We were scheduled to meet between 4.30-5.00pm, but the excitement was too much for the volunteers, who were all ready and waiting outside terminal 3 at 3pm. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, as the excitement quickly turned into tears as the students waved goodbye and embarked upon their first step of a very long and arduous journey.
Our plane took off from Heathrow at around 9pm and we flew over parts of Europe and Africa. The map of the journey to Dubai was difficult to come to terms with, as no one could understand why we had to travel around half the world before getting to our destination. From Dubai to Ethiopia and then to Uganda, we even flew past Uganda on-route to Dubai. The volunteers quickly realised that in order to survive the marathon journey, they would have to be innovative in entertaining themselves as the Emirates in flight entertainment with over 500movies, was clearly not enough. So they began to sing and even dance; the cabin crew found it extremely amusing.
Once we got to Entebbe, we were all shattered and could not wait to get off the aeroplane. The moment of joy and relief, feeling the Ugandan summer breeze as we came down the steps of the aeroplane was indescribable. This feeling was quickly extinguished, as we had an hour’s wait in queues trying to fill in numerous forms, Uganda has clearly taken a strict approach to the containment of Swine flu.
We were all excited by the idea of getting into a minibus, thinking we will be at our place of residence in a few minutes. The few minutes quickly turned to hours and we watched the sun set. As we arrived to our hostel over three hours later the journey had taken its toll on all of us and no one was in any state for a picture. But the gasps, smiles and glowing eyes when they saw the accommodation was a pleasing moment for all. Our pre-project talk about the fact that we should leave expectations at home had clearly worked and the students, for some strange reason, were not expecting anything more than mud huts with holes in the ground for toilets. The smiles on their faces as they entered the hostel grounds were as if we had come to spend a night in Buckingham palace. Everyone was extremely excited and pleased with the accommodation. Dinner was delicious, we ate outside on the lawn and the Hotel manager Robert is clearly a perfectionist, we were served with great splendour.
After dinner the tiring faces and the smell of 24hours of travelling meant that no one was in the mood to hang around, everyone retired before 9pm. Wrestles with mosquito nets ensued.
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