All of a Sudden, I Know What I'm Talking About

Last week, a group of students from the University of Maryland came to Masaka to work with FSD and one of their host organizations, REAP (Renewed Efforts to Alleviate Poverty). This was a Service Learning Trip (SLT) that is a part of their curriculum for some global development course. It was kind of fun to have a group of American students here, but very weird to have so many like-minded people around; I haven’t been used to that.

Since they were only here for a week, they were learning everything in droves. As they learned bits and pieces about the language and culture of Uganda, I found myself feeling like I knew A LOT more than they did, naturally. But when I thought about it, I had only been here for 5 weeks before they came, which really isn’t all that long. But I was able to teach them some of the language. I was able to explain different nuances about the culture. I was able to articulate what I had learned about development, how it was affecting me, and what I thought about their short experience. One of the students stayed with me and my family (they tried to put the students with families in pairs, but there were an odd number of guys on the trip), and as I had conversations with him, I suddenly felt like an expert in microfinance, development, Luganda, and the Ugandan culture. (I’m not an expert in any of these areas, but in comparison, I felt like one.) It was nice to get a little boost in confidence that I have been learning a lot while I’ve been here.

And just this week, there are two new interns with FSD. Both are working with other local microfinance organizations, so it will be interesting to compare our experiences. This has had the same effect - it makes me feel like I’ve been here for a long time (7 weeks now! Sometimes that feels like a long time, but sometimes it still seems very short). It will be fun to interact with them as they learn and become acquainted with living here over the next few weeks. Oh, and on a side note, there is this ‘Africa-Middle East Microcredit Summit’ in Nairobi, Kenya in a couple weeks that we might try to attend, but there’s a few hoops we have to jump through first, let alone from finding the money to pay for it. I’ll keep you posted.

I Am Working, Right?

So after all, I am here in Uganda to learn about microfinance and help some very poor people better their livelihood, right? At times, I have to remind myself of that. It’s so easy to get carried away by all the fun places to go, the new people I meet, or the cultural differences I’m learning on a daily basis. Or at times, because there’s been so much stimulation and learning that has taken place, I want to disengage from everything around me and just relax. But I have to remind myself that I’m here for a purpose (which encompasses much more than my work with Masaka Elders, but that’s a big piece of it).

So I’ll try to summarize what the last few weeks of ‘work’ have been like. I’ve been moving out to the field usually once or twice a week with two of my co-workers, Bashir and Vincent. These two guys are younger, 26 and 27, and very cool guys to hang out with. They have a lot of respect for me, since I’m somehow an expert in microfinance. They have so many questions about life in the States, so it’s fun to talk with them and share stories. But anyways, back to work …

Going out to the field has been a great way to meet many of the clients that don’t necessarily have the time or capacity to come into the office on a regular basis. Hence the need for going out to the field, to visit clients, check up on projects, and collect money. In the office, I already have a few accomplishments under my belt, which is nice to see a little progress. I adapted the loan application form they use to require more information from a prospective borrower. The old form simply had one line for “purpose for the loan,” where the clients would simply write “agriculture” or “construction” or “expanding my business.” With these types of answers, there’s no way to know what the clients will actually use the money for. So all I did (it’s really pretty simple, but somehow revolutionary) was require that the borrower explain in detail how they were planning on using the funds. It’s almost like forcing them to write a mini business plan. If they want a loan for agriculture, what exactly are they going to use the money for (buying seeds, fertilizer, land, etc.)? Or if they want to expand their business, what steps are they going to take, and how will that benefit them? It’s really the small, simple changes that I’m hoping will have an impact down the road.

As far as a tangible result of my work so far, yesterday is about as close as I’ve come so far. Masaka Elders held its 2010 Annual General Meeting. Because a SACCO is owned by its members, the law requires it to hold an annual meeting to discuss changes, report progress, and include members in decisions for the future. Basically, it is democracy in action, in a place where true democracy is far from the norm. But because Masaka Elders has over 1800 members, it is unrealistic to invite all of them. So they invite delegates who represent the members from a certain area. They actually use these delegates often, as each delegate pair (a man and a woman) are responsible for 50 members in their area. These delegates help the staff to encourage members to save their money and repay loans on time. There are about 90 delegates in all, but there were some members that were invited to the meeting, so there were almost 200 people there in total.

I had been preparing some educational materials about savings and loans to give to the delegates, for them to pass on to the members in their communities. I also wrote up some information about their role as delegates, how they were helping the institution and how we wanted to reward them. (One of the next projects I’ll be working on will be to implement an incentive system for the delegates - who are just volunteers - to motivate them to reach certain performance standards.) So in preparation for the meeting, I had these materials translated into Luganda so the delegates would be able to read and understand it all (only some of them speak English). So at the meeting yesterday, I presented some of the more important pieces of this information, knowing that simply my being there speaking to them would have an impact (The institution is basically given instant credibility just because I am here working with them. Oh, the power of skin color). It was actually pretty fun. I’ve never had someone translate what I’ve said in front of a big crowd before, so that was an interesting experience. I would say a couple sentences, then look around to see peoples’ reactions when the manager explained it in Luganda.

I was told that everybody really enjoyed what I had to say, that they learned a lot, and that they appreciated me speaking to them. Which is expected to hear such a positive response. But I hope that these delegates will actually take the responsibility to educate the members in their area about the benefits of responsible savings and loans. The good thing is that I’m still here for more than two months, so I will hopefully have time to do more education, and to assess if what I’ve done has actually made a difference.

Anyways, that’s a bit about my work with Masaka Elders so far. I could continue to write and write, but I know that some of you are probably already bored. If you really are curious about more details of my work here, feel free to shoot me an email, and I’d be glad to answer any questions you have.

Me speaking and the Manager translating

People listening attentively :)

The crowd was pleased to hear me speak a little Luganda to them

People are very interested in what I have to say

At least I think they're interested in what I was saying ...

Democracy in action

Serving drinks - people were very surprised to be served by a mzungu

Me and Bashir, who I work most closely with

Me, Vincent, and a member that makes delicious chapatti

Kayaking Down the River Nile!!

Last weekend, I traveled up to Jinja, the location of the source of the Nile River out of Lake Victoria. I went up there with some Dutch volunteers that are working here in Masaka. They told me they were going rafting on the Nile, and that was just too hard to turn down. I was planning on going up to Jinja at some point, so it was great that it worked out to go with people I knew, and the rafting was definitely worth it!

We rafted down a 30km portion of the river that contained 11 different rapid sets, including three class 5 and three class 4 rapids sets. There were 6 main rafts, with about 5-6 safety kayakers, and then me. I opted for the tandem kayak, which was absolutely the right choice! I’ve been rafting back home a few times, so I felt like doing something different. And I actually ended up getting the best of both worlds. There were two different rapid sets (a class 5 and a class 4) that we couldn’t do with the tandem kayak, so I was able to jump into a raft and go down with them. And this was a ton of fun, but the problem with the rafts is that you don’t really have much control. You’re kind of at the will of the water. Yeah, we flipped once, which is no big deal. It was plenty deep and there were no jagged rocks around, so you just float back to the surface, find the raft, and climb back in.

But going down class 5 rapids in a kayak … epic! The tandem kayak works like this. I am in front and the guide is in back. My guide’s name was Ibrahim, very cool dude, and I felt safe the whole time. He taught me the basics of kayaking as we started, so I actually think I could do alright on my own on maybe some class 2’s back home (we’ll see if that actually happens; maybe I’m getting ahead of myself). The paddling is easy. The balance takes a bit of practice, but I figured it out pretty quickly. We practiced flipping the kayak upside down, and then flipping it back over. And we actually had to use this technique just once … but in the middle of a class 5 rapid set!

This was the second class 5 of the day, and I think the fourth big set so far, so I was feeling pretty confident already. There was a pretty big drop-off waterfall (maybe 5-6 ft.), then two more rapids that we maneuvered through. But the fourth wave flipped us over, and the water was rushing! If felt like we were underwater forever, but it was really just about 10 seconds. I could definitely feel the strong current pushing us downstream and tossing us around, but I just held on for dear life. We eventually flipped back up, and I was just laughing and smiling (and inside, very thankful to still be alive :) And from then on, I knew we had gotten past the most difficult part of the river, so I had nothing to worry about the rest of the day.

Obviously it was a great experience to kayak down the Nile. It was very surreal at times, sitting there realizing that I was paddling down the Nile River. It was definitely one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities to float down part one of the longest rivers in the world. And it was an absolute adrenaline rush, which is exactly what I was looking for. Now I really want to go kayaking when I come back home. One advantage here, though, is that the water was SO much warmer than the northwest water! It was a nice, beautiful sunny day, the water felt great, and I didn’t even get burned :) There wasn’t much wildlife on this part of the river (no crocodiles to worry about), just a ton of birds, mostly kingfishers, comrades, and other fishing birds.

At the end of the day at the hostel where we stayed, they showed a video with footage of the trip. It was pretty cool to see myself and what it looked like to be attacking these huge rapids in a little kayak! And I had a great time with this group of Dutch volunteers. A few of them are leaving this weekend, but some are still here for another couple months. Oh yeah, side note: Dutch is a funny-sounding language.

The view of the Nile from the porch at the hostel. Beautiful sunset!

The picturesque Nile River

Some of the rapids we took on at the end of the day!

The Introduction Ceremony

A few weekends ago, I was privileged to be able to attend a local, cultural celebration. Sarah, the Local Program Coordinator from FSD was being introduced (essentially, she was getting married), and I was invited. In Luganda, the ceremony is called a ‘Kwanjula.’ It is the equivalent of a wedding in America, though some people here do both: they have a Kwanjula and a wedding. But for all intents and purposes, this is what really matters.

The first observation is that it is a very colorful celebration. As you’ll see in the pictures below, the women wear a variety of very formal, colorful dresses, called a ‘gomez.’ And men wear what is called a ‘kanzu,’ that is the local traditional attire for men at formal celebrations like this.

Second observation: it was the longest ceremony I have ever been to in my life! When you go to a wedding in the States, the ceremony is usually around 30 minutes, after which there is usually a reception. Well if those are your standards, you’ll be very disappointed when attending a Kwanjula. The ceremony was about 5 hours long, then finally we got some dinner at the end.

The basic premise of an introduction ceremony makes sense, but in my opinion, it’s drawn out a little too much. It is supposed to symbolize the first time the groom and his family meet the bride and her family (although these days that’s clearly not the case). The ceremony typically takes place at the home of the bride. So the friends and family of the bride are all there waiting for the groom’s family to arrive. There is a great big procession as the groom’s family enters, and once they sit down, the ‘festivities’ begin.

Because greetings and introductions are such a huge part of Ugandan culture, a good majority of this ceremony is the bride’s family ‘greeting and welcoming’ the groom’s family. When a family has guests come to their home in Uganda, it is a big deal. So this ceremony follows suit that it is a big deal. First, there are young girls that come out dancing, then kneel (showing respect) and greet the family. Then some older girls come out and do the same thing. Then the sisters of the bride (well, the ‘sisters’; they’re not all really her sisters – more like bridesmaids) come out and greet the family. And then the ‘brothers’ do the same. And then the aunts. And these are not short, simple introductions. The group of ‘family members’ will come out dancing, some will sing a song, and then the actual greeting will take around 10-15 minutes each time, with dialogue back and forth. Throughout the entire ceremony, there is a ‘spokesperson’ for each family (not necessarily the father of each side, but supposed to be). So there is constant banter going on back on forth (in Luganda, of course) the entire time. So in summary, the first two hours of the ceremony, you haven’t even seen the bride, nor do you know who the groom is (he’s just sitting in the crowd). But my saving grace, I was sitting next to a woman who explained what was going on most of the time, so I wasn’t left completely out of the loop.

Finally, after the aunts do their song and dance, they go into the crowd of the groom’s family looking for the groom. (They obviously know who it is, and so do most of the people in attendance, but it’s the whole ‘cultural’ thing that keeps it going.) So they bring him forward and put a robe on him (over the kanzu he is wearing). Then they offer him some food and something to drink, but he refuses, because “the only way his hunger and thirst will be quenched is by the love of his life.” Ahhhh :) So then there are two more dances before the bride finally comes out, and then more banter back and forth, and then they finally share a drink together. But then the bride goes back in, changes dresses, comes back out again (with more music and dancing), and then they eat something together.

The funny thing was that there was never any real formal “introduction” like we have in American weddings (“I’m pleased to introduce for the first time Mr. and Mrs. ______”). But after most of the rituals were completed, the groom’s family leaves to bring in the gifts. It’s typical (I guess not only in Ugandan society, when I think about it) to bring gifts to your host when you are coming as a guest. And did they ever bring gifts! It makes sense in this patriarchal society, where daughters are still viewed as possessions, and they are ‘purchased’ – in a sense – by the groom’s family. The whole price-setting thing doesn’t happen as much these days, but the amount of gifts brought to the family of the bride shows that there is still plenty of money involved.

So finally, after the gifts were brought and the rituals finished, we proceeded to have a delicious typical Ugandan dinner. Now I’m all for cultural learning – and don’t get me wrong, it was an interesting ceremony to attend and learn about – but I don’t think I’ll jump at the next chance to attend a Kwanjula.

Me in a kanzu, with the FSD Program Director and friends

A variety of colorful dresses

The first group of 'sisters' that came out

The woman that did most of the singing

Sarah, the bride, in the dark blue ... she's happy :)

A jug of local brew that is given to the bride's family

Crates of soda and lots of gifts

Don't Worry, I'm Still Alive

Sorry for the lack of blog postings lately. Life has actually been pretty busy here. Not exactly “busy” relative to my normal lifestyle back home (which I am thankful for), but by my standards here, it’s been a pretty busy past couple weeks. Like I’ve done before, I’m going to spread out the blog posts, rather than posting a huge novel. You can look forward to reading about the following:

- Going to a local wedding

- Rafting (actually, kayaking) down the Nile River

- My work with Masaka Elders SACCO

- A group of college students from Maryland that were here for a week

- An update of life in Masaka in general

- And hopefully some pictures, because it has taken me far too long to post some

I hope to get these up by the end of the week … happy reading!

Homesickness Defeated!

It’s been almost four weeks since I left Eugene, and my first bout of homesickness is now over. It was kind of a lingering thought in the back of my mind as I was still settling in here. Time with my host family was sometimes good, and sometimes awkward. My time with Masaka Elders (the host organization I’m working with) was sometimes good, and sometimes boring. The food, weather, people, etc. here was sometimes good, and sometimes not so much. And all the while, I was longing for community and fellowship. I was longing for my family and friends. I was longing to be home. But the Lord had bigger things in mind.

I want to thank all of you who have been praying for me, as a number of prayers have been answered. First off, I’ve started to bond with my host family, which can be attributed to two things: soccer and dancing. It’s been fun to watch the soccer matches with the brothers in the family, and fun to banter back and forth about sports with them. I know, big surprise: sports made me feel more at home. But secondly, there was an impromptu mini dance party in the village last week that was absolutely hilarious. I’ll try to post pictures when I get the chance. The brothers here own a video library (small movie store), and they are always playing music there. So one night after work, they had been talking about seeing me dance, and teaching me to dance “Uganda style.” So I said sure (I mean come on, who doesn’t like to dance?). And what ensued was beyond my imagination. Not only were there about 20 members from the community standing outside the door watching (“Hey, there’s a mzungu dancing. Come check this out!”), but a bunch of little kids came in and started dancing, too. And it’s one thing to watch kids dance, because it’s funny and cute. But no joke, these kids could move! So I left the “dance floor,” ran back home and grabbed my camera, and got a bunch of great pictures of these kids. The whole night was just a great opportunity for me to kind of come out of my “trying to be respectful in a new culture” shell and for the family to get to see a different side of me. So long story short, time with the family has been great, and it’s been fun to start to actually have some relationships with them, not just saying, “Hi, how was your day.”

Secondly, my role with Masaka Elders has started to be more defined. I finished my work plan this week, so now I have a guide of what projects I’ll be working on for the next 14 weeks. It’s been great to go out into the field with the staff and meet the clients. I’ll probably write a separate post about all of this, but suffice it to say there are some very poor people in Uganda. And since I have a better idea of what my time will look like here, I feel more productive and useful. I feel like I’m actually here for a purpose now.

Thirdly, and maybe most important, I’ve been able to find fellowship here, albeit not in the way I would have guessed. Last week, I met three Canadians from Vancouver who are here building a secondary school. They are also Christians, and so I went to the church they attend on Sunday. It was a pretty decent service, and I was able to understand most of what was being said (which was a far cry from my first experience at a Pentecostal church here … the speaker didn’t really allow the translator time to, you know, actually translate). It was great to be able to talk to them and relate to them on a different level than most other ‘mzungus’ here that I’ve met. So I’m excited to be able to hang out with them in the next few months.

But just in the last couple days, I’ve been even more encouraged. On Sunday evening, I met two women (again from Canada) who were volunteering with the Uganda Cooperative Alliance. They were just here for about two weeks working with different SACCOs in the area (SACCO = Savings and Credit Cooperative … another name for a microfinance organization). One woman is a Christian, but her co-worker is not. Over the course of our conversation, the other woman was impressed by my sincerity and genuineness. She had some pretty negative thoughts about Christianity, but apparently those were being challenged. I found this out on Tuesday when I saw the Christian woman, named Ruth, at the internet cafe I go to. She wanted me to be encouraged that though I might not know it, Christ's light was shining through me. And encourage me, she certainly did. It was also great to talk with her for a while and again, be able to relate on a different level than with most people I’ve met so far. Now this is not a prideful proclamation that I am doing the work of God, but a humble acknowledgement that the Lord is working through me. I am blessed to be used as a vessel for His greater purposes, and I am excited to see what all He has in store for me in the coming months!