My 2010 Trip to a Secondary School in Northern Uganda (Page 1 of 8: "Arrival in Uganda")

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          Scroll down to view the first six images or click here to view the next page that continues my journey to northern Uganda.

          Introduction to the images on this page: The pages in this gallery highlight some of the experiences I had during my trip to the Nebbi Standard College (a secondary school in northern Uganda) between July 31, 2010 and August 7, 2010.  I will confess that it is difficult to find the words to describe my experiences, even when I show these pictures.  Perhaps I can start by saying that nothing turned out as I expected; nothing was as I imagined it to be.  I arrived in Uganda on Saturday, July 31st at 11:35 p.m. local time.  I was greeted at the airport by Betty Udongo, who is both the founder of the Nebbi Standard College and my friend.  Betty and I met when we were Ph.D. students in Science Education at Western Michigan University.  I was in Uganda by her invitation.  A copy of her invitation letter to me can be found by clicking here.  My driver's name was Ronnie. Betty and Ronnie took me to a hotel on Saturday night. Along the way, I saw only the road and the signs along the road (because there were no lights). I naively commented about how much it "looked like America." The next morning, however, as we drove to Kampala (the capital of Uganda), I was literally shocked and overwhelmed by the extreme poverty that I saw. I expected poverty, but not to the extent that I witnessed it.



            
          We are traveling the road that leads to the hotel I stayed at during my first two nights in Uganda.
          The extreme poverty along this road and in much of Uganda was shocking and overwhelming for me.

           
          This is another picture along that same road.
           
          This is a banana tree in the yard of a luxurious home in the hills.
            It highlights the sharp contrast that exists between those who "have" and those who "have not."


           
          This is an image of the skyline of the city of Kampala (the capital of Uganda).

           
          This is a view of Lake Victoria (in the distance).  I took this picture from my hotel window.
          I'm not sure what's going on in the foreground, but the background highlights the beautiful scenery of Uganda.


           
          This is my friend Betty, the founder of the school. The picture was taken at my hotel.
          Lake Victoria is in the background. The hotel was quite luxurious.
          I felt uneasy staying there (and perhaps rightly so) because of the extreme poverty just outside.

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