Back in Kampala again! My work!

I started working on Thursday. Actually I got my own office… my first office!
I work from Monday till Friday from about 08.30 till about 18.00 The atmosphere in the office is very comfortable. We are eight people there: Henry (our driver), Charles (our man for coffee and tidiness), Walter (our head), Margret (responsible for administration), Christine (Program Officer for Justice, Law and Order), Hans (Program Officer for Water and Sanitation) and me (trainee).




My work in the office is quiet different from those in the village. Here most of the time, I am sitting in front of the computer, sometimes we are attending meetings... but most of the time I am in the office, reading strategic papers, writing comments on development partners policies, composing strategies, dealing with different projects...
All in all, this internship gives me a good insight in what the Austrian Development Cooperation is doing in Uganda and I gain well-grounded knowledge about water and sanitation.
Actually most of my internship is completed... only one month is missing. Now we are trying to extend it for one month. Hans is on holiday in August and he would appreciate it if I can do some of his work (at least what I am able to do) meanwhile he is absent. But that’s not so easy because the new rule at the Austrian Development Agency says that volunteers are not allowed to work longer than three months. Hans has to request at the head quarter in Vienna. I am waiting for the answer. I would be very happy to extend my stay in Uganda... I think I have been infected by the “Ugandan Virus”!
By the way, if anybody is interested to do an internship at the Austrian Development Cooperation in Kampala in the sector water and sanitation... we are looking for a trainee from September for at most three months... if you are interested please do not hesitate to contact me!

Very exciting days in Egypt!

My father invited to stay one week in Egypt. The journey there was one of my exhausting till now.
At Entebbe Airport everything was fine. In a bookstore I had a nice conservation with the manager. He moved from his home country Nepal for work to Uganda one year ago and enjoys Uganda as much as I do.
I had to change the plane in Addis Ababa. They brought me and some others to an extra room outside the main building of the airport and told us to wait for some minutes. After about half an hour two guys asked me if I know what is going on here and even we did not have our tickets to Cairo. These two guys have been very personable. One comes from Egypt, Cairo and the other one from Jordan, both working for the UN in Congo, Kinshasa. For six months they have been working there. Especially for the guy from Cairo, Abass life and work is very hard and he is happy to have some weeks with his family. He has two children, one is two years old and the other one 15 days, so it is the first time he is going to see his baby.
Finally, with two hours delay we boarded the plane. My father told me to pick me up at Cairo Airport. However, I could not find him, he could not find me, his phone was off... I had a connection flight to Hurghada, but I was not sure to take it. Finally I changed this flight for two hours later and decided to fly to Hurghada because what should I do alone in Cairo? Suddenly I found my father at the other airport. Anyhow, I decided to take the plane... I have been very exhausted, didn’t sleep the whole night and my nerves have been much stressed. As I wanted to check in, this man told me that I am too late, they have already closed the check-in. I tried to convince him that I need to take this flight and he was kindly to give me the ticket with the words “Run as fast to the gate!”. I ran!
Arrived in Hurghada, waiting for my luggage... all the people have already left and my luggage was still missing. We found out that it is still in Cairo.

However, the time in Egypt got better from hour to hour, from day to day. I have spent a lot of my father and his wife Marwa. We enjoyed the time together... Relaxing, sleeping late, watching arabic movies, swimming, staying at the beach, shopping, going out...
I extended my stay there for a few days because Papa and Marwa decided to marry and they wanted me to be with them and the other way round. Three days we have spent in Cairo at the families place of Marwa. Oh my good, this time was great. Her family is so kind and I am looking forward to meet them again!!!
Going back to Uganda made me a bit sad.

Back in Kampala! Thinkings about the life in the village!

On the 21st April 2010 I travelled back to Kampala.
A lecturer from Makarere, the one who supported me to find a student assisting my research, proposed to pick me up from Muhanga brining me to Mbarara because he spent some time in Kanungo, one district near Kabale. His family stays there.

I did not enjoy the last hours and even the last days in Muhanga. I was sad to leave this place! I walked a last time through the village, saying good bye to those ones I have not met the last days... it was really sad!

I had to wait for my taxi about four hours longer than appointed, but during this time I had interesting conversations with policemen. We have been sitting near their “office” (a very small wooden hut with one bench, a table and a chair) and the main tap. We have been talking about Uganda and Austria, the differences in lifestyle, language, culture...
Very different is the way they see the liaison between women and men. Marriage and children are playing a very important role in their life. Most of them want to have at least four children. Often they mentioned the argument that having more children is a kind of a security when you are getting old. “Imagine if one of your children dies und you only have one or two?”
Some of them asked me to stay with them in Uganda and also to marry them.
I asked myself if it is “normal” or usual to ask a woman so quickly for marriage... why are they doing this?... is it because of I am “different”, because of my origins, my culture and also my skin colour??? Or do I make a too big issue out of these (thought) differences???
I could just say that I would not manage to stay together with an Ugandan man. From my point of view the role of a woman or better me in the marriage is contradicting with the perspective of these policemen. In a relationship I want to be independent and I need my freedoms. The role of man and woman should be equal, everyone has the same rights and responsibilities and there is no “typical” head of the family who is the decision-maker, or the one who is not caring for children and does not do anything in the household...
The reactions of the policeman have been surprised... they have been especially wondering that my boyfriend is cooking for me and that we do housework together. For many of them this is unimaginable.
When I am thinking about the relationship of my grandparents the attitudes are quiet confirm. In the western world many changes and transformations have been taken place in the last decades... will there be similar transitions in Africa or will they go a completely different way?
If you go to town the attitudes are different compared with those at the countryside. They are more similar to the western world. Women are able to act more independently and men are a bit more “emancipated”.
Finally I got picked and moving towards Mbarara where I stayed another day to do some interviews with staff from the Water and Sanitation Development Facility. I had a good journey with nice people. On the way we bought a lot of vegetables like pumpkins and tomatoes, matoke, onions, pineapples and pawpaw. Those things are much cheaper in the village than in town.
After doing my interviews, next day in the morning I travelled by one of the big very fast buses to Kampala. Actually I wanted to avoid to travel with such a bus because they are really fast, don’t avoid potholes and pass them with an enormous speed, overtaking everywhere... however, the travel was quiet comfortable... better than in a taxi (minibus) which is stopping many many times picking up as many people as possible and drop them.
I reached Kampala safe, but then I had the challenge to find out where I have to drop the bus, where I am and how I get to the office. I have been deboarding there where most of the people got out. Many people have been croweded around the bus to pick you with their boda bodas, special hires and taxis. It was quiet confusing. I found one guy who picked my rucksack and brought me to a boda boda to bring me to the office. Highly packed with my big rucksack on the handle bar of the motor-bike and one small on my back, the guy brought me safe to the office.

Back in Kampala! The life feels different. It’s very busy, lots of traffic, bad air, many people, croweds of people...
I have spent the next days in Kampala, alone in the house of my colleague who spent some time in Austria. It felt lonely and something was missing in this a big house, alone, with a night guard and a day guard...
I missed the simple life in the village!