Water Filter Pictures

These are pictures of some families in one of the villages where we offer permanent cement water filter training. We help provide some of the materials, but they do all of the labor. All of the filters pictured here were built and transported to their homes (weighing about 200 lbs.!) by their new owners! The filters provide safe drinking water to families who have no other option than boiling water. Despite the fact that this area gets over 25% more rain each year than most parts of the continental U.S., lack of water infrastructure prevents these people from having much access to clean water.

Moses and the (Fast-flowing) Nile...Part 2

Then Moses said we were ready to tackle the first rapid. He apparently had more confidence in us than we did ourselves. As we headed towards the first part of the waterfall, I got real excited (and for the first time, a little nervous)...

We made it over the first part of the waterfall rapid, and then we made it over the second part no problem. We started to cheer and look around. It was then that we realized Moses was gone—nowhere to be seen! After frantically looking around, we saw him. Clamoring disgracefully back into the boat, with his mischevious smile, he told us we’d thrown him out! Clearly not a good sign for the day. We paddled on, beginning our 35 kilometer journey on this mighty river.

On the second rapid, the intense water caused Ruco’s family’s boat to buckle under its pressure, throwing them into the angry white water, giving them quite a ride! We feared we would do the same, but luckily (or unluckily) we made it through the rapid with no problem. Laughing at our other team’s misfortune, we continued on, tackling more rapids.

Moses explained to us that these were some of the most intense rapids in the world. Many were Class V, which means they are the most dangerous rapids you can legally go on. Unfortunately, he continued to explain, the Ugandan government is building a hydroelectric dam nearby the bridge from Jinja to the capital city of Kampala. Within a year, these rapids would all be flooded out. But hopefully it will provide more people with more affordable and accessible electricity.

As we continued to hit rapid after rapid, the excitement and suspense built—would we flip, or would we not? On a small Class II rapid (a ripple, really), we hit a wave at a strange angle that caused me to be thrown out of the boat. Not that I was really disappointed. As the kayaker came to rescue me and take me back to the boat, I had to ‘beach whale’ myself back in the boat. As if the humiliation of my flopping back in wasn’t enough, everyone was so surprised that I fell out on such a small rapid that they assumed it was on purpose. Humbly, I was ready to move on.

When we reached a deep area of the river after a couple more Class V rapids, Moses told us there were no rapids for a while, so we could swim. Sporting our life vests, we dove in, and then continued on a 2 kilometer free ride down the fast moving current. Bobbing up and down, getting caught in different currents, we passed by the wonderful green scenery, greeting kids who had come to the shore to see the passing white people.

Different whirlpools would teasingly grab us and spin us before releasing us to the mercy of the fast current. This was honestly one of the most amazing parts of the day. It was wonderful just free-floating at such a fast speed on this wide, deep part of the river. And it was one of those moments in life that you just never want to end.

But all good things must come to an end, so we climbed in the boat and feasted on a carb-loaded and delicious lunch of macaroni salad and seasoned potatoes.

After lunch, it was time to tackle some more rapids. The first one we came to was a breeze. Then we hit another one. If the last one was a breeze, this one was a full-blown tornado! This time, about halfway through the rapid, we flew up into the air, and came down hard in the middle of a huge wave. The next thing I knew, I was flipping upside down and hit the angry water head-first. I counted to 5, the length of time it takes for the life vest to bob back up. I came up quickly, looking for the flipped boat. But in a cruel joke, the violent water sucked me back under to show it wasn’t done releasing its anger on me. After what seemed like a lot longer than I’m sure it was, I finally came back up and shockingly saw the boat was upright and everyone was in it.

Apparently, the wave had bent the front right side of the boat underwater, but not flipped the whole boat. So only me and Amel, the British doctor sitting behind me, were forced out. After another kayak rescue and beach whale attempt, I realized I was now the envy of ‘Team Moses’. I had seen more adventure than they had. Humility gave way to pride. I still don’t know exactly how it happened, because it felt like the boat flipped. Moses had us all put our paddles in the middle and did a “Team Moses” high-five for ‘not dying,’ as he put it!

The day continued on, including some nice calm water where we had to paddle for several kilometers, something I always find relaxing. Almost in a quick time-travel back to my childhood, I dreamed I was on some wooden canoe, 5000 years ago, on my way to make some big discovery of the pyramids (although they truthfully were thousands of kilometers away).

We then hit another rapid. This one, Moses told us to squat down in the middle of the boat and hold onto the rope with both hands. If we were thrown out on this rapid, he said, we could easily die because of the rocks. As everyone immediately looked at me, I realized I had developed a reputation.

Then it was time for the last rapid. We had to walk along the shore for the first half of the this rapid, as it was Class VI (illegal). We walked barefoot along a small trail through the jungle for about 100 meters. Tred and myself had to go hide to take a ‘short call’. Arriving at a hidden spot at the top of a hill, I had an amazing view of the surrounding landscape. Green hills, trees, and the mighty force of a river carving its way through the dense landscape with little hesitation.

Then, we hopped into the boat and finished the last half for a great conclusion to the day. Tred, myself, and everyone else had determined to flip on this one. After all, we were already all soaked from swimming, the splashing, and for some of us, being thrown in. We even worked it out with Moses on the technique to force a flip. This was gonna be really cool, or really stupid, as this was a football field’s length of fast-churning, fuming, white water.

We hit the rapid hard. We paddled, turned around, paddled, splished, splashed, flew, landed, and soared our way through this last rapid. We didn’t manage to flip, which looking at the rapid afterwards, probably was a good thing.

Hard to believe it was over, we climbed our wet selves up a steep cliff to the awaiting minibus for a nice Coke and a ride back to the start for a steak dinner!

When we got back, we were surprised to find hundreds of people around our place. Apparently Bujagali Fals are quite the tourist attraction. Even school kids from around Uganda are bussed in to see the amazing falls we had survived earlier in the day.

Much to my shame, a group of about 20 American tourists were standing on a cliff overlooking the falls, paying money to local Ugandans to dive in the rapids and try to make it out alive, with nothing more than an empty 20-liter water jug as a flotation device. Sometimes I think American tourists deserve the reputation that we have! Paying someone to kill themselves—great idea guys! At least they’ve got a picture to take back to America, as they all had bright flashy new cameras recording every death-defying moment they’d paid for.

I showered and changed clothes and went down to the reception. Waiting for my steak supper, I walked down to the river past the falls as the sun set over it. Its orange rays bounced off the water, reflecting a glow on everything around it. In the calm water, there were two boys slowly crossing on a wooden canoe. One boy was paddling in the back, and the other was laying down in the front, legs crossed and one hand behind his head, much like Moses must’ve done thousands of years ago on this same river. I wonder if they realize how lucky they are to live where they do.

P.S. Thanks to the kayaker of Equator Rafts for the pictures of us in the rafts!

Moses and the (Fast-flowing) Nile...Part I

Growing up, one of the parts of the Bible that brought so much adventure to my young, wandering mind was the story of Moses. I loved how, as a baby, he took a joyride down the Nile in a basket, and ended up being able to be cared for by his mother, under the legal guardianship of the Pharaoh’s wife. To be honest, that’s a pretty awesome way to start a life.

The story of the Moses, and the subsequent history of life in Egypt, with the history of the Pyramids, and King Tut, have always been things that have fascinated me. So has the Nile.

The mighty Nile is the longest river in the world, and also happens to flow in reverse. Water in the Nile begins from Lake Victoria, in the city of Jinja (like ‘ginger’ with a thick Boston accent), Uganda, and then continues traveling through Sudan and then Egypt before spilling out into the Mediterranean Sea. It takes a reported 3 months for water to travel this long journey!

Luckily for me, at the early stages of the river, there are some amazing rapids. Some of the world’s best for white-water rafting. So you can imagine the temptation to hop into an inflatable raft and throw one’s life to the wind and take my own “Moses” journey. I had to do it!

I planned the trip with my Welsh colleague Tred over a long weekend. We had mentioned it to a couple other friends. So when the time came, there were a total of 7 of us. Me, Tred, our South African colleague Ruco, his American wife Kristi, and Ruco’s family who were in town visiting. We had booked the weekend with Equator Rafts, at a very reasonable $75 a piece, which included meals and lodging—the cheapest in the area.

We arrived in Jinja late Friday evening, and had a late supper at Ling Ling’s, one of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever been too. The sweet and sour chicken was like a little piece of heaven, especially since I mostly survive on rice, beans, and mashed plantains.

We then settled went to where we were staying. Me, Tred, and Ruco’s little brother got a dorm room, overlooking the Bujagali Falls. These falls would mark the beginning of our journey the following morning. Since we’d arrived at night, though, I couldn’t actually see the falls. But you can believe I heard them! I’ve kayaked and canoed on white water before, but never rafting. So this was definitely a new adventure for me! And rafting gives you the opportunity to go on much more difficult (and dangerous) rapids because of the nature of the boat. I was very excited!

I hadn’t seen my buddy Tred in a month and a half, so we had to catch up, and watch an episode of “The Office” (the Willy Wonka episode) on his laptop before turning into bed. Things like this are so much better when they’re with people you care about, eh?

I awoke early the next morning to the sound of rain on the tin roof, which was a big surprise since we’d been in the dry season for the last couple of months. Since no one else was awake, I put on my rain jacket and went for a walk--I had to see up close what we were going to be throwing ourselves into, literally. The falls were not falls as we think of, but more a long series of rapids and drops. The roaring sound of an oncoming army that I heard the previous night didn’t at all deceive what I actually saw.

We had a 9:30 breakfast call with our guide at the reception area down by the water. So we met up with everyone, including 4 others that would be joining our group of 7. After a nice breakfast of fresh pineapple and watermelon with some great local coffee, we got the lesson on how to put on our life vests and helmets. Enoch, the Ugandan doing the orientation, stressed the importance of this to our staying alive, which just added to our anticipation and excitement. We then walked about 200 yards to a little cove area to the side of the falls. We were split into two groups by two guides for two rafts. Ruco and Kristi and their family were assigned to Enoch’s boat. And me and Tred were assigned to the other boat, along with the 4 other out-of-towners who came for this adventure.

Our guide introduced himself to us. And his name? Moses! Would you believe it? What a coincidence! Not only would I finally be able to tackle the Nile, but I was doing it with Moses! He explained how he was born and “grew up on the banks of the Nile.” Moses was a short, small, and very dark-skinned man, with an infectious smile and an always-present and contagious excitement for the day. I was glad to be with him. We got in the boat, without trying to slip on the muddy and slippery rocks going down. My position was in the front, on the right.

In the calm water of the cove, we practiced our rowing techniques. As we looked nearby to the inevitable drop we would soon be going down, we were all mixed with excitement, regret, and a sudden urge to wet ourselves. There was talk of if we would flip in the rapids, or if we would get knocked out. Would it be possible to stay dry the whole day? (Secretly, though, staying dry was the last thing on my mind).

Then Moses answered the question. “Ok group, all move to one side. We’re going to practice how to get back in the boat after flipping.”

We all looked at each other. Moses answered our puzzled looks.

“Yes, we’re gonna flip right now!” he said with a mischievous grin.

So everyone moved to one side, and then after “1…2…3” we flipped over, on purpose. The water was surprisingly warm, and then we practiced how to climb back into the boat after flipping--a much more difficult task than one would imagine. There are two ways of doing this awkward move. You can either have someone pull you up by the shoulder pads of your life vest over the inflated hump. Or you can try to pull yourself up on the side. Either way, it puts you in a beached whale position—flopping around trying to roll back into the boat—leaving you sprawled out with arms and legs going everywhere as if you’re trying to swim on dry land. Any ounce of dignity we had went “overboard” when we did.

Then Moses said we were ready to tackle the first rapid. He apparently had more confidence in us than we did ourselves. As we headed towards the first part of the waterfall, I got real excited (and for the first time, a little nervous)...

Coming up...