Wednesday and Thursday July 16 and 17, 2008
Very normal days, almost routine but take a look at what else I have been up to below
Monday and Tuesday July 14 and 15, 2008
These past few days have been pretty frustrating ones for me. My main purpose for being in Northern Uganda is to teach and also to collaborate and guide with my partner teacher. I have collaborated and worked well with Alfred, but I have not been in the classroom yet this week because they do not follow their schedule at all here. Sometimes teachers do not show up so we have a lot of time to conduct class, sometimes we have only forty minutes, so it makes it really hard to plan for the day. Yesterday I did not teach because a group came to perform some skits on prevention for the new hepatitis that has emerged in Uganda. It is understandable but it was not made clear to me until I went to go in the room and they were there. Today I didn’t teach because the English teacher asked to have our time to test. It would be alright, except that Alfred still did not make arrangements to swap with that teacher. There is a lack of communication and accountability and it’s hard to hide my disappointment at times. Also, the students wonder and ask why I was not in the room and I feel like I let them down. The students complain everyday at morning assembly that the timetable is not followed by the teachers but it seems to be ignored.
Invisible Children is creating new footage of the schools to show people how the donations are being implemented. Today they came to our school and it was good to see the kids interact as they got the footage. Also, it was good to talk to some Americans who just came from the states and had a real fresh feeling about being here. I think because they were shooting today, the teachers really got into telling us about the war and the L.R.A. rebels. It is crazy to find out and hear their personal stories. They told us that most of the kids here in Atanga were abducted at one time or another by the L.R.A. and were forced to fight in the war. Many would escape and return home, some in a couple of days, others years. They told us how Atanga was or had the most L.R.A. activity and abductions because it is far away from any urban center. The leader of the L.R.A., Joseph Kony (google his name, his story is pretty amazing) once stayed in Atanga with his family. No one during the heavy fighting in the late 90’s and early 21st century ever slept in their homes at night because the L.R.A. would come to take them to fight. They would sleep in open fields, where if they saw the L.R.A. they could run. David’s co-teacher Otim John told us how he heard the L.R.A. a hut or two away and took off his shirt so they could not grab him, put his blanket in water so they would not take it, hid his belt and sprinted out the door and was able to flee the L.R.A. These stories are so surreal sometimes. Many times, if captured, they would be forced to kill or they would be killed. Since the war has slowed, many of the former abducted have tried to become part of society again, but are shunned by their community for taking part in the conflict. Many have to move to a new place to get away from the stigma of being an L.R.A. member, despite the fact that many were forced into it. (Little disclaimer, the Ugandan army caused just as many atrocities as the L.R.A. and there is mistrust for both here in Northern Uganda)
It is ridiculous to think that that there has not been fighting since only 2006, but many still live in fear with no resolution so far. It is a very difficult thing to grasp, and I cannot imagine psychologically what these people have been through. Even today, nobody knows what Kony’s intentions are or even what he is doing. (He is believed to be in the Congo). He has not been in public for years. The people that speak for him contradict each other and that is what seems to be delaying the peace process, because Kony himself has not given his voice. It makes things difficult to stabilize , but these schools are a start, as many of these kids are reeducated and find some comfort at school.
Sunday July 13, 2008
Today we welcomed our teachers to the volunteer house for a good ole American themed picnic. The plan was to have theme experience a little bit of America by each of us making an American dish and playing some games. It was great, the teaches were trying the American food like mac and cheese, hot dogs, pasta salad, etc…, but there were many plates that still had a lot of food on them. They just do not like muzungu food too much, but we talked and played volleyball and it was a great success.
At about 5 the children from H.E.A.L.S. (after school program in Gulu) arrived to prepare for their performance for the Schools 4 Schools winners. The top high school students that raised the most money from the best schools are visiting Uganda for the next two weeks. It was such an amazing experience for a high school student to be a part of. I look forward to getting Schools 4 Schools started at Waubonsie. The performance was amazing and it definitely welcomed the American students to Uganda.
Saturday July 12, 2008
What an amazing day. We had a book talk which is getting tedious and old, but then we went into town for a couple of hours and had the best pork and cassava you can have. My stomach is still liking it so that is a major plus. We went to Fort Petiko today and it might have been the best day of the trip so far. It is an old Arab slave trading post that is about an hour away from Gulu. It was ended in 1872 when Sir Samuel Baker came and defeated the Arabs and liberated the people of the post. We took a historical tour which took about an hour and it was pretty informative, but then we went hiking up some of the great climbing areas that they had there. They had some great cliffs and rocks that came from old volcanic formations that were amazing and we in them and up them and I was able to take some amazing photos from it. It was such a great time to monkey around on the rocks and vines that they had there. The area looked like it was right out of The Lion King. We hiked around for a couple of hours and when we returned we had a great BBQ and watched a local soccer game. The day was fantastic to get out into the real nature of Africa. When we got back a group of us went out with Aliker David (Ugandan who is School coordinator for Invisible Children). We went to a place called DA PUB. We listened to him tell us why he cannot marry his kid’s mother yet. It seems that his wife is so highly educated (he paid for a lot of it) and she has a good job that the dowry he owes to her family is extremely high for those reasons. Also, since he does well for himself by Ugandan standards he has to pay more in order to show his worth. Until he does, the family does not recognize he exists and will not say hi to him if he sees them (we saw some in DA PUB and that is how the story started). He says an average dowry is eight cows, but his dowry is way above average and will cost a lot. I felt like buying him a cow right there. We ended the night leaving David and taking a crazy boda home, but the crazier they are the more fun I have on them, even though it is really dangerous at night, but so is walking as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment