Birthday in Uganda

I celebrated my birthday in Uganda yesterday.

I’ve never thought of my birthday as a time to reflect on how fortunate I am just to make it to this age. I’ve usually thought “Ooh it’s my special day!”  And how it’s fun to toast, and spend time with friends, family and loved ones, and to have some good sweets.  Or maybe even a time to consider existential questions, like “Am I where I thought I would be in life by this age?”  But I’ve never thought about how lucky I am to still be alive at the age of 34.  

Some of my Ugandan colleagues sent me birthday greetings yesterday which really brought this home for me, especially considering how many people here (and in other parts of east Africa) are never lucky enough to reach this age.

Birthday messages/greetings:

“Many have always wanted to reach those years but have always failed and you should always thank god that you are among the blessed ones, many happy returns.”

“Happy birthday. This is a very special moment in life since it comes once in a year. May the loving God bless you and grant you more life to celebrate and blow more candles.”

Birthday Lunch

My coworkers were also thoughtful to cook me a wonderful birthday lunch.  It consisted of beans (which I opted for instead of the chicken that we received the day before that was slaughtered in the back yard that morning), eggplant and atapa. 

Making Atapa

Atapa has a slightly nutty taste and was quite good and very filling. It's made from either a combination of millet and sorghum flours, or in our case yesterday, cassava flour, stirred into boiling water.  It takes a lot of elbow grease to work the flour into the gummy, almost playdough-like texture. 

Steaming pile of atapa (I know it looks scary, but it's actually pretty tasty) 

While I was watching it being made, a coworker explained that it used to be tradition that before a man would marry a woman, she was given a very large pot and had to make atapa.  If the atapa was not of good quality (like if it still had little balls of unmixed flour) he wouldn’t marry her.  So I asked the cook if hers was worthy of a marriage proposal, and she just laughed. 

Birthday lunch of beans, atapa and eggplant

It was a delicious lunch!   And a good birthday!

Soroti Grant Disbursements Days 3-6

After 660 kilometers (410 miles) behind the wheel on some rough African roadways (or lack thereof), we have almost concluded the grant disbursements in the Soroti area for this grant cycle. Given the level of activity over the past week, I thought it was best to summarize it all in one post.

Day 3: Obalanga (Monday)

We had a smooth day of grant disbursements in Obalanga on Monday.  It was another long drive over some challenging terrain, but fortunately, it didn’t rain and we got back before dark, so it was a much easier drive than some. I was also complimented by my coworkers on the improvement in my African driving skills, so that was nice!  Although I did get confused at one point as we were driving into town when I saw an oncoming car, and it looked like a toddler was driving it! Then I remembered that the driver sits on the other side here. (Duh!  Not the first, and probably not the last time I’ll get confused like that.)

We had the disbursements under a mango tree, and all went smoothly.  It was the same process as the prior days, so not much more to explain there. Something different though was that there were two languages spoken by different business owners in the area, so one of the local leaders served as a translator throughout the process.

Another cool giant mango tree with business owners assembled beneath it 

Talking with business owners with help from translator 

Reviewing record books

Woman with baby signing for grant

Happy business owners

I also had an interesting bathroom experience while there. It was basically an enclosed flat section of earth with a makeshift wall for privacy. It was the only place to go in the area, and the compound's owners were so happy and welcomed me to use their facilities--one even helped to hold back the side that was starting to collapse so I could get in. It was certainly memorable. I didn’t realize until I got back to the group that straw from the wall had gotten all over my back.

Rustic bathroom

Day 4: Katine (Tuesday)

Katine (pronounced Kah-teen-ay) was closer to home (only a 30 minute drive away) and the main roads were really nice. However, once we exited the pavement, there weren’t really roads, just small footpaths. In fact, we had to slow down and look for a break in the trees to find the turn-off.  My coworker advised “You have to use wisdom to find your way here.”  I was surprised that a car could even fit through some of the places.

So it's kind of a road...

Passing by a field of sunflowers owned by one of our business groups 

A fun thing about driving in this area was that every time we passed a group of kids while going through the villages, they all started running after us and following the car for quite a ways. Considering how rough the paths were, I had to go pretty slowly, so they had an easy time keeping up.

Shot of kids in the rear view mirror

There were also some interesting places to park.  For this one, I was directed to park in a bushy area and had to climb across the front seat to get out.

View of parking job behind business owners

Though the location was close by, it was still a long day with going back and forth between different Business Mentors’ disbursement sites. We also had an issue where business owners who were supposed to receive their grants didn’t bring all of the appropriate paperwork, so we had to leave that area and come back later when they had their records, so there was a bit of extra driving involved.

Disbursement in a church with a grass-thatched roof

Day 5: Mukura (Wednesday)

Mukura was also not too far away, however, we hit a bit of a delay on the way. We were cruising along until we were flagged down by some police who directed me to pull over and park on the side of the road, along with every other car headed in our direction. My colleagues guessed that there might be some sort of dignitaries coming.  As it turned out, they were clearing the road due to some wide-load trucks that were crossing the series of narrow bridges ahead of us, so no cross traffic could pass until they made their way through. It ended up being about a 45 minute delay. When the lumbering vehicles finally passed, the writing on the large cylinders indicated they had something to do with gold mining. I had read in the Uganda news recently that they were attempting to revive gold mining in the country, so maybe it had something to do with that. Finally, we got back on the road. 

Waiting on the roadside

View of bridges and trucks that were blocking the way through 

Wide loads finally coming through 

Once off the main road, we had a couple of instances where there were cows in the path that did not want to move out of the way of the vehicle, so we had to have someone get out and shoo the cow off of the road.  

Stubborn cow that refused to move, despite honking the horn and inching forward 

At the first disbursement site, a group sang a song for us, which was really neat.

Signing business owners

At each location, the business owners were so kind to set out chairs for us. I think they might be chairs from local schools, since they are all almost the same style   They were not the most comfortable chairs to be seated on for several hours at a time--especially after long drives in the car. But still, they were a luxury considering we were usually the only ones with chairs, while others sat on the ground, or on leaves or rocks.

Our typical seating arrangement

I encountered some new wildlife at the second site. At one point, a bunny hopped into our meeting area, which got me really excited (which amused the business owners). Then we also had the typical sheep and chickens making their way through to check out the action.  

Uninvited visitor

Curious sheep

I also received another live chicken, and this time handled it more gracefully. One of the business owners explained that it is Ateso custom to give a chicken to visitors who come to the village.  

Receiving chickens

We also received bags of oranges, which are actually green here in Uganda--as in green all of the time, including when they are ripe. 

The final disbursement of the day was held in a partially built church.   All in all, a good day!

Children in front of the unfinished church

Day 6: Katakwi (Thursday)

Today we went to Katakwi, which is almost 2 hours away on some really rough roads.  

Typical oncoming traffic

 At one point along the way, I was chastised by my coworkers for slowing down to avoid running over a young monitor lizard. I was surprised when they said I should have aimed for it. I was told the lizards eat the local villagers’ chickens, turkeys, etc., and could hurt people too. In fact, there were some villagers beside the road to observe the spectacle of me maneuvering to avoid the reptile, and my passengers speculated that they were saying to each other “Crazy mzungu” or something to that effect. My coworkers also said it was just as bad as slowing down not to run over a snake! (I didn't say it outloud, but I was actually thinking that I probably would have slowed down if it was a snake too).

After a somewhat grueling drive, we arrived at the disbursement site.  Records were reviewed and cash grants disbursed. In addition, we also gave out a couple of grinding machines.  These are used grind local grains for packaging and selling (for more on the grinders, check out a blog post from my coworker at http://villageenterprise.org/blog).  The grinders were assembled so the business owners would know how to put them together and use them. 

Demonstrating grinder assembly

Kids gathering for a watch and to ham it up in the background of the photo 

Demonstrating grinder operation

Afterwards, I received some generous gifts of eggs and eggplants, and some of the business owner groups asked to have their photo taken.

Happy business savings group (women with grinders holding the boxes on their heads) 

As we were getting ready to leave, a guy asked me to come and take his picture (or rather, that’s what I understood from the translation). I went over and he got on a bike and started peddling. Turns out he had equipped it to serve as a human-powered sharpening tool, which he demonstrated by sharpening a panga (or machete). He was so proud and I was truly impressed by his ingenuity!

Pedaling the tool-sharpening bike

Close-up of panga sharpening

We have one last day of disbursements, which was supposed to take place tomorrow, but since there is a conflicting function in the village, it will have to be rescheduled. So fortunately, I get a day off from driving on my birthday tomorrow!  What a great present! 

Mouse in the House

I had a visitor late last night.  I was asleep in my bed, and then around midnight I started to hear some loud sounds.  I awoke and grabbed my headlamp and thought, maybe my housemate’s kittens or maybe his chicken had gotten into my room somehow?!  Then I heard sounds again.  I got up to see something scurry down the bookshelves and I yelped out loud! (It was not really a scream, but I was definitely shocked and made some strange startled noise).  I turned on the light and crouched down to look under the bookshelf with my headlamp (I was at least 5 feet away from the bookcase, of course), and then the critter scurried into my bathroom.  I followed it into the bathroom and saw a tiny mouse crouched in the narrow corner between the back of the door and the tub. (I still have no idea how such a small creature could make so much noise!)  I didn’t know what to do!!  Since it was the middle of the night here, I checked online and tried to call people in the U.S. via skype to see if anyone had any advice. Unfortunately I couldn’t reach anyone.  I thought of killing it with a shoe, but that seemed pretty brutal.  I was exhausted, so I decided ‘well, if it stays in the bathroom, so be it.’

Unfortunately, it did not stay in the bathroom. At around 2 a.m., I awoke again to more rustling coming from the bookcase. I thought “Really?!?!”  I aimed my headlight at it, and it stopped for a bit, and then resumed, then I went and turned on the bedroom light and it scurried into the bathroom again.  I was starting to wish I had clobbered it with my flip flop, but then I couldn’t find it again. I was beside myself.

I began to wonder if maybe it was after a package of cookies I had in my room?  The package was unopened, but still, that was the only new thing I had brought into my room that day.  So I decided to take the cookies to the pantry in the kitchen. Of course, when I went to the kitchen, I saw a big roach. So instead of heading to the pantry, I just left the cookies on the counter and thought “Fine, you can have them!”  Then I went back to bed.

Around 4 a.m., more rustling on the bookshelf. I thought, “Ok, now if I ever get near that thing again, I’m definitely going to kill it!”  This time it seemed the mouse was fiddling around with a necklace I had on the shelf. I got it in Kenya, and it’s made from some kind of seed, so maybe it smells like food to the mouse?  I got up, and of course, the flipping mouse scurried away again.  So I put the necklace in a plastic bag and tied it tight and went back to bed.

Thank goodness, that was the last time the mouse interrupted my sleep that night. I woke up this morning pretty groggy, but saw no traces of the mouse in my room, which was nice. 

I told my Ugandan coworkers the story of the mouse when they got to the office, and they seemed amused with my reactions, but not surprised. Then about 15 minutes later, as if on cue,  the mouse ran through the office and darted behind bookshelves in there.  I was yelling and pointing, and I think everyone just thought I was crazy. 

I was gone the rest of the day in the field and haven’t seen the rodent since I got home.  But I’m pretty sure the stupid thing is still in the house somewhere. I’m just hoping it doesn’t pay me a visit again tonight…   

Ugandan Wedding

Recently, someone was telling me about weddings, marriage proposals and bride prices in Uganda. She said that times were just beginning to change, but for the most part, offering a bride price, or dowry, is still the custom here.  She said for her, the price would probably be around 10 cows.  She explained that for women such as herself who are educated, they usually fetch a higher price.  She then asked one of our male colleagues, and he confirmed, “yes, not more than 10 cows” which I was told is the equivalent of 15-20 million Ugandan shillings, or 6-8 thousand US dollars. I was floored. I asked what if you fell in love with someone that couldn’t afford such a price? I was told it would take patience. There are no shortcuts.

As luck would have it, I was invited to attend a wedding reception with a friend this past weekend.  I met her at the site, which was a short boda (motorbike) ride away.  After a slight rain delay, the reception began.  The guests were seated under a series of tents that all faced the center where most of the activities took place. The husband’s family was seated to the left, the bride’s family to the right, and then the remaining friends and guests, such as myself were seated in the center.

View from my seat of the reception area showing the main tent in the middle, bride's family's tent to right and DJ area in the back right corner

It started as wedding receptions often do in the U.S., with the formal entrance and announcement of the new couple.  There was an MC for the event, who mostly spoke in English and also did translations in Ateso, the local language for this area.

Bride

Bride & Groom

Guests escorting the happy couple to their place

Then the bride and groom went to the cake table to begin the cake ceremony, which we were told is a very important custom. It was similar to that done in American weddings, but more elaborate and formal.  There were many different cakes. They had sparklers on them which were set to light, along with other bigger sparklers that went off as the cakes were cut.

Wedding cakes

Lighting sparklers

Big sparklers

The couple then were positioned to feed each other the cake.

Ritual of the couple feeding each other cake

Afterwards, they walked over to each of the sets of parents and those who had helped in the wedding plans to offer them cakes.  Afterwards, the remaining cakes were cut into small pieces that were passed around on plates to the guests by the bridesmaids. It was a nice appetizer, and who can argue with getting dessert before dinner!

Couple walking around to give cake to parents

The bride and groom then briefly departed to change clothes. While they were away, there were speeches by the parents from both sides of the family and their respective clan leaders. The speeches were all in Ateso, and my friend helped with some of the translations. Then the bride came out in her new dress, and a game of sorts ensued where she was escorted around to look for her groom who was hiding somewhere in the crowd. 

Bride in second wedding outfit

Afterwards, all guests who had brought gifts were asked to come forward, and a line was formed to take the gifts to the couple while music played. Guests walked/danced their way to the couple to give them their gifts (there was lots of music and dancing going on throughout the event).

Next we had dinner, which was delicious!  My friend ‘s family kindly brought me a plate that was loaded up with all kinds of goodies! To explain the below photo, I'll start from the bone and go around as if it's the face of clock. At 1:00, there was some kind of meat (pork, I think?), around 3:00 was a sweet potato, at 4:00 was posho (the Ugandan version of Ugali, made from white corn flour), to the left of that a fried potato, then at 6-7:00, the yellow stuff is matooke (this is a traditional Ugandan dish made from plantains that are boiled and then mashed), up from that is a wedge of chapatti smothered in what I think was g-nut paste (g-nut, or ground-nut pasted food is food that is covered or cooked in a peanut butter sauce, which I LOVE), then around 10:00 was another piece of meat, then there was some cabbage salad and white rice at 11:00, and then at the top center there was pilau rice with beef (I also love the pilau seasoning, which I have described in an earlier post).

Wedding feast!

With the exception of the place I’d been before where you eat fish and chips with your hands, this was my first time since I’d been here eating my whole meal by hand (there were no utensils offered). It was fun, though took some concentration, since I had to hold the plate with my left hand while I scooped up food with my right. I tried watching people to get some pointers on how best to do it gracefully and without making a mess. Napkins are also not typically used here--I believe they are an amenity that most people did not grow up with --thus, they are often not available. It was way too much food. However, I didn’t want to appear ungrateful, so I did my best to eat as much as I could.  After we ate, there was a place to wash our hands.

After the wedding feast, the couple went to the dance floor for their first dance.  Usually, I love to dance, but given how much food I had just put away, I figured it was better to sit on the sidelines and watch. We stayed for a while longer, but then it started to rain just as they were about to toss the bouquet, so we made our exit.

All in all I had a really great time, and it was so neat to get to see how weddings are celebrated here – and to see some of the similarities and differences between Ugandan and American weddings. 

Soroti Grant Disbursements Day 2 Ngora

Fortunately the grant disbursements on Friday were a lot easier than the marathon on Thursday.  The roads were much kinder, and I only had to drive for an hour or so each way. We still had to use 4wd in some places, and there were some areas where it seemed we were driving more on footpaths than roads, but it was fun rather than stressful this time, which was nice. 

So it's kind of a road...

We went to villages around Ngora, which was near a swap, but a really pretty area.  Since it had rained much of the morning, the business mentor was still out working on mobilizing everyone to the meeting place when we arrived, so we had a few a few minutes to walk around and check out the area.  

Massive mango tree by the disbursement site

Walking around the village to the swamps nearby

One of our volunteers even took the opportunity to try out a local row boat.

Volunteer giving a local boat a try with some help from a business owner 

We then disbursed the grants from inside this partially open building. 

Grant disbursement site with roof made from swamp reeds

Local school children in uniform

It was a really neat experience. A group of the business owners sang songs they prepared for us in English, which incorporated our names. Then some business owners acted out a drama depicting the importance of using the grants properly. We then handed out grants  Afterwards, we were presented with more live chickens, as well as sodas and cookies. 

Business owners singing a song of welcome

Role play depicting how to use grants properly

Handing out grants

We then went on to the second location for additional disbursements.  These business owners had completed the first part of the program and were receiving their second follow up grant.

Staff addressing business owners

This required checking business owners’ record books to ensure their first grants had been spent appropriately, and that they had a business plan for how they would use the second grant.

Reviewing business owners' record books
(it took me back to grad school days to see the booklets that reminded me of our blue books we used for taking tests) 

Checking business plans

Business owners then signed for their grants. 

Signing for grants

Close up of grant receipt signing. (When business owners can't sign their names, they use thumbprints) 

One of the former grant recipients had started a very successful business raising turkeys. They were hanging around the area and came by to check out the action. 

Inquisitive turkey

Afterwards, we drove back home. It was another long, but rewarding day! I'm looking forward to some much needed R&R over the weekend in preparation for 5 more days of disbursements next week.