Uganda, October 2015
Yoshi, a young woman from Taiwan and I were on our way to Kisoro, a place near a volcano in western Uganda. It also bordered on Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Now I have been traveling with Yoshi for a couple of days. She had been living in Uganda for several months now because she had started an aid project for children there.
We were on a stopover in the town of Kabale and tried in vain to find a matatu to Kisoro.
Finally, we got a lift in a normal five-seat car. By now, we were already five in the vehicle, but the driver did not seem to think about leaving.
More and more people got into the car, and in the end we were nine adults in it. Yoshi and I sat together in the passenger seat, the driver and another woman shared the driver's seat, and five people had squeezed into the back seat.
Fortunately, when we arrived in Kisoro two hours later, we were fortunate enough to find a very cheap place to stay – everything seemed to be quite cheap here.
In the afternoon, we started looking for information about the Batwa people, who were living close to the edge of a national park. Yoshi was planning a project to support them.
In the past, the Batwa lived as hunters and gatherers in the forests, leading a very traditional life, isolated from the urban population. In 1991, they were expelled from their homes, because the government wanted to make a national park out of the area.
Now they live in poor conditions on the edge of the national park. They have no money and no education. Partly they are mocked and insulted as stupid by the population. This is a not insignificant reason for their continued seclusion.
By chance, we actually found an organization that wanted to support these people through various projects. When we told them about Yoshi's plan, they immediately applauded our interest in the Batwa people, and they offered to bring us to our destination with their safari jeep. Otherwise, there would be no way to get to the Batwa, as no proper roads would lead there. We would just have to take the fuel costs. That was perfect. Of course, we immediately agreed.
So it started. Before we left, we stopped at a shop and bought 50 kilos of cornmeal and some sweets for the Batwa. The road was bumpy right from the start, but then it became more and more rough, and we were thoroughly shaken up in the jeep.
We had to walk the last part of the path, as it went up steeply and huge rocks were scattered everywhere on the mountainside. Our driver accompanied us, as he understood the language of the Batwa and thus could translate. The village consisted of about 40 families.
Once we reached it, the poverty of these people immediately caught our eye. Most children had swollen bellies due to malnutrition. Many also seemed to have some skin disease.
I also noticed that some children had problems with walking. Our driver told us that sand fleas had settled in the soles of their feet. These would cause severe pain. Added to that was the existing lack of water – they wore dirty clothes and could seldom wash themselves. Their dwellings were nothing more than simple tents.
The small-headed chief came toward us with a smiling face. He wore a very elegant but dirty suit. While he greeted us warmly, the other villagers seemed very shy and evidently hid from us. Over time, they became more courageous and came closer and closer. They looked at us curiously.
I noticed that there were many children. We could even observe how the little ones tried to cut sand fleas out of each other's feet with a dirty knife. That really was not for the faint of heart. But for them it seemed to be usual.
The chief summoned the whole community for a meeting. They all came in leisurely. Yoshi now explained her plans. She would like to support the village with her project and allow a few children a school education – as far as the budget allows. The chief interjected that it would be a very long way to school and that the children did not have any shoes. In addition, they would be excluded from the other children and would get mocked.
Yoshi promised to find a solution together with them. At the end, everyone applauded with joy and thanked them warmly. We gave them the cornmeal and the sweets for the children. Everyone seemed overjoyed with our visit. At the end they even danced one of their traditional dances for us.
Yoshi and I sat concerned on the way back in the swaying jeep. We had already seen a lot of poverty in Uganda, but this was beyond anything. Never before had we met people who had to live in such circumstances.
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