Safe and sound in Uganda...

…yep, that definitely still sounds weird, but I am having a really great experience so far and am really glad to be here (although I dearly miss you all, tear). I hope you all are doing well! I will do my best to keep this blog updated, but electricity here is spotty and internet is even worse, so we'll see how it goes.

Sorry, this post is a little long. I'll try to keep them shorter in the future, but I've got a lot to say! If nothing else, try to read the next 2 paragraphs because I'd really like you to know what I'm up to here. For those of you who aren't exactly sure what I'm doing, Im working for the next 5 months with a microfinance organization called Kiva.org. I'll be spending the next 2 months in Uganda, followed by 2 months in Brazil. Microfinance gives very small loans (called microloans, which can be as small as $25 and are usually less than $1200) to entrepreneurs in very poor countries. These small loans give people the means to create a small business to support themselves and their families. If you've heard the age old proverb "If you give a man a fish you can feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you can feed him for a lifetime", microfinance is the next step in the proverb – I know how to fish, but I need some credit to buy a boat and a net! Microfinance in general been doing great things for help poverty in the poorest countries around the world. In fact, Mohammed Yunus won this year's Nobel Peace Price for microfinance work he's done over the past 3 decades in Bangladesh.

Kiva, where I'm volunteering, is young grassroots operation that is best described as ebay meeting microfinance. I strongly encourage you all to check out the website if you haven't yet. The site contains the profiles of many borrowers around the world who are in need of funds for a loan, and visitors to the website can fund portions of a microloan. For example, there might be a profile of Mary in Uganda who needs to borrow $300 to purchase goats for livestock. You'd see a picture of Mary and her goats, and there would be a short descriptionof her business and her need. If you decide to loan to Mary, you send her money (as little as $25) using a PayPal account. At the end of the loan (terms are explained in the profile), you'll likely get your money back, although it is not guaranteed in case she defaults (although Kiva still has a 100% repayment rate). Ive seen first hand the incredible benefit these small loans can give to people who are the poorest of the poor, and I can't describe how strongly I feel about the impact they make. I hope you'll at least take a look at the website and consider loaning to someone who really needs the money. Also, let me know if you loan to someone in Uganda, Kenya, or Tanzania. I will be visiting a number of partner organizations in those countries, and if you loan to someone there I will do my best to visit the borrower and give you a first hand description of the impact your loan has made on the borrower's life.

So Ive been working in the field at WITEP for a few days now, and I can't begin to describe to you all what an incredible experience its been so far. Its truly amazing to meet the people who are receiving theseloans and to see what effect they're having on their lives. Last week I sat with a woman who was on the verge of tears because getting this loan was her only hope of sending one of her 6 kids to school. Also, I met a guy, and when I went to shake his hand he gave me a hug instead. This guy is HIV positive, and I strongly believe that without his loan he would have died by now. When he first got the loan last June, he was incredibly sick (started at ~130 lbs before getting sick, and dropped to 80 lbs !!!!!! after getting sick), and could barely walk. All of his money went to his medication, transport to health care, and feeding his 9 children (8 of his own and an orphan of his brother's, who died of AIDS). Once he got the loan he was able to spend some money on goods to sell (supplies for an Ox plow), and now has enough income to take care of his illness, eat properly, support his kids, and even send some of them to school. He's since regained weight and weighs about 115 lbs, and can now walk with the help of a cane. He attributes most of the improvements in his life to his microloan. To show his gratitude he absolutely insisted on giving me a live chicken, and was visibly upset when I tried to politely refuse his gift. Apparently this is a common practice and I'm bound to be offered a goat as well. I've met a lot of other people without stories that aren't so dramatic, but its still incredible to see the impact these loans have on their lives, and that of their families. I can't describe to you how incredible it feels to have someone look you in the eye and say "Thank you. You have changed my life." To say the least, its incredibly emotional.

As far as living in Africa, there have definitely been a lot of things to get used to. For example, sometimes the running water isn't working, so you have to bathe with cold water in a bucket. That's fine, I can deal with that, but I had never really considered how difficult it is to bathe out of a single bucket – it would have really been helpful to go in there with a game plan. A few lessons learned in case you ever find yourself in the same position – 1) check the room thoroughly for mosquitoes (no explanation necessary). 2) Don't use Pantene Pro V Shampoo + Conditioner in 1. It is impossible to get the damn conditioner out, so I finished my bucket and was still covered head to toe in a slimy layer of conditioner, and remained that way until we went hiking in the mountains near town and swimming in the waterfalls. Another thing to get used to is that the decision to get chicken for dinner at the market involves brining home a live chicken (given to us just like any other groceries in a plastic bag, with a hole cut in the bag for its head to stick out). What really blew me away was that the chicken was a hen, and it had about 20 eggs at different stages of development inside, including one that was about to be laid and looked exactly like one you'd buy at the store. It was like a crazy science experiment…that I was later supposed to eat. I seriously struggled eating that night, but felt too bad to wasting food so I had to force down one small piece. Needless to say I don't think I'll be suggesting chicken for dinner any time soon, and just may come back a vegetarian. One thing Im not sure if I'll ever get used to is the bugs. I suspiciously peer into a room before entering just in case there's something huge and crawly waiting for me.

I'm currently living in a small town (~70K residents) in western Uganda called Mbale, and working with a microfinance institution (MFI) called WITEP (Women's Initiative to Eradicate Poverty). Immediately when arriving you can see the poverty and Chaos that is Eastern Africa. There are people EVERYWHERE, and all along the terrible streets (one lane roads connecting major towns with more potholes than you can imagine) you can see the shacks most people live in (made of clay bricks and a thatch or metal roof). Who knew, but Uganda is a polygamist country, and its not uncommon to have a family with more than 20 kids with 2-4 wives (both of the guys Im living is one of more than 20 kids). Where I'm living in about 4 hours from the Capital, Kampala, so I stayed in a hotel the first night I arrived. It really set in that I had arrived in Africa on my first night when the power went out (its probably off about 50% of the time), I had to stumble to my tiny, windowless, cement room and crawl under my mosquito net. Thank god I have that net – it has quickly became my most prized possession, but every morning when I wake up I say a little prayer before opening my eyes that some gigantic spider wont be staring down at me from the other side of the net.

My living situation is actually pretty fun, and was a very nice surprise. At first I was going to live with the woman who runs theMFI, but decided that 2 months was a long time to be a house guest, soI decided to rent a place. I costs $250 a month, and I figured it would be a small place and I'd be living alone. Secretly, it is a huge 4 bedroom house in a gated compound and has a nice front and back yard, and I live there with the woman who runs the MFI's brother, and another loan officer, both of whom are 24. While it is very nice byUgandan standards, many of you would still cringe by seeing it – a hole in the ground for a toilet, cement floors, etc. In any case, it was definitely a nice surprise and think it will be a blast to have two young guys to live with.

Most people here speak English, but they speak completely differently. They speak very slowly which is tough for me because I really like to speak incredibly fast and usually mumble. So even though they speak English, we often don't understand each other – It feels like it did when I was first speaking Spanish with native speakers. Whats kinda weird is that they use almost no slang, so they love it when I throw out some Americanisms. I'm also trying to pick up a bit of Luganda (haha, no Ashley it isn't the click click language), which is the most common native language to speak. The one word I've definitely picked up so far is "Mizungu!",which means "white guy", that all the little kids yell as I walk past. Black babies, by the way, are indisputably the cutest beings on the planet. Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised by how friendly people are here, and Ive felt incredibly safe so far. Everyone has been very welcoming, and it seems that they really like while people (who are usually here to help in some way).

For all of you still reading, I hope I didn't bore you too much. Ihope you all are well, and please keep in touch!

Best-

Shelby