Moving Africa - Bayimba (Uganda)

Uniting Mama Africa

nospam@example.com (Benjamin Mankhamba) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:19:00 +0200

Welcome to the 4th annual Bayimba International Festival of the arts in Kampala Uganda.
They say a nation without the knowledge of its history and culture is like a tree without roots, and a nation which does not promote its own cultures and traditions is easily penetrated by foreign cultures and traditions hence losing its own identity and should not complain about foreign interferences when it becomes a laughing stoke.

Bearing in mind that artists have creative minds and that creative thinking drives people to find solutions to problems, Bayimba aims at improving artistic productions in all arts sectors.
With support from the German Goethe-Institut under the project of Moving Africa, I was one of the lucky artists to attend the 4th Bayimba festival which took place from the 16th to the 18th of September 2011.
I was fascinated by the common mode of transport in Kampala going to Bayimba festival. Yes, I am talking about motorcycles, which are also known as boda-bodas.

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The real talents of Uganda

nospam@example.com (Andrew Whaley ) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:43:00 +0200

The first time I ever went to Uganda, in 2005, I became acquainted with the National Theatre in central Kampala. And quaint is what it seemed: a rundown double-storey (almost the same age as me) with its own stories to tell.

It seemed to be everything to everybody, except a theatre; a meeting place – for wedding meetings mainly. It was some time later that I saw an actual cultural event there – pantomime, by the amateur KATS (Kampala Amateur Theatre Society, I think); then Amakula film festival, a number of plays, the odd locally produced film – before it became a routine, every Thursday night, to join hundreds of Kampalans for the comedic shenanigans of Theatre Factory – until the home of comedy splintered into two rival factions and the crowds went elsewhere.
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The Road to Kampala

nospam@example.com (Ayesha Ismail) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:32:01 +0200

My day started at 5am.
I was travelling from Cape Town to Kampala via Johannesburg via Nairobi.
I prepared myself mentally for the long long journey.
I'd been to Uganda twice before.
But flew straight from Johannesburg to Entebbe.

I remembered the long drive from the airport in Entebbe to Kampala.
The taxi driver swaying this way and that way to dodge cars so that we could reach our destination in the shortest possible time.
No matter how fast he drove, it still felt like a lifetime to me.

There were people and cars just about everywhere.
I had never seen so many huge potholes like I did in Kampala.
And this time, it was no different.
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