Week of June 16th - June 22nd

Monday, June 16th: My first week in Uganda has been eventful to say the least! The KFSP team has kept us busy with an orientation week jam-packed with activities! After meeting the other Laidlaw scholars at breakfast at our hotel in Entebbe, we set off on a 7-hour drive across Uganda to Fort Portal, with our trusty driver, Francis. After driving through some of the most beautiful scenery and over thousands of potholes, we finally arrived at the Kasiisi Guest House and were greeted with a delicious dinner, warm showers, and the most hospitable staff. 

Tuesday, June 17th: Our first full day in Fort Portal! We were able to sleep in, only to be awoken by the sounds of children and roosters! The Kasiisi Guest House and KFSP offices are located on the grounds of the Kasiisi Primary School, a government-funded boarding and day school that is part of the KFSP school system. Today was all about getting acquainted with the program, so after breakfast, we took a tour of the property with our boss, Patrick, and the school principal, Moses, and then attended a general staff meeting, followed by smaller meetings with our respective teams.

Through these meetings, we learned more about the Kibale Forest Schools Program (KFSP)/Kasiisi Projects' goals and how they achieve them. The KFSP's primary goal is to conserve Kibale National Park through education, conservation, and health. Because health and conservation are not officially part of the Ugandan school curriculum, KFSP oversees after-school clubs at each of its 16 schools, teaching kids about topics like climate change, waste management, and personal hygiene. These clubs rely on peer-to-peer learning to spread the information that they teach to the rest of the students and their parents. Programs are also offered to general communities, including traveling health clinics, which aim to protect the primates in the Kibale National Park from respiratory illnesses they can contract from humans by addressing the root source of the problem.

After our meetings, we were able to play with the school kids, and spent 2 hours doing jump rope with them and asking each other questions! 

Wednesday, June 18th: I woke up this morning and ran a few laps outside with some of the students who were playing before their classes. One of the kids struggled to pronounce my name, so he decided to call me Mario! Today was about getting a feel for Fort Portal, so after breakfast, we set off with Derrick and Kathy from the conservation team to see the market and explore the town. Derrick took us around, showing us all the fresh produce and how to bargain for different products. We then went to lunch at an all-you-can-eat buffet, where we got to try local dishes, our total coming out to only 10 USD! I loved being able to learn more about how the Ugandan government is broken down, having both a parliamentary and regional kingship system, and talking about the local languages. After buying wifi, snacks, and souvenirs, we headed back to the guest house for a night of Uno!

Thursday, June 19th: Thursday morning, we visited a tea plantation with Derrick and Francis, tea being one of Uganda's major exports. We were able to tour the factory and fields, and had the opportunity to harvest and try the tea. On our way back to Kasiisi, we dropped by Kibale National Park to see where chimpanzee research is conducted by Professor Zarin Machanda and Dr. Emily Otali, two of the women who oversee the Kasiisi Program. We even spotted some Red Colobus Monkeys! After a lunch of Ugandan "egg rolls," which are hard-boiled eggs covered in potato, we went with Kathy and Alfa to tour the Kasiisi Farm with head farmer, Vincent. Here we saw banana, corn, and coffee fields, the apiary, and explored the riverbank, taking many group selfies! I ended the night chatting with some other scholars about our favorite foods and about differences in the schooling systems in our respective countries.

Friday, June 20th: This morning, we all walked through the local community to the Director's House, another Kasiisi Guest House, with Kathy, Alfa, and Goretti. I tried a guava from the garden, but was not much of a fan. After our morning tea, we had our first guest speaker conversation with Dr. Emily Otali, the first African woman to earn her PhD in primatology and who is today the field director of the Kibale Chimp Project and Country Director of the Kibale Forest Schools Program. She spoke to us about her role with KFSP and her research, as well as her career story. We learned a lot about game hunting in the national parks, about the education system in Uganda, and about threats to chimps, including snare traps. 

After our conversation with Dr. Emily, we moved on to Reusable Menstrual Pad (RUMPS) training, where Shami, the head of the KFSP health team, came and taught us how to put together the reusable pads. All of us struggled with all the sewing involved, but it was interesting to learn about how they chose what materials to use based on how available they are in the average household. 

After our training, we ended the night in the guest house watching the biggest hail and rainstorm I have ever seen!

Saturday, June 21st: Today we woke up early and headed straight to the Crater Lakes for a short hike with Derrick, Alfa, and Francis. On our nature walk, we passed one of the lakes that is allegedly home to hippos (we did not see any, sadly) and also spotted both White Colobus Monkeys and Vervet Monkeys, who we spent a lot of time viewing. After our first stop, we made our way to a resort known as Top of the World, where we took in breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape, more crater lakes, and the Rwenzori Mountains, which separate Uganda from the Congo. 

In the evening, we attended a cultural ceremony at the Guest House, where a local community leader came to teach us about empaakos and other cultural traditions and dances. Empaakos are pet names with different meanings given to Ugandans at birth. There are 12 of them, 4 reserved just for men, and 8 for both men and women. After learning about the history of empaakos, which is a tradition protected by UNESCO, we went through a ceremony where each of us received one, mine being Atwoki, which refers to the feelings surrounding a wedding, specifically humility and joy. Afterwards, we enjoyed a dinner of traditional foods and then took part in some traditional dancing. What a great way to end our orientation week!

Sunday, June 22nd: Today was our first day off, and after getting in a morning workout, some of the other scholars and I decided to go into Fort Portal to walk around and do a little more shopping. We were back in time to relax, have lunch, and spend the afternoon playing games with the boarding students on the property and introducing ourselves more. 

After dinner, we prepped with the other scholars on our respective teams to get ready for the week ahead, the conservation team and I making posters for World Chimpanzee Day and the Wildlife Career Days.

Conclusion: What an amazing week in Fort Portal! Everyone here has gone so far out of their way to be welcoming and make us feel at home and safe, and we could not be more grateful! It is a surreal feeling living through an experience that you know is going to be such a transformative life experience, but I know this truly is. Uganda is such a beautiful country full of diverse cultures and wonderful people. I am excited for the work ahead and loving my time here so far!