Kampala: Markets and Makerere

I spent the morning in the market. We call it "Africrap." Unkind, perhaps, but an apt description of the mostly Asian-manufactured goods on sale at various markets all over the continent. It's really unusual to find something outside of the norm of plastic woven baskets, serving spoons, wooden bowls, etc... I've bought some cool stuff, don't get me wrong, and a lot of it I'd find for sale at Urban for five times as much. Today I bought cool coasters, oven mitts, and signature Ugandan necklaces (woven from magazines). I also bought coffee, and lots of it, all Ugandan, all found in different parts of the state. It smells delicious. My bag is now stuffed with six bottles of wine and seven bags of coffee. Customs in Zambia was a little dicey, we'll see how this goes on my way home.

I walked to the market, which is a bit unusual for me. Because of security and the distance, I almost always take a taxi or hire a driver for the day when I'm abroad. Because Kampala is so safe and so compact (at least our hotel is in the city center so it feels compact, I'm sure it's much more spread out if you know it), I walked easily around. People were helpful if I needed directions. Everyone speaks English, it's the language of instruction for secondary school.

After that, it was time for lunch and a meeting at Makerere University. It was interesting to visit a University within Africa. Students were everywhere, which was a good sign for a Saturday. Storks were also omnipresent, leading to many a fertility joke. Our contact, a professor, had a heavy duty padlock on his office door. We spoke about block grants and learned these can exist in (at least) two different forms: one which gives the money to the schools to support students, but doesn't stipulate how. Another that provides "in-kind" donations rather than money. This is meant to help reduce corruption as they funds then can't be diverted. How would you measure whether indirect funding does reduces corruption? Another question, what is the actual measurement of successful education? Is it getting to University? Getting a job after University? Simply finishing secondary schools? In an economy with few jobs, more education may not truly be a marker for successful education programs; especially if it leads to more debt.