Yearly Archive: 2017

Gaddafi Mosque

Author: June 29, 2017

On our last day of vacation, we were in Kampala and toured the Gaddaffi Mosque. It is the largest mosque in East Africa. Quoting from Wikipedia:

The Uganda National Mosque is a mosque located at Kampala Hill in the Old Kampala area of Kampala, Uganda. Completed in 2006, it seats up to 15,000 worshipers and can hold another 1,100 in the gallery, while the terrace will cater for another 3,500. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya commissioned the mosque as a gift to Uganda, and for the benefit of the Muslim population. Uganda has many mosques but this one is a skyscraper mosque.[1]

The completed mosque was opened officially in June 2007 under the name Gaddafi National Mosque, and housed the head offices of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council.[2] It was renamed “Uganda National Mosque” in 2013 following the death of Colonel Gaddafi as the new Libyan administration was “reluctant to rehabilitate the mosque under the old name.”[

The mosque was gorgeous.

OK, for some reason, I can’t get Dave’s vertical photos to rotate. You have to crane your neck or rotate your smart phone until I figure out how to fix it. The caretakers required Karen to cover up more before entering.

 
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View of Kampala from the top of the mosque

This a throw-in not from our tour. Last weekend my cohort met for a “Final Countdown” in Fort Portal. Some of us hiked around a crater lake. This particular view is the source of the back of the 20,000 shilling note ($6 US). Thanks to Danielle for the photo better than mine.

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I had a dream..

Author: June 15, 2017

The game of Mosquito Tag is also on the cover of the Malaria Think Tank annual report, thanks to fellow fossil David, who was in charge of the graphics.

As of today, an article over my byline about the Blue House Camp is linked from the home page of the Peace Corps. See it here. There were better projects by other volunteers, but this is a combination of my bother-in-law and sister’s great photography and the compelling backstory of the Blue House.
A couple of weeks ago, about 50 PCVs had a big social gathering. These kids love to party. It was called “Burning Sebo”, a take-off on the annual Burning Man fest in Nevada. It was at a camp in Jinja next to the Nile River. David had never been to Jinja or the Nile, so he came east. We rented a tent with cots, on a bluff over-looking the river. I am sick of staying in dorm bunk beds. However, while the tent zipped up pretty tight, there were no nets over the cots (unlike the bunk beds), and I got slaughtered by mosquito bites.

Our Burning Sebo was a little bit smaller than Burning Man

Another volunteer making her first visit to Jinja that weekend was Judith Fleming, who started subscribing to my blog in 2015 after asking D.C. headquarters if there was a blog from an elder Ugandan volunteer. She arrived a year after I did, and after occasional email correspondence, this was our first meeting. Judith was a 21 year-old volunteer 50 years ago as part of the first cohort in Tonga in the South Pacific. Yes, she is north of 70! Judith, David and I went out for dinner and we enjoyed her stories about the early days of the Peace Corps. In 1967, Peace Corps Pacific trainees did their training on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. They hiked once to the site of the Leper colony of Father Damien. Another time they learned how to camp on the beach, and how to catch, gut and clean fish. Back then, the number of trainees selected exceeded the number going to site. About 20% were told they had been “deselected” and sent home. This must have been tough after you thought you said good bye for two years. Of course there was no internet then, so the contact back home was with tissue thin letters that took weeks. Judith was deposited on a Tonga island with a family in a grass hut with no electricity of course, and basically was told to figure out how to help the people. She was called to help with a child birth once, purely on the basis of being an American. She practically acted as a mid-wife and was given the privilege of naming the baby!

David, Judith and I pose in front of the Nile. Judith is very popular with her cohort, and they look after her.

All you need to do is just take one kamagra 100mg oral jelly sachet just cialis cheapest before 20 minutes to your sexual session. They work in the body by improving blood circulation to the male sex organ. cialis low price It offers cialis india pharmacy effective treatment for fatigue and erectile dysfunction. There could be another physical cialis online price issue that abates your sexual reaction may cause tension about keeping up an Erection. She named him after her Peace Corps boyfriend from her cohort. Judith said this fall there will be a 50th anniversary celebration  of the Peace Corps in Tonga. Our Country Director Sean is friends of the Country Director in Tonga. They are trying to figure out if there is way she could go back for the ceremonies. It would be so interesting to find the 50 year old man she helped deliver and named. Seems like it would make a cool little documentary, not to mention it would show how she is doing a lot of work in Uganda. Neither she nor David have needed medical assistance since arriving in Uganda. I’ve only had to fix a bad ingrown toenail and had some dizziness issues that were probably solved by changing my malaria meds.
I will use this post to tell a sort of funny story. Way back at training two years ago, my cohort formed a big circle. Each of us was asked to step to the middle and state a “dream” goal during our service, even if it was likely unattainable. So I decided to announce that I hoped to find the next Dikembe Mutombo or Akeem Olajuwon in one of my villages, so he could build hospitals like Mutombo did in Kenya. Mutombo played for the Denver Nuggets many years ago. As I was about to enter the circle, I realized David was the only volunteer who would even know these names, and I couldn’t think of any current African NBA players. So instead, I clumsily tried to explain it as “I want to find a 14 year.old boy with mad basketball skills who I could bring back to America to eventually make the NBA and get rich so he could help his village.” I was told later, at first I sounded like a perv who wanted to bring home a 14 year old boy, although eventually they understood the gist of it. I have been teased about this ever since.

A future NBA star?

Sure enough, Ryan, who is currently a PCV in Arua, recently sent me a photo on WhatsApp of a 14 year old playing basketball in Arua. He said “Something to look forward to, Charlie, your 6 ft 14 year old, South Sudanese talent.” Andrei chimed in “And now with the refugee crisis They’re practically giving them away”. The good part about this is that now I know there is this basketball court, and I would like to play some pick-up basketball for exercise. It beats soccer drills, which I have been neglecting. And my “dream” is alive.

My distinctive helmet and jacket have held up well.

There was a little two room school house in one of the villages I was in last week. Each room was jammed with kids. I peeked in, and they all stood up and said “Good Afternoon”. I hope the teacher wasn’t too annoyed.

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Wind Up

Author: June 1, 2017

This is the first of my many goodbyes. Azedy and Margaret’s four boys just went back to boarding school after the holiday break today. This is Aymed and Ayman. Margaret says they won’t be back until September. Most Ugandan students and parents of middle class means and above prefer boarding to what they believe is a the stigma of being a “desk scholar”. I struggle with this a bit. I couldn’t imagine sending my kids off to boarding school while they were so young. Well, I guess I did ‘imagine’ it a couple of times when Blair was a teenager.

Wednesday this week marked the two year anniversary of my Peace Corps service, when I arrived in Philadelphia for staging. This Saturday will be two years in Uganda. I am really winding down what I now consider the first “phase” of my Peace Corps service. My org ATEFO still goes out to youth groups but I haven’t been much of a participant lately, and that project has been winding down too. My supervisors at Peace Corps are starting pre-service training with a new batch of 53 Health and Agri-business volunteers. Nobody expects much from my cohort now as we wrap things up.

A few weeks ago, I agreed to “vet” a couple of NGOs who are expecting to receive new volunteers. I interviewed the CEO of the org and the prospective counterpart and took a few pictures of the office and the potential housing. It appears not only ATEFO will get a replacement, but another org in Bugiri will get a new volunteer. So if things work out, after I leave, the Muzungu population in Bugiri will double from one to two.

I spent last week in Kampala for the medical tests all departing and extension PCVs must undertake. I was a bit nervous, since the last time I had an extensive physical I learned I had diabetes. But after giving up some blood, piss and three different stool samples (they look for parasites) I got a clean bill of health. My blood sugar is absolutely normal notwithstanding I am struggling to keep my weight down. Ironically at the end of my week, I came down with a terrible cold, which I had avoided up until now.

The United Nations said that $ 1.4 billion was needed this year alone to help the nearly two million people who have fled war and famine in South Sudan.So far, only 14 percent of the initial $781 million appeal for 2017 has been provided. More than 100 lone children cross into Uganda each day as they flee conflict. Delphine told me the camps are 86% women and children.

While I was in Kampala, I visited the offices of CARE International, and enjoyed a visit with the Country Director, Delphine Pinault, who is French. We hit it off pretty well. She said as part of my job I would get a lot of opportunities to write about the CARE programs in the refugee camps, and will visit them with a team in a vehicle. My motorcycle riding days are coming to an end. Arua is a long eight hour bus ride from Kampala, but there is a UN plane that goes there every Monday. My CARE PCV mate Ruwani met with Delphine this week and informs me our orientation and training for two days is likely July 10 in Arua and we will likely take that plane. If so, I am excited I will get a preview of Arua before I come home for my one month leave. Hopefully I can drop off a box of my stuff then. It now appears I will be able take my month leave starting in mid-July after this orientation.

I know you are sick of permagardens, but this one from the other day is notable because I taught it by myself. Matthews needed to pick up some charcoal for it, so I said, we’ll just get started, and it was nearly finished by the time he returned.

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I was in Iganga the other day and peeked in at what I first thought was a presentation about nutrition, but I was only partially right. This was a classic multi-level marketing pitch with supplements as the main product. The presenters told me that Amway and HerbaLife is alive and well in Uganda too.

That calculates to $14,000 US per month

The is the product, made my Natures Way a U.S. company. Is MLM a sign of development in a country?

Lady jammed on a taxi with me, feeds corn to her hen in a sack at our feet.

A large structure was begun next to my compound. It is intended to have shops in it. That would be annoying for Azedy and Margaret, but who knows when it will be finished. There are a million roofless, uncompleted, structures like this all over Uganda. It’s a way people here invest.

This was a photo I posted on the blog in July 2015 of my Lusoga language cohort, during language training, still the most stressful part of service for me… Becky, Nick, Carson, Will and myself. We were so neat and clean.

Here we are recently at a mini reunion in Iganga. Missing is Will, who went home in January under the classification of “Interrupted Service.” I’ll leave it at that. He expects to attend law school at Florida State University. Due to a wedding, Nick was the first of the cohort to leave and become an RPCV after the COS conference. Becky and Carson (obscuring his man bun) will COS and come home about the same time I do. All three of them will be hunting for jobs. I have reviewed and edited about twenty resumes for my cohort.

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What’s Next

Author: May 8, 2017

Well, my life keeps taking some crazy turns. I have been wondering what I am going to do when my term of service ends. I was dreading a return to home with not much to do. I even sent out an email to 17 retired friends to request their thoughts about retirement.

I look sort of retired here. Reflection from my mirrored door. The kids love to dance in front of my windows. Margaret brushed her teeth there the other day.

My most idyllic retirement vision consisted of hitting the treadmill every morning while I watch ESPN Sportscenter, followed by a walk to Cheeseman Park with a thermos of tea, a bagel, and the Denver Post. I could give Power Point presentations to service clubs around town about the Peace Corps and Uganda (free meals!). I could volunteer to be a CASA again. I could volunteer for the ALS Society when they need help. My Rotary Club is still there. This was my leisurely retirement life fantasy. Its not too bad…

One thing I knew however, I wanted more work in third world countries. Perhaps after being home awhile, I could work for Peace Corps Response. And I have been considering a new Peace Corps tour in another country. It happens frequently with older PCVs.

I had recently decided to reactivate my law license when I returned, and volunteer for the Colorado ACLU, if they would have me. I hoped working in a new corner of the law for a good cause as part of the “resistance” might reinvigorate me. A few weeks ago, a friend who is past-president of the ACLU E-introduced and recommended me to the current president. But for now, he has more on his mind than an old lawyer who won’t be home until August or September . Maybe one of my readers knows more about volunteer lawyering for the ACLU. So I settled for the potential ACLU scenario, at least for now. And I could do worse than the above “leisurely retirement” above, as long as I kept busy.

Then a couple of weeks ago, the Peace Corps sent out a new third-year extension opportunity, right before the deadline to apply for extension. They had sent out other opportunities leading up to our COS conference, but none had interested me. I assumed I would COS and go home in August. But this opportunity intrigued me. My supervisor Meital said she thought I could do the work. I tormented myself (and my kids and siblings) with indecision over a weekend with a Monday deadline to apply. I concluded that if there was so much uncertainty, I should just send an email to Meital turning it down.

Right after sending that email, however, I got very depressed. Five hours later, I told Meital I changed my mind, and threw together my application with an updated resume. I guess the heart knew what it wanted. On Thursday I was approved for the position. There will be five PCVs in my cohort extending.

I will move 260 miles to Arua, near Uganda’s northwest corner, on the opposite side of the country from Bugiri, which, except for Lake Victoria, is near the southeast corner. Arua is near both the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. The town of Arua is much larger than Bugiri, with many tarmacked roads. Adams says they have “booming” Rotary Club.

I will work with CARE International, and help them administer three refugee camps, with refugees primarily from the South Sudan conflict. There are nearly 850,000 South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, coming in at the rate of 2,500 per day.

I will be doing M&E work (monitoring and evaluation). I understand M&E from the Peace Corps reports and feedback about my own activities, and ATEFO’s reports to it’s funders. There is an M&E man in my office. I figure it’s a matter of learning the “CARE way” of monitoring its activities and all the measurables from the camps.

This lazy guy is hanging out behind my curtain instead of doing his job eating the bugs in my place,

However, I was a bit worried that some elements in the job description seemed like IT and excessive data input, not my strong suits. The CARE country director has assured me it isn’t. She said I would need to be analytical. Things are quite fluid, so don’t expect a repetitive type of job or work environment. I loved hearing all that. [Based upon our conversation, I wrote out some examples of interesting tasks I understand I will be doing, but decided to wait and write about it as it happens-sorry! This post is long enough.] CARE has a staff of eleven in Arua today but it is going to double in size in September.
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The Country Director, Delphine, is French. Meital said its the first Peace Corps-Uganda / CARE collaboration (hard to believe), but Delphine said she has experience working with PCVs in other countries.

I have been interested in the refugee crisis here and in Europe for quite awhile and I’ve provided updates to you about the South Sudan crisis before. I’ve written about my PCV friend Aruna, who was one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” and took a few of us to his childhood camp. His mother and family are in a refugee camp in Uganda now.

It’s a one year commitment.  The director said if things worked out, there could be further opportunities, not just in Uganda.  CARE works in more than 80 countries. It seems to me, an M&E position is a good way to learn about this sector. I should have at least a year left in my tank, maybe I can have a short second career. (Oh Jan, why didn’t we join the Peace Corps when we were 50? We could have put the kids in boarding school.:-) )

You can learn more about the history of South Sudan  here.(105 second video) and a deeper dive in the conflict is here. . A recent article about the current dire situation is here. The very interesting history of CARE International, which started in 1945 out of the ashes of World War II, is here.

While right now I am thinking about this work in the abstract,  I can’t romanticize this. I am probably in for some sad shit and will need to be resilient.

As a perk to this extension, the Peace Corps will pay for a one month leave before I start. I am requesting to finish my service in Bugiri in mid-July, and come home until moving to Arua in mid-August.[Since my original post was published, this schedule might be delayed a month]   I might spend a couple of days in New York to visit my son Clark. I hope I will be able to visit with many of my Denver area friends. I will be home long enough to go to at least one concert at Red Rocks, one Rockies game (hopefully still contending), one Ft. Collins trip to see my Uncle Roy, one poker night, a few Rotary meetings, use my condo’s pool for the first time, and many mom visits. And of course, whatever time busy Blair-with-attached-boyfriend can spare for her old man. I will displace her roommate for a month (Its OK, her roomie has a place).  

This also means you will have to endure my blog for another year.  Sorry, sorry.

Blair says Pam H. told her she knew I would extend. OK Pam how? I wasn’t anticipating this until a couple of weeks ago myself. Anyone else think that?  Do I sound like I am having too much fun here? Perhaps my last blog post next year will be titled “The top ten unpleasant things that happened during service I didn’t blog about until I got home because it would’ve have freaked out my mom”  Not really mom, just kidding, nothing bad has ever happened here.

This is Ruwani, who appeared in my blog two Halloweens ago as a black cat. She is one of five foreign born PCVs in the cohort (Sri Lanka) She is also extending for an M&E job with CARE International, and will be stationed in Kampala. I think her programs are geared to Women’s Empowerment. So we will be  “org buddies” for a year. I took this picture last month during our COS conference after she told me her pants were purchased new in the United States in the ratty condition you see. The used clothes piles in our markets here could be exported to the USA.

A couple of days later I got this picture of my niece Hannah in ratty jeans participating in the science march in Anchorage. When I was a kid we had to make our jeans ratty ourselves. Now these kids use a middle-man.

 

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I’m a Cessation

Author: April 21, 2017

Our last group photo. Ha ha, just before the shot, Andrei scooted over from behind me, leaving me floating. I don’t touch the ladies :-). I count 38 out of the original 45 making it to this point, a higher percentage than most cohorts.My Lusoga buddy Becky, second from right in the front row (between the Blue House PCVs) was ill and only came out ten minutes for this photo, Thursday night. She didn’t get better and was taken to the ICU Monday for malaria. She had tested negative the first time. She had stopped taking her meds a few months ago.

I spent last week with my cohort at a very nice resort.  It is low season right now, so I guess the Peace Corps got a good rate. They like giving us a nicer place at each conference. This was called Cessation of Service (COS) conference.  It’s all about wrapping things up and planning for the immediate future.

We learned about the three day process at headquarters before you “gong out”. Mostly because they drain a lot of bodily fluids (and solids 😉 ) the first day, and results are provided on the third day. And there are exit interviews and forms to fill out. I have already put together a booklet about Bugiri and ATEFO for my replacement.

There was a session about readjustment to USA life. No doubt it is sort of jolting, as I experienced. It was acknowledged that frequently a RPCV is asked to describe their experience, but often the inquisitor is just being polite.  Keeping it short, I will say: “I endured unbelievable hardships, while elevating my entire town out of poverty, and securing a lifetime of education for all the children.”  Yeah, that should cover it. See if they are paying attention.

The “Three Fossils” t-shirts were a popular item. It’s like we are a folk group. Ron on the right has lost 40 lbs. I spoke about Dave’s plans in an earlier post. Ron is either retiring to fishing in Wisconsin, or will open a restaurant in La Paz Mexico.

There were sessions on what to do after Peace Corps. I co-facilitated a session on resume writing. Thanks for assistance from back home from Mike and his daughter Michelle (an HR pro). I helped several volunteers revise their resumes. It’s been fun learning everyone’s plans. A lot of them are going to grad school. An alleged benefit of the Peace Corps is the designation of NCE (Non-Competitive Eligibility) which gives RPCVs an automatic competitive edge in Federal hiring for a few years. However, the hiring freeze and doubts about future funding for non-military activities, including the Peace Corps itself, have the negated the NCE benefit.

For me, when I was accepted, it was nice to think I had the next few years figured out. Now that time is running out. I am struggling a bit on the after-service question for myself. I feel lucky to have options, but each one has an impediment. [heh- started the paragraph in Uganglish “For me..” ]
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On our last night of the conference, I was honored to be asked to be the Agriculture PCV to thank the Peace Corps staff and speak to the cohort.  There was certainly some humor, but I am not one to waste an opportunity like this.  I have heartfelt love and admiration for the volunteers I served with. They represent our country’s best hopes. However, their future will not be easy. I urged my cohort not to go home and retreat behind their white privilege (“Especially you, Aruna”). RPCVs will know how to take on “secondary projects”, organize and interact with groups, make presentations, and otherwise lead with confidence. I would hate to see those skills go to waste. Sure, go to a march and take a selfie for Facebook. But what will you say to your grandchildren, when you take them to Disney World, now located next to a beach in Orlando, and they ask “Grandpa, what did you do …..?”

Ditch diggers in Iganga. No back hoes here! This was at least a kilometer on each side.

Across the street they are lining another ditch with stones.

They were out of these crazy taxi models when we passed through Fort Portal a few weeks ago, so I ordered one. I asked the artist to put one Muzungu in it. This one is crammed with nine altogether, but real taxis need a minimum of 19 (3-4-4-4-4) before they leave. Tires are bottle caps. One of my souvenirs!

While I was gone, Matthews built a fence around our gardens to keep out the goats. Were the fences in the old West that ramshackle?

The permagarden we dug in Kazo town. Picture was taken twelve days ago. They weren’t getting much rain there, but lately its been picking up..The garden at Blue House is not doing as well.

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Following the African Queen

Author: April 21, 2017

In our first day in Murchison Falls, we took a cruise on the Nile, followed by a hike to the top of the falls.

Murchison Falls is the site of the movie “The African Queen” starring Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall, and directed by John Huston.

The making of the movie was an adventure. Pit latrine outhouses were used, and due to the cast drinking foul water, everyone but Humphrey Bogart and director John Huston came down with dysentery. Bogart and Huston supposedly were protected by drinking large quantities of Scotch. Released in 1952, this was Bogart’s only best actor Oscar. There was a time when there was a long line in front of a pit-latrine when a woman came screaming out of it after having encountered a poisonous Black Mamba. A few years earlier, Ernest Hemingway clipped a telephone line and crash landed near Murchison Falls. He was rescued a few days later by a man who later piloted one of the three “African Queens” used in the movie..

“The country is like a great sponge—it finally absorbs you. Eventually you will get malaria or you will get dysentery and whatever you do, if you don’t keep doing it, the jungle will grow over you. Black or white, you’ve got to fight it every minute of the day.”
― Katharine Hepburn, The Making of The African Queen, or: How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and almost lost my mind

Hippos were a big attraction

This crocodile is over her nest waiting for her babies to hatch.

In this amazing close-up you can see the mom flipping one of her newly hatched babies back to her throat pouch to carry down to the water.

The baby crocs

A family of Baboons


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African Bald Eagle

Hello there!

Great Egret

Two Kingfishers looking out two directions

A not so wild Peace Corps Volunteer

We disembarked near here to begin our hike to the falls

The hike was not strenuous at all. Here you can see how the Nile gets squeezed through some narrow channels.

 

 

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Idi Amin Slept Here… Now it is Leopards and Hyenas

Author: April 9, 2017

After we left Fort Portal we dove ten hours on Hoima Road to Murchison Falls. It is a very bumpy dirt road. PCV David calls it “Puke Road”, a fair appellation. Our driver John said we were getting an “African Massage”. At Murchison Falls, we stayed at Pakuba Safari Lodge in the heart of the park. Nearby, there are sprawling, over-grown ruins of the original lodge complex. The current lodge and our accommodations were built out from the original servant’s quarters.

As this article explains, the Pakuba Safari Lodge became a favorite haunt of Idi Amin, who turned it into a “State Lodge”, his private retreat. He did hunting from there, nearly decimating the entire elephant population. Now his haunt is sort of haunted. The cited article does not indicate how this site got destroyed. The manager of the newer lodge told me, after Amin was toppled, the remnants of his troops destroyed it as they were being chased by the advancing troops loyal to his successor, Obote. My driver John disagrees, saying it was attacked and shelled because of a mistaken belief Amin was there.

We stayed three nights, and John took us over to the ruins every time we went out or returned. He knew there were leopard(s) there. We were fortunate to see a lounging hyena on one trip and the leopard you see above on another trip.

It had a swimming pool too. That’s the Nile in the distance.The tiling looks like it is still in good shape, since the 70’s.  The newer resort has finished and filled a new pool but needs to finish landscaping. It’s already hosted baboons and a hippo. 


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Hyena

If its true the leopard was keeping cubs, wouldn’t this hyena on the other side make her nervous?

The tiling is exquisite

This is the original shot of the leopard at the top of the post, which is only zoomed in halfway.

Full zoom- Different colored eyes. In a few weeks it’s back to more writing, crummy cheap smart phone pictures.

This is the newly built lodge where we stayed. Posh Corps! And this was actually “Moderate” rate on the choices John presented us. Food was fantastic.

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Bigodi Swamp Walk

Author: April 9, 2017

The pace was more sedate the next morning at the Bigodi Swamp, as we observed flowers, birds and monkeys. We had an amiable guide explain many things. Pictured above is a male Black-Headed Weaver Bird. The maies build the nest hoping it will pass inspection from a female.

Lots of competition!

Female assesses her choices

Parts of our path were planked but dry season had not loosened it’s grip, so it wasn’t too swampy.

Lets talk about ants. We had to tuck our pants legs into our socks to keep them out.

This was a busy convoy across our hiking path. It was hard to stop and examine them, as they would start up our shoes.

Eventually the ants wound up in this structure they built in the side of this tree.

“Look at the pretty flowers!”

OK monkey headliners. I thought I had all the names but I don’t.

Patas Monkey

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Red tailed Monkey

Beautiful. I didn’t get the name of this type from our guide because I didn’t see them until yesterday when I zoomed in.

The original picture of the one above it!

We encountered baboons often, and I see them on the road from Bugiri to Tororo. This is an Olive Baboon.

You have to keep your windows up when you pass on the road, as they are aggressive and will climb in your car to grab what they can. They were passive when we walked by, but will flee Ugandans, who kill them due to crop destruction.

After our Swamp walk we headed to Fort Portal for a night. We drove to one of many Crater lakes in the area (from volcanoes) and in particular, enjoyed the view from this lodge, which charges $500US per night. We just had an expensive beer there.

View of crater lake from the lodge. There is a swimming pool with this view too. For $500 there should be!

 

 

Swamp walk

General

Running Through the Jungle

Author: April 9, 2017

It felt good to be able to relax after the camp, and do some sight seeing with Karen and David. Not to mention a roomy safari vehicle, and a step up from the backpacker dorms. I had transitioned quickly into full-blown Western Tourist. After half a day of travel north, we stayed at Chimpanzee Forest Guest House in Kibale National Forest Park for two nights.

Morning near our lodge. Dave enjoys landscapes but he got a rush “capturing” animals too.

On our first day, we enjoyed a hike through the forest looking for Chimpanzees. At times we left the trail, even running pell mell after a chimp as he moved.I was worried I would trip over a vine on the floor, but it was an exhilarating experience. This particular group is admittedly habituated to humans (thousands in the park are not).

They can sit on the thinnest branches

We followed this one quite a while, then he laid on a log as if to say “snap away”


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Such agility! We only saw one monkey. Chimps will hunt and eat monkeys.

This is pretty high up. I zoomed the photo.

A common pose for Dave. I would see them with the naked eye, but have a hard time picking them up with my binoculars.

When we returned the guide showed us a photo album of the chimps we saw, including their role in the family hierarchy.

 

General

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Blue House Camp, Part II

Author: April 2, 2017

A  chronicle of the afternoon camp activities

 

Morning leftover. The girls are doodling on a whiteboard waiting for the RUMPs session to let out. The lesson learned here was “What’s the difference between permanent ink markers and board markers on a whiteboard?”    ……………………………In the iconic pose of the 21st Century, Scott checks out how the Mets are doing in Spring training.

The afternoon means permagarden time for all the girls. I thought those new pants were supposed to be pajamas!

Matthews wants to dig a permagarden for the village where we did last week’s lesson. Watching Dave teach it twice was helpful.

“This hoe has seconds to live.” About ten readers will get that. Drop me a line!

Dave is ready to go MMA to disarm the hoe from the Sewing Instructor…… No, actually he is showing the width of the garden bed with his feet so you can work on it without stepping on it.

 

 

 

 

David, 58, is a fellow fossil, and Agribusness volunteer.He is our cohort’s permagarden master, He was featured in my blog a year ago here. David is from North Carolina by way of Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. After a career as a graphic artist, he did some woofing before his Peace Corps service. After service, he intends to help care for his mother in North Carolina for at least a year. He also hopes to work for a nearby branch of the Food Corps, part of AmeriCorps Eventually he’d like to do another Peace Corps tour.. David designed the Blue House camp t-shirts we used.

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Elphaz stopped by. He serves on the board, amd is the brother of Beatrice, the late founder of Blue House. At one point he was caring for 20 children under his roof. His is 64.

The ground was transformed in less than two hours. Aine tells me they have had rain, and the straw has come off at both sites after germination.

“…and then that P-2 kid accidentally whacked me with her hoe right here….”

“If you can learn to levitate a ball, like this, you get into Hogwarts. Or Makere U. in Kampala, your choice.”

The older girls talked about HIV, consent, and condoms. The men were kicked out during question time. Scott mobilized the younger ones for “Hide the matoke”

Sweet Victory

Scott, 25, an Agribusiness volunteer, and hails from New Jersey. He is a recent graduate of Duquesne, as a Business Major. Before Peace Corps. he worked in the marketing department for the New York Mets baseball team. He is still thinking about his post-Peace Corps options, perhaps doing some consulting.

The venerable Ugandan tradition of handing out certificates. House Mom Matene is pleased.

Fossils propping each other up.

This is the link to Hope Multipurpose Inc, the org that supports the Blue House.

When a camp is over, Mackenzie just gets carried away.

Almost time to go to the pork joint.  A favorite Ugandan culinary delight. My brother-in-law loved it. Wish I had a photo of it.

…..but lets do a silly one first. Where is my mount?

 

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General

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