One thing every traveler should start doing when going to Africa is to bring the things they don’t need as there for sure will be people there who will. This time I brought a big bag of clothes that I had collected from friends and family and would give to Don, a 30 year old guy I had met through couchsurfing who worked on the Save Street Kids Project in the village of Mafubira, outside of Jinja.
Eating “rolex” on a bodaboda motorcycle taxi
The clothes were well received and I would like to thank those at home who donated them. I was shown around the orphanage, from the classrooms, dorm rooms and the kitchen used to host the twenty something children between the age of 4 and 14. The life there was a daily struggle with paying bills for electricity and water and finding something to put on the plate for the children every day. The project webpage linked to above will provide contact details and their “go fund me” profile should you want to contribute as well.
Jinja Central Market where you mostly find food and second hand stuff
I was well taken care of and lodged at in the village and used the time to explore Jinja town, which was not very big but was famous for being the source of the Nile. A place with a lot of tourists and a entry fee of 10usd. When asking at the gate if it really was that expensive to see a part of the Nile which really was just like the rest of the World’s longest river they said that they could let me in for 3usd. It was a nice place to sit and relax and read facts about the Nile, but it can safely be called a tourist trap, just like the reptile park next by which cost 2usd and really just was a restaurant where you could eat overpriced food and watch reptiles in captivity.
The source of the river Nile, just like anywhere on the Nile
Jinja town had a really nice feel to it. People on the street were friendly and it was nice just walking through the huge central market and eat rolexes (chapati break rolled around an omelette) for 25cents.