First month in Kasese!

Well, it's been an amazing first month here. So many new experiences and such a change in life from London that it's hard to know where to start. My first impressions have been fantastic, the people here are very friendly and the place has a great vibe to it - I can see it as my home for the next few months and I'm looking forward to it with full enthusiam!

Students hanging out after the College Photo

The organisation I'm at is a small local not-for-profit organisation which only exists in Kasese. It's called the Liberty Development Foundation(LIDEFO) and they have a number of initiatives from a vocational college for post-secondary students, to beekeeping with farmers in the rural villages. It's great having such a wide range of things to get involved in and I'm learning alot already. The people there are so helpful and welcoming - including teaching me some of the local language (Lhukonzo) which gets amazingly warm reactions when you apply it in public with the locals. You can find out more about the organisation at www.lidefo.org

I live in a 3 bedroom house on a quiet dirt street not to far from the centre of town. I'm the only volunteer there at the moment, but with a bit of luck we might get another along the way somewhere. So, I have the house to myself currently which feels a bit big and empty...although, there's nothing like turning up the stereo and belting out some Bruce Springsteen to start the weekend. The house is great, but I have to admit to finding it harder when the power is out (which is a few times a week!). For a while we had no water supply either which also made things a bit tough, but you get past these things and realise that alot of homes here have neither power nor water at all.

A Malibu Stork

I guess it's hard to describe the every day things which are so different here than back home. I've seen a few times some things which just make you smile - like a guy transporting a 3 seater couch on a bicycle, which doesn't attract any attention at all. Or the huge Malibu Storks which roam the streets and rubbish tips - they're about waist height and must be the world's most horrible looking bird. There's also the workers at the local cassava milling plants who emerge completely covered head to toe in white cassava flour, looking pretty classic.



It's taken a while to settle in, but I'll soon be starting up some fundraising which we will put towards getting some more computers for the College. They currently have 5 computers for the existing 120 students and a handful of typewriters. So keep an eye out for that one with the knowledge that it goes directly into getting the equipment and not someone's flights!





On the walk to the college

Well, I'll post some more stories soon and let you know more about what it's like here. It's definitely going to be an interesting time with lots of learning experiences and fun times. Thanks for following my blog and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy being here.

Cheers,
Cameron