My purpose in Uganda is to build the capacities of local communities by providing a holistic approach to economic empowerment using community linkages at the grassroots level.
That sounds pretty, but what am I doing exactly? Well, right now I'm planting a garden.
Buzzwords are a part of every industry, and the development industry is no exception. Appearing in mission statements, organizational goals and objectives, annual reports and funding proposals, the buzzword appears to give meaning or significant weight to an undefined concept. "Capacity building" sounds really neat, and reading over it I almost smile at the simplicity of the concept. Yes, of course, more capacity building is what the rural poor need to rise above their poverty! But ask somebody what exactly that entails, and they usually rephrase the buzzword with more ambiguity ("build their capacity to empower themselves and enable them to own their development"). For me personally, this is perhaps the most frustrating part of talking with people about what exactly is going on.
Alas, buzzwords will never go away, so perhaps we should embrace them and march forward in our quest for poverty reduction and livelihood improvement through community empowerment.
29 March 2010
25 February 2010
Angling
The old proverb goes, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a meal. Teach a man how to fish and he eats for a lifetime." (Was it Aesop who wrote it?)
I come across that saying (or was it Confucius?) frequently, and admittedly it is somewhat annoying and oversimplifies a complicated situation:
First, it assumes that the man wants to learn. In populations around the world, and especially in situations of poverty, there is always an element of apathy. In America you can find people who take advantage of welfare and do nothing to improve their lives. In Uganda, there are people drunk at 9am every morning. They will not take the initiative to change their lives no matter how much is done to try. That said, there usually is also a group of people in an underprivileged class with the ability and will to change. Finding these people are key. But teaching them to fish is only step one. You must also provide them with a loan to buy a fishing pole or net. You need to teach them how to be fiscally responsible with their new-found wealth. Above all, you have to make sure fishing is the most economically-viable way for them to produce. Maybe growing a staple like potatoes or millet takes too much time, and even if you teach them and support them in fishing, they will go back to farming because it provides more food with less time/effort.
Second, it does not take into account any moral responsibility. If you can teach a person to fish, and he does, there will also be one person who is apathetic and uninterested in working toward his progress. Do we then have a moral responsibility or obligation to continue giving them fish so they don't starve? What does that do to any jealousies or relationships within the small village social circle?
Third, it assumes a person has a direction and positive outlook on their life, which I think is typically a Western view of life. In the developing world life expectancy is so varied. From my limited experience people do not have the same views of life as we do in the West. Death is just as integral part of daily life as living. In the past three months a local Anglican bishop and a Catholic priest have died in car accidents. In my village there is probably one burial a week. Malaria is the number-one killer, and AIDS prevalence remains high. Not to mention malnutrition significantly reduces a child's development to become a healthy, strong adult better able to fight the diseases they encounter every day. I don't think most people plan for the future because they could die in six months, or five years. Instead they live more on a day-to-day basis. Thus, teaching a man to sell his fish, or value-add to his fish (by frying it and serving it with french fries!), and save for the future, just may not be realistic. He may be better satisfied by immediately spending money from his daily catch on booze, or a new shirt, and not save it for the future. Instant gratification is one thing, but gratification before you die is another. That said, insuring your children are healthy and educated is above-all the most important thing they can do.
So, maybe we can change the proverb (was it an old Jewish saying?):
Give a man a fish and he won't starve. Teach a man how to fish, provide him support in his new enterprise (including capital, business education, and information on savings and investing), and you give him the tools to change his life, if he wants.
I come across that saying (or was it Confucius?) frequently, and admittedly it is somewhat annoying and oversimplifies a complicated situation:
First, it assumes that the man wants to learn. In populations around the world, and especially in situations of poverty, there is always an element of apathy. In America you can find people who take advantage of welfare and do nothing to improve their lives. In Uganda, there are people drunk at 9am every morning. They will not take the initiative to change their lives no matter how much is done to try. That said, there usually is also a group of people in an underprivileged class with the ability and will to change. Finding these people are key. But teaching them to fish is only step one. You must also provide them with a loan to buy a fishing pole or net. You need to teach them how to be fiscally responsible with their new-found wealth. Above all, you have to make sure fishing is the most economically-viable way for them to produce. Maybe growing a staple like potatoes or millet takes too much time, and even if you teach them and support them in fishing, they will go back to farming because it provides more food with less time/effort.
Second, it does not take into account any moral responsibility. If you can teach a person to fish, and he does, there will also be one person who is apathetic and uninterested in working toward his progress. Do we then have a moral responsibility or obligation to continue giving them fish so they don't starve? What does that do to any jealousies or relationships within the small village social circle?
Third, it assumes a person has a direction and positive outlook on their life, which I think is typically a Western view of life. In the developing world life expectancy is so varied. From my limited experience people do not have the same views of life as we do in the West. Death is just as integral part of daily life as living. In the past three months a local Anglican bishop and a Catholic priest have died in car accidents. In my village there is probably one burial a week. Malaria is the number-one killer, and AIDS prevalence remains high. Not to mention malnutrition significantly reduces a child's development to become a healthy, strong adult better able to fight the diseases they encounter every day. I don't think most people plan for the future because they could die in six months, or five years. Instead they live more on a day-to-day basis. Thus, teaching a man to sell his fish, or value-add to his fish (by frying it and serving it with french fries!), and save for the future, just may not be realistic. He may be better satisfied by immediately spending money from his daily catch on booze, or a new shirt, and not save it for the future. Instant gratification is one thing, but gratification before you die is another. That said, insuring your children are healthy and educated is above-all the most important thing they can do.
So, maybe we can change the proverb (was it an old Jewish saying?):
Give a man a fish and he won't starve. Teach a man how to fish, provide him support in his new enterprise (including capital, business education, and information on savings and investing), and you give him the tools to change his life, if he wants.
13 February 2010
Time, Is On My Side
In Spanish it is called "Mañana Mañana." In English it's the adage "Why do today what you can do tomorrow?" In Africa you frequently hear about "African Time," or "I'm not on time, I'm in time."
During pre-service training we were continually warned about the frustration that can occur with African time and some ways to cope, including bringing a book and your patience. I have been working here for over three months now, and I've learned that when someone says there's a meeting at 10am, it won't actually start until noon. I know this; I plan for this. Yet, it still drives me absolutely nuts.
To provide an example, yesterday was just a typical day. I planned to do three things: 1) Attend a youth meeting regarding a farm project, 11am; 2) Find bananas, cut them, and put them in my solar dryer; 3) Bake some bread (needing to get some flour first). Three simple tasks, and there should be time enough to do them all.
Planning ahead was my first mistake.
This is how the day unfolded:
1) My bike being broken, I waked the 4km (2.5mi) to the Parish where I was to meet some youth for a meeting. I got there at 11am, knowing well that it wouldn't start on time. I talked to some of the teachers and the priests, had lunch, and then finally we started the meeting at noon - early! Granted, only 8 people showed up. An hour later the meeting was over. The Parish is in the larger trading centre, so I planned to find bananas (this is a Banana Republic, it shouldn't be difficult), and flour, and head home.
2) 1:00 pm: Upon the insistence of Father Silver, the parish priest, I couldn't walk back because we have been having a heat-wave and it was too hot; he would drive me into the trading centre, then home. But first he had matters to attend to.
2:00pm: Still waiting, I passed the time under a tree talking with some teachers. Remembering I wanted to buy a desk, one of the teachers walked me over to a local carpenter to discuss business (a carpenter in Kamwenge wanted 60,000 UGX, the local guy wanted 25,000 UGX for the same thing). I only had 12,000 UGX to buy bananas and flour, and the carpenter wanted 10,000 UGX in advance to pay for some materials, so I was left with only 2,000.
3:00pm: The parish priest informs me that he needs to take some corn (about 450KG of it) to the mill near where I stay. But he needs to recruit some boys to help load/unload it.
4:00pm: Finally becoming annoyed, hungry, and dehydrated, I found the priest and he was finally ready to go.
4:15pm: In the trading centre there were no bananas. No Bananas!! And I didn't have enough money to buy flour.
4:30pm: Reach the mill. Unload the corn, talk to the millers a bit, wait.
4:50pm: Finally reach home. If I had found bananas, it would have been too late to put them out to dry. If I had bought flour, I could start baking, but alas I didn't. I would just have to wait until tomorrow and try again. I was most annoyed at the fact that I lost a day to dry fruit, and I lost a day to improve my baking (both projects are on rather strict deadlines).
What's the moral of the story? In Uganda planning ahead is vital. This week my trading centre only had onions - I had no fresh food and lived on oatmeal and noodles. To get fresh food one must travel about 4km to a market, which are only held on certain days, and I have no working bike currently. If you plan ahead by one week, you can manage. If you don't, you're stuck living on oatmeal.
During pre-service training we were continually warned about the frustration that can occur with African time and some ways to cope, including bringing a book and your patience. I have been working here for over three months now, and I've learned that when someone says there's a meeting at 10am, it won't actually start until noon. I know this; I plan for this. Yet, it still drives me absolutely nuts.
To provide an example, yesterday was just a typical day. I planned to do three things: 1) Attend a youth meeting regarding a farm project, 11am; 2) Find bananas, cut them, and put them in my solar dryer; 3) Bake some bread (needing to get some flour first). Three simple tasks, and there should be time enough to do them all.
Planning ahead was my first mistake.
This is how the day unfolded:
1) My bike being broken, I waked the 4km (2.5mi) to the Parish where I was to meet some youth for a meeting. I got there at 11am, knowing well that it wouldn't start on time. I talked to some of the teachers and the priests, had lunch, and then finally we started the meeting at noon - early! Granted, only 8 people showed up. An hour later the meeting was over. The Parish is in the larger trading centre, so I planned to find bananas (this is a Banana Republic, it shouldn't be difficult), and flour, and head home.
2) 1:00 pm: Upon the insistence of Father Silver, the parish priest, I couldn't walk back because we have been having a heat-wave and it was too hot; he would drive me into the trading centre, then home. But first he had matters to attend to.
2:00pm: Still waiting, I passed the time under a tree talking with some teachers. Remembering I wanted to buy a desk, one of the teachers walked me over to a local carpenter to discuss business (a carpenter in Kamwenge wanted 60,000 UGX, the local guy wanted 25,000 UGX for the same thing). I only had 12,000 UGX to buy bananas and flour, and the carpenter wanted 10,000 UGX in advance to pay for some materials, so I was left with only 2,000.
3:00pm: The parish priest informs me that he needs to take some corn (about 450KG of it) to the mill near where I stay. But he needs to recruit some boys to help load/unload it.
4:00pm: Finally becoming annoyed, hungry, and dehydrated, I found the priest and he was finally ready to go.
4:15pm: In the trading centre there were no bananas. No Bananas!! And I didn't have enough money to buy flour.
4:30pm: Reach the mill. Unload the corn, talk to the millers a bit, wait.
4:50pm: Finally reach home. If I had found bananas, it would have been too late to put them out to dry. If I had bought flour, I could start baking, but alas I didn't. I would just have to wait until tomorrow and try again. I was most annoyed at the fact that I lost a day to dry fruit, and I lost a day to improve my baking (both projects are on rather strict deadlines).
What's the moral of the story? In Uganda planning ahead is vital. This week my trading centre only had onions - I had no fresh food and lived on oatmeal and noodles. To get fresh food one must travel about 4km to a market, which are only held on certain days, and I have no working bike currently. If you plan ahead by one week, you can manage. If you don't, you're stuck living on oatmeal.
30 January 2010
Pink Elephants on Parade!
Just posting a random elephant shot
(FYI, another volunteer's photo, but I saw it, I swear!)
25 December 2009
Tales from the Other Side
To get to my site, from Fort Portal you basically hang a left on the road to Kamwenge. This road, a wondrous 70-odd-kilometer murrum journey, takes you through stunning tea estates and notably Kibale Forest National Park, which is renown for its chimpanzees and other primates. This footage was taken from the car on an average day passing through the forest. There were about three times as many baboons as you see in the footage, and usually they just hang out and play on the road. The kids even sell lemonaid on particularly hot days.
Continuing south on the road another 70 or so kilometers of wondrous murrum you will eventually reach Ibanda, a regional centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Last weekend I crossed over to the Other Side. There was an event in honouring a priest's 25 years of priesthood in Ibanda, and the priests I have been working with invited me to come along. I also got to hang out with Jill for the weekend, another volunteer in Ibanda. Now, Ibanda is in the Southern Hemisphere, and it was my second time to the Other Side. If you have never been, I'm sure you have many questions about what it's like down there, so I've put together a Q and A of sorts about the upside-down hemisphere.
Q: Hemispheres? I thought the world was flat!
A: Not since the UN Security Council passed the resolution that eliminated planar living.
Q: How do you keep from falling off the earth?
A: As you know, the farther you travel toward the South Pole, the more upside down you are, and the higher your risk of falling off the planet. At the equator this isn't so much of a problem, but when you go further south people have to wear a special shoe with glue on them. Similarly 3M has developed a resin for the lakes and rivers so they don't drop into space. Interestingly, people wear more hats there.
Q: What's the driving like?
A: Driving is very similar to the Northern Hemisphere, but as long as you're heading south everything slopes downhill so theoretically you can get to Antarctica in neutral.
Q: Is it true that water spins the other way down drains?
A: This is a trick question - there are no holes in which water can drain. People in the Southern Hemisphere use pit latrines and don't have piped water, so it's impossible to know if this myth is actually true.
Happy Christmas
First off, Happy Christmas! I am spending the holidays in Hoima, a regional centre near Lake Albert (and the epicentre for the oil discoveries), with my host family from Wakiso. They are from here, so the day has been filled with meeting relatives in this huge family (I think there are 20 grandchildren...?). The patriarch is a retired Anglican bishop, my host-dad's dad. Aside from the nearly 4-hour church service, we have basically been eating all day (and praying, singing carols, reciting Bible verses, and then eating more). It's much more family-oriented than in America, and no presents were exchanged. Everyone has been very welcoming and friendly and have made me feel a part of the family. There is also no shortage of children to chase around. That said, I've been very homesick the last few days thinking mainly of what everyone at home is doing. I miss my friends and my family, and knowing that the first time I see my nephew he'll be walking/talking puts the whole "two-year commitment" into perspective. This is Christmas 1. One down, one to go.
I'm staying in the hotel the family operates and am very much enjoying the hot water, toilet, and queen bed. There's also a pool. All said it's been a nice vacation. I leave Sunday or Monday to head back to my site where I'm still busy with my pineapple project. It's strange how much I've learned about pineapple... I talked to one of the family members at dinner tonight who wants to put in pineapple for about 20 minutes.
Here's my Christmas photo:
I'm staying in the hotel the family operates and am very much enjoying the hot water, toilet, and queen bed. There's also a pool. All said it's been a nice vacation. I leave Sunday or Monday to head back to my site where I'm still busy with my pineapple project. It's strange how much I've learned about pineapple... I talked to one of the family members at dinner tonight who wants to put in pineapple for about 20 minutes.
Here's my Christmas photo:
15 December 2009
O Holy Might
Internet connectivity has lately been a main source of my consternation.
Yes, you cannot rely too much on internet here, but even in the larger metropoli
of Kamwenge and Fort Portal (both boasting paved or graveled roads, running water, and
electricity), the internet has of late been as spotty as a Dalmatian. I
finally found out the reason: they are updating the lines into Fort Portal,
updating to broadband. At least it's for a positive reason, though the
chain gang has been hand-digging the ditch through town for the past two
weeks, and since this is Uganda, there is no guarantee of when a connection
will be permanently restored. Until then, I will continue to chase this
powerful and elusive Internet, hoping to find it during a flicker of its
short life.
Last week I met a priest at our local parish who had asked to meet me
because he had learned though his sources that I knew German. Every
subsequent day last week was spent at the parish (they cook good food!)
where I tutored Father Silver and, to a lesser extent, Father John, in
German. Father Silver is trying to "priest abroad" next summer in Germany and needs help practicing, and since he said the parish is now my home-away
-from-village-home, I am obliging. It's nice to spend time with people much
like myself - bored, lots of free time, sexually frustrated. Although, at dinner
one night they asked me to say grace. My religious background is admittedly
small, my recent religious occurrences being spontaneous prayers to any -
ALL - Gods while riding in the local taxis.
We stood around the table behind our chairs, the food steaming in front of
us. "Mathayo, would you like to say prayers tonight?" My immediate come-
back was: "You're a priest, you get paid to pray, you do it," but instead I
hesitantly said okay. I wish there were a video camera because in my mind's
eye it was like something out of an awkward Christopher Guest movie: "Thank
you very much for the wonderful food in front of us, and thank you for
inviting me to enjoy it with you. I appreciate your kindness and hospitality."
No Gods, no heavenly fathers, no in Jesus' names. Luckily my audience
wasn't too critical.
Both Fathers and I spent one day last week traveling toward Kasese (about a 2 hour ride) to celebrate a group of pre-nuns becoming current-nuns. Aside from being the only white guy there (I'm used to it), I was almost the only one without either a white collar or a white dress/hat combo. It was like a graduation ceremony, long and boring, and there wasn't enough room in the church so I ended up just sitting in the car reading. After, in good Ugandan tradition, there was a buffet of local food, and instead of eating with the commoners, I was ushered by some head-nun into the religious dinning section to consume my blessed matooke and cassava with the area's most pious. By the time I got my food the only place to sit was next to this guy whose robes were black (instead of white), and who wore a red yamica. I sat down and introduced myself. "I'm the Bishop," was his reply. Aim high, Matt, aim high. At least now I can say that I've had lunch with a Bishop, though curiously the entire time I was more focused on not spilling food on his robes, as is my usual propensity when I eat, instead of our conversation. I couldn't imagine hand-washing those!
Father Silver and I are working on starting a youth garden at the parish,
teaching youths nutrition, farming, and cooking healthier food. I'm quickly becoming a farmer, and I foresee more awkward situations for my agnostic self in the coming future.
Our solar drying project is quickly coming to fruition (pardon the intended
pun). We are giving a project proposal to our local Member of Parliament
tomorrow, and a co-worker, Sam, and I are busy this week working in the
field visiting pineapple farms. It provides a good opportunity to meet more of the locals and I find I am most happy here when I'm working directly with The People. Though, the distances we have to bike are a bit of a hassle (yesterday was about 40km - 25mi). The only saving grace is the beautiful countryside. We are hoping to begin full-scale solar drying pineapple in January/February, the height of both the dry and pineapple seasons.
Looking at the calendar ahead:
Mid-January I have a week of further language training with my language
group. The week after is an in-service training outside of Kampala, at a
nice hotel with a pool and luke-warm showers. I'm excited. There is also
an R-Kelly concert in Kampala and Evander Holifield is fighting at Mandela
Stadium.
Yes, you cannot rely too much on internet here, but even in the larger metropoli
of Kamwenge and Fort Portal (both boasting paved or graveled roads, running water, and
electricity), the internet has of late been as spotty as a Dalmatian. I
finally found out the reason: they are updating the lines into Fort Portal,
updating to broadband. At least it's for a positive reason, though the
chain gang has been hand-digging the ditch through town for the past two
weeks, and since this is Uganda, there is no guarantee of when a connection
will be permanently restored. Until then, I will continue to chase this
powerful and elusive Internet, hoping to find it during a flicker of its
short life.
Last week I met a priest at our local parish who had asked to meet me
because he had learned though his sources that I knew German. Every
subsequent day last week was spent at the parish (they cook good food!)
where I tutored Father Silver and, to a lesser extent, Father John, in
German. Father Silver is trying to "priest abroad" next summer in Germany and needs help practicing, and since he said the parish is now my home-away
-from-village-home, I am obliging. It's nice to spend time with people much
like myself - bored, lots of free time, sexually frustrated. Although, at dinner
one night they asked me to say grace. My religious background is admittedly
small, my recent religious occurrences being spontaneous prayers to any -
ALL - Gods while riding in the local taxis.
We stood around the table behind our chairs, the food steaming in front of
us. "Mathayo, would you like to say prayers tonight?" My immediate come-
back was: "You're a priest, you get paid to pray, you do it," but instead I
hesitantly said okay. I wish there were a video camera because in my mind's
eye it was like something out of an awkward Christopher Guest movie: "Thank
you very much for the wonderful food in front of us, and thank you for
inviting me to enjoy it with you. I appreciate your kindness and hospitality."
No Gods, no heavenly fathers, no in Jesus' names. Luckily my audience
wasn't too critical.
Both Fathers and I spent one day last week traveling toward Kasese (about a 2 hour ride) to celebrate a group of pre-nuns becoming current-nuns. Aside from being the only white guy there (I'm used to it), I was almost the only one without either a white collar or a white dress/hat combo. It was like a graduation ceremony, long and boring, and there wasn't enough room in the church so I ended up just sitting in the car reading. After, in good Ugandan tradition, there was a buffet of local food, and instead of eating with the commoners, I was ushered by some head-nun into the religious dinning section to consume my blessed matooke and cassava with the area's most pious. By the time I got my food the only place to sit was next to this guy whose robes were black (instead of white), and who wore a red yamica. I sat down and introduced myself. "I'm the Bishop," was his reply. Aim high, Matt, aim high. At least now I can say that I've had lunch with a Bishop, though curiously the entire time I was more focused on not spilling food on his robes, as is my usual propensity when I eat, instead of our conversation. I couldn't imagine hand-washing those!
Father Silver and I are working on starting a youth garden at the parish,
teaching youths nutrition, farming, and cooking healthier food. I'm quickly becoming a farmer, and I foresee more awkward situations for my agnostic self in the coming future.
Our solar drying project is quickly coming to fruition (pardon the intended
pun). We are giving a project proposal to our local Member of Parliament
tomorrow, and a co-worker, Sam, and I are busy this week working in the
field visiting pineapple farms. It provides a good opportunity to meet more of the locals and I find I am most happy here when I'm working directly with The People. Though, the distances we have to bike are a bit of a hassle (yesterday was about 40km - 25mi). The only saving grace is the beautiful countryside. We are hoping to begin full-scale solar drying pineapple in January/February, the height of both the dry and pineapple seasons.
Looking at the calendar ahead:
Mid-January I have a week of further language training with my language
group. The week after is an in-service training outside of Kampala, at a
nice hotel with a pool and luke-warm showers. I'm excited. There is also
an R-Kelly concert in Kampala and Evander Holifield is fighting at Mandela
Stadium.
02 December 2009
Development
Development - the act or process of developing; growth; progress.
That is a pretty ambiguous definition of development, or perhaps you need to further define it according to what precisely you are doing, and what your goals are. Many buzz-words get tossed around in development work (my favourite being "capacity building"), including the word "development" itself. A lot of money is pumped into this country by governments around the world for the sake of development (in 2008 30% of Uganda's GDP was foreign aid, tough down from 50% in 2005), but what I think we aren't talking enough about is an end-goal: development to what? I get comments in the village apologizing about the poor quality of roads and citing the fact they aren't developed. I tell them it's okay, it's a gravel road, don't apologize for it. Are we trying to develop so that everyone has two cars and a lawn mower? I hope not. I don't want Uganda, and other developing countries, to be like the West. I don't want them to lose their culture and way of life (indeed, if every Ugandan drove a car I'd be running for my life).
Good education, responsible citizenry, and entrepreneurship are some of the key things I'm trying to focus on for "development" because they are seriously lacking here. The education in primary schools is so rigorous, they're learning math and sciences in 4th grade we don't learn until high school. They are excellent at spouting out facts, but ask them a question that applies the information and they're stumped. Improved education, focusing on independent thinking, is greatly needed.
My friend Dave and I have been talking about development, and he proposed three key things needed: 1) Transportation, 2) Communication, and 3) Access to Money. Let's briefly look at each as they apply here in Uganda (briefly because I can talk a lot about them, and I think my internet time is running low):
Transportation
Most of the major roads in Uganda are murram/gravel. The rural villages are only reached by washed-out dirt roads and cow paths, full of ruts, puddles, mud, etc. The way to increase efficiency, commerce, and education is by better maintaining major and minor roads.
Communication
Cell phones have been a blessing. Telecommunications otherwise would not exist. Everyone has a cell phone, and prices are getting cheaper as competition increases. In addition to being able to speak with family and friends, farmers can now access market information, and news can travel quickly (remember the riots in September?).
Access to Money
Big banks only exist in the big cities - if the rural situation is going to improve, the villagers need capital. This has been answered by village savings and loan schemes, and SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations), both informal local ways to save and access money.
Development here is obviously happening, and I think focusing on some of these issues and, dare I say, capacity building, is what we're focusing on and what we should continue to pursue. The locals may envision a Western house and a car, but we need to be focusing on developing their potential as people do be able to achieve for themselves, which is a completely different blog topic that I will probably discuss later.
Some photos for those who like to see me out being productive:
<-- Here I am with a village group.
<-- A village woman from a group. Note the cell phone - ie communication, even in poverty situations.
<-- Dave and I, looking like the schmucks we are, during our meeting with Fruits of the Nile in Jinja.
<-- Bujagali Falls on the Nile. Yes, I know they aren't really "falls," but it's a giant river and this is where the rafting trips put in. The rapids are class III-V.
That is a pretty ambiguous definition of development, or perhaps you need to further define it according to what precisely you are doing, and what your goals are. Many buzz-words get tossed around in development work (my favourite being "capacity building"), including the word "development" itself. A lot of money is pumped into this country by governments around the world for the sake of development (in 2008 30% of Uganda's GDP was foreign aid, tough down from 50% in 2005), but what I think we aren't talking enough about is an end-goal: development to what? I get comments in the village apologizing about the poor quality of roads and citing the fact they aren't developed. I tell them it's okay, it's a gravel road, don't apologize for it. Are we trying to develop so that everyone has two cars and a lawn mower? I hope not. I don't want Uganda, and other developing countries, to be like the West. I don't want them to lose their culture and way of life (indeed, if every Ugandan drove a car I'd be running for my life).
Good education, responsible citizenry, and entrepreneurship are some of the key things I'm trying to focus on for "development" because they are seriously lacking here. The education in primary schools is so rigorous, they're learning math and sciences in 4th grade we don't learn until high school. They are excellent at spouting out facts, but ask them a question that applies the information and they're stumped. Improved education, focusing on independent thinking, is greatly needed.
My friend Dave and I have been talking about development, and he proposed three key things needed: 1) Transportation, 2) Communication, and 3) Access to Money. Let's briefly look at each as they apply here in Uganda (briefly because I can talk a lot about them, and I think my internet time is running low):
Transportation
Most of the major roads in Uganda are murram/gravel. The rural villages are only reached by washed-out dirt roads and cow paths, full of ruts, puddles, mud, etc. The way to increase efficiency, commerce, and education is by better maintaining major and minor roads.
Communication
Cell phones have been a blessing. Telecommunications otherwise would not exist. Everyone has a cell phone, and prices are getting cheaper as competition increases. In addition to being able to speak with family and friends, farmers can now access market information, and news can travel quickly (remember the riots in September?).
Access to Money
Big banks only exist in the big cities - if the rural situation is going to improve, the villagers need capital. This has been answered by village savings and loan schemes, and SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations), both informal local ways to save and access money.
Development here is obviously happening, and I think focusing on some of these issues and, dare I say, capacity building, is what we're focusing on and what we should continue to pursue. The locals may envision a Western house and a car, but we need to be focusing on developing their potential as people do be able to achieve for themselves, which is a completely different blog topic that I will probably discuss later.
Some photos for those who like to see me out being productive:
<-- Here I am with a village group.
<-- A village woman from a group. Note the cell phone - ie communication, even in poverty situations.
<-- Dave and I, looking like the schmucks we are, during our meeting with Fruits of the Nile in Jinja.
<-- Bujagali Falls on the Nile. Yes, I know they aren't really "falls," but it's a giant river and this is where the rafting trips put in. The rapids are class III-V.
05 November 2009
Dispatches from the Field
I have been at my site for nearly three weeks now, and to say "hit the ground running" is an understatement. I work with an organization that helps network, train, and develop about 60 small village groups. The groups are mostly farmer groups wanting training on basic farming techniques, composting, animal husbandry, etc. It helps that Uganda is naturally a virtual organically certified country, based primarily on the high quality of soil and growing conditions, and the fact that farmers cannot afford pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, even if they were available. I have been learning as much as I can about farming (pineapple, cassava, soy beans, normal beans, banana, chickens, goats, and pigs. I truely believe that when I return to America, I would be able to be a successful small farmer. (And Bruce/Nancy - and ideas with pineapple or bananas would be helpful!)
My first three weeks have gone something like this:
Meet with a village group (at least one/day) in the field. The furthest group was about 16 miles, reached by bicycle on dirt roads, paths, and through marshes. When the sun is out it practically burns your exposed skin, and seeing as it is rainy season, a torrential downpour can blow in within a few minutes, making the road/path/swamp that much more inaccessable.
The group meetings generally last about 2 hours. The chairman of the group tells about the group, sometimes they sing or welcome you with a dance. Then you're in the hot seat - you have to explain who you are, what you are going to do, and how you're going to do it. I usually go over some basic principals: 1) I don't bring money and can't get you money. 2) I will help research and network for information to improve your projects. 3) I will only help you on projects you are interested in doing. I try to challenge their thinking and brainstorm with them, but inevitablly they always come back to "We need money to do that." Well, how are you going to make that money?
I think the most frustrating thing so far has been dealing with the (poor) level of education. Students here are taught to read and write - not how to critically think. That has been a big wall so far that I'm trying to work around.
And work continues: I am working on a business plan for a solar drying operation, jam and syrup project, and learning how to keep bees and process honey. In two weeks the Uganda State Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will be visiting, and we are hard at work planning for the visit and developing demonstrations in solar drying and chicken husbandry. Hard at work because mainly I don't have a solar dryer built yet, but need a finished food product in two weeks!
My thoughts are a bit scattered today, the board of my organization is having a meeting with me and I'm multitasking... I couldn't get the camera to work on this computer, but I promise to post a few photos next time!
My first three weeks have gone something like this:
Meet with a village group (at least one/day) in the field. The furthest group was about 16 miles, reached by bicycle on dirt roads, paths, and through marshes. When the sun is out it practically burns your exposed skin, and seeing as it is rainy season, a torrential downpour can blow in within a few minutes, making the road/path/swamp that much more inaccessable.
The group meetings generally last about 2 hours. The chairman of the group tells about the group, sometimes they sing or welcome you with a dance. Then you're in the hot seat - you have to explain who you are, what you are going to do, and how you're going to do it. I usually go over some basic principals: 1) I don't bring money and can't get you money. 2) I will help research and network for information to improve your projects. 3) I will only help you on projects you are interested in doing. I try to challenge their thinking and brainstorm with them, but inevitablly they always come back to "We need money to do that." Well, how are you going to make that money?
I think the most frustrating thing so far has been dealing with the (poor) level of education. Students here are taught to read and write - not how to critically think. That has been a big wall so far that I'm trying to work around.
And work continues: I am working on a business plan for a solar drying operation, jam and syrup project, and learning how to keep bees and process honey. In two weeks the Uganda State Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will be visiting, and we are hard at work planning for the visit and developing demonstrations in solar drying and chicken husbandry. Hard at work because mainly I don't have a solar dryer built yet, but need a finished food product in two weeks!
My thoughts are a bit scattered today, the board of my organization is having a meeting with me and I'm multitasking... I couldn't get the camera to work on this computer, but I promise to post a few photos next time!
12 October 2009
Big City Boy with Big City Dreams
Today is our free day in Kampala, and probably the last time I'll be able to communicate to the world until I find settle in to my new site, find a place with internet, and have time to travel the 40km to get there from home.
I found a great internet cafe called Panorama Coffee Shop, located on the 9th floor in Kampala's largest skyscraper (the building has a staggering 14 floors). As promised with its name, it has a nice panorama of the city and free wireless! Now if I only had a hot shower and a clean shave, I'd basically be a millionaire.
I realize I haven't espoused too much on my host family. Tonight is my last night at home, and they're starting to miss me. My mom asked me what I wanted for dinner (pork and chips!) and they cooked especially for me. (It's strange how I'm starting to develop comfort foods here.) They are also insisting I come back for Christmas, and I told them I would at least stop by and say hi.
<-- This is part of my family and I last Saturday after our homestay thank-you lunch. Millie is the mom, who works in Kampala as some sort of farm supply trader. Esther is 10 and is in elementary school. She is very studious and gets excellent marks in school. Finally there is Elsie, my 3-year-old sister who keeps me sane by enabling me to act like a, well, 3-year-old when I need. Not pictured is Justus, my host dad, who was away at work, and Enook, my 13-year-old brother who was at boarding school.
I found a great internet cafe called Panorama Coffee Shop, located on the 9th floor in Kampala's largest skyscraper (the building has a staggering 14 floors). As promised with its name, it has a nice panorama of the city and free wireless! Now if I only had a hot shower and a clean shave, I'd basically be a millionaire.
I realize I haven't espoused too much on my host family. Tonight is my last night at home, and they're starting to miss me. My mom asked me what I wanted for dinner (pork and chips!) and they cooked especially for me. (It's strange how I'm starting to develop comfort foods here.) They are also insisting I come back for Christmas, and I told them I would at least stop by and say hi.<-- This is part of my family and I last Saturday after our homestay thank-you lunch. Millie is the mom, who works in Kampala as some sort of farm supply trader. Esther is 10 and is in elementary school. She is very studious and gets excellent marks in school. Finally there is Elsie, my 3-year-old sister who keeps me sane by enabling me to act like a, well, 3-year-old when I need. Not pictured is Justus, my host dad, who was away at work, and Enook, my 13-year-old brother who was at boarding school.
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