June 7, 2011 by Jeff.

or alternatively titled: “I was not lazy today.” How do I know this? The (new) acting bank manager and loan officer told me so.

I wrote several months ago about designing a new front office for my organization. Guess what? It’s complete. The renovation provides members better access to staff, space for newly hired staffers to complete their work, and, most importantly, safer control of cash. Plus it allows tons of light into the office and greater freedom of movement. Throughout the task I have tried to make the new space as functional as possible. That was the goal. However, what’s wrong with gallons of bright blue paint to make it snap?

The project is one that I have been championing for such a long time that people are forgetting that it is my counterpart, Wycliffee, that first proposed it. After a lot of back-and-forth with the board, my budget was approved and I asked to manage the project with volunteer help rather than contracting it out. They acquiesced. Originally scheduled to take place over two weekends, my acting manager and I decided to just go for it and complete the work as quickly as possible.

On the first day, I worked with the staff to move all the furniture to the back office and boardroom so that they could continue serving customers during the week-long renovation. I then disassembled a few wood partition walls and the built in furniture. I was hoping to get at least one of the new partition walls built on that Friday but the first of my helpers arrived at around 3PM to rescue me from the frustration of sawing through dry 2X4s with a Western-style hand saw. After a bit of sight-seeing, Sinead and I travelled back to my place and cooked up some potato masala — a new variation to one of my favorite foods. We talked about her service in Ethiopia and the frustrations I am currently experiencing with my organization.

The next morning, we met Jesse and Tom — 2 current volunteers — at the community bank. They worked their asses off. In just two days we smashed out a brick wall and then repaired the damaged walls and floor with concrete. We also built a partition wall and reinstalled the teller desk and window. Staffers got involved pounding nails and cutting plywood. Two long, hard days of work. Yet, we ate well that weekend. Barbecued pork, pasta, french toast, and matoke were all on the menu. Shout out to the manager of our newest hotel! He serving us beer after each long day of work, even allowing us to take two or three for the road.

After the last of my visitors left Monday morning, I remained alone to finish some minor construction and paint out the entire office. Maybe, just maybe, I was starting to feel that I had taken on two much of this work myself. On day 5 of the project, I painted the walls with four or five coats of white but the yellow still peeked through! The next day I discovered my mistake: I was trying to cover an oil-based paint with a water-based paint. Props to the professional painter that stopped by to confirm my suspicion. One coat of oil-based paint and a few touchups and I was ready to paint the floor.

UPDATE [19/06/2011]: We’ve moved in even though there is still a bit of finish work and painting to be completed. Members and staff seem to be somewhat appreciative of the new space. +finishing this project has helped me gain more respect with the board; I am currently helping the new human resource committee to choose a new manager and loan officer.

[right click on any of the images in the gallery below to open full-size in a new tab.]

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March 12, 2011 by Jeff.

I’ve been sponsoring a kid through compassion international for over a decade now. Compassion uses my monthly donations to pay school fees, health care expenses, and other related costs for the kid. Asumani lives right here in Uganda and I’ve been scheming to meet him since my arrival.

The day of my visit started with a long ride from the small town of Iganga, which itself is about an hour east of Jinja. The roads meandered for 21 miles from farm to farm, village to village, rounding about small plots much like the roads in Colorado circumnavigate large ranches. Unlike other parts of the country, many of the huts dotting the landscape were brightly colored with graffiti. Later, my host explained that teenage boys build these huts to gain a bit of independence from their folks and are allowed to decorate as they see fit. I liken it somewhat to a teenager in the USA taking over the basement or the room above the garage.

When I finally reached the village, my driver stopped at what looked like a small school. Neither one of us was quite sure if this was the place to be because the sign simply read “child development center”. I was greeted warmly, inquired, and found that I was indeed at the right place. After being introduced to one of the two program officers, we toured the facility. Tom and I climbed to the top of a rocky hill to find a church perpetually under construction. After, five years, there is a roof and walls but little else. The building belongs to the born-again Church of Uganda, a politically active denomination with a hateful agenda. I quickly stopped talking about religion and focused on the org’s program activities. At the project site, they have a staff of three whose time is spent finding appropriate schools for the children and reporting back to Colorado on expenditures. Not many kids were around except those that attend the local nursery and primary school — most kids here in Uganda attend boarding schools.

After our short tour, we returned to the office building where we were served tea accompanied by bread and margarine. Biscuits and soda were available but I passed. It just seemed a bit too extravagant. Another student joined us for tea along with my host’s counterpart. I was never to meet the director. Conversation plodded slowly along … and then stopped coldly. I looked to my right and noticed a teenage boy standing there, shy and awkward. Those two words would describe his demeanor for the rest of the day as we travelled to meet his moms, his grandmother, and the local council chair.

Asumani is now 17 and attends a secondary school in Mukono. In a couple of years he will finish o’ level with dreams of becoming an auto mechanic and residing in the capital city of Kampala, where his birth mom lives and he attended primary school.

Tea moved from inside the building to under a tree outside. I overheard the staff talking in the local language about hiring bodas for transport. I quickly insisted that I could manage the walk through the village. After a short walk, many of the neighbors greeted me at the family home. Then, after sitting with them ALL for some time outside on the front porch, we walked up the road to visit the health center. Despite my wariness of entering during a TB clinic, we barged right on through, meeting both the staff and the patients. I held my breath. We then crossed a small soccer pitch to find his grandmother’s house. I used all the Lusoga I know to greet her. My host readily translated the remainder of the conversation.

When we journeyed back to Asumani’s home place, chicken had been prepared along with rice and cassava; fresh mangos and pineapple served for dessert. I was told that I would have to eat the gizzard. Not quite sure why this is an honor. If I had a choice, I’d readily just eat one of the drumsticks. As we finished, my host mentioned to me that we would soon have to soon move back to the office because lunch was nearly ready. Chicken gizzard again. I could hardly stomach more than a couple spoonfuls of rice, but my host and kid somehow devoured another complete plateful of food.

That was my day — minus final farewells, a few snaps, and, then, the journey back to Iganga with my host. It was good to finally meet Asumani as I’m not much of a letter-writer. Fellow volunteers Nick and Rashida hosted me during my stay and I finally got to see the slowly crumbling town of Jinja, with all its free wireless, cheap hotels, casino, and American-style restaurants.

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February 20, 2011 by Jeff.

Our SACCO makes obscene amounts of profit on the back of 36% APR loans to poor farmers. I am championing change to this system. But all the motivation is currently placed to keep the system the way it is. The board makes large dividends on its disproportional shares, and the staff makes much of its salary from profit-based bonuses. Have we learned nothing from the failure of other financial systems?

My two capital improvement projects — an electronic database system and a front office redesign — are meeting great resistance from the budgeting committee. I could probably finance both projects out of my own pocket but that’s not the point of community development. My frustration comes mainly from a lack of communication. First, I am given figures that make little sense. Then, I hear that one or both projects have been pigeon-holed only to find later that there is still ongoing discussion of both projects. All of this is exasperated by the fact that I do not share a common language with most if not all of the board members. Ahh! I need to quickly draft some easily understood proposals to cut through this fog of confusion.

It is good that one doesn’t need money to solve all problems. Last week, our reenergized staff realized the insanity of members returning day after day in search of our loan officer without finding him at the bank. Why can’t loans be disbursed, applications received when the loan officer is at court or visiting clients in the field? So at our first staff meeting since at least October, we discussed solutions to this issue. Our loan officer will now post a weekly timetable of his activities for members. In addition, two staffers will be trained on how to properly record loan transactions and a loan disbursement schedule will be printed daily to ensure that no mistakes are made. No member will need to be turned away again. Common sense solutions to common problems, no?

—–

I had the great opportunity to teach at a secondary school on Wednesday. [My neighbor, Kenneth, helped me to make the introductions at the beginning of the semester.] I taught a class of S6 entrepreneurship students (grade 13) about sales promotion. My classes are always very interactive. I hate lecturing and like to make people think. But that was not happening at first. I asked the students for real-life examples of marketing in their communities and got no response. zero. zilch. After a period of silence and a drink of water, I returned to the chalk board and wrote “Marketing Mix” followed by 4 ‘P’s. Almost all the hands shot up in the air. They must have been drilled on this topic. I started having them list other marketing concepts. This worked for a while. Then I gave them an activity that no one, not even their teacher, understood. We spent 30 minutes on this. Then we went back to a discussion of how to apply the concepts we had listed earlier. No response again. So I had the students break into their preformed groups to discuss each topic for a minute or two. Surprised was I by their responses. These kids can process complex problems! Speaking out in front of fifteen other students is just a bit uncomfortable. I think I’ll be better prepared for class next time. Lessons learned.

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February 7, 2011 by Jeff.

Just about every four or five days I hit a mental wall. I can’t take the isolation and loneliness any more. Then something happens that picks me right back up. I meet a potential new friend in the village. I talk to someone about a new project. Sometimes it’s as simple as taking a trip into Mbarara and finding a package in the mail.

Thanks to those who have sent something. It really does make life out in the country a bit more bearable. Months ago Becca sent me a package with rockstar stickers … err, Jonas Brother stickers. I put a few select stickers on my phone and have a constant reminder of my live in Boston every time I check the time. Maps from home adorn the walls in my sit & stare room.

This weekend was a mzungu weekend. I travelled to Fort Portal and then stopped in Kasese on the way back to see some fellow volunteers. It was good to reconnect, get ideas for projects, and give advise for others. I wore my new jeans with some of my favorite t-shirts all weekend — what a release. However, my greatest joy as you might expect is in forging relationships with nationals.

If I do nothing else, I’d love to create a few life-long friendships. Those are in the making. As I wrote before, physicality between men is open and understood. More importantly, emotional intimacy is also somewhat easy to achieve over many months. I have found great trust and honesty in these relationships. The stories I hear sometimes break my heart. It’s not just travails of poverty but also of love, broken hearts, and assault.

Last week I had the opportunity to redesign the bank’s front office:

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January 26, 2011 by Jeff.

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