Yearly Archive: 2016

Matthews was Father Christmas again this year. We handed out 40 bags today to the neighbor kids. Thanks to my siblings for the tiny toy donations. They arrived late last year so I saved them.

Matthews wants me to go with him to his school in Kamuli so Father Christmas hand out sodas after the first of the year

To avoid the mob scene from last year, my landlady Margaret mobilized the moms in advance and we had them in line. We still ran out unfortunately.

My work has been sporadic (again). The whole country slows down this time of year. Schools are out until later in January. Quite a few volunteers have gone home for Christmas or taking trips around the country or Rwanda. The November 2014 Education cohort have almost all ended their service. My cohort has now been here the longest.
I’m trying to close out a Peace Corps grant for teaching and building 20 sack gardens. So Matthews has been taking me around to monitor how the ones we built have been doing, and learn whether the farmers and youth have built any more. It is gratifying when we see that others have made their own sack gardens. In Bomba, where we taught Ronnie’s entire village, there are seven new sack gardens scattered about. I taught record keeping to many of these groups, and unfortunately, there is less adherence, with the few bright exceptions of “early adaptors”. “Slowly but slowly” as they say here.

This guy built a little fence around his three sack gardens. At a few places the neighbors simply stole the seedlings we had planted tsk tsk.

Of course the BBC has been covering the same world news you hear, such as the ongoing tragedy of Syria, and the Trump/Putin love fest. I wonder how much US people hear about some current scary situations in Africa, mainly in three countries.

In Gambia, it’s leader Yahya Jammeh has ruled the country for 22 years after seizing power in a coup. He initially conceded defeat to opposition leader Barrow in the December 1 election, but subsequently rejected the official results. It has brought to country to crisis. He is supposed to turn over power in January.
As a local editorial states:
Leaders who come to power via the gun are not to be trusted. In Uganda, Rwanda, Chad, Sudan, and now Gambia all those men changed their tune chameleon-like to keep imposing themselves on the people.
When they organize elections, they do so without ever intending to hand over power regardless of the outcome of an election. Elections are a vehicle to cling on, not to advance democratic government and to improve their countries with new ideas.
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Just north of Uganda’s border, South Sudan is on the verge of full scale civil war again, with accompanying sectarian genocide feared.

I called my fellow PCV Aruna to check how his family was doing. Unfortunately the situation is so unsafe his mother and other family members recently sought refuge in a camp in Uganda. It’s not the refugee camp we toured, but it is close to Aruna’s site. He plans to visit on Christmas. More than one million of South Sudan’s estimated population of 12 million have fled to neighboring countries. Uganda alone is now host to more than 450,000 South Sudanese.

Across the western border of Uganda is the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s leader Joseph Kabila, has said that he intends to stay on after his presidential term ends on Monday midnight, December 19 (yesterday). A court previously ruled that he can remain in power until new elections are held. However Kabila has postponed further elections indefinitely. Many observers fear that protests will break out after the deadline passes. At midnight, people blew whistles and rattled pans as part of a protest meant to symbolize the “end of the match” for Joseph Kabila.

Other than the massacre of about 100 of the rebellious King’s guard at Kasese a few weeks ago, Uganda has been calm in comparison.

I hope you all have a calm and peaceful Christmas. It looks like 2017 will be an “interesting” year.

On the way home the other day a celebratory crowd was coming up the road. The picture is not very focused but the young man in the middle was being honored because he was going to be in a public circumcision ceremony on the next day.

It’s been grasshopper season. I bought a little packet to snack on.

They fry the little critters and salt them. Can you see the eyes? They are crunchy, and a good source of protein.

My sister suggested I write a Blog post about what it was like to be home. The word that comes to mind is “Jolting”. Returning volunteers gradually get used to the notion they will be coming home in three months, two months, one month. I felt like the guy who meets his ancestors during a near death experience but knows “it is not my time yet.” Things just seemed out of kilter while I was back.

I didn’t miss a chance to do some Peace Corps work. A few days before I returned to Uganda, I presented a power point presentation to my Northglenn-Thornton Rotary Club about the Rotary Projects in Bugiri. They were expecting me to Skype, so it was a fun surprise. I met later with the President, International Service Director and Assistant District Governor to learn how to advance the ball to securing Rotary Foundation funding from the district. I am grateful for the continuing support my club gives me.

I had a few “It’s been 15 months since I …” moments, starting with seeing HD televisions at DIA. Some things were not so welcome: Driving again, in the crowded Denver traffic, was maddening. I missed seeing lots of children. That’s a two edged sword of course. No chickens and goats everywhere either. I had developed a habit of greeting everyone I pass–it didn’t seem as comfortable in Denver. I think it’s because in Bugiri I am aware everyone is looking at me and they enjoy my acknowledgment. I’ll admit the women volunteers here will not miss unwanted attention.

I would have been happier to miss election advertising. And why did I torture myself watching that first Presidential debate? Colorado allows online voting if you are out of the country, and I should get a ballot this week. I need to learn about the referendums since the commercials were obviously deceptive.

I have gained some weight back, and being home didn’t help. Blair had purchased a lot of comfort food, which she excused as a reaction to her circumstances. Clearly, self-discipline in my eating will always be a challenge.

There were piles of unopened mail. My law license had been suspended by the Colorado Supreme Court. I had not been aware of an unpaid annual “Inactivity Fee” assessed in January. I don’t intend to practice law again, but suspension followed by disbarment seemed an ignoble way to end a 36 year career. I coughed up the money and then applied for a retroactive waiver of some of the penalties. I was able to put in my affidavit that my monthly income was only $225!
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Of course there were some good things. I enjoyed visiting my Mom. I took her to see the Queen of Katwe. I would not say it was Oscar worthy, but the Ugandan scenes are pretty familiar. My brothers came by to watch the Broncos, fun to see during daylight hours.

It’s nice to use a dishwasher, and a washing machine for laundry, although I will likely hang my clothes to dry in the future. My skin cleared up from all the bug bites. It was the first thing Adams noticed when I returned (Matthews noticed I was fatter).

No doubt, I liked using water out of the taps, even hot water, without filtering or boiling it. Western flushing toilets are better than squatting in pit latrines. Bathrooms are available everywhere (except at 7-11s 🙂 ). The other day in Iganga I asked a shopkeeper where I might take a “short call”. He took me to a lot out back and said to choose my spot. Peeing outdoors instead of using pit latrines is not a sacrifice.

I was able to re-evaluate my condo in Capitol Hill which I had purchased a couple of months before I left. I used the second bedroom and bath. RPCVs will be my guests passing through Denver in the future, so it was good to see a future visitor’s perspective. My kitchen and veranda needs renovation.

I got a glimpse of my future retirement: Morning coffee reading the paper on the veranda; walks to Cheeseman Park; the nearby Mayan or Esquire for afternoon movies at senior discounts; listening to music from my favorite radio station, CPR’s “Open Air” at 102.3. (Check it out!). However, it’s pretty plain, when I return next year, I will need a plan to stay active. I have lots of ideas, but will share more about that next summer.