Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Pearl of Africa

A few months ago I saw the movie The Last King of Scotland. After watching it, I thought – ‘I gotta see this place!’ Ok that’s not true. But I did just see that movie and it was amazing and I did just spend the weekend in Uganda. I just attended the AKDN workshop on non-communicable disease which was being hosted in Entebbe which is just outside the capital city of Kampala. While my main reason was to attend this workshop, the idea of being in Uganda was pretty appealing as well!

So Saturday morning off I went and my first impression from the sky was red. The land looks so red. The soil is red, the roads are ‘redder’. Sir Winston Churchill referred to Uganda as “The Pearl of Africa”. Now, I should stop there and confess something. I didn’t really see Uganda, or even Kampala, or even Entebbe for that matter. Unfortunately the conference schedule was so tightly packed that I barely got off the hotel grounds. But from what I did see and the few people I did meet, it is definitely a great place with friendly people and a laid back mentality. Our hotel was right on the shores of lake Victoria (Africa’s largest freshwater lake and the 2nd largest in the world – any guesses where the largest is?...that’s right). Anyways, a combination of bilharzias and a very weird odor kept me from actually swimming in the lake, but I did just dip my feet a bit. A group of us did finally venture out into Entebbe a bit one night and ended up at some sketchy bar (that’s happened quite a bit here…go fig). We didn't last there long. If anyone recommends going out in Entebbe, i would say pass! (but i hear Kampala is legendary!)

The conference itself was really cool, a great opportunity to network and learn about NCD’s in a completely different context. Probably one of the greatest highlights was the opportunity to meet and have dinner with Princess Zahra who is the Aga Khan's daughter. Whether or not you're ismaili, it was a great honour! More and more I’m learning that although ideas/concepts may be the same worldwide, it is so crucial to understand the context/environment in which they operate. We were treated to a sweet cultural show on Sunday night showcasing just how vibrant Ugandan music, fashion and dance is. A funny story by our host, kinda summed up a bit of Ugandan mentality, not sure if its true, but whatever:

The president of the World Bank came to Uganda in the mid 1990’s to evaluate whether financial assistance was required. He came to Lake Victoria and came upon a fisherman who was relaxing and lying under a shady tree on the shore. He asked the fisherman: what are you doing?
Fisherman: lying under a tree
President: why aren’t you fishing?
Fisherman: because I caught three fish yesterday. I had one yesterday, I’ll have one today, and I’ll have one tomorrow. After that I’ll fish again.
President: but why don’t you fish more than just 3? You could sell the extra and make money!
Fisherman: and then?
President: you’d become rich and wealthy and you could open your own business!
Fisherman: and then?
President: you could hire a whole bunch of people and a fleet of boats
Fisherman: and then?
President: you could eventually begin exporting the fish to other countries!
Fisherman: and then?
President: you’d become even richer, eventually you wouldn’t have to work!
Fisherman: and then?
President: you could just relax!
Fisherman: look at me…I already am!

The Pearl of Africa, maybe Churchill was right.

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