The second camp we went to this week held 11,000 people. It was absolutely massive. It's a mother camp (differs from where we were the first day which was a satellite camp and is closer to their original village and means people have shifted from the mother camp and are getting ready to go home but are still in need of protection and assistance). The camp has been in existence since 1986! Honestly, it's more like a village now, despite the cramped conditions and lack of land there are businesses and bars and a market. I guess after that duration of time normal life is bound to happen.
I was wrong about the food rationing in my last post - I did the weighing and recording yesterday (more like spot checks to make sure it's being divided evenly) and it works out to about 4kg of maize, 1 kg of peas and 0.5kg of oil per person for a month. Do the math.. it's not that much. People who are considered 'extremely vulnerable' (the elderly and those with illness) get about three times that much because they can't do cheap labour to make money to buy more food.
We visited a third camp and helped to remove the 50kg bags of food from the truck. It's complete madness. All the men stand around and do nothing and the woman are lugging these things around with a baby strapped to their back! It was 38 degrees. Honestly, African woman are the strongest (mentally and physically) than any other woman in the world. I was helping as lady who was twice my age and she had ten times more strength and energy than me. It was hilarious!
While we were walking around one of the camps a very intoxicated man came up to Denise and I (and very politely and quietly) offered us 200 shillings each to have sex with him. That'll buy you a banana (should we be insulted??)!! Anyway, we politely declined and he wandered away without a problem. That's just the way things work here..it's not the first time (or the last) that we've been offered money or livestock for marriage and so on.
When we were wandering around we came across the soldiers (who are supposed to be protecting us!) and they were a few buckets deep into the local brew known as "Marwa". It tastes like warm beer and it is made from this grain.. anyway, it's revolting but I guess like anything, you acquire a taste for it. We took some shots of them (which I will post eventually) and the soldiers were really concerned that their wives and our husbands (we always say we are married) will see the pictures and we will all get in trouble. HA. Amusing :)
Leaving Gulu back to Kampala and then we will see what happens next I guess. No plans yet.
8.17.2007
8.14.2007
When HIV might be the better alternative..
There is something like two hundred and forty NGO's in Gulu at the present moment because of the war with the LRA (I blogged about this in one of my first entries so if you really are interested in whats happening in Northern Uganda cross reference that and there are some links that will tell you what you want to know. If you already know than hey, I think that's even cooler).
As you wander around town you can't help but notice that the only vehicles on the road are convoys for the UN or UNICEF and so on. We spent today distributing food to an IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camp just on the outskirts of Gulu with the WFP (World Food Program) and had the opportunity to tour the camp and meet the people while they rationed their food. We were escorted by two Ugandan army trucks full of dudes with machine guns (just in case) and then about 4 more UN trucks surrounded the one that carried the food. Bit of an ordeal but once you get to the camp the entire process takes about an hour (normally, but we were there all day because there was a film crew from Germany documenting it). They are allocated 25KG of food (roughly depending on the number of people) per family which consists of yellow split peas and millet (dried corn) and they get a 4 litre jug of oil (fortified with vitamin A!!) that should last them anywhere from 30-45 days. I think it depends on how much funding is coming in.. obviously the more money the more these people get fed.
The camp consists of many small round mud huts where the families sleep and often cook their meals. (The one we visited today has about 1600 people living there but this is a small camp). There are communal showers and toilets and a boar hole where they get clean water for cooking and bathing but no running water or electricity. They do have access to other types of food, that I assume they cultivate themselves or just grow in the area (like cassava, coconut and g-nuts which are like peanuts).
Things here are relatively peaceful right now (the raids on villages which involved rape, murder, mutilation and kidnapping of children to turn into soldiers has thankfully stopped at the moment and the LRA is currently
demanding millions of dollars to sign a peace deal) so most families are trying to return back home (wherever that may be) and pick up the pieces of their lives that have been totally destroyed by the rebel army. They are still safer sleeping in the camps at night because they are protected by the Ugandan Army. There are schools at the camps so the children (and there are tons of children) can get a good eduction. There isn't much to do at these camps so - they make babies. HIV, disease, malnutrition and unemployment are obviously high on the list of issues that the NGO's are trying to manage right now, and one of the saddest things I've learned is that a lot of woman are turning to prostitution to survive within the camps (this obviously being a means of income for them). They actually are choosing to risk contracting HIV because they figure they are going to die one way or another.. and HIV is a slower death than starvation. (Not to mention that they don't have any education about using birth control or family planning).
I sat with one of the families today and attempted to talk to them while they waited for their turn to get their food but they didn't speak any English. (It's surprising because in Uganda the official language is English so I assume because of the war and their displacement these people just aren't educated and only know the local languages). It was impossible to really talk but we managed with dumb actions and sign language and I played with the baby while they laughed at my hair and the cuts on my legs and enjoying looking at the pictures I was taking of them on the digital camera.
As a whole it was an amazing and eye opening day and considering we were involved with fundraising last year it was really nice to be able to visit the people and see the progress that is being made here - we are going back all this week so I assume that means more stories..check out the pics on Flickr for some images of the camp and life within it. They seem to have the most amazing thunder and lighting storms ever up here.. and another one is just starting so I assume that means I will not have power soon :)
As you wander around town you can't help but notice that the only vehicles on the road are convoys for the UN or UNICEF and so on. We spent today distributing food to an IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camp just on the outskirts of Gulu with the WFP (World Food Program) and had the opportunity to tour the camp and meet the people while they rationed their food. We were escorted by two Ugandan army trucks full of dudes with machine guns (just in case) and then about 4 more UN trucks surrounded the one that carried the food. Bit of an ordeal but once you get to the camp the entire process takes about an hour (normally, but we were there all day because there was a film crew from Germany documenting it). They are allocated 25KG of food (roughly depending on the number of people) per family which consists of yellow split peas and millet (dried corn) and they get a 4 litre jug of oil (fortified with vitamin A!!) that should last them anywhere from 30-45 days. I think it depends on how much funding is coming in.. obviously the more money the more these people get fed.
The camp consists of many small round mud huts where the families sleep and often cook their meals. (The one we visited today has about 1600 people living there but this is a small camp). There are communal showers and toilets and a boar hole where they get clean water for cooking and bathing but no running water or electricity. They do have access to other types of food, that I assume they cultivate themselves or just grow in the area (like cassava, coconut and g-nuts which are like peanuts).
Things here are relatively peaceful right now (the raids on villages which involved rape, murder, mutilation and kidnapping of children to turn into soldiers has thankfully stopped at the moment and the LRA is currently
demanding millions of dollars to sign a peace deal) so most families are trying to return back home (wherever that may be) and pick up the pieces of their lives that have been totally destroyed by the rebel army. They are still safer sleeping in the camps at night because they are protected by the Ugandan Army. There are schools at the camps so the children (and there are tons of children) can get a good eduction. There isn't much to do at these camps so - they make babies. HIV, disease, malnutrition and unemployment are obviously high on the list of issues that the NGO's are trying to manage right now, and one of the saddest things I've learned is that a lot of woman are turning to prostitution to survive within the camps (this obviously being a means of income for them). They actually are choosing to risk contracting HIV because they figure they are going to die one way or another.. and HIV is a slower death than starvation. (Not to mention that they don't have any education about using birth control or family planning).
I sat with one of the families today and attempted to talk to them while they waited for their turn to get their food but they didn't speak any English. (It's surprising because in Uganda the official language is English so I assume because of the war and their displacement these people just aren't educated and only know the local languages). It was impossible to really talk but we managed with dumb actions and sign language and I played with the baby while they laughed at my hair and the cuts on my legs and enjoying looking at the pictures I was taking of them on the digital camera.
As a whole it was an amazing and eye opening day and considering we were involved with fundraising last year it was really nice to be able to visit the people and see the progress that is being made here - we are going back all this week so I assume that means more stories..check out the pics on Flickr for some images of the camp and life within it. They seem to have the most amazing thunder and lighting storms ever up here.. and another one is just starting so I assume that means I will not have power soon :)
No more Moraji!
Denise and I have started speaking in half sentences. (Well, not exactly). What I mean is that she starts a sentence and I finish it and we frequently add in the odd word between breaths and vice versa. It's started happening a lot lately when we tell stories to other people about our experiences but it's developed a really good flow! In truth our conversations (which never end because we are always chattering about something) can become very simple and sometimes a tad embarrassing when we realize the idiotic conversation we are having about how confusing it is that oranges are green in Tanzania is being overheard by someone with an intelligence level higher than a fish. It happens a lot - and we get some strange looks, especially during the frequent (sometimes violent involving lame dance moves) giggle fits. It's kind of cool though because we can still stand each other after spending the last 200 or so days together :)
For example, a real conversation we had the other day:
A: Denise, what was your favorite meal in India?
D: Um, the one at that restaurant.
A: Oh yeah, me too.
Of course I knew exactly where and when she met. Yes, of course we ate at a restaurant every night, but I new she meant the one in
Mumbai (that incidently the waiter had to cut us off from ordering everything we wanted because he thought it would be 'too much'). So, maybe it's a bit of mental telepathy, I'm not sure. Grunts, mumblings and looks are easily translated now a days. I guess we are kind of a faux married couple in a way. We even resort to telling embarrassing stories about each other. :)
So I realize it's been awhile since my last update.. where are we ?? Let me get started here..
We have spent the last week and a half travelling around Uganda and plan on being here until the end of the month. Uganda really is as equally stunning as Tanzania, but everything is just that much more green and lush. It feels a bit more jungly and the soil is red red red.. it's actually like red clay so when it rains (and it does everyday!) everything gets a strange reddish tinge to it and when it's dry everything has a layer of red dust on it. The houses are reddy mud huts and the tin roofs have a thick layer of red dust. And of course our feet are red stained. It's next to impossible to get the suckers clean.
Last week I arrived in Kampala after a 34 hour (yes I said 34 hours by myself with no ipod cause i forgot it in Zanzibar) bus ride from Dar es Saleem. No bathroom stops and no food stops. Not that I had any money to buy food, but that is a really dumb long story. I found Denise in Kampala (with out luggage cause the airline misplaced it) and we immediately went to drown our sorrows in fast food and then caught up while watching a real TV in our hotel room. Met up with my friends Eric and Berenice the next day and stayed with them for a few days (they are house sitting at a gorgeous place with a view of the bay and the entire city and we watched MTV practically the entire time. It was like heaven. Hot shower.. laundry and good home cooked food and excellent company! What more could we ask for really? Personally I am shocked that Jayz and Beyonce broke up.. when did this happen?).
We then went to visit another friend in Jinja and spent most of our days lazing by a pool along the Nile (we saw a real live crocodile *NOT on safari*..it was creepy because we were on a bus and looked down and it was swimming hungrily from one side of the river to the other) and then took a two day trip (smushed with 25 other people in a Matatu - it should hold 12) to a place called Sipi Falls. Probably the most scenic place I've ever spent time in and worth the 6 hours of not moving and severe sweating that getting there and from involved. The view from our cabin (at $10 per night) included 5 waterfalls overlooking a deep valley lush with banana and coffee bean trees and the local village was adorable. We did a half day hike which took us to two of the waterfalls but unfortunately for us (and my sleeping bag which was airing out in the great outdoors) it poured rain for the last two hours. Imagine torrential rain and we are walking in corn fields which tower high above our heads and through jungle forest and absoltely the most remote villages and farm land to see these waterfalls but we are drenched to a point that I never thought was possible before. Since we were on a mountain (and they tend to slope) the red path we were walking on quickly turned into a gushing red river as deep as mid calf in some places. Needless to say, we made it home alive and drenched and frozen and then somehow managed to warm ourselves us with copious amounts of hot tea and a red liquidy thing that they called tomato soup. So it was back to Jinja for more pool time and then we had to celebrate our friends last night in Africa.. and we sent him out in style. We actually saw the sunrise this time.. from our 2 hour taxi ride to Kampala (where he dropped us and then continued to the airport). We really didn't intend to be at a club until 4:30am (the car came at 5am) and we really didn't intend to drink way too much local gin (tastes good but the hangover is like nothing you can even imagine). So we found ourselves at a mall coffee shop at 7am with no sleep and a stomach ache and no place to stay. Had to beg a backpackers place to find us a dorm bed and we slept for a few hours and proceeded to spend the rest of the day on a couch in the common room drinking fluids and eating lots of hamburgers. I hate gin.
Saying good-bye to the children (again) was one of the more challenging moments of my life. I tried very hard not to break down and cry in front of them but some of the older girls pulled me into their bedroom and sang good-bye songs to me in Swahili.. it turned into a bit of a sob fest and possibly one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. I miss them..
Gulu tomorrow..really looking forward to the next week. ..
For example, a real conversation we had the other day:
A: Denise, what was your favorite meal in India?
D: Um, the one at that restaurant.
A: Oh yeah, me too.
Of course I knew exactly where and when she met. Yes, of course we ate at a restaurant every night, but I new she meant the one in
Mumbai (that incidently the waiter had to cut us off from ordering everything we wanted because he thought it would be 'too much'). So, maybe it's a bit of mental telepathy, I'm not sure. Grunts, mumblings and looks are easily translated now a days. I guess we are kind of a faux married couple in a way. We even resort to telling embarrassing stories about each other. :)
So I realize it's been awhile since my last update.. where are we ?? Let me get started here..
We have spent the last week and a half travelling around Uganda and plan on being here until the end of the month. Uganda really is as equally stunning as Tanzania, but everything is just that much more green and lush. It feels a bit more jungly and the soil is red red red.. it's actually like red clay so when it rains (and it does everyday!) everything gets a strange reddish tinge to it and when it's dry everything has a layer of red dust on it. The houses are reddy mud huts and the tin roofs have a thick layer of red dust. And of course our feet are red stained. It's next to impossible to get the suckers clean.
Last week I arrived in Kampala after a 34 hour (yes I said 34 hours by myself with no ipod cause i forgot it in Zanzibar) bus ride from Dar es Saleem. No bathroom stops and no food stops. Not that I had any money to buy food, but that is a really dumb long story. I found Denise in Kampala (with out luggage cause the airline misplaced it) and we immediately went to drown our sorrows in fast food and then caught up while watching a real TV in our hotel room. Met up with my friends Eric and Berenice the next day and stayed with them for a few days (they are house sitting at a gorgeous place with a view of the bay and the entire city and we watched MTV practically the entire time. It was like heaven. Hot shower.. laundry and good home cooked food and excellent company! What more could we ask for really? Personally I am shocked that Jayz and Beyonce broke up.. when did this happen?).
We then went to visit another friend in Jinja and spent most of our days lazing by a pool along the Nile (we saw a real live crocodile *NOT on safari*..it was creepy because we were on a bus and looked down and it was swimming hungrily from one side of the river to the other) and then took a two day trip (smushed with 25 other people in a Matatu - it should hold 12) to a place called Sipi Falls. Probably the most scenic place I've ever spent time in and worth the 6 hours of not moving and severe sweating that getting there and from involved. The view from our cabin (at $10 per night) included 5 waterfalls overlooking a deep valley lush with banana and coffee bean trees and the local village was adorable. We did a half day hike which took us to two of the waterfalls but unfortunately for us (and my sleeping bag which was airing out in the great outdoors) it poured rain for the last two hours. Imagine torrential rain and we are walking in corn fields which tower high above our heads and through jungle forest and absoltely the most remote villages and farm land to see these waterfalls but we are drenched to a point that I never thought was possible before. Since we were on a mountain (and they tend to slope) the red path we were walking on quickly turned into a gushing red river as deep as mid calf in some places. Needless to say, we made it home alive and drenched and frozen and then somehow managed to warm ourselves us with copious amounts of hot tea and a red liquidy thing that they called tomato soup. So it was back to Jinja for more pool time and then we had to celebrate our friends last night in Africa.. and we sent him out in style. We actually saw the sunrise this time.. from our 2 hour taxi ride to Kampala (where he dropped us and then continued to the airport). We really didn't intend to be at a club until 4:30am (the car came at 5am) and we really didn't intend to drink way too much local gin (tastes good but the hangover is like nothing you can even imagine). So we found ourselves at a mall coffee shop at 7am with no sleep and a stomach ache and no place to stay. Had to beg a backpackers place to find us a dorm bed and we slept for a few hours and proceeded to spend the rest of the day on a couch in the common room drinking fluids and eating lots of hamburgers. I hate gin.
Saying good-bye to the children (again) was one of the more challenging moments of my life. I tried very hard not to break down and cry in front of them but some of the older girls pulled me into their bedroom and sang good-bye songs to me in Swahili.. it turned into a bit of a sob fest and possibly one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. I miss them..
Gulu tomorrow..really looking forward to the next week. ..
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