Children in Need

This blog is intended to record my voluntary work placement for a local charity based in Northern Uganda. There, the people have literally had their lives torn apart over the past twenty years by a combination of civil war and HIV/AIDS. Fortunately, over the last two years, security and peace have greatly improved in the region......and with the support of a number of charities, significant progress is being made to somehow re-create a degree of "normality" in the lives of the local people.

Tuesday 1 March 2011

What Can You Buy for a Shilling Thesedays?!

These Ugandans are bleeding me dry!

Everything I seem to buy is designated in thousands.

The closest thing to a Shilling would appear to be 3 Shillings – For a second of mobile phone airtime!

Otherwise, my main purchases are hotel (55,000/night), Dinner (10,000), Bottled Water (1,000) and perhaps the odd bottle of beer (2,500)!

Fortunately, with an exchange rate of around 3500 shillings to the Pound, maybe these things aren’t so expensive (£16, £3, 30p & 70p respectively).

As I mentioned earlier, my wife requested that I bring back a significant souvenir from this trip (Please, no Clinic jokes!). However, I still haven’t seen anything to buy here.

Perhaps I should just follow the recent lead of Madonna and Angelina Jolie………and bring home an orphaned child!