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/.