Uganda

Visiting Friends

Some of our dear friends are currently living and working in Kampala, Uganda. We had been hoping to visit them for a long time and finally were able to make it happen!  It was also special to get to meet the newest member of their family, sweet Wesley.

We also had the special treat of being able to fly out to a little island on Lake Victoria for a few days of relaxing in delightful cottage. Even though we couldn’t swim in the lake(though some people do) because of the Bilharzia parasite, there was a pool at a small nearby resort on the island. There were also an unbelievable variety of birds, and I confess to spending multiple hours attempting to identify them with a bird book.

our transport to the island

So many birds on Bulago Island!

feeding the monkeys

canon ball tree flowers

Canon ball tree, has beautiful pink flowers and huge cantaloupe type balls hanging off.

Flying to Arua, Uganda

Arua is in northwestern Uganda, just over the border from The Democratic Republic of Congo (which, by the way, is neither functioning even remotely as a democracy or as a republic. In fact, if you looked up either of those words in the dictionary, this country would likely be listed as the antonym!)

AIM Air started a base in Arua just over a year ago and we were there as part of a base audit. Most of the flying is done into the D.R.C., Central Africa Republic and South Sudan, all countries that are in the top 10 of the list of failed states. Because of its proximity to these places, and its relative stability, Arua is becoming a popular place for NGOs and mission groups to be based. We currently have 2 pilots stationed there with their families and are hoping to add to that team.

Being based in Nairobi, and with John as a mechanic, we rarely get to see what is happening beyond the AIM Air hanger here. It was great to get a peek into the Arua base and to get a better idea of some of the work that AIM Air is doing “out there.”

Arua from the air

The Arua airport…2nd busiest airport in Uganda (because of development/relief in D.R.C and South Sudan) , with one dirt airstrip.The only 2 planes based there are AIM Air planes.

One of the “mouths” of the Nile

So much to say about this. 1. What makes a pub honest vs. dishonest? 2. Are they actually a pub, or are they selling other things, say cosmetics and general merchandise ? 3. I’m confused about when they open; 6am-dawn leaves for very scant business hours.

Flying over western Kenya on our return trip. For hundreds of miles, every wee patch of land is owned and developed. This is actually a huge problem here when it comes to land rights and inheritance. With each successive generation the family land gets divided up until what someone owns is in no way large enough to sustain a family.

Posted in: Africa, friends, good times