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DAY 1 OF UGANDA

Aled | 13:23 UK time, Monday, 30 November 2009

It's amazing to say it's the end of Day 1 because we've crammed so much in that it feels like we've been here for days already!

First up, as I write this Chris hasn't arrived yet. He arrived late Sunday night.

Instead I tagged along as Gary, Fearne, Ben and Kimberley went to see what 200,000 packs of mosquito nets look like! And this was only a third of what they've been able to raise after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Feb!

uganda_2.JPG

Tomorrow the 'Fab Five' (as they will be by the morning as Chris will have arrived) will actually be taking a truck load of the nets to a local village and distributing them. Each net will potentially save a life from mosquito bites spreading Malaria.

Fearne and Ben today went on local radio powerhouse Liberty FM to publicise where the nets will be given out, while Gary and Kimberley went to a local hospital to see victims of the disease Comic Relief is trying to eradicate.

Gary said it was the hardest thing he's ever done, and Kimberley cried on the spot.

I've yet to have seen this side (I'm going with Chris to the villages tomorrow). Instead I've been meeting the locals at the city we landed in last night and the town that we're resident in today, and you know what, it really surprised me.

Apologies if this is really obvious but having been brought up on Comic Relief videos from Africa I had the impression that the whole country of Uganda were like the villages that are struggling for food. But to my amazement, Kampala (the capital city) is a vibrant city.

The towns have (British) road signs, good quality roads, British power plugs and signs for well known logos in Britain like Barclays, Shell and Orange! Between the mobile phone companies and Cola soft drink wars it seems a third of all houses have been built using their advertising boards.

The best thing is. EVERYONE is friendly. I learnt what 'white person' was rather quickly because entire villages would come and point at me saying it (at least I hope that's what they were saying!). Locals just wanted to greet you. Even when in our cars entire villages would stop what they are doing to watch you drive through. Me, being in the last car couldn't resist the odd wave - to which the entire village waved back!!!!

I'm being won over already by Uganda, I have a sense of dread knowing I'm about to see the sadder side to their lives. That will start tomorrow when Chris arrives.

Aled
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