Another day

The mentors made fun of Angelica today because she says “down the block” (she’s from Nyc) but there are no “blocks” here.

Akiki the dog killed the rabbit Angelica got for a Christmas present. We buried the rabbit in the garden. Afterwards, we were told we should have at least sold it for meat.

We ran out of dishwashing liquid and bread for the millionth time this morning. I’ve been trying to establish systems of how to prevent things from running out – a daily person responsible for checking up on food supplies, asking Ema to give me a couple of days warning when we’re about to run out of charcoal etc… But this kind of preparation just doesn’t exist here in Africa. It’s a mind set thing - people are poor, things run out, they always do, so there’s no preparation for when things are about to run out. They just do, you go without for a bit, then when you have the money, you replace.

Ugandan government officials talk about the need for job creators instead of job seekers all the time. But this morning I met with Robert, the country coordinator of SAGE Uganda (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship) and he’s met the Minister of Education 4 times to talk about expanding and funding SAGE’s programs across Uganda and gotten no support.

Florence the cook is getting kicked out of the room she’s squatting in, along with her three kids.

Enock (one of the mentors) told us today in training that his family is telling him he should find another foreign NGO (“like the UN”) that will also let him “save the world” but for a better salary.