HELP International: Uganda, Lugazi 2010

Here's a little plug for my HELP International team.

Lugazi, Uganda 2010

I just wish everyone could experience something like this once in their life.

The world would be a completely different place.

.peace.

5. How Time Really Affects Us

As of 2009, the life expectancy in America was almost 79. In Uganda, the latest statistics show life expectancy around 49. A 30 year difference.

Imagine how much knowledge, how much experience, how much love a person can gain in that 30 year difference. When the average Ugandan is dying, the average American hasn't even retired; the average American isn't even considered a senior citizen yet. Americans are not even beginning to think about social security. And Ugandans are dying.

Thirty years is 360 months. Thirty years is 1, 565 weeks. Thirty years is 10, 957 days. Thirty years is 262, 974 hours. Thirty years is 15, 778, 463 minutes. Thirty years is 946, 707, 779 seconds.

Every three seconds a child dies from hunger related to poverty. How many children die during those 30 years? How many children die in one year? One month? One week? How about just one minute? 20. Twenty children die from hunger in just one minute.

Here is my new favorite statistic: Americans spend approximately $2 billion each year on candy during Halloween. Just on candy. Just for Halloween.

Compare that number to this one: it would take only $6 billion to provide education for the developing world. Three years of Halloween candy or education for the whole world? There are 121 million children without education worldwide.

Does anyone's stomach hurt?

Think of this: I just ate a "fun-sized" Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and it took me 17 seconds. How many children died while I ate that? Almost six.

I was in Uganda for three months. About 11 weeks. 80 days. 1920 hours. 115, 200 minutes. 6, 912, 000 seconds of my life living in Uganda, Africa. And if I die at age 79 I will have spent the last 59 years of my life thinking about Uganda.

When I arrived home from Uganda, I immediately knew that I was supposed to go back. I know that my "calling" on this earth is to help people. It only takes one person to change the world. But if we each were that one person, imagine how much more change could happen.

4. Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill

With the political debates broadcast across the American nation, I find it hard not to remember the impact that the 2008 Proposition 8 campaign had on America. Will there be another nasty separation in our nation with these new political candidates?

Proposition 8 put into effect that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Of this same likeness, there is a law in Uganda that penalizes homosexual behavior and activity with jail time. In 2009, anti-homosexual extremists proposed a new legislation that would increase the penalty of these acts to life-time incarceration and even death. The proposed bill is officially known as the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" but is also referred to as the "Kill the Gays Bill."

Since homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, the 2009 bill added extreme punishment for the behavior. It acts against homosexuality with minors or disabled persons and has added penalty if the accused has HIV/AIDS. Relatives or friends who fail to report the homosexual activities of a person can also receive jail time.

Homosexuality is seen as an abomination or "un-African" by a good majority of other African countries, but Uganda is the most infamously known country to attack the rights of homosexuals.

Parliament building in Kampala, Uganda

Since Uganda heavily relies on foreign aid (approximately 30 percent of their budget comes from foreign aid), there have been an increasing number of countries threatening to withdraw aid if this anti-homosexuality bill were to pass. With full knowledge of that fact, Ugandan citizens continue to rally in the streets and protest against homosexuality. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received increasing pressure to pass the bill from Ugandan activists but equal pressure from foreign influencers to silence the bill.

The legislation has been pushed aside and parliament meetings as recent as May 2011 have adjourned without voting on the bill. Uganda still receives the aid it needs to function as a country since the bill has yet to be decided on.

When I arrived in Uganda in May 2010, I had not actually heard about this bill. In my research of the country this bill apparently became invisible to me. Upon my arrival, we had a team meeting where we were informed of how intensely anti-gay the country was. Being a liberal minded free-thinker, I asked a trusted partner about the issue a month after being in Uganda. After a long moment of quiet contemplation, he looked at me and said, "We just do not like that. It is not ok. We do not talk about it here either. It is not a safe matter." Reprimanded, I did not press the issue any further during my stay.

Boys at the HOPE Orphanage

After seeing what Prop 8 could do to a country that is largely considered to be educated and open-minded, it is easy to see how another anti-homosexuality legislation can destroy a country that is considered to be "third-world."

http://www.thegrio.com/opinion/homophobia-in-africa-raises-questions-about-foreign-aid.php

Without the education and tolerance that we are supposed to have in America for all people, Uganda is bound to have civil distress over an issue such as this. But then why did that same distress come to America? What type of culture are we creating for our children to grow up in? One of tolerance and peace...or one of disdain and discrimination?

It's shocking to see the similarities between two countries that seem so vastly different, isn't it?

3.Gender Equality is Really an Issue

Women in America make an average of 0.76 cents for every dollar that men make in the same position or rank. Gender inequality is not a new concept for anyone, but it is especially prevalent in Uganda. Women are given jobs that require them to serve men; waitressing and cleaning are popular female jobs. Men also will not perform tasks that are seen as a woman's job, such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, child care, and shopping.

You would almost never see a man doing this

In 2008, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa released a progress report document entitled, "Action: On Gender Equality, Women's Empowerment and Ending Violence Against Women in Africa." In the Economic Participation section of the report it states, "Women in Africa experience greater challenges in accessing decent jobs than men. Women's share of employment in the formal sector is still lower relative to men and their pay is on average lower than man's pay for the same work." The same issues of gender inequality in the work place that we experience here in America, are happening in Africa, though a major difference is that women in America have more of a voice against it than women in Africa.

Our partner Emanuel felt moderately uncomfortable sitting next to me on a level field but it was okay because I am white.

The UNECA report gives a reason why women have such a hard time finding work in Africa. The "lack of education, inadequate access to training, discrimination and cultural attitudes about (women) in the work place" all contribute to their lack of employment. Women are typically "overrepresented in low-income, less secure employment" and "amongst the unemployed." There is a lack of focus on the necessity to educate and train women because of the social inclination against women in the workforce.

As a female in American society, I am appalled by the social stigmatization of working women in Africa and America. The gender roles that we all submit to have been around for generations and so has the gender discrimination that comes with it.

In the UNECA report, they state a definition of gender equality: "women having equal access to social, economic, political and cultural opportunities as men. It does not mean that women and men are the same, but rather that their similarities and differences are recognized and equally valued." It seems that at times people want to say that creating gender equality would blur the line between the genders, but as this definition states, equality means equally valued not necessarily the same.

Our favorite lady at the Patron Hotel, a common lunch spot.

If you take a moment to look throughout history, some of the most influential and inspirational people are women. Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Theresa. It is because they had the courage and gumption to stand up for themselves and the rest of the female population. So why is this still happening?

Yes, you can argue that it's Africa. The inherent cultural differences between Uganda and America explain the continuing gender discrimination in Uganda (and all of Africa). But then, what is there to explain the fact that women in America receive the same disrespect?

To read the full UNECA report, visit the website below.

http://www.uneca.org/adfvi/documents/ADFVI_Progress_Report_ENG.pdf

2. Have You Experienced the Terrors of Public Transport?

As a born and raised Californian, I thought I had seen it all when it came to bad driving. It's the "well known" stereotype that California drivers are the worst. I want to challenge that by throwing a new group into the mix: Ugandan taxi drivers. That is not completely fair. I should say all Ugandan drivers in general.

Lugazi taxi park

Minutes out of the airport and into the parking lot, I encountered my very first Ugandan taxi. Taxi drivers rent their van-like taxis by the day if they do not own their own (which is not very common). There are two key players in a taxi: the driver and the conductor. The driver does just that, drives. The conductor is where the fun work comes in. This man (yes always a man, in Southern Uganda at least) sits at the back door with the window open yelling at people, asking them if they need a ride. A personal favorite yell was "Jinja, Kawolo! Jinja, Kawolo!" Jinja is a tourist town about a 45 minute drive from Lugazi (Lugazi was the center of my world, so everything is a sprout off from Lugazi), and Kawolo is the area surrounding Lugazi. It is the conductors job to get passengers onto the taxi, to tell the driver when to stop, to load any extra luggage a passenger has and to collect money from passengers before they get off.

Question: How many mzungus can you pack into one taxi? Answer: 18

It is all about making money. Getting as many people into your taxi as you can and driving fast to drop them and pick up more paying customers. A regular sized taxi is supposed to fit ten people in addition to the conductor and the driver. A taxi doesn't normally run without at least 13 passengers besides the conductor and driver--and that is still relatively comfortable. Let's just say, Africans aren't the smallest of people, or the cleanest. But when you need to get somewhere, personal bubbles are popped and you breathe through your mouth. The most passengers in one taxi that I had the pleasure of riding on was 20...double the necessary capacity. Taxis are considered to be a relatively safe means of travel. With all those people packed in there like sardines, no one is going anywhere if a crash happens. Taxis can only go so fast as well.

Small taxi. Still fits at least 15 passengers.

Another, less safe, means of transport is a boda boda. My personal favorite. A little road bike/motorcycle type of vehicle. Boda drivers sit on their bikes outside of popular shops: supermarkets, gas stations, outskirts of the taxi park, and hospitals or clinics. All you need to do is say "Hey Boda Man. Sseta. 1000 shillings?" and any boda in the vicinity will flock to you. Two things to remember when boda riding: 1. know your pricing. Any ride less than 10 minutes should never cost you more than 1000 shillings, and boda drivers will try to get as much money as possible (especially from a mzungu). 2. be in control of your ride. Tell the boda man to drive slow and make sure to keep telling him. There are no helmets or seat belts on bodas and if it crashes, it is road rash city all over your body. "Slow, sebo. Very slow for the mzungu!"

Three passenger boda. Not comfy for anyone involved.

Transportation is a decent way to make a living in Uganda if you can be an independent contractor. If you own your taxi or your boda, you are set to go. Otherwise, you pay almost as much as you make in a day. Taxis have to be rented, gas purchased, conductors compensated, and taxi park fees taken care of all before any wages are taken home by a driver. Boda bodas are a hit and miss market. If it rains, bodas are out. If it is a long ride, bodas are out. If you have time, you can walk. If you want to stay relatively clean, bodas are out. And that's still excluding the fact that there are SO many boda drivers, you have stiff competition.

See anything wrong with this picture? That's the road down there and the door is tied shut with twine to hold the bags of fish inside. Thanks you Conductor.

The safest means of transport is your own two legs. Walking. Though watch yourself because pedestrians have no rights, taxi do not stop unless you are getting on and sidewalks do not exist. With that said, on a taxi, always watch your ankles. There is no telling when a goat, loose chicken or bag of fish is going to roll up at your feet.

1. Kids Living on Streets of Uganda

Sixteen months, three weeks, and six days ago a 20 year old girl basking in a life of naivety stepped off a plane in Entebbe, Uganda, Africa not knowing that from that day forward, life would not be the same.

After three months of living in a third-world country, my life was changed. Almost a year and a half later, I am still affected everyday by what I saw and experienced.

The people in the town of Lugazi live in utter poverty. The average family resides in a one or two room hut without electricity, a door, and a dirt floor. There are usually between five and seven adults and children living, cooking, and defecating in and around this small space. An average family in the United States lives in a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a television, a computer, a flushing toilet, and a lock on the door. Feel guilty yet? Oh and the average house size is now 2.59, according to the US census.

Above average house in Lugazi.

Let's add a little more on top of that. In Lugazi there is large population of "street kids." These are kids averaging between ages 4 and 10, who could not get into an orphanage and now have to live on the street in alleyways or under store awnings. Street kids have to beg, steal, and pillage to survive and support other street kids--their family. They scour the city for odd jobs to get a few shillings to buy bananas and steal what they can't afford. A street kid will boldly approach a white person (Mzungu, we are called) and beg for money. Their swollen bellies and boney bodies are hard to walk away from, when you know fully well that you have shillings to spare in your pocket.

Street kids enthralled by Mzungu cameras.

The money exchange is approximately 2,800 shillings for one US dollar. A bunch of 6-8 bananas runs about 1,000 shillings while a large bottle of clean, cold water is about 1,200 shillings. I walked around with anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 shillings in my bag (depending on when I went to the bank last) and I could afford to buy anything I wanted for anyone I wanted. But that can't be done.

Those kids understand the value of a dollar or a shilling because they don't have any. They know that money means food and food means less stomach pain while they try to sleep on the side of a road under the stars.

Do our American kids at age 8 or even age 15 know that value of a dollar? Are they being taught that "money doesn't grow on trees?" Or do they think that you just swipe a card and get anything you want?

Does the $10 salad at Cafe Rio or the $7 mixed drink at the bar taste good because it costs so much? Next time you throw away your leftovers at a restaurant or even at home, think about how many bananas you could have bought for kids in Lugazi, Uganda. Or how many water bottles could have been distributed among them. Think about how far your dollar could actually go in the life of a child.

Mathius, a Mzungu's best friend