Learning Tour, BAMM,
Rain+Gardens, Work Update, Wedding, Poetry
Care International
Learning Tour
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| Village Women in VSLA |
Last week I was selected to be one of two Northern Uganda
Peace Corps Volunteers to travel with a Care International Learning Tour. “These
high-level delegations include members of Congress, the U.S. Administration,
corporate partners, donors, celebrities and other influential individuals.
Members of the media have often joined Learning Tours, and CARE brings a
photographer and videographer to capture the experience. “ (http://www.care.org/getinvolved/learningtour/learningtours.asp)
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| Happy Kids in Awach |
This program connects policy makers and thought leaders with the issues facing
development across the world. I traveled with Senator Johnny Isakson and Congressman
Jack Kingston, both from GA; Congresswoman Barbara Lee from CA; Helene Gayle
President of CARE USA; Former Ambassador to Uganda Jimmy Kolker, Jim Coughlan
President of UPS Customer Solutions, Catherine Conners, a Social Media Maven
and important person at Babble, a Disney Company (http://www.babble.com/); Bo cutter of the
Roosevelt Institute; and several members of Care’s Staff…including Christina
Santos who rode in my vehicle and manages their annual advocacy conference.
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| Ambassador, Senator, Business Man! |
I was taken by vehicle to the Gulu Airport to meet the plane
as it landed. Waiting with me were the Gulu District Chairman and the Gulu
Resident Commissioner along with several USAID staff. A medium sized UN plane
landed and off came about 20 people. We boarded 13 vehicles, I was assigned #6,
and off we rode to a Village Savings and Loan group in Awach that uses the
group meetings to facilitate social services for its women and their men. We also
observed bead making, tailoring projects, and agricultural items they raise for
sale.
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| Happy baby! |
Next we attended a Pathfinder International program (http://www.pathfind.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Programs_Uganda)
where they are working side by side with the National Community of Women Living
with HIV/AIDS (http://www.nacwola.or.ug/)
Here we witnessed how community volunteers visit people in their huts and
discuss their family needs and challenges and develop plans forward for
reproductive health and family planning. Our sample family was comprised of 2
parents with HIV and their 4 children…all HIV Negative to date!
On this one-day tour, I gave my poem American Skin (Posted
on this blog on March 25th) to Senator Johnny Isakson to thank him
for passing the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/1/s1280.
As a token of thanks, he had his photo taken with me and promises to send me a
copy! I also met both his staff members – the dynamic duo of Chris Squared! My
nick-name for the 2 men named Chris. I was impressed with them all. Congressman
Jack Kingston was an easy to like, direct and intelligent man, who shared
several book titles with me and gave me a name for my husband to contact about
his business ventures. I admit I was
glad to see our elected officials in a more personal and less divisive setting
than shown on TV. They are real people! Really!
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| Mommy's helper |
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| Congressman Kingston in hut with kids |
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| Congressman Kingston and friend |
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| Mommy Blogger and friend |
Riding in vehicle #6 were Karla (Me), Catherine and
Christina. We traveled in a 13 car convoy with security men checking each
vehicle after every stop before moving to the next destination. I felt like a
celebrity with all the cameras (both video and still photo), security and media
people in “My entourage”I hope Christina sends me some photos of me with the
big wigs!! AND Catherine works for Babble.com and may check out my blog (She at
least asked for it). I may be “Discovered!” ....finally, ….or not!
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| Paper Beads |
BAMM – April is Blog About Malaria Month (BAMM) for PCVs in Africa. This is connected to a new initiative in Peace Corps called Stomp Out Malaria in Africa that unites the efforts of the volunteers across country lines. “Peace Corps Volunteers have been working in malaria prevention since the agency’s beginning in 1961. Now, through Stomping Out Malaria in Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s 3,000 PCVs and 25 Peace Corps posts will be sharing ideas, best practices, and information about projects they are working on in malaria prevention. “
So my best practices are – I sleep under a mosquito net every
night, I take my malaria medicines every day, I wear bug spray and long sleeves
to thwart the dreaded mosquitos, I get rid of standing water, and I hope to
make mosquitos nets as an income generating activity at my school and
distribute them across Uganda! THAT’S MY BLOG AND I AM STICKING TO IT!
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| Agriculture Student Seed Beds |
RAIN – the day
after the group tour left, the rainy season set in. Temperatures dropped to the
low 80s and moisture returned to Northern Uganda. In today’s blog, in the
poetry section, is my response to this welcomed event. Rain means I can begin
my gardens…Flower and Vegetables. On Saturday I hired several young male
students to clear some of the bush for me – This is still in process. I think
the plot will be approximately 40 feet by 40 feet. I will definitely take seeds
(placed in a ziplocks) if you want to send a package. Our Agriculture students
already began their seed beds and have been working outside my house for
several weeks now. My flowers are already planted around my home – though I
plan to plant many around our office building next weekend.
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| My latrines and bathing area and my supervisor's chicken house |
WORK Update In
pursuit of a brick making machine, I
traveled to Gulu and walked to the District Engineer Offices. I waited in the
lobby on a Friday morning for over an hour for someone to accept my written
letter requesting information of assistance on locating these machines donated
back in 2009. Finally a helpful gentleman who is the Engineer for Schools invited
me to his office. Upon reading my letter he said the district had 4 such
machines and all I need to do is write a letter to the Chairman’s Office and
the Chief Administrative Officers Office and they will inform him to release
them to our school. He said none were being used at this time, so it is likely
I will not have to wait for them. So the
process has begun – stay tuned.
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| Dressed for the wedding - in front of fields near my home |
Traditional Marriage
– Yesterday, Easter Sunday, I attended a traditional marriage. I attended with
several members of the school staff and we decorated a goat to take as a
marriage gift. Yes I said decorated a
goat…it was alive and we wrapped it in vinyl wrapping paper and decorated
its horns and tail with ribbons and placed a garland around its neck. At the
marriage there were traditional dancers and speeches and many local
dignitaries. I even dressed up for the event. What is funny is the range of
attire. Fancy Ugandan dress as well as Corona T-shirts were de rigueur!
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| One great wedding gift!!! |
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| Traditional Dancers |
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| Girls in Courtship Dance |
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| Drummer |
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| Australian Volunteer Dancing in Courtship dance |
Poetry
Rejoicing Earth April
6, 2012
Glorious Rain
Begins with a scent
Faintly blowing across the fields
Intermittent caresses
Of cooler thickening air
Strengthening winds
Warn of the approaching symphony
Clashing cymbals of lightning
Followed by thunderous bass drums
Building into the percussion crescendo
Millions of tiny droplets
Punctuated by the torrents
Racing off the roof
Slowly retreating into softening stanzas
Of a soothing steady drizzle
Fading into gentle drips and drops
Which lessen
Until it is gone
And the earth
Rejoices
Anew
Toughest
Job April 6, 2012
In Peace Corps I learned
It was The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love
But I disagree
Parenting, by far
Embodies that phrase
The most beautiful, awe inspiring
entities
You will ever encounter
Are your children
The weight of the responsibility
Of being their guardians
Is overwhelming
Rearing children looks easy, obvious
Until you are blessed with the job
Then the crushing uncertainty enters in
When to hold on, when to let go
When to protect, when to let fail
When to correct, when to keep silent
When to engineer, when to sit back and
observe
The magnitude of the consequences
Of your actions & decisions
Can paralyze
For your children
You will give everything
Money, time, your life
Unfortunately
The process is not offered as an exchange
It is a continuous commitment
To think & re-think
Test and observe
Trust and verify
Changing your tactics
As best you can guess
Based on reading the tea leaves
Rarely knowing
The outcome
Until 20-30 years pass
And they welcome their own
Miracles into the
world
Taking on the Toughest Job
Themselves
Taking on the Toughest Job
Themselves
Anxiety March
27, 2012
In the grip
Pressure like a python
Squeezing my chest
Racing heartbeat, rapid breathing
Stemming from
Anxiety
Seeming to come from nowhere
Trying its best
To instill panic
Feeling the need to run
Anywhere
To escape the weight on my breastbone
Deliberately taking deep breaths
Forcing my thoughts
On the positive
Blessings
Blessings
Recognizing it will pass
As it always has
If I can repel
The overwhelming wave of
Anxiety
