Market Madness!

Tuesday afternoon Jacque and I continued to work on our "No Plastic Bags (Kaveras)" campaign. It is going well so far, however it will be quite and undertaking. We are going to be sending out a request for appeals to all the Roots & Shoots groups in Uganda (64)! The groups will direct these appeals to the government officials and they will say why they think as young citizens of Uganda the issue of plastic bags is a critically important one and immediate action needs to be taken. The groups will have until May to submit the appeals...in the meantime we are going to approach the media and local companies for sponsorship starting Wednesday. September will be the conclusion of this campaign with presentations from groups, keynote speakers, workshops and an environmental exhibition.On the final day we will be splitting up into 4 groups and heading down into the slums to do a clean up (well they will be, I wish I could come). We are very excited about it, hopefully it will be quite successful!
Tuesday evening was "Market Day" and everyone was telling us we should go see what it is about, so Beth and I went after work. What an exciting and crowded place! This was way different from the regular market, everything you could ever want was there!! All the vendors line up on the ground and they close the road and you just wind your way through the pack and find what you need. There are piles and piles of shoes, photos, containers, skirts and shirts of all different colours, produce ranging from passionfruit to pinapples! I bought some beans and sweet potatoes and haggled with two men on the price of 2 skirts...I am very proud of myself I definetly got them at a lower price.
Earlier that day I had the pleasure of being introduced to Ora or "The General" as she is so nicknamed (I still haven't learned why yet but I have a feeling I will:). Ora is an outspoken Australian women in her senior years and she has been working with chimpanzees and other wildlife most of her life. She is quite a character...when we got back from the market she talked to me and Beth for a couple of hours. She is excited that I am staying at the island and has some great stories about the chimps, especially of the newly introduced "Mac" She is quite nimble at at ease with the chimps for her age, I hope I can keep going strong like that in my elderly years. She is a friend of Dr. Jane's and of Debby Cox's. Debby, the past ED of JGI Uganda, who lives in the house has been in Australia for awhile. Debby recieved the "Order of Australia" supposively Australia's highest honour. She returns Friday and we are throwing her a party, should be great! I met her years ago in Toronto, it will be nice to see her again. Well that is it for now...I will write more tomorrow!