tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82045881243028541942024-02-18T23:13:58.944-08:00Life in the Pearl of AfricaTales from a Peace Corps volunteer in UgandaRashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-45810175205720955422012-08-19T03:04:00.000-07:002012-08-19T03:04:47.143-07:00GirlTech Uganda 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What is GirlTech Uganda?</div>
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GirlTech is a professional development program for early secondary girl students, encouraging them to pursue advanced education and careers in science, math, and technology. The week long program had 79 participants, all girls from secondary 1-3 levels, from all parts of Uganda. As far as we know, it's the first program of its kind in Uganda. Another PCV, Stevie Bergman, and I have been somehow planning this program for about a year now, and it was truly amazing to see it happen!</div>
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Activities included daily computer sessions, life skills sessions (re-usable menstrual pads, HIV/AIDS, assertive communication), science sessions, and guest speakers: female Ugandans who work in science or technology fields. We were fortunate to have a forestry supervisor, a fisheries biologist, a doctor, an architect, and a forensic scientist come and share their experiences with the girls. Science sessions included bottle rockets/forces of flight, projectiles, disease detectives (my shameless push for epidemiology!), and volcanoes, where girls got to make their own baking soda volcanoes. Each day was started with a "mad science" session, demonstrating a cool science experiment, intended to "blow their minds!" We also did an awesome astronomy night and two tower of strength competitions, where girls had to create the tallest structure out of limited materials. At the end of the week, we had a science fair where girls showcased science projects they worked on throughout the week.<br />
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Our "call to attention" for the week, which we used whenever we had to get the attention of 100+ people was:</div>
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Call: Pi</div>
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Response: Pi</div>
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Call: Pi</div>
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Response: Pi</div>
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Call: 3.14!</div>
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Response: 159!</div>
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It worked really well, and was also quite entertaining!</div>
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Willysha and Sara wrote the amazing GirlTech song, to the tune of "My Favorite Things:"</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Girl Tech Anthem!<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Beakers and test tubes and Bunsen Burners<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Animal dissections and scientific learners.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Chemical reactions and Goldberg Machines.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">These are a few of our favorite things.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> Mercury and Neptune, Saturn and Venus<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Earth, Jupiter, Mars and Uranus.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Planets and stars that shine like flames.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">These are a few of our favorite things.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">When they tell us don't do science, cause you're simply girls.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">That's when we prove to them using our brains.<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">We're Girl Tech girls!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMw7IaqzBSdt0GejI_oflwarwL6h1EyTh1GBPmc02Ct4jTKB9gI4mx0ZajU_KunSZg70a2Hyv1W4R5JkTFOzx6xCt1U7Acw3yP6o_mNhO5Y-LoKwXyUT0AAYGh2fJ8ISFnQ71YA13A1A/s1600/526149_10102636061747941_1220722283_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMw7IaqzBSdt0GejI_oflwarwL6h1EyTh1GBPmc02Ct4jTKB9gI4mx0ZajU_KunSZg70a2Hyv1W4R5JkTFOzx6xCt1U7Acw3yP6o_mNhO5Y-LoKwXyUT0AAYGh2fJ8ISFnQ71YA13A1A/s400/526149_10102636061747941_1220722283_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each group of 10 girls was a planet, and staff was the sun!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsX4Kjchr9HhFvpCBQWPWUHhJCHPrGgxMy-UZS-u2pe2BgPvTkc1C3E1qTrza6H6AflAAYgXoekA6rf6_rLGVRuGAZyLDnAPtO_m7ErUjbIdmCl3tFcNNi71JeF_eGjuTu7m0AudYq0Ws/s1600/girltechlogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsX4Kjchr9HhFvpCBQWPWUHhJCHPrGgxMy-UZS-u2pe2BgPvTkc1C3E1qTrza6H6AflAAYgXoekA6rf6_rLGVRuGAZyLDnAPtO_m7ErUjbIdmCl3tFcNNi71JeF_eGjuTu7m0AudYq0Ws/s400/girltechlogo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The awesome GirlTech logo, designed by PCV Khayla Johnson!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCGa_xJaUJmsRihQgrI2ZSu6lmqb3nM3-XNhChUb8FBlhMsDglx0xRjp2QHbkId5-4UOALnWjfnGB_XTcJoCakH4wU0Y39hvsd16Mf9Ig66p-DF7iAkIUeEtK8S27HG0ydtHbPtF6XiY/s1600/DSC08805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCGa_xJaUJmsRihQgrI2ZSu6lmqb3nM3-XNhChUb8FBlhMsDglx0xRjp2QHbkId5-4UOALnWjfnGB_XTcJoCakH4wU0Y39hvsd16Mf9Ig66p-DF7iAkIUeEtK8S27HG0ydtHbPtF6XiY/s400/DSC08805.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towers became too big to measure!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IuuyqBOXu-CcZw7vN9kkC6188lZe9L0nnuHtVbq9lvHSKnuss2s7koEXfLcS7TEksCNRLwndl86tW1WyYJR0ixoNDkh2QhnfQIkEo08R80Pp0B6wJwAdD22Zc0K6KOJaSRyFYLLaO8g/s1600/DSC08843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IuuyqBOXu-CcZw7vN9kkC6188lZe9L0nnuHtVbq9lvHSKnuss2s7koEXfLcS7TEksCNRLwndl86tW1WyYJR0ixoNDkh2QhnfQIkEo08R80Pp0B6wJwAdD22Zc0K6KOJaSRyFYLLaO8g/s400/DSC08843.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirk, the bottle rocket launcher!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPhL8xCdLFhe0wN4D_pUhwIfo-Qc5xSYBs0CpXgJ6eFEGZwHD3sLn_LLopBWs6JV-a3j81J2IqwOrkaehwFPhCr4six_37bAL9QpmaZkigwMK4B982etMhG4bMXZrFk5QkR5T_bAk3Zw/s1600/fun2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPhL8xCdLFhe0wN4D_pUhwIfo-Qc5xSYBs0CpXgJ6eFEGZwHD3sLn_LLopBWs6JV-a3j81J2IqwOrkaehwFPhCr4six_37bAL9QpmaZkigwMK4B982etMhG4bMXZrFk5QkR5T_bAk3Zw/s400/fun2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls were a bit surprised to see the rockets fly!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-fATgJYpHyyGLVpJh_tkq18UqkxNZQ9cIYVI3CWEwBq2UvF_BeaGWmM_u4aQqdWJQdR6NKP6JMamuGYgOjbd6mINo4gLoxcCGG-hG-JoTOD3QuuMlqi52jJla88q_2R2OHekUxrsD5A/s1600/DSC08856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-fATgJYpHyyGLVpJh_tkq18UqkxNZQ9cIYVI3CWEwBq2UvF_BeaGWmM_u4aQqdWJQdR6NKP6JMamuGYgOjbd6mINo4gLoxcCGG-hG-JoTOD3QuuMlqi52jJla88q_2R2OHekUxrsD5A/s400/DSC08856.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary, teaching computers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMPadpvK1P6_klfPAPPI3fs-6vlsYMfWdPBSFAi4RPvsN7eh_b1WSBWZYGuGvwF2MneT9xXZix4hkD_qld1pogKEFwFxWfHouXrcM89Q_HtOqtxVxOzofFrv2f_eat7fMu9xsX7Dxdr0/s1600/furhagirltech.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMPadpvK1P6_klfPAPPI3fs-6vlsYMfWdPBSFAi4RPvsN7eh_b1WSBWZYGuGvwF2MneT9xXZix4hkD_qld1pogKEFwFxWfHouXrcM89Q_HtOqtxVxOzofFrv2f_eat7fMu9xsX7Dxdr0/s400/furhagirltech.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Where do you see yourself in 10 years"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9Kb4JIXnUXVVHPiZ_rMS0qzXOedy6jPfsmLliyD_U2tR9m1cHp58GAA2YNQk0Zp_wrmYyLwPwh7zYoJejmPAoySc0272JG3RCPv6hdOZGTEjlp4PzgLISIJxQUhSotp1LlkkvSFQo14/s1600/DSC09168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9Kb4JIXnUXVVHPiZ_rMS0qzXOedy6jPfsmLliyD_U2tR9m1cHp58GAA2YNQk0Zp_wrmYyLwPwh7zYoJejmPAoySc0272JG3RCPv6hdOZGTEjlp4PzgLISIJxQUhSotp1LlkkvSFQo14/s400/DSC09168.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oobleck, a non-newtonian fluid</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_mgKSqczQihMSUxF0RZQFmqEmjztdno8dVdAt-Qlng6RJOTKG8wW3Pi8kamKWjBXZ46fUAD19-a33DbqRrB3oF5LuK5OI9AF14k9iq6_HFdGIIQ1GABzSECUOOwnBSX3Mo5zRk7E1Qg/s1600/DSC09024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_mgKSqczQihMSUxF0RZQFmqEmjztdno8dVdAt-Qlng6RJOTKG8wW3Pi8kamKWjBXZ46fUAD19-a33DbqRrB3oF5LuK5OI9AF14k9iq6_HFdGIIQ1GABzSECUOOwnBSX3Mo5zRk7E1Qg/s400/DSC09024.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruben's tube: we made fire dance!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGfhgTUe4hbdoAjviyQQAlD3DX1Do5xh-PcUfCltHD1p4SYbrJ8dXpg9hxWzn9nA7LDP_pQ8DhP2MOzga8xVCoROpaL1sJZRBTujzMr332RNdDqOpMb734rpF7yNZkY5OMQwkbLn3R1Q/s1600/DSC09047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGfhgTUe4hbdoAjviyQQAlD3DX1Do5xh-PcUfCltHD1p4SYbrJ8dXpg9hxWzn9nA7LDP_pQ8DhP2MOzga8xVCoROpaL1sJZRBTujzMr332RNdDqOpMb734rpF7yNZkY5OMQwkbLn3R1Q/s400/DSC09047.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What caused the disease? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2hXJi40rsKZQQeonmEu_AOJsTZoaK38MiMhPqN5MVpI9X467FjLBiP7Zpuos6mKXSLUuUKp35LXQ3eQIr1YSB2wt0PthDr3Hy0ofcai-zKCwfrOzAiEBmHpZsFKWb0ECqIjzsz_M0w8/s1600/DSC09046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2hXJi40rsKZQQeonmEu_AOJsTZoaK38MiMhPqN5MVpI9X467FjLBiP7Zpuos6mKXSLUuUKp35LXQ3eQIr1YSB2wt0PthDr3Hy0ofcai-zKCwfrOzAiEBmHpZsFKWb0ECqIjzsz_M0w8/s400/DSC09046.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An epidemiologist in the making!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzPrIwb4vY45F7md0ZgJneOWuJRNVR5_S05cjZ8QDibA_kdAZqzr55PsYDytlWAEGH06QgEumGOjjHPpOcx3TAkMo9uyWLPmr6Hjs0WknaahW-fv_vWdR7XthHib0xR3B8oR6AAFh2Z4/s1600/DSC08853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzPrIwb4vY45F7md0ZgJneOWuJRNVR5_S05cjZ8QDibA_kdAZqzr55PsYDytlWAEGH06QgEumGOjjHPpOcx3TAkMo9uyWLPmr6Hjs0WknaahW-fv_vWdR7XthHib0xR3B8oR6AAFh2Z4/s400/DSC08853.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How to communicate assertively</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EsPznLgcRTRKGf96i1dQe-zPWMsK-aNFgFh7_2C-fsSaa4ARA9d_7u-AJcUEgyShASVgRZEBoS-ldzF48W0ipHgg3q_B9NNyrsn-orq6lCdgznOxMT08Gtax28Yjq9FVedcyFabde3Q/s1600/DSC09051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EsPznLgcRTRKGf96i1dQe-zPWMsK-aNFgFh7_2C-fsSaa4ARA9d_7u-AJcUEgyShASVgRZEBoS-ldzF48W0ipHgg3q_B9NNyrsn-orq6lCdgznOxMT08Gtax28Yjq9FVedcyFabde3Q/s400/DSC09051.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willysha, our lovely life skills teacher!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volcanoes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's the right angle to launch a water balloon at the opposing team?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The science fair</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching others about composting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Stevie with Deborah, the amazing HT of our our host school!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GirlTech!</td></tr>
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Thank you to everyone who made GirlTech possible! We had the most amazing staff members who made miracles happen throughout the week. What a great way to end my Peace Corps service :)</div>
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Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-59878992605822267632012-07-20T23:42:00.000-07:002012-07-20T23:44:50.907-07:00It's that time: COS<u>COS Conference</u><br />
Last week my training class had our last Peace Corps conference together: our Close of Service (COS) conference. While we mostly talked about administrative stuff (when exactly we'll all be leaving, what forms to fill out, etc.), we also reflected on our past two years in Uganda. Not only that, we got to stay at a super swanky resort! This place had multiple swimming pools, a view of Lake Victoria, garden pathways, and Uganda's only equestrian center! The resort was so big they had golf carts to carry guests throughout the resort! (Although, I knew I was still in Uganda when my golf cart "ran out of fuel" after going 3 feet...the carts are electric.) We also got to enjoy <i>delicious</i> food: homemade yogurt, bacon, curries, chicken, beef, fish, cheese (real cheese!), and awesome desserts like tiramisu, crumble cake, and chocolate cake balls.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Room with a balcony</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balcony garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the garden walway</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horses!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One pool: with a lake view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxKHI4dsiDMwVaw2pEBnMD8J-7z_If4ZC2rmLVRBkdQV4iVH9De03ILrURyzMF9azW-BkJvJ7m6DT2StOYc9pEunZdTgBkW7x4n2RfQ0kF5ozGAnXHVkhJJenVwgqVAHS11bqaSpyMjk/s1600/IMG_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxKHI4dsiDMwVaw2pEBnMD8J-7z_If4ZC2rmLVRBkdQV4iVH9De03ILrURyzMF9azW-BkJvJ7m6DT2StOYc9pEunZdTgBkW7x4n2RfQ0kF5ozGAnXHVkhJJenVwgqVAHS11bqaSpyMjk/s400/IMG_0689.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another pool!</td></tr>
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On our last night together, we had a lovely barbeque dinner on the lake. One of my fellow volunteers, Chelsea, shared a lovely poem to wrap up our service. Thanks Chelsea!</div>
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<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Our Peace Corps Journey</span></b></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">by Chelsea Lenore Milko</span></b></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We have walked the narrows</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Shaken our fists</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Sunk into spaces</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Been illuminated.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We lost some wind</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">But found the route.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We haven’t saved these people</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Because they don’t need our saving.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">But we have lifted their song, our song.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Not every moment we lived did we love it.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">But with love we lived it.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Not because we had to</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">but because we could do.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We’ve seen so much</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">And we’ve really seen ourselves.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We have so much to give.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The trick is to not fear the magnificence.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">To not blasphemy the hope.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Take this experience as a promise.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Use it. Plant it.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The world requires our love.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">All the strength and dignity we can give it.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Because it is better to be a light source </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">than to suffer the damned darkness.</span></span></div>
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<u>Food Break</u><br />
On the way home after the conference, I was bombarded by the usual band of street-food vendors. These also include vendors selling bags of vegetables, and I was persuaded by a bag of delicious-looking green peppers for 1,000 ugx (about 40 cents). After I made my purchase, I started wondering how I could consume 8 green peppers before they go bad...solution: stuffed green peppers! Mary came over to enjoy them with me, and I stuffed them with rice, tomatoes, onions, and shredded ham (from a wonderful care package!). After topping them with some parmesan cheese (which I brought back from my Christmas trip) and baking them, we enjoyed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iL68XBGn8KxmYI_AofHQ8OgArA2FXE-vjX9D4FtL-ipEjIKkQkZQGWot-u4nkMe6jlAZ1siSXHvrEusKPrGt_dcTkkDy5t6ElR6p3o8YdgbPoGM7L_bwXZAkYd9MRmZ7gf0deCA-2q8/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iL68XBGn8KxmYI_AofHQ8OgArA2FXE-vjX9D4FtL-ipEjIKkQkZQGWot-u4nkMe6jlAZ1siSXHvrEusKPrGt_dcTkkDy5t6ElR6p3o8YdgbPoGM7L_bwXZAkYd9MRmZ7gf0deCA-2q8/s400/IMG_0696.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They turned out so perfectly!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJ49ayDpy43ciNinuOP66tcx1zXCx649xRJyoulGX5d3AQG0-yQrLYEqyA33mRZls4-Unl1AduGtpO2R2u3tBrbS0jXI7yh02aaXQR-3_UJKf3Vg7EsxTabS2LMrzgvU6O0D1hHHroho/s1600/IMG_0704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJ49ayDpy43ciNinuOP66tcx1zXCx649xRJyoulGX5d3AQG0-yQrLYEqyA33mRZls4-Unl1AduGtpO2R2u3tBrbS0jXI7yh02aaXQR-3_UJKf3Vg7EsxTabS2LMrzgvU6O0D1hHHroho/s400/IMG_0704.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary really enjoyed!</td></tr>
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Well, I couldn't stop there, so I went on to make oatmeal, chocolate chip pecan cookies with the remainder of my Christmas stash of American food.<i> So good</i>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_eZydKG3z0MtwBXXkKaI5OPkptX_fsqJaeYr0dwKyB_nFmYAtpA2L6OI5_lpYKJ8DC53btYxti12zehAfokF9rzFE1ohDjv6I7EOen1msMyuiXXjqAIy4I6ss5KZaMFxiDMZqrakKfg/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_eZydKG3z0MtwBXXkKaI5OPkptX_fsqJaeYr0dwKyB_nFmYAtpA2L6OI5_lpYKJ8DC53btYxti12zehAfokF9rzFE1ohDjv6I7EOen1msMyuiXXjqAIy4I6ss5KZaMFxiDMZqrakKfg/s400/IMG_0725.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious</td></tr>
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<u><br /></u><br />
<u>So Rashida, what are you doing with your last few months in Uganda? </u><br />
It's really starting to hit me that I only have about 2 more months in Uganda. Where did the time go?! While I'm ready to close this chapter in my life, I have one more big project to finish: GirlTech Uganda. I'm co-directing this project, a professional development program for girls interested in science and technology, with an awesome fellow PCV, Stevie. The program will run from August 5-11 (with a brief training from August 3-5) at a secondary school a few kilometers from my house. It's going to be pretty amazing, with a science fair, "mad science" sessions, bottle rockets, etc., but there's so much to do in the next two weeks to get it all ready! I'll post more details after the program finishes, but wish me luck!<br />
<span id="goog_779359268"></span><span id="goog_779359269"></span>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-84774074702618640852012-05-03T01:59:00.000-07:002012-05-03T01:59:03.567-07:00Northern Camp GLOW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This past week I had the privilege to participate in a Camp
GLOW in northern Uganda. Camp GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World, and the
idea for such a girls’ leadership camp began in 1995 in Peace Corps Romania.
Since then, Peace Corps Volunteers all over the world have held GLOW camps to
empower girls and teach them valuable life skills. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-L8LvhBU3tVEC_aIeVn-fNAXGzRTolBfPOlXXtu8-NGVSxxnYjYuSK2t4in-sPIb2iARNWjIM_UnkjxCNGTEb336c8c2RVlaw02tyu0od9FBzoeE_3vXsiB7hEOINAttYKY1FmJ9Ywp4/s1600/Camp+GLOW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-L8LvhBU3tVEC_aIeVn-fNAXGzRTolBfPOlXXtu8-NGVSxxnYjYuSK2t4in-sPIb2iARNWjIM_UnkjxCNGTEb336c8c2RVlaw02tyu0od9FBzoeE_3vXsiB7hEOINAttYKY1FmJ9Ywp4/s400/Camp+GLOW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us!</td></tr>
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The Northern Camp GLOW in Uganda was held from April 24-30, 2012
in Gulu. During the camp, girls learned about HIV (including voluntary HIV
testing and individual counseling), income generating activities (IGAs),
teamwork, domestic violence, communication skills, and self-esteem. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3-Oewu-w3jATivuQGjj9IodOtEUhlTms5iTWj7gn39sfXFFbAoGUZphJVI0E7Fa6ECMgs9VAxUdBOVVI48KiKDMD8OIDM6XBSWT0IchtV8KAExNXornF7qrVOleM9AKyXABd5dz0Jqg/s1600/IMG_2050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3-Oewu-w3jATivuQGjj9IodOtEUhlTms5iTWj7gn39sfXFFbAoGUZphJVI0E7Fa6ECMgs9VAxUdBOVVI48KiKDMD8OIDM6XBSWT0IchtV8KAExNXornF7qrVOleM9AKyXABd5dz0Jqg/s400/IMG_2050.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls learned to make small purses as an IGA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkRYPWSLO2phRPlDk9ikjAxUbSGBX7JcPYP_COzi6F4Mu1on-9JxXNBqH1m-IdetjVGK72tkup_Mhsaox6_sKW29amDS_5vSJwXCBwf6bRdnNd04bNFUddydTZnrMG5tTngADABWBkp0/s1600/DSC02087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkRYPWSLO2phRPlDk9ikjAxUbSGBX7JcPYP_COzi6F4Mu1on-9JxXNBqH1m-IdetjVGK72tkup_Mhsaox6_sKW29amDS_5vSJwXCBwf6bRdnNd04bNFUddydTZnrMG5tTngADABWBkp0/s400/DSC02087.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning to make sack gardens with Karla</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5LmltQxEU13yg0iJGSep51OOPOfDfVFQylR9MfTxIiD3MQKEUE6elvKfR6xlTOCx3Mi5kBnjaOijpHJxi_3IDx6TtbY0_Xy90cu93SpNZgl-X59j10Eew9EPgrSe0pR5uEmVdtwJxk8/s1600/DSC02109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5LmltQxEU13yg0iJGSep51OOPOfDfVFQylR9MfTxIiD3MQKEUE6elvKfR6xlTOCx3Mi5kBnjaOijpHJxi_3IDx6TtbY0_Xy90cu93SpNZgl-X59j10Eew9EPgrSe0pR5uEmVdtwJxk8/s400/DSC02109.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning to use condoms!</td></tr>
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The week was exhausting, but extremely successful! I
facilitated the HIV sessions, which included some structured activities and
unstructured Q&As while the girls waited for their counseling sessions. I also got to work with some amazing Ugandan HIV educators and counselors for the day - thank you Jane and Simon!<br />
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Since Camp GLOW was held in the same town where we had Peace
Camp last summer, we also got the opportunity to take the girls to The
Recreation Project again, a ropes course with very active team-building and
motivational exercises. Some of the facilitators even remembered me as the girl
who greatly feared heights but conquered the zip line! This time around, I led a reflection for the girls before and after they completed the zip line, to put the session in context and relate it to overcoming fears and challenges throughout their life.<br />
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The course has changed a
lot since my last visit, and in particular they’ve added a completing
terrifying new activity called the Leap of Faith. This involves climbing a
narrow tree (very high up, I might add), standing on top of the narrow tree,
and leaping to try and catch a trapeze-type bar. See the pictures below to
understand why my heart started racing whenever I looked at it!
However, the girls are much braver than I am, and nearly all of the girls
overcame their fears and attempted the leap, something the project facilitators
say is very rare – usually only 60% try it!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizG6GreQ347TDnqmq133WBEZsK64vRo8A8662KMJkHsSH9rq3dDPIbtmhfDhhtkyZz4rkw7v0qGFa5LKXgsorjmU2d5kAXEyysLwomWasU526d_BkvF5W1BWZNGzcLezyylhMUIhMhynI/s1600/IMG_2063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizG6GreQ347TDnqmq133WBEZsK64vRo8A8662KMJkHsSH9rq3dDPIbtmhfDhhtkyZz4rkw7v0qGFa5LKXgsorjmU2d5kAXEyysLwomWasU526d_BkvF5W1BWZNGzcLezyylhMUIhMhynI/s400/IMG_2063.JPG" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The leap of faith - so scary!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaping with grace :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamwork!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnBkJ3Ucr6qPsoc0yzHtGo8xNCXK7sU_SIJhuvcoxizKiaBn66S2YKIEEBOEbHvcV2-Z7InNKhBrCUJg1eRcWniwJbqV2n0QcrZbO_uvlqu2mjjOQK2VoIkQ4SLY4YdM6uKXm46jVw3k/s1600/DSCN2758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnBkJ3Ucr6qPsoc0yzHtGo8xNCXK7sU_SIJhuvcoxizKiaBn66S2YKIEEBOEbHvcV2-Z7InNKhBrCUJg1eRcWniwJbqV2n0QcrZbO_uvlqu2mjjOQK2VoIkQ4SLY4YdM6uKXm46jVw3k/s400/DSCN2758.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More teamwork to conquer the impossible wall!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaDJTX2rtYWcM8fe_8oG7QMnl0gDRIza5kgHIzWJW0p0DxAYbMI2-huQ0iUSX-EFopeFI8CQD8UdN9GabeD9aIvLaIfWVl3iO5g5uvsQobTn9MYxaMADDVz9EWEeye4GolYJwBvLIWog/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaDJTX2rtYWcM8fe_8oG7QMnl0gDRIza5kgHIzWJW0p0DxAYbMI2-huQ0iUSX-EFopeFI8CQD8UdN9GabeD9aIvLaIfWVl3iO5g5uvsQobTn9MYxaMADDVz9EWEeye4GolYJwBvLIWog/s400/IMG_2714.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tae Kwon Do!</td></tr>
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Twice during the week we linked-up with the boys’ leadership camp (BUILD – Boys of Uganda in Leadership and Development) for some field day activities and domestic violence discussions. Having almost 200 campers in one setting was a bit overwhelming, but the activities were successful!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBCTS-1dTHwN4ZWxys83-FiL-uNLPTRaww8MfGc6SHSoYZdHdENoZPSVNL8bB6XhLqCeKBLcuBt0jhtkCPeyxXPIoG8KaD7v7v-1v5AoU84ZK6dXoh3xFqh0UUMeMcw5O2S9MUq7gHoE/s1600/IMG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBCTS-1dTHwN4ZWxys83-FiL-uNLPTRaww8MfGc6SHSoYZdHdENoZPSVNL8bB6XhLqCeKBLcuBt0jhtkCPeyxXPIoG8KaD7v7v-1v5AoU84ZK6dXoh3xFqh0UUMeMcw5O2S9MUq7gHoE/s400/IMG_0924.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just having fun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqKU0OPgUcfv5xm9sP6ZY0fybQPPeQxHJhfvV9Bx1WUEUlussrmUkqpt7XUGbvuOcEiMeqlc4oVwvK7Bncr95RtymUQ8yaIX8-rCKD1PCs11oHp2viIbqdBPqRMZReuPWZ2gS2d27Cvs/s1600/IMG_0860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqKU0OPgUcfv5xm9sP6ZY0fybQPPeQxHJhfvV9Bx1WUEUlussrmUkqpt7XUGbvuOcEiMeqlc4oVwvK7Bncr95RtymUQ8yaIX8-rCKD1PCs11oHp2viIbqdBPqRMZReuPWZ2gS2d27Cvs/s400/IMG_0860.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my friend Karla</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1F7Db5HPJ2yui5xUCEDG29I8pp_H8vOH_f-0o6DFyr2433mGwuYxsVqJktZxw_Fu6EVwWhXVE6VXuR4Wa2RjhLPRwsMWRN0aF5gte8PShD4Ol-awTFLUhPCg2-VyQibJ9t6ZjzfBSHE/s1600/IMG_2703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1F7Db5HPJ2yui5xUCEDG29I8pp_H8vOH_f-0o6DFyr2433mGwuYxsVqJktZxw_Fu6EVwWhXVE6VXuR4Wa2RjhLPRwsMWRN0aF5gte8PShD4Ol-awTFLUhPCg2-VyQibJ9t6ZjzfBSHE/s400/IMG_2703.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GLOW and BUILD - a great team!</td></tr>
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<br />
At the closing ceremony, some of the campers read poems inspired by their experience at GLOW. We thought they were so awesome that Karla asked for a copy after the ceremony:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About Domestic Violence<br />______________________<br />Women! Women! Women!<br />The mothers of the nation<br />Beaten and tortured by ruthless men<br />Whipped and raped by strangers<br />Crying with the poor child on her back<br />Digging from Dawn to sunset<br />With little to earn from the harvest<br />No food, much work<br />The ribs seen from a kilometer<br /><br />Never! Never! Never!<br />Shall it happen again<br />You hit me, I take you behind bars<br />When sad lean on friends<br /><br />Women! Women! Women!<br />Suffering no more<br />No more sorrows<br />Because we are strong and beautiful<br />And proud to be a girl<br />And I am the future leader of my country Uganda,<br />The Pearl of Africa<br />Women! Women! Women!<br />……………………………………………………….<br />By Dr. Irene and Jacque<br />Camp Glow Closing Ceremony<br />April 29th, 2012 Gulu Uganda<br /><br />______________<br />Proud Glow Girls<br />______________<br />Proud are we the Glow Girls<br />Beautiful we look, eloquent we speak<br />The bright zebras! Calm crocodiles!<br />Elegant giraffes! The humble Ugandan Kobs!<br />Gallant Rhinos! Cheerful Lions! Assertive Elephants!<br />Cherished Monkeys! Royal Hippos and the fastest Cheetahs!<br />All focused to be leaders of Uganda, The Pearl of Africa<br /><br />Proud are we the Glow Girls<br />So useful to nations, our communities,<br />The world at large.<br /><br />Proud are we the Glow girls<br />To have our nice and loving counselors, staff and co-directors.<br />We are proud of you.<br />Thank you Camp Glow<br />For teaching us.<br />------------------------------<wbr></wbr>-------------<br />Camp Glow Closing Ceremony<br />April 29th, 2012<br />by Aete Claudys Komakech,<br />Ocer Champion Jesuit College, Gulu, Uganda</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks for a great week everyone! :)</span>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-43013739325101272802012-04-06T01:43:00.000-07:002012-04-06T01:43:56.535-07:00Oh, by the way: my new home!So in all the excitement of the past month, I've forgotten to blog about my new home! I'll admit, I was beginning to think it would never happen. Due to a crazy number of hurdles along the way, it took about 5.5 months to make this move happen.<br />
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So what is my new organization? It's called Medical Education Resources Africa (MERA). It's an NGO that, among other things, runs a college of health sciences. Of course, the college isn't yet officially registered, but that doesn't seem to stop students from attending the school anyway.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNEeK-LLiwpe-iBjpWeX5HwmTdYWiFXOWt38ObPmXDIAz5tI1FzFdZ1em_Jrrb1xRMUD5JR_lMWdb0Rxmmhtvi06YixkLs8URkkA6Z-q5_b_7eWsGsL-2-2bLUaagBojAsVMULU0vZiM/s1600/IMG_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNEeK-LLiwpe-iBjpWeX5HwmTdYWiFXOWt38ObPmXDIAz5tI1FzFdZ1em_Jrrb1xRMUD5JR_lMWdb0Rxmmhtvi06YixkLs8URkkA6Z-q5_b_7eWsGsL-2-2bLUaagBojAsVMULU0vZiM/s400/IMG_0491.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new org</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, my new organization didn't seem to understand the point of having a Peace Corps Volunteer at first... The job description they sent in with their volunteer application listed a whole host of things that don't quite fall in line with the "capacity building" aspect of PC. For example, they wanted someone to get textbooks donated from Europe or the US, to solicit for monetary and materials resources, and to write grants for the expansion of the organization.<br />
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You might be asking, well why can't you do these things? It's the difference between teaching a man to fish and just giving him a fish. For details on how foreign aid (including foreigners who come to African countries for a few weeks/months and do exactly those tasks outlined above) has actually been detrimental to the development of Africa, I'd recommend Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQV63U-MsF5oIrxFuWaMgXU-jvtumqgxZTTufWbD96MLUWtGRG4J29NnEGgVJa-B-L5NLptKuqBJJAPdRbE0xYIoxbFreE-1T8M-rhW3ULALxnbuHL8GyU88XqLQ4XkqmsSs2wA430hs/s1600/IMG_0488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQV63U-MsF5oIrxFuWaMgXU-jvtumqgxZTTufWbD96MLUWtGRG4J29NnEGgVJa-B-L5NLptKuqBJJAPdRbE0xYIoxbFreE-1T8M-rhW3ULALxnbuHL8GyU88XqLQ4XkqmsSs2wA430hs/s400/IMG_0488.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Less curb appeal than my old place, but still nice!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsMJLGEHifw8WvT1VZdohNVKsqUE46SrSTqEnIVKYoZnxo7OXCc_Qo5056L9FiKYUj7l5e-3HvQr3BO305oWqNsssrzTurPxmXrEgW_qF8V7VOLxh9KUYey46IFvHoGcjKaV_RLu6ZHE/s1600/IMG_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsMJLGEHifw8WvT1VZdohNVKsqUE46SrSTqEnIVKYoZnxo7OXCc_Qo5056L9FiKYUj7l5e-3HvQr3BO305oWqNsssrzTurPxmXrEgW_qF8V7VOLxh9KUYey46IFvHoGcjKaV_RLu6ZHE/s400/IMG_0478.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen/sitting room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgch3iUuMmtCgA71JRwN2AxwXd6RqvTLvGsmzU7rFysZuMS8TE1FM4_N3kFbLDRh32C8H0WsjPo7KZX4dTqLCzLpZ0HIUF6mwZoiX58-OTVJ-8mCni9KxGA4vZfrBCVVVt18nR6sXZ3qjg/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgch3iUuMmtCgA71JRwN2AxwXd6RqvTLvGsmzU7rFysZuMS8TE1FM4_N3kFbLDRh32C8H0WsjPo7KZX4dTqLCzLpZ0HIUF6mwZoiX58-OTVJ-8mCni9KxGA4vZfrBCVVVt18nR6sXZ3qjg/s400/IMG_0475.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where I try and work</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eME0sOfGj79OghEsweTJ3Ot_tklhyMA8LVLoMlouwC5g6nMr6E5PwDiZDhLBexCWXd36-FE3gJnQ2knpk2ugzvVCRH8KFBLxt_tK1KCFRGZAF38Pa9QKdGSTkeAP0VdiweyX_xD_LQM/s1600/IMG_0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eME0sOfGj79OghEsweTJ3Ot_tklhyMA8LVLoMlouwC5g6nMr6E5PwDiZDhLBexCWXd36-FE3gJnQ2knpk2ugzvVCRH8KFBLxt_tK1KCFRGZAF38Pa9QKdGSTkeAP0VdiweyX_xD_LQM/s400/IMG_0474.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedroom/more sitting room</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
A big plus to my place is that it's in Bugembe, a town 5 km east of Jinja town. This means that I have much better access to power and internet than I did in Mayuge. It also means that I'm close enough to town to have pizza delivered TO MY HOUSE. Now, this might not seem like a big deal to those of you back home, but it's a HUGE deal here! I didn't even think such a thing was possible! So the other night, my friend (who lives just a few more kilometers east of me) decided that we had to take advantage of this new miracle. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAB_1_E-eb2UnihDmjZIzDoH-kF6Bpnzbogw6RCUvegqsemHwJyymzW05lJLwvxV5SDSePaOy4hMteXZLc5tGmC_SsHPZkg14Ro5QMO7y5Vy-7EVTVL7k0YOILdueXrA9sR7m1rWJSUsU/s1600/IMG_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAB_1_E-eb2UnihDmjZIzDoH-kF6Bpnzbogw6RCUvegqsemHwJyymzW05lJLwvxV5SDSePaOy4hMteXZLc5tGmC_SsHPZkg14Ro5QMO7y5Vy-7EVTVL7k0YOILdueXrA9sR7m1rWJSUsU/s400/IMG_0481.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delivery woman showed up on a boda!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKgPjhOccTvZZiGqTmvubl2Utrk65Y0_ZRD2EmkDuGvlHuQoa3x-U2ABTmuPjDe5lxHMk20A-g00g32S6XYdhl9LsvEsctexX1tQp979SlB9AdVwqswnTDuJpVxX-PpwIAvurHXqfuNo/s1600/IMG_0486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKgPjhOccTvZZiGqTmvubl2Utrk65Y0_ZRD2EmkDuGvlHuQoa3x-U2ABTmuPjDe5lxHMk20A-g00g32S6XYdhl9LsvEsctexX1tQp979SlB9AdVwqswnTDuJpVxX-PpwIAvurHXqfuNo/s400/IMG_0486.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary enjoying our pizza! It had feta cheese!</td></tr>
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My house is also right next to a radio station, Baba FM. One day I decided to go and check out their offices and make some new friends. Well, since it's a radio station and can't afford to go off the air every time the power goes out, they have a huge generator that turns on immediately when the power goes out. They also have AIR CONDITIONING. It was heavenly! As I was leaving, I was asked to record a quick advert in Lusoga for an upcoming concert in June.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPdjyo35FXlmLA4u3_uSgBcnWOPlu9vXBHn_aRyPuTMGhMsJhkQOep6Ror7ILo9400OJf-h5oE-jio_RgFf3sYi4GGW2jO-PKZ5xjG4S9H1udS3c-aNhAEYoLXDfrzo6NgsFNFa21y5U/s1600/IMG_0454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPdjyo35FXlmLA4u3_uSgBcnWOPlu9vXBHn_aRyPuTMGhMsJhkQOep6Ror7ILo9400OJf-h5oE-jio_RgFf3sYi4GGW2jO-PKZ5xjG4S9H1udS3c-aNhAEYoLXDfrzo6NgsFNFa21y5U/s400/IMG_0454.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm famous!</td></tr>
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Next to the radio station is the Busoga Kingdom headquarters, where the cultural leader for the Busoga region is supposed to work. Unfortunately, Busoga has not had a king for 3 years. When the last leader died, a new one was supposed to be elected from among 11 elders. There were two main contenders, one who is supported by the government and one who is supported by the people. Apparently every time they meet to elect a leader, fighting ensues. I found all of this information out when one day half a dozen police vehicles parked themselves all around the compound near my house to prevent fighting from occurring during the most recent meeting. It sure took me by surprise to all of sudden be surrounded by policemen every time I left my house, but after 4 days the threat had apparently diminished, and they all left. That is, until the next meeting. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiIIqtXRIPyNoRy_OnzfFDEu0BOkuzYL16TS2JHvmNwsrDTm8a6nBmzi_UdF8fWuezyfIU9WlUhfRYiBjW1xlh4GKm29iQWYuIBGlh8U4WFvgf7IMpTPwNTnDOU_IIyPinxGGe1I-wwc/s1600/IMG_0494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiIIqtXRIPyNoRy_OnzfFDEu0BOkuzYL16TS2JHvmNwsrDTm8a6nBmzi_UdF8fWuezyfIU9WlUhfRYiBjW1xlh4GKm29iQWYuIBGlh8U4WFvgf7IMpTPwNTnDOU_IIyPinxGGe1I-wwc/s400/IMG_0494.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baba FM (reddish building) and Busoga Headquarters (white building)</td></tr>
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So as you can see, life in Bugembe is anything but dull! Farewell, until my next adventure!Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-30090627175650100262012-03-18T01:47:00.000-07:002012-03-18T01:47:27.028-07:00RUMPS (aka Re-usable Menstrual Pads)I'm pretty sure I promised to post something about my RUMPS project a while back....but I never did! Sorry for the delay, but here's the update!<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>So, what are RUMPS? It stands for re-usable menstrual pads. Girls in Uganda often don't have access to disposable pads, since they're very expensive to buy in the markets. A pack of disposable pads costs about 4,500 Ugandan Shillings (about $2), and most families can't afford to spend this much for each of their daughters every month. Instead, many girls use dirty rags or even nothing at all, and they often stop coming to school during their period because they're embarrassed to get blood stains while there. As an affordable alternative, a PCV a few years back decided to teach girls how to make re-usable pads out of inexpensive, locally available materials. In contrast to disposable pads, using brand new materials you can make a re-usable pad that will last for 6-9 months for about 800 shillings (about 35 cents), and it can be even cheaper if you use fabric you find at home. According to older Ugandans, this is what girls used to use before disposable pads became available in the country, and they've all been excited to see this more sustainable alternative return. Not only will re-usable pads be more affordable for girls, it will also be more environmentally feasible, since there is no trash disposable system in most of the country. Often, girls will just throw their pads in the pit latrine. However, most schools only have a few pit latrines for hundreds of students, and the latrines can fill up very quickly with disposable pads, necessitating the digging of new pit latrines much too often. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So, I thought teaching girls how to make re-usable menstrual pads sounded super cool, and since I didn't have much structured work at site, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to occupy my time. I decided to go to schools around my area (where girls are already mobilized!), teach them about the menstrual cycle (you would be shocked at how many ADULTS don't even know what the menstrual cycle is!), and teach them how to make a re-usable menstrual pad. Each girl would be able to purchase materials from me, at a subsidized cost, to make 2 pads: cotton fabric for the outside of the pad, towel inserts for absorption, buttons for attaching the pads to underwear, thread, and a needle.<br />
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My overly ambitious target: 3,500 kits of materials to prepare and give to girls. This entails cutting about 525 meters of fabric and almost 300 towels. Will I succeed? I've already made a lot of progress, but only time will tell :)<br />
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After much cutting of materials on my part, it was time to journey to the schools and spread this idea. </div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HjABflRPDOg7o4DMMryKokmso-cxjt9msWzIlpbSJ1KyaTydIf9CR4MgKBSpvpbhuI4H3ERJDjsmhh7Zu7h-idLz0Sx7nfjA1SaYemvIf0uRLKBgp_hX6CAoaHALDLfCFHr7XBOj784/s1600/IMG_0290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HjABflRPDOg7o4DMMryKokmso-cxjt9msWzIlpbSJ1KyaTydIf9CR4MgKBSpvpbhuI4H3ERJDjsmhh7Zu7h-idLz0Sx7nfjA1SaYemvIf0uRLKBgp_hX6CAoaHALDLfCFHr7XBOj784/s400/IMG_0290.JPG" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A reusable menstrual pad</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHSmD0mXU4mZ_mT03y1sTHRnNIoBeIR8obUtbQJx5ytdYJ21SMPs5_DrvF6Rp4OfszJ2OmIPKGkc4-DjThLcSc4ozn2MiOAlEfHXoMMOiN1RTiwk5EiC5kYvH1xKNxMjRJydR18yXdls/s1600/IMG_0300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHSmD0mXU4mZ_mT03y1sTHRnNIoBeIR8obUtbQJx5ytdYJ21SMPs5_DrvF6Rp4OfszJ2OmIPKGkc4-DjThLcSc4ozn2MiOAlEfHXoMMOiN1RTiwk5EiC5kYvH1xKNxMjRJydR18yXdls/s400/IMG_0300.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many RUMPS kits!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-X-dmfNCdzM_BT5hx0I7I4AW206W4VcUr_4mLd7Mt3t13OBzuqT5eQ6GZMgjlHPXjUVv4rjhsIjAuXHhdvL4yXsuGWjjMjT30Q1X0g_hQBd-1FqWETj5oOzKFCYElT6pYUinvJKmPbU/s1600/IMG_0392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-X-dmfNCdzM_BT5hx0I7I4AW206W4VcUr_4mLd7Mt3t13OBzuqT5eQ6GZMgjlHPXjUVv4rjhsIjAuXHhdvL4yXsuGWjjMjT30Q1X0g_hQBd-1FqWETj5oOzKFCYElT6pYUinvJKmPbU/s400/IMG_0392.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sewing some pads!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_eNSfb6v5pcDmzcEAT_CEwQgcZysbD_N8lpLU0UmTQgo8w5cNHfGPywEoRIMs21XcIT-lZBCRZf_qeX9QS8_6HjO9ruceKVzeKbwpIEgCssTUJmVeELFSKwp6eaZujG5jUQ8gbRi_HE/s1600/IMG_0404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_eNSfb6v5pcDmzcEAT_CEwQgcZysbD_N8lpLU0UmTQgo8w5cNHfGPywEoRIMs21XcIT-lZBCRZf_qeX9QS8_6HjO9ruceKVzeKbwpIEgCssTUJmVeELFSKwp6eaZujG5jUQ8gbRi_HE/s400/IMG_0404.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But madam, I can't sew!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw2qXnDlleT4rdVIiHUUGxf373C6cqsX2Tk2nId22IHmwwRr6HEum-Y-umsaXkmAxvdLIiVh4H46w35IWjecZN8_ti5urkt8sT0d2XNKHZTueABIFnfLQSALihccLjlNUcXIudZcreNZI/s1600/IMG_0408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw2qXnDlleT4rdVIiHUUGxf373C6cqsX2Tk2nId22IHmwwRr6HEum-Y-umsaXkmAxvdLIiVh4H46w35IWjecZN8_ti5urkt8sT0d2XNKHZTueABIFnfLQSALihccLjlNUcXIudZcreNZI/s400/IMG_0408.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still sewing...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>So far, I've gotten great responses from both school administration/staff and girls. I've also been able to dispel a lot of false rumors about menstruation and reproductive health. Here are some of the questions I've gotten:</div><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>Is it true that if a boy urinates on my pad, I won't get pregnant?</li>
<li>Why do I have more appetite for sex during my menstrual period?</li>
<li>Can I get pregnant during my menstrual period? </li>
<li>What are my "safe days" (when I can't get pregnant)? </li>
<li>What if their flow is like a tap? (from a teacher)</li>
<li>Will a menstrual pad help me prevent infections? </li>
</ul></div><div><br />
</div><div>All in all, it's been a really successful project! Within the next few weeks, I'm planning to expand my program to some women's groups in the area and hopefully a fellow PCV's primary teachers' college, so that these teachers can take the program to their new schools. Wish me luck! :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-12532295509831352202012-02-17T23:34:00.000-08:002012-02-17T23:34:21.700-08:00RainSo it rained yesterday. No big deal, you say? HUGE deal! It hasn't rained since I came back from Christmas vacation, and it's been hot and dusty and just plain miserable the whole time! Yesterday when the clouds started brewing, I asked my neighbor if it would rain (she's usually right about these things). She said no, but that I should just pray. Then, when the winds started to blow, my neighbor said "the wind is blowing away the rain." I screamed at the rain to come back. I jumped up and down around my house in a desperate attempt to lure the rain to me. AND IT WORKED. The rains came. I danced in the rain with my neighbor until she said it was too much and left me to dance alone. It was the most magical 20 minutes EVER.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the rain water tank never got "fixed" after the party (my landlady was worried about running out of water, so she paid two men to carry jerrycans of water from the borehole and pour them in the tank until it was full. It took them two solid days to do it, and they took out the pipes from the gutters so they could easily pour the water inside), so the water flowed uselessly on top of the tank instead of inside it.<br />
<br />
The kicker? Just the day before I had told my landlady to fix the tank in case it rains. Her response? Eh, does it look like it will rain anytime soon? IN YOUR FACE LANDLADY. So of course I had to call her and scream IT'S RAINING!!! Until she hung up on me.<br />
<br />
So it rained, and it was glorious, but there's still no water in the tank. SIGH.Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-30534902741074759522012-02-10T02:25:00.000-08:002012-02-10T02:29:52.911-08:00Graduation party, Ugandan-styleThis past weekend I was invited to a “function” being held in the compound where I live. My supervisor/landlady’s daughter just graduated from Makerere University, and so a party was necessary to celebrate the occasion (sidenote: graduations here are in Jan/Feb, even though classes end in July/Aug. No one really knows why…)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, the function was scheduled for Sunday, and I expected a typical Ugandan function: large tents, lots of speeches, a late lunch, and then dancing through the night. What I did not expect was a pre-party the night BEFORE the actual party. But of course, we had a pre-party on Saturday. Slowly throughout the night, relatives and friends arrived to enjoy/prepare for the function. Around 9:00 pm we had break tea, with milk tea and bread. About 10:30 pm we had an appetizer course of cow liver. At around midnight we had roasted cow meat (sticks from the trees were widdled down and stuffed with hunks of meat and roasted over a bonfire constructed in front of my house). Finally, around 1:30 am we had dinner (rice, matooke, and cow intestine soup). I’m pretty sure we consumed an entire cow that night. I even watched people cutting this whole cow throughout the evening. Even though they had hooked up a generator for the night, the kitchen was (of course) the only room in the compound without power lines strung through it, so the pieces of meat were laid on top of banana leaves outside on the dirt and hacked into pieces with an ax and machete. (Another sidenote: it was really weird to have generator power for once. My whole house was lit up at night! Crazy!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuPLoSNMRk68sQJDvgRpXC344RLnSJCayeN8qcEG2nY79C511o6kox2S6xneBAbDKj_QnRKX1SgmaeTvjcFhAsmdw2AxzrrHvSE-EYE-4dIl3mLto24JOc3Ru0IIYaizorH-5t3aMb9Y/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuPLoSNMRk68sQJDvgRpXC344RLnSJCayeN8qcEG2nY79C511o6kox2S6xneBAbDKj_QnRKX1SgmaeTvjcFhAsmdw2AxzrrHvSE-EYE-4dIl3mLto24JOc3Ru0IIYaizorH-5t3aMb9Y/s400/IMG_0336.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hacking away at the meat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXN67gCWIA_fmWCK2EEuhox1-aNZr6TqGxAI8OWHsjWrs9ph8uqTVENCptd2V85Lbc2NDV9RQ3uLcbXgIucECmBQdHrbKTHORl_-6yYK4eepAwuy1ttL2brbcDMOYdUS_jsqM2RuSb2o/s1600/IMG_0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXN67gCWIA_fmWCK2EEuhox1-aNZr6TqGxAI8OWHsjWrs9ph8uqTVENCptd2V85Lbc2NDV9RQ3uLcbXgIucECmBQdHrbKTHORl_-6yYK4eepAwuy1ttL2brbcDMOYdUS_jsqM2RuSb2o/s400/IMG_0345.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They really wanted to pose with the meat :)</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After all the food was consumed, the party continued with dancing and booze. Many beers were drunk, many hips were shaken (chisoga dance!), and lots of loud music was played. Of course, I was told this was not a “serious” party, since the REAL sound system and music would be coming tomorrow. Nevertheless, the party continued the whole night, the generator finally going quiet around dawn. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day I emerged from my house around 9:00 am (relatively late for me, but I figured it was justified given the late nature of the party the night before). As soon as I appeared, my landlady’s husband told me he was so worried that I slept so late that he was about to come and check on me to make sure I was still alive. By that time, the tents were already set up and the caterers were already beginning to cook the huge pots of rice, matooke, and meat for the party. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aCTcJ3jz7TQmR1D2CUlhpzhkwYsjOOZitLTIsFripu-jmkeTjI6z9lOZsCflFkLEnQFEJnaNZ5PklJ7JQxTWRoAcWMCHivRv7JCNFFVsd_1lr7zQNNdb5-IYNbiuLUDIBChplaY0FPs/s1600/IMG_0302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aCTcJ3jz7TQmR1D2CUlhpzhkwYsjOOZitLTIsFripu-jmkeTjI6z9lOZsCflFkLEnQFEJnaNZ5PklJ7JQxTWRoAcWMCHivRv7JCNFFVsd_1lr7zQNNdb5-IYNbiuLUDIBChplaY0FPs/s400/IMG_0302.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant pot of rice and giant spoon (kind of looks like a boat paddle...)</td></tr>
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The function actually started around 1pm, and as I expected, it consisted of a lot of speeches, traditional dancers (including a very cute little girl, see below), and prayers. It also included 10 cakes, each in the form of a letter, which spelled out CONCS FIFIN. I assumed this was some sort of lusoga code for graduates (or that I was still tired from the night before and couldn’t read properly), until someone told me it was just an abbreviation for “Congratulations Fiona.” <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczNMoZjVtoicO9sLDL_Ktsmd39CCtpM1abIdUbIExJOywNoFON-es-ZXbjAJK5Ca77WH_xGy5lmyXCuR-5n3L2Ti2wXh4R_b25bAuiQoRseoIN8bnJNCvn7a4mKqeGsyfRZDEPJDF4z0/s1600/IMG_0320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczNMoZjVtoicO9sLDL_Ktsmd39CCtpM1abIdUbIExJOywNoFON-es-ZXbjAJK5Ca77WH_xGy5lmyXCuR-5n3L2Ti2wXh4R_b25bAuiQoRseoIN8bnJNCvn7a4mKqeGsyfRZDEPJDF4z0/s400/IMG_0320.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The graduates (Fiona and her friends)!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7AcpiDKfbPNRNbTQURgAL4_G909MGnPFMJ80xHUuMp0Zgtv0H7I6xgq9r9ZKftbCsv3147RjmUpprgeKw8w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a speech declared to be a “mini skirt” by a local leader (not quite so mini, since he had 8 elaborate points to go through), we finally had lunch around 5 pm. After eating, the tents were taken down, and the dancing began. While everyone was still mingling about, an older woman stopped me as I was walking, wishing to talk to me. Someone had apparently told her I was a doctor (this happens way too much), and she wanted me to fix her “sick breast.” Before I could protest and tell her I’m not at all a doctor, she whips out her breast and starts waving it in my face. Now, I’ve seen a lot of Ugandan breasts since I’ve been here (breastfeeding is quite common), but I’ve never had one waved in my face so insistently at a function with hundreds of people around. It took about 10 minutes to convince this woman that I’m not a health care professional, and that she should probably talk to the (at least) 2 ACTUAL doctors and 3 nurses attending the party. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the official guests left, the villagers streamed in to take advantage of the generator and music. As the night wore on, the numbers of strangers dancing in the compound grew, and I was told kids were coming all the way from Bufuulubi! (I know this means nothing to you, but it’s a really far village, maybe 20 minutes by taxi, and definitely crazy-far to come from for dancing). Dinner was at a more-reasonable 11 pm that night, but the dancing again continued until dawn. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next morning was for cleaning up and saying good-bye to the few remaining visitors (and eating the rest of the cow, of course). By Monday night, it was back to life as usual in the village: me and my 4 neighbors, no power, and the peaceful quiet of the night, generator free.<br />
<br />
ttfn :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-17762342697103771212012-01-07T00:59:00.000-08:002012-01-07T01:04:16.660-08:00So fresh and so clean!This year I got to spent the holidays at home with my awesome family! As much as I enjoyed spending the holidays in Uganda last year, I was so happy to get to go home for a bit, and especially to see my adorable niece and nephew! When I got back to Mayuge, everyone exclaimed that I was SO fresh and clean and smart. They said America had treated me well, but I told them to just give it a few days, and I would again be covered in the thick layer of dust that makes Mayuge home :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAy5PHh7lz336T29z-ZpoPvpLKHHDrOPKPDup0ycM1aGiAc3SkQrVgYiCGimls1pen4DAYqKC5ltoUGnrfjmDDt_eoOihXDRYaEH2kXJgLSQ5xyhaErZ4ArQcUItU5TG6vpIImSxfqzo/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAy5PHh7lz336T29z-ZpoPvpLKHHDrOPKPDup0ycM1aGiAc3SkQrVgYiCGimls1pen4DAYqKC5ltoUGnrfjmDDt_eoOihXDRYaEH2kXJgLSQ5xyhaErZ4ArQcUItU5TG6vpIImSxfqzo/s400/IMG_0254.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids wanted to teach me how to play baseball... it was interesting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adorable!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXns-C_-YBJjYUBG0ttrxOqJpI44JaeQwMn-z7jAK1qSig50zJJaA4I_yUpbPumTPevTwIa0UpKK9EXMkPS5RVmh44PYSz3gLpUxyEGLiYYuxQjqZ-FezqM_yWHlzXa_gn2Nk6VCBsAAM/s1600/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXns-C_-YBJjYUBG0ttrxOqJpI44JaeQwMn-z7jAK1qSig50zJJaA4I_yUpbPumTPevTwIa0UpKK9EXMkPS5RVmh44PYSz3gLpUxyEGLiYYuxQjqZ-FezqM_yWHlzXa_gn2Nk6VCBsAAM/s400/IMG_0116.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the great dane puppy, who is now bigger than them both</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcrhjxyph39UAQoi4iA4L8RAqYy_O8TcKZBwpIvlAH-4r1PXmvwOcsgjD_XVLG_Gm6GnlYuwmOhfapYbHmPZH3X2r-668rT2ECezWVaL3B3qBZK_ezdjDZEtim9mxdxH8WKhIwuIxr_g/s1600/IMG_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcrhjxyph39UAQoi4iA4L8RAqYy_O8TcKZBwpIvlAH-4r1PXmvwOcsgjD_XVLG_Gm6GnlYuwmOhfapYbHmPZH3X2r-668rT2ECezWVaL3B3qBZK_ezdjDZEtim9mxdxH8WKhIwuIxr_g/s400/IMG_0166.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making rum balls! (rumbles, according to Vika)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrHilbaysIaaM6VR9ZglzBKAvUAr5RWVLC2tNtkO57czupHqpGpO0Nq4H4EiH-Y7pTeunWXfLQMumw_cmV6Hf_Hvi5z7MYEbVlCGsDTfDM7-OdlAzGBk29KBr5a8mpEC2k_xgB0U7qSk/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrHilbaysIaaM6VR9ZglzBKAvUAr5RWVLC2tNtkO57czupHqpGpO0Nq4H4EiH-Y7pTeunWXfLQMumw_cmV6Hf_Hvi5z7MYEbVlCGsDTfDM7-OdlAzGBk29KBr5a8mpEC2k_xgB0U7qSk/s400/IMG_0235.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddle boating on the lake</td></tr>
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Sorry, I apparently only took pictures of the kids, and not of my aunt and uncle. I love you guys too! Now back to the dust...<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">P.S. I posted three entries at the same time, since I have good internet today. Scroll down to see the previous two new entries.</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-37954344986670218942012-01-07T00:57:00.001-08:002012-01-07T01:01:39.764-08:00How I spend my time while waiting for a new home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I mentioned previously, I'm currently in a state of limbo while I wait for a new site. I will (hopefully) be moving soon, so I'm not starting any new projects (which would inevitably take months to get running), and since the schools are still on break, things have been a bit slow lately. Here's how I've been spending my time:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy pancakes!</td></tr>
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Thank you to my wonderful aunt who sent me an awesome camping oven, allowing me to bake without burning holes in all my pots! It has given me even more ways to kill time while waiting around at site :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homemade pizza</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M&M cookies! Thanks Hope for sending the M&Ms!</td></tr>
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On a slightly more productive note, I have still been working with Soft Power Health to organize community malaria events around Mayuge, with the help of some awesome health workers. Here are some pictures from the latest event at Kaluba Health Center II:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Sarah - the best malaria educator ever!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching at Kaluba</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So true!</td></tr>
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I know I promised some pictures of my ridiculous adventure to create kits for 3,500 girls to make re-usable menstrual pads, but I keep forgetting to take the pictures! I promise to rectify this soon! :)Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-45332573191945359242012-01-07T00:54:00.000-08:002012-01-07T00:58:21.294-08:00World AIDS Day 2011World AIDS Day is commemorated on December 1st each year, with the mission of raising awareness about the HIV pandemic. This year, several PCVs around Uganda held World AIDS Day events in their communities, and I participated in two of them.<br />
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<b><u>World AIDS Day 2011 - Soroti (Socks 'n Sacks!)</u></b><br />
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The event on Soroti was organized by the fabulous PCVs Chelsea Milko and Joanna Groepper. They organized a booth in collaboration with TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) within a larger event organized by the District Health Office. They made signs about HIV prevention in English and the local language (Ateso), which were placed around Soroti after the event. Ugandans educated others about creating sack gardens, an easy way for people sick from HIV to still grow some of their own food. In addition, we led condom demonstrations for the crowd and handed out free condoms, rice sacks, and seeds. It was crowded and crazy (like any Ugandan event), but it was a lot of fun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HIV prevention sign</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5KAoZEwVElWBScHFArWstRPNiCCfMpYaLNrkgLyEl0YE6dhWmkJVSKcTZ43A2CRXbXTqXap_bStPnhnIKCmsRaLMigp_k3WZ19tSop2pbgocQf8OMWKxRCpClNDVtMXubefEWpn5ywE/s1600/IMG_0163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5KAoZEwVElWBScHFArWstRPNiCCfMpYaLNrkgLyEl0YE6dhWmkJVSKcTZ43A2CRXbXTqXap_bStPnhnIKCmsRaLMigp_k3WZ19tSop2pbgocQf8OMWKxRCpClNDVtMXubefEWpn5ywE/s400/IMG_0163.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing for seeds and rice sacks to give away</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsojJvTe4PrzfdT3VRDi_nGVE7MdgPIHPFCeAOv0lpbv_riyS7OB0Flo3Lp1ku9zNY4sBDZ5e3Es968Zw93hzweTcLfmFEFGmx90xXkFNmiknNoCvUuEb3fa4zfWbgNFF8jp0s-uWYHo/s1600/IMG_0198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsojJvTe4PrzfdT3VRDi_nGVE7MdgPIHPFCeAOv0lpbv_riyS7OB0Flo3Lp1ku9zNY4sBDZ5e3Es968Zw93hzweTcLfmFEFGmx90xXkFNmiknNoCvUuEb3fa4zfWbgNFF8jp0s-uWYHo/s400/IMG_0198.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Condom demonstration co-led by a PCV and Ugandan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfzKaaCEhsOaiySOJkJze_ig30B7MvFjOYadZXw2wh4XJatSE0RqoI4cNZZnZC3Nj6OtCJ8NjoGoV0bPHNKX0ckJ_yA9f-cF2UYTwnhiE2nifWj5E2xSpsTXFxLmMUlR3zg8hyphenhyphenRLV3WM/s1600/396307_2679253214115_1039806518_32386513_1762871250_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfzKaaCEhsOaiySOJkJze_ig30B7MvFjOYadZXw2wh4XJatSE0RqoI4cNZZnZC3Nj6OtCJ8NjoGoV0bPHNKX0ckJ_yA9f-cF2UYTwnhiE2nifWj5E2xSpsTXFxLmMUlR3zg8hyphenhyphenRLV3WM/s400/396307_2679253214115_1039806518_32386513_1762871250_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sack garden demonstration</td></tr>
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<b><u>World AIDS Day 2011 - Lira</u></b><br />
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The event in Lira was organized by the lovely Liz Skeris and Jacqueline Demko. It started with a 5 km race and was followed by a health fair. Booths at the health fair included what is HIV, prevention, STD's and sexual health, condom demonstrations, and a quiz about HIV.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNG3jPghMw4gtQF4r1LXprr63ug4S7k_ueS7SP6aGeRA7On-SQVT69txQJqsc4-8Wgc1m7kCyGe5R34pBh4qg2Xd1s1v2qtwjr8-kajbjPdieTh6vxvnExqTzS2y4aMIKHspECr9h16Pw/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNG3jPghMw4gtQF4r1LXprr63ug4S7k_ueS7SP6aGeRA7On-SQVT69txQJqsc4-8Wgc1m7kCyGe5R34pBh4qg2Xd1s1v2qtwjr8-kajbjPdieTh6vxvnExqTzS2y4aMIKHspECr9h16Pw/s400/IMG_0221.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The race begins!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1T2t69sST-TwfbS4ZNomHYgYPjFBHxVbqEp2XwvApmYgh1K3KqBH_j88YNwXJLYoAYvmBIBNJcnrklRuIBQsyGKooRXyo16vQKV-7pwQQPG7FoJU4VUjDuB39LK1I7364wyT_VCMLz18/s1600/IMG_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1T2t69sST-TwfbS4ZNomHYgYPjFBHxVbqEp2XwvApmYgh1K3KqBH_j88YNwXJLYoAYvmBIBNJcnrklRuIBQsyGKooRXyo16vQKV-7pwQQPG7FoJU4VUjDuB39LK1I7364wyT_VCMLz18/s400/IMG_0223.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The prevention booth</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJhiN4vtwCeOdwfBAj5G8UbFngRLWnc0SOb9p9qHCgfXRW2V5ejmD2dUaVWDsHqRPvVjc8rDu660z8UdwvwVt-fjb2Lz9JyNq5Y1lVql2sHtusEHaR9mpKt2s_mP2HtccW_c3g8Z9yis/s1600/IMG_0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJhiN4vtwCeOdwfBAj5G8UbFngRLWnc0SOb9p9qHCgfXRW2V5ejmD2dUaVWDsHqRPvVjc8rDu660z8UdwvwVt-fjb2Lz9JyNq5Y1lVql2sHtusEHaR9mpKt2s_mP2HtccW_c3g8Z9yis/s400/IMG_0232.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Condom demonstrations </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8twS6NnMuR66-VeNlStGfzKe4634U2zT4u0pc5JDFEeE88QM1n7nFFYoKaAXaLwLaAaJQ5x25K-W23uUgLOueT79eYH8rcrWRs88fyO0vq34i0TwXiycjSQVMjF7r8qGEGmJmwn4MD24/s1600/IMG_0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8twS6NnMuR66-VeNlStGfzKe4634U2zT4u0pc5JDFEeE88QM1n7nFFYoKaAXaLwLaAaJQ5x25K-W23uUgLOueT79eYH8rcrWRs88fyO0vq34i0TwXiycjSQVMjF7r8qGEGmJmwn4MD24/s400/IMG_0233.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quiz time - what do you know about HIV?</td></tr>
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Two great, successful events! Thanks ladies for organizing! :)Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-82533964233659893182011-11-30T00:19:00.000-08:002011-11-30T00:19:44.539-08:00Thanksgiving 2011This year marked my second Thanksgiving in Uganda. For both celebrations, I was lucky enough to have good group of friends to share the holiday with. This year we enjoyed chicken, mashed and scalloped potatoes, spicy pumpkin soup, carrots, homemade applesauce, and cheese (yes, just a block of cheese - and it was delicious!). Then for dessert we had spice cake and oreos! After eating, we continued the party by walloping a Thanksgiving turkey piñata full of "sweeties." So much fun!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy chickens - the Ugandan turkey alternative</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Thanksgiving piñata: Sherman!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye bye Sherman!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-4323959733241272362011-11-10T22:36:00.000-08:002011-11-10T22:36:19.918-08:00Ebola and cholera and typhoid! Oh my!Uganda is a hotspot for all sorts of fun tropical diseases. When I was studying about rare, un-heard-of diseases in school, almost all of them seem to have been found in Uganda at some point. I've definitely found this to be true since I've lived here: in the past 15 months, Uganda has seen outbreaks of ebola, typhoid, anthrax, yellow fever, and anthrax. And that's not even including the "normal" tropical diseases like malaria, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. Oh, what a dream for a public health student :)<div><br />
</div><div>(fyi: no PCVs have yet contracted any of these diseases in Uganda. We are all ok!)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-71333630304501144892011-11-04T04:51:00.000-07:002011-11-04T04:51:32.154-07:00Midservice!!Last week my training group met in Masaka to have our midservice conference. Since we've all be at site for a year now, we got a chance to get together, reconnect, and share successes and frustrations from the past year. It was really great to see everyone! Here is our group - all 45 of use (it's pretty unusual to have an intact group make it all the way to the one year mark!):<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CHED August 2010 one year in :)</td></tr>
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The serious "work talk" was coupled by some fun activities as well: a movie showing of Volunteers (a Tom Hanks film from the 80s making fun of the Peace Corps), a trivia night, a Halloween party, and class superlatives. Yes indeed, two people in our group took the time to make a superlative for everyone in our group, including (in true Ugandan fashion) certificates! Mine was "most likely to be asked to sing the national anthem at the superbowl." I think this was more related to my being (with about a minute of notice) asked to sing the national anthem at out homestay thank you party and swearing in ceremony early on, rather than any actual talent on my part, but it was still sweet! Some of the other superlatives included best bikini bod (won by a woman in the 55+ crowd who rocks), most likely to always have taco seasoning in her bag, and most likely to bring HIV education to the Hobbit shire. We have a very interesting group :)<br />
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During the conference we were also supposed to make an action plan for our last year at site. Unfortunately, I will (hopefully) be moving sites soon, so it was difficult for me to take away future plans and hopes for the coming year. I'm trying to stay optimistic that things will work out for the best, but honestly the idea of moving at this point in my service is really daunting. Not only do I have to go through the stress of actually packing and moving, but I have to start from scratch with a community. I have to get to know my neighbors, my colleagues, and my market women. I have to learn where to buy my groceries and how to get around. It's been stressing me out! I'll update more when I have more details about where I'm going, but for now the only thing that's certain on my agenda for the next year is to finally finish my master's paper! Wish me luck!<br />
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ttfn :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-66228436102904322022011-10-31T02:06:00.000-07:002011-10-31T02:14:37.440-07:00Peace Camp 2011At the end of August, I worked with about 20 PCVs to run a Peace Camp in Gulu for youth that have been affected by the war and LRA. For those you who aren't aware of the situation, here is little background:<br />
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The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a rebel group that has operated in Uganda, Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Led by Joseph Kony, the LRA began a guerilla war in northern Uganda in 1986 with the intention of overthrowing the government. The LRA routinely recruited and kidnapped children in the north to use as child soldiers in the campaign. About 90% of the LRA troops were abducted as children. Although active fighting has ceased since 2006 (the LRA is still active in other countries), the physical, emotional, and psychological affects of the war still permeate the culture in northern Uganda. There are still about 1 million people living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, unable to return to their homes.<br />
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Peace Camp brought together 80 youth aged 15-19 from four tribes most affected by the conflict in the north: Acholi, Langi, Iteso, and Alur. Being from the southeast of Uganda, I had learned little about the LRA and the conflict other than what I learned from training and my own research. I could not truly understand the impact or the tribal distinctions until I witnessed the interactions among the campers. The campers were placed into camper groups of 10, and each group included a mixture of the 4 tribes, in an effort to encourage understanding and forgiveness between them. The conflict has long been thought of as a war waged by the Acholi and has often had undertones of Acholi nationalism, leaving many of the people of other tribes resentful and angry towards the Acholi as a tribe, so it was important to address this issue throughout the week.<br />
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I was a counselor for one of the camper groups, and did my best to foster a safe and comfortable environment for my campers to share and come to terms with their experiences. These people are truly amazing and strong individuals who have overcome horrendous obstacles in their life. For example, I will share an anonymous story of a camper from their camp application. This boy was forced by the LRA to kill his mother with a machete, being told that if he didn't, both of them would be killed. After being freed from the LRA and returning to his village, he was hoping for support by his neighbors and friends for what he had to go through. Instead, all he received was harsh judgement by people who refused to understand how he could have committed such an act, even under pain of death. This young man demonstrated the amazing strength needed to accept his past and seek help from others. He attended Peace Camp seeking skills to forgive and accept the perpetrators of his hellish past, and he plans to return to his village and teach others the skills he has learned. This is just one story, but I have so much admiration for all the camp participants and all the survivors of the LRA's terror.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace Camp 2011</td></tr>
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My group came up with their name themselves: the Black Africans. At first, the wanted to be the Black Americans, but I politely vetoed that idea. All week, I had to get my group's attention by yelling BLACK AFRICANS!! Very strange!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsft_ZPO2osDZEOd-FQfnGFDma_XVGFUQZ49KduXaMnGFGk8YnMIJfbXSRKjPujupzSFMY6yB9H7jLipXC-cfEC2ojLcafdw1W1Y9YJtSlgvrhTQQfTkvpar-3JKpYl809wpjZx0rpBys/s1600/IMG_2193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsft_ZPO2osDZEOd-FQfnGFDma_XVGFUQZ49KduXaMnGFGk8YnMIJfbXSRKjPujupzSFMY6yB9H7jLipXC-cfEC2ojLcafdw1W1Y9YJtSlgvrhTQQfTkvpar-3JKpYl809wpjZx0rpBys/s400/IMG_2193.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first group meeting of the Black Africans. </td></tr>
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A conflict resolution group from Gulu called Breakdancers for Peace helped open the camp:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakdancers for Peace</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My group!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our morning assembly - it felt like a real "camp!"</td></tr>
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A participatory theatre group from Kampala called Rafiki theater performed about domestic violence and allowed campers to play the roles of the characters and act out alternative solutions to the conflicts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rafiki theatre</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying some down time</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nCENn6k2htS9PP6KHhft6YgRcIsef68xasXFUoHrMs5shXvHafbwY72s6PybRxuY-glvK8tHol0sKmdz1rcwZ5kX3uSbDf4X2_LzRqge9klAnxPhxqNyuklC6uJ7m1vlylWzR_IsbPU/s1600/111_6647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nCENn6k2htS9PP6KHhft6YgRcIsef68xasXFUoHrMs5shXvHafbwY72s6PybRxuY-glvK8tHol0sKmdz1rcwZ5kX3uSbDf4X2_LzRqge9klAnxPhxqNyuklC6uJ7m1vlylWzR_IsbPU/s400/111_6647.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A meeting of the Black Africans!</td></tr>
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During the week, we traveled to the Recreation Project, a ropes course established in Gulu by trained psychologists to create a fun and hands-on environment for people to overcome their fears and learn about the importance of teamwork.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us learning about the importance of teamwork</td></tr>
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</span><br />
My group had to work as a team to re-arrange themselves on this log in alphabetical order without falling off!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoOmiXflsS1XvauTON_8xhurUAziy_WZZCosVxUE7bqsKQOTPhKKDwngDAg-hiefaeVYgHv2DhP97H6YTOmD3UzCaAPCsZFYWc4-e21e0RaQ8N3hBu1d0akW9acImreBflVI4FmveNeA/s1600/DSC_0610.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoOmiXflsS1XvauTON_8xhurUAziy_WZZCosVxUE7bqsKQOTPhKKDwngDAg-hiefaeVYgHv2DhP97H6YTOmD3UzCaAPCsZFYWc4-e21e0RaQ8N3hBu1d0akW9acImreBflVI4FmveNeA/s400/DSC_0610.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The culminating experience at the Recreation Project was the zip line. As most of you know, I'm afraid of heights, but after seeing my courageous campers tackle this fear, and after receiving so much support and encouragement from them, I had to give it a try! As I was flying through the air, my campers were running along side me on the ground so that they could great me at the end, hug me, and tell me how proud they were of me. Pretty fabulous :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to jump off!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jMIeMF97psQN8JHWPbyGA-r3giehn3L3lAVNoAQpL99Y8H89mcZuWC-Hok85ni3WeABRhyphenhyphenzSly_MbmQ7f2mZfOujpRryK3VJ2uQPC_2wU8RKt3uGrYNptE60u26n7PrIoIRAJk46wbw/s1600/IMG_2619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jMIeMF97psQN8JHWPbyGA-r3giehn3L3lAVNoAQpL99Y8H89mcZuWC-Hok85ni3WeABRhyphenhyphenzSly_MbmQ7f2mZfOujpRryK3VJ2uQPC_2wU8RKt3uGrYNptE60u26n7PrIoIRAJk46wbw/s400/IMG_2619.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Black Africans!</td></tr>
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Each tribe performed a traditional dance from their culture for the rest of the camp and for their own tribal leaders. The campers really got into the performances and were really proud to teach their peers about their culture.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityu88uuL9nQJ8QToy48X_bTGQM25uZHpPRfGR3NjhhuqZgxGU0Oxu_fVq0BKWoIZ-0xu2PmjXq2DcFA39EDDx244hPm-rsyX7g5uPMrafGPNnpBeJLfRSf5OmHhn8jBSDKmjVtFXs5Co/s1600/DSC_0432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityu88uuL9nQJ8QToy48X_bTGQM25uZHpPRfGR3NjhhuqZgxGU0Oxu_fVq0BKWoIZ-0xu2PmjXq2DcFA39EDDx244hPm-rsyX7g5uPMrafGPNnpBeJLfRSf5OmHhn8jBSDKmjVtFXs5Co/s400/DSC_0432.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlWtbqxfXQeiCK5WhpHCTzLA9Va6ssBc6UkHMOZYDgHTnzGTpmGe59k_4nph6h3r9b3i2lB_2nzHJsVq7TzTz-dn37lUPgVZZ1urtLDs5EMCZYhcBbu-SuvetixIjPJAT-0GxD7Sy3hs/s1600/DSC_0697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlWtbqxfXQeiCK5WhpHCTzLA9Va6ssBc6UkHMOZYDgHTnzGTpmGe59k_4nph6h3r9b3i2lB_2nzHJsVq7TzTz-dn37lUPgVZZ1urtLDs5EMCZYhcBbu-SuvetixIjPJAT-0GxD7Sy3hs/s400/DSC_0697.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Our brand new Peace Corps country director even came to visit!<br />
<span id="goog_925710028"></span><span id="goog_925710029"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLUaqfnz9YRq46xMF5VhGV3cW5QS2ZA8LArDuUFwKe3Kn2xmWZEU8tetg73j1yCIGeHhOFHc-J2Y0dnP4Dm_v-HvOJNhAwxHudJx4cSXCjTL-TAkfFXaQExgnvfECY2Q2Rq4PwBp31KU/s1600/IMG_2646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLUaqfnz9YRq46xMF5VhGV3cW5QS2ZA8LArDuUFwKe3Kn2xmWZEU8tetg73j1yCIGeHhOFHc-J2Y0dnP4Dm_v-HvOJNhAwxHudJx4cSXCjTL-TAkfFXaQExgnvfECY2Q2Rq4PwBp31KU/s400/IMG_2646.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Peace Camp staff joined by our new Peace Corps country director!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each camper signed a Peace Camp banner</td></tr>
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Each evening, we had nightly rituals to wrap up the experiences of the day. </div><div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">A candlelight remembrance ceremony</span></span></span></td></tr>
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Each camper was assigned a peace friend, and they made an art project for their friend with a peace message. Campers also sought out their peace friends to do something nice for them during the week.<br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvLlyPqkPioIWtq_g1DZFaTf9D2KqLyd1fldVGEKSUxuS-5SoRrpT7wBldfd7L02mSLoK4HCXjHIlHIiMbOa8h-c0k7L9pYc7YYXYbbfKT5wmq1lRjW98cNoC3QyKJY30yaU3wQMCUDc/s1600/IMG_2172+2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvLlyPqkPioIWtq_g1DZFaTf9D2KqLyd1fldVGEKSUxuS-5SoRrpT7wBldfd7L02mSLoK4HCXjHIlHIiMbOa8h-c0k7L9pYc7YYXYbbfKT5wmq1lRjW98cNoC3QyKJY30yaU3wQMCUDc/s400/IMG_2172+2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace messages made by campers</td></tr>
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At the end of the camp, each group performed about what they learned about peace throughout the week. My group performed some songs and a skit about forgiveness.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMwcsU_RhV04U4lX8VcpwECcvMQqHXWqBGEaH-jrHvouUkx5naF0ZHQDJav4S627e1YDQnYLUCRt8JpoDgdupEnOXtK8M1dyYmzHFxH_YrJjel3qVuRxkg7do8KuMydarwTAACr1deyk/s1600/DSC_0869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMwcsU_RhV04U4lX8VcpwECcvMQqHXWqBGEaH-jrHvouUkx5naF0ZHQDJav4S627e1YDQnYLUCRt8JpoDgdupEnOXtK8M1dyYmzHFxH_YrJjel3qVuRxkg7do8KuMydarwTAACr1deyk/s400/DSC_0869.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singing</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBu_ynmgOYbmUMAlRWCXkdP6qvCzIMz9Wvc-mLYpr7408wkf3eRez95DVI9TPAD3PeeQrgXaz682D_TZe2MAPBklOIjI4brmPvNPn4GaQ5SDK4yPjPcEXutllUNn8ACSKwJPNo607XKqg/s1600/DSC_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBu_ynmgOYbmUMAlRWCXkdP6qvCzIMz9Wvc-mLYpr7408wkf3eRez95DVI9TPAD3PeeQrgXaz682D_TZe2MAPBklOIjI4brmPvNPn4GaQ5SDK4yPjPcEXutllUNn8ACSKwJPNo607XKqg/s400/DSC_0868.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Performing a skit</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWm5e3qKXXNvRvs-XzZGCh1ebmeDZm82zqTS4nRkz-HTYLHYj5QlKX0yd9l4IsvWm7XM-HvyaxSz8nhR-peQUP68u4-7DAm-gz1igVcOu_jPX0bXH9tekcna5m_JW3YEWzXQNm17EX_0/s1600/DSC_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWm5e3qKXXNvRvs-XzZGCh1ebmeDZm82zqTS4nRkz-HTYLHYj5QlKX0yd9l4IsvWm7XM-HvyaxSz8nhR-peQUP68u4-7DAm-gz1igVcOu_jPX0bXH9tekcna5m_JW3YEWzXQNm17EX_0/s400/DSC_0896.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campers planted trees and created a Peace Garden</td></tr>
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Most importantly, campers had fun! Here's a camper showing off her dance skills to one of the PCVs who organized the camp:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWBuN2N987_Hqhn8I8WPek3WZmCf005Mk0_yxzU0epSqdYj2WUbHh8pmeUiblD6-S5RgHVyBeAyMAUdo-87RqVWxsSvF0k4EX0UTQ14gM1NE1T5f2AlST3c_gMlsM0Q4Fp94yXFP4sW8/s1600/DSC_0785.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWBuN2N987_Hqhn8I8WPek3WZmCf005Mk0_yxzU0epSqdYj2WUbHh8pmeUiblD6-S5RgHVyBeAyMAUdo-87RqVWxsSvF0k4EX0UTQ14gM1NE1T5f2AlST3c_gMlsM0Q4Fp94yXFP4sW8/s400/DSC_0785.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
For those of you who are interested in learning more about the conflict in northern Uganda, I recommend that you watch War Dance, a documentary that showcases stories from students in a refugee camp in northern Uganda and their journey to the National Music Competition. There, for the first time, they got to, demonstrate to the rest of the country the tribal culture of the Acholi people. It is a really powerful movie. We showed it to the campers the first night at camp, and though it was difficult for some participants to watch, they said it was empowering to hear others' stories and watch them succeed in Kampala.<br />
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ttfn! :)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-69934902843782176522011-10-21T03:14:00.000-07:002011-10-21T03:14:28.200-07:00Apparently if shit hits the fan, we can COS now...Exactly one year ago today I, along with 44 other, amazing people, swore in as Peace Corps Volunteers. I posted back in August that we've been in Uganda for a year, but this milestone means that we've completed half of our two years of service (Peace Corps doesn't count those 2.5 months of training as "service"). This time next year, I will (hopefully) be an RPCV! It also means that if crazy stuff happens in the country (we are still banned from Kampala...), and we get evacuated, we can technically still close our service (COS) and be an RPCV (highly unlikely though)!<br />
<br />
It's easy to look back on the past year and feel disappointed. By American standards, PCVs don't accomplish a lot of tasks or complete a lot of projects in a year. However, I think it's important to take a look at the past year and commemorate the good. Here's some exciting things I've done this past year:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Wore a traditional Ugandan gomez at an introduction (a pre-wedding ceremony). No I never posted a picture of this because the gomez was bright orange and slightly hideous. </li>
<li>Spent my first Christmas abroad with my awesome friend Lisa!</li>
<li>Leaned to collect and prepare the materials for and sew a traditional Ugandan mat. Pictures to come, if I ever finish it!</li>
<li>Rafted the Nile River</li>
<li>Learned to make yeast bread</li>
<li>Learned to test for malaria, vaccinate babies, and palpate a fetus</li>
<li>Helped with a mass, door-to-door polio vaccination campaign</li>
<li>Lived through my first African election</li>
<li>Attempted to teach my health center about good record keeping</li>
<li>Helped paint a mural with some kids at the Uganda PC 50th anniversary service event</li>
<li>Helped Soft Power Health sell about 600 mosquito nets to people in my community</li>
<li>Taught some kids about HIV/life skills</li>
<li>Mostly answered a lot of kids random questions about any and all things</li>
<li>Crossed the equator by land</li>
<li>Visited Rwanda and Kenya</li>
<li>Wrote and received funding through my first-ever grant</li>
<li>Saw the last two Harry Potter movies at Uganda's one and only theater (ok, the same theater opened a second branch a block away from the first branch, but it's really all one theater)</li>
<li>Found good fajitas and pad thai in Jinja!</li>
<li>Learned about the LRA and the war up north from some powerfully strong Ugandan youth</li>
<li>Ate at the first KFC in east Africa </li>
<li>Went on my first safari</li>
<li>Got schistosomiasis</li>
<li>Spent two birthdays in Uganda</li>
<li>Helped ensure quality control during an injury research study in Iganga by training field workers and reviewing their work</li>
<li>Found and purchased 300 towels in one go. They take up a lot more space than you would think. </li>
<li>Somehow come to terms with the fact that I will probably need to move sites in the next few months (details to come)</li>
<li>Made some great friends, both fellow PCVs and Ugandans</li>
<li>Read 63 books (and counting...)</li>
</ul><div>It's been a good year</div><div><br />
</div><div>ttfn :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-74778373037158248232011-10-15T03:02:00.000-07:002011-10-15T03:02:50.934-07:00I've been in Africa for over a year, so it's about time I go on a safari!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So things have been pretty busy the past month or so. At the end of August, I was a counselor at Peace Camp in northern Uganda, a camp organized by other PCVs for youth affected by the war. I'll post more details on that later.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I also spent several says back in Wakiso to help run some sessions at pre-service training for the new group of 46 health and economic development volunteers. I taught them about the (flawed) health management information systems used in health centers in the country and about malaria, including all the fun we had at World Malaria!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We also had a Peace Corps Uganda all-volunteer conference, where (almost) all of the PCVs in the country get together to talk about project ideas and what's going well at everyone's site.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UxTpt06lxnHpt4Y7ieV6_StnzeYINyUT0IL-kD3J1fFXGHZDEAaKwzAlrVYY9LNuA27xCeBoYquLHneduZtY3J8kn2-SfWygCTfazu0N_sNRwIB2Gkb4yo_DHnDbUxLL-ZzARD_touQ/s1600/P1070107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UxTpt06lxnHpt4Y7ieV6_StnzeYINyUT0IL-kD3J1fFXGHZDEAaKwzAlrVYY9LNuA27xCeBoYquLHneduZtY3J8kn2-SfWygCTfazu0N_sNRwIB2Gkb4yo_DHnDbUxLL-ZzARD_touQ/s400/P1070107.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are! The fabulous Peace Corps Uganda group!</td></tr>
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After the conference, 4 other PCVs and I went on a wonderful Kenyan adventure! We went to the Masai Mara and went on the most amazing safari ever. We saw over 50 lions, 4 cheetahs, a leopard, and countless giraffes, elephants, zebras, and wildebeest. We were there for the annual wildebeest migration, the largest migration in the world. We got to see them crossing the river, and even got to see a crocodile attack a wildebeest and a zebra! All animals pictures our courtesy of my wonderful photographer/friend Britt Larson!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTqD-LJ62r9dnhrwQeoxJW_YOMGXAV5z4awh5yHhjfYRkDAyOxWidVQGkMDf927rae3GVxW5zneQPmCtY1rp31kbaKLarjqLIKcmxtEk5tvyF8VclvYGDKud3ajYo3mTgDnfeo7XvqnQ/s1600/P1020904c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTqD-LJ62r9dnhrwQeoxJW_YOMGXAV5z4awh5yHhjfYRkDAyOxWidVQGkMDf927rae3GVxW5zneQPmCtY1rp31kbaKLarjqLIKcmxtEk5tvyF8VclvYGDKud3ajYo3mTgDnfeo7XvqnQ/s400/P1020904c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kenyan Kitties!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGHQr7a6vw0bjqWXFnNDoSOPVzLJ0T_PPTCD3JFzbJwyIr2nNYTuo-MRvUCzC96kF75tNN7oPVdzZk4Ksby4Pu1tXCMR1xJljvvtJ-FEIdSpRBmi2ZGA9UerRy_aEim6sVrilv37vk2s/s1600/111_7126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGHQr7a6vw0bjqWXFnNDoSOPVzLJ0T_PPTCD3JFzbJwyIr2nNYTuo-MRvUCzC96kF75tNN7oPVdzZk4Ksby4Pu1tXCMR1xJljvvtJ-FEIdSpRBmi2ZGA9UerRy_aEim6sVrilv37vk2s/s400/111_7126.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In our safari car!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fHNq8kwpIqQfvvoIYpacUAdnqj_GhbqNgUbjvBTNiHwx7yiB6FCNGOUJs88_jn8hCKpagrsg-SDWEJw2ihPrLK1s-2qSi4Mf9lTE8OiQxOBl2_uA8VekpCo4QB5eBeb1H-RCb-fiQG4/s1600/IMG_3828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fHNq8kwpIqQfvvoIYpacUAdnqj_GhbqNgUbjvBTNiHwx7yiB6FCNGOUJs88_jn8hCKpagrsg-SDWEJw2ihPrLK1s-2qSi4Mf9lTE8OiQxOBl2_uA8VekpCo4QB5eBeb1H-RCb-fiQG4/s400/IMG_3828.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuddling :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieffe-ARMx5twb8MejkjfXuyVkDyILpZm4BePjkFUab6FcGjwmwHuEGW0HIz6Ja0ds0zn2flW4seM2YIQQVPLbTY6bTWQWLDxGec1thSFs5MiHCh-zVAWICDfISYbZc_j2FdlPCIvFYM4/s1600/IMG_3898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieffe-ARMx5twb8MejkjfXuyVkDyILpZm4BePjkFUab6FcGjwmwHuEGW0HIz6Ja0ds0zn2flW4seM2YIQQVPLbTY6bTWQWLDxGec1thSFs5MiHCh-zVAWICDfISYbZc_j2FdlPCIvFYM4/s400/IMG_3898.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just waking up from a nap!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjd6tAAewc_keuYOy74Wo-DVNWVE5-ct2GiUD_3549d2X3uJaMC_2K5TRfvYhXRtP0byDrS4PJN4ZYaa7ZO0Y2X3CO7AjzeoSGSgBpwLeKwev-PP2GT_dbL7s0LvSU98-qhidc_OtIHA/s1600/IMG_4373c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjd6tAAewc_keuYOy74Wo-DVNWVE5-ct2GiUD_3549d2X3uJaMC_2K5TRfvYhXRtP0byDrS4PJN4ZYaa7ZO0Y2X3CO7AjzeoSGSgBpwLeKwev-PP2GT_dbL7s0LvSU98-qhidc_OtIHA/s400/IMG_4373c.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So cute! I wanted to take one home!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCHIHyJoDwpZDfdpyXmCMlZiHBbgUbdfwUXY98-IVJ0dfJ8wRIeglRncg3zbhMgzzQ8YRBc5VdEMjlLStBnX7s64SWNlTr4X3SGgfMy5j3iRNncJ4GciA4bzC7GsziDNKd_y_xSsLsMg/s1600/IMG_4369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCHIHyJoDwpZDfdpyXmCMlZiHBbgUbdfwUXY98-IVJ0dfJ8wRIeglRncg3zbhMgzzQ8YRBc5VdEMjlLStBnX7s64SWNlTr4X3SGgfMy5j3iRNncJ4GciA4bzC7GsziDNKd_y_xSsLsMg/s400/IMG_4369.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy was so scare climbing down the tree!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFE5bF_BkO-jy-XnHr_W0qc2HnIhKoM3WrGWquw8ttTEzhTmUa83YY-74WWDCTKM2pSTLrDKJxt8WGf4tB5CMrb_-XSDnkTJa0e7P_Vir7LMY0CYsK2v-YV7mmNBmvniL2T0VmFdQEgg/s1600/IMG_4451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFE5bF_BkO-jy-XnHr_W0qc2HnIhKoM3WrGWquw8ttTEzhTmUa83YY-74WWDCTKM2pSTLrDKJxt8WGf4tB5CMrb_-XSDnkTJa0e7P_Vir7LMY0CYsK2v-YV7mmNBmvniL2T0VmFdQEgg/s400/IMG_4451.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy wildebeest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAN90epJWXIPONGhhPweaNA2Paqh1T7lbZLJIGZwCIrkr-qQreVEcKmvq4aX9QO9AFY1jcupdUTzb0EyifmhynUM5fvQoHLGskstxZZf_Ws_qN24LdgN2VM9cCNJkB51H-cauNn02XCBU/s1600/IMG_4417c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAN90epJWXIPONGhhPweaNA2Paqh1T7lbZLJIGZwCIrkr-qQreVEcKmvq4aX9QO9AFY1jcupdUTzb0EyifmhynUM5fvQoHLGskstxZZf_Ws_qN24LdgN2VM9cCNJkB51H-cauNn02XCBU/s400/IMG_4417c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just some playing :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDK7TKqdQsELgmN_dv2UlaJEoEra3nZ30O_y-BBdssbXPJZgSDPBJzhV53RbyUE_tXZLz5PZHNri110Q2ak7gFHU9aKRlPWANGdd3-qhQ52ey4jZZT3SXv7obpAKVauAtm4siR4i8-FY/s1600/IMG_4510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDK7TKqdQsELgmN_dv2UlaJEoEra3nZ30O_y-BBdssbXPJZgSDPBJzhV53RbyUE_tXZLz5PZHNri110Q2ak7gFHU9aKRlPWANGdd3-qhQ52ey4jZZT3SXv7obpAKVauAtm4siR4i8-FY/s400/IMG_4510.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male lion taking a snooze</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_q6kvm73wBJoXBADx29SJI7ae7t60QcpoodlFrOI8aEFOYA9YFSE7vqQsuZ796jUPAA4D25SlBYWrJmuHjPZ6LIXx3-xl16Ec5CdqBqul4tJ-vmTANvDXp8Ji9gUwYHTJmJfoMl41B0/s1600/IMG_4030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_q6kvm73wBJoXBADx29SJI7ae7t60QcpoodlFrOI8aEFOYA9YFSE7vqQsuZ796jUPAA4D25SlBYWrJmuHjPZ6LIXx3-xl16Ec5CdqBqul4tJ-vmTANvDXp8Ji9gUwYHTJmJfoMl41B0/s400/IMG_4030.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some cheetahs resting after a meal</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8X9RBmNTcECmjq6YQBDJR6TEuP-HaKXrhXgdOCdeYrHXVLpEiYAGe1zq76_og4FESOIjrRjPk_hXXlSnFXWmzxx0x7gLSz6Ki59gHQ2UomUvYGmwB4I7Jr-MYgt6q1qbnCLxY5QiIos/s1600/IMG_4043c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8X9RBmNTcECmjq6YQBDJR6TEuP-HaKXrhXgdOCdeYrHXVLpEiYAGe1zq76_og4FESOIjrRjPk_hXXlSnFXWmzxx0x7gLSz6Ki59gHQ2UomUvYGmwB4I7Jr-MYgt6q1qbnCLxY5QiIos/s400/IMG_4043c.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheetah!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrbj96IBpuuOMzrmRPTlepIcPJUL5dlKGXhXJr_t8et3ZL3i70P9VVLvH0nYoJU9R0jVHwXtAcnUaG776ID7Vbwp6ycZzbiZUIUYBWK2HLnemW2CONnpEpqqGosRDswv_8zUsUeXVDGc/s1600/IMG_4539c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrbj96IBpuuOMzrmRPTlepIcPJUL5dlKGXhXJr_t8et3ZL3i70P9VVLvH0nYoJU9R0jVHwXtAcnUaG776ID7Vbwp6ycZzbiZUIUYBWK2HLnemW2CONnpEpqqGosRDswv_8zUsUeXVDGc/s400/IMG_4539c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leopard!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY28qJmfxVfFCQJcxgAjITxumXKsel37x2XWLj_iuct8wnfgZIqQV5NWQh1uL7p5kVZyaS2YIrs-T9i3GeModm_H2atuhRcCDaABaa3H5xjS1olD5uLSasHdqZXu85kapmTo4cjziTm0/s1600/IMG_4278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY28qJmfxVfFCQJcxgAjITxumXKsel37x2XWLj_iuct8wnfgZIqQV5NWQh1uL7p5kVZyaS2YIrs-T9i3GeModm_H2atuhRcCDaABaa3H5xjS1olD5uLSasHdqZXu85kapmTo4cjziTm0/s400/IMG_4278.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The migration - so many wildebeests!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SC_2aNZRf2v5G-owyqxJOT9Ssm9UGIxfvdwzqZsdx5NKd498F3dAD5x5Fm5sUzNzYkciuAKXI-eq8VGZjqpzdbJGGrPBqSBV73iY6n2mYunM4MJt1OGSB8r9AvN6fk6HYwNtaYjk-mk/s1600/IMG_4230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SC_2aNZRf2v5G-owyqxJOT9Ssm9UGIxfvdwzqZsdx5NKd498F3dAD5x5Fm5sUzNzYkciuAKXI-eq8VGZjqpzdbJGGrPBqSBV73iY6n2mYunM4MJt1OGSB8r9AvN6fk6HYwNtaYjk-mk/s400/IMG_4230.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River crossing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPNPJ2C3MsEn2MSC_rQif3atFcAM78H0fzy-YUWb2jGDMVsnq_wmn-yw0TA_Ki5FEJhUFz02hLmg34IIGwnhlAkqgogf8YF-3L9IInZzT4-OnhokJ4HY8IZYCckmrpG2Cfo0Pk7SXRcA/s1600/IMG_4266c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPNPJ2C3MsEn2MSC_rQif3atFcAM78H0fzy-YUWb2jGDMVsnq_wmn-yw0TA_Ki5FEJhUFz02hLmg34IIGwnhlAkqgogf8YF-3L9IInZzT4-OnhokJ4HY8IZYCckmrpG2Cfo0Pk7SXRcA/s400/IMG_4266c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croc attacking a zebra!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLyfPYc_bDCZleIGMD-SeZ2MFimfAbKbsdG-egrD0_AzjaSVaKS-3Z13oF3Ov3UhAytS-82gbOPge-Z1rlO_c81Vb9JglqdcPoTMy93HmPFykxEfp8KsZkUdSAHxMYYZ66zH-xXmpY2xk/s1600/IMG_4274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLyfPYc_bDCZleIGMD-SeZ2MFimfAbKbsdG-egrD0_AzjaSVaKS-3Z13oF3Ov3UhAytS-82gbOPge-Z1rlO_c81Vb9JglqdcPoTMy93HmPFykxEfp8KsZkUdSAHxMYYZ66zH-xXmpY2xk/s400/IMG_4274.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croc attacking a wildebeest!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0NTiz0DobcBRKxUT_1IGOyh2OimQ9DCIrelFLZ2xPyrt7rb2ZReyNF5nE0KlWxyeH7Z39tcxx8nGRrber7Nd_YLAXBRWB_CDVb5qwC_5IQDNZQAH5H_ymra3q20bsOGvQpdxaW9Vt98/s1600/IMG_4610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0NTiz0DobcBRKxUT_1IGOyh2OimQ9DCIrelFLZ2xPyrt7rb2ZReyNF5nE0KlWxyeH7Z39tcxx8nGRrber7Nd_YLAXBRWB_CDVb5qwC_5IQDNZQAH5H_ymra3q20bsOGvQpdxaW9Vt98/s400/IMG_4610.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giraffes are so cool!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauVHIfPpuzu2dwMKcaq-3YE1aGKjDMKkmn9uh7OKNqTy9-6JYMIrtCs7MltbCFv_nDy52_tZwidBFbnoV1AYXQ5EbnB1YU90LWftIbBzheVxeTOGpvuMa_2OT8i3qIj_Ktl6LlJh7NHw/s1600/IMG_3768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauVHIfPpuzu2dwMKcaq-3YE1aGKjDMKkmn9uh7OKNqTy9-6JYMIrtCs7MltbCFv_nDy52_tZwidBFbnoV1AYXQ5EbnB1YU90LWftIbBzheVxeTOGpvuMa_2OT8i3qIj_Ktl6LlJh7NHw/s400/IMG_3768.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephant with baby</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgsie3aBeEzlKRrJWhohJwXGlbyhmHs2L7Lx_fQqanxqGRdZwkimzh2N7gZsywsoHJ-VQDQ3ObdRoYRCVruL5VwSsyK070XCDqmfHOkGYwZn9SOi2_HGHBMtrFqbVfyVhjC49JHPB5vo/s1600/IMG_4195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgsie3aBeEzlKRrJWhohJwXGlbyhmHs2L7Lx_fQqanxqGRdZwkimzh2N7gZsywsoHJ-VQDQ3ObdRoYRCVruL5VwSsyK070XCDqmfHOkGYwZn9SOi2_HGHBMtrFqbVfyVhjC49JHPB5vo/s400/IMG_4195.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zebras and wildebeest just hanging out</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAceQQKcj3hIGbaWPpHYYGkjUiI3utRRe6FIwQ5OgbN6IW94vWtZ26Sv5zshG6CHb3GVHSufRpjsrSGqTjc5Iz7nVDyoDue6GVhDY90RgFb7xJOdF0lgY9u3Qj_IcHAQ6AqGd3xSn9y4/s1600/IMG_3950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAceQQKcj3hIGbaWPpHYYGkjUiI3utRRe6FIwQ5OgbN6IW94vWtZ26Sv5zshG6CHb3GVHSufRpjsrSGqTjc5Iz7nVDyoDue6GVhDY90RgFb7xJOdF0lgY9u3Qj_IcHAQ6AqGd3xSn9y4/s400/IMG_3950.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby zebra!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM5vp2dOZGzFycqt0JBOtenshW_CxfpVTkuMfyFaFKIL-t2nqyRPG4i3Dm62SZTJ4QRS9Yx8qJpD3GXgT42_kESUyosnBhwRNyOwz6ci56naZc7hiKPScyhyHiyZtXMqk60rIthQFwRs/s1600/IMG_4474c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM5vp2dOZGzFycqt0JBOtenshW_CxfpVTkuMfyFaFKIL-t2nqyRPG4i3Dm62SZTJ4QRS9Yx8qJpD3GXgT42_kESUyosnBhwRNyOwz6ci56naZc7hiKPScyhyHiyZtXMqk60rIthQFwRs/s400/IMG_4474c.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hyena!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfsPI0oRH79P4bMURtK71IQ-PYj4evE7clAoBFbeas7tKibdPH0Ya4bAsQPUpFRP0r5s8aOJv9xP4XwBR_H8fKXHCON7ZqyggyERhjtmzvyclkCjpcpNFIw1e4sb_ZaOgJmlwf_80WdE/s1600/IMG_3745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfsPI0oRH79P4bMURtK71IQ-PYj4evE7clAoBFbeas7tKibdPH0Ya4bAsQPUpFRP0r5s8aOJv9xP4XwBR_H8fKXHCON7ZqyggyERhjtmzvyclkCjpcpNFIw1e4sb_ZaOgJmlwf_80WdE/s400/IMG_3745.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute - also = food</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHWal4XLik5ahI8Pe0qZYhzgpnY4ZmsAHyVJ5NhOREWdhc0fZ_sldxnml0WjOZTivUI7THYM5NTkgOTJ-ddkEMr5hijHQOnE4hyi52LrNMFdi6w2wq_6IDMbvtT_mOcee_Q2mzM7ukX4/s1600/IMG_3961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHWal4XLik5ahI8Pe0qZYhzgpnY4ZmsAHyVJ5NhOREWdhc0fZ_sldxnml0WjOZTivUI7THYM5NTkgOTJ-ddkEMr5hijHQOnE4hyi52LrNMFdi6w2wq_6IDMbvtT_mOcee_Q2mzM7ukX4/s400/IMG_3961.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We called this guy "gaga" after his resemblance to Lady Gaga</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6VCBsEao7G8NxQaNwZD0B5nZMokoAKz7mZoecUAi5dEAXHnu7bMMWl0cbkYVgzqLWC-KlTZDU9qisPLhr1st9bckacfZ71igzwjUsB08xrWFNZ3FrhhGHqv8od2riul8NBcdOve4U6w/s1600/IMG_3957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6VCBsEao7G8NxQaNwZD0B5nZMokoAKz7mZoecUAi5dEAXHnu7bMMWl0cbkYVgzqLWC-KlTZDU9qisPLhr1st9bckacfZ71igzwjUsB08xrWFNZ3FrhhGHqv8od2riul8NBcdOve4U6w/s400/IMG_3957.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool bird we nicknamed sherbet bird!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZw0pNRQcDNvDEcVXz7IduQpNqcWksVbMufNtz48QJpW_285utP-do5GCjYLEQ-a3p3VoMp0eLVaOLnnSVQwJd8co8lStpBnZHwCAoQ4JVtT8Vnwnc7_lKb3gXEyatorNeTv_k_v5jlCI/s1600/IMG_4096c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZw0pNRQcDNvDEcVXz7IduQpNqcWksVbMufNtz48QJpW_285utP-do5GCjYLEQ-a3p3VoMp0eLVaOLnnSVQwJd8co8lStpBnZHwCAoQ4JVtT8Vnwnc7_lKb3gXEyatorNeTv_k_v5jlCI/s400/IMG_4096c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mara during the day</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgX3K4ADFW0ndYMvdwcchCZ9nSQyg3UVab48xjIJjox66NVGDr9aTtCNHTX38x6KTOlAj9k6AYM9NFDgbceGFHuY9bx8AcMMBlSCDh9G_EFmK_kbmc9OuT8S3LB7WhAZ7IewfAwnW3fgg/s1600/IMG_3916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgX3K4ADFW0ndYMvdwcchCZ9nSQyg3UVab48xjIJjox66NVGDr9aTtCNHTX38x6KTOlAj9k6AYM9NFDgbceGFHuY9bx8AcMMBlSCDh9G_EFmK_kbmc9OuT8S3LB7WhAZ7IewfAwnW3fgg/s400/IMG_3916.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mara at sunset!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In summary, Kenya was amazing!<div><br />
</div><div>Next posts will detail Peace Camp and my current adventure: preparing material to teach 3,500 girls how to make reusable menstrual pads!</div><div><br />
</div><div>ttfn :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-80761969404195314842011-08-13T21:52:00.000-07:002011-08-13T21:52:24.490-07:00Beach WeekendA few weekends ago, a bunch of PCVs got together to enjoy a nice beach vacation to celebrate the previously mentioned one-year in country anniversary. About 20 of us traveled to Ssese islands on Lake Victoria to enjoy the sand and sun. We relaxed on the beach, avoided the water like the plague (that darn schistosomiasis), and even played capture the flag. All in all, a fabulous time.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvncgjplFlTOwMmeM3AGLHMKtBZsu1Os85LgvoqMs6ypmrRAHqmoMZv2cHX_x_qRbdBd2wXkr96pT6rr90H6XVQXTJTkdxJcgjblq6vlszIarxr0kN-It1u5OtYOEI2kHe36Mw5iHx7oo/s1600/IMG_9876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvncgjplFlTOwMmeM3AGLHMKtBZsu1Os85LgvoqMs6ypmrRAHqmoMZv2cHX_x_qRbdBd2wXkr96pT6rr90H6XVQXTJTkdxJcgjblq6vlszIarxr0kN-It1u5OtYOEI2kHe36Mw5iHx7oo/s400/IMG_9876.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cormac the mermaid!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4NaBzIgCuJgxw6BjGCJa9hSfjF8DVw8gCuGT7CKdBdQJvzU_1WzPdV-w4YBZVkLoSF_duoJ2GHznSIrPIBrxAS-jTHrLQOL_1_UVWXNO50eEsx1nEoek0pBiS2ROP5cdF-6yiqabBsM/s1600/IMG_9893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4NaBzIgCuJgxw6BjGCJa9hSfjF8DVw8gCuGT7CKdBdQJvzU_1WzPdV-w4YBZVkLoSF_duoJ2GHznSIrPIBrxAS-jTHrLQOL_1_UVWXNO50eEsx1nEoek0pBiS2ROP5cdF-6yiqabBsM/s400/IMG_9893.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snoozing in a hammock (complete with mosquito net!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCw9AhZAAFY6TgcnGhQdhkhNTOS4ud_eIsacetYOWZgnEi4Op_rnJ8kwnr1FxjNN3UWi2PcLeaca6u-CttrRithqTV607sVKg6YrVWKAWBCP0tsm46N22RTEcnkdJOXwac5Tjod24z3qc/s1600/IMG_9887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCw9AhZAAFY6TgcnGhQdhkhNTOS4ud_eIsacetYOWZgnEi4Op_rnJ8kwnr1FxjNN3UWi2PcLeaca6u-CttrRithqTV607sVKg6YrVWKAWBCP0tsm46N22RTEcnkdJOXwac5Tjod24z3qc/s400/IMG_9887.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace Corps goal 2: teaching Ugandans how to build sand castles</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqmAh0Ick64aZ0fb9YVeWh2jIF6GLPr9OfrIDMDBS953P3SfR6L6VpKBKQbZ_V3k_Yl3r0ahAsD9_WHAQ2rPa18tGoMJ13Hw3mpP9W9UwMG886fihQZznD7grlVgApTTB1_DOJLLz2TY/s1600/IMG_9905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqmAh0Ick64aZ0fb9YVeWh2jIF6GLPr9OfrIDMDBS953P3SfR6L6VpKBKQbZ_V3k_Yl3r0ahAsD9_WHAQ2rPa18tGoMJ13Hw3mpP9W9UwMG886fihQZznD7grlVgApTTB1_DOJLLz2TY/s400/IMG_9905.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading on the beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTCnCJKEUHasibwhWd_LiXgwnSggMDV9QlXtxGjBAzoy6RAEpvzvErxTOTm7wRG22xiJJdUrAgFhx2Wzp32aHflfTmr-wa38mVHhzx7TibXHAk06GIgpuaOxxvdnELXREvXfyowfZuWM/s1600/284257_10100107904485468_12702875_45345495_4452051_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTCnCJKEUHasibwhWd_LiXgwnSggMDV9QlXtxGjBAzoy6RAEpvzvErxTOTm7wRG22xiJJdUrAgFhx2Wzp32aHflfTmr-wa38mVHhzx7TibXHAk06GIgpuaOxxvdnELXREvXfyowfZuWM/s400/284257_10100107904485468_12702875_45345495_4452051_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonfire!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfn4o1KfmCxJxihIEMKoZWsZjK3v2reB7x3bengqMDFWFPxUQDXLCzEOjPHghs8OGNeurD4qG1tzQgPigs0LgXwwghLFctouCnjquRee2qTA-retkzWQa0GhND0myPdeA5BCAEa4x2kW8/s1600/228966_1951351228986_1398780764_32703663_5150192_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfn4o1KfmCxJxihIEMKoZWsZjK3v2reB7x3bengqMDFWFPxUQDXLCzEOjPHghs8OGNeurD4qG1tzQgPigs0LgXwwghLFctouCnjquRee2qTA-retkzWQa0GhND0myPdeA5BCAEa4x2kW8/s400/228966_1951351228986_1398780764_32703663_5150192_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is definitely still Africa :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>ttfn! :)Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-77471027123491173872011-08-11T01:04:00.000-07:002011-08-11T01:06:05.775-07:00Wow, I've been here a year already!So one year ago today I left the grand ol’ U S of A for Uganda. I feel like such a important anniversary deserves a blog post, but I don’t know what to write that will do justice to the occasion. Instead, I will create a short list of memorable moments of the past year:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ol><li>Watching a small baby cry hysterically as older children offered her to me for eating (there is a myth that whites eat African babies)</li>
<li>The first time I could go to the market and bargain for my food with out having to use English</li>
<li>My first Christmas abroad with a fabulous friend, Lisa – Christmas miracles and Christmas crumble</li>
<li>Playing yahtzee by candlelight with other volunteers</li>
<li>Watching the last Harry Potter movies in the one theater in Uganda</li>
<li>Busoga girls nights with the lovely Lusoga Ladies</li>
<li>Days of eating – where we spend the day restaurant hopping in Jinja</li>
<li>Having my co-workers tell other mzungus that they are visitors, but that I am now a Musoga</li>
<li>Getting lost on our way to an Indian restaurant in Kigali, and then finally eating the best Indian food I’ve had in a year</li>
<li>Watching Drew struggle through about a dozen power outages to bake delicious cookies in his new electric oven (also called Drew’s easy-bake oven)</li>
</ol><div><div class="MsoNormal">All in all, it's great to be able to look back one year later and know that we’ve got a truly amazing PC group, full of great people and great friends – and that all 45 of us are still here! :)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">ttfn!</div></div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-2501073891665321352011-06-25T03:39:00.000-07:002011-06-25T03:41:27.256-07:00So Peace Corps isn’t ALL fun and games…I know I mostly post about vacations/non-work related things, but that’s mostly because I figure those posts make for a more interesting read. Also, I think pictures make for more interesting posts :) However, I realize it may come across as if I don’t ever work. So I wanted to make it clear that while the work here is slow and very often punctuated by fun and games, there is still work.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Case in point: I’ve been teaching life skills/health/whatever at a local secondary school. Since the kids are often shy around the muzungu (and in front of their classmates), I thought it would better to set up an anonymous questions box, where students can ask questions about health, etc. without having to ask them in front of everyone. Well, no one else seemed as excited about this idea as I was, so I thought the box would just be forgotten about, or maybe even stolen by a trouble-making student. Imagine my surprise when I came back to the school two days after setting up the box to find it overstuffed with questions. I was a bit overwhelmed by the volume of questions posed to me, so I told the students to let me take them home and prepare my answers for next week. Well, here are some of the questions that I got:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>If you have sex during your menstruation, do you get pregnant?</li>
<li>Is it true that if you kiss someone who has HIV, you’ll also get HIV?</li>
<li>There are some boys who disturb me during my leisure time, but if I see them I feel like vomiting. What can I do, please help me? </li>
<li>Is it true that if young people play sex before menstruation begins you can still get pregnant?</li>
<li>How can I know when playing sex that sperm is coming through the penis?</li>
<li>Is it true that if you delay having sex you become an abnormal person?</li>
<li>Is it bad to practice homosexuality?</li>
<li>People usually tell us to have sex when we are still young in order to become perfect in sex. What is the meaning of perfect in sex?</li>
<li>I am 17, but my fellow students say that I can’t get somebody pregnant because I do not erect. What am I going to do? Because I like studying more than playing sex.</li>
<li>Is it true that menstruation breaks your virginity?</li>
<li>How many times can you use a condom before it gets destroyed?</li>
<li>If your uncle admired you and you stay in the same house and he pays your school fees and his intention is to fall in love with you, how can I avoid that?</li>
<li>If you are disliked at home because you were raped by a certain man you don’t know, and your guardians and neighbors are harsh, and you are shy, what knowledge do you give to that person who is in such a condition?</li>
<li>If your father takes drugs, how can you avoid that problem if you want to study?</li>
<li>If I am a boy and I have not experienced wet dreams, am I infertile?</li>
<li>I am a girl of 12 years. I have aborted 2 pregnancies. Can I manage to give birth the next time?</li>
<li>I have AIDS, but I feel like I’m in injury of playing sex. What can I do?</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
This is just a sampling of the questions I received after two days. TWO DAYS. Some of the questions can be addressed with sessions on facts about HIV, menstruation, safe sex practices, etc., but some of the questions are more difficult. How do I address the issue of homosexuality in a country where it is illegal, and gay activists get beaten to death? There are still discussions of passing a bill penalizing practicing homosexuals in Uganda with the death penalty. How do I address questions of rape and stigmatization, drug use, and a relative who wants sexual favors in exchange for school fees? Good grief! Well, that’s the challenge of the day, and only time will tell what questions I’ll get next time!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On another note, I recently visited an orphanage near my town. My presence was requested by the orphanage’s director, who saw me at an event at my health center. After making it clear that, although I’m white, I’m not hear to give their organization money, I went for a visit. While it’s still a new organization, I was shocked (and I thought I was over being shocked in this country) by what I saw. The students have class under a wall-less temporary structure (so of course, no class when it rains). They sleep 40 students per room, with no mattresses, on a dirt floor. They fetch their water (for washing, drinking, cooking) from an open pond with gray water a 15 minute walk away. On the weekends they have to work in the garden to grow their own food to eat. Sometimes they perform songs/dances/skits about HIV and family planning around the district to earn money for the organization. They walk miles each way to the performances because they can’t afford transport. When I talked to the kids, one girl asked me to be her mother. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The director told me they need money to fix the place up (no-duh). Since the students perform (they performed at my health center) to make money, I was a bit confused about where the money went. Are the kids seeing any benefit from the money? Why are they still sleeping on a dirt floor then? I told them I would try and help the organization develop some income generating activities (clearly not something I know much about though) if I could have full access to their financial reports. We’ll see how this turns out!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">ttfn :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-82367021314355263782011-06-04T02:55:00.000-07:002011-06-04T03:02:12.303-07:00The Cleanest Place on EarthThis past week, I went on vacation to Rwanda with some other volunteers, and we had a blast. Rwanda borders Uganda in the very southwest of the country, so Lisa and I, being the only ones to come from out east, had the longest to travel. The trip started out a bit rocky: we sat on the bus in Kampala for almost 3 hours before it filled up enough to leave the bus park. Luckily, we did meet an up-and-coming rap artistic named Rastor Pastor on the bus selling photos of famous people. He even gave us pictures of himself so we wouldn’t forget his visit to the bus.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, the bus takes off for the west, but only 20 kms outside the city the bus breaks down. While we’re waiting for the mechanic to come and fix the bus, what else should happen but a hailstorm. That’s right, a hailstorm on the equator. The storm does pass, only for us to find out that the bus can’t be fixed, and the bus driver had lied to us about calling back to Kampala for another bus to pick up all the stranded passengers. At this point, it’s been over five hours since we arrived in Kampala, and we’ve only made it 20 kms west of the city. Well, this is Africa.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lisa and I decide maybe we’ll have better luck hitching a ride in one of the local aid vehicles passing by. Not 30 seconds after we make this decision, a vehicle headed to Mbarara (our destination for the night) pulls up behind the bus. We’re saved! The kind drivers take pity on the two stranded mzungus and we get a free ride into Mbarara in the much more comfy car. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the way to Mbarara we do actually pass right through the equator. Of course, we had to document the moment:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlmenQTzdavmqzJtorW20T-o7kYRpJ5Ju0NrWHLLY-wFXK8oArmCIkOWbx5X7bosYF7R3QUyGpT7xyzE7At4GUU1SldvgrIXbG7HQNnf7ZF8RiGZggMOpWp-qW_QwzqlDZcv2H-v_Z44/s1600/IMG_9720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlmenQTzdavmqzJtorW20T-o7kYRpJ5Ju0NrWHLLY-wFXK8oArmCIkOWbx5X7bosYF7R3QUyGpT7xyzE7At4GUU1SldvgrIXbG7HQNnf7ZF8RiGZggMOpWp-qW_QwzqlDZcv2H-v_Z44/s400/IMG_9720.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Equator!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day, after meeting up with some other volunteers/travel buddies, we continue our journey south towards Rwanda. We finally make it to Kigali, and we discover that it’s the cleanest place on earth! Or at least it’s the cleanest place we’ve seen a long long time. Apparently, once a month the entire country has a community day to clean up the country. All businesses shut down for the morning, the police put spikes in the street to prevent taxis from driving around, and people actually go around cleaning the city. The event did make it difficult for us tourists to get breakfast, transport around, or access to museums, etc., but it was astonishing to witness the program in action. What was even more astonishing was comparing this beautifully maintained city to Kampala, where the roads and sidewalks are all covered with potholes and trash.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk210jLDiEmR3FtrsEgVUUbWI9GJHyC_8jYfE37sY9cjWZJjA7kPuBVPahpQsu0Y7isAMjzyzsqHrVVUtwNqrDytoz5qvStkkkwno0h7O7PNfAVG4wf0mUNRvNoBICv_AFwQtxrZUrkEE/s1600/IMG_9746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk210jLDiEmR3FtrsEgVUUbWI9GJHyC_8jYfE37sY9cjWZJjA7kPuBVPahpQsu0Y7isAMjzyzsqHrVVUtwNqrDytoz5qvStkkkwno0h7O7PNfAVG4wf0mUNRvNoBICv_AFwQtxrZUrkEE/s400/IMG_9746.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The deserted city center during community day</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObC8Y66TYHV1UVAmjH5_P2dsLFD4vWF0m3SwQA7u18rd86m8lxbFS1QbWO2qJus_UUMzxXyDxkTljwwNHAAhAzLuDdlJh6b0BFzj3SB9yosgHbtlekUO7PT6hO-o4-72s3s2RXB9EHxY/s1600/IMG_9751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObC8Y66TYHV1UVAmjH5_P2dsLFD4vWF0m3SwQA7u18rd86m8lxbFS1QbWO2qJus_UUMzxXyDxkTljwwNHAAhAzLuDdlJh6b0BFzj3SB9yosgHbtlekUO7PT6hO-o4-72s3s2RXB9EHxY/s400/IMG_9751.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting until the city opens again</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddATvD7xXa5WpUgLkMYzThDXY4pl1agjJ-zgI9TtQfQAfTkqysAy5EE9vxKLTPDGGtrG-pOmzzy_luB6c9tjY3NCKVM2LNvRhxCJwXe0bCwxcdD6eAEj8Kx5sWRi1WHLOUkdLnvD5dPw/s1600/IMG_9756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddATvD7xXa5WpUgLkMYzThDXY4pl1agjJ-zgI9TtQfQAfTkqysAy5EE9vxKLTPDGGtrG-pOmzzy_luB6c9tjY3NCKVM2LNvRhxCJwXe0bCwxcdD6eAEj8Kx5sWRi1WHLOUkdLnvD5dPw/s400/IMG_9756.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty Kigali</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Once the city was finished cleaning and opened again, we went and had lunch at Hotel Des Mille Collines, the hotel that was the inspiration for the movie Hotel Rwanda. After the European managers of the hotel were evacuated, the Rwandan manager Paul Rusesabagina provided shelter to over 1,200 Rwandans escaping the genocide. The four-star hotel still operates as normal today: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlA5SMWQeOMXploVlLMKZm9LG4BP6g9yPSzdEnc00j0O3CHiwGNFmbYXheQVIg96UOc42WKWadB-Os-GZCYyDfZDvR_D3A01erN80rM3ZV8VTsxESqmzvz2ZgKmC_1pxLnbrY2MJ-riU/s1600/IMG_9786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlA5SMWQeOMXploVlLMKZm9LG4BP6g9yPSzdEnc00j0O3CHiwGNFmbYXheQVIg96UOc42WKWadB-Os-GZCYyDfZDvR_D3A01erN80rM3ZV8VTsxESqmzvz2ZgKmC_1pxLnbrY2MJ-riU/s400/IMG_9786.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotel - poolside</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxTvQ43vBDiQTtC2Cw2sXC_6Emm24oSZL1y7k04U9rwV3PEy8FvN6kIx1kRH9jm0bTjIIifuc8SrUJ6PuiCufqVWpiF_Maq1kRqtt3DbA1tGdjGoxGf3f0uDilZD49H5M3Jt0UN9Kfyk/s1600/IMG_9789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxTvQ43vBDiQTtC2Cw2sXC_6Emm24oSZL1y7k04U9rwV3PEy8FvN6kIx1kRH9jm0bTjIIifuc8SrUJ6PuiCufqVWpiF_Maq1kRqtt3DbA1tGdjGoxGf3f0uDilZD49H5M3Jt0UN9Kfyk/s400/IMG_9789.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our group</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfRB8sHXOkvy88WVoAISEzG7v1XZgk0KNSLW0eAILGr3y18HzEy1Z5QhCqFceHpxFqGnWa6tToPquLq531sej7rh1qgiotqA7NdLn8KH4foh4k5z3E4mtrY-pUFK5D2_3t48_0GUYAD8/s1600/IMG_9766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfRB8sHXOkvy88WVoAISEzG7v1XZgk0KNSLW0eAILGr3y18HzEy1Z5QhCqFceHpxFqGnWa6tToPquLq531sej7rh1qgiotqA7NdLn8KH4foh4k5z3E4mtrY-pUFK5D2_3t48_0GUYAD8/s400/IMG_9766.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Afterwards, we went to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a beautifully done museum and memorial for the victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, where about 250,000 of the genocide victims are buried in mass graves.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqNEd9Ar8QIVVO2LE1vZarl8KMQdVrx95BDsIH6n9Hbm6ZnQZyJ8XcIfqVm_1Jf4EJ1AYBPlqkBrDSMAf76Fq9M44Aqd-kKBvWRyG3_W1159jgjO8FaHttPGs-iUG8Pgjvs6ZC8T0uLg/s1600/IMG_9793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqNEd9Ar8QIVVO2LE1vZarl8KMQdVrx95BDsIH6n9Hbm6ZnQZyJ8XcIfqVm_1Jf4EJ1AYBPlqkBrDSMAf76Fq9M44Aqd-kKBvWRyG3_W1159jgjO8FaHttPGs-iUG8Pgjvs6ZC8T0uLg/s400/IMG_9793.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kigali Memorial Center - the flame is lit for the 100 days of mourning</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGMM-APaS6-weh3BDUhWYwAyviy0Pa-Fb6ZRnvm9NISp2-gVWnKaoJDaVBVm1I1ORi4uuEg_e3S3Eukwv8wk_tLbHZaCoYu9gO-0chS5q-AL6rweiSAcOAJNSbvBASZdQCDNs4aVEpao/s1600/IMG_9794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGMM-APaS6-weh3BDUhWYwAyviy0Pa-Fb6ZRnvm9NISp2-gVWnKaoJDaVBVm1I1ORi4uuEg_e3S3Eukwv8wk_tLbHZaCoYu9gO-0chS5q-AL6rweiSAcOAJNSbvBASZdQCDNs4aVEpao/s400/IMG_9794.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mass graves at Kigali Memorial Center</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;">We also visited a memorial a little outside the city in Nyamata. This memorial was set up in a church where over 10,000 victims died in one attack during the genocide: 5,000 died inside the church itself and the other 5,000 who couldn’t fit in the church perished in the surrounding areas. The experience was very e</span>motional. The church is filled with the clothing of the victims, and the sheer mass of them gives some indication of the multitude of people who were killed here. In the crypts out back there are piles and rows of skulls and femur bones of the victims. It’s a very graphic memorial, but it really imparts upon you the magnitude of what happened.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After experiencing the “big city,” we decided to go and relax along the shores of Lake Kivu. Yes, it really is paradise:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBe2G0EZlpXS9INoeKz4-KjSiXrjevm7iAHcXWIiQjDysu84SV9Q8eW3vbSKtbRFBl5v2weKoedeE1XeeEbMsfBJ-2zjIx2pj-hjS3bNDdFif9GEsY91zC_DxM9OW79cEEglzvPFKZxlQ/s1600/IMG_9815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBe2G0EZlpXS9INoeKz4-KjSiXrjevm7iAHcXWIiQjDysu84SV9Q8eW3vbSKtbRFBl5v2weKoedeE1XeeEbMsfBJ-2zjIx2pj-hjS3bNDdFif9GEsY91zC_DxM9OW79cEEglzvPFKZxlQ/s400/IMG_9815.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Kivu</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXCAavY-qwm7d72jJvHzwYjadaSf1g4SXt6nzKD850VZSWE_gYCzZBKcsMRwAI_qwD4gW3JKR3Dk_71ASquzEJf8mPVaYnC5VG3i4vM6pGi-rlDAST-1xszyZ9eSc78d45RWxJHsEwdg/s1600/IMG_9830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXCAavY-qwm7d72jJvHzwYjadaSf1g4SXt6nzKD850VZSWE_gYCzZBKcsMRwAI_qwD4gW3JKR3Dk_71ASquzEJf8mPVaYnC5VG3i4vM6pGi-rlDAST-1xszyZ9eSc78d45RWxJHsEwdg/s400/IMG_9830.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgk6b3Qa8dh_0qNDJ1oN8OPJZvpOo8F_AZk1V7N8TVh5MEiklHl6SRLtSe8lCdnp4Vh9rrqknQpViZQozSVETfGUkuf941TidifBO91X1gJeHpBIKfnmvB6LJn8kiCw6ixpE7LZf9ncw/s1600/IMG_9844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgk6b3Qa8dh_0qNDJ1oN8OPJZvpOo8F_AZk1V7N8TVh5MEiklHl6SRLtSe8lCdnp4Vh9rrqknQpViZQozSVETfGUkuf941TidifBO91X1gJeHpBIKfnmvB6LJn8kiCw6ixpE7LZf9ncw/s400/IMG_9844.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cool lizard-dude with cool flowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">ttfn! :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-77147571055258501552011-05-02T02:43:00.000-07:002011-05-02T02:45:16.173-07:00Standfast...againYou may remember that the presidential elections in Uganda were held in February, and they went off rather peacefully, with the ruling president winning another term. Well, now that the elections are over, the opposition parties have started holding “walk to work” demonstrations twice a week in Kampala and some other large towns to protest the rising costs of goods in the country. These demonstrations are, to say the least, NOT going off peacefully. There have been riots, tear gas, firing of rubber and real bullets, and just all-out chaos, particularly in Kampala. As one Ugandan colleague says: “Kampala is on fire!” I, of course, thought this literally meant people were burning the city. In fact, it just means more tear gas and rioting. You know, the usual. (Sidenote: as I learned later, the news coverage does show people burning tires and things in the streets in Kampala, so I guess the city is really on fire).<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">As a result, when things have been getting particularly bad, Peace Corps has been putting us on standfast, meaning that we have to stay put and not leave our sites. Not to worry though, my small town is very quiet, and I often don’t even hear about the violence except when Peace Corps updates us. Keep your fingers crossed that things calm down!<br />
<br />
ttfn - ta ta for now! :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-20551558020695676582011-04-30T01:30:00.000-07:002011-04-30T01:30:24.041-07:00Happy Easter!In Uganda, both Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays, so the long weekend was a perfect excuse to get together with some other volunteers to celebrate the holiday.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Not only did we get to eat delicious food (including chicken mole, pizza, and pancakes), but we also got to visit some waterfalls and enjoy a nice picnic lunch: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfOwfbxnrhNoLiPSipc_bHL7jtGx3cG-_ouGFbqsz9qlnBoWn8q5CNSnOnaERcEIWUAsbIXZMF_Y2iw3WF1D4134BEjoF1lmgyN-ILEbuM6bIkBfSohQUdMSe1w4H5AWKYjEZ2zaxf3E/s1600/IMG_9625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfOwfbxnrhNoLiPSipc_bHL7jtGx3cG-_ouGFbqsz9qlnBoWn8q5CNSnOnaERcEIWUAsbIXZMF_Y2iw3WF1D4134BEjoF1lmgyN-ILEbuM6bIkBfSohQUdMSe1w4H5AWKYjEZ2zaxf3E/s400/IMG_9625.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Jp0_nhlm5t64lf_ByrxL5Bp1aQLwryzp7jQqMxYtB28JepeqGBxVOW8bx4yWF81_j1XijxH-MD5C8h8_O34KJokq82d_u2494rQOes8V8OEEU-FFoUDGeN3yy3bSOtFqTbPt5KKM49E/s1600/IMG_9648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Jp0_nhlm5t64lf_ByrxL5Bp1aQLwryzp7jQqMxYtB28JepeqGBxVOW8bx4yWF81_j1XijxH-MD5C8h8_O34KJokq82d_u2494rQOes8V8OEEU-FFoUDGeN3yy3bSOtFqTbPt5KKM49E/s400/IMG_9648.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">For Easter dinner, we had a lovely pork dinner, and in Uganda that means slaughtering your own pig and grilling it over a fire pit on a metal bed frame. My role in the dinner cooking involved grating cabbage and carrots for the coleslaw rather than killing the pig, but observing was quite the experience. About halfway through the kill, one PCV yells "IT'S DYING!! IT'S DYING!!" to which another PCV responds "that's not the same as dead!":</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3kXcL9OMJSiP_aW4kAmvWz74RhiMVaCIBopvrM8_smaDAOmIWv91X6FehlS4F8zHq04bX9ykAEczKMcr3XxzIHtjfXyZtQHoHhulGLQgIqD35CpojzDeddDgP5XOm16K5WbGOS3ffvg/s1600/225141_887469716469_5811781_42624691_1641035_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3kXcL9OMJSiP_aW4kAmvWz74RhiMVaCIBopvrM8_smaDAOmIWv91X6FehlS4F8zHq04bX9ykAEczKMcr3XxzIHtjfXyZtQHoHhulGLQgIqD35CpojzDeddDgP5XOm16K5WbGOS3ffvg/s400/225141_887469716469_5811781_42624691_1641035_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The before shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwZ_BuAdYc216-VJo-KpHY5INWy6Hq9sYVli9gKlR15fqLDhWhCvKv7sgTPA9T06WCO87xnSYEitVDJOgiDQtdVNthkw8Kl67K3QSNGw7He5h3p43YSSwCB12iazXbdaG0hFfDn8VmEA/s1600/IMG_9668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwZ_BuAdYc216-VJo-KpHY5INWy6Hq9sYVli9gKlR15fqLDhWhCvKv7sgTPA9T06WCO87xnSYEitVDJOgiDQtdVNthkw8Kl67K3QSNGw7He5h3p43YSSwCB12iazXbdaG0hFfDn8VmEA/s400/IMG_9668.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The after shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyKJaqJXCRciVG5jaN0W24f6ka53p3WJLRJ2cYpVlDAQIGStbBar6jYu2fmkt5vKX0bS_4VI8ajR7pzIUXb78Ds6QZPriL_HmkYd-eYL3yZbb2icbFHQRQ33m0cqPyPdmyEX-4QImS7M/s1600/IMG_9671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyKJaqJXCRciVG5jaN0W24f6ka53p3WJLRJ2cYpVlDAQIGStbBar6jYu2fmkt5vKX0bS_4VI8ajR7pzIUXb78Ds6QZPriL_HmkYd-eYL3yZbb2icbFHQRQ33m0cqPyPdmyEX-4QImS7M/s400/IMG_9671.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just grilling up some pork on a bedframe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><u><br />
</u><br />
<u>World Malaria Day 2011</u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After Easter, I traveled back to my site to celebrate World Malaria Day with an event I coordinated at the health center III in my town. A local NGO came to conduct an education session about malaria and sell long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets at a reduced price. After their session, we wrapped up by playing a malaria jeopardy game testing the crowd’s knowledge of malaria. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEBR7IPV3Sna4v9o1JZNSVZb1igzKgK49K7KXvX2RW9Hi81U4Bc16oR9hp2xuwqjRygXVneglYoaffP8UZy9aOMAV3LozRfhBSAdptkuzstX28nByWQp4bH6gjExX7FPlr6KjKZ_5UJo/s1600/IMG_9692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEBR7IPV3Sna4v9o1JZNSVZb1igzKgK49K7KXvX2RW9Hi81U4Bc16oR9hp2xuwqjRygXVneglYoaffP8UZy9aOMAV3LozRfhBSAdptkuzstX28nByWQp4bH6gjExX7FPlr6KjKZ_5UJo/s400/IMG_9692.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Women and babies watching the malaria presentation</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAoZzXMpry1_qlfgb6-9n6YuSglUcGRXCn7VkQZAdwKHsMBIiLByRQzKBHNfgxnbS0pW6EhkT3cQ6VmjZdzViP8Hm2O3CtRAOAHSwr2HhHMdkFfygrJEIUapPgeIPHNMbc-1BCrKHUic/s1600/IMG_9694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAoZzXMpry1_qlfgb6-9n6YuSglUcGRXCn7VkQZAdwKHsMBIiLByRQzKBHNfgxnbS0pW6EhkT3cQ6VmjZdzViP8Hm2O3CtRAOAHSwr2HhHMdkFfygrJEIUapPgeIPHNMbc-1BCrKHUic/s400/IMG_9694.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching people about malaria</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHygsTkJm44zgkfbvPJ-u0Cm5sLbedkdMKYPaIyHTcI-ltJxaZmkJ-uLLYNn734rOnLgvpcU2aYxdcAxyuNEFqcHhLcNFUUmQuIU14q0B0YXON_WaGAdUgcyqR8ESABcl55Ijfzbduic4/s1600/IMG_9703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHygsTkJm44zgkfbvPJ-u0Cm5sLbedkdMKYPaIyHTcI-ltJxaZmkJ-uLLYNn734rOnLgvpcU2aYxdcAxyuNEFqcHhLcNFUUmQuIU14q0B0YXON_WaGAdUgcyqR8ESABcl55Ijfzbduic4/s400/IMG_9703.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What better way to show people how to use a mosquito than to put children under one!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBL8uKp_2y9G2KLNWHyv62gzJ6H_iOE3W0ZwuuSqsNdq1uq8IdP1ahMnPNhqtNP2CC9DEF6ck8lQ-_kkMYHn1tSHUx8MlS4Rn6OjybYg0x2VU-vihUocKhwHFu9RYRwTnHaZ7K4mlLnc/s1600/IMG_9706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBL8uKp_2y9G2KLNWHyv62gzJ6H_iOE3W0ZwuuSqsNdq1uq8IdP1ahMnPNhqtNP2CC9DEF6ck8lQ-_kkMYHn1tSHUx8MlS4Rn6OjybYg0x2VU-vihUocKhwHFu9RYRwTnHaZ7K4mlLnc/s400/IMG_9706.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People lining up to buy mosquito nets</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3EWXDFUE0_T5-OWON_PJiWhPBFgeAL_B3NfZa3t8QF652XlgLlvam5eetBUP3U90M4Dgvi5W6PddSevdYjIsuIj66_SStpjHlYi8BL9H1KA-TXj8c_RmR5Q3cLfs6i3qs2XJL-eSLKY/s1600/IMG_9709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3EWXDFUE0_T5-OWON_PJiWhPBFgeAL_B3NfZa3t8QF652XlgLlvam5eetBUP3U90M4Dgvi5W6PddSevdYjIsuIj66_SStpjHlYi8BL9H1KA-TXj8c_RmR5Q3cLfs6i3qs2XJL-eSLKY/s400/IMG_9709.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malaria jeopardy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">ttfn - ta ta for now! :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-38184371356305510012011-04-18T00:08:00.000-07:002011-04-18T00:12:30.769-07:00Live like a PCV challengeCan you hack it and “Live Like a Peace Corps Volunteer” for a week? Check out this innovative Challenge launched by a team of currently serving Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) around the world, along with the growing support of others including the National Peace Corps Association. The "Live Like a Peace Corps Volunteer Challenge" started with a simple dare to a PCV’s family to give up a microwave for a week. That dare wasn't accepted, but the story of it inspired another Volunteer to make a game of the whole thing and tie it into the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps and the 20th anniversary of Peace Corps/ Mongolia where this all started.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The goal of this project is to raise awareness of Peace Corps in America and give those participating in the Challenge a small taste of Peace Corps life, hopefully while having some fun. PCVs in Kenya adapted the challenge to reflect realities of serving in Kenya. The challenge celebrates our 50th anniversary while at the same time addressing our 3rd goal. Perhaps the only things missing from this challenge, things that are extremely difficult to replicate in other settings, are the inherent benefits of service- the sense of accomplishment in mastering your new language, the joy of making a new friend in spite of massive cultural differences, the beauty of the environments in which we serve… Nevertheless, this is a great activity for stimulating discussion about how two-thirds of the world lives. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><u>The Challenge: Kenyan Rules (There are no Ugandan-specific rules yet)</u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For one week you are asked to give up some of the everyday conveniences that we PCVs and our communities do without. The levels are arranged from more common to less common living conditions of PCVs in Kenya while also taking into account the difficulty of completing the challenge in the US. So while none of us here have a car, it ranks quite high in the challenge as it is much more difficult to do without one in the states. Kenya is known for its beautiful safaris in which you can spot the “The Big Five” animals, for which we’ve named our levels (they are in order of rareness in the Mara).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First, decide which month you want to participate. The first week of the month you choose (the 1st-7th) will be when you need to forgo certain items.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next, look through the list below and decide which one of the five levels of difficulty you want to take on, and which items you will abstain from (although your items may come from multiple difficulty levels you are only trying to complete one level, the most difficult you think you can manage).</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, let us know that you’ve taken up the challenge by completing the Accept the Challenge section of the general “Live Like a PCV” at <a href="http://www.LiveLikeaPCV.org/">www.LiveLikeaPCV.org </a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Lion</span>: Difficulty Level I</div><div class="MsoNormal">(choose two) </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Forgo the use of the microwave.</li>
<li>No checks, no debit cards or credit cards, cash only all week.</li>
<li>No washing machine or dish washers - plus you must attempt laundry by hand once. (Let’s be honest you probably have enough clothes to easily go a week without washing.)</li>
<li>Cook dinner by candlelight.</li>
<li>Keep a journal or write a handwritten letter to a friend about your experiences this week.</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Buffalo: </span>Difficulty Level II</div><div class="MsoNormal">(choose two plus one item from Level I) </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>No television (This includes Hulu and Adult Swim online, they are not available outside the US)--You can listen to the radio and read local newspapers.</li>
<li>Baths or showers allowed only every other day- You can wash yourself at the sink with a cloth each day.</li>
<li>No fast food, no restaurants (this includes coffee places, bars, and delivery).</li>
<li>Internet only every other day. (You can use the internet for your job but you're on the honor system here.)</li>
<li>Start and finish a book this week.</li>
<li>Buy your fruits and vegetables for the week locally.</li>
<li>Wild Animals! You can't leave your yard between 7:30 PM and 6:30 AM unless accompanied by 3 or more people.</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Elephant:</span> Difficulty Level III</div><div class="MsoNormal">(choose two plus one item from Level II or two items from Level I) </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>You can use your toilet but you must manually fill the tank or do a bucket flush. (Turn off the water to the toilet.)</li>
<li>Lack of temperature control - No heater or air conditioner in your car.</li>
<li>Greet everyone you know with a handshake and genuine questions about their family, home, and health.</li>
<li>You can only use one burner on your stove and no oven.</li>
<li>Ration your water to only 10 gallons a day. This includes cooking, drinking, bathing, and washing clothes.</li>
<li>Teach someone the 4 ways the HIV virus is transmitted</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Leopard:</span> Difficulty Level IV</div><div class="MsoNormal">(choose two plus one item from Level III, or two items from Level II, or three items from Level I) </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Reduced living space. You may only use your living room, bathroom and kitchen.</li>
<li>Bathe only once this week. (You may wash yourself with a cloth at the sink each day.)</li>
<li>No driving. You can use public transport, bicycle, and walking.</li>
<li>Internet one day this week. (Again, you can use it for your work only.)</li>
<li>Power outage. Throw a dice (6 sides) every day for how many hours you will be without power sometime between 5.00pm -11.00pm (turn off your power breakers).</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Rhino:</span> Difficulty Level V</div><div class="MsoNormal">(choose one item from each Level) </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>No running water from your house, you must go fetch it from somewhere else (a neighbor’s house is fine).</li>
<li>No English for the entire week. (You can speak English at work only.)</li>
<li>You can’t use any toilet in your house, you must go somewhere else or improvise.</li>
<li>No refrigerator.</li>
<li>Spend the whole weekend in one room of your house. Using no electricity - you are allowed 3 books and the battery life of your computer (no recharging).</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Questions for Reflection:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>How did you find this challenge- difficult? Easier than you had anticipated?</li>
<li>What surprised you about participating in this challenge?</li>
<li>What did this challenge teach about how people in developing countries live? </li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
When you’ve successfully completed your Challenge check out our “Show Support” page at <a href="http://www.LiveLikeaPCV.org/">www.LiveLikeaPCV.org</a> for gear to let others know of your triumph and help us spread the word.</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-7087943379213135162011-04-09T05:36:00.000-07:002011-04-09T09:53:15.492-07:00Peace Corps turns 50!March 1, 2011 was the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Peace Corps – In 1961 JFK created the Peace Corps to send American volunteers to countries all over the world. To celebrate, we held a service event and reception last week with about 120 current volunteers and 20 RPCVs in Uganda. It was a great day where I got to help paint (mostly help kids paint, since my painting skills aren’t great) a mural at a primary school and hang out with a lot of other volunteers. Other projects volunteers participated in included planting a garden, teaching students about waste management and life skills, training teachers, painting classrooms, repairing rain water catchment systems, building an improved air quality stove, and playing sports with the students. Here are some pictures from the day:<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRKO6EpTzf5kUF8fGb095FsfeCB3q9GE3GaZgZ35YkQJot3OkvvkHKCbiifA0WJzw3qIbtKSRaKPcNw81DICn8bN3Ya2Ve_7QJLWzKWHW8kb_1GCwoomry6TJKHD8d26GUk6IS8mrcmk/s1600/207164_873159409439_5811781_42417023_1038676_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRKO6EpTzf5kUF8fGb095FsfeCB3q9GE3GaZgZ35YkQJot3OkvvkHKCbiifA0WJzw3qIbtKSRaKPcNw81DICn8bN3Ya2Ve_7QJLWzKWHW8kb_1GCwoomry6TJKHD8d26GUk6IS8mrcmk/s400/207164_873159409439_5811781_42417023_1038676_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">120 volunteers gearing up for the event</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN2AIb9GCQz4L7QbC4lPsTzR3IzvSb88nSIJZalzEnxhClpU9rHsQoA7gpBJVLSCwZvw0ahHD7B3yIBU7EetLCu6l0gR4OTlPa9gZaZM5glOvIY5v8HmJr0H10JNbxSBKTVJl_8jmvi8/s1600/IMG_9601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN2AIb9GCQz4L7QbC4lPsTzR3IzvSb88nSIJZalzEnxhClpU9rHsQoA7gpBJVLSCwZvw0ahHD7B3yIBU7EetLCu6l0gR4OTlPa9gZaZM5glOvIY5v8HmJr0H10JNbxSBKTVJl_8jmvi8/s400/IMG_9601.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some primary school students painting the mural</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJyrP7FoEP6hC9aH7fO1x9AfcgPsmKi6y7TTIhlQL_79IKVFxudH4roQP3ZpSR9mzYEq6HsHknNfplsIbpwdGra4S-GMn7pdF0uLvU96bXVJerCCHwhQEt9KTCk3zMJMrMv7lR-nz6JM/s1600/IMG_9615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJyrP7FoEP6hC9aH7fO1x9AfcgPsmKi6y7TTIhlQL_79IKVFxudH4roQP3ZpSR9mzYEq6HsHknNfplsIbpwdGra4S-GMn7pdF0uLvU96bXVJerCCHwhQEt9KTCk3zMJMrMv7lR-nz6JM/s400/IMG_9615.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students posing in front of the mural</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbovqCiD5A3QZNrxaaVqTmUx2wn_uQPH4qiD_mQ3yIO8uTB9tpxGruuT34_tDp5rMRVP931tsgBwSdB173U9xEmeu7pUw5VZOG4qia2sGGLdBDttUStRAUMgnRj1Ie3TZX2ncD_QXPwe0/s1600/IMG_9621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbovqCiD5A3QZNrxaaVqTmUx2wn_uQPH4qiD_mQ3yIO8uTB9tpxGruuT34_tDp5rMRVP931tsgBwSdB173U9xEmeu7pUw5VZOG4qia2sGGLdBDttUStRAUMgnRj1Ie3TZX2ncD_QXPwe0/s400/IMG_9621.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Christy, and Jenny</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVcwVHt3xB5VcalmGo-ENXjWkZxihFK22DS9PE4jURzXb4Oi6vDf0VO1E5uWxPEJlyV05qL8739oUWLgcSER1L-kgjNzF0N0WJK08ZqqxQDqk3G8RXuKx3JniGCdxUb1r3Xr60_MJyyg/s1600/196904_873162967309_5811781_42417035_5534688_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVcwVHt3xB5VcalmGo-ENXjWkZxihFK22DS9PE4jURzXb4Oi6vDf0VO1E5uWxPEJlyV05qL8739oUWLgcSER1L-kgjNzF0N0WJK08ZqqxQDqk3G8RXuKx3JniGCdxUb1r3Xr60_MJyyg/s400/196904_873162967309_5811781_42417035_5534688_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished project!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><br />
</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>In other news...</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Why I’m lucky to have great neighbors</u><o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For a few weeks there had been a large spider making my bedroom his home. This spider was huge, particularly ugly, and on one occasion even crawled over my foot. However, I let the spider be for a while because I only saw him at night, and it’s too difficult to chase and eliminate a spider in the dark. One day, the spider made an appearance in the afternoon, and I stared him down. I decided that this was it: the spider was going down. I wanted to simply sweep him outside, quick and easy. I took my broom and aimed carefully…and the spider ran off. He was much faster than I anticipated, and I swept the broom around the room frantically trying to get him. In my eagerness, I hadn’t realized that I was making quite a racket until my neighbor came to the door to ask if I was all right. I told her, breathlessly, that I was trying to get rid of a spider. She calmly walked past me (while I was looking disheveled and still clutching my broom), grabbed the spider by one of his legs, and tossed him outside. She walked back to her house laughing at the commotion I had made over a spider.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A few weeks later, I was held hostage under my mosquito net by a small bat. I was innocently reading a book one evening when I saw my mosquito net make an odd flutter. I turned my head to see a bat clutching to the side of the net, inches from my face. I poked him to see what would happen (it seemed like a reasonable idea at the time), and he flew off spastically. He refused to settle down, and I spent the night listening to the bat fluttering around my room and crawling over my stuff. Worst of all, every ten minutes or so he would fly, torpedo-like, into my mosquito net, forcing me to grab a light and make sure he hadn’t infiltrated the net. I decided the darkness and the ferocious energy of the bat made it unlikely that I would catch him that night, so I patiently waited (curled up under the safety of my mosquito net) until morning. The first thing I did when I woke up was, of course, tell my neighbor about the bat. Her reaction: why don’t you just fight it? I tried to explain that I have no experience fighting a bat, and I was afraid I would lose. Once again, she calmly walked into my house, grabbed the bat in a scarf, and took him outside to beat him to death with a stone. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The moral of these stories: I am a wimp and my neighbor is an awesome pest remover. I’m lucky to have her around <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u>When it rains, it pours</u></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also when it rains, life in Uganda seems to pause. Things you can’t do when it rains: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Drink milk – my neighbors don’t milk the cows in the rain</li>
<li>Travel – taxis get stuck in the mud</li>
<li>Charge electronics – the power usually goes out</li>
<li>Charge a solar light – too cloudy!</li>
<li>Call someone – phone networks go out in the rain</li>
<li>Use the internet – same networks as above</li>
<li>Use the latrine without getting your clothes and toilet paper soaked</li>
<li>Sleep in peace – rain makes quite a racket on a tin roof</li>
<li>Walk down the street without falling in the mud (this may just be me and my clumsiness…)</li>
<li>Bathe – it seems like the rain would only help the process, but my feet always get very muddy on the way back, making the bath useless. Also, I’m more likely to fall, making the bath even more useless. </li>
</ul><div><br />
ttfn - ta ta for now! :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204588124302854194.post-40632360329971230252011-03-08T01:30:00.000-08:002011-03-08T01:31:01.701-08:00No longer a mzunguA few weeks ago, a huge thing happened. I mean HUGE. A child, maybe 4 years old, called me by my name: Nangobi! Most of the adults in town have called me by name for several months now, but the children were slower to come around and continued to call me “mzungu.” This may seem like a small accomplishment, but when I heard that child screaming “NANGOBI BYE!” at me, I felt overjoyed. It really is the small things that count. This week, no fewer than 5 children have remembered my name. Now, in a country with a fertility rate of 6.7, there are still a lot of children calling me mzungu, but it’s definitely a start!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In other news, I’ve survived my first African election! In my town, things were quiet – and I mean eerily quiet. In the week leading up to the election, things had gotten progressively more chaotic in town: lots more people around, campaign speeches, large trucks sporting candidates faces and loud music. But when election day finally arrived, it seemed that most people took the “holiday” to heart and stayed home. Other towns weren’t so lucky: a fellow volunteer got caught in the crossfire of tear gas when a riot broke out in his town. Overall though, the elections were peaceful and to some extent anticlimactic. I have to admit I was hoping for a bit more action!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In completely unrelated news, I'm about 70% done reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Peace Corps mandated "stay at your site" policy during the elections left me with a lot of time on my hands. I'm also making my own mat. Ugandans make floor mats out of papyrus, so I decided to learn the process, start to finish. I went to the valley and collected papyrus with a machete, dried the leaves for three days, died them different colors (purple, pink, blue, green) with dye I bought in the market, dried them again, cut the pieces to size, and finally started weaving the mat. I still have (realistically) months of work ahead of me until the mat is finished (Ugandans complete a mat in about 2 weeks, but I'm a bit slower), but I'm excited for the project! My neighbors think it's hilarious when I take my materials outside with them to weave my mat. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Fyi: the rains have not yet come, and I think I might die from too much dust inhalation. Just thought I'd let you know. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">ttfn - ta ta for now! :)</div>Rashidahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637472601922839993noreply@blogger.com0