2010-07-26
Back in Time to the Pryamids
So, I've promised myself that I would keep putting up some blog posts with pictures while I have the free time (and no job...anyone have a job for me?). I just went and saw Despicable Me this weekend and had to laugh to myself at the opening scene set at the Great Pyramids of Giza cause I was just there! Can you believe that? I know I can't. It was oddly correct in the representation...which was even funnier.
Kyle and I essentially went to Cairo as a means of seeing the pyramids. I mean, who gets to see the pyramids, right? We had the luck of having a great hotel who set us up with a driver and a guide to take us around Cairo and to Giza to see the sites. We also went to Sakkarah and Memphis to see some of the lesser known artifacts, pyramids and the alabaster sphinx.
We started off cutting through Cairo center and getting to snap some good pictures of the skyline there. Who knew that you could see the pyramids right from the city center?
We pulled up in our car and our driver introduced us to another man. I was kinda confused at this point but quickly ascertained that he was the owner of a pyramid tour company and that we were in for more than just seeing the pyramids. We asked us if we wanted a long or short trip and we quickly decided that the long trip was the answer...I mean, come on, how often are you chilling in the Egyptian desert to see the pyramids. So we go on a camel and horse, respectively. You can see our friendly camel with Kyle on his back below. We had yet another guide, who seemed too young to know his way around the mall let alone the pyramids, and off we went through Giza towards the pyramids, which loomed in the background in front of us.
We came through a security checkpoint where our guide clearly paid off the guard. He went through our bags and inspected us. Someone also put those head-thingies on us (which we didn't realize - of course - that we had to pay for). The guide who looked fifteen chastised us for taking the things and instructed us not to take anything from anyone on our journey...which was good advice to take not just for Cairo but the rest of our trip in Africa. The security guard was enamored with my three pens and gestured if he could have one. I said no, because I was suddenly afraid of getting taken advantage of. Looking back perhaps it wasn't the best decision I made on the trip given that this guard with machine gun wanted my fifty cent pen.
Our guide made us do ridiculous things that I am sure the tourists just eat up. Again, totally represented in Despicable Me (good movie, check it out). So we held the pryamids in our hands, pushed it from the side and jumped off the group like the fools we are:
Here's some final pictures of the sphinx and the pyramids up close:
Kyle and I essentially went to Cairo as a means of seeing the pyramids. I mean, who gets to see the pyramids, right? We had the luck of having a great hotel who set us up with a driver and a guide to take us around Cairo and to Giza to see the sites. We also went to Sakkarah and Memphis to see some of the lesser known artifacts, pyramids and the alabaster sphinx.
We started off cutting through Cairo center and getting to snap some good pictures of the skyline there. Who knew that you could see the pyramids right from the city center?
We pulled up in our car and our driver introduced us to another man. I was kinda confused at this point but quickly ascertained that he was the owner of a pyramid tour company and that we were in for more than just seeing the pyramids. We asked us if we wanted a long or short trip and we quickly decided that the long trip was the answer...I mean, come on, how often are you chilling in the Egyptian desert to see the pyramids. So we go on a camel and horse, respectively. You can see our friendly camel with Kyle on his back below. We had yet another guide, who seemed too young to know his way around the mall let alone the pyramids, and off we went through Giza towards the pyramids, which loomed in the background in front of us.
We came through a security checkpoint where our guide clearly paid off the guard. He went through our bags and inspected us. Someone also put those head-thingies on us (which we didn't realize - of course - that we had to pay for). The guide who looked fifteen chastised us for taking the things and instructed us not to take anything from anyone on our journey...which was good advice to take not just for Cairo but the rest of our trip in Africa. The security guard was enamored with my three pens and gestured if he could have one. I said no, because I was suddenly afraid of getting taken advantage of. Looking back perhaps it wasn't the best decision I made on the trip given that this guard with machine gun wanted my fifty cent pen.
Our guide made us do ridiculous things that I am sure the tourists just eat up. Again, totally represented in Despicable Me (good movie, check it out). So we held the pryamids in our hands, pushed it from the side and jumped off the group like the fools we are:
Here's some final pictures of the sphinx and the pyramids up close:
2010-07-25
Raising Voices // Center for Domestic Violence Prevention
!! A quick note that some of the pictures and description below are of an informational drama about domestic violence and potentially could be triggering for survivors or others sensitive to these issues. !!
One of the most memorable and intriguing things that happened on the trip was getting to visit two sister agencies in Kampala: Raising Voices and the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention. It was especially interesting to me given how much work I have done States-side around DV. I thought I would write a bit and load some multimedia about this experience.
We were feeling rushed at lunch because the agencies were expecting us soon and the food was running on Ugandan time again. That is to say that the food in Uganda tends to come at what can be described as the opposite of "fast food." We had sat down about an hour and a half ago to order lunch at this nice little place near the British Embassy. I was still waiting on my chicken tikka massala when Hugo began to organize the group towards the vans so that we would make it on time. Only as I stood up to leave did I quickly get handed my food and a take out container to take it in.
I just want to mention here how amazing the Indian food was all trip. Apparently there are large numbers of Indians who migrated to the Horn of Africa to set up businesses and resettle their families. This means that every other meal that we at while in Kenya and Uganda was Indian...delicious, delicious Indian. And an even further aside is that this is not an un-political issue. Indeed, Hugo was describing how Ida Amin expelled many of these Indians during his rein; Indians who were actually Uganda national citizens, many of whom were born and raised in the country. Only recently have reparations been made to these families who were pushed out of their own country.
But anyways...back to the story...so I'm running out of the restaurant, chicken tikka massala in hand. We took a short drive in our vans over to the two DV agencies, somehow miraculously arriving only five minutes late. We were introduced to two leaders of the agencies mentioned above who described their jobs and the work that the NGO's do. I think it was about this time that I suddenly had one (of many) epiphanies on the trip. Here I was in the global south, in a country considered to be developing...and yet I am hearing two NGO's talk about how they are doing AMAZING domestic violence work. Not just on par with what we do here in the States but even better. The way that they these two organizations focus on prevention as a means of utilizing very scarce resources was a testament to the leaders running the agencies. I asked the presenters about what guides their work and what they see as the root cause(s) of domestic violence and their answer seemed profound after years of struggling to come up with my own answers. They said that as much as power and control are definitional of domestic violence they are also the root causes...that is to say that power differences within a culture can be manifest through violence. When that violence is with close relationships we tend to call it domestic violence. This definition seemed so unhindered by the first wave feminist understanding that much of the DV orgs are hampered by in the states. It seemed so much on the forefront of what we are struggling with here in the US. A truly feminist and queer-sensitive understanding of domestic violence...
I was blown away to say the least. Susana and I chatted about this in the van later. We both have done work with mainstream DV agencies in Boston (Respond and T-House, respectively). We both talked about how we were shocked by the progressive nature of their understanding of DV and their novel approaches to addressing not only services but prevention! I think we both wished we could have heard them talk more because we wanted to bring back their knowledge to apply it back here in the USA. The van, and our two guides, took us through a winding tour of the city of Kampala and eventually found us in the center of a small village of homes. A small dirty and foul-smelling creek cut through the center, collecting trash and debris as it trickled along.
We were all a bit confused about what was going to happen. We had only heard that there would be a drama from the SASA group. We had learned that this is an all-volunteer group of people in communities who are trying to raise awareness about DV and do prevention work in the communities where there are problems. Craziest of all is that this organization is running an experimental design with this new drama group, with a control group with the standard intervention materials offered by the other DV agencies in the city.
We waited around the edge of this little square wondering what was about to occur. We wondered aloud if it would be another performance FOR us, where we would be treated like royalty coming to visit them. This, by the way, is a very strange feeling. It's odd to have people regard us twenty-somethings with such esteem without even knowing us. It undoubtedly has much to do with the color of our skin and the privilege of money that we carry with us. As we chatted, dancers began to perform and draw a crowd of passers-by:
It certainly drew in the people, including children and families who were home for the day. The little kids were too cute. Exhibit A:
And Exhibit B:
Here's a picture of the people starting to assemble:
The drama itself was fantastic. The all-volunteer troupe began to act out the story of a woman (below and right). (I should note that the drama was in what I think was Lugandan and we didn't understand...but the leaders of the agency translated for us as the play was going on.) Against the will of her husband, she gets tested for HIV only to find that she is positive. She comes to the home of a friend and confides in her. As she is telling this friend and receiving support, her husband (below left) comes home very angry. He begins to become verbally abusive and chases the woman's friend away. We later learn that in the process this woman breaks her leg trying to escape. He returns to his wife and begins to attack her physically. This portion of the play was really difficult to watch. The actors took great care with their parts. The woman seemed really scared and the man seemed really out of control. At points during the play a man with a bullhorn contraption would stop the action, the actors freezing in place. He would pose questions to the audience like "Was she right to get tested for HIV against the will of her husband?" The audience was very active in responding and openly discussed their feelings. At the start many were very leery of this woman who was going against the will of her husband. The play continued...
Seemingly out of the blue two other people came rushing onto the impromptu stage (below far left and far right), yelling and screaming and making noise. It was so startling that at first I thought it was someone making fun of the group or trying to disrupt the drama. But it turns out that it was very much part of the performance. These were two neighbors who ran off the abuser and provided support to the wife. Again the action would pause as questions were fired off towards the crowd. The mood began to shift and with prodding from this man with a bullhorn people were beginning to defend the woman. It was amazing how they were changing people's minds and hearts right as we watched...and with no props, no money, and an all-volunteer crew.
It was just so fantastic to see and organization using it's known resources in such a creative way to really create change. These young kids were there absorbing this important information, not just about DV but also HIV/AIDS and the importance of getting tested. It's hard to describe everything I was feeling and thinking but I hope this begins to convey some of what I think I learned and cherished from this amazing experience.
Cheers! Nathan
One of the most memorable and intriguing things that happened on the trip was getting to visit two sister agencies in Kampala: Raising Voices and the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention. It was especially interesting to me given how much work I have done States-side around DV. I thought I would write a bit and load some multimedia about this experience.
We were feeling rushed at lunch because the agencies were expecting us soon and the food was running on Ugandan time again. That is to say that the food in Uganda tends to come at what can be described as the opposite of "fast food." We had sat down about an hour and a half ago to order lunch at this nice little place near the British Embassy. I was still waiting on my chicken tikka massala when Hugo began to organize the group towards the vans so that we would make it on time. Only as I stood up to leave did I quickly get handed my food and a take out container to take it in.
I just want to mention here how amazing the Indian food was all trip. Apparently there are large numbers of Indians who migrated to the Horn of Africa to set up businesses and resettle their families. This means that every other meal that we at while in Kenya and Uganda was Indian...delicious, delicious Indian. And an even further aside is that this is not an un-political issue. Indeed, Hugo was describing how Ida Amin expelled many of these Indians during his rein; Indians who were actually Uganda national citizens, many of whom were born and raised in the country. Only recently have reparations been made to these families who were pushed out of their own country.
But anyways...back to the story...so I'm running out of the restaurant, chicken tikka massala in hand. We took a short drive in our vans over to the two DV agencies, somehow miraculously arriving only five minutes late. We were introduced to two leaders of the agencies mentioned above who described their jobs and the work that the NGO's do. I think it was about this time that I suddenly had one (of many) epiphanies on the trip. Here I was in the global south, in a country considered to be developing...and yet I am hearing two NGO's talk about how they are doing AMAZING domestic violence work. Not just on par with what we do here in the States but even better. The way that they these two organizations focus on prevention as a means of utilizing very scarce resources was a testament to the leaders running the agencies. I asked the presenters about what guides their work and what they see as the root cause(s) of domestic violence and their answer seemed profound after years of struggling to come up with my own answers. They said that as much as power and control are definitional of domestic violence they are also the root causes...that is to say that power differences within a culture can be manifest through violence. When that violence is with close relationships we tend to call it domestic violence. This definition seemed so unhindered by the first wave feminist understanding that much of the DV orgs are hampered by in the states. It seemed so much on the forefront of what we are struggling with here in the US. A truly feminist and queer-sensitive understanding of domestic violence...
I was blown away to say the least. Susana and I chatted about this in the van later. We both have done work with mainstream DV agencies in Boston (Respond and T-House, respectively). We both talked about how we were shocked by the progressive nature of their understanding of DV and their novel approaches to addressing not only services but prevention! I think we both wished we could have heard them talk more because we wanted to bring back their knowledge to apply it back here in the USA. The van, and our two guides, took us through a winding tour of the city of Kampala and eventually found us in the center of a small village of homes. A small dirty and foul-smelling creek cut through the center, collecting trash and debris as it trickled along.
We were all a bit confused about what was going to happen. We had only heard that there would be a drama from the SASA group. We had learned that this is an all-volunteer group of people in communities who are trying to raise awareness about DV and do prevention work in the communities where there are problems. Craziest of all is that this organization is running an experimental design with this new drama group, with a control group with the standard intervention materials offered by the other DV agencies in the city.
We waited around the edge of this little square wondering what was about to occur. We wondered aloud if it would be another performance FOR us, where we would be treated like royalty coming to visit them. This, by the way, is a very strange feeling. It's odd to have people regard us twenty-somethings with such esteem without even knowing us. It undoubtedly has much to do with the color of our skin and the privilege of money that we carry with us. As we chatted, dancers began to perform and draw a crowd of passers-by:
It certainly drew in the people, including children and families who were home for the day. The little kids were too cute. Exhibit A:
And Exhibit B:
Here's a picture of the people starting to assemble:
The drama itself was fantastic. The all-volunteer troupe began to act out the story of a woman (below and right). (I should note that the drama was in what I think was Lugandan and we didn't understand...but the leaders of the agency translated for us as the play was going on.) Against the will of her husband, she gets tested for HIV only to find that she is positive. She comes to the home of a friend and confides in her. As she is telling this friend and receiving support, her husband (below left) comes home very angry. He begins to become verbally abusive and chases the woman's friend away. We later learn that in the process this woman breaks her leg trying to escape. He returns to his wife and begins to attack her physically. This portion of the play was really difficult to watch. The actors took great care with their parts. The woman seemed really scared and the man seemed really out of control. At points during the play a man with a bullhorn contraption would stop the action, the actors freezing in place. He would pose questions to the audience like "Was she right to get tested for HIV against the will of her husband?" The audience was very active in responding and openly discussed their feelings. At the start many were very leery of this woman who was going against the will of her husband. The play continued...
Seemingly out of the blue two other people came rushing onto the impromptu stage (below far left and far right), yelling and screaming and making noise. It was so startling that at first I thought it was someone making fun of the group or trying to disrupt the drama. But it turns out that it was very much part of the performance. These were two neighbors who ran off the abuser and provided support to the wife. Again the action would pause as questions were fired off towards the crowd. The mood began to shift and with prodding from this man with a bullhorn people were beginning to defend the woman. It was amazing how they were changing people's minds and hearts right as we watched...and with no props, no money, and an all-volunteer crew.
It was just so fantastic to see and organization using it's known resources in such a creative way to really create change. These young kids were there absorbing this important information, not just about DV but also HIV/AIDS and the importance of getting tested. It's hard to describe everything I was feeling and thinking but I hope this begins to convey some of what I think I learned and cherished from this amazing experience.
Cheers! Nathan
2010-07-23
Some Favorite Pictures
So I have been sifting through too many pictures and trying to come up with some organization. I thought I would just post some of my favorites so far:
These are 1. Kenya Bay Beach Hotel 2. Kyle and I jumping (on command from our guide) 3. Amsterdam 4. Kyle the acrobat and 5. More commands from our guide. More to come!
2010-07-21
Home Safe
Our plane touched down in MA just a few hours ago. Well...most of us. It seems some confusion happened at Delta and at least one person was on a much later flight and won't arrive home until late tonight. But for the most part we are now state side and feeling that inevitable sinking feeling when returning home to a place that now seems as unfamiliar as Africa when we first touched down there. It's as odd to be surrounded by White faces as it was odd to be the minority there. It's odd to not see the dirty underbelly of abject poverty in the streets; odd to not smell the smoke of burning trash or the fumes of passing boda-boda's (bike-taxi's). As with all long trips, home has become our final foreign destination.
I'm pretty darn exhausted from the trip but I just couldn't hop on and post some pictures from Queen Elizabeth National Park, perhaps one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Well, don't take my word for it, take a gander as some of these pictures:
That top picture is of our hotel from the lake below. Our first full day included a boat safari around the lake, which was unbelievable in terms of wildlife and scenic views:
The first picture of this series shows you just how close we got to two African Elephants, who were coming down to the water to cool off and play. The second is of hippos on the left, and an elderly water buffalo to the right. Our guide explained that older males are rejected when they can no longer fight. They simply retire to the edge of the water, alone, waiting to die. The final picture in this series is of what I think (correct me if I'm wrong guys) a fishing eagle, which our guide explained is a close cousin to the bald eagle (it looks just like it in person).
And for good measure, here is a picture of a warthog in our hotel backyard, which seems fake...but they really do kneel like that. Also, look for the short video of the hippos surfacing on the lake.
Until I am more awake! Ciao! Nathan
2010-07-20
Final Post for the Trip Side
Hey all:
This will be our final post before leaving today. We fly out of Entebbe to Amsterdam this afternoon. I hope to write a bit more when we get stateside about the things we haven't been able to talk about because of time/internet constraints. We look forward to sharing our pictures and stories with you as we continue debriefing and processing back in the States.
Until then. Ciao!
Nathan
This will be our final post before leaving today. We fly out of Entebbe to Amsterdam this afternoon. I hope to write a bit more when we get stateside about the things we haven't been able to talk about because of time/internet constraints. We look forward to sharing our pictures and stories with you as we continue debriefing and processing back in the States.
Until then. Ciao!
Nathan
2010-07-13
Post-Bombing Update
Hello everyone!
Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and other good energy. We all continue to be safe and, with some minor adjustments, have continued about our program just as we had planned. The hotel seems to have beefed up security even more than before and we certainly are taking extra precaution now. But on the whole, life continues in Kampala much as it did before the bombings. People are off to work, roads are just as clogged with traffic and people selling things. The sun still came up and we still headed out on our journeys.
Yesterday we were able to visit a number of very cool organizations. The first was the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative. Livingstone Sewanyana, the ED, gave us an amazing speech that laid the groundwork for us to understand some of the current climate of rights in Uganda. He spoke at length about the current government of Museveni, but also of the Judiciary and the Legislature. This is a particularly important time for Uganda, and for much of the Eastern states of Africa, because elections for their presidents/prime ministers are right around the bend. Uganda will elect their president in March of next year, which has meant much organizing is already underway. Livingstone explained that there was some concern about violence against opposition leaders in the country and that they hoped to continue to keep dialogue open between the Museveni government and opposition leaders.
Livingstone talked about the strides that Uganda has been making in terms of rights for minorities and the people most generally. He mentioned a number of measures that have become law that provide things such as universal primary education and a domestic violence bill. However, the struggle is now to enforce these laws and make them more than in name only. He also explained that while things may seem pretty terrible to us from the West, he really views the progress being made as significant and described the general human rights climate as "not bad." The work that they continue to do will hopefully build on the progress that has been made of late. This organization is fighting the anti-gay bill, that would create a punishment of the death penalty, for homosexuality (Known officially as the Bahati Members Bill). They also are working to reform much of the judiciary to address some of the problems in that system. For instance, he explained that because of backlog in criminal trials, defendants can be imprisoned for years before standing before a justice or magistrate. It seems like that do some amazing work and many of us hope to visit them again and interview Livingstone more directly about our individual projects.
Yesterday we also visited an organization called AIDs Widows and Orphans, which provides many different types of projects for folks living with HIV/AIDs. They do micro-finance, primarily to women, which our classmate Melissa is very interested in. Hopefully I can strongarm her into writing a bit about that topic over the next few days. This organization is very broad in scope and appears to do very much with very little funding. I was interested to hear her talk about how they are funded partially through the Catholic Church, and have to fight to keep true to their values around condoms and sex education. I hope to speak to her more about that topic. Afterward, we stopped by a Babies Orphanage and met some of the most adorable children I have ever seen. We walked in the door and they just handed each of us a small child, many who have HIV/AIDs or other ailments. Many are found in dumpsters or left along the street. We met one older child who was recently adopted who had been left in a dumpster and was covered in biting ants. While the stories are difficult to hear, the resiliency of the people is very inspiring. This little girl is now adopted by a loving family and couldn't stopped smiling or laughing.
We finished yesterday at Hugo's mother's house where we dined on some of the most amazing Ugandan food that exists (I'm sure) and spent time with some of Hugo's family. We also met the doctor (head of medicine for Kampala) who would be seeing us if any of us got sick on the trip. He had brought along a friend, a local celebrity, who is a DJ on a radio station in Kampala. He was telling us about how the doctor comes on the show for a kind of sex Q and A to help promote safer sex practices.
Today was another packed day. We went to meet folks from the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN). These people are amazing and also do some amazing work. They work on a wide range of issues that concern children in Uganda and help the police with investigating child disappearances and abuse. One thing that stuck out for me at this stop was the rising incidence of child sacrifice, which has grown in the last few years. They discussed how families can be lead by local healers who encourage the family to give God/Gods human blood as a means of gaining wealth or other favors. This was a pretty disturbing thing for us to hear but I'm sure is even harder for the social workers who investigate and provide services to these families. Some in the group were interested in how the staff do self-care and they explained that all are given weekly counseling to help cope with the horrific things that people see.
Our last stop of the day was in Entebbe, a city about an hour away from Kampala (the capital). We drove on bumpy roads and down country streets a different portion of Lake Victoria where we got to visit the African Children's Choir School. To say it is a school is a bit misleading, because unlike in the US, these children are boarders at this enormous compound that overlooks the beautiful lake. These kids do work at the school in addition to learning, such as cleaning up the classrooms. The compound was lavish by Uganda school standards...meaning that the school had doors, windows and books. In the library along the back wall was a few bookcases with old tattered books lining the shelves. It was a shock to hear that this meager offering is actually one of the most elaborate primary school libraries in all of the country.
This school is famous worldwide because the children not only are given an education, but also an opportunity to travel the world and sing. Many were on American Idol or had sung for US presidents. I was honored to have two little guys show me around the school; Harrison and Huntington were good guides at that. They were so poised and mature for their young ages. They showed me their desks, their bunks and where they shower. They told me about the subjects that they learn and the many (amazing) things they have picked up since attending school. Harrison explained to me at length the structure of a human joint, while Huntington recounted his journey to the US and his love for American Roller Coasters. Both were amazing, especially given that they are in second and forth grade, respectively. I also had the honor to meet David, who is a graduate of the program and who is back at the school as a volunteer to RA in the boys dorm. He told me that he got to travel to 15 countries over five years to sing around the world. He is currently awaiting to hear from universities about acceptance into their medical school programs...his ultimate wish is to become an eye doctor, inspired by a South African doctor to gave him his first pair of "specs," as they call them in Uganda.
But the highlight of the day much have been the singing! Oh, the singing! We attended an assembly in their largest room, where we were lead in prayer and "praise time." Then we introduced ourselves and were egged on into singing ourselves. Our hodge-podgey and off-key rendition of This Land is Your Land was pretty pathetic, but the kids loved it all the same. They also got very excited to hear what states we come from...and shouted/cheered for NY the loudest (I'm sad to say). But then the school choir came forward and sang/danced for us. It was so overwhelming, and I think most of us were near tears. So beautiful it is even hard to explain. I hope to have a soundbite or video up later this week.
All in all a very good start, especially given the tragic bombings that preceded these days. Like I said, life has moved on and I am anxious to get back out there in the city and do some more exploring of this amazing culture. We know that many of you are worried for our safety and we appreciate this, but we also have come to recognize that terrorism is a fact of life for much of the world. We are trying to take this tragedy as a learning moment and to appreciate the relative comfort and safety that we enjoy back in the states. We also just got confirmation from the embassy that we are safe to remain in our current hotel, which I think has begun to make people feel a bit more assured of our current situation.
I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we miss you loved ones reading this from the US and look forward to sharing a bit of this beautiful experience with you when we return.
Nathan
Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and other good energy. We all continue to be safe and, with some minor adjustments, have continued about our program just as we had planned. The hotel seems to have beefed up security even more than before and we certainly are taking extra precaution now. But on the whole, life continues in Kampala much as it did before the bombings. People are off to work, roads are just as clogged with traffic and people selling things. The sun still came up and we still headed out on our journeys.
Yesterday we were able to visit a number of very cool organizations. The first was the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative. Livingstone Sewanyana, the ED, gave us an amazing speech that laid the groundwork for us to understand some of the current climate of rights in Uganda. He spoke at length about the current government of Museveni, but also of the Judiciary and the Legislature. This is a particularly important time for Uganda, and for much of the Eastern states of Africa, because elections for their presidents/prime ministers are right around the bend. Uganda will elect their president in March of next year, which has meant much organizing is already underway. Livingstone explained that there was some concern about violence against opposition leaders in the country and that they hoped to continue to keep dialogue open between the Museveni government and opposition leaders.
Livingstone talked about the strides that Uganda has been making in terms of rights for minorities and the people most generally. He mentioned a number of measures that have become law that provide things such as universal primary education and a domestic violence bill. However, the struggle is now to enforce these laws and make them more than in name only. He also explained that while things may seem pretty terrible to us from the West, he really views the progress being made as significant and described the general human rights climate as "not bad." The work that they continue to do will hopefully build on the progress that has been made of late. This organization is fighting the anti-gay bill, that would create a punishment of the death penalty, for homosexuality (Known officially as the Bahati Members Bill). They also are working to reform much of the judiciary to address some of the problems in that system. For instance, he explained that because of backlog in criminal trials, defendants can be imprisoned for years before standing before a justice or magistrate. It seems like that do some amazing work and many of us hope to visit them again and interview Livingstone more directly about our individual projects.
Yesterday we also visited an organization called AIDs Widows and Orphans, which provides many different types of projects for folks living with HIV/AIDs. They do micro-finance, primarily to women, which our classmate Melissa is very interested in. Hopefully I can strongarm her into writing a bit about that topic over the next few days. This organization is very broad in scope and appears to do very much with very little funding. I was interested to hear her talk about how they are funded partially through the Catholic Church, and have to fight to keep true to their values around condoms and sex education. I hope to speak to her more about that topic. Afterward, we stopped by a Babies Orphanage and met some of the most adorable children I have ever seen. We walked in the door and they just handed each of us a small child, many who have HIV/AIDs or other ailments. Many are found in dumpsters or left along the street. We met one older child who was recently adopted who had been left in a dumpster and was covered in biting ants. While the stories are difficult to hear, the resiliency of the people is very inspiring. This little girl is now adopted by a loving family and couldn't stopped smiling or laughing.
We finished yesterday at Hugo's mother's house where we dined on some of the most amazing Ugandan food that exists (I'm sure) and spent time with some of Hugo's family. We also met the doctor (head of medicine for Kampala) who would be seeing us if any of us got sick on the trip. He had brought along a friend, a local celebrity, who is a DJ on a radio station in Kampala. He was telling us about how the doctor comes on the show for a kind of sex Q and A to help promote safer sex practices.
Today was another packed day. We went to meet folks from the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN). These people are amazing and also do some amazing work. They work on a wide range of issues that concern children in Uganda and help the police with investigating child disappearances and abuse. One thing that stuck out for me at this stop was the rising incidence of child sacrifice, which has grown in the last few years. They discussed how families can be lead by local healers who encourage the family to give God/Gods human blood as a means of gaining wealth or other favors. This was a pretty disturbing thing for us to hear but I'm sure is even harder for the social workers who investigate and provide services to these families. Some in the group were interested in how the staff do self-care and they explained that all are given weekly counseling to help cope with the horrific things that people see.
Our last stop of the day was in Entebbe, a city about an hour away from Kampala (the capital). We drove on bumpy roads and down country streets a different portion of Lake Victoria where we got to visit the African Children's Choir School. To say it is a school is a bit misleading, because unlike in the US, these children are boarders at this enormous compound that overlooks the beautiful lake. These kids do work at the school in addition to learning, such as cleaning up the classrooms. The compound was lavish by Uganda school standards...meaning that the school had doors, windows and books. In the library along the back wall was a few bookcases with old tattered books lining the shelves. It was a shock to hear that this meager offering is actually one of the most elaborate primary school libraries in all of the country.
This school is famous worldwide because the children not only are given an education, but also an opportunity to travel the world and sing. Many were on American Idol or had sung for US presidents. I was honored to have two little guys show me around the school; Harrison and Huntington were good guides at that. They were so poised and mature for their young ages. They showed me their desks, their bunks and where they shower. They told me about the subjects that they learn and the many (amazing) things they have picked up since attending school. Harrison explained to me at length the structure of a human joint, while Huntington recounted his journey to the US and his love for American Roller Coasters. Both were amazing, especially given that they are in second and forth grade, respectively. I also had the honor to meet David, who is a graduate of the program and who is back at the school as a volunteer to RA in the boys dorm. He told me that he got to travel to 15 countries over five years to sing around the world. He is currently awaiting to hear from universities about acceptance into their medical school programs...his ultimate wish is to become an eye doctor, inspired by a South African doctor to gave him his first pair of "specs," as they call them in Uganda.
But the highlight of the day much have been the singing! Oh, the singing! We attended an assembly in their largest room, where we were lead in prayer and "praise time." Then we introduced ourselves and were egged on into singing ourselves. Our hodge-podgey and off-key rendition of This Land is Your Land was pretty pathetic, but the kids loved it all the same. They also got very excited to hear what states we come from...and shouted/cheered for NY the loudest (I'm sad to say). But then the school choir came forward and sang/danced for us. It was so overwhelming, and I think most of us were near tears. So beautiful it is even hard to explain. I hope to have a soundbite or video up later this week.
All in all a very good start, especially given the tragic bombings that preceded these days. Like I said, life has moved on and I am anxious to get back out there in the city and do some more exploring of this amazing culture. We know that many of you are worried for our safety and we appreciate this, but we also have come to recognize that terrorism is a fact of life for much of the world. We are trying to take this tragedy as a learning moment and to appreciate the relative comfort and safety that we enjoy back in the states. We also just got confirmation from the embassy that we are safe to remain in our current hotel, which I think has begun to make people feel a bit more assured of our current situation.
I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we miss you loved ones reading this from the US and look forward to sharing a bit of this beautiful experience with you when we return.
Nathan
2010-07-11
Safe!
Hi all:
Just a quick note that all of us in Kampala are safe. There were two bombs that were set off while people were watching the World Cup. We actually know less than folks back in the states and we're still trying to wait out for more information before heading out for our day.
Just as a side note, we are removing the calendar function of the blog for safety purposes.
For all those that have been wondering what we are up to here is a quick rundown until we have some less frantic time to post more:
Just a quick note that all of us in Kampala are safe. There were two bombs that were set off while people were watching the World Cup. We actually know less than folks back in the states and we're still trying to wait out for more information before heading out for our day.
Just as a side note, we are removing the calendar function of the blog for safety purposes.
For all those that have been wondering what we are up to here is a quick rundown until we have some less frantic time to post more:
- Kyle and I traveled from Mombasa through Nairobi by train overnight. It was like an Agatha Christi novel with dinner cars but with guys with machine guns roaming the ailses.
- We then took a 13 hour bus ride from Nairobi through to Kampala. We had lunch before the bus but then it was pretty much straight through, except for pee breaks every three hours (no bathroom on the bus).
- We arrived in Uganda and had our first few days here. We've gone to the source of the Nile, where Lake Victoria feeds the longest river in the world. Then we had Nile Special (a Ugandan beer) while watching the water flow. We also saw some of the rapid/falls that we will be rafting down.
- Yesterday the group took a tour of Kampala, exploring the Gadafi Mosque and seeing some of the other main churches for the city (on the seven hills of Kampala, just like Rome). We also went to a crafts market and swam in the hotel pool (for a much needed break).
Like I said, we'll try to post more as things calm down and we have more time to write about what we are up to. We miss you all and thank you for concerns as we struggle with the bombings. Do remember, while watching the news and coverage, that in addition to the casualties of the Americans and other tourists, that there are many more locals who have been killed, hurt or impacted by the bombings.
Nathan
2010-07-08
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