Hi everyone, reporting live from the airport in Uganda where I’m making sure I have an on-time blog post* to make up for my lateness last Friday when I made Emily and Megan 18 minutes late to Newmark. Today was an emotional and sweaty last day in Uganda. We started off with breakfast of course, and enjoyed the last day of fresh fruit with breakfast. We said goodbye to Benito, who left Gabi in charge (Wen is next in line if Gabi gets taken out, in case anyone was wondering.)
We then set off to tour Peter’s factory, where he produces affordable sunflower oil to make cooking healthier for Ugandans. His tour was inspiring, as he showed us how he utilizes all parts of the process to keep all waste products in the community and benefitting people. After the sunflower seeds go through his machinery, a cake is produced which he sells at a low cost for animal feed. The process also produces soap stock, which he also sells back to the community at a low cost. One of the aspects of his business that makes it good for local people is that he sells small bottles of the oil, with the smallest at just 200 ml going for 1000 shillings. This small size and corresponding low price makes it easier for people to buy, whereas the big companies sell it in larger containers that isn’t as accessible.
We had some emotional goodbyes with Peter, Diana, and Joan, and then headed back to the hotel for a quick lunch buffet before heading to the market. Our wonderful TA Gabi had us preorder dinner to be ready when we get back from the market, since we were told we had to leave at 6 pm to get to the airport in time for our 11:30 takeoff (any idea where this is going? Stay tuned!).
The market was overwhelming, and we all came away sweaty with lots of exciting presents for friends, family, and of course ourselves. We learned to bargain and came away with paintings, clothes, jewelry, figurines, coffee, and lots of spoons. It was very hot in all the little shops, and most of us were dripping with sweat by the time we left.
We had a quick dinner at the hotel, and left half an hour late for the airport of course. However, there was no traffic and surprise surprise, we’re here very very early. Currently we’ve gone through security and we’re sitting without water waiting to get on the plane. Hoping for some good movies and felling sorry for all the people sitting by us after the sweaty day we’ve had! It’s been a great last day but we’re all sad to be leaving this beautiful country for the cold in Champaign. See you all soon and thanks for reading all these blogs!!
*Blog post would have been on time if Entebbe Airport WiFi was working
Author: Alana Rosenbaum
