Gulu + Markets, Late September 2009 :: WGEF

WGEF is based centrally in Gulu Uganda in the midst of the main market, local restaurants and a few villages. After photographing the drama event on the 26th and spending time at WGEF’s main HQ, I was able to tour the town with staff and our driver Rashid to see first hand the landscape + the stores (in the markets) & restaurants the micro finance program has helped these women create. I really enjoy all the vivid colors of the market and was very relieved to see so many smiling faces welcoming me– the staff warned me that the people in the markets aren’t open to photographers so I was a bit apprehensive. The markets are packed tightly with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, fish, grains, tumeric & ginger, coal, dishware, clothing, and hair weaves. I felt both excitement with all the hustle and bustle + a bit ill at ease since the thatch roofs are low, probably just under 6 feet tall, and I kept bumping my head and their goods! The market was just like I had seen in the National Geo mags I studied thoroughly as a child. It’s a cool thing to live out a dream you’ve had in your head for a while. Anyway, here’s a taste of what I saw traveling in and around Gulu during my stay.