Charity Registration Number 1179986
Trustee Visit To Uganda 2024
In August 2024, trustees Chris Bird and Terri Jones visited Uganda to check up on all of our current projects. This account is written by Terri, who was visiting Uganda (and indeed Africa) for the first time.
Wednesday 14th August
After an incredibly early start, we arrived at Bristol Airport for our 6:00 AM flight to Amsterdam, where we would get a connecting flight to Entebbe, Uganda. We spent almost 12 hours in the air before arriving in Entebbe at 11:30 PM.
(Entebbe airport has it's own interesting history where an international civilian aircraft flight of 248 passengers were hijacked and diverted to Entebbe airport in 1976 and used as hostages during 'Operation Entebbe'. When you land at Entebbe airport, you pass by the original airport building that was used during the event.)
We were collected from the airport by George, who is a friend of Chris's, and his buisness associate Ian. We are incredibly grateful to them for coming out late at night to collect us and drive us to Kampala. As we drove out of the airport I caught by first glimpses of Uganda. (Please note, all these opinions and observations are my own. This was my first visit to Africa.)
Even though it was almost midnight, I was surprised at the number of people still out on the streets. We passed quite a few younger people and children walking the streets, as well as groups of men on foot or on boda bodas (motorbikes) hanging around. Personally, I found that quite intimidating and I was certainly glad to be safely inside the car. There were also numerous small shops and street food vendors still open, presumably catering for the groups of men still out late at night.
We arrived at our first stop, the Las Vegas Garden Hotel Kampala at gone midnight. Both myself and Chris were looking forward to getting some sleep after a long day of travelling. George was a little amused when we asked what the loud noises were at the hotel, he told us they were frogs and that he thought we had those in the UK. We explained that we do indeed have frogs in the UK, but that they are nowhere near as vocal as they are in Uganda! Chris was taken straight to his room, but the staff member who took me to mine decided that I should also have a tour of the hotel at almost 1:00 AM. I didn't completely agree, but it did mean that I knew where to find breakfast the following morning and Chris didn't!
Thursday 15th August
Thursday started with a very early breakfast for me, as I hadn't realised my phone had automatically changed over to Ugandan time, so I was an hour earlier than I needed to be! The food was an interesting mix of Ugandan food and some recognisable items like cornflakes and fruit. I wasn't a fan of the Ugandan bread as it was very sweet and had an unusual texture.
We had a six hour drive to Mbale ahead of us, so George and Ian collected us at 9:30 AM. As they both had work commitments that day, they would only be taking us so far and a different driver, David, would take us the rest of the way. George was keen to know what we thought of the hotel, as he had been involved in designing parts of it, which he was clearly very proud about.
As soon as we arrived in the main town of Kampala, we had to find a place to sort out Chris's phone. He already had a Ugandan SIM card from a previous visit, but it was refusing to connect to the network which was problematic for us, as it meant we had no way to contact anyone. The roads in Uganda are chaotic. There are cars, lorries, boda bodas and 'white taxis' everywhere! There are no clear rules, it just seems to be a case of constant overtaking and everyone feeling that they had priority over everyone else on the road. I was certainly glad that I wasn't driving! While Chris sorted his phone out with George, I stayed in the car with Ian and he explained a little bit about the Ugandan school system to me, as well as some general information that he thought I would find interesting. Life in Uganda is very different to the UK! In the UK, you can book a taxi and know exactly when you will arrive at your destination. In Uganda, the 'white taxis' (named because they are always little white buses) will not depart until they are full. Each taxi has a conductor, who waits on the street to usher people on board. They are only licenced to carry 14 passengers, but always seemed to carry at least 20 people inside, with large items of luggage tied onto the roof. It was also really common to find street food vendors approaching vehicles to sell food or bottles of soda to the people inside, through the windows. When a 'white taxi' would stop somewhere, you could see a number of vendors rushing to the vehicle to try and make a sale.
We dropped George and Ian off and continued our journey with our new driver, David. We passed a number of incredible sights including people transporting hugh loads on the back of bicycles, or riding on top of trucks that were piled high with filled sacks (I counted 6 men hanging on to the top of one of them!) We saw a large number of police and military on the roads which David said was unusal, until we were told to pull over to allow President Museveni and his motorcade to pass by! (Hopefully I will be able to share the video here, but I will certainly share it to our Facebook page.)
We stopped in the town of Jinja for a break in a place called Java House, which apparently is very popular with 'mzungus' (white people). In Jinja you also cross over a bridge that spans the source of the River Nile. As you approach the bridge there a signs telling you that you are not allowed to stop to take photographs, although there were people stood doing exactly that. I decided to take photos as we drove over the bridge to avoid any trouble!
We were due to pick up our fellow trustee Diana when we arrived in Mbale, so our next stop was Livingstone International Univesity where she works. From there, we went to the La Shalom Hotel, which is where we would be staying throughout our visit. The hotel is reasonably new and certainly looked promising on the website, but that wasn't always the case! Once we were checked in, we were picked up by Diana's husband Stephen, who would be driving us around during our visit. We had dinner in a place called Colobus, and chatted about our plans for our visit as we had a lot of places to visit and people we wanted to meet.
Back at our hotel we experienced our first issues, as the air conditioning was tempermental and neither of us could get the showers to work!(I also had open wiring in my bathroom, which looked like it was possibly a power socket that hadn't been finished!) I eventually gave up with my air conditioning as it kept shutting off and beeping, which would wake me up. Luckily the windows were screened with mesh, so I risked sleeping with the window open and covered in insect repellant!
Friday 16th August
Breakfast at the hotel was an experience every day... they were initially quite puzzled at our request for vegetarian food, something that is very uncommon in Uganda. The hot breakfast options were usually matoke (green bananas), 'Irish' potatos, sausages and spaghetti. The cold options were usually boiled eggs, fruit and sometimes bakery items. It was also interesting to find that even though they grow a lot of coffee in Uganda, most locals don't actually drink it! Their hot drink of choice seemed to be 'African tea', which was very milky tea that was lightly spiced with cardamom and cinnamon.
Stephen and Diana arrived after breakfast and we travelled into town to collect Joseph (Director of Chance Nabweya Community Organisation and Bunyanga Bright Primary School), before settling off for Namayili. The main towns are loud and very busy, with both people and vehicles. There are even trucks driving around loaded with speakers, blasting music and with men shouting messages in the local language of Lugisu. Diana explained that these trucks were used to advertise events around Mbale. Again we noticed a large police and military presence, which we later heard was due to President Museveni attending meetings in the area.
As we headed out of town into the more rural villages, you find a lot of road side shops and street traders, as well as countless chickens, pigs, goats and cows either running free or tethered to the roadside.
As we arrived in Namayili, we were met by the pupils and staff of Bunyanga Bright Primary who were singing a song to welcome us. We followed them off of the main road into the school grounds. We sat outside one of the classroom buildings while the pupils performed more songs and both Joseph and the headteacher made a speech. There didn't seem to be lessons happening, so the classrooms were empty when we were taken on a tour around them. Bunyanga Bright Primary has two main classroom blocks, one is a permanent structure build by the government many years ago and the other is a semi-permanent building constructed with a wooden frame and covered in layers of clay, earth and dung. The classroom are very basic, decorated in a small number of learning materials and resources that the teachers have made. We looked at the school kitchen and the latrines, both built by 3H in previous years.
Bunyanga Bright Primary is right next to the Manafwa River, which often overflows and bursts its banks. Many pupils and teachers cross the river using the 'scary bridge' (our name for it, not theirs!) which is regularly damaged by the river. We have consulted with building specialists in the past, but the local landscape makes it nearly impossible to construct something stronger and more permanent. Stephen and Diana walked over the bridge and back, but when we saw how wobbly it was, Chris and I decided not to risk it! (Which I know Karen will be very pleased to hear...) There were quite a few women and children using the river to wash clothes clothes in, with the clean washing laid out on the grass to dry. Namayili is not one of the areas that suffers with drought and it rains almost daily in the afternoons.
We went back to the school buildings to meet with Joseph, the headteacher and the committee chairman to discuss progress and issues that were happening at the school. We were offered matoke, chapatis and African tea. (Offering food when you visit somewhere or go to someones home is a common tradition in Uganda and it is considered rude to refuse it.)
After the meeting we went to see the food being grown on the land around the school by members of the community. We also discussed the governments requests from the school when they last visited. After this tour we were taken back to the school for lunch; meat dishes, rice, matoke and chapatis. Unfortunately the pupils at the school did not join us for lunch and the teachers ate out in the grounds rather than in the classroom with us.
Once our visit was over and we said goodbye to everyone, we dropped Joseph off near Mbale and discussed the days events in a cafe called Endiro. Chris visited the local bank to withdrawn moeny for our stay. While he was gone, Endiro tried to overcharge us for our order blaming the new menus that hadn't arrived yet, but it was probably due to 'mzungu prices' which seems to happen often in Uganda, where they try to overcharge Mzungus who are less familiar with the local currency etc. When Chris didn't return from the bank after some time, Diana went over to find out what was happening and to rescue Chris if necessary! (Banking was an issue for us while we were out there as their system is very complicated if you have a Ugandan account but reside outside Uganda!)
Saturday 17th August
On Saturday we were meeting current sponsired students from Livingstone International University (LIU), as well as previously sponsored students who had graduated. We met with the current students individually, to give us an opportunity to learn more about their lives and where they grew up, as well as how they are finding university life.
To protect their privacy, I won't go into detail about the individual students lives and experiences. But we heard some heartbreaking accounts of life in some of the smaller villages, not just for the students themselves, but some of their parents experiences too. Uganda (and much of Africa) has a history of turbulence and violence and to hear some of these accounts first hand was incredible. Personally I have learned a lot about the history and politics there during my trip and some of it is just beyond belief, so far away from what life is like for us in the UK.
We spoke to students from huge families, with more than ten siblings! We spoke to victims of rape and abuse. (Including some that had been forced to have children following those attacks) We spoke to graduates who were battling to get jobs as many require you to know someone who can get you a position, or were simply battling to get a job in a male dominated society. But not one of them was about to give up. They are facing constant issues, but they are still trying. My heart went out to these young ladies and it was a privilege to meet them. I hope to keep in contact with them now I am back in the UK.
After the individual meeting I went to talk to them as a group. They were facinated about life outside Uganda and had a lot of questions! Some of the students and graduates were very quiet, but it was clear that they all knew each other and were quite close. It was great to see that they had developed their own support network and were genuinely friends with each other.
We were due to all have lunch together at the hotel, which was another strange hotel experience! We were given menus, only to be told that they had nothing listed in there! Most of the ladies ordered fish, but we were then told that there wasn't enough. We tried to order drinks but were told that they were out of a number of things as the food order hadn't arrived yet. We ordered what we could and hoped for the best!
We waited ages for drinks and easily over an hour for the food! Ugandan time keeping is an interesting experience for sure! Some of them were disappointed that they could not order milkshakes. They explained to me that they are something they don't have at home, so they like to order them when they are out. They don't like to drink plain milk and were very surprised to hear how normal that is in the UK and that we even give out cartons of milk to children in school daily! I was also interested to learn that cheese isn't really eaten in Uganda and can be difficult to find as it's only really served in cafes that are visited by westerners. It's also really common for Ugandans to take any left over food home. All of the cafes we visited readily packed up leftovers to be taken away, there is little to no food waste.
Sunday 18th August
Sunday was a quiet day for Chris and I as most Ugandans are in church. We decided it would be a good time to go for a walk around the town as it would be quiet. I was excited to find something new at breakfast, called a mandazi, which was a type of fried bread doughnut that tasted like banana bread.
It is a strange experience walking around Uganda as we don't exactly blend in. I saw quite a few children point us out to the adults with them during our stay, or adults randomly shouting 'mzungu' when they pass you on the street. A number of men approached us while we were out calling us their friend and wanting to know where we were from (usually they are just trying to build a rapport so that you will give them money.) which can be quite intimidating as they are very persistent. We were even followed around the market by a young boy, he remained at a distance but everytime I turned around he was there. Apparently this is also common for white people to be followed around when they are out visiting places.
We saw a few people sleeping on the streets, which even the locals said was unusual. There were lots of shops and food vendors open, even on a Sunday. Some of the bigger shops will ask to check your bags when you walk in and will also stamp your reciept on the way out of the door. It also wasn't unusual to find people sat outside shops with large guns or wooden clubs, mainly as a deterrent to potential thieves.
We had a brief rest at the hotel before Stephen came to collect us to take us to their home for the afternoon. When we arrived they were on their second day without electricity, which seems to be a common issue across Uganda (we had regular power cuts in the evenings at the hotel.) Stephen and Diana are originally from Kenya, so it was interesting to hear their thought on the differences between the two. We met their three young boys and ate lunch together. From their balcony you can see Mt. Elgon in the distance, which is the fourth highest peak in East Africa and an extinct shield volcano.
That evening I had another exciting hotel adventure when I spotted a mouse in my room! I was prepared for the Ugandan wildlife, but I hadn't expected this furry room mate. I went to get help from reception, explaining that there was a mouse in my room which they seemed to find quite funny. Eventually they came to have a look after I told them it was a rat. They man came up to my room and of course there's no mouse to be found. He proceeds to show me all of the parts of the room where there is no mouse and tells me to come back if I see it again.
Less than ten minutes later my furry friend makes a break for it across the room towards the bed and I end up back in reception talking to the man that probably thinks I'm quite mad. I practically drag him back to my room while he chuckles saying 'no mouse'. Of course yet again, there's no mouse to be seen. I tell him he isn't leaving until the mouse is dealt with. The mouse then dashes behind him and over towards the balcony door, while I shout 'he's there, look!' He still hasn't seen it and now it has disappered again - seeing the mouse is bad enough but not being able to find it is even worse! He tries to convince me that it's gone under the door and proceeds to stuff a bath mat and a towel under the gap. It's safe to say that I slept with the light on, convinced that the mouse would be back.
Monday 19th August
On Monday we were making our first trip to visit Milton in Kyemula and Jackie School. The road into Kyemula is very rough and bumpy!
We were met by Milton and the schools headteacher outside what was originally the old peoples home. Milton was very excited to recieve gifts from Karen and Chris, including a smart new suit. (Milton is an important, well respected figure in the community. As well as being a teacher, he is also the pastor in their church. You can tell from talking to him that he wants nothing but the best for the people in his community. He has a great understanding of sustainability and the importance of the community growing crops that they can sell and use those funds to pay school fees and other things.
Milton explained that they only had two older people still living in the home and that the rest was used to home the orphaned girls in the village. They have 34 girls sharing the dormitory, with 2-3 girls in each bunk. These conditions are far from ideal, but at least it is better than living on the streets. At the back of the building used to be a vegetable plot tended to by the older residents, but they are no longer physically able to maintain it. Milton also uses the dorm building to store food for the school for the following term - most of which is grown in the community and sold to the school.
We had coffee, bananas and samosas with Milton and he explained what was happening in the community at the moment and any issues they were having. He talked about the need to support the pupils who complete their exams and go on to secondary school, as currently we only sponsor them up to P7. Milton has made incredible progress with Jackie School (named after the jackfruit that grow around the village), he started with a small mud hut and 20 children and it has grown into a proper school with over 500 pupils! The reputation of the school and the standard of teaching is good and children are coming from villages further away.
As we walked over to the school we passed the orphaned boys dorms and Miltons home. We were greeted at the school by the choir and presented with small bunches of local flowers. All of the other children were still in class taking their end of term exams. We visited each classroom and all of the pupils were polite and well behaved. The teachers all seemed really happy and almost all of the children had school uniform and shoes. After visiting the classes we went to the school kitchen, where sadly they have recently lost one of the cooks. As well as the food stores at the girls dorm, there is a large maize store right by the kitchen. We were pleased to see the oven in use which was donated by another charity a couple of years ago (these ovens require less fuel to generate heat so are more economical). From there we went to see their water tank, which is topped up from guttering on both the school and the church. Unfortunately Kyemula is one of the villages that often goes weeks or months without rain, so water is carefully stored and rationed. Milton plans to add another water tank near to the girls dorm.
We popped into the church to meet some of the parents that were going to join us for lunch. Milton spoke to them for a short while in their local language and everyone seemed happy and engaged in the community. Behind the church are the school latrines. They have an older pit latrine and newer latrines where the waste can be pumped out when the tanks are full (thanks to funding from the Rotary Club). This is a huge improvement from standard pit latrines, which have to be moved and rebuild once they are full. Next to the latrines we saw the school pigsty and the most recent litter of piglets.
We introduced to a young boy called Joshua who is in P6. Sadly Joshua had an accident earlier in the year when he fell out of the tree and ended up losing an arm. Unfortunately most of the jobs locally involve agriculture, which will be almost impossible for him to do. As a charity we will need to look for sponsorship for Joshua to keep him in education, to broaden his chances of employment in the future.
We returned to the school just as the youngest pupils were finishing for the day. We sat in the meeting area (which we nicknamed Milton's Auditorium, as it is open and faces out onto the whole school). We were joined by the parents in the church and we were treated to songs and traditional dances performed by the school choir. We were served a lunch of sodas, rice, chapati, bananas, pineapple, avocado, samosas, greens, cabbage and beans. The parents had lunch with us while the school pupils were served theirs. It was wonderful to be involved in such a joyous community meal. Milton made a speech and introduced us to the teachers. After lunch the pupils were keen to engage with us and shake hands or fist bump. They were really excited to be around us and jumped at the chance to have a big grounp photo with us! After the photo we walked back the car with the children following us, smiling and waving, some of them even ran behind the car waving as we drove out.
On our way back to Mbale we passed a man with a bunch of live geese, holding them all by the legs and approaching people trying to sell them. It was a strange site!
After the previous nights events the hotel moved me to a different room on the top floor - they tried to tell me that mice can't climb that high but I don't know if I believe them!
Tuesday 20th August
Tuesday was a busy day for us as we had three different visits scheduled. Our first visit was to LIU, to meet with the vice chancellor, Dr Henri Buregea. We discussed how things were going at the university in general, as well as with the sponsored pupils. Our trustee Diana works at the university in the department that organises and manages pupil sponsorship.
As we walked around the campus we bumped into a couple of our sponsored pupils who were really happy to see us on their way to their classes. We also met with one of our graduated sponsors who is currently lecturing at the university.
After talking to Henri, we met up with one of the American lectures, James, who spoke to us about the classes and the individual sponsored students progress. We were really pleased to hear how well they were all doing in their studies.
We left the university and travelled to Jenga where we met with one of the founders of the project, Robby Keen. Robby is exceptionally busy, so we really appreciated him fitting in time to meet with us. We discussed the projects we are involved with and Robby talked about some of the things happening around Uganda that we might not have heard about, as well as their current projects. They are involved in so many projects it is worth checking our their website https://jengauganda.org or following them on social media. We also discussed their work with Zukuka Bora Coffee, which we have also had some involvement with. The coffee they make has such a high demand that there is a waiting list for orders. (If you live in or near Wales, you can purchase their coffee through Manumit Coffee Roasters!)
We said goodbye to Robby and made our way back our into the rural villages to meet with Sylvia, one of our graduated LIU students. Sylvia is a carer for her sister Lydia who has learning difficulties. She also lives with her son and her niece. This puts a lot of financial pressure on Sylvia to support all of them and pay all of their school fees. When Chris visited previously Sylvia was growing crops and breeding pigs as a way to earn money. Unfortunately she struggled to get a good price for the pigs, so she is breeding chickens now as well as working as an independent provider for MTN and mobile money. Lydia made food for us consisting of matoke in a g-nut paste.
During our drive back into Mbale we passed numerous groups of men running through the villages as part of their circumcision ceremony. They are quite a sight to see with their skin painted, surrounded by groups of younger boys running with them. Circumcision ceremonies are an important event for young men around Uganda.
Wednesday 21st August
Chris had met Adam and Kathy from Born on the Edge a number of years ago and is a passionate supporter of the work they do an Mbale hospital. Afer our visit I could understand why.
Chris had tried to prepare us for how hot and crowded the unit was and how difficult some of it would be for us to see, but you really do have to visit to fully understand what it is they are doing. Adam met us in the morning at the hospital gates and walked us through the grounds of the hospital. He talked about the difficulties in getting government funding for the hospital and how short staffed they were. Adam is head of anaesthesia & critical care at the hospital and is passionate about making a difference to peoples lives, either through effective treatment or through training other professionals.
As we walked around to the Small Baby Unit, Adam explained that Kathys work had lowered the mortality rate in premature babies at the hospital from 50% to 15%, which is an incredible achievement. They have around 300 premature babies arriving at the hospital each month - often due to the mothers being young and malnourished or suffering with an illness. Everytime a child arrives they have to make a decision about the childs chances of survival and whether they have space in the constantly over crowded unit.
Adam introduces us to Kathy as we are given gowns, masks and shoes to change into, to reduce the chances of infection and bacteria entering the unit. The first thing you notice when you step inside is the heat. Uganda is already hot, but when you fill a room with people and medical equipment the heat becomes almost unbearable. Every bed and incubator is full, sometimes with more than one baby. All of the babies they treat begin at around 700-800 grams. There are a bank of machines against one wall keeping the babies attached to them alive, there are babies that are just attached to oxygen, there are babies being fed through a drip and all sorts of things in between. This kind of treatment facility hadn't existed previously and is massively over stretched. Money raised by their charity goes towards training and funding staff to work in the unit. They have a big focus on training, not just professionals, but mothers and parents too.
Mothers stay with their babies in the unit and are encouraged to be responsible for them at all times and not rely on the limited staff there. Another huge part of their work involves breast feeding. They have trained a specialist lactation consultant who works with all of the mothers there and supports them 1:1 if necessary. On top of that they recently set up the first breast milk bank, which is vital for mothers with premature babies until their own milk comes in. Mothers that over produce milk are encouraged to donate it for others to use.
As if this wasn't already enough work, they also have a physio visit the unit and mothers in the community to help them overcome potential developmental issues common in premature babies. They provide a post natal support group and bereavement support (neither of which had been available before) and are looking at setting up a mobile clinic called 'The Baby Bus'.
Please visit their website https://www.bornontheedge.org or their social media to find out more about what they do. Their work is funded by research projects, donations and global grants. If you can help on a one off or a regular basis, you could be helping them save tiny lives.
After the emotional visit to Mbale hospital, we travelled by to Kyemula to visit Milton again and find out more about farming in the community. Due to the increasing number of pupils at Jackie School, Chris agreed to look at having additional desks and pupil benches made up for the classrooms. Milton took us around the school site to show us what the school and community were currently growing. We saw beans, cassava, coffee, g-nuts and matoke amongst other things, growing in carefully cultivated fields. They also have rows of young trees growing which can be used for fire wood. The Manafwa River that runs past Namayili also passes Kyemula, but by the time it reaches Kyemula it's more of a stream than a river. When their water tank and wells run dry, this is the only source of water.
We went to look at one of eight water pumps in the village. Unfortunately these are easily broken as people keep pumping them, not realising that the water has run out. As well as the crops they are growing in the community, Milton also wants to put a collection of bee hives in place to improve crop yield and to produce honey.
Thursday 22nd August
On Thursday we met up with Sarah, who has been helping us run basic health clinics in Kyemula. Overall the project has had a positive start, so we are looking at continuing it into the next school year. Moving forward, we are looking at setting up and maintaining patient records so that we can keep track of who has been treated for what. We also need to source weighing scales and a blood pressure monitor, as these are often needed to work out the correct dosage and suitability of certain medications.
We are also looking at the possibility of Sarah making two visits each term. One to provide health care and treatment and the other to provide education about basic first aid and illness prevention etc. If this is successful, hopefully we will see a decrease in people requiring healthcare and treatment from Sarah over time.
Friday 23rd August
Friday was more of an admin day, where we discussed what the charity needed to do with each project following our visit. We had been able to assess which elements were working well and which ones weren't. We also looked at and changes we needed to make.
We met with Joseph from Bunyanga Bright Primary in the morning and discussed our involvment and what will happen going forward - more information on this to follow.
Then in the afternoon we met with Milton from Jackie School and looked at the progress made in Kyemula and the support they would need from us in the future.
It was a productive day with lots of things discussed and agreed.
Saturday 24th August
On Saturday Chris and I were involved in seperate projects as I needed to pack ready for my long journey home on Sunday. In the morning Chris met with one of our graduated LIU students and her family while I packed. In the afternoon Chris met with friends of his called George and Isaac who are local musicians, while I met with Joseph and his family.
Sunday 25th August
Sunday was another early 6:00 AM start for me, as we began the six hour drive back to Entebbe from Mbale. Chris is remaining in Uganda for a little bit longer to meet with friends he has made there over the years. The drive was reasonably uneventful, meaning that we were at the airport 12 hours before my flight! (The roads in Uganda are unpredictable and police checks are frequent so we had to leave early in case we ran into something unexpected.)
As we approached the airport, Diana and I were asked to leave the car and go through an additional body scan and security check before we could continue any further. It was a bit strange and there seemed to be no real reason behind who they were and weren't stopping - although it did seem to be mainly women who had to go through the additional security checks!
Security at the airport was very intense, I lost count of the number of times my bags and I were scanned, as well as police dogs regularly roaming around.
The flight took the whole night and sleep was almost impossible, so by the time I made the connecting flight from Amsterdam to Cardiff, it's safe to say I was pretty exhausted!
