Blogs from Jinja, Eastern Region, Uganda, Africa - page 3

Aye, so a canny bit has happened since the last time I was on here. The majority of the other volunteers have arrived, only two more to go. Meeting everyone was great, everyone is a good laugh, very cool to talk to, cannot wait to get started with everyone. Group bonding so far has been a little interesting though. The local drink has helped a lot, but I have also experienced drink outside the NRC (Nile River Camp) where we are staying. Clubbing in Uganda is something to experience, everyone is still very very friendly, but the dance offs are a nightmare! Very intense stuff trying to keep up with their moves, huge fun though. And the Guinness here is much stronger than back home, about 8%! But don’t worry, all is safe and I’m not ... read more

When I visited a Kampala bookshop recently I was almost bowled over by the number of books on aid, nearly all were negative – ‘Dead Aid’, ‘The Trouble with Aid’. What I find more remarkable is that these books are not really aimed at Ugandans, only the richest would spend the amount of money required to buy a book published in the West, but international aid or development workers. As I now work for a bigger ‘development agency’ (charity is a dirty word) I have come across this criticism of aid and development more firsthand. I can understand why those from outside the industry would be critical; it is quite easy to find evidence of the damage caused by billions of dollars of Western aid. I just find it strange that the very people who dedicate ... read more

Throughout my time here I have watched people, come, go and stay. Apart from the few travellers and purely ‘holiday tourists’, nearly all have been passionate about ‘helping people’ and many have been quite certain about the best way to do that, though few think that they have any ideas at all. As I have reflected on my own mistakes, it seems you need a unique set of skills to be successful (by success I mean helping people rather than reaching the top) in development. Be quiet, listen and observe – this is possibly the hardest thing, though it seems the easiest. I have never been around people that have sought or valued my opinion so much. When asked for advice, I would give in to the pressure and offer it, even though often having no ... read more

As a former social researcher and current monitoring and evaluation person I should be the person that defends research and statistics. Sometimes, however, I find it difficult. It is undoubtedly the trump card in a wide range of arguments. “How can you say Arsenal are weak in the air when only 12% of the goals they have conceded have been headers?” or “you say Africa is catching up with the rest of the world: more people live on under $1 a day than in the rest of the world put together.” For charities desperate to raise funds and for Government agencies desperate to show success, statistics have become the holy grail. Now I don’t think I am boastin when I claim that the organisation I work for has one of the best monitoring and evaluation systems ... read more

Having now been in paid work for months I am starting to look back with some fond nostalgia on my time volunteering. I can, however, still remember the feelings of frustration, boredom and confusion that seem to affect volunteers in Uganda. I was reminded of this was when I was helping to run a debrief for the International Citizenship service programme. This programme, a brainchild of David Cameron, aims to make young Britons ‘globally active citizens’ and reduce poverty. Our organisation had decided to run this programme by pairing our young UK volunteers with a Ugandan volunteer, train them, and then place them in a civil society organisation (CSO) to build the organisation’s capacity in organisational management. In brief, it was a small disaster due to a myriad of factors which left some very disgruntled volunteers. ... read more