Sustainable Development

Uganda Day Report Book

2011-08-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

Hey, everyone!

The day report book is finished! We may not have the budget to print a copy for everyone, but it's so nice beating the system digitally. Let me know if you find any errors and I'll fix it right up! I can also get you a copy of the PDF version for your own nostalgia, so just email me at erikarae09@gmail.com and I can make that happen.

Enjoy :)

Open publication - Free publishing - More mubs

Gender Equality and the Source of the Nile

2011-06-06T13:33:00.003-05:00

Today, each of us awoke in our personal suites at Kingfisher Resort. After a buffet breakfast, we rounded a corner to find ourselves in a conference hall with Judge David Batema, who had come to give us a lecture on gender equality in Uganda, despite a personal loss that had recently occurred within his family. We were all grateful that he was still able to share his presentation with us, because it was extremely enlightening and inspirational.

His Worship David Batema graduated from Makerere University Law School in 1989 only to realize that the laws in Uganda had male standards and came from male perspectives. He began preaching gender equality to magistrates before he even became one. He lives with the belief that “All human beings are born free and equal,” and he continues to spread this message to anyone who will listen, as well as some people who try not to.

To us, he stressed the difference between “sex” and “gender,” stating that sex is biological and natural while gender is the social construction of the differences between man and woman. These differences are created in our minds and often have to do with how we were brought up. These differences in upbringing became apparent when students from MUBS and Drake were posed with a simple question: “Whose daughter are you?” Students from MUBS replied with only one name, that of their father, while Drake students included the names of both parents.

His Worship David Batema also commented on the religious aspect that leads some people to justify patriarchy. He explained that in the Bible, God created man first and gave him the Universe, which is why many believe that God gave all of the power to man. However, woman was not created until after this happened, which would mean man’s rule does not go as far as to include woman. I found this to be an extremely profound interpretation of the Bible’s teachings. Christianity is prominent in the Ugandan culture, and often leads people to believe things just because it says so in the Bible and without any additional education on the subject. I am glad that there are people who are forward-thinking enough to analyze the Bible and find the messages within rather than taking everything at face value.

I think that gender equality is an important aspect in the sustainability and development of any culture. For an economy to grow, all of its citizens must be respected. The fact that one man is working so hard to improve gender equality in Uganda is inspiring. In a culture like Uganda’s, women can preach against domestic abuse and sexual harassment all they like, but men will pay no attention to them and things will never change. For a man to try and change the perspective of other men is very important and will be the best way to move this society forward.

After our gender equality presentation, we all climbed onto the MUBS bus to take a trip to the source of the Nile, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Jinja. It was incredible to see the beginning of the longest river in the world. The force of the current at the source was astounding, as would be expected for the only river that flows South to North. We all got our fill of picture-taking before heading back up to the bus, stopping to do some last-minute souvenir shopping at the variety of stores along the way, of course. We boarded the bus with all of our new items and memories and back to Kingfisher Resort we went, for an afternoon full of relaxation and fun.

Microfinance in Jinja

2011-06-05T14:56:00.007-05:00

We started the day bright and early! We made it to MUBS on Ugandan time at about 7:30 or approximately 45 minutes behind schedule. Once we finally made it to MUBS we ate our last breakfast at the canteen. When we were done eating we left for Jinja with the MUBS students.

Once we were on the bus we heard some basic information about our bus ride toJinja. Fred told us that Jinja is the second largest city in Uganda. He also told us that we would be passing the Owen Falls Dam. After we crossed the bridge over the source of the Nile, we would be entering into the Busoga kingdom. We had previously been in the Baganda kingdom. On the way to Jinja we also passed the Mabira natural forest, sugar cane plantations, and tea plantations.

Local people greeted us with music for the microfinance lesson. After we were greeted they started the presentation with prayer and the Uganda national anthem. We made introductions and got a very basic overview of the microfinance situation in the rural village. After that we took a musical interlude, which included traditional dancing and music. The music continued, but became educational when some singers came out. They sang about how grateful they are that people are able to form groups and the groups help them to save and link them. In the next song they referenced how they used to save money by keeping it in the house and hiding it in pots or roofs of houses, but now they know how to finance.

After the music, the Kugumikiriza V.S.L.A. group used a skit to teach us about how they were using micro financing in their village. The first skit basically showed how a mother hid money in pots, the roof, and in the dirt. The money in the pot and dirt were stolen and the house burned down leaving them without saved money. This skit showed how saving money used to be a problem in Uganda because people could easily steal it.

The second skit showed the new microfinance system that a rural village outside Kampala is using. It started with a girl listening to music on a radio and having her father take it away from her and listen to the news. He heard an ad about an organization that teaches people how to save. In the next scene people come to the seminar to receive training that will help them keep their money safe. The trainer asks how people have been saving and they say that they have been keeping their money hidden in pots and other places. The people had been treating their savings like leftovers. The instructor introduces them to new methodology called V.S.L.A. (Village savings and loan association). V.S.L.A. could allow them to save money and accumulate it.

In order to save money with the V.S.L.A. methodology the locals needed to be trained. They would need to go through 5 training phases. The first phase was group formation, which helped them to form their group. Each group would need to agree on a minimum amount to share. The next training phase was saving, loaning, interest, and social fund training. The last three phases that were taught were records, bylaws, and procedures. The skit then went into how it is easier for locals to pool their savings because it makes it easier to save and also easier to borrow.

The skit also addressed the fact that the savings meetings are gender sensitive. There needs to be at least 2 women out of the 5 minimum people who need to be there. This program is helping women to take control of their finances.

The next part of the skit had to do with what happened at a meeting. The members would ask the previous balance and count the money. There would be 3 key holdersthat couldn’t be related who would open the box. There were 4 different areas the money would be separated into including finance, welfare, savings, and repayment. Roll is called at the meetings and each person has a number to ensure they are present. At the end of the meeting all members witness the box being locked by the key holders and the treasurer takes the box home.

The skit also addressed the fact that some groups decide to make an emergency fund. They make a separate fund and have a different treasurer be in charge of that box. If someone would need to get into the emergency fund there would need to be 2 witnesses.

If someone wanted to borrow money all the members would equalize the loan. The loan would need to be paid back in 3 months time. The interest could be between 5-10%, but it's usually 10%. The person taking out the loan must pay interest back monthly. This program is a huge benefit to the community because it helps them set up loans and have savings.

Everything that has happened up until this point was in the local language and had to be translated into English for us. It was challenging at least for me to pay attention to the skit and also the translation. They did have a closing poem that was in English. It summarized the fact that before the V.S.L.A. methodology the situation was poor, but after V.S.L.A. people feel more empowered. It stressed that all of society was improved.

One of the most important impacts this program has made on the rural villages is that is teaches people how to save. It also allows women to run their own finances. The program teaches people how to be financially independent and helps bring people together. We don’t have the community feel that these people have because in the U.S. we just walk into a bank or ATM to get money. The people are able to form more of a community because they are saving their money together. After many thank yous in both English and the native language we left the village.

V.S.L.A. is definitively having a positive impact on sustainable development in rural areas. It is teaching people how to save their money. Italso allows people in these villages to have more access to a loan. It is important to give people access to loans because they are more willing to start a business, which in turn will create jobs and stimulate the economy. It also gets women involved in keeping their finances. To have a sustainable society Uganda needs more entrepreneurs and opportunities for men and women to start their own businesses. V.S.L.A. gives people the access they need to take advantage of these opportunities.

We went to the chairman president’s mom’s house after the microfinance presentation, where we had been invited to lunch. We were greeted with a few speakers. John talked to us a little about the world becoming smaller. He referenced John F. Kennedy and how Ugandans used to come to the U.S. and Americans came to Uganda through the Peace Corps. He talked about how both our countries share a common ancestry with Great Britain and how glad he was we came. We also heard about YPMA (Young professional managers association). After all the greetings we ate some traditional Ugandan food and fruit for dessert. All the food was very delicious!

We were able to enjoy an acrobat after we finished our meal. He did some tricks like riding his bike backwards and putting pants on while he was on his bike. He also made tea and drank it in less than 4 minutes while still on his bike. He also did some spinning wheel tricks. He was going to do tight rope walking, but the rope was too wet due to a brief afternoon thunderstorm.He did promise to send us a YouTube video to make up for it. Once the acrobat was done we thanked our hosts and left for the Kingfisher resort.

The Kingfisher resort is so beautiful. We made it just in time for the sunset. We have a great view of Lake Victoria. I know a few of us went down to the beach to admire the view and the sunset. It has been a great first day in Jinja!

“We Go, We Go, Uganda Cranes We Go!”

2011-06-04T18:01:00.002-05:00

Today was a laid back day filled with recreational activities for the Drake and MUBS students. The group was excited for today because we were able to attend the Nations Cup Qualifier soccer game with the Uganda team taking on Guinea Bissau in the late afternoon. The Drake students refer to the sport as soccer, while the MUBS students and the rest of Africa (and the world) call it football.

It was a slower morning, we were able to sleep in and eat breakfast at Red Chilli with fresh fruit, vanilla pancakes and omelets as some of the choices. After a quick breakfast, we hopped on the bus and headed to a small craft market to do some shopping for our last minute gifts. On our way to the craft market, the streets were already filled with people wearing Uganda Cranes jerseys, honking, making loud noises with whistles and the large horns called vuvuzelas. It was only 10:00 in the morning, and the city was already buzzing with excitement for the big game. When we finally arrived to the market, we spread out and started to do our shopping. We had about an hour time limit and each student had a list of items to purchase such as picture albums, dresses, jewelry, fabric and other gifts. At this point in the trip, we all knew the tricks of the trade when it came to bargaining and making deals with the Ugandan vendors. Shopping was a piece of cake! This market had a mixture of items for sale. Most of the vendors had very similar items to what we had already seen in past shopping trips, but there always seemed to be something new. As we walked through the market sporting our Uganda Cranes jerseys, the shop owners asked if we were attending the game and thanked us for our support for their country’s team. They were just as thrilled as we were, and hoped for a win for their Cranes.

After finishing up our shopping we made our way back to Red Chilli to drop our items off and then head to MUBS for lunch. Lunch went by quickly and we jumped back on the bus to be dropped off at the stadium. As we were weaving in and out of traffic, the city was booming louder with cheers of anticipation and excitement for the game. When we reached the parking lot of Mandela National Stadium in Namboole, it wasn’t what most of us had expected. People were crammed together waiting to get into the stadium as cars were driving up to the gate. There were comments from our group comparing the situation to professional games they had attended in the United States. The reoccurring theme was that professional games in the United States were much more organized and regulated than what we had seen so far. After waiting in line with our tickets for awhile and being passed by some persistent and enthusiastic fans, we were able to safely get into the stadium and find our seats up in the top row. The stadium was packed and an estimate of about 70,000 people attended the game! Fans flooded the aisles and the outer sides of the field with police supervision. It was interesting that the seating was first come, first serve. This caused some chaos that required a large amount of officials for crowd control. The security measures were lacking despite the numerous police officers. There could be a possible increase in revenue if this system was more organized and controlled. This would require fewer paid police officers and demand a strict form of security. Also, having the tickets correspond to a specific seat would greatly reduce the chaos and allow for increase ticket prices. Concession stands and spirit wear sales could also make for a more sustainable system.

As the game started the level of noise increased to an overwhelming amount. One of the Drake students said that the vuvuzelas and whistles sounded like a swarm of bees. Eventually we became accustomed to the buzzing noise and even joined in with our own cheers and gave the vuvuzelas a try. The Cranes dominated the first half with multiple shots on goal, but it wasn’t until the 39^th minute that they scored the first goal. The fans cheered and sang their national chant and we all joined in. During half time an unruly fan ran across the field with his shirt off. As the police escorted him off the field he raised his hands in triumph and the fans went wild. The second half started and the Cranes were at it again and scored another goal. Before we knew the game was over and Uganda had won and qualified for the 2012 Nations Cup for the first time since 1978. The fans were celebrating the win by dancing and cheering while the sprinklers were going off on the field in celebration. After the crowd died down, we gathered our group and made our way towards our bus. We waited in thick traffic for about two hours before we started moving back to Red Chilli. The city continued to celebrate the win for the rest of the night, and the sounds of vuvuzelas could be heard as we were going to sleep after an eventful day.

A Safari, Boat Ride Down the Nile and Murchison Falls

2011-06-03T17:21:00.002-05:00

After a day of traveling north from Kampala, with only one van breaking down and being replaced, we made it to Murchison Falls National Park late Wednesday afternoon. "We" meaning all of the Drake students, the MUBS students, and a few faculty from Drake and MUBS. We stayed at another Red Chili that is not quite as developed. It runs on a generator and does not have electricity from 12am- 8am. It was also made up mostly of tents that each contained two twin beds. There were also a few small cabins that a few of our group members slept in instead.

Upon our arrival at Red Chili we were briefed about the area. We were told each tent had a lantern outside of it at night to keep the animals away since they are afraid of light. They also told us that hippos and wart hogs like to sniff around the tents and graze at night, so if we heard them we were to stay inside our tents. We needed to have a flashlight on us to use the restroom and avoid the animals, even if they were blocking the path to the bathrooms. After hearing that speech and learning I couldn't have any type of food in my tent for fear of a wart hog attacking the tent, I can say I was a little more than nervous and kind of pensive about staying in a tent. However, we all survived the first night.

We woke up really early this morning in order to try to be the first to pick up our packed breakfasts that we had ordered the night before. There was another fairly large group staying as well, and we wanted to beat them to the ferry that we were suppose to take to start our safari. We grabbed our breakfasts that were put in brown paper bags and left to meet the ferry around 6:30am.

We reached the edge of the Nile River about 5 minutes later. While we waited for all of the groups to arrive, we got to watch a beautiful sunrise. Some of the Drake students started singing the beginning of "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. It was definitely fitting. After a few group shots with the rising sun, the vans drove on the ferry, and we headed to the other side of the river. There we climbed back into our respective vans, and we were off on our safari that was to last 4 hours.

The beautiful sunrise over the Nile River

The roofs on the vans all lifted so that we could stand in the vehicles and poke our heads out to get better pictures than just taking them out the windows. We were also allowed to have people sit on a ledge at the front and back of the van. This was absolutely wonderful because there was nothing to block our view. All we had to worry about was staying on the van and taking pictures.

One of the four vans we took. This shows how the roof lifts up.

Each van took a different path, and each van saw some of the same animals and some different animals. It was nice not staying in a group the whole time because I'm sure it would have scared some of the animals away a lot sooner, and it would have been hard to see some of the animals we did see. First of all, the view alone was breath-taking. The scenery was exactly what I picture when I picture Africa. Lots of green grass with some bushes and trees everywhere. Plus, there was the massive blue sky, with the perfectly fluffy, white clouds. It was absolutely gorgeous. Add in all of the animals that we got to see in their natural habitat, and it was like a dream come true.

We got to see lots of gazelles, water buffalo, water deer, antelope, giraffes, wart hogs (or Pumbas, as my van called them), lots of different birds, and hippos, among lots of other animals. The van I was in was lucky enough to see three female lions and a male lion as well. They all got really close to us. I would guess they were probably within 30, if not 20 feet of us at one point. It was by far the coolest thing I have ever seen. In order to find the lions we had to do some off road traveling, which was extremely bumpy, especially to those of us sitting outside of the vans on small metal rods that made little squares. Plus, those of us that sat in the front continuously bumped our shoulders against the roof of the van. However, it was completely worth every bump, bruise and sore muscle or body part that I have. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget and never regret.

My van was also lucky enough to get to see a python that had most likely eaten lunch quite recently. It was still extremely fat in the middle, so we assumed it was still digesting its lunch. We saw the python right before a few of us got to glimpse a leopard descend from a tree. Luckily, one of the other vans had been right by the tree, and they got a lot of really good photos of the leopard in the tree and coming down. We also had another van see a lioness with her cubs. There was definitely a lot of variety among what the different vans got to see, which made the experience unique for each of us.

At 11am, we left the safari to head back across the river for lunch at Red Chili. We all ordered, ate and played some more games before we left for the boat tour at 2pm. Then we headed back to the Nile where we boarded our boats. We were all originally on a big tour boat together, but for some reason my van got moved to a smaller tour boat.

The boat tour was absolutely gorgeous, and our tour guide David did a great job of explaining everything we saw and answering our questions. He also had amazing eye sight. I'm still not sure how he was able to see half of the wildlife we saw. It usually took me a while to see it when we were close to it, so I'm still baffled out how he saw some of the animals from so far away.

After we took of on the Nile River, we spotted a baby crocodile almost right away. When I say we, I really mean David, but he pointed it out for the group so the rest of us could see it too. We also passed by a house that was constructed for Queen Elizabeth's mother. It looked like it was a very nice house from what I could see of the outside.

We quickly made our way along the river spotting lots and lots of hippos. We learned that they spend over half of their lives in the water, spending only 9 hours a day on land. Their time on land is spent grazing, and they usually travel around 6 kilometers when they graze. David also told our group that hippos and elephants only go to the water if it isn't raining. However, if it rains they stay on land because there is no need for them to travel to the water to get wet or cool down. Along with seeing hippopotamus, we saw water buffalo. David pointed out that once water buffalo reach about 18 years of age (they live to be about 20), they are kicked out of the heard because they tend to lose their eye sight and are seen as weak. When this happens they spend most of their time on the edge of the water. They strategically face the land and have their back towards the water. This makes predators, such as lions, believe that they can see them approaching, and it makes the water buffalo less vulnerable because there isn't anything that should attack them from behind.

As we moved down the river we saw water bucks, wart hogs, lots of birds, baboons, some black and white monkeys, and elephants! The elephants were really amazing, and we even got to hear them make their trumpeting noise! However, they didn't stick around for long because we were too loud for them since they have extremely sensitive ears. Of the birds we saw, the Red-Throated Bee Eater was by far my favorite. It contains all seven colors of the rainbow on it! It was extremely beautiful. We also saw two different kinds of Kingfischers, African Eagles, and a few more. They were all gorgeous, and it was hard to capture their true beauty on the camera.

We continued down the Nile seeing all of the animals previously mentioned, plus we added some more crocodiles. Especially when we got to an area they like to call the Crocodile Bar. By the time we got there it had started to sprinkle and the crocs were slowly moving towards the water. We got to see numerous crocodiles slither, or crawl, into the water. It was really neat getting to see it in person instead of watching it on TV.

We continued our journey until we reached Murchison Falls, the waterfall the park is named after. It was absolutely stunning. I have never seen water move so fast or so powerfully. Looking into the river seeing how strong the current was, was absolutely unreal. When we arrived at the falls, David shared a little of the Fall's history. He told us that it was originally named after a king of a tribe. This king would jump across the waterfall in order to get supplies from the other side. They also switched men and women because the men were dark skinned, and the women were fair skinned. The king on one side and the king of the other side did this to form more of a medium skin colored baby.

Murchison Falls

We also heard the story of Hemingway. Hemingway had done lots of traveling in Africa, and he was working on writing a book about African safaris when he decided to fly over Murchison Falls. However, his plane came upon a flock of pelicans and in the pilots attempt to avoid them the crashed into some of the surrounding cliffs. Hemingway, his wife Mary, and the pilot all survived without serious injury. They were rescued shortly after. Somehow that plane also crashed. This time Hemingway was not so lucky. The plane caught on fire in this crash. He had already suffered a broken shoulder and a cut on his forehead. While he was trying to escape from the plane he got stuck because of his size, but he was able to get out and survive. His wife and him went back to the United States, where he later committed suicide.

On the way back to where our tour had began, we met the big tour boat the rest of our group was on. We found out that something had gone wrong, so we were supposed to get on the bigger boat, and then they would get on the smaller boat since the big boat was unable to get close to the shore. However, it turned out the small boat didn't have enough gas in it to go back to the falls and make it back to the starting point, so we all stayed on the big boat. My group, plus everyone else, went to back to see Murchison Falls again. It was just as beautiful and amazing.

After seeing the Falls for the second time, we started to head back to our starting point. We continued to point out animals that we saw. We even got to see a crocodile go into the water. I have never seen anything move so fast. It moved with incredible speed. It was fascinating to watch. We made it back to the point of origin around 5:30pm, and we headed back to Red Chili for supper. After supper, we played multiple different card games with the MUBS students since we all had split off into different groups. The group I was with taught a few of the MUBS students how to play spoons, except we used straws because they were more readily available and seemed like a less dangerous alternative. They absolutely loved it, and in turn they taught us to play a game similar to UNO.

The crocodile we watched enter the water!

While getting ready for bed, I just happened to look up at the night sky. I was glad I did. I have never seen so many stars. I may live in the country back home, but the night sky I got to see was by far much prettier. There was absolutely no light pollution anywhere to spoil them.

We ended the night with a campfire, and of course where there is a campfire, there are campfire songs. Patrick also played his guitar and sang. It was definitely the perfect way to end the evening. But in order to add a little more spice to our evening, we were also visited by a hippo (or maybe two) at around 10pm. He was by the very last tents, which of course were occupied by Drake students. They were able to make it to their tent eventually, but it was weird having to worry about hippos being outside. I was glad to be tucked safely in my tent at this point.

Tourism is a huge part of sustainable development for Uganda because there is so much to see. The national parks are absolutely gorgeous, and I don't know how someone could come to Africa and not go on a safari. It also helps that people see something different each time. I could easily go on a safari again, and I know it would be completely different. However, in order to make tourism sustainable they need to attract the tourists to the area. For Murchison Falls, I think a little more advertising could be done, but honestly, that is all I would change. There weren't any gift shops around, but I found that refreshing. It was really nice getting to see everything naturally as it was meant to be. Sometimes having something that man hasn't over commercialized is extremely satisfying. This was definitely the case. By the looks of the number of people that were staying at Red Chili, I would say the tourism in the area is doing well. Because tourism is a big part of the economy, I would say Murchison Falls is definitely helping with sustainable development in the country, as long as there continues to be tourism.

Last night I got to fall asleep listening to my classmates, friends and professors singing "This Little Light of Mine." It was beautiful, and after starting off with the sunrise we had this morning, I couldn't picture a more perfect day. It was what I picture as 100% African tourist. It also made me realize that Elton John nailed it in "Circle of Life." There is definitely "more to see, than can ever be seen" and "more to do, than can ever be done." But I'm extremely grateful for the experience and the chance to try.

Ugandan Pharmacy and TASO

2011-05-31T16:15:00.003-05:00

As our trip is heading into its last full week, this morning found us all traveling to different places to pursue information on either our major or specific research topic. Three girls interested in education spent the morning at a daycare observing the similarities and differences between those in the United States, and the rest of us enjoyed yet another breakfast at MUBS. While the rest of the group awaited a presentation from The New Vision, Uganda’s government sponsored newspaper, the five pharmacy students on the trip, including myself, ventured to the Pharmacy Society of Uganda (PSU) to speak with the secretary of the organization about the practice of pharmacy here in Uganda.
The secretary was extremely informative and walked us through the education, areas of work, and problems facing pharmacists in Uganda today. Pharmacy is a rather new practice in Uganda. The Pharmacy and Drug Act of 1970 was the first law created to govern the profession. It established the PSU and brings together all of the pharmacists in the country. This act also establishes the National Drug Authority which regulates the distributing of pharmaceuticals in the country. A Bachelor of Pharmacy degree began being offered in three Ugandan universities in 1989 with the first class graduating in 1993. Prior to this, people had to travel to other countries to get their degrees and then return to Uganda to practice pharmacy. This led to a huge shortage of pharmacists in the country since they are needed in many fields including community (where 95% work), hospital, industry, and research. Currently there are only 319 pharmacists in the entire country. This is not nearly enough to meet the demands of the population of nearly 3.3 million. Although all pharmacies are required to be owned or employ a pharmacist, many times they operate without a pharmacist present. This leads to poor quality of care for the patients as well as compromised services. However, with the number of people interested in pharmacy due to its high social status and pay this problem is expected to greatly improve in the future.
Currently the pharmacy industry in Uganda is dominated by businessmen rather than pharmacists themselves. The businessmen are in charge of importing the drugs from foreign manufacturers, and there are no regulations in place that ensure the drugs entering the country are manufactured correctly. In fact, due to the recent HIV epidemic, latex gloves and condoms are the only products that are tested for quality before entering the country. This leads to a huge problem with counterfeit drugs being sold in pharmacies, many times without the knowledge of the pharmacists. The NDA has a lot of work to do to ensure that regulations are enforced regarding the importing of drugs. Another problem with the Ugandan pharmacy industry is the fact that prescription medications are dispensed without a written prescription from a doctor. I was shocked to hear this with all of the strict regulations in place in the United States for getting a prescription. This has lead to a large amount of antibiotic resistance as well as drug abuse in the country. Although laws do exist to regulate this, they are not enforced, and people buy pills whenever they are feeling even slightly sick because they don’t understand the proper way to take medications.
Despite the obvious problems that exist in the pharmacies of Uganda, I feel that they have great potential to advance within the coming years. They are aware of the most in-demand services and have started a HIV medication factory so that they will not have to import the ever important Anti-Retroviral Drugs. Also, every pharmacy always has some type of malaria treatment in stock as well as bed nets for sale. This shows that pharmacies are working to serve their population and will hopefully continue to advance forward in the future. All of the necessary laws and regulations regarding the filling of prescriptions do exist, so they just need to be enforced more strictly in order for change to take place. This will hopefully become easier as time goes on and more pharmacists enter the workforce. Quality pharmaceutical care will greatly aid the country on its path towards development. If citizens are able to access the proper medications and receive information on their illness, they will be healthier and able to work. Also, society will begin to gain a sense of trust in pharmacists, thus furthering their ability to act as a change agent to alter the current mindset of the entire population and focus efforts on prevention of disease rather than treatment.
Our day continued with lunch at MUBS and we then began the second half of our day which included a visit to TASO (The AIDS Support Organization). This organization was started in 1987 when the current government came into power. TASO works to improve the life of victims of HIV/AIDS by providing them with the services they will need to battle their relentless disease. Upon entering TASO, we were welcomed with a song from their drama group with is composed of clients of the organization. The goal of this group is to ensure people that even if your HIV test comes back positive, you can still do something positive, so they compose and perform songs based on their life experiences.
While at TASO, we spoke with both the public relations employee as well as two medical professionals. While we only visited the Mulago branch of TASO, organizations are located in various regions around Uganda. These centers provide medical care, psych-social counseling, and social support for those testing HIV positive. Donors fund about 95% of the facility which serves over 20,000 clients throughout the country. Funding only allows for 400 clients to receive ARV drugs (used to stop HIV replication and allow blood cells to multiply) out of over 3,000 clients, so only those with CD4 (white blood cells that make up the immune system) levels below 250 get put on the regimens. Those selected for free drugs are carefully chosen based on interviews and home visits to ensure that they will keep up with the medication and take their treatment seriously. This is extremely important in order for TASO to ensure that it is not wasting any of the valuable ARV drugs on people who do not even care about their treatment.
In addition to starting people on medication, TASO also sets up a specific counselor for each client that meets with them to discuss their possible steps to overcoming HIV/AIDS and encourage continued work despite the judgments that may be passed. After the client has returned to TASO for 2 months and has no complication with their medication, they are able to get check-ups in TASO centers in the community rather than coming back to the center. TASO’s ability to extend into communities throughout Uganda shows their extreme dedication to the support of those with HIV/AIDS. I feel that TASO is an excellent organization in Uganda. It provides those suffering from HIV/AIDS with a place they can go for help where they know that they will not be discriminated against. In addition to this, its free services allow treatment for people who may not have been able to finance it themselves. It is greatly helping the country’s development by promoting practices that will stop the transmission of HIV as well as treating those who have already contracted the disease, thus allowing them to live a longer, happier life than they would have without treatment.
The TASO presentation concluded with another song by the drama group. This piece included African drums and at the end of the song all of the members of the group came into the crowd and held our hands to illustrate the world uniting in its fight against HIV. We then did some shopping at booths set up by clients of TASO to raise money for their organizations and took a brief tour of the facility. The tour guide informed us that TASO Uganda offers scholarships to students to come to Uganda from other developing nations and learn about TASO in hopes of starting something like it in their country. This reinforces the fact that TASO is a great organization that touches the lives of thousands of Ugandans, giving them hope in this time of great hardship in their lives.
After leaving TASO, we exchanged some more money and set off to purchase Ugandan football jerseys. I was expecting a leisurely time at the mall that I usually experience when shopping in America, but after all of the shopping we have done here so far I should have known better. It took us all about an hour to finally select the jerseys and correct size as well as barter with the store owner for a good deal. In the end, most of us ended up with jerseys whether they were the right size or not and are very excited to wear them to the football game later this week. The day concluded with a dinner at an Indian/ American restaurant and we then returned back to Red Chili to pack for our exciting three day journey to Murchison Falls which we will embark on tomorrow!

Buganda Parliament: Tradition, Culture and History

2011-05-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

This afternoon we went and visited the Buganda Paliament where we got to learn about much of the tradition, culture and history of the biggest kingdom in Uganda. Today the Buganda Kingdom makes up about 25% of the country, and has an approximate population of 7.5 million people. The Buganda Parliament does not have any real power, but they have a large amount of influence over the Beganda people.

Uganda is filled with a rich heritage, and goes back over 800 years. When the British came to Africa in the in the 16^th century they made Buganda a “protectorate” instead of a colony because of the sophisticated political and social structure that was in place. It is headed by the Kabaka, or king.

The system of governance is broken up into two different parts: civil and lineage sections. The lineage side is more cultural, and is broken down into clans. The most basic system is the household. Moving up it goes to sets of families that govern each other, to sub-sub clans, to sub clans, and then finally the clan heads. The kingdom is broken up into 54 clans, and every Beganda has their clan name as part of their name which is passed down through the father.
On the administrative side the kingdom is broken down into 18 counties. The most basic structure of a county is the village council, which would then report to the Miruka Council, which is a set of villages. From there they answer to a sub county council which then reports to a county council. From there both the 54 clan heads, and the 18 county councils answer to the Katikkiro, who is the prime minister, and his cabinet, who then answer to the Kabaka.

The kingdom of Buganda came up with many inventions that they are proud of, and led the British to believe that they were a sophisticated society. Such inventions include turning tree bark into a cloth, special treatments for animal furs, a rich music history, a unique style of housing to keep themselves cool, pottery, and metal work. They also have a long history of sport, including wrestling tournaments, and regatta canoes.

Some of the important ceremonies in the culture are the Okwanjula, and the Okwabya Olumbe. The Okwanjula is the introduction ceremony when a couple decides they are going to get married. This is where a woman of Buganda must introduce her fiancé to her family and members of the clan will bring gifts in celebration, almost like a coming out or engagement party. Another ritual or ceremony the Beganda celebrate is the Okwabya Olumbe, it is done a few months after a funeral and symbolizes the end of the grieving period. It is a ceremony to install the new heir of the family, which goes to the oldest male. They are often given a spear and a shield to show manhood.

There are also a few annual ceremonies of the Beganda. One is the coronation of the Kabaka, which is done on the 31^st of July. This gives the king a chance to head out to another county and see the people. The birthday of the Kabaka is also a big holiday for the people, which the Kabaka will hold a large party of all of the ministers and clan heads of the kingdom. They also celebrate Bulongi Bwansi, which is a community outreach day where they all get together to make Buganda a better place. This is done on October 8^th of every year.

In addition to this they also have the Ekitoobero festival which is a large musical festival for the people.

It has not always been peaceful times for the Buganda kingdom. During the reign of Idi Amin the king had to flee into exile, until they were invited back in 1993 by the NRM government. This was a large moral boost to the people, but the relationship between the Kabaka and the Government has been strained because of the people’s allegiance to the Kabaka.

Although the Kabaka does not have any real power, many of the Ugandan Parliament Members have pledged allegiance to him. They also have a radio station where they can express their views and have received much of their funding through renting out the Kabaka’s land for farming to the people, and through contributions from richer members that support the king.

After we got done learning about the history and the culture of the Buganda people, we received a tour of the parliament building. It was an old beautiful building which, in size, was bigger than the national parliament. We also tried to connect the Buganda Parliament to sustainability. The rich culture and heritage is something we don’t have in America, but tradition is something that is very sustainable. It gives the country unity, pride, and a sense of where they came from. On the other hand, if the Kabaka disagrees with the president, the people will be divided, and the culture will be one that is unsustainable. So as long as the Kabaka and the president can work together towards common goals, the rich Heritage of the Beganda will add towards the sustainable effort of the country.

The Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

2011-05-30T15:33:00.000-05:00

This morning we went to the Foundation For Human Rights Initiative. Needless to say this was an interesting and enlightening visit and experience. Those who facilitated the lecture and discussion were knowledgeable, passionate, and willing to answer our questions to the best of their ability, which I thought they handled well. This was a change from our visit to parliament whose representative dodged our questions and giving us the runaround, mainly on issues regarding human rights.

In Uganda, as far as human rights are concerned, there is much to be desired. One of the major problems in that the military is at the back of everything in Uganda and is left largely unchecked by the people. But one of the biggest challenges to human rights is a lack of effective and sympathetic leadership. For a true democracy to exist the people need to feel that their leaders are elected fairly by the people without tricks or coercion. Throughout Uganda’s history as a nation leaders have come to power through military coups, rigged elections, or from the barrel of a gun. When the NRM came to power in the mid 80’s, they talked a lot about human rights having just overthrown an aggressive and abusive dictator and created a rather progressive constitution as a result, creating such institutions as the Inspector General of Government’s Offices and the FHRI. According to Livingstone Sewanyana, the executive director for the FHRI, these progressive actions have largely been done in theory, rather than practice and are not as effective as they should be. One of the reasons for this is the drain of national resources by high public expenditures. Rather than passing legislation that provides people with more rights, the Ugandan government is quick to implement restrictive legislation such as the anti-terrorist and the deeply contested Anti-Gay bill.

Some of the main issues that the FHRI deal with are the general right to healthcare such as access, quality, and affordability. They also deal with labor rights working to establish a minimum wage. Most workers do not make enough to live off of and support a family. The FHRI works towards establishing women’s rights, advocating against domestic abuse and female genital mutilation. One of the issues that they deal with which caught my attention was juvenile rights. The problem with this is that children are incredibly vulnerable. One of these violations of their rights is that children are being kidnapped and taken to a witch doctor for sacrificial reasons. The purpose of these sacrifices is for superstitious reasons as the witch doctor claims that by sacrificing a baby and placing its skull under a newly built house he can make the recipient rich.

FHRI also advocates for an improvement of prison conditions and justice for the accused. In Uganda the accused are guilty until they prove their own innocence. The prisons are extremely overcrowded and 65% of all inmates have not gone to trial. The poor are the greatest victims of this system, as they cannot afford representation, and therefore are at the unsympathetic mercy of those who seek to imprison them. And of course the FHRI deals with the rights of homosexuals who are in jeopardy right now mainly due to the Anti-homosexual bill which seeks to imprison and execute those who are accused and convicted for being homosexuals.

Some of the avenues that the FHRI uses to advocate are providing legal representation for persons accused. They monitor human rights and submit periodic reports regarding violations. They launch these reports publicly and use them as tools for lobbying government to protect the rights of its citizens. They study bills and submit their views about the bills in an effort to influence the outcomes and decrease or eradicate the potential for loss of human rights. If legislation does get passed that is restrictive they go to court to fight the bill and deem it unconstitutional. Another way they advocate especially in regards to restrictive bills such as the Anti-Gay bill which is largely accepted by the Ugandan population is by advocating against its provisions such as the death penalty which the population seems to be against. In my opinion one of the most effective forms of advocacy is through education. Educating the population that all persons, regardless of who they are or the lifestyle they chose to live have basic human rights, including the right to privacy and the right to life, and that people need to learn how to co-exist.

The abandonment of human rights is not sustainable. When people are threatened either by the loss of privacy, the threat of imprisonment for being who they are, or the absence of a minimum wage adequate enough to support a family they do not perform to the best of their abilities they are in a constant state of fear and vulnerability in which a nation cannot be sustained or advance. In fact in this state the opposite happens as it begins to regress into tired old practices that leave much to be desired as sustainability and human rights go hand in hand. The beauty of the FHRI is that they give a voice to the voiceless and a face to the faceless. They fight to insure against a majoritocracy, as Tommy Sands the Northern Ireland musician calls it, in which the majority tramples the rights of the voiceless minorities of a society. They are important and the only outlet that the minorities have for fare treatment and justice. In Sewanyana’s words “We have a dream, that one day Uganda will be free”.

SURE Prospects Institute & MUBS Chairman country home

2011-05-29T17:34:00.001-05:00

This morning started like most others; we headed to breakfast at MUBS. This morning’s breakfast was pretty typical with the exception of a new item added to the menu: Ugandan doughnuts. They looked like the doughnuts in the US and were most similar to cake doughnuts, however they are not very sweet.

We experienced a lot of hurrying up and then waiting throughout the morning. After plans were more solidified, we decided to grab some snacks at Capital Shoppers Supermarket for a light lunch later in the day.

On the way to visit SURE Prospects Institute, there was a lot of conversing between the Drake and MUBS students about what the Drake students had experienced on our rural visit yesterday. We also sang the songs that the children performed for us at the village the previous day.

When we arrived at SURE Prospects Institute, Francis, the principal, owner and founder, gave us an introduction. He explained that SURE is an inclusive school with three sections: nursery, pre-primary & primary, and special needs. Francis started the school in 2002 after he competed university. The actual idea was conceived in 1998 while attending university, when he was the chairperson of the Students with Disabilities campus organization. He decided to focus on youth and children with disabilities. Upon graduation, Francis spent time on the land where the school was going to be and pondered his idea. He also went out into the community and asked what others thought of the idea. He wanted to get the community’s view of disabled persons. In Uganda, people don’t care for the disabled. They don’t even refer to them with “politically correct” titles such as blind or deaf in their language—they simply refer to them as stupid. Numerous of the disabled are disowned and become beggars on the streets. Many of the people in the community thought he was going to get them in trouble with the law for abandoning and mistreating their disabled children, so he had to work very hard to convince them that he only wanted to help.

Francis had a desire to help disabled people become educated, productive members of society rather then becoming beggars on the streets. This makes this institution sustainable as well as the economy.

When the school started, children were taught skills to go straight into the work force. They were trained to use sewing machines and computers. The costs of education, especially those who are disabled, is very high. Nearly 90 percent of disabled children born in Uganda are born into poor families. To compensate for the high cost of education and the little money that the disabled parents and guardians had, SURE became an inclusive institution. This meant that disabled and abled persons were educated. The ratio started out as 10 abled children to 1 disabled child. That ratio is now down to 3:1. The 10, now three, fees of the abled children would help to cover the costs for the disabled child. This means that the disabled children could go to school for free. Nearly all the subjects covered in the school you attended are taught at SURE Prospects Institute. There are currently 302 students at the school. Nearly all classes are a mix of abeled and disabled children.

Many people in Uganda have the conviction that disabilities are contagious. This was another barrier that Francis had to work through. Now, SURE is known as one of the best schools in the area. He really had to show others what they were doing at SURE Prospects Institute. They have a strong emphasis on education so that these children can become productive members of society. It is engrained in these children’s brains that even though their arms or legs or eyes don’t work, their brains do. Francis and the other 24 teaches have to show the children, their parents, and the community the potential the potential these children have. Some of the teachers are also disabled.

Francis has also tried to show businesses the advantages of employing disabled people. One of the advantages is that they are SUPPOSED to get a tax break.

The people that have gone through this school have been successful in the workplace. There have been six children that have graduated from SURE. One of the six is even attending university.

One of the other challenges that Francis faces on a daily basis is being patient. Teachers at SURE have to learn about the children and be creative. Something that Francis taught me was that learning disabilities are difficult, but not complex. At SURE instead of calling the intellectually challenged “slow learners,” they call them “time takers.” This is very true; if you are patient with these children, they are often very accurate in their work.

This school is very sustainable and very beneficial for Uganda. Francis has a passion for what he does. He is educating the disabled to become useful members of society rather than becoming beggars on the streets. He cares for these children as they were his own.

After the presentation, we gave Francis a small gift, as well as some gifts for the children. Deb also presented Francis with a gift from her mother, whose name is also Francis. Then we had some time to walk around the school on a short tour, as well as spend some time with the kids. We gave them some “sweeties,” talked with them, and some even played football (what we know in the US as soccer) with them. Many of the disabled children seemed to have a buddy that helped them. There were two boys, one of them blind, and the other boy led him around all morning making sure he was not left out. They were all very cute and touched our hearts.

Next we went to a park on the shore of Lake Victoria for a light lunch. It was so beautiful out! It was nice to put our feet in the sand and take a few pictures.

After we were finished with lunch, we headed to the Chairman of the MUBS Board of Trustees country home. We had to take a smaller bus up to his house because the road is so rough and narrow. As we were driving up, everyone in the cramped bus was being thrown from side to side. At one point, many of us had to get off the bus so that it could make it over the roughest part. Many of us just walked the additional 200 meters up the hill to the house. It had a gorgeous view of Lake Victoria. We just spent some time out in the yard talking and enjoying drinks. We also went up on the balcony of the house and took some pictures. What a breathtaking view of Lake Victoria and the countryside of Kampala.

We had a wonderful dinner and spent some time chatting and playing cards. After awhile, The Chairman gave a short speech. He talked about sustainability differences between Uganda and the US. With the one-acre of land that the Chairman’s house is on, they try to grow everything they need to survive. The goal of the Chairman, as well as many other Ugandans, is to be able to survive on their own land, without going into town to buy anything for a month. This kind of life style is sustainable. If you take care of your crops, you can survive on all the food you grow.

The night was wrapped up by saying that we as students and ambassadors had to decide the value of this experience. We have to take advantage of the opportunity we have with our time left in Uganda.

Finally, as we were getting ready to leave, all the students took part in African children’s games, the equivalent of our “Duck, Duck, Goose” in the US. It was such a fun way to end another wonderful day in Uganda.

Rural Visit

2011-05-28T17:28:00.000-05:00

Agriculture is the backbone of Uganda, so today was a very important experience for our group. We had a 6:45 bright and early wakeup call (sharp, not leisurely Uganda time) and piled onto the bus with about ten bags of clothes for the village children, not to mention an endless supply of candy for the kids. We also came bearing gifts for the host family women of cooking utensils and multipurpose knives for the men. We ate an energizing breakfast at MUBS and then were on the road for our hour and a half adventure to the rural visit.

We were promptly greeted by Professor Senteza’s father, James, whom we were to call Dad or Tata as a sign of respect. Rural areas have a more traditional way of life including the use of more formal greetings than in urban settings. We were very thankful because James planned most of the day for us. On the way to our destination farm, we spotted papaya trees, sweet potato plants, and a variety of other crops. We also found a chameleon running around and were quite fascinated by it.

Once we arrived we were introduced to the owner of the 10 acre farm, Robert; John, his brother who received us for lunch and discussion at his house; Abraham, their elder; and Henry, an expert in farming methods and a representative for NAAD, National Agricultural Advisory Services. NAAD is a farmer based program sponsored by the government and ranges from the central county to the smaller sub counties. There are farmer forums and each village has members in them. The organization looks for farmers’ input and helps provide seeds for crops such as maize and beans and funds for expensive pesticides and herbicides.

We split up into two big groups and were lead on a tour of the farm and informed about the farming practices. Fruit trees such as mangos are grown on the edges of the property in order to mark the borderlines. Ditches are dug amongst the street to catch water and pool it into connecting canals throughout the land. This is a form or irrigation canals that’s purpose is the keep the soil fertile and the land from not flooding from the vast amount of rain they get. It is a great way to conserve the water throughout the soil when it rains about once out of every three days.

Agro-forestry is the main technique we heard about throughout the tour. These are the systems that allow the soil to remain rich with nutrients and allow Ugandan farmers to have successful harvests. An example is that coffee is inter-planted within banana trees so that the nutrients are spread. Mulch is made out of dried grasses and leaves and used to prevent weeds as well as hold nutrients and water. Herbicides are also used to control weeds, such as Round Up and Weedmaster. Only about 25% of farmers use these products though because they are so expensive. The farmers use the technique of crop grafting especially for coffee and banana trees, where they cut a young branch of the tree off and replant it in a new area of land calling it a “clone coffee” tree. This technique is very sustainable for the farmers because it allows them to use the crops they already produce to further expand their farm and continue growing crops without needing new seeds for plants.

The main crops for Ugandan farmers are coffee and cocoa, which are cash crops, and bananas, which are a food crop for eating and selling locally. The process of selling coffee as a cash crop is harvesting the seeds from the tree in November-January, drying them for ten days, a county buyer purchases them and transports them to a mill where they are graded, they are taken to an exporter and graded again, and then they are exported. Uganda exports about 90% of all of the coffee beans that it produces. The main type of coffee grown is Robusta coffee, because the old types were killed by a fungus twig borer. From plant to flower, the growth takes about 18 months. The farmers manually prune the coffee trees to make sure that only four branches grow, which helps spread the nutrients and create better and bigger beans. Bananas are also a very special crop to Bugandans, and they mostly grown a “dessert banana.” Banana trees were similarly struck with a wilting disease causing premature ripening and oozing of bananas due to cutting them off trees with an unsanitary knife. There are now much better sanitization practices, and the crop takes about nine months to grow.

Some other crops grown were Tenjera Tomatoes, which are a bacteria resistant strain. Plenty of yams were growing in big mounds within the plot. We saw some ground nut (similar to a peanut and used to make the delicious groundnut sauce for matooke) plants deep within the ground. There were also many green beans planted about 1’ x 2’ apart. The maize is also planted quite far apart, about 3’ x 3’. This allows the crops to produce a better yield with bigger cobs and taller plants than we have in Iowa. The Ugandan farmers focus more on quality instead of quantity like the US when it comes to produce. Maize is grown in a swamp-like, wet environment and takes about three months to grow.

Ugandan farmers have many techniques in place that promote sustainable development. They are very big on crop rotation, for example planting cabbage next where tomatoes currently reside and maize after that. The different crops use different nutrients within the soil. Cabbage, for example, is grown in continuous production, so that planting and harvesting different sections happens at the same time. This prevents all produce from being sold at one time only. Robert is also renting out about five acres of his land per season, about six months. This allows new farmers to get off their feet and turn to him for guidance. They are very behind when it comes to machinery though, and they actually do all of the work by hand between only three men and four women on the entire plot.

After the tour of the farm, we were provided fresh Jackfruit for the first time and it was a huge hit! It was sweet and tasted very similarly to Juicy Fruit gum. It definitely lived up to our high expectations that the MUBS students had built up. We also feasted on some fresh mangos and bananas all home grown. We then travelled to the town of Kasawo to John’s house for refreshments, including more mango and juicy pineapple.

Next, we began our service project which was painting the inside and outside of the town hall building in the village. The building hosts special occasions such as birthing classes for expecting women, NAAD meetings, seminars, workshops, and political rallies. We were greeted with a huge applause because everyone was so glad that we were there and able to help them. There was even a representative sent from the Bugandan King to thank us for our hard work. We had a lot of fun getting messy and working together to really make an impact on an entire village. One of the students said that this was the first time they felt like they finally made a difference on people’s lives.

We travelled back to John’s house for our homemade lunch. Our entertainment was provided by some of his children and their friends making up an eight child choir that sang a welcoming song and two other cute songs with choreography and all. They introduced their names within the song and also said repeatedly that they “would never forget us.” We returned by singing two traditional American songs: a song about freedom by our very own musically inclined Patrick as well as a group sing-along of “This Land is Your Land.” Our lunch was absolutely delectable and had some of the best matooke we had ever eaten! We were so grateful for our host’s incredible hospitality and for feeding as large of a group as ours.

Our post lunch group discussion featured a wide variety of comments and questions about the farming techniques we had just seen and heard about. Everyone was very impressed by the large diversity of crops as well as the ingenious irrigation system. Some of the farmers’ future plans are to expand their land. While farmers in America have been continuously increasing the size of their plots throughout time, due to the large number of children or decedents, the Ugandan farmers’ plots have been decreasing each generation. Robert would also like to expand his animal raising capabilities and have more goats, cows, and pigs. Most of the farming techniques used in the past still remain the same today, but the aspect that has changed is the type of crop due to disease outbreaks.

A difficulty for Ugandan farmers is the climate because of the lengthy dry seasons that are the worst in January and February and also are during June, July, August, and December. The wet seasons are when it is easiest to sell their crops but also when the prices for them are the lowest since there is such a high supply of them. Although the food prices have been increasing recently, the farmers have not seen any benefit from the raise. They do not really have a say in the prices of their products because they are forced to use a private country buyers who also desire to make a profit. The price of gas also equals out to about $9 a gallon, so the cost of transporting their goods to Kampala is quite pricey.

It would be a much more sustainable market if the farmers had a way to dry and store grains and instead be able to sell them during dry season and charge higher prices. Right now the methods are too expensive and most of the time the country buyers will store it instead. Another problem with the huge agriculture industry is that there are not enough youth that want to get into the agriculture business. Too many young people migrate to cities and leave the rural areas as soon as they can, even though the agriculture industry is the biggest in Uganda and the most important.

After the discussion was concluded, we were given free time to wander about the village in small groups and explore what rural living is really like. We were very quickly swarmed by children shouting “Muzungu” with extended arms awaiting our candy we brought for them. The kids quickly caught on that we all had candy and began to follow us in large packs around the village streets. They were absolutely adorable wanting to hold our hands and giving us endless high fives when we asked for them.

Professor Bishop, my fellow pharmacy majors, and I explored a local health clinic during this time to witness some of the differences in health care we have all been hearing about and studying. It was very small quarters and actually had a few chickens running around inside. The clinic was only run by nurses and a midwife, which is quite common in rural areas instead of the traditional doctor and pharmacist employment. There was an examination room, a birthing room, and a few other small rooms for the sick. Most children do not get the sick main vaccines (Polio, Measles, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, and Pertussis), which are all available for free at government hospitals and are an incredibly easy way to prevent diseases. If rural people had been access to drugs and vaccines then it would be more sustainable because the youth would be healthier and able to live longer.

After hour bus ride back to the lovely city of Kampala on the way to Red Chilli, we voted that for dinner tonight we would have Italian food. We went to a lovely restaurant very close to Red Chilli that had so many trees within the restaurant it felt like a jungle. We were in a bit of a scare when all of the power went off in the restaurant for a few minutes, but everything was resolved and the show went on. Everyone ate some sort of a pasta dish or pizza and followed it up with scrumptious gelato for dessert. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

MUBS Graduation & Entrepreneurship in Uganda

2011-05-27T13:28:00.001-05:00

Our early morning began in a scurry to finish our samosas, hard-boiled eggs, and warm milk tea. Coaxed by our elegantly dressed professors, we made our way to Makerere University Business School’s 6^th graduation ceremony. The ceremony began promptly at 10am “Ugandan time,” although all of the Drake students noted it started almost an hour behind schedule. Drake University was personally recognized and welcomed at the beginning of the ceremony by the Master of Ceremony and by the Chancellor. We again saw the hospitality and sincere welcome we received when we visited the Secondary School. The graduation procession was lead by the MUBS choir, dancers, drummer, Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, faculty, and our very own Drake professors.

In total, 1078 students graduated today, including 32 from Luzira prison. Among those graduating, 579 were female, and 499 were male. This ratio says something about the minimization of the gender bias and inequality women faced not too long ago. MUBS has over 20 undergraduate programs, 10 masters programs, and doctoral programs. MUBS is in the lead in business and management education and in its quality of students, programs, and other activities. The staff, students, and facilities have had substantial growth since its start in 1997, and MUBS has plans to maintain the quality of education they currently provide long into the future.

I thought it was interesting that at the graduation ceremony they did not announce the names of the graduates as diplomas were presented. Other differences I noted, as compared to Drake specifically, was that prayer was incorporated, there was no student speaker, and students do not officially graduate for at least 6 months after their last semester.

In the afternoon, we raced the rainy, Iowa-resembling weather to the Movit Manufacturing plant just outside of Kampala. There, we learned about the history of the company, the mission, vision, and different marketing and advertising strategies used. Movit Products Ltd. began work in 1999 selling cosmetic products, and has become the number one ranked business in the cosmetic industry in Uganda in just 10 years. Movit sells 57 different hair and body products for men, women, and babies. The company sells to individual customers as well as businesses in both the rural and urban areas. Movit’s original vision was to become the leading cosmetic manufacturer in the Great Lakes Region. This goal must now be updated because Movit has already dominated the market share in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Sudan, and the Congo.

A majority of the conversation today, led by the director for marketing and sales, Bruce Mpamizo, was on the disparate marketing strategies used. Movit uses an integrated marketing mix approach, which is a combination of many different marketing styles that change depending on the target group. Many Ugandans in rural areas do not have internet or television, so they rely on other promotional tools, such as visiting schools and churches to get the message out. Bruce Mpamizo coupled what Patrick Bitature said last week in that to be a successful entrepreneur you must have integrity, honesty, a hard work ethic, and the willingness to take risks.

Education and entrepreneurship are arguably the two most important facets to a thriving and sustaining economic environment, and are closely interlinked. A proper education, especially from MUBS, allows students to identify an opportunity and act quickly, making successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs create jobs, pass down knowledge to future generations, and demonstrate the value of social responsibility. Although as many speakers we have heard made clear, it is not just about academic work, but about learning to be a good citizen. These values have been instilled in the graduating MUBS students, and we wish them the best of luck in their future aspirations. Uganda has been taking the right steps in ensuring a sustainable future by attempting to make school more affordable and more practical option for kids and families. As said in the previous blogs, with education, students are able to sustain themselves in the future as well as educate their future children.

Now it is time to put on our Movit cosmetic products and have a good night!

Preventing, Investigating, and Prosecuting Corruption

2011-05-26T15:42:00.007-05:00

Today started like many of the other mornings on this trip with breakfast at the Markerere University Business School (MUBS) canteen with our Ugandan colleagues. After finishing breakfast, the class moved from the MUBS canteen to a building on campus for our second formal class discussion session while in Uganda. The discussion was led by Professors Glenn McKnight, Deb Bishop, and Jimmy Senteza from Drake University. These class discussions give the students from both Drake University and MUBS the opportunity to reflect and analyze our class experiences.

As a class, we discussed our experiences from the NARO Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Equator Shops, City Secondary School, and the Ugandan Securities Exchange. Professor McKnight helped to direct the discussion towards how these different experiences relate to sustainable development. At first visits to sites like the Botanical Gardens and the Equator shops may seem unrelated to sustainable development, but our discussion connected these two sites to the larger tourism industry in Uganda. Since tourism is such a significant sector of the Ugandan economy, these sites, and other tourist destinations, are important parts of the path towards a sustainable economy in Uganda.

A large part of this morning’s discussion was devoted to our experiences from our visit to City Secondary School. Since we spent a full day at this visit, we had a lot of information to cover in our discussion. The students from Drake and MUBS used this time to discuss the differences between the American education system and the Ugandan education system. Most of these differences are related to the disparity in educational resources (textbooks, facilities, teachers, etc.) available in each country. We also briefly discussed the practices of dating and relationships in both countries.

Finally, the discussion ended with a brief overview of the Ugandan Securities Exchange. The Ugandan Securities Exchange contributes to sustainable development by helping businesses raise capital. The professors left time after our discussion to allow the MUBS students to give the students from Drake a tour of the MUBS campus.

On my tour of the MUBS campus, I saw the library, the administration building, many lecture halls, and the women’s dormitory. The current library is cramped and overcrowded with stacks of books extending almost to the ceiling, but a new library building is under construction on the campus. The new library building will be massive. It is four stories tall with a huge dome roof. When this building opens, it will house the library, the reading room, and information technology services including computer labs.

The women’s dormitory was striking in its similarity to the student housing at Drake University. In the women’s dorm, four women share a room with two bunk beds, two closets, and two small desks. While the rooms in the women’s dormitory were slightly smaller than the rooms for first year students at Drake University, they would still be immediately recognizable to American university students — right down to the pictures of friends, families, and celebrities posted on the wall next to the beds.

We returned to the MUBS canteen to eat lunch before heading to downtown Kampala to visit the Inspectorate General of Government. The current Acting Inspector General of Government for Uganda, Mr. Raphael Baku, was out of the country and unable to meet with our group, so we met with Mr. Muzamil Abon, Director of Regional Offices and Follow Up for the Inspectorate of Government (IG).

Mr. Abon gave the class a 30 minute overview of the work that the IG does to combat corruption in Uganda. The IG was established by the NRM government in 1988 with a mandate to “eliminate corruption, promote and foster the rule of law and principles of natural justice in public offices and enforce the Leadership Code of Conduct.” Ultimately, the IG is charged with preventing, investigating, and prosecuting allegations of corruption at all levels of the Ugandan government.

In order to fulfill this mandate, the IG is given unique powers within the government. The IG has the power to investigate corruption, arrest suspects of corruption, prosecute corruption cases, issue orders (e.g. stop work on a project that has been affected by corruption), access and search any property (including safety deposit boxes), seizure of property, freeze bank accounts, and clarify the declarations of assets made by Members of Parliament and other government officials. The IG strives to maintain impartiality, so the agency is the only self-accounting body in the Ugandan government. This allows the IG to protect its budget from Members of Parliament who may attempt to seek revenge against the agency.

The IG’s attempts to end corruption in the Ugandan government are hindered by many challenges. The chief challenge facing the IG is an inadequate capacity to fight corruption. The IG lacks the human resources needed to investigate corruption; the number of people fighting corruption pales in comparison to the number of people engaged in corruption. Because the IG lacks sufficient human resources, their ability to investigate cases of corruption is limited.

The IG also needs better training for its personnel. With rapidly changing technology and a high burden of proof in the Ugandan court system, the current personnel at the IG are struggling to keep up. If the IG’s current employees are to remain effective, they must receive continual training.

Finally, the IG lacks the necessary technological resources to conduct modern investigative work. Mr. Abon explained that it is typically necessary to catch a public official in the act in order to prosecute a corruption case, but the IG currently lacks the technology to record these acts. While modern police forces around the world will record investigations with small, discrete recording devices, the IG is forced to use old tape recorders that are difficult to conceal from the people they are investigating.

(It is worth noting that President Museveni announced a $10.4 million dollar effort to increase the IG’s capacity for fighting corruption, but a high level of corruption persists. For more information, see The Daily Monitor.)

Corruption is a direct obstacle to sustainable development in an economy. Emerging economies rely on quality infrastructure to attract investment and business development, but corruption contributes towards failing and insufficient infrastructure. Mr. Abon explained that in Uganda corruption results in poorly constructed public houses, roads, and bridges. In some cases, corruption contributed to schools being constructed improperly which resulted in at least two cases of roofs collapsing on people.

Mr. Abon described two main causes of corruption in Uganda. The traditional cause of corruption was low salaries. Public employees who were struggling to provide for their families looked to corruption as a source of additional income. In an attempt to eliminate this cause of corruption, the government increased workers’ salaries, yet corruption continued. The new cause of corruption, Mr. Abon explained, is greed. Workers are paid well, but corruption persists because government officials want big houses and expensive clothes. Corruption is now used to support the lavish lifestyles of some government officials.

Many Drake students were surprised to find out that it is illegal to investigate a sitting President in Uganda. As children we grew up in the age of Monica Lewinsky and televised political scandals, so to hear that it is illegal to investigate a President seems insensible. Clearly leaders can falter, but in Uganda, the President is immune from the IG’s investigations.

While the IG has worked hard to reduce the amount of corruption in the Ugandan government, corruption is still widespread. According to information provided by the IG, over 80% of the Ugandan people viewed the Ugandan National Police Force as corrupt. And just this week, the IG arrested a Member of Parliament suspected of embezzling 20 million Ugandan Schillings.

“Corruption is an evil we can combat successfully,” Abon said. “We cannot afford to lose this fight. If we do, our country loses.” While corruption is still prevalent in Uganda, neighboring countries suggest that efforts to eliminate corruption can be successful. Rwanda recently reduced corruption and increased its rating from Transparency International, a nonprofit organization fighting against corruption around the world. Eliminating corruption is a necessary step towards sustainable development in Uganda, and the IG must be given the necessary resources to continue its fight against corruption.

After our visit to the IG, we stopped at a market near the Ugandan National Theater. We browsed through the shops, and some of us purchased gifts, clothing, and other handmade products.

Tonight we had dinner at Mexican restaurant which was an entirely new experience for our colleagues from MUBS. Throughout this trip, Drake students have been exposed to new Ugandan foods, but tonight, it was the students from MUBS who were given a new cultural experience. The MUBS students tried chips (known as biscuits in Uganda) and salsa, enchiladas, fajitas, chimichangas, and tacos. The MUBS students had mixed reviews of the Mexican food, but at least a few were ready to return to traditional Matoke after the meal.

Learning about corruption in the Ugandan government is an important part of understanding the process of facilitating sustainable development in the country. Until corruption is eliminated, efforts for sustainable development will be hindered. International aid will be embezzled, money for infrastructure improvements will be misspent, and businesspeople and consumers will continue to accept bribes as a way of doing business.

As Mr. Abon explained, if the corrupt win, Uganda loses.

Day 6: Visits to Monitor Publications and the pool

2011-05-25T15:50:00.007-05:00

Slums, food, marketplaces. We have instantly recognized many of the sights in Uganda as very different from those we see on a day-to-day basis in the U.S. But our visit this morning to the headquarters of Monitor Publications Ltd. in Kampala included a lot of scenes similar to newsrooms back home. This may seem surprising because in contrast to the United States, the Ugandan media faces a lot of government intervention and interference. But as we made our way upstairs to the conference room where our meeting took place, the view looked very much like that of walking through the Des Moines Register newsroom.

People were talking on phones and taking notes as we moved past. Computer monitors around the room displayed Facebook newsfeeds and the websites of other news organizations, such as BBC and The New York Times. There were HPs, Dells and the graphic designers were all working on pages using Macs and Adobe InDesign software. However, we also learned more about the significant differences between the Ugandan media and the environment in which The Monitor operates, and that of the U.S.

The Monitor newspaper is an independent publication and the majority shareholder is the Africa-based Nation Media Group. In contrast to its main competitor and mostly government-run newspaper The New Vision, The Monitor is known for its reporters’ investigative journalism work and for publishing things as they really are, as opposed to how the government would like to present them. We heard from Monitor news editor Alex Atuhaire and weekend edition managing editor Fredrick Masiga about when they receive calls and letters from government officials demanding that certain photographs be removed from the website or that a particular article is not published. But they print it anyway.

“Independence is one of our core values,” Atuhaire told us, adding that he keeps the Monitor’s editorial policy book on his desk at all times.

During the current “Walk to Work” protests Ugandans are conducting to voice disapproval of raising food and gas prices, The Monitor has not been shy in publishing photographs of the riots and reporting on leader of the opposition Kizza Besigye’s arrests, Masiga told us. He said some Monitor reporters had been denied access by the men guarding Besigye’s house and had their equipment stolen. He and Atuhaire also mentioned the government has tried several times to persecute The Monitor in the Constitutional Court for some of the work it has published because the Ugandan Constitution assures freedom of speech and of the press. For this reason, Masiga said, the Court has always ruled in favor of the media.

“We always find a way of winning our cases because we do everything within the law,” Masiga said. “People should be able to express themselves across the board, whether online or whatever.”

The Monitor’s market is also small in comparison to American papers and its circulation is based mostly on street sales rather than subscriptions. Atuhaire estimated that 25,000 to 35,000 copies are distributed each day, making the paper the second most read in the nation behind The New Vision.

Atuhaire and Masiga demonstrated a real passion for truth seeking and investigative reporting as they talked with us and described what they saw as the responsibilities of The Monitor and its staff. This discussion tied in well with our course theme of sustainable development. A society must have stable government the people trust to thrive, and its assets must be used in reasonable and effective ways. Even with a government that gives them only “relative freedom,” the paper sees it as its duty to ensure government resources are allocated and used according to agreed proceedings, Masiga and Atuhaire said. Reporters and editors work to make certain that’s what is happening by exposing any corruption and giving people in the knowledge they need to fight it.

A sustainable society includes a mechanism that serves as a check on the government and elected officials and allows people access to reliable information about their community and its people. The Monitor representatives we met with today certainly illustrated dedication to those goals.

But people also like to be entertained, right? After talking to Masiga and Atuhaire, we were shown another one of Monitor Publications’ mediums, KFM Radio. A guide took us through the recording studios and explained that the station played “a little bit of everything” in terms of music. The DJs also read news bulletins regularly, but she said the stories are not necessarily those found in the pages of the newspaper because the radio has a different editorial board. She also commented on the timeliness of the news shared on the radio, a medium that is extremely popular with Ugandans. While the newspaper staff might have hours to work out the details of a story, she said, the radio relays much more instantly relevant information.

On our way out, we also stopped to examine the printing press. Many of us took photos and videos as the huge machines roared and dozens of printed Monitor sections rushed past us on the conveyor belt.

After a busy morning, we headed to Ridar Hotel for an afternoon of fun. We spent the hours after lunch at the mid-sized resort on the outskirts of the city laying in the sun by the pool and using the hotel gym. It became clear how close we’re beginning to get to our new friends from Makerere University Business School when we realized how happy we were they were able to join us. The relationships we’re developing with them are one of the most valuable parts of the trip so far.

The pool area at Ridar Hotel was fairly congested for a while when a large group of local school children joined us. Dozens of them ran around the deck laughing, screaming and splashing. They definitely added some amusement to our day as we watched them have fun and receive swimming instructions from a couple of their teachers. After they left, Evelyn (who is a lifeguard back in the States) even taught a few of our MUBS friends a bit about getting around in the water. Hopefully, her impromptu swimming lessons and back float tutorials paid off.

We’ve also been receiving some instruction from them as they teach the Drake students Luganda, the local language. Even though they giggle at our horrendous pronunciation errors, they’ve been helping us learn basic phrases and fun words.

We made use of one of these tonight as we left the bus to go to bed back at the hostel: Sula bulunge! (Good night!)

Day 5 – markets, and fire trucks, and artifacts OH MY!

2011-05-24T23:39:00.000-05:00

The day started on a bright note with everyone being able to sleep in until 9:30, what a treat. The first activity of the day was a personal choice between a fire department, museum and the Uganda Stock Exchange. When we split up I traveled to the local Kampala fire department with Nate.

At the fire department we met with the Inspector General and Assistant Inspector of the department, Mr. Egwedu and Mr. Munguacel. In Uganda their department is part of the police force. They firefighters must first go through 9 months of police training and then an additional 3 months of firefighter training. This is very different from the U. S. where our firefighters are not part of the police. Sense they are apart of the police they have the same power to enforce laws, but mainly they will only testify in court. In addition to having firefighters on the grounds there were also armed police officers and officers in riot gear.

To tell the fire department about a fire citizens must call 999, but many are unaware of this number. When calling this number people first connected to the local police department, and then must be transferred to the fire department. This process can be time consuming, and when they are contacted it can be hard to locate where the fire is because not all the streets have names, and most buildings are not numbered. To try and accommodate for these problems the department has many maps of the city showing unmarked streets, and also the locations of the fire hydrants. They have maps of the fire hydrants because they are underground and in certain areas be hard to find, if t he area even has one.

Once the fire department is informed of the fire they then start their process of getting ready to leave fore the fire. This is very different from the U. S. where most fire departments where they try to arrive at a fire with they try to reach 80% of the fires within 8 minutes. In Uganda they don’t have a standard time that they try and reach the fires. They didn’t mention a reason as to why they do not have their uniforms laid out like they do in the U.S., but to my knowledge it would be because that is not how they were trained. There is a noticeable difference between the training in Uganda and the training in the U.S. because in the U.S. they have training on a regular basis, usually monthly, and in Uganda regular training is rare.

Once the department leaves for a fire they face more problems with traffic and road names. In Uganda they lack many road signs, and traffic lights are usually ignored because during the day traffic officers are used to direct traffic. When going to a fire the officers must look at many maps to locate the fire, and the hydrants underground. The street sizes and composition also pose a problem, because many are very narrow and lined with businesses and people are all over the street. Also most streets are made of dirt and gravel rather than concrete, and are covered in pot-holes that drivers try and dodge because there are no designated lanes.

Being a firefighter in Uganda is a very unsustainable environment, because it changes day to day and they have little regulations. I think it could become a successful part of the economy if it was separate from the police, because too much time is spent on focusing on the police, and little funds go towards the fire department.

During the day students also visited the largest Ugandan museum. The museum was started in 1908 and has had 2 previous locations. There are only 3 total museums in Uganda today. While at the museum students were able to learn about 6 different sections of Ugandan culture: history, culture, nature history, ethnography, science and industry and exhibition.

Students received a personal tour from a knowledgably guide named Adolf and learned about fumigation. Which is a process of burning grass over milk in order to make the milk smell and taste better.

Students that visited the Ugandan Stock Exchange learned about how stock in general works, and how it works in small third world countries. In Uganda they only have 14 stocks, which started in 1998. One special trait about stocks is that the brokers have to wear red in order to make a stock exchange, and the employees must wear green to make the stock exchange.

This shows how Uganda is still very much developing, because of the low number of stocks that are available. In the U. S. there are tens of thousands of stocks that people are able to invest in with help from brokers.

The stock exchange showed how primitive this department of the economy was and how much more development can take place. I think it is possible to make the stock market a sustainable market in Uganda, but they need to be very analytical about where they advance from here and what fields that they invest into from this point.

In the afternoon the class attended a meeting with the Ugandan Investment Authority and learned about how the Ugandans try to attract many people into their market to create industry and jobs. They try and attract them in many fields: manufacturing, agribusiness, transportation, ICT, energy, mining, petroleum, services, and tourism.

They work as the main agency for the country trying to attract investors from Uganda and the world to invest in different markets. They try to attract them by highlighting how many natural resources are here, how much land is available, how malleable the people are to learning new jobs, and how new the market is.

The company’s goal is to increase jobs in the market place fore Uganda and increase the sustainable development. They do a good job in many ways by attracting new businesses to the country, but they are not able to attract everyone to the country. I do feel that they need to me environmentally aware with their projects, and make sure that when they open these new factories and business that they are environmentally friendly. Many of the people would tell us that they are taking environmentally friendly practices, but until they are seen in the country it is hard to trust anything that people tell us when we see so much pollution on an everyday basis.

Day 4, Part Two; School Children and Smart Casual

2011-05-23T17:25:00.001-05:00

The students gave us a whole new perspective on what life is like in the Ugandan school systems. During lunch, we were given the opportunity to talk with the children and young adults about school, their life and culture, and social norms. The students of the secondary school had a lot of questions, and we shared with them what we knew. They asked questions that ranged from what music we liked, to what relationships were like in the US, to what kind of food we ate. They were eager to learn about our lives, as we were eager to learn about theirs and about the atmosphere of a school surrounded by walls with sayings such as “No Gain Without Pain” and “Think Twice Life is Precious” written on them.

After lunch, we engaged with the students in discussions about what we believe are the issues that ace the youth of our culture. Issues such as the pressures of sex, homosexuality, and internet usage among others were discussed, and the students seemed to enjoy realizing that there are similarities between these two cultures that seem so different. After discussions, we were given a tour of the grounds, including the chickens, piggery, crops, and fish pond. You’d think that what with our school being from Iowa and all the pigs and farm animals would have been no big deal, but we still took pictures and cooed at the piglets.
The school seems to have a good handle on the idea of sustainable development within their own compound. Their whole system seems well thought out, from feeding the animals to feeding the students, each process uses as little as possible. The fish are fed chicken droppings and the fish, chickens, turkeys, and pigs are used for food for students as well as the eggs and other such products gained from animals. The cows, chickens, and turkeys wander freely on campus, which makes for an interesting view when you look out the windows.

After the tour, students from all three schools (Drake, MUBS, and the secondary school) were invited to play volleyball in a friendly match. Drake won one set, with the secondary school team squarely winning, but all in good fun and with a wonderful sense of humor and friendship. After the game, we were taken around to view the female dormitories, where a bunk bed with small amounts of personalization to each bed distinguishes the beds from each other. With no air conditioning, personal space, privacy, or attached bathroom, I believe that some of our students may be rethinking complaining about the on campus housing we lived in our first two years at Drake. After the last dormitory, we were taken to a building on campus where the school presented us with a small statue showing their gratitude in being involved with our education and allowing them to be the representation of Uganda’s educational system. After signing the guest book for the school, saying our last goodbyes to those students who we had made especially good friends with, and marching our exhausted bodies to the bus, it was time to head back to Kampala.
By the end of our school visitation, the Drake students had experienced another culture’s school system and learned about a child’s view of Americans. The questions were shocking, the children inquisitive, and the experience unforgettable. Overall, I believe that the opportunity is what most people in our group would describe as eye opening.

If you think our day ended there though, than you, my friend would be quite silly. After driving back through the traffic (that always seems to be jammed in just the direction we are going), we all rushed back to our cabins and hurriedly changed into dressier clothes (or what was called “smart casual”, which turns out to be about business casual) and headed to the opening dinner of the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA), a convention which allows five different African countries to join together over issues of education and discuss. This year, it was held in Uganda and the principal of MUBS invited us to join in the dinner. Due to traffic and staying a little late with our secondary school friends, we arrived at the dinner later than we expected, and it was a shuffle to in without causing a scene. But we were all seated and enjoyed delicious food and beautiful music and dancing performed by MUBS students. We were separated among many different tables fill with people from some of the five participating countries including Kenya and other parts of Uganda, and even Scotland! There were also students from a college in India there as well, and both groups were invited by the principal of the college to enjoy to diversity and entertainment of the night.

I think I speak for all of us when I say that as long as today was, it was a richly rewarding experience full of new people, laughter, and discoveries that will alter how we see our own education system and culture as well as those of Uganda.

Day 4: Secondary Schools Morning Session

2011-05-23T15:04:00.009-05:00

As we pulled up in the bus to City Secondary School, a private boarding school, we were greeted with a sign that said, "City Secondary School Welcomes Students of Drake University of USA to the Interact Day." Next we started hearing music that was played by the brass band of the school, which was such a warm welcome. Many Drake students felt moved and touched by the welcome, some even said they got a little teary eyed. After the band escorted us to the main room of the school, the Drake students sat in the front where we were introduced and welcomed again. Next, the Head teacher of the school made a speech and started it off by saying, “Next time you come, don’t call, and just come! We love having extraordinary people of your caliber.” He then proceeded on giving us a brief background of the school and education in Uganda. Some things that he touched on were that they have a primary level which is ages 6-12, and then the secondary level, ages 12-18. At the secondary level they have 16-20 subjects, but the required ones are; Math, English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Geography. There are two different levels in the school, A-level which is the advanced students, and the O-level which is all of the other students called the Ordinary level. He later discussed how they are trying to improve their sustainability by teaching the students and having them learn. Without this they would not have an education so they are able to sustain themselves in the future as well as educate their future children. In education when students are embedded with sustainable themes within the curriculum, and in the life of the school, it develops the children as global citizens and equips them with skills, values and attributes for learning, life and work.

After that our professors from Drake University were able to speak a little to the students. One thing that Professor McKnight said is that they all call us extraordinary people, but we all agreed that it was the Ugandans that are the ones that make us feel like extraordinary people, like today when the band came out to welcome us. After that we were then able to watch two of the native tribal dances. The first dance was from the Buganda tribe, where they sang and danced to the rhythm of the drums. The next dance was from a tribe in the west, and we noticed that it was more of a story they were telling with their dance. All of the outfits were extremely beautiful and unique to each tribe. The all had more material around their hips so when they move their hips it is more of a dramatic movement. Talking with the Drake students after, a lot of us discussed how we have nothing like this in America and how much we love that their tribal dance is a tradition that has and will last for a long time.

After the dances, a group of students put on a small skit about HIV and AIDS. All of the Drake students and the Secondary students really enjoyed the skit that they put on. There were a lot of parts that were very funny and creative, but the message in the end was very strong. In the skit a young girl hangs out with a friend that is not a good influence. This friend ends up taking her to a club where she gets drunk off of red wine and starts dancing with a guy. Throughout the play the young girls sisters is very upset with her sisters actions and how she had been lying to her mom, but in the end the sisters words were not enough to keep the young girl away from all of the problems. She ended up having sex with the boy she was dancing with that night. Later on in the skit she went to the doctors and has tested for HIV and AIDS. They also showed her sister and the girl that was a bad influence getting a test too. In the end the young girl was 2 months pregnant and was HIV positive, and the girl that was the bad influence was also positive. The good sister ended up being HIV negative because she made smart choices throughout the skit. In the end the skit had a powerful message for the students so they realize how important it is to practice abstinence so they do not end up in situations like the young girl. It was also interesting as a Drake student because a lot of us in school did similar skits at the secondary level. A lot of our schools would put on skits about alcohol and drug abuse, which is more of a problem in America. So I enjoyed seeing how we both have the similar approaches of teaching and creating skits to help the students understand how important these topics are.

After the skit we were able to go up to the art room and look at some of the art projects that the students have done. A lot of us were very impressed with the quality of the artwork and you could see how much time the students put into it. I really liked seeing that they still encouraged a lot of fine arts in Uganda, something that we are struggling to keep alive in America right now. Not only was there the artwork, but the skit, the dancing as well as the students singing all exemplified the fine arts. After that we were able to participate in doing a traditional art project that a lot of people do in Uganda. The project was something very similar to tye-dying in America, but the process was very different. We got our pieces of cloth wet and then scrunched them together and used a dye that they mixed together and randomly poured it onto the cloth. Some students used a variety of colors, while others just used one color. After pouring on the dye we washed the cloth again and then let them out to dry, and they turned into beautiful cloths of art. Talking to some of the students from MUBS they said that some people are so talented that they use this process to make designs and animals on the cloth, which a lot of us believed would be very difficult.

After we did out artwork we got into groups and headed to lunch, where we were able to connect with a group of secondary students. They were able to ask us a lot of questions about our background and America, while we were able to find out more about them and their culture. A lot of the students loved getting to know us and wanted to take picture after picture with all of us, which none of us really minded. Overall I think a lot of people enjoyed this day the most so far because of the connections and friendships that we made with the students. All of the students truly touched our hearts and I hope we did the same for them.

Day 3: Entebbe Botanical Gardens and Visiting the Equator

2011-05-22T17:17:00.005-05:00

Today, our group traveled to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens and finished the day with a trip to southwestern Uganda to visit the Equator, a significant global point at which the northern and southern hemisphere are separated by an invisible division. The day’s activities played into everyone’s tourist side as we took pictures at the Gardens and visited the village shops at the Equator, which was a nice change of pace to start the week off with.

After breakfast at the MUBS canteen, we took time to discuss some of things we had learned about life in Uganda and some of the issues the country faces. Both Drake and MUBS students and our professors took time to reflect on the differences between our education systems, the election and operation of the Ugandan Parliament in comparison to other legislative systems including the United States’, our experiences from the Owino Market, and the concepts and issues Ugandan entrepreneur Patrick Bitature discussed. This open dialogue helped us answer each other’s questions and relate each activity to either helping or hurting Uganda’s path toward sustainable development.

After the discussion, a bus ride took us to the NARO Entebbe Botanical Gardens tucked into the countryside outside of Entebbe. Many of us were surprised to learn that the gardens were located in a park in an outside, open area. This falls in stark contrast to the Botanical Gardens in Des Moines, where they are located within an artificial environment in a large biodome. Here in Uganda, we were surrounded by the natural beauty of the country’s flora in its native environment.

We toured the park, observing the fragile ecosystem that exists in the country. There were 5-feet-tall termite hills and we were constantly surrounded by a swarm of two or three species of dragonflies. Our tour guide explained that when visitors walk through the gardens, it helps the dragonflies survive by stirring up flies from the ground, which they then consume. This is one of the few places in Uganda where humans are not considered a negative intrusion.

When talking to the tourist guide, he told us that he was not paid for his job and only received tips from visitors as payment for his work. I then wondered where the funds went from the admission we paid to enter the gardens. If they’re not paying their employees, where is the money going to? Is it going back into the garden, which would be a positive contribution to sustainable development, or is it “disappearing?”

We saw many different species of flora including eucalyptus and camphor trees, which leaves are used to help treat illnesses like the flu or a cold. Many of the trees were most commonly known by their nickname, usually due to their appearance or the features of its leaves or fruits. We encountered the Alligator Tree, whose roots look like giant resting alligators on the ground; the Rabbit Fur Tree, whose leaves are covered in “fur” and when dried look like a rabbit or mouse skin; and the Sandpaper Tree, whose leaves are rough and are used by rural women to file their nails.

We also found a flower called the Angel’s Trumpet, an Arizona Cactus, and a ground plant whose leaves close when touched just as a Venus Flytrap’s do. We walked on a path and climbed up a stairway through a natural canopy featuring swinging vines where the original 1930’s Tarzan and Jane was filmed. As some of us were not excited about, we also managed to find a couple dragon spiders, one of which had caught a dragonfly in its nest—a feast conquered for the day.

As I was walking through this beautiful landscape of natural plants and wildlife, I was reminded of the fragility of the country’s ecosystem and its need for protection. As the population has shot up dramatically, the people of Uganda have shown a general disregard for the protection of this ecosystem. Housing developments have cut into the areas where wildlife once thrived, and poor waste disposal has contaminated the water and soil that can be used to support not only the Ugandan people themselves, but also to enable producers to increase exports. Policies to support the preservation of the country’s ecosystem as well as building a solid infrastructure to support proper waste disposal will help Uganda reach their sustainable development goals.

After this visit, we took a long bus ride to the southwestern region of Uganda to visit the Equator. Most of us had never even stepped foot into the southern hemisphere of the world, so this part of our trip was a moment that will never be forgotten. When you reach this point, it is clear that it is a significant tourist attraction because there are shops along both sides of the road for a city block-long stretch.

These shops feature gifts and crafts that tourists look for when coming to Africa—small and large animal figurines, painted and carved wooden crafts, jewelry made out of natural materials, animal hide drums, scarves, bowls, and other trinkets. As we started to walk through these shops, it was easy to tell that the majority of them had almost identical merchandise. Little differentiation existed between one shop and its neighbors, so we had to go in and out of each shop to figure out which were the best things to purchase.

This undifferentiated selling method perplexed me. In the United States’ capitalist system, one business prospers above the others by providing a competitive advantage for customers in order to ensure business. The only reason for a customer choosing to buy from a certain shop in this system was because one of the similar products was slightly different or its characteristics better suited to its purchaser. There is no potential for sustainable development with this undifferentiated strategy.

In addition to their unsustainable selling practices, these business owners also base their livelihood on the fact that tourists will continue to regularly visit this site year-round. As any business person can tell you, when the economy goes down, tourism goes down. Tourism is an industry based on the expendable income of the population. When the economy goes down, this expendable income decreases or, in some cases, is even depleted, leaving less or no money for people to travel and visit these attractions.

These business owners cannot base their livelihood off of tourists, because they may or may not come. Since this tourist attraction is buried deep in southwestern Uganda in a continent that is expensive to reach in the first place, this income from tourists cannot be guaranteed. These owners also do not possess any resources to provide any leverage for them to counteract their decreased income during these slower times.

Their undifferentiated selling practice and the instability of the income they base their livelihood upon leads me to believe that these Equator shops do not positively contribute to sustainable development. Sustainable development can only be achieved when these business owners figure out a way to ensure a steady income for their family through leveraging these slower times. In order for Uganda to reach a level of sustainable development, people like these small business owners must use business practices that ensure continued growth instead of focusing on instant gratification.

Day Two: Entrepreneurship, the Owino Market, Martyrs and Chinese food

2011-05-21T17:07:00.002-05:00

I think it goes for everyone when I say that today was a culturally intense experience. We had a day packed with entrepreneurship, matoke, batik paintings, crowded marketplaces, martyrs, and Chinese food. Sounds like a mix, right? Well, it all came together quite nicely.

We started out our day at 8:30 with a bus ride to MUBS to meet up with the Ugandan students. We enjoyed a breakfast of toast, juice/coffee/tea, cereal, and fruit. Conversation with our Ugandan peers has proven to be the best way to start the morning. After a quick bite to eat, we headed over to the Protea Hotel, owned by the extremely successful entrepreneur, Patrick Bitature.

To us, illegally transporting sugarcane from Kenya to Uganda to sell to neighbors would not be a good start in the world of entrepreneurship, but Patrick Bitature took the world head on with this entrance. After realizing that "where there is a need, you can provide a service," Mr. Bitature moved on to selling shoes, electronics, owning parts of the Money Transfer Network (MTN), and finally owning several luxury hotels in Uganda. Although the beginning was tough with multiple loan denials, today he has realized that being who he wants to be is the most important attitude to maintain. His presentation discussed grabbing opportunities, creating a strong business base, the importance of entrepreneurship in a country, and how to be a successful entrepreneur among other corresponding topics.

He had a great analogy when it comes to getting ahead and becoming a successful entrepreneur. "You almost get out of the cockroach jar, but then you are pulled back down. Getting out of the jar isn't the success, helping your economy is." A successful entrepreneur caters to the economy. He or she attempts at creating a sustainable process for future development. Mr. Bitature has given out micro-loans to many Ugandans. Not only does this help create a stronger economy, but the presence of a loan tax creates a professional habit among small business.

When it comes to Uganda, three percent of the population is made up of entrepreneurs. Mr. Bitature believes that every country's population should house at least 2-3 percent of entrepreneurs. Uganda is a developing country, and Mr. Bitature discussed many issues preventing entrepreneurial practices within the country:

· poor/weak value system

· lack of creativity

· absence of a savings culture, more focused on instant gratification

· absence of institutional memory/generation transition

· absence of contractual committment

· lack of preparation, tax is never factored in to business plans

· hostile media environment

When these aspects are worked upon, more small loans ($100-200) can be given out, and these entrepreneurs can grow to own and contribute to larger markets, thus creating a more sustainable means of business and economy. In the words of Mr. Bitature, in a world of globalization, you have to “adapt or die.” Finding a stability that allows the flexibility to improve as a country is the success in entrepreneurship.

After all of this food for thought, our stomachs quickly found themselves empty, and we headed back to MUBS for a lunch at the canteen. We enjoyed a traditional mashed plantain dish, matoke, and fish among many other things. A student also came over to sell his gorgeous batik art. We headed over to the Owino Market after filling up, and none of us had any clue just how chaotic it would be.

The bus dropped us off on the edge of the market, and after fighting our way through the traffic mess without injuries we headed off into the marketplace—which is supposed to hold up to 50,000 people—in our groups. There are products everywhere—clothing, food, electronics, books, and shoes among other things. It’s a sensory overload. There are people calling out prices, products, and “muzungu” (white person), in an attempt to get you to their items. Despite the nickname, everyone is very inviting, especially if you reply to his or her calls and hold a quick conversation. I quickly learned a few phrases—“odiatia”: How are you and “jendi”: I’m fine. I was also asked how Obama was quite a few times—like we’re best friends, or something. The most shocking thing to me was the variety of goods at the market. You can find a live chicken in one area, and Converse All-Stars twenty feet away. And the prices are incredible—for Americans, at least. Sustainably, this market is a prime example of the practice. The food that is sold at the market comes directly from the fields—with no interference from pesticides or other chemicals. Grown food in place of produced food sets the path for a very sustainable country that will always have access to food—as long as the know how to grow it.

Our last stop of the day was to the Uganda Martyr Shrine. This holy area is the place in which 14 of 22 Ugandan martyrs were burned alive because of the resistance to adhere to the laws disabling religious conversion. The building is gorgeous. The cone-like structure consisted of maple wood on the inside and copper on the outside showcasing a large cross. The overall image was to be one of a hut. Besides the building itself, the structure expanded out to a lake with an additional platform surround by water for larger congregations. This area will be used on Martyr’s Day (June 3). Judges, the president, MPs, elected officials, Ugandan citizens, and believers from far away will congregate to celebrate and remember the suffering and mission of the martyrs. People walk from as far as Kenya to be at the martyr shrine on June 3. They walk instead of driving, because the wish to pay tribute to the martyrs suffering. Speaking sustainably, when people have a strong belief, it gives them trust and faith to answer the “unknowns.” This helps create community, and with community comes unity.

We ended the day at Fang Fang Chinese Restaurant to enjoy some food closer to our American diets. Although exhausted, we had some great conversation before heading back to Red Chilli for the night.

May 20th, 2011 - Day One: MUBS Orientation and Parliament

2011-05-20T15:57:00.001-05:00

Today was our first day in Uganda. Since we arrived here late at night, this morning’s bus ride brought with it reality: We are finally here! As we drove to MUBS at 8:30 this morning, we all got a glimpse of Kampala in the daylight. Everyone scrambled for a window seat, eager to look out on the culture so different from our own. We were in awe of the juxtaposition of the mountainside on our left and the hustle-and-bustle of the capital city on our right. It was a truly beautiful sight.

Our welcoming at MUBS could not have been more warm and friendly. We were greeted by smiling faces with a breakfast of fresh fruit and toast. In speaking with the MUBS students, I realized how much we will learn in these next few weeks. The students here really aren’t much different from us; they are all eager to share their culture, learn about ours, and meet new friends.

We got a chance to meet with the principal of MUBS, Wasswa Balunywa. He told us that this trip will impact how we relate to others and how we view the world. He said one thing that really stuck out to me. As he spoke a bit about the country, he said, “There is not much wealth around, but people are happy.” That is beautiful. In the United States we put so much emphasis on money; your income determines your success. I love being in a place where the emphasis is on happiness rather than wealth. The people here love their country. They are proud of its beauty, its people, and its traditions.

The issue of wealth has caused a few barriers in the MUBS program. They wish to travel to visit us at Drake, but finances have kept them from doing so. Thankfully, they hope to be able to put together a program for next year. They would also like to have more online education opportunities, but their computer to student ratio it one to every ten. This differs completely from our schooling in the United States. Each student at Drake has his own computer, and almost everything is online. We use BlueView for nearly all student affairs, and many of our classes use online resources. This technological barrier would completely alter the way our education system operates. As they gain more technology at their university, they will be able to expand their online resources. Expanding resources brings about new opportunities and discoveries, which provides a chance for change and improvement. The administration at MUBS has goals and a vision for the program. They are working towards sustainable development by seeing flaws in the system and finding ways to improve it. We have already seen the mature and intelligent young people that attend this university, so I can only imagine what their students will be like as the system continues to improve.

After a delicious lunch provided by our gracious hosts, our next stop was the Ugandan parliament. Their overall governmental system is much similar to ours, with three branches: judicial, legislative, and executive. I learned about their political parties from some of the MUBS students. They said that there are around eight major political parties, making elections very hectic. The National Resistance Movement is the ruling party and is most greatly represented in Parliament. The students were talking about their frustration that since there are so many parties, no one is able to compromise. If each party had a broader platform, they could cut down the number of parties competing and work toward a common goal within the government. Having so many different viewpoints is detrimental because time is spent arguing and not acting.

Parliament is lead by the Speaker of the House and is similar to our House of Representatives in the sense that each district, like each state, votes on their representatives. One main difference, though, is that each district votes for a male and female candidate. I love the idea of an almost equal representation of males and females in their legislative branch. Another big difference is the high number of members of Parliament. There are 112 districts with two representatives each (male and female), along with representatives from other special interest groups. These groups represent things like the youth, women’s rights, or the disabled. The members total around 350. While the benefit of this system is that so many people are represented, a problem is that there are so many members. Much like their political parties, having so many different members with different viewpoints can lead to long discussions with little conclusion.

On the topic of sustainable development, the government is a vital place to start. Narrowing down the number of representatives or trying to combine political parties may help create more effective debates. The man who gave us our tour of Parliament was talking about riots that break out occasionally. He discussed the difference between a demonstration and a riot, stating that demonstrations can get a point across respectfully, while riots result in chaos. The best part of the Ugandan Parliamentary system is that they listen to the people. Each group has a voice in legislature. While this is commendable, sometimes so many different voices drown each other out and result in a stagnant society. Change is what sustainable development is based on. The development of a society that adapts to what the people need and improvement of things that are unsuccessful. Providing civil education for citizens and modeling how to inspire change and express differing viewpoints would be extremely beneficial. If people know how to argue respectfully and effectively, more will be accomplished and improvements can be made.

RE: WELCOMING YOU TO UGANDA AND MUBS

2011-04-29T09:17:00.002-05:00

Dear All,

It is always a lovely to welcome you all to Uganda. I know many of you are having thoughts about what you will see this summer in Uganda. Truth be told, Uganda has plenty to offer;the culture, the environment, the landscapes and the game.

I look forward to seeing you all when you come down south of the hemisphere.

Fred

Preparing for Uganda 2011

2011-04-28T12:59:00.000-05:00

The faculty are looking forward to returning to Kampala in a few weeks and introducing a new group of students to our colleagues from MUBS. Each year brings new and different experiences as we continually work to improve the learning experience and strengthen the collaboration between Drake and MUBS. This year we made a large amount of progress on our goal of building a sustainable relationship of student and faculty exchanges. During the year we hosted a delegation of faculty and staff from MUBS on the Drake campus, this was followed by a visit by Colin Sentongo, chairman of the MUBS council, and next week Principal Waswa Balunywa will be visiting the Drake campus to discuss the next steps in building our partnership. Additionally later this week, Diana Ntamu will arrive in Des Moines to team teach a graduate seminar on entrepreneurship with Prof Bishop! It is exciting that our collaboration has moved forward, now on to the topic of sustainable economic development. This year's class is spending the next two weeks presenting their background research on Uganda and it seems like a perfect time to get them involved with the blog. So the professors have an assignment for this year's class: Please comment what you learn from listening to your classmates presentations - What "aha" moments did you have? What new information about Uganda did you learn? How has the new information changed your expectations for the upcoming trip and for the prospects of sustainable economic development in Uganda (you should comment on a presentation other than your own, but can relate that presentation to your own research).

Final Impressions

2010-06-16T14:48:00.007-05:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the late post, as arriving home has been very busy, as I'm sure it has been for most of you. Leaving Uganda was something I feel we could all describe as bittersweet. As most of us had began to feel a little homesick and anxious to return home the last few days, we all knew we were ending one the the best experiences we have ever had and leaving some of the most interesting and kind people we have ever met. I can honestly say that going on this trip has changed some of my world views and has bettered me as a person.
This being most of our first trip to Africa it was hard knowing exactly what to expect, no matter how much one prepared. I think that no one expected to have the experience we had; whether we were learning about human rights, parliament policies, or agriculture methods, there was always something that surprised us. Still, I think what shocked us the most was the friendships and lasting relationships we have made with the MUBS students and other Ugandans we have met over our trip.
Leaving for the airport was such a surreal experience; as no one could actually believe this trip was over we all knew that we would miss all of our new friends. As everyone was leaving you could not help but to hear everyone making promises to keep in touch with each other. Though not many tears were shed, it was easy to see that everyone was going to miss their new friends as the MUBS bus pulled away.
For me, it was from these students who I learned the most from. The conversations and explanations of everyday life is really what helped me understand the culture the best. I feel that it was this aspect of the trip that makes it what it is: an immersion of cultures to create an exceptional learning experience.
Finally in relation to sustainable development, it was very interesting to see the wide variety of opinions that had been made over the course of the trip in a discussion the last night. One of the questions posed was along the lines of: "If you could choose one thing to change to better the opportunity for Uganda in sustainable development, what would it be?" Many answers from both Drake and MUBS students included corruption and primary education. Still there were many opinions and variations to the answers provided and it was interesting to see how each and every one of us had developed such strong opinions in this area. It was inspirational to see how involved everyone was in the conversation and how much this issue had become part of us.

What are some of your guys final impressions of the country and friends we have left?

Now that it has almost been a week since we've been home, have you kept in touch with your new friends?

After hearing many different opinions in our final discussion, what do you think is the one thing that can be changed that will improve Uganda's sustainable development?

Thanks everyone for an amazing trip and for the friendships we have made!!! I am so happy to have shared one of the best experiences of my life with every one of you!

Uganda Martyrs Shrine

2010-06-13T15:32:00.001-05:00

Written by Kristin Krantz-Odendahl reposted by Prof Root due to technical problems with the blog - (sorry the pictures were lost).

French Missionaries came to Uganda to convert the locals and among those converted were several pages to the Buganda King. The pages were very loyal to their new faith and always took time for their prayers as well as not working on Sunday. The King became upset when they consistently defied his orders by putting their religion before his needs. He consulted a fortune teller who told the King that part of the palace burned down because of the Christians’ new faith. The King then consulted with his chiefs and decided to put the Christians to death. The Christian pages were separated from the non-Christians and persecuted. Three Anglicans were killed near the shores of Lake Victoria. Other Christians had their limbs cut off and scattered around the city to scare other Christians from the faith. The first catholic martyr was Joseph Balekuddembe who was beheaded and burned on November 15 1885 near Owino Market (Brittany talked about in her May 21 post). There is also a small shrine at that location. On June 3 1886 the rest of the martyrs were killed at the site of the church which was already a place of death – the execution site for the foulest criminals. The martyrs refused to renounce their faith so they were forced to gather firewood for their own burning. The martyrs were wrapped in the firewood and burned alive. At least one of the martyrs was unconscious prior to burning. He was the nephew of an executioner and refused to be saved. His uncle knocked him on the head to save him the pain of burning. The church itself is a cone shaped building styled after traditional African buildings. It is supported by 22 pillars, representing the 22 Catholic martyrs. Each of the wooden doors has people and scenes carved in to it such as the burnings and several bishops. The 1,000 seat church is open for prayer every day and is highly utilized. It features many pieces of religious art work including a sculpture of a martyr performing a baptism and a painting of the martyrs up in heaven with Jesus on the cross with the Ark below them.

The lawns are complete with very large lawns and an outdoor gazebo area where a mass is held every year on Martyrs Day, a national holiday commemorating the sacrifice of the martyrs. The area has several pavilions for different groups including a choir area and the stands reserved for the president and other political dignitaries. Martyrs Day is especially meaningful to Catholic and Christian Ugandans and people pilgrimage from the US and UK and some walk all the way from Kenya.

Here are some questions for reflection: Does this monument bring people together in rememberence or tear them apart due to different religions because of the significance placed on Christianity? What are the implications of a national holiday for Christian martyrs? What are the implications of having a yearly mass at the Shrine? Does the separation of church and government have a future in Uganda? What relation does this have to sustainable development? What else if anything struck you about the church, the grounds of the tour in general?

The Newspaper Industry

2010-06-11T23:13:00.001-05:00

Uganda's largest media center is New Vision,which began in 1986 as just a weekly newspaper but has already expanded to daily news, a radio broadcast and TV station. The newspaper is printed in English and four local languages across the different regions, and they have two radio broadcasts, one in English and one in the Central Region language. New Vision also recently started a television station in the local language in order to bring TV broadcasting to the ordinary Ugandans who are not fluent in English.

When we toured New Vision, I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how nice the facilities were. Everything seemed very modern, and they just recently acquired a new printing press. We were shown the entire process of how the paper is created from start to finish.

Although the facilities were modern, we learned that Ugandan journalists are currently facing some tough challenges. While New Vision is partially private, the Ugandan government is the biggest shareholder. We were told that New Vision does not represent government views, but I don't see how journalists can report freely about the government and current politics if their jobs are basically controlled by the government. On the surface it appears that they can write what they want, but in the end, journalists have to be self-censoring themselves because their jobs could be on the line if they report something the government does not like.

This idea of self-censorship is also reflected in some Ugandan laws. While no one directly tells journalists what they can and cannot write, journalists know they have to be careful. Two laws, the law of sedition and the laws about interviewing terrorists, severely restrict how and what the journalists can report. Writing anything injurous to the government can earn a journalist a life sentence in prison. Journalists cannot report any interviews with known terrorist leaders, or they face the death pentalty.

Many journalists in the U.S. can face jail time for certain things, such as not revealing a source, but they would never be given the death penalty. These harsh laws and penalties in Uganda make me think that any political news is going to have a severe censor over it because journalists are so pressured and living in fear of being arrested and put to death.

These laws are a step backward for sustainable development in Uganda. Without a truly free press, Ugandans will not have the right information. We are very privaleged to have this is the U.S., and I think it is absolutely vital to keep the population informed. This seems basically like a type of political corruption in the Ugandan government, which creates a more unstable political environment throughout the country. If journalists are censored, no matter how indirect it is, Ugandans will be kept in the dark, making it easier for government officials to get away with corruption.

I also thought it was interesting to learn that 90% of the newspapers are sold on a daily basis, meaning only 10% of sales are through subscriptions. Since the newspapers depend so heavily on the daily whims of their customers, I feel like this would change the way the news is presented. Since they have so much pressure to market the papers well, I feel like the news will be presented differently. The cover story and headlines for the day determine the sales; there seems to be a direct relation between how eye-catching and interesting the newspaper is and how many papers sell. While this is still a driving factor for the media in the US, ultimately they have more security because of their subscribers. There will be less fluctuation from day to day in the US, make it a more stable industry.

If Uganda could establish a better system of subscribers, it will make the newspapers more sustainable, both for the newspaper and the population. The companies will have more reliable sales, and the population will be more informed because they will have access to the news every day without having to make a daily decision to buy a paper or not.

I think they can also broaden their sales by finding a way to make the newspaper cheaper, both in subscriptions and just buying an individual daily paper. Since so many Ugandans are poor, they have to make the choice between daily necessities and reading the news. If the news industry could find a way to decrease their costs for the consumer, it would increase access to the general population. They already have some success in access because they are printing in multiple languages. Now, they just need to find a way for Ugandans to more easily access the news through a lower cost.

Questions:

How do you think the internet is affecting newspaper sales now? Will this change in the future?

How do you think that radio and television stations that are controlled by the government will affect how Ugandans can access true, uncensored news?

Bujagali Falls

2010-06-11T14:06:00.001-05:00

The Bujagali Falls were quite magnificent. There were many rapids and it was impressive watching all the water traveling through. While we did see the Bujagali Falls, we also traveled to the start of the Nile River. The river begins at Lake Victoria and travels 4000 miles through northern Africa to the Mediterranean Sea.

One surprising thing about both of these sites was the lack of tourist development. The tourism within this area could be expanded greatly. It would be profitable to have more resorts, restaurants, and shops around to increase both the amount of tourism and the length of a tourist’s stay. Expanding on activities available such as boat tours, kayaking or rafting through the falls, swimming or diving in the Nile, as well as 4-wheeling near the Nile would all increase tourism within both these sites and Jinja. However, more advertising and marketing would be necessary to ensure that people are aware of the attractions available to them. On the other hand, many people believe that activities designed to increase tourism in an area may destroy the beauty that these landmarks exhibit.

The plans to build two dams near the beginning of the Nile may ruin tourism within Jinja however. The building of the dams would destroy the Bujagali Falls, replacing them with a reservoir. Building the dams will also take several years which will help in providing work to Ugandans within the Jinja area. The dams, while increasing the amount of hydro electric power to Uganda, will destroy nearby habitat and harm local animals. The dams will also have a large impact on nations upstream. The dam will lessen the amount of water flow present within the Nile. This will decrease precious water supply upstream for both the inhabitants and any irrigation that the Nile is used for. Many people believe that this will upset countries upstream, possibly even beginning a war over the water the Nile River provides.

Questions to think about:

Would you increase tourism to the Bujagali Falls area? What impact would this decision have on Jinja’s economy?

Do you think that building the dams will help Uganda’s growth or hinder it?

What do you think are the major impacts of building the dams? Would it be a wise decision for Uganda to build them?

mulago hospital

2010-06-09T01:36:00.001-05:00

If Uganda ever issued a FLOOD WARNING today would have been the day! Our entrance into the hospital was first stalled because of a rapid fury of rain drops. Once we finally entered the facility we walked through the assessment area where the potential patients waited to see if they would be admitted into the hospital. It was quite a sight to see because people were everywhere! They were sitting in the chairs, standing along the walls and sitting on the floor in every direction. Once we entered the board room we were introduced to Mr. Ssekabira who was the executive directors’ public relations guy. He took us through the hierarchical system of Uganda and explained to us how their health care system worked. There are 5 levels to their system, the lowest forms are titled Health Care three and Health Care four and the government primarily focuses on these two levels. The third level is distributed in every district and is called the District Hospitals. The next two specified levels of the health care system are considered referral hospitals. The 2nd most comprehensive level of health care is received at the Regional Referral hospitals and there are 11 around the country of Uganda. The most comprehensive is the one we visited called Mulago, it’s the National Referral Hospital and is the only one in the country. Mulago accepts only patients who are referred and who are in emergency situations. Mulago’s services are very comprehensive and have a range of departments and categories from acute pediatrics, to labor, to AIDS care. Mulago hospital also has an outpatient clinic for the less life threatening cases for those surgical/medical procedures that cannot be handled at any of the lower facilities in the country. We also met with Dr. Fred who is a physician of the hospital as well as an AIDS specialist and took us into depth about the services they offer to HIV/AIDS stricken individuals. They considered Mulago a tertiary institution with upper level surgical procedures, but said because of the nature of the location they use this as a primary care unit-which it is not. For their AIDS unit they have 2 comprehensive categories: preventive services and clinical care. After our discussion in the board room, a munch of medical focused students took a tour around the facility and we were able to see the pharmacy as well as a medical ward. They were both a sight to see because of the low supply of drugs as well as the overcrowding in the halls...

Questions:

The public relations guy said "that the health care system is broken down and does not work properly and says that the overcrowding is mainly due to the minor ailments that get admitted to Mulago". If the national hospital has the best of the best, do you think that it’s fair to turn away individuals for their “minor ailments”?

What role does health care access play in the sustainable development of an economy?

Do you guys think that quality health care is a necessity for development to occur?

Given the sights we saw at Mulago, if you had the chance, what range of services would you use funds towards to emphasize? Access to drugs? More technology? Training for doctors? Preventative health care? Which would be the best for the sustainable development for the country?

mulago hospital

2010-06-08T10:51:00.002-05:00

Post by Kiconco Michelle

Hi
We went to Mulago hospital which is the national referral hospital that is funded by government and donations . We had a talk with one of the doctors who explained that mulago offers health services to ugandans and has branches in different districts: emergence services, complicated diseases, HIV care services, preventive services,clinical care and curative care, couselling and many more .
There have been irregularities in supply of drugs and people who come to the hospital have to get their drugs from a pharmacy. The key hospital departments are Accidental Emergency, Anesthesia, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Child Health, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Radiology, Radiotherapy, and Nuclear Medicine. The doctor said there has been widespread HIV, though most Ugandans don't know their status. There has been irregularities in supply of drugs, which could lead to more deaths. And Uganda is dependent on other countries for the drugs, which is a big problem. The pharmacy students from Drake said the pharmacy section of Mulago did not have drugs and patients have to be taken care of by their relatives, which they found strange and they think medicine should be supplied at the hospital and nurses should take care of the patients.
I think there should be improvements in the general services offered.

-Kiconco Michelle

Industrialization / Jinja

2010-06-08T10:21:00.003-05:00

Being in Jinja for a few days, we were able to see many of the abandoned factories as well as the railroad which leads into Kenya. Also, we saw the source of the Nile and Bujagali Falls, as discussed in Lauren Asp’s post. These attributes all play a role in the explanation of an important industrial past that Jinja once played in Uganda.

Before Amin, Jinja was a booming industrial city. These industries included textiles, beer, cotton, and smelting (mostly copper). At one point, the textile industry alone accounted for ten percent of the Ugandan labor force. These industries chose to operate out of Jinja due to the readily available hydro-electric power resources. The railroad to Kenya also provided an excellent mode of export. These factories were run and owned by Indians during this time.

Conditions changed drastically for Jinja after Amin took power. The Indian owners were forced out and killed if they refused to leave. The factories were taken from them and became government enterprises. Amin gave many of these factories to his cohorts who quickly ran them into the ground as a result of their greed, corruption, and incompetence in managing the industry. This is why we see the vacant factories today.

After Amin’s overthrow in 1986, the NRM began privatizing these industries. Today, there is even a policy in place that if a person can prove that their family owned one of these businesses before Amin’s regime, the ownership will be returned. However, many of these factories are so run down that they are being sold at very low prices. Also, the Indians who are reclaiming their factories are generations removed from the individuals who actually operated the factories. These descendants no longer have the knowledge or the interest to run these dilapidated factories and usually choose to sell the land rather than revitalizing the factories and the area’s industrial sector. Today, re-privatizing of the Jinja industries is still taking place. For instance, large enterprises such as National Water still have yet to be privatized.

An additional detriment to the industrialization of Jinja is an industrial flight to Kampala in order to be closer to their markets. Additionally, the establishment of an industrial park within Kampala has also contributed to this industrialization failure. In Kampala’s industrial park, the government has constructed buildings, infrastructure, and utility plants so that different businesses can easily start manufacturing. This is where the Coca-Cola plant is now located.

Now, Jinja is largely reliant on tourism due to the source of the Nile and Bujagali Falls. It is unknown what the effect of the new dams will have on the area’s industrialization because of the flight of the businesses out of Jinja to Kampala. It is clear, however, that these dams will damage the tourism industry. The locals of Jinja have staged demonstrations in protest of the new dams to no avail. Government has countered protests with the industrial argument, saying that the electrical power is more important than local tourism. Locals, however, are largely reliant on tourism in and around Jinja; the rapid growth they have recently experienced and become accustomed to will come to a sudden halt. The government has compensated locals for use of their land. Despite this compensation, locals are still discontented. Some say that these people simply want to “have their cake and eat it, too,” while others claim that they were forced into giving their land to the government and they thereby have a legitimate gripe.

The countries to the north of Uganda on the Nile, including Egypt, Sudan, and the Congo are also very disgruntled with the construction of these dams. Although the countries do not mind the dam itself, which will provide clean energy through hydro-power. However, the nations fear that once these dams are constructed the water will be used as irrigation and therefore siphon water off of the Nile.

These factories have large effects on sustainable development. If Jinja is able to revitalize and regain its factories, Uganda will gain manufacturing power and expand its job market. This manufacturing power will also lead to a larger need for infrastructural improvements, such as roads and airports to export goods. This will also lead to further economic growth and diversification of the economy (instead of having 90% in the agricultural sector). However, this industrialization seems to come at a price to the environment, local communities, and foreign policy.

Questions to consider:

Where do you draw the line between environmental sacrifice and industrial improvements?

Is industrialization vital to the development of Uganda?

Should Uganda utilize the Nile even at the risk of a war over water?

Will the construction of these dams revitalize Jinja, or will the power just be exported and used elsewhere in the country?

Should these dams even be built? What property rights should the locals be able to exercise against the government in these eminent domain cases?

Note: Pictures included are of the dam, Jinja factories, a power plant, and the railroad leading to Kenya

Murchison Falls National Park

2010-06-07T14:20:00.002-05:00

After the long drive to lunch, some of us ended up waiting over 3 hours for our food! The restaurant was not well organized - Dr. Root and Dr. Bishop ended up running the place so we could finally get our food. Dr. Root directed the kitchen staff while Dr. Bishop directed the wait staff and all the food was out in less than half an hour. It just seems like there's not really a sense of time here. I think the laid back culture was really reflected in our lunch experience and that's not really a good trait in terms of sustainable development because slow service definitely negatively impacts the tourism industry. Anying of the tourists who aren't backpackers are probably used to getting their food pretty promptly and would not react well to getting their food late all the time. If Uganda wishes to cater to a wider range of tourists, the level of service is one of the aspects that needs to be improved.

We ended up getting to Red Chilli at Murchison Falls (MFNP) around 6 o'clock and the keys were handed out to the bandas, tents, and the two little cottages. This Red Chilli was definitely more of a camping experience for some people, but they had a great area to hang out up by the reception. We were warned about hippos wandering into camp, but I don't think any of us saw any. There was a family of warthogs wandering around, though. My favorite part of Murchison Falls was getting to see the giraffes - my favorite - and get even closer to the elephants! It was amazing and the waterfalls were breathing taking. I've never seen a real waterfall before - it was so gorgeous. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get to see lions, but all in all it was a great experience.

I was particularly interested in the couple of UCOTA (Uganda Community Tourism Association) shops we saw on the way to MFNP, but we didn't get to stop at them. As I was thinking about it though, I'm probably the only person who knew they were shops and that's only because UCOTA came up in my research on tourism. I don't see how UCOTA is really making a difference in communities surrounding national parks if tourists don't even know to stop at the shops. UCOTA claims to be assisting people in the communities by giving them a source of income from the sale of handmade crafts, however I don't think their vision really takes into account what the people in the community want. I also don't think that their really doing much because I don't see their shops getting much traffic, especially if our whole big group didn't stop there and I think Red Chilli at Kampala sends a lot of business to MFNP.

Based on what I saw, MFNP seems to appeal more to backpackers than any higher level tourists because it's more of a "roughing it" experience. MFNP is also in more of a remote location and because of the 2+ hours of driving on really bumpy roads, I'd classify it as tough to get to. Tourists with a lot of money aren't going to want to take a 6-hour ride there from Kampala, especially with rough roads. The speed and quality of transportation and roads are major inhibitors in terms of the tourism industry, in my opinion. Going along with our experience at lunch, the amount of and length of delays is a major challenge the tourism industry is going to have to overcome in order to widen Uganda's appeal as a tourist destination.

From working at a luxury travel company in the customer service department, I learned about the littlest things that wealthy tourists would not put up with. Based on this trip, I don't think Uganda is even close to being considered a luxury tourist desitination. The major draw that Uganda has in the luxury tourism industry is that they are on of the three countries in the world where people can see the last remaining mountain gorillas. I think that the exclusivity and expense of tracking gorillas definitely appeals to luxury tourists, but the infrastructure will deter those tourists from venturing elsewhere in Uganda.

Right now Uganda is appealing to backpackers because it's not really touristy yet, it's cheap, and it has an authentic feeling. However, if Uganda wants to increase their revenue from the tourism industry, which is where I see a lot of potential, then some major changes need to take place. Another market that isn't being tapped into in Uganda is family travelers - right now I don't see anything that is geared towards families traveling together. I see a lot of room for Uganda's tourism industry to grow and develop, but right now is a key moment where the country needs to make decisions and decide where funds are going to be focused. I think it would be a mistake for Uganda to become too touristy because right now what it has over some other destinations in Africa is that it is more of an authentic experience and it isn't overcrowded like major tourist destinations.

What do you think Uganda should focus on in terms of developing tourism?

What do you think Uganda needs to do in order for tourism to be sustainable?

How do you think tourism impacts the local community? Is it positive or negative? How can that impact sustainability?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your comments!

- Kristin Kowalski

Patrick Bitature

2010-06-06T17:48:00.000-05:00

I want to sincerely apologize for the delay on this post. I feel privileged to share with everyone what I found to be one of the most exciting days on our journey in Uganda. Patrick Bitature is one of very few educated entrepreneurs in Uganda. He has an outstanding network of professionals and an impressive resume that goes on for pages. He can easily be referred to as the Richard Branson of Uganda with his entrepreneurial endeavors ranging from telecommunications, radio and the hotel hospitality industry, to an extensive real-estate portfolio and everything in-between. He currently sits as the Chairman Board of Directors of Uganda Investment authority otherwise known as UIA. He shared with us the importance of entrepreneurship in Uganda and its impact on sustainable development, as well as unleashing the burning desire to turn dreams into a reality.

One of the repeating messages that Mr. Bitature brought forward was that power is knowledge and the importance of firsthand experience. A great quote he utilized went something like, “We can never learn solely from books and internet, it’s when we share and learn from one another, that we truly find something fantastic.” I have had the opportunity to attend several dozen professional speakers and seminars dealing with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial success and they all seem to deal with basic principles like setting goals, managing overhead, paying attention to cash flows and being truly passionate about your idea. Mr. Bitature touched on all of the above, but something made him very different. Mr. Bitature expressed a passion for mankind. He believes that success is best shared. For example, it was really moving to hear of the efforts he makes to his employees. He expressed how he pays some of the best wages in Uganda and hires some of the most talented people from all around the world to work for and run his companies. It is evident the man has financial security and even expressed the idea that if an employee needed a new home, and it was in his means, he would build them a home. He expressed that only so much is learned in school and that real life stories and relationships with people are what matter most.

When it comes to entrepreneurship as a figure of sustainable development he expressed the challenges and opportunities that Uganda faces. It is easy to notice that with an unemployment rate of 60% job opportunities are scare. Speaking with some of the MUBS students there seemed to be an almost universal importance in being a job creator. Just driving down the roads it seems like everyone is just hanging out, and Mr. Bitature outlined this as a problem. The Ugandan culture is extremely laid back, he expressed the need to manage and respect time and until this happens, times will remain tough. Corruption also takes its tole on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs in Uganda need to be people of honor and integrity and learn from them now according to Birature. Finances are also an issue as lenders in Uganda charge extraordinarily high interest rates.

On the other hand for a young entrepreneur in Uganda, time is on ones side. Everything in one way or another comes down to business and the more we understand, the better off we are. Labor is very cheap in Uganda, but according to Bitature, giving someone a decent wage allows people to feel useful and build self-esteem. Entrepreneurship in Uganda is taking advantage of bountiful opportunity, harnessing creativity and the talents of others and achieving a common goal. Mr. Bitature finished his presentation with a very encouraging figure. He made the point that if Uganda could get just three percent of its population to become entrepreneurs that would mean that there is the potential of 1,120,000 entrepreneurs in the country. If each one of these entrepreneurs employed just 10 people, that would create 11,200,000 jobs. To me this spoke volumes on the importance of entrepreneurship in Uganda.

I ask everyone to consider the rewards of becoming an entrepreneur in Uganda. Identifying and tapping into an area that you are passionate about and the country needs will not only bring financial success, but better a nation. When it comes to sustainable development entrepreneurs are key. There is a very small private sector and very large public sector in Uganda. Entrepreneurship plays a key role in bridging that gap. Doing so creates jobs, decreases unemployment, and thus starts a domino effect. Just imagine what could happen if you started a company in Uganda that paid a wage that could afford a worker to build a house. Many of us I am sure have heard that when you build a house you both directly and indirectly employ 30 others. From plumbers and electricians to masons and carpenters, all those people need there materials from somewhere. Unfortunately right now many of those materials are imported (perhaps an area to look at getting into). Excessive demand in a building supply market if brought to Uganda only brings more jobs and more of a private sector. I am sure many are getting the picture and it’s that private sector/public sector gap that we must work towards bridging. While in my opinion it is the entrepreneur who will reap the most reward, consider the many people’s lives that you will also be enriching. Entrepreneurship is extremely powerful and Mr. Patrick Bitature was a great reminder of that. Like he said, “Capital should never be a problem; it should be a burning desire within that will drive you to your dreams.”

Perhaps this post has not come too late when we consider all of the small businesses and firms we have been able to experience throughout our journey. I ask for everyone to submit some feedback as to their thoughts on entrepreneurship and small business in Uganda. In particular, I ask whether or not you as an individual ever consider starting a business in Uganda? If so, what motivates you to do so? If not, what are your hindrances? In addition, in what capacities do you think entrepreneurship plays a role in sustainable development, and what reached out to you most about Mr. Bitatures presentation? I look very forward to receiving some great feedback, and as we reach the final days of journey ask that you keep your eyes and ears open to entrepreneurial opportunities in Uganda.

~Jeff Hirsch

Star Light Star Bright (Back From The North)

2010-06-06T17:35:00.001-05:00

We traveled to Murchison Falls National Park on Friday and returned to Kampala on Sunday. Internet access there was limited, which provided a great break for the students and faculty. While we were gone Fred Luganda, one of our colleagues from MUBS posted some excellent information on the Ugandan martyrs and micro finance - two topics that we cover this coming week (look for reflection from studnets soon). The only disappointment in the trip was the failure to see any lions in the park. However we did see many hippo, giraffe, elephants, water buffalo, warthogs, multiple species of antelope and baboons (including one which jumped on our van in an attempt to steal our brown bag breakfast). Our lodging was located on a hill overlooking the Nile river about 80 Km from the nearest main road. The place we stayed (Red Chilli @ Murchison Falls) turns of their electricity at midnight. Seeing the wildlife is always an incredible experience, however it was equaled by the beauty of the night sky after the the electricity went off. The stars were very bright and so abundant that they filled the sky. Anyone who did not stay up late missed an incredible night sky that was so amazing it is difficult to put into words. At a minimum it made you question why in the US we believe that every street must be lighted -- (is that sustainable and necessary?).

We are back in Kampala for only one night then head to Jinja for a few days to wrap up the trip. There will likely be a rash of activity on the blog as we have some time to discuss and reflect on the events of the last three weeks, and students finish up comments and posts on the blog. As everyone is starting to think about home I have heard many people talking about things they miss from home. The stars last night made me think about things at home that we miss / overlook while there (when was the last time you stopped to look at the stars in the US and were amazed by what you saw?). I wonder what other things we are missing when we go about our normal lives back home and what things about Uganda we will miss after returning to our daily lives in the US. Anything come to mind after experiencing Uganda for almost three weeks? I know for me the answer is the stars at Murchison Falls National Park.

Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

2010-06-06T16:43:00.003-05:00

Posted by Taylor

The Foundation for Human Rights Initiative is an independent human rights advocacy organization in Uganda. Their support for each person’s right to life is completely not-for-profit and separate from the government. Their vision is “A strong and democratic human rights culture as a foundation for peace, stability, democracy, social justice, and sustainable development in Uganda.” Sheila Muwanga spoke to our group about the major services offered and issues faced by the organization. She focused a lot of her discussion on the overcrowding that is currently happening in Ugandan prisons. 53% of these prisoners are waiting to be tried. Holding these prisoners in remand is considered unlawful, but the lack of affordable and available representation makes it difficult for them to defend their rights. FHRI offers free legal services that allow inmates and other citizens to seek justice. FHRI was also involved in a fight against the growing number of inmates being placed on death row. The constitutional court ruled that inmates on death row for longer than three years will receive life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. More emphasis on mitigated factors for each case and each person’s right to life was defended by FHRI’s Right to Life Project.
Some recent changes in Uganda’s recognition of Human Rights have led to more fair treatment of the general population. The revised constitution recognizes a need for rights and equality. The addition of a Bill of Rights now backs up the entitled rights that were often overlooked in the past. Another recent change is the addition of separate political parties in Uganda which allow for different views to be considered. The government still struggles to give equal rights of expression and assembly to all. The media is still censored to an extent, rallies are dispersed quickly, and many feel as if the right to life is still not being respected by government officials.
I was very impressed with Sheila’s talk and her openness about the issues that FHRI faces. I respect the fact that they strive to give a voice to those who often go unheard. It was very interesting to hear about the overcrowding within the jails because that is something I never would have thought about as a Human Rights issue. I went into this experience thinking that we would hear a lot about the rights of women, children, and gays, but these topics were only addressed minimally. I think that improvement in human rights efforts is a huge step in the right direction for sustainable development in Uganda. Now that the improved Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, enforcement needs to become the focus of their efforts. We have seen a lot of evidence that this country is very corrupt. I think that this corruption is affecting people’s openness and willingness to get involved with these issues. Many important advances have been made in recent years, but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure the rights of all citizens in Uganda.
Questions:
What did you think of Sheila’s talk? Is there anything that surprised you? What would you have liked to hear more about?
Do you think that recent advances in Human Rights are affecting Uganda’s sustainable development? How so?
What do you think the next step in Human Rights in Uganda is?

Uganda Stock Exchange and Crested Crane Securities

2010-06-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

Written by Ryan Boatman

Today we visited the USE, or the Ugandan Securities Exchange and Crested Brokerage Firm and what an experience it was. We first went to the exchange, which was much different than what we encounter in the United States. On what we would call the “floor”, about 5 brokers were responding to calls about buying and selling shares of 12 publicly traded companies. Although this sounds very small, the USE is fairly new as it is in its twelfth year of operation. What shocked me was that they were using a white board to register all of their transactions, which is completely different from the electronic world the NYSE, Nasdaq, and others use. This manual way of striking deals causes the USE to be way behind the times in terms of trading. Bombay currently trades 6000 times a day, a number of transactions that would take 4.5 years for the USE to complete. The USE is open to the public, which is not the case for the NYSE. Another major difference is the fact that the USE only trades Monday, Tuesday, Thursday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, as the United State’s exchanges trade for five days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. This shows a large difference in the interest in the markets and how big of an impact each market has on its’ economy.

Once we were done touring the exchange floor, we sat down and learned a little about how the stock market works in Uganda. I was pleased to hear that the USE is in the process of going electronic, which will help it compete in the global market. It will also allow investors to trade from their homes, just like Americans do with E-Trade, Scottrade, and other online brokerage firms. It will also drive costs down and speed up the pace of the USE to compete with markets like Bombay. I believe this is a huge development for investing in Uganda, as more people will have access to the markets.

We then left the exchange and went to Crested Brokerage Firm, whose Chief Executive Officer is Robert Baldwin, a Wisconsin native who moved to Uganda. He discussed the potential of the Uganda markets and how his motive was to pursue smaller investors that are natives of Uganda. He said that there are only about 30,000-50,000 investors in the market currently and of those about 600 are Crested investors. Not bad for a company that started its’ efforts in 2005.

I think that the USE and its’ brokerage firms that are involved are a huge part of the future of sustainability of Uganda. As the country becomes more stable and the unemployment rate goes down, more people will have excess income to invest in the markets. As the economy grows, more international investors will see the opportunities that exist and will invest in the markets as well.
What were your opinions of the USE?

Do you think that the USE will be a driving force in the sustainability of Uganda in the next few years?

Ugandan Parliment

2010-06-06T16:38:00.000-05:00

Similar to the British parliamentary system Uganda has a Prime Minister, a President, and a Parliament. At the beginning of each session the speaker of the house enters with an assembly of important people that are visiting the parliament of that are important to the meeting. They also have a ritual gold mase that has to be present at every meeting. The Parliament is broken up into different representatives from the different regions and groups of Uganda. Some examples of these regions are women’s rights, the youth, and disabilities, and army. In total there are over 300 people involved in parliament meetings. The parliament building was built in the late 1950’s when the representatives were British and they did not need a lot of parliament seats. There are only 150 seats that I counted and although not everyone in parliament attends every meeting it is still a very crowded place. During our visit they were under construction of a new building that would host more people and sit them comfortably during their meetings. Apart from the meeting area the Parliament building hosts the offices of most of the representatives for the country.

The parliament building also hosts a lot of historic items and pictures of Uganda. One of the most amazing things I saw was the display of the two different futures for Uganda. The first was a wasteland that showed what Uganda would be if they do not start changing their ways. The other was a prosperous land with growing crops healthy people. This is the future that the parliament is working toward and what would be the best for the environment and Uganda as a whole.

Along with the representative and progressive symbols in the building there is also a lot of historic items. We were able to see the pictures of the past speakers of the house and parliament bodies. The most interesting thing to me was the Ugandan flag that the United States brought to the moon and back for Uganda. Along with the plaque that stated the space flight and date that the flag was on the moon was a piece of lunar rock that was brought back and given to the Ugandan Parliament by President Nixon.

Over all, our visit to the Parliament system was very interesting and I feel like I learned a lot from our tour and the information presented to us about the parliament.

Sincerely

Carmen Anderson

UGANDA MARTYRS

2010-06-06T11:29:00.000-05:00

Extracted from www.buganda.com

The arrival of the Christian missionaries, Anglican and Catholic, set the stage for new developments, and marked a turning point in the religious life of the people of Buganda; as well as the political structure of the kingdom and the region at large. The history of Buganda from this point on took a different turn. A social revolution that was to transform all aspects of people's lives had set in, and the events that followed, unpredictable as they were, added to the discomfort the new changes had brought about. The untimely death of Mutesa I in 1884 just a few years after the arrival of the missionaries, left the kingdom in the hands of Mwanga II, a youth whose ruling style fell far short of the charisma and political astuteness his late father had demonstrated in dealing with the foreigners.

Mutesa had the astuteness and maturity of dealing with conflicting forces that struggled to influence his court. The Arabs (the Moslems), the Catholics (the French or Bafaransa as they were locally called) or the Protestants (the English or Bangereza) operated, of course not without constraint, with some minimal success during his reign. He let his subjects of all ranks to join any creed of their choice. The Arabs also having seen the Christian missionaries' efforts to convert the local people also diligently started to teach Islam. There was a competitive struggle among the preachers of the new creeds each attempting to assert more influence and recognition among the most influential officials in the inner circle of the king's court. The king himself never committed to any single creed. The Moslems denounced him for his refusal to be circumcised, and he could not be baptized in the Christian denominations because he did not want to give up polygamy. He died still a traditionalist.

The Christian religion was received with much excitement by the converts but it came with its own requirements. It denounced all the native religious behavior and practices as heathen and satanic. Therefore joining it meant a commitment to break away from the old life style, make and adopt new alliances, and adjust to new moral and religious standards, adherence and allegiance. The new flock of believers ( abasomi, or readers, as they were called) therefore, were seemingly regarded as 'rebels' who had transferred their loyalty to new religious systems thus abandoning the old tribal traditions.

Although Mwanga had shown some love for the missionaries as a young prince, his attitude changed when he became king. The once lively and enthusiastic prince in support of the missionaries turned into an intolerant and vicious persecutor of Christians and all foreigners. He felt, with good cause, that the powers and authority his predecessors had enjoyed were dwindling, and had disintegrated under the influence of the missionaries and their converts. The converts had diverted their loyalty to some other authority and their allegiance at all costs could no longer be counted on. For Mwanga, the ultimate humiliation was the insolence he received from the pages when they ( the least subservient of servants) resisted his homosexual advances. According to old tradition the king was the center of power and authority, and he could dispense with any life as he felt, hence the old saying Namunswa alya kunswaze (the queen ant feeds on her subjects). Although homosexuality is abhorred among the Baganda, it was unheard of for mere pages to reject the wishes of a king. (It is alleged that Mwanga learnt or acquired homosexual behavior from the Arabs). Given those conflicting values Mwanga was determined to rid his kingdom of the new teaching and its followers.

It was hardly a year after Mwanga's assumption of the throne that he ordered the execution of Yusufu (Joseph) Rugarama, Makko (Mark) Kakumba, and Nuwa (Noah) Serwanga the first three Christian martyrs, who were killed at Busega Natete on January 31, 1885. In October of 1885 the Anglican Bishop James Hannington recently dispatched to head the Eastern Equatorial Africa, headquartered in Buganda, was murdered in Busoga on his way to Buganda. Mwanga had ordered his death. Hannington's crime was to attempt to come to Buganda through Busoga, a shorter route than that employed by earlier visitors who took the route from south of lake Victoria. Buganda's kings regarded Busoga as a backdoor to Buganda and thought that any one coming through the backdoor must have evil intentions towards the kingdom.

Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, a senior advisor to the king and a Catholic convert, condemned Mwanga for ordering Hannington's death without giving him (Hannington) a chance to defend himself as was customary. Mwanga was annoyed that Mukasa would question his actions, and he had him arrested and killed. On Nov. 15 1885; Mukasa became the first Catholic martyr, when he was beheaded at Nakivubo. Between December of 1885 and May of 1886 many more converts were wantonly murdered. Mwanga precipitated a showdown in May by ordering the converts to choose between their new faith, and complete obedience to his orders. Those unwilling to renounce their new faith would be subject to death. Courageously, the neophytes chose their faith. The execution of twenty six Christians at Namugongo on June 3, 1886; was the climax of the campaign against the converts. The last person killed in this crusade, was Jean-Marie Muzeeyi, who was beheaded at Mengo on Jan 27, 1887. The complete list of the known martyrs is given below. The list of forty five known Catholic and Protestant martyrs includes only those who could be formally accounted for, many more murders went unreported and without a record.

Uganda's Christian Martyrs
Martyr's Name		Birthplace	Clan	Religion	M A R T Y R E D
					Date	Place	Manner
1	Kakumba, Makko	Buganda	Ffumbe	Anglican	Jan 31, 1885	Busega	Dismembered and Burned
2	Rugarama, Yusuf	Ankole		Anglican	Jan 31, 1885	Busega	Dismembered and Burned
3	Sserwanga, Nuwa	Buganda	Ngeye	Anglican	Jan 31, 1885	Busega	Dismembered and Burned
4	Balikuddembe, Yosefu Mukasa	Buganda	Kayozi	Catholic	Nov 15, 1885	Nakivubo	Beheaded and Burned
5	Mukasa, Musa	Buganda	Ffumbe	Anglican	May 25, 1886	Munyonyo	Speared
6	Kaggwa, Anderea	Bunyoro		Catholic	May 26, 1886	Munyonyo	Beheaded
7	Ngondwe, Ponsiano	Buganda	Nnyonyi Nnyange	Catholic	May 26, 1886	Ttakajjunge	Beheaded and Dismembered
8	Ssebuggwawo, Denis	Buganda	Musu	Catholic	May 26, 1886	Munyonyo	Beheaded
9	Bazzekuketta, Antanansio	Buganda	Nkima	Catholic	May 27, 1886	Nakivubo	Dismembered
10	Gonza, Gonzaga	Busoga	Mpologoma	Catholic	May 27, 1886	Lubowa	Beheaded
11	Mbwa, Eriya	Buganda	Ndiga	Anglican	May 27, 1886	Mengo	Castrated
12	Muddu-aguma			Anglican	May 27, 1886	Mengo	Castrated
13	Mulumba, Matiya	Busoga	Lugave	Catholic	May 27, 1886	Old Kampala	Dismembered
14	Muwanga, Daudi	Buganda	Ngonge	Anglican	Namanve	Castrated
15	Kayizzi, Kibuuka	Buganda	Mmamba	Anglican	May 31, 1886	Mityana	Castrated
16	Mawaggali, Nowa	Buganda	Ngabi	Catholic	May 31, 1886	Mityana	Speared, Ravaged by wild dogs
17	Mayanja, Kitoogo	Buganda	Ffumbe	Anglican	May 31, 1886	Mityana	Castrated
18	Muwanga	Buganda	Nvuma	Anglican	May 31, 1886	Mityana	Castrated
19	Lwanga, Karoli	Buganda	Ngabi	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
20	Baanabakintu, Lukka	Buganda	Mmamba	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
21	Buuzabalyawo, Yakobo	Buganda	Ngeye	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
22	Gyaviira	Buganda	Mmamba	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
23	Kibuuka, Ambrosio	Buganda	Lugave	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
24	Kiriggwajjo, Anatoli	Bunyoro		Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
25	Kiriwawanvu, Mukasa	Buganda	Ndiga	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
26	Kiwanuka, Achileo	Buganda	Lugave	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
27	Kizito	Buganda	Mmamba	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
28	Ludigo, Mukasa Adolofu	Toro		Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
29	Mugagga	Buganda	Ngo	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
30	Sserunkuuma, Bruno	Buganda	Ndiga	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
31	Tuzinde, Mbaga	Buganda	Mmamba	Catholic	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
32	Kadoko, Alexanda	Buganda	Ndiga	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
33	Kifamunnyanja	Buganda		Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
34	Kiwanuka, Giyaza	Buganda	Mpeewo	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
35	Kizza, Frederick	Buganda	Ngabi	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
36	Kwabafu	Buganda	Mmamba	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
37	Lwakisiga, Mukasa	Buganda	Ngabi	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
38	Lwanga	Buganda		Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
39	Mubi-azaalwa	Buganda	Mbwa	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
40	Munyagabyangu, Robert	Buganda	Mmamba	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
41	Muwanga, Njigija	Buganda		Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
42	Nakabandwa, Danieri	Buganda	Mmamba	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
43	Walukagga, Nuwa	Buganda	Kasimba	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
44	Wasswa	Buganda	Mmamba	Anglican	June 3, 1886	Namugongo	Burned
45	Muzeeyi, Jean-Marie	Buganda	Mbogo	Catholic	Jan 27, 1887	Mengo	Beheaded

In his efforts to curb the Christian influence and try to regain the traditional and customary powers and authorities over his subjects, Mwanga was adding more chaos to an already chaotic situation. In the north Kabarega (the king of Bunyoro Kitara a traditional arch enemy of Buganda) was raging, fighting off the pending invasion from the Khedive of Egypt and for sure he never lost his intentions towards Buganda. Further south it was reported that the Germans were annexing territories in the regions of the present Tanzania, and Mwanga was caught in a threatening position. His suspicion of the missionaries was therefore real. Buganda also was experiencing internal strife, the Moslems were plotting to overthrow him and replace him with a Moslem prince. The political upheavals combined with religious instability constrained the country's moral stamina. The kingdom was thrown into turmoil; Moslems fighting Christians, traditionalists plotting against all creeds, untimely alliances concocted to survive against a common foe and later unceremoniously discarded. The kingdom broke into civil strife during which Mwanga was briefly deposed, although he was able to regain his throne later.

Rather than deter the growth of Christianity, the martyrdom of these early believers seems to have sparked its growth instead. As has been observed in many other instances, the blood of the martyrs proved to be the seed of faith. Christianity (in its various flavours) is now the dominant faith in Buganda and Uganda as a whole. The 22 known Catholic martyrs were declared "Blessed" by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. This is one of the key steps in the catholic tradition that eventually leads to canonization. The 22 Catholic martyrs were indeed canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964; during the Vatican II conference. Thus these martyrs were now recognised by the universal church as being worthy of being honored as Saints. This was a first for modern Africa and a source of pride throughout the continent.

Basilica Church of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo.
Notice the traditional 'kasiisira' style of this modern structure.

To honor these modern saints, Paul VI became the first reigning pope to visit sub-saharan Africa when he visited Uganda in July 1969; a visit which included a pilgrimage to the site of the martyrdom at Namugongo. He also dedicated a site for the building of a shrine church in honor of the martyrs, at the spot where Charles Lwanga was killed. The shrine church itself (shown above), was dedicated in 1975 and it was subsequently named a basilica church, a high honor in Catholicism. Archbishop Robert Runcie of Canterbury, and head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, also came on pilgrimage in January 1984. Pope John Paul II in turn honored the martyrs with his own pilgrimage in February 1993. Every year, June 3rd, when most of the martyrs were killed, is marked as a national holiday in Uganda. It is also marked worldwide on the church calender as a day to honor the Uganda Martyrs. Following is a portrait of the 22 canonized Catholic martyrs.

Are Microcredit Interest Rates Exploitative?

2010-06-06T11:25:00.001-05:00

An interview with CGAP expert Rich Rosenberg

June 17, 2008

An interview with CGAP microfinance expert Rich Rosenberg

The last few years have seen increasing criticism of microcredit interest rates. Many people feel it is unfair to charge poor people rates that are a lot higher than those that wealthy people pay on bigger loans. In the context of some sensational headlines around the issue, we asked CGAP microfinance expert Rich Rosenberg to give us some more background on the issue.

1. To begin with, how high are microcredit interest rates?
When the Mexican MFI Compartamos sold shares to the public last year, there was an outcry about its interest rates, which were above 100 percent a year for a while. Some people got the mistaken impression that such rates were typical for microcredit. In fact, the median interest rate for the 700 MFIs in the Mix Market database for 2006 was 30 percent (22 percent net of inflation).

2. What's the trend—are rates moving up or down?
Actually, it's surprising how fast microcredit rates have been dropping—3.3 percentage points per year from 2000 to 2005. I'd guess that most of this drop is a reflection of the learning curve as new MFIs figure out how to squeeze down their operating costs. But some of it is because of competition, which has been heating up in the countries where the industry is most advanced. Competition will certainly get more intense over the next decade, exerting more downward pressure on rates.

3. Are the rates unreasonable? Are poor borrowers being gouged?
That's the most important question, isn't it? Obviously, we can't expect a one-size-fits-all answer: it would depend on a detailed analysis of each MFI, its market, and its borrowers. CGAP argued in a recent paper [CGAP Reflections on the Compartamos Initial Public Offering] that the Compartamos interest rate has been a lot higher than it should have been, but that's an exceptional case. The picture differs widely by institution, and by country, but I think we can shed some useful light on the overall situation (CGAP will soon be publishing a study of the issue in a forthcoming Focus Note.)
One approach is to compare MFI interest rates in a country to the rates on other kinds of small loans that lower income people use. The idea is that making lots of small loans will inevitably cost more than making a few big loans, so what kind of rates are charged by other small lenders? Where we've been able to get data, it appears that MFIs almost always charge far less than informal moneylenders. They're in roughly the same ballpark as rates on credit cards and other consumption credit. MFIs tend to charge more than credit unions, though we find that MFIs with banking licenses charge less than credit unions on average.
The most powerful approach to the question of whether interest charges are too high is to look at the individual cost items that those charges cover (cost of funds, loan losses, and administrative costs) and the profit that's left over after paying the costs.
MFIs borrow much of the money they lend out, and the interest they pay on these borrowed funds ties up about a quarter of their interest income from their clients. It doesn't seem too useful to argue about whether these funding costs are too high, because MFI managers usually have little control over what their outside funding sources charge, in the near term at least.
Managers have a lot of control over loan losses, but in good MFIs these are only a tiny factor, about 1-1.5 percent.

4. It sounds OK so far, but what about profits?
Few MFIs make really high profits: the median inflation-adjusted return on loan portfolio for MFIs worldwide was 1.1 percent in 2006. MFI profits are much lower than what one would typically see in an emerging industry, before competition sets in—so much so that very few MFIs are attractive investment targets for commercial, profit-maximizing investors.
It's important to note that profit is a fairly small piece of interest income. Let's take an MFI that is charging its clients 30 percent interest and making a profit of 4 percent on portfolio (four times the median). If it cuts its profit back to only 1 percent, it still has to charge clients 27 percent.
The big factor is not profit but administrative costs. The administrative cost of managing tiny loans eats up roughly two-thirds of the interest clients pay. It's not easy to get a statistical handle on whether these costs are "too high." Figuring out whether an MFI can cut its administrative costs without hurting the quality of its service requires detailed analysis of an individual MFI's circumstances and clientele. In general terms, we can be sure that there is room for more efficiency, because microcredit is still a relatively immature industry in most countries. Costs are always higher in immature industries. Those industries get more efficient over time, based on their own internal learning curve as well as the pressure of competition. Of course, we would all like to see efficiency improve as fast as possible, but it's unrealistic to expect that to happen overnight.

5. So what's the answer? Are microcredit interest rates unreasonably high?

Let's say that rates are "unreasonable" if MFI managers could be charging clients substantially less, even after taking into account the small sizes of the loans and the inevitable learning curve of institutions and national microfinance industries. We don't have enough data to provide a conclusive answer to that question. But based on a reading of the data we do have, I'll hazard an impression: I think there are a few MFIs out there charging unreasonable rates, but only a few. I think a vast majority of microcredit borrowers are paying rates that are pretty fair in light of the loan sizes and the early stage of the industry in most countries.

6. What should governments be doing about microcredit interest rates?
People who are shocked by microcredit rates that strike them as exploitative often want the government to impose interest rate caps. CGAP continues to think that the effect of such caps would usually be to limit poor people's access to credit. When a government body sets a maximum rate, it is politically difficult to set it high enough to cover the inevitable extra cost of making tiny loans. If microlenders can't charge enough to cover those costs, they are less likely to continue or expand services. We think it may be more useful to look at other consumer protection measures, like requiring clear disclosure of loan costs. Early evidence supports the proposition that increasing competition, along with the learning curve, will continue to push interest rates lower and efficiency higher

Microfinance Interest Rates as a Function of Transaction Costs

2010-06-06T11:22:00.001-05:00

It is often observed that the interest rates charged to borrowers of micro-loans are quite high. According to the United States Federal Reserve Board, the average interest rate charged by commercial banks for a 24-month personal credit loan was 12.22% in the third quarter of 2005. The average annual percentage rate charged on credit card debt was only slightly higher at 12.48% for Q3 05; yet the APR charged for a typical loan by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India ranged from 20% to 40% (p.4) in 2003. In lesser developed nations such as Indonesia or the Philippines rates reached up to 80% (p.4). These rates are quickly and errantly decried as exorbitant and usurious, when, in fact, they are the product of some of the most fundamental principles of economics and are advantageous not only for the lender, but the borrower as well.

Interest rates charged for lending are a function of a number of factors, of those, transaction costs and risk figure prominently into the derivation of microlending interest rates. Microlenders are subject to significantly higher transaction costs than banks in the developed world, both in absolute and relative terms. Three types of costs (p.3) are associated with the lending process: the cost of funds for on-lending, the cost of risk (loan loss), and administrative costs (identifying and screening clients, processing loan applications, disbursing payments, collecting repayments, and following up on non-repayment).

With regard to loan administration, Microcredit is an industry that is heavily dependent on personal contact for its execution (p.2). This is very time-consuming and resource intensive, and allows each loan officer to reach only a limited audience of potential borrowers.By contrast, much of the administrative process for commercial banks leverages technology for computerized credit scoring, communication with clients and payment processing. Not only is the administrative process less efficient for a microlender for each loan, but the problem is compounded further by the fact that while a developed commercial institution may lend a large sum of money to one borrower, a micro-lender will lend very small sums to many borrowers, thereby multiplying the total administrative costs by X number of borrowers.

The factors noted above contribute to a higher absolute transaction cost per loan, it is also important to note that the transaction costs relative to the loan size are considerably higher.The following example on Microcredit Cost Structure from a paper by Brigit Helms and Xavier Reille, both of CGAP, (p.2) clearly illustrates this principle:

“Compare the costs of two hypothetical lenders, Big Lender and MicroLender, each of which lends US $1,000,000. Big Lender makes a single loan, while MicroLender makes 10,000 loans of US $100 each.

The costs of capital and loan loss risk vary proportionally with loan size. Both lenders need to raise US $1,000,000 to fund their loans and will have to pay the same market rate—say, 10 percent—for the money. If both lenders have a history of losing 1 percent of their loans to default each year, they will need a loan loss provision of that amount. Both lenders can cover the cost of their capital and their risk by charging 11 percent (10% + 1% = 11%) on the loans they make to their customers.

Administrative costs are not proportional to loan size. Making a single loan of US $1,000,000 might cost Big Lender US $30,000 (3 percent of the loan amount) in staff time and other expenses involved in appraising, disbursing, monitoring, and collecting the loan. Big Lender can cover all its costs by charging the borrower an interest rate of 14 percent (10% + 1% + 3% = 14%).

However, MicroLender’s administrative costs for each US $100 loan will be much higher than 3 percent of the loan amount. Instead of US $3 per borrower, MicroLender is more likely to have to spend US $20 or more per borrower. Big Lender has to deal with only a single borrower, but MicroLender has to deal with 10,000 borrowers who typically do not have collateral, financial statements, or records in the database of a credit reporting bureau. Many of these clients may be illiterate. Lending to, and collecting from, such clients, requires time-consuming personal interaction.

Assuming Big Lender’s loan is repaid quarterly, it has to process four payment transactions per year. MicroLender’s borrowers probably make repayments monthly or even more frequently, generating at least 120,000 transactions per year. While Big Lender’s administrative cost is US $30,000 per year, that of MicroLender is at least US $200,000. Covering this cost requires a 20 percent charge on loaned amounts, resulting in an interest rate of at least 33 percent (10% + 1% + 20% = 33%). Note that administrative costs may be much higher in young MFIs that are too small to take advantage of economies of scale.”

It quickly becomes apparent that a considerable portion of the higher interest rate charged to borrowers by microlenders is derived from increased costs associated with the transaction. It is a simple fact of business that costs must be covered in order to continue operation. Further premiums must still be added to the interest rate to account for the many and varied risks assumed by a micro-lender. These factors will be explored in greater depth in a subsequent entry.

At this point, it is important to keep in mind that despite these high interest rates, micro-loans still provide positive marginal benefits for borrowers. Moreover, the potential to increase these benefits exists as the infrastructure of the industry grows, lowering costs. And finally, the high rates charged by microlenders are still considerably lower than those charged by informal sources, such as local money lenders. These important topics will also be examined in full in the coming days

Why do microcredit interest rates vary so dramatically around the world?

2010-06-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

by Richard Rosenberg: Friday, June 20, 2008

The global average is about 35 percent, but the average in Mexico is above 60 percent and in Sri Lanka is below 20 percent. Small loan sizes are the most commonly cited reason why microcredit rates are higher than normal bank rates: microcredit is a “high-touch” business, and MFIs have to process thousands of tiny transactions. But here’s a graph of MFIs in 33 countries, showing pretty clearly that loan size by itself doesn’t explain the differences between their average interest rates.

We see several other dynamics at work:

Operating costs can be pushed up by factors other than loan size, such as geographic dispersion of rural borrowers, or an unusually expensive labor market, both of which affect costs in Mexico. Age of the MFI is another factor. Surprisingly, scale doesn’t seem to make much difference: statistical analysis by the MIX shows that economies of scale tend to level off after the MFI gets its first 2,000 or so clients.
Political pressure can make a difference. Some countries impose a legal cap on interest rates to keep them “affordable,” even though this may restrict the availability of microloans. In other countries (like Ethiopia), the government provides a lot of microfinance at very low rates, and MFIs feel political pressure to do the same.
Management objectives differ. In countries like Bangladesh, managers felt that high interest rates were inconsistent with their social mission, and consequently set rates at levels that would produce very little profit, at least in the early years. In Latin America, many MFIs thought that attracting commercial capital was the best way to expand their social outreach, and wanted higher profits to attract such capital. We are now seeing players in microfinance—only a few so far—whose objective is profit, pure and simple: of course, such investors want interest income to be as high as possible.
Competition gives borrowers choices, which puts downward pressure on interest rates, forcing MFIs to become less profitable and/or more efficient. This is clearly happening in some places—e.g., Bolivia, where interest rates have dropped from 60 percent in the early 1990s to about 17 percent now. But competition doesn’t produce this result everywhere: rates have not dropped very much in Bangladesh.

TASO (The AIDS Support Organization)

2010-06-03T23:48:00.001-05:00

After a morning at the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative and a lunch of typical Ugandan fare at MUBS, we boarded Big Blue for TASO, The Aids Support Organization. The non-government organization was founded in 1987 by Christopher and Noerine Kaleeba with a mission to restore hope and improve the quality of life for those infected with HIV while also preventing further infections. From 16 founding members 23 years ago who met to support one another through fighting the disease and its stigma, TASO has blossomed into an organization with 11 centers like the one we visited today at Mulago.
The Drake and MUBS students came to visit on a ‘clinic day’ when about 200-250 clients come for care from either the counseling or the medical wings of TASO Mulago. In the medical wing, doctors primarily address administration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and treatment of opportunistic infections like Kaposi’s sarcoma, tuberculosis, staph infections, thrush, and many other infections that a strong immune system can typically fight off. When an individual has HIV, however, the virus targets CD4+ T cells that are the central immune system activators; without them, patients cannot mount a proper immune response. Antiretroviral drugs are scarce in Uganda, as they are all over sub-Saharan Africa, so TASO follows WHO standards only administering ARVs when the CD4+ T cell count has dropped below 200µg/dL (350µg/dL for pregnant women) or the client has already fallen victim to opportunistic infections. All therapies are free for the clients. In the counseling wing, staff members work to encourage positive living, disease-state monitoring, goal-setting, and guidance. They also provide basic counseling for prevention, children, couples, families, loss, crisis, and support. Research for data, evidence, and donor accountability is also based out of the counseling department of TASO.
As we filed into the main building, there were many people waiting for their number to be called to receive services. We were informed that the organization serves 36,000 clients at Mulago. Six to eight percent of these are children aged 17 and younger. Of their client base, about 68% is female, and 32% is male. The presenter explained to the seminar’s students that the disproportionate nature of the service based on gender resulted from stigma; women have less of a choice about ‘coming out’ and are not as highly affected by the AIDS stigma as men.
After a brief informational presentation, students enjoyed a performance by TASO’s drama group, which was initially formed in 1992 and has turned into a center-wide project with professional training. Before singing their opening songs, Light and Hope and Trumpet Call, a spokesperson from the group explained their mission to spread the word about positive living, awareness, and eliminating stigma. He stressed that it’s important to realize that even if you’re HIV positive, you can do something positive. Smiling and full of energy, the groups sang their first two pieces in beautiful harmony demonstrating their talents and dedication to spreading the message to fight AIDS. It was very interesting to listen to how the singers included lyrics that encouraged actions to promote HIV awareness and detection, such as talking to a spouse and getting blood work done.
Gertrude, a member of the drama team, was then introduced to tell her story. She explained in candid and heartfelt detail how she had contracted HIV from a man who falsely promised to pay for her school and then proceeded to take advantage of her sexually. Her story was inspiring, though, as she explained how TASO helped her to rebound from losing her job because of stigma, reclaim her life with positive living, marry, and even have a healthy child of her own.
After Gertrude’s testimonial, the drama team performed several more musical numbers. One addressed AIDS stigma with solos from various members highlighting their traumatic experiences with stigmatization. One member sang about losing his friends, and another woman related in her native language her story about being kicked out of the home that she and her deceased husband had built. Another piece emphasized the power that comes with knowledge because even if you are HIV positive there’s still life to live and everybody will die at some time. The closing song had everybody clapping, and finally standing together, perhaps symbolizing us all standing against AIDS. After the music finished, the group members each introduced themselves and stated the year they were diagnosed. Some were diagnosed and joined TASO as early as 1990, 14 years before antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were introduced to Africa. One man diagnosed in 1995 was even able to boast a CD4+ Tcell count of 1,119µg/dL without ARVs, showing the effectiveness of TASO’s ‘positive living” method which encourages eating healthy foods, taking medications, no smoking/drinking/drug use, mild exercise, acceptance, socialization, not blaming others, not feeling guilty, avoiding depression, and basically leading a normal, healthy life.
After the group closed their performance, students were allowed to ask questions and browse the jewelry and crafts that were made my clients of TASO and for sale to benefit the organization. The afternoon’s performance and messages, hopefully inspired students to consider the possibility of TASO’s vision coming true, the possibility of a world without AIDS.
Perhaps as you consider whether or not TASO’s vision is realistic, you can consider other questions regarding their organization and HIV/AIDS in Africa. How were you touched by the music of the drama group? Did Gertrude’s story inspire you? Were you surprised by the appearance of those with HIV/AIDS? Do you think stereotyping and stigmatizing is an issue in the United States because of our expectation of what they would look and act like? What do you recognize at the biggest challenge to fighting AIDS in Uganda? Do you think stigma is still a major factor affecting an HIV-positive individual in Uganda? If so, what did you recognize TASO doing to combat stigma? If not, what do you recognize as factors that are helping to reduce stigmatization?

Opportunity Uganda

2010-06-03T14:07:00.000-05:00

On Monday we had the opportunity to visit Opportunity Uganda. To explore what Opportunity Uganda does for its customers, we split up into small groups of 5-6. Each group was paired up with one of the agents from Opportunity Uganda and we went to their branch. Driving to the branch, I took notice of what the surrounding area looked like. The area we drove through had many small shops set up on the side of the road. Most shops were small and only had one room with merchandise all over the walls and tables.

After a twenty minute drive, we arrived at the branch. The front looked like a nice business that had a front entry, but we did not go in the front door, instead we walked around back to where most of the business takes place. There was a courtyard common area surrounded by buildings. We sat in the middle under a tent where we were first introduced to what microfinance entails.

Microfinance is lending that is given to groups of small business owners so they can raise more capital. The specific group I visited had 18 people in the group with 12 active loans out. The loan amounts ranged from 200,000 Ugandan Schillings to 800,000 Ugandan Schillings, which is from $100 to $400. The reason there are more people in the group than loans is because some people do not have current loans out, but are still part of the group because they may need to lend again.

To become a member of the group, one must give collateral, which can be a household item like a TV, radio, or pots and pans if they are in the restaurant industry. The reason for collateral is it shows the group that they have a vested interest in the group. One perk of the group is that if one of the members misses a payment or defaults on his or her loan, then the rest of the group covers for that member until the member is able to pay back the money. This can be a good thing for the member that cannot make the payments, but it can be a bad thing for the group and puts the rest of the group in a situation they may not wish to be in.

The loans work in a way that the person has to be invited into the group by the group leader, however the person must already have an existing business, and then to be accepted into the group he or she has to put their collateral down. Then you apply for the loan amount you would like to receive. Once the loan is received, the person has on Monday before they must start making loan payments. The first loan received is for six months with the person making weekly payments. Then at six months, the person can take out a second loan for nine months and then a third loan can be taken out for twelve months. A member can have more than one loan out at a time.

When we visited Opportunity Uganda, we went out into the community and attended a weekly group meeting. At group meetings, the head of the group leads the meeting and they talk about different issues that may arise and they also collect the weekly payments. The group has a variety of business owners including a shoe salesman, a canteen owner, second hand clothes dealer, carpenters, and a phone accessories dealer. All the different business owners know each other which is essential in the group setting because honesty and integrity are the main tests to see if the person will be granted a second loan.

According to the group, microfinance has some positive advantages. One major benefit to the group members are the weekly payments. The members said that they prefer the weekly payments because it makes them think about budgeting their money and then their minds are always set on the next weekly payment. It was also mentioned that group loans can help people raise enough capital for their businesses that they would not otherwise be able to receive.

However, there are some negatives to microfinance. One main problem is the timeliness of the loans, many of the business owners said that the loans are not received in a timely manner and because of this problem, they lose business. This is partially because the people are in a group setting and things have to abide by the group standards, but if people take loans out from a larger bank, then they can receive the funds when they need it and they are not tied down to the group and they can also receive loans at different time increments. Another problem is the fact that many of the group members are illiterate, so they are not able to read and understand handouts that are given to them regarding their loans. Then microfinance loans are not for start up businesses, so if a person would like to start up a business, they cannot receive any funds from microfinance until they have an established business.

How did your experience compare to what was described?

Do you agree or disagree with the positives and negatives to microfinance? Do you have any more to add?

Special Needs School and Orphanage

2010-05-31T09:17:00.001-05:00

As the head of the school, Francis got the idea for the special needs school in 1998 because of his own physical disability. He wanted to get more people off the streets and turn them into a productive, sustainable force. So in 2002, the institution was created. It was hard to sustain at first because most children with special needs come from poor families, which do not send them to get an education because they have no extra money and see it as a waste of time. When a child has a disability, many people have negative attitudes towards them and will view it as a curse from God.

The approach the school now uses is a 5:1 ratio. For every 5 normal students admitted and paying tuition, one child with special needs is let in. This includes those who are physically disabled, deaf, blind, autistic, time-takers, or intellectually challenged. A series of specialists interact with and assess the children so they can place everyone in the correct class level. Part of the school goes from nursery to Primary 7, and the vocational group is made up of those who can work but are not good with education.

Most students start the day with class at 8 am, play time at 10, and break tea at 11. Then they have free activities and can meditate on their lessons for about a half hour. They have more lessons, lunch, and then end the day with exploration of more specific studies or disciplines. The children go back home around 3 or 4 pm. This schedule varies based on the needs of each child. Most go to school everyday, but others may come only three times a week or a couple hours of the day.

The school has a total of 286 students, 30 of which board there. Ages range from 3 to 19 years, but they leave at different times depending on when skills are gained. Classes have about 25 students in each, which is very small for Uganda. The average classroom has 50 students or even 100. Funding for the school comes from the 5:1 ratio as well as local fundraising and handcrafts the students make and sell. Wings of Support, a Dutch organization, donated the chairs and toys for the school, while another Dutch organization helped with construction, especially the bathrooms and doors. The school also carries out agriculture on about 20 acres of land, so they sell when there is excess.

The special needs school has a doctor for medical check-ups and physical therapy exercises for mostly rehabilitation. They provide chapel services for all students and some specifically for the deaf. Teachers must be able to sign and talk during class, and brail must be prepared for those who are blind beforehand. Pets such as rabbits and chickens are used to help some of the children with communication, unruly behavior, or teamwork. The school includes bedrooms for boarders, a kitchen, computer lab, and sewing machines.

The main mission of the school is to teach children to become self-reliant job makers, instead of job seekers. They want to get rid of the stigma in the home and the community, and let others see the person before the disability. The school is integrating those with disabilities into the rest of the community so that they can also be educated and productive.

We were able to tour the school and see inside each of the classrooms. We met some of the faculty members and students. We even got to see brail being made, a service for the deaf, and one of the students write with her feet.

Did the school meet your expectations?

How is it similar to or different from the way people with disabilities are viewed and treated in the U.S.?

Agriculture in Uganda

2010-05-30T23:36:00.000-05:00

Authored by Jennifer Kaiser

We started the day traveling to Kabimbiri, a rural town Professor Senteza grew up in. It was about an hour from the city. We split up into two groups to visit with different farmers. Boda Bodas (small motorcycles) were our mode of transportation. My group visited Henry Lwanga, who stressed that cocoa production was the new vision for agriculture in Uganda. Lwanga farms a 50 acre cocoa plantation that his grandfather began when he was young and that he took over after graduating from Mackere University. He explained the lifecycle of cocoa plants. It takes about 2 ½ to 3 years before a cocoa plant can begin yielding (poorly); the plant won’t have high production until its 7th year. In the 7th year, the farmer will have to harvest the cocoa plant every 14 days (germination cycle). Shearers are used to harvest the cocoa plantations which ensure that the pod is not destroyed when removed from the cocoa plant. The pod is then broken open, the seeds are taken out, and the beans are placed in boxes to ferment. The seeds are placed in one box for 3 days, moved to another for 3 days, and then to a final for the last 2 days to complete aeration. Next, the seeds are ready for drying, so they are laid out on the ground for the sun’s heat to dry them. After drying, they are bagged and ready for the market. The cocoa is then sold and made into chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, tea, and so on. Lwanga uses a product called PUSH which is an antiherbal bio-fertilizer that increases yield for cocoa pods. He applies it four times during every cycle: 4 leaves, pre-flowering, pod formation, and before harvest. This allows for quick maturity and reduces flower shedding so more pods are formed. It takes about 150 days from flowering to the ripening or maturing of the pod. Lwanga prunes and weeds his cocoa trees for optimum cocoa production. Common pests for cocoa plants include capseeds, millibugs, scalespests, aphids, monkeys, and moss. Cocoa plants require continuous harvesting throughout the year, but some months have more production than others, so some farmers will sometimes employ others in the community to help them for a few weeks. My group did not get to see the pineapple and banana plantations because we were rained out, but the other group did.

Agriculture in Uganda is much different than in the United States. The average farmer in Uganda owns 2.5 acres. Anything bigger is considered an estate! I can’t imagine farming only two or three acres of land when field sizes that my parents operate can range from 80 to 400 acres. Ugandan farmers do everything by hand with the use of no machinery. Spraying, working the ground, and harvesting take so much longer for smaller fields than in the U.S. It’s shocking how behind Ugandan farming is. Unlike the city, it has not grown. Production levels were higher in the 1980s than they are now; I think this is a result of splitting up farms. Furthermore, Ugandan agriculture is not protected by crop insurance (if natural disasters strike, farmers are accountable for all they lose), there are no government subsidies (like CRP-growing/raising grasslands, trees, plants, etc. for profit), and technology is limited.

Ugandan agriculture does not seem sustainable to me. Too many people think that land is all that matters to them, not the profit from the land, or even the amount of produce the land yields. Until farmers have bigger farms and more acres, nothing will change. Communal land or fewer farmers would be beneficial. Programs that NAADS is trying to introduce need to provide better incentives to get farmers more interested in forming groups of 5 to make their land area bigger. Mindsets need to change; land should not be the pride of a farmer, but the amount of income he can achieve from working in his fields. True entrepreneurs in agriculture are needed. Until the farmer is willing to work for money and not survival, true business at its prime, Uganda won’t experience growth.

The main problem I notice is education. People need to understand that not everyone can be a farmer; it won’t work. More people need to become educated (University level) and enter the business world, or the private sector. Fewer blue collar workers are needed and more white collar positions are for countries to experience exponential growth. The U.S. does this; which shows education is key. Most children in rural and farming families can’t afford to send their children to school. An uneducated workforce causes even more problems and economic decay. Furthermore, splitting up farmland among families hinders production. Western culture has proven that bigger farms are linked to technological advancements and economic stability. Economies need stability, relying on one commodity for 90% of the GDP is detrimental. The change needed to happen yesterday.

AT THE SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

2010-05-30T13:15:00.002-05:00

it has been a tough time guys from the day we begun the Owino walk to today at the School with Children with special needs. This so far has been my most captivating moment on the tour so far. It is a story to tell and also reflect about, the Kids how they survive and integrate in Society.

Did i see tears and resignation about life by looking of some of you? Yes. Here is my story about SURE Prospects Institute. I flew back from the US to Uganda on the 22nd April and the next day on the 23rd, i ended up at that school to drop of someone who had business at this school. As i waited in the ar with my son Jonathan; he walked out and came back running. Daddy, there are Kids with no Limbs and some cannot see or hear.i was struck by this and I looked at out the car to have a look around. A sense of hopelessness struck me but I had to act fast to help this young boy understand the situation. I sat with him in the car and tried to explain to him that yes indeed some people had certain defects and they are still part of society. I sent him back to the same kids and watched him play and get along, which was a huge relief to me!

But then I still had thoughts going through my mind, what is it I can do for these kids? I still have not got an answer or solution, but I thought that with you guys (Drake) visiting as well we can put two heads (oh thirty heads) together to find something. I was really impressed by the Director’s welcoming speech and also seeing that the teachers also are with disabilities as well as seeing a church service for the deaf. I am now sitting back at home happy that your visit brought a smile to these kids. Thanks for your contributions and gentleness!

Inspector General

2010-05-29T23:20:00.000-05:00

Written by Jacki Debb

Today was a very interesting day at the Uganda inspector general’s office. At first I had no idea what an inspector general did or who he was for that matter. So first thing for me was to find out what and who exactly this person was and what he did. When we first got there everyone sat around or near this big table waiting for the Honorable Raphael Baku, the general to come in. When he came in he had an entourage of people, about three men; one of which we knew (James from Kabale). He walked in and we were told to stand for him which everyone did once told to. After that he said thank you and we sat down. It reminded me of a court room where everyone has to stand for the judge. After the sitting and standing dance James announced and gave a brief overview of who the man standing before us was and what he was going to talk about. Raphael had a packet of papers with bullet points in it of what he was going to talk about; he introduced himself and then went into what exactly the Inspector General’s office does in Uganda. Raphael has been the general for two terms. In order for the general to be put in this office or in his position he must be appointed by the president and approved by parliament. The goal of the Inspector Generals office is to reduce corruption. They go about this by following and investigating complaints that people make about companies, corporations or people that may be involved in corrupt activities. Raphael said that there were about 25 definitions of what corrupt activity could actually be. He did not go into all the examples but the main ones he mentioned were fraud, bribery, nepotism, and failure to account. The office starts out by following complaints that have been made. They then investigate and if need be they prosecute. When Raphael was concluding his speech he mentioned the main parts of the office and what the Inspector general does. To promote and foster the rules of law set forth by the constitution, eliminate corruption, enforce laws, supervise disciplinary codes of conduct, investigate acts of corruption and give a recommendation as to what the next step is, and lastly, stimulate public awareness of what corruption is and how to prevent it. The inspector of government was created by the constitution and therefore has constitutional independence. The office cannot conduct its own trials but they make inquires and investigate what needs to be looked in to. The people that are appointed are the deputy who is appointed by the general and the general is appointed by the president. The most interesting thing I thought that was talked about was the new act that was passed in 2009 named the Anti-corruption act. This stated that with this new act private sectors can be prosecuted and it also included some new offenses. These new offenses were influence penalty, conflict of interest and nepotism. Raphael talked about how even though the Inspector government is a private entity it does work with the president and government to ensure that corruption is stopped He talked about how assets are recovered when someone is found guilty of corruption and where the money goes. The money either goes back to the proper place that it should have been in like the company it was stolen from or it goes into the Inspector government’s bank account where it then will be given to the treasury. After his discussion he allowed time for questions and there were quite a few. The main questions had to do with the fact that Uganda is still considered a corrupt country and what are they doing about it. To summarize the general said no country will ever be free or corruption but the goal is to reduce it as much as possible. Overall, I thought that the presentation was very entertaining I went in knowing nothing about the inspector general and what he does to knowing exactly who he is, what he does and how he does it. It was very interesting to see the power that he has and the respect that had to be shown to him. When it was time to leave everyone had to stay seated until Raphael and his entourage were gone. Once he left everyone stood up trying to remember and organize everything that was said and then we were on our way out of the office. The experience was definitely a learning experience for me and something I probably would not do again. It was interesting but if politics and government are not really your thing, then this was a somewhat boring talk. I think that Raphael was straight and to the point about what he does and how he does his job. I think it was extremely informative and I am glad I am not so clueless as to what an inspector general does anymore.

What are your views on Uganda being a corrupt country?

Do you think he was honest with his answers that he gave during his talk?

Do you really think he is an unbiased party being appointed by the president?

Do you think that the inspector general should be appointed by the president or elected by the popular vote?

Do you think another government body should be there to check the inspector government to make sure they are not corrupt?

Gender Issues in Uganda

2010-05-29T13:24:00.002-05:00

Friday morning (5/27) -

This morning we went to the MUBS annex campus to listen to a talk on gender isses and the law by David Batema, a former attorney and high court judge. Mr. Batema began his lecture by asserting that law is inherently male because it is created by males and therefore has a male point of view. The consequence of this is gender marginalization, disempowerment, negative biases, and injustice. Before 1995, when the new Ugandan constitution was written, marginalization used to be much more pronounced. Only men were allowed to inherit land and money, legal standards differed for women and men on adultery, female teens who became pregnant while in school were expelled while no punishment was given to the father of the child, and judges used to question and examine women more harshly than men because women were seen as more likely to fabricate (Mr. Batema admitted to this himself). Before 1995 cultural and tribal influences, that in Uganda mostly favor the superiority of men, were strong. Gender was distinguished many ways - through various foods that were culturally accepted as being eaten mainly by males or females, in marriages where women were seen s as inferior to their husbands, in the workplace where women did not pursue jobs, and other areas. Mr. Batema went on to outline the changes in gender roles that have resulted from the new constitution, which focuses on creating gender equality and condemns the cultural and tribal practices that differentiate between gender. Under the new constitution females can now inherit land and money, have equal rights in marriage and divorce, have an extended maternity leave from 45 to 65 days, and every district is required to have at least one woman representative in which the language 'chairman' has been replaced by 'chairperson.' Affirmative action policies have also been adopted under the new constitution to help relieve the marginalization of women. Mr. Batema stated an example that in an application pool where a girl and boy have equal qualifications, the girl will be selected over a boy because the girl has more disadvantages in society. In addition, the new constitution prohibits cultures, customs, and traditions that are against the dignity and welfare of women or marginalized groups. This means that some traditions that are rooted deep in Ugandan tribes are now outlawed by the government. Challenges that Uganda stil has to face in gender equality are that men are still viewed as the 'bread-winners' of the family and are the main source of income and control many of the family resources, women are viewed as a homogenous category and not as individuals with ranging emotions and opinions, and the conflict between tribal and religious practices still present that oppose gender equality.
It seemed that everyone was engaged in Mr. Batema's presentation and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is impressive how far Uganda has come on the issue in recent years. Mr. Batema personally has had much influence in creating the new gender policies for Uganda.

What did the MUBS students say about Mr. Batema's presentation? Do they feel that gender roles in their lives agree with what was discussed?

Do you think it is ok that the government has outlawed certain tribal practices and customs in order to decrease the marginalization of women? What effects will this have on the deep traditons of Ugandan tribes?

Does the new Ugandan constitution show too much effort on behalf of women, to the point where it is almost hypocritical of trying to eliminate gender differentiation?

Does gender equality promote sustainable development?

Rural Visit - Family and Culture

2010-05-29T13:17:00.003-05:00

Today we got the privilege of going on one of the most looked forward events from the trip - the rural visit. We left straight after breakfast to drive about an hour and a half to go into the very rural part of Uganda. We arrived in the town center to the welcoming of probably about 30 children. Then we split into two groups so that we could visit two different farming family homes. One group walked to their destination; my group got to ride boda boda's (which are like the taxi's of Uganda, motorcycle style). Don't worry parents, the drivers made sure to go a slow and safe speed on those things.

We got to meet Henry Lwanga who taught us all about his cocoa farming and family life. Before we had arrived, I was expecting a town that was very lacking; a town full of sad people who would do anything for some food (like they show on the commercials all the time) but I am very happy to report that that is not the case at all. The town is thriving! There is more food then they need and they have access to health care (there is a pharmacy and health clinic in town as well as a hospital 10 kilometers away) and education without too much hassel.

Henry got his Bachelor's degree from Makere University and came back to farm, something that is actually rare. Most farming families don't have that much education, children usually stop after primary school so that the kids can help out on the farm. Henry's family, however, is exceptional and all of the kids attend school. He has 10 children by the way and the ones that aren't yet at university help around the 50 acre farm that the family owns.

So here is what Henry tells us the typical rural Ugandan day looks like:
He wakes up around 5 am and plans everything out so he has a "mission for the day." Then he actually begins the work around 7 am with the help of his children. The kids usually can only help out for a little bit since they need to get to school. He works out on the farm all day while his wife stays home and works on general upkeep, cooking, smaller plants, etc. The kids help out more on the weekends and on holidays but even afterschool there is always some sort of project to do around the home. On a cocoa farm, there is never lack of something to do - they have to harvest every 14 days. I asked about who inherits the farm, expecting to hear the usual "eldest son" answer, but Henry says that's actually something that is put in the will and is kept a secret until the father passes away, and this is not always (or even usually) the eldest son. But no one will know until the time comes; I found that very interesting.

After seeing some of the cocoa plants and learning about the agriculture aspect of their life, we had to retreat to the pourch of the house to get out of the pouring rain - bad timing huh? But we got to ask more questions and hang out for a bit so it wasn't terrible. When the rain stopped, we headed back into town to have some lunch. The wives of the farmers who had been showing the two groups around had cooked us a feast; there was so much food there! And most of it was very different food then we are used to eating. What I liked most about the feast was that, according to Dr. Senteza, all of the food came from within a 5 kilometer radius. It was all home grown. Well, this is excluding the soda that we had to drink of course. But the food was pretty good and there was more then enough there, which is a great testimony to how the town is thriving.

The people are so happy there; it was wonderful to see! Also, there was an overwhelming sense of community. One of the staff members from MUBS was telling me that while he was growing up in a farming community, he was able to disappear for the whole day and no one would worry because in those town, everyone knows each other and no one needs to worry about being robbed or kidnapped or anything. What a great place to be!

Some questions for the students to think about:
- If you could grow up in a place like this no knowing what you are missing out on from America, would you want to? Why?
- How is this way of life different then your own?
- What most suprised you about the way of life in rural Uganda?
- How has this experience changed your perspective on life, Uganda, America, etc?
- How are small farms key to the sustainable development of Uganda?

Half Way Gone

2010-05-28T23:48:00.001-05:00

We are officially at the half way point of our stay in Uganda. During the first half I have been reflecting on this year and past years. The road work on the way to Mbarara is progressing well, it looks like by next year there will be a very nice, modern road in place for the vast majority of that trip. It was interesting seeing more large construction equipment this year than in the past, a small sign that the country is progressing in industrialization. The thing that has made the largest impact on me so far was the primary school day. In reading the blog it is easy to see that many of the students feel similar. The impact for me was much different than that for most of the students. I had seen the school conditions and wanted to help out for each of the last three years. It was great to finally devote a day in the program to leaving the school in better shape. However, I feel like there is so much more we can do. I wonder if experiences like this are the most important thing we do and the best learning experience for the students. Maybe we will spent to much time in the classroom. At the beginning of the class I asked students to talk about their expectations. The half way point is a good time to reflect on what you expected and what you have experienced. Everyone has been doing a great job in your journal --looking over the first half of the trip what one thing would you tell friends and family to describe the experience so far? In other words, now that the trip is half way gone - what has been your greatest "a ha" moment"?

President’s Reception and Cultural Gala

2010-05-28T14:44:00.000-05:00

After the two presentations today and exchanging some more money downtown at the Grand Imperial Hotel, we headed back to the campus of MUBS for a reception put on by the president of MUBS. To open the reception, a member of the administrative staff who is also a student in the masters program showed off for us doing what he does in his spare time: circus tricks. He walked across a wire, made tea while balancing on a stationary bicycle, and a few other stunts. It was entertaining for us, if a little strange for the MUBS students, who see him on a daily basis.

Right after that we were entertained by a dance and drumming troupe who performed a traditional Buganda dance for us. The instruments were essentially the same as what the students at the primary school had just a couple of days ago, and it was fun to see a little native culture in action. The dance troupe was excellent as well, and they got a few of our students and the MUBS students up to attempt their dance. A number of the MUBS students are Buganda, and were trying to teach us the dance as well. It seemed really simple, but you could see how much practice the dancers had put in as the evening went on. Some of the students were even up with the dancers for a good while, and could hold their own in the feather-shaking, hip-swinging style the dancers used for the night.

As we mingled with the students, faculty, and staff from MUBS at the reception, we had time to get supper and get to know some of them more. The music was always on, either from the hired DJ or the drummers. You can definitely hear where they get their preference in dance music from, though, because the beat just kept going. As darkness fell, the DJ started playing a combination of old school American pop and newer Afro-pop. All the students were out having fun, and the mixing of dance styles was just as fun as the music. We were all disappointed because there was a noise ban at eight o’clock, and the music had to stop. It sounded like everyone had a great time this evening, and we hope to get some more opportunities to see more of this integral part of Ugandan life and culture.

Finally, a few questions: Given that the Inspector General said today that Ugandans do not worry about copyright laws, do you think that the country is able to sustain a music industry? Artists can make money from hiring out to parties (like the one tonight), doing shows and events, but not from recordings. Does this still allow for development, or are artists limited by piracy? Also, did you enjoy the music? What similarities did you hear between their cultural musical heritage and their pop music?

Takeaway Restaurant, Equator Shops, and Crocodile Farm

2010-05-28T12:51:00.002-05:00

Thursday-

Today we had the chance to return to the Takeaway Restaurant during our journey back from Mbarara, and yet again it was a delicious pit-stop along the way. We had the choice between chicken or talapia, the whole fish, head and all, and everything was delicious. This restaurant is one of the last along the route before entering another city, so it is a great place to snag a bite before getting back on the road. I would estimate the Takeaway to seat approximately 75 customers, which I would think it could easily occupy.
We stopped at the Equator Shops on our way to Mbarara, but just had to return on the trek back to accumulate even more souvenirs. Everyone seemed to enjoy standing in both hemispheres, and of course it was the perfect photo-op for our group on this trip. Shops were all bunched together along the road, about the length of a city block, along both sides, and this was the perfect test for us to try our hand at bargaining. The skill is almost expected in the area, but it was shocking in some cases at how much the seller is willing to drop the price to make a sale, but it just goes to show, they need us to make a living.
The Crocodile Farm was a very interesting place, and a little intimidating I must say. When we first walked up we came upon a storage house for the younger crocs, which then turned into the juvenile crocs, those under 5 years of age. It is at this age when the animals are then used for meat and making products such as bags, shoes, and belts. Our tour guide would not give an approximate asking price for any of the items, but from what we gathered they sell to buyers in Korea who then turn around and sell again for profit. Because the farm does not have many expenses, it must do pretty well in terms of income, which is great hope for small businesses in Uganda.
Small businesses like these all seem to do pretty well in retrospect, but I really feel that they could make so much more profit by making a few changes. First of all, these places could use more advertising. Businesses like these need to get the word out that they exist, especially to tourists like us, otherwise they will never get the foot traffic needed for a large income. Tourist attractions are huge, so maybe more of that mentality at these places could turn mild success into major growth. Now, tourism doesn't always have a positive effect in all countries, but it could be the thing needed to stimulate this country financially. Small businesses are a big thing in Uganda, and that can be used to their advantage if they are operated in such a way that can impact the country in a positive manner. In the long run this could help the economy of Uganda, which in turn could truly effect the rest of the world.

Questions:
What do you think could be done to promote small businesses such as these? Do you think an increased amount of tourism would have a positve or negative effect on the country?

take-away restaurant/ equator shops/ croc farm

2010-05-28T12:46:00.002-05:00

THIS IS SHAMIMU. :)

Hi everyone,

Today we traveled back to Kampala from Mbarara. We passed by the Equator Shops and the Take-Away restaurant. The shops have a number of hand made crafts, such as, knives, bags, baskets, earrings, animals, and African shoes. The Americans learned how to bargain at the shops. The restaurant had chicken, fish, and local foods. We then went to the Croc Farm. It has over 4,600 crocodiles! Three are over 50 years, and the rest are young. The crocodiles feed on chicken and beef. The young crocodiles are fed twice a week and the old ones are fed once a week. This is because their digestive system is slower. The crocodile eggs are got from Murchison Falls National Park. They are put in an incubator for two months to hatch. When they reach three years, they are killed to get skins. They are sold to one Korean buyer. They are used to make shoes, bags, and belts. Then we traveled back to Kampala.

-Shamimu

Primary School Visit

2010-05-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

Today was a very busy day at the primary school in Mbarara. Some of us left the hotel at 6:45 to start working and the rest of us left at 8:45. The school was very close to the hotel so we were able to walk there. When the early shift of people arrived to the school they removed the books and furniture from the classrooms so that they were ready to paint when the rest of the Drake and MUBS students arrived.

After everyone had arrived at 9:00 a.m. we had an assembly with all the students at the primary school. Their head master welcomed us to the school and had the children sing the national anthem of Uganda. We were then introduced the faculty of the school. After their introductions each of the students from Drake and MUBS stood up and said their name and what they were studying at school. Once we had all had gone around we allowed the children to ask us questions about school or the United States. At first the students did not have many questions but once we started passing out candy if they asked a question there were a lot of hands up with questions. One the students asked us to sing the national anthem. We had some Drake choir students lead us so we would not sound so horrible.

When we were done with questions we had a lot of time to interact with the students of the primary school. Many of us took pictures of the kids. They loved seeing pictures of themselves on the camera. Many of them would just come up to us asking if we could take pictures of them and then seconds later you would be surrounded by kids wanting to be in a picture. They thought that seeing their picture was one of the coolest things.

Once we were done taking pictures and playing with the kids it was time to get to work. Our project was to paint the outside and inside of one of the school building. All the paint and supplies we used was donated by Kristin Kowalski’s friends and family in memory of her mom. It was a very generous donation and we had plenty of supplies to finish the job.

All the students from Drake and MUBS worked very well together so we were able to get the job done very timely. In the afternoon to take a break from painting many of us went to the classrooms to pass out candy to the students. They were all so happy to receive the candy and a little break from studying. When classes were done for the day all the children came running out the their classrooms to get more candy. We were all swarmed with children pushing to get more candy. Within five minutes we no longer had any more candy to pass out. Once all the candy was gone we put the finishing touches on the school and cleaned up our work area.

It was a very busy and long day, but it felt really good to be able to help out the children at the primary school.

Questions:

Was there anything interesting that you learned about the school systems in Uganda today?

What did you enjoy most about the visit to the primary school?

Queen Elizabeth National Park

2010-05-25T15:52:00.001-05:00

The visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park has finally come and gone! I definitely circled this event on the itinerary out of excitement. The experience I had at this park was amazing. Queen Elizabeth National Park is the top two largest national parks in Uganda. This park is home to over 95 animal species and 614 species of birds. Before entering the park, we stopped alongside the road at the National Park lookout. This fall mountain that bordered the park provided us with an amazing view of what stood below. The park is very large. Inside the park lie two large lakes; Lake George and Lake Edward. Lake Edward is massive and its borders stretch into Congo which is Uganda’s neighbor to the west. The view was simply amazing. Both of these lakes were nothing less of breath taking.

It was really nice to see the animals in their natural habitats. We saw all kind of beasts including Elephants, Hippos and Water Buffalo all feeding on the banks of Lake Edward. My favorite was the Elephant. I enjoyed learning all kind of information about this large animal. During the game drive, the group got the chance to see a mother elephant walking around with its offspring. Elephants are very protective of their young. The young elephant often hides under the legs of its parents to hide itself from any danger. Elephants have no natural predator. The only predators to elephants are humans who hunt them for their tusks. Queen Elizabeth is home to about 500 Elephants. This figure has dropped tremendously from years back! At one point of time, there were about 5,000 elephants in this park. During the reign of Idi Amin he slaughtered thousands of elephant for their precious ivory which reduced their population greatly to about 300 elephants. This species is slowly but surely growing.

Our tour guide Moses was pretty cool. He talked about the conflict between the park and its local people. Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to 11 villages. These villagers are often farmers, salt miners of fishermen. This is how they make their living. Recently there were 5 lions poisoned to death by local farmers. The lions were preying on their cattle causing the farmers to lose money, so they took action to end this. This is having a negative impact on the ecosystem as well as tourism. There is often conflict between the park and local residents. Moses explained to us that the local people would sometimes hunt the animals inside the park for food. They would also pollute the water and land with trash which both have a negative impact on the environment. This can decrease the amount of local tourists who visit this park resulting in lack of revenue. There have been constant efforts from both the Uganda Wildlife Authority and local villagers to compromise. Moses stated that the park tries to help fund schools for the local village people to promote a healthy relationship between inhabitants and environment. This is definitely a way of sustainable development. It is a combined effort from the government; UWA and local village people to upkeep this beautiful park.

To attract visitors Queen Elizabeth National Park provides numerous activities. Some of these include boat rides, forest walks, hill climbing, and chimp searches. These activities increase the numbers of local tourism. This promotes sustainable development because by keeping this park as natural as possible, the higher the amount of tourism and revenue for the government. National Parks are great for sustainable development. They allow for the a huge pieces of land to go untouched and ruined by development which are turned into a way of local as well as international tourism. Maintaining this park requires a lot of labor will increase jobs for people such as Moses. Overall, I think that tourism to National Park is a sustainable industry. The Uganda Wildlife Authority should continue to focus on the upkeep of this park. By promoting a healthy relationship between the village people and the wild species, the park’s population will continue to grow in numbers which will attract more tourists resulting in more money for the park. This money could help aid the village people’s schools and general lifestyle to decrease the conflicts.

Posted By Matthew Hancock (through Brittany's Account)

Visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park

2010-05-25T14:16:00.000-05:00

Greetings everyone.

Today we visited Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda.On our way to the park, we stopped at the Kajara Tea Estates,which is one of the largest tea estates in the region.

We all got off the bus and took pictures with the workers who were picking tea leaves.Surprisingly, the highest paid tea-harvester earns 10,000sh(5 dollars) per day.The method of picking tea leaves is manual and highly labour-intensive.The tea leaves picked are taken to a nearby factory for processing.

The park is found in the western arm of the East African Rift Valley,and it is the second-largest game park in Uganda after Murchison falls park with an area coverage of 1978 sq. km. It is located on a plain near Mountain Rwenzori,which is the highest mountain in Uganda.

We were excited to learn that there are 95 species of mammals and 614 bird species,and the numbers in the park are increasing. Earlier in the day we had a boat ride along the Kazinga channel that connects lakes George and Edward,from where we saw elephants,buffalos,hippos,birds and crocodiles. Among the birds we saw, there is the spur winged prover that is able to pick meat from a crocodile's teeth. The bird enjoys a special relationship with the crocodile.

The park has about 200 tree-climbing lions however we were not able to see any.

Visitors to the park are able to find accomodation at Mweya Safari Lodge, which has separate cabins for the President of Uganda and the Queen of England.

The park offers various activities such as game drives,boat rides,chimpanzee tracking,guided nature walks and camping,among others. We had a game drive and a boat ride on our visit to the park.

The park encounters the following problems:poaching,bush burning,encroachment due to population pressures,poor roads,pollution and road accidents involving the animals along the Mbarara-Kasese highway.However, some of these problems are being dealt with.

We left the park at about 7pm local time.

Yours sincerely,

MUBS STUDENTS.

Lake Bunyonyi

2010-05-24T14:35:00.008-05:00

Hello All,

On Sunday we traveled from Kampala (In the Central Region) to Mbarara (In the Southwest region). We are staying at the Lake View Resort Hotel here in Mbarara. This morning we all met for breakfast at the hotel and then loaded "Big Blue," the bus we travel on. We headed further into the southwest region to visit Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Bunyonyi Land Resort, located on the shore. The southwest region of the country is hilly and mountainous. These mountains are more similar to the Appalachian mountains than the Rocky Mountains. Due to the steep terrain the local people use terraces in order to preserve the land and prevent mud slides

On the way to the lake we took a short hike to see the farming plots and terraces closer up. James, is originally from this area and explained what we were seeing. On the hike we passed right next to a cell phone tower. I have noticed that there seem to be more of these than in the United States and the residents seem to have pretty good service every where we go. After talking to some of the Ugandan students about this I also learned that some of their cell phones have two cards built into them allowing them to receive service from two different networks/carriers. That would be like our cell phones in the U.S. being able to use Verizon and U.S. Cellular with the same phone. Wouldn't that be nice!
After our short hike we re-boarded "Big Blue" and continued to Lake Bunyonyi. Lake Buyonyi is close to the city of Kabale. Uganda is one of the only places in the world you can see wild gorillas. (They are in the mountain region intersecting Uganda/Rwanda/Congo). Kabale is the last major city before heading into "Gorilla Country" and offers a more upscale place for visitors to stay before they begin their gorilla tracking adventures. We drove through Kabale and turned onto a winding, narrow rode that would lead us to the lake/resort. This part of the journey was an adventure as there were steep drop offs next to the road and lets just say "Big Blue" wasn't built to drive on a narrow, winding, dirt rode.

Once we arrived at the lake it was beautiful and we were all very excited to take pictures. Lake Bunyonyi is the deepest lake in Africa and 3rd deepest lake in the world, reaching depths up to 6500 feet! We walked through the dining area of the resort down to the lake, where there were boats waiting to take us for a ride around the lake. We were split into four different motorized boats for our tour. There are several islands in the lake and one is called "Punishment Island". This island is very small and made up of just marshy grasses. It used to be used as a punishment for young women who became pregnant out of wedlock. They would be taken to this island and left to die. (There is no food on the island.) This was thought to make an example for other young women who were thinking of being promiscuous. Except the women didn't starve to death, as men who couldn't afford to give a woman's family money to ask for the daughter's hand in marriage (dowry) would rescue the women and marry them. The local people believed the girls were dying, but they were actually living in other villages.

The tour around the lake lasted about 1.5-2 hours and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous! The weather was also nearly perfect, about 80 degrees and partly cloudy. Many of us, including myself, discovered first hand the sun at the equator is definitely more powerful than it is back home;) Seeing all of the beauty around the lake and lack of visitors led me to think about the possibilities for the area. The lake is quite large, and would be great for recreational boating/skiing/swimming. If more nice resorts were built next to the lake I think it would be a wonderful vacation destination. I especially think it would be a nice place to stay and relax either before or after several days of gorilla tracking. What do the rest of you think? Do you think more tourist development in this area would be good? Do you see any potential negatives? Would you be will to stay here? Why/Why not? Is it sustainable? Of course there are many obstacles that need overcome before developing this location into a tourism hotspot can occur, but the possibilities are nearly endless! What are some of the obstacles you think have to be overcome in order to develop this area as a tourist destination?

Upon returning to shore after our boat tour, we were treated to tea/coffee and some sweet rolls. We then had a chance to further explore the Lake Bunyonyi Land Resort. They had several docks, both attached to land, and floating in the lake for sunbathing/swimming access. As I stated previously the scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the plant/flower life in the area is spectacular! This resort offers cabins which are kind of like tree houses for the guests to stay in. They are right off the lake and of course offer amazing views.

After exploring for a while we had lunch at the resort. Lunch had many of the usual options including, salad (similar to coleslaw), Matoke (banana used for cooking, similar to potatoes), mashed potatoes, rice, cooked vegetables, beef, and chicken. There was also a small craft store adjacent to the dining room which many of us had to hit up. Several students honed their pool skills on the pool table and others sat around and discussed our adventures.

Once we were all finished eating we loaded "Big Blue" and headed back for Lake View Resort Hotel at Mbarara. Once we arrived home, we all met up again for supper at the hotel. We head out at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) for Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we will have a water cruise where we should see Hippos/Waterbuffalo/Crocodile and a land game drive later in the afternoon. We are all very excited!

Hope everyone is doing well back home, we'll update you again soon!

Cydney Karstens

Kabale - Agriculture

2010-05-24T14:03:00.003-05:00

On our way to the Lake Bunyoni Resort we stopped at a town near Kabale. We hiked over to an edge with a beautiful outlook on the agriculture-based town. Our Ugandan colleague, James, explained to us what agriculture looks like in Uganda. The terrain in this region is very steep. In order to prevent erosion, the individual plots are very small and are surrounded by much larger bushes. The bushes keep the soil in place and prevent mudslides. Plants we saw included; Cabbage in the lowlands, sugar cane, maize, and sorghum. I learned that sorghum is used for flower and alchol, and is much like millet, which is used to make simsim. James explained that most of the crops grown here are for consumption. However, they will sell the food that is left over. How does growing crops mainly for personal consumption affect sustainable development? Would it be possible for these families to sell more of their crops and still provide for their families?

This district has no electricity or running water. This means that each time a family would like to use water, they need to walk down to the bottom of the hills to the spring or well and fill up containers. They then need to carry the water back up the hill. They use rain water to water the plants instead of manually watering them. How does lack of electricity and running water affect the production of the farms? If the village got eletricity and running water, causing the production rates to increase, I would think the farmers would need more land which did not appear available in the immediate area, what would be a realistic move for these farmers in regards to making a profit and sustainable development?

The region has a primary school, church, and a medical facility. While the medical facility is very nice, it serves a very large area. Besides the main road, however, there are no roads with in the farm areas, which makes it very hard for the people to travel to the hospitals. James also said the that region is made up of 99.99% Christians.

2010-05-21T17:53:00.000-05:00

Oli Otya!(Ohlee-ohtee-ya) That means hello in the local language: Luganda. After our morning visit to the Ugandan Parliament, we traveled back to MUBS campus for a lunch of traditional food. Most all of the group was brave and adventurous as we tried the different menu items. These included traditional rice, vegetable greens, and matooke (a side dish made from bananas that are steamed and mashed a thick, creamy texture). Our MUBS friends were excited to share the experience of trying new foods with us.

After lunch, we headed back into the city to the Bugandan Parliament grounds. This parliament represents the Buganda Kingdom and is governed by Bugandan royalty. Additionally, they still fall under the rule of the Ugandan parliament, and this is the cause of debate on many issues. Some questions that were brought up in our discussion and should be considered by my colleagues are: How much power does the Bugandan Parliament have under the power of the Ugandan Parliament? How does having an unelected king represent the Bugandan people affect the government positively and negatively? What measures can be taken to insure that the Bugandan King and Parliament are accurate representatives of their constituents?

As we explored these issues, we got the chance to hear a presentation from the Minister of Education on the general procedures of the parliament. It was informative, but as we asked him questions, there seem to be some tension in the room as we discussed particular issues, especially those involving student protests. An additional question for my fellow students is: how did you react to the tension that came about during discussion today?

The thing that struck me most about the visit was their pride for Buganda and their king. They kneel before the king when they greet him, they sing a sort of Bugandan anthem at the start of meetings, and they accept no national funding for their salaries or programming. It was neat to be able to see their passion for their culture.

We continued our visit by traveling up the street to the Bugandan Royalty grounds. Here we were greeted by an awesome view of the city, a helpful tour guide, and a bunch of sweet young children. This was the highlight of the day for many students. We concluded our day with an evening meal at Fang Fang Restaurant where we enjoyed some Ugandan, Chinese food. Our trip is off to a great start, and we look forward to learning more. Welaba! (Way-la-ba, meaning goodbye)

City Tour/Owino Market

2010-05-21T14:19:00.002-05:00

Recap:
Today we started the day off by meeting the MUBS students. After getting to know them we got on the big blue bus that has been our mode of transportation since we arrived in Uganda and headed to exchange our dollars for shillings. As we rode the bus we were able to see a lot of what the city of Kampala looks like. This was our first day time look at the city. I had the pleasure of sitting by one of the MUBS students, Sharon, on this bus ride. She had lots to share about the city. She pointed out the many hotels in the area such as the Kampala Serena Hotel which had a beautiful landscape. She also talked about an area beyond a wall that we passed that held several different types of restaurants which she called fast food restaurants. She said you could find almost any type of food that you would want there. Lastly she pointed out an important building to note, the Ugandan Bank of Commerce. We were then dropped off at a Shell station right next to the Grand Imperial Hotel where we exchanged our dollars for shillings. After all of us did this we headed for a walk to our lunch destination, Nandos. This place served a variety of burgers, chicken, and wraps. Many of us learned that sweet and sour sauce tastes good with fries since ketchup appeared to be replaced with this restaurant. The meal process took a while but once we had all eaten we gathered and split into several small groups. Each group of Drake students also had two to three MUBS students in them. These groups were to travel together to the Owino Market. My group was led by MUBS students Robinah and Miria. When we split off into our groups is when everyone’s experiences and sights they saw really differed. The route we took to this market was one I would never be able to repeat. We took several streets creating a maze as we walked between parked cars, motorcycles, and bikes. Along these roads were several shops and stands selling anything and everything you could think of. We even went through the old part of the market we were heading to. We finally made it there with a half hour to explore. We were told to keep our belongings close and that if someone tries to get close to get you to buy something to pretend that they do not bother you and to keep walking. No one in my group was prepared for what we were about to enter. The market had a tiny walk way that was scattered with people and the items they were selling. Every vendor was selling a variety of items. The entire market contained items from food to electronics to clothing. Every vendor wanted you to buy something and maneuvering through the market was a difficult and draining task. After winding our way through the market for a short period of time my group was ready to go. After meeting back up with the rest of the Drake and MUBS students and faculty we were told that this market would be our biggest culture shock here and we completely agreed.
Questions:
What sights did you see on the quick city tour or what information did one of the MUBS students provided you with during this tour? How were you feeling while walking through the Owino Market? What stood out to you? How can you connect what you learned in the city tour and the Owino Market to sustainable development in Uganda?

First Impressions

2010-05-21T14:15:00.002-05:00

If I were being perfectly honest, my Ugandan impression as we walked out of the airport was one of the overwhelming, sweltering heat and the immediate onslaught of insects. As the night went on and we got more comfortable and onto the bus, I definitely cooled down both mentally and physically. I don’t know what it was that I noticed first – maybe the immense blanket of dark night sky, the particular smell (that of bonfire mixed with salt and the scent of the city), or the fact that the Ugandan community was still bustling despite the late hour – but needless to say I spent that first bus ride immersed in the act of trying to absorb as much of the Ugandan countryside as possible. Despite the fact that the open window was blowing cold air on me, to the point of raising goose bumps all up and down my arms, I simply could not pull myself away.

While sitting on that bus seat in the dark, I tried to figure out what it was about the countryside that had me so captivated. Originally, I thought that it was the fact that I was in a new country – one strange and completely different from my own, but as time went on I realized that it wasn’t because my surroundings were outside of my ordinary. It was because despite the fact that everything was new and different to me, they were things that were completely ordinary for others. Driving past the Ugandan landscape and citizens, I only saw a slight glimpse of their lives and even though their way of living seems so out of the ordinary for me, I was so captivated because their day to day lives were being laid out in front of me just on the other side of that window.

After meeting the MUBS students, this captivation was simply enhanced. I learned about their lives and their communities, their likes and their dislikes. I learned bits and pieces of what living life in Uganda was like and as the events of the day pressed on, I learned about the culture even more.

In the end, despite the fact that this course is about sustainable development in Uganda, for me it is about the people here. This is more important to me because in the end, all development is implemented for the benefit of the people. Their day to day lives are affected by the development of this country and that is why sustainability is so important for their community.

-Katrina Widener

THE PARTY BEGINS

2010-05-20T13:11:00.002-05:00

Friends it is good to see you all here, it is quite a sight especially the big number you but this just spices up the excitement. I am recalling the arrival at the airport yesterday and congratulations for having made it through Europe! I am informed that Wednesday night and part of thursday morning was PIZZA time, well it is time we took out for Luwombo and Mulokony, oh maybe Rolex!!

On a good note, welcome back from Owino; Yes it was a cultural awakening but that what i also got a few weeks ago in Des Moines. No People on the streets. However, I did not see any buys with anyone from our Walmart store!

I hope you all have wonderful days ahead.

MEETING WITH MUBS STUDENTS

2010-05-17T09:20:00.001-05:00

Today at 3pm we had a brief meeting with MUBS students about the Drake Visit and all of them are very enthusiastic to see you all. They are interested in knowing about Drake and IOWA.

WELCOME TO UGANDA AND BON VOYAGE

2010-05-17T08:21:00.002-05:00

Dear All,

As you get ready to come to Uganda;I would like to welcome you to Uganda and wish you all a safe Flight. We are all awaiting you eagerly and the weather is just perfect for your stay here.

We have lots of things on the program for you and we all hope that you will enjoy this year's trip.

On behalf of my colleagues and students, Karibuni Sana! Safari Njema!

Getting Back to Uganda and Giving Back

2010-05-10T17:10:00.000-05:00

We are getting close to the departure date and everyone is excited to finish finals and head to Uganda. Since the last post we have added a service day at a primary school which we have visited in the past. This year we will spend a portion of the time painting and working on cleaning up one of the school blocks. The money for this endeavor was raised almost entirely by the family of one of the students on the trip (more on that in a later post - thank you so much!)! Additionally one of the sororities on campus added some funds. We are looking forward to giving back to the school which has been such a wonderful host in years past. I hope this is the first of many such endeavors we will attempt in future years. The faculty are excited for the opportunity to help out our colleagues in Uganda and looking forward to continue to work on formalizing our relationship with MUBS so we can hopefully begin faculty and student exchanges. Next week you will start to see posts from the students as this year's trip gets fully under way!

Great Expectations in 2010

2010-03-24T11:29:00.000-05:00

Students and Faculty from Drake will be returning to Kampala in May, 2010! The faculty are excited to return to Uganda and see our friends and colleagues in Uganda. It is their help and guidance that has makes this experience such a wonderful learning opportunity for the students from both universities. We have high expectations for this year's trip. Officials from MUBS are visiting the Drake campus this spring and we are hoping to work out details of future exchanges which may allow students and faculty from both universities the chance to spend extended time at each others campus. We stated the goal last year of finding ways to get MUBS students to Drake, this is a giant step in that direction. This year we have a large group with 28 students from Drake excited to arrive in Uganda in May. Just as the talks between the universities have progressed since our last post in June, much has happened in Uganda and in its efforts toward sustainable development since the last post. In preparing for the trip the students traveling this year have been keeping track of current events in Uganda. I would like each of the Drake students to comment to this entry with a description of something they have recently learned about Uganda and how it has impacted their expectations for the trip in May. What questions have developed from your readings and research? What events are you most looking forward to? What questions do you have that will help you develop your research papers?

Monitor and the New Vision

2009-06-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

First off I want to apologize for this post getting to everybody so late. Still feeling the effects of the lacking internet service in Uganda, I was looking through some of our posts and noticed that my post about the Newspapers didn't actually get uploaded. This is my feeble attempt at trying to recollect what I wrote the first time. Hopefully it's just as enthralling. (I had planned on including a few pictures, but as some of you know, most of them I accidently deleted.)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Today, we received a rather interesting lecture from a news editor of The New Vision. The speaker John Kakande spoke about their future plans to acquire a TV station, and explained that they were doing this to remain competitive with other newspapers. He noted that The Vision produces about 35,000 copies of their newspaper a day. Kakande also spoke quite a bit about government control. The government manages to keep a pretty close eye on The Vision by prohibiting them to promote things like homosexuality or terrorism. They're allowed to talk about them, but not promote them, not even a quote that promotes it. I asked him at the end of the presentation why he thought the government prohibited the promotion of things like that, and he said, in summary, that they government is doing this to protect the society's views. I wondered if it wasn't normal for the society to be able to filter their own information and decide for themselves what's right and wrong.

What is your opinion on the government's strict control for what information the newspapers publish?

My favorite part of the day was when we got to tour The Monitor. I love to see how people organize large machines, and their operations, to all work together to put out a final product. I was somewhat surprised to see the kind of technology they had up and running here. Some of their printers were pretty advanced. We got to see every step of the process. Where the writers published their pieces, to layout and design, and printing. We then ended the day with what I'm sure was an interesting lecture, which I had to miss because I was not feeling so well.

Lastly, how do you think the newspapers of Uganda contribute to sustainable development?

Democratization in Uganda

2009-06-17T00:10:00.001-05:00

Today we received a lecture about the ongoing challenges to democratization throughout Uganda’s history. We started in discussing the reign of Idi Amin, the ruler of Uganda from 1971-1979. After overthrowing Obote from power Amin exiled the Indian population from Uganda and let the economy get worse. During his regime he caused civil unrest, with no checks on his power Amin let the rule of law vanish from society. There was no power in the courts and the police were used to carry out Amin’s wishes. In 1979 after Amin was thrown out of power, Obote II eventually took power. Though during his regime there were some aspects of democracy that were restored, such as Parliament, it was very weak. The main power in Parliament lied with the military and as a result they were calling the shots. During this period in time there were many safety issues as the army would often engage in extortion and ransom. Without the support of the military and the guerilla conflict going on throughout Uganda during this time, Obote II’s executive power was weak. With a coup a year earlier, Museveni came into power in 1986 as a part of the National Resistance Movement.
With the NRM in power from 1986 to the present the lecture turned to discussing the new features of the NRM government. The first feature of NRM rule has been a “no party democracy.” Until 2005 political parties in Uganda were outlawed due to the belief that political parties are instigators for the political issues in the past. As a result the NRM only allowed movements, or groups that would provide a manifesto that everyone could get behind. As opposed to political parties that only accommodate a select number of supporters. Though this may have been the idea in theory, in practice they over time have become less accommodating to all. Another feature of the NRM governance has been a pressured Judiciary. Though the Constitution established by the NRM gives judges the power to independently decipher cases they received a lot of pressure to fulfill the wishes of the executive. With threats to strip benefits and prevent contracts from being renewed, judges are sometimes pressured to side one way in a particular case. Another feature of the NRM governance is decentralization. During the time of the NRM, 80 districts were created within Uganda and within each of those districts are local governments. However, with the divisions of the districts some do not have sufficient resources to carry out these powers. The last feature was the corruption within government. Uganda is ranked very high in terms of corruption and officials are known to steal large sums of government money.
The last section of the lecture provided possible remedy to the troubles in current regime. One part to the remedy is giving the police more power to arrest these corrupted officials. It was argued that corruption should be treated more like a crime than a moral matter and something must be done to shame the corrupt.
My question to the students concerning the lecture is do you think the NRM has taken Uganda further towards or further away from a democracy?

Sustainable Development

Uganda Day Report Book

Gender Equality and the Source of the Nile

Microfinance in Jinja

“We Go, We Go, Uganda Cranes We Go!”

A Safari, Boat Ride Down the Nile and Murchison Falls

Ugandan Pharmacy and TASO

Buganda Parliament: Tradition, Culture and History

The Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

SURE Prospects Institute & MUBS Chairman country home

Rural Visit

MUBS Graduation & Entrepreneurship in Uganda

Preventing, Investigating, and Prosecuting Corruption

Day 6: Visits to Monitor Publications and the pool

Day 5 – markets, and fire trucks, and artifacts OH MY!

Day 4, Part Two; School Children and Smart Casual

Day 4: Secondary Schools Morning Session

Day 3: Entebbe Botanical Gardens and Visiting the Equator

Day Two: Entrepreneurship, the Owino Market, Martyrs and Chinese food

May 20th, 2011 - Day One: MUBS Orientation and Parliament

RE: WELCOMING YOU TO UGANDA AND MUBS

Preparing for Uganda 2011

Final Impressions

Uganda Martyrs Shrine

The Newspaper Industry

Bujagali Falls

mulago hospital

mulago hospital

Industrialization / Jinja

Murchison Falls National Park

Patrick Bitature

Star Light Star Bright (Back From The North)

Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

Uganda Stock Exchange and Crested Crane Securities

Ugandan Parliment

UGANDA MARTYRS

Uganda's Christian Martyrs

Are Microcredit Interest Rates Exploitative?

An interview with CGAP expert Rich Rosenberg

June 17, 2008

Microfinance Interest Rates as a Function of Transaction Costs

Why do microcredit interest rates vary so dramatically around the world?

by Richard Rosenberg: Friday, June 20, 2008

TASO (The AIDS Support Organization)

Opportunity Uganda

Special Needs School and Orphanage

Agriculture in Uganda

AT THE SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Inspector General

Gender Issues in Uganda

Rural Visit - Family and Culture

Half Way Gone

President’s Reception and Cultural Gala

Takeaway Restaurant, Equator Shops, and Crocodile Farm

take-away restaurant/ equator shops/ croc farm

Primary School Visit

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Lake Bunyonyi

Kabale - Agriculture

City Tour/Owino Market

First Impressions

THE PARTY BEGINS

MEETING WITH MUBS STUDENTS

WELCOME TO UGANDA AND BON VOYAGE

Getting Back to Uganda and Giving Back

Great Expectations in 2010

Monitor and the New Vision

Democratization in Uganda