Success! And happiness.

It’s so easy to get bogged down with the negatives out here sometimes.  I’m sure some of you are wondering, after reading my posts, why the heck I’m out here considering (poor electricity, lack of water, no money, etc).  But today was a great day, one of those days that makes it all worthwhile. 

I’ve been stuck in Hoima town for a solid month, which really isn’t so awful thanks to books and movies, but the town is nothing to write home about.  Today, however, I got out into the countryside.  And while I make a weekly trip out to my second office an hour away, it’s all road and town and office; today reminded me just how beautiful Uganda actually is. 

In my area (western Uganda, along Lake Albert, next to DR Congo), it’s green and has lovely rolling hills.  The trees are huge and lush, with mangoes and jackfruit in abundance.  There are these crazy birds that sound like monkeys, and these cool lizards that are bright blue and green.  Sometimes you can see monkeys, and a chimpanzee sanctuary isn’t far.  And I really like going out into the country with my field officer, because he shows me which trees are good for bees, and which aren’t native, and tells me interesting things about the area. 

So the purpose of our trip today was to visit with some of our farmers, and hear their success stories since our project started.  I sit in our office most days doing budgets and writing reports and keeping the project going from a managerial point, so going out to the farmer’s house and actually seeing the difference this project is making in their lives was a really great motivator.  No, this project isn’t perfect, and I’m constantly working to make it better, but we are making a difference and that means a lot to me. 

This particular farmer has been beekeeping for over 20 years, and has over 200 beehives (unheard of!).  But he keeps traditional hives and methods; he comes to our trainings and is learning things his practical experience hasn’t taught him, like the best methods of extracting honey, keeping it pure and clean.  Since he started selling honey to us, he has been able to buy a cow, buy new clothes for his wife and children (all nine of them), pay for his kids’ school fees (fantastic!!!), build his son a house, and purchase more land in a nearby village.  That’s after four months with our project.  I’m amazed and so proud. 

One of the reasons I love working small, on-the-ground projects is because you get to know the people you are helping, and you can actually see the difference you make in their lives.  I don’t know, maybe that’s a little selfish on my part, but I like to see that the project is working, not just read a report or study stats about success. 

Oh, and a little side note: the farmer was growing chili bushes.  I can’t find chilies in my local market, so I’ve been suffering through with chili powder (oh, the horror!!).  The farmer’s wife gave me a handful of chilies to take home with me.  Yippee!!

Anyway, I have another day of this tomorrow, of which I’m looking forward to.  Right now, I’m a happy girl. 

It's the Final Countdown

Well, I’ve gone and done it.  I’ve used up almost all of my savings, and am now stuck in Hoima until I get a job with an actual salary.  Of course, I knew this day was coming, but that didn’t really help my ‘Oh Shit!’ moment over Easter weekend, when I realized that would have to be my last weekend in Kampala.  

On a little side note, Easter weekend was really lovely.  I went to Jinja with a good buddy.  We previously had been out to the Ssesse Islands together (small island group in Lake Victoria), so this time we went to Jinja, a cute town where the Nile River begins from Lake Victoria.  Jinja is world-renowned for it’s top-grade white water rafting.  I went rafting once; most people love doing it, but these are grade 6 rapids, so you spend quite a bit of time flipping over and falling out of the raft.  It’s supposed to be part of the adventure.  I would have had a much better time if I didn’t fall out of my raft and go over a waterfall before we even hit any of the actual rapids!  I ended up injuring myself – waterfalls are rocky!! – and was terrified for the rest of the trip.  So this trip, I decided a nice, low-key trip to the Nile would be best.  I stayed on an island in the Nile and relaxed for two days.  A friend cooked up an awesome Easter dinner, so I returned to Kampala for that, and spent one final day relaxing. 

See the leg stick out of the water.  Yup.  That's me.

No, I'm not brave enough to be in the front.  I'm holding on for dear life in the rear of the raft.

So now I’m back in Hoima.  I’ve spent three weeks here without leaving (unprecedented for me), and I’m doing okay.  Granted, I’ve been too busy with work to notice, but that’s probably for the best.  As the end of my contract nears, there is suddenly a million things to accomplish, and with the constant power outages, never enough time to do them. 

I’m still battling food expenses.  No matter what I do, I’m still borrowing money from my other allotments.  It’s a good thing I don’t actually use all of my phone allowance.  Or my transport, but that’s mostly because this month I haven’t traveled anywhere.  I’m trying to branch out and cook more variety, but it’s all ramen or spaghetti based.  My big exciting purchase recently was cumin, although I’m not really sure what to use it in, other than beans (which I really loathe to make at home, since I eat it for lunch!).  

And while I've always been good at doing the solitary thing, I am looking for a new opportunity come July.  Something in a city would be great.  Something more than a few dollars a day would be even better.