August 5th 2012
1 Month in Fort Portal - 1Year in Uganda - Well it’s been a
journey to say the least
Fort Portal – I arrived here 1 month ago and have done a
good bit. Shortly after arriving I met up with a fellow PCV and we went to
Mugusu Market with a local missionary woman whose family has lived here for 9
years. She and her husband are raising two young kids here. I cannot imagine
living that life…but I admire them. Mugusu market is a large weekly market
about 10 kilometers outside of Fort Portal. If you ever wonder where our
donated old clothes go to be reincarnated – its in Mugusu. You can also buy all
the local vegetables there too, but I did not get any pics of those. What is
striking are the gorgeous flowering trees that no one seems to notice but me. Robert what do you think of these trees!
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| Mugusu Market - Keeps Goodwill in business |
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| Mugusu Market-more flowing trees |
Because I have dropped so much weight I needed to buy some
new pants (actually trousers – pants here mean underwear – so you learn quickly
to say trousers). Since I could not try them on, – I bought 3 pairs for $6 total and 2 out of 3 fit me. I gave the extra pair to the lady who drove us to take
to her congregation!
I also visited the PCV’s site about 6 kilometers out of Fort
Portal – I rode my bike there and we toured her village with her counterpart
who is doing the most with the least funding of anyone I have met in Uganda. I
have promised to write an article/case study on how to effectively leverage aid
here in Uganda. Nothing is wasted, the community contributes, and his heart is
in the mission of the program…. and not focused on getting money for himself…which
unfortunately has been the norm in my experience. He took us on a hike for a
couple hours and it was beautiful. I did not take my camera into the village to
photograph the orphans, new pit latrines, gravity flow water taps, and the
animal income generating activities though they were very impressive. Some pics
from the hike are below.
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| Fellow PCV and her counterpart-Rwenzori Mtns in Back |
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| Enthusiastic Karla! |
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| Villages below |
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| Robert - what are these lovelies? |
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| And these are amazing! |
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| Little green froggie friend! |
My work has mostly been getting the place organized and
trying to get them able to generate their own income as well as apply for more
funding. Record keeping has been poor so we have focused on getting all income,
donations and expenses documented from 2011 forward. They had records in 3-4
different places so there was no information to show the big picture, until I
got my hands into it. Those who know me well, know how much I love excel and
organizing information! I have also entered all the applications they have received
from people wanting to receive bikes wheel chairs or tricycles. Also we are
trying to pull together the complete list of all beneficiaries to date. Its
slow work, like hunting for clues, but slowly it is coming together.
My living arrangements are settling in – not hauling my
water and having an indoor bathing room and toilet sure make a difference. My
weight is climbing and I am definitely not working as hard to just exist as I
was at my former site. We have a hot water heater too and though its temperamental,
it is still my best friend. The pipes below it hves sprung a leak twice but
these are minor issues.
The young man that lives in the back and is charged with
ground maintenance, general cleaning and security has become my friend. He is
23 years old and is always smiling and willing to help me. He keeps my bike in
shape and runs errands for me. He gets better pricing at the market since he is
not white, so he is doing a great deal of our shopping and in return he makes
some small cash and I feed him most nights from my cooking. It’s a nice arrangement.
I talk several times a week to my buddies at the school back
in Gulu district. I miss them more than I imagined and appreciate their
enthusiastic calls and texts. I nominated one of my students there to attend
Peace Camp – which is beginning next week. For a description go to my friend
Nancy’s blog (http://atexangoesquesting.blogspot.com/2012/07/peace-camp.html?spref=fb)
– my student is the 22 year old – his response on the application to “how the
war affected you?” is below:
Boy, age 22: “The war affected me in the following ways: I
lost my father, who was killed. Secondly, all our properties were
vandalized. All our animals were taken.
I myself was burned in a grass thatch house and set fire, but I survived. I
have only one sister and one brother. The rest of my brothers were killed. I have an injury from bayonet. My mother was
paralyzed. This made me head of household.”
This young man works so hard to raise his school fees and
support his family – he often worked in my garden and elsewhere on the school
grounds. Here he is in my garden.
WORLD'S LARGEST EGGPLANT!!!!! That is a full sized dinner plate next to the beast!
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| Peppers+ Eggplant = Payment for a ride from a villager! |
POETRY
Working
August 5th, 2012
I try
very hard
To be
good to myself
And my
fellow time travelers
More
importantly, I want to be honest
First
to myself, then to the collective you
I have
learned this is not easy
To
know what is Reality and Truth
We
change our stories to fit our definitions,
Our
identities
We
choose to see a reality
That
enshrines us in candlelight
Yet to
accomplish the above stated goals
I need
a powerful spotlight
So no
false assumptions can hide in the shadows
I feel
courageous
Most
of the time
But I still
struggle
Which
I think means
I am
not facing
My
real limitations
So I continue
doing the work
To
uncover them
I get
still, listening to my inner poet
While
she shows me the ground
Where
the work must take place
I am
digging and weeding
And sowing
the seeds
Smiling
As the
fruits of this work
Begin to
sprout
Our Country August 2nd, 2012
I love
Our Country
Ours because
America
is its people
Our
intermixed
Melting
pot of the shiniest
Precious
Mettle
From
all over the world
We
have blended
The
greatest raw materials
And
crafted them
Into
the most inspired art
The
more I study
Our
nation’s history
The
more awestruck I become
At the
insightfulness and Resolve
Of our
leaders
The
strength and resourcefulness
Of our
citizens
The
amazing depth of our Compassion
For
those less fortunate
My
prayer is that
We
will not lose sight
Of
what makes us great
We
will remain vigilant
To
protect and be grateful for
The values
and culture
That
is America
Log Jam July 28th,
2012
Pressure
builds
Increasing
stress
As
logs pile up
Appearing
too heavy
With
too much bulk
To
ever move
But
the undercurrent of life flows on
Silently
refusing to yield
To this
apparent inertia
Patiently
biding time
Perpetually
pushing
At
every available purchase
Until
with tremendous
Groans
and creaks
The
logs break loose
And the
water is no longer
Trapped,
nor restricted
Simple
swirls remaining
The
evidence of struggle
Vanishing
quickly downstream
Thank you all for your love – it is felt, and cherished, and
needed-Love Karla
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