Figure 1: Taken on a boat on the River Nile.
For the past 5 ½ years I have lived in four countries; Uganda being one of them and Uganda being my favorite. Being back this summer was an enjoyable and nostalgic 8 weeks. In this blog post, I will briefly share some of the experiences(both good and bad, but all memorable) that left me in deep thought during and after my project.
The first experience was in the first week, during my school visits and surveys when I noticed that some students were literally sharing and drinking from plates (yes plates) when using the filters because they did not have cups. When I asked the school administration why they did not provide cups for the students some said: “it was not in their budget” (this came from the same head teacher that offered me bottled water when I entered his office!). Others explained that cups were a luxury and if the students were given them, their parents were likely to take them away and keep them in their homes for visitors to use. To me this was heartbreaking, I had been working to give the students access to clean and safe drinking water but they did not even have materials to access the water.
Figure 2: Downtown Kampala.
The next experience was during one of the workshops a few weeks later; a student noticed me bobbing my head and started giggling. When I asked him why he said he was “surprised I liked music”. I found this really funny and it quickly turned into a discussion of our favorite artists and him even showing me his best dance moves. All this to say that society has the tendency to de-personify the poor. When you watch TV commercials asking you to donate to “poor African kids”, why is it not as surprising to learn that poor people are drinking from plates as it is to find out that they have a sense of humor and personality? Contrary to popular belief happiness and poverty are not mutually exclusive. This probably explains why a poverty-stricken and corrupt nation like Uganda has such happy people. In life, you can either dwell on the deteriorating political conditions or enjoy a Bell lager at the kafunda(local bar).
My last experience was at the end of my last workshop when I handed out candy and stationery to the students to thank them for a successful 6 weeks. As I was packing up one of the students came back into the classroom and handed me his piece of candy, when I asked him why he responded saying he “noticed I did not get any”. I was overwhelmed. The majority of the students I was working with came from families that lived on less than a dollar a day, yet here this 11-year-old was sharing with me the “little” he had.
Figure 3: Talking to students during a workshop.
Uganda’s slow development progress is often attributed to the complacency and low work ethic of its people. The time I spent working on my project in Uganda this summer was a true test of my patience, having to wait in the reception for hours, people canceling trips because of the rain and overall displaying zero to low levels of professionalism. This opportunity compared with past internship experiences I have had in the United States was an opportunity to be exposed to systems that work and systems that do not. However, at the end of the day what is the correct criteria for measuring success? Maybe sometimes “developed economies” do take things too seriously, maybe(just maybe) the world won’t end if I take the night off to go see a movie and start my homework tomorrow morning instead. My project reminded me that sometimes it won’t kill you to stop and smell the roses. As the Luganda proverb goes, Ensi tugilyako makoola- directly translated as we can’t eat the entire tree but only the leaves. This proverb reflects the way of life in Uganda, and how Ugandans really enjoy and are thankful for what they have regardless.
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