Glimpse of a Day in Gulu

My Room

I have learned to wake before the ladies get here in the morning else word be jolted into consciousness by the combined sounds of foot pedal sewing machines and R. Kelly blaring from the workshop radio.  After shaking off sleep and reading the news I have started joining the ladies for morning tea in the yard.

The Ladies' Sewing Room

Typically, during tea I sit flicking ants off my feet while the women speak to one another in Luo, the language spoken by the Acholi people who live throughout Northern Uganda.  Tea is taken with rolls, African sweet potatoes, cassava (a root starch) or chapatti bread. One morning last week one of the ladies brought a mixture to dip the cassava in. Fortunately, I followed my inclination to dip first and ask questions later, otherwise I might not have been as excited to sample.  Surprisingly, the “binewa” spread made with G-nut (groundnut, which as far as I can tell are peanuts) sauce and dried fish tasted almost as delicious as buffalo chicken dip!

Our Yard

   

Following tea, the past couple of weeks I have been heading into town to have a go at various errands. After my daily bathing of sunscreen I join one or more of my coworkers on the twenty or so minute trek towards town, which itself is probably a four by five block area. The walk takes us by a few goats tied to a tree, cattle apathetically crowding the road, bodas and bicycles weaving between us and the undesirable dips on the path and an occasional car honking with warning before it passes. Small stands selling eggs, tomatoes, onions, foam sandals, airtime for your cell phone, are intermixed with Government and Nongovernmental organizations’ compounds, huts, small houses and schools.  As we approach town the stands become more concentrated and you might smell one cooking “rolexes,” egg and veggies wrapped in a hot chapatti (a video of stand near Jinja, Uganda preparing one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0pTTCdUY00 ). Try to take in any scent too deeply and you will be met with nostrils full of rust colored dust.  We pass by a long block of outdoor thrift shopping and arrive in town.

The to-do list ranges from combing the market stand by stand to find an acceptable holiday ornament fabric, to assisting in opening a new bank account for One Mango Tree deposits.  I am now grateful for banking in the States; with the accounts here you have to pay to check your balance, make a withdrawal or have access to online banking. The to-do list rarely is completed in its entirety.  Inevitably there will not be enough fabric, we have to come back next week to sign more papers or the computer part (or bicycles, or light bulbs, etc.) will not be there yet.  The sun is now high, my hairline is damp with sweat and my foot color is now indistinguishable from the red earth; we pick up a few groceries and concede to returning tomorrow. We walk slower on the way back and I talk with Prisca about life in Gulu, elections, hair color.

By the time we return to the compound lunch is ready. It is most always posho (maize flour mixed with  water, almost a dense rice consistency) and beans. Occasionally there will be small variations such as rice or adding a bit of goat meat.  Last week I noticed a little addition to my plate. It took several inquiries but eventually the women found the English words for small intestine. They watched me pass by the bite-sized sea-sponge-appearing delicacy on my plate while I deliberated. One of the women offered to take it. I yielded, with the promise that I would try next time.  During lunch I usually go around the yard and try to name all of the ladies, I think I finally have it down for the most part. Last week they decided to give me an Acholi name. The women debated in Luo and finally settled on Namara, “one who loves people.”

Post lunch I do hasty foot scrub and utilize the UV light emitting Steripen to purify some drinking water -thanks Aimee & Uncle Mark!  If the internet and power are working (the power goes out several times a week, it lasts anywhere from an hour to a couple of days) I will check emails and prepare to do computer work with Prisca, who is the Production Supervisor for One Mango Tree. Our goal is to for her to be computer savvy by the time I leave- which seems like it will be no problem. She has also been giving me feedback on a questionnaire I developed to use as a guideline while interviewing the women.  Yesterday we began the process of sitting down with each of them to assess the impact One Mango Tree has had on their lives, and learn their ideas on how One Mango Tree can implement new projects to meet the needs of their communities. I am eager to hear what the women will have to say.

As Prisca and I spend the afternoon going over web browsers and spread sheets the ladies pop in and out of the office space to drop off the items they have been working on. I am always impressed with how much they get done in a day.  As they pass through I try out the few Luo phrases I have learned- they smile whether I get it right or wrong. 

I am feeling settled and excited to dive deeper into work. The power just went out so I going to try and throw this up while the battery lasts! Apologies if I did not cover all of the anonymous questions- but I will try to post more soon! 

Welcome to Uganda!

Greetings from Gulu!

I have been here for a week now, but perhaps I should start at the beginning.  On the 27^th I started my journey with flying to Detroit. Once there I rushed to make a phone call and then boarded, only to wait on the plane for 2 ½ hours before moving (there was no chance the plane was taking off without the 25 meals it was short).  I watched “Get Low” while the flight attendants served pasta and pesto, topped with irony, to calm the disconcerted passengers. The eight hour flight to Amsterdam went by quickly as I slept easily across the four open seats in my row.  While waiting to board in Amsterdam I fumbled through a conversation with a Ugandan woman who worked for the Rotary Club in Kampala.  She seemingly approved of the work I hope to do in her country, which slightly soothed a few of the countless questions batting across my brain. Over the course of the next eight hour flight I tried to stay awake and convince myself that I was finally going to Africa. 

I arrived in the open Entebbe airport, made it through customs with no problems, and searched for Gihan, who works for One Mango Tree in Kampala and was to pick me up. I vainly search the signs for my name and finally settled on the only skinny Sri Lankan man present to be my new co-worker. We introduced ourselves, loaded the car, and as we started to drive I received my first of many, “Welcome to Uganda!” 

That night I stayed in a hotel in Kampala.  As Gihan and another co-worker, Damika, helped bring my two bags into the room, my attention was diverted to the mosquito net suspended from the ceiling- it finally set in that I was in Africa.

They picked me up again in the morning and we made our way through the hectic intermingling car, boda boda (motorcycle taxi), and foot traffic through the capitol city and onto the road to Gulu Town. Once away from the bustle of the city, the 4 1/2 hour drive held repeating vistas of red dirt, farm land, collections of houses and huts, green foliage, rhino reserves and burnt land.  As we came closer to Gulu we crossed the Victoria Nile which had beautiful waterfalls, however, no one is allowed to take photographs for security purposes. I quickly recovered from my disappointment for it is also in this area that the several species of monkeys hang out on the side of the road!  We passed a line of Vevert monkeys and then stopped to let the Baboons come right up to the car!

About 5:30pm on Saturday we arrived in Gulu and the One Mango Tree compound. I was greeted by coworkers Martina and Prisca and we all explored One Mango Tree’s new grounds (they moved to the present location only a month ago).  The brightly painted main building contains a large room with a couple of dozen sewing machines, a cutting room, a kitchen, several bedrooms and a living/dining/porch space.  Behind that is a smaller building used for office space, packaging and storage.  After a bit of business was taken care of Prisca generously invited us back to her home for my first Ugandan meal.  Although exhausted and possibly aloof at the time, I later realized how fortunate I was to be offered this experience so shortly after my arrival.  That evening I enjoyed a quiet dinner of goat, rice, eggs with tomatoes and mateoke– a local banana dish.

It was not until the next day that I unpacked and met the other women I am living with. There are five of us here this week, but by next week we will be down to three. My diet so far has included plenty of cabbage, avocados, potatoes, limes and bananas from the market (there has also been a bit of oatmeal which triggers JVC PTSD).  The weather has been relentlessly warm, but not as bad as expected- I cannot tell you the temperature because it seems more tolerable if I do not know it myself! You may be surprised that I have only been sunburnt once, just a little on my shoulders- I promise I am wearing sunscreen!

Though I was introduced, I have not had the opportunity to get to know the women who work for One Mango Tree so far.  This week was mostly spent fixing my computer, running errands in town, reminding myself not to try and use Yup’ik, fighting with a sinus infection, attempting to get comfortable on boda taxis, and striving to orient myself.  Adjusting has been slow and steady.  This week I look forward to concentrating more on the women and work!

Thank you again for all of the support you have all given me, it is very much a source of motivation for me. I know I am very fortunate.