Just a couple of notes

Makerere University is one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in Africa, and I can see why, they have a five-legged cow. Not only is this thing one of those cool Ankole style cows, with horns so big they would make a Texas cattle rancher soil himself, but it has a fifth leg attached to its back. Nice.

This thing is so badass.

Wicked!

Now I'm no advocate of monotheism, organized religion or anything like that but I must say the Baha'is really have good thing going. The Baha'i faith is a religion that sprung out of Persia in the mid-19th century and has since garnered a reasonably large following world wide. There are only six Baha'i temples in the world (one for each inhabitable continent), including one in Uganda. I was quite impressed with their vision. Check it:

• They call for followers to abandon all forms of prejudice.
• Assure women of full equality with men. (apparently the only religion to do so!!)
• They acknowledge the relativity of religious truth and the need for the individual independent search for their own truth. (yes!Yes!YES!)
• They want to do away with the extremes of poverty and wealth and work toward universal education.
• They believe in educating the curious rather than forceful missionary work.
• Recognition that true religion works in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge. (Wow!)

A house of worship for a faith of a higher caliber.

If I was prone to believing in a supreme being and all that I think this would be my faith of choice, but I'm not so I will have to remain unaffiliated but appreciative.

-B.

HIV testing at Kikaaya Vocational school

This Wednesday a crew of nurses, one doctor, and a counselor arrived at Kikaaya Vocational with the intent to perform free HIV tests as well as give an informative educational seminar. They spoke in shy whispers as they introduced themselves. The murmurs from the students nearly drowned them out. A young man named Victor led the show. Starting with definitions, modes of transmitting, and what the test meant and what could be done after testing positive. Condoms were promoted but sadly not passed out. He had left them at the hospital. Oh well, I'll try to be able to pass out more at another time. He attempted to rally the students but he was also speaking quite rapidly and drawing triangles on the chalkboard that where meant to be symbols for...everything he was saying. He was obviously dedicated and educated but not clear or very organized. Okay, okay I am a little critical but I was watching the students' attention span run out before my eyes. What really mattered today was that this testing was free, there would be counseling offered and that was just awesome!

The testing operation in full swing.

Ms. Renee freshly tested and awaiting her results.

Fear shone in many students' eyes. Not only where they afraid of the results, they feared the needle. They were so certain of excruciating pain that indeed they got just that. I tried to explain that if they were tense and focused on the needle entering their vein it would hurt but if they relaxed and looked the other way, they'd barely feel it. This only worked for some. I mean some students were entirely stoic, they barely blinked. I saw some in near tears, and one looked near fainting. Poor kids. I think what shocked them the most was Brian and I getting tested and, as one teacher put it, "offering our arms like it was nothing at all." Well, it really is nothing but it's hard to explain that the pain is all in their heads. I think it helped some of them to gather the courage to take the test. After all we are teachers.
The nurses were set up at the motor vehicles theory classroom. I only wish it had been a clean, sterile environment but hey you work with what you have. Thankfully, the syringes were clean and sterile, freshly opened for each person. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Leonard, one of the student leaders, offers up his arm for testing.

Renee attempts to comfort one of the students with a fear of needles.

Afterwards, the nurses set up little stations to give results and counsel anyone with questions. those who may have tested positive are entitled to free HIV drugs at their hospital. All they have to pay is transportation. I am thinking of offering those who cannot afford those costs, the fare.
Well, about 70 students and teachers took the test,about 1/3 of the students at the vocational school. The group plans on returning in the near future to test the secondary students and hopefully the students who were either away on industrial training or just too afraid the first time. Plus a lot can happen during the window period of HIV exposure.

Result slips indicating that we are HIV free.

Well, that's about the day, it was a success and I hope more kids will be willing to test and take more precautionary measures in the future.

Brian Muldoon R.I.P.

Friends and Family, we regret to inform you that our beloved Brian has passed from this world. On April 30th, while on safari in western Uganda, he we trampled to death by a stampeding elephant, as his terrified mother and girlfriend looked on, helpless to intercede. Apparently, the animal became enraged when the deceased approached the beast with the intent to slap it, as part of his campaign to slap wild animals.

The only known picture of the horrible incident. You can really see the terror in the young man's eyes.

We at Brian and Renee's Adventure in Uganda wish to express our most sincere sympathies to the departed's loved ones and we hope for a you a swift healing process. We are sorry for your loss.

Brian Michael Muldoon

1982-2008

No, not really.

Actually my mother has been visiting us here for the past week and we have hardly stopped moving since she arrived. After collecting here at the airport on Monday we gave her a tour of the school and the village and then briefly showed her around parts of Kampala with Kenneth. Her true African odyssey began on Tuesday when we boarded a bus head for Queen Elizabeth National Park, or at least its general vicinity. The park is the second largest in Uganda and boasts a large array of wild animal commonly associated with Africa.
Mom on safari in Queen Elizabeth.

The trip out to the park was an adventure unto itself. Buses in this country do not adhere to any set schedule, they just leave when every seat is filled. This caused us to spend a good three hours sitting on the bus just waiting for it to fill up, not to mention the extra hour we lost when the bus in front of ours broke down as it was leaving the bus park. It was quite amusing watching something like 60 people slowly pushing a bus down a pot-holed and muddy dirt road. So, fours later we were on the road headed west. It was a long cramped bus ride out toward the park but we did get a very nice view of the country side. It was beautiful watching the landscape change from the forested hills and swamps of the central region to the mountainous savanna lands of the west. Still it was a long trip. However, the journey really began to pay dividends once we transferred from a bus to a private taxi in one of the towns surrounding park. The sun had set by then and our driver was forced to stop the car because a heard of five or six elephants were blocking the road. He eventually just had to swerve around two of them. It was the kind of experience we were looking for. Later down the road we also had to stop the car and turn off the light in order to allow a pair of hippos to cross the road. Both incidents really gave us a sense of place and made our ten plus hour trip out to the park worth it.

The next morning we took a game drive, where a guide drives you around parts of the park in hopes of spotting some of the exotic animals that inhabit the area. This was another quite incredible experience. We saw large herds of Ugandan kob, water-bucks, warthogs and African Buffalo, as well as a rock python, crested crane, more hippos and a large variety of beautiful birds. Unfortunately no big cats though, as the park has a decent sized lion population. Still, it was great seeing one of those PBS nature programs brought to life in front of us. The landscape was quite remarkable as well, being comprised of vast grassy plains and large crater lakes, some of which are used to mine salt for the country.

A view of one of the plains in the park.

A warthog grazing near our room at the lodge.

A male Ugandan kob staking out his territory.

Some African Buffaloes trekking off to the lake.

Later on the same day we took a boat trip down the Kazinga Channel that connects lakes Edward and George along the boarder with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This trip boasted another strong variety of wildlife including large numbers of hippopotamus and African Buffaloes, along with a few crocodiles and many many more interesting birds. Again, it was incredible to see these creatures in the wild and to watch them interact with each other.

A pair of hippos keeping cool in the channel.

More buffaloes giving you their best come hither stare.

Some terns cooling themselves off and some storks sunning themselves.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the extremely comfortable lodge we were staying at (hooray for hot showers and Al Jazeera on TV!) and the next morning we engaged in another arduous and significantly bumpier bus ride back to Kampala. But man was it worth it. We spent the next couple of days showing her some cultural sights in the city and returned to Kikaaya for fresh cloths and to visit with some of the staff there.

Mom and Charles one of the grounds keepers at the school. They are around the same age so he liked talking with her.

Our next engagement was a visit to Kenneth's family. His mother cooked an outstanding meal as usual and number of his friends and relatives stopped by to welcome my mother to Uganda. Kenneth's mother was very happy to meet her American sister and showed her with the usual warm Ugandan hospitality. It is always such an uplifting experience to go see his family. W e talked, ate and exchanged gifts from our respected countries (Kenneth really wanted some beef jerky and mom received a hand made mat and bowl from Agnes). We then headed off to Jinja for the night with Kenneth in tow. We took a sunset cruise on Lake Victoria and showed mom the source of the Nile. It was another solid but busy day in Uganda. Mom, Kenneth and Renee at the Source of the Nile.

Just for the hell of it a monkey from the botanical gardens at Entebbe.

We took our time the next morning getting back to the school so mom could prepare for her flight the next morning. We said our good buys to Kenneth and some of the staff at school and spent the night in Entebbe. She left for London early the next morning. I was really impressed that she actually came out to visit us in Africa. I remember two years ago when I first told her I was planning to go to Ghana, she was scared and pleaded with me to go to Prague instead. Yet here she was making her own trip out to Africa and discovering its beauty for herself. So who is coming out to see us next?

-- B.