Settling in...

During the last few years I’ve “lived” in 5 different places (Minnesota, Kenya, South Africa, New York, and D.C.) and each time it’s become more and more easy to adapt quickly, settle in, and feel comfortable and at home. I’m not sure if it’s my love for the region, life’s daily content, the manageability of the city, the friendliness of the people, or if I’ve just learned how to make any new place feel like home, but I feel totally adapted to life in Uganda. I’ve moved into a 5 bedroom flat above a French restaurant in a safe neighborhood overlooking the rolling hillsides of Kampala. Across the street are 2 markets, some fresh fruit stands, 3 amazingly good restaurants and a few bars where Ugandans come to watch soccer (I’ve never seen joy like I saw the other night when Arsenal won). I can walk out the door and catch a boda boda (motorcyle) into town for about a dollar and a 10-minute, adrenalin pumping ride. I can pay a little bit more and hold on for an even bumpier ride and get to Namuwongo, the slum area where I will be spending a lot of my time during the next month.

Extending my stay in Uganda only entered my mind a few days before leaving. At that point in time, I had no idea what I would do if I stayed longer. The Kimeeza II summit was a success from the get go and both the American and Ugandan participants served as a great inspiration and motivation to stay. The Ugandan participants inspired me with their passion for social justice and their love for and hope in life. All of the participants dedicate their free time (or all of their time) towards helping others who are less fortunate. They work at the grassroots level and having only spent a few weeks with them I was able to witness what a great impact they are having on their communities. The Americans inspired me with their eagerness to learn and their commitment to taking action. Half way through the trip I was not sure if I would extend my stay or not, but during one of the one-on-one evaluation sessions one of the participants was completely distraught because of how much she wanted to stay. She was close to postponing her last semester at college in order to stay and do something. She decided to complete her degree and come back this summer (which I 100% support), but it reminded me that those who CAN do something should. I decided that since I am fortunate to be able to stay on and do something here that I will put my trust into the belief that things will fall into place.

It has been difficult for me to abandon my goal of completing the Miami Marathon (just 5 days away), as I had been training for it since September. However, I would not have put this goal on hold unless I had found something more worthwhile to dedicate my time to. A woman named Torkin, a co-founder of an organization called Bead for Life, said to a group of us that the answer to your prayers or your calling may not be exactly as you expected. I am not sure what I expected, but I did not expect to meet Abramz, founder of Breakdance Project Uganda. Abramz is a socially conscious hip hop artists, a well-known rapper, and now teaches free breakdancing classes in Kampala and in Gulu. Thus far Abramz has supported the project out of his own pocket, turning down paying jobs so that he can continue with his work and reach more youth. Last night I attended my first breakdancing class where young boys and girls of all ages, races and classes come to learn how to dance and how to teach others to dance. During the next month I will be helping Abramz develop a marketing slideshow as well as develop into an established and sustainable organization. Abramz is truly an inspiration to everyone who meets him. He does what he does for the love of doing it and for the love of making other people happy. He exemplifies successful grassroots development work, he exemplifies the endless possibilities of empowering young people, and he has also reinforced to me the efficacy and capacity of development projects that are started locally, inspired by personal experience, and sustained by local leadership and dedication.

In addition to supporting Abramz, I am staying on to develop a project along with my co-leader and close friend Halle. In September Halle had the idea of marketing products created by a women’s group in Namuwongo in the United States. Halle encouraged the group to create a name and they came up with Hope for Namuwongo. The women have all been displaced by the conflict in the north and are living in extreme poverty in one of the slum areas in Kampala. I have now joined Halle and her vision and we are going to create a Fair Trade project called One Mango Tree. One Mango Tree will be a link on the GYPA website where people can learn about the artisan groups that we will be supporting (starting with Hope for Namuwongo) and purchase their products. Halle and I are currently doing research and meeting with many people. Once Halle returns to the U.S. (on Friday) I will continue to work on the project’s development, along with the women’s group. Our goal is to launch the website with our first artisan group’s products sometime this spring. The project is exciting and is giving both Halle and I a much greater sense of purpose and many goals to work towards. It will take an enormous amount of patience to get the project up and running, but we are both dedicated, passionate about what we are doing, and excited to be working together, with GYPA, with the support of many people, and most importantly, with artisan groups doing incredible work and increasing the capacities of many underprivileged individuals.

Last but not least, I am continuing to work with and for GYPA. I will once again be organizing summits/immersions for this coming summer. In addition, I will be assisting the Ugandan staff with their work. I am hoping to go up to Apache, a district in the north, where GYPA has just started developing a soccer program for youth at two different IDP camps. I continue to be very interested in peace processes (which is suffering from major setbacks), the conflict in the north, and issues of reconciliation and reintegration. Working on program development in the north promises to be an interesting and informative experience.

For anyone who got through this entire entry - thank you for being so interested in what I'm doing!!!