The Daily Monitor - article

The Daily Monitor is a Ugandan newspaper - below is a link to a recent article about Kaabong & the work of Medair, but mostly MSF (Medecins Sans Frontier) in the area. It's worth a quick read!

Child malnutrition levels in Karamoja worrying

Karamoja

I haven't mentioned much about the situation here in Karamoja District of Uganda. Here's an excerpt from a UN update on ReliefWeb this past week to give you a glimpse of why we're working here:

Ravaged by insecurity and cattle-rustling, the region has lagged behind in terms of development and social services for decades, and with the proliferation of illegal firearms in the last two decades, the rustling has become increasingly violent.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Karamoja scores lowest on Uganda's key development and humanitarian indicators, even when compared to the northern region which has been wracked by conflict between government troops and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
"Karamoja registers the highest maternal mortality rate (750/100,000 live births), the highest infant mortality rate (178/1,000 live births), the lowest latrine coverage (6 percent) and the highest illiteracy rate (89 percent)," said a recent OCHA report.

Click on the link below for the whole article:

IRIN Uganda: Optimism in Karamoja despite lingering security concerns

Last night's showdown...

So earlier in the day I had a conversation with friends about rats – yes, there are rats here. I’ve seen them, so far not any larger than a hamster, but still rats. They were telling us of a time when they were awoken in their tukel by a rat & the adventure they had in getting rid of the rat in the middle of the night. Well, my question was, how did it get in there to begin with. Answer, “Oh, didn’t you know they climb walls? They get in right between the thatched roof & concrete wall”. Nope, didn’t know that, now I do & am not sure I wanted to know that…oh well, that’s why I have a lovely mosquito net to keep me safe at night!

This brings us to my night. I cozy up & fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened from said deep sleep. What, I wonder, could have awaken me? Ah well, just roll on over and go back to sleep. A few moments later, ‘scratch, scratchity, scratch,’ um what was that? Ears perked in the middle of the night…yep, there it is again. Ok, turn on the headtorch (not headlamp here, headtorch just so there’s no confusion – I speak true English these days) and shine it around the top of the concrete wall. Nope, no rats. Ok, go back to sleep. Headtorch off.

Headtorch back on – what was that? Scratching near the door – AHA! Little mini rat (like little field mouse size) trying to find his way out of my tukel! Scratching at my door…what to do? Chase him out…not going to work…call the cat to come & get him…no telling where the cat is right now in the middle of the night & don’t feel like going to find him…

Ok, headtorch off. Maybe I can just forget he’s in here & go back to sleep – my mosquito net is keeping me safe, maybe he’ll find his way out & we’ll all be happy. Scratchity-scratch again! Seriously…headtorch on – yep, there’s the little guy again, trying to find his way out to no avail…ok, so he keeps coming back to the door though I keep shining the light on the door…maybe I can open the door a bit & he’ll get out. But I don’t want to leave my door open while I sleep in case other creatures want to find their way in…and how do I know when he’s left. Ok, I’ll open the door, then sit & watch the door until he leaves…ok…

5 minutes later…mosquito, or mozzi in ‘correct’ English, flying towards headtorch – distraction number one from door monitoring! Ok, mozzi killed, back to the door…still nothing…10 minutes – ‘like a moth to a flame’, no not the rat it was really a moth coming to attack my headtorch as well. Flashback to another conversation with the same friends today. They have bedbugs – moths, they say, bring bed bugs. Stupid moth is flitting all around on my bed in the light of the headtorch – this is not ok! We cannot have rats & bedbugs all in one night! Second distraction, moth killed. Wonder if the little guy got out by now? Surely…

Got to type this story up since I’m wide awake now…door closed, cozied under the net with my computer on. Typing away…scratchity-scratch…seriously rat, you have got to get a larger brain! Deep breath, ok, I’ll prop the door open & set my torch’s light on the door while I type & maybe we’ll both get lucky…I just want to go back to bed. Maybe I should just put my earplugs in & call it a night?

Yep, that’s what I did…after an hour of this going on!!! Fell fast asleep again with earplugs in…3am, cell phone ringing. Don’t know the number…not going to answer it. It rings again, same number…still not going to answer you, let me go to sleep! Ringing again – 5 times!!! Finally it stops – until the text message…all in some other language…not answering, they’ve got to get the picture. Another message – seriously, text back “Wrong Number” and finally sleep.

That was my night…

Inside the Tukel

I’ve had lots of inquiries about my tukel, so here are some pics of the inside for all those curious:

This is the view in from the door. Notice the thatched roof, mosquito net (which aids mostly in keeping creepy-crawlers from falling on me from the thatched ceiling as I sleep – mosquitoes actually aren’t bad here right now), kerosene lamp/candles (no electricity), shelves with all the belongings I’ve been able to bring up thus far! It’s amazing what little you can live with, you know? The bed is alright, it’s a pretty hard foam mattress, about 6 inches thick or so.



Then, as you walk in the door & look to the right – another bed. Currently I am alone in my tukel, but if we have any Medair visitors I would share my tukel!



And, from the back looking forward – have you noticed how bare the walls are? I didn’t bring much with me to decorate with & so I’ve decided to leave this up to you. What would you like to see on Jennie’s tukel wall? I’ll take suggestions, but I’d love to take any cards, pictures, beautiful creations that you might like to send my way (email me for an address if you are inspired)! I’ll update here with pictures as the wall fills up!

The tukel is about 12 feet across (diameter) I think, so its spacious for me. In other news, I have successfully learned to drive the manual & have a lot of fun with the landcruisers! The roads here are so bad, its really like you're off-roading all the time! Today we went for a hike nearby and ended up on a not-really road, and actually had to push the landcruiser out of the mud at one point (I was pushing, not driving). Luckily we made it out before the rain began, as we really might have been stuck at that point! I'll post some pictures of our hike later - some beautiful views of the area.

And here’s just a bit of a laugh to pass along to you…Tracey posted this on her tukel door, did you know Kaabong kitties can read? Yeah, well Jack is learning quite slowly actually.

It says “ NOTICE FOR JACK – Not this tukel, try the other 2!”

There's No Place Like Home

My English vocabulary is limited - I tend to use words that are somewhat vague, such as 'great', 'nice', 'really', and I often wish I could articulate myself better.

Last night I was trying to capture how I was feeling & what came out was simply, "I miss my friends." The word 'miss' is not even getting close to the point of how I feel, though. How else can I put it? I came up with this - I'm "grieving the absence of"...

I 'miss'...

• dark chocolate (hint, hint!)
• ice cream
• blending in
• hot showers

I'm grieving the absence of...

• friends
• family
• my church & community
• uninterrupted walks
• ok, maybe dark chocolate :)

Does that make sense? Don't get me wrong, I'm doing ok here & enjoying the new friendships and experiences I'm having. But this last week was a bit more challenging as I started feeling the loss of my Denver community and 'easy access' to people who know and care for me.

So feel free to drop me a line! I think I'm doing pretty well thus far at responding to my emails & comments. And also feel free to pray, its just going to take some time for me to feel truly at home here - God and I are conversing about that regularly.

Rich towards God

Our team meets every morning from 8:00-8:30am for a time of reading/reflecting on a Bible passage & then praying together. It could be seen as really burdensome to those who aren't so spiritually inclined & even to those who are, spending every morning doing 'church' can be a bit much. That's where I often find myself, in the latter group. But I have to admit that there is something about starting your day out recognizing that the work we're about & life in general is less about me and more about joining God in His work for justice here on earth.

We've been working our way through Luke and the most recent passages have been the commonly quoted ones about storing up treasure in heaven. Literally, not allowing material possessions both to be your goal in life and to be your source of worry and anxiety. That all we gain here on earth can pass away in an instant, what truly matters when all of that is swept away is our soul and how we live the life we've been given.

It's interesting sitting and talking through these truths with people who have such a different culture, but add to that the society of surplus that I come from as opposed to the scarcity here. Material wealth takes on a whole new meaning in this context for me. It's less about deciding to purchase a sedan or an SUV and more about how to pay for a bus ticket to get to the next big city to stand in line for hours to turn in paperwork to receive a card that shows you're registered in the country and can therefore receive a salary & will then pay taxes on your salary which will all take at least 3 days which includes lodging and food which cost money...you see where I'm going? I sat across from one of the guys on our staff today who explained to me that the document I need for our files that allow us to pay him will require all that I said above & therefore he needs a salary advance to pay for such a trip. This isn't about saving & thinking ahead, this is about survival. This man doesn't go out and drink every night - he's a very hard worker and so dedicated. Yet, he wouldn't have the money to pay for that 'simple' trip until he receives the wages we'll pay him...

Yet, in our conversations, my friends seem to get it, maybe better than I do. Its about valuing God & His ways above the things of this world. Being "rich towards God" - I hope to learn more about this as I get to know the hearts of His people here. My prayer is that though I stick out as white, therefore RICH, here that my wealth will be known as love.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Lord, provide food, shelter, clothing, health and PEACE to your people.

Settling In

I wish I had some amazing stories to pass along to you, but so far things have been rather quiet as I’ve begun to take on some responsibilities around the base here. Let me give you the highlights since I arrived about 12 days ago…

• I have successfully managed to not crash the server in our office, but instead lock all the users off of it
• hire 2 relief guards for our base
• be almost fluent in the radio alphabet & in correct radio lingo – roger that
• prove myself to the ladies in our community by joining in their traditional dances
• workout to 80s Kathy Smith aerobics
• learned to count to 10 & greet people in the Karamajong language – repeat after me, Ee-jock, yes that means hello!
  

Some pictures & some thoughts:

A cutie on the way to fill her little jerrycan at the borehole.

Trace & I took a walk one day that came with an entourage!

Joseph & Tracey monitoring a borehole - this is the point of our work here, to ensure the boreholes around the Kaabong District are working well. The process involves training Water User Committees (WUCs), groups of about 10 people in the communities on hygiene & sanitation and to encourage them to raise a portion of money to put towards a subsidized repair, should their borehole need it. It's really fantastic to see how empowering with education & ownership can bring about a number of benefits for these communities!

Jacob, Georgia, me, Tracey & Jakob
You'll read about Tracey & Jakob, I'm sure, they are my co-workers here - I get along very well with both of them!
Jacob & Georgia are baptist missionaries from Texas who live just down the road from us & are such a joy to have near. They stayed over Saturday night & on Sunday morning our conversation somehow turned into a competition. Around Karamoja you can easily hand a letter to someone & it will get passed on & on until it reaches the person it was intended for. Why couldn't that work with a letter to our homes, too? So, we wrote letters to our families & have to hand it to someone in town & have them pass it along in hopes that within a few months one of our letters may arrive at our homes! I'll let you know the outcome of that one, if there is one!