Uganda vs Democracy

With the Presidential election just about a week away, there seems to be a serious lack of actual information on the 8 candidates, BUT at least it seems the election will be fair - or at least that's what my naive American mind has been lead to believe. I was glad to learn there can't be double-voting after wondering about the lack of registration cards/IDs: a voter casts the ballot, s/he stamps a finger in an ink pad to signify s/he has voted; the ink doesn't come off for at least a week! At least it's something but will people vote or just watch the election unfold as we all expect it to...

But truthfully I have been a little frustrated not to find much information on the candidates, aside from on their website and I can't imagine many people logging on and reading up. But in my own hopes of shedding some light on the 8 candidates, I recently bought a nation wide magazine (equivalent to Time/Newsweek) with the cover story "Who Will Get Your Vote: The 8 Candidates To Choose From" - seems straightforward enough. Well, the 8-page spread of pictures; rather the "Obama-i-zation" of the candidates own campaign pictures. Basically an artist took their picture, turned it into a paint-like rendering and slapped a platform-telling word on the bottom. Believe it or not, that's about what it takes - most voters will make up their mind at the polls, based on the candidates campaign poster.

The main contenders next week will be Yoweri Museveni of National Resistance Movement (NRM) and Dr. Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). To me, this seems to be a lesser of two evils situation and leaves Ugandans unenthusiastic about voting. Random note: Besigye was once Museveni's doctor and a member of his rebellion, ironically enough! Both have military trucks barreling through streets blaring rap music, stacked with rowdy men clad in t-shirts boasting their image. Museveni though has the advantage of using his own rap song which has no doubt topped the charts here. Pres Obama, you listening?

Current President Museveni's campaign paraphernalia preach "Prosperity", and he is pictured in a suit, but in an effort not to see out of touch, his head is topped with a large straw farmers hat. Perhaps not by coincidence, recent independent polls showed Museveni ahead in rural, largely uneducated areas. Well, prosperity...prosperity... maybe not the first word that comes to mind for him and as beautiful as Uganda is, it's not exactly the picture of prosperity, either. Besigye's token word is "Change" and while indeed appealing, it may be unlikely his party, the FDC, which is made up of nearly 7 independent groups, will ever be able to effectively create that 'change' they preach. Besigye was shown to be ahead in urban centers and among more educated voters, independent polls concluded.

But with the election looming just a week away, it's politics as "usual" - everywhere I look and read it's reports of this candidate is rigging this thing, that candidate is using intimidation tactics towards voters, and he paid this person HOW MUCH money?! Besigye's trying to disqualify Museveni on the grounds of who-knows-what and Museveni is trying to jail Besigye...again (first time 2001). His previous allegations include rape & unlawful possession of firearms; however, it's a bit unclear where the truth lies in his convictions, but it is known the woman who accused Besigye of rape lives in a house paid for by the State House (of Museveni) and has all her expenses paid by the President's office - all this since she reported the incident over 5 years ago....

There is no doubt Museveni was a well-timed replacement for Obote and he is by no means as horribly oppressive as Amin was, but I'm not convinced that's a reason to elect someone, rather RE elect, again. Early in his presidency (which started nearly 25 years ago!), Museveni no doubt endeared himself to international donors and even counted USAs own Bill Clinton has a supporter. Museveni will also (and rightly should) be commended for being one of the first African nations to publicly declare the HIV/AIDS scourge as a national problem. In the 1980s, he launched a country-wide campaign to raise awareness and encourage Ugandans to fight the further spread of the disease. But, seems some of that may have fallen off the charts (ref: earlier blog about expired condom government 'warehouses' posing as residences).

On a less glittering note, last July, he used parliament to remove presidential term limits in the Ugandan constitution. And by used I mean, [reportedly] paid each parliamentarian up to $3,000 for their support, though the government said the money was to "help parliamentarians consult with their constituents." I don't think I need to say it, but it's easy enough to see a bribe! Not unlike many other African nations, this government is rife with corruption and bribery - anyone from the President himself down to the traffic police patrolling the streets-everyone is searching for a free handout or if the the situation calls for it, paying it out. The greedy cycle makes me sick! In 1986 Museveni also established a "no-party system", reasoning party politics would only highlight the divisions responsible for the bloodshed under Amin and Obote; however, at the same time, voters overwhelmingly backed multi-party politics. His move could have been seen as a {slow} step-by-step move toward democracy, or just a show by a man convinced that he is essential for Uganda's survival (certainly one reason why he has put nothing in place that would allow for a successor...). In recent years it seems that slow and steady pace points to one thing: ensuring he stays in office term after term...after term.

Museveni may not win the 50 percent necessary for an outright victory and even though it is likely he will be re-elected, he has promised he would accept defeat, saying, "I will give out the keys officially when elections are well conducted and I lose. I will even support the winner," he told the Mbarara-based Radio West talk show in January....

Noting recent African election outcomes, notably Kenya's in 2007 where the incumbent lost and decided the rightful winner would best be suited for Parliament rather than his seat (and such positions were assumed), or Ivory Coast's current outrage with a President refusing to leave office after losing, I am indeed curious to see what the outcome will be here. It certainly raises a lot of concern as to whether these elections may reverse any democratic progress Museveni's managed and take a fast route to a scenario all too familiar in Africa: a power-hungry dictator hell-bent on self-preservation...

What's happening in Sudan

After enduring years of violent attacks by their own government and being treated as second class citizens in their own country, southern Sudanese (mainly black and Christian or animist) began 6 days of voting on the Referendum of Independence on January 9. This vote will decide whether or not the south will secede from the mostly Muslim north. The vote was called for in 2005 in a peace deal ending the 23-year civil war between the two regions.

Sudan has been war-torn for almost the entirety of its independent existence, which it gained from Britain in 1956. The Sudanese president's regime, based in the North in Khartoum, has been accused of unleashing Arab militias, known as janjaweed, against rebels in the Western Darfur region which have committed atrocities against ethnic African towns and villages, killing hundreds of thousands. Similarly, there is suspicion surrounding Khartoum’s support of the once-Uganda based Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by indicted war criminal Joseph Kony. Enough Project explains an LRA-Khartoum alliance wouldn’t necessarily come out of left field for the two became partners during parallel wars in northern Uganda and southern Sudan in the 1990s when Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni began supporting the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the main rebel group in southern Sudan and in retaliation, Khartoum provided the LRA (then based in Gulu, Uganda) with intelligence, arms, and training, and allowed the LRA to use southern Sudan as its base of operations. Aljazeera has reported as recent as July 2010, Kony has been suspected to have made contact with the Khartoum government, this verified by testimonies from escaped LRA soldiers.

It seems Khartoum would benefit from increasing instability in southern Sudan, especially post referendum vote results, thus leaving the region focused, among other things, on a renewal of an LRA-Khartoum union. Tracking the LRA’s whereabouts, Ugandan military officials view this as highly unlikely; though with the dense jungles of southern Sudan and neighboring Central African Republic, it may not be that straightforward. This is also particularly of interest to us as Ugandan’s presidential elections will be taking place beginning next month. More on the election soon.

Southern Sudan itself is among the world's poorest regions. The entire France-sized region has only 30 miles of paved roads. Because only 15 percent of southern Sudan's 8.7 million people can read, the ballot choices were as simple as could be: a drawing of a single hand marked "separation" and another of clasped hands marked "unity." However, one beacon of hope for the south is most of Sudan's oil lies within their claim; however, the pipelines to the sea run through the north, ultimately tying the two regions together economically. The South’s secession would likely deprive Khartoum of most of its oil reserves, no doubt sparking much controversy. The central region of Abyei has been and will continue to be the most likely place for north-south tensions to erupt into violence as it straddles the dividing line (residents of the Abyei region were promised their own referendum on whether to join the north or the south but leaders could not agree on how to run the poll and the vote did not take place as planned on January 9).

South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) has said that the initial results of the referendum would be announced on January 31 (as of Jan. 21 reports still seemed this was possible). Should the vote be in favor of secession, Sudan, Africa’s largest nation, would soon become two, with Southern Sudan becoming the world's newest nation as early as July. More to come after the results are announced...and left wondering if an African country can truly hold to its initial deadline.

PART 2: GHANA go travelin'

Christmas Eve Eve I made my way to Ghana to meet my friend Bright, who although was born & raised in Ghana, moved to NYC at 15 and this was his first time back since he left. Soon after I arrived, we headed North to his hometown in the Volta region. During the holidays it's customary to walk the streets and greet everyone and this kept Bright especially busy since no one had seem him in about 10 years! I was there for moral support I guess you could say. There were a couple of younger girls, Bright's cousins, who were staying with us at the house and naturally, I found myself hanging with them a lot, too. They were a hilarious, fun, smart group of girls. We had a lot of fun dancing at the many, many parties up through New Years.


Greeting the town on Christmas Day



Dancin' into the night


Traditional celebration

Christmas we ate & ate lots of food and in one of the soups I found...a goat SKULL. It is a delicacy (along with the meat cooked in the goats blood...) and of course not wanting to be rude I indulged.. I even ate the eyeball...it was GROSS; don't let the exotic-ness fool you as I did. The meat actually tasted much like a brownie, is that uncultured of me to say? Much of the rest of the food was spicy and delicious, though. A nice change for my recent Ugandan palette! The women, Bright's aunts, were amazing and cooked tirelessly, which to be honest felt uncomfortable for me; I felt like I should help but wasn't allowed. I had to protest even to do my own laundry (which I hate doing in the first place, but hate even more someone else doing it for me!). They were happy to have me hold a baby though..


Chokin down the eyeball


At 26, the women always ask why I don't have a kid yet?

As I said, many of the nights we were down at Bright's grandmothers, dancing and partying away to traditional Ghanaian 'high life' which is awesome music. As the sole white-person a.k.a. "obruenie" (or as Bright insisted, a "guest"....ahem) I posed for many pictures, danced with many strangers and even had to give a few speeches. Pretty wild, but fun nonetheless...


With Bright. You cant tell from this pic (thank goodness) but the girls braided my entire head...Safe to say it wasn't a good look on me..

One day we went trekking through the jungle for palm wine (straight from the trunk of palm trees!), which was so cool to do but to be honest I have to say it tastes rather like sweet, warm urine...woof. Sorry Bright. After I couldn't take anymore of the palm wine, some of the women brought me food and were entertained while we ate together; so surprised an obruenie would eat their food - but I loved most of the food there!! Midway through our meal, some rough and tough guys rolled up on motorbikes and minutes later a scuffle broke out... Just as I asked one of the women if it'd turn into a fight, a few kids ran passed into the house and sure enough I was ushered in right after. I was in the middle of a tribal war!!! The neighboring town and thus a different tribe, wanted to protest an election the following day, and decided to attack the very house we were at! I felt safe enough inside but what an afternoon!! A drawback to this occurrence you ask? We couldn't watch the Arsenal v. Chelsea game because the town that attacked us was the only town nearby that had the tv station!


Workin for our "wine"!


Spearin a fish (totally staged, too..)

Our time in Bright's hometown was really fun & very interesting and I got to learn a lot about the traditions, customs and ways of life. It was interesting to see many of the similarities to Uganda, but also the different ways the people adapted to life. Family ties run deep, and there's a real communal feeling amongst the people. Many of the kids are raised by other family members and it's quite something to witness what many in the community do for others; The women particularly interested me. I found many very selfless which was inspiring to see. It was also encouraging to see the difference in lives of women there while most of the time they were tending to the cooking, cleaning and child rearing as in Uganda, they also seemed to have a bit more freedom and the community was a bit more open to shows of affection between couples. I never once saw a woman bow to a man, and unfortunately I've seen it in Uganda a few too many times. For me this brought up the importance people place on "tradition", but often times I feel the label can be applied a bit too liberally: Scarring babies faces at birth to identify their tribe, female genital mutilation (still done in parts Northern Ghana, not to mention other parts of Africa), or the practice (??!) of having more than one "wife" for men. This is a whole other blog entirely, but definitely something I tuned into right away...

A couple days after New Years we left his hometown & went back to the capital city, Accra. We had fun exploring the town, but the traffic was KILLER. Combined with the scorching heat, taxis that never had working windows in the back seat, lack of any tarmac roads and extremely dusty 'shoulders', we were always in for an interesting ride. Usually though my car ride entertainment was due to the seemingly endless stream of street vendors hoisting their wares into our faces (I guess the lack of window access was a good thing?). I'm used to the absolute craziness of Kampala's vendors trying to force any-and-everything on me, but in Accra, it seemed like there was nowhere safe; while in Kampala most of the vendors are confined to the market, in Accra they ran wild...literally. They dodged traffic trying to get you to buy a loaf of bread or they were sprinting after our car to get us some High School Musical stickers. My most curious encounter was a man holding a dead rat on a string and unfortunately for this particular ride, I did have a working window... And although I could get used to the drive up convenience of it all, I did wonder how much money these vendors could honestly make? Like I've seen before in Uganda, people really have a survival instinct, but not in the typical sense we think in the West - it's as basic as making enough money to eat for the day, be it just $1 worth, it doesn't so much matter.

The city has a lot more Western influences than I was expecting; we even went into a real mall. And in Accra again, lots of delicious food, none of which I could begin to cook for myself. One day we also took a drive out to a animal rehab/monkey sanctuary and got up close & personal with some animals. I tried to hold a monkey but it wasn't having it and bit my arm-ouch!

Next we traveled a couple hours West to Cape Coast, which was a sweet little Rastafarian town on the beach. We visited Elmina Castle and Cape Coast castle; both used by the Dutch, Portuguese and British in times of slave trade. It was pretty unsettling to stand in the Slave Dungeons - they were dark, stuffy and very small. Hundreds were packed into a room no bigger than most "master bedrooms" in the US; this is also where the inhabitants went to the bathroom, too, so one can only imagine the smell that permeated those dungeons. We walked through the underground tunnels to the "Room of No Return" which is where the slaves that survived the dungeon, would exit to be herded onto the ship and sent off.

Once we returned from the Coast it was time to head back to Uganda and after landing back in Nairobi, I loaded up for a (agonizing!) 8 hour bus ride to the Ugandan border. I was met with the oh-so-familiar"mzungu" calls, the money changing vultures trying to scam me at every chance, and the border patrol overcharging me for my visa. I was even greeted by a family of baboons on the side of the road! Even with another 5 or so hours til I was back at my house, it felt good to be back in Uganda. Yesterday was especially great because I got to visit some of my kids houses and surprise them since I was back a bit earlier than I had first told them. It was so wonderful to see them again and very humbling to see their huge smiles as they ran up and into my arms. It was a really special feeling and made me feel good about being back here, ready to take on the second half of my time here. These kids are so special and absolutely remind me while all the traveling this month was fun and I was fortunate to be able to see and experience what I did, they are the reason why I'm here!!

Thank you to you guys who sent cards, holiday greetings and good wishes. It really made me feel good and loved from lands fah fah away. I'm sending some of this sunshine your way in hopes you are staying warm in the winters of Chicago and NYC or wherever else you find yourself. Know I'm thinking of you always!

Oh, and GO BEARS!!!

Thanks for reading,
Heather

...And we're back - PART 1: KENYA dig it

Phew what a month! It's been a while since I last got to post as I found myself getting a bit of traveling in but not a lot of internet time - as it should be, I guess! I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the holidays..pretty crazy it's 2011 already and although there really is nothing quite like Christmas time (in NYC!) or with family and friends at home, I did enjoy myself over the holidays and got to do, see and EAT some things I might never have otherwise...

Mid-December I found myself in Kenya where I met Felicia in Nairobi. We stayed there for a few days to explore the city. I really liked it there; it reminded me of some European cities I've been to, most especially Rome! The streets are wide & tree lined, roads were a bit more organized, if not still chaotic - very different from the overcrowded, polluted streets of Kampala (and as I'd later see, the vendor-filled, dusty streets of Accra). After tasting some of THE best coffee we'd ever had, we hoped on Eastern Africa railways for a overnight train ride to Mombasa, on Kenya's Eastern coast. The train ride was definitely a experience.

Felicia on one of the couch/bed/seats

Checkin out the Kenyan landscape

Mombasa is on the Indian Ocean, which was really beautiful and the beach was peaceful minus the vendors that would attack the second you got to the sand. Some good humor and fast walking though usually did the trick. In the mornings, the tide would be so far out, you could walk along sand bars maybe a 1/2 mile out..

By 11 or so, the tide was back up to shore, crashing on the beach. One afternoon we found ourselves hiding in the room after a sneak attack by some hungry monkeys, and one wanting to plan our night for us:

Our new friend

We got to ride this crazy, pirate-like ship on the Ocean and another afternoon we took some jet skis out after a 1-minute crash course on how to ride them. Of course I freaked out the whole time as we were speeding and bumping along; exhilarating but not being able to see the bottom of the ocean made me nervous (my family can attest to this..when we were in Hawaii scuba diving I clutched onto my brother the whole time...)! Jet skiing was awesome, though. Another highlight was our camel ride on the beach!!

Alex, our trusty camel

We also were treated to delicious, huge meals and the swim up bar and Joseph the bartender kept us in good spirits. It was very refreshing to eat some real food (and not have to cook it myself, to be honest!). One of the last nights, we took a dhow ("canoe" of sorts) to Fort Jesus in old Mombasa town and had a cool historic show and dinner in the fort itself. Of course we both got steak which came with world's most delicious sauce ever. It was a GREAT, memorable vacation and a perfect way to start off my holiday in Africa!

A Different Kind of Holiday Gift

You can make a difference in the life of a child this holiday season.

The community in which I work is very poor and home to many refugee families. These families have come to Uganda from neighboring Congo, Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi. Despite much hard work, things are still very difficult, especially for these families who have had to uproot their lives in search of a new place to call home, maybe even just for a short time before being forced to move once again.

I am asking you to consider this list below when you are out looking for gifts this holiday season. You can see just at a quick glance, so many of these items are under $15 and while we may consider many things pretty basic, things like supplies for school and a clean uniform to wear mean more to these kids than I can even explain.

I would love to match you with a child here!
If you would like to be matched with a child of a specific gender, age, etc or if you'd like to direct your donation for one of the items to a certain child you've seen in pictures from Facebook or this blog- please let me know. If you have kids at home it is fun for them to know they are helping someone just like them, halfway around the world! You can also do this in 'honor' of someone or as a gift to a family member. I can help out with pictures, stories, etc. It seems a little better than a tie or pajama pants, right? I'd like to give the child a picture of you as their donor, too, because believe me, this picture will be just as important, (if not more so!) to the child than whatever item your donation buys.

Being with these kids over the past 4 months has really shown me that a little love can go a long way! So please, if you can, consider making a difference to one of these children knowing that they have indeed touched my life in so many ways; I know they will touch yours.


$1 - 1.5 liters of CLEAN drinking water

$1.50 - Lunch for 1 child; 1 week
$2 - Math kit

$3 - Book covers

$5+ - Christmas presents

$8 - Mosquito net

$9 - New backpack for school

$12 - New school uniform

$13- New school shoes

On-going support
$15 - Lunch for 1 child; 1 term

$10 - Refugee student's school fee; 1 term /$30 - Refugee student's school fee; school year

$30 - Ugandan student's school fee; 1 term /$90 - Ugandan student's school fee; school year

To make a donation, please click here. Please remember to specify the donation is under my name and then let me know how it should be used!

My email is hluboff@gmail.com, and I am on Facebook. Please email or message me with any questions or to learn more about the wonderful kids here and how you really can make a difference this holiday!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES!!!
Stay warm!!

Heather

Kampala...Marathon?

HAPPY DECEMBER wow! Time flies.

This morning we went to check out the happenings of the Kampala Marathon... and can I just say if marathons in the US were more like this one (or maybe they are, I have no clue), I'd probably give more thought to actually running one, or should I say participating in one.

We got a private, air conditioned (!!!) tour of the marathon "route" from our neighbor who saw us leaving this morning and graciously offered us a ride into town. We were a little surprised to be driving on the route itself, but hey there's crazier things!! ...Say, marathoners coming out of bushes (a.k.a. we spotted their shortcut), runners (?) wearing cargo pants, jeans, and even some with loafers on. I even spotted a guy wearing moccasins. It's safe to say, this isn't your mother's marathon. The "after-party" was even better!

Dozens of food & beer (thankyouverymuch 11am) trucks, stalls and vendors surrounded the main stage where Ugandan pop sensation Jamal would perform (fyi: Courtney, Adam, some friends and I met Jamal in September, got some pics with him...no big deal.) We tried our best to get on the list for the tents that looked like diners would be treated to a fancy 5-course brunch buffet, but instead settled on sausage skewers from a street vendor. After a little jamming to Jamal, we decided we'd leave the marathoners to their party and off we went.

It was nice to see people out and about, actually exercising, regardless of their pace. And turning a marathon into a summer concert & food festival? Fine by me - thanks, Kampala!

HOPE Speech Day

Sunday was HOPE’s Speech Day/End of Year Party/Graduation for P7 & Top Nursery Class…phew. It was a 6 hour affair, but could we really say we were surprised?

The teachers turned the courtyard in front of the Youth Center into an African wonderland (with the help of one very tall Mzgungu named Adam): complete with kitenge curtains, tents, lots of lace and of course lawn chairs. I found myself on desk duty; heaving big wooden desks to the tent. This activity would have been better suited for me if I wasn’t practically sewn into my dress, but I’m told that’s the style, and anyway I was there to help, so onward we went.

Parents (eventually!) filled the tents, dressed in their best – so beautiful. The fabrics here are so vibrant and amazing and these women love to get dressed up! It was really encouraging to see how many parents came to support their kids, and pretty special when we got to meet them, too. It really helps us get to know these kids on a very different level once we can see a little bit about who they spend their time with, you know? Of course, the kids all looked so good in their uniforms and I was especially happy to see my buds Espware & Shandrack, plus Julien and his 4 sisters Neza, Yvonne, Yvette & Julie all in their new uniforms we had made.

me, Julie, Julien/Yvonne, Yvette & Neza, great expressions, right?

me with Espware

The kids performed tradition African song and dance routines and the costumes they came up with were awesome! I am continually impressed with their abilities; the boys their rhythm and the girls…they can move. Girl nor boy is embarrassed to dance in front of a crowd (I wouldn’t be either if I could dance like these kids!). They also performed skits that took on more serious issues like child abuse & neglect, the dangers of accepting items from strangers, and the importance of staying in school. Some children also got to show off their science and math knowledge while presenting mini-lessons to us. It was great to see the kids having so much fun delivering these messages to their parents.

When the kids were dancing, their parents, friends or just impressed audience members would come up mid-dance/skit/reading to hand a him or her some coins or candy. We even saw the kids sharing with their classmates after they finished, too: my buddy Julien told me he shared one of his coins because he already had a lolli pop; he didn’t need both! I just so happened to have a bunch of silly bands in my purse (ahem), so it was the perfect token of our gratitude for their hard work! Silly bands are takin’ over Ndejje!

The one bummer of the day was the Top Class Graduation – doesn’t seem like a downer but in order to participate in the whole ceremony at the Party, the child needed to have paid for a cap & gown (yes…they are 6 years old, and yes, like a high school graduation cap and gown!). Our sweet friend Abigail did not have the money to pay for that, and even though I had told her teacher I would pay for her party fee, that seems to not have included this gown business! Abigail was really upset and so of course that made me upset. I wish there would have been another way to include all the kids in her class, not just the ones that could afford the hefty price tag.

It’s already an issue much too familiar to us: every interaction, event, occurrence throughout every single day comes down to money; the fact that we are supposed to “have” it and everyone else needs it. We expect it from strangers on the street, but try as we might to give the teachers (in this case) we work with the benefit of doubt, it’s unfortunately it's hard. I just wish it wouldn’t creep into something that was supposed to be a celebration. In any case, Adam, Courtney and I have decided to have our own graduation party for Abigail! It should be really fun…but I think that means I’m headed back to Owino market for the party food…