Well, I think this last post will wrap everything up...I left Pader on Thursday and am now staying in Kampala until next Monday, when I fly to America! I had a good last couple of weeks in Pader, mainly doing food distribution in the camps (handing out posho, salt, and soap). I have also been making some powerpoint presentations that Anita sends to Canada to solicit donations from churches there so we are capable of buying more food and give it to the most vulnerable people during this famine. We tried to work out a plan with other NGOs and government offices in Pader to coordinate food distribution and try to see if any of them could give us more food to hand out. EI is really great at reaching the people directly without mismanagement and corruption getting in the way, so the other NGOs know that we are really helping the people. However, meeting with other officials showed that they are not well-organized and either are lacking funds for distribution, or don't have transportation, etc. No one has the complete resources for successful distribution so they weren't capable of helping EI out all that much. There's a lot of politics going into something like famine relief, and unfortunately it gets in the way of actually assisting the needy. We met with one official from the UN World Food Programme who warned us, "Technically, its a 'hunger gap', not a 'famine'...if we use the word 'famine' we get in trouble". Its very frustrating to meet attitudes like that when you see the desperation in the camps.
Anyway, I was sad to leave northern Uganda, but the EI team gave me a great send-off with a small party where I ate my last bit of traditional food (millet bread, rice, beans, cabbage, malakwang, and goat meat). And now I am just hanging out in Kampala, visiting UCU one last time, and doing some last minute souvenir shopping. I am really looking forward to being home, especially seeing my family that I miss so much! Although, I only have one night at home and then I have to move into Eastern University for my fall semester. That Thursday, the 27th, is also my 20th birthday! So it will be a busy time as soon as I get back, but it will definitely be enjoyable. I know I will feel a lot of culture shock, especially since I spent such a long time in such a dramatically impoverished area like northern Uganda. But God will see me through and teach me a lot, I'm sure. Even though I am leaving please keep the people of northern Uganda in your prayers and maybe research some ways to assist the people in development of the region (maybe you could even travel to Uganda one day!). Thanks for keeping up with my blog, and I will be sure to write again once I am in the States about my adjustment and observations on life there. God Bless!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
With only a month left...
I am winding down my time in Uganda at this point, with only one more month to go. I am spending a little bit of time in Kampala right now, and then I have 2 weeks in Pader, one final week in Kampala, and then I come home to America! It is strange to think that I have been here for so long...I have gotten very used to life here. When visitors came to Pader last week from the Phillipines, I realized how much I knew about Uganda by comparing myself to other foreigners. It will be strange to readjust to America.
Anyway, an update on the famine in Pader...
We've had scattered rain recently that helps a little bit, but there is still a lot hunger in the area. Over the weekend and the beginning of this week I did food distribution in some of the IDP camps. Emmanuel International does not have significant funds, so we weren't able to work on a scale even remotely close to the UN World Food Programme, but we worked with what we had. So, we worked with local community leaders to identify the most vulnerable families in the camps (usually elderly, breast-feeding mothers, and widows) and handed out posho (basically corn flour), salt, soap, and clothing to them. We told them that we knew it wasn't a lot, but we were trying to share the love of Christ in our limited capacity to help their physical needs. It is really hard to see the conditions of the camps...there is really poor sanitation and a huge lack of medicine, so there is a lot of disease (especially in children and the elderly). The UN World Food Programme already pulled out of Pader last year, so there isn't international assistance coming to people. They are focusing on the Karamajong, another tribe, because the famine is even worse in that region.
I have recently ended my time working in the schools identifying challenges facing the students (teenage pregnancy, child labor, poverty, etc.) and talking to them about ways to encourage their education. But a big problem for girls in these poor areas is that they often drop out of school because of a lack of sanitary pads. It seems like a trivial item, but when you can't afford them, you just stay home whenever you have your period, and then catching up is too big of a task and the girls simply drop out. So, when I go back to Pader for the last two weeks, we're going to start a program where we teach them how to make their own pads out of cloth so they can be cleaned and reused.
So, thats it for today...I will write more when I go back to Pader. I miss everyone terribly and can't wait to see you all soon!
Anyway, an update on the famine in Pader...
We've had scattered rain recently that helps a little bit, but there is still a lot hunger in the area. Over the weekend and the beginning of this week I did food distribution in some of the IDP camps. Emmanuel International does not have significant funds, so we weren't able to work on a scale even remotely close to the UN World Food Programme, but we worked with what we had. So, we worked with local community leaders to identify the most vulnerable families in the camps (usually elderly, breast-feeding mothers, and widows) and handed out posho (basically corn flour), salt, soap, and clothing to them. We told them that we knew it wasn't a lot, but we were trying to share the love of Christ in our limited capacity to help their physical needs. It is really hard to see the conditions of the camps...there is really poor sanitation and a huge lack of medicine, so there is a lot of disease (especially in children and the elderly). The UN World Food Programme already pulled out of Pader last year, so there isn't international assistance coming to people. They are focusing on the Karamajong, another tribe, because the famine is even worse in that region.
I have recently ended my time working in the schools identifying challenges facing the students (teenage pregnancy, child labor, poverty, etc.) and talking to them about ways to encourage their education. But a big problem for girls in these poor areas is that they often drop out of school because of a lack of sanitary pads. It seems like a trivial item, but when you can't afford them, you just stay home whenever you have your period, and then catching up is too big of a task and the girls simply drop out. So, when I go back to Pader for the last two weeks, we're going to start a program where we teach them how to make their own pads out of cloth so they can be cleaned and reused.
So, thats it for today...I will write more when I go back to Pader. I miss everyone terribly and can't wait to see you all soon!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
I'm still alive...
Sorry for the gap in updates, but there hasn't been many new things going on lately. I am still talking at different schools in the area, addressing the students' challenges with education. There is a cultural celebration this friday I might attend, with all the different schools doing traditional dances (acholi dances are really fun to watch!) I have exactly 6 weeks left in Uganda...time is flying by! Anita Bertrand is coming up to Pader on Sunday with a visiting couple, and then I'm going down to Kampala next Wednesday for about a week. I am doing very well and I'm staying healthy. I will write more when there are some changes or exciting stories! I hope everyone is well back home!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Famine
Well, its a little worse than I thought. As I said down below, there has been a real lack of rain here this season and the crops are really suffering. I was talking to Reverend Kenneth today (the local head of EI) and he was telling me that it has caused a famine in Pader district. So far 5 people have died from hunger this season, two of them children. People are also stealing each others' crops right out of the ground out of desperation. The World Food Programme has already withdrawn from this district, so international aid isn't widely available. These people really need your prayers for rain, which will relieve their suffering. Emmanuel International has been doing seed distribution to vulnerable people, but that really doesn't matter if there's no rain. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Halfway!
Well, I am almost halfway done with the summer! I am doing well in Pader, and keeping busy. This week (and into July) I will be visiting communities and schools around the camps to do lectures on the importance of education. A lot of children are kept home from school in this area to work (since there is a lot of poverty families rely on children to make money or harvest crops or watch little children at home), and a lot of girls get married young and don't continue education. So hopefully we can inspire some of the organized groups to work with their communities to encourage children to stay in school.
It has been very dry and hot here, which is very bad news considering this should be the rainy season. Desertification is a serious concern here, with overgrazing, deforestation, and global climate change causing an expansion of the Sahara Desert. I am hoping to do some work talking about environmental concerns, and helping the groups figure out some ways they can improve their ecosystems. But vulnerable people are the first to suffer from environmental damage, a lot of which is caused by outside forces (especially countries like America). We are one of the top producers of greenhouse gases and the victims are people like the ones here. So, we should all be aware of the destruction our country (and we as individuals) is doing in the world and take responsibility.
Anyway, I am going back down to Kampala to pick up my passport and visa from the immigration office on Monday, so I am looking forward to that. I have finished reading War and Peace, and now I'm reading a book by Noam Chomsky on American foreign policy in the Middle East. He is incredibly intelligent and its interesting to see the true nature of the American government and its corruption. I recommend his works highly. Well, I hope everyone is doing well! I miss you all terribly!
It has been very dry and hot here, which is very bad news considering this should be the rainy season. Desertification is a serious concern here, with overgrazing, deforestation, and global climate change causing an expansion of the Sahara Desert. I am hoping to do some work talking about environmental concerns, and helping the groups figure out some ways they can improve their ecosystems. But vulnerable people are the first to suffer from environmental damage, a lot of which is caused by outside forces (especially countries like America). We are one of the top producers of greenhouse gases and the victims are people like the ones here. So, we should all be aware of the destruction our country (and we as individuals) is doing in the world and take responsibility.
Anyway, I am going back down to Kampala to pick up my passport and visa from the immigration office on Monday, so I am looking forward to that. I have finished reading War and Peace, and now I'm reading a book by Noam Chomsky on American foreign policy in the Middle East. He is incredibly intelligent and its interesting to see the true nature of the American government and its corruption. I recommend his works highly. Well, I hope everyone is doing well! I miss you all terribly!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Short Update
Hey everyone! This will be really short, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing well. Last week I spent a couple of days in Kampala just to relax, and got to hang out with one of my friends from UCU named Jones. But I'm back now and ready to work hard again! This week we are going around to visit schools and hand out some uniforms and books to children that can't afford them. Then on Saturday we are having a training session for EI's Why Wait program, which offers education on HIV/AIDS around Uganda. Next week I'm going to be helping local teachers incorporate some of the material into their curriculums and stuff like that. Anyway, I've started reading War and Peace to pass some of the time, and its very good! I highly recommend it! Also, there are now three puppies here with me, and I named them Ringo, Pavlov, and Tolstoy. Reverend Kenneth's daughter Glory is now with me in Pader, and she will be working as my translator here. So, its not so quiet in the house anymore, which is a good thing lol. Well, I hope everyone is doing well! I only have a little over 2 months to go!
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Only Mzungu
Well, I'm just about finishing my first two weeks in northern Uganda so I figured I'd give a little update. This week I have been visiting different IDP camps around the area leading discussions on improving sanitation. The Ugandans in these camps need a lot of prayers, because the war with the LRA has left them extremely vulnerable. There is a lot of disease and malnutrition, and the crops haven't been growing very well this season. Also, they keep expressing a need for more water pumps because usually there is just one for an entire IDP community. It is also difficult to see how much the conflict has affected all the people I am working with. There are so many widows and orphans left to fend for themselves, and a lot of people that had been abducted as child soldiers that are now trying to live normal lives. The war forced them to move into IDP camps, which are forced communities so that the government could protect them from the rebels. THat meant that they all had to leave their original home farms and live in an area where farming wasn't possible. Even though the LRA has been gone from the area for a couple years, most people are too afraid, or lack the necessary resources to move back to their land. THe farthest they've gone is establishing satellite camps halfway between the original IDP camp and their own land. But its still really bad, and they need a lot of help. I am one of the only mzungus in the central town of Pader...I see one once in a while but for the most part there are no other westerners. Its funny because down in southern Uganda most people assumed I was american, but here they keep yelling "Canada! Canada!" at me. I think thats because the majority of NGO workers are Canadian, and they rarely see any Americans. Well, I am heading to Kampala for a couple of days on Monday, so I will talk to everyone later!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Greetings from Pader!
Sorry I have not written in here for so long! I have been moving around like a madwoman, and I rarely have access to the internet (its a long process of dragging out the generator, hooking it up to a power converter, trying to find a connection with a little MTN wireless hookup...etc.) Anyway, I miss EVERYONE so much, and I can't believe all the USP people are back in America now! I originally came to Pader on the 9th, but we went to visit Reverend Kenneth's family in Gulu that following Tuesday. I just got back yesterday, and today was my first day where I officially sat down at my desk to get some work done for Emmanuel International.
I am staying in a compound right outside of the town center in Pader district in Northern Uganda. On the compound is my own little house (it looks like a two story silo, kind of. It has a straw roof, so think of a vertically extended African hut), where I have a bedroom (there are 2 other empty ones), a bathroom/washroom, and a little kitchen area where I cook my own meals. Kenneth, a Ugandan missionary, lives on the compound in another little house. We have a guard stationed at the front gate, armed with a bow and arrow (not kidding), a little area for the cows, a resource center (where they also hold the community's church services), and an office (where I now have my own desk as the Coordinator for Ministry and Education). A woman named Millie is also on staff here, and she is paid to clean the house and dishes for me lol. EI has a couple permanant staff up here, including counselors, and then a handful of volunteers.
The work I have started is going around to the IDP camps and giving lectures and demonstrations on hygiene and sanitation to vulnerable groups (widows, orphans, returnees from the LRA, child-headed households), and assisting the counselors to those same groups. EI has a couple other projects going, including bead making for widows to earn a profit, and seed distribution (which I'm also helping with). We have a lot to do, but it is very quiet here and I have a lot of alone time. I'm on page 850 of the book Atlas Shrugged, which I started a week and a half ago, so that should give you an idea of how much free time I have. Haha.
Anyway, I love you ALL and thanks for all of your financial and emotional support you've given me. I'm excited to work here, and I'll keep you all updated as much as possible!
I am staying in a compound right outside of the town center in Pader district in Northern Uganda. On the compound is my own little house (it looks like a two story silo, kind of. It has a straw roof, so think of a vertically extended African hut), where I have a bedroom (there are 2 other empty ones), a bathroom/washroom, and a little kitchen area where I cook my own meals. Kenneth, a Ugandan missionary, lives on the compound in another little house. We have a guard stationed at the front gate, armed with a bow and arrow (not kidding), a little area for the cows, a resource center (where they also hold the community's church services), and an office (where I now have my own desk as the Coordinator for Ministry and Education). A woman named Millie is also on staff here, and she is paid to clean the house and dishes for me lol. EI has a couple permanant staff up here, including counselors, and then a handful of volunteers.
The work I have started is going around to the IDP camps and giving lectures and demonstrations on hygiene and sanitation to vulnerable groups (widows, orphans, returnees from the LRA, child-headed households), and assisting the counselors to those same groups. EI has a couple other projects going, including bead making for widows to earn a profit, and seed distribution (which I'm also helping with). We have a lot to do, but it is very quiet here and I have a lot of alone time. I'm on page 850 of the book Atlas Shrugged, which I started a week and a half ago, so that should give you an idea of how much free time I have. Haha.
Anyway, I love you ALL and thanks for all of your financial and emotional support you've given me. I'm excited to work here, and I'll keep you all updated as much as possible!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Onward...
I returned from Rwanda last week, and it was a really intense experience (and I will write about it when I have more time later). God really taught us all many lessons from that trip. Right now I am at the Emmanuel International house in Kampala with Anita Bertrand and another volunteer my age named Jacob. We are waiting until the 9h to go up to Pader, where I will be staying for the summer. But right now, they are letting me relax for a couple days, use the washing machine (a washing machine!!), swim in a nearby pool, and read a lot. More later!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
End of the semester...
Well, I am officially at the end of the semester. I just took my East African Politics final yesterday, which consisted of four different essays: Political integration in East Africa, political coups in African governments, power-sharing deals (like the current government in Kenya), and the effectiveness of government intervention in the economy as a way to stimulate growth. This morning I have a final for Democracy and Human Rights, and I have a couple papers due between now and next Wednesday for Faith and Action and Ugandan Politics. Next week we are having elective workshops with some of the USP staff, and I am taking one on Christian Callings with Mark, and one on Peace and Politics with Brooke. I’m actually looking forward to my paper for Ugandan politics, which we have to write on a human rights issue of our choice that is a problem in Uganda. I have decided to write on freedom of the press as a vital human rights, which has really been neglected in Uganda. I’m actually reading a really interesting book right now that I got out of the USP library, called Media and the Rwandan Genocide, which is a collection of articles analyzing the role of journalists and media outlets in the time surrounding the events of the genocide. One article in the book contains a chart which shows that the O.J. Simpson trials got over double the coverage on mainstream news stations than anything to do with Rwanda! 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda, and the news talked more about a celebrity murder case! Another interesting point made was that Bosnia, a similar atrocity, got far more extensive coverage at the same time, because it took place so close to many major news hubs in Europe, and therefore coverage was way easier for journalists. Most foreign reporters in Africa are based out of Nairobi, which is pretty far from action in Rwanda, and there are substantially less present than in a European country. One BBC reporter, Mark Doyle, recounted his time in Rwanda (he was often the only western journalist in the capital city of Kigali during the genocide) and said his editors back in London often tried to dismiss massacres as indiscriminate tribal killings in a chaotic African country. He had to fight to get the right wording put out, that the genocide was a well-organized, systematic method of eliminating political opponents. Anyway, I don’t know if I can get the book in America, since its published in Uganda, but I’m hoping to get it at some point.
If anybody’s interested, here are some articles I’m using for my paper on freedom of the press in Uganda:
http://www.cpj.org/africa/uganda/
Well, tonight at 5:30 we have orientation for our trip to Rwanda because we are leaving next Wednesday! We will be there until May 4 (I think), studying the genocide and visiting memorials, etc. It is actually the 15th anniversary of the genocide this month. We will all need your prayers though, as I’m sure learning about the things that went on, in a country very similar to Uganda not so long ago, will be pretty hard.
I hope everyone had a wonderful easter! Mine was somewhat uneventful, but improved when I got to watch videos my mom sent me of everyone from home saying hi! I also got to talk on the phone with my family (although I didn’t get to talk to my little brother, who I assume was at work). Well, I’m signing off probably until after Rwanda, so have a good two weeks!
If anybody’s interested, here are some articles I’m using for my paper on freedom of the press in Uganda:
http://www.cpj.org/africa/uganda/
Well, tonight at 5:30 we have orientation for our trip to Rwanda because we are leaving next Wednesday! We will be there until May 4 (I think), studying the genocide and visiting memorials, etc. It is actually the 15th anniversary of the genocide this month. We will all need your prayers though, as I’m sure learning about the things that went on, in a country very similar to Uganda not so long ago, will be pretty hard.
I hope everyone had a wonderful easter! Mine was somewhat uneventful, but improved when I got to watch videos my mom sent me of everyone from home saying hi! I also got to talk on the phone with my family (although I didn’t get to talk to my little brother, who I assume was at work). Well, I’m signing off probably until after Rwanda, so have a good two weeks!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Safari!
I just got back yesterday from a safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is on the western border of Uganda. In fact, we could see the mountains of the Congo across Lake Edward from where we were staying! It was wonderful, being able to see all these amazing animals in their natural habitats. Over the weekend I saw herds of wild elephants, hippos, warthogs, buffalo, some really large species of deer, antelope (or gazelles, I'm not sure), and mongooses (mongeese?). Oh, and we saw one lion. Just one. At one point, a whole herd of elephants crossed right in front of our van, like 30 feet away!
Besides that, there's not much going on right now. Classes end this week, and finals start soon. I am going to the Ministry of Internal Affairs tomorrow to apply for a special pass to extend my visa for the summer. It is a little strange knowing that all the other USP students are leaving soon, and are preparing for a transition back to America. It is a little hard, because it feels like another four months is a really long time at this point. But, I'm praying a lot and am still confident about the summer. I'm sure by the end it will have seemed like even eight months wasn't enough time in Uganda. I love and miss everyone back home, and don't hesitate to write or email! (Despite the rumors, I do receive letters here lol)
Happy day-after-Palm Sunday!
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
Besides that, there's not much going on right now. Classes end this week, and finals start soon. I am going to the Ministry of Internal Affairs tomorrow to apply for a special pass to extend my visa for the summer. It is a little strange knowing that all the other USP students are leaving soon, and are preparing for a transition back to America. It is a little hard, because it feels like another four months is a really long time at this point. But, I'm praying a lot and am still confident about the summer. I'm sure by the end it will have seemed like even eight months wasn't enough time in Uganda. I love and miss everyone back home, and don't hesitate to write or email! (Despite the rumors, I do receive letters here lol)
Happy day-after-Palm Sunday!
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
Monday, March 30, 2009
Rafting on the Nile and Other Adventures
Well, this weekend was really exciting! I left on Saturday morning to go to a place in Jinja where they take you white water rafting on the Nile River. The course has level 5 rapids (that's a high level), and some level 6 that we had to navigate around, because people have died attempting to go down them (one of the rapids was called "Dead Dutchman"). So Saturday morning they gave us breakfast at the hostel, then around 10 we set off for the river. I went with my friends from USP: Beth, Beau, Mary, and Katie K. We were put in a raft with two other people and our guide, who was named Paulo. Paulo is actually a two-time world champion kayaker, who's still trying to get into the Olympics! So we went down about 10 different rapids, had lunch drifting down the Nile on our raft (we had pineapple and biscuits), and ended around 4 o' clock for a barbecue back at the campsite. The rapids flipped our raft over about three different times, and one of the times I flew out of the raft and landed on a rock underwater! (I'm ok...not even a bruise to show for it). At one point we got stuck against a rock, and our raft was almost completely sideways, hanging over a waterfall! It's definitely an adventure!
Anyway, this past Friday I went on a class trip for East African Politics class to the Parliament building for the Buganda tribe, and the Kabaka's palace (the Kabaka is the King of the Buganda tribe). The Kabaka's palace was a crazy place. It sits on a hill overlooking the city of Kampala, and if you walk down one side of the hill, past a couple of houses, and through the banana trees, you come to something really unbelievable. It is a long stone corridor built into the side of the hill, with four large cells on the left side of the hall. Our tour guide said these were torture cells built by Idi Amin to detain all of his political prisoners in the 70s! The cells are about three feet off the ground, and apparently they would fill the corridor up with water, then kept a live electrical wire in the water. This was so if prisoners tried to swim away, they would be electrocuted. He said nobody dared come near the palace, so the torture cells were never discovered until after Idi Amin left. What would happen is that if you Idi Amin didn't like you, one day someone would just drive up next to you, shove you into the trunk of a car, drive in a circle for hours (so you thought you were going far away), then pull up in front of the corridor and walk you to the cell. Most people knew at this point that they were going to die there. It was a really sobering trip.
Ironic trivia: The word "Amin" in the Teso language, means "love"
Tonight USP is having a movie night in our lounge. We are going to watch the film Battle in Seattle, which is about the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization's attempted meeting in Seattle. Activists and labor unions in the city had a huge protest that actually halted the negotiations scheduled for that year. It's a great movie, especially since we've been talking about the WTO (and IMF and the World Bank) in our Contemporary Issues Seminar for Faith and Action class. We've been debating over free vs. fair trade in relation to development in Africa (the WTO has done a lot of harm for developing nations). Anyway, I highly recommend Battle in Seattle. Also, if you watch one documentary this year, make it "The Corporation". Seriously, Netflix it. It is absolutely amazing, and its about corporate control over the world (I think Shane Claiborne named it one of his favorite movies of the month, or something like that, on the Simple Way website). Well, God Bless and have a great day!
P.S. sorry if you've emailed me over the past week and I haven't responded...the internet has been out for a while, and just came back on! Oh, Africa.
Anyway, this past Friday I went on a class trip for East African Politics class to the Parliament building for the Buganda tribe, and the Kabaka's palace (the Kabaka is the King of the Buganda tribe). The Kabaka's palace was a crazy place. It sits on a hill overlooking the city of Kampala, and if you walk down one side of the hill, past a couple of houses, and through the banana trees, you come to something really unbelievable. It is a long stone corridor built into the side of the hill, with four large cells on the left side of the hall. Our tour guide said these were torture cells built by Idi Amin to detain all of his political prisoners in the 70s! The cells are about three feet off the ground, and apparently they would fill the corridor up with water, then kept a live electrical wire in the water. This was so if prisoners tried to swim away, they would be electrocuted. He said nobody dared come near the palace, so the torture cells were never discovered until after Idi Amin left. What would happen is that if you Idi Amin didn't like you, one day someone would just drive up next to you, shove you into the trunk of a car, drive in a circle for hours (so you thought you were going far away), then pull up in front of the corridor and walk you to the cell. Most people knew at this point that they were going to die there. It was a really sobering trip.
Ironic trivia: The word "Amin" in the Teso language, means "love"
Tonight USP is having a movie night in our lounge. We are going to watch the film Battle in Seattle, which is about the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization's attempted meeting in Seattle. Activists and labor unions in the city had a huge protest that actually halted the negotiations scheduled for that year. It's a great movie, especially since we've been talking about the WTO (and IMF and the World Bank) in our Contemporary Issues Seminar for Faith and Action class. We've been debating over free vs. fair trade in relation to development in Africa (the WTO has done a lot of harm for developing nations). Anyway, I highly recommend Battle in Seattle. Also, if you watch one documentary this year, make it "The Corporation". Seriously, Netflix it. It is absolutely amazing, and its about corporate control over the world (I think Shane Claiborne named it one of his favorite movies of the month, or something like that, on the Simple Way website). Well, God Bless and have a great day!
P.S. sorry if you've emailed me over the past week and I haven't responded...the internet has been out for a while, and just came back on! Oh, Africa.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Month Three!
It’s been almost three months in Uganda already! It feels a lot like we’re actually winding up with the semester, since we only have around four weeks left until we start exams. It’s very surreal that this much time has passed so quickly (a good description of the way time passes here is that the days are long but the weeks go by fast).
This week has been super busy, with a bunch of papers due for several classes. I wrote one for Democracy and Human Rights on the difference between classical and liberal democracy, one for Ugandan Politics on stability and representation, and another paper for East African Politics analyzing the book White Man’s Burden (which argues against international aid and intervention).
Today I am meeting with a woman Myla that is in charge of the HIV/AIDS prevention project for Emmanuel International, and we are going to discuss a little about what I’m going to be doing in the summer in Pader. Actually, there is a big focus on AIDS in Faith and Action this week as well. Tonight we have a lecture on AIDS in Uganda, and on Saturday we are visiting a center in Luwero to spend the day with victims of AIDS.
With classes and just time spent here in Africa, I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences in culture with how I interact with other people. The book Compassion talks about giving up the “American” concept of time, which is usually that the busier you are, the more successful or better you are. But here, there is a lot of time just spent in presence with other people. You don’t necessarily have to intentionally seek out more “meaningful” conversation just to talk, but instead focus more on simply being with people. Especially on the rural home stays, there was a lot of silence, but it’s not necessarily empty. It will be interesting to try and translate that back into the American context, where silence is usually seen as awkward or meaningless.
Oh, it is wonderful to get letters while I’m here, so I just wanted to hint that I always appreciate them *wink*. My address here is:
Katy Slininger
Uganda Studies Program
Uganda Christian University
P.O. Box 4
Mukono, Uganda
Just in case! :)
Have a great day everybody!
This week has been super busy, with a bunch of papers due for several classes. I wrote one for Democracy and Human Rights on the difference between classical and liberal democracy, one for Ugandan Politics on stability and representation, and another paper for East African Politics analyzing the book White Man’s Burden (which argues against international aid and intervention).
Today I am meeting with a woman Myla that is in charge of the HIV/AIDS prevention project for Emmanuel International, and we are going to discuss a little about what I’m going to be doing in the summer in Pader. Actually, there is a big focus on AIDS in Faith and Action this week as well. Tonight we have a lecture on AIDS in Uganda, and on Saturday we are visiting a center in Luwero to spend the day with victims of AIDS.
With classes and just time spent here in Africa, I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences in culture with how I interact with other people. The book Compassion talks about giving up the “American” concept of time, which is usually that the busier you are, the more successful or better you are. But here, there is a lot of time just spent in presence with other people. You don’t necessarily have to intentionally seek out more “meaningful” conversation just to talk, but instead focus more on simply being with people. Especially on the rural home stays, there was a lot of silence, but it’s not necessarily empty. It will be interesting to try and translate that back into the American context, where silence is usually seen as awkward or meaningless.
Oh, it is wonderful to get letters while I’m here, so I just wanted to hint that I always appreciate them *wink*. My address here is:
Katy Slininger
Uganda Studies Program
Uganda Christian University
P.O. Box 4
Mukono, Uganda
Just in case! :)
Have a great day everybody!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Compassion
We're reading a book called "Compassion" by Nouwen, McNeill, and Morrison in Faith and Action class, and I just wanted to share a short excerpt:
"Instead of striving for a higher position, more power, and more influence, Jesus moves, as Karl Barth says, from 'the heights to the depth, from victory to defeat, from riches to poverty, from triumph to suffering, from life to death.' Jesus' whole life and mission involve accepting powerlessness and revealing in this powerlessness the limitlessness of God's love. Here we see what compassion means. It is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not a reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those who fail to make it in the upward pull. On the contrary, compassion means going directly to those people and places where suffering is most acute and building a home there. God's compassion is total, absolute, unconditional, without reservation. It is the compassion of the one who keeps going to the most forgotten corners of the world, and who cannot rest as long as there are still human beings with tears in their eyes. It is the compassion of a God who does not merely act as a servant, but who expresses the divinity of God through servanthood."
"Instead of striving for a higher position, more power, and more influence, Jesus moves, as Karl Barth says, from 'the heights to the depth, from victory to defeat, from riches to poverty, from triumph to suffering, from life to death.' Jesus' whole life and mission involve accepting powerlessness and revealing in this powerlessness the limitlessness of God's love. Here we see what compassion means. It is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not a reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those who fail to make it in the upward pull. On the contrary, compassion means going directly to those people and places where suffering is most acute and building a home there. God's compassion is total, absolute, unconditional, without reservation. It is the compassion of the one who keeps going to the most forgotten corners of the world, and who cannot rest as long as there are still human beings with tears in their eyes. It is the compassion of a God who does not merely act as a servant, but who expresses the divinity of God through servanthood."
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Week's Worth of Updates
We just got back from rural homestays yesterday afternoon, and since there is so many stories, I thought I would just copy excerpts from each of my journal entries over the week…
Sunday, February 22, 2009
…I am staying with the Okol family, and they are of the Teso tribe (which I just learned today have been split by the border of Uganda and Kenya). When I first arrived yesterday morning, I was greeted by Mama, who gave me a tour of the compound. There is one main house made of brick and a tin roof, then there are four traditional mud huts with straw thatched roofs (I slept in one of these). Then down a path, there is a tiny hut as the latrine. They grow many things on their land, like avocados, oranges, mangos, guavas, and sweet potatoes, but since it is the dry season nothing is ripe. Anyway, that first day Father (Stephen) was gone the whole day to attend a funeral. I spent about an hour cracking open ground nuts (similar to peanuts) in silence with the girls that live here, since they don’t speak English. There is a lot of silence here, but its so peaceful…We went to church this morning, where I was welcomed with a song and a “big clap”. I was asked to give a sermon, so I used the passage in 1 Corinthians about the body of Christ. Afterwards we walked into Kyere town to buy some greens for lunch, which of course turned into a several hour ordeal, since we must greet every single person that walks by. I must have met about 200 different people.
Monday, Feb 23, 8:00 a.m.
Last night as I was falling asleep, I tried to imagine being back in America, but it is getting harder and harder to remember what it feels like, especially living in a rural area like this. I kind of feel like I’m in a weird cultural purgatory, where the African culture is foreign (although I’m starting to feel accustomed to it), but if I was back home, the American culture would be familiar yet unappealing…The days here are incredibly long, and I am amazed when they finally end. Here are some random observations:
-chickens/goats everywhere
-donating and selling eggs for church donations
-Karamajong tribe has stole my family’s cattle 20 years ago
-Guests eat meat and eggs, so everyone was surprised to see me carry greens (similar to spinach)
-“snaps” = photographs (i.e. “Let’s take a snap”)
-Had conversation with host dad about Amin. He was fine saying that he was just put in place by God. It was a little frustration to see apathetic attitude about someone like Idi Amin, but I don’t know if its necessarily wrong.
-Passed an empty ginnery that used to be owned by Asians, but they were run out by Amin
-Had terrible dream about being forced to eat a chicken gizzard
Later that day…
I went to fill up their jerrycans with water from the local well, which is about 1 mile away. The sun is brutal here, and I felt like I was going to pass out because I was so thirsty. It really made me remember the people who live in conditions like this, and actually have zero access to water. I just ate lunch while watching a 6” mini tv that Father had hooked up to a huge battery for a couple minutes. They were covering the Oscars. It was very surreal to see that while sitting in the middle of Africa.
Tuesday, February23, 2009 8:00 pm
The biggest spider I have ever seen in my LIFE just ran in front of my feet (Antony stomped on it, thankfully). [Ellen, if you are reading this, I don’t think you could come to Africa…this spider was a monster] If God protects me from getting crawled on by that during this homestay, I will never complain about insects ever again. Ever.
This morning, I left around 10 a.m. with Father to bike ride to a nearby church for a baptism service. The ride was about 30 minutes long, through the Kyere village, and was just wonderful. It was a rough dirt path, with picturesque African bush all around. I was (yes, once again), spur-of-the-moment asked to give a sermon, so I used Galatians 3:26 and told the people that their American brothers and sisters in Christ keep them constantly in their prayers…After the service, Father had to stay around for a meeting with other teachers to talk about a school they might be building in the area. The meeting lasted for a good four hours, with me just sitting there daydreaming, because I couldn’t understand anything that was said. A good description of my experience that came to mind was that it compared to Merry and Pippin’s at the Meeting of the Ents in Lord of the Rings. When the meeting ended, we all rode our bikes to a close home for lunch. All the teachers were astounded that I was eating the local millet bread (which I happen to love. Side note: the best description of this bread is that its crap-colored, snot-textured dough. Don’t ask me why I like it). Father translated for me what everyone was saying about me. He was telling them that I eat all the local food and do all the same house work as the rest of the family. A woman teacher told me that it made her so happy to see white people like me, that learn their culture and assimilate fast.
Wednesday, Feb 24, 2009 ?p.m.
Today I stayed at home the whole day while Father and the children went off to school. I helped my host mother wash dishes, I washed my clothes, went to the bore hole (pump well), and carried the jerrycans on my head for the first time! After lunch, I toop a nap, during which I dreamt I was standing in a parking lot in America, dancing to a Sam Cooke song [interpretations, anyone?]. I think my brain is trying to adjust to the lack of musical stimulation, since I spend so much time listening and playing music back in America. Today, while washing clothes, I tried to sing one song from every Beatles album in chronological order, just to keep that part of my brain stimulated. After lunch I walked with Father to this huge rock formation and hiked up it, and we got a wonderful view of Soroti. I also saw three monkeys! While today was great, I admit I was getting really tired of being white, and everyone making such a big deal over me. I want so much to just blend in, and not make babies cry. . . Just got back from prayers and dinner. I really enjoy singing hymns in the Teso language.
Thursday, February 25, 2009
I can’t believe I have gone almost an entire week without so much as seeing a single other white person or talking at all to another American. Around 5 p.m. I walked with Father to a neighbor’s house (aka a mile away), because the man has really innovative farming techniques. He gave us a tour, and apparently people from all over Uganda (including the government) come to learn from him. He does a lot of cross-breeding with plants and animals and is working on new irrigation methods. It was really interesting especially to see how the people here are taking their future into their own hands and being innovative. I’m about to go to sleep…I am getting picked up at 10 in the morning tomorrow. It’s been a wonderful experience.
P.S. The Teso phrase after sneezing, translated literally, means “grow up”.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
…I am staying with the Okol family, and they are of the Teso tribe (which I just learned today have been split by the border of Uganda and Kenya). When I first arrived yesterday morning, I was greeted by Mama, who gave me a tour of the compound. There is one main house made of brick and a tin roof, then there are four traditional mud huts with straw thatched roofs (I slept in one of these). Then down a path, there is a tiny hut as the latrine. They grow many things on their land, like avocados, oranges, mangos, guavas, and sweet potatoes, but since it is the dry season nothing is ripe. Anyway, that first day Father (Stephen) was gone the whole day to attend a funeral. I spent about an hour cracking open ground nuts (similar to peanuts) in silence with the girls that live here, since they don’t speak English. There is a lot of silence here, but its so peaceful…We went to church this morning, where I was welcomed with a song and a “big clap”. I was asked to give a sermon, so I used the passage in 1 Corinthians about the body of Christ. Afterwards we walked into Kyere town to buy some greens for lunch, which of course turned into a several hour ordeal, since we must greet every single person that walks by. I must have met about 200 different people.
Monday, Feb 23, 8:00 a.m.
Last night as I was falling asleep, I tried to imagine being back in America, but it is getting harder and harder to remember what it feels like, especially living in a rural area like this. I kind of feel like I’m in a weird cultural purgatory, where the African culture is foreign (although I’m starting to feel accustomed to it), but if I was back home, the American culture would be familiar yet unappealing…The days here are incredibly long, and I am amazed when they finally end. Here are some random observations:
-chickens/goats everywhere
-donating and selling eggs for church donations
-Karamajong tribe has stole my family’s cattle 20 years ago
-Guests eat meat and eggs, so everyone was surprised to see me carry greens (similar to spinach)
-“snaps” = photographs (i.e. “Let’s take a snap”)
-Had conversation with host dad about Amin. He was fine saying that he was just put in place by God. It was a little frustration to see apathetic attitude about someone like Idi Amin, but I don’t know if its necessarily wrong.
-Passed an empty ginnery that used to be owned by Asians, but they were run out by Amin
-Had terrible dream about being forced to eat a chicken gizzard
Later that day…
I went to fill up their jerrycans with water from the local well, which is about 1 mile away. The sun is brutal here, and I felt like I was going to pass out because I was so thirsty. It really made me remember the people who live in conditions like this, and actually have zero access to water. I just ate lunch while watching a 6” mini tv that Father had hooked up to a huge battery for a couple minutes. They were covering the Oscars. It was very surreal to see that while sitting in the middle of Africa.
Tuesday, February23, 2009 8:00 pm
The biggest spider I have ever seen in my LIFE just ran in front of my feet (Antony stomped on it, thankfully). [Ellen, if you are reading this, I don’t think you could come to Africa…this spider was a monster] If God protects me from getting crawled on by that during this homestay, I will never complain about insects ever again. Ever.
This morning, I left around 10 a.m. with Father to bike ride to a nearby church for a baptism service. The ride was about 30 minutes long, through the Kyere village, and was just wonderful. It was a rough dirt path, with picturesque African bush all around. I was (yes, once again), spur-of-the-moment asked to give a sermon, so I used Galatians 3:26 and told the people that their American brothers and sisters in Christ keep them constantly in their prayers…After the service, Father had to stay around for a meeting with other teachers to talk about a school they might be building in the area. The meeting lasted for a good four hours, with me just sitting there daydreaming, because I couldn’t understand anything that was said. A good description of my experience that came to mind was that it compared to Merry and Pippin’s at the Meeting of the Ents in Lord of the Rings. When the meeting ended, we all rode our bikes to a close home for lunch. All the teachers were astounded that I was eating the local millet bread (which I happen to love. Side note: the best description of this bread is that its crap-colored, snot-textured dough. Don’t ask me why I like it). Father translated for me what everyone was saying about me. He was telling them that I eat all the local food and do all the same house work as the rest of the family. A woman teacher told me that it made her so happy to see white people like me, that learn their culture and assimilate fast.
Wednesday, Feb 24, 2009 ?p.m.
Today I stayed at home the whole day while Father and the children went off to school. I helped my host mother wash dishes, I washed my clothes, went to the bore hole (pump well), and carried the jerrycans on my head for the first time! After lunch, I toop a nap, during which I dreamt I was standing in a parking lot in America, dancing to a Sam Cooke song [interpretations, anyone?]. I think my brain is trying to adjust to the lack of musical stimulation, since I spend so much time listening and playing music back in America. Today, while washing clothes, I tried to sing one song from every Beatles album in chronological order, just to keep that part of my brain stimulated. After lunch I walked with Father to this huge rock formation and hiked up it, and we got a wonderful view of Soroti. I also saw three monkeys! While today was great, I admit I was getting really tired of being white, and everyone making such a big deal over me. I want so much to just blend in, and not make babies cry. . . Just got back from prayers and dinner. I really enjoy singing hymns in the Teso language.
Thursday, February 25, 2009
I can’t believe I have gone almost an entire week without so much as seeing a single other white person or talking at all to another American. Around 5 p.m. I walked with Father to a neighbor’s house (aka a mile away), because the man has really innovative farming techniques. He gave us a tour, and apparently people from all over Uganda (including the government) come to learn from him. He does a lot of cross-breeding with plants and animals and is working on new irrigation methods. It was really interesting especially to see how the people here are taking their future into their own hands and being innovative. I’m about to go to sleep…I am getting picked up at 10 in the morning tomorrow. It’s been a wonderful experience.
P.S. The Teso phrase after sneezing, translated literally, means “grow up”.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Until Next Sunday...
Well, I am leaving for rural homestays tomorrow, so I won't have internet (or electricity, or running water) for the next week. I come back next Sunday. We will all be with families in the Soroti area of Uganda, which is about six hours north of Mukono.
Anyway, some interesting developments occurred over the past week. There was a terrorist threat against UCU, with a line specifically addressing the Americans. The U.S. Embassy is currently investigating, but we haven't been allowed to leave campus for the past week (except the IMME students, who have to get driven home) and we have extra guards around our dorms. The program emailed our parents and universities letting them know about the situation (I just got an email from Bettie Ann from Eastern letting us know they are praying for us and our safety). None of the students feel unsafe or anything, and the most we were worried about was how our parents would react. We are still going on the homestays and everything, and they will just extend the time we are away if there's another threat or bad developments. Actually, we have another meeting tonight to talk about it. Besides that specific threat, we have to be extra cautious because apparently Somalia (the al-queda presence in Somalia) is getting pretty fired up at the Ugandan 'peacekeeping troops' that are still occupying the area. I don't know a lot about whats going on with that situation, because its not being covered a lot in the news.
This morning we had a non-academic group meeting for a couple of the American students who are reading the book Girl Soldier, which was written by a former UCU student that had been abducted by the LRA as a child. It is an interesting read for anyone interested in the subject. It gives really good factual background of the conflict along with the personal story of a young Christian girl who surived it. Grace (the girl in the story) has amazing faith that stayed with her even through the horrors of the LRA.
We got on the subject of Invisible Children, because they are coming out with a new film that is premiering soon. A couple of girls and I are going to try and contact the office in Kampala when we get back from homestays to try and get a copy of it to show on the UCU campus, and maybe try to visit the office and talk to them. Reading the Girl Soldier book is really getting me anxious to start my summer in Pader, but I know I still have a lot to learn here on campus. Well, I'm off to lunch soon...I'll be back next Sunday!
Anyway, some interesting developments occurred over the past week. There was a terrorist threat against UCU, with a line specifically addressing the Americans. The U.S. Embassy is currently investigating, but we haven't been allowed to leave campus for the past week (except the IMME students, who have to get driven home) and we have extra guards around our dorms. The program emailed our parents and universities letting them know about the situation (I just got an email from Bettie Ann from Eastern letting us know they are praying for us and our safety). None of the students feel unsafe or anything, and the most we were worried about was how our parents would react. We are still going on the homestays and everything, and they will just extend the time we are away if there's another threat or bad developments. Actually, we have another meeting tonight to talk about it. Besides that specific threat, we have to be extra cautious because apparently Somalia (the al-queda presence in Somalia) is getting pretty fired up at the Ugandan 'peacekeeping troops' that are still occupying the area. I don't know a lot about whats going on with that situation, because its not being covered a lot in the news.
This morning we had a non-academic group meeting for a couple of the American students who are reading the book Girl Soldier, which was written by a former UCU student that had been abducted by the LRA as a child. It is an interesting read for anyone interested in the subject. It gives really good factual background of the conflict along with the personal story of a young Christian girl who surived it. Grace (the girl in the story) has amazing faith that stayed with her even through the horrors of the LRA.
We got on the subject of Invisible Children, because they are coming out with a new film that is premiering soon. A couple of girls and I are going to try and contact the office in Kampala when we get back from homestays to try and get a copy of it to show on the UCU campus, and maybe try to visit the office and talk to them. Reading the Girl Soldier book is really getting me anxious to start my summer in Pader, but I know I still have a lot to learn here on campus. Well, I'm off to lunch soon...I'll be back next Sunday!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Great Out There
This a song by some random woman named Somethingorother Werner. Mark Bartels played it for us USP students in the beginning of the semester to get us pumped about being in a different culture. The girl its about is named Kate! (And there's a reference to you Martha, except you're in a different country too, not a flat state haha)
Catherine flew out to Senegal
In her Malian motley robes
In her voice were more colours than the rainbow she wore
And her cheeks were sweet Irish rose
She talked of dancing in bars in Dakar
To that African high-life jive
Her ma said, "Girl you're gonna get yourself killed"
She says, "I'm going just to be alive"
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update, Kate, to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
She sent me a card from Zanzibar
From Khartoum and Marrakesh
And then later that year some letters appeared
From Nepal and Bangladesh
At first the words were laughter
The strange ways we live in peace
The next, the words were blurred with tears
The war, the famine, the disease
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
I was born in Iowa
And that's where they'll bury me too
And the sacred things I hold near and dear
Are probably the same for you
So I'm glad I got my friend Catherine
'Cos she needs to know the new
Oh I spend my time wrapped up in my tribe
Well she brings the world into view
Catherine came back from India
With malaria in her veins
But the fire returned to her clear blue eyes
Just as soon as it whirled from her brain
I said, "Catherine who will you be
When you're finally who you are?"
She just smiled and said, "We'll see won't we
But there'll be more to be by far"
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
Catherine flew out to Senegal
In her Malian motley robes
In her voice were more colours than the rainbow she wore
And her cheeks were sweet Irish rose
She talked of dancing in bars in Dakar
To that African high-life jive
Her ma said, "Girl you're gonna get yourself killed"
She says, "I'm going just to be alive"
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update, Kate, to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
She sent me a card from Zanzibar
From Khartoum and Marrakesh
And then later that year some letters appeared
From Nepal and Bangladesh
At first the words were laughter
The strange ways we live in peace
The next, the words were blurred with tears
The war, the famine, the disease
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
I was born in Iowa
And that's where they'll bury me too
And the sacred things I hold near and dear
Are probably the same for you
So I'm glad I got my friend Catherine
'Cos she needs to know the new
Oh I spend my time wrapped up in my tribe
Well she brings the world into view
Catherine came back from India
With malaria in her veins
But the fire returned to her clear blue eyes
Just as soon as it whirled from her brain
I said, "Catherine who will you be
When you're finally who you are?"
She just smiled and said, "We'll see won't we
But there'll be more to be by far"
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
Friday, February 13, 2009
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold
I think I will use this post to address some political issues in Uganda, which is what I've been studying most here. This semester is pretty freeing for me, since I am taking all classes that will transfer as electives at Eastern. I got to choose classes that are just interesting without any pressure, which means I get to fulfill my alter-ego as a Poly-Sci major for just one semester. I am taking East African Politics, Democracy and Human Rights, and Ugandan Politics right now. It is a really interesting perspective, coming as an American to the subject of democracy in a country where the democratic process is currently very fragile. As I mentioned before, their president has been in power for an extended amount of time, and recently "amended" the constitution to abolish term limits. Many people are skeptical about the outcome of the anticipated 2011 elections in Uganda.
A lot of people back home are at least vaguely aware of some of Uganda's history, especially Idi Amin. Just some quick background then: Uganda was a British colony, gained independence in 1962 with Obote as its first president. Idi Amin took power in 1970 in a military coup supported by the British, with the international community and most Ugandans excited about his charismatic promise as a revolutionary leader. He ended up killing over 300,000 Ugandans during his rule. We just watched the film The Last King of Scotland which depicts Amin coming into power up until the hostage situation at Entebbe airport (when everyone finally realized how crazy Amin actually was, leading to the decline in international support). It is actually a relatively accurate portrayal of Uganda then, even if the story about the Scottish doctor is fictional. A couple of the staff here at UCU are extras in the movie. Watching the movie here is really crazy, just seeing everything and recognizing places...this campus was even the site of a battle with Libyan forces under Amin. Anyway, after Amin, Obote came back to power (this term is usually called Obote II), and turned out to be even more violent, killing more Ugandans than even Amin. Then there was an interim of three short-term presidents until Museveni took power in a military coup (there's a lot of these here...This is Africa).
Museveni is a whole different blog post, but in short, he had a lot of promise in the beginning (like the others), but is currently showing some alarming tendencies, like getting really restrictive on the media. I read the Monitor, the local independent paper, at least a couple times a week. It tends to be really critical of the government, with some of its editors and journalists being arrested by the president at certain times. The government is actually trying to pass some media restriction legislation, and came out with a list of about 32 radio and tv stations that they are trying to close.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Do_not_kill_the_messenger_79547.shtml
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Govt_to_close_32_radio_TV_stations_78914.shtml
I try to keep tabs on the New Vision newspaper too, which is government owned. [For Kevin: There actually isn't a lot of American media present here, maybe with the exception of movies aired on the local television stations once a month. The last time I saw any American news source was when NTV aired CNN for the inauguration. For the most part its these two local newspapers, and local stations. The only major western media source I've noticed is BBC News, but usually just people who've studied at university tend to use it. There definitely is not a lot of variety for information though, because its these two main newspapers (online news is way less used, because most don't have electricity, let alone computers or internet), and a couple of television stations. The major ones I've seen are NTV and CBS (which is owned by the Buganda tribe). I think radio stations are much more popular than tv, especially in rural areas since most people don't have money for a television. But, I guess there's going to be a lot less diversity since the government is trying to shut down 18% of the stations. http://cpj.org/2009/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2008-uganda.php]
Anyway, I know that a lot of people are interested in the conflict in the north, between the UDPF (Ugandan Army) and the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, started out with the intention of overthrowing the current government and instituting his own on the basis of the 10 commandments. He began to target the Acholi people of Northern Uganda, and began to abduct children to fill his ranks when he began to lose public support. The Acholi and other northern Ugandans were forced into government-protected and regulated Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps, which are actually in really bad condition and are contributing to a lot of the North's instability and underdevelopment. (I've had breakfast a couple times with a girl named Cathy from Pader district in the North, who lived most of her life in an IDP camp. Both of her parents died in the war, and she is now taking care of her younger three orphaned siblings. She said she can barely keep from crying when she thinks of the conditions in those camps.) Since Kony began his campaign, about 23 years ago, he has obviously strayed a lot from that original goal and no one can really guess what his intentions are. Right now he is operating in eastern Congo, pillaging and raping and abducting children there. The Congolese government has given the UPDF until the end of the month to get Kony out, or else they must leave the country. Apparently, they are nervous that the UPDF will establish a presence in the resource-rich Congo.
I will be able to write a lot more about the conditions in the north when I live in Pader district for four months this summer, but this is just a little background of what's going on.
On a completely different note, in African Literature class we are reading Achebe's Things Fall Apart. We first read the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats (my favorite poet of all time), which is where Achebe drew inspiration for his title. I just wanted to share the poem with everyone, it is really incredible:
THE SECOND COMING
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
A lot of people back home are at least vaguely aware of some of Uganda's history, especially Idi Amin. Just some quick background then: Uganda was a British colony, gained independence in 1962 with Obote as its first president. Idi Amin took power in 1970 in a military coup supported by the British, with the international community and most Ugandans excited about his charismatic promise as a revolutionary leader. He ended up killing over 300,000 Ugandans during his rule. We just watched the film The Last King of Scotland which depicts Amin coming into power up until the hostage situation at Entebbe airport (when everyone finally realized how crazy Amin actually was, leading to the decline in international support). It is actually a relatively accurate portrayal of Uganda then, even if the story about the Scottish doctor is fictional. A couple of the staff here at UCU are extras in the movie. Watching the movie here is really crazy, just seeing everything and recognizing places...this campus was even the site of a battle with Libyan forces under Amin. Anyway, after Amin, Obote came back to power (this term is usually called Obote II), and turned out to be even more violent, killing more Ugandans than even Amin. Then there was an interim of three short-term presidents until Museveni took power in a military coup (there's a lot of these here...This is Africa).
Museveni is a whole different blog post, but in short, he had a lot of promise in the beginning (like the others), but is currently showing some alarming tendencies, like getting really restrictive on the media. I read the Monitor, the local independent paper, at least a couple times a week. It tends to be really critical of the government, with some of its editors and journalists being arrested by the president at certain times. The government is actually trying to pass some media restriction legislation, and came out with a list of about 32 radio and tv stations that they are trying to close.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Do_not_kill_the_messenger_79547.shtml
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Govt_to_close_32_radio_TV_stations_78914.shtml
I try to keep tabs on the New Vision newspaper too, which is government owned. [For Kevin: There actually isn't a lot of American media present here, maybe with the exception of movies aired on the local television stations once a month. The last time I saw any American news source was when NTV aired CNN for the inauguration. For the most part its these two local newspapers, and local stations. The only major western media source I've noticed is BBC News, but usually just people who've studied at university tend to use it. There definitely is not a lot of variety for information though, because its these two main newspapers (online news is way less used, because most don't have electricity, let alone computers or internet), and a couple of television stations. The major ones I've seen are NTV and CBS (which is owned by the Buganda tribe). I think radio stations are much more popular than tv, especially in rural areas since most people don't have money for a television. But, I guess there's going to be a lot less diversity since the government is trying to shut down 18% of the stations. http://cpj.org/2009/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2008-uganda.php]
Anyway, I know that a lot of people are interested in the conflict in the north, between the UDPF (Ugandan Army) and the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, started out with the intention of overthrowing the current government and instituting his own on the basis of the 10 commandments. He began to target the Acholi people of Northern Uganda, and began to abduct children to fill his ranks when he began to lose public support. The Acholi and other northern Ugandans were forced into government-protected and regulated Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps, which are actually in really bad condition and are contributing to a lot of the North's instability and underdevelopment. (I've had breakfast a couple times with a girl named Cathy from Pader district in the North, who lived most of her life in an IDP camp. Both of her parents died in the war, and she is now taking care of her younger three orphaned siblings. She said she can barely keep from crying when she thinks of the conditions in those camps.) Since Kony began his campaign, about 23 years ago, he has obviously strayed a lot from that original goal and no one can really guess what his intentions are. Right now he is operating in eastern Congo, pillaging and raping and abducting children there. The Congolese government has given the UPDF until the end of the month to get Kony out, or else they must leave the country. Apparently, they are nervous that the UPDF will establish a presence in the resource-rich Congo.
I will be able to write a lot more about the conditions in the north when I live in Pader district for four months this summer, but this is just a little background of what's going on.
On a completely different note, in African Literature class we are reading Achebe's Things Fall Apart. We first read the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats (my favorite poet of all time), which is where Achebe drew inspiration for his title. I just wanted to share the poem with everyone, it is really incredible:
THE SECOND COMING
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
"I eat rice, I eat beans, I eat matooke...That's it." -Jones
This morning I woke up at 5:30 in the morning (I know! So early!) and went with my friend Violah to morning prayer in the Bishop Tucker chapel. It was a really wonderful way to start the day, followed by a breakfast of tea and a banana. I miss everyone at home a whole lot, and I would love to see the snow everyone is talking about! I am finally feel almost completely adjusted to my school life here, especially since I have kind of figured out a schedule for myself. For the past couple of weeks we've been jumping around and changing places so it was hard to feel like I had a stable place to call "home" here, but now that we are back on campus its a lot more comfortable. My roommate Beth and I really hit it off, so it is nice to have a good friend here. We get to hang out with the honors college students a lot, especially since the internet only works in the lounge of the guys' dorm building (where I'm sitting right now). So it ends up being a nice hang out for everyone when we're all doing homework or facebooking (or blogging). I only have one class today, Democracy and Human Rights, so I think I'm going to walk into Mukono and finally get around to mailing some letters.
[side note: letters will always be appreciated by me, so here's my mailing address: Katy Slininger, Uganda Studies Program, Uganda Christian University, P.O. Box 4, Mukono, Uganda]
I also have to get some laundry done today. For those of you at home who do not fully appreciate your washing machine, let me describe what the process is like here in Uganda. First, you fill up two basins with water (if you are in a home, you walk to the local well, fill up jerrycans, and lug them back to pour in the basins. Thankfully we have running water on campus). You put soap in one of the basins, and scrub all of your clothes in this basin, ring it out thoroughly, then rinse it in the second basin. Dump out the water from the soapy basin and refill with fresh water, and rinse clothes for the second time. Ring out, then hang out on the line to dry. The scrubbing process is extremely damaging to our uncalloused American hands, so all of us have bloody knuckles by the end of laundry day! So, next time you throw your clothes in a machine thank God for the technology he's blessed you with!
Let me know if you have any specific questions about life here. Its hard to pick out certain things to write about, so I would love to answer questions!
[side note: letters will always be appreciated by me, so here's my mailing address: Katy Slininger, Uganda Studies Program, Uganda Christian University, P.O. Box 4, Mukono, Uganda]
I also have to get some laundry done today. For those of you at home who do not fully appreciate your washing machine, let me describe what the process is like here in Uganda. First, you fill up two basins with water (if you are in a home, you walk to the local well, fill up jerrycans, and lug them back to pour in the basins. Thankfully we have running water on campus). You put soap in one of the basins, and scrub all of your clothes in this basin, ring it out thoroughly, then rinse it in the second basin. Dump out the water from the soapy basin and refill with fresh water, and rinse clothes for the second time. Ring out, then hang out on the line to dry. The scrubbing process is extremely damaging to our uncalloused American hands, so all of us have bloody knuckles by the end of laundry day! So, next time you throw your clothes in a machine thank God for the technology he's blessed you with!
Let me know if you have any specific questions about life here. Its hard to pick out certain things to write about, so I would love to answer questions!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Weekend in Jinja
Yesterday I got back from a weekend retreat in the town of Jinja, which sits right on Lake Victoria near the beginning of the Nile River. All of the USP students went with the Ugandan Honors College students to Kingfisher Safari Resort to just relax before our fourth week of school started. It was so relaxing and was beautiful weather the whole time. The resort was made up of individual hut-shaped buildings with mango and palm trees everywhere, all overlooking the lake. On Saturday, I hung out in the pool, and went on a boat ride out onto the Nile River! Then Beth (my AWESOME roommate here at school) and I played Uno with the other students and went for a late night swim. Sunday morning I woke up at 6 in the morning to watch the sun rise over Lake Victoria...it was so beautiful it didn't even seem real. When it was still dark I watched the local fishermen on their boats dragging fishing nets in, with their lanterns giving the only light on the horizon. After that, we had worship, and one of the honors college guys gave the sermon. We left to come back after lunch, right as it was starting to rain. It was really a perfectly relaxing weekend! I will write more tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great day!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Homestay!
I am currently on a two week home stay, where I am living with a Ugandan family in the town of Mukono, within walking distance of the university. I share a room in the house with another American USP student, and the family we are staying with is pretty big. There are five children, (Daphne, Desmond, David, Douglas, and Denise) their mother Rebecca, and Rebecca’s sister. Ananias, the father, is currently working in London, but frequently calls to check up on the family. There is a pretty consistent schedule in the household…everyone wakes up before eight, Mama or Daphne washes dishes from the night before, they walk to the market to purchase food from the market, start preparing lunch, and the boys or their aunt walk down to the well to fill up the jerrycans with clean water. They eat lunch around three, then wash dishes, prepare food for dinner and tea time, we have tea (with a snack) around 7:30 while watching the family’s favorite Spanish soap opera, then bathe the children with the water that just finished boiling. We finish cooking dinner and eat around 10 or 10:30 at night. Since yesterday, though, me and the other USP student Kristen have been going to class all day, so we don’t get home until around tea time. It is a 45 minute walk between home and campus through the town of MukonoThe children are all wonderful and a lot of fun. Daphne, who is 11 years old, is extremely intelligent and helps translate everything for us and teaches us how to wash our dishes in their special routine. She is leaving for boarding school next Monday though. Desmond (9) and David (5) are a handful, but are both super observant. Douglas is very rambunctious, and doesn’t really enjoy wearing clothes very often, and Denise is one of the calmest and quietest toddlers I have ever met. Yesterday, the family all sat down and watched the inauguration of Obama together (the local news station was airing CNN for it), and Douglas kept running around saying “obamaobamaobamaobamaobama”! Many Ugandans and other Africans I have met are very excited about our new president, for several reasons. In Uganda, there has been a long history of corrupt presidencies, and their current President Museveni has been in power for over 20 years. Also, Africa very rarely has a peaceful transfer of power, so America’s peaceful process of handing over control of the country is fascinating and inspiring to them. Another aspect is that there is a lot of tribal prejudices in this country, so they really understand the significance in the election of a black man in America.
The family has also been teaching us how to cook some traditional Ugandan foods, like matoke, posho, and japote (I probably spelled all of those wrong), over small charcoal stoves outside. The home consists of two buildings, the main house which has all the bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a bathing room. Behind the house there is a small building with three rooms, a kitchen, a storage room, and a playroom. The latrines (a stall with a hole in the ground) are separate from the house too. That is a challenge in itself because every time I go, I pray to God to spare me from the cockroaches that live in there! Every chore that would traditionally be relatively simple in the U.S. is a long and drawn out processes with many steps. For example, at home, to take a bath you just step into the shower. Well, here, they have to walk down a hill to a well, fill a jerrycan with water, lug that back up the hill, boil it over a charcoal stove, carry it into the house, pour it into a basin, fill it with some cold water to even the temperature, then you just splash the water from the basin on you to wash. So, the day is very long, but it really makes you appreciate the final product when it takes so much work.
I also got my service project assignment this week, but it wasn’t my first choice, which was to work with Off-tu. I am now going to be serving on campus, either at the day care or the children’s library, so I am looking forward to starting that in two weeks. My classes are going very well, and I am finally feeling very comfortable in my schedule here. The Ugandan Honors College students at UCU are really accepting and are so friendly and helpful. I have gotten to know a couple of girls on my hall really well, like Viola, Trisha, and Agatha. I am very healthy and am enjoying the food here. Well, I am heading to lunch now (rice and beans again!).
I will try and post a photo on here tomorrow, when I have an hour or two to spare!
The family has also been teaching us how to cook some traditional Ugandan foods, like matoke, posho, and japote (I probably spelled all of those wrong), over small charcoal stoves outside. The home consists of two buildings, the main house which has all the bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a bathing room. Behind the house there is a small building with three rooms, a kitchen, a storage room, and a playroom. The latrines (a stall with a hole in the ground) are separate from the house too. That is a challenge in itself because every time I go, I pray to God to spare me from the cockroaches that live in there! Every chore that would traditionally be relatively simple in the U.S. is a long and drawn out processes with many steps. For example, at home, to take a bath you just step into the shower. Well, here, they have to walk down a hill to a well, fill a jerrycan with water, lug that back up the hill, boil it over a charcoal stove, carry it into the house, pour it into a basin, fill it with some cold water to even the temperature, then you just splash the water from the basin on you to wash. So, the day is very long, but it really makes you appreciate the final product when it takes so much work.
I also got my service project assignment this week, but it wasn’t my first choice, which was to work with Off-tu. I am now going to be serving on campus, either at the day care or the children’s library, so I am looking forward to starting that in two weeks. My classes are going very well, and I am finally feeling very comfortable in my schedule here. The Ugandan Honors College students at UCU are really accepting and are so friendly and helpful. I have gotten to know a couple of girls on my hall really well, like Viola, Trisha, and Agatha. I am very healthy and am enjoying the food here. Well, I am heading to lunch now (rice and beans again!).
I will try and post a photo on here tomorrow, when I have an hour or two to spare!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Mzungu! ("white person")
It is the end of another day in Uganda! I had my first African Literature class today, and our professor is probably my favorite so far. I also just finished the novel "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver, and I really think EVERYBODY should read that book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to read quality literature. Plus, a lot of the descriptions are applicable to aspects of Ugandan life and scenery. It is an incredible novel about the lives of the female members of the Price family, who are missionaries living in the Congo in the 1960s. It also delivers an excellent commentary on the involvement of missionaries and the Belgians in the Congo, and vividly describes the culture shock of the girls coming back to America after a life in Africa. Really, its amazing.
Anyway, tomorrow we are heading into the city of Kampala tomorrow for the first time, and Saturday I am moving in with a family to spend two weeks with them. I will be walking to school everyday, but eating and sleeping at the house in Mukono. Also, we signed up for service projects today. My first choice for the semester is to work with the Off-tu mission project, which goes into Kampala every Tuesday and runs a ministry with street children in the city. I'm not sure if I will get that one, but I am hoping for that. Thanks for everyone's prayers, and talk to everyone later!
Anyway, tomorrow we are heading into the city of Kampala tomorrow for the first time, and Saturday I am moving in with a family to spend two weeks with them. I will be walking to school everyday, but eating and sleeping at the house in Mukono. Also, we signed up for service projects today. My first choice for the semester is to work with the Off-tu mission project, which goes into Kampala every Tuesday and runs a ministry with street children in the city. I'm not sure if I will get that one, but I am hoping for that. Thanks for everyone's prayers, and talk to everyone later!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
First blog from Uganda!
Hi everybody! It is Sunday afternoon here in Mukono, and I just got back from walking around in the town with a group of students (mostly American, but we went with some of the Ugandan students too). All the little children stared and waved at us, probably because we looked like a silly parade of white people. I arrived at Entebbe airport on Friday morning, where I met two other USP (Uganda Studies Program) students, and we waited in the airport for about 12 hours until the rest of the students arrived. That night we drove about an hour and a half to the Uganda Christian University campus and received our housing assignments. I am in the Josephine Tucker dorm building with my roommate Beth. We have a view overlooking the rest of the dorm buildings and some of Mukono, since the building sits high on a hill. We had orientation yesterday with the USP staff, and did final registration for our classes. I am taking African Literature, Faith and Action, Democracy and Human Rights, East African Politics, and Ugandan Politics. Classes start early tomorrow morning! Here are some random thoughts from the time so far:
The Ugandans are incredibly friendly and helpful, and will come up to us in the dining hall just to sit down and chat.
It is pretty hot here, but definitely tolerable. It is the dry season, so the dirt is really dusty and makes all of our feet tannish-red during the day.
We have all been drinking a ton of water, which we get from clean water taps around campus.
So far, we’ve only had rice and beans for each meal, but it is actually really tasty, and they usually give us more than we can even finish.
The internet goes in and out, along with our electricity.
I usually share my cold shower with some crazy big grasshopper, a couple moths, and some flies.
It is extremely beautiful here, with amazing green trees that I’ve never seen before. On campus, there are beautiful brightly-colored birds, monkeys, lizards, and a rooster that occasionally sits in our dorm lounge with us.
Overall, it is amazing here, with the incredibly friendly and outgoing people, and the scenery. Thanks for everyone’s prayers, I am very safe and comfortable. Talk to everyone later!
The Ugandans are incredibly friendly and helpful, and will come up to us in the dining hall just to sit down and chat.
It is pretty hot here, but definitely tolerable. It is the dry season, so the dirt is really dusty and makes all of our feet tannish-red during the day.
We have all been drinking a ton of water, which we get from clean water taps around campus.
So far, we’ve only had rice and beans for each meal, but it is actually really tasty, and they usually give us more than we can even finish.
The internet goes in and out, along with our electricity.
I usually share my cold shower with some crazy big grasshopper, a couple moths, and some flies.
It is extremely beautiful here, with amazing green trees that I’ve never seen before. On campus, there are beautiful brightly-colored birds, monkeys, lizards, and a rooster that occasionally sits in our dorm lounge with us.
Overall, it is amazing here, with the incredibly friendly and outgoing people, and the scenery. Thanks for everyone’s prayers, I am very safe and comfortable. Talk to everyone later!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Leaving Soon!
I leave in about five hours to go to Newark airport! I have an overnight flight to London, and I get there at 9 in the morning (their time). I have a twelve hour layover, so I'm going to go into the city and see some high priority spots (i.e. Abbey Road, Westminster Abbey, and maybe Buckingham Palace). Then I have an 8:55 pm flight to Uganda. I get to Entebbe airport at 9 in the morning, their time. I'll have to sit in the airport and wait for the other students to arrive at night, then I'll continue on to school. There's a lot of waiting in airports over the next two days, so I'll definitely get some reading done!
Thanks to everyone who has helped me prepare over the past couple of months, and who have been very generous with their money, helping me get to Uganda. I will miss everyone a whole lot, and I will keep everyone in my prayers! To everyone at Eastern: have a great semester and summer, and I'll see everyone in the fall!
Thanks to everyone who has helped me prepare over the past couple of months, and who have been very generous with their money, helping me get to Uganda. I will miss everyone a whole lot, and I will keep everyone in my prayers! To everyone at Eastern: have a great semester and summer, and I'll see everyone in the fall!
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