Out of Africa

So I arrived back in New York today, and not surprisingly, was greeted with a hearty welcome in the form of some serious questioning at immigration. "What exactly were you doing for 3 months in Africa?" It wasn't so bad though, and I am writing this final entry from my home in NYC. Though my bag is happily sitting in South Africa...

Anyways, after leaving Uganda last Saturday, my final stop in Africa was quite arguably the unparalleled highlight. A safari in the Masai Mara during the Great Migration. The Great Migration is considered one of the 8 natural wonders of the world and is really the single most spectacular thing I have ever witnessed. In addition to numerous lions, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe, etc., every July to September, millions of wildebeasts and zebras move north from the depleted fields of the Serengeti to the Masai Mara to feast on the fresh plains. Everything I heard about it sounded amazing, but I was slightly dissapointed with the one caution, "Do not expect to see one of those Discovery Channel river crossings -- those are really rare. But expect to see millions of wildebeasts gathering and grazing together, also an impressive sight"

So, with that in mind, the first day of safari, I took in the thousands upon thousands of wildebeasts mixed in with the zebra, some antelope and the occasional predator in simple awe, thinking THIS is the most incredible thing I have ever seen. The highlight was watching a group of 4 cheetah devouring the remains of a wildebeast.

But then it got better. On my second day, my driver suggested we go to the crossing point and give it a shot. And what do you know -- after 3 hours of watching the wildebeasts slowly make their way down the banks of the Mara River to dip their feet in the water, only to retreat to dry land -- all of a sudden around 4pm, a courageous group of 5 or 6 wildebeasts started down the river bank with the clear purpose of making the crossing. Almost immediately, an absolute downpour of wildebeasts began to race across the river, jumping down the steep slopes to land on their spindly legs by the base of the Mara. Over 20 minutes, tens of thousands of these strange looking cow/horse/something else mixtures poured passed two very confused hippos to the other side of the Mara River in an absolute stampede:

It has been described as the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, and I can see why. Honestly, a perfect end to a perfect summer!

Week 12: Farewell Uganda

It's hard to believe how fast time here has gone. The two months flew by and I still cannot believe the number of great people I met along the way and whom I hope to keep in touch with. And what better way to celebrate those relationships, my farewell, and birthday than a huge bash at my homestay with 30 of my closest friends in Uganda. Peter, my homestay father, suggested we have my birthday/farewell party at home with "some pork and beer." Little did I know the incredible feast that awaited -- vats of pork, pumpkin, beef, rice, banana, beans, and so on, not to mention the huge double layer chocolate cake made by one of the other intern's host sisters. And it was great to get everyone together in one place for one last celebration -- my fellow FSD interns and coordinators, my homestay family, a few pastors I met along the way, and lastly my co-workers. I saved my co-workers for last because, for one, they arrived last, and two they got completely lost on their way over despite my supervisor Henry being good friends with Peter and having visited the house before.

Evidently, after work, 14 people piled into Director Chris's Toyota Hilux Surf. Soon after crossing the Nile, the right front tire blew out, this in the middle of a HUGE rainstorm that earlier had almost left me stranded on an island in Lake Victoria. So anyways, the group, for some reason, decided to split up, with half getting lost in a banana plantation and the other half hitching a ride in the back of a pickup. In the end they all made it -- and in quite interesting shape (let's just say they had a bit of a preparty:). It was quite a celebration and a very difficult goodbye.

It's funny, when I first came here 2 months ago, I never realized how hard it would be to take those last 2 steps on Ugandan soil before boarding my flight. I could not imagine how beautiful the country is, how nice the people are, and how at home I felt. It's a place with so much potential and so many good things that make it an unforgettable place. That makes it easy to overlook the things that are holding the country back. Corruption is rampant (the President has been compared to Mugabe of 10 years ago), there is genuine poverty, and there are some racial tensions which cannot be ignored due to the cultural differences between Ugandans and Indians. But on that last point, I found Uganda to be less racist than almost anywhere I have been. Friendliness is greeted by friendliness 98% of the time. Try that in New York!

So in closing, a big Thank You to everyone who made my experience in Uganda an unforgettable one -- to my co-workers for assimilating me into work and social life, to my fellow interns for providing a great muzungu outlet, and to our coordinators for all of their support. It is not without a great deal of emotion that I make my way back to the States after a week in Kenya.

Week 11: Gorillas in the Mist

Every third step I took, a different cramp. My right calf. My left thigh. And so on…after 7 hours of hiking – the last 4 up a steep mountain – I collapsed back at our starting point. But it was all worth it – a chance to see mankind’s closest relative, the mountain gorilla. The mountain gorilla is on the verge of extinction, with only 706 remaining as of 2003 – all of which reside in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC. I was ecstatic that I was able to get a permit since only 32 are available each day and they are normally booked 3 months in advance. But it just so happened there was a cancellation last weekend, so I rushed to book it and headed to the south western part of Uganda, where the country runs into Rwanda and Congo (the DRC).

The drive over on Friday, through an area known as the Switzerland of Africa, was really part of the experience. The terrible dirt roads did nothing to take away from the splendid views, starting with lush fields filled with banana trees to mountains stripped and terraced for farming and, finally, to where we could seethe purple volcanoes of Rwanda and the Congo in the haze a few kilometres away:

The actual hike was on Saturday, a day which began with an even more spectacular (and equally bumpy) drive through mountains covered in fog (I can see where the title Gorillas in the Mist comes from!). After 2 hours, we reached the starting point for the gorilla trek. At around 8 am, we began descending into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, pushing on for about 2 hours to where the gorillas had been spotted by the tracking team (which goes ahead earlier in the morning so we know which way to hike). It was eerily quiet the whole way when, all of a sudden, we heard some crackling of tree branches. Within a few seconds, they began emerging. One gorilla. Two. A mother and her baby. The mammoth silverback. We watched in amazement as they passed within 2 feet of us, paying no heed – well, except the baby which was watching us with some curiosity.

At this point, the gorillas were on the move to find some food, so we let them pass and then continued to hang out with them while the ate, played, and in some cases, rested. I was shocked by how human they are (they share 98% of our DNA makeup). A twelve year old gorilla was lying there with his head perched on his hand, which he would occasionally bring to his mouth to nibble on his finger. In the background, we heard another gorilla let go a really, really, really long fart. Meanwhile, the baby would shake the trees and look at us with a big smile on his face while the silverback ate leaves and watched us. I think the silverback may have been playing a game with me because he would keep ducking his head to where I couldn’t see him, and then would sit up and look right at me – over and over. It was a sight I will never forget and one that passed by in what felt like 5 minutes (though it was over an hour – the maximum permitted as a measure to protect the few remaining gorillas). Our visit ended with all the gorillas – except the baby – resting. The baby was busy making faces and keeping us entertained, when we sadly had to leave him to go back.

With the hike finished, I downed about a gallon of water before we drove back a slightly different route alongside a magnificent, island dotted body of water, called Lake Bunyoni. We finished the day in the lakeside town of Kabale, where I stayed overnight on the lake before heading back to Jinja on Sunday. A ton of driving (13 hours each way), but well, well worth it. In fact, the drive is a huge part of the experience, and while you can fly in, I would advise against that because it would take away part of the charm that is the gorilla trek!

Peek-a-boo:

Week 10: Rainy season ends in June, right?

Just when I thought the rains were over here -- and the rainy season used to always end in June -- they struck in full force.

This past Thursday, my co-worker Eunice -- I think she may be bad luck when it comes to rain:) -- and I had a business administration training to conduct in the village of Kinogoga. Our problems started when Eunice got delayed in Kampala. We were supposed to hold the session at 2:30, but Eunice didn’t make it to the office until 3:30. So as soon as she arrived, we rushed to order a special hire (basically a taxi) and started to make our way out to Kinogoga, where we had been once before. The place we were going is a quite a ways off the main road and, not surprisingly, we got lost. This was despite the fact that, as we were delayed, the pastor who is in charge of the women’s group we would be training had decided to come to the main road and make sure we got there ok. But there was one problem. I was sitting in the back seat, and he didn’t realize it was us in the car driving by him until after we had passed by and he saw my now quite lengthy hair from behind. So he sent a motorcycle to chase after us and guide us back to our meeting place by 4:15.

So fast forward about an hour and a half…we’re going through our training materials and have about 10 minutes to go when all of a sudden the skies let loose. Now, the place we were training had a tin roof, so it basically sounded like rounds of gunfire were going off around us. The pastor quickly informed us that we should probably get going because otherwise the roads would be unpassable due to the flooding. But as we were so close to finishing, Eunice and I rushed through the last few minutes by basically yelling over the pounding shots of rain. We then hurried out and made it back to the office safe and sound – at which point I realized that, contrary to my belief that he had held on to the directions, my co-worker Ali had given them to me and I had stuffed them in my pocket in our rush to leave! Oops.

This week actually was a lot of fun, but I do have to mention my first real bug encounter. Well, aside from a Botswanan flying cockroach bouncing off my chest during lunch one day.. Anyways, so I woke up on Tuesday and opened my eyes to see, chilling on the outside of my mosquito net not 6 inches from my face, a giant cockroach. Now, I’d seen plenty of roaches around the house, as well as some mice at the gas station where we check internet, but needless to say, I am now tucking in my mosquito net as tightly as I can! That said, my story definitely pales in comparison to another intern’s from the same day. So Maureen gets back from work on Tuesday and decides to go for a bath. Sounds like a good plan, but for one problem – a giant rat is staring at her as she enters the bathroom, at which point she calmly reversed course and sought out her host sister for assistance. I think some things, no matter how long you are in Africa, you will never get used to, but she handled it quite well!

Anyways, hard to believe I have just 2 weeks remaining in Uganda...it has really been an amazing, eye-opening experience and I am definitely going to miss the people and the lifestyle here...but I suppose I'll have more to say about that in a few weeks time!

Week 9: Affecting Government Policy

OK -- so the title may be a bit of an exaggeriation. But we were sitting Thursday with one of OGLM's donors when OGLM's director, Chris, mentioned that based on a conversation he had with me, the Ministry of Microfinance in Uganda agreed to allow the recipients of their grant funding to charge interest and that my ideas would be appearing in the paper in the next few weeks. I don't think my name will be there, but hey, the ideas still count for something! Basically, what happened was, when I arrived, OGLM was planning to offer zero-interest loans in line with the government's policy. But I urged them to reconsider by putting together an Excel spreadsheet that showed how unsustainable a zero interest policy would be. With inflation at 8% and defaults and operating costs also chipping away at the seed grant, in 10 years time, there would remain just $15,000 of the orginal $150,000 fund. So Chris spoke to his contact in the Ministry, and the Ministry agreed that charging interest made a lot of sense!

The trainings also continue to go very well -- my favorite part has to be with the grannies and women's groups at the end of each session. If they like what they learned, they have a huge dance and sing along. So last Thursday my supervisor Henry and I were dancing with 70 older women as they sang songs! Very cool...so far we have trained about 170 people on savings and are moving on to business administration training soon.

Grannies dancing:

So to continue with a topic a few weeks ago about the people, I have to describe my homestay family. This weekend, for the first time, everyone was home. Before that, Agnes, the mother, was studying for a masters at Makarere in Kampala, so she and her 1 year old were there until now. Agnes is really nice, and the daughter Mercy is adorable. She was very wary of me at first but now comes up to me with a soccer ball as big as her and a smile from ear to ear as she tries tossing it to me. Peter, the homestay father, is really one of the smartest people I have ever met. He has had opportunities to work with the WHO and the UN but is aiming at bigger and better things. In addition to being a doctor, he is working in public health, pursuing a PhD and frequently writing in the national papers. I hope he comes to NY so you guys can all meet him. I mentioned Ben, Peter's brother, earlier -- we are still hanging out a lot, and now Peter's nephew Moses is around as well. Moses is studying agriculture and is such a happy go lucky guy. He is alway laughing at my attempts to speak Lusoga:) and is a great cook on top of that.

And I should also talk a bit more about our coordiators, who I mentioned briefly before. Jen is from Canada but has worked in Mexico, South Korea, Japan, the Gambia, and Uganda as well...she is really cool to hang out with and also was instrumental in my securing grant funding (my grant proposal was successful!). Berna is also a lot of fun -- she is Ugandan but also lived in Scotland around the same time I did. So she has this ability to transition between the Western and African world seamlessly...so when we do something dumb, she's always quick to point it out;).

Week 8: Half way there

So it is pouring rain outside and I find myself in the village of Kamuli, an hour and a half north of Jinja. We (my coworker Eunice and I) have just finished a training session on savings for 37 grannies who are taking care of HIV/AIDS orphans. We are eager to make it back home, but the path to the main road where we get the public taxi (a matatu) has turned into a river of red mud. So we have to call a bike to take us to the road...and that's where the adventure begins. After 30 minutes, only one bike shows up, so we both hop onto the back of it and are crawling along at a snails pace when, sure enough, one puddle gets the better of our bike and we start to capsize. Luckily, it happens so slowly that we are able to jump off just as the bike falls into the mudpuddle.

And fortunately, that story ended just fine when we got back to Jinja 3 hours later relatively mud-free after riding in a 14-person taxi crammed full with 22 people. A taste of life in Africa:). Work here is actually going really well though. I have begun both the staff and community trainings and the evaluations are coming in really strong. It's exciting to be off and running. The staff training so far has focused on structuring a microfinance program while the community trainings are on basic savings. In the coming weeks, I will be training the staff on starting and administering a microfinance program and training the community on business administration. So wish me luck! It's amazing how fast time is going here and there is so much to do in the remaining 3 and a half weeks.

Speaking of which, this is actually just past the half way point of my time in Uganda. I know this because we had our midterm retreat in an absolutely amazing area on the Uganda-Kenya border called Sipi Falls:
We stayed at a campsite with a view of the lowest falls, which tumble 300 feet over a cave. The higher falls are about 450 feet high and we had a chance to hike to where we could see them. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see much of one of the tallest mountains in Africa, Mount Elgon, which was about 50 miles away. But it was a great chance to catch up with the other interns and just relax (aside from the grueling hike:), and we had the added bonus of driving through Mbale, the site of the most recent Bond film, Casino Royale. And we actually got pictures of two kids fighting Bond-style...I thought it seemed appropriate (not to worry, they were just messing around).

Week 7: The People (and Whitewater Rafting)

Last I wrote, I mentioned that it was a great end to a great week. This week, it was a crazy end to a crazy week. That's because I got to catch up with two of the Columbia people I ran into briefly in Tanzania, Dan Yurt and Whitney Horsey-Sherin. They have been here in Jinja a few days volunteering with Soft Power, so this past weekend we got to catch up in the midst of their crazy travels. For some reason (namely poor planning) their itinerary started in South Africa, went up to Kenya, down to Tanzania, over to Spain, across to Greece, back down to Uganda, and up next to Italy. But regardless, it was great having them around. The highlight of our weekend hanging out together had to be whitewater rafting on the River Nile.

Rafting here is absolutely insane -- we went through 12 rapids, including 4 class 5s. The first and last rapids were waterfalls, but our boat only capsized once (in another class 5 called the G-Spot). The biggest highlight for me was on a rapid called 50-50 (50% of boats usually flip). Our boat was just about to flip on top of a rapid about 6 feet high when I found myself standing on top of the boat, which was more or less at a 45 degree angle, on top of this wave. Somehow I managed to surf for a few seconds until the boat settled back down...a total rush. Dan was also able to stay aboard though Whitney went for a swim! Another big highlight was a rapid called Overtime, where our raft went down backwards off a 10 foot waterfall. I really can't imagine rafting any better/crazier than this!

It's funny though -- I just realized that in my blogs so far, I've spent so little time talking about the most important part of my experience here so far: the people. So this time, I'll talk about my co-workers and fellow interns.

First, my co-workers, starting with my supervisor Henry. Henry is a great guy who is always so soft spoken, but occasionally, he comes up with an unbelieveably funny, inappropriate joke that cracks up the whole crowd. Then there is Ali, the resident playboy. My other co-workers say he has psychological powers that are the root of his success -- having seen him in action, I think it may be true. Eric is the resident jokester and news reporter. He somehow knows everything that is going on in everyone's life...even finding pictures from another intern's camera at an internet cafe and printing them out for everyone to see. Chris, the supervisor, is a crazy guy and generally the life of the post-work party. He comes from a really well off family and is doing NGO work because it is his passion. His wife Barbara also works at OGLM and is always on my case about trying to get married. I told her to give me a few years...

Then there are the other interns. Will, the only other guy, is a master guitarist and singer. Unfortunately, we don't see much of him because he is usually working till about 11 at night. Marion and Jennifer go to school together back home and are the resident party animals since their NGO also runs the big rafting campsite while Lauren from California started a trend of speaking with a strange British-ish accent that I and a few others unfortunately have picked up on even as she dropped it. So now she is always making fun of me -- I have no idea why we talk this way but I think it is an attempt to enunciate more so people understand us. Mary from Notre Dame lives on my side of the Nile, so I often get to hear stories of her crazy host family, while Lisa is a Whartonite who works Saturdays even though we don't have to. Finally, there is Maureen, who is always jetting off to one place or another so much so that we barely see her.

Aside from that, work is now in full gear, but I will save those details for next week!

Week 6: Addicted to Rolex

Ok, so I finally caved in and bought a Rolex. Actually 2. And together, they only cost 70 cents. That's because a rolex here is not a high end watch, but rather a chapati filled with egg, tomato, onions, and avocado...sort of like a Ugandan hotdog. No one is quite sure how the name came to be, but the rumor is that it's from the fact that you roll the eggs in the chapati (rolled eggs = rolex). In any case, delicious. The food here is generally really good if a bit repetitive...lots of mashed bananas, rice, beans, groundnut sauce, and some really juicy pineapple, and the occasional meat (though meat is expensive here).

Anyways, since this past week at work was focused on preparing a grant proposal to fund my project, I wont spend a lot of time describing that. Instead, I'll focus on some cool things I've noticed recently. For instance, on Friday my host brother Ben and I stopped for a beer a few minutes walk from our home around dusk. As we were sitting there, I was just kind of staring off into the horizon taking in the surroundings. After awhile, I came to and noticed I was looking right at the Nile Brewery -- where the beer we were drinking was made -- which was maybe 500 meters away. And the manufacture date on the bottle was just 3 days old...about as fresh as you can get.

Then there is the cultural differences. People at work will joke all the time with each other, but at the weekly meeting everything is done by strict protocol in very quiet voices. Everything gets discussed...and I really mean everything. At my first meeting, one agenda item was whether to keep a bucket in the toilets for women to use for disposal when it comes to that time of the month! When asked for my opinion, I told them that I thought they had it pretty well figured out...

But regardless of the occasional odd conversation, we have a great time at work, and after work. Like on Saturday, we all went out to the Pearl of Africa Music Awards, which was complete with fireworks and lots of local music performances. Another great end to a great week!

Week 5: First week of work

Did you know that condoms cause cancer and carry HIV? At least that's what some women here are led to believe. My first visit to the field -- where we meet the communities we are working to help -- was part of a condom education training. It was eye opening hearing these comments and all the more surprising because Uganda is actually an amazing success story. Not 5 years ago, HIV/AIDS rates were over 30%. Now they are down to 6%, but there is still ongoing work to educate people on its risks.

It was at the end of this visit that I had my first chance to discuss microfinance with the people we will be providing loans to. There was quite a lot of interest and a surprisingly high level of knowledge on how it works. Just as we were about to leave, one woman rushed up to me and told me how excited she was and that she already had a loan group formed (microloans are made to groups whose members guarantee each other's loans in place of collateral).

In all, the first week was hectic but great. I had a chance to do a lot of research so that I am more prepared to carry out my project, which consists of two main parts:

1) Developing a microfinance framework to guide the organization in administering loans starting in November.
2) Providing business training to members of the community in preparation for these loans.

I had a chance this first week of work to meet a lot of people and get a sense of what the needs are and feel more confident now that I know what to do!

Having finished work Friday, the week wrapped up with a nice taste of cultural life on Saturday. My host brother Ben took me to an "introduction" 2 hours northwest of Kampala. An introduction is like an engagement ceremony, but with very strict rules and hundreds of people. I was on the groom's side, which meant we had to come in search of the bride, be told she was not there, say we were sure she was there, and eventually be allowed in to where 200 people were sitting waiting for the rest of the ceremony.

With the groom's side before heading to the introduction: There were plenty of comments regarding my presence given that I was quite clearly the only non-African there -- they actually refer to me as being white here -- but they were all positive, and by the end of the night I was given a special seat at the front where I could eat on a table (other rows had to eat from their laps). A great end to a great week!

Week 4: Orientation and Home Stay

"In 10 years, I want to grow up to be just like you." That has to be the quote of the week, coming from fellow intern Jennifer, who is actually only 8 years younger (referring to my having traveled a bit). Speaking of which, things have settled down a bit for now on the travel front, but it was another great week all the same. We finished our 15 hours of language training, visited some local tourist destinations, got to see everyone's host organization, and moved in with our homestays at the end of the week.

I'll start by saying what a great place Jinja is. It has a population of 100,000 but feels like a small town with red dirt roads and few cars.

Some pics of Jinja:
On the horizon is Lake Victoria and just by the town are a ton of adventure activities like bungee jumping, white water rafting, ATVing, etc. It's like the Victoria Falls of East Africa...there is even a waterfall here called Bujagali, which was one of the sites we visited this week -- an amazing place where the Nile River crashes down upon itself amidst a backdrop of lush green hills. It's hard to capture in either pictures or words.

Bujagali Falls: But the real highlight there was in walking to visit one of the other intern's host organizations. As we made our way from the falls to the organization, we were greeted by maybe 30 little kids screaming "Muzungu, muzungu!" ("foreigner, foreigner!") who just wanted to hold our hands, teach us a bit of the language, and walk us to our destination.

Little ones:


Orientation itself was great. A big shout out to Berna, Jenn, and Margaret from FSD for taking such good care of us and adapting the schedules based on how we were feeling. We're now all pretty comfortable getting around, speaking a bit of the language, and knowing who to speak to in case of trouble. I also briefly got to meet my host organization supervisor where I found out I will be helping develop a microfinance system in 8 weeks (!).

At the end of orientation, we went to everyone's homestays and got to see the range of accommodations, from a small farm with no electricity, to a sprawling hillside estate with 360 degree views. I feel very fortunate with my placement -- I am 30 minutes from work in a beautiful home with electricity, running water, internet (couldn't believe that one), TV, and a view of the Nile, which I cross to go to work every day.


My homestay:
And the family is great as well -- I am staying with a doctor who is in his early 30s and knows just about everything. His younger brother Ben also lives at home and is my age and with similar tastes. So we spent the weekend hanging out, checking out some places he was building by the Nile, and just chatting sports and culture. So now, the easy part is over. Next time I write, I will be an official microfinance volunteer!

Week 3: Zanzibar to Nairobi to Jinja

What a week! From beaches to beauty pageants, I didn't think it was possible to see so many different types of places in so short a time. Monday began on a beach in Zanzibar, Thursday was spent with a friend's family in Nairobi and Saturday finished up while watching the Miss Uganda Central Region contest. It sounds very strange thinking about that, but in any case, lots to write about this time!

Zanzibar began with some pure R&R. Between the wet season rains, there was plenty of sunshine to enjoy by the pool, at the beach, or in the restaurants. Highlights included tasting melt-in-your-mouth graved barracuda, seeing snails as big as my fist, and running into people I'd met bungee jumping at Victoria Falls the prior week week! The final highlight, though, was dashing out of the terminal at Zanzibar's tiny airport to greet a bunch of fellow '07 Columbia grads who I saw walking off their plane as I waited for my flight to leave . Unfortunately, I couldn't talk too long because I was in violation of Tanzanian law by exiting the terminal...but well worth it!

View of the pool in Zanzibar:
My midweek stop, Nairobi, was a great opportunity to spend some time with my friend Nimeet's parents, and to get to see Kenya from a local perspective. I've met his parents several times and they are always the nicest, most hospitable people. And this time proved no different. An employee of his dad's company came to pick me up right as I left the plane. Given that he knew everyone at the airport, this made clearing immigration and customs a breeze. But the most amazing part was seeing the work in the community his family is doing -- from providing running water to schooling to jobs for the town of Ruiru (pop. 50,000). Though his mom's cooking and dad's eye for art were a close second!

Mr. Dodhia's art gallery:
On Friday, I arrived at my final stop (for now) in Jinja. The flight from Nairobi was a great opportunity to get a sense of Uganda from above, with Lake Victoria dominating a lush tropial background...it is really a sight that has to be seen! At the airport, I met our program coordinators and the other 7 volunteers. They seem like a great group and we have been going through our Lusoga language training, getting a sense of what we'll be doing this summer, and seeing the town of Jinja and the surrounding areas.

But the highlight was definitely seeing the Miss Uganda concert. We had a few beers and watched the contestants as well as some popular local artists and musicians performing on stage. The 2 finalists included one woman who was about 5'2" and another who was at least 6'5". Very cool seeing them standing next to each other...the 5'2" contestant won just as the rain started pouring down. This made for an interesting time leaving, with people using chairs as umbrellas as we squeezed through (or were pushed through in most cases) the very small exit. Our awesome program coordinator Jenn got us a taxi pretty quickly though and we were out of there without incident. Actually, despite the crowd, people were very friendly as they have been everywhere here. I think it will be a great summer!

Week 2: Victoria Falls to Cape Town

Last I wrote, we were just about to head off on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi...a very easy way to begin what would turn out to be an adrenaline filled few days in Victoria Falls. The following morning, on the Zambian side of the falls, began the day with a microlight (picture a motorized tricycle with paper wings) directly over the falls. It was an incredible view of 500 million liters of water per second plumetting 300 feet over a mile-long stretch. An added bonus was that there were hundreds of elephants, buffalos, hippos, crocodiles, etc. that could be seen from above going about their usual business. Truly spectacular and a good warm up for the morning.

That afternoon, Phil and I crossed to the Zimbabwean side before bungee jumping from 360 feet over the Victoria Falls gorge...the 3rd tallest jump in the world and most likely the most beautiful (there was a full circle rainbow at the bottom of the jump and the falls are roaring behind you the whole time). And none of this is mentioning the sights and sounds of Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwean side-- a view that was definitely one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

Continuing on that theme, we arrived in Cape Town Friday night. What a great city -- fantastic food, really friendly people, and the backdrop of Table Mountain (another of the most amazing sights I have seen). Took the cable car up yesterday morning for some unparalleled views and spent the afternoon in Stellenboch wine country. This afternoon, we'll be seeing a few more sights with a couple South Africans we met , and then I am off to Zanzibar tomorrow on my own for a few days before heading to Nairobi and finally Uganda to start the volunteer program!

Week 1: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia

From watching the sun rise over the Kalahari to catching a glimpse of a leopard stalking its prey, it's hard to believe we've only been in Africa a week. To say it has been a fantastic time would be an understatement. We started in Johannesburg before traveling overland to Thornybush Private Game Reserve, Kruger National Park, Elephant Sands, and Chobe National Park. We are now in Zambia just by Victoria Falls, getting ready for a sunset cruise over the Zambezi river.

To say the least, it has been quite an experience -- camping each night under the stars, having some beers by the fire, meeting some good people from all over the world, eating local foods such as kudu and impala. And then there's the sights -- we have seen all of the Big 5 (lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, and buffalo) as well as a ton of giraffe, zebra, monkeys, antelope, etc. Unbelievable seeing them in their natural environment. Giraffe appear to be the most curious about us, often following us with their eyes until we are out of sight, but we've come face to face (within 3 feet) of a pride of lions and a bunch of elephants as well. I have taken a ton of photos but since it is hard to post them all at the moment, here is a sample, taken at night of a lion just a few feet from away!

Anyways, next up is bungee jumping at Victoria Falls (3rd highest jump in the world at 360+ feet), hand gliding over the falls, and then heading down to Cape Town for a few days. Will try to write more in a week or so. Hope you all are well!

Off to Africa

In just two short weeks, I am off to Africa for the second time in my life. Before beginning the volunteer program in Uganda, I'll be traveling with a former co-worker, Phil Auerbach, who has some time off before he moves on from Novantas to McKinsey. We'll be starting in Johannesburg, South Africa before heading on an overland tour through the Panorama Route to Kruger National Park (South Africa), Chobe National Park (Botswana), and Victoria Falls (Zambia and Zimbabwe) before returning to Cape Town for a few days. After that, I am off to Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya) for a few days each before I begin my program in Uganda. Very exciting stuff!

As a side note, some people have brought up potential safety concerns surrounding the anti-Indian violence in Uganda last month that resulted in the death of one Indian and stoning of many others, but I am comfortable that this was an isolated event and have been assured by FSD and other people from the region that I should be safe. So no worries -- I will be careful but don't anticipate many problems!

Accepted!

Last week, I received some great news -- I was accepted by the Foundation for Sustainable Development to volunteer with one of their partner organizations in Jinja, Uganda this summer! I accepted the offer and am very excited to be spending 9 weeks pursuing what's been a growing passion of mine -- microfinance. We are still working out the details, but it looks as though I'll be spending my time working on both microfinance and organizational development for a grassroots group called the Organization for the Good Life of the Marginalized.

In case you don't know about microfinance, in brief, it is the idea of providing small loans (as little as $20) to the poorest of the poor with the idea that they will use the loans to build or improve their businesses to better their financial situation and eventually begin saving as members of their country's middle class. This idea has proven tremendously successful -- so much so that the Nobel Peace Prize last year went to Muhammed Yunus for developing the concept. It works so well for 2 reasons:

1) The economies in which microfinance institutions (MFIs) operate are extremely poor, so lifting someone out of poverty takes a lot less than in the developed world. For example, Uganda's GDP per capita is $190 ($1800 on a PPP basis) whereas the U.S.'s is $42,000 -- a 220x difference!
2) Each dollar donated to or raised by an MFI can be reused every 4 to 6 months; since repayment rates are around 98% (better than even credit card debt here in the U.S.), each dollar can be recycled as much as 20 times or more over time.

To use Uganda in a simplistic example, in 10 years time, the theory has it that a pool of money equal to a country's per capita GDP -- $190 in Uganda -- could be enough to lift 100 people into the middle class, assuming the money is repaid every 6 months and lent again to a different person, with each borrower supporting a fairly typical 5 person family. This means that it would only cost $1.90 per person to help a person into the middle class! A simplistic example to be sure, but the opportunity is tremendous no matter how it is sliced -- which is why I want to get involved in this type of economic empowerment this summer.