Trip to the Village

In Uganda, people talk about ‘the village’ as this place – out there, somewhere, anywhere, BUT NOT in the city.  It basically means countryside. Nearly everyone in Uganda has a ‘village’ that they either grew up in, or their parents / grandparents grew up in. Often families in Kampala will have some of their children spending extended time in ‘the village’ with relatives. I have never had an opportunity to visit ‘the village’ before so felt privileged to be able to accompany my very good friends Harriet and Solomon and their daughter Jemima to their village on Saturday. They were returning a family friend to her home, who had been staying with them for the holidays.

It took us about an hour and a half and about 100 speed bumps (not exaggerating) to get there. The road got progressively bumpier and trickier to navigate as we got closer to ‘the village’ we were visiting. The term ‘village’ for me conjures up a pretty picture of a group of houses all together in a clearing, maybe the cluster of houses in a circle! This is not really what a Ugandan village is like. The houses can be spread far apart and some peoples closest neighbour is a mile or so away. We visited several homesteads before arriving at the family friend’s home who we would spend the day with.

I parked our car under an enormous mango tree and the whole setting looked idyllic. A brick house in a nice clearing, plenty of trees – chickens and pigs running around free range.

The view was amazing and there was a handy ledge on the front of the house where you could sit and pass the time. After living in Kampala for 8 months, the 2 things I could not get over in this setting were the quiet and stillness and the fresh, fresh air.  Even when there was noise in the distance as farm labourers shouted to each other – it still seemed peaceful. You could hear the birds and hear nature.

We were given such a warm welcome and I felt very much at home. Their home, although nice by village standards, was still very basic. Their only visible posessions, were a few chairs, a few tablecloths and plates and other crockery. No photo frames, ornaments, gadgets, TV, toys or any other STUFF. They had no electricity so that cut down on a lot of what they could have! No Table and chairs, just mats on the mud floor. They seemed to be a very vibrant, happy family and extremely hardworking.

As I sat and waited for food to be prepared, life seemed so slow. The pace of life so different from the city and certainly from the West.  I enjoyed watching Mayah play on a rope swing with her friend, enjoying life’s simple delights.

 We were served traditional banana pancakes first. The main course consisted of beans, matoke, cassava, g nut sauce and cabbage which I can actually say I enjoyed! What I found so wonderful, was that all the food came from their land. All of the food they eat comes from their land with the exception of salt, sugar and oil. No supermarket shops with trolleys full just many early mornings, digging in the fields and then reaping the harvest.

This simple way of life also comes with its challenges. Water has to be collected from some distance which I was told was ‘far’ (whatever that means!). What I couldn’t believe was when the mother told me that if the garden needs water she will collect 30, 20 litre jerry cans and carry them back one at a time on her head. That is devotion to your plants but then again it is their means of survival. Their daughter Robina, who was about 14 has to walk 1 and a half hours to school there and then the same home again. This would be preceded and followed by chores. A very different kind of life then what I experienced as a teenager.

Village life is certainly hard work but I love the simplicity of it. They are not consumed by materialism but just a simple existence. They do not have loads of STUFF to clutter up their lives but they have what they need – a loving family, good friends, water, great fresh food to eat, ability to send kids to school, a house and clothes to wear oh and a radio! Who needs more than this? I don’t want to feel guilty about what I have but I do want to appreciate everything I have and practice gratitude on a daily basis.  I desire to live life simply, not getting bogged down by what I think I may need to make me happier. Surely I have enough.