Open letter

An open letter to all the first time visitors to Uganda,

1. Please stop moving in herds,
2. People here aren’t going to hurt you. The worst that will happen is you will be relieved of that expensive watch you shouldn’t be wearing anyway,
3. No one is looking to give anyone food poisoning, especially not you, sick people make for bad restaurant business,
4. Stop paying excessively and tipping, especially in local establishments. I know you think you are doing a good thing, but you are driving up the costs of things for locals,
5. Do not pay people for their photos, unless they are street performers and then only maybe. If they say ‘no, I don’t want my picture taken’ then walk away,
6. Stop calling them the slums of Kampala, the area is called Kisenyi and in it are people’s homes. How would you like someone to call your neighbourhood a slum?,
7. Don’t do things you aren’t trained for. If you are an arts student, don’t provide medical ‘advice’ in the ‘slums (see 6).’ People here deserve the same level of care that you would like to receive,
8. Please if you are only coming to preach or feel good about yourself, stay home. People here need doctors and nurses and money, they don’t need to be told by some white person that their needs will be met if they pray. There are enough local priests and pastors here to tell them that.
9. If you want your church dollars to be put to good use, help support local hospitals or schools. Why are there two brand new, very expensive looking churches next to a hospital that is falling apart and can hardly afford to pay staff? People here can pray anywhere, surgery cannot be performed outside. The good news is when people die from a lack of care, they’ll have a nice place for a funeral … if they can afford it.

My question is, if you are afraid of being here, why did you come?
Really take a deep breath, get out past the gates and sanitized accommodation and enjoy Kampala and the countryside of Uganda, it’s called the Pearl of Africa for a reason. Be a tourist and support the local economy as that will help more than you can imagine.

Thank you,
Angela