Teaching
Global Issues
Finalish
Itinerary – Subject to the unknown
Day
1: Saturday, July 11
First group gathering at 1:00 for lunch.
Day
2: Sunday, July 12
After
breakfast we will spend the morning getting oriented to Uganda and the trip,
and establishing goals and expectations. In the afternoon we will visit the
Kasubi Tombs, the burial place of the recent Baganda Kabakas (kings). The
guides give a wonderful overview of the political history of Uganda before and
after colonialism. The evening will be spent at a performance of the Ndere
Dancers, a cultural dance troupe that performs dances and songs from various
Ugandan tribes.
Logistics: Women - please wear skirts if you have one
for the trip to the Kasubi Tombs. If you
don't have one, they will loan a wrap to you.
Day
3: Monday, July 13
We will be joined by Collins
from the BeadforLife staff for home visits in Namuwongo. This is a neighborhood of Kampala where many
of the people displaced by the war in northern Uganda now live. The home visits are a powerful
experience, and are a dramatic precursor to the visit to the BeadforLife
village, where you will see the incredible benefits of income, home ownership
and a small piece of land for growing food.
In
the afternoon, learn about HIV in Africa from people who are living with
it. We will spend time with a panel of
outreach workers who are HIV+. Follow
the panel with a tour of the Infectious Disease Institute, the leading research
and treatment center in East Africa.
Day
4: Tuesday, July 14
We will begin this day at a
BeadforLife bead sale. It is an
excellent opportunity to spend time interacting with the women. The morning always starts out with singing
and dancing, an experience that you will never forget. We will then get an overview of the holistic
BeadforLife model and finish the morning by helping with the sale.
After
lunch and a rest, we will have our first working session, from 4-6.
Day
5: Wednesday, July 15
After
breakfast we will head to "Friendship Village." The village is about ½ hour outside of
Kampala. There are now over 100 homes
that have been built by BeadforLife graduates.
It is striking to experience the difference that is made in people's
lives when they have the opportunity to own their own homes and have some land
for producing food. There is a saying in
Uganda: “You are never truly poor if you
own your own house.”
In
the afternoon we will visit an orphanage near the village. There are nearly 2.5 million orphans in
Uganda, a country with a population of just over 30 million. One million of those are orphaned because of
AIDS. Not only does this affect the
lives and prospects of the orphans, but it has an impact on the lives of the
family members who take them into their homes.
Having more kids makes it difficult to move out of poverty, and even if
a family in Africa chooses to have fewer kids, they often end up caring for the
orphaned children of extended family members.
There is also stigma around AIDS and the extra costs of medical care if
the child is HIV+.
Day
6: Thursday, July 16
Soak in the countryside as we travel north about 5 hours to
Purongo, where we will be doing our homestays.
This is an area that was heavily impacted by the LRA rebels, and
Purongo, itself, was an IDP camp until recently. People are now returning to their homes and
farms. After our arrival we will receive
an orientation by the Green Dwellings staff, and then head to the schools where
you will spend the next day. You will
spend this night in a home-stay.
Logistics: We don't
want to bring more than we need as we head north. Anything you don't need can be stored, so
please re-pack into a small bag and only bring the essentials. Keep in mind that we will be going on safari,
so bring your camera, binoculars and swimsuit.
Day
07: Friday, July 17
You
will spend this day integrated into the school community teaching, learning and
playing with the children.
This
night is also a home-stay.
Day
08: Saturday, July 18
We
will spend this day learning about the Green Dwellings project and the work
they are doing to help their community.
We may even get to learn how to build a fuel-efficient stove!
In
the evening we will be part of a small community gathering with the head
teachers, the home-stay hosts and the local officials. We will be providing a "goat
roast," which is a traditional celebration meal.
We
will spend this night together in Purongo so that we can get an early start into
the park on Sunday.
Day
09: Sunday, July 19
After breakfast we will drive
into Murchison Falls National Park through the Wankwar Gate. While not the main game viewing area, this
drive will offer up enough wildlife to whet your appetite for more. We will check into our lodge, refresh
ourselves, eat lunch and head out for an afternoon game drive to see elephants,
buffalo, giraffe, antelopes, amazing birds and possibly even lions or a leopard.
Day
10: Monday, July 20
After
an early breakfast (6:30am), we will head out for another game drive (we will
leave at 7am). After lunch back at the
lodge, we will follow in the wake of the explorers as we take the boat launch
to the base of Murchison Falls. During this 2 - 3 hour ride, we will pass by
hundreds of hippos and crocodiles in addition to the other wildlife you will
see along the way. If you have not yet
gotten hooked on birdwatching, this boat ride could do it to you!
Logistics: Please bring your packed bags to the lobby
before breakfast. We will have them
stored for the morning, and load them into the van before the launch trip in
the afternoon.
Day
11: Tuesday, July 21
We
will take things a little slower this morning after the previous two early
starts. After breakfast we will have a
working session on the deck of the Nile Safari Lodge overlooking the river.
We
will then bring box lunches to the Top of the Falls, where the mighty Nile
River gets squeezed through a gap 7 meters wide and drops 40 meters into the
Albertine Rift Valley. You will be
mesmerized by this incredible display of natural power that gives Murchison
Falls National Park its name.
After the Top of the Falls we will head to a sustainably
designed ecotourism site developed by the Jane Goodall Institute in the
Kaniyo-Pabidi forest. This is a section
of Budongo Forest, which has the largest remaining stand of old-growth mahogany
trees left in East Africa and the largest number of chimpanzees to be found in
any forest in Uganda. We will spend the afternoon in the forest on a quest for
the chimps. You never know if you will
find them, but they add a nice highlight to a great hike in the forest!
Day
12: Wednesday, July 22
After the drive back to Kampala, we will check into
our hotel and take the afternoon off. At
dinner, we will be joined by Bill Farmer, Chairman of the Uganda Carbon Bureau,
to help us sort out the confusing world of carbon markets, carbon credits, and
all those other things that aren't as simple as they sound at first.
Day
13: Thursday, July 23
We will visit a local craft market to provide an
opportunity to purchase souvenirs to bring to loved ones back home. In the afternoon we will wrap-up the trip and
end the day with a closing dinner.
Day
14: Friday, July 24
Bid
a tearful goodbye to your new friends and traveling companions.