SUCCESS!

What an exhausting, but great weekend! The peer education training workshop I have been preparing for the past two weeks took place Saturday and Sunday. I was really pleased with the event, and the staff and director of COTFONE deemed it a successful training.

The workshop was originally planned to be three days long, but on Thursday afternoon we had to cancel Friday’s session due to some circumstances outside my control. So, I had to condense much of the material I had hoped to present. Although the students received quite a lot of information in a day and a half, I feel like it was well received and understood. They seem excited about becoming peer educators, sharing new knowledge with their friends and peers, and creating change in their communities. During an exercise about role models and goals for the future, many of the students listed helping orphans (or other groups in the community) as a future career endeavor.

Side Story—I asked the youth to think about what the word “role model” means, who their role model is, and what qualities that person possesses that they would like to emulate. I reminded them that, as peer educators, people would look at them as role models. I gave them time to journal about their role model and why they had chosen this person. I noticed that one boy (who had been particularly engaged and insightful during the workshop) had written “The African Nelson Mandela—the Chancellor of Peace” in his notebook. I was impressed and thought, “What a great choice for a role model!” I then asked for volunteers to share their role models with the group. He stood up and stated, “My role model is the Oprah Winfrey.” (What?! He switched from Nelson Mandela to Oprah??) He went on to list the qualities he admires about her: she is well respected, famous, a world wide figure, people listen to hear because she is a TV person, she is well paid, and finally…..(the best line of the weekend) He said in all seriousness, “She is always so happy; even though she is barren, she is still happy.” It was all I could do to not burst into laughter. (Although, the fertility of women is a big deal here. When I told my neighbor that I only had one sibling, she shook her head and lamented it was a shame that my mother could not produce. I tried to explain that two child families are common in the United States, but I think I don’t think she was receptive to the concept.)

Anyway, I have spent a lot of time preparing training sessions and increasing my HIV/AIDS knowledge for this program. So I am relieved the workshop is over, and I can now get some rest. By my standards it was a great success, and I look forward to meeting with the youth again in a couple weeks. I feel like I am developing good relationships with many of them. I am excited to be working with teenagers again, and it made me realize how much I miss Young Life.



I will write more thoughts about the workshop later (probably next week), but I have limited internet time right now.

The work begins...

This week I felt like I was finally beginning to accomplish something at my organization. As I have mentioned before, things move at a much lower pace here. It can be frustrating at times, but I am learning to work within it. I have developed a project plan and things are moving along, slowly but surely.

After talking with the staff here and assessing their current and prior projects, I decided that the most beneficial thing I could do in the community is develop a Peer Education/Trainers of Teachers program. COTFONE had done some peer education with adults and they also have a youth group of 9-13 year olds that meets sporadically. However, the teenager age range is virtually untapped. I feel like this is the most crucial age group to expose to intensive HIV/AIDS education. They have the greatest potential to change infection levels and stigma in this country, if they gain the knowledge before they become sexually active. Since I have some experience working with teenagers from my Young Life days, I feel like this age range is also a good fit for me.

The concept of peer education is a very sustainable idea and has been relatively successful in this region. Instead of me coming to Uganda for three months, training a few students, and then leaving, I will develop a training program and materials and teach a small group of students (about 18) how to teach their peers. Then this group of students can go back into their communities and disseminate the information to their peers, train future peer educators, and the cycle begins again. In theory, this is how the program will work. Although, I expect it might be a bit more complex as I begin the implementation phase.

Quick Story—I presented the program to a group of 60 male students at a local secondary school this week. After the presentation, one boy raised his hand and said his question was addressed to Ms. Maple. He said, “Ms. Maple if I become a peer educator and learn all of the skills you would like me to learn, then I teach all of the information to my peers, and then go back to my village and share the knowledge with everyone in my village also, like you want me too; may I then come back to your country and live with you and teach people in your country as well?” The rest of the class erupted with laughter. I turned to the COTFONE staff member with me for guidance as to how I should respond, and he offered no help. So, I laughed it off saying “I don’t think the country of Uganda has given me permission to do that, hahah.” The staff member then piped in saying “Well, if you study hard maybe you can go back with her and continue your studies in USA.” I’m thinking, “Great. I do not want these boys presuming that I am giving out free Visas to come study in the States.”

I am rapidly learning about HIV/AIDS education in Sub-Saharan Africa, as I am researching and developing training materials. COTFONE has decided to begin the program with an intensive three day training workshop next weekend. So, I have quite a lot of work to do preparing for that on such a tight timeline. Hopefully, electricity and internet access will work in my favor this weekend! COTFONE does not have very many resources to provide me with, but I have been utilizing a lot of Peace Corps materials I borrowed from the volunteer here.

Speaking of the Peace Corps volunteer at COTFONE, Mark, he has decided to leave the organization due to some conflicts that developed between he and the director over the past couple months. I am sorry to see him leave, as he has been here a year and was a great resource regarding both COTFONE and the community. I am trying to stay out of the politics of the situation, and I hope that tensions will ease now that he is gone. There is still one other PC volunteer in Kiwangala, JP, and he is very knowledgeable as well.

Anyway, I better get back to my preparations for next week’s training workshop!

Observations...

- I have noticed that foods here are often mislabeled. The other day I asked the man at the bakery what flavor the brown muffin in the case was, and he responded banana and chocolate. I said, “That sounds delicious. I’ll take one.” It was neither banana nor chocolate…just burnt. Then today I purchased a donut that was clearly labeled “chocolate doughnut.” It was definitely coconut.
I wonder if it is some sort of Muzungu marketing scheme. They think, Muzungus like chocolate, so if they label it chocolate we will buy it. Unfortunately, I have been duped every time.

- I am trying to get back into running shape while I am here. I was told before coming that running would not be possible as a woman because it is not culturally appropriate to wear shorts. However, the staff here says shorts are acceptable while “doing sports.” I do get quite a few strange looks though, as people do not exercise much here. Children often shout “Why are you running? Where are you going?” and laugh at me. Once a man on a motorbike stopped and asked, “May I assist you?” as if I was running away from something.

Running has proved much more difficult than I anticipated. The hills here are grueling and abundant. I have only gone a few times, but it is my goal to go at least a couple times a week. Every time I have run a small pack of children ends up following me at some point. They will never run beside me, though, always directly behind me. They are usually carrying their school books as well, but it makes me feel better when they tire out after a quarter mile. I don’t think the Kenyan marathon powerhouse has spread to Uganda yet.

- There is a little girl who lives next door and is at my house everyday. Her name is Anna. She gets very excited when I come home and wants to play before I even walk in the door. Sometimes she runs down the road to greet me on my way home, and she is very proud to being walking down the street holding the hand of a Muzungu. She makes me laugh because whenever I have the door to my room closed, she slides her fingers under the door and whispers “Muzungu! Muzuuuuuuuuuuuunguu…” and progressively gets louder until I respond.

- Last weekend I passed a grocery in Kampala named “Obama Supermarket.” Really?

Below is a picture of Anna and my one of my host brothers, Akiram. The other is of my host mother and baby brother. His name is Emma, yet he is a boy. (I have also met a girl named Edwin.)

The quest for Muzungu food...

After two weeks of being served nothing but matooke, this weekend our group of interns traveled to Kampala for the sole purpose of eating some good food. Our itinerary for the weekend revolved around how many meals we could fit into a day.

Friday night we located Dominos (not at all related to the American chain, but they did rip off the logo) for some much anticipated pizza. I don’t think pizza has ever tasted so good! After that I splurged on a $5 dish of ice cream. (The ironic thing is that my hotel room was only $2.50 a night.) Then we walked around Kampala for awhile before going to an Indian restaurant for our second dinner. However, it had just closed so we went back to Dominos for round two of pizza. I have included pictures below; note that the Dominos sign also advertises “tasty burgers” and “scrumptious chicken.”

The next day we bargained for fruit at the market, sampled local pastries, made it to the Indian restaurant while it was still open, and visited two more ice cream shops. Then, to add to the Muzungu-ness of the weekend, we went to the movie theater and saw Seven Pounds (complete with popcorn). After the movie was over, I actually briefly forgot I was in Uganda.

That evening I tried Ethiopian food for the first time at a restaurant that was playing Ethiopian music videos on a big screen while we ate. To finish the night, we stopped at a fancy French restaurant next to the US embassy and ordered a very overpriced, yet delicious, chocolate crepe with (more) ice cream. It was devoured in less than two minutes by three chocolate loving girls.

Currently, I am sitting at the internet café/Muzungu friendly restaurant in Masaka anxiously awaiting my cheeseburger and chips (which are also overpriced but worth the money occasionally).

...….What a satisfying weekend.

Agriculture Around the World

Today I went to visit a local farmer named John Ssentongo, but people call him Mzze (which is a term of respect for elders). My new Peace Corps friend, JP, has been working closely with him for the past year. JP was assigned to Uganda as a health volunteer, but before he left an acquaintance handed him a pillowcase stuffed with seed packets. He told the man he was going to be a health worker and would have no use for the seeds. However, this man insisted “The people over there don’t have any food. They will need these seeds—just take them.” So he smuggled the pillowcase of seeds onto the plane. How ironic it is that once he arrives in Uganda, the health projects he was prepared to work on did not pan out.

One day he encountered this farmer and developed a friendship with him. Mzze was actually very open minded about planting exotic varieties of seeds, like bok choy and basil (not exactly staples of the Ugandan diet). And although some things they’ve planted have not thrived in the tropical climate, others have done quite well. He is such an interesting man to talk with, as it is somewhat unusual for a Ugandan farmer to depart from growing the standard cash crops of coffee, matooke (green bananas) or peanuts. His farm is about five acres, which is considered very large here, and he waters all his crops with one watering can, since there is not really an irrigation system in place in most of the country.

Mzze is extremely concerned with sustainable agriculture and improving health and nutrition in the community. He donates a lot of seedlings he grows to schools so the children can take them home to their families. He told me he feels that if he can help to improve the health and state of his neighbors then eventually the village will improve then the whole district, and ultimately the entire county. Nutrition here is very poor, as the primary foods people eat are matooke or a corn meal mixture called posho. While people (especially children) may not go hungry on a daily basis, they can still be malnourished. I see many children at the school where I work with large distended bellies, which is not surprising when they rarely get any protein in their diet. Also, things like fruits or avocados (which are all readily available) are thought of as candy; a treat for children rather than a vital source of nutrients. Every morning, though, Mzze makes his grandchildren eat one avocado before going to school.

The plan is to turn the property into a demonstration farm to teach people, specifically vulnerable populations (like the elderly or those with debilitating diseases), about alternatives farming practices and making the most out of a small amount of space. They showed me an innovative way of cultivating cabbage; it was a large mound that you fill with fertilizer (manure) and then simply water through a hole in the top, which eliminates the need to bend down. This district of Uganda has been devastated by the AIDS epidemic. The majority of people you see in the village are either children or seniors; much of the middle generation (the primary workforce) has been wiped out by AIDS. This leaves many grandparents left to care and provide for their young grandchildren or other orphaned relatives. Mzze’s demonstration farm will hopefully ease this burden, at least a little.

Mzze is a remarkable man, and I am glad I had the opportunity to meet him and see his farm. He sent me home with a huge bag of the biggest avocados I have seen I my life and a bundle of collard greens. (I will definitely be making some awesome guacamole this week!)

…The whole time I couldn’t help but think how interesting my grandparents would find all of this.

Also, here is a link to a blog with more info about the farm:
http://www.childrenssurehouse.blogspot.com/

Marriage Proposal Count:

14

Including.....
One in email form

and four while waiting at the taxi stop (one very tenacious man did not give up the entire hour I waited for a taxi)

Transportation Tales

Living here is really quite a lesson in patience; things move at a strikingly different pace, especially when it comes to transportation. People are content to wait for much much longer than even the most patient American. A few transportation stories:

- While trying to get to Masaka from Kiwangala the other day, I waited almost three hours for the taxi to fill with passengers (they will not leave without at least 5-6 people). It never did, so I had to pay double the price just to get the driver to take me.

- Last week I was crammed into a Toyota Camry with nine adults, two small children and a trunk overflowing with manure (which my backpack was squished on top of and still smells). Although, my Peace Corps friend JP told me his record for number of people in a taxi car is 14. I hope I never have to experience that.

- The ultimate transportation story, however, results from our disastrous trip home from the Ssese Islands this past weekend…

On our way to the islands we opted to negotiate each leg of the journey separately, which included two taxi rides, a ferry ride to the islands, and a long motorbike (boda boda) to the beach resorts. When we arrived at the ferry port we discovered that the guidebook was about two hours off on the departure time of the ferry. Rather than wait around for two hours, I decided to talk a fisherman into taking us across the lake in his small fishing boat for 20,000 shillings. Then we had to negotiate the price of the boda ride, which turned out to be six times more expensive than anyone had expected. I hoped that on the way home we could find a direct taxi.

We finally arrived at our lodging for the weekend (one of the other interns had picked it at random from his guidebook), and were in for quite a treat. It was a bizarre little camp run by a crazy, hippie German couple. They came to Uganda with a backpack in 1993 and have never left. Despite the wild owners, the camp was cheap, equipped with running water and the food was surprisingly good.

Funny story about the food though-- at lunch one intern ordered a toasted sandwich with cheese, veggies and sauce. He was expecting a grilled cheese type sandwich with tomato/other veggies and some sort of sauce. What he received was a pile of French fries sandwiched between two pieces of ant-covered bread squirted with ketchup. (Evidently, french fries count as “veggies.) What made the story hilarious though was when another intern tried to order a cheeseburger and was served the exact same thing! She took it back and pointed to the sandwich saying “This has neither cheese nor meat; therefore it cannot be a cheeseburger.” The kitchen still claimed that what she was given was, in fact, a cheeseburger. I, luckily, avoided the food drama by ordering a simple banana pancake.

The camp was right on the beach, and although it was very beautiful, relaxing and full of entertaining monkeys running around.

The trip home was what became a comedy of transportation errors. First mistake—we asked the crazy German hippie woman to arrange a taxi back to the ferry. She claimed she knew someone who could take us all the way back to Masaka for half the price of what we paid getting there. Of course we readily agreed. The next morning the taxi driver picked us up at 9:45……and we did not arrive home until over NINE hours later!! Between waiting fours hours for a ferry, the ferry driver’s inability to dock the boat, endless waiting at military check points and a series of shady taxi drivers—I think we all have never been so ready to get home.