Sights and Sounds of Kisiizi

As I step up the driveway incline, through the gate and onto the red dirt road leading into Kisiizi a rush of sights and sounds come to me. I see the little children across the road chasing their bicycle tire with a stick, the only toy they know. Of course I’m greeted by them with the only English they know, “How are you”. I reply, “Good” and they go about playing. As I walk down the road a breeze rushes through rustling the matooke tree leaves. I’m surrounded by matooke plantations on either side of me. It is such a beautiful sight, all of the green banana looking trees, very exotic, I know I’m not in the U.S.. From the matooke plantations I look up the lush green hills to see pine and hard wood trees. It is an amazing sight to behold! I think to myself, God is so creative and full of majesty. I then come to an area of the dirt road that has turned to mud because the water running down from the hills. The water has created a small stream across the road which runs clear with small rocks at its base. It’s wonderful to hear the babble of a stream, something very tranquil about it. I jump across and keep walking.

As I walk I occasionally see a small wood or mud houses with tin roofs on them. Out in front of the houses are children running around the front yard, of red dirt, playing as men set outside on the ground or on a bench talking. I’m greeted by some of the small children, “Agandi teacher Rita”. They are some of my nursery school students. Agandi means how are you in Ruchiga (Lu’chi’ga), the local tribal language. I greet them back, ni gaahe, meaning ok. I keep walking peering out at the green hill sides and see boys walking up them with their cows and goats in a row climbing the hill for grazing. Naturally I have to look down quite a bit because the road has many ruts, holes and some mud on it, so I can’t be looking up at all the beautiful scenery surrounding me as much as I’d like. I have to stop walking to do that.

That’s what I do next because the matooke plantations have stopped and the valley has opened up to fertile farm ground. I see women, with their colorful pagnes wrapped around them, out in the field digging the dark black soil. The color contrasts are a sight to behold. The dark black soil is just waiting to produce crops of sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes or beans for the next season. The women look up at me at wave and I wave back. I’m almost to the Kisiizi trading center now, just a few minutes ahead of me, and I hear a pig snorting. He is tied to a small tree, routing in the dirt for something. I have to giggle at his sounds. I cross over a small bridge and look below me at the river water rushing by. Then see to the left of me pasture, cows grazing and up the mountain side thick group of trees. Wow how beautiful! The road opens up to a canopy of very large trees beckoning you into the trading center. As you head up the road you see Kisiizi Hospital Primary school, then the Hospital. You finally reach the trading center, with its makeshift wooden stalls, with women selling tomatoes, passion fruit, Irish, and small bananas. Opposite of this are 10 or so small wooden huts selling everything from candles and soap to feed for chickens. This is Kisiizi!