Monday, June 18, 2007

Sylvia And Her Group Are Coming Home Today!

It has been an overwhelmingly emotional trip for our little troupe, myself included. It will be hard to explain without tears.


I understand how they feel - this journey changes you forever. Check back soon for updates!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

June 15 - 17, Sylvia On Safari

Set majestically in the shadow of the Rwenzori, flanking Lakes Edward and George, the lush savannah of Queen Elizabeth National Park offers prime grazing to buffalo, elephant and various antelope.


A checklist of 600-plus bird species testifies to the extraordinary ecological diversity of this park. Mammalian specialities include the (elsewhere elusive) giant forest hog, and the legendary tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha Sector.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

June 11 - 14, At The Mbiriizi Primary School


Sylvia Allen genuinely believes that education is the key to providing someone with the ability to pull themselves out of poverty. 'Sylvia’s Children' will undertake to educate as many children as possible.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

June 10, Masaka

Masaka Town is the regional capital for the 4 districts of Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule and Kalangala. Its population is about 70,000 and most of them are children. This region has been the worst hit area in the whole of Uganda by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

For a long time it was the area with the highest percentage of sufferers in Uganda. In addition the district of Masaka suffered more than any other during the 1979 Civil War to remove Iddi Amin from the presidency of Uganda and again in the second Civil War to remove president Milton Obote from power (1985/86).

The result of all this is that many bread winners have died leaving many orphans. The poverty is clear to all to see even though the region has good soil and climate. But there are now lots of signs of development, roads are being repaired, new buildings are springing up, there is hope for Masaka!

Friday, June 8, 2007

June 9 -- Entebbe and Kampala

From the moment you land at Entebbe’s modern and efficient international airport, with its breathtaking equatorial location on the forested shore of island-strewn Lake Victoria, it is clear that Uganda is no ordinary safari destination. Dominated by an expansive golf course leading down to the lakeshore, and a century-old botanical garden alive with the chatter of acrobatic monkeys and colourful tropical birds, Entebbe itself is the least obviously urban of all comparably sized African towns. Then, just 40km distant, sprawled across seven hills, there is the capital Kampala. The bright modern feel of this bustling, cosmopolitan city reflects the ongoing economic growth and political stability that has characterised Uganda since 1986, and is complemented by the sloping spaciousness and runaway greenery of its garden setting.


Ecologically, Uganda is where the East African savannah meets the West African jungle. Where else but in this impossibly lush country can one observe lions prowling the open plains in the morning and track chimpanzees through the rainforest undergrowth the same afternoon, then the next day navigate tropical channels teeming with hippo and crocs before setting off into the misty mountains to stare deep into the eyes of a mountain gorilla? Certainly, Uganda is the only safari destination whose range of forest primates is as impressive as its selection of plains antelope. And this verdant biodiversity is further attested to by Uganda’s status as by far the smallest of the four African countries whose bird checklist tops the 1,000 mark!

Yet there is more to the country than wildlife – far more! There is the mighty Nile, punctuated by the spectacular Murchison Falls, and the setting for some of the world’s most thrilling commercial white-water rafting. There are the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzori, which provide a tantalising challenge to dedicated mountaineers, as well as the Virunga Volcanoes and Mount Elgon, both of which offer highly rewarding hiking opportunities through scintillating highland scenery. More sedately, the myriad islands of Lake Victoria and Bunyonyi are idyllic venues, as are the myriad forest-fringed crater lakes that stud the rift valley floor and escarpment around Fort Portal. Whether you’re a first time safari-goer or a seasoned African traveller, Uganda – with its unique blend of savannah and forest creatures, its rare wealth of montane and lake habitats – is simply dazzling.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Friday, June 8, Sylvia's Group Leaves For Uganda!

Situated at the geographical heart of the African continent, Uganda has long been a cultural melting pot, as evidenced by the 30-plus different indigenous languages belonging to five distinct linguistic groups, and an equally diverse cultural mosaic of music, art and handicrafts. The country’s most ancient inhabitants, confined to the hilly southwest, are the Batwa and Bambuti Pygmies, relics of the hunter-gatherer cultures that once occupied much of East Africa to leave behind a rich legacy of rock paintings, such as those at the Nyero Rock Shelter near Kumi.

Click For Larger View!

At the cultural core of modern-day Uganda lie the Bantu-speaking kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Toro, whose traditional monarchs – reinstated in the 1990s after having been abolished by President Milton Obote in 1967 – still serve as important cultural figureheads. According to oral tradition, these centuries-old kingdoms are offshoots of the mediaeval kingdoms of Batembuzi and Bacwezi, which lay in the vicinity of present-day Mubende and Ntusi, where archaeological evidence suggests that a strongly centralised polity had emerged by the 11th century. Three former kings of Buganda are buried in an impressive traditional thatched building at the Kasubi Tombs in Kampala.

Elsewhere, Uganda’s cultural diversity is boosted in the northeast by the presence of the Karimojong, traditional pastoralists whose lifestyle and culture is reminiscent of the renowned Maasai, and in the northwest by a patchwork of agricultural peoples whose Nilotic languages and cultures are rooted in what is now Sudan. The Rwenzori foothills are home to the hardy Bakonjo, whose hunting shrines are dedicated to a one-legged, one-armed, one-eyed pipe-smoking spirit known as Kalisa, while the Bagisu of the Mount Elgon region are known for their colourful Imbalu ceremony, an individual initiation of young boys to manhood that peaks in activity in and around August of every even numbered year.