Uganda
Simply put, I love Uganda and its people, and I want to make life better for the “least of my brethren” here. More specifically, since my three month stint here in 2017, I’ve wanted to return to dedicate a full year to learning the local language (Luganda) of central Uganda, peregrinating with them on their annual pilgrimage (Martyr’s Day Pilgrimage to Namogongo, June 3rd), and, most importantly, help the poorest children in the Luweero District go to school and eat a daily healthy meal. When I graduated in 2019, I had no clue that Hecka Walk, Covid, and a bum #30 molar would prevent me from touching down for another six years beyond the initial two.
But touch down I have, at long last! And, as it turns out, eight years is a long time. The kids I once put on my shoulders are now telling me their thoughts on Keynesian Economics, and the Secondary students I once helped work through the Quadratic Formula are now telling me their Baby Class daughter can now count to Ten in English. It’s a trip. But what about this catches the eye of someone who doesn’t personally know these friends of mine or doesn’t have a specific interest in “My, how they’ve grown” tales?
My only answer to that is to serve up a platter to you all and see what you find tasty and what needs not come out again. There’s an amalgam of fascinating things about who Ugandans are as a people, their own “It goes without saying” sensibilities, how they envision the Good Life generally, their rites of passage (which, for an American, are beautifully Bizarre), etc., so I’m sure that if I write about what I’m seeing on the weekly, then at least some of it will be interesting, even to someone who isn’t naturally attracted to African culture.