Celebrating the Festive Season

On Friday, we had our year end Christmas party.  It was an action packed day (and night) and so much fun!  Our staff from the Hoima office came into town for the week and joined the party, and then we also had all of the business mentors with us, so I think we had about 25 people or so there for the festivities. I decided for the occasion to wear my new African outfit that I'd recently had made. My coworkers told me I looked "so smart" and like a true African queen. 

My African Queen outfit

We started out with some year end meetings and then all headed over to a hospital in a nearby sub-county of Soroti. Each of the country offices had planned to do a year end activity and then a party, or dinner.  Our local staff here had decided that they wanted to take a portion of their own salaries (which are already quite modest) and donate toward a worthy cause in the community. They wanted to share the holiday spirit and help those less fortunate, and were also thinking that it would create a good opportunity to get some visibility for the organization in the community.  After some research, it was found there was a hospital in the area that had a fully equipped maternity ward, but had been waiting for some time to get enough money to connect power to it so it could be functional.  In the interim, pregnant mothers were having to travel to a hospital further away to deliver, which, as you can imagine, it’s not easy to get around here, especially for those who are poor, so not having a place to safely deliver nearby can have serious implications. And since there is a link between health and poverty, it was meaningful to the staff here and aligned with the organization’s mission to help people living in extreme poverty. It was also really touching for me since I had just spent the last 5 years working for a power company, so it was really neat to have that be part of our Christmas donation, and to see the incredible difference that electricity can make here.

Maternity ward in a sub-county of Soroti

We had a ceremony at the hospital, and then made a presentation of the donation to the administration and local government officials. As it turned out, the power could not be connected that day, and since money can have a way of disappearing here if it’s not put to its immediate purpose, it was determined that we would only give the money to the people actually connecting the lines when it happened.  So in lieu of providing the money or the service that day, I suggested we present a big check, like is often done in the US when corporations make a donation (I had actually helped fill one out before at my last company).  The one we had was a bit smaller than I had in mind, and I found it really amusing that the staff referred to it as a “dummy” check, even during the ceremony itself, but it all turned out quite nicely.  Then we got to tour the 2-room maternity ward.

Presenting the "dummy" check

The delivery room

Afterwards, we headed to the venue for our Christmas party. It was a really nice place on the outskirts of town. While we were waiting for lunch to be prepared, we walked around the grounds, and saw ducks, bats and other sights.

Random group of ducks running around the grounds

Touring the party location with some of my coworkers 

Bats in a nearby palm tree
(I had really good zoom. I definitely kept my distance so I wouldn't get ebola or rabies...) 

Statue of people making waragi (local millet beer brew) 

Lawn where the party moved to after lunch

We had our Christmas lunch at around 4 p.m. and then took advantage of the opportunity of everyone being dressed up to take some photos. For some random reason, it made me think of "party pics" at Mizzou (a throwback to college days).

Then we did a Secret Santa exchange, which was a lot of fun. The price limit was 10,000 shillings (or about $4).  I don’t think it's something that's commonly done in Uganda. Christmas gifts aren't really big here. It's more about Christmas parties and having Christmas outfits made. But was started by some of the American staff who were here last year, and everyone really enjoyed it and wanted to do it again this year.

My Secret Santa

We also played some games. My favorite was “Mingle Mingle.” It involved everyone milling about and walking around and among each other while our game’s orchestrator called “Mingle Mingle, Mingle Mingle!” Then when she called out a number (like 7, 12 or 21), everyone had to immediately cluster together into a tightly packed group that matched that number.  Anyone left outside of a cluster of people that made up that number were “out.” It resulted in a lot of frantic bear hugs and people being pulled and pushed into groups.

We also played “Elbow Tag” which involved laying on the ground in groups of tow and then touching elbows until your pair was tagged and someone had to get up and run and catch someone. (Kind of hard to explain, but very entertaining!)

Afterwards, we went to the dance club “Trends” which I had been hearing about since before I went to Soroti. I had never made it there before because it apparently doesn't get started until 11:30 p.m. or midnight, which is usually past the time I go to bed. But it was a special occasion and with the party and everyone in town, we decided to go.  We got there around 10pm, and I guess people weren't kidding, because it really was empty, and true to expectations, was not hopping until about 11:30 or so. It was a lot of fun, especially to be there with all of our coworkers. I managed to stay out until around 2:30 a.m. or so, when I became too tired and had to head home.  Though there were people who didn't get home until around 4 a.m.  So good times were definitely had by all!

This will be my lost blog post for a while since I am starting the long journey home for the holidays this Wednesday. It will be an all day drive to get from Soroti to the airport in Entebbe (probably around 7 or 8 hours). Then the following morning I'll start the 23 hour flight home via Istanbul to get in on Thursday night.  I'll be in the States for a couple of weeks over the Christmas holiday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and best holiday wishes to all!  For those in the LA area, I hope I’ll be able to catch up with you while I’m home!