Colour of Uganda From My Recent Visit

I just returned from Uganda with two members of our team.

It was a trip of a life time!

I had a fantastic experience  in Uganda!




















I was able to meet and interact with a few local Ugandans.

I tried  and enjoyed the local food.


I also loved the vibrant and colourful plants and flowers.














As we visited Uganda during its dry
season, we had blue and sunny sky everyday!

The biggest regret I had was not having the opportunity to visit an African safari.

I do hope that I would return to the African continent in the future and go on a safari!



R.T.
Pictures of Uganda flowers
from a recent visit

A Review of Two Friends Resort in Jinja, Uganda

After spending almost a week in Kampala, we
travelled to Jinja, another town closer to the school where we would volunteer for the following week.

We checked into the 2 Friends Resort in this town.









We arrived late in the evening and had dinner in the restaurant attached to the resort.
The restaurant was busy therefore the service was slow that evening.

Located in the heart of Jinja and just a short walk from the Nile, this charming hotel has a tranquil and serene atmosphere 

There were five of us. Val and Laura stayed in one room while I stayed with Rose and Elaine in another. This was supposed to be a family setup.

I found it a little too crowded for the three of us. 











I really enjoyed the nice patio with reclining chairs outside our room.

In fact, there was this nice area outside every room at the resort.  















The complimentary morning breakfast buffet was elegantly set up in the spacious open style dining room. 

There was a great selection of fresh fruits, dairy, hot and cold food from which to choose.




















The area all of us enjoyed tremendously was the outdoor sitting area shaded by huge umbrellas.

This was the place where we spent most of our time relaxing, enjoying a refreshing cold drink and a good read.
















We could also go online and checked our emails.

This area was beautifully decorated with sculptures and  art pieces done by local artists and craftsmen.















Not having opportunities for exercises on this trip, I took advantage of the nice swimming pool at the resort.

The pool area was adorned with works by local sculptor and lined with high bamboo trees and shrubs.

The Two Friends Resort was a beautiful and more upscale guest house than the others.















We enjoyed our stay there totally!

Friendly service at the 2 Friends' Resort, Uganda

With friendly service and warm ambiance,
this is a place where I would not hesitate to come back and stay.

I was glad that we stayed there for three nights!

We were sad when it was time for us to leave this nice place.


R.T.
2 Friends Resort
Jinja, Uganda
















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Review of Kaliro Country Resort, Kaliro, Uganda

 Kaliro Country Resort, Uganda, Africa

We spent our second week in Kaliro so that we could be closer to the school where we would be volunteering for the week.

Spacious ground at the Kaliro Country Resort

In 2014, the Uganda national census put the population of Kaliro at 16,796.

There are a number of points of interest in Kaliro. The two places that interested me most were the Kaliro Central Market where we did some shopping for essential items. I was also interested in the National Teachers' College Kaliro, one of five government teacher training institutions for secondary school teachers. However, we didn't have an opportunity to visit.

  In Kaliro, we stayed at the Kaliro Country Resort. Kaliro Country Resort has spacious ground.

Rose & I stayed in this 1 bedroom cottage in Kaliro, Uganda

Our group occupied the three cottages for the whole week.

We enjoyed the spacious living room 

Each cottage has one bedroom, living room and a kitchenette.

The one bedroom has a king size bed, and a single bed.

However, only the king size bed had a mosquito net, not the single bed. So my roommate and I had to sleep in the same bed.

Unfortunately, the mosquito net was not big enough to cover the entire bed so we tried to make sure it

 was inside the bed. 

It took me a little while to fall asleep which was not easy as there was no air conditioning nor a fan in the room.

The complimentary breakfast was simple but decent. Everyone was served the same food – omelet and pancake. I have come to love Uganda tea served with hot milk, our first  morning there, I had the tea with marsala and cinnamon; my first time drinking tea with marsala. Delicious and interesting!

R.T.
Kaliro Country Resort
Near Jinja, Uganda
Africa


R.T.

Review of Our Accommodation in Cardinal Nsubuga, Kampala, Uganda

During our first week in Kampala, capital of Uganda, we stayed in the Cardinal Nsubuga guest house.
It is a Catholic training centre hosting leadership courses and other training programs for Catholic brothers and nuns.

Cardinal Nsubuga Guest House, Kampala, Uganda

Our room was located on the main floor. Though the bedroom was small, we each had our own bedroom with our own private bathroom with shower.

This Catholic guest house was the cheapest of the three places where we stayed during our visit to Uganda. I liked this place the best because:

1. It has beautiful and spacious outdoor space.

I liked my room at the Catholic Guest House

2. Each one of us had our own room with our own private bathroom and shower, therefore a lot of privacy. I could stay up, read or do my emails without bothering anyone.

Continental breakfast is free with the room at Cardinal Nsubuga Guest House

3. It has a indoor dining room. We could also enjoy our meals outdoors on the well manicured lawn.

The bar at Cardinal Nsubuga opens daily until 10pm each night

4. Both the bar and the kitchen opened until late .

Fish and chips, Uganda style!

 The meals were delicious and reasonable priced.5. Excellent service provided by the staff. 


For a very reasonable price, we could have our laundry washed and ironed each day.

The view from my room at the Cardinal Nsubuga Guest House

6 The location is excellent. We could easily walk into town and do some shopping at the market.

7. Overall, it was a clean, comfortable and very affordable priced accommodation for travellers.

I highly recommend the Cardinal Nsubuga Guest House to visitors to Kampala.

R.T.
Cardinal Nsubuga Guest House
Kampala, Uganda

Flying Back to Toronto from Uganda

We spent our last evening in Kampala, back at our first guest house.  I felt as if I was going back home - the Catholic Centre Guest House was like our home in Uganda.

We spent a long time on the road going from Kaliro to Kampala, from where we would be taking a flight back home. Arriving late to the guest house after 10pm, we found that everything was closed so we went to bed without any dinner.

After enjoying a relaxing breakfast on the spacious lawn, we said thank you to the staff and I had a good conversation with the two sisters stationing full time at the centre. I admire the Catholic churches' social work and their involvement with the people in Uganda. If God is willing, I would like to be involved in some of their outreach ministry work which the Catholic church is doing in Kampala or Jinja.

After saying good bye to the the sisters, we headed out for some shopping at a local supermarket trying to bring back some taste of Uganda to family and friends back home.

We were driven to the Entebee International Airport and boarded the plane without any incident.We changed flight in Ethiopia, boarding another plane then flew to Dublin for a refuel.

On my last leg of the flight from Dublin to Toronto, I started chatting with a fellow passenger, an Ugandan Canadian. We talked about our trips and the lady sitting in front of us also joined in our conversation. They wanted to know what I did in Uganda and I explained to them. Then we talked about everything. We had such a good time that we exchanged contact info and vowed to keep in contact.

The world is indeed a global village!  As long as we have an open mind, a friendly attitude and our ears available ( rather than having them plugged into our electronic devices ), we can always meet interesting people and make friends no matter where we are!

R.T.
Grateful to be home in Toronto
Day 13

A Thank You Event to Canadian Volunteers at Green Hill Primary School, Uganda

Students of the Green Hill Primary School, Uganda

This was the last day at Green Hill Primary School, the school where Dream Share Uganda has committed to support for the past couple of years.

We had all our luggage ready for check out and were on our way to the school as soon as we finished breakfast.

Green Hill students saying thank you and good bye to us on our last day there

We went somewhere before this and got to the school a little later than they expected us to be there.


The staff and students had planned a school wide program to say thank you and good bye to us.

Every time our car pulled up to the school ground, the children were all excited, running towards us want to say and welcome us.

We enjoyed a fun game day at Green Hill Primary School, Uganda 

 We received a very warm and enthusiastic welcome every time we arrived at the school. Incredible!

An Uganda children's game - searching for treasure in the sand

A school wide event to say thank you to Canadian volunteers in Uganda

The speakers were set up with the music blaring loudly on the school's playground.

Our team was entertained in a shaded area of the school ground

Apparently, the school has some kind of battery/ generator used for a whole school event with the 750 children and the parents and other VIP guests present.

They started with the choir singing the Uganda national anthem, followed by their rendition of O Canada! That was a surprise to us all.

Knowing that the school has no electricity and the children have no TV, no radio or any electronic media to listen to the singing of O Canada, our team was deeply touched.







Some of us were in tears as we heard O Canada being lovingly sung by this group of Uganda school children who were trying their best to express their gratitude for what Dream Share Uganda members have done for them.

I couldn't be prouder being Canadian in Uganda as many generous and compassionate fellow Canadians have started charities and donated much of their time, efforts and financial resources to help improve the lives of the citizens in Africa!

The funniest part for me was dancing and interacting with the students!
























The children at this rural primary school were enthusiastic participants in the activities and wonderful dancers. We had a whale of a time at this thank you/ good bye event!

Visiting Green Hill students at their outdoor classroom

Dancing with the kids at Green Hill Primary School

Thank you, Green Hill Primary School, for allowing us to come and experience your joy and positive outlook to life.

I hope to see you again in the future!


R.T.
From Toronto visiting Uganda, Africa
Day 12