Lira and other news

So I just posted recently but I’m not sure when I will again and there are some other updates that I thought I should include that weren’t in my last post

I’m going to Lira…
I’ve spent most of the past 2 weeks since I’ve come back from the east trying to figure out what I am going to do for my practicum/ Independent study time…and its been a hassle.

I was finally able to get in touch with the organization that I had been trying to get in touch with for weeks, and had a meeting with the guy that would be my boss. Turns out that the reason I had such a hard time getting in touch with them was because they didn’t want me and just decided not to fill me in on that piece of information. Apparently they had a student intern for them last spring and it didn’t end well. So naturally since we are both American I’m going to be exactly that same as him…not really but I spent the first 10minutes of my meeting trying to explain this to him and defending my program.

Anyway they said I cold work with them in Lira…sweet. But then for the next couple of days I was freaking out not knowing if I wanted to…I like Kampala and don’t want to leave the city to go live by myself in Lira, I don’t want to leave my family hear, the organization rejected me at first and didn’t think to tell me, I would be working a lot with agriculture (not in my top 20 favorite subjects) and maybe I want to do something more with politics…

Well I got over all those issues…not so much over them but I put them aside and just decided to suck it up and work for them…it probably helped that my Academic Director told me the organization would look good on a resume.

So this Saturday…or Sunday I’m getting on a bus and going to Lira…the furthest north my program allows me to go. I will be working for…Get ready for the acronyms…RALNUC, which is a component of ASPS, which is a part of DANIDA (The Danish aid organization, like USAID but in Denmark).

RALNUC works in Northern Uganda and started a couple years ago once the area became more stable. It was formed out of consideration of the internally displaced people (IDP) who would be returning to villages with destroyed infrastructure and no way to begin generating income and most importantly, that the relief agencies would not follow them home to continue providing food and shelter etc. RALNUC provides the agricultural inputs necessary to help IDPs become economically self-sufficient. Through a voucher-for-work program they also build infrastructure. They also do work rebuilding markets on both the supply and demand side.

Overall I’m interested in working in the north because the idea of development in a post-conflict area is fascinating to me. How do communities come together after the violence to rebuild and how can economic development play a role in maintaining peace. Issues of dependency and self-reliance seem to collide in this kind of environment as people try to get back on their feet.

I remember when I was in Southern Sudan just after the peace treaty was signed all the talk of the development that could take place now that there was peace. The people there were so full of excitement, trepidation and hope for the future.

So I’m off to Lira…somewhat hesitantly and full of nerves but with hope. So we’ll see


My Birthday
So in my last entry I forgot to mention that for my 22nd birthday I was at my rural home-stay. Maybe I forgot to mention it because it wasn’t that eventful. Anyway It started out with opening a birthday card that my mom had snuck into my suitcase followed shortly afterwards by a phone call from her. It was followed by another phone call from my friend’s home-stay brother. She had texted him that it was my bday and he thought that meant bad day, so he called to ask me why it was a bad day. It was sweet.

Throughout the rest of the day I got various calls and texts from my friends in the program and it was nice. That night my home-stay brother called followed by my home-stay mom.

It wasn’t that eventful of a day but it was nice knowing that even though I was in bufu Uganda people were still thinking about me. And to be honest I don’t know if for this birthday I would have wanted the typical birthday celebration.

Going to Parliament
Last week, when I was back in Kampala our group took a trip to Uganda’s Parliament. We had a chance to meet with 2 female MPs and asked them questions for about an hour. This all was not that exciting or informative.

But 3 of us stayed later with or Academic director and Program assistants to watch a session of parliament. We were introduced and had to bow in front of the speaker and everything. The session was a little less than an hour late in starting, typical Uganda. But sitting even just for a half hour of the parliament session I was able to learn so much just from observing. Its set up much like the British parliament, ruling party on one side, opposition on the other.

On the day we were there this MP from the ruling party was reading a personal statement about him getting beaten up and later harassed at a police station earlier that week. In the statement he accused an MP from the opposition, saying he had thugs with him at the police station and all kinds of other accusations. It was honestly hilarious. Here this man was reading this statement, completely seriously, and yet MPs on both sides are yelling back and forth and laughing with every accusation. The accused MP kept yelling objection and the Speaker was hardly trying his best to mediate between the two. For example when the guy yelled objection for maybe the 11th time on the grounds that he was making charges against his character the Speaker said, “At least hes still using your title as honorable.”

It was funny and I learned a lot about the political process. I also saw President Museveni’s wife…she’s an MP.

Hanging with my family
Since coming back from my trip to the East I’ve been able to spend more time with my home-stay brother and sister and they are awesome. I really like them. I haven’t had to leave for town as early so I’ve been able to hang around later in the mornings so I get to talk to them more.

Also last Friday night about 10 of us from the program decided we would go out. And my brother and sister came with. You will have to ask me about some of the crazyness from that night but it was awesome having my home-stay brother and sister with me.

Last Sunday I also went to a parents meeting at my youngest home-stay brothers secondary school with my other brother. They were talking about some of the misbehavior among the S1 students…not my brother though, he's a good kid. But it was funny and kind of awkward being at a parents meeting.