Uganda Culture

Wedding Song

Author: Charles May 29, 2016

Matthews’s sister Eunice, Groom and daughter Nikki, Matthews, his brother Fred, me.

One of the photos that were printed to be sold. I forgot a tie! I am holding her gift, a pair of women’s gardening gloves I bought at Walgreens before I left.

In a previous post, I wrote about attending the Introduction and Giveaway ceremony in a village near Kamuli for Matthews’ daughter. The following Sunday I attended the wedding and reception in Jinja. As weddings go, it was pretty similar to American weddings. It was held in a Seventh Day Adventist church. During and after the wedding there were three photographers taking pictures. I was asked to pose in many of them even though I had not met anyone before, except Matthews and his brother and son.
The reception was a bit different from what I am accustomed to in America. It was held in large room in a school about a mile away from the church. Chairs were set up in crowded rows and there were tables and chairs set up on the stage for the Wedding party. Thus guests could not move about and socialize like at an American wedding reception. While we were getting settled, the three wedding photographers were circulating and selling prints of the photos they had taken less an hour earlier. In the front, two different choral groups alternated with songs, although even the vocals were mostly pre-recorded. There was much choreography, pantomiming the stories they sang.
At the Introduction, Matthews’ father and I were brought our plates of food while everyone else got in buffet lines. At the reception, (Matthews’ father didn’t attend) I was served my plate of food but Matthews, the father of the bride, had to get in line. Being a grey bearded American sort of has it’s advantages, but it’s embarrassing to be so singled out. I just have to be gracious. As happens often, everyone ate with their plates on their laps. Most eat with their fingers; the soft American was brought a fork. There are rarely napkins except in restaurants that serve Western food. Instead we pour water over our fingers before and after eating. The meals at these functions are always the same: Rice, Matoke, a small piece of meat with gristle (beef, goat or chicken), g-nut sauce, Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes.
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I hope you are not sick of cute kids pictures

The Bride knelt before her husband to feed him cake and then knelt in front of the first couple of rows to offer cake.

Entertainment!

General

Uganda Culture, Uganda food

Introduction and Giveaway Ceremony

Author: Charles May 16, 2016

There was a comedic M.C on each side providing commentary and moving things along. Our M.C. is in the foreground, the groom’s side M.C. sits behind the basin.

A Ugandan tradition is the Introduction and Giveaway Ceremony. The groom and his family and friends are introduced to the Bride’s family and friends, culminating in the bride being given away to the groom. It seems as big as the wedding itself. For his daughter’s ceremony, Matthews said I needed to be there by 10 a.m. to socialize a bit beforehand, before it was to start at 1 p.m. As usual in “Uganda time” the groom’s people didn’t even show up until 4 p.m. Matthews’ father sat next to me, translated, and tried to explain the ceremony. I had to leave at 5:30 p.m. before the bride even came out and was still was not able to get home until well after dark at 9:30 p.m.

Four dancing “nurses” approach the groom’s people as they arrive.They said they had checked everyone’s health and they were fine, except one man, the groom, who suffered the “sickness of love”. The groom’s people had to wait, and entered through the orange arch in the pouring rain. Serves them right for being so late. Rain stopped after they were seated!

An “aunty” came out carrying wood, and said she had forgotten the Introduction was that day and had to get things organized.

before the festivities began, the preparation of three big vats of matoke, made from green plantains. Matoke is a staple of any social gathering with food in Uganda.

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Various groups came dancing out to meet the groom’s family.

These two girls came out, and in response to something an M.C. asked, said something I didn’t understand except the word “Muzungu” (white person). Everyone turned and looked at me and laughed. As near as I can understand, in response to whether they were enjoying themselves, one of them said yes because even a Muzungu was present.

A selfie with Matthews’ father, who is 80 y.o. Besides his own seven children, he had to raise the children of two brothers who had died. He complained that he suffered to pay all their school fees, and now none of them will ever visit. I was praising Matthews skill as a gardener, so he requested I bring Matthews to his home at Jinja where he has land, so Matthews can give him advice.

“Meanwhile, back at the ranch”, Azedy hired these two men to plow behind his compound. So much of the level of development is like the Old West of America. Instead of horses and carriages though, it’s boda bodas and taxis.

Some of my new neighbor kids. This is the view across the street from my compound.

General

agriculture, Uganda Culture, Uganda food

Parting Ways

Author: Charles April 26, 2016

It’s been awhile. I have been busy, and attending last week’s Youth Technical Training (YTT).
Before I get to that in the next post, I am distressed to report that Meowri has left me. A couple of weekends ago, I went to Jinja for two nights, staying with about 30 PCVs in dorms next to the Nile River. I had left my barred window open to allow Meowri to come and go. When I returned Sunday, I was disturbed to see the window had been closed and the food I left inside was not eaten. The neighbors claimed they fed him, but in any event, he was gone. I wasn’t too concerned because cats usually come back after a few days. However, after three days home, I needed to take care of some business in Kampala, come back one night, and then attend YTT in Jinja for a week. When I returned Saturday, the neighbor kids lead me to the body of a decomposing cat in a small nearby forest. Not Meowri (whew), but “ Meowri’s friend”, they said.
On Sunday I was finally able to talk to a girl at her nearby compound, where the kids claimed Meowri was. She said indeed Meowri is staying there. This is a four unit compound behind very high walls. Only one unit is finished, however, and like everywhere else in Uganda, the other three are just shells of bricks. She borrowed my flashlight and took my basket, scampering up into the rafters and disappeared. No way was I going to attempt that high wire act. We both called, but Meowri did not come. (Cats are like that). So I have nothing definitive. I left my basket with her. A lady entered as i was leaving and said there were a number of cats that lived there. Maybe Meowri prefers this company to mine. But I want to take him home and give him a choice. I also want to see if he’s been hurt at all. The family in the compound is often not there.

Neighborhood search party!

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Sunset on the NIle with monkey

When you travel between the larger towns, the taxi will stop in the smaller towns to allow the local vendors to shove drinks, crackers, sis-ka-bob meat sticks etc. at you

General

children, Meowri, travel, Uganda Culture

Odds and Sods

Author: Charles April 2, 2016

The display table for Bukooli College Educate Group. Could’ve used a better graphics guy. Their main product is the liquid soap in the middle. Also arts and crafts using recycled materials. Judges come by and ask the team questions as part of the competition. Everything was taking so long and late, I left before it was over. Sorry.

It’s been awhile! Rainy season is starting to come back! It’s not fun avoiding mud and puddles, especially wearing open toed sandals with socks (Doctor’s orders for toe problems) The power goes out a lot more during rain storms, so I have to make sure any home cooking and boiling is finished . I have resisted using gas or coal. On the other hand, during dry season, the heat and dusty roads are not pleasant either and my community bore hole dries up. So I suppose it’s good to switch seasons for variety.

Following a four day holiday for Easter, Matthews has been gone all week due to a child’s illness. Now I have been allowed to use his nephew Faizon to help with transport. Still, we have had some cancellations of my programs due to things like burials and deaths, which usually take up the attention of the entire village. Other times there isn’t money for fuel or an available motorcycle to take me. It’s always something.These issues are common among Agri-business volunteers, because we typically travel to different villages. Most Health volunteers or Education volunteers have static hospitals or schools. I did get finished with a round about budgeting to control household expenses. I’s almost time to start a round of Gender talks with my groups.

I am also accepting referrals to give more motivational talks to parents and children at other schools.

Here is a mish-mash of topics .I’ve written a bit about some of them.before. The first two items “bug” me .

Some little bugs (not termites) are drilling pinholes in my desk, My carpenter says to use paraffin against them.

I heard constant honking outside my window. A local town ‘character’ was standing in front of the bus and wouldn’t move. Somehow it eventually got around him.

Hence it provides effective results to treat cialis prescriptions one’s erection issue. So before consuming this drug you should inform your physician all about rx viagra online your health situations and take the exact dosage recommended by him by following up all safety instructions. April is Pet First Aid Awareness Month, and we can’t let May arrive without blogging order generic viagra about some pet first aid tips! Unexpected dog or cat emergencies can happen at any time, and we hope you’ll take a moment to read through these important safety points and first aid items. The classifications are postural, derangement, and viagra online no rx dysfunction. Spiders and their webs– I suppose it comes with living in this climate, but the corner of every room will get spider webs two days after you get rid of them. If there is any gap a spider web will appear. The ceilings in dark pit latrines too. You feel the webs on the top of your head if you aren’t careful. You eventually get sensitive to the touch of webs on your bare arms or hair.
Tiny ants– Tiny ants might be the most annoying thing about living here. We called them sugar ants back home. They attack any used dish or utensil or crumbs you leave out on a table for a few minutes. I keep my dirty dishes in a basin with another basin upside down on top to keep them sealed, but sometimes they get in there anyway. When I wash, there is a huge tiny ant drowning. I double wrap things and try to keep most food stored in my fridge but they sometimes show up anyway. Any more, I just brush or blow dozens of them off of my rolls or skim them off the surface of other food and then eat it. I can’t waste it. Fortunately they don’t bother ground nuts, so I can keep a bowl out.
Guns.. They are held by police or the hired security who screen us entering banks and certain shopping areas.. I’m no expert, but they look like old-fashioned carbine rifles to me Some police have semi-automatic weapons. Guns are rare among the general public. When you hear about weapons used in batteries or robberies here, they almost always involve knives.

A rafter of turkeys came by my office. Not a common sight.

Greetings. When I get back to America, it will be hard not to greet everyone I see on the street.. Some Ugandans have told me they don’t greet everyone, but I feel like I am insulting people if I don’t greet them, at least with a little wave when I pass by. It’s always mutual, initiated either way. Also, if you start any conversation with a merchant, you must first exchange greetings. The most common morning greeting is Watsu se otia?. (How was your night?) Then, How is your home? or I’ll get asked, How is Bugiri? You don’t just point and say “Sente amica?” (How much does this cost?) Greetings are pretty much all I retain from language learning, but it’s thrilling enough for the farmers.

Not just Queen Elizabeth, but my Mom, Katherine, is 90 years old. She lives in Thornton in the house I was raised, shovels up to 4 inches of snow, and can still drive to the library, grocery store, and church. She reads more than a book a week. Loves watching Jeopardy. Photo shows her with my daughter Blair from a nice birthday party with family last night. Happy birthday Mom, I promise to be there for your 100th birthday.

I wrapped rope around a table leg for a scratching post for Meowri. Oh why didn’t I clip his nails while I had the chance during the vet’s visit?

Lack of Time management- “African” or “Ugandan Time” is worse than “Mexican Time”. My local Rotary Club president always wants to start at 6 pm and end at 7 pm sundown, but it rarely gets underway before 6:30, or he would be speaking to two other people. The farmer groups never start on time. Today, the Bakooli College Educate Club had competition up the road against eight other Educate Clubs. I wanted to watch, and arrived on my own at 9 a.m. the supposed starting time. Seven teams came between 9:30 until 11 including my school. . I think they should penalize them.

General

adversity, background, Lusoga, Meowri, Rainy Season, Uganda Culture, Youth Group

No Syrians Here (Yet)

Author: Charles March 21, 2016

I am now in a routine of presenting programs to four farmer groups each week. In a Thursday farmer group, I gave my first talk about keeping household budgets as a way to control spending, In the USA, where I suspect written household budgets are rare, I helped families with budgets required in connection with their bankruptcy filings. Here, where a man has multiple wives, I recommend keeping multiple home budgets. I hope it promotes trust and harmony between the families. There is often suspicion the husband is favoring one family over the other, so best to work together and lock in the amounts. I asked how many men have more than one wife. Almost all ten men in the group raised their hands and sort of shrugged about it.. I ignore the moral dilemma this presents to supposed Christians (Muslims claim their faith allows it), but observe that the culture of polygamy typically increases the number of children, and hence adds to the strain on their limited resources

This is Agnes, my neighbor behind our office, sifting and picking her rice, a common sight in the third world. Here she is picking out small stones. I eat lots of rice in restaurants and I automatically check for pebbles with my tongue before I chew. My rice cooker is used for noodles.

Here is Agnes at mid-flip. I never knew why they did this. It separates out the lighter husk remnants which catch the breeze. Sure enough they were on the ground by her.

On an off day, I was invited to speak at another primary school near Mbale, where one of Matthews’ sons is a teacher. I was stunned by the size of the crowd of parents jammed into a class room just to hear me. I am evolving a decent stump speech for these occasions.
Whenever I ask for questions, I get some variation of “We have such a need of your knowledge and skills, how can we get more Peace Corps volunteers?” I respond that 200 Peace Corps volunteers in a country of 38 million are stretched pretty thin. I lament that my country has far more resources devoted to endless unsuccessful military engagements. I just read that the Department of Defense is the world’s largest employer, with more than 1.3 million men and women on active duty and 742,00 civilian personnel. This compares to 220,000 total Peace Corps volunteers over 55 years. I tell them I wish my country could begin to flip this priority, but with our two likely militaristic candidates, it will not change with our elections this year.

The parents should donate their own knowledge, skills and resources. Volunteer to help at school by helping a group with reading, tend to the school garden, help with maintenance or any number of non-monetary contributions.

Chicks painted pink! Easter is coming! Friday and Monday are public holidays.

Two poor goats are stuffed under the rear seat of a taxi

I also spoke to two classrooms of children, one of them P1 through P4 and the other P5- and P6. Here is a brief video showing how the classes in Uganda always greet their visitors. Besides asking them to appreciate the sacrifices their parents make to ensure their education, I stress how important it is to always do your best, and get in the habit of being honest, the two qualities I wanted from my own children.

For a secondary project, I am establishing a relationship with a youth group called the “Education Club” at Bakooli College (high school), which is within walking distance of my office. The club seemed to be the group with the most goals and activities congruent with what I am doing. I am also hoping to make it a Rotary Interact Club, so it can get needed support from the Bugiri Rotary Club. The teacher/adviser and a boy and girl from this group will accompany me to Youth Technical Training for a week in late April, in Jinja. I turned down an offer to form a youth group in a deep village because of the unreliability of my transportation, but I am going to meet the head teacher to see about presenting some programs there.
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This is pretty typical of the refugee compounds. Almost all of them had been swept clean.

In front of the primary school.with Tom, Ryan.and Aruna. Definitely an upgrade compared to village schools.

Aruna stands with his “uncle” who came to the camp in 2002, a couple of years after Arruna’s arrival, , and a childhood friend. Just like Aruna’s older brother, the uncle was involuntarily conscripted into the Sudanese army, and escaped when he got the opportunity, later sending for his wife. The situation has not gotten much more secure all these years later.

A cute chicken coop at Aruna’s uncle’s place. Recently they got a disease and all died.

Sign near the entrance

Playing pool outdoors. Tom and Ryan have seen this in other villages.

These tents are temporary shelters for new arrivals

After the camp we took a took a trip to the shores of Lake Allen, which marks Uganda’s western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The water looked awful. I would not eat fish from here.

Last Friday, I traveled all day to Homia on the western side of Uganda. There, I met Aruna, my PCV friend and former Lost Boy of Sudan, and two other PCVs, Tom and Ryan. We visited the refugee camp from Aruna’s childhood, which I wrote about in one of my first blog posts.. It was an interesting and enlightening experience. Unlike my assumptions of teeming refugees living in squalor, the place was nicer than the villages I go to. Clusters of huts are scattered throughout, and plenty of land for farming is available. It is not surprising that some have been there more than 20 years. This camp has 22,000 refugees, about twice as many as when Aruna was there. The vast majority are Congolese. The photos tell the story.

General

Education, Rotary Club, travel, Uganda Culture, Uganda food, working, Youth Group

I’m a Boy (and Happy Birthday Peace Corps)

Author: Charles March 1, 2016

A message from the Peace Corps:

55 years ago on March 1, 1961, President Kennedy established Peace Corps. In a message to Congress, Kennedy wrote that the people of these nations are “struggling for economic and social progress.” “Our own freedom,” he continued, “and the future of freedom around the world, depend, in a very real sense, on their ability to build growing and independent nations where men can live in dignity, liberated from the bonds of hunger, ignorance and poverty.”
Peace Corps continues to make a difference at home and abroad and renews its commitment to service. Over 55 years, 220,000 Volunteers have served in 141 countries where Volunteers spoke 154 languages.

“I’m zonked. What are you doing down there?”

PCV Stephanie referred me to a vet who made house calls if I paid for his transportation from Jinja. I wanted to neuter Meowri before she went into heat. After an anesthetic injection, the vet looked over the patient and informed me she was a he! I had never done an *extremely* close inspection and the vet said this is a common mistake. Since the relevant parts were on the outside, it saved me 50,000 UGx. I suppose I could have decided against it, but the fix will curb some aggressiveness and keep him closer to the compound. The vet said Meowri is small for a cat. I don’t think he was fed too well before I got him, if that has anything to do with it. The vet said Meowri would sleep until about 2 but by 12:30 he was dragging himself around like the cyborg at the end of Terminator II; if you know that scene. Then he was “walking in Italics” as Mango would say. Poor guy. Sleeping on my lap most of the afternoon.

This neutering process has demonstrated some cultural divides between Uganda and America. When I answered Adams’ question the operation was going to cost me 200,000UGx, ($65 US but 1/4 my monthly salary here) he said “There are sick people in the village who can’t afford the transport to the clinic for 10,000 UGx” That made me ponder. Am I being the rich self-indulgent American? I mentioned this to Stephanie, the PCV who referred me to the vet. Stephanie pointed out that Ugandans easily will blow at least 1 million UGx on a one night Introduction. An Introduction is a huge ritual party in which the two families of an engaged couple are introduced to each other. It’s bigger than the wedding, Everyone brings gifts. I suppose that gift part is like an American bridal shower. (One day maybe I’ll research whether there is a cultural equivalent to a Bachelor/Bachelorette party) So it’s a matter of cultural priority I suppose. It did make my vet expense less guilt-ridden. Of course there are many who can not afford either an Introduction or transport to the clinic.

To cap this discussion off, it reminded me to look at a budget Matthews had given me last month of his own daughter’s Introduction ceremony on April 7. When people want you to contribute to a wedding or an Introduction or a graduation party, they give you their budget. We are trained to say “Nkola Nacheerwa (I work as a volunteer). The Peace Corps only gives me enough to barely feed myself” Still, Matthews is my bud! He had to sell a heifer to pay for his hernia operation back in November. He had to pay for his son’s burial, followed by a bout with typhoid and as discussed below, death of a nephew. School has finally started and he had to pay fees for another daughter, which includes boarding. He is stretched bad. His Introduction budget is 2.5 million UGx. I guess we will see how it all shakes out.

Stand fast ended Sunday. Election coverage is in my email notice. I continue to be challenged getting out to villages to meet with farmer groups. Meital said, to lessen my dependence on Matthews, I can use other trainers as co-counterparts and have a boda waiver as long as I send her pictures of their licenses for the file. Unfortunately, none of the other guys are licensed. Adams said it was a big expensive deal to get one for Matthews. No matter, the annual contracts of all the trainers and Janet expired at the end of January. They were working for free during February to finalize annual reports and hope for extended funding. Williams and Janet went home to their families in Kampala, Moses and Emma are still in town. Adams hopes to get new funding for projects to have them back soon. Peace Corps has referred us to a USAID-supported funder to work with maize farmers, and that is in the works.

The funder who financed ATEFO before wants us to intensify the training for 50 out of our 148 farmer groups in Bugiri District. Clearly for these 50, the trainers will need to teach as well as collect VSLA data. I can only do a set of programs for 5 groups at a time. I told Adams I want to do more “teaching the trainers”. This intensification might not kick in until September however. While that is not good for the trainers, Matthews is on a two year contract and I’m not an expense, so we can still get out there now ourselves. It will enable me to work on our programs so I can better pass them on. These lessons aren’t really that long and they will take half the time without an interpreter.

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I am comforted by the presence of my neighbor to leave my barred windows open while I’m at work so Meowri can go in and out. Only he can fit!

Old tires provided endless amusement

On the Sunday afternoon before elections, taking a walk around town, there were a few of these percussion heavy bands banging away and having a good time

A good as a drum circle outside a Phish concert

As good as a drum circle outside a Phish concert

After I put down my vinyl flooring in August, I stashed a $100 bill under a part of it. It would have paid for my whole trip last month. I thought the rag paper was indestructible! No Ugandan bank nor money exchange will take it, so I will have to send it home to be exchanged. My personal passport was also hidden on another part of the flooring. I need to make an appointment with the US Embassy to get a replacement. So stupid not to put them in baggies. I also was issued a special Peace Corps passport which is kept at headquarters. I need both passports to leave and return to Uganda.

From my permagarden a few weeks ago. Yesterday I dug up more. I sure them with my neighbors

From my permagarden a few weeks ago. Yesterday I dug up more. I share them with my neighbors

Just before I posted this, Meowri had sufficiently recovered enough to back into the hunt. This is some kind of giant cockroach kind of bug. First time I had seen one. Meowri caught a little frog in my unit Sunday. I finally had to take the skeleton away form her.

Just before I posted this, Meowri had sufficiently recovered enough to get back into the hunt, but still feeble. It kept him busy for awhile. I don’t if he succeeded. This is some kind of large cockroach kind of bug. First time I had seen one. Meowri caught a little frog in my unit Sunday. I finally had to take the skeleton away from her, I mean him.

Temps in the 90’s for the first time since I arrived. Only two short rain bursts in the month of February. Probably at least a few more weeks of dry season. The goats enjoy the shade.

Matthews was gone since before the election until today. His 34 year old nephew passed on last week. They believe it was a combination of malaria and typhoid, but they don’t really seem to know. So he finally returned today. I knew he would have a bunch of chores piled up around the office and Adams’ fields, so it was a good day to host the vet, stay home with Meowri and work on this blog.

General

ATEFO (my NGO), Meowri, Uganda Culture

Deep Forbidden Lake

Author: Charles February 14, 2016

The view of Lake Bunyonyi from Tyler’s front porch. About 60 PCVs came here for Thanksgiving. About 60 PCVs posted this same view on their FB or Blog. Unfortunately it was hazy for us.

We left Omwani Cafe and headed to the town of Kabale and beautiful Lake Bunyonyi. Karen, David and I agreed it was the worst taxi ride we had ever taken in Uganda, with either 24 or 25 people crammed together. David and I were jammed in the back row, my knees ache in memory. Two boys next to me were spitting up into a bag.

The climb up the hill to Tyler’s place is steep and a bit challenging. Even harder going down as Karen demonstrates her crab walk. (I hope she forgives me for printing this 😉 )The picture does not do it justice. You have to watch the loose dirt, but Tyler assured us it is worse during rains.I wouldn’t enjoy this at night.

Lake Bunyonyi is in the southwest corner of Uganda near the Rwanda border It is over 6.000 feet in elevation. It is a volcanic crater and the second deepest lake in Africa, 29 islands are scattered throughout the lake.

We met Tyler at her site and spent a night there. (She was Rosie the Riveter in the Halloween photos). Tyler is from Washington state and a Health volunteer. She is a wonderful host and very level-headed.

On the boat with Tyler going to lunch. She often boats to other islands for her work.

This is an entry point to see gorillas. I posted this mainly to show off my new Peace Corps T-shirt

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After we snooped around a couple of nearby resorts while Tyler did some work, we took a boat ride to one of the islands to have a nice lunch at a restaurant.

Punishment Island per Wikipedia

On the way we saw a small island in the distance with a solitary tree. It is called “Punishment Island”. Per Wikipedia:
The Bakiga used to leave unmarried pregnant girls on this small island with a lone tree – to die of hunger or while trying to swim to the mainland (swimming skills were rare). This was to educate the rest, to show them not to do the same. A man without cows to pay the bridewealth could go to the island and pick up a girl. The practice got abandoned in the first half of the 20th century. Although this practice has been abandoned, it is still possible to find women who were picked up from punishment island today.
Another island was a colony for lepers.
We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon at the restaurant chatting with three girls who were independently traveling the world. They had joined together temporarily and were heading to Rwanda the next day. The American mentioned she saved her travel money by working at Google in Silicon Valley. There are 16,000 employees on that campus, but It turns out her desk was next to a guy who dated Tyler in college. They had a hoot sending him a selfie via Facebook.

I had seen these “Keep Bunyonyi Blue” stickers around town. Just found out they are Tyler’s creation. She has also done some interesting art work on her walls which I might try to replicate.

Then it was back to Kabale, where we had dinner with Ron in a Fossils reunion. Ron bikes eight kilometers round trip to work each day and does yoga. He has lost 25 lbs, in Uganda,

The next morning we caught a 7 a.m. bus. Karen and Dave split off a couple of hours later, while I stayed on to Kampala, where I changed to a taxi and got back to Bugiri by 9 p.m. I was happy to see Meowri was still OK, and in fact my neighbor kids got their own kitten!
Dry season is hitting hard now. There was no rain my entire trip and I have to start getting to the bore hole at 6 a.m. again.

Elections are nest Thursday the 18th. Stay tuned….

General

Dry season, travel, Uganda Culture, volunteers

Future Days IV

Author: Charles January 29, 2016

I assisted with a “sharing out” VSLA meeting. At the end of the year, they receive their savings, plus their share of interest from loans to members and fines. I helped with the calculations on each passbook. This group received 2807UGX back for every 2000 UGX share they saved. They sign for their money on the register. Some of them use a blue ink thumbprint. After seeing this result their first year, they are determined to save more next year.

I am finally starting to get back out into the fields again. I’m still working on cluster business plans, but with Matthews’ issues behind him, and hopefully available full time, we can go back to our action plan to teach four weeks of programs to farmer groups: record keeping, budgeting, sack gardens, and gender equality.

Before we are back in this routine full time, however, the first two weeks of February will have some other activities. The annual “all-vol” conference will be held near Kampala next week. All the Peace Corps volunteers will participate. I will get to meet many of the other Uganda volunteers for the first time.

After all-vol, I will travel with two other PCVs from my cohort, David and Karen, for a week in Western Uganda. David is my fellow fossil and frequent roommate, and Karen is a health volunteer and the oldest of the females in our cohort, though hardly a fossil (40’s- she was the black-eyed pea at Halloween). It’s the “Fossils on the Move” tour!

We will visit Karen’s site located on a massive tea plantation, While there, David and I will consult about their perma-gardens in exchange for free use of the guesthouse and meals and obligatory tour (which we will want anyway). David’s site is a demonstration project we will also visit for a night. Then we’ll tour Queen Elizabeth National Park (African animals!), Finally we’ll travel to scenic Lake Bunyoni in the southwest corner, near the Rwanda border. Along the way, we’ll stop at the equator, and watch the Super Bowl from Dave’s site. He is most recently from North Carolina. We’ll sleep through the 2:30 a.m. kickoff and watch it on a delayed basis online.

After the sharing out, the grateful village gave each of us a chicken (they are hanging from the handlebars). I gave mine to another trainer, Williams.

I’ll return to Bugiri by February 12, and then all PCVs are grounded to work from their sites, until after the election on the 18th. Speaking of the election, here is an article I thought was pretty good.

While some men find buy viagra professional it hard to maintain so. In this regard Nightforce has always delivered. cialis prices order cheap levitra order cheap levitra article So, where then lies the problem? What makes achieving peace such a task? After a lot of people do not favor herbal treatments and disbelieve it. Avoid strenuous activities for at least three risk factors stated above, is diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome, and get viagra no prescription should be screened for sexual dysfunction as well. Matthews will feed Meowri while I am gone. She is now able to go in and out of my home during the day through bars in my windows. I hope the kids will be nice to her while I am gone.

On Sunday I hosted my home stay family for dinner.. We had spaghetti and meat sauce and fruit and yogurt salad. These were new dishes for my family. Sharon had to take a test at nursing school and unfortunately missed it. Too bad, since she has the view I am totally helpless to cook for myself. This picture (Peace and Innocent with Simon in the background) is after we were temporarily driven inside off my narrow porch by a 30 minute downpour.

This is Edith with George, the new education trainee living with Hellen and Simon. He is the polar opposite of me in language, receiving one of only three high intermediate scores in his cohort

Saw a kid in my neighborhood the other day with one of the toys from Father Christmas. The little wind-up robots are breaking easily. No warranties from FC

My sister thinks you would be interested in how I wash clothes and dishes. I use three basins for each chore. Soapy water, rinsing and air dry on a dish rack for the dishes. I soak my clothes overnight in detergent, then scrub and rinse them twice before line drying. I do each chore twice a week.

I need to travel light, so I’ll bring my smart phone but not my lap top. So don’t expect any new blog posts for a couple of weeks.

Go Broncos!

General

All Vol, Teaching, Uganda Culture, Uganda food, VSLA groups, working

Nothing Changes on New Year’s Day

Author: Charles January 6, 2016

We got a fireworks display over the Nile River at midnight.

Henning is wearing a Colorado shirt from a visit to Boulder and Jette.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year’s Eve and will enjoy 2016. Looking back, 2015 was sort of pell-mell, divided in half between all the things I had to do to get ready, including buying a condo, selling my house and closing down my law practice; and then undergoing training and making the adjustment to my new life in Bugiri. I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out, and expect things will stay interesting.

Before joining about 30 other PCVs in Jinja at a bar called Bourbon, I paid a visit to Henning, a Danish businessman who works with ATEFO. He had invited me, and I met his wife Jette, and his 21 y.o. daughter, visiting for the holidays, and 8 y.o. son, who goes to an international school in Jinja. Their place is “on the water” referring to the Nile River, where it joins an inlet into Lake Victoria.

For this reason you can see many fanatical ads for different herbal http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/giraffe/ purchase cialis online medicines. You no levitra for sale longer need to step out from your house. Are you to blame? As we cialis tablet have already discussed about the treatment for low libido, impotency and erectile dysfunction. This is because medicine viagra uk delivery might provide you instant results but in that case you might face trouble in differentiating between green and blue objects as a blue tinge is formed in the path that blocks the sexual erection of the penile skin while helping it to feel more supple and responsive. Jette is a doctor who spends two days a week counseling diabetes patients in a couple of different clinics. She wants me to talk to a group of them about my reversal. She is striving to set up her own general practice in 2016.

The view of the junction of the Nile and Lake Victoria from Henning’s backyard. The house is in a guarded compound called “Jinja Sailing Club”of six homes, all occupied by Muzungus.

When you go the the edge of his lawn you see an illegal shanty town and a mosque that has sprung up along the shoreline. How these structures got there, and who is getting paid off to look the other way, is an interesting story but a lot of it is Henning’s speculation.

These are the seven kids who live next door to me in my compound (and Meowri). Its the same two room design I have. I have gone in to their place load electricity on the meter and observe they use triple bunk beds. They try to help me learn Lusoga words, a few of which I used to know.

General

ATEFO (my NGO), children, diabetes, Jinja, Meowri, Uganda Culture, volunteers

Father Christmas Came to Bugiri

Author: Charles December 27, 2015

Father Christmas and his helper.

Have yourself a merry merry Christmas
Have yourself a good time
But remember the kids who got nothin’
While you’re drinkin’ down your wine

–Father Christmas, The Kinks

Father Christmas is the British version of Santa Claus, adopted by its former colony. Yesterday, he came to the road I walk to work. This little visit was something we planned for a few months. I found a costume in October (Yes, even in Uganda they start with the specialty Christmas stuff in late October- I wore it for the video we made during In Service Training). I wanted to dress as Father Christmas and give toys to the kids who run out to greet and fist bump me every day .

Sample selection of a gift package.

After my own children chided me about being the “white gift-giver”, the culture of dependency etc., and after a few other PC volunteers predicted I would be tormented by gift requests hereafter, I asked my counterpart Matthews to be Father Christmas. I had an extra Santa hat, and would be his helper.

When my Rotary Club back home started organizing a care package, I requested they send little toys, and ultimately received two packages. Included were about 65 little wind-up robots that I believe were table decorations for a CASA fundraiser. I also received two big bags of Tootsie Rolls and Whoppers. My Aunt Shirley from Laramie sent a nice box of toys and Wyoming-themed Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, three boxes of donations from my siblings did not arrive on time.

Matthews as Father Christmas.

I had not anticipated that many Bugiri families would be going back to their home village for Christmas this week. In fact today, Christmas Eve, there are not many children around. I also knew that Matthews wanted to get to his own home village. So after we confirmed the post office would not be receiving any more packages until after Christmas, we decided to have Father Christmas come on the 23rd. We assembled 65 little baggies, each with a wind-up robot. We added 48 pencils, and separated from the pencils, about 15 little stuffed animals similar to beanie babies for the smallest kids, and added an assortment of plastic whistles, tops, and other items.

We started from my home and things went well for awhile. Then we got a section where generally about ten children greet me. Chaos ensued. In a flash there were about 50 kids clamoring around poor Matthews. Some of the moms tried to organize the kids into lines, as you see in this video, but it was hopeless. We ran out quickly and I still did not reach a few other clusters of kids further down the road. I apologized to the moms profusely for running out and hope they are not upset.

Matthews was pretty tired trudging back to my compound.

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When the delayed boxes finally arrive, I will try to distribute those toys to the neglected portion of my road. Maybe next year I will solicit all my readers to send toys. I am reluctant, because the postage is extreme, probably well in excess of the cost of the toys. We’ll see.

I spent Christmas with my host family in Iganga. Lots of friends and relations enjoyed an afternoon in the courtyard, It was so nice to see Sharon in good spirits after her hospitalization only a few days before. I met George, an education trainee staying with Simon and Hellen in my old room. He is learning Lusoga much more easily than I.

Simon’s two wives and oldest son.

Like all of you, I reflect on many Christmas memories. Jan’s favorite song, Christmas or not, was John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas”.

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

War is over, if you want it
War is over now

Happy Xmas

—Lennon

General

Bugiri, children, host parents, Uganda Culture

Tag Archive: Uganda Culture

Wedding Song

Introduction and Giveaway Ceremony

Parting Ways

Odds and Sods

No Syrians Here (Yet)

I’m a Boy (and Happy Birthday Peace Corps)

Deep Forbidden Lake

Future Days IV

Nothing Changes on New Year’s Day

Father Christmas Came to Bugiri

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