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July 25, 2006
This time, I'll write...
Walkin' home from school on the train tracks.
25 July 2006 There was something so familiar about my morning walk to TASO, but it was not until last night that I realized why. Each morning, I walk a short distance to TASO and on the way, nearly everyone I pass greets me. They don't say, 'hi' or 'Good morning'; they sing a song, and it goes like this, 'muzungu how are you, muzungu how are you, muzungu how are you' (rhyming the last u in muzungu with you). This comforting morning Mbale serenade reminds me of the "bonjour" song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
People seem to be having trouble pronouncing my name, Kelly. Sometimes when they say my name it sounds like they're saying Gary or Karen. Recognizing the confusion my name causes, Francis (a TASO Counselor) decided to give me a proper Bugisu (Ugandan tribe) name... Nambozo. The name isn't catching on, though, and people still call me muzungu and Gary and Carwe.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm working with some of the TASO staff and another American student, Julian Harris, on developing a pilot project to help AIDS orphans and HIV+ youth make some money as smallholder poultry farmers. We're calling our project the TASO Mbale Smallholder Poultry Project for Vulnerable Youth. The goal of this project is to ameliorate the dire situation these children find themselves in - a situation of hunger, sickness, despair, and hopelessness - by empowering them to become self-sufficient through active participation in an income generating activity. Each family will receive training in smallholder poultry farming (focus on the semi-scavenging model) & marketing/business skills for egg sales, 4 vaccinated local hens, 1 vaccinated exotic cock, supplemental feed, supplies to build simple housing structure for the chickens, and a bicycle. Poultry farming on a small-scale is relatively low-maintenance and the inputs are minimal, as local chickens can rely on scavenged feed for most of their diet. Disease is the big problem poultry farmers face, which is why we will spend considerable time on disease prevention, control and vaccination at the training. We want to equip these families with the skills and resources they need to create a small egg-selling business so they can have a reliable, regular source of income to meet their most basic needs - food, shelter, water, clothes, education, healthcare, transportation. If everything works as planned, the chickens, bikes, etc. will be delivered to the families before I return to the states. This project will be funded, in part, by all the generous individuals that donated money to help me get to Mbale. More on this project as it unfolds...
Follow the link this link to learn more about smallholder poultry farming and poverty alleviation.
p.s. There's this book called, "Lords of Poverty: The Freewheeling Lifestyles, Power, Prestige and Corruption of the Multibillion Dollar Aid Business" by Graham Hancock. It was written way back in 1989, when people like me were probably fighting for an end to poverty by the year 2000. Here's an excerpt from page 1, a poem by Ross Coggins:
Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet-
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots,
I have travellers cheques and pills for the trots.
The Development Set is bright and noble,
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes,
Our thoughts are always with the masses.
In Sheraton hotels in scattered nations,
We damn multinational corporations;
Injustice seems so easy to protest,
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.
We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with an open mouth.
We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution-
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.
The language of the Develoopment Set,
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like 'epigenetic',
'Micro', 'Macro', and 'logarithmetic'.
Development Set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the rich and the poor.
Enough of these verses - on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray to God the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you...
(note: nambozo, a.k.a. carwe, does not belong to the development set)
Posted by kmf23 at July 25, 2006 05:20 PM
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Comments
This poem is very well said..........
Posted by: Martha at July 26, 2006 05:56 PM