My journey to Karamoja has begun. I survived the 12 hour bus trip from Kampala to Moroto, who knew buses could make it so far on some of the worst roads I've seen? All worth it to now be here, and get to call Moroto home for a little bit.
As you can see Karamoja is in the Northeastern part of Uganda, bordering Kenya and South Sudan.
So most of you do probably know me, otherwise how would you have gotten
to this blog? Anyways a short introduction for those who might not know me so
well: My name is Maria, I am 25 years old, I just finished my masters in
International Peace Studies at Trinity College in Dublin, and after that I
worked for the UN with the Biological Weapons Convention in Geneva for a few months. I have been in Africa for the last month and a half, first in Jinja and Kampala in Uganda and then Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania. What I am doing right now is very different from anything I have ever done before, and hopefully something you might
be interested in learning more about, and follow my journey as I learn more.
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| That's me - In Tanzania a few weeks back |
I just arrived in Moroto on Friday. I have spent a lot of time in Uganda in the last few
years, but Karamoja was always that part no one ever ventured to, the supposed
‘unsafe’ part, although no one I ever talked to really knew much about it. My
last night in Kampala before getting on the bus at 3 am ( 4 am to 4 pm bus ugh
:O) was spent listening to stories of how Karamoja used to be the region you
would go to, but never return, and how even though disarmament has taken place
the region still has the potential to fall back into old patterns. Everyone
seems to have an opinion on Karamoja, but very few actually know much about it.
Luckily I have done months of research on the area so I am not going in
completely blind and naive, although I am realizing there is so much I have to learn from the region and people here.
I wrote my dissertation for my masters on Karamoja, and the
failures of various disarmament operations in the region and the human rights
abuses that followed. My inspiration was meeting street kids in Kampala (the
capital of Uganda) who had been ‘trafficked’ from Karamoja to beg on the
streets to make a little income for parents who were desperate. I wanted to
understand why. How could you ever get to a situation where you would lend your
kid off to beg on a street in a big city..there had to be a reason for why so
many children from Karamoja were in Kampala. My research opened a door to human
rights abuses, discriminatory government policies and an amazing region that
has the greatest of potential
Learning about Karamoja is difficult as the more you learn the more
frustrated you get. Karamoja is a region of pastoralists. Pastoralism equals
nomads with cattle, who move around to support their livelihood. Pastoralism
has been the way of life in this region for centuries, yet now with the state
boundaries and closed borders it is no longer a viable option for the states in
which the pastoralists live. This has caused conflicts throughout the years,
and has made it very difficult for the people of this region to embrace their
culture, heritage and live in a sustainable manner. Many have lost their livelihoods, and as the region is becoming a hot spot for mineral exploitation the people of Karamoja now face a new and difficult challenge.
I am here working with an NGO called Karamoja Development Forum (KDF).
Their main goal is for the voice of the people of Karamoja to be heard and
provide a forum for the Karimojong to express themselves . There are numerous NGOs in Karamoja, yet many of the projects that have been initiated have brought little to the actual people who live and work in the region. One of the greatest struggles have been in that many do not view pastoralism as a viable livelihood in the region anymore. KDF is a local organization that wants
development of Karamoja more than anyone, but they want it in a sustainable
manner where the voices of the people are heard. I am here to learn, to learn
from KDF, from the people I meet, the other NGO's in the region and hopefully
by the time I leave Karamoja I will have a better idea of what the future holds
for Karamoja. This blog will be a way I can share this information
with others who might never make it to this far away region.
So that was the serious part. I want you all to get to know Karamoja not
just the politics, because it is a region which most people have heard nothing
about and it is a truly beautiful area. I have been here for 3 days now and I
love everything about it so far. I know 3 days isn't a lot, but stay with me on
this blog and hopefully in 2 months time I will still be saying I love it.
People here are amazing, they are genuinely nice and open to talk, and argue
with you about their position in politics, and in life. I had my first day
meeting some of the guys at KDF yesterday, they were great and welcomed me in with
open arms. I went straight into a meeting where details of their future and
current updates on various projects were discussed, also great news in that they
received their first grant, which will hopefully help the organization grow and
aid them in their mission to give a voice to Karamoja.
The view from Mt Moroto Hotel - the Beauty of Karamoja
Walking the road into Moroto Town
My second night here I ended up at a reception for a hotel in Moroto as that was the only place with power, to watch the Chelsea – Newcastle
game..unfortunately I was supporting Chelsea, and then later on at the bar
(once the generator got kicking) the Arsenal – stoke city game…again I was on
the wrong side. Yet it was a great time. After the game I headed back to the
hotel I am staying at the moment, Mt Moroto. It was disco night here, so that
provided some great entertainment with lots of dancing and very loud music. If
only I could move my body like the women here (like the rhythm lives in their
body), but I had a good time just watching and having a few drinks and getting to know some of the people here.
I know this is a bit of a random introduction to my life and work here,
but I do hope it might catch your interest. I will try to update every night
and add some pictures and show you what life is like in a very remote corner of
the world.I am writing this in the morning Sunday, but unfortunately I can't
upload the blog until tonight as the generator here is only on at night, so no
power at the moment, also no warm water....but happy and enjoying life despite
the lack of some luxuries.
To my friends from International Studies and International Peace
Studies, being here is also challenging a lot of what I ever thought I wanted
to do in the world. Aid work – does not work unless you know the people and the
culture in which you are working, a lesson I know we have all been told over and
over again in class, yet it seems there is still a lot more that could be done
in that area.. If anything from reading this I hope you all try to understand a
bit more of who are you are working with and be critical of projects wherever
they might be in the world. We all want to make a difference, but understanding
the people who you work with is perhaps the greatest way you can make a change.
Anyways a good night from Moroto!
X Maria
Learn the local language with me: My words of the day:
How are you? - Ejoka?
response: Ejok
How are you? - Yei a?
response: Ayei
Thank you very much: Alakara nooi
My name is: Ekakiro
I love your idea of writing about your life in Africa. I dream of
ReplyDeleteVisiting Africa someday and hope to learn a lot from you. Stay safe, keep writing and I can't wait for you to come to NY again