Ar y Lein
The series
- Programme 1 : Brazil
- Programme 2 : Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands
- Programme 3 : Borneo
- Programme 4 : Singapore and Sumatra
- Programme 5 : Kenya (1)
- Programme 6 : Kenya (2)
- Programme 7 : Uganda
- Programme 8 : Gabon
Programme 7 : Uganda
When thinking of Uganda, people tend to remember the civil war and the atrocities of Idi Amin’s rule. But Uganda isn’t only one of the prettiest countries on the Equator, the people are also some of the friendliest.
The starting-point of this week’s programme is the town of Jinja – at the source of the river Nile. This is where the adrenalin jyncis of the world head to experience the incredible white water of the area. Bethan also ventured to the warm water of the Nile and had a Kayak lesson there. She also helped the Soft Power Education charity by lifting a paint brush and lending a helping hand at the local primary school.
There are plenty of bananas in Uganda and you see women carrying them on their heads on the side of the road – something Bethan was keen on learning from one of the local women. Did she succeed? – Well yes – eventually!
From leaving the green and rural area of Jinja it was a shock to arrive at the busy city of Kampala. Kampala was one of the cities that was most severely destroyed during the problems in Uganda, but the city has now been restored. Nightlife and music are thriving here in Kampala and Bethan had the opportunity to meet one of Uganda’s most popular groups while they were rehearsing in a local club. The group Percussion Discussion have been very successful recently and have recorded a song for the film “Last King of Scotland”.
One of the most interesting experiences Bethan had whilst travelling through Uganda was meeting a young british woman, Lulu Sturdy. Lulu’s family have owned the Ndali estate near Fort Portal in Western Uganda since the 1920s and there’s an interesting history to the estate. Lulu has developed the estate recently and has been very successful in farming vanilla in Ndali. The vanilla will soon be on sale in Waitrose and Tesco. Whilst the crew were out filming with Lulu, she had a phonecall from the police. Some local businessmen were trying to claim that they owned some of the Ndali estate, and they sent some prisoners to dig there on the sly.
“We went there with her and saw the busy prisoners. We heard Lulu trying to stand her ground and reason with the police and the businessmen. I was amazed by Lulu – her strength, her determination and her passion. Could I do what she does? No, never.”
View images of Bethan's journey in Kenya