Week 9 – A Brief Lunch Becomes a Powerful Experience

Location: Kampala, Uganda

For some time now, a refugee pastor from the DRC has been helping me with my project. Acting as a friend and interpreter, he has helped me turn what was once a disorganized mess into a meaningful and revealing product. One day as we sat down and discussed my research, we came up with the idea of holding a cookout where my group mates would be able to meet some Congolese refugees in the pastor’s neighborhood. The idea was simple: we would all come together and eat Congolese food and get to know a little about each other for an hour or two. This simple idea, however, turned into a powerful experience for us all.

On Saturday, May 29th, the day of the lunch, I met with the pastor early in the morning to discuss the get-together. After speaking for a few minutes, we came to the consensus that a simple lunch would not suffice. We needed to let my group mates know what these people had been thought and what they were still experiencing here in Kampala. When my friends arrived around two, I doubt they were expecting what they got. The lunch began with a group of children singing gospel music to us in Lingala, and after taking some time to eat, the next phase of the event began. Different Congolese refugees began standing up and relating moving experiences to us: they had witnessed rape, murder, and the complete destructing of their lives.

Though these stories were powerful, Professor Stewart noticed that the only speakers were men so she kindly asked if a woman could be given the chance to speak. None of us were prepared for what came next. A woman stood before us all and began telling us about how her children were forced to watch as she was raped, how most of her loved ones had been killed, and how these memories still plague her till this day. She then broke down in tears, and those members of our program who were not crying as well had completely blank faces. Now, I have heard many terrible stories over the course of my research, but nothing impacted me as much as this woman’s story. Most of the times that I have spoken to refugees about what they do to address their mental trauma, I have been met with a simple, “Nothing.” Knowing that this was likely one of the few times that this woman had spoken publicly about her trauma, I was even more touched by her story.

Though this experience was not easy to handle for any of us, I know that something good will come out of it. This gathering was only the first step. Using the content of this get-together as a guide, the pastor is already working to create an organization that can help some of the members of his community. Additionally, Professor Stewart and some of the students on our program are already thinking of ways that they can connect the Congolese refugee women that we met to resources that can help them deal with life after rape. The struggles of this community are great, but they are all skilled and intelligent. I know that they can overcome their troubles, and as I’m staying till September, I will try to help them in any way possible.

Week 4- An Evening at PCA

This week I stayed late at Peace for Children Africa to see what life is like for these children after the sun goes down.  On our previous visits, we always left before dark; so, we only saw the part of the day where they work on homework, MDD (music, dance, and drama), and play games.  After the sun goes down, everyone begins their individual preparations for the next day. Some take showers while others prepare their clothes and supplies for school or help make dinner.  The excitement and group energy that filled the compound during the daylight hours was replaced by a calm, individualistic aura.  I was extremely happy I stayed because I got to interact individually with kids that I otherwise would only have played games or danced with in a group setting.

Two young boys wanted me to read with them. Due to their limited funds, they cannot afford to use electricity for lighting. So, we read by kerosene lamp, huddled together on a bench in the living room.  They read from a book of short poems, pausing after words they didn't know for me to pronounce the word and give a definition.  While I've had a lot of fun learning to dance and playing games with them, this was the first time I felt like I was actually making a difference in their lives even if it was just helping them to learn a few new vocabulary words.  I was amazed at how honest and open they were because at their age I would never want to read in front a stranger if I didn't know how to say a word.  They simply wanted to learn and read so nothing else really mattered.  I've been in an academic culture for so long that is obsessed with getting the best grades and having the best skills that I had forgotten what it was like to want to learn for the sake of learning.

After reading, we ate a simple meal together before I headed back to Makerere.  As the guest, I got the nicest plate, the only fork, and more than an individual's share of avocado.  My initial instinct was to refuse the gesture and try to take a smaller portion in a plastic bowl.  However, after being here for some time, I've realized that it's more rude to refuse food than to accept more than you need.  It has been a tough lesson to accept that in some situations, it is better for you to feel embarrassed or a burden than to make your host feel like he/she cannot properly entertain a guest.  Overall, I really enjoye my time at PCA and found that at night, there is a completely different environment that volunteers rarely experience.



Location: Peace for Children Africa, Kampala, Uganda

Week 1 - The Goat Ate My Homework and Other Foods

Location: Kampala

One of the best surprises so far has been the food. I had expected Kampala to be dominated by traditional Ugandan starchy food. However, I found the options to be very wide, ranging from Indian to Asian to American to local. Our first meal consisted of native Ugandan food prepared in full with a medley of potatoes and starches. There were at least five different types including a yam, a pumpkin, an irish potato, an odd pink spotted potato and the famous matoke, a yellow cooked plantain that resembled the taste of a potato. In addition to the starches, I ordered fish bathed in peanut sauce --very delicious. Ugandans are very big on avocados, and most standard dine-in restaurants offer some sort of avocado appetizers or supplements to the meal. At our second group dinner, I got a chance to sample this savory avocado appetizer and I was greatly impressed. The sheer size of the avocado, when pitted, creates a hollow cave into which a salad consisting of tomatoes, onions, and a vinaigrette was fitted.

I am definitely surprised by the quantity and variety of fruits I've been eating here. I previously imagined that I would have to subsist on packaged products and tread very carefully with home-grown foods including fruits and vegetables due to issues of sanitation. However, I quickly realized that I eat more fruit here than I do back in the United States. Since the arrival I've eaten the following fruits: pineapples, green oranges (slightly more sour than the traditional orange variety), passion fruit, bananas (big and small), watermelon, papayas and probably others that I cannot think of at the moment. All in all, the fruits of Uganda are certainly understated back home.

On our way to Murchison Falls, we sampled goat kabobs from street vendors. Contrary to my expectations of Ugandan street-quality food, they turned out salty and delicious --comparable if not better to kabobs back home. In addition to the kabobs, we also tried the casava, a soft, white, starchy potato-type that resembled a bland baked potato. At Murchison Falls, my palette was exposed to more delicacies including two three course dinners consisting of soup, a main meal, and dessert, and an English breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and backed beans. Each day I'm more and impressed by the foods in Uganda. Needless to say I'm not complaining about my diet.

Another popular location for food, clothes and exploration is Wandegeya, a local marketplace right next to Makerere University. One night we sampled a roasted chicken cooked in a combination of vegetables including cabbage, onions, and tomatoes. Another famous treat is the Rolex --a vegetable omelet wrapped inside chapatti (fried bread similar to naan). Lastly, a final perk is that soda beverages come in glass bottles definitely trumping the good ol' American cans.