We woke up one day and discovered swarms of flying insects and all our colleagues running around the district office grounds chasing them . . .

What was happening?

Turns out that it is a once a year event – grasshoppers. They are considered a great delicacy here, lightly fried in their own oil and everyone tries to catch as many as possible. The sides of the road are covered in sheets with dried grasshoppers ready for purchase. The real gourmets buy them live in plastic bags and pluck the wings and legs before frying.

We just got some already fried specimens and for a Ugandan friend and shared hers. They are actually quite tasty as the oil they have is very sweet, but all we could think of was the fact that they were once grasshoppers! As one of the English volunteers said, like prawns . . . but not quite.

They also herald the end of the year and the end of the rainy season – although as I am writing this during a very heavy storm I am not sure about the latter. The wife also traditionally prepares them for her husband to say thank you for looking after her for the previous year and the husband should then buy his wife a new dress. Geoff passed on the grasshoppers and offered a new dress for not getting them!

School Speech Day

P1 and P2 classes - the youngest children, singing about hand washing.

The older children telling stories through local dance.

Having been in Kamwenge for 7 months now, one of the things we often ask ourselves is “Are we making a difference?” or “Are we having an impact?”. It is difficult for us to tell as things move very slowly and often the challenges appear huge. However I was very pleased to be invited to Kyabenda Primary School's speech day last week. Not all schools have an end of term speech day, but those that do will normally invite members of the PTA and school management committee, together with parents, so I felt very honoured to have been invited as someone who has been involved in the school this term.

I was even more thrilled when, class by class, the children sung songs, recited poems, danced and performed drama, all of which had many, varied health messages. The younger children, who sang in their local language, sang a song about the importance of washing hands before eating and keeping food covered. Another class sang about the importance of washing their hands after using the latrine and protecting water from collection to drinking. One girl recited a poem called Mr. Mosquito, about how to prevent malaria, and the older classes performed a drama telling how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. I felt quite overwhelmed and very pleased that many of the topics I had been working on in the school were being performed in front of parents and school members. Although I am fully aware that singing about things does not necessarily mean that they are happening, I felt that perhaps I have made some small difference in Kyabenda School this term.

Nicola's visit in pictures

Nicola meeting some of the pupils at one of our schools - they are very good at handwashing and the head is the best maker of tippy taps in the district.

We met this tuskless elephant and the rest of her family on the game drive - they were very close to us and gave us a scary look at one point!

We got really wet on the way back from Rwengobe School - and we got a puncture whilst there!

It was Nicola's birthday during her visit so we had a birthday meal in our courtyard and got all dressed up especially.

Geoff and his new friend - Harry the hippo

Harry wanted this one in as it shows his best side.

Nicola at the hostel overlooking the River Nile - this is where we ate our meals.

Nicola vists Mum and Dad

We had a brilliant time with Nicola and managed to visit lots of places as well spend some time showing her some of the schools we work in.
We visited Jinja which is the Source of The Nile. The river leaves Lake Victoria here, travels through Uganda, Sudan and Egypt and ends up in the Med, a journey that takes 3 months from beginning to end. Could make for a long game of Pooh Sticks!
We showed her the sights of Kampala including the chaotic bus park, met some other volunteers and sampled after work drinks at an Ethiopian owned cocktail bar, stayed at a hostel overlooking rapids on the Nile and drove her back to Kamwenge along some very potholed roads. She agreed we do live in the middle of nowhere.
During the week she went out to schools with both of us. Geoff claims he provided the most exciting visit as he took her on a motorbike, got a puncture which was repaired at the school for one pound, and were soaked by a massive thunderstorm on the way back.
The middle weekend was at Queen Elizabeth Park, where we saw warthogs and mongoose wandering through our hostel grounds, elephants, Uganda kob and buffalo on a game drive, crocs and giant monitor lizards on a boat trip and a hippo outside the bar of the nearby lodge when we went there for a meal. Sounds like the start of a joke - a hippo wandered into a bar . . . - but that's what it was like.
In Kamwenge she met lots of our Ugandan colleagues and was asked many times if she was going to buy a house here! In fact we think she was more popular than us as everyone still asks after her.
The last weekend we went to Entebbe and got up close and personal with some very friendly vervet monkeys in the Botanical Gardens including a mother who carried her baby by walking along on her front legs only - difficult to explain but lovely to look at.
And then she caught the flight home and we were very sad to see her go but glad that we had been able to show her our life out here.