On our second day at the Entusi resort, we visited various places around Lake Bunyonyi. Our first stop was at Kigezi High School in Kabale. When we first arrived, Robert, who is the agriculture teacher, gave us the opportunity to exchange dialogue and interact with the students, all of who are studying at the S6 level. All of the students were so warm towards us. They continiously repeated, "you are most welcome here," and called us "friends" rather than "visitors" as we exchanged introductions. It is incredible to always witness how the people of Uganda have never hesitated to meet and interact with us. They don't worry about following a certain schedule and care more about the human interactions that we can engage in. The students were very curious and they asked us many questions about our backgrounds and our lives back in the US. It was a great chance for both of our groups to get to know each other and connect. After the introduction, the students showed us several demonstrations about their work and studies in agriculture and science. The demonstrations showed us how the objects and things we throw away every single day can be reused to benefit the environment. For example, they showed us how to create a vineger from pineapple peelings that are typically discarded as trash. They combine water, sugar, and pineapple peelings together. Once the peelings have fermented for about two weeks, it can be consumed for a better night's sleep or for improved digestion. Another demonstration combined components such as ash, chicken droppings, weeds, and water to create liquid fertilizer. Robert has truly fostered the idea of reusing what you already have to create something instead of relying on purchasing products to do the same task. Plus, for each of these demonstrations Robert talked about how students could take this knowledge back to their homes and even how potential industries could form. It was inspiring to see such entrepreneurial thinking in action.
Our next stop was at Kabale University, which is currently a private university serving approximately 5,000 students. The university is relatively new, as it was founded in 2001. It is also currently in the process of converting from a private to a public university. We were able to tour the school and we even had the opportunity to speak with the vice chancellor. The university is very big and beautiful, and it has an outstanding view of Kabale since it sits up on a hill. I was surprised by the university's size and the diversity of the majors offered. Something that stuck with me on the visit was the fact that many university students have a hard time finding jobs after they graduate. This is both due to a lack of jobs and the amount of preparation that university students receive for a job. While each student is required to complete an internship, these opportunities rarely translate into future jobs. However, despite this, the students at the university continue to be ambitious and focused on their learning. This situation is not unlike what occurs in universities in the US, as there is more emphasis on theory than practice and application.
In the afternoon we had the opportunity to visit one of the most prominent witch doctors in the region. Initially, I naively thought that the witch doctor was a person who used mysticism and cursed people. However, once we visited his small home, which also serves as his clinic, I found out that many people travel very far to visit him because he is a doctor and a healer. The doctor, Sam, showed us some of the medicines that he uses to treat patients. The medicines are composed of natural plants, and they can treat many things ranging from a lightening strike to paralysis. I was surprised that the doctor works in conjunction with the hospitals in the region, and if the doctor cannot treat a patient, he/she is sent to the hospital. This relationship between the hospital and the witch doctor is remarkable because there is an exchange of respect for one another's practices and methods.
