Gulu

I just returned from spending the past 3 days in Gulu which is in Northern Uganda.  It took us about 6 hours to drive there from the capital of Kampala where I currently am.  It is about 100 km from the border of Sudan so quite far North from here.  It was definitely different than anywhere else I have been so far in Uganda, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go.  Now before I write anything else, I want to say that the region has been stable for 4 years, so it was perfectly safe for me to be there.  Before that the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) controlled the region for 10 years.  The northern region is still very much in a state of rehabilitation from the war and as a result the town of Gulu is rampant with NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations) and the UN has a noticeable presence there as well.

We were doing a site survey for Touch the World Uganada. They are building a place called the Adok Dream Centre in the Village of Adok which will include a health clinic as well as employment for the local people. Adok is a very small village and was previously home to two very large IDP camps.  The IDP camps are no longer there and the people have re-settled back in their home areas. Since the instablilty lasted for 10 years they had to start over with new homes rather than returning to their old homes as many of them had either been destroyed or were dilapidated due to not being occupied. Adok was a very conservative village. Up to this point I have been wearing long pants to survey as the bush has been quite thick and a skirt would not be feasible.  I was told that if I didn’t wear a skirt in Adok, the locals would think I was a prostitute. In the interest of not being thought a prostitute I decided to wear a long skirt with pants underneath. The Americans that oversaw the Adok Dream Centre joked that I was a prostitute under cover since I had my pants on underneath my skirt.  It worked out well though since the pants kept my legs from getting scratched up in the bush.  I also had less problems than I thought I would with getting my skirt hung up in trees.  I’m still hopeful though that my office won’t be implementing a skirts only policy for ladies in the field anytime soon.

It was definitely a lot hotter in Gulu than it was in Kampala.  The heat as well as the fact that we were on the 5th floor did not help me sleep deeply.  Also there were bats in the rafters which were making a large ruckus.  I had to shut my bathroom door since there was a hole in the roof and I didn't want any bats in my room!

There was definitely a sense of brokenness in the town of Gulu.  I was told that there is a lot of people dealing with post traumatic disorders due to the war and many child soldiers who have much to deal with mentally. I noticed stab wounds on some of the people I passed by, and battle scars on the face of one of our waiters who must have been no older than his early 20s.  It was hard to reconcile that some of the very people I met, passed on the street, and exchanged greetings and pleasantries with have had to deal with hardships and trauma that I can’t even wrap my brain around. Many of those people are teenagers or young adults. I just can't relate to having dealt with such trauma at such a young age. I’m glad I got the chance to visit Gulu and Adok.  It changed in no small way, the way I see the world.

 The town of Gulu as seen from my hotel balcony

 Some local Gulu children having some fun outside the hotel

 Some of the village boys in Adok that followed us around all day.  They are standing beside the community well.  Touch the World Uganda is building a water treatment unit along with drilling a new well since the people are currently getting sick from this well.

 One of the village boys having some fun in a very typical Ugandan way.

 One of the village boys

 The local and international staff of Touch the World Uganda.  The clinic which is under construction is seen in the background.

 Some children in Gulu

 There was a big soccer stadium outside our hotel in Gulu.  Some boys are seen here playing a game.

 Some of the local village kids having some fun.

 I realized I didn't have any pictures of me working!  Patrick took this picture of me when we surveyed at GBI in Buloba last week.  We forgot a prisim so Patrick got creative and we used a bicycle reflector instead.