Weekend of Thrills

Last weekend was full of thrills! First, somewhat spontaneously, I decided to go bungee jumping with Caroline (her birthday present from friends back home) into the Nile River! We went tandem, which meant that we dived face-to-face, clasped tightly in a near-lovers’ embrace, as we plunged and twisted downwards-and then upwards-then downwards-then upwards again…! It was disorienting, blurry, bouncy, head pounding…and over way too quick!

Our next adventure was the following day: whitewater rafting. Our whole crew went on several grade 5 rapids (grade 6 is illegal for commercial rafting) and to be quite honest, it was a bit …terrifying! One friend received a nasty bloody nose from a wooden paddle on the very first flip of our very first rapid, which set the tone for a day of overturned boats, near misses, and yes, injuries (including a

dislocated shoulder and broken arm---raft at

your own risk!). The most frightening incident was towards the end. It began with the news that we were going over a 15 foot waterfall. “No problem-just don’t fall out before we go down”, our guide told is nonchalantly. “I’ve never even seen it happen.” Famous last words. In the rapids directly before the waterfall, our tiny friend Jap popped right out of the raft and into the rushing water! Our guide incredibly managed to lean over and haul her back in the raft, before turning back to his job of steering us over so we would not flip. Unfortunately, this meant that he had no time to hold back onto the rope, and the momentum from going over the falls caused him to dive over the front of our raft into the churning water at the foot of the waterfall! Jap’s new hero was fine-though a little disoriented-and the rest of our journey went relatively smoothly. Well, as smoothly as you can get in rapids.

Highlight of the Week!

Finally fulfilled my goal of tasting jackfruit! Crazy looking things-huge, spiky, and green with yellow, very strangely-textured meat inside divided into many, many sections. I’ve heard from many who absolutely detest the stuff, but I think it tastes a bit like Starburst candy-delicious!

Busy Times

Last week, an IDIWA field officer and I went to Bulamagi to see the effects of community members putting their agricultural training into practice. As predicted, every single person had planted several gardens, and all crops have begun to germinate (except for maize which will be planted at a later season). The biggest problem takes a very tiny form: greedy little chickens that peck out the seeds and sprouts.

Additionally, I am currently working on developing a website for IDIWA which is sloooow going, and considering this is the second week Iganga has not had internet, not the smartest task I could have chosen! But, it is definitely beginning to take shape and great fun to run around and take pictures of staff members, doing whatever it takes (usually something embarrassing) to force them to smile (most Ugandans refuse to smile in photos which has posed great difficulty in trying to make IDIWA seem like a place people actually like to work at). I also recently found out that a grant I had written a few weeks back to triple my current agriculture project has been funded! So basically…busy times ahead!

It would be a mark of disrespect to not mention the three bombs detonated in Kampala (the capital of Uganda) on the night of the final World Cup game; as of now the death toll comes to over 70 people. The effects are felt far beyond this number, as Kampala is a popular area to say the least, and everyone has connections there. All Ugandans I have spoken to know somebody who was there that night, if they weren’t in fact there themselves. As an outsider here, I can’t give much meaningful commentary other than what I’ve observed from friends, my host family, co-workers, and strangers. Reactions have been varied: shock, indifference, anger, fear, and especially, a deep sadness. As one of my co-workers exclaimed when I came into work that week, “Today I am in mourning for my brothers and sisters…all of my Ugandan brothers and sisters.”

Highlight of the Week(s)!

Last weekend (now two weekends ago, sorry!) all the FSD interns went to Sipi Falls, a beautiful, lush, and mountainous area of Uganda known for its incredible waterfalls. Words can only say so much, so I will only give a few: MUD, MUD, MUD! The pictures can take care of the rest…

Still Learning...

After nearly three weeks of learning more about IDIWA, my project is finally underway! We are working with a group of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in a nearby sub county, giving them agricultural training, seeds, and tools to grow their own crops and hopefully improve the food security of their respective households. We will also train them in cooperative marketing so they can work together to sell excess produce and earn a source of income. After this initial period, the hope is that they will be a self-sustaining group, meeting with each other monthly to solve problems, pool resources, and develop marketing strategies. Their nominated focal person will conduct monitoring and send monthly reports back to IDIWA.

These weeks have been filled with more lessons, the serious (leprosy, a disease I naively thought to be confined to Biblical times, is fairly common in villages here and often goes dangerously untreated), the simple (as I and the neighbor boys have come to agree upon, Drunken Master is one of Jackie Chan’s best movies---definite bonding moment), and the sweet (I have scoured the grocery stores and Twix is the only candy I can find containing legitimate, non-nasty-anti-melting-agent induced chocolate). I will sadly admit I am already craving non-Ugandan meals, and the originally charming bucket baths are becoming slightly less so, but delicious, ripe, juicy mangoes for a mere 10 cents, finally improving, albeit slowly, in my washing laundry by hand skills, and madly joyful children who call me “Bessany” escorting me to and from work (or wherever else I may happen to go) will never, and I mean never, get old.

Highlights of the Week!

One twisted, traffic violation-filled, wild car ride later, we interns ended up in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) to view an incredible dance performance. A group of men and women performed traditional Ugandan dances from various tribes throughout the country. The most memorable dance involved the women balancing pottery on their heads, adding pot after pot after pot as we looked on with amazement. Eventually each woman was forced to kneel down so their partner could, standing on tiptoes, stack on yet another piece of pottery. At one point, each woman had over SIX clay vessels teetering on their heads as they still managed to glide rhythmically across the stage, with flowing arms and twisting hips.

Our first agricultural training workshop has been held! It was a definite success; maize, onions, bugga seeds, and cowpeas were planted and one compost pit was constructed on the focal person’s land. Throughout the next week, with help from family, friends and neighbors, each of the other project members will develop their own gardens and pass on their training to others. We will be returning to monitor each household and make sure everyone has been successful, then once the seeds have germinated, a workshop on cooperative marketing will be held. All were enthusiastically involved in the planting of these first gardens, and found some way to get down and dirty, whether it be through the hard physical labor of hoeing, or the necessary contribution of sprinkling seeds and breaking up stubborn dirt clods. Though obviously tired, it was clear that everyone was impatient to get home and begin working on his or her own land!

I'm here!

I’m in Uganda! After a long and sleepless two days of travel, including a 13-hour layover in an architecturally impressive and drippingly humid Dubai, we arrived in Jinja for a packed week of orientation. I learned so much, both in and out of scheduled orientation workshops: how to take bucket baths, that pineapples and bananas from home are never going to taste the same way again, that minutes here can seem like hours, how to barter at the market and avoid the “muzungu” (white person/foreigner) price for everything, basic greetings and vocabulary in Lugandan, that where I’m being placed I’ll actually need to learn Lusoga instead (!!), and, most importantly, that one must always carry toilet paper. Then, our happy unit was split apart as we traveled to our respective towns, host families, and organizations.

I live in Iganga, which is a small town about 40km from Jinja. Within my host family, I have a mother who works long hours in a pharmacy, a sweet and elderly father, and three sisters around my age. I’ve also made friends with a neighbor who has been an absolute angel-making sure I eat if I miss lunch, showing me how to peel plantains, teaching me how to do laundry by hand, helping me learn important Lusoga phrases, introducing me to friendly acquaintances-too many things to list!

My host organization is called IDIWA, or Integrated Disabled Women Activities. They work in several different areas: health, sustainable livelihoods, vocational skills training, education, rehabilitation, human rights, micro finance, and institutional development. I’m currently working on developing a small sustainable project within one of these components, which must be decided upon within the next few days.

Highlight of the Week!
Yesterday (Saturday), I went on a rickety boat ride down the Nile River! We went to a small island that used to be a resort but is now run down and inhabited by a sole caretaker. There were hundreds and hundreds of birds filling the tiny island to the brim, and so many insects it was like a dust storm of flapping winged creatures all over our faces and bodies. The vegetation was extremely diverse, ranging from plantain and mango trees to cacti and tall grasses. Then we stopped off at a small fishing village before heading to the source of the Nile. Overall, it was a beautiful trip and incredibly relaxing!