A good beginning

After the plane problems leaving Toronto, I arrived in Kampala on Tuesday evening, 24 hours late. Luckily all of my luggage arrived with me. I was picked up at the airport and then greeted at my apartment by my new boss. The place is ok, but I have not had a moment to settle in and really decide. I think I will try to move up from the ground floor.

Early Wednesday we started our 4-day field visit. The purpose of the visit was filming for a Frank Marshall documentary on Johann and RTP that is being created as part of ESPN's 30 for 30. We kicked the morning off with a press conference, followed by a visit to the UNHCR office. In the afternoon we visited two RTP projects in the Kampala area. What was most striking to me was the sound of song and joy from the children and then the leadership and ability of the junior leaders.

On Thursday morning we visited The Hope Clinic - a medical clinic for a community where RTP had programs - and some other children. Then we headed for a meeting with the Vice President of Kampala! We visited his summer home on Lake Victoria and were kept waiting for about 2 hours....I guess when you are a head of state you can keep people waiting? We had a good meeting with him, sitting outside and he seemed very committed to helping RTP and taking a lead in the Sport for Development & Peace movement:) From that excitement we headed on our long journey to Mbararra.

I am not quite sure how to accurately describe Friday. In the morning we headed to the Ourichinga Refugee Settlement. We received a wonderful welcome from the children. These refugees have been in Uganda for a long time, and some have recently been resettled in Rwanda. The majority of the children that were participating in our programs were born in Uganda. The very young children were very curious about us Mzungus (white people) but also went around their own business with the games. They were very strong at describing what they learned from each game.

We then met with the volunteer association that was formed in 2007 when RTP had to cut back some of the programming in the region. They wanted to ensure that they could still help the children. Some of the volunteers had been with RTP since 2001!!!!

The next stop was a temporary school set up by Save the Children in Nakivale Refugee Camp. Most of these children were recent arrivals and those not directly involved in the games followed the Mzungus around. They all wanted to touch us. I had one little girl poke at my finger tips and pinch me to see what would happen to my colour. The games here were great as they really provided the children an opportunity to relax, learn and communicate through song. In some game circles that I participated in there were at least 6 languages being spoken and the coach was able to communicate with them all. At this location, I felt that there was an almost desperate quality from the children and hopefully once RTP has been there a little longer this will be alleviated.

We visited one final school that was also running programs. What struck me here was seeing the Muslim girls running and skipping and smiling. They were very bubbly and once within about 10 minutes they felt very comfortable with us - even asking if they could be in a picture with me and asking my name and age. When I gave my name, one girl said she knew it from 'Prison Break"! I asked if she watched anything else but she didn't. I was a little surprised to say the least.

The final stop of the day was at the Refugee Reception Centre, where new refugees stay until they can be settled. This was the most difficult stop of the day. Many of the families that I spoke to, in broken french, had been staying at the centre for close to 3 months. While the conditions were hard to see and the people really crowded around us (to the point that I was verging on discomfort), it was an eye-opening experience that I was glad to have.

All in all, the visits to these camps really let me see the power of what we do, and helped me get over some of the anxiety I have about spending a year here.

Saturday we returned to Kampala, had a meeting with the regional staff and then a farewell dinner before Johann, Frank and Mike returned to their homes. I spent today with Joan, the ESPN VP in charge of 30 for 30, and we visited Ngamba Island to see the Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

Now it will be time to figure out what day to day life will be. I am expecting a lot of hard work and many long days. The staff here are incredibly passionate about what we do. I am sure that I will learn a lot from them.

Sorry for the length of the post - it was quite a week! I will do my best to keep them shorter from now on:)

The internet is quite slow and I am unable to post pictures here....but click here to see some that I have posted to facebook http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=291610&id=651065693&l=1d3100867e