Consolidating Equal Opportunities for Women; A Path for Prosperity for All...Women’s Day 2010

For the past couple of weeks, the GBV office has been trying to plan for women’s day.  The hotline team, and therefore me, was not terribly involved in the planning process, as we’re pretty much the only people from the GBV office that don’t travel to one or more field sites each week.  Last week I was given the opportunity to attend a planning meeting for the Kitgum District women’s day celebration.  I went to the meeting, held at the town council government office block (which is located at the bottom of the hill, about a 2-minute walk from my house, unbeknownst to me), with one of the hotline counselors and the GBV manager.  This was the first non-IRC meeting that I’d attended, so I was curious to see if the culture of meetings was as chaotic as I’d experienced in the IRC meetings.  Don’t worry, it was.  I was told the meeting was supposed to start at 2:30.  When I learned this, it was 2:20, and I was sitting at my desk in the GBV tukul, just back from having my lunch.  The hotline counselor, who was also supposed to be going to the meeting, wasn’t yet back from her home (some people go home for lunch, which seems to universally be from 1-2pm here).  She arrived back around 2:35 and secured transport for us; I’m pretty sure that we could have walked to the meeting by the time the transport officer found a vehicle and driver to take us on the 10-minute journey.  We arrived just before 3:00pm, and followed the hastily-written signs leading us to the main hall.  There were about 10 people already in the room, though it was evident that they were just socializing.  We entered the hall and made our way to the front, and luckily the meeting started soon after.  There was a chairman and chairwoman seated at the front of the room, both ready to move ahead in planning for Monday’s events.  Though I’m not exactly sure what either of their official titles are, but the man is some sort of Town Council government official, and the woman, I believe, is head of the Local Women’s Council.  I’m sure by this point you’re confused and wondering what the difference is between Kitgum District and Kitgum Town Council.  Well, so am I; I thought I had it all figured out, until I started hearing the terms “county,” “sub-county,” “parish,” and “village” all thrown into the mix too.  This could very well be as confusing for me as the concept of “boroughs” and “townships” in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Anyways.  So, the meeting was officially opened as more people straggled in, and we were told that the meeting would only be one hour long.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?  Well, by the end of the first hour, I’d say we were almost done reading through the minutes of the previous planning meeting, and about to tackle the things on that day’s agenda.  Needless to say, the meeting lasted longer than the intended one hour; by the time the hotline counselor and I were ready to leave (the manager had long since left for another meeting), she had the driver drop her at home, and I went back to the office, grabbed my laptop, and went straight home.  I’m not going to get into too much detail about the content of the meeting, but suffice it to say that I was a bit hesitant to see how the celebration would turn out.  The meeting was held on the 3^rd, and women’s day was on the 8^th.  That doesn’t leave much time, especially with the weekend, for tying up loose ends.  From the meeting, I learned that there was no committee or plan to set up for the event, and the proposed budget showed that fundraising was close to 1,000,000 UGX short of being complete.  On top of that, politicians from Lagoro (I’m about 87% sure it’s a village) were arguing with the Kitgum Town Council government about providing funding and space.  To be quite honest, I felt like when we left, nothing on the agenda had been accomplished. 

That being said, yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the women’s day celebration in Lagoro.  I went with one of the hotline counselors, the GBV manager, and the man who I mentioned showed me video clips of Joseph Kony & traditional dances.  We left about 3 hours behind schedule; the t-shirts and bandanas were being printed/ironed in the morning, which severely delayed everyone’s departure.  It wasn’t a big deal, though, because when we arrived around 12:30, the tents were up, much of the public was there, most of the performing groups were there, and the celebrations had not yet begun (also behind schedule).  The afternoon’s events consisted of several speakers, both from the local/district and national government, including several female LCs and the Guest of Honor, a female MP and various groups performing traditional dances (which many of the audience members joined in on).  It was quite the event, with all of the high-ranking female LCs dressed in their nicest traditional attire, which you’ll see in some of the photos.  The official celebration started with a lengthy parade around the grounds, led by a small but good band, followed by the female police officers and female prison guards, several groups of schoolchildren, and some of the performing groups.  In all, the opening ceremony took at least an hour, with several different styles of marching showcased, the singing of the national anthem, the singing of the women’s anthem, opening prayers, and some impressive yet intimidating routines by the police and prison guards (both groups came fully armed, with swords and guns, and did some tricks and movements with each, though no shots were actually fired).  Several of the groups of schoolchildren sang songs and recited poetry, including a group of blind children.  There were various dance performances, interspersed with speeches from government officials, people bringing bottles of water, sodas, and biscuits to everyone sitting in the tents.   In the interest of not rambling on for too much longer, I’m going to bullet some of the things that stood out to me during the course of the day.

·      There were many, many men in attendance.  That’s good.  And they weren’t just men there to speak – there were boys that marched in the parade with their female classmates, men in some of the performing groups, and men from the village that were watching everything. 

·      The tshirts provided by IRC, not unsurprisingly, were given to the district officials for distribution to the public upon our arrival, and seemed to make it no further.  The GBV manager was clearly annoyed by this as she saw the women LCs fighting over which color tshirt they wanted, but could do nothing about it.  She was also angry when she received a call from a district official asking for more tshirts while on our way home. 

·      There were two large UN tents, and a handful of tarps above bamboo that formed smaller tents.  We, along with most of the speakers, women LCs, and other NGO workers, sat under the UN tent.  Nearly all of the public, including a lot of children and women carrying children, had to stand in the sun, and were constantly being corralled by the [male] police officers and prison guards if they got too close to the tent, performers, or speakers.

·      I’m not sure how many people were at this celebration, but you can try to judge for yourself from some of the photos.  I was one of only 2 mzungus in attendance, and for the first time since I’ve been here, I didn’t feel like everyone was staring at me.  In fact, very few people even came up to me.  Other than the occasional wave from children or handshake from a local woman, I actually felt comfortable, and for the first time, I didn’t feel unwelcomed.  Maybe it was just because I was sitting under the special UN tent, but I’d like to think that it’s because people in the villages are just nicer than those around Kitgum. 

·      Several of the women that performed traditional dances were holding small axes as props.  I’m not sure if they were real axes, or the purpose or significance of having them during the dances, but it seemed to have the potential for disaster with some of the quick movements and turns involved in the dances.  

Some Photos: 

1.  the band, leading the opening ceremony and parade.

2.  some of the female police officers during the parade.

3.  Kids from a nursery school trying to march, too (I didn’t take this photo, but they were pretty cute).  You can see some of the women’s groups that performed in the background. 

4.  The first performing group, and my colleague, Blueday, joining them.

5.  Some of the women LCs in their fancy attire.

6.  View of the people sitting under and standing around the two UN tents

 

      

  

End of Feb

As February drew to a close, so does my first month in Uganda.  So far, I've gone through a range of emotions, from loving it here, to feeling inadequate and inexperienced compared to all of the other expats, to absolutely hating it, to fearing walking anywhere on my own.  But, I think I've finally started to settle into my new life here.  I feel like I have a ton of work to get done in the next few weeks, but after that I'm not really sure what I'll be doing for the rest of my time here.  I'm supposed to be going to Moroto, in the Karamoja region (bordering Kenya), but due to an ambush a few weeks ago, IRC movement to that region is currently suspended.  Don’t worry, the ambush was in Nakapiripirit, which is much further south than Moroto.  I hope that the region settles down, because I'm quite intrigued by all I've heard and seen about the Karamojong thus far.  One of my Ugandan colleagues keeps talking about how she has friends working in the region and she wants to go visit them because they have beautiful beads, which I’ve seen photos of and would definitely like to see in real life (including beaded noserings, something I think I could definitely embrace). 

   

On Friday, as it was the last Friday of the month, we had a half-day workday, and Thursday night the GBV team had a "feedback session" at a local place called the 4 Seasons.  It was, in fact, not a feedback session, but just a time for us to all hang out and each eat 10,000UGX worth of food and 5,000UGX worth of whatever drinks we desired.  Some of the staff brought their babies (which I found to be surprising since it was rainy and late in the evening), and I felt like I got to spend some time relaxing with staff members instead of feeling like the random mzungu that just moved into their office.  My colleagues were shocked when I said I wasn’t going to drink all 5,000UGX worth of beer that I was allotted, and said they wanted me to get drunk so they could hear me speak in my local language.  They all seemed quite surprised and a bit disappointed when I admitted that in fact, I do not have a local language.  That did lead to an interesting experience, however, when one of my colleagues that I don’t know well at all (he was on leave when I first arrived and travels most of the week) offered to show me some stuff about Joseph Kony.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the history of Uganda, Joseph Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group that wreaked havoc on Northern Uganda especially for about 20 years.  I won’t get into a big history lesson here; I’ll save that for another day, or you can google it on your own.

I've started running, but have no idea how far I've been going.  I'm not sure that training for my first half-marathon while living in Africa was a good idea.  I've rarely seen other runners, but when I have, they've all been male and been running in packs.  I've found that I'm constantly fighting with my stupid new ipod every time I run (I broke my nice, old ipod in January and bought an ipod touch, which is nice because of the apps, but is far too big to run with).  I had been going down the hill (I live just at the top of it) and towards town, but thanks to a suggestion from one of the guards, a few days ago I started by doing a loop around the top of the hill before heading down.  This proved to be wonderful, because not only did it provide a very pretty view, but I also learned that I live quite close to the WFP and a local radio station.  I also felt like I got a little bit more acquainted with the town Thursday evening as I was driven home with two colleagues who also needed to get dropped off, and live in different “neighborhoods.”  I’ve yet to identify the airfield, which seems a bit ludicrous to me, since it should be recognizable (it’s not in use, and I’m sure its quite small, but really, I should be able to know what the hell it looks like).  There’s a decent-sized dirt field that I run by sometimes, but it seems like it’s too square to be an airfield and has an extreme lack of lights, so I’m not fully convinced that’s it, but you never know. 

As far as the weather goes here, I’m not quite sure what to make of it.  My first week or so here it was lovely, about 95 degrees and sunny.  Since then, it has been rather rainy, so much so that I’ve actually been cold.  I’ve been wearing long-sleeves and jeans all too often lately.  I was NOT prepared for this! 

About the town of Kitgum…I’m still trying to learn my way around.  I haven’t had a ton of time to wander on my own, as IRC insists on sending a driver for me every morning, and by the end of the day I actually want to be driven home so that I can get there in time to have a run before it gets dark.  I’ve been walking home from work a lot lately, mainly because I need to go to the market and don’t want to wait around for a ride, so I’m finally starting to feel a little more comfortable going places on my own.  I think people in town are getting used to seeing me around because I haven’t been getting harassed or shouted at as much, so that’s good, too. 

This weekend I spent some time with some expats, and actually felt like I almost fit in with them, too, so it looks like I’ve made some progress on the friends front too.  On Friday morning, I ran into a Dutch PhD student that I’d met the weekend before and the third (and final) Peace Corps volunteer that lives in town at the office because they were traveling to Kampala on the IRC shuttle.  On Saturday evening I met up with the other two Peace Corps guys and went to the Oxfam guest house to eat homemade pizza and drink some beer.  We watched some movies/tv and relaxed, and went to breakfast Sunday morning at one of the nicer local restaurants/hotels, owned by South Africans who I keep hearing about but haven’t met. 

I’ve also gotten sunburned once each weekend I’ve been here.  Now I understand that it’s hot out and the sun is strong, whatever, but for those of you who know me, you know that thanks to my mom’s Italian heritage I rarely get sunburned.  Well, so much for that.  And of course, since I can’t sit around in a bathing suit, I’ve got ridiculous tan lines…Farmer’s tan here I come. 

Other than that, I am planning to head to Kampala at the end of the month for Easter and to get my visa extended.  I haven't left Kitgum since I've been here, as it's at least an hour probably more by dirt road to get to either Gulu or Lira, though I'm sure I'll visit both at some point.   I’m looking forward to hopefully meeting up with at least one fellow global practice student, getting into the city, and hopefully buying a yoga mat (possibly my biggest packing mistake was, at the last minute, abandoning my nice, new one).  My supervisor came back from Kampala a few days ago, and one of the things he brought back was a pumpkin, so I’m thrilled to pick up at least one while I’m there, as pumpkin is undoubtedly one of my all-time favorite foods.  I've also figured out how to get internet on my phone, which has been nice on the weekends and has proven that I can at least still be connected to the world.  

Home.

front of the house

My favorite place to relax

the front yard

Week One in Kitgum

An IRC vehicle parked in the front yard of our house.  I realized I haven't really taken any photos of Kitgum, or even Uganda yet, so I'll try to see if I can do that at some point in the near future.

Life in Kitgum.  Very interesting, so far.  I'll start off by saying that this is going to be very disorganized, as it's the end of the workday, and the first internet access I've had since I've been in Kitgum, so there's a lot that I want to say, but I also want to get home, relax, and go for my first run in Africa!  I was told that there would be tons of expats and that it was a very development-based town, so I was a little bit concerned about how I would adjust with so many Westerners, and a little bit worried about encountering the stereotypical expat scenarios.  Thankfully, it's nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, as most of the international development and emergency response agencies have left or are in the process of leaving, as Kitgum isn't seen as an emergency area anymore.  From my understanding, there are still numerous agencies in Gulu (about 2 hours away), and many of the agencies & expats have relocated there.  I've met a handful of people that I can potentially be friends with, so that's encouraging.  My supervisor, with whom I share an IRC guesthouse, has introduced me to some of the people that he knows in town.  I've been trying to get to know some staff members here, and the GBV team has been very welcoming.  I've had a chance to try some local food, which is nowhere near as bland and plain as I expected!  Since Kitgum is somewhat remote (about 100km from Gulu by way of unpaved and very thin one-lane road), I spent my first weekend here hanging out and trying to get used to my surroundings and the town.  I have yet to venture too far, but there's not really very many places that I can go, so I think I've seen most of the town.  In the next couple of weeks I'll likely go to Lira, as some of the GBV staff spend their weekends there, and have offered to take me along.  I'm looking forward to an opportunity to see more of the country, as the only parts that I've seen so far are where the IRC has brought me.
As far as actual work goes, I'm currently working with the hotline team in the Kitgum office.  The hotline has been run by the IRC for the past several years, and they currently have a grant supporting the transition of the hotline to a local CBO.  The IRC has been working with this specific CBO in partnership for the past year or so, as I understand it, and the plan is to have the agency become the "face" of the hotline within the next couple of months, while the IRC continues to do behind-the-scenes support for the next year or so.  My job will be to work with the hotline team to come up with a plan for training and mentoring the staff of the local CBO.  It doesn't seem like it will be very difficult, as the hotline staff here are quite experienced and really know what they're doing!  I'm looking forward to working with them, but, admittedly disappointed that I will not be able to do any actual counseling or direct practice work (which is something I was concerned/afraid was going to happen).  But other than that, things are going well here.  It's warm, sometimes hot, but also quite breezy, so I think it tends to be comfortable for the most part, if not, definitely manageable.  I've been told that this is the hottest month, which struck me as quite a surprise, and a bit of a disappointment, but after consulting many colleagues and a Bradt Uganda book, I've discovered that there's really only a variation of 3-4 degrees year-round, so it will still be nice and warm here!
Communication has been the biggest issue that i've faced so far - I've had some issues with the status of my phone, and no internet access until today.  So far I haven't come across any other major issues here, which I'm quite grateful for.
I'll try to have a more solid thought process, more photos, and more interesting things to share with everyone next time!

Uganda!

This will be brief, as I'm not sure how long the internet will want to cooperate with me.
I'm in Uganda!  I made it safely, with no major (or minor) issues with travel, thanks British Airways.  I landed in Entebbe around 10pm last night, and made it through immigration easily.  It took a while for my luggage to show up, but thankfully it did, and I went outside where I immediately met the IRC driver who brought me to Kampala and dropped me off at the guesthouse.  I briefly met another IRC intern, who's been living here for about 6 months, but went to sleep soon after, as I arrived after midnight and was tired from traveling.  I've spent the morning having an orientation at the IRC office, and am going back shortly to eat lunch and meet with some other staff members this afternoon!

The Process of Packing.

 the beginning.  clothes everywhere.  no idea what to pack.  no idea where to fit it all.  incredibly overwhelmed. 























starting to narrow everything down.













everything i'll have for the next six months.  some clothes, many sneakers, and a brand new yoga map.



















 Final product, minus my carry-on, which isn't packed yet. 

Closing in on Departure Day

So, it seems like things are slowly but surely starting to come together.  I've spent the past few days going somewhat crazy, trying to gather up all of the last-minute items that I've realized I might need to make life easier while I'm gone (sturdy sandals, disposable hand-wipes, a new yoga mat).  I'm efeling like I've also gotten pretty much everything organized and ready to be put into my backpack/maybe a suitcase.  I suppose that's no big accomplishment considering the fact that I'm leaving in two days.


I've said goodbye to most of the important people in my life, or at least those who are geographically close-by, and even some who aren't.


I received my orientation packet from the IRC NY on Friday and finally heard from my future supervisor via email this morning. At least I have some sort of confirmation that they know when I'm arriving.  The plan is to stay in Kampala for a few days, at least, and have orientation at the IRC head office there.  At some point next week I'll be heading up to Kitgum via the IRC's weekly shuttle.  I'm looking forward to exploring Kampala, and a little bit relieved that I'm not going to have to make the 8-hour journey to Kitgum immediately upon my arrival.


As overwhelmed and nervous as I am, I'm sure that it will all be fine once I arrive in Uganda.  I'm really looking forward to learning more about the IRC and their GBV program, and hoping that I'll get to use some clinical skills even though it's supposedly going to be a predominantly macro placement.