(Happy Valentine's Day!)
It finally came time and I packed up and headed north. This leg of my trip lasted a week and took me to Gulu to learn about CRS’ agricultural programs. I was initially worried about going, but lucky for me Mary came with me, which also meant that we got to top off the week with a trip to Murchison, a national park in this region.
The drive up took about 7 hours, which wouldn’t have been so bad if not for the poor condition of the road. But, as usual, there were too many wonderful things to see so I cannot allow myself to complain too much. Here is a photo that I love that Mary took and also a picture of George (Gulu office staff) and myself at our lunch-stop eating some kalo (the millet-dough I talked about).
The week went by in a flash! I spent time both in the office interviewing program managers and in the field visiting projects. First we saw two SILC groups (internal lending communities). The first group was doing quite well and even bought a goat. The second was an all women’s group. I was able to interview them while my coworkers reviewed their records. It filled me with joy to hear about what these women were able to accomplish with the skills CRS provided them. I wanted to communicate, but I only knew three words (there are so many languages here! In Gulu they speak Acholi and all I learned was (1) kopengo – hello/how are you, (2) kope – the response to kopengo and (3) afoyo – thank you).
Another wonderful experience in Gulu was helping at a seed fair. Seed fairs are a part of the agricultural program. The old method of NGOs providing seed involved an NGO that would buy a certain seed and give it away. A seed fair is a market where CRS invites vendors to come with seed, identifies beneficiaries, educates them on the process of buying and selling, then distributes vouchers. A buyer will use their vouchers (which total 35,000 USH) to buy seed. The vendors receive a receipt for the vouchers they have collected and are reimbursed at a later date. Here are some photos:
Who had a monkey...
Seeds:
Seed fairs and other agricultural programs were developed as a result of food insecurity in Uganda. Due to the war, many Ugandans were forced to leave their homes and travel to camps for security. I wish I could lend you my eyes and memory to allow you to experience the camps because pictures and words simply don’t do it justice. Can you imagine fitting your entire family into a round hut the size of a large bathroom? Can you imagine living with no insulation and mere feet from each neighbor (which wouldn’t be on two sides, as we are used to, but completely surrounding your hut)? Can you imagine seeing your child with a swollen belly from malnourishment, wearing only a torn T-shirt and being able to do nothing about it? As we drove past in our nice CRS vehicle with bottled water and snacks, I felt the feeling that is all to familiar now – the strangest and most uncomfortable mixture of gratitude for the life I was born into and also a deep sadness and disbelief at what I saw. It’s a strange feeling to drive down a road, feeling sick, and not to be sure why … whether it came from something I ate, the condition of the road, or something I’d seen or heard.
Hopefully these photos will give a better idea:
After we completed our work in Gulu, we headed southwest to Murchison National Park. This is the area where giraffes are rumored to be, which excited me so much that I had a hard time sleeping one night.
As we turned to enter the park I received what I decided was a good omen for the weekend: I saw my first elephant!
It was unreal! I am amazed that something so large can be so graceful.
As it was around midday, we decided to do a short game drive before checking in to our rest camp. Murchison has some animals in common with Queen Elizabeth, but many that are different. They have a wide variety of antelope-esque creatures, waterbuck, buffalo, warthog, birds, an animal that I cannot remember but looks like a goofy, awkward moose, and GIRAFFES!!!
Spectacular! That is all I can say!
Early the next morning we left for our main game drive. We had planned to get a guide, but they were all taken. This worked out for the best, I think, because we were able to follow the other cars that had guides, didn’t have to pay anyone, and didn’t have to go back at a certain time. On the drive we saw many more of what I described earlier, some amazing trees, hippos, and lions! I was thrilled! I hadn’t expected to see lions but we saw a large male and a female in tall grass and later a female with 5 cubs! Unfortunately I don’t have a good photo because in our first viewing the grass was too tall and in the second we were towards the back of a row of cars so we didn’t have the best view. Though we couldn’t come close to the lions, we were fortunate enough to come very close to a giraffe. It was nibbling on some bushes just feet from the road and, since we were alone at that point, it stayed close and we were able to take far too many photos of it.
After another lunch at the rest camp, we headed off for our boat tour of the Nile. Though we left promptly, we had to dart to the bank and anchor down for a while as rain, lightening and thunder came in.
But we were not short on entertainment! One of our Dutch companions produced his harmonica and preceded to play songs as some sang along, others clapped, and our tour guide danced.
When the rain let up, we continued. Here are some memorable snaps:
Our Dutch companions:
After another long drive the next morning, we finally reached Fort Portal, where we were welcomed by a beautiful sunset:
1 comment:
Hi! Nice job recanting our adventures!!! The funny looking animal you couldn't remember is a hartebeest. You just missed a great sunset over the Rwenzori Mtns - i'm headed out to enjoy it. see you soon!
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