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.