The Rotary Club of Cincinnati is partnering with All We Are to install solar panels in schools and women’s centers in Uganda. Nathan Thomas, All We Are’s Executive Director, recently shared an update on the installations…
“Kampala in Clay’s Shoes”
Today we started off by going to three schools where All We Are will be installing solar systems. It’s our second full day in Uganda and I can definitely say I am seeing it with fresher eyes. The first day for me was all so new and I was over stimulated. Today my expectations were more realistic and I was able to process the world around me.
It only took a few hours into our first day to realize how nice and hospitable the Ugandan people are. Whenever we go to a school, the staff and students greet us and are excited to have us with them. Today we didn’t see many students but the few that we did see, we got to play some soccer and watch them pose and answer a few questions. Three of the students had different interests in studies. Each of them enjoyed science, math, English and social studies respectively.
After visiting our last school today, we got lunch from a street vendor. Most of us had a crepe/ wrap style sandwich called a “Rolex”. It contained mainly egg and tomato wrapped in something similar to a crepe and lightly salted on the outside. Delicious. First street food experience was a success.
After lunch we headed south to the equator. We quickly stopped over to see it and were given a little water-flow experiment. After that, we were on the road again. Which I have to say is an absolutely exhilarating experience. On Ugandan roads, chaos is order and speedometers are irrelevant. weaving left and right through traffic, our driver, Mike, makes 25 mph feel like 100 mph.
About an hour later and quick stop to enjoy a splash of homemade banana gin, we made it to Brian’s family home in Masaka, Uganda. Brian is a friend and the Ugandan Liaison for All We Are. This event was an amazing experience for all of us. We were greeted by a large amount of local family and friends of Brian’s with food already being prepared. I had the opportunity to take a lot of photos of the process and we all had a good time kicking a homemade soccer ball around with the kids. For dinner we had chicken, rice, noodles, sweet and Irish potatoes, g-nut paste, matooke, and a giant avocado. When the meal was prepared, we gathered inside the house, sat together and ate until we could no longer move.
