Sightsavers
On Monday my team (which is working with Hoima District Union for Persons with Disabilities) had a meeting with Edith Kagoya from Sightsavers International (https://www.sightsavers.org). Sightsavers is a charity that works to support people with disabilities to receive the opportunities for education, training and employment they deserve.
The meeting was useful to learn more about the projects Sightsavers run, especially their Improving Livelihoods programme and to find out more ways we may be able to help with their work. They work through partner organisations so we will continue to work with HUDIP and will hopefully be able to make an impact on young people with disabilities.
Problems
On Tuesday I attended several meetings in which I found out about problems with the ICS programme and with previous cycles of volunteers.
We spoke to a woman who organises youth groups in Hoima District and she told us how the groups are disappointed with the involvement of previous volunteers. Apparently they conducted lots of community dialogues and promised to follow up on them with training and activities, but it never happened.
We also spoke to a man from the Kitara Bunyoro cooperative who provides training sessions on various topics. He explained how volunteers did not properly evaluate after training days and the groups they formed were not sustainable. However, he also offered useful advice about positive ways to fix those issues.
It was disheartening to hear that the ICS programme is not always effective and there are issues with following through on promises. I can see how previous volunteers probably thought they would be able to deliver, but were prevented through constraints of time and finance.
I think the programme is still worthwhile as it allows lots of personal development for volunteers and does help the community, but I have come to realise there are challenges with continuity and that 10 weeks is really not very long. Because of the culture in Uganda (and much of Africa) things seem to take a long time and it has taken the team this long in Hoima to meet all the groups and come up with a plan of action and we are only fully getting into the swing of things now. I think we need to create very detailed hand-over notes for the next group of volunteers so they can pick up where we left off and although hearing about these issues is frustrating it makes me even more determined to make the most of our short time here.
Movie Night
After another meeting with Richard from HUDIP on Wednesday, the team had a movie night in the evening. It was lovely to all sit together and watch a film (the first Western media I’ve seen since I got here) and escape from the world for a bit. We watched the movie ‘Tag’ on an outdoor projector screen at Glory Summit hotel. The film was very funny and I enjoyed the improvised outdoor cinema.
Mparo tombs, Miika and Monkeys
On Friday we had a day off as we worked at the weekend and for a social event we visited Mparo tombs where Omukama (king) Kabarega of Bunyoro is buried. The tomb is beneath a domed, thatched roof, but sadly we weren’t able to see inside as the keeper of the keys (who supposedly comes every day) was not there.
However, we were able to see inside the tomb of Omukama Tito Winyi (Kabarega’s son and successor) which was very interesting. We were shown all the different objects around the grave and the animal hide covering it which is held in place by nine traditional hoes. There was a small lizard sat in a bowl amongst clay pipes which we all assumed was dead until it scuttled across the room and frightened the living daylights out of us.
Outside the compound was a monument marking the spot where Kabarega granted an audience to the Emin Pasha in 1877. Within the compound we saw two trees between which Kabarega is said to have teleported (just one of his supernatural powers), the tombs of his wife and his son’s wife (which were small and completely bear) and a small, green hut where his wife lives.
Despite the fact Kabarega died in 1923, his wife is still alive. This is because, whenever the previous one dies, a virgin from the same family as his original wife is chosen to represent Kabarega’s wife and spend her life at the tombs. The current wife is 102!! But was not there as she is ill and away seeking treatment.
In the afternoon we visited Miika Eco Resort, which is a hotel set around a tropical forest and we had drinks and played cards whilst monkeys scampered about in the trees.
Cancellations
On Saturday we were meant to be leading a debate between two secondary schools in the morning, but it was cancelled half an hour before it was due to start. We then spent the morning planning a life skills session with a different school in the afternoon only to turn up and find the deputy head we arranged it with had not informed anyone and we had no group to deliver the session to.
Luckily we were able to reschedule the debate for Sunday afternoon so after church we headed to Premier SS (secondary school) for a debate between them and Strive SS. Both schools sang the national anthem and their school songs, which were very catchy and impressive. The debate that ensued was on the rights of women to the same jobs and salaries as men. Many intelligent points were made and I was very impressed by the confidence and skill of the debaters. In the end Premier won (luckily on the side of equality) and sweets were distributed to the pupils. They also expressed an interest in further interschool events which we hope to facilitate.
Purple Party!!!
On Saturday evening the majority of our group decked out in purple attended Purple Party – a touring concert held in the grounds of Kolping Hotel. Many artists performed and I really enjoyed the music, although most of the crowd didn’t dance and there was quite a lot of MC-ing in between. We mzungus (white people) danced a lot and at one point there were some other mzungus on stage, one of whom spoke Runyoro (the local language).
I really enjoyed the music and there was a great atmosphere. Sadly I didn’t get to see the main act – Dr Jose Chameleon – as he was on too late in the evening, but it was a great event to attend as a group.
Sunday 21st October
Ella's blog 