My life is a little busy right now – capstone defense in 36hours and graduation next week…YAY!!
I took some time off to participate in my 1st ever Twitter Conference this morning that was put together by Rockefeller Foundation as part of their Innovative Challange initiative. Yours truly will be putting in her entry under the ‘Farming Now: How will your idea encourage and support young people to enter and stay in farming?” so y’all keep me in your prayers.
So the twitter tweets got me thinking, how can one appear “cool” to youth while engaging them in farming related activities and then boom…I remembered my Pink Gumboots.
You see, I caught on to rainboots/ gumboots being fashionable when I moved to Arkansas in 2010. When it rained, women had them on looking cute with their jeans or tights tucked in. And since I walk from home-school-work in Little Rock, they came in handy on rainy days.
Like most women, I bought two pairs
Like most women, I packed both pairs of gumboots and headed to East Africa
Multi colored polka dotted gumboots, with Teddy in Ngora UG
I got lot’s of ” Eish, what’s wrong with her?..she looks really crazy” looks in Nairobi (Kenya) and Mbale (Uganda) so I shyed away from wearing them during farm visits or on rainy days so as not to be the wierdo.
My niece and I rocking our gum boots in South Africa
To one group of people, I was super cool. TEENAGERS
Senior 5 (A-Level) agriculture students at Mbale Secondary School liked my gumboots. They laughed at my pink gumboots. They asked me where I got my pink gumboots. They asked me where they could buy pink gumboots. They asked me if I could leave them my pink gumboots.
And when I got their stamp of approval, I wore my gumboots everytime the clouds were grey in the morning or when it rained while I was in Uganda and during my 10-days over Easter holidays in Nairobi.
10 points for Pink Gumboots being a conversation starter & cool among my agriculture students in Uganda.
It has been an amazing journey and I feel blessed to have spent the last 10 months here. As I wrap up my report and pack my bags this weekend, this video highlights the Uganda I have grown to know, wonderfully done by Emerging Destinations.
I will have more updates on the project progress with the Mbale Secondary School students & Heifer farmers field trip when I get back to the US in a few weeks.
What I have been reading in the newspapers here – some of the same thoughts trickle to TV news.
Local Ugandan organization African Youth Initiative Network held a screening of the Kony 2012 video for the people in Lira – who are subject in the campaign but might not have access to youtube/ social media/ internet.
In my effort to shed a little light on what I have experienced during my time here in Uganda, I wanted to showcase this beautiful ceremony I attended last year at a village known as Budadiri. The event is held at a woman’s family home to introduce her fiance (kinda like an engagement ceremony) known as Kwanjula.
While the cyber world is a buzz with Uganda issues and Kony, for or against IC who banked $5million in 48hrs, life is moving on and Ugandans are keeping their culture intact!
And what happens on Saturdays in UG? WEDDINGS & KWANJULA!!!!!!
I only watched half of the KONY 2012 video and had a few WTF! moments. The danger of a single story as Chimamada Adichie says. I’m a US based Kenyan and have lived in Eastern Uganda for the last 9 months (clearly I don’t know a lot) but I will share MY thoughts and pictures and what I have seen here in regards to the Children in Uganda since from what I saw on the Invisible Childrens promo, only Jacob, who could clearly speak good english but had to be subtitled seemed to represent the UG kids. And since when did Uganda become part of Central Africa? Eish.
1. Kony is NOT in Uganda anymore. There haven’t been killings, child abductions in the last few years. Northern Uganda is recovering, rebuilding, reintegrating and rehabilitating the residents of the area. Starting with the GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA and a bee-hive of NGOs working in the area.
2. There is a disease affecting children from Northern Uganda (where Kony is from and did the horrible acts). No one really knows what it is and so far about 200 kids have died. It’s called nodding disease. Last week friday, the area MP Beatrice Anywar transported 25 children to Mulago Hospital in Kampala (that has more resources, specialized doctors etc) along with their parents/ guardians. In the news 2 days ago, The UGANDA Minister of Health says money from the Malaria Campaign earmarked for April 2012 has been diverted to treatment and research of nodding cases, pending the Government providing more funds.
So, these kids, from Nothern Uganda – are VISIBLE and being taken care of by their own government and community. Even M7 passed by the hospital to see the kids.
Did the folk over at Invisible Children mention this disease in the remaining 15minute clip I didn’t watch? Or how they can use part of the mucho money from their campaign (which is brilliant marketing strategy) to tackle CURRENT issues on the ground? Like getting these kids medical treatment?
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni visits children at the hospital
3. Most NGOs working in Uganda HIRE LOCAL TALENT! I’m doing my graduate school project with Heifer International. Even their staff in the US is a nice skittles mix of Americans and people from the area they are serving. The Africa regional staff at HQ has AFRICANS. I’m pretty sure having worked for 9years in UG, the founder of Invisible Children could have gotten 1 well educated Ugandan in US to be part of their staff and brought a much needed voice to the little fundraising let us SAVE..wait, let me show my son how Daddy can SAVE AFRICA from the bad guy.
4. There is an ad that comes on local channels (UBC, Step TV) that has this annoying green frog but the message is how Ugandan teachers, parents and community members can stop violence against children. It’s so cheesy but I remember it so it gets the point across. The campaign is by Raising Voices
5. The kids in Uganda might not all have shoes or a closet full of clothes or 3 meals a day or safe drinking water…but they sure are HAPPY kids. And they love dancing. And they hang out with strangers and smile. And they go to school. And they speak ‘good’ english. And their parents are Doctors and farmers and teachers and businessmen and fishermen and florists and hairdressers and fantastic cooks. I mean – can someone at least show their US audience a different face of Africa within their 30 minute clip. Like the airport they landed in? The hotel they might stay in and pay $300 a night in Kampala (that is 10 action kits). The ever green and beautiful Uganda that the future generation deserves to find intact. Anyway, since y’all didn’t get a chance to see that side of the story, here you go.
PS: Oil was recently discovered in Uganda..and drilling starts soon! And we know how that story US interest normally goes.
PPS: When does that Kony campaign “expire” again? (read: NGOs close their financial books on December 31st)
THE VISIBLE CHILDREN OF UGANDA!
With agriculture students at Mbale Secondary School
Kid in Bulambuli
Family at a new born baby's baptism.
Around Uganda..for those who only see or show worn-torn, HIV/Aids, corruption, full of disease kinda media stories.
People live in mansions
OMG! Like really? They have cars over there? And swimming pools? You know, in the country of Africa? OMG!!!
Mt. Elgon Hotel where I'm blogging from and charging my laptop due to a blackout! and many NGO sponsored workshops are held and their staff stay when in the area!
and eat real good, healthy, fresh, organically grown food
Meat stew, matoke (banana), rice, posho (ugali) and ground nut sauce for $2.50
“&
and Ugandans come up with simple, local resource available ways to tackle issues like sanitation
The list goes on and on about Uganda and other countries in Africa not just being a basket case awaiting “HELP” from the West.
And hopefully we are given room to raise our voices (plus have our voice invited and listened to), tell our own stories, handle our own damn issues and resources.
Oh…the kids show up at community events and dance away.
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Don’t get it twisted, the children in Uganda are very loved and cared for in Uganda..starting with the people of Uganda and it’s Government.
A child enjoying the beautiful sunset at Wanale, the slopes of Mt. Elgon.
’Until the lion learns to speak, the tales of hunting will always favor the hunter!’ Truth via @Knaan
UPDATES:
March 14th: Norther Ugandans react with anger to viral video screening in Lira
March 10th: One avenue to help
Rosebell Kagumire, a journalist from Uganda, sheds more light on the current nodding disease, ways you can reach out to a CURRENT and URGENT need for Northern Uganda children. For more info: http://networkedblogs.com/uZkNW
A farmers group supported by Heifer International in Uganda shares the impact of oxen – in song and dance during a Pass on the Gift ceremony I attended in 2011. The farmers are placed in smaller groups of 4 – each member gets an ox, farming tools, + there is an ox plough (for the group).
4-member group from 'Koile I Can' Farmers Group in Ngora, Uganda
At the beginning of the planting season, the group members bring their oxen together to open up the land, a process that would take 6-7 days manually to open an acre was reduced to 3hours.
Ox-drawn ploughs opening up land (draft power)
This allowed for a larger piece of land being planted on, increasing food harvested enough for the family and lots extra for sale. I bought about a kilo of fresh groundnuts.
A variety of crops grown by members in the farmers group
What I didn’t hear while talking to the farmers though – was a deeper impact that was shared beautifully in this performance . How does this connect back to domestic violence again???? Watch and listen.
