Annual VSO Forum

This week we've had the Annual Staff, Volunteer and Partner Forum for VSO at the office here in Kampala. All of the volunteers and staff travelled from their various placements and offices around Uganda for the 3 day Forum. Representatives of the partner organisations also joined us for the first day on Wednesday.

It was great to meet up with old friends and new. We had a range of workshops for staff, volunteers and partner organisations during Wednesday concluding with a a BBQ and live band in the VSO compound for the evening. On Thursday there were more workshops just for staff and volunteers. Then on Friday the staff and volunteers travelled to a lakeside adventure park for team building activities. To be honest I really wasn't looking forward to it. Swinging from ropes has never been my forte! However, there was no pressure to join in anything and we had a lovely day wandering around the park chatting and cheering people on.

Boat ride across Lake Victoria to the park

How many crates can you climb on before you fall? He was attached to a safety harness!!

High Ropes Course Level 1 and above, High Ropes Course Level 2

It was a real opportunity to get to know the volunteers from all over Uganda much better. We really are an international bunch. There are representatives from the Netherlands, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Kenya, China, India, Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as a good contingent from around the UK. When we got back a group of us went to Cafe Kawa near the office to share tea, coffee and cakes before heading off for the weekend. It all feels as bit flat today as some are travelling back to their placement location and others are heading off exploring Uganda for a couple of days.

It was good to see you Kieran!

This week our son Kieran has been over to visit us in Kampala. It was so good to see him after 5 months and show him around Kampala and the surrounding area. We had a very busy but enjoyable week!

Saturday 8th March
The alarm goes off at 3.30am and we drink a quick cup of tea (Ugandan!) and drive down to Entebbe airport. You can see why everyone tries to avoid driving at night, with Ugandan driving, dust and car headlights it's very challenging. Arrived safely at just the same time as Kieran got through immigration and baggage collection. After a short chat over a cup of coffee in the arrivals lounge we drove back to the flat to see the sun rise over Kampala. Then breakfast followed by a couple of hours of sleep.

Later on Saturday we went over to the Logogo Mall to have a look around and pick up the shopping for the week. Then back to the flat for sausage sandwiches and bananas and a look at all of the goodies Kieran had brought out for us - Yorkshire tea, Glen's rechargeable drill, a box of drill bits and insect repellent gel to name but a few!

As it cooled down later in the afternoon we went over to look at the craft markets in the centre of Kampala then a walk up the hill to Cafe Roma for a lovely dinner followed by an early night.

Sunday 9th March
We drove down the Masaka road to the Equator in time for lunch at the AidChild cafe and some pictures.

Then we headed back towards Kampala stopping at the Mpanga forest for a look around and a forest walk. We were all surprised by how dry it was. I think we expected a piece of tropical rain forest to be wetter, even though it is the end of the dry season.

What was that!!

Monday 10th March
Unfortunately I had to go to work! However, Glen and Kieran continued exploring with a trip into Kampala using the Matatu and a walk around Owino market and the Parliament area. In the evening we went up to Cassia lodge for a drink and a look at their wonderful view out over Lake Victoria.

Tuesday 11th March
In the evening Glen had a rehearsal with the Kampala singers so Kieran and I went as far as the Garden City Mall with him before heading off to the Craft Market behind the National Theatre to find a birthday present for him and some souvenirs for Kieran to take home. We then walked back to Oasis for a shared pizza and a look around the shops before meeting up again with Glen to come home.

Wednesday 12th March 
Glen and Kieran headed down to Ggaba beach on the Matatu but luckily headed back fairly early as the weather broke around 2.30pm with an enormous thunderstorm and downpour. The rainy season has arrived! In the evening we joined some VSO volunteers for dinner and drinks at Cafe Kawa.

Thursday 13th March
Thursday was a quiet day working on the Rav 4 and preparing for a couple of days away.

Friday 14th March
Are we in Africa? It was a cold, grey wet day, more typical of Yorkshire than Kampala? Nevertheless we are used to the rain so it didn't deter us and we set off as planned for a trip to Jinja. We decided to go the longer northern route rather than the main busy Jinja road. Once we reached the Ntinda area to the North East of Kampala we decided we needed a coffee stop! Then onwards to the Kalagala falls where the Nile runs through some rapids and a small waterfall. We had a very nice lunch stop on the banks of the Nile then through Jinja to the Nile River Explorers camp by the new Bujagali lake. A hydroelectric dam has created a beautiful peaceful lake on the Nile and the bar area overlooks this fabulous view.

After all of the rain we had an interesting drive along the now very muddy murram road to the site but despite a short hold up while a 4*4 tried unsuccessfully to pull a truck out of the ditch, we made it safely to our overnight stop.

Saturday 15th March
Despite hearing some rain in the night the normal African sun was back to greet us in the morning. Today we decided to celebrate Glen's birthday 3 days early so that Kieran could be with us. After a full English cooked breakfast, our first away from home in Africa, we headed back along the much drier murram road into Jinja for a short wander around. Then back on the main Jinja road to Kampala. Full circle with a Saturday lunchtime visit to Logogo Mall for a burger lunch and the shopping for the week.

We got home mid afternoon to find air escaping from the front tyre, we must have found a nail as we drove down the track to the flat. A quick change of tyre, it was good to have 2 car geniuses available, and down onto Ggaba Road to find a puncture repair. Then a quiet afternoon, a beer / G&T overlooking the sunset from the balcony, a chat with some other volunteers and a late supper. At midnight we headed off again to Entebbe airport arriving at 1.10am, exactly 4 hours before Kieran's flight!

Sunday 16th March
It seems strange being just Glen and I again. It's been a lovely week with Kieran here and we look forward to them both coming over in June. So preparations for work again tomorrow with the usual Sunday washing and catching up with e mails and blog. Mixed with following the flight status to see where his flights have got to. He's due back at Manchester around 6.30pm Ugandan time!

Land Platform in Lira

This week I've had a short trip up to Lira for the Land Platform. The journey from Kampala takes about 6 hours with a very bumpy piece of road in the middle with lots of potholes. So quite a challenge to travel for a one day conference! Therefore the Platform meetings start with lunch on Monday and finish with lunch on Tuesday to allow everyone to travel to and from their base and only use 2 days from the week. It also has the bonus that we all stay overnight at the hotel so can have additional time to get to know each other and talk around the subject that doesn't happen in the one day conferences I've attended in the past.

The Platform meetings bring together people from NGOs, local and international, local and central government and traditional leaders. There were also quite a few people doing PHDs around land issues and land rights from all over the world. So it's a very interesting and diverse group coming with different backgrounds and knowledge levels but sharing a common interest in helping to resolve some of the land issues in Uganda.

The meeting followed up on the trip to Kasese I was lucky enough to go on in the middle of February and thought about how the learning from that trip could be applied. We also looked at the National Land Policy recently developed.

It's good to start to understand what some of the issues are and also what some of the budget lines mean and how the funding relates to the work the partner organisations are doing.

We finally left Lira just after 3pm yesterday and I arrived home about 9.30, although I was the last one to be dropped off as I live nearest to the office. It puts a whole new perspective on travelling from York to London for a one day conference. The luxury of an intercity train!

Travels Around Uganda

Having spent the last 4 weeks on the road visiting all of the partners to complete the Minimum Requirements assessments along with other visits, I've had the opportunity to see a lot more of the country and meet lots of people. I've been all over the North and also visited the South West. 

Here are some of the different things I've seen on the roadside

Mobile phone shops are everywhere, often several on the same street. Nearly everyone has a mobile phone and you can get a signal in most places.

Tea plantations are common sights in the South West and in the Jinja area.

Matoke is a very popular national dish, especially in the southern half of the country and around Kampala. This is made from green bananas, also called Matoke, cooked in banana leaves. You see lorries or even bodas loaded with Matoke and also lots of bunches for sale in the roadside markets.

This is a typical African village. The picture was taken in the West Nile region in the North West but you see these villages all over. 

Roadside markets are another very common sight in almost all villages and towns and often on a small scale in the middle of the countryside. On our way back to Kampala on a Friday we usually stock up with fruit and vegetables from the local markets as they are fresher and cheaper than in Kampala. 

It's always exciting to see animals from the road, not uncommon around the National Parks.

The Big Five

This week I've finally got to see most of the big five animals Africa is famous for along with quite a few others. Is it the big five or the big eight? The original big five are Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhinoceros. However, what about the giraffe, hippo and zebra?

It all started with a trip a Kasese in the South West of Uganda as part of a information gathering group of 17 representatives from national and local government, civil society and traditional leaders. We went to find out about the work they have been doing in the Kasese district around customary tenure of land and to see what lessons could be learnt for Northern Uganda. After a hectic but interesting and thought provoking two days of visits and meetings we headed back to Kampala on Thursday.

The group decided to go the longer way around in order to drive through the Queen Elizabeth National Park. On entering the park we saw a herd of African Kob grazing and then a couple of warthogs in the distance. Finally, when we were nearly out of the park, we spotted a lone elephant in the undergrowth. I wouldn't have believed something so big could hide so effectively. You could only see it when it moved and on the pictures I took it doesn't look as if there is anything there!

So after telling the tale to the other volunteers at our Friday evening get together, a group of 4 of us decided to go for the easy option of a visit to the Wild Life park and zoo in Entebbe on Saturday. One of the joys of living out here is the wonderful 'family' of other volunteers. We meet up most Friday evenings at one of the Kampala restaurants for drinks, dinner and to share our experiences during the week. And if you're planning a trip out there is usually someone to share it with whether it is a visit, shopping or a weekend away.

So Saturday morning saw four muzungus driving down to Entebbe. On arriving first stop was the beach cafe for a proper coffee, well we are muzungus! Then via the supermarket for a pasty for lunch we headed to the Wild Life park. It was great so see all of the local animals close up, but generally in their natural habitat.

So 5 of the 8 so far. I'm looking forward to visiting some of the National Parks, hopefully seeing the animals in the wild and catching up the remaining 3 - Leopard, Buffalo and Hippo.

An Accountant in Uganda

So far my blog has concentrated on my impressions of living in Uganda and the places I've visited. But as in the title of the blog I'm an accountant in Uganda! I came out here to do an accountancy placement. After about 3 months at work I'm beginning to feel that I'm starting to understand the role.

For the last 2 weeks I've been travelling around Uganda seeing all of the partner organisations to document and review their financial systems and consider what I can do to help with capacity building. My placement organisation has introduced some global minimum standards for the partner organisations. These are fairly basic and include having a cashbook, third party documentation for payments, monthly bank reconcilations and cash counts. I've been collecting evidence from the partners for the minimum standards. Where these are not already being met I'll be working with the partners to put them in place as a priority.

I've also been working with the programme team to review the activities that are being done against the workplans and the expenditure to date. We've had some really useful meetings with the partner organisation teams to consider the balances left on 1st January 2014 and discuss where the budget needs to be re-profiled to meet the outcomes agreed. Also making sure that programme funding is not being moved to administration and that changes are within the parameters set by the funder.

It's good to get out of Kampala and see the country and meet lots of people. The work being done by the partner organisations is so worthwhile. Outcomes are around increasing the number of families that have 3 or more different crops to eat and reducing the number of households with an income of less than 140,000 Ugandan Shillings per year. That is just £35 and is well below the Millennium Goal level of $1 per day.

There are also programmes where the outcomes focus on reducing and solving land disputes. I'm still trying to understand the land issues with several systems for assessing land ownership. There are also several methods for resolving any disputed land with courts as the last resort.

It feels like I'm on a steep learning curve but know it will be worthwhile as I will be better equipped to help the partner organisations when I understand the issues and challenges they face on a daily basis.

Reflections 1

Today it is exactly 4 months since I arrived in Uganda. So I've been thinking about the things that are different between living here and living in the UK.

First is the weather. In the UK a fine warm sunny day is the exception, here it is normal. I almost never wear a jumper, just occasionally in the evening or first thing in the morning. When it rains it is very heavy and over within a short time, often less than an hour, and the sun is out again. The warm conditions allow for an outdoor lifestyle. Restaurants always have an outdoor seating area and we have had many lovely evenings sat outside eating, drinking and chatting with work colleagues or the other volunteers.

Second are the people. Ugandans are so friendly and welcoming. Whether I'm visiting a partner organisation or a restaurant or even coming home to the compound it's always 'You're welcome', 'You're very welcome' or 'Welcome back'. The morning routine involves greeting everyone on the way to and at the office and asking after their health, their family and their weekend. And there are always lots of people around, even when you are apparently in the middle of the countryside, there is someone walking along the side of the road.

Lira 

York

Third is the noise. Ugandans have discovered amplifiers and microphones in a big way and think nothing of having a party with loud music well into the night. I usually manage to sleep through it now, but in Lira last week when it was a very out of tune karaoke session at 1 am I found it more challenging! Kampala streets are full of the noise of motorbike engines, car, truck and bus horns. The Ugandan driving technique seems to involve hooting your horn and expecting everyone to get out of your way. And even when the people are quiet the wildlife isn't. Crickets, birds (including one with a very loud call that sounds like laughter) and bull frogs as well as cockerels that don't have a clue about dawn.

Fourth are the roads. I'm now starting to spend the 3 weeks on the road with one in the office I was expecting. As more and more people are able to afford a car the roads are getting busier and the infrastructure just isn't there to cope. Kampala is notorious for it's traffic jams, they were even featured on Top Gear! It's not unusual to spend an hour or more getting across the city. Outside Kampala the roads are generally quieter but in places they are in a dreadful state. Broken up tarmac with big potholes and sections of murram road breaking through. It's not surprising that generally people use a 4WD vehicle and a professional driver to get around.

I've called this blog Reflections 1 as there are so many thoughts I will return to the subject again!