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. 

Visiting a Ugandan Orphanage

“I’ve got to check out that orphanage and go shopping!”  Hmm… Not a phrase one tends to hear often, but let me explain where this quote came from. 

We currently have a videographer and photographer visiting with us in Uganda to help capture success stories of business owners who have been helped by the organization.  One such success story is a woman named Hellen who lives in Soroti. Hellen started out mending clothes on a veranda in Katakwi, a village about 2 hours drive from Soroti.  She received a grant in 1998, and then started a tailoring business. Over time, she received two other grants and started a series of enterprises including a tailoring school for at risk women, a restaurant, and a catering company.  She is now a very successful and respected business woman. Because Hellen so greatly benefited from the generosity of others, she feels very strongly about giving back to her community. In addition to helping women through the tailoring school, Hellen recently built a church for her community in Katakwi.  

Hellen also has ties to a local orphanage. She sews bags and laptop cases which are purchased at a fair trade price by people in Canada who then sell the bags at a higher cost and send the proceeds back to the orphanage.  Yesterday we went with Hellen to the Nurture a Child Uganda orphanage in Nyakatunya, just outside of Soroti.  (http://www.nurtureachilduganda.org/)

Outside gate to the orphanage compound

The main house for 25-30 children

View of the inside of the compound with office in the back

While there, we got to meet the couple who started and run the orphanage.  It is quite an impressive story. They began by taking in a family of children whose parents had just died.  They continued helping local children in need in the community, taking in more and more orphans, and eventually starting a formal orphanage.  They usually feed and house around 25-30 children and pay for them all to go to school. 

We received a tour of the facility and met some of the kids. 

One of the girls' bedrooms

One of the boys' bedrooms

The children seemed excited to have visitors, and especially ones that came with such fancy electronics!  The videographer let the children take turns wearing the camera headphones during the interview. 

The peanut gallery

Little girl listening through video camera headphones 

A future videographer 

The orphanage is almost entirely funded by the sale of handicrafts. It receives no support from the government. In addition to the sale of Hellen’s bags, they also sell jewelry.  When school is not in session, the children help to make the jewelry.  While they are in school, the couple hires local women to make it.  The goods are then sold to help support the orphanage and to pay the children’s school fees.  So naturally, we did some shopping to help support the cause!

Jewelry for sale

My purchases

When we were out to dinner later that night, we were all sporting our new jewelry.  One of my friends commented on our lovely necklaces.  When we explained their origins, she exclaimed, “I’ve got to check out that orphanage and go shopping!” 

More Food Photos

I think it's been a while since I've shared some food photos.  So here are several that have gradually accumulated over the last couple of months, but didn't fit neatly into another post.

Fresh Beans
Fresh beans may be purchased from the outdoor produce market in town.  They cost around 2,000-3,000 shillings per kg (about $1-$1.50), depending on whether you are getting the local price or the mzungu price. They look so pretty when you buy them, but once they are cooked, they all turn to the same light brown color. Typically, I alternate between beans, green grams (a type of lentil) and cowpeas (or peas) as the main ingredient in my lunches and dinners.

Fresh beans from the Soroti market 

Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are really common here. They are typically sold in heaps, as shown below, or in massive basins. The are a very pale yellow color inside, like sweet potatoes in America (commonly confused with yams, which are bright orange in color). Typically, sweet potatoes are boiled here since most people (myself included) don't have ovens.  See the fish stew photo further below for a cooked sweet potato. 

Sweet potatoes sold in heaps at a Ugandan market 

G-Nuts

G-Nuts is short for groundnuts, or as we would call them, peanuts. They are ubiquitous in Uganda and a staple in the local diet.  They can be roasted, as shown here, or eaten fresh. They are also commonly ground into a paste which is used to create pasted foods (described further below). My coworkers roasted these g-nuts in the office one day and we had them as an afternoon snack.

Fresh roasted g-nuts

Dodo
Dodo is another type of local green. In the past I have mostly shown photos of sukuma wiki (aka kale), which I eat more often. Dodo is a different type of leafy green vegetable, which I really like.  It has a softer texture than kale and a smoother flavor.  The preparation is similar in that you typically cook onions and tomatoes in oil and then add the greens and seasoning (usually Royco). And how can you not like a food with such a fun name?!  :)

Dodo made for lunch at the office

Posho
Now you may be thinking, I've seen this one before.... And yes, you have.  Posho, or as it is called in Kenya, Ugali, is made from maize flour and water.  In Uganda, they say that the flour is slightly different than the flour in Kenya; I believe it's finer.  So they say it is different, or that it tastes different, but it all tastes the same to me.  Except when I tried to make it when I was in the states over the holidays. The corn flour was a lot different and it turned out bright yellow, but it was still ok, I think.  Usually you pour a saucy food over the posho, and it serves as the starch in the dish, like rice or potatoes.  

Ugandan posho made by my coworker

Fish Stew
This was made for lunch by one of my coworkers last week.  A fried whole tilapia was broken into small pieces and cooked with tomatoes and eggplant.  On the side it was served with a boiled sweet potato.

Fish stew with boiled sweet potato

Pasted Fish
Pasted food is one of my favorite things here in Uganda, and one that I have definitely not gotten enough of since I've been here.  As mentioned above in the g-nuts section, pasted foods are made from ground peanuts, or g-nuts, which are made into a sauce that meat or vegetables are cooked in.  Here is tilapia again (which is very common here) that was cooked in g-nut sauce.  It's served over rice with cooked cabbage on the side. 

Pasted smoked fish with rice and cabbage

Matooke
Matooke, similar to plantains, are another common staple food in Uganda. They look like large bananas but the skins are always green and do not turn yellow. 

Matooke sold on stalks in a Ugandan market

I have showed matooke prepared in previous photos where it was boiled and mashed and has no other seasoning.  When served that way, it is yellow in color and tastes pretty bland.   Shown below is a different style of preparation, which I actually like a lot better. Here it has been stewed in tomatoes and carrots and other seasonings which give it a more robust flavor. 

Stewed matooke

It's definitely fun getting to try all of the different foods here and to learn how they're made.

Donation Delivery!

My checked luggage finally arrived here in Soroti after going missing for 10 days.  And with it came many of the goodies that I had collected from generous friends and family while I was home.

I just wanted to thank everyone again who donated items for the staff here in Africa, as well as everyone who helped coordinate the donations of items.  The impressive haul included:

• 4 laptop computers
• 3 mini tablet computers
• 2 external hard drives
• 8 calculators
• 8 flash drives
• 5 computer mice
• 3 mouse pads
• 4 water bottles
• A laptop bag
• and other assorted items

Unfortunately due to weight limitations and concerns that I might get hassled at customs, I couldn't bring all of the laptops at once. So I brought two, in addition to my own that I carried on the plane, and the rest will be coming with my family when they visit next month.  Of the two donated computers I carried, one went to our office in Hoima, Uganda, and the other one came here to Soroti. The rest will be distributed among the three offices when they arrive.

The East African staff has been very excited to receive the donations and are already putting them to good use!  Since there is still a shortage of laptops here in the Soroti office, a couple of my colleagues are sharing one of the computers.

One coworker taking his turn on the donated laptop 

Another coworker taking advantage of the laptop when available 

The water bottles that I received from a family friend were also a really big hit!  I never even thought to ask for them, but am so glad to have received them. They arrived just in time for one of our trips to the field on a particularly hot day.  

Our assistant country director with her new water bottle 

Since it's not always easy to travel around the country here, I have donated items set aside for the other offices that are on standby until someone is making the journey to the other locations.  I think the additional contents for the Hoima office will be moving with a coworker going there next week, and the items for Kakamega, Kenya may have to wait to make the journey in a few weeks.

Items set aside for the Kakamega  and Hoima offices 

Everyone here appreciates the thoughtful and generous donations and sends their Thanks!

Our Uganda country director with his new laptop bag 

Worst Sound Ever

So the neighbors that share a fence with us on the back side of the property are slaughtering pigs today. I think the screaming of the pigs is quite possibly one of the worst sounds I have ever heard in my sheltered life. And it is SO loud, even while I'm inside with windows closed.  

Now I already don't eat a lot of meat. It's more for personal taste preference; I just like the taste of vegetables better.  And I don't judge the eating of meat, and I still do it so myself here and there.  And I know it's not right, but man, I would much rather just pick it up in a grocery and not think about where it came from or what it took to get it to that deli counter. 

Yikes!!! 

Back in Africa

After a wonderful trip home and a harrowing 5 day journey back--complete with delayed flights, a missed connection, 3 flight itineraries, unexpected overnight stays in Istanbul, Entebbe and Kampla, one lost bag (and of course, no change of clothes) and a mean case of jet lag--it’s official, I’m back in Africa! 

It was so great to be home for the holidays, to see my family and loved ones, and even make some new friends!  I enjoyed hot showers, not having to mess with a mosquito net, and not having to keep a wary eye for roaches. I also got my fill of Christmas cookies, every type of ethnic cuisine I could get my hands on, and of course, my pizza fix.  It was hard to leave and return to Africa, and even more so with a rough journey home.

My first night back in Uganda, the power went out (of course), and I thought, “Oh yes, I am back in Africa,” and I kept my headlamp handy the rest of the evening.  Car rides through Kampala were to say the least, terrifying. And I had my first experience of a 7 and a half hour public bus ride from Kampala back to Soroti.  It was cramped, but not as bad as the matatus, and there were no live animals on the bus, so that was a bonus.

I was welcomed back warmly by my coworkers.  Though as a testament to how much I enjoyed the food in the US, when one of my coworkers first saw me, she exclaimed, “Kim, you look different! You are fatter!”  In Africa, I believe this is a compliment, as it means you are doing well, eating well, healthy, etc.  In a place of scarcity, to look fat is a good thing.  At least, that’s how I’m going to take it. :) 

My room was as I left it, though with the addition of 5 dead (or mostly dead) roaches.  At least they weren’t all alive and kicking though, and for that, I was grateful.

I also received warm greetings from the vendors I regularly frequent in the Soroti market. I had two different vendors notice that I had been away, saying “You are back!  You have been lost!” whereupon I explained that I had been away for holiday in the United States. 

I’m still hoping my missing luggage shows up since since there were lots of goodies in there, both for my coworkers and myself.  We’ll see...  Though as I make my way back around Uganda, I am reminded again of how much more I already have than many people here, so I will certainly survive even if the bag is never recovered.