Tag Archive: empowering women

16 Days of Activism

Author: December 3, 2017

As part of the 16 Days of Activism CARE awarded a goat to the winning team of a soccer game between two areas of Rhino Camp Settlement. CARE also provided the balls and uniforms.

We are in the middle of “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence” with plenty of activities in the settlements to promote awareness. “16 Days” is observed around the world every year, but like other International holidays and observances, not so much in the United States. A great deal of focus is about Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) including forced early child marriage, rape, and sexual harassment. Other forms of GBV include economic and psychological violence. From what I have observed going on state-side, maybe this International observance should get more publicity.

I have gone to a few trainings of “Role Model Men and Boys”. The participants are selected by their local communities and usually chosen because they already have volunteered in various capacities and have good reputations. I talk a little bit about harassment and parenting.  One of my favorite and most effective exercises from the trainings begins by dividing into two groups. The first group makes a list of all the activities of the wife in a normal day, while the second group documents the typical day of the husband. 

Ronald of CARE compares the Men’s list on the right to the Women’s list on the left

Man’s list:

Wake at 6:30 a.m.

Brush teeth and bathe (water prepared by wife)

Eat porridge (cooked by wife)

Slash compound (often done by wife)

Go to the field and dig

Move animals to pasture (often delegated to children)

Take shower

Wait for Lunch

Perhaps more field or animal work (rarely)

Spend afternoon at the market center (often drinking alcohol)

Come home for supper

Shower

Sleep

Woman’s list:

Wake at 6 a.m. while man sleeps

Fetch water (or done at night)

Sweep compound

Set fire

Boil water for man’s bath, tea, and washing utensils

Prepare tea and porridge for family breakfast

Most of them end up using some sort of treatment buy cialis professional also. Opioid abuse, an all pervasive malady Opioid misuse and abuse has cialis prescription pushed the United States into such a crisis that it has ultimately taken the form of an epidemic. Injections of insulin are administered either levitra for women via subcutaneous injection or insulin pump. icks.org viagra generico cialis Your physician can help you in managing your sugar levels effectively. Wash children’s feet and legs and prepare them for school

Send children or accompany them to school

Clean house and mattresses

Work in the garden/field

Wash clothes (not daily)

Come back from the field, gathering greens and firewood

Prepare lunch

Wash dishes and utensils

Bathe

Go to market or take children to health center

Prepare supper

Prepare water for bathing children and (sometimes again) husband’s bath

Provide time for “family discussion” or sex with husband

After their training the men will try to undertake changes within their own households such as taking on more of their wife’s chores, letting her share in decision making, or spending quality time with the children.  After a few months, CARE will assist these men as they reach out and engage ten other men targeted in their community. It is not unusual for the neighbors to speculate their local Role Model Man has been “bewitched” but theoretically they should notice a happier family.

A local official launches “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence”

Women’s group performs traditional dance during launch of “16 Days of Activism”

Kenneth from CARE participates in a ceremony turning over musical instruments and games for a Youth Center in Rhino Camp

The eventual winning team in the soccer match posing with their new uniforms.

Entertainment following the game. We didn’t leave the settlement until night on this particular day. There is some solar lighting but otherwise it gets pretty dark there.

Sometimes planned programs get disorganized when there is a food distribution, attracting hundreds if not thousands. We try to learn the schedules ahead of time but they don’t always adhere to them. I am reluctant to openly take photos here.

Ration cards are used and now we are implementing cash transfers, which are recognized in the humanitarian community as efficient and secure. Gender Based Violence often happens when the husband in charge of the family’s ration card sells food for cash so he can buy liquor.In their reports, CARE staff frequently write “ratio” cards.

EVI’s are Extremely Vulnerable Individuals

Sign at Help Desk during food distribution

Nearby, local community members sell firewood and charcoal for cooking

Dry season is settling in

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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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Peace Corps Uganda Rocked It at the Blue House Camp- Part 1

Author: April 2, 2017

I don’t know how our cohort nick-named itself “Cohort Best” rather than a more mundane title like Education Cohort 3. I thought maybe it was Becky, who loves Superlatives, but she credits Katy J.. Anyway, we were a pretty veteran crew who came to Kazo Uganda and put on a camp for the Blue House girls orphanage on a recent Saturday.  I had written about the Blue House here...That photo above is another frame-able.  It belongs in a brochure.

We started proceedings with a welcome and introductions and a little talk I give to schools about trying your best and always being honest

We ended my little portion with an energizer called “Rainstorm”

Mackenzie led a session for the whole camp, including staff on Nutrition

“Now, is this a healthy plate?”

Lillian on the left is a bright leader, but that is a lot of butter!

What’s Dave looking for?

Mackenzie. 24, a Health Volunteer, has roots in both Chicago and Iowa. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa, double majoring in Political Science and International Studies. She studied in Tanzania for a year. After service, she intends to obtain a Master’s Degree in Public Health. I believe she has been accepted by eleven schools so far. Hard choice coming up.

We all went outside and Scott led a variation of Simon Says.

The older girls went to the sewing room, where Kelly, assisted by David, learned to sew RUMPs

Kelly, 25, a Health volunteer, is from Indiana PA. and has a degree in French from the University of Pittsburgh. After her service, she will attend nursing school, and eventually would like to work for the French organization, Medicens sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders). If you follow the news, you know that will take courage

On the left is the house mother, Ziporah Matene

…from the rafters?


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Karen gives it a shot

Doin’ the RUMPs shuffle

Well done!

Meanwhile, the Primary age girls learn about washing their hands properly

Getting it right

Only the roof of the Blue House is blue. We were lucky to have great weather during our visit, which is supposed to be the beginning of rainy season, but now those permagardens need to get wet!

After Scott observed many of the girls did not use their mosquito nets properly,, they segued into a session on why nets are important. Scott had a bad case of malaria last year.

Mosquito tag! A couple of kids with cardboard mosquitoes try to ‘infect’ their mates with malaria. Scott and Mackenzie make a safe haven ‘net’. in the background.

If you get malaria, you need a doctor to get back in the game.

My turn as mosquito was exhausting! Those kids can turn on a dime. I eventually adopted the lion hunting strategy and let another mosquito drive a victim towards me.

 The district probation officer, Fortunate Abaho, gave an inspirational talk.

Fortunate had never heard of the Peace Corps so Karen recruited Mackenzie to explain how during training, you learn how to make those duck shadows..

Yum! Part two of the camp is in the next post!

 

 

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PCVs Sharing Knowledge with Kazo town

Author: March 29, 2017

Our first working day was on Friday, providing sessions to benefit the town of Kazo. We dug a demonstration permagarden behind the Catholic Primary School, taught financial literacy to local farmers, and taught RUMPs to a vocational sewing school. It all went well.

They removed too much top soil in prepping the land so we had to bring some of it back. Notice the adjacent roof which will help drain rain into the garden

David brought his illustrated grain sacks to explain this type of garden

A color-full plate grown in a garden next to your house provides year-round good nutrition even in hard times.

 

Add ash for minerals, manure for nitrogen, charcoal for water retention, and egg shells for calcium

Scott pours a full Jerry can into one of the corner holes to show how much the garden can retain. The water seeps deep under the garden.

The MaMas dig as well as the men!

We planted our color-full plate of cabbage, carrots, eggplant, cucumbers, and simi greens (collards)

Since the garden is dug so deep, you can plant the seeds closer together. The roots will go straight down and seek out the water that is stored. The surface growth, being closer, adds shade and so there is less surface drying.

Spectators from the classroom

Finish with a cover of straw. Water a bit if it doesn’t rain, allow the seeds to germinate, remove the covering.


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After digging the garden, we moved inside a class room to teach a session of record keeping

They are paying attention too!

Scott invited the farmers up to record the cash book entries

Meanwhile at the town’s vocational school run by the Blue House on it’s grounds, Kelly and Mackenzie teach how to sew Reusable Menstrual Pads (RUMPs) with the school’s teacher Musiime as their able assistant and translator. These students come from the town and nearby villages. Some board in a nearby building during the week. One student is a Blue House girl.

I love this photo but I can’t rotate it!

 

In the background on the chalkboard, Kelly has has done the math to show the cost of commercial pads for three women in the family is 216,000 UGx, compared to 15,000 UGx for RUMPs. They help keep girls in school the full month. They also can be made and sold to other girls as an Income Generating Activity

Finished RUMPs. A girl snaps it into her panty and can remove the absorbent cloth from under the ribbons to wash and re-use. I’ll show this better in the Blue House camp post

Karen set out piles of clothes for the girls made at, and donated by, students in a clothing design class at the University of Minnesota

Back at the Guest House we relax and plan for the Blue House Orphanage Girl’s Camp the next day

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RUMPs

Author: March 10, 2017

During Training (so long ago) Matthews sews RUMPs. He is very good with the needle.

As I start this, it is International Woman’s Day, a public holiday throughout much of the world. So I get to stay home and finally get to some chores and my blog.  It also seems appropriate for me to discuss something about Women, I am certainly not an expert on…Menstruation, or more precisely, menstrual pads, or even more precisely Reusable Menstrual Pads (RUMPs).   (Sorry Stones you still don’t get the obvious blog title. I’ve had sensitivity training.) Due to the fact this topic is typically addressed by our Health Volunteers,  I will quote other sources.

As I’ve written before, (worth reading those statistics again) Ugandan girls face many hurdles to getting an education. This video discusses the Peace Corps support for the initiative “Let Girls Learn”  and supplies recent statistics.

A major hurdle for girls is menstruation. If their family can’t afford tampons or pads, the girls miss school, up to 20% of their classes each year, an absenteeism that leads to a much higher dropout rate than boys.

A report on NPR states:

The girls reported a range of concerns about their periods, including, says Sommer, “fear, shame, embarrassment, impact on feelings of confidence.”

In a lot of cases, the girls said, they don’t have access to products like pads and tampons, toilets at school, even basic information. So going to class during the menstrual period was a challenge.

“It’s like the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” says Sommer. “There are many things that make going to school difficult, and it’s one more thing.”

That’s a major concern, because compared with boys, a much larger share of girls in poor countries drop out of high school.

As stated by the social business Afripads, a maker of Re-Usable Menstrual Pads (RUMPs) in Southwest Uganda,

Unable to afford or access proper menstrual products, many girls and women rely on crude, improvised materials like scraps of old clothing, pieces of foam mattress, toilet paper, leaves, and banana fibres to manage their menstruation – all of which are unhygienic, ineffective, and uncomfortable.  This is hardly what we would consider a “solution”.    

Faced with frequent, embarrassing leaks and a susceptibility to recurrent infections, the impact is that millions of girls and women experience their monthly period  as something that prevents them from engaging in daily life – whether this is going to school or work, or carrying out their normal domestic responsibilities.

And just this week, an advocacy group reminded President Museveni’s wife, the Education minister, about a campaign promise..

Education minister, also First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni has come under severe criticism over government’s failure to provide sanitary towels to school girls.

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In the run up to the last presidential campaigns, President Yoweri Museveni who was seeking and controversially won a fifth presidential term, promised to provide sanitary pads, computers and text books to students if reelected back in office. It was expected that the promise would come to fruition in FY 2017/18.

President Museveni said:

“I want all our daughters to attend school and remain there until they complete their studies. One of the reasons that force our daughters out of school, is that when their periods start, they do not have sanitary pads. When they are in class, they soil their dresses. So they run away from school.”

But, appearing before a parliamentary committee on education last month to discuss the FY 2017/18 Shs 2.6 trillion sector budget last month, Mrs Museveni told MPs that funding for the purchase of sanitary towels was not available. A packet of quality sanitary towels goes for about Shs 4,000.

Now, women rights activists are angry at Mrs Museveni for failing to task her husband to keep his campaign promise. Flavia Kalule Nabagabe, an activist with Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Ugandan Chapter says the young people feel let down by the president and the minister of education.

The government hasn’t been completely silent, but there is some not-so-mandatory language in this article from the Irish Times:

In recent years, however, the Ugandan government has taken significant steps to encourage more widespread use of sanitary pads. In 2009, after pressure from female members of parliament, pads were declared VAT exempt, in an effort to make them more affordable. In 2013 there was a further push from women MPs for a lift on importation tax, which the government has agreed to implement, according to Ugandan media.

Since 2014 the ministry of education and sports has also taken steps regarding young girls’ menstrual health, by integrating menstrual hygiene management into the school curriculum, and suggesting that schools keep emergency supplies for girls, including spare uniforms and sanitary pads.

Furthermore, on international Menstrual Hygiene Day last May, parliament issued a charter on menstrual hygiene management that stated all schools should create separate toilets for girls and boys and have adequate sanitation and wash facilities. It also stated that girls should be equipped with life skills to manage their menstruation, including being able to make their own sanitary pads.

The  Peace Corps is on board with Health volunteers teaching Ugandans how to make Re-Usable Menstrual Pads (RUMPs).  RUMPs can be washed. They rest in a fabric pocket. They cost but a fraction of the commercial sanitary products. Some youth groups learn to make RUMPs and sell them in their community as an Income Generating Activity.

At the Blue House Orphanage, having adequate pads and tampons is a funding priority. But the girls won’t be there forever, and selling RUMPs can make them money. Kelly from my cohort has become the Queen of RUMPs and will be one of the Peace Corps volunteers at the Blue House, (discussed in a contemporaneous blog entry) teaching both a vocational sewing school, and the secondary age Blue House girls how to sew RUMPs.

Speaking of empowering women, Sharon is on the left. She is in her third semester of nursing school, sponsored by my Rotary Club. I felt bad about neglecting my other homestay sister Edith, (another dependent orphan, however with minimal education and English skills) so she is starting Hairdressing school, courtesy of my children donating part of their inheritance. Thanks kids!

Blair has finished her chemotherapy. A few days ago she learned she will not need radiation. No cancer in the scans. I look forward to seeing her pixie hair-style soon!

Imran joins me sometimes when I read in front of my place at dusk. You can see him swipe my kindle, then my tea, here.

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Forever Young

Author: April 26, 2016

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My YTT team. Ronnie, Martin, Kevin, and myself

YTT

Learning about budgeting. This photo appeared on the Peace Corps Uganda Facebook page. It’s proof I am here! My t-shirt is a care package gift from my sister: “I might be old but I got to see all the cool bands”

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Kevin presents her portion of the Chicken Rearing Action Plan

cheap viagra from india deeprootsmag.org In some conditions, the cell interaction will lead to fibrosis and tissue dysfunction. It will also cover important safety strategies viagra generic cheap before, during, and after the driving task to keep you safe. Well, that is not the case. viagra low cost Regular use of this herbal pill offers the effective way to treat weak erection cheap viagra no prescription problem in old age, you can buy Night Fire capsules and Mast Mood oil. Youth Technical Training was held last week in Jinja. I took along two young people and their faculty adviser from the Educate Club at Bukooli College. The term College is interchangeable with High School here (S-1 through S-6). Also there is O level (S 1-4 which is sufficient to get Sharon into Nursing School) and A level (S-5 and S-6 heading for University). Ronnie is 19 (S-6) and Kevin (F) 18 (S-5) and their faculty adviser is Martin (45 with 18 years at Bukooli). We started each day with exercises or yoga at 6 a.m. and attended sessions until 9 p.m. Subjects covered were Healthy Living, Gender Equality, Entrepreneurship, and Youth Clubs. The Youth who attended were between 12 and 27. In Uganda, up to age 35 is considered youth. It was the first time away from parents for many of them. The hotel rooms and meals were a big treat. Some of the material was a bit over the heads of the really young kids, but my kids thrived. Each of us also was taped for a radio show in Jinja the following day.
My Youth and Adviser used their newly found skills to put together an action plan to raise chickens on the college grounds and sell their eggs. There are some abandoned and isolated class rooms, and one will be renovated to be the chicken coop. All three have experience rearing chickens, so just like with the rice farmers, I don’t have much to contribute on that end. Just like my home stay family, they assumed in the United States chickens are free range everywhere, until I explained the way most are raised in crowded warehouses. We don’t have goats and cattle tethered everywhere either. (Westminster, like other metro cities, recently has allowed for backyard coops.) I will help guide them on their budget, fundraising, and how to keep track of profits to be distributed. If mistakes are made along the way, those are learning experiences. This all starts after their national competition in Kampala in May. They won the Regional, which was referenced in a prior post. I look forward to reporting on this group’s progress.

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Interviewing for my 30 second radio spot.

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Every Super Bowl, the NFL manufactures thousands of championship t-shirts for each team. The shirts for the losing team are donated to third world countries. This is Annie, Clark’s classmate from Stanley Lake, with a “Championship” Broncos shirt from Super Bowl XLVIII against Seattle. She bought it from a YTT participant.

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Every race, every creed, education

Author: March 8, 2016

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The parents and students in attendance

Today is a public holiday. In fact around the world it is International Woman’s Day. I don’t think it is recognized so much in the USA.

ATEFO has selected fifty farmer groups in Bugiri district to receive intensified training. While ATEFO waits for additional funding to bring back the other trainers, Matthews and I will start on three of these groups. I wanted to do four or five, but Adams insisted on only three to start. We were supposed to go out Monday, but on Sunday Matthews learned he lost a 9 y.o. grandson to cancer, and the burial was Monday. Knowing that I have been anxious to start training again, he was willing to stay in Bugiri, but I said he should go to the burial. One more day won’t matter. So hopefully tomorrow we will finally get back out to the villages.

On Saturday, Matthews had requested me to speak to a meeting of parents and children of a school he is supporting in his home village near Kamuli. I had to take two taxis to get to Kamuli, where Matthews met me and then we took a borrowed motorcycle to the village. The taxis were slow, as they often are, constantly stopping to solicit passengers. I sat in Jinja for 45 minutes waiting for the taxi to Kamuli to fill up. By the time we got to the meeting we were an hour late. Being late is a Ugandan tradition but I didn’t want to add to it. Many had gone home, but there was still a nice size crowd when we arrived. The local LC-1 and town council chair were also there.

When we pulled up, they started up with a song to greet me. It really caught me off guard, and they did another chorus, led by Matthews, so I could film it. See it here. The women love to make those yelping sounds.

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View from the front door

This village, like most, has a high level of poverty. So far, the school is only pre-school, then P-1, P-2 and P-3. If possible, a grade will be added each year. They are crammed into a very small building,

I think it used to be a home. Matthews says there is the need to accommodate 100 students at these ages, though many don’t go to school. While 100 students per classroom is pretty normal in Uganda, no way is this school large enough. Somehow they need to raise the funds to build more.

 

What can I say to these people? Essentially I tried to motivate them to cooperate together to overcome their challenges, and appreciate the efforts of supporters like Matthews. I discussed the importance of education, and in particular the importance of keeping their girls in school. I interacted with the children and encouraged them to obey their parents and appreciate the sacrifices they make to see that they get an education.

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Note the blackboard on the left

Note the blackboard on the left

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Another room, No blackboard here. Most of the benches were taken outside for our meeting.

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Meowri is back to being feisty.

I encouraged the headmistress to add English to the curriculum. With 90 different dialects in Uganda, English is the common denominator that might help with their future mobility for jobs. World-wide, English is the “money language”. Simon’s children at my home stay were taking English lessons at the same primary level, including printing it. The village kids are behind in this regard, although just getting to go to school is a challenge.

I mentioned my own father attended a similar one room school house in Virginia Dale, Colorado (Another one room school house built on my pioneer ancestor’s homestead stands today at the Littleton Historical Museum. A few owners later, the Lilley homestead is now Columbine Country Club).

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Back side of the school

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I met a few of Matthews’ children at his home after the meeting. His daughter wears a Colorado T-shirt

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My Aunt Shirley’s hand made stars up in Matthews’ ceiling. They will be Christmas ornaments next year.

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Church under construction. Roofing tiles in the back.

I wasn’t particularly impressed with myself, but Matthews said later I was a big hit. I might represent a ‘great white hope” but securing the resources to improve the school is likely beyond my reach. It’s frustrating, but I have a few hundred farmers here in Bugiri I hope to boost in some small measure. On the plus side, there are couple of acres around the school which can be cultivated to provide nutrition to the students and income for the school. A permagarden can be dug out back and take water from the roof. I may go back to help Matthews dig it. I think Father Christmas will visit the kids too.
Before taking me back to Kamuli to get my taxi home, Matthews brought me by a nearby church under construction It is Seventh Day Adventist. Matthews is a pretty devout SDA, and also is supporting this construction (although not lately!). The walls are up but it still needs a roof. During rainy season, they use a tarp. I saw a pile of roofing tiles to install soon. The church was at least four times the size of the school. I struggle with this. In this village, should the church have the same or higher priority than the school? In my country there is a similar weighing of priorities. Citizens can choose to make a tax-deductible donations to support construction of Churches, and/or choose whether to vote for bonds to repair deteriorating schools or build more. Heaven and Education, both laudable goals, sometimes competing for scarce resources.

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Heinz Baked Beans

Author: December 31, 2015

This is what I pulled up from the ground.

This is what I pulled up from the ground.

Yes readers, The Who once did a parody commercial called Heinz Baked Beans. I will never think of beans the same again.

Matthews is staying in Kamuli until Sunday. Last week, he had mentioned it was time to harvest the beans on Adams’ land. He was very concerned about that. Obviously harvesting can’t wait. I had told him I would help, so I made the same offer to Adams. I felt I needed some exercise anyway, and it would be interesting and educational. Part of the Adventure! So yesterday I was out there in the field with three young men (including Matthews’ nephew) and a woman picking beans.

I joked to Adams, if a gypsy fortuneteller told me three years ago I would be picking beans in equatorial Africa, I would have demanded a refund.

Beans in the pod.

Beans in the pod.

This is the same field Matthews is growing passion fruits. You saw a photo of it here. The beans were brown, on now-dead stalks close to the ground. You had to find them among the lush green foliage. Reminded me of hunting Easter eggs. I asked about the other plants, and was told by the other workers they were “greens” a general term that seemed non-responsive to me. The bean plants were easy to pull out, gather, and throw into about 30 piles we made across the field. Then we carried the piles to make big piles on the side of the road, and then threw them up onto the bed of a large truck.
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This was stoop labor and the sun was hot. Since I’m not Ugandan, I was a migrant worker! It certainly educated me about the harshness of the work migrants often do all over the world. I was thoroughly exhausted, looked at my watch, and laughed. I had only worked for one hour. I was so happy when it was time for a water break. I wore my work gloves I hadn’t worn since digging the permagarden (I need to update about that). I had on long sleeves and sweat pants and came home covered in burrs and other stickers. The other workers used their bare hands and wore sandals.

I'm with one of my fellow harvesters.

I’m with one of my fellow harvesters.

A female oil and gas engineer named Maria had driven us to the field and then stayed chatting with Adams. She had met Adams many years ago in her village and now had her own car. An empowered woman! I want to know more about her story and will ask Adams. On the way home, she chided Adams for not working and letting himself get fat and out of shape. “This older man is in better shape than both of us”. Cue my diabetes story, which Adams already knows. Like others I have told, it is inspiring but apparently not motivating.

I have plans today, New Years Eve, to visit a Danish businessman named Henning in Jinja who has invited me to meet his family. He does work with my ATEFO org and we’ve had some great chats. His wife is a doctor. He sends his kids back to Denmark frequently so they can stay acquainted with their friends and Danish roots. He says their place is on the water (Lake Victoria). Later tonight I will meet a bunch of PCVs at a place called Bourbon, also on the water, and there will be fireworks over the lake to bring in the new year. Vickie, a PCV, has lined up a place for me to crash tonight. I’ll leave a large bowl of silverfish for Meowri.

The beans drying in the sun. Adams says this filled a sack weighing about 80kg and will yield around 200,000UGX. He paid the other three workers 10,000UGX each for working on the harvest and then separating the beans from the pods by beating on them. That's about $3.00US each for a lot of work!

The beans drying in the sun. Adams says this filled a sack weighing about 80kg and will yield around 200,000UGX. He paid the other three workers 10,000UGX each for working on the harvest and then separating the beans from the pods by beating on them. That’s about $3.00US each for a lot of work!

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Rearviewmirror IV

Author: December 9, 2015

It’s been awhile. I have had internet and power problems. Sometimes it seems like certain aspects of Uganda harkens back to the 90’s, 80’s or 70’s. But even more than 50 years ago we did not have power outages as often as Bugiri has them.Keeps spoiling the milk in my fridge. ;-).

For Thanksgiving I passed on a big gathering of PCVs in the Southwest Corner of Uganda. Can’t leave Meowri until I have someone who can help out. It was also a 14 hour trip. So instead, I went with PCV Will to Endiro Coffee in Iganga (with free Wi-Fi) and took a practice version of the multiple choice part of the Foreign Service Exam. I had heard about this from a PCV who took it at the U S Embassy. She ends her service this month.

The first test is called “Job Knowledge” and it was mostly questions about history, civics, economics, and easy computer knowledge. I thought it was generally pretty easy. The next test is called “English Expression” . Essentially, in this test you are required to make corrections to the grammar in some writings. I did not do as well, but I think I would perform better in the future. It took me a while to get the hang of it. It still bothers me though. There were a couple of answers I did not agree with, but Will said those answers are now considered proper.

Overall, it was a fun experience. I think all of you would enjoy trying the tests. To me, it was way easier than Jeopardy. Seventy minutes total test time. Here is the link

After the test, we had lunch- no turkey on the menu. Then we took a hike to Pride Rock, near Iganga.

The big event of course, was the pope’s visit for 3 days. I watched some of the coverage from the TV in my office.

 
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Standing in front of Pride Rock

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My brother asked if this was like Pride Rock in the Lion King. It kind of looks like it from this angle, although the cows tethered next to it would not last too long if there was pride of lions about.

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I was pleased to accompany Sharon with her family when she checked into Nursing School. I met the vice- principal, who told me that the school places 97% of its graduates. Sharon is boarding here. She can’t leave campus, and can have visitors only on Sundays. Our first visit allowed will be next Sunday

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We are now getting into the thick of the political campaigns. Some candidates hire men on stilts or tall unicycles to lead a parade.

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It attracts a lot of kids too young to vote.

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A bumper sticker that caught me eye. Sad that this is an issue in Uganda.

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Raining Cats But Not Dogs

Author: November 17, 2015

My diabetes story got the second most reaction of all my blog posts, following only my tribute to Jan last August. I enjoy getting emails from all of you. I encourage your questions and comments. Sorry Uganda, you weren’t really in either top post.

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A road on the way to work after heavy morning rains

The rains have been loud and brutal at times on the roads. Tis the season. At least my bore hole doesn’t run dry. As a I hop over the mud and water patches on the road, I think of taking a bad spill with one misstep, so I have to focus. Most of the time I’m walking with my backpack carrying my laptop. I honestly worry about breaking my laptop in a spill more than my own bones!

My Lusoga language cohort friend Becky has a nice blog. She has posted a video you should watch. Her blog is here. The video is also on YouTube here. It does a fantastic job capturing the “Flavor” of our experience. Well done Becky!

When I try to click on Becky’s video, it says that its blocked in my country (Uganda) due to copyright. Only thing I can think of is the Kinks song she uses for background music. She showed it to me during IST so my comments are from memory of one viewing two weeks ago..

You will notice a few snippets with me in them. In one, I am sort of standing there like a lump while the others sing. This was our “entertainment” segment for the town dignitaries and home stay families at the Fare Well to Home Stay party. My language cohort is performing a song I did not know called “Day Man” from the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. I would have preferred a Ugandan folk song. Kids. I should have been more enthusiastic. I did give a good speech though, which is more my forte. It was a day mostly of speeches and eating.

One day I will upload my own video. Even with my 3G modem I can’t even send a short video by email. Becky used the free WiFi at Sol Cafe, so maybe I will try that.

As far as my work goes, it appears I will do intensive training starting with five farmer groups, presenting perhaps 4-5 programs to each, once a week at their VSLA meetings. Then we will take on five more farmer groups, while following up on the first set every month or so, to see if anything “stuck” with them. This will help me with variety, and I’ll get to know these farmers pretty intimately. I continue to want to establish four youth groups in at local Bugiri high schools. So that is what year one looks like for me.

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I went with Sharon, Hellen and Simon to admit Sharon to the Iganga Nursing and Midwifery School. It has a beautiful manicured campus and the dorm rooms look first rate. We were not allowed near the dorms. I met the Deputy Principal, who told me that 97% of their graduates find employment.

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Some PCVs report that neither their office locale nor their home site are amenable to a permagarden. At IST my counterpart Matthews showed the Agri-Business cohort how to build an elevated garden and a sack garden. He did great, although we ran out of time before they could be planted. He made a special trip back to Entebbe last week to finish both of them. Hope the nuns are pleased. Matthews says people in the villages are not well versed in these gardens, so we will add them to our teaching package.

sack garden

For the sack garden, use two grain sacks for durability. As you put dirt and manure into the sacks, you use a cylinder to build a column of rocks in the middle for aeration of the water.

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Draw 8-10 columns down the side of the sack, and then burn 5 holes into each column with matches. Plant Japanese Onion seedlings or other types, and have up to fifty plants around the sides plus a few more on top.

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Voila. This is a sack garden at my office. Trim off the green part of the onions as you need them, and this particular sack will grow for 2-3 years.

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These are scratch cards you can buy from little stands everywhere. You load the numbers you uncover into your phone to buy airtime. Our Peace Corps issued “burner” phones by Nokia allow unlimited airtime to anyone else from the Peace Corps, a Closed User Group. You can also convert this airtime into internet data. You can also use your phone for “Mobile Money”, by giving money to an authorized dealer and getting it credited on your phone like a bank deposit. You can transfer mobile money to others or buy airtime with it. Most PCVs seem to avoid mobile money, but my landlord wants me to use mobile money to pay my electric bill, so I have to learn it.

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Meet my new roommate, Meowi Meowseveni, named in honor of the exalted leader of the Republic of Uganda. I will just call her Meowri. . I use a basin with my carpenter’s wood chips for a litter box. I have been feeding her ground up silver fish and hard boiled eggs and whole milk. She’s about three months old. We are getting along fine. Kittens are so photogenic.

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