Boys eagerly awaiting a meal I know you have other things going on in your lives and other causes, but this evolving story is one worth telling, not only as a thank you for those of you who have so generously contributed to the GoFundMe campaign to feed the homeless children in Gulu, and to … Read more
“Defiling pupil is a crime” This is not a blog I would have thought of writing earlier, but a lot of topics we would consider taboo in the States are just part of the fabric of life here. Even though it’s OK to show Milie Cyrus gyrating on stage and we think nothing of violence … Read more
Fortunately, some time has passed and some of this has leveled out; but this is real life in Uganda. It’s been a couple of weeks of reality checks. These are not pleasant, but things are improving – or I am adjusting. It started the week after my return from Zanzibar when I got a … Read more
by Nancy Wesson, Peace Corps Volunteer, Program Advisor: Literacy and Adult Basic Education The education of the girl-child and the women they become is one of the single most important contributions society can make to improving income, health and development for the community at large. It is not overstating the matter to say: “An educated … Read more
A few blogs ago I mentioned that I am helping a young man go back to school. What started as an acquaintance on the street has turned into a pulling at the heart strings as I learn more about Peter and his story. So I’d like to introduce you to this young man who has … Read more
Finally – at long last – we are actually starting the project that was attempted in 2011. A burned foot, change of Town Clerk and LABE work intervened and conspired to stall the project. And a truculent volunteer dug her heels and played the role of a power-mongering bureaucrat. Her first question when approached in … Read more
A choking fog of malaise has drifted and settled over Gulu sifting into the nooks and crannies of the psyche like the cloud of fine red silt that is beginning to blow down the streets. Permeating hair, skin, nostrils, computers, clothes, sheets, mosquito net and shoes I am constantly covered in a rust-colored veneer. I’m … Read more
Aaaaah – rain AND real Mexican food. Life is sometimes good in Uganda. Tonight several of us were invited to dinner by an ex-PCV, returned as a USAID employee. We suggested our version of Mexican food: you know beans cooked by Happy Nest (none of us has enough propane to cook beans for 4 hours), … Read more
Lordy the smoke is thick tonight – there is always something burning: plastic, goat hide, something… But tonight is improved by that fact that I managed spaghetti in the few minutes of electricity and discovered gas has arrived!!! I paid, got a receipt and will have a real honest-to-goodness functional stove by tomorrow night. Now … Read more
Today was an interesting day – I went in a bit late because I was told everyone would be busy readying for a meeting with the funders and I would meet-and-greet. So I dressed accordingly, though by the time I tried to iron my clothes the electricity was off again, prompting me to put on … Read more