Tag Archive: food insecurity

PCVs Sharing Knowledge with Kazo town

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

She will, rise above

We finished In Service Training, spending the last week with our counterparts. Good to be home. (“Charley! You were lost!”)

My counterpart Matthews showed the Agri-Business cohort how to make an elevated garden and a sack garden. There was a great session on Climate Change as it relates to Uganda. I am backed up on things I want to blog about! I also came home to new neighbors, a seemingly large family. It doesn’t appear they speak English. The mom put up extra lines, thankfully, as we both did a ton of laundry.

Matthews and I put together a one year action plan to present to our supervisors in the Peace Corps and ATEFO. More on that when it is reviewed and approved.

Today I’ll talk about gender equality, plunge into some depressing statistics, but end on some high notes.

Gender Equality in the developing world is a major issue, which is why Peace Corps puts so much effort towards empowering women. Michelle Obama started “Let Girls Learn” which is directed at improving the educational opportunities for women throughout the developing world. I will be honest and say that my own reaction initially to all this gender stuff was that boys seemed to be getting ignored, so I would strike a balance. But the culture and evidence demonstrates a disparity. I won’t neglect the male gender which is also needy, but the imbalance has changed my attitude. I seek truth, sometimes it requires a change of mind.gender cartoon

Looking at women in agriculture,
• 90% of rural Ugandan women work in agriculture, and are the backbone of the rural economy.
• The UN estimates that African women contribute an average of 70% of food production, and over half of all farm-related labor.
• Women typically work much longer hours than men:
• “paid productive” and “unpaid reproductive and domestic” duties
• Women in Africa typically earn about half of men’s wages, and are more likely to be paid at a piecemeal rate.
One of the fastest and broadest ways to improve rural livelihoods is to increase women’s share of household income
• Encourage female participation in cooperatives and farmers orgs
 Economies of scale
 Building of confidence, skills, leadership, and security

An increase in a woman’s income of $10 achieves the same improvement in children’s nutrition and health as an increase in a man’s income of $110.

Notwithstanding these stark statistics, Female Farmers receive only 5% of all Agricultural Extension Services from 97 countries. Only 15% of the world’s extension agents are women. Only 10% of the total aid for agriculture, forestry, and fishing goes to women. (Many thanks to Katie J, who presented a program with her counterpart which presented the above)

I can say that ATEFO has encouraged leadership positions for women in our VSLA farmer groups. Matthews is on board with the idea of one program of our package for the farmer groups be devoted to gender. I keep thinking about how permagardens would help the women too.

Can you? 4.Money burning You know when to raise eyebrows if a product viagra professional price description tells a story of old Jeff and Leena. The pill likes cialis 5mg australia would work finest if guzzle using water. Takes the blood from the this link sildenafil pills patient’s own body and segregates the plasma, which is applied onto the roots of hair via injection using micro needles that cause little or no discomfort. Nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate, nitroprusside (any “nitric oxide donor” medicines), cimetidine, canadian viagra generic erythromycin, azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole), mibefradil, rifamycins (e.g., rifampin) or high blood pressure in lungs then it’s safe otherwise it can be harmful. Now for some really brutal statistics:
HIV/AIDS is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, (trailing malaria).
66% of all new HIV infections are contracted by adolescent girls.
78% of primary pupils and 82% of secondary pupils have experienced sexual abuse in schools
58% of girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence
49% of girls are married by age 18
25% of girls age 15-19 have had a baby or are pregnant; compared to only 2.5% in America
45% of uneducated girls are pregnant compared to 16% with secondary educations.

Girls are traditionally taught the facts of life by an “auntie” (Ssenga), boys by an “uncle”. They are fonts of misinformation.

I have heard about the spread of HIV through the boda guys and truck drivers, but the shocking amount of sexual abuse suffered in school is the low point for me. It’s not hard to project my own children in these situations and get enraged. Schools should be safe. We get our predators in America but it is comparatively rare. And let’s not forget the abuse outside of school walls. Sadly, when parents learn about abuse to their children they are often mollified by a payment of money, and if their girl is pregnant, a marriage can be arranged.

These sessions make me think of the great work of the Blue House in Kazo Uganda, the girls orphanage supported by my sister Karen from St. Paul Minnesota. They have successfully raised funds to support their girls even at the university level. These orphan girls, clearly a vulnerable class of people, are getting protection, a more normal childhood, and a boost in life. Learn more about it here: http://www.hopemultipurpose.org/

Speaking of empowering women, this is a good spot to update everyone about Sharon, my home stay “sister” whom my Rotary Club is supporting for education. The High School did not work well for her. We did not know that “Victoria School” was Muslim. Sharon, a Catholic, was required to attend morning prayers in the mosque starting at 4 a.m., each day, plus the other calls to prayer. It was really distressing to her. Further, there was a misunderstanding about how much the funds we provided was going to cover, since it had been my intent to pay all the way to completion and they were telling me I was a year short.

So I told Sharon it would be OK to quit and we got a refund for about half the money. We looked for alternatives. She was invited to be an au pair for a Ugandan woman in Denmark (“Charles will that be close to your home in America?”) but decided against it. Then she successfully interviewed for the Iganga Nursing and Midwifery School pretty close to Simon and Hellen’s home. Only 25% of applicants were accepted. She shared that hearing about Jan’s nursing career is one of her inspirations. I really like the potential for this. Even if Sharon had completed Senior level, there would be a continuing need for University. And there are millions unemployed graduate at both levels. I have been encouraged with the potential nursing offers her for stable future employment, though nothing is guaranteed.  The program is five semesters, and my Rotary Club has stepped up again to pay her fees and boarding, starting with a guaranty for the first two semesters. There was also enough to cover her initial uniform and equipment costs. My heart is so gladdened by my Club’s generosity.

The school has me listed as her guardian, and Sharon wants me to take her to her first day of school and moving in on November 16. Like when I took my own kids to college! My host family is going to host another volunteer in December. A large cohort of education volunteers arrive in Uganda on November 11, and six will be placed in my eastern region. We won’t be the new guys any longer. Further, I understand that my town of Bugiri will host the Lusoga language cohort in the near future. In a year, my “celebrity” here as the only Muzungu will be diluted, at least for a month.

 

 

 

Daily Records

IMAG1739

Matthews holds the rice sack summary with me and translates. That’s Moses in the foreground checking data while I talk.

Here I am, speaking to a farmer group after their weekly VSLA meeting, about the importance of record keeping. I ask at the beginning: Who keeps records? No one does. For a Peace Corps assignment, I interviewed the heads of the three financial institutions in Bugiri. I asked their biggest problem with customers, all mentioned lack of record keeping.

I encourage the farmers to keep simple crop records in a notebook (Date of planting; Amount of inputs used; Date of harvest; How much was the yield; Additional notes about disease, drought etc.). I also show them how a cash book works (it’s similar to a check register- if you are under 30 ask your parents).

I do not want to spend the next two years speaking to 200 farmer groups about record keeping. In a staff meeting yesterday, (after clearing my talk with Adams) I explained that Peace Corps wants me to help farmers, but my job is also to help ATEFO help farmers; so my efforts are sustainable after I leave. ATEFO’s primary purpose is teaching farmers to take a more business-like approach to farming, rather than just sustenance. Record keeping is fundamental to being successful in business.

The farmers can already see how important record keeping is, since the VSLA needs a journal to record welfare and savings contributions, and loans, and each farmer has his own passbook. Extending the concept to the farm and home should be easy, and this record keeping is much simpler compared to the VSLA record keeping.

Our trainers run around to these village VSLA meetings to write down data on savings to report to our funders, and will point out any deficiencies they see in their VSLA, both laudable activities. We are helping build a culture of saving. But we are failing the farmers if they do not receive a 20-30 minute lesson on record keeping, budgeting, post-harvest handling etc.

I suggested that each trainer in the our three districts should go out with me for a talk or two, then I would go out with them to watch them give the same talk. They are seeing these groups at least once or twice a month, so throw in a talk. We get more lessons delivered to more groups this way. Their talks would be faster than mine too, without a translator.

Speaking of translating, I say five words, then Matthews (holding the rice sack with me) speaks for 60 seconds. He swears he says what I say, and the three Bugiri trainers we go out with agree Lusoga takes longer to say the same thing. It’s hard to argue, because as you know, I am no expert on Lusoga.

I can’t say whether the trainers will agree to this process, although Adams seems to, and one trainer admits I am right about ATEFO’s purpose and sees no issue with my plan. But it requires a little bit more time, as they race around collecting data. If no one is there with the trainer, how do we check that the lesson is given? Maybe randomly check with VSLA chairmen. It’s like I used to say to clients: I am paid to give you advice, it’s up to you whether to follow it.

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When middle class Americans run low on money, they often use up their retirement funds, and credit cards until they run out of credit. They hope they get that new job or their business will get better, and then they will pay it all back, only turning to bankruptcy as a last resort.

Ugandans don’t have those two ‘backstops’ let alone an ability to get a ‘fresh start’ which bankruptcy provides. They also don’t get unemployment benefits. So have a bad harvest, and the next step is food insecurity (but not if they have a permagarden!) , or eating poorly, causing stunted growth and other nutritional ailments . School fees can’t get paid either, so the children suffer in that regard too.

Meanwhile the children keep getting born….

Once while I was speaking to a farmer group, my office mate and trainer Moses went deeper into the village and bought a couple chickens to take home. He hung them on his handlebars and said he would let them get fatter before eating them. What do chickens think as they hang, going down the road? Maybe one day I will do a blog post on chicken and rooster behavior. I've learned a lot watching them everywhere I go.

Once while I was speaking to a farmer group, my office mate and trainer Moses went deeper into the village and bought a couple chickens to take home. He hung them on his handlebars and said he would let them get fatter before eating them. What do chickens think as they hang, going down the road? Maybe one day I will do a blog post on chicken and rooster behavior. I’ve learned a lot watching them everywhere I go.

On Saturday I got my first visit from another PCV, Vanessa. She had her home stay for language learning in Bugiri and wanted to visit her home stay family for the last time before her service as an Education volunteer ends in December. So I finally got to show off my home!

Besides introducing me to her lovely home stay family, she showed me where a pork joint is on the edge of town. Most PCVs love pork joints. The cooking was in a thatched hut with a another hut next door with tables and chairs. We got there at noon and were served at 1:30, about normal for a pork joint. We ordered two kilos. They chop and cook it up on a large plate. Very fatty with lots of little bones, but it’s pretty good. Forgot to take pictures. No one at my office knew of this place, so we will all go there some day. Except Adams, who is Muslim, so it’s his loss.

Vanessa (29) is taking the foreign service exam today (Wednesday) at Peace Corps headquarters, as she tries to figure out what to do next. She is considering Peace Corps Response, something my niece Britta did. In Response, a returned volunteer (or any American with 10 years experience in a suitable career) goes to a country for only about nine months or a year. Britta terminated early in Bolivia due to civil unrest, and then did Response in Liberia. I may want to do this too. More exotic travel on someone else’s dime. Anyway, good luck to Vanessa!

This week is slower than last week , when I visited about 10 villages and gave my talk to a few of them. Monday was primary election day for the NRM party (President Museveni’s party – the National Resistance Movement). My trainers said no one would show up for VSLA meetings. NRM has another primary on October 26 for different offices. On Tuesday we had the aforementioned staff meeting. Today, Matthews is in Jinga for some medical tests, so no riding out to villages. A chance to work on my blog. Friday is Uganda Independence Day. I will walk with the Bugiri Rotary Club in a parade of some sort, and then we are supposed to play in a soccer game against an unnamed opponent. So I’ll be getting a bit of exercise at practice this week.

Garden

Peter has been training gardening to Peace Corps volunteers for 30 years. To say Peter is avid about perma-gardening is putting it mildly. I will try to encapsulate the philosophy behind it.IMAG0977 He observes that it is a common to see large NGOs and Foundations such as Gates, USA Aid, the Rockefellers etc. often boast of 10-20% increases in crop production. However, when this happens, there is a corresponding drop in child nutrition and frequent food insecurity (43% of Uganda with it’s 80% farmers, is food insecure). This seemingly counter-intuitive result is due to the “800 lb. gorilla” in the room, namely that the husband controls the family money and often does not spend it wisely.  The desire to buy new farm equipment, pressure to pay school fees, and unexpected doctor bills all contribute to Food Insecurity. (I am a bit surprised that the rampant alcoholism was not discussed in training, but the Ugandans are pretty open about it)So sometimes the family does not get a variety of nutritious food it needs. This is crazy when you consider the fertility of Uganda and all the rain. There should be plenty of food for the whole country.

Peter teaches that a Perma-garden right next to the family home is a solution to the family’s food insecurity. Perma stands for permanent (duh). Based on the annual rainfall of Uganda, a 6 x 4 roof releases 24,000 liters of rain run-off per year. Allowing for a foot path, the perma-garden would be a few feet away from the side of the house and take advantage of this run-off. You want the garden with a slight slope away from house. Of course, there is also the rain that falls directly on the garden. Taking advantage of roof run off saves “Ma Ma” literally hundreds of trips to the town pump to fetch water in heavy Jerry cans.
The particular design he uses for the garden is his own invention and is ingenious. It incorporates berms on the sides, swales acting as foot paths, and holes in the corners. The photo on the right is after construction before planting IMAG1046The soil in the garden and the berms are “double-dug” and “conditioned” for a much as four feet down, with handfuls of manure (for bacteria); and lots of brown stuff (dead leaves => carbon); green stuff (nitrogen), and charcoal (the small worthless crumbled pieces the charcoal salesman at the market lets you sweep up from his stall => oxygen).
In addition to the garden, we also built a compost pile incorporating the same ingredients.It is kept in the shade and still reaches a temperature over 130 degrees. At that point, pests and bad bacteria die, but good bacteria thrives. When you pull out the stick, and touch the bottom, it is extremely hot.

The six S’s of water management are Stop, Slow, Spread, Sink, Save and Shade. When the rain hits the garden from the roof (usually in a big rush, as I have observed, the rain here is incredibly intense) the berms stop it, slows it down and allows it to spread throughout the whole gardIMAG0984en. Extra run-off is channeled around the garden and goes into the corner holes before the excess is released. The water sinks deep into the garden and is saved. Because it was dug deep, the plants’ roots go down further than the normal 6 to 12 inches to clay. During the dry season, it can still access the deep water saved.

Now you can buy propecia online UK for online viagra india the UK customers. Even if you smoke more appalachianmagazine.com cialis viagra sale than one pack a day, you automatically increase the chance of erection issues. We effectively reverse these feelings through our proven anti-aging view for source buy viagra italy BHRT treatments. I’ve had to give up running and take up yoga and swimming instead. http://appalachianmagazine.com/2016/01/10/weather-service-issues-hazardous-weather-outlook-for-west-virginia-as-cold-weather-expected/ generic viagra rx Instead of planting in rows, he uses a triangle pattern that allows for more plants closer together. The broad leaves overlap, providing shade for the whole garden, preventing the sun from drying out the topsoil. There are innumerable leafy plants (with Vitamin A – often deficient in children) and vegetables you can plant. Peter claims a perma-garden is 400% more productive than the field farmed by Husband.

The materials for a perma-garden are free and easy to get. Once you dig it, the garden is year-round, permanent, and low maintenance. Just rotate the garden plants each season to keep the soil fertile and confuse the pests. Meanwhile, Pa Pa has to plow his 2 acre farm every season and buy fertilizer and pesticides. Our last session got rained out before we could actually plant the garden. He left the next day to teach this in Rwanda. A few of us thought we could do the planting, but Peace Corps has us scheduled pretty tight. Peter built another one (shown here) on the compound in a special training session just last April. IMAG1045It has been totally neglected ever since, and it’s pumpkins are much larger than the compound’s pumpkins, aided by drip lines.

It’s important to get both Ma Ma and Pa Pa to buy in, but a huge advantage is the empowerment it gives to Ma Ma; and no matter how bad things get, the family has food security. I knew some volunteers were planning to install a garden, but I hadn’t given it much thought. I don’t know if my site will have room for a garden, but I would dig one if I could. Peter says when you start clearing away your plot, the curious neighbors will observe this. They have been digging since they were 3 years old and will probably want to help, and rip the hoe right out of your hand. It’s only a matter of time before the early adapters influence the entire village to start their own perma-gardens. Hoeing is strenuous but I did my share. I enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Peter one afternoon, comparing notes about our similar kids and mothers. I scored 11 out of 65 on his test on the first day, and 63 on the retest on the last day.

I move to my home stay for 4 weeks starting June 27. Mostly language training then. As I predicted, early language training has been quite a challenge for me compared to the ability of the four others learning with me. I need to study and practice quite a bit more to keep up.