As some of the more astute readers of my blog may have gathered, our first vacation started in Kigali, Rwanda. Wes, Chris and I (three of the four engineers on the team) headed directly for the border after lunch on Thursday and arrived about an hour after dark in Kigali. Annoyed by all of the constant offers for rides, we decided to walk the three kilometers into town. Found lodging and then set out for dinner. Had an amazing French fry and goat meat omelette, though the amazing part may have been due to our hunger. Moved to cheaper lodging at the church guesthouse the next morning. Then went for lunch at an all-you-can-pile-onto-one-plate buffet (same place we got the omelette the previous night). Was more than enough for one man, but still delicious. Once we felt sufficiently fortified, we headed off to the Genocide Memorial.
A word on Kigali. The first thing I noticed were the streets, or more specifically the gutters. Or rather how they existed in Kigali, whereas they were dirt ditches in Kampala or Mbarara. Once I noticed that little touch of affluence, I started to pick up on other things like how the sidewalks and buildings seemed to have a little more order to them that most other developing cities I’d visited. The biggest difference was the motorcar/pedestrian interaction. In Ugandan (indeed in most cities outside of North America and Scandinavia), the car owns the road, and pedestrians run when crossing it. I learned very quickly in South America to either find a nun or priest (or very hot girl) who was crossing the road, and try to use them as a shield. (And everybody knows that at the other end of the spectrum, pedestrians rule in Vancouver - much to the annoyance of visiting drivers/pedestrians). This interaction seems to have reached a new balance in Kigali. Cars yield to pedestrians when there are enough of them and pedestrians yield to cars when there’s no break in the traffic. Everybody seemed very respectful of the rules. I wonder if this is a reflection on the rule of Paul Kagame and the RPF? Which brings us back to the memorial.
Very powerful place. Needless to say, I was emotionally exhausted by the time I’d left there. Up to that point, I’d been shielding myself from the thoughts, but after the images and the testimonials, I couldn’t help but think about it constantly. I would pass Rwandans in the street and wonder if they were Hutus or Tutsis. Which of course is the wrong thing to do. President Kagame’s most persistent message is that there are no Hutus or Tutsis, only Rwandans. But you can’t help but try to understand what drove the genocidaires. Also from that point on, I couldn’t help but take certain places and imagine what roles they took on during the massacre. The church guesthouse we stayed at had been a refuge during the genocide. Hung out in the bar at Hotel Mille Collines, famous from the movie Hotel Rwanda. And most of the rivers we passed on the way from the border had a sign indicating that this had been a genocide dumping ground (or at least from what we could interpret from the signs written in Rwandan. Seemed like there should be ghosts everywhere. But of course, it’s been 14 years, and the government was eager to put the everyday reminders behind them, so there was very little everyday evidence.
Anyway, this entry is far too long, but in my defense, this was a powerful trip. However, aside from the memorial and the place Kigali plays in modern history, the city is actually pretty small and boring. Beautiful but boring. The best memory I have is Wes and I finding a rooftop bar (through a series of unlit stairwells) and talking about American politics; the debate between McCain and Obama and the effect Sarah Palin is having on the race, with the bar owner, whilst playing pool. Very nice evening, one of those classic backpacker moments.
Sunday headed off to Bushara Island resort on lake Bunyoni, which has to be the most beautiful part of Uganda I’ve seen so far. And then my traveling companion Naomi came down with a fever and aches. So I took her into the hospital to be tested (but not before finishing off her delicious pancake breakfast), and was informed that she did indeed likely have malaria. So headed back the next day to Mbarara, which is where I currently find myself. Sorry for the long entry, congratulations if you’ve made it this far. I swear the next entry will be far shorter and succinct.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
First real project!
Finally something to sink our teeth into.
A community approximately 45 minutes southwest of Mbarara sent Acts a letter a month ago, with over 400 signatures, asking us to come and please bring the community clean water. They mentioned that they also had a large spring nearby that would be able to supply the water.
Wes and I left first thing monday morning and met up with the (partially self-appointed) community representative at a gas station on the main road. Nelson then led us back to his community of Nyaruhandagazi. When we arrived, a whole contingent of community representatives were there. There were six existing springs in the surrounding countryside, and as these would likely be the water sources for the community, we had to evaluate each of them. This meant we had to ferry along all of the community representatives. At one point we had some 20 people piled into the back of our very small pick-up.
Unfortunately, only four of the six springs had a sufficient elevation to be able to service the town, and all of those springs would only be able to supply 5,000 of the 7,000 people. Further, once we completed the bacteriological tests, three of the four springs contained E. Coli, a bacteria which indicates that harmful pathogens are present in the water. Therefore, after careful consideration we had to abandon the idea of installing a pipeline in the valley. Not looking forward to telling Nelson. The hard part is that we also examined the main source of water the community currently uses, and it's got one of the highest bacteria counts I've come across so far. Kind of depressing, but I guess this comes with the territory.
Anyway, we started our five day break last night, and I type this blog update from Kigali! Beautiful city, and so much order. Gotta love a good military dictatorship/democracy.
cheers,
mike
A community approximately 45 minutes southwest of Mbarara sent Acts a letter a month ago, with over 400 signatures, asking us to come and please bring the community clean water. They mentioned that they also had a large spring nearby that would be able to supply the water.
Wes and I left first thing monday morning and met up with the (partially self-appointed) community representative at a gas station on the main road. Nelson then led us back to his community of Nyaruhandagazi. When we arrived, a whole contingent of community representatives were there. There were six existing springs in the surrounding countryside, and as these would likely be the water sources for the community, we had to evaluate each of them. This meant we had to ferry along all of the community representatives. At one point we had some 20 people piled into the back of our very small pick-up.
Unfortunately, only four of the six springs had a sufficient elevation to be able to service the town, and all of those springs would only be able to supply 5,000 of the 7,000 people. Further, once we completed the bacteriological tests, three of the four springs contained E. Coli, a bacteria which indicates that harmful pathogens are present in the water. Therefore, after careful consideration we had to abandon the idea of installing a pipeline in the valley. Not looking forward to telling Nelson. The hard part is that we also examined the main source of water the community currently uses, and it's got one of the highest bacteria counts I've come across so far. Kind of depressing, but I guess this comes with the territory.
Anyway, we started our five day break last night, and I type this blog update from Kigali! Beautiful city, and so much order. Gotta love a good military dictatorship/democracy.
cheers,
mike
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Pasta! (And the internet)
September 21, 2008
For the past two weeks my diet has consisted of beans, rice, matooke (boiled, mashed and baked plantains) and cabbage for lunch and dinner. Breakfast consists of bread, posho, (similar to southern grits) and pineapple. Chai is between lunch and dinner and consists of boiled milk with some tea in it. Every friday we get boiled goat or beef and twice a week we get boiled eggs for breakfast.
When I read the Gulag Archipelago, I used to wonder what it would be like to have the same thing every day for lunch and dinner. Well, now I have an idea (thankfully sans the physical pain of living through Siberian winters). I’m certainly developing an appreciation for beans that I never used to have. I’ve also developed a craving for peanut butter and chocolate, two items which are hard to get in this country, which is odd because peanuts and cocoa beans both grow quite well in this region.
The second very major change to my nutritional status is due to this project being supported in-country by the Church of Uganda. No alcohol is allowed on-site. I haven’t had a beer (or anything else alcoholic), in over 10 days. Another thing I crave.
The first week was spent on the previous year’s project. Familiarizing with how it was constructed and why certain decisions were made. The project is called Kinemafura (or Sweetwater by Acts). The line is ~25km and serves ~10,000 people. It’s hard to describe the feeling of exhilaration that came over me when we first drove down that line and seeing the very concrete effect the pipeline has had on the people. The people (usually women), used to have to walk for miles to get their water. And they collected it from a swamp. Now the vast majority of the people have a tapstand within 500 metres of their house. To think that I could be involved with such a project was incredibly gratifying. I can’t think of the last time I was so excited (aside from when I started dating Liz of course).
We also attended an AIDS awareness spectacular completely run and performed by HIV-positive actors. Very entertaining. But also very long. My personal highlight was buying a live chicken at the church service that preceded the show. Not up to the challenge of keeping it as a pet, and not keen on killing it either, I quickly donated it to an old lady.
At the start of this week we traveled to the town of Kasese (which the Lonely Planet refers to as a town that has passed it’s expiry date) to do the design of a short pipeline branch. The road took us through Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) which meant seeing a herd of elephants at the side of the road and stopping to at one point to let the baboons cross the road. Still no lions, but we’re going back in two weeks, so there’s still hope. We stayed in a guesthouse, which meant we were able to make our own dinner. Never have I enjoyed making pasta so much! God how I love noodles! Not that I don’t enjoy mashed bananas, but pasta will always have a special place in my heart.
After two days there, we took the six hour, cramped ride back to Kinemafura and have been working on the detailed design of the new project, called Nyaruegera (or Lifewater by Acts), which will be located ~20km east of Ntungamo.
However, the job that Wesley and I have been entrusted with is to search out new projects by; evaluating the water quality and flow of the source, the needs of the surrounding community and then completing a preliminary design of the pipeline. Once completed, we will submit a proposal to CIDA for funding for the project. The Ugandan construction team that Acts has in country is perfectly capable of installing the pipelines. Our job is to have a design to follow and to get CIDA funding to pay for the material. Our goal is to have three to four proposals that will be accepted by CIDA by the end of my time here. A daunting challenge, but I think I’m up for it.
For the past two weeks my diet has consisted of beans, rice, matooke (boiled, mashed and baked plantains) and cabbage for lunch and dinner. Breakfast consists of bread, posho, (similar to southern grits) and pineapple. Chai is between lunch and dinner and consists of boiled milk with some tea in it. Every friday we get boiled goat or beef and twice a week we get boiled eggs for breakfast.
When I read the Gulag Archipelago, I used to wonder what it would be like to have the same thing every day for lunch and dinner. Well, now I have an idea (thankfully sans the physical pain of living through Siberian winters). I’m certainly developing an appreciation for beans that I never used to have. I’ve also developed a craving for peanut butter and chocolate, two items which are hard to get in this country, which is odd because peanuts and cocoa beans both grow quite well in this region.
The second very major change to my nutritional status is due to this project being supported in-country by the Church of Uganda. No alcohol is allowed on-site. I haven’t had a beer (or anything else alcoholic), in over 10 days. Another thing I crave.
The first week was spent on the previous year’s project. Familiarizing with how it was constructed and why certain decisions were made. The project is called Kinemafura (or Sweetwater by Acts). The line is ~25km and serves ~10,000 people. It’s hard to describe the feeling of exhilaration that came over me when we first drove down that line and seeing the very concrete effect the pipeline has had on the people. The people (usually women), used to have to walk for miles to get their water. And they collected it from a swamp. Now the vast majority of the people have a tapstand within 500 metres of their house. To think that I could be involved with such a project was incredibly gratifying. I can’t think of the last time I was so excited (aside from when I started dating Liz of course).
We also attended an AIDS awareness spectacular completely run and performed by HIV-positive actors. Very entertaining. But also very long. My personal highlight was buying a live chicken at the church service that preceded the show. Not up to the challenge of keeping it as a pet, and not keen on killing it either, I quickly donated it to an old lady.
At the start of this week we traveled to the town of Kasese (which the Lonely Planet refers to as a town that has passed it’s expiry date) to do the design of a short pipeline branch. The road took us through Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) which meant seeing a herd of elephants at the side of the road and stopping to at one point to let the baboons cross the road. Still no lions, but we’re going back in two weeks, so there’s still hope. We stayed in a guesthouse, which meant we were able to make our own dinner. Never have I enjoyed making pasta so much! God how I love noodles! Not that I don’t enjoy mashed bananas, but pasta will always have a special place in my heart.
After two days there, we took the six hour, cramped ride back to Kinemafura and have been working on the detailed design of the new project, called Nyaruegera (or Lifewater by Acts), which will be located ~20km east of Ntungamo.
However, the job that Wesley and I have been entrusted with is to search out new projects by; evaluating the water quality and flow of the source, the needs of the surrounding community and then completing a preliminary design of the pipeline. Once completed, we will submit a proposal to CIDA for funding for the project. The Ugandan construction team that Acts has in country is perfectly capable of installing the pipelines. Our job is to have a design to follow and to get CIDA funding to pay for the material. Our goal is to have three to four proposals that will be accepted by CIDA by the end of my time here. A daunting challenge, but I think I’m up for it.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Comox to Mbrarara
The fight from Comox to YVR was uneventful, and the brief layover was quite pleasant. The flight from Vancouver to London was long, but at least I got to watch Kung Fu Panda and Ironman. I also read further a cultural sensitivity book called "African Friends and Money Matters", which I don't recommend. It seems to be completely based on anecdotes and written in a slightly patronising manner. Perhaps I'm missing the point. Either way, a far better book that has helped give me an african perspective is called Under the African Sun, written by a polish reporter who moved to Africa in the mid 1950s. Still anecdotes, but at least this time written from an obviously western point of view and with a historical context. London to Entebbe was equally uneventful except that we lost two crucial bags. They're still AWOL, but hopefully we'll see them soon enough.
Arrived in Kampala at around 10am monday morning and once we'd settled into our guest house, we set out for the city center. Wes and I will be on the roving team, and responsible for finding new sources and villages that need protected water. So we tried to find some maps of the areas we'll be going to. Absolutely useless. We found maps designed to teach kids about the district (similar to our provinces), that had more detail than our road maps, but nowhere near the detail we would like. It's starting to become apparent why previous roving teams used hand drawn maps.
Tuesday headed out to Mbrarara and for the second time in my life I've crossed the equator. Pretty cool, and fun little experiments showing the water going back and forth, but the highlight was playing soccer with the kids. I'm looking forward to more of that.
These last three days have been spent in language training in the morning and trying to get prepped for heading out into the field in the afternoon. We plan on heading out to the previously installed water project tomorrow morning and spending a week there to learn how it was installed, follow up on how well it's working and learn from the people it's serving what could have been done differently. The following week we're scheduled to head to the new camp and help the engineers to do a detailed design on the pipeline that's to be installed this year and help build the camp we'll be living in.
I'm anxious to actually start doing some work, but as I'm rapidly learning, things work slowly in Uganda.
I may be out of internet range for the month either in the camp or roving, so don't be alarmed if I don't have an update for a while.
All the best,
mike
Arrived in Kampala at around 10am monday morning and once we'd settled into our guest house, we set out for the city center. Wes and I will be on the roving team, and responsible for finding new sources and villages that need protected water. So we tried to find some maps of the areas we'll be going to. Absolutely useless. We found maps designed to teach kids about the district (similar to our provinces), that had more detail than our road maps, but nowhere near the detail we would like. It's starting to become apparent why previous roving teams used hand drawn maps.
Tuesday headed out to Mbrarara and for the second time in my life I've crossed the equator. Pretty cool, and fun little experiments showing the water going back and forth, but the highlight was playing soccer with the kids. I'm looking forward to more of that.
These last three days have been spent in language training in the morning and trying to get prepped for heading out into the field in the afternoon. We plan on heading out to the previously installed water project tomorrow morning and spending a week there to learn how it was installed, follow up on how well it's working and learn from the people it's serving what could have been done differently. The following week we're scheduled to head to the new camp and help the engineers to do a detailed design on the pipeline that's to be installed this year and help build the camp we'll be living in.
I'm anxious to actually start doing some work, but as I'm rapidly learning, things work slowly in Uganda.
I may be out of internet range for the month either in the camp or roving, so don't be alarmed if I don't have an update for a while.
All the best,
mike
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