Run and not grow weary. Pt I

Well, this past Sunday, I attempted to run the Kampala half-marathon. It was a little bit of a last minute thing that four of the interns signed up for, and needless to say, we didn’t really train much for it. Prior to the race, I think the longest I’d ever run in my life was about 13km last summer and in Uganda, the farthest that I’d managed to run was eight and a half. So going into the race, we figured that it’d would be interesting, and painful.

The run started at 7am, and we were supposed to show up at 6am to pick up our race numbers and an electronic chip that would accurately measure each runner’s times (I was pretty impressed with this little thing!). This meant waking up at 5:20 in order to have time shower quickly (more to wake myself up than anything else), and eat a quick breakfast before leaving the guesthouse at 5:40. This year, there were over 10,000 people registered to run in the event, the largest turnout in the five year history of the Kampala Marathon. This is the first half-marathon, or even the first organized race (outside of school events) that I’d ever run in, and it was a great experience. We all ended up finishing with relatively close together, though we lost Mike within the first ten minutes after he stopped to pee. The winner of the half marathon finished in an hour and three minutes, less than half the time that we clocked … and that’s all I’ll say about our speed…=p Oh well, it gives us something to shoot for next time around.

I took a sweet picture on Naomi’s camera that I’ll post when I get if from her, in the meantime, here’s a generic picture of the marathon. Edit: Posted at top, the sweetest ad ever!

Oh yea, pretty cool thing that happened at the race, or rather, before the race, (as we were lining up in the nearby coffee shop for a quick last minute restroom stop), I ran into the entire staff from the EMI East Africa office! Out of the nearly 11,000 people that must have been milling about just before the race, I can’t believe that I was able to run into, and recognize them (especially since I’d never actually met any of them before, I’d just seen a couple of the staff before at last year’s EMI Conference of Hope)! Anyway, I’m hoping to get the chance to visit their office sometime soon, maybe even next weekend.

Also on Sunday morning, but on a more somber note, Bern and Nancy left to fly back to Vancouver. Bern, our senior engineer, had been on his way to Canada House from camp on Friday afternoon to meet me and Mike to review the designs that we’d put together when he felt something wrong with his eye. He went to an eye doctor right away, who diagnosed it as a detached retina. After a second diagnosis with a more experienced doctor, it was determined that one of his eyes was in the first stages of a detached retina. So, after some serious deliberation with the doctors here in Uganda and back home in Canada, Bern and Nancy decided that it was best that they return to Canada to carry out any required treatment. If surgery is needed, there is a standard six week recovery period which Bern may be able to do in Uganda (to be decided when they cross that bridge) and if not, Bern and Nancy could be back in Uganda in a couple of weeks. However, in the meantime, please pray for them as they deal with this unexpected and potentially serious issue. On a positive note, it was very encouraging to see the capacity of the Ugandan medical staff here as they very competently and efficiently helped Bern and Nancy through the diagnosis and decision making stage. Much is said about the state of the health care services and personnel here in Uganda, most of it not very flattering; however, Bern and Nancy were impressed by the level of service that they received. The main reason that they had to return to Canada was because the doctor who has the knowledge to complete the necessary procedure is out of the country until Friday, and it would be best for Bern to receive further attention as soon as possible.

Farewell, Kasese. Pt II

As of last Friday, we are moving back to the Ankole Diocese in search of new projects. The move from Kasese back to Mbarara marks the halfway point in the work that we are aiming to complete in Uganda, as well as the midpoint of our time in Uganda. We have spent the better part of the past two months in Kasese, part of the South Rwenzori Diocese, completing project proposals for communities in that district.

One first completed proposal for the Bwesumbu source has been sent off to the ACTS office back in Canada to be reviewed. Aside from a few possible minor changes here and there, we don’t expect to work on that project much more. Kaswa is the next completed proposal, it has a lower yield and smaller target population, and thus, will be paired up with the Kyrumba proposal to form a full CIDA sized project. I’m currently still working on the design for the Kyrumba line, and once that is complete, will be sending that with the Kaswa proposal off to the Canadian office for review.

Peter, the ridiculously talented cook at the Agape Guesthouse. He honestly made dinner the highlight of each day! (the fact that we often didn't eat lunch might also have had something to with that as well...)

Other projects that we have worked on but have been put on hold for the time being for different reasons are: Kahindangoma (no vehicle access to within three hours of the source, making it extremely difficult and costly to build), Kaswenge (source located too low in the valley and will require pumping, possibly using solar power, to make the system work), and Kinyamagana (repairing existing GFS pipeline, something that ACTS has not done before, but would benefit over thirty thousand people if completed).

Oh yes, we have been staying at the Agape Guesthouse in Kasese during the bulk of our time there. There is also a woman from Florida named Mimi who has lived there for the past three years, she deals with the computers and other technology around the diocese. Anyway, we’ve slowly developed a rapport with her over the past couple of months, and this month, in her monthly newsletter that she sends to supporters back in North America, she wrote about ACTS and Asaph, me, and Mike. Not all of the information presented is entirely accurate, but it’s difficult trying to explain what it is exactly that we do and it’s clear that some of it is lost in translation as you maybe able to tell if you read the letter. It’s posted on her website at http://www.saint-peters.net/mamamimi, under journals.

While looking for Mimi’s site, I also wandered across a blog written by a couple of Americans, John and Katherine, who I’ve had a number of chances to hang out with over the past couple of months. Like myself, they just graduated this spring, arrived in Uganda this fall, and plan on working in Uganda for six months. Unlike me, Katherine is a English major and if you check out their blog, you’ll realize that she has a much more refined and elegant ability to write than I. A lot of their experiences are likely quite similar to mine and thus, their blog may help provide a clearer picture of the Uganda, from the perspective of some North Americans. Also, if you’re looking for more reading material, Katherine is able to keep up a much more steady blog than I can. And their web address is http://www.espressosoft.com/katherineandjohn/.

Kids... =D

Agandi!


We spotted him, or rather, he spotted us, during our first day at Canada House.


Just outside of one of the churches we attended.


Alive, the camp cook's son. He just entered the 'Terrible Two' stage and isn't always this cheerful anymore...


Follow the leader!


Love the facial expression.


More great facial expressions...





Kikagate refugee camp


He's just cute.


Probably on his way to fetch water for his family.


And finally, the first canuck fan i've met in africa! I doubt he even knows what hockey is, though. =P

Hope

The past couple of days since I visited the Kikagate Refugee Camp, I’ve kind of been stuck in a sober, disheartened mood . The situation I saw seemed so desperate, the people so destitute, and the world so oblivious.

I was still harbouring these sentiments at the end of the OFF, as we left to return to Kasese to complete the work that we’d been doing last month. As we passed through Queen Elizabeth National Park, we saw elephants, many of them in fact. And as I was admiring the elegance and beauty of these enormous creatures, I was reminded of God, who created the elephants, and me, and the people in the refugee camp.

A short time later, as we were approaching Kasese, I saw a rainbow in the sky. It was pretty cool because I could see both ends of the rainbow (unfortunately, as you can tell by the picture, my camera wouldn’t let me take a picture wide enough to capture the whole thing). Anyway, I was just reminded of Noah and the covenant that God made with him after the flood. I looked the passage up and God says in Genesis Chapter 9, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

It was a great reminder of God’s commitment to us, his children, as well as a great reassurance to me that, despite what appeared to be such a hopeless situation in the refugee camp, God hadn’t forgotten about those people. He knows about them and even more, he cares for them and he’s got a plan for them too. And while it still hurts to think about the suffering that these people endure, it is encouraging to remember that even when it seems like the world has turned its back on these people, God will always be there for them. And that’s worth more than anything else that anybody or organization can provide.

One Busy (read: Crazy) Week... Pt. I

It’s been just over a week since I last posted, but so much has happened since then that I’m not sure where to start. Briefly, Tim and Richard came up to Kasese to view the potential projects that we have identified, Chris returned to Canada until January, I visited a refugee camp and then stayed at Asaph’s house. Oh yea, our truck got a very much needed tuneup/overhaul that included a new clutch... As well, the DRC, just a few hours west of where I am working, has erupted into violence, and thousands of Congolese refugees have already fled into Uganda, across the same border that I crossed just a short month ago... so I forewarn you now that this may be quite a lengthy post. Hopefully, I’ll be able to break it up into a few portions for ease of reading.

On Monday, Tim, ACTS’ In-country Director, and Richard, the ACTS construction team foreman, drove out to Kasese with the goal of reviewing and prioritizing the potential projects. We based the decisions on the potential benefit to the community (in comparison to their current situation), expected community involvement and support for a project, accessibility of area (for transportation and construction purposes), and the overall feasibility of a project. In short, Kahindangoma, the three hour hike from the road to the source (re: Oct. 21 blog), was deemed unfeasible, at least until the community is able to extend the road closer to the source. Similarly, Kyrumba was relegated to the bottom of the list because of the accessibility problem as well (re: Oct. 23 blog). We will be focusing on the remaining three potential projects this upcoming month. Oh yes, as a result of these projects, we will be staying in the Kasese area for at least the following month.

Wednesday, we headed back to Mbarara with Tim and Richard for our month end break. But me and Mike first had to attend a District Council coordination meeting on Thursday morning, as the representatives for ACTS. In hindsight, most of the items discussed during the meeting were not actually relevant to ACTS; however, we were invited by the district and thus, had an obligation to attend. It was not all for waste, though, as the highlight of the meeting came at the end when we each received a 14,000 Ug Sh meal and travel allowance for our attendance. Needless to say, I won’t mind if I’m asked to attend the next meeting as well! Also Thursday morning, Chris left to return to Canada. He found out earlier in the week that his grandfather had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and is already in the late stages of the process. Thus, Chris made the difficult decision to leave Uganda in order to spend some time with his grandfather while he can, but will be returning in mid January. This means that our intern group is now down to five girls and two guys, and Andrea will also be heading home soon following the completion of her three month co-op term as water quality officer. So please pray for Chris and his family, that they would be able to cherish the time that they still have together with his grandfather.

Nowhere to go, no place to call home... Pt.II

Friday morning, most of us parted ways on our OFF. I headed off to visit a refugee camp in Kikagate, about an hour south of Mbarara, on the border with Tanzania. Two ACTS interns had done some work there in 2006-2007 and I wanted to see if I could also help out as well. Asaph lives about halfway between Mbarara and Kikagate and he offered to meet me and show me the camp since he had been there before.

Ellie, a former ACTS worker who is now the Information and Communications Technician for the UN in Uganda, also offered to come along when I told him where I was going. On a side note, Ellie is a genius when it comes to electronics; he designed a radio transmitter from a calculator circuitboard, and this is without being formerly educated! More importantly, from the few times that I had met Ellie previously, it is clear that he is an incredibly humble and selfless person. He often comes back to help ACTS when we have electrical problems that no one else seems capable of fixing; hence, how I've had the chance to meet him several times before. Anyway, he rode his bike eight kilometers to meet me and Asaph, remarking that if we were willing to come from afar to help these people, it was the least he could do to accompany us.

I must apologize for the perhaps incoherency or rambling in my writing; my thoughts and feelings are still very much in a jumble, as I think is obvious from the tangents that I’ve already taken. As you might have already noticed, this blog is also is a little less... happy… than most other posts. But I think this is what is on my heart right now and it's more appropriate given the nature of the topic. ANYWAY, honestly, I’m not sure what I had expected when I decided to visit the camp; however, I don’t think I was mentally prepared for what I did see. So, as I’ve now learned, the people in the camp are not officially refugees but rather, “returnees”. This is despite the fact that the sign at the camp entrance, which was constructed by the Prime Minister’s office, states that it is a refugee camp. The situation is complicated but in short, and from my limited understanding, most of the “returnees” are originally from Rwanda but fled to Tanzania during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. About four years ago, the Tanzanian government evicted them from the camps where they had been staying. However, due to fears of retribution and other safety concerns, these people came across the border to Uganda instead of returning back to Rwanda. And because they did not come directly from Rwanda, they cannot be given refugee status, which means that the UNHRC is not responsible of ensuring the welfare of these people.

It seems that these people have essentially fallen through the cracks, victims of our bureaucratic and legalistic society. When these people first arrived in Uganda, the district designated a portion of land for them; however, the local government does not permit them to cultivate the land, even though it is otherwise vacant and unused. Thus, the people have no sustainable source of food; as a result, they go into the Kikagate village each day hoping to find work so that they’ll be able to return home with food to feed their families. The UNHRC dropped off some basic supplies last February, and the Samaritan’s Purse did the same this April. However, other than these extremely sparsely spaced visits, these people receive no other support.

It is difficult to grasp the conditions in which these people are living. Most of the houses, if you can even call them that, are incredibly small mud and stick huts “covered” with the mostly tattered remains of what used to be a tarp. A small 8x12 foot structure could be home to a family of six, or bigger. Most of the children, and adults even, wore old, tattered clothes and when they stood near to me, the number of flies that would accompany them would be nearly unbearable, a sign that they don’t bathe often which isn’t surprising given the level of health and sanitation awareness they have received to date, that is, none.

At this point, I honestly don’t know what to do, I’m not sure what I can do, to help these people. There is no question that the need is there, and it is great, however, I am restricted in many ways: legally, mobility, financially, even politically. Apparently, the funding for our internships is contingent on following strict guidelines that go along the lines of working solely on ACTS related projects. That restricts me from doing anything outside of the month end break. In truth, I am feeling quite disillusioned by the failures of the international community, local government, and NGO’s to help these people. I came to Uganda for the reason that I wanted to use the skills that I have to help people, and although I realize that the work that I am doing with ACTS is benefiting some people, it’s tough to see that the people who are most in need being neglected. Anyway, before I do anything, if I can do anything, I’d first like to find out more information about these people and the camp. I have searched for more information on the internet, but due to connection and information availability constraints, I haven’t had much luck in finding much. So if anyone has the time and ability to look for more information about these people, I’d be most grateful if you could pass it on to me as I would like to know more about history of this camp and the background of these people.

Asaph, the Family Man Pt.III

Friday night, we stayed overnight in a small hotel in the Kikagate village and ate dinner at one of the two restaurants. The meals came to just 700 Ug Shillings (less than 50 cents CDN) each, a record low for a meal in Uganda for me. However, the next morning we had a hearty breakfast of matooke and geenut sauce at the same restaurant for 500 shillings (about 33 cents CDN). We returned to the refugee camp after breakfast to ask the chairman some questions that I had, and to take pictures of the conditions in the camp that I hope to send to Samaritan’s Purse, who visited the camp in April and brought some basic supplies and who I hope will be able to return with more basic supplies once they see the need. Anyway, after Kikagate, I had planned to meet up with Mike at Bushara Island, a small getaway place that ACTS had helped to establish in the past. I wasn’t feeling quite up for it though after seeing the poverty in the camp, and I also wanted to head back to Mbarara to check out the Sunday morning worship at the university campus church in town. Since I was going in the same direction, Asaph asked if I’d like to stop by his place. Obviously, you can’t turn down an offer, especially in the Ugandan culture; plus, I was thrilled to be able to visit and meet his family, and see what a true Ugandan home is like.

And I definitely was not disappointed as Asaph was a great host! I met his mother and stepmother, his two brothers and their families, his many nieces and nephews, and of course, his own wife and son. Asaph’s only twenty four, but it is quite normal, expected almost, for men in Uganda to get married quite young (and even younger for the Ugandan women). So Asaph’s already been married for two years and he has a son, Owen, who’s one and a half years old. Before I met his family, it was kind of difficult for me and Mike to picture Asaph, being so young, with a family back at his home; when I arrived at his place though, it was almost like he was a new man. Owen was pretty much glued to Asaph the entire time I was there, and it was like a game, a losing battle really, to see if anyone could pry Owen from his dad.

Asaph just finished his house a couple of months ago so it’s still quite basic and bare. It is customary here to build the basic house first, and add to it as you save up more money. There are designated spaces for windows included in the original construction, and once Asaph saves up enough money, he’ll just cut out that portion of the wall and replace it with a window frame. The floors are also dirt, for now, with the goal of eventually pouring cement floors. Nevertheless, I already really liked the house, it has a very open concept and the roof is supported by cross beams and A-frames, similar to the design of some cottages or cabins. It had a high ceiling, probably twenty feet high at the peak, which Asaph explained would keep the hot air higher up and thus, the house cooler. And while Asaph was apologetic that he didn’t yet have any couches or other furniture aside from beds in his house, I assured him that it really wasn’t a big deal. Instead, I explained to him that in Canada, it is not often that for a twenty four year old to already have his/her own house, not to mention a wife and son as well. He found that strange, even though we’ve also already explained that the majority of people in Canada don’t get married until they’re in their late twenties. haha… I often refer to Mike, for instance, who is thirty one and isn’t married yet. Most Ugandans find that quite strange but it’s just one of the many little things that make Africa, well, Africa.

So Asaph lives in a relatively rural area; in fact, the only transportation to and from the tiny trading centre nearest his house is via boda (motorbike), as there are no other forms of public transport that will venture up that road. And I’ve found that the more rural the area, the more types of fruits, vegetables and other plants you’ll come across. Some of the ones that come to mind right now that I saw in my one day at Asaph’s are lemons, oranges, ginger, sugar cane, yams, and beans. These are, of course, in addition to the more commonly found coffee, mango, banana, matooke, passionfruit, and pineapple plants. I know there were more that I can’t remember at the moment, but I think you get the picture! =p Anyway, I had a really great time at Asaph’s; it was really cool just to sit down with his family to share a meal in a completely Ugandan environment. I also ended up staying the night at his place and had to get up uber early the next morning to get back to Mbarara in time for church. But that’s another story…

Too Close for Comfort. Pt.IV

As many of you know (probably better than I do in fact because of the limited access I have to the internet, and the outside world), there has been an outbreak of violence in the eastern region of the Congo, near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda. There has been almost continual war and political instability in that region since the DRC gained it’s independence about fifty years ago. To put it into perspective, a BBC article I read stated that this continual war “has killed more people than any other conflict since World War II.” There have been improvement in recent years, however, and there had been hopes that it would continue in that progressive direction. The DRC is still home to the largest UN Peacekeeping force in the world, many of which are based in Goma, currently, one of the main areas of conflict.

As you might recall, I visited Rwanda just last month, where I stayed for two nights in Gisenyi, a town that borders the DRC border. From Gisenyi, you can easily see, and even walk to, Goma. Chris took this picture from the beach in Gisenyi, and while it was the birds in the foreground that he was focusing on, I’m posting this picture because of the buildings in the background, which are part of the town of Goma. On a side note, the strange looking rocks that the birds are perched upon are actually lava, from a volcanic explosion that just happened in Goma in the past decade or so I believe. So the name Goma may sound familiar because of that tragic event. Anyway, you can see that I was literally just a stone’s throw from Goma. In fact, one of the guys that I met while I was in Gisenyi (re: Oct 6 Blog) attended school in Goma because school fees were cheaper there and that was what his parents were able to afford. I hope that he has not been caught up in the most recent conflicts.

In another strange coincidence, on the bus leaving Gisenyi, I met a former RMC grad who is currently serving with MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force in Goma. According to the latest news that I have heard, rebel forces have been in combat with UN forces and are on the brink of overrunning the city. The New Vision, the daily Ugandan newspaper, has reported that over six thousand Congolese refugees have fled across the Congo-Uganda border towards the town of Kisoro. In response, Ugandan soldiers have been deployed into that area to help stabilize the increasingly chaotic situation, and to inhibit any fighting from entering the country. Tim, our in country director, called us on Saturday morning to ask about our whereabouts and to warn us not to travel to that region because of these recent events. The border where these thousands of refugees are entering Uganda is the same one that we crossed just a month ago on our way back from Rwanda; we even stopped for lunch in Kisoro on our journey home.

It is definitely sobering to realize how close these events are happening to me, both in reference to time and location. It’s also a strong reminder that regions here in East Africa can still be very much unstable, and have the potential to abruptly change for the worse. Unfortunately, reversing the damage is a much slower process.

On a completed unrelated tangent, I’ve probably eaten over a hundred crickets in the last couple of days. We’d heard that crickets and ants are common snacks here in Uganda but it wasn’t until Mike happened to spot them just outside the market on Monday that we had the chance to try them out. It was just the seven of us interns, and not knowing the proper way to prepare the crickets, we just fried them (some of which have still been alive) in a frying pan with a bit of oil and salt. It turns out that that’s exactly how Ugandans do it, as we brought some back with us (yes, we… mainly I, like them so much that we had to get them again) to Kasese and Peter, the guesthouse’s super pro cook, just fried them as we had done. They’re not a bad snack, and they’re really cheap; you can buy a bag with a couple hundred of them for about a buck!