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!