The Road Less Taken - Part 2

On the road again,

Goin' places that I've never been,

Seein' things I may never see again....

On the Road Again:  Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson

Walking can bring with it many memories.  Some may be of hard moments with head down against the wind, but others, like Karen and I remembering how we walked to our elementary schools as children, are more delightful.  It seems that modernization brings with it less of a culture of walking and with that the loss of daily personal contact where stories and news are exchanged.  Interestingly, folks who live and work in our downtown US cities can still enjoy this culture of walking and of course, many places in the world still move primarily by foot.  Our time and walking in Bududa has brought much of this thinking back to us and we hope The Road Less Taken series brings up similar thoughts and memories for you.

The road passes Justine's house (she is the guesthouse manager) and we often encounter her sons John and Isaiah (blue shirts) who greet us with huge smiles, high-fives and "Malembe! How are you?"

Children are everywhere along this road. We affectionately call it "munchkinland". They run out of their mud homes, out of the banana plantations, out of the fields to greet us with such enthusiasm and joy, with smiles a mile wide, one might think they are seeing us for the first time. But these same wonderful children greet us like this every day. We have taught them "high five," of course, and some of them love to whack us as hard as they can, smiling the entire time. Some will yell out "Good afternoon" in the morning, and "Good morning" in the afternoon, and all of them yell out to us , in English, "Mzunga, how are you?" We answer that we are fine, and how are you? And they reply "We are fine." 

These greetings happen all along the road, in fact, any road we happen to be walking on. The Lugisu (the local language) words are:

"Mulembe" ......"Mulembe" (Hello and Peace....Hello and Peace)

"Oriena?"......"Bulayi" (How are you?.....I am fine)

"Kamakhuwa?"......"Kamalayi" (How are you?..... I am fine.)

Such warm daily greetings are also reflected in how Ugandans are known for the warm manner in which they welcome visitors. When we first arrived in October, the Children of Bududa and Bududa Vocational Academy students greeted us with song, dance and drumming. It is quite a special welcome!

Some of the wonderful children that greet us daily along the road.

There is another side of this story. The great number of children in Uganda today is a very real concern: more than half of the population of 45 million Ugandans are 18 years or younger. This is a staggering number of young people in a country with an educational system that is seriously challenged to meet the  learning and developmental needs of its young people. Family owned plots of land are usually not expanded, but sub-divided, to accommodate  newly maturing members.  These plots are even now straining under the heavy agricultural demands placed upon them to feed families.  When children do leave the family homestead, how will these young people find jobs that will sustain them and their future families? How will they secure a plot of land to grow some crops? This is one big reason why the Bududa Vocational Academy is such a great school to have in Bududa District. The school is teaching youth valuable skills that will enable them to make a living as adults.

Another concern that impacts this population explosion is that many rural Ugandans are still having very large families. It is common for most families in rural areas to have at least 6 to 8 children (the Ugandan government currently puts the average number of children at 6) and families with 10-12 children are not uncommon. While we regularly see families across the region pitch in to help raise and support the children, the size of families creates many problems because large numbers of rural families nationwide cannot support so many children today. They can't feed themselves and their children adequately and can't afford to send their children to school, but they continue to have many children. The weight of the traditions of a rural East African lifestyle bring comfort and order to many peoples' lives, but in 2018 many of these same traditions create hardship and suffering.  

And so back onto the road...

Eucalyptus forest, home to many of the wonderful birds we see along the road.

Wattle and daub construction of woven wooden poles, a mud composit and
iron roofing sheets...a common home construction in Uganda.

Matoke, a green banana, is a favorite food among Ugandans
that is cooked and served with beans and vegetables.

The hamerkop is one of Africa's wonderful and unique birds. It is a fish eater, so we often see them along the river.

Through a government program, this nursery business grows coffee plants that are distributed for free to local farmers.

Wood is the main fuel for cooking and is in short supply,
so finding wood is a chore for all family members.

The path along the river.

In about an hour's time and roughly 2 miles of "footing" we have arrived at school for our daily efforts there to begin----and at the end of the day we head back up this amazing road to our home at the guesthouse.

We have arrived at school!

"May the road rise up to meet you....until we meet again" 
An Irish blessing.