A very warm welcome

There are 71 VSO volunteers in Uganda, most of them British nationals.  Those who could go to Kampala were there to welcome the new batch.  A barbeque party was supposed to be held but it was postponed in deference to the declaration by the President of Uganda to mourn for the victims of the recent bombings in Kampala.

The senior volunteers gave the new arrivals important tips on the life of a volunteer in the country.  They also gave us a quick tour of the city, and brought us to a cultural show.

There are 3 types of public transportation in the city, as in most towns.  The boda bodas, taxis, and special hire taxis.   In this picture, the taxis are those vans (background) with blue and white color  and the boda bodas are those motorcycles that take on passengers.   Actually, the taxis operate in a similar manner as the FX in Manila, while the boda bodas are similar to those found in some provinces in the Philippines.  Instead of passengers, boda bodas can also carry cargoes that could be  placed perpendicularly on the passengers' seat.  It will not be far-fetched when they will discover the Filipino style of placing a horizontal plank on the passengers' seat to accommodate more than one passenger for each trip.

Downtown Kampala with horrendous traffic

The Parliament