Last week I took the bus from Kigali to Kampala. The journey’s long hours slipped away as I watched Rwanda’s dramatic hills roll into Uganda’s open planes.

From faces to towns, colours and noises our northern neighbours though geographically close seemed culturally so far.

Everyone had told me it would be, but I was still amazed by how different Kampala was. Kigali seemed to fade when compared to the crowded, noisy, dirty, exciting streets of the Ugandan capital.

I revelled in this diversity, making every effort to absorb as much as I could before heading home to the safety and comfort of familiarity. I came back to Kigali refreshed by the joys of diversity and difference.

This week we look at how different parts of the world celebrate the same Christian festival. We pay homage to the fact that we, as countries and as individuals, are all so different.

Meanwhile, our main story explores how one school passionately strives for unity. We see how whilst retaining our individualism we can become one.

While difference is what makes the world go round, the real joy of diversity is being able to come together, to unite not despite our difference but because of them.

It’s the fact that as a European I can live in Africa, and as a Kigalian, I can visit Kampala.

Ends