I get Around...I get Around!, ...and Poetry

On the Road in Uganda

I have been busy lately, going to many interesting sites across Uganda. I visited an Orphanage in Gulu Town and was given Acholi lessons by the orphans with disabilities. They were in wheel chairs and lying on rolling tables that allowed them to avoid bed sores from sitting in the same position.  I find that the best language teachers are the kids. They think it is fun to teach and no one feels embarrassed.

I also went with a group of Aid Africa workers to a tree farm and collected citrus and jack fruit trees to distribute out in the village. This was a fun event but more villagers came looking for the free trees than we had to distribute.  I enjoyed watching the demonstration on how to prepare your tree for planting and watching the village kids hang out.

kids at the tree farm with oranges

Listening to planting instructions

village kids 

trees for distribution

Sadly I attended a funeral for one of our school staff members. You may remember I posted a blog about a woman who told me she was dying. We thought she was improving, but she ended up with Cancer and HIV. In the end it was a hard road for her and she finally let go. The burial was deep in the village and was a lovely affair with testimonials. She was in a coffin in a grass thatched hut and the women went in to pray over her. I spend about 20 minutes in there and then went out to my seat. There were several hundred people there and our entire school closed down so the staff and students could all attend.

Recently, at my local restaurant, I found myself sitting next to a 6-7 year old kid who had been on his way to Kampala – A 5-6 hour bus ride – all by himself to escape abusive relatives – when a local reverend found him and convinced him to come to get some food. He had not eaten in a longtime he said. I believe him, as he got stomach cramps after finishing his plate. A sign his stomach was not used to a meal. The Reverend was going to take him to the police to try to locate either some more responsible family members or some support organization for abandoned children.

This past week I traveled to Kampala to meet with some organizations including Enterprise Uganda, focused on helping Ugandans become successful entrepreneurs and save for their futures. I also visited Junior Achievement Uganda offices. There is a great deal of attention being focused on teaching business and entrepreneur skills.

Vegetables - Our school gardens are in full swing. I harvested my first batch of Okra (called Oteego in Acholi) SO far I have just tomatoes, radishes and okra. The Sunflowers are just starting! I have small green (bell) peppers but they are a long way off. However, fresh mangos have been in season for a couple of months and I have been really enjoying them!

I continue with my project of photographing our students. I take their pictures around the school and let them pose themselves. They love it. I only charge them the cost to get the photos printed. For many this is a great treat… To have a photo of themselves.  I have enjoyed doing it but they are getting so demanding that I may have to stop this project. However I think it might be a good small business idea for some enterprising Ugandan. School Photos! Who Knew!

Tomorrow I will travel with Invisible Children to tour their offices in Gulu for a second time. We are discussing their help with more of our students at the school. Afterward I am visiting a new entrepreneurship education building at a local secondary school. It should be a good and informative day.

Last Thursday I wrote a 24 page proposal to the Ministry of Education and Sports to try to receive funding for more students. So far I have assisted in getting 101 students in our school for short term vocational training. This translates into approximately US $21,500 …Which is a lot of money here.  If this next proposal goes through it could easily raise that amount or more.

Poetry

I only have a few poems to share – one is for my 24^th wedding year anniversary.

Anniversary Poem June 4^th, 2012

The richness of marriage

Comes mostly with the passing of time

Stunning to realize

Its depth & breadth

Of experiences and emotions

When reflecting backwards

The passionate beginning

Hurls us into subsequent chapters

Fearless and joyful

Sure footed and agile

Through the early years

Euphoric when gazing

On the result of love

Our children

The light of our eyes

The culmination of

Everything hopeful & beautiful

Personified

Nothing before or since

Manifests significance

Like these miraculous gifts

Marching bravely into new territory

We realize the magnitude

Of parenting

Slipping now & then

Unsure on rocky terrain of indecision

Looking to each other for guidance & approval

Making decisions for our miracles

Praying we are worthy trustees

In the struggle to provide

Together

Love Food Security Shelter

Education stability challenges safe-haven

Eventually accepting

We must let out the tethers

That hold our offspring back

Giving more freedom

For growth

Relinquishing all control

To them

And the goodness of this universe

Surprised to find ourselves

Alone again, with each other

Curious and a bit nervous

To be just 2

Realizing we have traversed

One of life’s biggest mountains

Arriving safely and a bit worn out

From the effort

Looking at each other

With appreciation, love & compassion

And with wonder & curiosity

For we have made the journey this far

Together

Having arrived here still friends

With scars and damage

It’s exciting and somewhat scary

To imagine what comes next

What new mountains & valleys

Are waiting to receive us

Woven Threads June 4^th 2012

Sipping coffee while watching

A slowly rising sun

Stream its rays of light

Through the cool dust

Floating from the industrious

Actions in the Gulu bus park

Africa never really sleeps

The daily intensity of petty commerce

Shifts to pulsating night life

Then morphs back to business

Between 7 & 8 am

When do these people rest?

How do families exist?

In this hive of constant

Noise, dirt & motion?

Memories of my family rituals

Look nothing like this

Observing each other

With the same wonder & curiosity

And slight fear

So different in obvious ways

Trying to decode

The alien customs

We study each other intently

Fascinated with the riddle

Similar and at the same time

So foreign

Though at the basic primal level

I see and feel the parallels

The woven threads

Binding us in common humanity

The laughs, dances & smiles

The heartfelt way

My hand is held tightly

When greeted in the street

Dichotomy                          May 15^th, 2012

Yin | Yang

Black | White

Peace | War

Day | Night

One does not exist

Without the other

Requiring the antonym

To define itself

Sandwiched between

Life | Death

Living is spent

Mostly towards the middle

Vacillating amongst

The extremes

Occasionally

Venturing too close

To one side

Or the other

Helping to demonstrate

The value

Of the opposite thought

Or action

Living is in the choices

Rarely obvious

Which path is correct?

Learning over time

That moderation is benign

But tedious

The extremes are dangerous

Yet thrilling

Navigating as far

As you dare

Modifying the route

With the wisdom of experience

Smiling to yourself when you err

Realizing the living is in the journey

And the divine is with you

From beginning to end 

Food Snob, Wonderful Weather, Work, Poetry

FOOD SNOB

I am learning that Peace Corps is not for the faint of heart, nor for the food snob. I am doing OK on the first test, but failing miserably on the second one. Seems my New Orleans upbringing makes me love food more than the average PCV. Not just food, but good, well-seasoned, food – and, it seems, I require variety….silly me!

I say this because I have lost a lot of weight over here – so much so that I went to Peace Corps medical in Kampala for a slew of tests to see what was up. Good news is that I have no worms or parasites or water borne illnesses – I just seem to not like the food enough to eat a lot of it. I definitely try – but almost all my meals necessitate me forcing myself to eat and swallow as nothing taste good to me over hear.  I also saw a therapist in Kampala because the medical team wanted to see if I was depressed….which both the therapist and I believe, I am not.

I am however very isolated and too removed from enough food sources to meet my food snob needs. I have been lucky to have a restaurant (called a Hotel over here) open up across from my school in the trading center.  They have boiled goat, stewed chicken, rice, Do-Do (greens), cabbage and fried eggs. Yesterday when I crossed kampala road I was greeted by a baby monkey tied to the rail of the restaurant. It was just a few weeks old and was kind of cute and kind of scary. They caught it in their garden and decided to keep it as a pet - and most likely marketing gimmick. But I kept imagining it carries rabies so i stayed far away. 

So I am now trying to eat one meal a day at this restaurant at least 5 days a week. So far I have made it 1 week….but the lack of variety is beginning to make me less excited with each passing day. This is big news as there was no place to buy cooked meals in the trading center until they opened.  So now I am getting meat a little more frequently – I am also trying to take it home and doctor it up a little. So far so good – though I can’t say I enjoy the food much. SO THAT’S MY BIGGEST HURDLE in Peace Corps. The minor task of eating is a major effort for me. Who knew? I thought I was pretty low maintenance, but here, I am considered a very picky eater.

I also suffered a big cold after returning from Camp Glow and that inspired my Poem below – it was just a common cold but it still knocked me out. I am now fully recovered so don’t worry. I am out of danger!

The Best Thing About Uganda

A friend asked me the best thing about Uganda and after thinking about it I said - well its not the food....its the weather! Sunny and beautiful everyday. I am getting spoiled with all the sunshine and warmth. Rarely too hot anymore and almost always short sleeve weather - occasionally requiring a long sleeve sweater in the evenings. I have not had a winter since Jan-Feb 2011 - its like endless summer here. Of course the dry season was the worst this year in memory, so I have suffered. But really, it was not that bad. Tennessee summers are more oppressive, as the humidity is tougher to manage. Here its a dry hotness. Which is tolerable. Anyway just want you to know I am not suffering in the weather dept at all! We have rain at least every other day for a couple hours and then it moves on. The storms are fantastically strong and powerful .....and then back to the lovely weather. 

Work

Lately my work has been less than challenging and mostly boring and frustrating. All my ideas are waiting approval from various powers and so I spend much of my time trying to surf the internet - when there is power (see poem below); and thinking of work to do. I redo forms and type up lists of action items. So I presently don't have much to do but write poetry - so today you are inundated with new material. Some is pretty good. Some is probably not. But its here for your enjoyment....and mine. 

Poetry

The Common Cold                          May 4^th, 2012

A dry pinched catch in the upper throat

Still hoping to escape the arrival

Of a full blown cold

Knowing it is rare to fend it off

Once you reach this stage

Spreading soreness

Heralds the coming foe

Stock up on the meds

Emer-gen-C, Sudafed, Benadryl, Ibuprophen

In the mirror your head looks the same

Inside it feels a mile-wide and filled with rocks

Too heavy to hold up

For the entire day

Married to the tissue box

Unable to separate for more than a few seconds

Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, burning nostrils

Every second a momentous effort to breathe

Weak and dizzy with weepy eyes

Leaning against the wall for support

Amazed this is a minor illness

And not a major disease

Retiring to bed to wait it out

Feeling ridiculous for being such a baby

When it is just a common cold

Butterflies          May 15, 2012

Being struck

By the conflicting impression

Of the magnitude of my life

And, at the same time, its inconsequence

Like a butterfly

Trivial in its impact on the world

But still able to captivate

Catch the eye

In her instant of living

Bringing joy to those who take time to watch

Then passing beyond their reach

To the fields just over the fence

Dilemma             May 15^th, 2012

Caught in the paralyzing moment

Of holding on ….or letting go

Something enticing

About both

Holding on

Not releasing

Not giving up

Believing

The effort will save

The rewards will com

If our grip remains tight

Alternatively

Letting go

Surrendering

Trusting the light

Believing

Goodness will protect

Clarity will follow

If we loosen our grip

The hard part is knowing

When to do which?

Growth Measurements                                May 17, 2012

Impossible to quantify growth

With so many dimensions

Never linear

Not just a timeline,

When you must consider

Personal-Spiritual-Emotional-Physical-Intellectual-Interpersonal

The concepts of Maturity, Development

With countless variations

Trying to review and analyze a life-line

Gets overly complicated

If dissected

Tough to ascertain improvement

An assessment seems warranted

What is the process?

Surely the Divine knows

Peering down innumerable paths

Confusing myself when taking measurements

Gathering data, unsure of the figures

Preferring to believe

I am progressing forward

But inwardly doubting

Am I focused on the right information?

Wishing to be like Siddhartha and other enlightened souls

Will my evolving qualities

Finally converge

In a land of understanding?

Still stranded

 With all my queries and quantifications

Hoping that asking the questions,

At least

Brings me closer

Fickle Gods                        May 13^th, 2012

In the African bush

I have a tenuous link

To my former life

My real life

The majority of these days

I exist in a surreal state

Where poverty is palpable

Clean running water is not

Electricity erratic

My bathing room a concrete block

My toilet a latrine

This state is acceptable

As long as I can reach

Across the atmosphere

To my life support system

Attainable through fiber optic threads

When the bandwidth is enough

And the network is up

And my battery is not dead

To connect, I travel to the road

Holding my PC up like an offering

To the Gods of the internet

Hoping they will smile

At my sacrifice

And allow the transmission

Raising my arms above my head

With a prayer

After every click or press of the enter key

That I am worthy

That the data transfer is approved

The request to send and receive is blessed

And communication occurs

Apprehensively

While lowering my arms

I hurriedly check for signs of success

Sending out gratitude

Or a curse

To the fickle gods

That hold my sanity

So precariously

Answering my prayer for electronic tonic

As if by whim

Teasing and taunting

With intermittent access

To the far away Heaven of Home

Mothers Day      May 13^th,  2012

It astounds me

That a child, a teen

A grown man

Can influence my state of being

With a comment, a note, call or email

Not just any child-teen-man

But my child-teen-man

Why am I under this spell?

How can they so easily control?

This strong intelligent tiger of a woman

That is a kitten in their hands

How grateful to find

They wield this power

With affection and prudence

Knowing my each breath

Depends on their gentleness

Understanding our happiness

Is tightly interwoven

Bus Ride                              May 18^th, 2012

A crowd of human cattle

Pressed against each other

For 6 hours

AKA

A Ugandan bus ride to Kampala

Squeezed into my seat

Between the large African man

And the mother and baby at the window

Sweating thigh to thigh

Calf to calf

Silently waging

A territorial war of elbows and hips

To maintain space

Enough

Stopping intermittently

To receive offerings of African fast food

Raised up to the open windows

Fried pork and goat meat on sticks

Chapatti, green oranges, mangos, pineapples,

Roasted banana, milk, water, Cokes

Commerce at the basic level

Live chickens and plastic milk containers

Stored under the seat

“Short call / long call”

A euphemism for necessary bodily functions

Just 200 shillings

 To access 3 filthy stalls

Of human waste

Holding all your belongings ….and your breath

As you squat

Humiliated

The mood however is unperturbed and resigned

Music videos blare at punishing decibels

Lovely African melodies

Insufferable 1980’s Christian hymns

Vying for attention,

While kids play on the floor

Under the dirty feet

Life is what it is

Each traveler moving

Towards some pressing destination

Job, marriage, funeral, school, lover, hospital

Praying for safe travels

To pass un-hassled by the police check points

And loaded tankers headed for Sudan

Along the narrow ruined road

To the bustling city

Kampala

Reptilian Emotions                         May 18^th, 2012

Anger

Part of the anthology

Of our reptilian emotions

The baser side of mankind

Anger-Hatred-Jealousy-Envy-Pride-Sloth

Humans slide effortlessly into these

Destructive reactions

It is easier – by some twist of creation

                                                                                    To embrace the evil

Ignoring the divine

Composure-Love-Faith-Goodwill-Modesty-Effort

Overlooking the rich rewards

That come when electing

The more difficult route

A challenge to convince ourselves

To persevere

To follow the journey of the hero

Deciding to choose

Kindness and compassion

As trusted guides

On the voyage

To a settled soul

Hugs to everyone! Karla

PS I did not get trained as a “victims advocate” last week because the training has been postponed until a final curriculum comes out of Washington DC. So stay tuned on that issue.

Soap, Newsletter, Happy Memory, Camp GLOW, Poetry

Liquid SOAP

PCV Heather teaching us Soap Making

On April 14^th I hosted another PCV to come and teach the village savings group at our school how to make Liquid Soap as an income Generating Activity (IGA). This is a fairly widely needed product and can be made at a cheaper price than found in the stores and results in a decent profit to the group. We made a demonstration batch of 50 liters. We sold out 50 liters in one day!   We are hoping to make an ingredient order from Kampala soon to get the supplies needed to start making it in even larger quantities.

Youth Newsletter

A couple Peace Corps volunteers recently started a Uganda-wide Youth newsletter – in Uganda Youth is defined as 14-30 year olds – so my students here can participate. I encouraged one of our students to submit his poem about agriculture and it was selected for the last issue. A copy is below. Just encouraging young people to take risks and be different can make a long lasting impact here. Most education is rote memory and creativity is not considered a good trait by most teachers. So this was a major win for this young man.

Beauty, Natural Beauty

That is true and real

Ugandans have you seen such beauty?

Have the people of Africa seen true beauty?

Beauty that stands the test of time?

Look at the sky

Birds, yes birds

Nature gives us beautiful birds

Chicken, pigeon, dove, guinea fowl, turkeys

All are raised at home

Here on the ground behold the beautiful greens around us

Cabbages, onion, tomatoes, maize, beans,

Name them - All are good for life!

Up on the trees are juicy mangoes, jack fruits, passion fruits, lemons

That are not equaled by artificial beverages

No chemical after effects!

Dear friends, this is all due to agriculture.

The ideal mother who feeds us all.

And she is very committed in helping Mother Nature.

Let’s then be the royal children of Mother Nature

And participate actively in Agriculture!

-----------------------------------------------

Oryem Simon Peter :: Age 22

Happy Memory

One of my most favorite moments in Uganda occurred a few weeks back at my local trading center market. This “market” is very small and consists of 10-20 women from the nearby villages coming to sell their small items. Usually they have onions, tomatoes, some local greens, charcoal and occasionally dried fish. (To date I have not bought the fish, but tried it at my supervisor’s home.) I also buy my chapatti from Madam Evelyn there  – chapatti is a local circular flat bread somewhat like a tortilla. It is fried in oil, and when I add cinnamon and sugar it tastes a little like a donut. I also eat one with salt with most meals for calories and carbs, as I am not exactly getting fat over here. Anyway this one afternoon I purchased some chapatti and an old village woman seated on the ground selling greens motioned she would like a chapatti. So I bent down and let her pick one from my bag. She smiled brightly with a toothless grin and began singing to me in Acholi. I had no idea what she was singing, but all the other ladies began clapping, and I began dancing to their song. Afterwards I was told she was singing that more blessings will return to me, the giver, and that I will receive abundantly from God. It was a spontaneous beautiful joyous moment that is forever burned into my memory!

CAMPS

Entire GLOW CAMP - I'm front far right

CAMP GLOW  (Girls Leading Our World) took place last week simultaneously with CAMP BUILD (Boys of Uganda in Leadership Development). The camps are to educate and encourage young people to become leaders in Uganda.  The girls were divided into 10 groups. Each group named after an African Animal….Lions, Zebras, Rhinos, etc. Each group created their own songs and cheers and they were taught songs about ending malaria and becoming leaders.  They learned about Reproductive Health, (including being tested for HIV), Self Esteem, Life Skills, Business Skills, Money Management, Self-defense, and Domestic Violence. They also learned about themselves through an outdoor ropes & challenge course. I was privileged to be a staff member at GLOW. It was a wonderful and exhausting experience and I feel was very successful in its objective of showing young people they do have choices; they can break free; and they can lead the change that is needed in their communities.  (See poem below entitled Transformation)

Purse Making for Money Management session

I co-taught the sessions on business & income generating skills and money management. I led the practical sessions on building sack gardens and liquid fertilizer and am happy to say they were successful. I don’t think my future entails being a teacher, but I think I didn’t suck at it! I had great fun being the slightly silly older counselor…dancing and joking with everyone every chance I got. I hope it was entertaining to them – I sure enjoyed it! I am glad I was not required to assist in the class where the girls were taught how to put a condom on their partners. Imagine being in the room with 6 wooden penises and having these young girls practicing that assignment. I was glad to be an economic development volunteer on that day!

Beautiful Young Ladies

I nominated 3 young men from my school for Boys camp -all but far right 

Me and friend Rashida

Not flattering but shows the work I was doing

Explaining the camp Rules-  Yes - I am a Ham!!!

Follow up to Care International Learning Tour mentioned in previous blog post.

Here is the photo Senator Isakson sent me of our meeting back in April. His staff informed me he is framing the poem “American Skin” and hanging it on the wall of his office. I feel kind of important now! But somehow living in a hut with limited electricity and no running water is keeping me humble. No room for a big head here in Uganda.

I also found out that one of the Chris-es of “Chris Squared” is good friends with my husband’s cousin’s daughter….world’s collide and explode!!!! Shout out to Sully from Gulu District Uganda!  P.S. Please send me a congressional coin like my friend Nancy got at the lunch in Kampala! I feel left out. Ask Terri for my address in Nashville!

I am back at site for 5 days and then on to Kampala to be trained as a victim’s advocate for Peace Corps Volunteers here in Uganda. Hopefully no one will need my new skills, but as part of the New Peace Corps Protection Act sponsored by Senator Isakson, these advocates are required in case something happens. I’ll write more about my training when I return.

Poetry – 1^st 2 by girls at Camp Glow, Last 2 by me

Proud Glow Girls

Proud are we the Glow Girls

Beautiful we look, eloquent we speak

The bright zebras! Calm crocodiles!

Elegant giraffes! The humble Ugandan Kobs!

Gallant Rhinos! Cheerful Lions! Assertive Elephants!

Cherished Monkeys! Royal Hippos and the fastest Cheetahs!

All focused to be leaders of Uganda, The Pearl of Africa

Proud are we the Glow Girls

So useful to nations, our communities,

The world at large.

Proud are we the Glow girls

To have our nice and loving counselors, staff and co-directors.

We are proud of you.

Thank you Camp Glow

For teaching us.

-------------------------------------------

by Aete Claudys Komakech

Camp Glow Closing Ceremony  April 29^th, 2012

About Domestic Violence

Women! Women! Women!

The mothers of the nation

Beaten and tortured by ruthless men

Whipped and raped by strangers

Crying with the poor child on her back

Digging from Dawn to sunset

With little to earn from the harvest

No food, much work

The ribs seen from a kilometer

Never! Never! Never!

Shall it happen again

You hit me, I take you behind bars

When sad lean on friends

Women! Women! Women!

Suffering no more

No more sorrows

Because we are strong and beautiful

And proud to be a girl

And I am the future leader of my country Uganda,

The Pearl of Africa

Women! Women! Women!

……………………………………………………….

By Dr. Irene and Jacque

Camp Glow Closing Ceremony, April 29^th, 2012

Transformation                                                May 1^st, 2012

I watched it happen this week

100 shy, nervous, timid African girl-women

Breaking free from expected submission

Through Encouragement, Effort,

Education, Mentoring and Love

They began to see a different path

Began to believe they could be leaders

For their country

Began to grow their courage

And their hearts

In ways they did not know

Was possible….For them

The ordinary young women of Uganda

Were transformed into the Extraordinary

They left us

With heads a little higher

With determination

Behind their glowing smiles

To lead their country to a better place

Where women are allowed to flourish

Attain their fullest potential

To raise

Their heads

Their children

Their country

With dignity

Collecting            May 1^st 2012

A blessing given by grace

Is seeing the worth

Of all those

I am privileged to meet

A lifetime of collecting

Friends, extra sons & daughters,

Mentors, advisors, extraordinary people

Has made me wealthy

Resulting in a large, extended

Family of love and learning

People

Like rare gems

Or seashells

Are unique, interesting, captivating

If you study them carefully

Like art

Taking time to wonder

And appreciate the facets and spirals

All it takes

Is the interest

And a little time

To discover

Their inner light

That shines

Each is perfectly created
Enhanced by life’s voyages
Scratched, Dented, Chipped

Along the journey

Becoming flawlessly human

Intentionally collecting

Those I find especially beautiful

Holding on through the years

   Knowing each has lessons to teach

Gifts to unwrap

At different times

In different places

This glittering collection is definitely

My greatest treasure