BYOB with Sackets!

Before departing from Uganda, I wanted to be sure to try sackets. These are little pouches of alcohol conveniently purchased at the local market.

During my final weekend in Soroti, we planned one last night out at Trends, the local dance club. In preparation for the big night out, we hosted dinner and drinks with the oh-so-classy sackets. I was so excited to finally try them! The quality of the liquor was not so good (I can't say that I was surprised), but it was definitely fun to try something different.

Vodka and gin sackets

And as one of my Peace Corps friends pointed out, they are easy to tuck into your bra to carry with you to the club (although I just took her word for it).

Some final quotes from Uganda

I love the way my friends and colleagues here express things. There is both beauty and humor to how they say what they say that I will miss hearing on a day to day basis.  Below are a few favorites I've heard over the past couple of months. I really should have kept a pad of paper with me to capture everything. 

Plump Like Oranges! When driving to the field one day, we had a full car and four of my female coworkers were squeezed into the back seat of the vehicle. At one point, one of the men with us said, "Ah, these women!  They are all under 30, and they are plump like oranges!"  The ladies did not seem so amused. Though being plump here can be seen as a sign of good health and prosperity. 

Sunburned. On another journey to the field, I unwittingly offering my Ugandan coworkers sunscreen after applying my own.  Their response" "We were burned by the sun a long time ago."  Not surprisingly, there were no takers for the sunblock.

Denying salt. East Africans typically prefer more salt in their food than I tend to cook with. When a coworker tried my cooking during work one day, he said "It is good.  You have just denied it salt."  Then he, and everyone else who ate what I prepared, proceeded to add a generous portion of salt to their dishes. 

Portable women. While walking to town one time, one male colleague asked another, "Is she portable?" which I learned meant, is she thin?  I asked if that was meaning that she was light enough that you could throw her over your shoulder? They laughed and said "Yes!"  Though I wasn't quite sure what to think about that...

Shedding tears. While driving to the field on a particularly hot day, one of my coworkers said to the other, "Your water bottle is shedding tears."  Meaning, your water bottle is leaking. 

I too will be shedding tears as I say goodbye to all of the friends I have made here.  It's hard to believe that today is my last day of volunteering in Africa.  

Tomorrow I depart to meet my family for a safari, and then we'll be returning to the US on February 24th. 

I want to thank everyone for all of their support while I have been here, and for taking the time to read this blog and share in this experience with me! 

Eyalama noi, wevale muno and asante sana!!   Which means "thank you very much" in Ateso (for Soroti), Runyoro (for Hoima), and Swahili (for Kenya). 

Jose Marti'inn

This blog about my time in Africa would not be complete without a post dedicated to Jose Marti'inn. I believe it's one of my favorite places here. This is where I have spent almost every Friday night (and some other nights) during the past 4 months that I've been in Soroti. I was fortunate to be invited to hang out with a group that consists of the Soroti area Peace Corps volunteers and a PhD student that was here doing anthropological work. 

Even after many visits, I'm still not quite sure how to pronounce it. I've heard a Hispanic sounding version (Ho-zay Mar-teen) and also what I think is the local pronunciation (Joe-zay Mar-T-in).  

I think I may have mentioned JM in prior posts.  This is the place where tables are set up in a little dirt and grass palm-tree lined alley situated between two 1-2 story buildings in town. It is technically a bar, but there are street food vendors positioned outside on the street to take your order.  Your options for street food are chicken and chips or fish and chips, unless you want to walk a block or two away to find a rolex (eggs rolled up in chapatti) or some fried cassava. 

The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of East African music, current-ish pop and random stuff from the 80's.  Its often too loud but always entertaining.

My typical routine is:

• Show up sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.  
• Join the group at a table and order a Club (my favorite Ugandan beer).  
• Then at some point, meander to the street and cross to the other side to see Patience, who is my favorite street food vendor.  She is very nice, has a kind smile and appears to be in her mid 20's. She sells fried whole tilapia, and it is unanimous that she has the best chips (french fries) of all of the vendors.
• After placing my order, I return to the table and continue conversing and enjoying my Club
• At some point, Patience will come to the table with food for those who have ordered from her and a pitcher of water (made from an old cooking oil container) with a bucket with some soap. 
• She will then pour water on our hands, and we'll wash them in preparation for our meal. 
• We then eat our meals with our hands in semi darkness (depending on how close you are to one of the few standing lanterns.
• I make sure to apply plenty of Top Up sauce, which is kind of like ketchup, but runnier, and maybe a little sweeter and less tomatoey.
• Once done, we just kind of chill and wait with our greasy hands until she returns again with the water, soap and bucket to wash up. 
• Then, within the next 30 minutes or hour, she'll return to collect payment.  For the small fish, which I always get, and chips, it is 5,500 shillings (or about $2.00)
• Depending on how tired I am, I'll stay for a little while longer, and maybe enjoy another Club, and then head home. 

Fish & Chips with Top Up sauce. Delicious!! 

View of fish & chips with Club and Top Up bottle, and eating by hand 

JM at night with a view of its characteristic palm trees 

There are a lot of things I'll miss about Africa when I leave in a couple weeks. Jose Marti'inn is definitely one of them, along with all of the friends I've made here--expat and East African. 

A Tisket a Tasket, to Market for some Baskets

On Thursday, we had our last excursion with the photographer and videographer, plus some other visitors from the US and a couple of my Ugandan colleagues. I drove the party wagon to the Arapi market (pronounced Uh-rah-pie), which is about a 20 minute drive out of Soroti town. It’s a large market that takes place on Thursdays, and is complete with produce, livestock, prepared food, housewares, hardware, and second-hand clothing. It was a short and easy drive, but the road was packed with pedestrians and people on bicycles and motorcycles making their way to market.

Our main objective was to visit some business owners who had diversified their businesses and started making baskets. The baskets are made from local materials, which mainly consist of local grasses and palm fronds. On market day, they are strapped to the back of bicycles and peddled to market. However, transporting the goods can be a challenge, so some business owners have made arrangements to sell in bulk to people from Kampala who come with a big lorry to pick up large quantities all at once from the village.  

The baskets were quite lovely. Some reminded me of Easter baskets and some were like big hamper-style baskets.  

The Easter-style baskets (I bought the green & purple one at the top left of the photo) 

Hamper-style baskets

Purse baskets

Hamper style close up

While being interviewed, the business owners were busy putting the finishing touches on their baskets. Since we took up a lot of their time, I felt I should buy something, so I went with one of the Easter baskets. I’ve actually seen this style of basket used in restaurants and bars here to carry sodas and beer to the tables for serving; so if I do get it back intact, maybe I can use it for something like that!  I’m still not sure how I’ll carry it through an 8 day safari trip with my family and then on the flight home, but I figured it would be much easier than one of the large baskets. 

Wrapping palm front strips around the edge of  basket lids

How baskets are brought to market on bicycles 

Afterwards, we went through the rest of the market and visited with other business owners who had received grants from the organization. Most of the businesses we saw were actually different from what the business owners had originally received the grants.  But after making profits through their original businesses, they were able to borrow small loans from their business savings group (kind of like their local village bank) to start another small side business.

First we visited with a business owner selling mandazi, which is kind of like an East African doughnut. They are served from a platter by skewering them and then dropping them into a plastic bag. They are very tasty! We then visited with business owners selling oranges and tamarind, and another selling packaged peanuts and soynuts.

Business owner skewering mandazi (notice use of a similar basket)

Business owners selling tamarind and local oranges 

Business owner with child selling packaged  nuts 

When one of the women was being interviewed about starting this additional side business, she said “We are doing what you taught us. Business! Business! Business!”

Best Field Day Ever!! (Ngora)

On Monday we went with the photographer and videographer to Ngora to capture more success stories and to profile one of the longest tenure business mentors working for the organization.  Ngora is about an hour to hour and a half away from the office.  Compared to Katakwi and other locations, it’s considered an easier drive, by African standards anyway.  Still navigating the roads there is tricky and requires a lot of concentration to avoid the massive potholes and numerous split second decisions about where best to go when portions of asphalt are intermittent. I didn't always pick the best routes... But we made it there and back safely.

First stop: Barnyard Bonanza! 

As we arrived at our first stop, we were told that when the business mentor attempted to mobilize just a few business groups from one of the villages to meet with us, the business owners were adamant that they ALL wanted to come to share their stories.

Business owners raising their hands when asked who had experienced improvements in their lives since receiving their grants 

 And to demonstrate proof of their success, they also brought all of their livestock (as most in this group had livestock businesses) to the one compound where we were meeting.  This was by far, one of my favorite experiences here in Africa to date.  It was so cool to 1) see everyone together with their businesses, and 2) hear about their successes and challenges and passion to continue to work to improve their lives and the future for their children.  

It was also sheer madness as everyone maneuvered around to get into their groups of three business owners, each with their animals in tow.  There was lots of baying from the goats and sheep and loads of unhappy squeals/screams from put out piggies.

Directing business owners and their animals 

Business owner wrangling her animals 

Business owners arranging themselves

More chaos

Once business owners were arranged into their business groups, stories of their trials and successes were shared and photos taken. 

Cheering business owners with their animals

Business owners with goats

Business owner with his pigs

Business owners with sheep 

There were also some baby sheep and goats that were so cute, including one sheep that had just been born 3 days ago.  

Mother and baby sheep

Business owner with her baby and a baby sheep 

And as always, there were the ever-present children there to observe all of the activity.

The peanut gallery watching the goings on

Little girl

More children

As this first visit drew to a close, all of the business owners got together for a group picture.  It was an experience I’ll truly never forget!

Group picture!

Second stop: Turkey Business

Next we went to see some business owners who had a very successful turkey business. It took a little while for them to rustle the turkeys out from the bush around the compound and bring them in for us to see (apparently one of the children had accidentally let the turkeys out of their pen shortly before we arrived). Two of the males must have gotten excited by the activity and had themselves a bit of turkey smackdown. Their fighting had to be quelled by the business owners and they were quickly separated. 

Business owners using sticks to coax the turkeys from the bush into the compound

The males all had an odd skin growth hanging down from their beaks

Turkey Fight!!!

Business owner breaking up the fight

Third Stop:  More tailoring success

After the turkeys, we traveled to one of the Ngora town centers to interview a woman who had started a successful tailoring shop. She had a similar story to the woman, Hellen, who we had recently profiled, in that she had attained great success from a tailoring businesses. She then shared her fortune with others by teaching other women how to be tailors.  Throughout the interview, her beautiful baby sat on her lap.

Former grant recipient and her baby

After the interview we drove with her to her compound to see where she lived and the improvements in her home since she received her grant several years ago. Though, I was really nervous driving with her sitting in the front seat with her baby on her lap and no seatbelt or child seat! 

Showing the home she lived in before the grant on the left and her new home she built after the grant on her right  

Inside her new home with her children

Fourth Stop: Fruit Tree Farming

Next we went to visit a business group that had started a very successful citrus farming business. It was a pretty crazy drive to get there on a foot path where I don't think another 4-wheeled vehicle had ever passed.   

My parking job in a field

Business owner with his son in the orchard surrounding their compound 

Over the years since starting their business, they had diversified into also growing vegetables and rearing chickens. 

Baby chicks

Business owner being interviewed with son 

Local kids who joined the tour of the farm 

Final stop: Business Mentor Profile

For our final stop, we went to our business mentor's family home to interview her about her 10+ years with the organization.  She is truly an inspiring woman! 

Business mentor, Margaret, being interviewed 

It was another full day, but an amazing one!!

A nice little Sunday in Katakwi

We currently have a volunteer photographer and videographer in residence capturing business success stories. As mentioned in the last post, one of the success stories is a former grant recipient by the name of Hellen.  On Sunday, we hit the road at around 8 a.m. to make the drive to Katakwi, to Hellen's home village to see where she grew up, meet her family and some of the people she has helped, and to see the church she is building in her community. 

The road to Katakwi isn't exactly a "Sunday drive." The landscape is beautiful, but it's about 1.5 to 2 hours of rough, dusty roads, with yours truly behind the wheel. Our first destination was Hellen's church. It was really neat to see, and we received a very warm welcome of signing and dancing when we arrived. Similar to my last church visit in Kenya, it was quite a lengthy experience -- 3 hours to be exact. And now that we're in the midst of dry season in Uganda, it was sweltering!  I think it was actually a good thing that the walls had not been built yet, as it allowed for a bit more of a breeze than we might have received otherwise. 

Entering the unfinished church in Katakwi

The choir in action

There was lots of singing and dancing, which was fun, and then testimonials about how parishioners were born again. And even though we were in a remote village, there was the requisite speaker/amplifier system running off a generator. 

Hellen giving her testimony (wearing a dress she made)

Speaker system

They also had reading of testimony, a sermon and an offering. For the occasion, I wore one of my African dresses, and was told at one point during the day that I had a body like a true African!

Church in session

The offering

With Hellen and my colleague in African dress

Next we were invited to lunch at Hellen's parents' compound. It was an amazing feast!!  As I mentioned in the last post, Hellen has a restaurant and a catering company, so she was well-prepared to put on an amazing spread!

Entering Hellen's parents' compound for lunch with the parishioners 

Feast of posho, rice, chicken, beans, cabbage, dodo (greens) and sweet bananas 

Game board made in the dirt with seeds 

Afterwards we went to a local trading center in Katakwi to interview one of the women than Hellen had trained through her tailoring school.

Tailoring shop in Katakwi's main trading center 

Afterwards, since we were in the area, we went ahead and visited some current business owners, including some that owned goats, and one that had a grinder business. 

Business owner with his business mentor and his children

Business group with their goats 

Woman preparing millet grain for the grinder

Hand crank grinder

Business owner grinding millet 

We also got to see the business savings group's cash box. Some of the groups in the area had the idea to get these savings boxes to safeguard their money as it began to accumulate.  Since there are 3 people in a business group, the boxes have 3 locks with 3 different keys--one for each business owner.  They also decorated their boxes. 

Business group's cash box 

It was good excursion to the field, though quite tiring. After a white-knuckled drive home, we got back around 7:30 p.m.  Quite a big day!  I think I went to bed by 9 that night.