I’m not a farmer. As ashamed as I am to admit that, I really don’t have much practical experience in farming, or really, even taking care of a garden on my own. My plants inside my house have mostly struggled valiantly to survive in the past. I might not be the opposite of a green thumb, but I’m pretty close, probably. Although I’ve spent most of my higher education learning about, and advocating for, different forms of sustainable agriculture, it […]
One of my field staff made a great analogy the other day. Many of the farmers are asking whether they will be able to get a new loan for the next season. Unfortunately, due to the bad start (although it’s getting better), it would not be possible, or desirable, for us to give out new loans until the two current ones are repaid in full. It’s not possible because the Bank is still freaking out about how to recover their […]
I was chatting with my parents (after a long break) yesterday online. I mentioned that I had started looking at graduate studies scholarships because now’s the time to start applying if I want to be in school in 1 to 1.5 years. I said that there’s no way I’m going to go to graduate school without a scholarship. I can’t afford the debt. Plus, if they don’t give me money, it means they aren’t interested enough in my contributions. My […]
I was talking to my roommate about how expensive it is to do things here if we used Canadian wages. For example, at the office we need to take letters of invitation to the offices we work with personally because there are no cheap courier services or a culture of using email for communication. For a formal meeting where I have to deliver letters to 4 or 5 offices, it would take me almost a whole day of work. That, […]
Bumpy roads are always bad, right? Cars get damaged more easily; it’s slower to bike, walk, or drive on; dust is easily stirred up by the wind or passing cars; you can’t just shut your mind off and wander because that large hole might just make you kiss the ground, hard. But bumpy roads also save lives. The back roads (little roads that branch off main roads, like the one I live on) are so bumpy, it forces the cars […]
A post I wrote for the Sustainable Cities blog. I had an “aha” moment the other day. I was having dinner with some new friends. The person who sat next to me was an American who worked with the department of social work at the University of Dar es Salaam. Among all the interesting differences she learnt about social work in the US and in Tanzania, one in particular stood out in her mind. Government-provided social safety networks are practically […]
3 days of field work in Bwaise (one of the largest slum areas in Kampala) life changing? a bit career changing? more like solidifying We held a focus group with youth who are school dropouts, the hopelessness in their eyes about their situation on one hand, and the beautiful smiles when talking about their interests and dreams on the other…what a contrast…what an inspiration…what a cause to work for… at the same time, I knew the passion would die down…soon
Quote from one of my Ugandan professors: “People always ask me why Ugandans/Africans do not accept homosexuals. Well I ask why do you not accept polygamous marriages?” flip everything on it’s head and new perceptions come out. people in power (i.e. us in the West) define most of the world views. my answer? if polygamous marriages are gender equal (i.e. a woman can have many husbands), then why not?
