The South Africa World Cup will probably be remembered by many for a couple of wrong reasons. Firstly, the vuvuzelas sent blood pressures racing and, sadly, terrorists blew up 74 Ugandans who were watching the action on a big screen at the local rugby club.

Just days later, a Welshpool man was sitting in that same bar listening to locals recount the horrors but rather than be put off about his new life in Uganda, he gained confidence from the voices of his new friends.

“As a new Muzungo (white guy) in town I was overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people, both locals and expats,” said 50 year-old Pete Worthy. “There are still reminders of the bombs though as rain seeps through the shrapnel damage in the bar roof.”

Three months on and Pete has settled into his new extraordinary life. As Operations Manager for Owen’s Coaches in Four Crosses, he was looking for a fresh challenge but even he could not have predicted the next direction his life would take.

“I joined a company out here called Skenya Motors {U} Ltd, which is a Scania franchise/dealership for Uganda,” he said. “I was brought in as Operations Manager with a brief to improve standards, efficiency and quality of workshops service and ultimately improve market presence of Scania in Uganda.”

Whilst conceding that life is different, he is enjoying the change and has been joined this month by his wife, Karen, and eldest son, Chris, 25.

 “This place is unusual to say the least,” he said. “The expat community is close and very welcoming and does all they can to include and advise the new boy in town. You do work hard and have to adapt concepts and standards to the way people work here. There are no vehicle tests or legislated standards here, hence most of the vehicles currently on the road are a sight to behold for the wrong reasons!”

“But simple changes and a new Muzungo at the helm does eventually improve things. It is slow but steady progress to say the least. Nothing ever gets done with any urgency in Uganda. The only
manic thing here is the driving and it is the nearest thing to a self drive roller coaster ride you will ever have! The inner city roads are terrible with craters rather than pot holes and driving skills entertaining to say the least.

“However, the pay back is that Kampala is a great place to live. It is friendly, safe and can provide you the option to enjoy a great social life if required.”

Pete is well known among local rugby circles and it was the bomb-torn local club that he headed to first after arriving at his new central African home.

“The local rugby club is a great focal point and contains a great bunch of members, both Ugandan and expats. Mondays is touch rugby night - most of us are getting too old for contact. The rugby club is just about getting back to normal after those awful bombings in July. Facilities at the club are very sparse and the club house is literally constructed out of old shipping containers, but the people are friendly and the beer is very cold and very cheap!”

The first thing that people suspect when someone moves abroad is that they have been lured by mega bucks but Pete says this is not the case with him.

“It’s not that you get paid excessively more here, it’s more that your money goes a lot further,” he explained. “The tax rate for earnings is 30% with a VAT rate of 18%. The most expensive things here are vehicles. New vehicles have 54% tax levy on cost - used vehicles over seven years old is 74 % tax levy. So currently I drive a Honda CRV which is a 1997 model. This you could probably get in the UK for less than 750 quid. Here, by the time you pay tax, it has cost me the equivalent of over 4,575 pounds.

Pete’s weekend activity can vary, but one recently involved fishing on the Nile with hippos to the left and crocs to the right along with passing visits from elephants (right) and massive fish eagles.

“I didn’t even care that we didn’t catch any fish!” he said. “It was incredible scenery with unbelievable wildlife. Couple that with ice cold beer from the cool box and I was more than happy!”

Living abroad may not be everyone’s cup of tea, let alone living in a country like Uganda, but Pete recommends it.

“Depending on your outlook on life, I would recommend this sort of experience to anyone to try. There are very few things here that don't surprise you in one way or another. Uganda is a vibrant country with great resources. The weather is great and pretty constant, and the people are always welcoming. All in all, Kampala is a challenge and requires a quick change of mindset to allow you to make the subtle changes to enable you to work with and organise the Ugandan employee.”