Figure 1 & 2:Landmark where the Equator crosses Uganda and me talking to students during a workshop.
After months of hard work and preparation, email exchanges and phone calls I was finally in Uganda. My first Monday morning in Kampala(Uganda’s capital) found me waiting and waiting and waiting in the front office of my host organization. Finally, I got to meet my would-be-supervisor, and after a brief introduction, I was told that the organization was no longer in operation and that they would refer me to someone else, who would later refer me to another person who would also refer me to someone else. After what felt like a lifetime of referrals I was then told that I did not have the correct paperwork to conduct my research project and that I would have to wait six months for a permit to be approved. In the words of American boxer Mike Tyson; “everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth”. It felt like the world was quickly crashing around me and I started to panic. What now? Had the months of hard work and preparation, email exchanges and phone calls all been in vain? Why me and why now? At this point, I was ready to give up.
Before I traveled, I was asked: “What do you do when things go wrong?” I answered, “deep breaths, proactivity, and flexibility”. As always, easier said than done. The first step I needed to take was to acknowledge that nothing had gone wrong, plans had simply changed.
I was raised in Uganda, and I am well acquainted with the bureaucracy, and politics of the way organizations operate. I knew that working in Uganda would be challenging to say the least and for that reason, I had anticipated some form of resistance- just not to this degree. I was aware that I was a black female college student- who from the perspectives of some- had little to no financial or professional rewards to offer. I tried not to justify the cold shoulder I had received by using the local prevailing tribalism or privilege that was working against my favor as excuses- yet truth be told they were probably the biggest contributing factors. I tried not to give up, even though everything in me was telling me to. So instead I took a deep breath and a week off to think and re-strategize.
Figure 3: Paul leading a training session during one of the Football 4 Wash events.
During this week, I met with the other organization (SPOUTS of Water Uganda) I had originally planned to work with that would be supplying me with the filters for my project. That meeting with SPOUTS team members Paul and Rebecca was the reassurance I needed that in fact, the world was not ending. They agreed to now serve as my host organization and helped me identify a new school that I could work with. Once I had found a new school, with the support of SPOUTS I was able to complete and even expand on my initial project; successfully distributing ceramic water filters, training school staff and administration, and facilitating Water Sanitation and Hygiene Education workshops. At the end of it all, being able to walk away from the project knowing that I had still managed to meet my initial goals, despite the change of plans felt incredible. I hope this anecdote is a reminder to you and to myself that it is, in fact, OK for plans to change.
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