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 a base for volunteers, and well over 1,000 young souls have stayed here since. You can guess what happened next.
Some people found partners or a path abroad. Others walked away with nothing more than a wild story or a memory that still makes them grin. One of our favourite tales involves a canoe boy who could neither read nor write, yet somehow delivered a love letter to a volunteer. That’s what friends are for, right?!
We’ve picked one story among many, one that begins in 2009. The man who kindly shared it prefers to stay anonymous and, just to be clear, he has nothing to do with the photos you see here.
Back then he was translating at Bufuka and Kyabahinga Primary Schools and helping with swimming lessons, mostly for British volunteers. None caught his eye until one young woman showed real care for his mother’s illness. Meals followed on the Canteen verandah, stories were swapped, conversations grew.
“She was beautiful, like a Mukiga,” he smiles, sketching generous curves in the air with his hands. Just before her placement ended, he made his move. Not long after, she returned to Uganda, this time as a cofounder of his budding organisation and a future bride. Even her parents came along. Two years later, a son was conceived in Kabale and born in England in 2012.
Bureaucrats, however, had other plans. He was never granted a UK visa, despite trying three times. “They thought I wouldn’t return, but I was always happy in Kabale,” he says. His wife preferred Europe and visited only now and then.
By 2015, distance did what distance often does. He now speaks with his son about once a month. “It’s tough. I couldn’t go, she wouldn’t stay, and this is where we landed,” he shrugs.
But watch this, Edirisa stepped in again. He reconnected with a girl who once worked at the nursery, and today they share four kids.
Is there a better window onto another culture than love?