Saturday, July 21, 2007

What I've done at CETRUD

It's been a while since my last post... and so much has happened:

1. I’ve finished my surveys on CETRUD’s potential Microfinance expansion and presented the report to the Executive Director (hopefully I’ll find a way to upload it online for you all to read).

2. I lived in rural Uganda… which means that I used a pit latrine extensively, did not have running water for showers, I slaughtered a chicken for dinner, I cycled (and drove) around in the bush, played soccer with a bunch of high school kids. I had a great time!

3. I attended a marriage introduction ceremony, which incidentally was bigger than most weddings I’ve been to in my life. There’s always an introduction before a wedding here where there is a symbolic negotiation for a dowry.

4. Along with the wedding ceremony, I also attended a burial ceremony. It was actually quite sad, because it was a burial for a young lady (20 years old) who died in a terrible car accident. The burial ceremony lasted the entire day, and everybody in from the village, and outside, showed up for it.

5. I’m designing a website for CETRUD (temporary link). I’ve learned so much about web design as a result, and I only have my friend Nathan Huening to thank. Therefore, I will shamelessly plug his web-hosting services on this blog… so if any of you want a server and a domain name for a website you’re designing, click here and you'll see how he can hook you up through bluefield hosting.

6. I visited the future Agritourism facility for CETRUD which is right next to Rwenzori National Park. This means I had the bounty to see how the local mountain farmers operated their activities. It’s amazing to see people farm even on very steep slopes.

7. I had an epiphany about the power of the internet. One day, a man in my office was telling me how difficult life was for the women in the mountain. They have to wake up early to hike down a couple hours to fetch water and then hike back. We decided there must be a cheap and easy way to solve the problem, but didn’t know how. I did a quick search online and found blue prints for a hydraulic ram pump, which costs around $50 (very affordable) and pumps water without electricity. We’re currently in the process of installing this near the Agritourism facility.

8. We hosted a conference of eight NGO’s (all of the AGRADU NGO’s were here, with two person delegations - no UNC AGRADU interns) funded by Firelight Organization in the U.S. It was a lot of fun, but very hectic. I learned a lot, and had the chance to network with all of the NGO’s, so I hope to visit them during my 4 and a half month stay that I have left here in Uganda.

I’m sorry that there’s not much here in terms of reflections. I’ve definitely had a lot of time to think about what I’m doing, where I am, and the conditions of poverty, and I’ve learned so much just by being here. Unfortunately, power is out, and my laptop battery is very low, so I won’t be able to type anymore for this blog post. Hopefully I’ll have time to let you know about my thoughts sometime in the next week. Otherwise, take care!

1 comment:

Agus Nugroho said...

Hello,

I am Agus, your story is nice! Thanks.

Agus Nugroho
http://www.agusnugrohojr.blogspot.com/