Making Money During Christmas Holidays in Uganda
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Christmas is a period when the streets of Kampala, capital city of Uganda, fill up to the brim with people from all corners of the country.
A time when pickpockets make more money than any other time of the year. Due to the traffic and people jam, you could barely feel anybody who decides to search your trouser and jacket pockets for your wallet or mobile phone. Often you are forced to move in a particular direction with the rest of other people just to get away from the pushing and shoving.
Moving with the crowd, the stench from a collision of perfumes and body ordour is also another put off. The hot weather and dust not helping the situation either as everybody around is heavily perspiring and yearning for a breathe of fresher air.
Loud christmas music from mobile music vans, yelling vendors begging passersby to buy their wares, persistent hooting from intolerant taxi drivers and if at all you are carrying a heavy bag, bus operators will continually surround you mentioning all sorts of bus names and cheap bus fares to destinations you never thought to travel to before.
All the fuss about such big holiday seasons (xmas and easter) bring along with them huge increases in taxi fares not mentioning the huge influx of people coming from places nobody knows. Taxi drivers make the most profit with public transport going up 2 - 3 times for shorter distances and upto 10 times the normal value for long distances out of the city.
But besides all this flurry of unpleasant disruptions to the usual way of doing business, this season brings about an excitement and a reminder to connect with far-off family and friends. A time that reminds one of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, reaching and helping a neighbour and for lukewarm christians, a time to attend mass or service in church. It is also a time that reminds one, that finally, the year has come to an end, and therefore a time to take stock of one's achievements, challenges and laying down of new dreams for the coming year.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2010 everyone! Thank you for the support throughout 2009. I pray hope it will continue into and beyond 2010. See you at the biggest event to hit africa next year, when we do host the Africa Soccer World cup in South Africa.
