Hey everyone!
Its been another great week! I’m back after our safari trip this weekend which was SO cool!
As far as work last week, it was a short week but a very gratifying one. I built my first tippy tap on my own with help from a P4 class at one of the schools I work at. They mostly watched the construction, but were huge helps when I needed more sticks and the holes dug, etc. Literally, I was describing what sized pole I needed, and this like 9 year old boy runs out into the woods with a machete and starts hacking away and brought me an armful haha…I can’t even imagine what sorts of lawsuits would come about if they found a 9 year old using a machete in schools here!
On Wednesday Rhea, Hema, Shane and I met up with everyone else (all 8 interns) in Kampala and we headed out on the safari on Thursday morning. We drove for like 7 hours to the northwest to Murchison National Park, where the company running the safari had a campsite with a restaurant and bar area overlooking the Nile…it was INCREDIBLE. The first day we went in the actual safari van early in the morning and saw tons of giraffes, antelopes, hippos, really cool birds, monkeys, and baboons all up close. We even saw 2 female lions and one was feeding on a dead impala…it was like straight off planet earth or the lion king or something! In the afternoon we took a boatride down the nile to the bottom of a big waterfall and on the way we saw some elephants, hippos, and crocodiles!
Everything was going great until that night in the tent however when pretty much the most terrifying thing that’s ever happened to me happened. There was this HUGE tarantula spider thing in our tent and so me and Megan, my friend who was sharing the tent smushed it with a shoe and literally like 200 baby spiders exploded out from it and started crawling all over the tent. It was a nightmare! Needless to say, I slept about 10 minutes that night. But besides that the trip was really cool…one of the restaurant staff kept us entertained by his Michael Jackson tributes…he was apparently obsessed with MJ and completely devastated by his death. That’s been really big news here…I’m trying to find a paper today to bring home
Oh, the other thing about the campsite was the warthogs! They’re literally like pets around the campsite..and I’m not talking a cute pumba-like animal. These things are big, ugly, and hairy and will literally rip through your tent if they smell food in it. Gross.
The last morning on the way back to Kampala we hiked to Murchinson Falls, one of the biggest waterfalls on the nile and the view was amazing…of course, we got our guide to take a C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A picture of us from the top since there were 8 of us. Pretty cheesy I know…
We got back to Kampala Saturday afternoon and then all went to Mukono for the night because John, our internship coordinator wanted to have a party for us while we were all together. He had us all stay at his house and cooked us a huge African feast, with pineapple and even cake for dessert—it was SO good and his hospitality was unbelievable.
Well that’s it for now! Full work week this week and then next weekend I think we’re going to head to Kampala because there’s a BBQ at the embassy for the 4th of July…until next time! Hope everyone is doing well at home!
Love,
Kate
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
tippy taps, glow sticks, and other adventures
Hey everyone!
Its been a busy week…right now we are stopped at the internet café on the way back to Katosi after spending the weekend in the mountains in a town called Kasese with some friends from UNC working at an organization there. We did some hiking and went on a short tour of Queen Elizabeth National Park where we saw kabs (like antelopes), warthogs, elephants, a lion, and even got really close to a family of hippos!
The night after my last blog post we spent the night with Shane and Hema again and gave the kids in their neighborhood some of the glowsticks that Rhea had brought. It was so much fun…they were completely mesmerized by them and so were the adults. Some were even scared of touching them at first but it was adorable once we all started playing…and since its SO dark here at night they showed up really bright.
On Tuesday KWDT had their coordinators meeting that they have once every 4 months with all the people involved in the organization and the major women leaders from each women’s group. There were about 35 women there total and even though we couldn’t really understand much of the proceedings of the meeting, it was great to see everyone together. We also finally met the director Margaret who set us up with the internship…she’s been away traveling.
That afternoon, I met with my health club over at the secondary school and we built our first tippy tap (google it…it’s a really ingenious handwashing system) The kids at that school are awesome and going to their meetings are definitely a highlight of my week. They’re bright and really interested in everything…each week I get them to write down health related topics, and those become the subject for next weeks meeting.
Besides work, there’s lots to tell about life in Katosi still…I’ve done laundry by hand a few times and it SUCKS but its so dusty that its really necessary. I can’t imagine how people do it for a family of 5. Also our boss Leonard caught malaria this week…its crazy how that’s just part of life here…he just took some drugs and didn’t even miss a day of work
Also one of the things that keeps cracking me up is the names of all the taxis. Each one has either a really Christian name or the name of a cheesy American pop star airbrushed in sparkly letters across the front and back…here are a few of my favorites I’ve ridden on: Beyonce, Ashanti, Destiny, Juses’ Blood (I’m pretty sure they mean jesus…), Hungry 4 God, Puff Daddy, and 4 Our Sinz. Those names definitely add a little humor to waiting around for like 2 hours to fill a van with 25 people haha
Well that’s all for this time…I’m headed on a safari this next weekend so I’ll be back in Kampala soon and hopefully able to give updates from there. Hope everyone is still doing well!
Love,
Kate
PS. I almost forgot something really exciting!! PEOPLE ARE FINALLY LEARNING MY NAME!!! now there are less muzungu shouts and people actually call out kate when I come by...i finally just went around like a freak introducing myself and people really remembered. Actually, its rarely Kate, more often its Katie, Kathy, or Ketie...but its close, and I really appreciate it :) okay thats it.. bye!
Its been a busy week…right now we are stopped at the internet café on the way back to Katosi after spending the weekend in the mountains in a town called Kasese with some friends from UNC working at an organization there. We did some hiking and went on a short tour of Queen Elizabeth National Park where we saw kabs (like antelopes), warthogs, elephants, a lion, and even got really close to a family of hippos!
The night after my last blog post we spent the night with Shane and Hema again and gave the kids in their neighborhood some of the glowsticks that Rhea had brought. It was so much fun…they were completely mesmerized by them and so were the adults. Some were even scared of touching them at first but it was adorable once we all started playing…and since its SO dark here at night they showed up really bright.
On Tuesday KWDT had their coordinators meeting that they have once every 4 months with all the people involved in the organization and the major women leaders from each women’s group. There were about 35 women there total and even though we couldn’t really understand much of the proceedings of the meeting, it was great to see everyone together. We also finally met the director Margaret who set us up with the internship…she’s been away traveling.
That afternoon, I met with my health club over at the secondary school and we built our first tippy tap (google it…it’s a really ingenious handwashing system) The kids at that school are awesome and going to their meetings are definitely a highlight of my week. They’re bright and really interested in everything…each week I get them to write down health related topics, and those become the subject for next weeks meeting.
Besides work, there’s lots to tell about life in Katosi still…I’ve done laundry by hand a few times and it SUCKS but its so dusty that its really necessary. I can’t imagine how people do it for a family of 5. Also our boss Leonard caught malaria this week…its crazy how that’s just part of life here…he just took some drugs and didn’t even miss a day of work
Also one of the things that keeps cracking me up is the names of all the taxis. Each one has either a really Christian name or the name of a cheesy American pop star airbrushed in sparkly letters across the front and back…here are a few of my favorites I’ve ridden on: Beyonce, Ashanti, Destiny, Juses’ Blood (I’m pretty sure they mean jesus…), Hungry 4 God, Puff Daddy, and 4 Our Sinz. Those names definitely add a little humor to waiting around for like 2 hours to fill a van with 25 people haha
Well that’s all for this time…I’m headed on a safari this next weekend so I’ll be back in Kampala soon and hopefully able to give updates from there. Hope everyone is still doing well!
Love,
Kate
PS. I almost forgot something really exciting!! PEOPLE ARE FINALLY LEARNING MY NAME!!! now there are less muzungu shouts and people actually call out kate when I come by...i finally just went around like a freak introducing myself and people really remembered. Actually, its rarely Kate, more often its Katie, Kathy, or Ketie...but its close, and I really appreciate it :) okay thats it.. bye!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Kirabo
So, 2 weeks in at Katosi and being here has made me appreciate a ton of things about life in the US…2 major things being flavorful food and diversity!
Food here is alright, but nothing I’ll be dying to fix for myself once I get home…in fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll never eat another banana…they have like 6 kinds of bananas and cook them different ways to eat them at literally every meal. We’re doing most of our cooking which is good because we can mix it up, but a traditional Ugandan meal consists of a huge plate of assorted starchy mushy foods, and either beans, a meat or fish, or g-nut sauce (I’m not really sure what that is except some ground up nuts, like a thinner peanut butter) as some protein. They eat HUGE quantities of boiled plantains, boiled potatoes, boiled yams, boiled potatos, boiled cassava, you name it…they boil it and mash it up. They also have a lot of fruit like pineapples, mango, and guava which is really good. A “rolex” is food you can get from stands on the street that are really good and a little more substantial than the other stuff. Its an omelette wrapped in a chipati (fried pita bread) so its sort of like a breakfast burrito. Being here has also made me care a whole lot less about food safety (which is probably not a good thing…but theres not really a choice) For example, the other day we went to visit the site where KWDT is building a fish pond for one of their women’s groups. We hiked down to the pond and then the ladies who were overseeing the building cooked us lunch…they had 2 giant pots over open fire (one with beans and one with maize porridge) and needed something to stir. So a man climbed into a tree, tore of a branch, and stirred the food. Then to keep it warm they pulled down some banana fronds and covered the pots to keep the steam in—then we got it in a bowl and ate with our hands. Southie would have freaked out, and I was about to, but I was so hungry it didn’t matter :)
I also really appreciate the diversity in the US. Its really difficult to walk into the street and have everyone stop what they’re doing to stare at you, and its frustrating to hear mothers teaching their kids to call me “Mzungu” because I’m white, instead of my name. Kids and everywhere chant mzungu when you walk by, and although I know that the US still has race issues, its weird that here, I’m only identified by the color of my skin. And its not like people are mean, in fact most people are friendly and want to talk to you, but I know its because I stick out. Its hard to understand also because everyone watches TV, so they’ve seen fair skinned people, but I guess its just like how we’ve seen monsters in movies, but if we saw one in real life, we’d freak out. (Which happens also, I’ve made about 3 kids run crying to their moms just by walking by) Along the same lines, there’s a lot less diversity in terms of religious beliefs and other cultural values. Everyone in Katosi is strictly Christian, and they have very conservative beliefs about homosexuality, sex education, etc. I think it would be really interesting to visit the university in Kampala and see if the students there are more open minded than the average people in Katosi. That’s probably the case, for example Dora, who works in the dairy store in front of where we live is headed to University in the fall and I’ve had some really interesting conversations with her about changing views on marriage, women’s roles, and family size. She’s one of 10, but only wants to have 2 or 3 children herself.
Other news from the week, our nurse friend Esther caught typhoid but literally didn’t let it slow her down at all… she continued being superwoman and is recovering well which is good news for Rhea and I. Big mama Gertrude is home from treatment, and also, a group of the women members came on Friday for lunch and gave us local names! Mine is “Kirabo” which means gift—they were so sweet and I like Kirabo a whole lot better than mzungu!
On Saturday some friends in Agradu who are working and living about an hour a way came to visit and we took them up to monkey hill, which overlooks Katosi. For some reason, the trees on that hill are filled with monkeys (hence the name) and if you bring bananas they’ll literally come right up and eat them out of your hands! Its wild and I got some great pictures!
Well that’s all for now, so much to say and not enough minutes on the internet! Hope everyone at home is having a good summer, I’d love to hear about it by e-mail or phone (I have a cell phone here and if you want to call, ask my parents how :) I miss you all
Until next time,
Love,
Kate
Food here is alright, but nothing I’ll be dying to fix for myself once I get home…in fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll never eat another banana…they have like 6 kinds of bananas and cook them different ways to eat them at literally every meal. We’re doing most of our cooking which is good because we can mix it up, but a traditional Ugandan meal consists of a huge plate of assorted starchy mushy foods, and either beans, a meat or fish, or g-nut sauce (I’m not really sure what that is except some ground up nuts, like a thinner peanut butter) as some protein. They eat HUGE quantities of boiled plantains, boiled potatoes, boiled yams, boiled potatos, boiled cassava, you name it…they boil it and mash it up. They also have a lot of fruit like pineapples, mango, and guava which is really good. A “rolex” is food you can get from stands on the street that are really good and a little more substantial than the other stuff. Its an omelette wrapped in a chipati (fried pita bread) so its sort of like a breakfast burrito. Being here has also made me care a whole lot less about food safety (which is probably not a good thing…but theres not really a choice) For example, the other day we went to visit the site where KWDT is building a fish pond for one of their women’s groups. We hiked down to the pond and then the ladies who were overseeing the building cooked us lunch…they had 2 giant pots over open fire (one with beans and one with maize porridge) and needed something to stir. So a man climbed into a tree, tore of a branch, and stirred the food. Then to keep it warm they pulled down some banana fronds and covered the pots to keep the steam in—then we got it in a bowl and ate with our hands. Southie would have freaked out, and I was about to, but I was so hungry it didn’t matter :)
I also really appreciate the diversity in the US. Its really difficult to walk into the street and have everyone stop what they’re doing to stare at you, and its frustrating to hear mothers teaching their kids to call me “Mzungu” because I’m white, instead of my name. Kids and everywhere chant mzungu when you walk by, and although I know that the US still has race issues, its weird that here, I’m only identified by the color of my skin. And its not like people are mean, in fact most people are friendly and want to talk to you, but I know its because I stick out. Its hard to understand also because everyone watches TV, so they’ve seen fair skinned people, but I guess its just like how we’ve seen monsters in movies, but if we saw one in real life, we’d freak out. (Which happens also, I’ve made about 3 kids run crying to their moms just by walking by) Along the same lines, there’s a lot less diversity in terms of religious beliefs and other cultural values. Everyone in Katosi is strictly Christian, and they have very conservative beliefs about homosexuality, sex education, etc. I think it would be really interesting to visit the university in Kampala and see if the students there are more open minded than the average people in Katosi. That’s probably the case, for example Dora, who works in the dairy store in front of where we live is headed to University in the fall and I’ve had some really interesting conversations with her about changing views on marriage, women’s roles, and family size. She’s one of 10, but only wants to have 2 or 3 children herself.
Other news from the week, our nurse friend Esther caught typhoid but literally didn’t let it slow her down at all… she continued being superwoman and is recovering well which is good news for Rhea and I. Big mama Gertrude is home from treatment, and also, a group of the women members came on Friday for lunch and gave us local names! Mine is “Kirabo” which means gift—they were so sweet and I like Kirabo a whole lot better than mzungu!
On Saturday some friends in Agradu who are working and living about an hour a way came to visit and we took them up to monkey hill, which overlooks Katosi. For some reason, the trees on that hill are filled with monkeys (hence the name) and if you bring bananas they’ll literally come right up and eat them out of your hands! Its wild and I got some great pictures!
Well that’s all for now, so much to say and not enough minutes on the internet! Hope everyone at home is having a good summer, I’d love to hear about it by e-mail or phone (I have a cell phone here and if you want to call, ask my parents how :) I miss you all
Until next time,
Love,
Kate
More on my work here
Hey everybody! It’s the weekend so that means internet finally!
2 weeks in and work has picked up which is exciting. I now have a pretty clear idea of what I’m going to be working on this summer but although 2 months seems like a ton of time, it takes a LONG time to accomplish things here so I don’t want to get too set on anything. Here’s an overview:
KWDT has built rain water tanks for 7 schools in the area so the kids don’t have to spend time collecting dirty water from Lake Victoria during the day when they could be learning. 5 of those schools are within walking distance, so I’m focusing on them and basically following up on their progress regarding sanitation and hygiene (so that its not just like we built them a tank and then pretend that everything else is fine). So far I’ve met with all the schools at least once to introduce myself and now for the rest of the summer I’ll be going back weekly to do hygiene workshops, sanitation education, and help construct additional facilities like tippy taps (a makeshift handwashing station) and trash cans in every classroom. I’m also hoping to finish what the Peace Corps volunteer here was in the process of doing before she left, which is set up school health committees at each school (made up of teachers and students) that are in charge of monitoring sanitation and hygiene issues at the school after I leave so that its hopefully sustainable. I’m really excited about working on all of this, I’m hoping its feasible since all of the school administrators speak English but it will still be a challenge that will quickly fill up my remaining time here.
In the past 2 weeks we’ve also been going out into the field with the other employees some days just to see what other kinds of work the organization does…we’ve met a lot of the women members, seen the fish ponds that their building, checked in with some of the wells and ecosan toilets, etc. Its just frustrating because the group does SO much and if I just spoke the language I could be a lot more useful!
2 weeks in and work has picked up which is exciting. I now have a pretty clear idea of what I’m going to be working on this summer but although 2 months seems like a ton of time, it takes a LONG time to accomplish things here so I don’t want to get too set on anything. Here’s an overview:
KWDT has built rain water tanks for 7 schools in the area so the kids don’t have to spend time collecting dirty water from Lake Victoria during the day when they could be learning. 5 of those schools are within walking distance, so I’m focusing on them and basically following up on their progress regarding sanitation and hygiene (so that its not just like we built them a tank and then pretend that everything else is fine). So far I’ve met with all the schools at least once to introduce myself and now for the rest of the summer I’ll be going back weekly to do hygiene workshops, sanitation education, and help construct additional facilities like tippy taps (a makeshift handwashing station) and trash cans in every classroom. I’m also hoping to finish what the Peace Corps volunteer here was in the process of doing before she left, which is set up school health committees at each school (made up of teachers and students) that are in charge of monitoring sanitation and hygiene issues at the school after I leave so that its hopefully sustainable. I’m really excited about working on all of this, I’m hoping its feasible since all of the school administrators speak English but it will still be a challenge that will quickly fill up my remaining time here.
In the past 2 weeks we’ve also been going out into the field with the other employees some days just to see what other kinds of work the organization does…we’ve met a lot of the women members, seen the fish ponds that their building, checked in with some of the wells and ecosan toilets, etc. Its just frustrating because the group does SO much and if I just spoke the language I could be a lot more useful!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The "Real Africa"
WOW. One week through at Katosi and it continues to surprise me everyday…this is the real deal. Its tough, but this is the Africa from the movies and we are living it. Its been neat to see and experience first hand a lot of the things I learned about in classes this year about the developing world…I’m going to give just a few examples from the first week.
1.Gender differences and the burden of domestic work on women. Its clear now just how difficult life is for everyone here, but especially women. Domestic tasks that we complain about in the US are like a million times more time consuming here…there might not be power, and even so, theres no dishwashers, washing machines, or even sinks—everything is done by hand. The nurse Esther that lives next door is also a house keeper and she is literally ALWAYS working because theres always something else that needs to be done. She told us she sleeps from 12-5 every night and then works the rest of the time. That’s why I think its great that Katosi Women’s Development Trust is focused on generating an income for women. With just a small amount of money coming in (about $1.50 a day) they can make their daily life just a little bit easier.
2.Secondly, is the different conception of time. You always hear about how Americans are the only ones tied to a schedule but Ugandan’s have literally NO concept of time or efficiency (such as what should be accomplished in a work day). Which is kind of tough for me, but I’m adjusting and that’s just how life is…I think my parents would agree that a lesson in patience is probably a good thing for me To give you an example, on Friday, we were supposed to go visit a school that Fred, our boss, said was “some distance” away. Well, “some distance” ended up being an hour and a half walk both ways through the jungle…it wasn’t that the walk was bad because it was really pretty, but when we got to the school, the man that we were supposed to meet with about sanitation and hygiene wasn’t even there! So we just looked around and walked back…he didn’t seem phased and he could totally have called the man since he had his contact info, but that’s not now business is done here. But that also means they are a lot more laid back and always ready to strike up a great conversation, which is nice. Another example of the time thing is that the taxis here are really 14 passenger vans and the will NOT move until all seats are filled, and by all seats filled, I mean at least 25 passengers on board. The more passengers, the more money for the driver so they will wait until there is absolutely no room left. Like I said, on our way to Mukono yesterday, Rhea and I counted 25 people! It was pretty crazy flying down the bumpy, dusty road with that many people and it made me really glad that I wasn’t driving
3.Another thing I’m experiencing first hand is how much we use as westerners in terms of resources. I mean I know you always see those charts where Americans use like a hundred times more water than everyone else but I’ve never been able to visualize or conceptualize that until now. In our compound, there are 3 rain water cisterns...the community can use them when they are full, but once the get low they get locked and people have to buy their water elsewhere. Since we live on site we get to use them all the time, but I’m paranoid that they will actually run out! If they do, we get our water from a pump down town and it costs about 200 shillings per jerry can (20 liters) of water. I’ve never had to think so much about conserving…I’ve even mastered taking a bucket shower with less than a bucket of water which is crazy when I think about how many gallons even a 5 minute shower takes! Its also really disheartening to see children not in school because they must collect the water for their families. Every day I see kids no older than 4 or 5 toting jerry cans back and forth from their house to the pump so that their families have enough water to bathe, wash, cook, and drink.
4.We also had been warned by the interns last year that we would stick out with light skin but its way more overwhelming than I thought. Walking into the street, everyone literally stops what they’re doingdoing to stare, and then the children start shouting MUZUNGU! Which means white person, which is pretty funny because Rhea’s Indian…Kids chase after you and want to touch your hair and a lot of time their mothers just let them while they stare. Its not like their being rude, but its just a lot to get used to. For me, they also shout “DEBORAH”, who was the name of the Peace corps volunteer before me at KWDT—I guess we look a lot alike since we’re both white I don’t correct them and just wave anyway most of the time.
Anyway, that’s just a glimpse into the “Real Africa”…its been a crazy week but we’re adjusting well and I’m sure I’ll have more stories next time!
1.Gender differences and the burden of domestic work on women. Its clear now just how difficult life is for everyone here, but especially women. Domestic tasks that we complain about in the US are like a million times more time consuming here…there might not be power, and even so, theres no dishwashers, washing machines, or even sinks—everything is done by hand. The nurse Esther that lives next door is also a house keeper and she is literally ALWAYS working because theres always something else that needs to be done. She told us she sleeps from 12-5 every night and then works the rest of the time. That’s why I think its great that Katosi Women’s Development Trust is focused on generating an income for women. With just a small amount of money coming in (about $1.50 a day) they can make their daily life just a little bit easier.
2.Secondly, is the different conception of time. You always hear about how Americans are the only ones tied to a schedule but Ugandan’s have literally NO concept of time or efficiency (such as what should be accomplished in a work day). Which is kind of tough for me, but I’m adjusting and that’s just how life is…I think my parents would agree that a lesson in patience is probably a good thing for me To give you an example, on Friday, we were supposed to go visit a school that Fred, our boss, said was “some distance” away. Well, “some distance” ended up being an hour and a half walk both ways through the jungle…it wasn’t that the walk was bad because it was really pretty, but when we got to the school, the man that we were supposed to meet with about sanitation and hygiene wasn’t even there! So we just looked around and walked back…he didn’t seem phased and he could totally have called the man since he had his contact info, but that’s not now business is done here. But that also means they are a lot more laid back and always ready to strike up a great conversation, which is nice. Another example of the time thing is that the taxis here are really 14 passenger vans and the will NOT move until all seats are filled, and by all seats filled, I mean at least 25 passengers on board. The more passengers, the more money for the driver so they will wait until there is absolutely no room left. Like I said, on our way to Mukono yesterday, Rhea and I counted 25 people! It was pretty crazy flying down the bumpy, dusty road with that many people and it made me really glad that I wasn’t driving
3.Another thing I’m experiencing first hand is how much we use as westerners in terms of resources. I mean I know you always see those charts where Americans use like a hundred times more water than everyone else but I’ve never been able to visualize or conceptualize that until now. In our compound, there are 3 rain water cisterns...the community can use them when they are full, but once the get low they get locked and people have to buy their water elsewhere. Since we live on site we get to use them all the time, but I’m paranoid that they will actually run out! If they do, we get our water from a pump down town and it costs about 200 shillings per jerry can (20 liters) of water. I’ve never had to think so much about conserving…I’ve even mastered taking a bucket shower with less than a bucket of water which is crazy when I think about how many gallons even a 5 minute shower takes! Its also really disheartening to see children not in school because they must collect the water for their families. Every day I see kids no older than 4 or 5 toting jerry cans back and forth from their house to the pump so that their families have enough water to bathe, wash, cook, and drink.
4.We also had been warned by the interns last year that we would stick out with light skin but its way more overwhelming than I thought. Walking into the street, everyone literally stops what they’re doingdoing to stare, and then the children start shouting MUZUNGU! Which means white person, which is pretty funny because Rhea’s Indian…Kids chase after you and want to touch your hair and a lot of time their mothers just let them while they stare. Its not like their being rude, but its just a lot to get used to. For me, they also shout “DEBORAH”, who was the name of the Peace corps volunteer before me at KWDT—I guess we look a lot alike since we’re both white I don’t correct them and just wave anyway most of the time.
Anyway, that’s just a glimpse into the “Real Africa”…its been a crazy week but we’re adjusting well and I’m sure I’ll have more stories next time!
Life In Katosi
Hi everyone! I don't have internet in my town so I'm in an internet cafe about an hour away right now. There's so much I want to say about life in my village but not enough time..so I can't wait to see you all with stories and pictures when I return.
Anyway I’m gonna try and describe it: Katosi is a bigger village than I thought, theres a ton of produce stands and little food stores with the basics, theres also one gas station, a “post office”, a few restaurants and like 500 schools since theres literally a million kids. Lining the street are storefronts and then the housing compounds are behind the stores and believe me, they are the real deal…some are just like TV: mud huts with thatched roofs, etc. That’s been the most shocking thing…we are definitely in real Africa—the kids with bloated bellies, no shoes, tattered clothes and I want to do so much to help them but I know it will be tough.
So the village is right on Lake Victoria which is GORGEOUS…it’s a fish trading post so theres always boats coming in and out. That also means that there is always a breeze so its really not that hot. Its way hotter in Raleigh or even Sherwood but its just incredibly really dusty here. The “apartment” that Rhea and I are staying in is in a little courtyard thing behind the office and dairy store that are on the street front. There’s a gate that they lock at night so we feel really safe. Also in the courtyard is a nurse’s clinic, a kitchen, 4 latrines, and 3 rain water cisterns. There’s one other apartment where the nurse Esther lives nextdoor…she is the NICEST lady ever. I don’t know what we would do with out her…she’s helped us cook, buy things from town, introduce us to the women… everything! Also in the courtyard is Gertrude’s house. Gertrude is the mother of the founder of the organization so she’s pretty much everyone’s boss but they all call her mama and we do too because she treats us like her daughters. Unfortunately, she is pretty sick right now so she’s in Kampala for treatment but she’s left her house open for us to go in during the day which is nice because its a lot bigger and cooler than our little apartment. Where we’re living there are 2 rooms and a “bathroom” which is literally a cement closet with a drain where we do our bucket baths (which I’ve become pro at by the way). In one room are our mosquito nets and beds and in the other is a sofa, 2 chairs, and a gas stove. basically a bunson burner for us to cook on. Theres also a fridge which we pretty much use just to keep the ants away from food instead of keeping things cold since the power is so sporadic.
The village is really loud at all times. Theres a loudspeaker across the street that does death announcements and soccer scores like 3 times a day and there are so many animals EVERYWHERE. There’s like 5 chickens and roosters and a goat that live in the courtyard. Deborah also adopted a cat named Maria that keeps trying to get in…I hate cats and Rheas allergic, and all the Ugandan’s think its weird that she had a pet anyway so we’re trying really hard to get rid of it
That blue water bottle is the best thing ever, while we’re home we can use the water that we treat but its nice to have during the day out working because you can fill it up anywhere.
As far as work goes, its still pretty slow to really take off but that’s just how things are in Uganda. I’ve started visiting some schools to introduce myself so I can’t wait to go back and help them with specific projects.. I’ll keep you updated with that as it comes along. Right now we’re working mainly with 2 guys named Fred and Leonard who are in charge of the Katosi field office—they are both really nice and would do anything to keep us happy. There’s also another intern who is here for the same time from the University in Kampala named Musisi.
Thats just a description for now..hopefully more stories to follow and if there's anything you want to know, just ask.
I love and miss you all, Kate
Anyway I’m gonna try and describe it: Katosi is a bigger village than I thought, theres a ton of produce stands and little food stores with the basics, theres also one gas station, a “post office”, a few restaurants and like 500 schools since theres literally a million kids. Lining the street are storefronts and then the housing compounds are behind the stores and believe me, they are the real deal…some are just like TV: mud huts with thatched roofs, etc. That’s been the most shocking thing…we are definitely in real Africa—the kids with bloated bellies, no shoes, tattered clothes and I want to do so much to help them but I know it will be tough.
So the village is right on Lake Victoria which is GORGEOUS…it’s a fish trading post so theres always boats coming in and out. That also means that there is always a breeze so its really not that hot. Its way hotter in Raleigh or even Sherwood but its just incredibly really dusty here. The “apartment” that Rhea and I are staying in is in a little courtyard thing behind the office and dairy store that are on the street front. There’s a gate that they lock at night so we feel really safe. Also in the courtyard is a nurse’s clinic, a kitchen, 4 latrines, and 3 rain water cisterns. There’s one other apartment where the nurse Esther lives nextdoor…she is the NICEST lady ever. I don’t know what we would do with out her…she’s helped us cook, buy things from town, introduce us to the women… everything! Also in the courtyard is Gertrude’s house. Gertrude is the mother of the founder of the organization so she’s pretty much everyone’s boss but they all call her mama and we do too because she treats us like her daughters. Unfortunately, she is pretty sick right now so she’s in Kampala for treatment but she’s left her house open for us to go in during the day which is nice because its a lot bigger and cooler than our little apartment. Where we’re living there are 2 rooms and a “bathroom” which is literally a cement closet with a drain where we do our bucket baths (which I’ve become pro at by the way). In one room are our mosquito nets and beds and in the other is a sofa, 2 chairs, and a gas stove. basically a bunson burner for us to cook on. Theres also a fridge which we pretty much use just to keep the ants away from food instead of keeping things cold since the power is so sporadic.
The village is really loud at all times. Theres a loudspeaker across the street that does death announcements and soccer scores like 3 times a day and there are so many animals EVERYWHERE. There’s like 5 chickens and roosters and a goat that live in the courtyard. Deborah also adopted a cat named Maria that keeps trying to get in…I hate cats and Rheas allergic, and all the Ugandan’s think its weird that she had a pet anyway so we’re trying really hard to get rid of it
That blue water bottle is the best thing ever, while we’re home we can use the water that we treat but its nice to have during the day out working because you can fill it up anywhere.
As far as work goes, its still pretty slow to really take off but that’s just how things are in Uganda. I’ve started visiting some schools to introduce myself so I can’t wait to go back and help them with specific projects.. I’ll keep you updated with that as it comes along. Right now we’re working mainly with 2 guys named Fred and Leonard who are in charge of the Katosi field office—they are both really nice and would do anything to keep us happy. There’s also another intern who is here for the same time from the University in Kampala named Musisi.
Thats just a description for now..hopefully more stories to follow and if there's anything you want to know, just ask.
I love and miss you all, Kate
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