-Visit Bavu Buka
-Visit Craft Market
-Travel to Gulu
Uganda has not been what I’ve expected. I’ve always been saddened by the stories of the Invisible Children and the challenges of poverty. What I’ve discovered is the while those stories are true, the way Ugandan’s face those challenges is humbling and inspiring. One example of this is the Bavu Buka All-Stars. In the morning we left the Backpacker’s and headed into a pretty rough part of Kampala. We stopped the bus in front of a hut-like home structure with young children looking up at us with huge white eyes sitting in dirt and trash. I’d compare Kampala to Mexico City in that there are examples of poverty along side development. This was a place of poverty, but also hope. We followed a dirty path into a home that was filled with beautiful art and a bunch of young boys and girls who had a story to share. These were artists, hip-hop performers, and young entrepreneurs. The Bavu Buka All-Stars exists to provide a space for students to get out of the ghetto and receive mentorship to develop their skills. The kids were eager to share their skills with us. I took video of their songs. I hope I am able to share. We asked them what they thought of American rap. They shared that they think American rap is dead. They said that American rap has lost its power because it doesn’t speak about the real needs of the people. They said that it doesn’t have a positive impact and that is why it is dead. I love how they are using their talents to encourage kids to make good choices and to speak honestly about important social issues. I asked them to let me record them giving a shout out to H20 (Winston Johnson) for his help with our Invisible Children benefit concerts. I shared one of his songs with them. They loved it. I think they might have a web site. Check it out.
From there, we left for Gulu. It was a 6 hour drive. The country is so beautiful. We crossed over the Nile River….the Nile River. The rapids are pretty wild. Later in this trip we are going to do a rafting excursion. On the ride up we played Catch Phrase and had a good time getting to know each other. It was a much less bumpy rode than I had expected. Today I learned that this is a result of the attention that has been given to Northern Uganda from the international community. When the conditions in Northern Uganda were exposed through films like the Invisible Children Rough Cut and War Dance; international observers were frustrated by the 8 to 10 hour bumpy ride to Gulu so they asked the government to make improvements. The sun goes down here around 7:30. We arrived in Gulu around 8pm. We are staying at a hotel called Katarine’s. I think it is a very nice place. I’m rooming with a guy named Matt Michelin. He is from Illinois, an English teacher, and it is his second year in the teacher exchange. He is also one of the guys that lost his luggage. We went out to eat at the Hotel Pearl Afrique. I asked for goat meat, but got chicken. It’s just good to be here. We met James, the director of Schools for Schools. We went back to the hotel and crashed. I’ll try to post a picture. Blessings.
