CHOGM

The acronym has many variations (some quite funny) but the true one is Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This meeting is taking place this week and it is no ordinary meeting. HRH Queen Elizabeth II will be arriving tomorrow. There are also 53 other Heads of State and 5000 delegates arriving during this week too. For most countries it would be a bit of a logistical challenge to host such an event and for Uganda we would say that it has been a bit more than that. Having said that we have seen roads re-surfaced and some roads even seeing tar for the first time in their lives, hotels springing out of nowhere, rubbish bins being placed around town and various other amenities that we didn’t think we would ever see in Uganda. Most Mzungus (white foreigners) are seeking refuge in various other parts of Uganda or neighbouring countries to avoid the impending chaos. For us, we decided to stay and “enjoy” the event. School children are especially happy for CHOGM as they have no school this week. It seemed it was easier to close schools rather than teachers and parents have to battle through traffic, cope with road closures and numerous other inconveniences that might arise. MAF is open for business although flights have been greatly reduced to avoid too much disappointment if they can’t go ahead because of closed roads or airspace. Once we get into the post CHOGM stage we will re-surface again and let you know how it all went J