Humps and Graves

There are several different ways to get around in Uganda. Most people walk, but there are also taxis (which are actually minivans) which follow set routes within certain areas. Then there are the boda-bodas, which are motorcycles (they call them piki-pikis here). Our mode of transport, however, has been Mr. Lubega from the local committee, who drives us around in his car. He has been very accommodating and taken us to various places according to our schedule. This has been ideal for our team, being both dafe and convenient.

Mr. Lubega drives a 1994 Mercedes Benz 230 E—not the ideal for bumpy Ugandan roads! There are major potholes here, so deep they actually call them “graves”! And on long stretches of road they also have speed bumps to slow down drivers, called “humps”. Those, together with the fact that his car is always loaded down with at least 5 people, has meant some major wear and tear on his poor car. Today we went over a spot of road so bumpy the car actually bottomed out and I wasn’t sure we’d make it.

We have learned about other Ugandan ‘humps’. This is a tribe culture, each with many clans. This family system affects all aspects of life, and can be a wonderful support network as people look after their “brothers and sisters”. However, it can also prove to be a major obstacle. Masooli is in an area that is part of the Buganda tribe, but this is not the tribe currently in power in Uganda. This, the students have told us, can make it very difficult for new graduates in any field to get jobs. For families who sacrifice everything in order to pay a child’s school fees (including selling their land), this can be devastating, both emotionally and financially.

On a completely different note, I talked recently with Vennie, one of the centre’s staff people, and she asked me about graves in Canada. She was very surprised to learn that we can’t simply bury our relatives on our family farms. Here they only have “cemeteries” for those who have no family to receive and look after their bodies after they have died. “Burial grounds” are maintained for families, with people returning to their own village in order to be buried. I also explained that you have to pay for burial services and for a plot to be buried in. She thought that was hilarious and said, “Imagine telling someone that they can’t die because they are too poor to afford it!”

The longer we are here the more opportunities we have to explore the differences and similarities between Uganda and Canada…including humps and graves.