The Balance of Life - Holding on to the Smiles :)

So a long overdue blogpost now. I have been meaning to sit down and write for the last week, but it just hasn’t happen. So as I just got back to Moroto after about a 12 hour day of travelling, this seemed like a good time to start. In the 12 hour of bus/car ride I have probably slept about half, so although the body is tired from bumpy roads and cramped cars, my mind seems to be awake. The last week has been a bit more eventful than I would have liked it to be, but I’ve had some amazing experiences, a few iffy ones and one not too good one, but I guess sometimes you have to have a little bit of mix. Let the good and evil in the world balance out, or something like that?

Firstly, our meeting that my last post was about preparing for, took place last Saturday. It was amazing to see everything come together. Especially all the volunteers that I had met and worked with the week before the meeting all really stepped up. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never seen a team of volunteers work so hard, and it emphasised to me again the value of the work that KDF is doing. There is a reason why the local ‘youth’ of sorts are willing to give up their Saturday to come together and contribute to the voices of their people being given a forum to discuss their issues.

The meeting brought together people from all over Karamoja, as well as people from outside the region who were interested in listening and understanding the Karimojong take on the current issues facing their region. The majority of the discussions were held in Ngkarimojong, which obviously was the right way to do it as this was a meeting for the people of Karamoja, rather than ‘us’ outsiders. Unfortunately this made it a bit difficult for me to follow what was going on, but just seeing the elders, as well as young people getting so involved in the discussions made me feel like we did something right in bringing all of these people together.

I think the meeting was a good starting point for KDF to show that they are able to function not just as an online platform, but that people from all over the region can be mobilized in a short amount of time. Also showing that people here want to be informed, they want to discuss the issues they are facing and the further development of Karamoja, and they deserve to be an active participant in that discussion. My hope and belief is that KDF will play an active role in making sure that happens in the years to come.

Some amazing volunteers & I tried to be Karimojong for the day

So I could probably write another few pages about the meeting and what happened, but I will save that for another day when I have had the chance to go through notes and reporting of them meeting, so I can describe a bit more content as well as my own experiences. One thing though I know many of you have seen pictures of me dressed up in traditional Karimojong attire for the day of the meeting. I did this because I felt like it was the least I could do. I love the culture and the strength of people here, and I know it might seem a bit of bizarre way of doing it, but it was my way of showing how highly I think of the traditions and the people of Karamoja. And evidently the guys appreciated it as well, as I have never quite gotten that many guys asking to be my Valentine…and have to say the skirt did great things for my dancing abilities :)

So after what I believe was a successful meeting I set off back to Kampala on Monday morning. I had some errands to run in Kampala and I also wanted to see my little family in Jinja. The car ride down was a bit interesting as the car I was in kind of hit the car in front, although more of just a little bump than an actual accident. Regardless the guys in the car in front took this very seriously and began demanding money for what they said were damages for at least 500 000 UGX. This was not true as the little damage there was to their car was more of a little scratch, but as more and more people started gathering around the car and it was getting dark eventually the drivers of the car I was in paid them a bit less than half of that and we could finally get going again. The sort of mob mentality that I’ve luckily only witnessed a few times here, is a bit intimidating. The guys in this case kept saying things like: ‘you are from upcountry, you don’t speak Luganda, you’re not Ugandan’ and ‘we’re going to call all our friends to come here tonight to show you what real Ugandan’s are like’. The people I was with dealt with it all very well, but it upset me in that this is sort of verbal abuse is okay. I know Uganda has so many different regions, and I have written before about the discrimination against Karamoja that you normally run into in Kampala, but it was just disappointing to experience it in this way.

A little later than anticipated but I did make it to Kampala and I had a couple of days of relaxing and catching up with friends before I went to Jinja to see my ‘family’ there. The little kids were adorable as always and I got to see Aidah and go to her newly opened shop, which seems to be doing good. I got myself some soap and a soda to support the business. And also one of the little girls, Esther, is now grown up enough to be in boarding school, which was her dream last time I was there, so it’s good to see the little kids growing up happy and healthy.  They have so much energy, especially little Sammy, so it was nice to spend some time with them just running around and playing all day. A much needed break from sitting by a computer.

Mama Esthers shop and baby Ethan

The little smiles that melt your heart

The energy of 100, laughs and play all day

This next part I wasn’t sure if I should write or not. I don’t want people to get a negative image of Uganda, so first I just want to say that what happened to me could have happened anywhere in the world, and I have had far worse experiences in other parts of the world than this. But it did happen and I believe that dealing with these experiences whether they are good or bad is all part of a learning process, some days are just better than others.

Friday night was a different sort of night for me in Kampala. It started off really well, I had dinner with some friends, followed by a few drinks and then met up with some other friends to go out for a bit. I ended up at a place called Iguana’s, a place I used to go to a lot a few years back. Never really my favourite place, but people were dancing and the music was okay, so I can’t complain too much. Although it didn’t take too long until I was ready to leave, and go get some food and head home.

I walked out of Iguanas with a friend of mine, and we didn’t make it very far down the street before we were all of a sudden surrounded by a group of guys. They pushed us both to the ground, it happened so fast, I just remember laying on the ground with a guy standing over me kicking me asking if I have anything else with me than my bag that he had already ripped off of me. All I did was kinda roll into a ball and hold on to my necklace that I kept saying was a gift from my dad so don’t take it, and the guy didn’t, he just kicked me in the ribs and shoulder and seemed sort of scared of actually touching me, so I guess in that sense I was lucky. I looked over at my friend and saw him getting a much rougher treatment, a guy was strangling him and hitting him, and his head was scarily close to the main road where cars were flying by. The fact that this happened by a main road with lots of cars driving by was what surprised me the most. I just was not expecting it. Eventually a car stopped and the guys ran away, my money, key and phone long gone.

I wish I could say I was tough and handled this well, but to be honest I was really scared, and I think I cried more that night than I have in the last few years. I think it was just the thought of how bad it could have been that freaked me out. These guys holding me down and kicking me could have done a lot worse, and I know I am very lucky that I could walk away with just some bruises. I hate that it has made me a bit scared now. I don’t like that feeling. Luckily though I also had some amazing people in Kampala who took care of me Friday night, and for the rest of the weekend. Some amazing Indian food from Bobby, movie night and drinks with Katie and coffee dates in town made me feel a lot better. So I am very thankful for that, also the random Swedish guys who got me a place to stay on Friday night as my key was taken and helped me get in contact with my family.

I have to say though I was very happy to leave Kampala on Monday morning, and arriving in Arua and getting a hug from Teba and Momo, made it all a little better. And it felt good to be back at work and feeling a bit more useful. I will write more about our meeting in Arua tomorrow.

On my way to Arua I also saw two big elephants, they were blocking the road for the bus so we got to stop for a little while and watch these amazing animals. Something about elephants in the wild that just never gets old. Although did for a second consider what would happen if they decided to charge the bus, as the bus decided to stop in between two elephants, did not seem like the best idea. But after a few minutes we were on our way again, and we passed some impalas, warthogs and hippos. So if you’re looking for a cheap safari, the 30 000 UGX bus trip from Kampala to Arua with Gaagaa buses is highly recommended.

So it took me two days to write this post as power in my part of town is non-existent at the moment, good to be back in Moroto! I have so much more I want to write, but I will try to be more consistent in the next few weeks and not let it take too long before I sit down to write. I hope the next week to be able to do some field research on the mining issue as well as catch up on my writing for the strategic planning that seems to always be following me.

To my family who I know are worrying about me. In a month I will be home and snowboarding again which is probably a lot more dangerous than my life here so bear with me for the next weeks ;)

Happy, Healthy and back in Moroto

Saying that I can't believe I only have a month left before I get on a flight back to Europe. I can't even imagine saying goodbye to my friends and KDF family here right now, so will avoid that thought for a few more days.