A Little Bit About My Organization

I could not have been placed in a better location! I am now happily living in Lyantonde, which is equidistant between Mbarara and Masaka. As far as my living arrangement goes I am a four minute walk from my organization, which beats the hell out of the round trip walk to and from training- totaling 6miles a day. I walk about 10min to town, which is not huge, but is much bigger than Wakiso. I have a latrine outside and a bathing quarters inside (thank God I brought my solar shower!). I have a separate room for a “kitchen”; I bought a gas stove and a table with 2 chairs. Then I have another room that is a “sitting” room with an end table, a couch, and my front door that leads to a huge porch. There is a half wall that separates my sitting area from my bedroom. In my bedroom I have a bookcase, some shelves, and a bed and oh, did I mention that I live in a farm house? So I have a tremendous amount of land. It is breathtaking. In my back yard there is a fat pig, a trillion goats, cows, and thank the Lord there are not any roosters or chickens. (I have developed an immense disdain for roosters and actually kicked one; they are so rude and cockadoodle doo for no damn reason at the crack of dawn). They have abandoned rabbit coupes and I have thought about getting a pet rabbit. I collect my water from a rain tank right outside my door. Anyways, I love it, as it is perfect for me.

My organization is also fabulous. I work for RACOBAO (Rakia Community Based Aids Organization) which is a new organization formed out of LWF (Lutheran World Foundation). It is comprised of a relatively small staff but they are extremely educated and fun. LWF has been in Rakai (now Lyantonde district) for the last 13 years implementing an HIV/AIDS project whose overall goal was to reduce the incidence of HIV transmission and mitigate the adverse socio-economic impact of AIDS. The town, Lyantonde, was one of the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, mostly because it is a trucker town. As the national average for HIV/AIDS is 6% Lyantonde, to date, is at 12% with pockets of pastoralist’s communities as high as 28%. ROCOBAO has helped to reduce the HIV and AIDS prevalence from 23% in 1995 to 12% to date, providing counseling services to over 5000 people affected and offering assistance in building the capacity of the community.

Vision: A Ugandan community where people are free from HIV and AIDS and living an improved quality of life.

Mission: RACOBAO exists to empower communities affected by HIV and AIDS and those at risk to respond to the causes and consequences of the scourge.

Core Values: Transparency, Accountability, Quality, Professionalism, Justice, Participation.

Strategic Objectives: Responsible health behavior among youth and women at risk of HIV infection promoted; improved adherence and accessibility to ART (anti-retroviral treatment) and other related services; community based socio-economic initiatives for the affected people promoted; improved access to food, housing, and sanitation throughout the year among the 250 most affected families headed by children, PLA (people living with AIDS) and the elderly grandparents; strengthened institutional capacity of localized RACOBAO to sustain ably achieve its mission.

Focus Area: HIV/AIDS and behavioral change; food security and environmental management; livelihood support; rights based approach programming.

I have 2 counterparts and one supervisor. My assigned counterpart, Ruth, is 28 and a diva. She is so tremendously helpful and a great friend. She grew up in Kampala so she is somewhat “westernized”. My other counterpart, Vincent, is an amazing guy and I truly admire him. My supervisor, Haq, is one of the most patient men that I have ever met (other than my dad). They all speak wonderful English and are super accommodating with helping me learn Luganda. Most everyone in Lyantonde town speaks English but within the 8 sub counties we work with, English is not commonly spoken. I am expected to be at all of the meetings, they ask for my input, and are in constant communication with how I am doing work wise. The organization runs many programs but the three most notable are: HACEP, which is a 3 year community empowerment project from 2009-2011 aimed at strengthening the community action to respond to the causes and consequences of HIV and AIDS in a more sustainable manner; the Rural Farmers Project, which is basically building a co-op in each sub county to grow one crop to sell in bulk; RACOBAO sponsors children (CHH- child headed households) at the vocational school that they built. I will be posting my project proposals in a later blog but so far throughout my first 3 months of service, the following projects and activities are the highlights of what I have thus far completed:

OCTOBER 2009

20^th- I edited 3 articles and went to a HIV/AIDS movie showing in one of the sub counties. I felt that the message could have been better displayed especially since they are trying to shift to a behavior change method. Most of the attendees were kids and the content of the film was not suitable, in my opinion. There were only a few men, mostly women. The majority did not stay throughout the entirety of the film.

26^th-30^th: Forum week. There were task groups assigned and we went to 8 different sub counties to receive feedback from the community on how they depicted RACOBAO’s performance throughout the year. Some of it was difficult because I did not have a translator, as the meetings were conducted in Luganda. Basically, RACOBAO explained the history of the organization followed by the multitude of programs offered. There was some discrepancy because, for example, HACEP is not functioning in all of the sub counties so the community members wanted to know why others benefited from it and they did not. Overall, the meetings went well. After RACOBAO explained everything, the floor was opened for comments and questions. Every sub county brought up the instance of receiving payment for being advocacy volunteers and everyone wanted reimbursement for travel.

29th-30^th: Youth Camp- ‘Yes We Can’, which stood for: young empowered and safe. The set up of the camp was great. Unfortunately, the first day of the camp conflicted with the forum- so, some of the people who were supposed to present were in the field. Therefore, the first day consisted of some of the kids just playing games. I held a session on reading and writing. So I had the kids play charades (there were 30). I had them write down 2 words that they knew in English, split them up into two teams then had them play. When one guessed the correct word they had to write it on the board. It went well and they had fun; however, I don’t think they learned a lot as the kids ranged from 9-20 in age. I felt that it was a super hard activity to try and encompass everyone. The second day was all lectures comprising of the following issues: Youth roles and responsibilities; behavioral change and communication skills; HIV and AIDS awareness/updates; hygiene and sanitation in the households; income generating activities; peer education skills; children’s rights; violence in the household. There was a goat roast and a campfire- during this the kids shared their life stories. It was heartbreaking. I didn’t even know that the majority of the kids were HIV positive themselves. Throughout the night the children shared their personal experiences guided by a counselor.

NOVEMBER 2009

5^th: Went to a forum and waited four hours for the President of Uganda to arrive. Once he did he listened from the LC 1-5 about how Lyantonde district was doing, what they have accomplished, and what needed work and or attention. I got to sit front row and listen to the President speak though which was definitely interesting.

11^th: Went and met with Bonabona- a RACOBO trained HIV positive woman who is making huge strides in helping others be aware of HIV and getting tested. I interviewed her and got her life story as I are going to nominate her for the PC World AIDS Day (which she won!).

12^th: Met with the children at the vocational school and taught them English; I had to get an idea of what they knew. Until the term ended, which was in December, I taught English twice a week for 2 hours.

16^th: Went to 5 primary schools within one of the sub counties and asked (one) to host the life skills talk show forum; they agreed and so we went to four other primary schools to ask if they wanted to participate. They all said yes and were asked to choose 10 students (5 boys and 5 girls) along with one teacher to take participate in this workshop. I talked about the bridge model and drew a diagram to present. The kids talked to one another on the skills that they use in everyday life to help them to make positive life decisions, then RACOBAO presented; this was followed by a question and answer forum.

17^th: Went to the NGO forum meeting and took minutes (notes) on the entirety of the meeting. Creating a database for this forum is my number one project so I will post my proposal for it later!

DECEMBER 2009

2^nd: Attended the Uganda Women’s Network workshop. Starting time 11.00am Prayer and expectations: phones on silent, no talking, respect others opinions. Then we went over the protocol to the African Charter on Rights (there was a handout/packet). Audience was asked what a protocol was: I said a set of standards or regulations to by which others must adhere to. Others said: something you set to do but have not finished, discuss on a law that has been enacted, documents that have been written to become law. It’s discussed upon, a proposed bill, rules that have been set and you have to follow. Overview: facts, provisions, challenges, significance of the protocol, positive aspects, way forward. Background: Critical policy document that is truly African with sole ownership rights’ that require informed public support and constituency critically aware. 30 pages; 1^st legal document to address all women’s abuse rights. On July 11^th, 2003 countries implemented it. So now they are trying to ratify it so that bills may ensue in accordance to the protocol in an effort to better Uganda. Forms of discrimination on women: FGM (female genital mutilation) also a harmful practice, Inheritance especially fixed assets (Buganda), Kneeling, when they are married they are then property, bride price, some religions don’t allow women to speak in public, not part of the decision making in family, political positions, work place, disabled are neglected, sexual harassment by men, food not being eaten by women, no rights to speak their mind, education. Harmful practices: FGM, Karmojas ears pulled, sharp objects to design their bodies, women sleeping with their dead husbands, if married before wedding and gets pregnant they are thrown off a cliff, visiting the bush (men pulling on the labia). Types of marriages: customary, religious, civil, kids mist take fathers last name. Reactions to the presented protocol. looks at Africa as the same village, left out cultural issues, creates awareness on women’s rights, women already open, but the men still need to be sensitized, its good but men. Responses: marrying in matrimonial homes- religions accepted and respected, political decision making, article 8 helpful to police, age is 18 but it should be 16 to marry, article 2, mechanisms in place, nationality of a child, article 7 divorce and separation. A woman walks into a home with nothing but a suitcase all of the possessions are the husbands. Men want to know how it can then be ½ and ½. Women should document everything. Women are angry because they do not have tangible things and their work/labor is never viewed or acknowledged. Article 20C, article 5 (Buganda). The men as if FGM is really that bad because it is like when a girl gets her ears pierced it hurts at first but at the end of the day it is fine and it is the same with FGM. It degrades women- circumcision. Why should the men have many wives but the women cannot have many husbands. Action plan: take back the news to communities also teach to those concerned, you don’t have to be a politician to relay the information, work with the LC 1’s to sensitize on the issue, your asking religious leaders to teach against issues that are embedded within church values, abortion, etc. Reprint the protocol in the local languages, must first teach the family as you cannot change the community without first getting the family involved.

It was a fascinating forum and allowed me to better understand the role that women play in this country. I was surprised that men even attended (their numbers were small) and their comments were amusing.

8^th: Helped with the American Embassy’s AIDS event. I helped sort out tee shirts and was “Vana White” for the jeopardy game show. I did announcements, handed out tee shirts, sodas, and phones as well as airtime. I flipped the boards on chart for the jeopardy game which was an AIDS trivia session. It was an amazing experience, and there were an enormous amount of people getting free testing for HIV. The whole event was very eye opening and over 3000 people attended.

14^th: Went to the Lyantonde Hospital and distributed 80 bags of 50kilogram flour to HIV infected mothers who are vulnerable and breastfeeding. We had a short meeting with the women explaining what was going on and then went outside to distribute the flour. Ruth and I did six personal human interest stories. I did the videoing and some picture taking. The women were unbelievably thankful.

15^th: Went to Mpumudde sub county; this is one of the areas that the Rural Farmers Project has been implemented. They made a chart of all of the foods listed below: kasoli (corn), ebyjanjalo (beans), ensuka (banana/amatooke plantation), emwanyi (coffee bean), obutunda (passion fruit), obulo (millet), ebynebwa (gnuts), enanansi (pineapple), muwogo (cassava). These are the foods (as well as animal raisings) that they can do to produce money. We gave an example of maize in which we wrote down how much everything thing would cost. So there was a column of input/requirements (such as: insecticides, land, seeds, etc), quantity, unit cost, and then total cost. After that was completed they then did another chart that consisted of how much they could sell everything for and the overall total profit that would be accrued. This project will require the community to choose one crop to grow as a cooperative. Once that is chosen, RACOBAO will give the workshops on capacity building, how to grow effectively, etc. Mostly men attended this meeting; there were about five women present. Each person will grow and then combine the crops together to sell collectively; in bulk quantities and high volumes. Once a crop is decided upon, then the community will have to decide where the money will go and how it should be spent.