lots of chat…but I don’t mean talking

Quite an adventure last night, driving into the town (Yumbe) at around 5, to drop off a short term volunteer at their hotel, and head back to my 10’x10’ at the Disability Centre in the middle of the Refugee Settlement.  It’s about 20km, very rough roads so you have to go steady (and I go much slower than our drivers do) so it normally takes 30-35 minutes.

A couple of miles short of the town I heard a bank and the engine just died.  Fortunately, we were almost, but not quite, in the middle of nowhere so we got lots of help.  Not in the ‘let’s shake down the muzungo (white guy) kind of way’, but genuine heart.  It was so lovely – impromptu AA.  A guy rang his mate (of course) who was a mechanic.  As we were waiting a driver from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Health Centre, in whose compound we lodge, stopped as he was passing and tried to help.  Zak was his name.  Legend.  He couldn’t help but gave lots of moral support and it was a great show of comradeship.  So, thirty minutes later the mechanic arrived (on a moto, with his toolbox strapped to the back) and set to.  He worked for a while and declared it an ‘electrical problem’ so called mechanic #2 who, I subsequently find out, is the boss.  He arrived on the back of a moto with a piece of wire in his hand (seriously).  He spent a little time working without joy and so decided to take the cover off the Timing Belt.  And there it was: more of a length of rubber and steel wire, than a continuous belt…

Of course, he could get one: for 60,000 Ugandan Shillings (or £15).  630pm on Saturday night: not sure you’d get that value back in the UK?  So off he went back to Yumbe.  It was getting dark by now, but I had confidence despite being (almost) in the middle of nowhere, rain falling and dark, as mechanic #1 stayed with us.  Whilst we were waiting, IRC Driver Zak stopped again (on his way back to the Heah Centre with supplies).  We explained that all was well and we had a plan and he continued on.  By the time mechanic #2 came back with a new Timing Belt (and showed us matching part numbers for reassurance) the rain was lighter, but it was pitch black.  A minor detail, they set to with the repair by torchlight!  Sadly, it seemed more serious and so we would need a tow back to his ‘garage’ for a full assessment and repair in daylight, the following day.

Incredibly, just at that moment, Zak appeared (did I say he was a legend?).  He had completed his work but came back (best part of 30min drive) to see if we were OK!  After discussion with mechanic #2, Zak said he was going to tow us and drop our visitor off at his hotel – where actually I decided to stay too. 

So the penultimate event of the night was Zak towing us the 3 miles to Yumbe, in pitch black across the super bumpy, unmade dirt roads. This is Uganda after all, resilience is in the DNA.  The final event of the night was deep fried goat and chips, and a cold beer.  Nice to be in a hotel, with a shower (cold of course) to look forward to in the morning.  And that’s not irony, cold showers are fine by me – better than a bucket wash any day!

So, chat.  I think ‘khat’ is the spelling, but chat is the pronunciation – for us westerners anyway.  If you are not aware, khat is a stimulant drug, meaning it speeds up the messages between the brain and the body, and gives a euphoric effect.  Very common in parts of the Middle East and Eastern Africa, such as Uganda, Somalia…

So mechanic #1, went through a whole ziploc bag of khat during his initial investigation of our breakdown.  You saw the movie ‘Captain Phillips’, right…?