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Original Volunteers - Uganda

Page history last edited by Laura 9 years, 10 months ago

 

 

Partner institution: Uganda Community Project (Original Volunteers)

Website: http://www.originalvolunteers.co.uk/destinations/africa/uganda.html

 

Contributors (2014):

Laura Wilson

Hannah Fish

 

Instructions:

Contributors: for details on what is required in each section, please look at the Guidance Notes

Contents: 

Placement Information

Accomodation

Transport

Social life

Things to do, things not to do

Useful Contacts

Before you go

Placement Information

The school day is 8am-5pm however you do not have to do these set hours. The school is split into Nursery and Primary classes. The Nursery classes are babies, top and middle and the primary classes are p1 to p6. The biggest class in the school  has around 64 children in so teachers in the school always love volunteers help. Whilst we worked at the school the youngest child was 3 years old and the oldest was 17. Most of the children could speak really good english and we never felt that language was a barrier. The volunteers can choose which classes they want to work in and what lessons. 

All children in the school are entitled to free porridge on a morning break. Staff and volunteers help filling up the cups and handing them out to the children. This was a great way for volunteers to interact with the children. 

The children are taught English, maths, science, social skills and the nursery classes also have structured play. All classes also have free periods. These are used for teachers to do extra work or homework with children, however, these free periods are also a good chance for volunteers to teach extra non-curriculum lessons such as life skills or arts and crafts or do extra curriculum lessons. The setting has some equipment for arts and crafts, fancy dress or P.E. etc however if there is a particular lesson you would like to teach i would suggest you take the equipment just in case. 

 

Accommodation

The accommodation at the lodge was a lot better than what we expected. There are 21 rooms, and more were being built whilst we were there, which each have a shower and either a double bed are 2 sets of bunk beds. We went in March so it was not to busy meaning that the two of us did not have to share a room which was nice, however if you go in the summer time where it is busy be prepared to share a room with other volunteers. There are shared toilets dotted around the lodge (proper toilets!) which are kept clean by a member of staff at the lodge. The lodge provides bedding and towel so volunteers do not have to worry about bringing there own unless you want. Each bed also includes a malaria net so you do not have to take one. 

There are 4 set meal times a day: 

8am - Breakfast ( toast, banana, some kind of egg)

1pm- Lunch (spaghetti/rice/chips/potato and some kind of sauce/ stew as well as salad and fresh fruit)

4.30pm - Afternoon tea ( donuts, gnuts or chapati) 

7pm - Dinner (similar to lunch) 

We were worried that whilst we were away the food would be awful however it varied each day and most of the time was really nice. A lot of the time the meals do not include meat however they occasionally do have meat based meals but vegetarian options are also available. We worried that the difference in food would also make us ill however found that we were not ill throughout our trip. There is also a local man who some times comes to cook however this is optional and not part of the food you have paid for. You do not have to be part of this if you do not want to pay extra however this was only £1.50 extra and his rolex's are amazing so would definitely recommend paying. Volunteers are also asked to let the kitchen know if they are going to be away during a meal time so that food is not wasted. You do not have to let them know until the day but the staff really appreciate been told. 

Meals are served in the food banda where volunteers usually meet and complete tasks during the day and then on a night volunteers go to the fire banda. The fire banda has a fire, a bar for volunteers to buy drinks and phone credit from as well as a pool table. 

Transport

We flew to Entebbe airport from Heathrow direct with British Airways. We found that some people traveled from different air ports with different companies however these flight were usually not direct and were not much cheaper. I would also get your flights booked as soon as you can so you can get it as cheap as possible as we booked our in the June and traveled in the march and our flight cost £630 which was good considering it was British Airways and direct. The bonus of booking early is you can book a hotel for the night before flying if need too and travel to the airport can be arranged with plenty of time for changes. 

When you land in Entebbe you are met by someone from a member of staff connected to the lodge who then take you to the guest house in Kampala. Depending on your landing time you may have a night at the guest house, or time for a few hours sleep before heading to the bus station. The bus journey from Kampala to the guest house was the worst part of the trip however it is worth it when you get there. You can pay for someone to be on the bus with you or you can get it alone. We did pay for the escort however we didn't really need it as the driver on the bus tells you when to get off. 

The easiest way to travel around the local areas is walking or Budda's. Buddas are locals who make money from giving people lifts on their bikes. Thest can cost from 25p-£2 depending on how far you are travling. If your going on a long journey i would suggest seeing how many people want to go with you and hiring a private hire car or asking James the lodge driver to take you which cost but the more of you that go, the cheaper it will be. 

 

 

 

Social life

In your spare time while on placement there are many trips and opportunities you can take part in. Local walks around the village are good to see the scenery into the high hills. A 3 day safari is worth going on (£280) and gives you an unforgettable experience. This consists of many drives into the national park lands to see many animals on top of a jeep, camping on night 1 , shared accommodation on day 2 , a boat trip , the equator visit , meals are included.  This takes place at Queen Elizabeth National Park.

During our stay we went on two lake trips. Lake Bunyonyi is approximately 2 hours away; This Lake has beautiful scenery and provides various accommodations for you to stay overnight.  Activities such as canoeing, swimming in the lake and bike rides can be taken place while here.  

Lake Nyabihoko also provides beautiful scenery and is approximately 1 hour away from the lodge.  A Small island that is reached by boat is where you stay. Day trips are ideal but also provide accommodation to stay overnight. 

During our time in Uganda we also visited the African country Rwanda. This could become quite pricey due to another visa, accommodation for your stay and transport. (Although with a lot of people this is split) We visited the Genocide Museum and the memorial church which was very interesting.

Many trips are available that we didn't attend. For example; Gorilla trekking, chimp trekking, Murchison falls, other national parks for safari. 

Whilst you are at the lodge you are constantly getting to meet new people as volunteers come and go. Whilst we were there, there was about 15 volunteers however this number increases depending on what time of year you travel as during the summer there can be around 40 volunteers at a time. There is a local town near by which is a 10 minute budda ride away and a city with a Barclay's bank, restaurants and markets 1 hour and a half away by car. The lodge has a driver who you can hire to take you, find a private hire car or hitch a lift. Private Hire of the lodge driver would be the safest idea however hitching is a lot cheaper so would depend on how many of you were traveling together. 

Friday night is BABS! The lodge has a mini disco event on a Friday night where staff and volunteers all have a few Didrikson with music and dancing. This is a great night and its at the lodge so you don't have to worry about travel and you can sneak off to bed when you want! Drinks and alcohol at the lodge are cheap, it works out about 75p for a beer and 25p for a soda which is great but if drinking alcohol be careful as the percentage of the alcohol there is a lot higher! 

Things to do, things not to do

Do not show your knees when in the local towns and community. This is a cultural thing and offends local residents if your knees are on show.

The ATM bank machines can become temperamental and sometimes accepts your cards and sometimes doesn't.  Taking this into consideration it is advised to take cash. 

Always tell some one at the lodge where you are going, who with and what time you think you will be back for safety. We would also suggest taking the Volunteers coordinators numers as well as Dennis and Ann's who both own the project in case of emergency's or to say if you are going to be late back from somewhere. We did not encounter any trouble while we were away and felt safe but it is better to have them just in case.  

 

 

 

Useful Contatacts

Original Volunteers

Original Volunteers Calvert Street

St. Crispin Road

Norwich

NR3 1YE

England

United Kingdom

Telephone: 01603 859640 

 

Uganda Lodge Co-coordinator: Ann McCarthy

Mobile: 00256701805253

Email:  ann@ugandalodge.com

 

 

 

Before you go

Before going to Uganda, many vaccinations need getting.Rabies, yellow fever, typhoid, ACWY are the most important but checking with the GP before you go is vitally important.  A course of Malaria tablets need purchasing before going to take while you’re out there.

Visa can be got upon arrival at Entebbe Airport (£30 or $50). 

 

PACKING! Before we left we received at list of things to take with us from Original Volunteers however felt like the majority of these items were not needed. We worried about washing facilities so took far too many clothes! We would suggest that you take enough clothes for 7 days as you can  wash things or you can pay a member off staff to wash you clothes which worked out at about 50p a time. 

It said on the list that we needed water purifier which we did not use once. The lodge sells cheap bottles water so this was not needed. It also said we needed a sleeping bag which we never however Ann informed us of this before we went. The Lodge has sleeping bags which can be lent for camping trips and on the safari but of course if you would much rather take your own then this is fine but one more thing to cram in you suitcase. 

BUG SPRAY AND SUN CREAM!! Defiantly take both of these items. We discovered the hard way that bites can be extremely itchy if you get bitten however spraying your self with bug spray a couple of times a day helped so much! Id also suggest you take an after bite cream for when you do get bitten. 100% take sun cream, even if you are dark skinned and "don't burn" you will! Especially if you are taking doxicyline malaria tablets as they make you sensitive to the sun which we also discovered the harder way. 

We also packed loads of dry shampoo and baby wipes which were hardly needed as mentioned previously each room has a shower so this accessible when ever you need however would recommend taking one of each for whilst on safari and if the electric goes you can be left with no hot water however the longest we went was 48 hours because there was a problem with something at the lodge rather than there been no electric locally. One think i regret not taking enough of was jumpers, though it is really hot it can get a bit nippy if there is a storm and on a night.

 

MONEY! Before i left we were told that £150 would be enough money for trips and drinks for the month. We would definitely recommend that you take as much as you have available. You can live off £150 however if you were like us and wanted to go on as many trips as possible you would need more but this depends on what sort of trips you are wanting to go on as well as what other people at the lodge want to do. If a big group of you want to go somewhere the trip will be a lot cheaper however if only a couple of you go, this is when things get expensive. The currency there is Uganda pounds and you can not buy these untill you are in Uganda. When you arrive the person who picks you up can take you to exchange money. It works at that £1 in England is £4000 in Uganda, its easy to get your head round after a while. 

 

PHONE! We both took bricks with us and bought Uganda sim cards while we were out there. I spent about £20 in English money on credit for the whole month. However, we both used internet on our phone to contact home rather than texting. You can buy internet bundles with your credit for you phone which made it so much easier as you knew it was not costing people at home. Though we both took bricks taking a good phone would be fine as you have electric the majority of the time so you can charge them. If you have an IPhone there is some one at the lodge that can cut your sim card for you too for a small cost which i think was around £1. The only worry about taking a good phone is damaging or loosing them! 

 

 

 

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