The new normal and the very first times in Uganda

Hello everyone, my name is Kaisa and I'm here in Uganda for six months as a volunteer monitoring, evaluation, and communication officer as a part of the Uganda Pioneers' Association (UPA) team. 

I touched down at Entebbe Airport early morning, feeling apprehensive about what lay ahead. After a sleepless night and a glimpse of Kampala's hectic transport, I wasn't sure what to expect. But as soon I met Samuel who picked me up from the airport and as I arrived at Villa Mamu, where I was staying, and later on, when I met the other team members at the office, this feeling vanished.

My primary objective is to assist UPA with various data-related tasks. Some of my tasks will include compiling success stories of voluntary service, evaluation for international volunteers, conducting impact assessments of projects, and providing training courses in basic digital competencies for UPA members. However, I believe that more tasks spontaneously could come up. The UPA office is situated in Nansana, approximately 9 km from Villa Mamu in Kampala. While I've primarily been at the office thus far, I had the opportunity to visit the Mondo office in Kampala, which is also one of my potential work locations. 

During the first few weeks of my deployment, I dedicated my time to observing the ongoing projects and understanding the local way of life. Additionally, I had an orientation training by UPA and explored downtown in Kampala with a local volunteer, which included using public transport, visiting the Uganda museum, and visiting the craft market.

Now, I have started to work on my tasks more precisely. I have visited various projects with my colleague Claire, where UPA has sent volunteers. These projects include primary and secondary schools, schools for special abilities, and hospitals. To prepare for the training course on digital competence skills, I have conducted a needs assessment in three organizations so far to understand which topics should be covered during the planned lessons in May. Additionally, I am preparing tools for the impact assessment on the contribution of international volunteers to UPA projects and collecting success stories from UPA projects.

Also, I had the opportunity to visit Kikooba Infant and Primary School, which is located about two hours away from Kampala. This visit helped me to get to know the school community and familiarize myself with the area in case of any impromptu tasks.

However, learning doesn't stop after the workday ends. In the past few weeks, I've been gaining more confidence and knowledge every day. For instance, taking boda-bodas and matatus has become a new normal for me, as has going to the market and recognizing familiar faces from whom to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I've also tried different local foods, such as matooke and posho and various types of street food (rolex, chapati, samosa, mandazi). I have begun learning Luganda, which I hope will help me communicate with the local community more easily. It took some time, but I have established a routine for my leisure time, including going to the gym, taking weekend getaways from Kampala, and finding some great coffee places.

Although there is still plenty to learn and improve upon, I'm excited for what the future holds.

 

Until next time!

Kaisa

201 days Uganda…

I am back in my hometown and slowly trying to settle back into my “old” life. Even if it has only been six days, Uganda feels like a lifetime ago. The realities in these two worlds are so different that it is somehow difficult to imagine that just a few days ago, I was riding on a bodaboda through crazy Kampala or holding a workshop for teachers in a rural school.

As if I spent 201 days in a different world, a different life…

These months had so many interesting aspects in store for me - things I kind of expected but also a lot that I did not expect.

Today, I wanted to share some of my struggles during my deployment because, during a meeting with other volunteers, I realised that we all struggled with some (smaller or bigger) issues in our volunteer lives, but we don't address them enough to make each other heard and seen during our deployments. I am lucky because I had amazing housemates with whom I could discuss literally anything, but maybe not all of us are this lucky. 
In the training, you will talk about mental health and how to navigate unforeseen situations during your deployment, but being in the field might present you with issues you did not expect. 

With this post, my goal is to share some insights into my deployment so...

... if you are another volunteer, I want to let you know you are not alone with whatever difficulties you may face. Reach out to others and talk about it!

... if you are considering volunteering, I want to tell you that maybe not every day will be a “happy day”, but every day will offer you an opportunity to learn and grow.

I want to write down a few issues I encountered during my deployment because I want to keep it real. I want to show that everything you encounter will present you with a choice—am I going to be upset about it or even quit, or do I want to learn something from this?

Throughout these months, I organised various activities, some focused on children and others on adults. Overall, I believe I contributed something valuable to both projects I was placed; however, my time with one of them presented me with several frustrating situations.

My experiences with the staff at this one project taught me that sometimes you can do your best, but if your counterpart is not motivated to do their part, the project can only go so far. In the end, the successful outcome of a project cannot depend on just one person.

I want to give you some examples from my work experiences, but I know that if you read them, they might sound trivial to you, but for me, at the time, they were not.  

I was tasked with computer training, literacy projects, and creating a new library space. The first two tasks could not be implemented due to a lack of funding, so we decided that creating a new library space would be the main activity initially. Later, I could use this new space for workshops. Little did I know that fixing two broken iron sheets and one window would take over three months and moving into the library would take another month.

While waiting for the building to be fixed - because moving books in a room with a leaking roof during the rainy season wouldn’t be too smart - I sorted through piles of mouldy books. I spent days reviewing over 200 English Textbooks (from the US and Canada) to figure out how these could be useful in combination with the Ugandan curriculum. All this work wouldn’t have been too frustrating; sure, it's not what I came to do, but it was work that I thought would be helpful for teachers in the end.

What frustrated me was how my work was treated. One day, while I was working on the other project, two workers chaotically pulled out all the English textbooks I had spent days categorising and threw them in disorganised piles on the floor.
When I saw this pile of books, all I could do was take a deep breath and leave that room. There was no point in being upset since everything was already done, and they couldn’t fix it.

Another situation was a conversation between my boss and my hosting organisation. From the start, my boss told me there was little funding (they, like many other NGOs in Uganda, lost funding during the COVID-19 pandemic).
I was told that they could fix everything in mid-November, so we planned on opening the library on December 1st when the long school holidays commence. But at the beginning of December, the roof and window were not fixed, and rainwater damaged the newly painted ceiling and walls. Therefore, my hosting organisation offered to contribute to the repair costs. And to my surprise and shock instead of accepting these funds, my boss said, “Money has never been an issue here.”
I had spent weeks hearing my boss say, “We don’t have money.” … And yet, apparently, there was, because the library roof was fixed within one week and the window installed. I don’t know how I can explain my disappointment in this situation. I trusted that the process was delayed because of a lack of funding, but in the end, I wondered the real reason for the repair work delay.

Ultimately, I am happy I could set up the new library location, but I “lost” around four months of my six-month deployment because my counterparts were not equally engaged in making this project a success.

Different situations made me question why I was even volunteering there and wonder if my time was really spent well in Uganda. At some point, I chose to reevaluate these situations. I decided to take the experience and see what I could learn. And I know now that all these little moments trained my resilience for the work environment. I became more adaptable and resourceful; I learned how to deal with setbacks and frustration caused by other people's actions and how to make the most of any situation to successfully do my part in a project.

My volunteering experience was not what I thought it would be, but in the end, I had 201 interesting, exciting, and educational days in Uganda - 201 days I wouldn’t want to miss. 

Green wherever you look, kindness wherever you go

I arrived in Uganda in September and have since had the opportunity to explore this beautiful country.

Before applying for the ESC position, I honestly never thought about going to Uganda; it just wasn’t on my travel list. But here I am, over 8000km from my beautiful mountains, forests and lakes, trying to see as much of this country as possible.

I have not travelled to all regions of Uganda; for example, I have not visited the volcanos in the southwest just because some foreign ministries advise tourists not to go there. But I have been to a few places so far, and wherever I went, I was blown away by the beauty of this country.

This beauty is not just the breathtaking flora and fauna but also the kind-hearted and welcoming local communities. Even if someone only has little, they will open their home to you and treat you with a kindness that’s unparalleled.

While taking a short trip to Bugala, one of the 84 islands in Lake Victoria, I was taking a tour of the island with a local guide. However, heavy rain surprised us, and my guide and I took shelter in the hut of a local family. The family invited us in, so we sat there talking with the grandmother, her grandson, and great-grandchildren, and we were offered hot tea to warm up. In this moment I wondered if someone in my home country would open their door to complete strangers and welcome them with the same kindness I received here.

In Sipi, my friends and I spent some relaxing time at a hostel with the perfect view of the Sipi Falls. To enjoy nature and culture, we decided to do a coffee tour. From roasting, pounding, and grinding the beans to finally drinking “our” coffee. It was a delicious and educational experience. I learned that you can drink “coffee tea” by boiling the outer layer of the coffee beans. And I tasted freshly roasted beans with brown sugar – it's soo delicious. Since Sipi is known for the Sipi Falls, we obviously also had to hike to the three waterfalls.

On other weekends, my friends and I went to Jinja and Entebbe. It was like a quick escape from Kampala's busy and loud life. Both places offer relaxation, nature, and good food. Entebbe even has two nice places with vegan food, which made me very happy. 

But I think my favourite experience so far was the New Year’s Celebration. At Villa Mamu I got to know three wonderful young women and their mum, originally from a village called Pakwach. After a very long bus ride, I was welcomed into their home with so much kindness and love that it was overwhelming. Sitting on the mat under the mango tree with the Grandma, cutting vegetables for dinner without a board and laughing about my misshaped pieces, staring in silence up into the night sky, … so many memories that I will treasure. Pakwach is right next to Murchinson Falls National Park, so I also went on a one-day safari and finally saw a leopard, which is a long-time wish of mine. And New Year’s – wow. The joy, the happiness, the laughter and screams of the people when they saw the few fireworks that were shot into the night sky, it was such a pure delight that the people back home with the hundreds of fireworks they see have definitely lost.

My last trip was to Yumbe, this was not about fun or adventure, it was about learning and understanding. In the area up north next to the Sudanese boarder are several refugee settlements. One of which is the second largest in the world. Since I aspire to work in the field of education in emergencies, I went there to talk with local NGOs to learn in more detail about their work. I also went to visit one of the settlements with the Ugandan Red Cross to understand the difficulties people face in these settings. The area is extremely hot and dry, which makes the living conditions quite hard. On the way back to Kampala I passed through Gulu and was yet again impressed by the vast nature surrounding me. From a dry and brown landscape to lush greens and beautiful hills.

 

Uganda has caught me by surprise and I can say, “Uganda is definitely worth a visit!”

Initial Impressions of Uganda

 

Time flies - I am already 2 months into my deployment in Uganda!

Hello everyone, my name is Mark. I am a 26-year-old Irish volunteer who will be staying in Uganda for 6 months. It is hard to believe that I am only getting around to this blog post now, considering so much has happened in my first two months. It goes to show how chaotic life in Kampala can be. It is only now at the start of a New Year that I have taken time to reflect on the last 2 months of 2023, and my start to life in Uganda. Here are some initial impressions:

My journey to Uganda was a long one, almost 24 hours. But as I exited Entebbe airport I was greeted by the friendly face of Sam, the director of my host organization, UPA. My tiredness soon subsided as we drove from Entebbe to Kampala. This is my first time in East Africa and there were already so many new sights to take in; from the beautiful scenery of Lake Victoria to the chaotic nature of Kampala. It is hard not to experience some culture shock when entering Kampala for the first time – boda-bodas driving wherever they please to avoid the large pot-holes and traffic jam, the goats on the side of the street, the shouts of ‘Muzungu’ by street vendors selling anything from fruit to mobile phones. Something as simple as crossing the road at a junction can take some time, as European traffic rules don’t apply here. That being said, I am surprised by how quickly these things have become normal for me and a part of me loves the ‘organized chaos’ and liveliness of Kampala. The people are incredibly welcoming and helpful. As I am equally interested in them as they are in me, it has made for some great conversations and friendships. 

Adjusting to life here has definitely been made easier through my accommodation at Villa Mamu. It is located in Mengo, close to the city centre while also being removed from the chaos. There are a mix of locals and expats living in the compound, all staying long-term. This immediately creates a family atmosphere. I enjoy going to the market, to play basketball, or to local bars with the Ugandans in Villa Mamu – it has made it far easier to assimilate to everyday life here. Of course it is also nice to live with other Europeans too, where we can talk about our experiences here compared to home and go on weekend trips outside of Kampala. I am beginning to see why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa, the country is beautiful from what I have seen so far (Sipi Falls, Lake Bunyonyi, Mount Sabyinyo summit). Christmas day here was a perfect celebration of the great mix of cultures in Villa Mamu, as we each cooked a dish from our country. Watching the fireworks from the balcony together as 2024 began further cemented the feeling of being at home here in Uganda. I am looking forward to seeing what the next 4 months bring.

The work itself has been the main challenge for me. Although UPA is my host organization under the ESC project, I am actually working for a smaller NGO called Masanafu Child and Family Support (MACAFS), as a social work / community development officer. My background is in science, and at home I was used to working long weeks with tight deadlines and fast-paced projects. I understood before coming here that I would need to be flexible and open-minded to tasks outside my project description, as organizations work differently over here than in Europe. I had experience working in a migration camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina before Uganda, so I already had exposure to this more flexible way of working and really enjoyed it. What I underestimated however, is the pace of work in Uganda. It is a lot slower compared to research and development work in Ireland and humanitarian work in Bosnia. The lack of funding within MACAFS has been a big problem for them post-Covid, as they have struggled to initiate any new projects and their existing projects have grinded to a halt. The majority of their staff have left the organization, meaning only three people remain. This was a shock for both me and Mondo, as UPA had not informed us of this situation. Basic costs such as transport for the local social worker to beneficiaries’ homes have not been possible for the last two years. This makes her work extremely difficult, because even if some of the beneficiaries visit the MACAFS office for counselling and issues are identified, there is no funding to get these people the help they need. I acted quickly and informed my Mondo mentor Kristi. Both she and Hajara were helpful and organized a meeting with UPA and MACAFS. From this meeting, funds were made available for home visits at least. Slow progress is being made, but it has been difficult at times to work effectively at MACAFS with the lack of funding and projects. I have been thinking of sustainable ways to use my microfinancing budget for MACAFS and we have begun needs assessments within the community to see what we should implement. I am also actively searching for work with other local NGOs, which Mondo has been supportive of, as they are always looking for good projects to get involved with in Uganda. I hope by the time of my next blogpost I will have a lot more to tell you on the work-front about progress made.

Despite these challenges, I am still really enjoying my time in Uganda. I have learned a lot through conversation with locals and have gained exposure to other community development projects within Uganda, which has given me key insight into how NGOs work over here and the difference between sustainable and unsustainable projects. I am learning a lot about myself and am slowly figuring out how I can help effectively over here. I am determined to leave behind something sustainable!

Mpola Mpola…

Slowly slowly… I am getting to know Uganda, its culture, its people, its music, its food, and so much more. This is the country where I will be spending the next six months. As an ESC volunteer, I will work for Mondo NGO with the local organisation Ugandan Pioneers Association (UPA). My work will be split between two workplaces. One is Masanafu Child and Family Support (MCAFS), which is in Kampala, and the other is Kikooba Infant and Primary School, which is in the countryside about 2h from Kampala. My home will be Villa Mamu a long-term residence in Kampala.

                                                           

So far, being here has been a fantastic experience. Every day I learn something new, meet new people, hear new stories, try new foods, visit new places and experience new things. Kampala is a city full of colours, sounds, smells and people. It is a fantastic place but sometimes it feels like a system overload.

When preparing for a 6-month experience in a different country, you try to imagine everything that could happen or affect you. But honestly, not even the best preparation can give you a real understanding of a different culture and country. However, it can make the transition easier. This was the case for me. Knowing which things might be the biggest struggle for me before I left made it easier to deal with them once I arrived in my new surroundings.

Before I left for Uganda, I had two main concerns: one was the Bodaboda driving. Bodabodas are motorbike taxis, the most common public transport means in Kampala. Having been on a motorcycle only once before I left for Uganda, I didn’t feel so comfortable thinking that I would have to sit on the back of a motorcycle being driven by a random person every day. My solution was to get my personal bodaboda driver, someone I could trust to drive safely. Because, in all honesty, traffic in Kampala is insane. Bodabodas form every direction - left, right, front, back. If their lane is blocked, they will drive on yours or the sidewalk. Oh, and what they can transport on their bodabodas. That’s a whole other story. You will see up to 5 people, 2m long tree logs, wooden boards, bags of potatoes or even a bodaboda, to mention just a few.

The other aspect was food. I have lived as a vegan for many years and was unsure how I would adjust to being unable to keep my vegan diet. I know that in many cultures, it is a practice to slaughter animals to prepare them for an honoured guest. So, before I left, I asked myself: “What will you do when this happens?” Honestly, I am still not entirely sure about the answer. So far, though, I could tell people before I was invited to eat with them that I only eat vegetables and fruits. I tried to explain to them that for me, it is a belief that I do not want to eat animals. Many don’t really understand it, but all of them respect it and make me feel welcome. They prepare their traditional dishes: Matoke (smashed Bananas), Posho (cooked maise flour), G-Nuts (sauce of grounded peanuts), Chapati, Beans, Peas and many more.

I have only been here for a few weeks now and have yet to experience so much more. I am looking forward to everything that I will encounter, the adventure, the challenges, the good and the bad times.

The people of Uganda are amazing

 I was employed in Uganda for a short time, only two months, but during that time I got to know the country and the people who live there. I was warmly and cordially received in Uganda by the Uganda Pioneers Association.

I had three different work locations in Uganda: Kampala Disabled Initiative (KDI), Kikooba Women with Abilities, Lugoro Tutte Disabled Group (Gulu town)

My objectives in the workplace were to assist all groups to help to prepare high-quality products, working out new products, and increasing their sales. My aim was also to create a dynamic network between all the groups.

In addition to improving my tailoring skills, I taught knitting in KDI and crocheting in Kikooba. We made bags and hats.

To Uganda, I would definitely like to come back.

"Education is my way out" - The power of learning for a young refugee in Uganda

This is Alpha, a young man who took part in the Mondo Digital Competencies Training with other refugee youths.

He is in Kampala to visit a friend, taking the opportunity to leave the Refugee Settlement where he lives, and agrees to meet me in a local café in Entebbe road, to talk about his experience with Mondo Digital Competencies Training. Our conversation, however, naturally started with a dive into his story, as a refugee, as a young man who escaped one of the most atrocious and long lasting conflicts in our contemporary history. “What makes you share this with me, Alpha?” I asked him. “As refugees, people may not listen to our story”. 

Alpha is a 21 years old young man originally from Ruchu, in Kivu province, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. His first language is Kinyabwisha and Swahili. He also speaks French and English. He learnt Luganda to interact with the local community, but he does not speak it confidently yet. 

Despite two of his siblings sadly passing away, Alpha, the fifth born, has a big family, headed by their mother named Bahati Francoise Musabyinana. He has 9 siblings: 5 brothers and 4 sisters.

The conflict

Alpha fled the long lasting conflict in DRC, to reach safety in Uganda with his family in 2014, when he was only 13 years old. Since the beginning of the war, his family moved a lot. First they were dispersed internally, then came back home, but all the sudden they “no longer had stability”. Whilst in DRC, his elder brother was kidnapped but managed to come back home. Their father, a preacher, was targeted and kidnapped by some armed group. That’s when the family decided to escape the country in 2013. Until now, they had no news from him. The instability, the loss and the fear deeply affected his mental health, Alpha recalls. 

“I was at school when they attacked. They killed all the teachers. We [the students] ran away. I hid for two days in the forest. I almost took my life - but it was my faith that helped me'' - Alpha reveals -  “as if I kill myself I won’t go to heaven”. This is when he found the courage to leave the forest: “I tried to move and found my way back home. Once there, I found no one, only dead bodies. All the houses were abandoned. I was traumatised and scared to be recruited by the armed groups. I have seen children holding guns at only nine years-old. If you take a kid and put them in this kind of environment, they may think it is good''. In fact, Congolese children are the primary victims of war because they are consistently recruited by armed groups(1).  As per 2018, UNICEF estimated that thousands of children continued to be used as child soldiers. There is no precise data on the number of children being used as soldiers in the DRC. UNICEF and its partners estimate that, in the Kasaï region alone, between 5,000 and 10,000 children have been associated with the militias(2). As recently as 2021, the UN reports that “Armed groups in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo recruited more than 470 children into their ranks”.

What happens to older people, I asked him. “If you are old, they just kill you”. The question of what happens to women specifically, was painfully implicit. 

“I was still wearing my school uniform. I knew some friends living in Bunagana, which is 2 to 3 days walk from my home as I thought my family could have been there. I walked.” Alpha remembers. 

When he reached the village’s market, he found his mother begging. “She cried when she saw me, as she thought I died too. She said that our father was taken”. That marks the day when the family starts their diaspora in search of safety, and they begin their journey to Uganda, the nearest neighbouring country. 

The journey to Uganda 

On the very same day they reunited with Alpha, the family walked from Bunagana, a village near the Congolese-Ugandan border, to Kisoro, the first town after managing to cross the border with Uganda. They reached a Pentecostal church where they were welcomed, given some food and some money to take a bus to Kampala. 

Alpha recalls that “my mum was not ok, she had been beaten but she tried to look strong for us”. 

Despite the sense of safety of leaving DRC, reaching Kampala was quite the opposite of feeling finally protected and stable. “It was tough” - Alpha looks back. “We didn’t know anyone, we didn’t speak the language, we didn’t know the culture”. The family spent 3 days at the old Kampala Police station to try and claim asylum there, whilst begging for food by the road. There, they were even tear-gassed to be chased away, and his little brother was affected. But the family knew they had to stick together to be safe.

It was a man named Sam who went to look for them - they didn’t know him but, as Alpha asserts, he claimed to be instructed by God. He took them to a church called Miracle Centre church Nsambya, a south-eastern suburb of Kampala. Despite he recalls “we were feeling lost” this is where Alpha and his family stayed a few months, offering some labour in return like cleaning and helping, before moving to Kyangwali Refugee Settlement where they registered as refugees. 

The Refugee Settlement

Edited photo by Alpha:Kyangwali Refugee settlement

The camp (note that the term "camp" is often used to mean "settlement" by the local inhabitants, whereas the camp itself is the registration centre where asylum seeker go upon arrival) “didn’t feel it was a good place” as Alpha remembers. Though, however small, the plot of land given to the settled refugees was theirs “at least we knew we had somewhere to stay”. However, “as a refugee you never own anything, you can just borrow the land, and you are supposed to build your hut or a tent.” which costs money, that supposedly most people don’t have. Alpha’s elder sister found a job in a restaurant, earning just enough to help the family survive. “At least you are alive - he recalls having thought - many people die. As long as we are alive we don’t want anything more”. Slowly they managed to save enough to pay someone for building a small place for the family to sleep. Alpha admits that religion helped him and many other displaced people “keep going”, accepting that “things are going to be tough”, finding a reason to stay alive, and hoping that one day they will be better, however hard it may be.

“Whoever was in a [refugee] camp, would make it anywhere else.” Alpha asserts. 

After 8 years living there, he explains that “life in the camp is hard”. The hardest, he clarifies, is to get food. But he also proudly recognises that he always managed to find something that got him “out” of the struggle to survive, of the anxiety of not making it to the end of the day, of fearing losing hope. 

“Education was my way out”. 

Alpha looks back to when he was in DRC, before having to flee, he loved school. When he was forced to stop because of the conflict, he promised himself that if he ever had a chance to study again, he would give the best he could.

Yet, like sadly everything else, the life of a refugee student is anything but easy. Alpha explains that he was lucky enough to get a bursary covering 90% of his fees, but even that 10% he had to pay was very high, and a struggle for his family to afford. Also, even if a young refugee manages to get into school, they lack basic resources such as a pen, a notebook and food. Alpha recalls that refugee youth were fed less than the locals. 

Despite he found some individuals he could get to trust, what psychologically disrupted Alpha the most was isolation and prejudice from most people in the school. “Teachers cannot understand you, and as our classes were mixed with locals and refugee youth, we faced a lot of discrimination -  but that was my only way out of the camp”. 

After surviving so much before his school experience in Uganda, Alpha explains, “you expect that if you get a good life, you are equal [to the others], but it is actually worse”.

Nonetheless, Alpha addressed the discomfort head-on, humbly and performing high in school. “As a young student refugee, you have to work twice as hard”, to withstand the jealousy and unfairness. “I don’t know why they have bias when you are a refugee. Even when you reach a job interview it is likely that despite high qualifications, they put you aside, they openly discriminate against you”.

Some time has passed from those days, but still he carries a sense of responsibility for those coming after him. After he graduated, Alpha became a volunteer team leader of mentors at Coburwas, an international NGO supporting refugee children’s education in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. The best part of this role is the interaction with the kids, he shares. 

 

During Covid lockdown, Alpha recalls, everything was very confusing. “Some lessons were even streamed via the radio from the Ministry of Education”. Students in school had to learn online, but none had a computer, he explains. Teachers were not experienced in delivering online, but exams had to take place anyways, so Alpha started on a voluntary basis, supporting other students to prepare, and proudly, succeeding in their exams. 

When it comes to his own experience with ICT, “in Uganda this subject is not taken seriously, and focused mostly on the theory”, he observes, however, he recognises “the world is becoming digital, actually it is already. Every school should be doing this more practically”. 

The Digital Competencies Training

The great chance to take a real step out of the camp, arrived with World University Service Of Canada, an NGO partnering with local organisations operating within the Refugee Settlement to offer education opportunities to the youth,  such as Windle International. Through the Student Refugee Programme WUSC, select 40 single refugee youth of 18 to 25 years of age and with good grades, to obtain a scholarship for a Canadian University and a Visa. This year only 37 of the shortlisted candidates were given the go-ahead to depart towards a new life. Alpha was one of the 3 whose application to University was deferred, but he explains that he will be hopefully prioritised for next year’s cohort. 

Windle International Uganda was the local NGO supporting the young refugee cohort offering a pre-departure preparation training. Part of this training involved learning basic Computer Skills to be used to aid integration into a digitalised world such as Canada, but also to feel more confident with tools used at their future universities. 

This is when The Mondo Digital Competencies Training (DCT) came in - to support Windle International to train the 40 candidates living in 11 different Refugee Settlements in Uganda,  with our 6 modules covering from the basic of computing knowledge to 21st century life skills' topics such as financial literacy, online safety and the different Google tools. 

We at Mondo, offered a two-weeks intensive online course based entirely on smartphone use, engaging a mix of distance teaching instruments such as Zoom, Google Classroom, Whatsapp and emails to communicate with the students, ensuring data bundles were provided to tackle the restraints for the students of living in remote areas and having a limited access to the network. 

Alpha was one of the committed students of the DCT, trying not to miss any bit of this learning opportunity. “I loved the lessons because they were an everyday reality”. He appreciated having an array of tools that aided his learning experience, for example, the videos on “how to” go about the tools explained. He remarks having learnt many new skills that will be very valuable in his life. For example “learning to write my CV using Canva, searching and finding a job online, is extremely important for my future”. Being able to spot a hack, will help him be protected online. Finally, video and photo editing is helping him record new memories and improve old ones, by re-adjusting and enhancing old hard copies of photos that his mum kept from their past. 

“What’s now?” I ask Alpha. He smiles, full of hopes, trying to hold back a sense of disappointment for not being able to set off to Canada this year, after his expectations, naturally were raised. 

He knows that his dream will be fulfilled, and his education will continue, studying Medicine at University. He explains that due to the conflict in DRC he saw many people wounded, needing medication. He met amazing doctors at the hospital once, who inspired him to help others, and asked himself: “Why not also me doing this?”

Alpha’s ability to motivate himself is, nonetheless, a great resource that he continues passing on younger generations who experienced the same he did, fueling their ambitions, endurance and hunger for knowledge. 

(1) https://www.humanium.org/en/democratic-republic-congo/ 

(2)  https://www.unicef.org/drcongo/en/press-releases/thousands-children-continue-be-used-child-soldiers

Sustainability, Resilience and other buzzwords in practice: a lesson from our beneficiaries

What is the impact of our work - I ask myself, when I get to understand a bit better how to frame the achievement of one of the project I was on since the beginning of my deployment (the Digital Skills Training). In a Theory of Change language, the impact is measured on whether "the intervention generates significant positive or negative, intended or unintended, higher level effect" on the society.

Whilst I wonder how I contributed to the impact of our projects, the departure day is approaching and I am relying on my rationality to remind me that it’s ok to be nervous. You remember the cultural adjustment curve? At our pre-departure training the facilitator explained that returning “home” is one of the hardest parts of the adjustment, as it’s all anew, but is not, really. The “Reverse Culture Shock” happens when you think you can get used to the “life before” easily, as it is familiar to you, but in reality the fact that your expectations are high, can pose another challenge. In fact, and that’s how I personally feel, something has irremediably changed after some time away.

You can call it resilience, the skills of returning to your “shape” after a hit, a stretch, a tear. Or you can call it this: you've grown wider, to contain multitudes; deeper, to dive into something unknown; harder, to protect from the hits - that could be losing something, someone, seeing a dead man on the ground, seeing misery.

Reflecting on how I perceive resilience, I have started making links on the lessons I've learnt directly from some of the beneficiaries I worked with in the past 8 months.

I have seen how people help each other. I have seen that the unnecessary dissolves in thin air depending on the context, giving way to what is at the core. I may have started my deployment with a very western mindset -  having lived in the UK for many years, where everything aims to be very organised - but as I went by, I have learnt to strip from the constraints - time structure, organisation - I was so naturally wearing.

The teams I worked with, Mondo, UPA, YARID, etc… but especially the people I came across made me realise how limited resources can still contribute to big change. 

Let me tell you about the group of community members at UPA, our host organisation, who were trained on the Digital Competencies training, and how they became trainers to enable their community to achieve what they accomplish first. Let me tell you about the time they offered, leaving when it was still dark to meet with me in the morning, travelling at their own costs (and that we cannot refund due to the European Commission budget’s breakdown for our projects). This is a brief but excellent example of sustainability in capacity building. Apart from some advice I offered them on how to organise the Digital skills training, boost attendance and optimise the resources, they used what they have learnt from the training I facilitated, re-adjusted it on their new direct beneficiaries and developed their own way of spreading non-formal education amongst those who need it the most, to ultimately increase their knowledge and employability opportunities.  

Let me tell you story of Alpha(1), who escaped Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when he was little, witnessed his own school’s bloodshed, but made it through the forest alone without being captured by the militia, travelled miles with his mum and siblings, was tear gassed, discriminated, slept on many floors, but then is empowering other refugee youths supporting their studies when they fall through the cracks of school system. He wants to be a doctor to save people. He’s doing it already. This is what I call resilience. 

Let me tell you the story of Diana,  from South Sudan, who took her first flight to Canada to be resettled this September. Alone, in a  new world, carrying the burden of years of deprivation, not being able to study as a refugee for the cost of education, and now ready to rock the world and contribute to global peace by studying International Diplomacy. This, to my eyes, is diving into the unknown.

And finally, let me tell you the story of Merlo, child of an orphan adopted by a Belgian family after the decolonization of Zaire, now DRC. Another story of displacement, fear, and lack of resources. He’s the one who built his own future by giving back to his community and working to cooperate and learn from each other, to tackle conflict within neighboring communities. He's the representation of embracing multitudes, whilst he organises the meeting of his grassroot NGO, football matches, Ugandan-Congolese-Sudanese cuisine and music festivals in Kyaka II refugee settlement.

Few months ago, I taught these refugee youths digital skills online using google classroom, but they paid back by teaching me much more. And they are only a few of those many who've given me a great lesson. I really hope these 8 months in Uganda are only the beginning of a longer relationship with this country which somehow will stick to my own definition of home.

There's so much greatness in the simple things. I appreciate every small and big effort of my host and sending organisations, respectively UPA and Mondo Uganda, for making me feel home, supported and listened to. And of course I will never be grateful enough for my housemates who just created a fertile territory around me to be fully myself and be safe. Thanks to the beneficiaries and partners for making me grow professionally and personally.

And Finally, thanks to all the other small (or big) projects that I have got to see, support, learn from, even if theory were not part of my job. In particular to Amuno rural hub, founded by my friend Tony, and which this month we visited to do some activities with the children such as creating their own alphabet's chart, reading, drawing and lots of dancing! 

 

Nsubira Okuddamu Okukulaba Uganda :) 

I hope I’ll see you soon 

(1) The full story of Alpha is available on Mondo Eesti Instagram profile or on this blog for the full story. Other full stories to come out on Mondo Eesti Facebook page.