Mountains of the Moon

Thought we'd forgotten did you??

2007-12-31T12:33:00.000-08:00

Since the last post a year ago thigs have been incredibly busy and somewhat difficult at times; but very positive and exciting overall.
In January 2007 I advertised for someone to take over my position as Vice Chancellor / CEO at Mountains of the Moon University. It was time to hand over to a person with the skills and experience to take the University to its next stages of development while I planned to continue supporting from Ireland by assisting in the development of academic links. It is fun to think of a new African University with offices on two continents, but this is important because support initiatives in Ireland and UK need to be activated from the Northern end and a new University with very little money for travel and without an established track record is in a very weak position to take advantage of the available support which needs eye to eye contact.
Due to the very slow and erratic email facilities in Fort Portal and the limited storage on the Infocom server I stored my emails on my laptop which was fine until the laptop was stolen. All files were fully backed up so nothing was lost except all recent emails, still a mystery. The priciple casualty of this was the search for a new Vice Chancellor. However the person who was the most ideal candidate, when all contact ceased, sent one last message and now Dr. Douglas Nisbet from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland will move to Fort Portal in the middle of January 2008 having taken over in early January. This is a hugely positive move for the University.

2006-12-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

Horrendous the way time passes. Here we are now back in Europe for a couple of months to catch up with growing grandchildren, they change a lot in a year when only a year old, a bit like going from 30 to 60 I guess.
The university is really busy with nearly 300 students and half way through the second year. First graduates in 18 months. The building program should start in February or March. Firstly a large greenhouse fully equipt and with stores and teaching space; twice the size of the one we have already which is the best in the country outside the commercial growers. The greenhouse we have has allowed the Rose industry to run a research project to assess the possibility of moving the industry from the lowlands around Lake Victoria to the higher western region, this would do wonders for local employment. The greenhouse is all being funded by a project from the European Union and also includes some funding for staff training.
The second main devlopment is the plans to build the Agriculture Faculty. This is still in the planning and negociation stage but if agreed the support for this will come from a trust in Ireland.
The whole development is moving well with sufficient suppoprt to allow us to progress, we have set up an internet cafe and e-learning centre which will allow us to offer reliable and fast communications.
I have now been in place for three years instead of the two agreed originally, I expect to continue until May. If anyone out there is looking for a stimulating and exciting job where no two days are the same and you can genuinely be sure that you are making a real difference, where the consequences will be there in a hundred years then contact: Volunteer Missionary Movement you will never regret it. But the basic requierment is a PhD. subject is not important although a science connection of some sort would be advantageous.

Visit of President's Wife

2006-09-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

First Lady Mama Janet Visited the University on 25th and allthough at fairly short notice everyone really got down to it and the day was a great success. We really wanted to get accross the message that we are a new sort of Unversity in Uganda. In particular that we take our lead from the needs of local communities, that there is a strong emphasis on the applied/practical end, i.e. that knowledge is not much use unless it can be used, the staff are recruited from those with real work experience and then we invest in their higher academic qualifications so that they can progress to the highest levels in academic life. She was really interested and when talking to the students told them how lucky they are to be at MMU and that if she was starting to study again she would want to come to MMU rather than Makerere. So we were delighted and just hope it translates into something tangible in the way of support. Saturday is our open day really for the benefit of the Horticulture section and our efforts to reach out to the local farmers and others. I learned today that if you plant a Mango seed convex side up you may get as many as seven shoots/plants but if the other way only 1, could make or break one's business knowing that.
Some pictures of the visit.

The Wild East

2006-09-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last week I was up in Karamoja for a day to help finish up a training course for senior Education staff in the schools and the District Administrations. It all went very well. We won the tender against most of the major Universities in Uganda. Some of the others were not best pleased as they see themselves as the experinced experts. The school which was acting as host is able to harvest vegetables all the year round because all the rain from the roofs is collected in underground tanks. We visited a Manyatta, a fortified groups of dwellings. The rains, which finished in June, were weak and the harvest is not good, their stores are empty as far as we could see and they do not expect rains again until April next year, what a contrast with our green and fertile Kabarole, here in the west under the mountains.
They do recognise that they are a difficult lot of people as their habits are so different from the rest of the country, The men at least seem to be completely naked, except perhaps for a blanket round the shoulders and down towards the knees. Their sport is cattle raiding from each other which was probably comparatively harmless when the weopens were spears and bows and arrows but now they use AK47s, and when the army come and take them they simply go up to Sudan or Ethiopia and buy new ones at about $14. The Manyatta is a group of dwellings with a space in the centre for the animals and a double stockade of thorn bushes to keep out intruders.

This picture of a dwelling shows the entrance to the left of the policeman, so low that you have to crawl to get in, all for security of course. The ppoliceman was there because I was travelling with the Irish Ambassador who was the local sponsor of the project. How much easier to fly and be taken around rather than going by bus and possibly spending fournights on the road if the bus breaks down. Very sadly the previous week one of the 'students' sponsored to go to Ireland and do his Masters had just flown out while his wife and 7 year old child returned home. On they way they were ambushed [for sport?] and the child was killed, she was shot in the thigh but was OK. It is a savage part. When I was speaking I said that education would bring changes and change in culture and that they being leaders had better thinbk how they would handle it. In a way they are proud of their culture and change will not be universally popular.

Power

2006-09-09T01:35:00.000-07:00

Some weeks ago the power to the house went off, this at a time when it was actually meant to be on and our neighbours still had light. The photograph helps to explain, this is the connection to the house from the mains and it had simply shaken loose with the wind.
Developments for the University: An Austrian consultant has done a major study for us and it looks as if we will need to plant 1000 acres of forest so that we can generate 1Mw of power, largely to keep the anticipated numbers of computers going. If we can afford to put in the highest quality control systems we MAY be safe to connect to the national system and sell the excess which we will not need for the first year or two.

Weddings again

2006-08-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

One of our students who is a headmaster came in to discuss a staff member who also was to be signed up for the course. But then the real purpose of the visit: His wedding to another student on the course on 23rd September. Being one of the most important people round here I am required to go to his his wedding and he also considered it most desirable and proper that I should drive him to the wedding. I am sure this was seen as a great honour: for both of us??. No commitment and I think we will have Austrian visitors at the time which is a good let out. Never occured to him that with a mature student population and a young staff I could be at a wedding virtually every week, starting late morning and ending any time in the evening and of course a speech to be made as i equate with local MPs and Ugandans love a speech. Never a dull moment.

Diaspora,Tax Laws and AIDS

2006-08-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

At a wedding today of one of our students, celebrated by the bishop a massive affair. But as is normal, though I never like to assume, it started an hour late!

Later talking to our secretary, Zainab, got a new perspective on how UK laws impact out here. It is not widely known that one of the chief income streams for Uganda is the money sent back by the diaspora all over the world. Zainab had an aunt who, like so many died of AIDS some years ago leaving a number of children who Zainab now looks after.

Until recently another aunt living in UK who works in and old folks centre used to send back enough money to keep all these children in school. However the law in the UK now encourages employers to employ, largely women, on contracts of under 20 hrs per week as it saves having to deal with tax and pay various employment dues. It also improves employment statistics as these half time workers count as part of the workforce.

Nasty.

The aunt has been moved from full time to this effective half time and so no longer has money to send to look after her orphaned nephews and nieces. One of these is a 13 year old who was born before the 'prevention of mother to child transmission' scheme and is HIV positive, Currently on Anti Retro Virals, [ARVs] she is doing OK but what does the future hold for her and so many like her?

Because of the stigma still attaching her elder brothers refuse to be tested....... Every time I hear this sort of thing which is so common I find it really upsetting. Pray that AIDS never gets established in your own country where ever that might be.

Visits & Flowers

2006-08-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

Back again after all this time. The dry season turned out to be quite different. Dry alright but overcast much of the time which made it surprisingly cold. I even for choice wore long sleeves several times.

We have had visitors staying in the house since the start of June. Johnny from Scotland for 10 weeks or so. He is here as a volunteer to help in the area of IT. A qualified and very experienced IT and electrical man he is really stirring the place up, not that the rest of the team are not good merely overworked.

Then Professor of Library and Information Systems from Dublin for three weeks, immensely valuable to our librarian, followed by visits from our benefactors in Ireland, staying nearby, having a holiday interspersed with a lot of work, advice, encouragement and a lot of fun.

Then a Visit from the National Council for Higher Education to see how we are doing, not perfect but also not too rude, as it should be. A day doing a SWOT analysis for the last year. Very valuable and supportive on the whole. This is not something organisations do as a rule so it generated considerable interest. All in all a pretty busy "holiday" period.

Now we are starting again with the new year but with several of the staff going off to study for Masters or PhD. This is essential if the University is to develop. Very good for morale, shows we are serious, and is the best way to build up the staff we need. It is so good to hear people say, as a matter of course that they wish to work for the University because of what it is doing and what they can give and that money is not so important.

This is a picture of our "Greenhouse", the best in the country outside the commercial growers. Now they want us to do research for them so that they can develop in the West where the climate is better for flowers and vegetables. Until now the transport out of the Region has been so poor it has not been possible. . Next time you see this picture it will be full of flowers!

For those interested the items dangling down are sprayers to control humidity and the "Fertigation"is done by trickle through the pipes in the troughs: fertilisation with defined chemical mixes, in time to be computer controlled, and irrigation. Great stuff if you are a rose. The plastic cover is designed to filter and diffuse the light so the flowers do not get sun burn.

The end of the wet season

2006-06-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here we go again, the end of the wet season should be a nice change except for the dust but because the water stops moving and it gets warmer the mosquitoes breed which means malaria. One of 'our' children has had two doses within two and a half weeks, each time four days off school one session in Hospital on a quinine drip which makes one itch and can damage the hearing the other a series of injections because she not keep anything down in the way of tablets. Another one in hospital for two nights and then convalesce back at school for another two or three days.

These infections are a matter of life or death. One good answer is environmental management to reduce the breeding sites, treated nets and I suspect wider use of repellents would be a great help but they do not seem to be available here.
Parasites are often amazingly well adapted to keep themselves going. In this case an infected person is very attractive to the mosquito so one infected person in an enclosed environment can lead to the infection of a high proportion of the members, such as a school dormitory or an over crowded living space.

Bridget's mother has been forced to move from the 'house' they had because the kind hearted doctor who gave her the space has married and the wife wants them out. The hospital supervisor has found them a new home: Bridget 13, her small sister 8 and the mother now have to live in one room just over two metres square, there is room for one bed and one chair but at least they still have a roof.

More cheerfully we have new addition to the university in the person of Johnny from Glasgow, Scotland, with huge experience both technical and business in IT. A real asset on many fronts, not least good company. Still suffering a bit from sensory overload but really enjoying it. Like the rest of us vastly frustrated by the electricity situation which seems to have no real end in site. Currently supposed to be 24 hrs on and 24 off but with random breaks it is usually more. The energy bills for the University have gone up nearly six fold which makes quite hole in our cash flow due to a combination of bad management/corruption and global warming which is reducing the rain fall.

For all the problems the people are still wonderfully warm and generous and it is a pleasure to be here. How much longer we are not sure depends on progress on the projects and particularly finding a replacement for me in the University, a fantastically life enhancing experience.

A photograph of the best greenhouse of any university or college in the country. If we do things we try and do it right.

Betrothal Ceremony

2006-05-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were at a betrothal ceremony,[where these two pictures were taken] they really are great fun, even if you only understand a small part, although in this case we had a friend beside us who told us what was happening at each stage. It is the moment when the respective families meet for the first time and the girl introduces her intended to her family. In a way it must be quite intimidating as the heads of the two families bargain and negotiate over the arrangements, how much booze, how many cows, what trousseau etc will be given and exchanged. There is a lot of banter and point scoring, and fining if things are not exactly as they should be, for example the boy's family arrived a bit late, not by Ugandan standards but enough for a fine, I think it has all been agreed before hand because the fines all seemed to be in neat and labeled envelopes and then a dance and music show, all decently suggestive for the occasion, meal and the rain, needed to bless the occasion.
We arrived decently late at 10.30 for 10.00 but it really started at sometime before 12, which gave us time to do quite a bit of work with contacts, I have to have a brief proposal for the Italian Ambassador next Sunday. He is coming up for the day to finalise arrangements for a re-enactment of the first climbing of the Rwenzori by the Duke of Abruzzi 100 years ago on 10th June. I hope they get equally good weather this time. It was crystal clear 100 yrs ago and they came back with the most wonderful photographs of the snow fields and peaks. It will be quite a change as the snow is rapidly disappearing with global warming. I hope the Italians agree to help set up the Department of Environmental Management. No-one, amazingly is doing work and teaching management of fragile environments related to National Parks which for us here in FP is vital. There is just so much to do that is exciting and worthwhile.
Here are a couple of photographs from the Betrothal ceremony. The bride to be and her party were all very demure so it was not easy to get good pictures, This one is not the bride, I call her the Distractor for the the reason that part of the ceremony is to bring in various groups of girls and the husband to be must recognise his intended bride, all went well!! The other is of one of the dancers with leg rattles, They use these to produce the most wonderful rhythm's while dancing.

May Day

2006-05-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

May Day is a public Holiday and a chance for politicians to have their say as well as people to have fun. These pictures are just portraits of people listening to political speeches playing music and enjoying themselves.

Weather control

2006-05-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

At times it is easy to forget that things are seen so differently here. We are in the middle of what could be a very nasty drought, It is supposed to be the wet season but so far we are about 30% down on what we had last year which is serious as the needed food crops are not producing and getting sun burned. In some of the villages food prices are already going up.
A couple of days ago Mary who looks after the house came in saying that some people were saying that the Bakonjo, a tribe who live in the mountains are able to control the weather and stop it raining in the valley so that the price of food will go up and they will make more money. We were told this not as a joke but as a serious matter which was affecting peoples lives.
the following is a quote from one of the Sunday papers and again is not a joke piece:
Benjamin Binagwa of Kinyamasike, Munkunyu, in Kasese District [50km down the road] says "I appeal to officials in the meteorology Department, and the Ministry of Agriculture to help people in Kasese. Some are being beaten and evicted from their places of 'aboard' [sic.] for allegedly being responsible for the dry spell in some parts of Kasese District! This is rife in Munkunyu, Bwera and Katwe Sub-Counties. There are claims in the said areas that individuals can control rainfall and determine where and when it should come down! Can the Meteorology department explain to us the current dry spell in this part of the country when we actually expected rainfall. We are worried about our crops. If it is true that individuals can manage rainfall, then we shall determine the next course of action with their participation, if they are known".

110 years of Christianity in Kabarole

2006-04-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

Christianity came to Kabarole in 1896 when the then King was baptised and encouraged all his court and officials to do like wise. There seems to have a good level of tolerance with little trouble when other churches came to share the Region.
So as to be polite and not late when the invitation said 11.00am we arrived at the Church of Uganda Cathedral at 10.45. By now we should know better, the previous service was still in progress we finally started at 11.45 or so. Fortunately we were able to share the family pew with a friend which meant we had help with translation of the proceedings. As always here hymns are sung to completion, long introductions and explanations, a very long, but most inspiring sermon by the Archbishop and we finished at about 3.15, only to start immediately on the speeches of welcome, thanks, gifts of cows, not actually present in the church,introductions, such as us, having to stand up and wave to all, it went on till 4.00 or so. Then, after photographs of the King and other high ups off to have "lunch" but only after more speeches, singing, dancing etc. Good food, local, of course, supplied by the King finally concluding at dusk, about 7.00pm. You need stamina, and water works like a camel to survive this sort of event. Unfortunately I have another reception tomorrow, this time civic, Labour day, and I hope profoundly not so long. Takes a mighty chunk out of what seem rather rare holiday weekends.

Earthquake

2006-04-29T02:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday 27th we had our biggest shake yet. Originally reported as 5.3 now only 4.3, light, acording to the official description, none the less exciting enough. It seemed to go on for a long time ??5 - 6 seconds, this strange feeling of being able to do nothing at all to change things, quite relaxing in a way. No damage and since I sealed the ceilings no bat droppings coming down round the edges of the rooms. The position of the quake seems to be identical with the 7.2 of 1994 so obviously an active spot. Since each number means ten time the energy a 7.2 would be virtually 1000 stronger something I am quite happy to leave unexperienced. The next big one is not due until about 2024.
At this time of year the mountains are clear and so beautiful with the changing light, cloud and shadow, I suppose they might now be a cm or so higher than they were early in the week. Quite intriguing, the feeling that the World is so pliable.

Farming and Medicine and things

2006-04-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Very few people in this part of the world are obese, mostly reasonably well fed, not much meat and plenty of beans, banana etc. But I have had a feeling for a while that there is a surprising amount of diabetes. Talking to one of our Public Health students who is a senior man in the health administration of the district explained why.
cassava is one of the staples, consisting almost entirely of starch, it is used as a vegetable and also to make flour. It is well known that cassava contains significant quantities of cyanide so the traditional way of using it is to soak it in water for about 24 hrs and then use it. However about 25 years ago a new variety with low cyanide was introduced and for flour making this saved the wash and all that was necessary was to press out the juice before milling. To compensate, the wild variety was planted around compounds so that if the pigs tried to invade the garden they would eat the wild cassava and die. Unfortunately the two varieties cross breed so the concentration of cyanide has been creeping up but the flour millers have not changed their ways, as a result there is a cronic, low level of cyanide toxicity which seems to damage the pancreas and cause the diabetes.
This same student is one of the many who has problems paying the fees. From his brother and sister he inherited 27 children whom he is trying to educate. He recently completed the education for three who were now able to contribute a bit to looking after their siblings but another brother died, aged 48, from diabetes, leaving him three more orphans to look after. He resisted very considerable family pressure to take on the wife as his second, this is still a country where polygamy is quite widely accepted, really as a social service in some cases. Probably not in this case, but this inheriting wives can be an effective way of spreading AIDS. If anyone would like to help this student, or any of the other 25 who could not take their semester exams because they had not paid their fees $300 - $500 a semester you may contact through info@mmu.ac.ug. Talented, hard working students, potential graduates the country and particularly this impoverished Region really need. Have a good day.

Parties and things

2006-04-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

At last the container arrived in Fort Portal. It left UK in early December with a load of computers and a gift of 25 items from Tehniquest Hands on Science Park in Cardiff. It arrived at 11.30 at night but could not be opened until the Customs people arrived at 5.00pm the next day. The arrival at the school which was receiving much of the contents was the excuse for a party which seems to have gone on from arrival to being emptied. The school hall was filled with compouters, cricket bats and balls, sewing machines, books, copiers and science equipment, every item had to be viewed and counted by customs before they could be removed to store. To get our stuff we used the truck which had brought the container, another truck, a pick up, and my 4WD. More or less completing at midnight. Getting the small truck proved very difficult, one refused outright as the road was so bad and the next needed serious evidence that we were not smuggling, in the burglary business or supplying rebels down the road. Luckily a white skin was a big help. The arrival of the equipment opens up much hard work to get the gifts into use but also great opportunities for development.
Light relief this last weekend. Saturday the wedding of a colleague started in church at 11.00am and we finally got to eat at 6.30, stamina is needed for social gatherings in Uganda, and strong insides. The party of the wedding reception was the third day. They must have fed about 1000 people on our day although it seems it was a cooperative effort of the whole village and beyond bring food and staying for the 'dancing till dawn'. Ugandans seem to love a speech even more than the Irish so about 2 hrs family, friends, politicians and the employer - me. A heavy shower beautifully timed as the wedding party arrived greeted with cheerfulness as it is a good sign of fertility.
The next day was a birthday party for a friend who is 80, He was thrown out by Amin but came back to re-establish his tea estate which he has virtually done. Again a wonderful party with strange contacts, another friend out here whose mother is remarrying is marrying an ex school friend of 50 years ago. Fort Portal is clearly the place to be if you want to meet the world.
Now into Easter which again is done with enthusiasm and with plenty of time......

The funeral.

2006-04-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

So after a frantic weekend buying clothes to replace those burned and deciding on a new school which will be very good and moving all the necessary stuff over, things are getting back to normal.
It is the wet season so the picture shows what used to be an entrance up to our house, I suppose a tank might get up it but not four wheels.
Yesterday was the day of the funeral, One large casket to hole th remains of the children. The names of 9 were read out yet 19 were reported as being lost so I am not sure what the final number, certianly some turned up later.
The service itself was very dignified and peaceful on the whole though some politicians and preachers went on too long, as expected, I suppose. People were quiet, gentle singing of hymns people knew and nothing much in the way of loud sorrow, families are still in shock. Although the vast bulk of the proceedings were in Rhutoro I am very glad I was there among the several thousands who came knowing that there was to be rain which duly arrived about half way through some got soaked, some had left when they saw what was on the way and the rest squeezed under the protection of the tents. Bridget had planned to be there and I was going to pick her up from school but at the last minute the time was brought well forward, possibly because of the rain which was due but it meant it was not possible for her to get there and join her friends. I hope she was not too upset.

Update on Fire.

2006-04-04T12:47:00.001-07:00

The funerals of what is left is taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, with a road blocked off to make space for all the dignatories expected to join the bereaved families. In the meantime much of my time has been taken up with helping Bridget and another ten year old to find replacements for their clothes, shoes and everything else they had and then to find them a new school, Unfortunately this has to be boarding which will not be easy since it means sleeping in a domintory again. Food also is a problem. The standard school menue is Posho and beans whith some meat and motoke [banana] at the weekend. Posho is maize meal which seems to very hard on the stomach and difficult to cope with if you come from a part of the country where it is not part of the normal diet. As Bridget described it when she had to gave it: she had snakes in her stomach. not much of a recommendation. I just hope that by adding little by little into her meal she will train her digestion to cope. I find it intensely boring less taste but rather the constiuency of hard cooked semolina. Oh for a hamburger and chips.

Fort Portal's day of horror

2006-03-31T10:29:00.000-08:00

Briget and her mother Bonny in our garden last year.

9.15 this morning a text from a friend told me that there had been a serious fire over night at the primary school where one of our Ugandan Children, Briget, boards. No answer of course from the school which had other things to think about but by 10.00 Briget's cousin, whom we also are helping, through nursing school, had found Briget at home having been rescued by the mother of another child in the schooland kept over night. As the day wore on the number of deaths has increased from six to seventeen, mostly the younger ones in the school and no doubt the toll will increase further. Two other members of university staff have children in the school and fortunately both are all right. Bridget lost every stitch of clothing and other possesions she had as, quite correctly, they were allowed to take nothing out. Identification is impossible it seems. I think there will be very few people in town who are unaffected.
How the fire started is unknown at present, and may be never will be. There was no power that night, [we are on 24hrs off 24hrs] so it cannot have been electrical. Bridget tells me there were no candles, but maybe we will hear differently in time. Candles are a menace in schools and this would not be the first burned down due to children going to sleep and leaving a candle burning.
The current story is that one of the girls in the senior school was caught on her third outing to the disco and punished by the Head. She threatened him that he would suffer more than she did. Later that evening she got a fit and was taken by friends, including Briget, to the chapel where they prayed with/for her. She was still in a very 'excited' state when she went to bed and articles were moving around in the dormitory. Later that night at about 1am the girl woke up with the underside of her arm on which she was sleeping, burned and the bed on fire. Although there were fire extinguishers it seems no one knew how to use them and the nearest of the two fire engines in the country was about 250km away in Mbarara. As might be expected there was some level of panic and the small children hid rather than leaving immediately
Some hundreds of children will have to find new schools, one elderly man has lost all four of his children and another woman her only child.
I am planning to put on a course in the University on fire safety and one of the suppliers has agreed to put on demonstrations on how extinguishers should be used. We might help to save some lives sometime in the future.

Rain

2006-03-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

General picture of tea bushes with pluckers in the background. A good worker may pluck 70kg a day
We have had a sociable time recently with visitors and parties, sadly, mostly to say good bye to friends who are leaving. One friend who has been in the country for over five years but on her first visit to Fort Portal was really impressed by the social life.
On Saturday we were invited by a friend who has bought a very interesting tea estate with a fascinating history which he is researching, We arrived down in daylight after a long and tortuous route through the estates. The roads/ tracks are designed for the harvesting of the tea not for convenience of getting around and finding friends. We discovered on arrival the the reason this particular large house being so far off the road is that the " road" we had come along used to be the old road to Kampala because it avoided having to cross the Mpanga river. Much of the time a small car and a bicycle would be a crowd, especially if it was one of the sections where the road was really two trenches deep enough to take the bottom out of anything lower than a tractor. The party was great and the venue interesting as the owner is developing a business in soaps, creams etc all made out of local materials, fully organic with no chemicals, really nice to use. Most of the pressing and other works being run off solar power, just as well at the moment when the national power is on for only 50% of the time if lucky. He tells me that the UV index frequently reaches 16 in September/October when the air has been washed clean by the rain and the sun is vertically over head. In more health conscious parts of the world anything over nine is considered off scale. Hats are important!
Before we left we had some serious rain which makes driving on dirt roads much more interesting, even in 4WD sliding sideways into the ruts. By now it was pitch dark and surprise, surprise we missed a turn. We knew other people existed somewhere because every now and again we saw the tracks of a bicycle. We were beginning to think we might bed down for the night when up a small rise we met a tarmac road. We were home and dry, there is only the one paved road within 300km so not much chance of getting lost again. Blocked again just before getting home by several vehicles which got stuck in the mud on the little hill on our side of time of town but a detour on a less used road got us home without further trouble. Bald tyres really do not work very well in mud. With a return trip to Kampala on Wednesday [600km] the we really appreciate the sealed road.
Rainy seasons reduce the malaria problem because they are colder and also most of the water is on the move sufficiently often to interfere with breeding. The beginning of the dry is the worst time.

A School story

2006-03-11T06:31:00.000-08:00

So the elections are over. Next week we can get back to normal as each day of election has been another public holiday 4 in all, no doubt very populay with the school children, unpopular with anyone running a business and of no practical significance to people working on their land.
A friend who used to be out here in the 1960s teaching in a local school is now back there and regales us with some of the more peculiar ideas. This school used to be one of the best in the country but like all schools has had a really hard time over the last thirty five years or so. The exam results were very poor this year so they decided something needed to be done. Currently the children are up at five in the morning, 'study' to 6.30 unless they have gone to sleep at their desk, then they have breakfast, more study until classes begin at 8.30 until lunch with a short break, and then more classes in the afternoon. Since all periods are double the teachers find they cannot manage the full slot so always turn up late. Classes finish and then study can go onto 11.00pm when lights go off, unless they are left on all night.

Back to the exam results; what was the suggestion to do better in the future?? Reorganise the time-table.....No. Ensure teachers teach their full hours.....No. Feed the children better.....No. Do away with holidays ........RIGHT..clearly they are
not studying enough!!. This is why the University rates school management highly significant on the curriculum. We have a long way to go.

I do so wish Western agencies would help the country sort out its fundamental problems rather than social issues which are fashionable in the West. It is not that these are unimportant but there are so many other issues out here which must be sorted out first if the country is to progress. In particular high quality and effective education for all including girls and women. Our experience in the West is that high quality education including for women, is the absolute key to development, school education requires good teachers who need to be highly valued and who need to be graduates in large part. The effect will be slow but this is where Aid is needed. It is not possible to have sustainable engineering businesses without well trained engineeering graduates who are prepared to live and work in the Country and in the country districts etc. etc. Those of us on the ground perpetually complain that the powers who control funding have never lived and worked out here and make policy in offices where the breath of reallity and experience never penetrates. And then they wonder why development history is so full of failures.

2006-02-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of quick little stories, before we shut down due to power being off.
Last week a student, hard working and serious came in very upset wondering about her future. In order to pay for the first semester she had sold most of her herd of goats and some chickens and now had no means of paying for semester two, or indeed anything else. The sum involved? a bit under $400 a semester. I find this very hard to take, people here try so hard with the little the have and in the West we wonder what to give the children for Christmas because they have everything and will, perhaps unhappily spend, yet again, $100 on a pair of trainers. Or as I know of $400 on a hand bag fro teenagers. Think again.
The boy who was sleeping on the floor with the goats and chickens now has a mattress, one of our friends in the business of looking after orphans read the riot act and the uncle who was trying to blackmail us into building an extra room onto his house, has been scared enough to behave himself, for the moment at least.
here is a picture of Anette our 'daughter' who is now in her second year of the full nursing course and doing very well.

Poverty and education, mostly

2006-02-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

We have been back a week now and it seems like a month so much to do. Just a week between finishing exams and the start of the new semester, not a good arrangement but this is the first year and really forced on us by circumstances. We brought out about 15kg of wool from the Old Folks club in Shankill to the Elders club here where it will be used for hand crafts of all sorts, caps and hats, un-needed at present as it is very hot, even the locals are complaining, not that it seems to reduce the enthusiasm for loud music and megaphone canvassing for the elections. There is a lot of uncertainty over the result, diferent sources have wildly different assessments. The present incumbents have been blatant in their efforts to buy votes with unsustainable promises, especially given the present and future of the electricity supply. The cuts are already doing significant damage to small businesses which rely on power. I hear that in Rwanda they have a strong and creative Government which has banned the use of charcoal to save the forests, whereas here it is getting worse. BUT the effect is that people are only able to cook once a day due to the fuel shortage. We need the same here.-----Not in the run up to an election.!!
This country continues to surprise. One of our students who is working on the gardens to earn his fees, sleeping on a staff member's floor as he cannot afford accommodation, took on night security for our building for a night to let the regular man home for the weekend [no charge], is coming out with some of the best marks for the last semester that I have ever seen.
The fourteen year old primary school boy came a few days ago and said would I build an annex to the house we helped with a while ago because his uncle was using his room for the goats and chickens at night, you might possibly be able to imagine the sanitary conditions. This was too much for us to deal with so we have called in help and I hope he and his brothers will be moved to a foster home. The young lad has been used to get things for the uncle and this was an obvious effort to blackmail us into extending the house. No explanation as to why he could not build a pen for the animals.
Be careful to whom you commit money. There are NGOs and even churches set up in order to obtain money to "support", "educate" AIDS orphans, which are entirely spurious, with forged documents, names, photographs etc of the supposed beneficiaries. It is so important to check out thoroughly. This sort of thing has become a significant industry unfortunately, so brutal when there is a huge and genuine need. The younger brother of one of the orphans we are helping, has just finished primary school and done extremely well and although he has a place at the best school in the District he cannot go because he cannot find the fees of $300 per term, Boarding. Good education is the most important thing in trying to raise the quality of life long term. It is terrible to see it denied to talented individuals. Anyone interested in helping some of these young people can leave a message and I will get back to them. But do remember, secondary school is six years and University is three. Any one like to help [$500 a year] a student, mature, who has 27 orphans he has 'inherited' from family members. Such is the effect of AIDS that this in not considered worthy of special consideration here. And this in the only country which has significantly reduced the AIDS infection rate. Imagine what it must be like in South Africa etc.

Fort Portal return

2006-02-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

Here we are back home again in Fort Portal. Such a warm welcome from all our friends and colleagues almost makes us feel guilty that we left, no not really as we were catching up again with all our family and lifetime friends in Ireland and UK.
We are now in the middle of marking exams, I have not yet started, it will be interesting to see how much I was able to get accross to a very keen and hard working group of students but whose knowledge bases varied considerably.
Besides the election due shortly which of course fills the newspapers, though it is hard to discern policy differences since everyone is going to remove corruption, develop the economy etc. is the power situation. We arrived back to find we had to unpack by torchlight and wash after a hot sticky journey, in cold water, good for you I hear the odd voice, as the power was off. The power situation has got very bad recently because against advice at the time two power stations were installed side by side both taking water from Lake Victoria. The water is now so low that outpout is 170 instead of 265 Mw. This is unlikely to change for at least five years unless the rainfall increases radically, unlikely with global warming. Sadly this will seriously stunt the development of the country. When I have had time to check what the papers were saying in January I will fill in the details of what appears to be a singularly unpleasant story of the rich stealing from the venal poor.
Here all is dust and haze as the dry reason draws towards its close. Unfortunately, The garden which Kathie had so carefully planted to be ready for our return is dryed up and dead because the young man we left in charge did no watering although shown what we needed Bright being not so bright. The tank still has 3000l in it, what a waste, and a great disapointment. Growing things here is such fun but we really only have one more season to try.

2006-01-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

A long time since the last posting but we have been in Ireland and UK, partly holiday and partly work, looking for the financial support any project needs during its start up phase.
On arrival in Ireland we gave a talk about what we were doing and the concierge for the hall we used said he had never seen so many at a meeting, this was followed the next day by an evening spent talking to a journalist, Anne-Marie Mcnerny of Morning Ireland who concentrated about two hours of talk into six minutes and still managed to give a good story, not as easy as it sounds. The program went well and has generated quite a lot of interest, but no cash, so far.........
Friends and contacts have been generous and we thank them all.
Preliminary reports from the training courses in Karamoja have been very good, the presentations were well received and all parties were happy with the outcome. A good effort for an institution in its first nine months of existence.
We return to Uganda after further meetings, at the end of the month. The main work now will be to try and bring to completion some of the funding efforts which have been started and so establish the University on a good strong foundation for the long term future.

The section on Dublin couple set-up university in Uganda half way down the page at http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0110/morningireland.html is the link to the Morning Ireland show. It plays with Real Player which you may need to download.

2005-11-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

Back again. We have been tooooo busy at the University. A four day visit from a pair representing the Austrian Government to see what Austria might be able to do to support the University. It this case they write the project for us, wonderful. The visit went very well and we are hopeful that if the political situation does not deteriorate any further that we will receive support not only for the University in general but also be helped to set up and finance exchanges for staff and student training.
We have also had a visit, very short, from Universities Ireland which we also hope will result in secondment of the senior staff we need to set up research, the life blood of a university, and also to assist in staff training. Staff training is vital as we need to break away from the didactic style of Ugandan lecturing to a more thought provoking style. We feel we are making real progress and just need the financial support to get us over these early years when the stff student ratios are, of necessity, very high meaning of course the basic running costs are very high compared with income. A few million dollars would totally transform the situation, even a few hundred thousand would make a profound difference. Any ideas? contact info@mmu.ac.ug .
Coming now to the end of the school terms and two of our 'children' have come with problems of food for the holidays. One borrowed 15,000shillings about $8 to set herself up to trade for the holiday period bring vegetables to her village; The other will I thinl work on the garden/farm but needed money to buy sheets of roofing, she had gone home to her sister inlaw to find that her room whch she shares with her brother had lost its roof, not good with tropical rain: 50mm in 30 minutes. also not so good at keeping out the mosquitoes and Malaria, even with a treated net she has had three attacks since May. If not treated malaria is often lethal.
A wonderful day on Sunday with a family we know quite well and have been able to help. Their two children 4 and 6 were being baptised, among 35 others, and then a meal with them and a couple of nephews in their tiny house, what you see is the lot except for the bed space behind a curtain and the cooking in the yard. It is grass hopper season, really good to eat and worth a visit to Uganda but only for a few days around this time of year. It also turned out that the father is to be baptised in March which will then allow them to regularise their marriage and al that that means in terms of security for the wife and children. Without marriage the wife and children can be thrown out if he dies as the property, even if given to the wife it is seen as the propety of the husbands family.
I expect many have been wondeing about the political situation here. It certainly gives cause for concern but contrary to some reports in the media there is no comparison at all, at present, between the atrocities and permanent fear that charactarised the times of Amin and Obote and the present. The treatment of the courts and use of the Courts Martial is certainly very worrying, the way that high profile corrupt politicians and others survive to continue needs to change totally but to equate, as some do the present with 30 years ago is a travesty, at present.
We leave on Thursday for Christmas in Ireland with all our family, Four, Spouses: three and Grandchildren: six. also fundraising and education as much as we can. Swapping sandals and a sun hat for wooly socks, gloves, anoracks and a fur hat.....

2005-10-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

First time in nearly two years, I hear that Fort Portal is totally out of petrol, just when my tank is very low and i have to go to Kampala to collect Kathie from the London plane at 5.00am on Friday. The trip was meant to be combined with buying a lot of scientific equipment we need for the laboratory being established. This with funds from the Irish Embassy.
What do your do when a very serious and hard working man comes in and says he has had no work, has been and still is sick with malaria, cannot get to Kampala where there is work going because he has no money and if he goes the family has nothing to live on while he is away. You really begin to value the social security systems we have in most of europe, far from perfect though they be you are unlikely to starve which could be a real possibility here, particularly for those with no land and for those who have, as does Sunday Charles there is the problem of having to wait for stuff to grow which it does not do in the dry season and storage facilities are rudimentary at best.
A change: here is a picture of a pied Kingfisher about to dive.

2005-10-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Black headed weaver birds share breakfast at Mweya Safari Lodge.

How lessons get forgotten between 1960 and 2005

2005-10-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

How lessons get lost. One of the children we are helping through school came up to the house to get money she needed to buy science books, Science now being compulsory for the first four years of secondary schooling. (I have just learned that science is no longer compulsory in Irish secondary school, I find that unbelievable after the experience of the 70s and 80s when the availability of well trained science competent people was so important to the development of the Celtic Tiger). But we talked about many things and one was the incidence of malaria in the school which I know is quite substantial. They have on the school premises stagnant water which they know is where the mosquuitoes breed but have done nothing. In the 60s up to independence and a few years after, it was illegal to have stagnant water but if it was necessary then it had to be sprayed with oil which drowns the mosquito lavae. The councils had operatives who spent their time checking drainage, spraying water surfaces and generally ensuring that breeding oportunities were kept to a minimum. Now when the population is five times higher and the incidence of malaria is shocking none of the things which could be done to eleviate the scurge are being done. Instead the Ministry of Health is trying to get permission to use DDT which will do irreparable damage to the agricultural sector; and it not necessary. In our house which has a well drained compound and the bananas and maize are well away we have only seen twenty mosquitoes in the last two years. Obviously if you live beside a swamp, because you need water then there is a genuine problem. But, environmental management could do a great deal to reduce the problem.

Karamoja

2005-10-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

Mountains of the Moon University has just been awarded the contract by the Irish Embassy / Development Cooperation Ireland to supply two three week training courses for Teachers and Education Administration Staff in Karamojo in Eastern Uganda. Currently there are serious security anxieties as the local tribesmen are well armed with AK47s and appear to be extending their professional life of cattle raiding to anything that moves which might have a tradable value, clothes, vehicles etc. often with tragic results for those who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For bird watchers how about this for a rear view of a Yellow Billed Stork, Granny's best lace shawl.

Good Developments

2005-10-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

This picture gives some idea of the position and view of the site which will be our new campus.Not much of an idea it is true, it needs a visit, 4WD at present.
Two days ago we heard that a truckload of equipment for the Library, Donated by United Nations Environmental Project Library in Nairobi is on its way. Previously they gave us about 300 books so: Many thanks to UNEP for great support. In four days time we collect a gift of 10 Computers from the Chinese Government which will be invaluable as servers, Administrative systems and for staff. So again many thanks to those who are being so helpful and working so hard to make the University a success.

To our personal delight we will not need to invest in a tent for the rest of the Rainy Season. Most of the roads are surfaced with murram, a type of soil which sets hard when mixed with lime and which is surprisingly non slip when wet, however the road from the house to town had lost the murram during the odd grading and had been given a profile with very steep sides and very narrow top. The result was obvious even with 4WD the road was virtually impassible and when combined with floundering pedestrians, also trying to keep to the top, bicycles with passengers, trucks, borda-bordas and cars, some travelling sideways, it seemed safer to keep off. Murram is being prepared to resurface and reshape the road!!!! The alternative road has been discovered by too many and is becoming a menace especially on the steepest part where someone covered the road with earth from their new driveway.

even elephants have itches.

Update on many things

2005-10-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well here we are again,after six weeks. First lesson; setting up a university keeps you busy....very busy. Between the holiday courses for teachers and the courses in progress now we have 190 students accepted, sadly some have not come because they do not have the money, approximtely $500 a semester and another 120 or so for food and accommodation. To assist aas far as possible with this problem we run courses in day, evening and weekend modes so the place is running 7 days a week. The students and the enthusiasm is there but money is very difficult as Starting a University needs a lot of money up front, you need a range of staff from the start to cover the specialities on each course but not the hours to fully employ them until second or third year come on stream and of course the student numbers take some years to reach equilibrium as the place becomes known and trusted and the course years build up. Anyone with a spare oil-well???.
People and organisations have been generous and helpful. Hope University in UK is giving 100 computers, LabAid scientific equipment, another school support charity microscopes and further help promised, Techniquest, hands on science park in Cardiff has given us an entire exhibition to set up here to try and develop the curiosity in the teachers and children which will encourage them to choose science. Reasonable progress for the six months since we got our licence.
Two weekends ago we took our first weekend away since last Christmas; and what happens but we run into a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere, held us up for 15 - 20 minutes:

The University starts

2005-08-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

What is the connection between cows and a holiday course to upgrade teachers? Answer: in upcountry Uganda a teacher needs to sell a cow to help pay the fees for the course and has to wait for market day before joining up. For the unit in question the fees are USh100,000 about $55, to complete the course requires 12 units. I hope that makes you think, and wonder what you could do to help. Post a message to info@mmu.ac.ug and I will tell you. Serious poverty is no joke.
We have about 60 students on this and related courses and on the full time courses which start with orientation on 5th September the numbers are increasing but will probably be a total of about 80, not a lot but better than the 15 the National council advised us to start with.
Courses currently are Education, Business Management, Public Health, Public Administration and Horticulture with Management and entrepreneurship. Shorter courses will be started as we settle into what we are doing at present in IT, business, finance etc depending on demand.

Hibiscus

2005-08-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

Follow up to Moses and police.

2005-08-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

The young man arrested for asault is now out on bail and with luck will have learned his lesson. The CID Lady rang me two days ago to tell me when the case was due to come up, September 8th. so that I could try and keep the day free. She then, as so often happens here, asked if I could find some help for her, financial of course. She has been in the CID for 12 years, her parents, I presume from Aids, died some years ago and she is left with six siblings who need looking after, one is in primary school, which although nominally free, in fact requires about USh15,000 per year for books and tests. Three are in secondary school, which is not free and needs about USh220,000 per term. Her salary is USh150,000 per month, the sums do not add up and she is permanently in debt. 150,000 is equivalent to about $80. As things are at the moment the police are not taken seriously by the politicians who seem to prefer the army as the tough effective men, so their salaries have lagged behind very badly. I have written to our local police station in Ireland to see if they would like to help her out, such a small amount of hard currency would help such a lot.
The University starts in earnest on Monday. A lot of very hard work past and to come but plenty of enthusiasm and determination to make it work. I am convinced this University is destined to make a real difference in Uganda, we just need a lot of money, as any business does during its start up phase. Both for our own needs and to meet the demands of the National Council we must get some buildings up within the next wo years so that has to be the next priority for me. The present infrastructure is sufficient, just, for the immediate future so long term planning must become my top priority which suggests a lot more time spent working at home to get peace and quiet, also I see more of Kathie that way, a real bonus.

Another story of social issues

2005-08-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Moses, a rather small 14 year old but still in primary 4 where he should be at age 10 - 11 years came and did some work around our compound [garden, yard] trimming the edges etc. and earning the comparatively large sum of 2000 shillings [$1= 1750 and1 euro = 220]. After giving him lunch he fell fast asleep he has a 4 mile walk to get to our place fom his village. Sunday morning he arrived again, completely unexpected and not very welcome as these sort of visitations usually mean a problem and the need for money. However he said he did not want anything and since I was just going to church, Mass takes from 1 1/2 to 2 hours, he would come too and tell me afterwards. We had another 12 year old to pick up from school and return after Mass so it was a while until I discovered what he wanted. He had saved 5000 shillings from work he had done and wanted to buy a pair of trousers and a T shirt. He wanted me to come along as shot gun in case he was robbed in the market. He bought both for 4000. I then took him part way home but before he got out we sat for some 15mins in the car while I read his latest school test, standard ones from Kampala. I was rather dissappointed in some of his answers until I realised they were to do with traffic lights, he could read the word traffic and guessed the answer incorrectly of course. His problem is that he has never been more than few miles from home and the nearest traffic lights are in Kampala 200 miles away.
I left him to walk to his vallage and I drove home to get some well earned lunch at about 3.00pm. As I started on my glass of beer, who should reappear, really really not welcome but Moses in an awful state without his precious bright orange trousers and black shirt. A borda borda driver had seen him sitting in the car for a while and assuming that I had given him money had beat him up and robbed him. So back into the car to try and find the young man who Moses knew well from school. No luck. So we went to the police where we made statements. Monday morning I had to take time off work and he from school to go the hospital and get a signed report on his injuries. The next day we had to return to the police for some reason I never discovered, but 2 police decided to have a look so I had to drive them around. This is quite normal as funds don't run to police having vehicles except for special occasions like presidential visits. To their extreme delight we found the robber who was promptly arrested and admitted what he had done and then took us to where he had left the clothes so those will be returned in due course. All very satisfactory. This morning at 7.00am: who but MOSES AGAIN, this time with the distraught father asking whether I would forgive. Not a word of English and Moses still has a lot to learn so I tried to explain, I was nothing in the case, It was a criminal case and the police would do their own thing. We expected the case in court today but no luck. I think the young man has learned a lesson and is unlikely to do it again, Meanwhile I imagine he will lose his licence to carry passengers, for their safety. What a cost for nothing.
I am coming to the conclusion it is dangerous to be seen with muzungus.

The University starts in a week, compared with other places amazing progress has been made all due to the immensely hard work of everyone involved but a lot is still needed. I find I am giving a course in Biochemistry, which I should be working on instead of telling you all stories like this, also some lectures on the human body. Then as light relief a half hour talk on the Place of the University in National Development at a conference organised by the Tooro Kingdom. Some years ago Uganda reinstated some of the traditional kingdoms as cultural organisations, some like the idea some don't. The trouble is some kingdoms are trying to become political along tribal lines which is not a good sign, also with the intentions of getting their hands on rentable property to help with party time.

More from Fort Portal

2005-07-23T01:22:00.000-07:00

On the radio to day I heard the head of United Nations children's Fund talking about Northern Uganda and the way children have to walk from the camp a long distance to school. To give an idea of what 'long distance' means: I have many children who come to the University asking for sponsorship for school, the University has no sponsorship funds as yet but we now have about eight local children to whom I am father or uncle as I do sponsor some of them from our own pocket and from funds we were given at home in Ireland.
Recently one of my 15 year olds, a girl came to see me as she was suffering badly from malaria, so I took her to the doctor and then bought the drugs she needed, which may well have saved her life, I thought she was too sick to go home by boda boda: motorbike taxi, so I drove her home.
She walked this journey morning and evening to school about 10km-6miles every day. Locals would abuse her as she walked saying she had no business going to secondary level school or thinking of college so she was afraid to start before light, so she was always late for the first class and when she got home, tired hungry and getting dark, home work was almost impossible as they had no light in the house. So now she boards.
Why all this? her parents are dead from Aids so like most who come and ask she is an orphan and can only just keep herself alive without help.
As I write this I have had a visit from a 14 year old boy who has several years in primary to do, again an orphan, living with his two brother 3 and 6years with an uncle who has nothing, they are being pushed off the land where they have a 'house' because the landlord wants to sell so we are helping them buy a small plot of land where they can be secure and with a bit of help with a plot elsewhere will be able to grow enough to keep themselves alive.
You have to live here to begin to understand what life is really like for so many people. Visitors only see the beautiful landscape, the fabulous birds, the picturesque children in bright uniforms walking home along the road side, in droves after school, in bare feet of course.
But if you want to see happy people this is the place to come:- the German girlfriend of someone working out here visited for Christmas and when she went home all her colleagues, in an accusatory tone kept asking: Why are you smiling all the time?

2005-07-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

After long and tortuous negotiations with the National Council of Higher Education Mountains of the Moon University was finally awarded its Licence. It is the first University in Uganda to obtain its Licence before taking either staff or students. This is the new regime that all aspiring Universities will be expected to follow.

The chief problem is that with no Licence, no students and no staff it is not easy to sell the IDEA of the University to possible sponsors and donors. A number of generous individuals have given substantial sums on the basis of personal contact and trust and it is these funds which have allowed us to progress to the point we are now at.

In May we had our first group of students. They were Primary school teachers ranging in age from 22 - 50. The one thing they had in common was tremendous nervousness at coming to do a University course. So far they have completed the first of 18 3 week units but already it is possible to see great changes in their confidence. These Grade 3 teachers left school after 4 years in secondary school, they probably did rather badly in O-level exams and became teachers as the only employment outlet for them, they have to teach science which they have never studied and maths which the "ran away from" and with poor communication because their English is weak.

Generally the reason for such a dismal performance is simply that the teaching available to them was very poor so they had little chance. Their response to the course was one of delight and great lift in their confidence. The aim is to teach what they need as primary teachers in the subjects and the teaching methods to be effective. Later they will get into the laboratories which are about to be built and which are being equipped by Labaid, a charity which helps schools in Uganda, a private individual who does the same and the Irish Embassy. So we get by on wing and a prayer.

It is important to build up a reputation as soon as possible so that we can begin to attract the right sort of staff at a senior level. They must be very hard working, very creative in their work and totally convinced of the approaches we are determined to take: tutorial teaching as far as possible, with the particular aim of ensuring the students learn to solve problems and use the information they have to find answers to problems they have never seen before. They must learn that posing the question is the hard part and finding/deciding which of the possible answers is the best,at the moment must be their aim. The ability to ask questions is hard at the best of times but in a society which is reared on seniors knowing the answer, young people asking questions and thinking tend to be unpopular and very few on the ground. Most of the other universities have not managed to get beyond giving answers to questions posed in class. If we can generate an atmosphere of original thought among the students it will be virtually unique in Uganda.

In order to help raise the profile of the University and generate some small cash flow I am proposing to use some of the photographs I have taken to produce postcards, Mostly the postcards available are very poor and I surmise most of the wild life ones come from Kenya being elephants, lions etc, Same as you get everywhere in Africa. I attach one or two which will give an idea of what I am going to do. The story of Junonia Oenone, the butterfly with the blue patches was rather amusing. I have a small book of Ugandan butterflies but could not find it which I found rather surprising as a number of relatives were there and it is rather striking. Later I found it in another book and on checking back found it was listed with a note saying the brown and yellow specimen was faded. Not much help.

2005-03-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

And here's a picture of the actual mountains of the moon...

The new camera is only fantastic I am getting pics together for post cards
using it. Thought you might like this one of the Coli cattle. make our
European ones look a bit puny until you weigh them!!. But ours don't survive
here too many bugs and other nasty biting beasts which carry fatal diseases.

2005-03-14T03:07:00.001-08:00

Here is a little sketch which might be of some interest in showing how different things are here.
Round about Christmas time a young girl of about 11 came to me after Mass and told me that at school she was top of the class with two more years of primary to go but since she wanted to be a doctor she needed to change school because the one she was at was unable to get her the results she needed to get to a secondary school good enough to get to University. We met several times and eventually I said I would pay her fees at the new school. In reality this is a commitment to the end of university.
I visited her at the school which impressed me with its friendliness, the walls decorated with pictures of joints, properly labelled, and other anatomical items, she is clearly very happy with good friends and a very good staff. I was able to ascertain that it was a good choice before I agreed. Yesterday she came up to the house and we had a long chat, among other things she was asking me who I would have voted for Kerry or Bush which I found rather impressive. To her teachers amazement she is already second in the class. She then went on to explain that although to her I am her father because her own is dead, in school she tells people she is being supported by an uncle because she does not want anyone in a fit of jealousy to get a witch doctor to do me harm. Then she went on to tell me how the matron did not like it at first when she and the others in her dormitory sang songs and said their prayers before going to sleep,but now she likes it and how twice they have seen evil spirits outside the room trying to stop them praying but how, when told strongly enough with prayers and injunctions they left, the first time to go and terrorise another girl in a neighbouring dormitory, she too was OK after enough prayers. None of this was told in a spirit of bravado or excitement, merely as a fact of life and this is how you deal with it. One hears too many stories from very sane and normal westerners from their own experience which are not so dissimilar to write it all off as total nonsense and purely imagination. Even local people do not always believe it until forced to do so. This is one of the bigger culture shocks of coming out to this society.

and a couple of pics... here's one of the garden

and here's one of a matoke tree

Mountains of the Moon

2005-01-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

Mountains of the Moon
This is the start to thank our last born for seeting this up as his birthday present from us to him.
It will take time to get the scene here up to date as so much is happening and so much is new, even now after being here for over a year