We have now started on the two weeks of work in kampala, Busheyni, Nsumba and Auroa. At the orphans home in Nsumba they have planned a sports tournament with a goat as the great price! In Kampala the group that is working with the organization KCCC have started their work today. They will be working in the health department and the law department, which are the student's fields of study.They also have plans of a health day and a sports tournament. We are now staying with host families and during the weekend some of the students participated in the family activities, including a weddings and going to a local church.
Except from some stomach problems, we are all doing good, and are looking forward to the next two weeks of learning and sharing!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
African Time and LC Kampala North
Today, we really got to experience the frustrations of African Time. Time does simply not exist in the same form in Africa as it does in the western world, and despite that being sometimes very comfortable, it’s mostly a real pain.
AIM: Art is one of our club’s largest aid projects this year (I’ll let the man in charge write a few words about that later) and at ten o’ clock today, Oyvind was supposed to meet the lady from the printing house we’ve collaborated with during this AIM: Art project. She would bring all kinds of stuff needed to execute the project and it was vital that she’d be on time because at around twelve the groups going to Nsumba and Bushenyi were leaving, and they would bring with them a lot of the stuff needed to the project. But she confirmed several times that she’d be on time, at ten o’clock - European Time, not African Time. Then at eleven o’clock, she phones and asks when she should come.
And the whole day was basically like this, time being simply an instrument to give you stomach ache, not an instrument to help you keep appointments. But around three o’clock, finally most of the things that was supposed to be resolved was completed, and Oyvind soberly concluded that in the five days now spent in Uganda, one and a half of them has consisted of pure waiting.
But on a happier note, the AID IN MEETING program is really kicking into gear around now. The group going to Busheyi and Nsumba left today, as I mentioned, and tomorrow the group working in Arua is leaving, while the Kampala group have had several meetings today with central people in the KCCC organization about their future collaboration.
Another thing worth mentioning is our meeting with Lions Club Kampala North! At the end of the symposium on Tuesday, Andrew, the president of LC Kampala North invited us to their last meeting this Lionistic year, held last night at the Imperial Hotel. (The meeting was apparently from six till seven; at six o’clock not even one person had entered the conference room). But it was a very interesting fellowship, and perhaps the most rewarding bit was the president being really impressed with what our club, LC Bergen Student are pulling off - as he said it, “You have both inspired and us, and scared us”. We also gave the upcoming president a book about Norway to much appreciation.
AIM: Art is one of our club’s largest aid projects this year (I’ll let the man in charge write a few words about that later) and at ten o’ clock today, Oyvind was supposed to meet the lady from the printing house we’ve collaborated with during this AIM: Art project. She would bring all kinds of stuff needed to execute the project and it was vital that she’d be on time because at around twelve the groups going to Nsumba and Bushenyi were leaving, and they would bring with them a lot of the stuff needed to the project. But she confirmed several times that she’d be on time, at ten o’clock - European Time, not African Time. Then at eleven o’clock, she phones and asks when she should come.
And the whole day was basically like this, time being simply an instrument to give you stomach ache, not an instrument to help you keep appointments. But around three o’clock, finally most of the things that was supposed to be resolved was completed, and Oyvind soberly concluded that in the five days now spent in Uganda, one and a half of them has consisted of pure waiting.
But on a happier note, the AID IN MEETING program is really kicking into gear around now. The group going to Busheyi and Nsumba left today, as I mentioned, and tomorrow the group working in Arua is leaving, while the Kampala group have had several meetings today with central people in the KCCC organization about their future collaboration.
Another thing worth mentioning is our meeting with Lions Club Kampala North! At the end of the symposium on Tuesday, Andrew, the president of LC Kampala North invited us to their last meeting this Lionistic year, held last night at the Imperial Hotel. (The meeting was apparently from six till seven; at six o’clock not even one person had entered the conference room). But it was a very interesting fellowship, and perhaps the most rewarding bit was the president being really impressed with what our club, LC Bergen Student are pulling off - as he said it, “You have both inspired and us, and scared us”. We also gave the upcoming president a book about Norway to much appreciation.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Kamwokya, Minister of Agriculture and Ndere
Warning: If my spelling is off this time around, it's because I'm screwed when I can't rely on auto-spelling, auto-correcting etc.
But anyway, yesterday we visited the peer educators at Treasure Life Centre, a branch of KCCC in the slums in Kamwokya, Kampala.. And while there, when we walked around the area, about five of us passed the music studio of "The Fire Base Crew", which Bobbi Wine, probably Ugandas most famous music artist, is a part of. It sounds kind of funky having a music studio in the middle of a slum, but Kamwokya is kind of strange that way. We met Bobbis right hand man, "the minister of agriculture" which is a fitting title concidering what he was smoking when we met him. It was a totally bizarre experience, because suddenly he began to speak of his crusade against homosexuality, and how his next songs would be about how being gay is an abomination and how it's destroying Ugandan culture etc. Polite as we are, we did not persue that discussion, but it served as a pretty clear reminder of just how different Uganda actually is to the western world. Something you should not forget if you're in the business of successful aid work.
After visiting Kamwokya we went to a place in Ntinda, called Ndere, without really having any clue what was going on there, other than some "Ugandan Culture Stuff". Turned out it was a 25 years old performance group called The Ndere Group, that put up a show with traditional dancing and music from different parts of Uganda. It was pretty cool, and at one point, we the audience, was dancing with the group at stage as well. But what was really brilliant was having pork and chips at the same time as watching the music group.
Today people are preparing to leave Kampala, buying stuff that will be needed at their work places, the students going to Nsumba Orphanage are for instanse having an art project to generate money back to the orphanage, and are buying all sorts of equipment to see that through.
And speaking of buying stuff and fixing things, I need to find an ATM. So then I'm off!
But anyway, yesterday we visited the peer educators at Treasure Life Centre, a branch of KCCC in the slums in Kamwokya, Kampala.. And while there, when we walked around the area, about five of us passed the music studio of "The Fire Base Crew", which Bobbi Wine, probably Ugandas most famous music artist, is a part of. It sounds kind of funky having a music studio in the middle of a slum, but Kamwokya is kind of strange that way. We met Bobbis right hand man, "the minister of agriculture" which is a fitting title concidering what he was smoking when we met him. It was a totally bizarre experience, because suddenly he began to speak of his crusade against homosexuality, and how his next songs would be about how being gay is an abomination and how it's destroying Ugandan culture etc. Polite as we are, we did not persue that discussion, but it served as a pretty clear reminder of just how different Uganda actually is to the western world. Something you should not forget if you're in the business of successful aid work.
After visiting Kamwokya we went to a place in Ntinda, called Ndere, without really having any clue what was going on there, other than some "Ugandan Culture Stuff". Turned out it was a 25 years old performance group called The Ndere Group, that put up a show with traditional dancing and music from different parts of Uganda. It was pretty cool, and at one point, we the audience, was dancing with the group at stage as well. But what was really brilliant was having pork and chips at the same time as watching the music group.
Today people are preparing to leave Kampala, buying stuff that will be needed at their work places, the students going to Nsumba Orphanage are for instanse having an art project to generate money back to the orphanage, and are buying all sorts of equipment to see that through.
And speaking of buying stuff and fixing things, I need to find an ATM. So then I'm off!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Commence blogging!
It is an audacious task to commit one self to, being a blogger in Uganda. Getting online can be quite the challenge, but finally I have succeeded! The group arrived safe and sound Sunday evening, I followed the next day, and we have had some very interesting days so far.
First our hostel manager thought our group would arrive the next day, but after a couple of hours of haggling, things was worked out. On Monday the group spent the day exploring Kampala, but it was yesterday, on Tuesday, things really kicked off.
Some of the students in our group, together with David Mutaysa from Lions Aid Norway’s office in Kampala, have been planning and putting together a symposium concerning Uganda’s culture, history, politics etc. A professor from Makerere University, whose name escapes me right now, had a presentation about everything Uganda, and we had a great discussion afterwards, us Norwegians, the professor and other participants, about aid work, circumcisions, economics, change and other juicy topics. Truly a cultural exchange. Other presentations in the symposium concerned the work the volunteers in Kamwokya Christian Caring Community are doing in the slum areas of Kamwokya, and LC Bergen Students soon to be president Oyvind Johnsen held a beautiful presentation about Aid In Meeting and just what exactly it is we’re doing here. (A lot of awesome aid work etc. if you were wondering).
After the symposium, lunch and tea, the president in LC Kampala North and another guy taught our group how to play the Ugandan drums. Or tried to. I won’t lie and say we learned really fast, played beautifully and had a concert later in the evening, we pretty much sucked really really bad. But it was a lot of fun and a great way to end the symposium.
Today, Wednesday, in ten minutes actually, we are going to Kamwokya and meet up with the guys at KCCC (Kamwokya Christian Caring Community) and see what they have been up to since last year. For the people in the Kamwokya slum areas, these guys are doing an amazing job.
I think this will be it for today, I can throw in before I leave, that we’re going to some sort of Ugandan Music Culture Something Arrangement this evening, and according to what I’ve heard, we’ll see and hear how you’re REALLY playing the drums.
First our hostel manager thought our group would arrive the next day, but after a couple of hours of haggling, things was worked out. On Monday the group spent the day exploring Kampala, but it was yesterday, on Tuesday, things really kicked off.
Some of the students in our group, together with David Mutaysa from Lions Aid Norway’s office in Kampala, have been planning and putting together a symposium concerning Uganda’s culture, history, politics etc. A professor from Makerere University, whose name escapes me right now, had a presentation about everything Uganda, and we had a great discussion afterwards, us Norwegians, the professor and other participants, about aid work, circumcisions, economics, change and other juicy topics. Truly a cultural exchange. Other presentations in the symposium concerned the work the volunteers in Kamwokya Christian Caring Community are doing in the slum areas of Kamwokya, and LC Bergen Students soon to be president Oyvind Johnsen held a beautiful presentation about Aid In Meeting and just what exactly it is we’re doing here. (A lot of awesome aid work etc. if you were wondering).
After the symposium, lunch and tea, the president in LC Kampala North and another guy taught our group how to play the Ugandan drums. Or tried to. I won’t lie and say we learned really fast, played beautifully and had a concert later in the evening, we pretty much sucked really really bad. But it was a lot of fun and a great way to end the symposium.
Today, Wednesday, in ten minutes actually, we are going to Kamwokya and meet up with the guys at KCCC (Kamwokya Christian Caring Community) and see what they have been up to since last year. For the people in the Kamwokya slum areas, these guys are doing an amazing job.
I think this will be it for today, I can throw in before I leave, that we’re going to some sort of Ugandan Music Culture Something Arrangement this evening, and according to what I’ve heard, we’ll see and hear how you’re REALLY playing the drums.
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