Koboko

Sorry we haven’t been as faithful with our blog site as we would like to be. There are at least four factors contributing to the situation. First, we’re experiencing some technical difficulties in regards to the network/blog site. Second, things here just take more time to get done than they would in the U.S. The “washing machine,” for example, might not work because the electricity is down (Although we’re actually fortunate to have electricity most days for a full eighteen hours. The city generator is shut down between 12:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. Electricity wasn’t nearly so reliable in this part of the country even a few years ago.) The water here, as another example, needs to be filtered for health purposes before it is drunk. Third, we have been occupied even more than normal with a seemingly endless stream of ants welcoming us to Arua (Hosting our guests has taken up a surprising amount of time and energy). Lastly, we have been busy with travels. A couple of weeks ago, we took off to visit one of the projects we support in Nebbi diocese before making the long trek to Kampala to take a visitor from a partner organization to the international airport to catch his flight back to Australia.

KOBOKO, HERE I COME

Recently I (Eric) made a trip to Koboko archdeaconry to visit several of the self help groups that CRWRC works with indirectly via the Koboko Planning and Development Committee (KAPDC). The trip took me to remote parts of Uganda, to areas where: women still kneel when shaking hands with “distinguished” guests; a dry rainy season or long dry season is more than an inconvenience, as it leads directly to months of hunger for the family; time is marked by the rhythm of the planting seasons and market days; people all but cheer when a foreigner greets them in their local language or dialect; death, sickness, and hardship is accepted, not as an abstract, but as a very present reality; laughter, personality, and banter flow freely from adult and young alike; where four-wheel drive is a necessity and not a luxury; and where hospitality towards visitors (such as myself) is not just a nice idea, but a cultural requirement.

I visited a total of six groups out of the nine that the KAPDC supports. As this was my first visit to this particular archdeaconry, the trip was primarily for the purpose of introducing myself to, and getting to know, the various members of each group, as well as the KAPDC staff. Ugandan’s take such occasions seriously and they ensured that proper protocol was observed. This was the agenda at each of the six stops we made during my two-day visit.

We are offered seats at the front of the room with yours truly asked to sit in the very middle in front of the table that the group has provided to make things look official. To my left is the Diocesan Planning and Development Officer (DPDO) and to my right is the Archdeacon who is responsible for all activities within Koboko archdeaconry. On either side of them, in less comfortable seats, sits the KAPDC Chairperson and representatives of the KAPDC Executive Committee (or board).
The KAPDC Chairperson stands to introduces the KAPDC Executive Committee representatives traveling with us.
The board representatives offer brief greetings while remaining seated.
The KAPDC Chairperson stands to hand the floor over to the Archdeacon.
The Archdeacon stands to give his remarks, then introduces the DPDO.
The DPDO stands to offer her remarks, then introduces the CRWRC Representative.
I stand and make a few remarks. Typically I start with something like, “Kulia adinyo. Na ponda emeta nata.” In Kakwa (the primary language of Koboko) this means, “Greetings. Today, I am here to visit you.” Kakwa is one of many languages in Uganda.
The Chairperson of the self-help group stands after I have concluded my speal to offer a report of the group’s activities, successes, history, and needs.
The Archdeacon stands when the Chairperson is done to say a few words before asking the DPDO for any final remarks.
The DPDO stands to say a few remarks relevant to the report given, then asks if the CRWRC Representative has anything else to add.
I stand to say a few words of encouragement.
The KAPDC Chairperson wraps up the session and we adjourn to the site of the group’s work, if there is time.

This may sound tedious, but actually the trip was a success over all. There were signs of progress that I found encouraging. To give you an idea of the impact that CRWRC can have, by working through such partners as the KAPDC, allow me to introduce you to a couple of the self-help groups I had the privilege of visiting. Keep in mind that the Koboko project is a young pilot program that just started operating in 2003. Given this fact, think about how much impact it can have on the lives of interested community members over the long run.

AMITA SAVINGS AND CREDIT SCHEME

Amita is the name of a self-help group in Koboko that started in 2004 with 23 members, roughly half of them men and half women. The group initially formed when a KAPDC staff person held a meeting at the local church on the benefit of such groups. Once interested community members (whether part of the church or not) had congregated, the KAPDC staff person helped the group identify and prioritize their needs. The group decided, though a participatory process, that if members had more access to capital they could run small business that would generate income for their families. Out of this process the Amita savings and credit scheme was born. KAPDC offered a three-year loan of one million Ugandan Shillings (Aproximately 540 U.S. Dollars) to get them started. The members collected amongst themselves one thousand three hundred Ugandan Shillings to add to the fund. Over the next year, loans were made out to individuals from the pool of money on credit. Members used their new capital to buy products from the farm and sell them at the market for profit, purchase the equipment needed to properly bake and sell bricks made out of the local clay, and invested in sundry other ventures. Amita is currently worth three million two hundred forty thousand Ugandan Shillings (Approximately 1,751 U.S. Dollars – a gain of 1,211 U.S. Dollars) and is actively paying off it’s loan from the KAPDC so that that money can be used to assist the next self-help group interested in a savings and credit scheme.

OBIRIPRE FARMING ASSOCIATION

Obiripre is a self-help group that also started in 2004 with 20 members. KAPDC took them through the same self-analysis process as Amita. However, unlike Amita which decided to start a savings and credit scheme, Obiripre decided farming would be their best means of achieving better living standards for their families. The KAPDC gave the group the initial peanut seed they needed to get started. During the first season, the bag of seed they were given was planted and yielded twenty bags of peanuts. Productivity levels did not continue to be as high, however, due to unseasonably dry weather. In spite of this fact, the group managed in their first year-and-a-half of existence to make a profit, in peanut sales, of 324,000 Ugandan Shillings (Approximately 190 U.S. Dollars). In an attempt to diversify their projects to offset possible fluctuations in agricultural output due to weather conditions, the group invested the entire 324,000 Ugandan Shillings in a small business which has yielded 84,000 Ugandan Shillings to date. In the mean time, the group has continued their program of peanut, and now onion, growing.

OF MAN-MADE THINGS

This is how development work happens at the grass roots level. Groups form to shape their own future with the support of a locally organized and run institution, such as the church-based KAPDC. It should be noted that, though the gains made may appear to be small to some of you who are used to American salaries, even these small increases in member’s income can make a very real impact on their family’s standard of living. Children, for example, lose their eyesight daily in Africa due to a lack of vitamin A. A vitamin A treatment, which could prevent blindness, can be purchased for less than fifty cents. Each of the 43 total members that are part of Amite or Obiripre can now afford treatment for any child of theirs that might be affected by a vitamin A deficiency. Now consider the fact that, given the African system of caring for the extended family, each of the members is probably responsible for the welfare of up to fifteen dependants. The work that groups like KAPDC is doing ripples outward at many different levels. Ultimately, this is why I found the visit to Koboko to be encouraging.

At our last stop on the trip, we visited with a group that overlooked a deep valley. The view of the valley was beautiful and had a pleasant pastoral quality about it. It was here that the Archdeacon pointed to the lush, green hill that sat opposite us on the other side of the valley. He proceeded to tell me that a third of the hill belonged to the DR Congo, a third to Sudan, and a third to Uganda. I had reached a spot not too far from where all three countries collided. The thing that struck me was the fact that the grass looked just as green on all sides. This fact served to remind me of how artificial national borders really are. And just as the grass on the hill did not care about man’s demarcations, neither does poverty. I learned this lesson well during the five-plus years I worked with the unemployed and underemployed in what is the economic powerhouse of the world, the U.S. I have heard it stated that there is enough current agricultural output to feed everyone on this good earth, provided the environment is cared for and we all became conscientious stewards of our resources. Does this mean that both poverty and national boundaries are entirely man made? I wonder...

OF GOD ORDAINED THINGS

One of the central beliefs that I have arrived at at this point in my (still young!) life, is that we are all called to combat poverty, along with its myriad causes and effects. I have also come to believe that we are all uniquely and wonderfully made for just this purpose. A question that I have asked of people at times is, what form of poverty are you called to fight? Is it physical/economic, social/emotional, mental/intellectual, or spiritual/moral in nature? Perhaps a better question is, what unique combination of these malaises are you specifically gifted to combat? And where and how are you called to combat it? I suppose that if I were to answer this question right now, I might say that my calling for this period of life is to increase people’s (intellectual) understanding of the principles of development here in Northwest Uganda. The primary purpose of this is so that the groups we support can seek out effective solutions to their (economic) poverty? By encouraging people to pursue their own path toward economic stability, their (socio-emotional) sense of self-worth will increase and their identity restored. And, as this is done through the institution of the Church, my hope is that people will discover that God cares about all aspects of their life (including the spiritual).

I am guessing that most of you reading this do not feel called to face Third World poverty, or at least not to face it in the same way as I. You can combat it, however, when you encourage your kids, teach your students, arrange your flowers, drive your semi, hammer your nails, etc. We are all called to play a role in transforming this world. A transformed world, a world without poverty, is a world where God’s “will has been done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the kingdom we are to pray fervently for and to single-mindedly seek after. This is the vision we must hold on to, the mission we have been called to. You must be careful, though. I have experienced it where, as I have confronted brokenness in the world, my own inner poverty has been revealed. Does God use our meager attempts at transformation to make out of us a “new creation”? Is this the ultimate and creative end that God is orchestrating? I wonder…