Gulu crew-lu

View Larger Map

Gulu. It's not exactly a tourist destination, but it is a place of political and historical significance, and a place one should see after spending over 2.5 years in Uganda. As excerpted from an outdated Wikipedia entry:

Gulu District is a district in northern Uganda, taking its name from its commercial centre, the town of Gulu. It is one of three districts forming the historical homeland of the Acholi ethnic group, also known as Acholiland. It lies 332 km north of the capital of Kampala and...has historically been seen as the most important and influential of the northern districts. It shares borders with seven other districts as well as Sudan. The 2002 census put the population at 479,496. Over 90% of the population is considered to be agriculturalists.

Gulu is the birthplace of prominent poet Okot p'Bitek. It has been the location of much of the insurgent fighting by the Lord's Resistance Army and was the birthplace of both Alice Auma and Joseph Kony. Over 90% of the population has been displaced, mostly into camps clustered around towns and trading centers. To avoid abduction by the LRA thousands of children travel from rural areas to seek refuge in towns every night. However due to the improving security situation the number of 'night commuters' fleeing every night in the district has reduced from around 25,000 in 2004 to 4000 in 2006.

The impetus for a road trip to Gulu is increased when a.) you have a friend that runs a very cool fair trade business there, b.) this friend can put you up for free at her place, and c.) it is the last weekend your friend is in the country (which was not, of course, this past weekend, but Aug 28th-29th).

The friend would be Halle and her very cool fair trade business would be One Mango Tree, whose tailors make everything from handbags to t-shirts to oven mitts and yoga bags that are ultimately sold in places such as Target and Whole Foods.

Unable to resist the temptation of possible abduction by the LRA, Alison, Andie, Maria, Matt and I squashed into the Rav4 and hit the road (and several speed humps, and a bird). Before we had even gotten on the road to "The North" (actual sign), someone spotted a "United Against Sodomy" bumper sticker on a car in front of us. We thus dedicated ourselves to stopping sodomy for the remainder of the trip.

On the road we were accompanied by the 90s One Hit Wonders playlist, Starburst, Reeces Pieces, Mad Libs and the occasional political rally, the latter characterized by groups of people walking/biking on the side of the road while cheering, waving palm fronds, shaking hands and honking into vuvuzelas.

Upon arrival in Gulu we realized that Halle has not, in fact, been making everything up. The pink One Mango house really does exist, the ladies exist, the old Singers exist, the cutting room exists, the box room exists, the nursery exists, the new samples exist. Not that we ever had any doubts.

The branded wall outside the OMT compound, though an over-adorned "o" makes it look like Ane Mango Tree

Maria at the Singer



The cubby wall

We had a chance to sample crusty pizza at...that sandwich place with the name, lounge on the couches at...that Ethiopian place with the name, have a slumber party in the mosquito-netted OMT annex (I applaud your commitment to malaria prevention, Halle), brunch at The Coffee Hut, partake in a crazy game of telephone pictionary, wander through Gulu market and cruise around town before getting back on the road again.   

Coffee shop that makes you feel like you're in DC, rather than Gulu, Uganda

Telephone pictionary - everyone's new favorite game



To anyone that's going to go on a road trip with Andie, please note: 1.) If you let her drive, she will get stopped by the traffic police, and 2.) She will successfully avoid any drawn out endeavors with the police by smiling sweetly, holding up a 10,000 shilling note, and innocently asking, "Some tea?"

When all was said and done, we spent nearly 10 hours on the road and only a handful more in Gulu.

It was worth every sodomy stopping second.