ISP successes!

I’m so excited I don’t even know where to begin!  I could not ask for a better two days, and I’m pretty sure I have some more like this to look forward to.  I ended up meeting with Simprosa last week and everything has been changing so positively since then.  She is one of the most inspirational women I have ever met in my life and am so energized by her work.  Although I haven’t gained her full story yet, I can share that after living as a refugee in Kenya for about 10 years, escaping from the Lord’s Resistance Army here in Gulu, she was recruited by Wototo (an evangelical organization) to help women returning from the bush.  I won’t get too much into her story now because I can’t yet give it justice for how amazing it is, but basically success in one organization after another has brought her to founding her own organization because she realized that these big ones are too impersonal and turn away too many girls.  She knows she can do more.

Simprosa under the tree where she sells every day!

So on Friday Simon and I met up with her in her tiny office tucked away in a back street in Cerileno, on the opposite side of town as I live.  And when I say tiny, I mean 4 women (and 2 babies) are crammed into a 10x12’ office space.  I honestly don’t know how they make it.  But basically she was more than happy to invite me to come in to learn the following week from her and the 3 girls who work there.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, and so Sunday night I scribbled some questions just incase all that the next day turned into was a question/answer session for an hour or so.  It definitely turned out to be anything but.  I showed up around 10 and we got to chatting.  The questions were answered before I could ask them, as Simprosa is a very open woman.  She can just talk for such time and keep your attention.  She told me how she started, how she was going to be a teacher, and how God had other plans for her.  Since she has started Amani Uganda (Kiswahili for “peace”), she has been faced with many challenges but also has had some amazing successes.  She says how the generosity of people has really come out, as many have donated machines and even the office space is borrowed from a family friend.  It is small, as she expressed to me today, and she is looking for a bigger space, but one challenge leads to another.  Right now she only has enough machines for 3 girls, and therefore can only generate enough profit to pay them, and therefore not purchase any more equipment to be able to take on more girls, but even if she got the equipment, where could she fit it.  You see? It’s a never ending cycle.  And one of the hardest challenges is selling her crafts.

I first met Simprosa outside of Sankofa Café in Senior Quarters.  It’s a muzungu hang-out to say the least.  She sells her things under a tree just outside the front entrance.  I recently found out from her that she originally had asked the muzungu owner if she could sell her goods within, and after her being persistent and him ignoring her, she found out some time later that he didn’t want her there.  So, distraught she walked outside, worried that she would be carrying her things from street corner to street corner forever, and ran into the shopkeeper just outside.  “No problem,” she told her, “You can sell your things under this tree.”  And so there she is.  She is so thankful that these things work for her.

   

So anyway, back to my first day.  We were hanging out, chatting.  I was taking notes on some background information, etc. when Simprosa asked me if I wanted to here the girl’s testimonies.  I wasn’t expecting this at all, especially because my limited Acholi put a barrier on our relationship building, but I was also excited by the idea.  It took them a while to agree, but Simprosa encouraged them, telling them that the more they express themselves, the better they will feel.

Because they have asked me not to share, I will tell you that from the two testimonies I heard, both were abducted from their homes in Koc Goma, both were abducted at night, and both were given as wives and had children in the bush.  The few details they gave were horrific and I had one of those moments where I asked myself, “What the heck am I doing here?” and thinking, “This is not my place.”  How am I qualified to sit there and listen to these stories, and want to cry for these girls, when they are still going on living their lives, telling their stories to a complete stranger.  I can’t imagine what they went through.  But after I thanked them for sharing with me, it was beautiful to hear “apwoyo matek” from them, and Simprosa translating that they are so grateful that I will listen to them, that it means so much.

 

I’m pretty sure in those first 2 hours I had accomplished more of what I wanted to than I have in total at VISO.  It’s unfortunate that it has to be that way, but it also motivates me all the more.

After, Simprosa and I went to pick some fabric downtown.  She took me to this shop, the size of her shop, with wall-to-wall fabric.  Literally.  I wish I could take a picture.  You take your shoes off at the door and climb over piles, dig through, scramble up shelves, it’s crazy!  And Simprosa just confidently goes it, grabs six 12-yard pieces, pays her money and walks out.  I carried them for her (one of the biggest work-outs I’ve gotten here) and the plastic bag snapped after about only 7 minutes.  She said she gets this much after every 2 weeks, and I believe it, those girls are determined and really get excited about their work.  The problem, Simprosa says, is getting people to buy.

I realize I’m rambling at this point, but I’m just so excited about this!  After we got back and had some tea, I went and sat with her under the tree outside Sankofa and we sewed bird ornaments.  More like I tried to sew one and messed it up, but it was cool to just hang out with her.  And today, when I showed up at the office, and she wasn’t yet there, the girls joked as they put me to work cutting, “Much easier than stitch.”  Simprosa must have told them about the previous afternoon….

So I got to cut with them for a while, then Simprosa and I went back to the tree and took pictures of all the items.  We are going to make fliers to put up around town to attract more people to come out to check her things.  I’m excited and hope it will work.  ALSO if ya’ll are interested in any of the items in the pictures, the profits go to a really good cause helping formerly abducted women who are supporting not only their selves and their children, but other people’s children as well.  Contact me and I’ll bring something back for ya, they make great Christmas presents!!!

Other than filling my time hanging out with this amazing woman, I’m checking out other women’s empowerment related organizations in the area.  Just this afternoon I went to Mend, an Invisible Children sponsored organization.  I was skeptical, but getting a tour of the place changed my mind.  There is a great energy there and the products are excellently made.  And it’s also clear that it really does benefit the women.  I won’t get into the criticism because I’m in too positive a mood right now, but they definitely do have some doubtful aspects.  It’s cool to see IC doing something productive though.

Okay, that’s all for now I guess!

ISP struggles

A little update.  I’ve been enjoying living at the new house.  Missing my family but it’s nice to be on my own schedule and to not feel bad about coming and going as I need.  We’ve started out with a few funny obstacles, like clogged drains, broken toilets, leaky spickets, but it also gives us a sense of really living here.  And let’s be real, I’m at my famiy’s house all the time, Mama’s cooking is too good to stay away. Also, since my home in Ariaga Central had solar panels, I never really was too affected by the power in Gulu Town being out for days at a time…I understand now.

I’ve been going to my internship also, but things there have been a bit frustrating.  I’ve had to learn what it is to work in the pace here, which has been a challenge.  The week before last, I was supposed to go to the field 4 out of 5 days, but unfortunately only made it out once, after waiting in the office for hours thinking we would be leaving “in just some few minutes.”  Going to the field also proved frustrating because when arriving, people were not so ready to receive us.  We did finally have a debate in the Koc Goma primary school.  I was impressed by the students, but worried that they did not fully understand the topic of their role in preventing sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).  Also, the critique after from teaches was focused mostly on pronunciation and grammar rather then on content.  It was evident that the lack of funds in this school takes a toll on both the students and teachers motivation levels.  This past week, however, we made it out to Alero on Tuesday for a debate in the primary school there.  This was much more successful and very inspiring.  The children took clear sides on the topic, arguing if it is children’s role to stop or adult’s.  The girls there also spoke with conviction and confidence, which was great to see in a society where normally girls are shy and repressed.  The teachers were very motivated here and clearly cared about their students, and so the effects of this were very positive.

Primary 7 student in Koc Goma giving his argument in the debate

Other than going to the field for the debates, I have been attending a training session for establishing IGAs (income generating activities) in rural communities.  It long and redundant, but kind of interesting.  The “students” are mostly community-based facilitators from the surrounding area who are there to learn to train the locals in their communities.  Since many places are so rural and literacy rates are low, we were taught to teach with a visual approach.  During this time I made a few friends.  I’ve never been so challenged to make friends, but I think everyone was too focused on the training to think about that.  My first friend, Sarah, told me her born-again church will save me, and my other friend, Pamela, told me I need a weave so I can really look Acholi.  Hmmm.

Unfortunately, my placement for internship is not working out too well since I am supposed to be focusing on women’s empowerment and have not yet done anything regarding this specifically.  The office is working on a proposal from Saturday to Saturday, so instead of participating (more like sitting there and doing nothing), I will be taking matters into my own hands and visiting places and people in Gulu focusing on women’s empowerment.  Tomorrow I am supposed to meet with a woman named Simprosa.  She was abducted by the LRA and after returning has decided to make it her life’s work to help other formerly abducted girls generate livelihoods by making handcrafts.  I hope to be able to spend a few days with her.  It’s unfortunate that my internship was not what I hoped, but it has taught me a lot about the struggles organizations here face, such as poor funding, impossibility of clear communication, lack of motivation, etc.

One of the obstacles going to the field faces.  This day we went in a CARE truck (since they are VISO's main donor, and after 30 minutes of driving on a very, very narrow road, we came  to a huge truck stuck going across the path. Not sure how it got like that, but we spent the next bit of time clearing a path to make it around.  Comical to look back on, but it also made us late for the debate.

So I’m looking forward to this week and making productive use of my time.  Even though I now have to make critical analysis of VISO and compare and contrast to other organizations in the area, I don’t regret being placed there.  It’s all part of the learning experience.

ISP

For ISP, (independent study project) we are basically on our own.  12 (out of 14) of us have decided to rent a house in Senior Quarters, a nice, safe, and fairly quiet part of town.  However, BJz, the local hotspot, is only a street away, and thus are lulled to sleep by the sounds of American pop music, 7 days a week.  The house is big, and for 1.5 million Ugandan shillings a month, it averages out that we're only paying about $50 US to live here.  We all miss our families, but it's nice to unpack everything and be able to wear shorts!  Also, my family lives about a 5 minute walk away and I frequently stop by to visit.  Here's a little tour of the new place:

The front gate-it's a secure compound surrounded by a 6' wall               Our rode! Yes, it's paved

                                             Not one.... but two tire swings!

Front of the house!

Side patio/front door, where the laundry happens (or doesn't happen)

Benefit to having your own orange orchard is we are saving on fresh produce!

Because we have 12 people living here, we sent the boys out to their traditional spot in the "boy's quarters." Complete with hot, running water and indoor plumbing!

  The kitchen, and our friend who hangs out there

Living room.  The house is SIT's new office next semester so they gave us all sorts of furniture

Olivia and my room! Some friends came over and made me that structure for my net, and Mama lent me the mattress... people here are too nice!

Girl's communal closet, and our bathroom.  Shower doesn't work, but bucket showers conserve more water anyway! and it's hot water!

Backyard, yes, thats a pit latrine back there

Back porch!

So this is my home into December, complete with fruit trees, chickens, cats, and children (the groundskeeper has the two cutest daughters ever!).  The hardest part of living here will be leaving.

It's not goodbye, it's see you later!

Michelle, Me, Jon Bosco, Merina, and Mama infront of the house

I’m finishing my final hours in my homestay now.  It’s bittersweet because as hectic as it always is, I’m going to miss the hussle and bussle of the Aludi house.  And as challenging as it was for me to have the little sisters (who officially turned four on Friday!), I love them so much and am fearing not having them around all the time.  I mean, my alarm clock broke, how will I wake up at 6:30 anymore?

Friends, Merina, and me dancing at the party

In about 30 minutes (which will probably turn into some time in the next 2 hours) we are having our farewell party.  Mama took me to town and had a dress made for me so I will be a real Acholi woman this afternoon.  This culture is the most accepting I have ever experienced.  Even if you just greet someone with a few Acholi words they instantly say, “Ah, you are Acholi now.”  I love it!  Hoping I can find someone to say “Kop ango?” to back in the US.

 Well a little update, I was in Mbale this past week for about 3 days.  Erik thought it would take 4 hours to get there, but it ended up taking 10, so our time was very limited.  But we did get to enjoy Sipi Falls.  It’s a beautiful place in the mountains of Eastern Uganda (where the temperature is significantly lower) that includes a number of waterfalls and hiking paths.  We got to play in the first fall for a while and cool off, but as we set out for our 2 hour hike, it started to downpour.  It was a lot of fun, but I made the misktake of wearing my showershoes that day, and because when the mud gets wet, it gets thick and cakey.  So my shoes lasted about a total of 5 minutes before they fell apart.  The next 2 hours I enjoyed the cold rain, amazing views, and possibility of getting jiggers in my feet.  I swear by the time we reached the van I had at least 3 inches of mud caked to my feet, almost like I had created some sort of natural shoes.

Destroyed shoes, tried to leave them in town for a local, but when I woke up the next morning someone had cleaned them, fixed them, and placed them outside of my door!

Two of the falls!

               

In Mbale we also visited a children’s home.  It is more of a rehabilitation center for street children.  It practices sustainable methods by giving the children a place to go to school for free and a safe place to spend the day, while also learning life skills and receive the needed psychological support.  It reminded me of a place in Guatemala that worked in a similar manner, rewarding successful students after time.  At first it may seem counterintuitive to send a street child back out after a day of lessons, but this place actually provides them with the knowledge to handle their living situations in a productive manner.

It was awesome to come back to Gulu and be received so warmly by my family.  Maybe its because we have short time left together, but we are just so excited to do things together now!  I cooked for mama last night while she watched her favorite soap “Beautiful but Unlucky.”  She really loves the quesadillas I make.  And I’ve gotten pretty good at making my own chippati.  Mama told me out of the 9 students she has had, only one other attempted to cook for her.  When I asked what, she couldn’t even speak she was laughing so hard.  Apparently the girl boiled apples (the most expensive fruit here) and the poured sugar on top.  Mama said it was so bad no one could force it down.  +1 for Charlotte!

After that, I met up with friends to go to a Halloween party at the Invisible Children house.  It was an interesting experience.  First off, I’ve forgotten what its like to be part of the majority.  So many muzugus there!  People got pretty into their costumes, too, which was pretty cool to experience in Uganda.  Rachelle and I ended up dressing as sailors, thinking we were going all out, but people literally were unrecognizable in body paint and extravagant getups.

Well I move into my new house tomorrow.  I’m excited for a change of scenery but I know I’ll be back here all the time for Mama’s cooking and her words of wisdom.  Its funny the ups and downs I’ve had with this family, and although there are some things that I just can’t bring myself to accept here, I overall love love love my Mama and sisters.

Back to Gulu!

Oops, sorry for no update recently! I’ve unfortunately taken the last week to recover from a mild bout of dysentery (yuck!).  I had originally written a post some time last week in-between naps but looking back on it, it was clearly the sickness talking and not something I feel sums up my experience.  So here is a quick summary of what’s up here in toasty Uganda while Sandy is pouring on ya’ll.

Lake Bunoni! Possibly the deepest lake in Africa

It’s kind of funny actually.  First, on our way back from Rwanda, we stopped at Lake Bunyoni, right outside of Kabali, across the Ugandan border.  We were pumped to take our boat taxis over to an island about 10 minutes away to have a picnic lunch.  However, when piling into the shaky tin boats, mother nature decided to downpour on us.  No problem, just a 10 minute boat ride in the rain!  But wait, when it rains there are waves, which create motor problems, which turn a 10 minute ride into a half hour excursion.  Sounds like fun, right?  It was pretty fun, just really chilly and resulted in a very soggy 5hr van ride back to Mbarara. 

But before reaching there, we had to then pick Erik (our AD) up in Kabali where we stopped to use the loo and buy some street food.  Mistake.  Apparently there’s an outbreak of Marburg there.  Have you heard of Ebola?  I suppose you could describe Marburg as the sister disease (don’t worry, those who have been diagnosed with it are responding positively to treatment!)  It’s also okay, because as frightening as it was to see Erik freaking out about us getting into the cars quickly, we are all Marburg free.

                                                                          Susan, Rachelle and me, a picture for you Momma, to prove I'm alive

Maybe I shouldn’t follow up that story with this, but keeping with telling things in sequential order, I finally got a little sick.  Not Marburg, just the dysentery.  And a minor case at that.  Basically I just had some bacteria hangin’ out in my tummy, as the doctor put it (with a straight face).  Again, it’s really not that bad, but going to the clinic got in the way of meeting with VISO where I will be doing my internship.  VISO is a smaller group affiliated with CARE International that focuses on women’s empowerment, sexual and gender based violence, and peace building in more rural areas.  I was supposed to go Wednesday instead, but Simon fell sick and therefore couldn’t make the meeting, so I ended up going on Thursday, to start TODAY.  But I’ll write about that in a bit…

The weekend was fun.  It was nice to be back with my sisters, and see my mama Rose briefly before she took off to Kampala to visit her second oldest (because she calls me her first born).  But most of the days were spent looking for housing and writing essays.  Since our ISP period is starting, we need to find a place of our own, so our group has decided to rent a big house in Senior Quarters, a safe neighborhood just outside of town.  I haven’t seen the place yet, but everyone else is pretty enthused.   After we move out, it will become the new SIT office, so everyone next semester is going to have a pretty legit site. 

                                                                                          Close up of the yummies

Also this weekend, Olivia's family invited a few of us over for a feast!  It was a little sample of every delicious Acholi dish possible.  Her family is really the nicest, and although may have the most rural homestead (no power or running water and utilize huts), they are easily the most welcoming.   If I come back to Gulu soon, I would absolutely consider staying with them.

   Chowin' down

So this morning I started my internship and spent my first day in the field.  I was really excited leading up to it and it is interesting how it worked out.  I arrived around 9, as I was told, and ended up leaving with Walter around 10:45.  We drove out to Koch Goma (remember the former IDP camp? Same place) and did some errands there.  If the ride out on the bike wasn’t so fun, I may have been a little frustrated with how inefficient things were.  There were such simple solutions for each order of business we need to attend.  Like the forms dropped off at the police station.  If there was power and a computer or fax, the forms easily could have been sent that way.  But since there aren’t, Walter has to return to bring more tomorrow because he didn’t bring enough.  It takes at least an hour to get there.  Then at the primary school they are organizing a debate between two primary schools about their ideas of sexual and gender based violence.  It’s a really awesome idea, especially for kids to be involved in stopping the issue at such a young age, but there is little communication between all the involved parties, and thus the debate needed to be rescheduled again.  Maybe if there was email correspondence, that would be an easy was to organize, but again, no power out there where it’s so rural.

It was further upsetting to visit this impoverished place because they have been so successful with programs set up by NGOs like VISO, however nature still is against these people; last night, 5 elephants came and destroyed the crops of a whole village.  It just goes to show that the people do so well with limited resources and then something completely out of their hands tears down their progress.

What my feet look like at the end of the day

I am looking forward to working with VISO.  Since I have been here, I have been increasingly disturbed by the way women are viewed in this society (and makes me realize how poorly the general image of women is globally).  So working with a cause that is focusing on bringing up the status of women is right up my alley.  Currently, the main project is called Roco Kwo (Acholi for “transforming lives”).  It is focusing on community peace building and women’s empowerment by encouraging women’s voices to be heard in local governments, and also implementing programs teaching about gender roles and how important it is for men to help with the family.

Tomorrow our group is off to Mbale, our final excursion until December.  I think we are all excited for our last hoorah before cracking down

The best surprise to come home to, 5 puppies!!!