Stuff

So I'm doing good. Got a 5 packages in one day the other day and it was pretty amazing! I'm going to be loaded up on junk food. Man, so those 3 sentences are all that saved of my blog post when power at internet cafe cut out. I'm exausted so I'm not gonna finish right now. I had a lot of cool stuff to say, but I'm about to throw the computer out the window! All is well and I'll try again soon.

More more more

I'm back! So the mosquito net project is going really well. My family and friends at home are working really hard and doing a great job at fundraising. And for their part, people here are doing a great job of waiting. We still don't know how many nets we may receive or when. The donor organization, Against Malaria (featured in July National Geographic fyi), is still scrambling for funds to add on to the funds raised at home to get as close as possible to the 12,000 + nets we need. Thanks everyone!

So I have not been too busy lately. My organization has been wrapped up trying to get our new nursing school building finished so that we can move into it, start a 3-year enrolled nursing course and free up some money to work on other projects. We're still trying to do many things in the community ie orphans, AIDS patients, etc... The latest endeavor has been to start a coalition of local community based organizations and work on larger projects. The first one we're developing involves a sub county wide bee-keeping project with the help of a potential donor. I think bee-keeping would be a great income generating activity because a.) it's relatively easy to do, b.) the start up costs are pretty low, c.) there is a market for honey and wax products that has not been developed in the area. The hardest parts are getting the proper gear (bee suit, mask, smoker) and marketing it to the public. The donor org we want to help us assists with those main things. What is also good is that they make the farmers re-pay the costs of the hive interest free over 5 years. This gives the people a sense of ownership and responsibility. The problem is this donor is backed up, so I'll be looking at other ways to start a project like this in my area. The problem we're facing with the CBO coalition is that they don't want to contribute to operating costs like for meetings, travel, computer time, etc. These things add up and my org as well as myself cannot afford to do work for others without some contribution. Sounds cold, but some people want things for free and that isn't how life works. However, I'm here to help so i'll figure out something!

In less serious news, I finally go furniture for my living room! I now have a house that is resembling a home that is mine, not a half complete place with someone else's things (previous PCV's). As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of couches and all that goes with them (the sitting, sleeping, etc.) so I'm very happy. Buying and transporting back to my place was less painful than I anticipated, but not flawless (ie 20 people riding in the back of the truck sitting on my furniture and causing a crack in my couch). I spent 325,000 Ugsh ($188) on everything including couch and chairs, cushions, coffee table and 4 end tables, and transport. So that's almost a full months salary for me, but it had to be done. Guilt for spending so much money is there because of the rampant poverty all around, but I need to do what makes me the most comfortable while i'm here. Having a couch, though silly, is part of my quest for sanity! :)

So the next month or so is going to be filled with a bunch of Peace Corps stuff. Language in-service training next week in Pallisa, meeting in Kampala after that for the Volunteer Advisory Committee that I'm on (think student council), and then technical in-service training in Kla in September. We'll see if I can update, but I'm not sure. I haven't had a lot of internet time to download my photos to my flickr account so sorry for the out-dated photos. Take care...

Random Stuff

Ok, after pleading for help with the nets (which we still need a lot more help if we are to receive any) and describing the troubles of been insanely different then everyone else, I'll talk a little about some of the fun stuff I've been doing. First of all, I got to raft the Nile river which was fun/intense/scary. We rafted 30km up the Nile and went through 12 rapids. My boat flipped 3 times but the first time, when i was pushed under for about 5-10 seconds not knowing which way was up, was the scariest. That may be the only time I get to do it because they are building a dam which will shut down rafting. Anyways, good times.

Last weekend, I traveled out to literally the middle of nowhere to visit my buddy Derek who may win for "most remote site" at least among the volunteer group that came with me. He lives about an hour north of Pallisa town and you can't reach there by car, only bike. Once we got there, it was quite an experience. The people there are so not used to white people that they went crazy with the arrival of us. It was a huge deal and the kids where absolutely blown away. They didn't know what to make of us. However, everyone was extremely friendly and "forced" us to partake in the local custom, which is drinking home-made millet beer in a circle out of a clay pot. It really wasn't too bad. You drink out of a super long straw and sometimes they bring out the bowl that you slurp out of. Needless to say, you can get in a lot of trouble doing this! We had to duck out after a while to avoid ending up sleeping in a random ditch somewhere. In a way, I envy his site, because it is so remote and he has become really integrated into his community. He speaks the language (Ateso) really well and the community really has his back. My location is on a main road and much of my business is done during the day in Mbale and not in my trading center. However, i'm a rock star of the taxi system and enjoy the isolation that my house grants me when I want it.

Oh, and I don't think I've talked about my local Lugwere name yet! It is quite amusing and everyone either laughes and says how great it is or laughes and askes me who gave that name to me. My name is Kampanya (com-pong-ya) and means....wait for it...small he-goat! My language teacher gave it to me during training and it happens to be his family name too. I of course was a little put off at first because most people's local names mean strength or hope or something to do with crops and life. What killed me was the "small" part of the goat reference. However, it was explained to me that small he-goats are tough and stubborn, so it's a compliment. Oh well, it is memorable and it serves me well. Everytime I tell someone, they really open up to me and declare that I am one of them. This is what I want obviously...to blend in as much as possible.

This weekend, I'm staying in and relaxing. Traveling out to no-man's land, while exciting and fun, takes a lot out of you. I'll clean my house and do a lot of reading.

Thanks for all the packages I've gotten, they have really helped me get through some tough days. I'll try to update soon.

Help if you can!

So my sister hooked me up with this UK group who is sending a shipment of mosquito nets to Uganda in 2-3 weeks. They are will to throw some more on for my community and for the last week we have been working like crazy to make it happen. My organization mobilized local leaders to collect lists of everyone in Kakoro Sub County that is a child under 15 or a woman. 2 people from every village (38 in S/C) worked super hard and got a list of 12,390 women and children to me that I'm now trying to send in with the official proposal. I personally met the Minister of Health who assured us that the nets would get to our site free and fast. We are ready to go, we just need some help on your end. My sister has set up a donation site to help pay the group, Against Malaria, for the nets. Each net is $5. Please help if you can. Thanks,
Wes
www.againstmalaria.com/ugandawes