colors.

Not to forget the fact that they allow you to buy duty-free in Entebbe airport in spite we fly domestic!. Uganda, man!

Isn't she lovely?!

A fantastic woman with a big smile and her sewing machine on Arua Market. 

WEST NILE

A shop front of a new supermarket in Arua. Business is hectic there these days. Add to that that the town on Thursday was full of wazungu looking like tourists...

An overdose Africa

Just had some relatively rough & intensive days with lots of driving on bad, bad roads. (If the CHOGM ever thinks about taking the Queen E the road less travelled as in up-country Uganda - I'd suggest they don't take the Kampala-Masindi Road untill someone makes it ready for CHOGM!).

In Murchison Falls the elephants and giraffes were out - beautiful morning sight. In West Nile I gave a lift to a woman with a child sick of malaria. Next, I gave a lift to an old woman, who had to go to TASO in Arua - due to 'the epedimic'.

In Arua I took my Danish passenger to the market for buying kitenge, on a photosafari down Adumi Street and ended up eating pork chops in Oasis Inn.

I unpacked and repacked my stuff, and this morning after putting my Danish visitor off at the airstrip, I drove to Koboko. Then to Yei in South Sudan.

A lot of Africa in little time, and even I have been feeling a little overwhelmed. If you find it difficult to sort out impressions and categorise them, Africa is no good. It is smacked straight in your face. However, I am feeling on the top at the moment, and admittedly, also high. I kind of like it this way.

I work for a Danish NGO which doesn't allow jerry cans...

Our MS Uganda administrator keeps texting us development workers SMSes which i.e. go like this one; 'Bukoto, Entebbe, Gayaza Rd., Gulu, Keyfuel, Kibuli, Masaka Centre, Mbarara will get some diesel 2day. Keep checking there...'

Ugandans know why. Uganda has had a shortage of fuel for weeks. It is said that the major cause of the current low supply of fuel is caused by technical constraints on the Kenya pipeline system, which is facing frequent shutdowns due to lack of power.

Wednesday morning I was in Gulu, spending most of my morning searching for diesel. I finally located a Delta Petrol station which obviously had fuel, and so had the rest of Gulu. A fight for being first in line had begun.

Fine. This is Africa. Those are the conditions. But I almost turned violet violent when I realised that people can walk straight up with a couple of drums and eight 20-liter jerry cans, and get them filled. Meaning that the drivers behind wheels don't have a chance (unless they carry jerry cans, too - which everone else except I did). But it also means that the majority of jerry can carriers most likely will walk off and sell the fuel for a convenient profit around the next corner.

I had only waited in the line for few minutes when a guy approached me with an offer which could have lowered my irritation of the hassling of pushing cars in front of each other. I did say no, though I have to admit that I felt tempted to ask for his telephone number - just in case. Incidents like this make me pick up on something which doesn't cling well with being a decent Danish development worker working for anti-corruption and good governance. I push my car persistently forward every possible inch, I use the space someone else was forced to make to get another truck out, and I make it to the pump where the woman fills my car. Call it adjustment to African standards.

And wish me luck - today I have to locate diesel in Arua...

Woman selling matoke, some tomatoes and a hen

...and then she was smiling very shyly when I asked if I could take her photo.

To me this is northern Uganda in one photo; a woman dressed in a mix of kufa ulay and vitenge, on the way to Arua market with green matoke and a kawera with tomatoes from her shamba, a hen and the purse for small change.

Poverty comes in many versions. Never ignore the dignity, pride and beauty - of what we call 'common people' in our policy papers.

Shopping for ripe avocado

Arua and Koboko are the kings of avocado. Obviously everyone around just knows when an avocado is ripe, or if it isn't ripe untill in 12 or 24 hours.

We got caught in one of these discussions today - the man postulated that the woman was selling an avocado which wouldn't make it ripe today, but tomorrow.

And what do we know?

For most of the wazungu tribe avocado is mainly known from the green section in the supermarket. To the wazungu people it is always a nice surprise when they realise that the stuff grows on trees in northern Uganda.

Emin Pasha Was Here!

Emin Pasha is not just a fashionable hotel in Kampala. He was a real person. Somewhere around 1876-1888 (I can't find the precise period) he made it through West Nile in Uganda.

More precisely, he stayed in Yivo. Yivo is a small trading centre between Arua and Koboko, if you drive by the 'backroad' over Katrini.

All what is left today is this monument (which truly does resemble an ant hill) - not to forget that he is also said to be the reason why the Terego klan of the Lughbara tribe in this area is muslim. Though, according to the Wikipedia it was never clear if he himself really was a converted muslim.

Read about this exciting personality here.