Let's Get Down to Business

So we’ve been in Uganda for more than a week now and Joe and I have been mostly in the office. This probably doesn’t sound awful, but we were expected to hit the ground running day 2. It’s day 11, and it feels like we’re still walking.

We met Michael, the CEO of Tugende, and he talked to us about work ethics, and how Tugende strives for excellence. As a team, it aims high, grows fast, and does not tolerate mediocracy. I really liked this: “Top performers not only achieve targets, but makes themselves and the team better.” Everyone works hard, but not to compete with each other. They work hard not only for themselves but also for the entire team, so everyone is challenges and motives one another. All the employees at Tugende have been very friendly and helpful; people greet me as I walk through the office, and they are quick to answer questions about laptop troubles, accessing reports, and talking to clients. It is a great environment, and it seems like everyone at least tolerates everyone else. We also had “social hour” for the last half hour of work, and it was so fun seeing all the employees not only work together, but eat, talk, laugh, and enjoy one another’s company.

Meet the CEO

We’ve also had three cakes at work this week: two for birthdays, and one for a baby shower. Ugandan cake is very dense but delicious cake (the green one is something special. Maybe vanilla and mint?) and not very sweet icing, which is good. The lunch is also all carbohydrates and the same every single day, which I will definitely get tired of soon. But it’s all part of the experience, right?

Cake #3

Despite all the celebration and camaraderie, I’m also surprised by the politics that exist within such a small company. Our manager, John Henry, needs approval from his higher ups for the budget and plan of our project (even though we’re not employees or working in the company?!), and there’s communication lag and scope creep, and the beginning of this week was pretty stressful as we changed our plan and kept pushing back going into the field… Everything is slowly untangling itself, but man, dealing with people is so stressful, especially when power and status are involved.

On a non-work related note, my boda boda driver ran out of gas on the way back to Bushpig Tuesday evening. Thankfully, we were riding down a hill so he just cruised to the gas station at the bottom of the hill. I thought I would get back later than Joe, but traffic was so bad that we caught up at the next intersection. Maybe my driver was just really good, aka aggressive and good at weaving through cars haha.

After the baby shower on Wednesday, Joe, and I had a discussion about the dynamics of our team. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it involves communication and expectations and egos… But how would I feel if younger, foreign, less experienced people came into a fellowship and told me what to do? Worse, someone correcting me on a way my dialect is written? There are definitely things both sides can work on, but how can I speak the truth in love, yet stay open-minded to receive feedback and change the way I act to be more gracious, kind, thoughtful… just more of a reflection of Jesus, without compromising the quality of the research? But thankfully, after much prayer and long walks in Kampala, the conflict is resolved (it wasn't even as bad as we imagined it).

Long story short, I’m learning a lot about working in a company, being on the bottom of a food chain where my high priority is someone’s low priority. I’m learning to be humble in my interactions yet proactive in asking for resources and bringing up conflict. Communication can never be too clear, and somehow talking, in addition to listening, are necessary components to being functional (useful?) team member.

 Make the Dream Work

We finally went out to the field today! But our “field” is walk-able from the office; it’s just the city of Kampala. We want to survey non-clients and Tugende clients to see if owning a motorcycle improves the quality of life for boda boda drivers (but I think “boda boda” is the title).  We surveyed 18 drivers and revised our survey during lunch. Thank God Edgar and I ran into very nice and agreeable drivers who were willing to take our survey. But I think our experience from street evangelism also helped us approach the drivers, introduce ourselves, and explain the purpose of our research. While Joe and Peace did not have as easy a time getting drivers to participate, I'm sure we'll all learn and get better. So happy we finally got out and conducted surveys! I’ve also really enjoyed the conversations I've had with people here, whether locals or fellows or boda boda drivers. It just goes to show that everyone longs to be listened to and understood, and the time and attention you give to someone can be a game-changer. 

In the Field

We’re going to Murchison Falls tomorrow for the weekend! Excited to see more of this beautiful country :) 

It's the Weekend!

The weekend started Friday night when Joe, Efren, Kristi, and I went out to Bubbles O’Leary upon John Henry’s recommendation. It was the first time I “went out,” and it was OK, I guess. We sat in the outdoor bar area so at least the air wasn’t stuffy and gross. We were all really tired from the day’s work and were preparing to leave at 12:45am when John Henry (our manager at Tugende) walked in. Joe and I introduced Efren and Kristi to him, and he bought us all drinks (gin and tonic. It was meh). There was quite a mix of local and international people, but other than that I have no way of comparing it to bars/clubs back home. But it was the beginning of many new experiences this weekend!

 Bubbles "Ceiling"

On Saturday, we explored Entebbe, a city an hour away from Kampala. Ronnie, our driver, picked up Joe, Sammi, Huda, and I from Bushpig, our hostel, and drove us there. The drive was so smooth that I didn’t even notice he was driving a manual until we were halfway there. He showed us where the touristy spots were (artisan market, beach, zoo, Lake Victoria boat landing, etc.) and drove us to Nakiwogo landing. We decided to get off there and walk through the local market. For the first time all trip, we were the only Mzungus (foreigners, esp of European descent) around. People stared at us, said “Mzungu!” and “You’re welcome!” (as in “Welcome!”), and offered us rides in their taxis. Sammi and I bought bananas, and we continued walking through the town towards the beach. It was the first time I witnessed poverty in person. Sure, the people have plenty of bananas and corn to eat, but their houses, the ditches,… I don’t think I’ve fully processed it yet. I also felt odd taking lots of pictures. We had a conversation about poverty porn (depictions of poverty for the purpose of eliciting sympathy) before we left, and now I’m wondering why I take so many pictures. But here:

 Nakiwogo

As we walked, children waved at us, sometimes shouting “Hello”, sometimes just staring.

They’re so… innocent. Or pure? I don’t want to use words like naïve and ignorant because of connotation. I like the word unpretentious. The people are so friendly; I felt safer walking in Entebbe than in Kampala.

After we walked for a good hour+, we took bodas to the beach (no helmets, two to a boda. Yes, we’ve broken a lot of rules). We went to Aero Beach, which in my opinion wasn’t a real beach because it’s the shoreline of Lake Victoria and beaches mean oceans. It was still really fun just sitting on sand and watching the water move (the waves were tiny). It’s nothing compared to the Gold Coast in Australia, but hey, it’s still beautiful.

Aero Beach

It was Student Day, so heaps of secondary school “kids” (middle and high schoolers) were at the beach. We ended up talking to a math and physics teacher, and the conversation drifted from calculus and integration to theoretical education to politics. Frank was very knowledgeable: he knew about agriculture in California’s Central Valley, the seven Great Lakes, and the prairies in the Midwest. He lamented that Ugandan education is very theoretical, and he’s often teaching about things that he has never seen before (like a Van De Graaf Generator. Yes, that’s the specific example he gave). This slowly shifted into a comparison of Americans and Ugandans, and then the political situation in Uganda. Although the most “poverty” I have seen in the US is East San Jose, after walking through the streets of Nakiwogo, I have to agree with Frank: the poor in America would be the rich in Uganda. We have piped water (running water), electricity, sectioned rooms in our houses (no matter how small or how few rooms),… what are we complaining about? The poor are still struggling to satisfy the lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, while my worries seem so trivial in comparison. In Frank’s words, “as long as we have food in our stomachs, we leave the rest to God.”

Then the conversation shifted to politics. I got kinda lost, but Joe (Political Science major!) summarized it for me: the main problems are money and corruption. He said that basically, “the poor people have solutions but no money, and the rich people have money but no solutions.” It makes me wonder what category social entrepreneurship falls in, but it’s probably neither. It is people with rich people resources trying to solve problems with poor people solutions, I guess. Anyway.

We had a dance party on the beach! There was a giant speak playing loud music, and we started a dance circle that soon became integrated. Later on, we played volleyball with the students. Lots of people wanted to take pictures with us. I never felt so special, but I hope they only wanted pictures because we are different, and nothing more.

"Can I have your photo?"

After this weekend, I’m having second thoughts about the expat life. Expats (short for expatriate) are educated, rich professionals working abroad (read this for interesting comparison between expats and immigrants). John Henry, is an expat from Colorado, and when we told him we were going to Entebbe, he recommended visiting the zoo (and doing a behind the scenes tour for $70 USD), the botanical garden, eating pizza on the beach, and trying Thai food (I know, it sounds odd. But he’s from Colorado and not Asian).  It seems very strange that he would recommend us things we can do back in the States. There is very much a disconnect between being a tourist and seeing exotic Africa, and what Ugandans experience every day. Our driver thanked us for our courage to walk through the streets of Nakiwogo. I am humbled by the experience. I guess it’s a complex and messy relationship between foreigners and locals.

Kristi, Effren, and I went to church today! We went to Watoto church, where one of their local interns go, and it was just like Hillsong and Hope Church in Australia! The church was big and people filled the space; the energy was contagious. Tears streamed down my face as I worshiped, and I’m glad I wore glasses or I would’ve cried out my contacts again. It’s so amazing that worshiping God is the same, even in a foreign country. “Your kingdom reigns unstoppable //We'll shout Your praise forevermore // Jesus our God unstoppable.” Today it hit me that unstoppable doesn’t only refer to time, but also space. His children are all over the world, and it’s hard to wrap my head around we all praise and worship the same God. And “It’s all yours, yours, yours // All the glory is yours.” Absolutely would go back when I’m not travelling on the weekend.

Watoto Church

After lunch, we walked to Makerere University. The walk was uneventful until we got close to campus. There were children begging on the streets, but they were so bold that they came up and grabbed our arms and touched Kristi’s hair. We tried to walk away, but they kept following us. We were only saved when a lady we passed scolded them in their local language.

We met up with Edgar, Joe, and Sammi in the University, and Edgar gave us a tour of his 300-acre campus. Makerere is hilly like Cal; green, red, and beige like Santa Clara; and houses faculty on campus like Stanford. It is ranked the fourth best university in Africa and educated many African presidents. Opened in 1922, it has many old buildings that have not been remodeled, so everything looks old, and the walls are littered with campaign posters. We saw lecture rooms, residential halls (girls and boys live in separate buildings), and other facilities. Edgar's aunt is a women genders studies professor, so we got to see a professor's apartment. We ran into a Chinese school when we passed by the Chinese studies building, which was interesting. There are lots of Chinese people in Uganda doing business, running supermarkets, construction projects, etc. and many of their children are born in Uganda. It’s funny that Chinese people still want to preserve their culture even after moving to another country. But here are some pictures~

Gated Entrance

Lecture Hall

Swimming Pool

On the way home, we bought a soursop (Efren's favorite fruit) from a street vendor. When I told Edgar I bought a sour mango for 1,500 shillings (<50 cents, which I thought was not a terrible deal), he laughed and said I was cheated. Apparently you can get four large, ripe mangoes for 1,000 shillings. So he bartered for a soursop and we paid 5,000. Who knows how much it would've been if he wasn't there?

Soursops

I’m sorry I wrote so much. There’s so much happening that I want to share it with you all, and thank you for making it to the end of the entry! Here's a picture of Lake Victoria:

"Cultured"

One of my friends said that I’ll be cultured once I get to Uganda. She meant it in the sense that I will be exposed to a different culture, but Google defines cultured as “characterized by refined taste and manners and good education.” I don’t think that’s what she meant, but I was definitely educated about Uganda on Friday!

Joe and I are conducting a social impact assessment for Tugende and trying to measure how owning a motorcycle improves the quality of life for boda boda riders. (Quick background: Tugende has a lease-to-own financing package that allows boda boda taxi drivers to own their own motorcycles after 14-19 months. These boda boda drivers currently rent motorcycles and pay most of their earned income back to the renters. Tugende wants to see if asset ownership improves the livelihood of its clients). While we broke down quality of life into concrete categories and formulated questions about these metrics back home, Joe and I have no idea what life is really like in Uganda. On Friday, we sat down with Peace and Edgar, with whom we constructed the questionnaire we will give to boda boda drivers. I learned so much about Ugandan people and their way of life from them.

Tugende Bike

Keeping time is not a thing; you have to tell people that a function starts 1-1.5 hrs before the actual start time or people will be very late. For example, the drivers were told that class starts at 8:30am this morning, and one driver walked in at 10:05. He was told to come back on Monday. It’s also interesting how certain people adjust to Ugandan time. For example, Joe and Huda are masters of Ugandan time after just four days while Sammi and I struggle with patience. There needs to be a balance between enjoying the moment and I probably don’t want to work where time is valued lightly.

In a family where both parents work, the husband and wife often keep their financial accounts separate because they don’t trust each other. The mother often pays for family expenses like school fees and food while the father pays for rent and other living expenses (or just spends it. Edgar and Peace do not come from typical Ugandan families so it's difficult to get concrete examples here). Responsible families have 4-5 children max, while those who don’t will “give birth like rabbits” (they have hilarious descriptions).

Living situations can be rough here. We were figuring out questions to ask about housing, and Edgar and Peace said that a room the size of our office could be someone’s sitting room, kitchen, and bedroom all at once. The bathroom is often outside, shared between 6 families, and sectioned rooms are starting to become more popular. The very poor do not have polished/tiled floors or ceilings, often sleeping on dirt floors and using tin sheets as the roof. It was hard to imagine what that looks like, but I saw it today. Perhaps this is what it looks like? 

House?

They have stereotypes of other Africans too! Peace said that Nigerians are known to leave their country for education and work, only to be deported back to Nigeria because they get involved in drugs and “silly activities.” They are dramatic and have crazy rumors which I’m still trying to figure out with they’re true. To a western, analytically trained mind, half of the stories they tell about supernatural forces make me wonder if they’re just messing with me because I’m a clueless foreigner. But if I believe the miracles in the Bible are true, why can’t other crazy stories be true?

That being said, witch doctors and witchcraft are definitely a thing here. We were discussing ways drivers could buy their own motorcycles, and Edgar said to get two chickens, cut off their heads, and sprinkle blood all over, and money will appear the next day. I thought he was joking, only to find out that witch doctors would give people money to do that. People even escape from hospitals sometimes to be treated by witch doctors. Kidnappings also used to be very common because families would take other people’s children to make sacrifices. Yikes.

On a lighter note, we ate Rolexes for lunch, and I was pleasantly surprised that chapati with egg tastes just like (a Taiwanese breakfast food). We also had local mangos, bananas, guavas, and passion fruit from the local market today! Bringing a fruit knife was a smart decision :) It's funny that grapes are in the "exotic fruit" section of the grocery store. Also, since we have to buy bottled water, it's crazy how little water some people drink. I drink about 3 liters of water a day (which isn't even that much), and some people get away with drinking almost no water... Interesting lifestyle differences.

Rolex

And it has been a fun weekend so far! Will post about it soon. Until then~

New Experiences

Three days in, and there are so many new and interesting things to share. Here are a few:

The weather has been surprising. The fellows who stayed in Kampala last year kept saying how hot it was here and how dirty the city is, but both statements are a bit inaccurate (or maybe I don’t correctly remember what they said). It’s cooler here than it is in Mountain View; it has been cloudy the past three days and I’ve worn jeans without melting. The area of Kampala that we’re staying in is relatively clean. There are street cleaners who sweep the leaves and debris off the road, so it’s not “dirty.” Unless they were referring to the reddish dirt that's everywhere. But the air? That’s another story.  Kampala is a busy, busy city with lots of cars and motorcycles, but Uganda clearly doesn’t have smog checks, so some trucks and cars spew black smog (sometimes it’s white). My mom would not survive in this polluted air.

A Street in Kampala (with light traffic)

Boda bodas are amazing! They remind me of all the scooters in Taipei, just bigger, louder, and smellier. There are so many of them! While there are no classes that teach boda drivers how to ride, all the ones we’ve been on have skillfully navigated through the traffic jams and potholes; it’s like playing MarioKart or something, but in real life. My brother would enjoy it.  Everyone says it’s dangerous, and I can see that (the one I took on the way back today was missing one of its rearview mirrors and the speedometer wasn’t working), but I’m safe! I’ll just pray before every ride.

Joe on a SafeBoda

Ugandan food is also interesting – in general, food is salty and saucy, the portions are big, and people eat late. Joe and I had local food for the first time yesterday. There was matoke (mashed banana paste [it's yellow]), posho (mashed maize [white]), rice (very, very brown), potato, cooked banana, pumpkin, zucchini, peas, beans, and chicken (pictured below). The last four items on the list are typically heavily seasoned and go with the more simply prepped food in the remainder of the list. We had banana chips and honey cakes from the grocery store today because we came too late for lunch, and the banana chips are so much better than the plantain chips from Trader Joe’s. Uganda bananas just taste better in general: more firm and tart. Because we live in the wealthier, expat-ish part of town, there are also many ethnic restaurants. I had Chinese food cooked by Africans tonight, and we’ve had Mediterranean, Lebanese, and Indian food, and calzones (Spanish?). It’s a bummer we can’t cook our own food, but there's plenty to eat. Did I mention we get free breakfast at our hostel? 

Ugandan Food

We had training and orientation at Tugende yesterday and today! It felt like school, where representatives form each department came and presented an aspect of the company, but this actually matters. Tugende is start-uppy:  people wear jeans and t-shirts to work, but everyone says you must work hard. We each got our own Tugende emails, t-shirts, and helmet! There are so many things to talk about... Tugende really deserves a post of its own, but if you’re impatient, you can learn about the company here. 

Equipped

Oh yeah, we also had power and water issues at the office the first day. Tugende didn't have power the first day, so they used a loud power generator for electricity, but the power still cut in and out all day. The water wasn't working, so we had to go to the outdoor toilets (see below). Other than that, I haven't seen "signs" of a "developing country," but then again, I am in a city. 

Hole in the Ground

I’m excited to work with Peace and Edgar! They are our fellow fellows who will be translating for us in the field. We’re bonding well and we really like each others' food: they love our protein bars and Japanese rice crackers, and their banana chips are AMAZING (I said that already). We also talked about Hillsong (a famous Christian band and Australian church under the same name I visited when I was down under); it’s comforting to know both are “born again” Christians (Uganda is ~90% Christian: half Catholic, half Protestant).

Tugende Fellows

I’ve had very rich conversations with other GSB Fellows, and it has been very refreshing/encouraging/comforting. Last night, Kristi and I shared our testimonies with each other, and tonight Huda and I shared our backgrounds with each other after our hip hop Youtube workout. There’s something special about people God has put into my life; He knows who I need, and I’m so grateful for these new friendships. This is also why I’m still up blogging, but I wanted to share with you all before I forget! Also, it's Father's Day in Uganda, so Happy Father's Day :) Thanks for reading!

P.S. Spotify doesn't have ads in Uganda (I know. I'm cheap and don't have Premium. It's fine). Interesting. OK, goodnight for real!

First Impressions

It’s been two short nights and one extremely long day, but we are finally in Kampala, Uganda! There are many things to be thankful for, like making our connecting flight in Amsterdam, getting all of our luggage, and traveling with friends (all of which didn’t happen on my way to Australia last year)! I’m glad half of the Global Social Benefit Fellows got to fly together, and this is us in Schipol Airport:

GSBF Takes Amsterdam

That was about halfway on our 26.5 hour journey (airport to airport). We got two meals per flight, which meant four sets of plane food, which was a bit excessive in my opinion. But who can say no to “free” food (and wine and beer haha)? But KLM  flight attendants were very kind and professional, and the flights were relatively glitch-free :) We also met a lady working in impact investing in DC who knew about Miller Center. What a small world.

I haven’t had the chance to look around the city (we’re not allowed to travel alone and my partner is still asleep), but from our hour-long drive to the hostel last night, here are my first impressions of Uganda. The street stalls, boda bodas (motorcycles), and humidity remind me of Taiwan. We slept with the window open, and the early morning traffic outside Bushpig, our hostel, reminded me of dawn at my grandfather’s house in Taipei. It smells really similar too, especially after the rain. Uganda also reminds me of Australia. Both countries have colourful plastic money, roundabouts, English signs, and traffic on the left. First floor again means the first floor off the ground. I guess these are remnants of colonization?

Balcony View of Kampala

The hostel we’re staying in is quite nice. Kristi and I share a room with our own bathroom with hot water, and we have WiFi (not the best, but it’s fine). Our beds also have mosquito nets to keep us safe while sleeping. And this is where I learned my first lesson. Warning: analogy is not theologically sound.

Protection

The mosquito net reminded me of God’s protection (love? Grace? Or maybe rules). He covers us with Jesus’ blood and makes us His own, and as long as we stay under His covering, we are safe from God knows what awful things are out there (mosquitoes with malaria, etc.). But sometimes we get bored and want to venture out to have fun and experiment. It’s not fun, and bad things can happen! Moral of the story: Stay inside the mosquito net. It was an encouragement to know that even though I’m in a foreign place with unknown, possibly dangerous things around me, God is always protecting me, and if He is for me, who (and what) can be against me? But this was also a good reminder that I need to stay within His boundaries, which He set up out of His love for me. He’s not trying to control me or keep me from having fun; He knows the risks and dangers better than anyone and wants me to have a great time, wherever I am. So I will stay within God’s mosquito net, here in Uganda as well as back home.

~

It's been 12 hours since I wrote the above, and what an incredible first day! We got SIM cards, met up with John Henry (our "manager" from Tugende), discussed our project at the bougie Cafesserie, I lost on my first boda ride haha, and we fellows had many great conversations. More details to come, but I need to go to bed. We're going to the office and "onboarding" (orientation) tomorrow. Will keep you all updated.  

Btw, if you're interested, you can subscribe to receive email updates! That way, you don't have to keep checking the blog (or forget to check). Thanks for reading! Tugende :) 

Ready

Yesterday, we had our last fellowship class before we head out to the fields in 10 days. It was the last time Keith and Thane (our two instructors) and the 18 fellows would be in the same room until August. It was a surreal moment; in ten+ weeks, we had received a crash course in social entrepreneurship, business models, had countless meetings with various mentors, enterprise connections, Keith and Thane, and it’s all finally coming together. We turn in our Action Research Plan tonight, and it’s 95% done. The only unwritten 5% is my paragraph on vocational discernment. Of course.

We talked about being lifelines for our partners while in the field; communication is important, and in a foreign place away from all the things we are familiar and comfortable with, we will need to open up and be honest with each other about our highs, lows, and black holes. The word “vulnerable” came up. I’m looking forward to it -- maybe that’s what been missing here in the Bay Area, where vulnerability is often looked down upon as a weakness. But everyone is needy, and it’s ok to be scared, sad, and confused sometimes. That’s why we have lifelines we can depend on. 

In the final five minutes of class, Thane and Keith sent us off with a few words. Thane read us two poems, and one of them is below: 

“The Way it is” by William Stafford

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

I don’t remember the second poem because this one resonated with me. I am holding onto a thread even though it’s been especially difficult recently, and people have gotten hurt. It’s hard to explain, and some people don’t understand, but my thread is what keeps me from getting lost. My thread is God's unconditional love for me. What's your thread?

Keith prayed a prayer of blessing and protection (he’s a Franciscan), and I really appreciated it. I'm sure we'll need it. 

And projects, performances, and presentations keep happening (no finals for me this quarter!). But all these pale in comparison to the work I'm doing in preparation for this summer. Is this what it means to have priorities? 

Anyway, got to get back to work (and that vocational discernment paragraph). Thank you for reading; I wouldn't be able to do this without your love, support, and prayers.