 After two visits to Uganda in the Testbourne teams of 2007 and 2008, my abiding memories are of a wonderful country which is very poor by any standards. It is a country with few natural resources but with both a good climate and good soil as a basis for feeding people. However the diet lacks the nourishment of our protein-rich daily menus and under-nourishment and even malnourishment are very widespread problems.
The vast majority of people live in real poverty, starved of most luxuries which we take for granted. Mostly their homes are very basic, often no bigger than one room. The roads they live on are, for the vast majority, dirt tracks which turn to skating rinks in the frequent rains. Small motor-bikes, pedal bikes, two feet and seriously overloaded minibus taxis are the main forms of transport. In the towns and cities there are shanty areas, bustling, smelly markets and fascinating shopping areas. In addition there are traffic jams, air pollution, modern offices, middle class housing, street lights (though the electricity may be unreliable), tarmac roads, Mercedes cars and more. Western style wealth and African chaos are next-door neighbours – two worlds so far apart but so close together. Always in the background are health concerns. Malaria is still a killer; so is AIDS on a scale which we find hard to comprehend. Every family, we are told, has suffered from deaths from this scourge. Life expectancy in Uganda is around forty years of age, approximately half that in the U.K. And yet, Uganda also brings to mind wonderful singing, dancing and drumming, smiling faces of children playing with the simplest of toys, the warmest of welcomes, flamboyant dresses, giggling and laughter. Curious children and some adults wave as we pass by. Most families are large and there are children everywhere – in school and out of school, in towns, villages, walking along the roads and in their houses, gardens and fields and when they spot us they nearly always seem pleased to see us. Recycling is a way of life; there may be litter but there is very little waste. One man’s waste paper is another man’s fire-lighter. The market stall which sells fish fillets sells on the rest of the fish to another stall across the way where the heads and skeletons will be sold to someone else. The schools are so badly resourced and the buildings so poor that you wonder how anyone can learn anything in those massive classes. And yet they do and their factual knowledge, all learnt in a foreign language (English), far surpasses that of children in our own schools. On our visits to Uganda we have done our best to contribute to the lives of our friends there; what we have received from our visits is much greater than anything we have given. Uganda has left a very deep imprint on us all and we are very grateful. Dick Stevens, November 2008 | 
