Blog 3 (title creativity is at a minimum)

It's the end of week two in Uganda and we have finished our first week of work!

Scarlet and I had an interesting first week here at the Katosi main office in Kampala. On Monday morning( at 7:30 am) we jumped right into working at our newly set up desk in the office (we are sharing one of the bigger desks in the office). I started reading through a couple of websites for potential grants for our organization and started gathering information to write a grant on expanding the community water harvesting tanks program. The first website I looked at might have had some potential, but it was very political heavy and focused mainly on setting up a program to fight corruption in government administered projects and programs (I know very little about this), so I moved on to work on other grant possibilities.

I submitted applications for the Global Giving philanthropy website in order to expand our donor base in the US and UK as well as a request for funding to the Rockefeller foundation for an Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program. The internet was down on Tuesday so I could not research for funding online and instead spent the day reading some of the past Katosi proposals, annual reports and information on water sanitation programs in Uganda.

At any given time there are different people in the office. It is always Rehema and Vaal (and me and Scarlet) and then sometimes George, or Leonard, or a variety of other people who just seem to filter in and out of the office at random. Hopefully I will figure out who they are as time goes on!

Wednesday and Friday I started working on a Coca-Cola Foundation grant, though I have not quite completed it because it needs to be reviewed by Rehema, our project/funding manager, to make sure that the budget and organization demographics are collected. Hopefully I can finish up that application early this week and get started on another one soon! Friday I also wrote up a proposal for a "Community -Led Sanitation Program" which mainly focuses on allowing the community members in any given region to design their own culturally relevant and economically feasible sanitation program. I really believe in this idea of letting communities take charge of their own development and change. Not only does it give the locals and sense of responsibility for the proposed project, but it also simply makes the most sense. I think everyone would agree that the members of a community know their community better than any outside could. By providing basic training, initial funding and the necessary educational tools, my program would support local communities in initiating a sustainable clean water and sanitation program. Margaret comes back to the office on Monday and I'm really excited to meet with her and talk more about potential projects for Katosi and how I can best help the NGO expand the work they are already doing.

Thursday was a national holiday, so we had off of work and went into Kampala for the day just to walk around and get out of the office. Scarlet and I caught a ride into town and started our day at the craft market. There was a big missions group there and one Ugandan woman and I shared a good laugh at their uniforms. For some reason they had decided that the best way to fit in in Uganda was to all wear matching BRIGHT orange polo shirts with their organizations name branded on the front, long JEAN skirts and tennis shoes. All of them, the whole group. Hahaha. Best thing. Then we walked over to 1000 cups to sit for a while before setting out on a long walk across the city to Garden city where we bought a few grocery items. I bought a soda there, but didn't have a bottle opener. I tried to open it with my hands for a long time (unsuccessfully) and eventually ended up carrying it in my bag all around Kampala until I finally broke down and bought a Manchester United bottle-opener from one of the vendors on Kampala Road.

After, we went back to 1000 cups and sat in some comfy chairs and read some magazines about Uganda. I decided that I really wanted some beaded sandals from the craft market so we went back and shopped around until I found a pair that I really liked. They are brown and black leather twisted at the top to look like a snake and I absolutely LOVE them (thanks for being so patient with me scarlet while I tried on every pair in the entire market!) I also made a mental note of all the items I want to buy for Agradu to sell, for the culture kit I am going to make to use for Carolina Navigators back in the states and for friends and family back home. I had to use a lot of self-control not to buy it all right then!

I'm getting adjusted to the laid-back pace of things here and enjoying slowing down for a bit. I read a lot here and have already devoured "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas and "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis. Next up is Perelandria, also by C.S. Lewis. Even if I keep up this pace of reading, I will be surprised if I finish all the books I brought. Overpacked much? Whoopsies. Oh well, whatever I don't use I will leave here for others.
If any other interns are reading this, let me know if you want to borrow any books, I've got plenty!

Tomorrow is Sunday and Scarlet and I are going to do laundry and then take a long walk up to this Anglican church on the hill across the valley from us. I'm excited to get out and explore some more. Scarlet says I am making her be more active than she has ever been, haha. Best.

Also, the World cup starts this week! We are going to Jinja on Friday to meet up with other interns to hang out, explore and watch some games. I'm going to try to make it to Bugalugi falls and hike for the day.

Hope all is well with everyone!
(Sorry my blogs are so long, I would upload pictures for entertainment purposes, but the internet really can not deal with that kind of file size capacity)

Until next time,

Lauren

Katosi

Katosi
Yesterday, Avery (the other UNC intern) and I arrived in the village we are going to spend the summer in, Katosi! I really really like the town, because it already feels like home. It is right on Lake Victoria, and it is so incredibly beautiful! I hope I can go on a boatride sometime, but I will not go swimming I promise!

I really like the house we are staying in! It is right behind the Katosi Women's development office, and is the home of one of the founders of the organization. We call her mama Gertrude! The house is really nice, even though we have no running water and no electricity (it may come back on sometime in June!!). It gets so ridiculously dark here, and at night I sort of feel like I am floating among the stars! I swear I actually saw the milky way. We also have to pee in a whole in the ground and shower outside, but we are getting used to it!

We also have some chicken and two cows, one is named Anna. They kind of scare me, because they are so huge, but today I fed Anna a banana peel, and now I think he likes me. There are women hanging around the house and patio pretty much all the time, and I can tell they are really hard workers and really care about the community.
After we settled in, we walked around the village! There are a lot of shops and markets, and I think I already made friends with a lady who owns one of them. I might go to her shop every day and drink lime fanta! There are also a lot of schools around the area, so hopefully I will get to work with as many of them as I can!

We walked to the top of a gigantic hill (maybe even a mountain) and saw the view of the lake and everything around it. The peace corps volunteer who is also working at Katosi Women Development Trust thought we could see all the way to Kampala!Katosi is pretty much a little village surrounded by the jungle, and I love it! We went to go feed some wild monkeys, but they refused to eat the banana I was trying to give them! it sort of hurt my feelings:) haha

A few days ago, we had our internship training to learn more about Katosi Women Development Trust. It was really interested and informative, and the more I learn about it, the more awesome I think it is. Basically the organization is made up of 13 groups of women around the Mukono district. The leaders figure out what the women need and then implement things like training sessions, agricultural programs, microfinance/loans, and water and sanitation programs. They try to break the traditional gender roles, but in a way that doesn't cause any problems (like they teach women how to construct gigantic cement rainwater collectors, even though women do not traditionally work in construction).

I can tell things are going to move sort of slowly here, but it is obvious that the development trust does get things done. I hope I can work on some of the community gardens and also implement the kicks for katosi (and maybe expand that to kicks for kampala) internship project!

So everything is going really well! The only hard thing is trying to cook, haha, which I am not very good at in the first place. Basically the only food here is rice, fruit, and vegetables. and some bread. I am a horrible cook in the first place, but with no microwavable food (there is a gas stove), I am even worse. Last night, Avery and I cooked Spagetti. It was yummy, but it took us over an hour to make! And this morning for breakfast, I ate the leftover cold spagetti with my fingers. until i found a dead mosquito in it. then i stopped, haha.

I love Uganda, and I will try to update everyone more soon!

Spaghetti, Stars, & Strawberry Creamcheese

We made it to Katosi!

Yesterday the interns officially split (sad story!) and all headed off to our work site, so me and Colleen made it into the "field" site of the KWDT in Katosi. It's a great town. Right now, they don't have electricity and haven't for a month, but they are expecting a new transformer within the month, FINGERS CROSSED!! Mama Gertrude is who we are staying with in Katosi but she is currently in the hospital with ulcers- we hope to have her back soon! There is a peace corps volunteer as well in Katosi and she has been very helpful in showing us around the town. Last night we made our first official meal, SPAGHETTI!! Actually very good since the noodles were imported from Italy!! A lot of the food is imported- my cereal is from egypt, jam from the UAE, etc. the spaghetti was amazing and very much like home it was wonderful. The night before we left kampala we all went to go see Sex and the City 2. The movie wasn't great (warning, not a sex & the city fan) but the atmosphere was heavenly, I forgot I wasn't in the US!! The stars in Katosi are incredible- I've never seen so many! There is always someone blaring loud african music next to mom's house, so its honestly like we have a soundtrack to our lives in Katosi. Today we explored the town, met the police (to let them know there are now THREE mzungus living in katosi), and fed monkeys bananas!! I'm slowly getting used to the Ugandan life, except the latrines. I will never, ever again take for granted the wonder of plumbing and running water. Time's almost up in the internet cafe, but in case you were wondering why Strawberry cream cheese is in the title, its just the one food I'm craving beyond words. Until next time!

avery

Blog I wrote when I was packing things in China

So it is prepared for almost one semester and finally comes--- I’m leaving for Uganda in three days! I just got back in China two weeks ago and I am heading for another country now! Although I’m a little bit homesick (Yes I hadn’t been back in China for one year!), I’m still so thrilled for this trip! And finally today I started to pack my baggage. My trip to Ghana last time totally convinces me that I can definitely survived with 2 t-shrits and money( last time my baggage delayed for 20 days. I survived for 20 days in Wa with only my shoulder bag). Only 3 days for packing thing? I know I need to hurry up! But since I’m so excited and energetic these days, I think I can be really productive and finish this mission.
I need to prepare myself with no Chinese in following 2 months. I never lived in any no-Chinese environment for such a long time (or maybe I can expect my African friends can speak Chinese?) seriously I need to set a goal that teach all AGRADU girls with basic Chinese and ask them practice with me lol.
I don’t know what exactly I’m going to work in Uganda. However no matter what job I’m going to have, I should keep a curious mind. You can really know a lot from asking questions. I’m so excited that I can live in a totally different culture for more than 2 month. I know I will really learn a lot from this experience!
Yes yes yes I need to go back and continue my putting-everything-in-a-tiny-suitcase fight.
And yes I’m so thrilled for this trip!

Week 1 - Kampala Orientation

It is now my fifth day of being in Uganda. It has been a crazy experience so far and I have been loving every minute of it. This city seems to live in a sort of organized chaos. The traffic is out of control and essentially pandemonium free-for-all, except for Sundays (which happens to be today), when the streets are almost clear of anyone.

When we first arrived at the airport, George, one of the staff members of Katosi met us and took us to out hotel in downtown Kampala. We loaded up into a taxi, called a matatu, and I was momentarily confused by the driver getting in on the right side until I remembered that Uganda was first a British colony. The city population has grown faster than it has developed and the roads are in shambles. I think there may be one or two roads here that are actually paved, the others are littered with pot-holes and bumps or simply a lack of pavement. It isn't too bad if you know what to expect, just don't come here expecting anything close to an effective and nice transportation system. Not many people drive themselves and the two main forms of transportation are matatus (van-sized taxis) and boda-bodas (a hybrid between a motocross bike and a motorcycle). The streets are full of these two vehicles and they definitely do not stop for pedestrians much less each other. "Look before crossing" has taken on a whole new meaning.

On our first day, we ate breakfast near our hotel at "The Bread and Cake Shop" and then we got escorted around Kampala by Andrew and Ben. They took us to Oweeno where we bought our cell phones and were overwhelmed by the massive market full of every type of good you could imagine. I'm sure we were a sight to see, nine American girls walking through the Oweeno market looking somewhat overwhelmed and definitely out of place. We then headed over to the crafts markets on Buganda Road and sat at nice coffee shop called 1000 Cups. It seems to generally attract only white customers and was much much calmer than the oweeno market. We then toured Garden City conveniently located near our hotel and complete with a movie theater, bowling alley and supermarket. Not what you expected? Me neither.

We stayed at the New City Annex Hotel on Dewinton Road. It is located in the heart of Kampala near some fancy hotels, banks and parliament. The staff was very accommodating and the rooms weren't bad at all. We had three to a room and access to a bathroom and toilet (note the distinction). The restaurant downstairs also had good food for all three meals and was reasonably priced.

On our second full day here, the four Katosi Womens Development Trust interns had orientation at the Katosi main office in the Lungujja district of Kampala. The office also happens to be my home for the next eight weeks. Scarlett and I will be sharing a room in the office (which really is more like a house) right across the hall from Vaal, the administrative assistant. The office is very pleasant and I'm excited to move out there tomorrow. Lungujja is not in the heart of Kampala and is much quieter and calmer than the bustling downtown. The office is situated directly next to a church and a small orphanage. In my down-time I would love to volunteer at the orphanage and attend some of the church services.
We stayed at the Katosi office all morning and then had lunch with the staff. Reheema gave us an overview of what Katosi stands for and all the ongoing projects. We then discussed the roles of the interns and talked about some of our desires and expectations for the summer. After a quick tour of the house, the three other interns and I sat outside and played with some local children while we waited for lunch to be served. It started as a simple paddy-cake game and turned into a big dancing circle with a lot of singing that I didn't quite understand and jumping around and laughing. I'm sure they all ran home after to tell their friends they had talked to and played with a Mzungo.

After talking with Reheema and Vaal today, I am excited to start working with Katosi on Monday. I am going to be helping with grant proposals, project write-ups and expanding their international donor base. I hope to work with Global Giving and set up an account for Katosi and get some of their projects up on the site. I am pumped about the possibilities for what I can get involved with and excited to learn more from these incredible women. I will be sure to keep you updated with any new events!

This morning, Scarlet and I moved into our room in the Katosi office and are getting settled in and resting. It has been a week of getting introduced to this city and I can't wait to explore it more!

Kampala..interesting to say the least

So, today is day 2 in Kamapala, Uganda. We met up with two of Laurens friends, Ben and Andrew who are also here and have been for about 2 weeks. They showed us around the city and took us to some of the hot spots. We went to this huge market called Oweena (sp?) So many people were there and kept trying to get us to buy things, its ok at first but then gets a little annoying after a while. Most Ugandans get excited when they see either me or Jamila. They dont seem to call us "mzungu" or foreigner as much as the other interns. They just say "ohhh black american!..and proceed to ask if we are related to Obama. Lol. We also went to a couple of other markets that have a ton of handmade jewelery, dolls, dresses, shoes, and other handmade keepsakes. I will definately be going there to stock up on things before I leave. I had my first Ugandan meal at the hotel today. It was pretty good, pepper steak and potatoes. Not traditional Ugandan food, but made here nonetheless. I have a couple of more days to explore here before I am off to Busia. I am a little nervous because I dont know what to expest or know what I need to buy here before I go. A mosquito net it definately necessary though. Until next time...

Mzungu mzungu!! Hi hallo wasup friend

Greetings from Kampala!

It’s been 2 full days here, and I can easily say Uganda is one the greatest places I’ve ever been! The lifestyle is so different- walking down the street people call out “mzungu!” meaning “white person”. All the interns are finally together and it’s been great exploring the city together. This morning we went to the biggest market “Oweena”, it was huge! You have to be so careful buying things- the people triple the prices for the “mzungus” so you have to bargain like crazy. Colleen, one of the interns, got proposed to in the market. Sadly, she had to turn him down.

Everything here is Obama-mania too. His face is on t-shirts, dresses, bolts of cloth. Any worker or taxi drive will immediately bring up Obama the second they think you are from the US. Luckily, we’ve all avoided sickness, but I still look at every meal as a game of Russian roulette with my stomach. Tomorrow all the Katosi interns are going to the Kampala office for our orientation & meet n’ greet with the staff of the KWDT- can’t wait to see what I’ll be doing! Off to Katosi on Sunday to start work Monday! Until next time!

avery