I feel like I am at the African version of Burning Man…there is a circumcision for two neighbors coming up on Saturday, and the music has been blasting from their boom box for three nights in a row. It is now 6:45 in the morning, and it is still going. I don’t know how to describe the music, but I can tell you that after three nights of it I am going a little crazy! Ok, so imagine a big cauldron filled with the tinny sound of a poorly recorded Grateful Dead bootleg. Stir in the repetition of trance music. Mix thoroughly with a lot of very fast drums and vocals. Drop a dash of Afro-Caribbean flavoring in the pot. Pour in a bit of really simplistic synthesizer. And play that in your head all night for three nights in a row! That’s a recipe for temporary insanity! I think this is one of those situations where, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Tonight I think I will be going tribal. Sorry my Jewish friends, that’s not what I mean...

Favorite moments since I last wrote…

1. About 30 students and staff from FDNC went out to the remote village of Buyobo to celebrate the construction of a pump for drinking water. After introductions and a tour of the village, there was a ceremony to honor the donor, and all of the visitors. A group of singers came up and performed several songs in both Lugisu and English. All of the singers were women, except for one old man. He was wearing an old, beat up cowboy hat rolled up on the sides in Burning Man style (I’ve yet to see anyone wearing anything like this in Uganda) walked with a stick for a cane, and had very thick glasses on. He looked somewhat out of place, in a very endearing way. He wasn’t singing though, just clapping along with the singing. Then, out of nowhere, he started this yodel like noise. We were all trying not to laugh, but it caught us all totally off guard! I have video of it, and when he does it, the camera pans from him over to me and I am turned to the woman next to me trying to restrain myself! I came home that night, and tried to imitate it, and everyone went hysterical. So now, everywhere I go, people make requests for the yodel. I am planning to go back to that village to learn some technique from this character!

2. The marching band played for a wedding recently, and at night after the reception, the CEO decided to have the band march through the town…a little free marketing. We walked straight from the reception to the main street of Mbale Town. The principal and I were in the front of the procession standing in the pickup truck, dancing, clapping and hollering, the band was behind us, and following the band was the bus. We had about 30 kids running next to us on the sidewalk following along and backed up traffic behind us as far as I could see. I didn’t hear a single horn of complaint! People would go around us in their cars when there was space, and they were smiling and clapping for us! The wedding, reception, and impromptu performance made for a great day all around.

3. I discovered that nobody here in Mbale seems to have ever heard beat box. One afternoon I wandered into Mai’s house absentmindedly busting out some beats, and everyone looked at me cross-eyed. So a few nights later, when I was saying good night after dinner, Mai (67 year old Ugandan woman mind you) tried to do some beats, and I almost fell over laughing. So I decided to get a free style beat box jam session complete with traditional drums going with Mai and the rest of the family. If I could only post video on my blog!

Difficult moments….

1. Lona, the 36 year old daughter of Mai (my host mother) is schizophrenic. When I first got here, I think she was on her medication, so I didn’t know anything about it. But for the last five days or so, she has been sitting in the living room with her head in her hands, mumbling to herself. There is no way to get her in a car, so Mai had to go to the hospital to get some medication for her. Initially, they wouldn’t give her any without Lona there, but when the medical students stepped out of the room, the assistant gave Mai five bottles on the sly. The next day, we had to hold her down in the kitchen while Richard, the Community Health Worker from the school, injected the medication in her hind section. She’s a fairly large woman, so we had about six men there to make sure she didn’t hurt anyone. She was yelling and cursing throughout and afterwards. I had never done anything like this before. I am going to do the best I can to help Mai manage Lona’s illness while I am here, whether that means buying her drugs, or helping her to stay on her medication….whatever it takes.

Power has returned to a more predictable schedule, so I am finding that I have enough juice to watch movies in the evenings, as well as write on my laptop. So let me begin with some of the work I have been doing these past few weeks. There is a donor in the UK who learned about FDNC when Sam the CEO took the brass band to England. Phil, the donor, read about it in a newspaper, and decided to contact Sam. Since this initial contact, he has been incredibly generous to the organization. Last weekend I went to a ceremony held in the remote village of Buyobo (where I met yodel man), where Phil paid to have a bore hole drilled to supply clean water. He has arranged for many other donations as well, from his own funds, as well as from people around him. The big news is that Phil is going to attempt to create the first youth orchestra in Uganda, and possibly all of East Africa or maybe even all of Africa (I need to do some research online) here at the FDNC Vocational School. Phil was involved in one of the best youth orchestras in the world as a teenager, and is very passionate about music. He trusts Sam, and I think he believes that Sam and the organization could make it happen. So Phil is beginning the process of raising funds in the UK. From everything I can see, Phil is someone who gets things done. So how do I fit into this equation?

After being here for a month, I started naturally gravitating towards work at the school. I live in the school compound, the school has tremendous potential but needs a lot of work, and I know education. When I met Phil last week and he proposed the orchestra plan, I felt that it was even more important to ensure that the school was running efficiently so that it would be ready for such an enormous undertaking. So the principal and I have been working side by side to structure and organize everything that is happening here at the school. First, I decided to tackle finances. There was no reliable system for accounting, so I’ve rigged up something in Excel that will allow us to keep careful track of income and expenditure until we can get proper accounting software. I’m also working on marketing and pricing for the band and the traditional dance troupe, streamlining registration and enrollment, getting the student store running properly, meeting with individual teachers to assess needs, etc. – basic management stuff. I’ve also been either writing, rewriting or proofreading grant proposals, and providing consultation to the CEO about a wide range of issues relating to the organization. I am also excited about a project with an organization called Global Goods Partners, which funds and helps market and sell the art of local artisans in developing countries. We have an artist in mind who we would like to hire as a consultant for a new Art and Design Program here at the school. Pison’s work is beautiful – different types of wall-hangings, paintings, and cards made out of recycled local materials. I am currently editing a final proposal for Global Goods, and I think we have a good shot of getting the award.

Now that Phil (donor from UK) and I have met, I will also be acting as his direct liaison with the organization. I think he feels reassured that there is a westerner here that he can communicate with to make sure things are being done properly. If the youth orchestra thing happens, this is going to be huge. This would be a giant step for the students, the organization, and all of Uganda for that matter. We will almost certainly have a documentary film crew come in and record the entire process. This could potentially be an international story. I’ll keep everyone posted on how things develop with this!

I also want to get involved with some of FDNC’s other programs that do outreach in remote villages, but I can’t spread myself too thin. For now, I will focus on the school. There are other projects here that I want to work on as well. The idea I came up with a week or so ago and I am most excited about is a large mural to be done on one of the school’s buildings, like many of the ones I have seen in the Mission District of San Francisco. As far as everyone I have talked to knows, nothing like that exists anywhere in Uganda. My friend Conso in Kampala has agreed to donate her time and skills to do this piece in November, so we just need to raise the $$$ for the paint, which will probably come to around $200 US.

For the most part, I create my own schedule. In my free time, I’ve been doing different things. This week I finished the first two complete songs (music and lyrics) I have ever written alone. The first is called Goodbye, and the second, Taco in St. Petersburg. Random title I know, but it makes sense once you read the lyrics. Considering my beginner skill level on the guitar, I am pretty pleased. It’s frustrating at times, because I can hear things in my head or I can sing them, but I don’t have the skills on the guitar yet. Such is life. Very happy that I bought a voice recorder for my iPod so I can record stuff as I am developing a song. I go through phases…sometimes I will play for two or three hours a day for four or five days, and then I won’t play at all for a couple of days. I want to try and write enough songs to do a short album when I come back to the States. Go to a cheap recording studio and cut a CD for fun. I think I would like to open for another guitarist who has his or her own music, in an intimate performance for friends. We’ll see. I bought an inexpensive Chinese motorcycle three weeks ago in order to get back and forth between town and the village, so sometimes in the evenings before it gets dark I will take it out and just ride, or explore. (Mom, no cause for alarm – I have a good helmet, drive carefully, and don’t drive at night unless I am followed, and little did you know, I rented motorcycles in SE Asia every summer, so I promise I will come back fully intact!) I haven’t been reading as much as I have during other travels, mostly because I am working, but I am reading Kite Runner right now. Some days I take my camera out and just wander and shoot different things…mostly people. Moses (Mai’s 21 year old quasi adopted son) and I are memorizing the map of Africa right now – our goal is to do the entire world before I leave. I also found a video store in town which has bootlegged DVDs from UAE or China or somewhere, so I’ve been watching a fair amount of movies on my laptop. The selection and quality is lacking as you would imagine. Sometimes I go for walks around the village, and chat in broken English with people I meet, and try and pick up a few new words of Lugisu each time. There are rainbows here about 3 or 4 times a week on average….I learned the Lugisu word yesterday for rainbow…Lufutu. On the weekends, I sometimes go to a nice hotel in town that has a swimming pool, and relax there. Much of the time, I just spend time with Mai and her family, and sit and talk, tell stories, and laugh a lot about the day’s events, or about her encounters with Americans in her 2 month trip to the US. The other day I was trying to explain the concept of Santa Claus to her…that was an entertaining discussion! I am slowly meeting other mazungus as well, and there is a guy from SF named Jacob that is living in Mbale. Everyone I have met so far has been interesting, and very easy going. I think that is required to survive here!

I can definitely say that this is really proving to be the Peace Corp-like experience that I might have had in my twenties if I had been a little wiser then. But I am glad it is happening now. There are many reasons why, but I think the most important is that I have so much more to offer now in terms of experience than I would have had just out of college. I truly believe I can leave this organization significantly better off when I am gone, just as Roman and many other people did before me.

I have included a picture of the kids that run around and play outside my house. Lona’s daughter Stella, who is as full of life as any child I have ever met, is front and center. I play with her just about every day. The other pic is of Mai and yours truly at the wedding reception.

I’m really enjoying my time here. Every now and then I have those “What the hell am I doing in this village in Mbale, Uganda, Africa?” moments, but I think if I wasn’t having those at all, this experience probably wouldn’t really be what it is, and I might be a little crazy as well. I mean crazier than my normal everyday crazy! But I am definitely missing the energy of many people at home. I wish that some of you could be here with me for this experience. Thank you for reading and sharing this time with me.

Much love,
Papa Justin Uncle Justin (Stella’s name for me)

I have to begin this entry with the circumcision experience. Let me be absolutely clear before I start - these are male circumcisions only! Someone I know was confused about this recently. I would NEVER support in any way a female circumcision. I believe this is illegal in Uganda, but it may still hold on in some very remote parts of the country.

Just a little background info on circumcisions here…they occur between August and December every even year. This tradition is still very strong here in Mbale among the Bugisu tribe. Boys range in age from 14 to 20 or so, and if one is not circumcised by around 21, men in the village apparently will track him down and do it by force! During the circumcision, the young man is not supposed to show any emotion at all – this is to show his courage. Although I have only been to this one ceremony, I hear them in the distance all the time. The drums and chanting carry for long distances. The Lugisu word for a circumcised man is umsan, plural basan,

A few Saturdays ago, several boys from the school invited me to come to the circumcision ceremony for Masaba, another one of the students at the school. We left the school and trekked through farmland for about an hour before we finally came to the procession as it was moving across the countryside. There were about 200 people with the procession, and at the center, was Masaba, all of 17 years. He was wearing a baseball cap, some beads, shorts, and had some sort of mud pack on his face and on the top of his head. He was carrying two feather tipped sticks in his hands, and was waving these around as everyone walked. Drums were being played at a very quick beat just behind him. The students ushered me into the center of the procession, and I wasn’t sure how they would react to my presence, as the only white person there. But apparently, it is considered an honor to have a mazungu present, so I was given the royal treatment! Masaba passed the sticks to me, and I was waving them, dancing to the drums, chanting…you know, being a ham. Surprised? Everyone seemed curious, if not amused by what I would do next. The procession stopped in a small village for Masaba to eat. There must have been 50 kids just staring at me. Apparently, I was the first mazungu that had ever been to this village. The procession got going again, and we got ahead of it to get a prime position for the slicing and dicing! Once we got to the next village, they immediately brought me to the center so I could see everything and take pictures and video. While we were waiting for Masaba, I was introduced to Masaba’s father, his grandfather, the village chief, and other men in the village. The boys had taught me some Lugisu, the local language, so when I met each one, they were impressed I knew the traditional greetings, and they warmed up to me very quickly. We were laughing and joking for 15 or 20 minutes before Masaba arrived.

As the procession came to the village, things got a little chaotic. The area where the circumcision was to take place was very small - about 12 x 12 feet - and everyone else was being held out of this square by ropes. Within the square was a large pole, with the heart and lungs of a goat hanging from the top. There was an empty sack on the ground that Masaba was to stand over so no blood touched the ground. As Masaba came into the square, I was kneeling down to see between the legs of two of Masaba’s relatives. But I saw the whole thing. He was moved into the square with his zipper down, and it was over in 10 seconds. They packed some sort of orange powder around the area just after it was done, and then everyone was shouting and cheering. He was given porridge to drink, and then he sat down and everyone came up and started congratulating him. Many of the men wanted to have their picture taken with him, so I was snapping away. He was sitting right there with everything exposed for a while before they gave him a wrap to put around his waist. The father also took the foreskin and stretched it out over a small stick, and was holding it for awhile. Then the dancing started…all of the women were gyrating to the drums for about 30 minutes. The women do this call when they are happy, sounds like ayy ayy ayyeee ayyee ayyee ayyee ayyee, so of course, I had to go out and do the yell, and shake the booty with them. Everyone was laughing at me…we were all having a great time. The students and I stayed for about an hour after the circumcision took place, and then we said our goodbyes and headed back to the school. What an afternoon…

I was buried in the computer for about 5 days working on two different grants, but things have relaxed a bit recently, so I hope to write more now. It has been a pain lately though because power in the village has been sporadic. Someone keeps cutting the power lines at night, stealing them to sell in Kenya, so we have not had power in and around the village for 5 days. I have to charge my laptop, phone, etc. at the FDNC office in town when it is on every other day.

All of the fundraising $$$ has been spent now, and I would like everyone to know exactly where your dollars went. Of the $4,000 raised, $2000 is helping me cover my costs so that I can take no salary here. Of the remaining $2000, here is a list of what has been purchased. I can’t stress enough how a little goes a long way here.
-Boys Hostel – insecticide to kill bed bugs, paint and painting materials for interior and exterior
-Girls Hostel – paint for interior
-New Kitchen – bricks, sand, cement, metal wire, and wood to finish the new kitchen. The previous one had basically fallen apart. Also, three large saucepans for cooking.
-Carpentry Department – Timber to construct a second workbench for the students to work on, as well as varnish.
-Tailoring Department – 4 manually operated sewing machines for students to use in class. (They make really nice African clothing, I bought three shirts!)
-Health Clinic – medicines that should last between 1-2 trimesters. This includes malaria medication, antibiotics, etc.
-New Special Needs Department – timber for construction of tables and chairs to be built by Carpentry Department. Also, school materials, floor mats, and dishware for serving children lunch.
-Block Making/Masonry Department – Materials to assist with building the kitchen, including levels and other construction equipment.
-Sustainable Agriculture – two wheelbarrows, a long hose for watering of gardens, and seeds
-Band – Scepter for the lead marcher, valve oil and other instrument upkeep and repair materials
-Administration/Bursar – timber for a large desk and large bookshelf to be built by Carpentry Department
-Storekeeping – 100 kilo bag of rice for students, 100 kilo bag of beans for students, 50 kilo bag of sugar for staff (for sweetening porridge) and 50 kilo bag of rice for staff. Thanks again to all of you who contributed!

As I said in a previous blog, the land here is fertile and productive enough that the people are not starving. But there is deep poverty here, as there is in much of Africa. Your dollars did a lot here…thank you so much to all of you. If anyone is interested in contributing more to Uganda, I have a list of items/projects that are needed. 100% of your $$$ will go to what you select, and I will personally oversee that the funds are spent correctly. Shoot me an email. J

I just tried to upload photos...didn't work. I am going to try again tomorrow with less photos.

Next I will update everyone on the work I have been doing, and some of my visits to the more remote villages that FDNC serves.

Love to all,

Papa Justin Uncle Justin