Category: Life of a Volunteer
Our Stories:
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Mr Muzungu Boda Boda Looks Back
We cherish the interns from UCLL, a Belgian university, who help us at Lake Bunyonyi in so many different ways, each for a 6-month stint! Milan was the fifth among them. “Adventure” was practically his middle name … You may also like: How a Gracious Bird Taught Me a Lesson in PatienceCrazy: Burundi, Rwanda &…
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An Artist in Search of Ugandan Aletheia
“Aletheia” means “truth” in Greek or to be more precise: that which does not escape notice, does not hide, is not forgotten; that which remains evident, the opposite of oblivion, of forgetting; that which resists the wear of time, which cannot be erased from memory. I experienced all of this with every sense present while…
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Great Yields, Terrible Manners: Antisocial Climbing Beans
The little secret about the soil here at Bunyonyi is that it’s tired, basically. Our land simply can’t cope with beans that refuse to climb, because the poor ground has been overworked for years and is losing its fertility bit by bit. Nobody lets their fields have a proper rest either; there just aren’t enough…
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Thrice Unlucky, But Never Down
Great news: our unlucky volunteer Anne is back at work! She has completed her first week at a Bristol care home, still on crutches. Let’s now rewind to early February, on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi … Enter Anne, an enthusiastic British woman. After a two-week trip through Uganda, she extends her stay a month…
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Love Has Been All Around
The silver anniversary of the window idea (“Edirisa” in the language of Bunyonyi) is less than a week away. And since today happens to be Valentine’s Day, it feels like the moment to dive into all the love Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi has witnessed over 25 years. Here’s the thing. It was first built as…
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Elie’s Offline Anguish at Lake Bunyonyi
On 20/12/2025 Elie Cirhuza set foot on Ugandan soil again, four months after his first stay on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi. Passionate about tourism and cultural diversity in the region, this Congolese Friendship Camper returned as a volunteer with us. Elie was driven by the desire to improve his English and sharpen his multimedia…
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Milan vs. Bunyonyi: Not A Bad Start!
This is Milan, a student of UC Leuven-Limburg, who arrived at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi last month. Like others before him, he’s doing a 6-month internship that’s part of the “Global Citizenship and Development” course. We first sent Milan to a 2-day canoe tour with a friendly group of World Insight travellers from Austria and…
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Volunteer’s Dilemma: Cause, Cash or the Girl?
Stay in Africa to help, or return to Europe for paid work (and a girlfriend who misses you badly)? A dilemma that many a volunteer has faced before … but usually not just a few days after their arrival! Last month, that happened to Sifis Sareidakis, 25, a Greek computer analyst turned supply chain planner.…
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Alenka’s Rwandan-Slovenian Christmas Twist
Merry Christmas! We’re treating you to a Rwandan-Slovenian twist on strudel today: choose between a delicious filling of carrots and pumpkin or a tropical mix of bananas, dried plums, and raisins — all lovingly prepared by Alenka Seher. Alenka, who previously travelled with us through Uganda in 2007, has returned 17 years later to get…
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