In December 2019, I crossed the border to Uganda and visited for ten days Mpigi. Moses, the director of Abato Foundation, invited me to volunteer and learn about Ugandan culture.
I started my travel in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, and got invited by Moses, the host of Abato Foundation through Worldpackers. In the morning, I left my backpacker hostel and booked a motorbike with the app “SafeBoda” for a favorable price. The driver dropped me at the bus station where I took a mini-bus to Mpigi. The fee for the trip was 3’500Ush and it took me about three hours to get there. In Mpigi town, I had lunch and got the exact location of the organization. Then, I took another motorbike, Ugandans call it “Boda Boda,” for 1’000Ush and after ten minutes I arrived at my destination. Moses welcomed me to his staff members and showed me around. The Abato Foundation educates young children and does leisure activities with them. There was a big vacation for the kids when I was there and leisure activites were on their daily schedule. Patrick and Mohammad, both football coaches, were the two staff members I was with during my whole experience.
Daily routine:
I got up at 07:00 AM and an hour later, breakfast was ready. There were not many children around in the morning, but Patrick was always busy and I joined his daily routine at Abato Foundation. A few times, I went with him to the market. We bought groceries for the following days and visited local markets. From the central market, I uploaded a Youtube Video on my channel!
At home, we delivered the food to the nearby hospital, which belongs to the Abato Foundation. Every day at noon we had lunch there. The food was various with lots of fresh fruits.
At 02:00 PM, the young children arrived, and together with Mohammed, who coached the kids. We played soccer and I recorded lots of videos with my camera for promoting their activities.
Around 04:00 PM, coach Patrick had a session with young adults until dinner. They call themselves the “Onside Soccer Team Uganda.” It was interesting to see how they train to become professionals. After dinner, the coaches and I met at the office and edited clips from each day. They have their computers and I taught them how to edit raw footage. I went to my bedroom at 09 PM.
Overview travel expenses from 01st until 10th December
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Bus from Kampala to Mpigi $1
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SIM Card + data packages $12
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Volunteer Fee $0
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Total: $13
The host provides a private room with a fan and electricity. There is no running water and the bathroom is African style, a bucket filled with cold water. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, you visit the small hospital that belongs to the organization. It is just a five-minute walk from the bedroom. A nurse cooks the food and you can eat there or take it to your room. The food is varied and all of it is included in the experience. There is no volunteer fee. You can share your skills and explore as much as you want.
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