Friday, February 26/10

The day began with a cool drizzle. This last week has been uncharacteristically cold and wet for this time of year in Uganda…the Boda-Boda drivers are in winter jackets and most people stay home when the rains hit. Cold of course is relative but rain and temperatures of 20 C seem to constitute cold. Even I felt it and got wrapped in a sweater while spending the morning trying to connect with the Women’s Network. I had purchased a new cell phone and pay-as-you-go plan for $30 Cdn equivalent and was trying to make my way around a new phone as well as figure out the phone number system. I confess that technology is not my best friend to begin with.

By the time 2 pm came along I gave up trying to connect directly with the Women’s Network though emails were going through our United Church General Council Offices and the Kairos office on my behalf. I am so grateful for their efforts and I am confident that I will be able to make arrangements for when I return to Uganda in 2 weeks. My interests in their work are even more peaked now with the recent events of the new Women's movement here and the Women’s Economic summit that was held here in Kampala a few days ago.

It was still raining in the afternoon and that curtailed any sense of adventure I had. I curled up and read some of the local history books that my son had found – one on small agricultural viability in the mid -20th Century and one on the many kingdoms that make up what we know as Uganda. The later one in particular was fascinating given the political tensions that are increasing today between historic powers ahead of the 2011 general elections.