African time

In the one month I have been in Uganda, I have learned so much about the culture, American culture, and about myself. There have been many times that I was so frustrated by the way things work here, but these were countered by instances that made me love Uganda more. 

It is said here that everyone runs on "African time" meaning that nothing and nobody runs on a strict schedule. For the first few weeks, I truly enjoyed working on African time, waking up late, taking naps in the afternoon, and never being in a hurry to do anything. After about the third week, I realized how frustrated I was by this whole "African time" mindset. I came to Uganda to work hard everyday in hopes to make an actual difference in the community, not to sit back and enjoy the scenery everyday.

Another thing I have become acutely aware of is the difference between American work ethic and Ugandan work ethic. The people I work with at SOVHEN are very brilliant and inspiring, but they don't have the drive and determination that I see in many Americans. For example, they have developed a way to create sanitary pads out of banana plants and have even developed a business plan to circulate their product. The idea is genius, yet there are thousands of unfinished pads sitting in the warehouse without plans to do anything with them. Also, many people here are perfectly content to work 2 or 3 hours a day, while I am stuck going stir crazy because I don't have enough work to do.

 It has taken a lot of wasted days for me to realize that I need to take matters into my own hands, instead of relying on others, if I really want to make a difference. One of my colleagues and myself have identified a serious problem in our village in that many people don't have latrenes and must resort to open deification. This can cause major health complications because it is not sanitary and also pollutes the nearby Lake Victoria, the peoples main water source. We have begun to research and identify possible solutions for this problem and I have high hopes that we will be able to make progress before I leave. 

Although there have been very many times that I have been frustrated by work here, I truly am enjoying my time in Uganda! The people here are very warm, welcoming, and kind. I live in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I walk down a dirt path for 5 minutes and find myself on the banks of Lake Victoria.  I eat fruits and veggies that have never been touched by a chemical and com from my front yard. Life is complicated, but life is also good.