We are rich

"We are rich because we have life" said Mavis who works at the volunteer centre, Uganda Lodge, which I have been staying at for the last two weeks. A simple truth, but an important one. This post is dedicated to some of the brilliant people, and wonderful experiences I have had over the last two weeks.

 Jennifer - woman's group

"Before we were in darkness. Now we make a profit."

Jennifer, who is 34, invited me to her home in the Ruhanga village in South West Uganda. She is one of the leaders of a group of nine women who run a business together. They have a small stall by a busy road where they sell hand crafts, rugs, fruit and vegetables.

Jennifer received training from the Ruhanga Community Development Network in financial planning which allowed the group to understand how to record and analyse their financial performance to ensure they remain in profit. They currently generate a decent profit each week which is distributed between each member.

When I met Jennifer I was struck with her huge sense of pride in what she and her group had achieved. In this picture, she proudly shows off her certificate which she gained by completing her training. My work with Let Them Help Themselves has centred on fundraising for a new vocational training centre which will hopefully deliver similar skills to hundreds of entrepreneurs in the Rahunga community.

Wild gorillas

Uganda is home to approximately half of the world's wild gorilla population. Last week I visited Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where I had the privilege of sharing an hour with a family of seven or eight beautiful gorillas living in their natural habitat.

Two experiences jump out. First, we are briefed not to run if the gorillas charge us. "They are just playing" smiles our ranger to us as if they were puppies rather than animals with the strength to snap your neck with one hand. If you retreat, they will sense your fear and attack.

Sure enough, when I was standing at the front of the group just five meters from a young male he charged through the undergrowth, smashing trees as he ran towards us. A German tourist next to shrieked and ran behind me while I yelled at the top of my voice 'Stand still or we'll all be killed!". That said, I did stand firm and the gorilla came within about one or two meters of me before walking away.

Second, and less adrenalin inducing, I asked the ranger if maintaining eye contact was a sign of aggression. He reassured me that this was fine, and I was able to hold a friendly stare with another young male for about three or four minutes. This family had only recently been habituated, and I think he was as fascinated with me as I was with him.

When the time came to leave I waved him goodbye, and he immediately rolled over and dramatically covered his eyes with his forearm as if to say "Just go then". Maybe it was just coincidence, but I like think he was as sad to see me go as I was to leave him.

Justice - local businessman

Justice also received business training through the Ruhanga Community Development Network. He now runs a successful business which is a hair salon in the local town. He proudly talked me through how he had constructed the small shack with an iron roof. Inside the salon was decorated with political posters, and a radio stands tall over a bench where local men sit and discuss the events of the day.

Justice also runs a successful agricultural business, and is the chair of the community development network which will oversee the new centre. Energetic and intelligent, here is proof that the way forward for developing countries like Uganda comes from empowering people, rather than creating a culture where people are dependent on handouts and aid.

Isaac - pupil at Ruhanga Community Nursery and Primary School

Isaac is studying at the Ruhanga Development primary school. He lives close to the school and walks in every day which takes about half an hour each way. He lives at home with his mother, brother who is eight and his sister who is seven. When I met him, he is bright and happy, and I am struck by his huge grin which is making me smile even as I write this.

When asked about what his favourite thing about school is, he said that loves playing with his friends at break time. The school has a playing field, but it is full of potholes, stones and uneven ground making it impossible to play any organised sport on. I think we all remember something positive about playing sport as kids. For me it was always football in primary school which was as good as religion for us when we were 10.

Working with a volunteer with a background in teaching children sport,  I put together a fundraising email which raised over £1,500 to be used to level the playing field an install new equipment and a playground for the school.

They will now be able to introduce sport into their lessons, and I feel proud that something I did will benefit hundreds of children for years to come.

I think that what Mavis meant when she said that we are rich because we have life is that we have choices, that we are free. And that is precious above all else. We are free to better ourselves, show kindness or give ourselves to others. Free to love and also to lose love, but then free to grow and heal.

Satre said that 'We are condemned to be free'. The ultimate paradox, he meant that we are responsible in an absolute sense for everything that we do. The freedom that comes with being human is not something we choose, it is our humanness.

Freedom that we have gives rise to the choices that we make, and consequently the experiences that we have. Combined, these are life. And it's awesome. 

Witness

Witness was a four year old girl who was a pupil at the Ruhanga Community Nursery & Primary School. Volunteer teachers who spent time with her described her as quiet and attentive, a good student who wanted to learn. She was sadly killed in a car accident on Tuesday 13th September as she crossed a busy road near her school. There was torrential rain at the time, and I assume that the driver either couldn't see her or stop in time.

This photo is Witness just a few hours before she died. In a playground of over 200 children for some reason I chose to photograph her and her friends. I found her to be a popular girl, and her classmates surrounded her for pictures and were obviously very fond of her.

I printed and framed these pictures and visited Witness's family today where I met her mother and twin brother, both of whom had been at the scene when the accident happened. Their home was simple but beautiful, furnished with throws of colourful patterns and smiling photographs of weddings and birthdays proudly displayed on their living room wall.

Of course, her mother was grief-stricken, but there was a powerful dignity in her even in mourning which was moving to be around. I found myself saying that I had come to offer these photos because they belonged to her rather than me. In a strange way I felt like I was returning her daughter's photos rather than offering them to her for the first time. I can't really explain why though.

Tragically, this is the 8th child that has died on this stretch of road, and the director of the charity Let Them Help Themselves has written an open letter to the Minister of Works in Uganda to introduce traffic calming measures which would hopefully prevent such accidents in the future.

Small gestures like offering a bereaved mother another chance to see her daughter one last time as she truly was, happy and healthy, means something to me.

You might get an impression from these two posts that it is a dark time here, yet probably the reverse is true. I will write about happier moments next time, but for now Witness, rest in peace. 

Into Africa

This is the start of my journey. I have arrived in Uganda where I begin my three month tour of East Africa. Along the way I will be blogging about my experiences volunteering at community projects helping smaller NGOs raise much needed funds for education, health and poverty alleviation projects. 

As I write this, I am surrounded by darkness with only the light from my laptop and a head torch to see my keyboard as the power is out. I am at the Ruhanga community development project in South West Uganda which comprises of a volunteer centre and primary school who's aim is to deliver a quality of life to people in the region. The projects are funded and organised by charity Let Them Help Themselves.

There are good people here. Both western volunteers and the local staff who work tirelessly for the young people the project supports. There is genuine kindness in all of them which is wonderful to be around.

My first job was to photograph a water sanitation project that the charity had recently completed the first phase for. A piping system was installed at the top of a nearby hill, and provides clean water uncontaminated by animals or humans to thousands of people in the village. Importantly, there is a tap installed at the local school meaning that children can access clean drinking water throughout the day. For those who know me, taking photos of smiling kids able to drink water that won't kill them or make them sick was a dream first assignment for me, and I'm pretty happy with what I came away with. Hopefully these will inspire the funder to release more money to complete the project on the other side of the valley making clean water available to thousands more.

 Today I visited the school for the first time properly. Around 200 children attend the school to learn basic English and maths in a basic yet functional building which has  five classrooms. I sat in on a class of about 30 bright and enthusiastic kids who loved  having their picture taken. I interviewed a few of them for case studies, as well as the head teacher who is a gentle guy who only has three years teaching experience, yet now is competently running a school. 

The main task I've been set is to develop a funding proposal for a new school building which will deliver vocational training and business skills to young people. This kind of job creation is essential where even with a school certificate finding a job is extremely difficult. In the long term the charity aims to open a bakery, craft centre and bee keeping facilities to further allow entrepreneurs to make their own income for themselves. I am proud to be part of this.

Later in the day, after I had written up my notes and edited my pictures, tragic news reached us that a four year old girl had been killed by a car on the nearby road. The school is situated very close to the main road which links two major cities, and buses and 4x4s hurtle down it at frightening speeds. A medical student volunteer was at the scene, but nothing could be done to save the child and she died at the side of the road in the pouring rain side by side with her mother and twin brother.

One needless death for one so young and innocent is too many, yet with the child mortality rate region at 40%, sadly far too many of the bright stars I have met will also fade before they have had their chance to shine.

The death has affected us differently. For the local staff death is common, and there have already been three funerals attended for relatives within the last week alone. For some of the volunteers, it has put into doubt whether they can have any lasting effect on these communities, and question whether they have actually achieved anything in their time spent in Africa.

Life is cruel and unfair. There is no doubt about that. Yet although we cannot change what happens to us, we can try and control our reactions. For me, this event has made me see how important supporting groups like these are who can actually make a real difference in people's lives. If we do not like the way the world is, we have the power to change it. Tragedies like these bring into perspective what happens if we do not.