Peace Corps Volunteers in the Area
It became apparent immediately that a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) exist in Kitgum, all doing a variety of work. It can be overwhelming to keep track of all the different NGOs in the area and their various acronyms and country of origin. There are small NGOs that work exclusively in Kitgum, larger NGos that partner with other local NGOs, national NGOs, international NGOs, and everything in between. Luckily there are quite a few Peace Corps volunteers in this region, and even better, they are well into their service. There are five volunteers in the area who have been here for about 16 months, and they all work for different NGOs. It's been a great opportunity to take advantage of their knowledge and hopefully gain a better understanding of the big picture and how everyone fits. I suspect it helps that I am a former volunteer as the bond between Peace Corps Volunteers is somewhere between a fraternity and a secret society and they seem more eager to share information with me than if I was from some random foreign NGO (which I am).
I have visited a handful of volunteers at their respective workplaces but the most interesting evening came during a dinner party. There were about seven volunteers present, some of whom were visiting for the weekend. The dynamic between the volunteers was very similar to my own experience in Jamaica when volunteers got together in a big group. It made me happy and nostalgic to hear them share success stories, funny cultural interactions and complain about the bureaucracy of Peace Corps. A couple of interesting stories...
1. One of the volunteers had just returned from a trip home. I asked her how it was and she said, "Well, my dad died so I was back for two months". Whoa, that's pretty heavy. Even though I don't know her situation and the circumstances behind it, I thought that was pretty intense that she had returned back to Uganda and the whole situation certainly made me think.
2. Another volunteer claimed direct lineage to Pocohontas. She explained that her family passes the name on throughout generations and her aunt and grandmother are both named Pocohontas. Apparently she's got a dozen or so Pocohonatai in her family, all the way back to the original.
3. One volunteer came from a very rich Peace Corps family tradition. Four of her family members (brother, father, two cousins) had served in the Peace Corps. She told a very cool story about her father serving in Iran. Apparently he was an engineer and worked closely with an organization designing buildings and constructing them. He was approached by a group and told they would be involved in a corruption case and instructed to accept the bribes and keep quiet. He disagreed with the nature of their business and as you can imagine, he was threatened and forced to leave the country. He was very bitter about his experience until a few years ago. He received a random letter in the mail from Iran. The letter was from a resident in the town he had lived so many years ago. The man said he doubts that he remembers him, but he certainly remembered the white man who helped construct their town. He says he was a child in the school when their school was rebuilt and he remembers him from the grand opening. Anyway, he said there was recently an earthquake and nearly every building in the town collapsed, with the exception of the school. He said that all the children were in the school at the time and had it collapsed, hundreds would have died. WHOA. Needless to say, the man is now at peace with his Peace Corps experience in Iran.
4. I guess that Peace Corps Uganda does not allow volunteers to be passengers on motorcycle taxis (called Boda-bodas). This seems completely absurd to me as they are found in nearly all urban areas, especially in Kampala, and are used heavily by locals. Apparently some volunteers have been sent home for disobeying this rule.
5. One woman was complaining about Ugandans being difficult to recognize. She said she was in line at the bank the other day and she saw someone else in line, who she thought was her Pastor. She ran up to him and gave him a big hug but soon realized the man was not reciprocating her happiness. In fact, he said "I think you have me confused?" at which point she said, "Oh no, pastor...".... "I am not a pastor"....awkward. Turns out he was the guy that sells bottles of water on the corner of her street.
I have visited a handful of volunteers at their respective workplaces but the most interesting evening came during a dinner party. There were about seven volunteers present, some of whom were visiting for the weekend. The dynamic between the volunteers was very similar to my own experience in Jamaica when volunteers got together in a big group. It made me happy and nostalgic to hear them share success stories, funny cultural interactions and complain about the bureaucracy of Peace Corps. A couple of interesting stories...
1. One of the volunteers had just returned from a trip home. I asked her how it was and she said, "Well, my dad died so I was back for two months". Whoa, that's pretty heavy. Even though I don't know her situation and the circumstances behind it, I thought that was pretty intense that she had returned back to Uganda and the whole situation certainly made me think.
2. Another volunteer claimed direct lineage to Pocohontas. She explained that her family passes the name on throughout generations and her aunt and grandmother are both named Pocohontas. Apparently she's got a dozen or so Pocohonatai in her family, all the way back to the original.
3. One volunteer came from a very rich Peace Corps family tradition. Four of her family members (brother, father, two cousins) had served in the Peace Corps. She told a very cool story about her father serving in Iran. Apparently he was an engineer and worked closely with an organization designing buildings and constructing them. He was approached by a group and told they would be involved in a corruption case and instructed to accept the bribes and keep quiet. He disagreed with the nature of their business and as you can imagine, he was threatened and forced to leave the country. He was very bitter about his experience until a few years ago. He received a random letter in the mail from Iran. The letter was from a resident in the town he had lived so many years ago. The man said he doubts that he remembers him, but he certainly remembered the white man who helped construct their town. He says he was a child in the school when their school was rebuilt and he remembers him from the grand opening. Anyway, he said there was recently an earthquake and nearly every building in the town collapsed, with the exception of the school. He said that all the children were in the school at the time and had it collapsed, hundreds would have died. WHOA. Needless to say, the man is now at peace with his Peace Corps experience in Iran.
4. I guess that Peace Corps Uganda does not allow volunteers to be passengers on motorcycle taxis (called Boda-bodas). This seems completely absurd to me as they are found in nearly all urban areas, especially in Kampala, and are used heavily by locals. Apparently some volunteers have been sent home for disobeying this rule.
5. One woman was complaining about Ugandans being difficult to recognize. She said she was in line at the bank the other day and she saw someone else in line, who she thought was her Pastor. She ran up to him and gave him a big hug but soon realized the man was not reciprocating her happiness. In fact, he said "I think you have me confused?" at which point she said, "Oh no, pastor...".... "I am not a pastor"....awkward. Turns out he was the guy that sells bottles of water on the corner of her street.
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