The road to Bwanda

After a quick breakfast at Ulrika, we began our journey to St. Theresa secondary school in Bwanda in earnest.  Sister Imelda wove her way through the crazy traffic outside Kampala like a pro. The mishmash of cars, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles and buses all traveling on the narrow roadway was amazing. The roadside scenes were  equally intriguing as we watched people carrying everything from large bowls of bananas to bags of cassava root on their heads. There were also many interesting loads being transported by bicycle including clusters of jerry cans, lumber and even some metal rods which were at least 10 feet long. Of course bunches of the large green plantains known as matoke were prominent in the produce markets.  And children who appeared to be as young as 7 or 8 were walking along with an entire stalk on their small heads. We also saw craftsmen applying the finishing touches to large metal gates and sanding the four post wooden beds which were displayed in the open.
We took a short cut to avoid some of the commuter trafffic around Kampala and found ourselves nearly at a standstill as the cars crawled along slowly even on the smaller road. Unfortunately,  the driver behind us was distracted and we were all jolted forward when he rearended our vehicle. The other driver looked embarrassed and ashamed when he saw Sister Imelda hop out of the driver's seat.  His nearly six foot  frame shrunk in respect to her light blue habit. Luckily,  our bumper was higher and there was no damage to our car. His dented license plate will be his reminder to leave a little more room next time.
We made a small detour to visit a project the Sisters have been developing just outside Kampala. It is meant to be a hospital for women and children.  The need for medical care and health education is immense, especially in the rural areas and the urban slums. The building is two stories with a surgery suite, laboratory and classrooms included in the design.  Of course, as is so often the case,  the cost of construction has exceeded the budget and the project is incomplete with work a standstill until more funding can be procured.
We continued our southward journey with one more quick stop at the equator. There we took a photo standing on each side of the waistband of the planet and watched a demonstration of the behavior of water flow above, below and on the equator itself. Although I was aware of the phenomenon, the science geek in me was impressed to observe the water spiral in opposite directions just feet apart. The effect being made more obvious by the white flower spinning in the middle of the yellow basins on either side but slipping straight down the drain on the equator itself.
As we traveled further from the city, the roadside goods for sale transitioned to mainly fruits and vegetables with the occasional group of stands selling handcrafted drums, large mortar musekuzo and pestle kinu for mashing ground nuts (peanuts), a variety of dried gourds called nsaasi, used for drinking local homemade beer and large loofah type sponges that grow on a vine like a large cucumber. These are called kyangwe.  When the fruit dries it is harvested and the skin is peeled to reveal the fibrous membrane inside.
Things began to look a little more familiar as we made the turn onto the road to the school and convent itself. Once at the school gate there was a little flurry of activity as the girls were ending their term and heading home for the break. Trunks and foam mattress pads were being creatively and hopefully securely, attached to the backs of motorcycles for their journey.
Sister Noelina and Sister Juliet had planned a luncheon for us and each of the 24 girls who have received scholarships was there to greet us. They performed a touching welcome song and dance for us then sat silently at their desks as we all enjoyed our lunch. For Taylor and I it was our first real Ugandan meal. All of the food except the rice was grown at the convent and freshly prepared. After the meal, I was anxious to break the ice with the girls and hoped to coax them out of their shyness and get to know them a bit in our brief time together.  What better ice breaker than a dance party? Stay tuned!