May 17, 2005

Apwoyo Ba !
(Hello in the local Lual language)
 
Things move more slowly here.  People joke, "Do you mean African time or American Time?"  If African, it can mean waiting up to 1.5 hours beyond your set meeting time.  We aren't getting as much done as I would like, but it's my fast-paced American style.  Anything we do is greatly appreciated.  People walk more slowly and talk in a lilting slow manner.  You don't just ask for something, you have to start with Hello, then How are You.  Then you can ask for a CocaCola.
 
This is a very agrarian society.  It's like going back in time to the mid 1800's.  Most people in Northern Uganda live on small farms and in very primitive round huts of mud with thatched roofs.  They do everything by hand since power is so undependable, gas expensive and equipment not available.  Especially with the rebel raids, they don't want much of value for fear of being killed to get it.  In the city the work is done by hand: digging ditches for the new fiber optic cable is done by pick axe (incongruous to me).  Loads are hauled on the tops of womens' heads or on the seat of the bicycle as one walks beside it.
 
Cars are rare and most vehicles are either trucks for hauling goods & people, buses, or NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations-i.e., non-profits providing humanitarian relief) foreign SUVs.  Bicycles are plentiful as taxis, but most people walk on foot.  The roads are lined with people walking to and from Lira for supplies or to do business.  There are no sidewalks, so our driver and all the other vehicles constantly honk their horns to get the people (& cattle) to move to the side.  It is an amazing dance of vehicles and folk, it's a wonder people aren't constantly having accidents.  There is not one signal light in Lira (also I noticed all the signal lights in Kampala are all broken & don't work either) and only one traffic circle (roundabout for British folk).  Yes, they drive on the left due to British colonial influence and they make fun of the way we say our vowels in American English.
 
Restaurants give just one menu per table and you have to pass it around.  Although, after eating in the same 3 hotel restaurants, we pretty much have their menus memorized.  Thank goodness I like chicken.  They have just beef, chicken, goat and occasionally spaghetti.  They even sometimes make pizza.  The fish I skip since I got sick from it.  It usually takes one hour to receive your food, unless it is a buffet.  Posho is the meal they grind from corn and eat like porridge.  They also eat mashed bananas a lot.
 
The camps are very poor, however, the human spirit is unbelievable.  Children play together and laugh, people smile as we walk by, and the elderly are so ingratiating.  Needless to say, with our white skin, sunglasses and hats, we stand out quite a bit.  They call us "Mzungus" or "Monos."  My understanding is that it is not pejorative, but just means something like First World Person (in politically correct talk :-).  The children however, have a lot of runny noses and bloated bellies from lack of food.  Our teammate, Adelitus, from Tanzania, is a medical officer (not MD though) and has been doing triage of all the ailments.  We can buy medicine for ridiculously cheap amounts, so we are providing as much humanitarian aid as we can.  We have helped 23 so far, and at least 7 we've taken to the hospital for treatment.  One of the mothers named her new son Ken, after our team leader Ken Goyer who was here last October and first discovered the vast needs in Lira.  He is now about 4 weeks old.  Naturally, we have to buy mats, saucepans, food, & dishes for the mothers that accompany their babies so that they can take care of themselves during the days the baby is in the hospital.  They camp out in the open air just outside the health center's children's wing.  However, everyone says that the camps are much better now that the rebels are staying to the north and a third of the refugees have gone back to their farms.
 
We are working with a wonderful organization, All Nation's Christian Care (ANCC), and their super Mathew Langol who coordinates their relief efforts in the camps.  He has selflessly given his work time, evenings & weekends to us to facilitate our work.  The head of ANCC, Bishop Thom, shared his vision with us.  He had a vision while attending Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, TX, during 1988.  (Yes, it is the very same Bible Institute that one of my best friends from high school, Steve Byard, attended and that I visited a lot while I worked in Dallas during college break the summer of 1979.)  In his vision he saw a banner with all nations written on it coming down in response to his prayer request for guidance in helping the people of his country.  He is firm in providing help no matter what denomination or religion someone is a part of.  He really has built an organization here that helps Ugandans help themselves.  They are also branching out and helping the Sudan & the Congo.  They also let us use their Land Rover vehicle (donated by World Food Relief in the UK).  It sure has saved us a lot of time in coordinating efforts.
 
My time in Lira is growing short.  I leave on Sunday by bus back to Kampala.  I will be a tourist there for 2 days, then hop a plane & fly to London.
As all the kids say as we leave the camp:

Bye, Bye,  -

Chuck