Pictures from Kampala

The Taxi park in Kampala's center. This is what the Bus Rapid Transit system hopes to solve.


Another view of the taxi park. It is a pretty wild place!

Jinja

I write to you from the front porch 9f the First African Bicycle Information Organization (FABIO), the organization that I am working with for my month-long Independent Study. Life in Jinja has been pretty cool; living next to the shore of Lake Victoria and the Source of the Nile has provided an incredible backdrop to day to day life. The city is the second largest in Uganda (after Kampala) although, it has a distinctly small-town feel compared to the capital city. There are no stop lights, little crime, and few cars. In fact, I would say that Jinja reminds me a lot of Burlington, VT, with one main streets, lots of shops and restaurants, a lake in the background, with green hills in the distance. There are many young people here working on many different types of projects which has made for an incredible learning experience thus far. Aside from learning through working for FABIO, I have spoken to a lot of people who have been working here for many months or years, who have taught me a lot about working full time in a place like Jinja.

Yesterday, I visited Kampala in preparation for a research project I am assisting FABIO with. At first, as I walked through the city's central business district, I though Kampala seemed like Nairobi. After ten minutes of walking however, I realized how different it was. Thousands of pedestrians, motorcyclists, cars, taxis, and private and commercial vehicles competed for a road designed to hold two lanes of traffic moving at a slow pace. I witnessed so many near-accidents that I lost count, even though I only watched this particular intersection for less than ten minutes. Then there was the central taxi park; this is where Kampala's fleet of taxis, which are called matatus in Kenya, idle until they are filled with passengers for their next trip. I counted about four hundred of them in a space the size of a soccer field, though I think there were probably more. The trip was pretty eye-opening, and made me realize why the work FABIO is doing is so important.

Pictures to come soon, I promise!

Mt. Kilimanjaro early in the morning, after a fresh dusting of snow.

A male lion in Amboseli, spotted during one of our game drives. The water in the background is a natural spring that is fed by runoff and glacial melt from Kili.

A herd of elephants in Amboseli. Aside from the area next to the springs, this region is very dry (only 300-400mm rain a year) and completely overgrazed.

Doing our best to be tourists.

Vultures picking at one of the many carcasses that were scattered across the park.

Salesh (right), a very cool Maasai who works at the center that we stayed at, and a very knowledgeable person about what is happenning in the area, in terms of human and wildlife conflict. On this day, we walked around to five farms and conducted interviews with farmers about their livelihoods and what they think will happen in the future concerning development and the subdivision of lands.


Getting ready for bed inside the boma we stayed in during the Maasai homestay. The bed was constucted of a stretched cowhide and reeds for cushioning.


Max, also getting ready for bed. We shared the cowhide, which is traditional for men of the same age

The boma, with Kilimanjaro in the background.

Our Maasai host, preparing to take gathered firewood back to the boma.

Pictures of the last five weeks

Our translator and assistant Denis (left) seated with Max, my homestay partner, and a baby goat inside the manyatta that we stayed at.


My Maasai homestay host preparing to help me make a bracelet.

My homestay host, with her mother and child.

The path that lead to the beach, from our house in Watamu.

Bob, Harry, and Zena catching some rays next to the azure water of the Indian Ocean.

Urban Life, The Maasai and Amboseli, and the Coast

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted, but it is only becuase I have been extraordinarily busy, not because I don't care.

To give a breif recap of the past weeks:

Around mid-September, after our trip to Tanzania, the group split up into pairs and spent three weeks living in Nairobi with a host family. We all comunted from our houses each day to the United Kenya Club to take classes, but also had a lot of free time to explore the city, talk to people, and get involved in things that were happening while we were there. I lived with Tony and Katheke Mbithi in an apartment that was closest in proximity of all the students' families to the city center. This was great becuase I was actually able to walk to and from class everyday, and I had access to a nearby coffee shop where I could work on papers or read. Tony is a private contractor who mostly has been working on roads, and industrial buidlings. His wife, Katheke, is a breast cancer survivor who is working with a breast cancer survivors NGO. She was very active during the homestay and was always coordinating and planning events around Africa. Both Tony and Katheke lived in the US for eleven years, and they did an incredible job of educating me about the ins and outs of Nairobi, the government, and in helping me make comparisons between the US and Kenya.

After a short weekend back at the compound that was spent slaving over research papers, we headed out, safari-style (think Land Crusiers) to a Maasai-owned center near Amboseli National Park. During this component, we spent time learning about the struggle and the competition for resources between people and wildlife, and the inadequate mangagement of this area by the government. We learned about mismanagement of wildlife in Amboseli, and the Kenya Wildlife Service's reluctance to properly control animal population becuase of the high revenues brought by tourists. Amboseli is known well for its tremendous elephant population (there are over 1300 elephants). The park, however, can only support about a third of this number, and due to current overpopulation, there is a significant amount of habitat being put at risk.

During the latter section of the Amboseli component, we redirceted our attention towards the problems that people are encountering on a more regular basis. Due to the serious and prolonged drought in the area, and the growing amount of land being used for agriculture, Maasai pastoralists are facing serious challenges. We were fortunate enough to be hosted by Maasai families for one night during our trip, where we asked a lot of questions about how their lives are changing, and what they see in their future. The family that I lived with was very optimistic about persevering through whatever hardships they may encounter, but they did say that this period has been the hardest time they can remember. In fact, during our week in Amboseli many people, including many of the families that students stayed with, recieved food aid from the World Food Programme. It was definitely one of the harshest environments I could imagine living in, and I deeply respect the Maasai people's ability to live there.

Immediately after returning to the compound, I set out with seven other people to fly to Mombasa for Mid-Semester break. We spent one night and the next morning in Mombasa, exploring Fort Jesus, Old Town, and riding around the city in Tuk-Tuks (three wheeled taxi things) before catching a matatu up to Watamu, a seaside community located about 100km north of Mombasa. We spent four days in Watamu, in a private house that nine students and I (other people met us the day after we left Nairobi) rented out. We lived only eight minutes, by foot, from probably the most pristine, beautiful beach that I have ever been on. We were able to swim without fear of sharks becuase the beach is protected by a large reef. The lagoon side of the reef is actually a designated and protected Marine Reserve, which we explored via snorkling on our second day on Watamu. It was an awesome experience, and we were pretty upset when the day came to return to Nairobi's smoggy and crowded environs.

Here are some pictures from all of these travels; I tried to balance things out. Hope this message finds everyone in good health and high spirits. I miss you all!

Lots of New Pictures!!!

FYI: The following pictures are out of chronological order, for some reason.



Rift Valley Music Festival at Fisherman's Camp, Lake Naivasha. Pretty cool, and supposed to get bigger, and better. Maybe a trip next year?


Me, Zena and Bob tired and dirty after our day-long hike. The Yaeda valley is at our backs.



Bob looking our over the Yaeda Valley. One of the most incredible views I have ever seen.

Target practice with a Hadza bow and arrow. I have a lot of respect for these hunters after trying to hit a cardboard box 40 feet away (I missed every time by feet while they peppered the box without much apparent effort).

Hunting just after dawn with two Hadzabe. We saw two giraffe, an eland, many impala and dik dik, leopard prints and many types of birds and small rodents, but unfortunately, we returned to camp empty-handed.