Peace Corps Living

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Hey didn’t that guy used to work at ECRI....excuse me, I mean ECRI INSTITUTE?

It’s true Bill and I worked at ECRI Institute together over the past year, but we didn’t know each other (the first and third floors are so far away). And it wasn’t until a week before his departure for Uganda back in February that we learned we would both be working in Africa.

Bill Davis is 32 and on a second round as a Peace Corps volunteer. From 2002-2004 he worked with the Peace Corps in Tanzania as a Chemistry teacher and spent a good amount of time traveling through South Africa afterwards.

A Peace Corps contract is for 2 years. However once the 2 years is completed, you can then choose a placement anywhere for any amount of time...this deal is for life. Taking advantage of the “perk” Bill chose a position in Bugiri, Uganda for 4 1/2 months.

Well, it just so happens that a 2 hour bus ride connects Bugiri with Jinja (coincidence? maybe not). So far we’ve connected my first weekend in Jinja and last weekend with an excursion to Bugiri.

But back to my first blog when I mentioned that the town I stay in is touristy. Now Bugiri...Bugiri is NOT touristy. This means that we are the only mzungus (re: whites) for miles. We can not walk more than 10 seconds without hearing children shouting MZUNGUS! It is borderline cute or annoying depending on your mood. But despite being a Mzungu, Bill fits in nicely, and seems genuinely accepted by the community, especially by Ema, his 3 year old neighbor who makes himself at home. I am equally impressed and repulsed that Bill has eaten things like flying ants and cow’s heart, and completely impressed that he can speak Swahili with the locals. Peace Corps living requires you to live as a local and on the same budget, which means things like a $20/month rent and meals that cost about a dollar a day.

I was more than curious to see first hand what Peace Corps work entails. Although it will vary depending on your placement. With Bill’s placement....I’d say right now he’s not so lucky. The job required working along side a non-profit BUNASO (Bugiri network of AIDS service organizations) The job description outlined a majority of time in the field, traveling to remote villages and assessing the AIDS situation, offering some educational training, increasing awareness and determining who is getting funding, and if there enough, food, medical supplies, etc. Unfortunately, funding was put on hold for BUNASO until May which leads to no money to carry out the aforementioned mission.

We both converse over the same challenges of working in a third world country, the painful slowness of the internet, the language barriers and the constant frustrations of trying to accomplish anything in a timely manner. (It took me 4 hours yesterday to get money from the bank and buy batteries. Shouldn't that have been a 5 minute stop at the Wawa? What was even more painful was that when I returned home the batteries were expired and didn’t work. )

Making the most of his placement, Bill has been working on alternative projects, writing grant proposals, giving AIDS awareness presentations to schools, (trying to) implement some gardens and trying to promote the “memory book”. The memory book is sort of an international project. It is a book that a parent who has been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS makes for their child. This is so they have a scrap book of memories to pass on. I was introduced to Rose, a local with AIDS, who was more than willing to share with me the memory book she created for her daughter. Pages filled with family trees, hobbies, what was dad like (who died in 2000 of AIDS), and other things she would like her daughter to remember. Bill is working with Rose to help others in the village do the same.

The reality of AIDS sinks in more and more each day I am here. But it wasn’t until taking the bus back from Bugiri to Jinja and seeing lines of wooden coffins propped up against store fronts that the reality sinks in completely.

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Photos

The Streets of Bugiri
Obviously no trash pickup, the streets are...well, quite something

Furniture Shopping
New kitchen shelving = 2,000 schillings ($1)

Home Sweet Home
Saying bye to neighbor Ema...I'm told this is the priciest place in town. Even has it's own latrine in the back!

Comments

[Lisa]

hola chica!!! I knew I shouldve given you batteries!! But I would much rather be in Uganda than wawa...they have cheesesteaks now.....gross. Miss you!

[JD from Boothwyn]

Squirrelita
Berg aka Mini Mother Teresa. As I sit in my cubicle drinking coffee I get a sudden urge to want to eat flying ants. Unfortunately, I have to settle for trail mix. Your SO lucky. Miss you Angel!