Mark and I are off to Uganda again. Our primary purpose is to attend the dedication of the new Dental/Vision Clinic at the Bwindi Community Hospital on May 10, 2025. The hospital is in the far SW corner near the Congo and Rwanda. We left home on April 27 so we could visit other parts of the country and spend time with friends.
What a surprise we had when the Emirates check-in counter would not let us board our flight because we did not have Ugandan visas. When the shock wore off, we found ourselves on the street hailing an Uber to take us to the El Rancho Motel and wondering how we were going to get to Uganda. Mark spent the entire evening figuring out how to apply for visas on line. After several tries he finally succeeded in creating and sending two applications through a visa service.
Meanwhile, the motel was ok, if not how we planned to spend the night. Next morning, April 28, he was up early and making two new applications for “on arrival” visas through Uganda E-Immigration System. The hope being that one of the services would come through in time for the April 28 flight. By mid day we were sitting near the Emirates counter hoping the visas would be granted before 4pm, which is the cut off time for the 5pm flight. They did not arrive and we Ubered back to the motel for another night, praying to fly on the 29th. Early the morning of the 29th, our Uganda travel agent, Halima, phoned us to help us resolve the matter. Turns out the visa service wanted more detailed attachments than previously accepted. Halima got us squared away by dealing directly with the visa office in Kampala. Thank goodness for her attention. Not sure when we would ever get the visas, if left to our efforts alone.
Our hope had been and still was to spend some time with our friends Jonathan and Pamela Wright at their home between Kampala and Jinja, then visit his lodges in Queen Elizabeth Park and Murchison Falls. (All these places are marked on the above map). On May 9 we plan to arrive at Bwindi and meet up with Scott Kellermann and the Kellermann Foundation staff and board.
Here is a photo of BCH, the Bwindi Community Hospital, taken in 2017. There are more buildings now including a Premium Ward and an ICU. Both are to the right of the Surgery Department, which is all trees in this photo.
The Dental and Vision Clinic is approximately 19,000 square feet on 2 floors. The left side of the building is for Vision and the right side is for Dental. The land in front of the building is for a garden. I understand that many hands are working furiously to complete the building in time for the dedication on May 10. I, however, am not holding my breath. There will be a large crowd to dedicate it, no matter how finished it is.
Meanwhile, we will visit Jonathan and Pamela, despite arriving 2 days late and participate in whatever activities they have arranged…or rearranged.
A bit of information about Uganda is important to understand how BCH is succeeding in a continent with many difficulties. Known as the “Pearl of Africa”, the name encompasses the good things about the country in three words. It is full of natural riches, has a lovely landscape, contains the cultures of 50 native tribes, has an open door policy for refugees, reserves 20% of its land for wildlife, and possesses the largest number of primates in the world, all in a country the size of Britain. According to Wikipedia, Uganda is the most affordable safari destination and has relatively low tourist numbers. If you are considering visiting a country in Africa, Uganda is a good choice. This is the seventh time for us and we have always had a good experience.
April 30, 2025
It is late on the 30th and we are at a hotel in Dubai. In the morning we depart Dubai on another Emirates flight to Entebbe.
Adventures with Julia 