After exploring a few of the national parks in Uganda, Natasha and I headed to Kibaale. As you can see in the map below, it is about a 5-hour drive west of Kampala.
Our first weekend arriving in Kibaale we were invited to a wedding!
The video below is from the back of a motorbike after leaving the wedding.
A few of our back lawn in the hotel we were staying in.
I finally started playing with the Arduino that I had been carrying the last 8 months.
Natasha was setting up a store in Kibaale to sell solar lights, water filters, and efficient cookstoves.
We made friends with the members of the community organization whom Tasha was working with in starting the solar store.
A view from the hilltop at our friend Jessica's house.
A sign outside our hotel or "resort" where we stayed for 2.5 months while in Kibaale.
The front of Kibaale resort.
Tasha was loving the cows that grazed by the roadside.
A photo of Jessica, our best friend in Kibaale, and Natasha outside the community organization's offices.
Tasha cooking up some Indian curry at Jessica's house. What a gourmet chef.
A photo and video (below) of Jessica and another friend, Sandra.
The front of the Kibaale Energy Saving Store!
Natasha and Richard, the store manager.
Water filters actually work!
The inside of the store.
Potential customer gathering to view our wares during the opening day.
Inside the M KOPA solar tent during opening day.
A local politician was invited to cut the ribbon on opening day.
Tasha continuing to love the baby cows.
Such sister love <3
A view of the market across from the store.
A family photo of us with Jessica's mother and sister.
One of the pigs at Jessica's house had gotten out, and despite my best efforts, I was not able to catch it. Pigs are smarter and faster than you would expect!
Mucho Maize
Jessica's house was our home away from home while in Kibaale.
Jessica and her sister walking us back on our last day in Kibaale before we headed to Kampala.
After being picked up at 5am for the 5-hour mini-van ride to Kampala, we headed to the Sheraton to enjoy a 5-day stay courtesy of Natasha's parents. It was quite a change and provided the rest and relaxation we were looking for!
A view from the cub lounge where we would often eat lunch and dinner. The idea is that the lounge has small bites to snack on, but we took full advantage of the free salmon, cheese, and other yummy treats.
Stray kitty in Kampala.
After basically staying in the Sheraton for 5-days straight, we hopped on a bus to Kabale (not to be confused with Kibaale, or even Kibale) in the southwest near the border of Rwanda. We would spend two weeks there working with local partners of We Share Solar, an organization Tasha worked for while at Harvey Mudd.
During our two weeks in Kabale, we visited about 8-10 solar suitcases that were providing lighting and mobile charging in schools around the region.
THE solar suitcase.
At the home of Robert, the team leader of the local partner, Kick Corruption Out of Uganda, the register showed us that we followed in the footsteps of great people! Hal Aronson is the founder of We Share Solar and a great friend to Tasha and me.
A slightly off-center photo of us and the Kabale team!
The team checking to see that the solar suitcases were in good shape at one of the schools in the region.
Tasha, in her element.
A video of Natasha spreading some inspiration wisdom on the solar suitcase.
cows
A solar refrigerator at a local clinic.
A view of the school from above.
We also reviewed some solar suitcases that were installed at local clinics.
Luckily, some of the schools with solar suitcases were on some islands in the middle of a lake, so we needed to get on a boat to get there.
Some big batteries that were installed at the school as part of a World Bank project.
sheep
Mabale aka Stones didn't like riding in the boat very much. Natasha is lending him a hand.
Tasha and Stones discussing the state of the solar suitcase.
Stones told us about this island in the middle of the lake (shown below) where the surrounding communities would leave women who cheated on their husbands. Sometimes, upon seeing a women being left on the island, other enterprising men who couldn't afford a dowry would paddle out to the island to retrieve the woman. In the 1960's, the Catholic Church lobbied the government and, they eventually outlawed the practice.
The distance to the nearest island. As people in the region don't swim, being left on the island was basically a death sentence. On the other hand, nothing happened to men who cheated on their wives, and this is why gender empowerment is important.
We couldn't refuse a selfie with Betty and Dorean, the staff at the hotel.
After a great two weeks in Kabale, we headed back to Mohingo Lodge for two more days of utter bliss.
Zebras outside Mihingo.
Exploring the rocks above the lodge.
And their hydroponics system.
Local cattle with some exceptionally long horns.
After a relaxing stay at Mihingo, we drove our rental car back to Kampala and flew back to the USA the next day. And this concluded Natasha's Watson Fellowship. It was quite the journey, but like I felt after the end of my Watson year, the end is just the beginning!
