Everyday Life - When Reality Knocks

Next week I've been in Uganda for two months (unless my calculations are compeletely off), and I have to say - sorry for the cliche - time really flies by! I feel like we arrived sweaty and tired at the airport the other day, and to think we only have three months left now feels surreal. I still discover new shops on my (almost daily) walk to Kabira Country Club, where I've probably spent a good quarter of my time so far - sadly. But if I think of everything that's happended the last couple weeks, and all the new people I've met and places I've seen it feels like we've been here a while, after all.

Everything looks so much nicer from up here!

Before going on exchange we had a prep seminar with both AIESEC and Fredskorpset (the Peace Corps), where we talked about topics like cultural shocks, cultural differences and inter-cultural communication to prepare us for our stay abroad. One of the things I found most interesting was this model that showed all the different stages you go through while being abroad, where the first period is characterized by an excitement and curiosity for the new environment, followed by a slight slope - when reality knocks you off from your pink cloud you've been living on - before evening more out, with a few fluctuations. Whether this is true for everyone is of course not a given, but for me at least it's been pretty describing for the first part of my stay.

But what happens when the bubble bursts?

 I've actually been so comfortable inside my own little bubble that I hasn't even crossed my mind to write about why I'm actually here (untill now, that is) - which is work! So brace yourself for the probably shortest and least engaging blog post so far, unless you have an abnormal interest in social work or just have an above average work ethic.

As mentioned, I am in Uganda for five months as a volunteer for AIESEC - the world's largest student run organization, working on a project they have with FK Norway. I ended up doing this because I've always wanted to volunteer and work for an NGO abroad, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I couldn't choose which country I wanted to go to, but I could rank Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique, and cross my fingers I wouldn't end up in the middle of nowhere. All in all there are eight participants from Norway, three which are in Kampala (myself included), three in Nairobi and two in Maputo. From the other end there are seven participants from Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique who are in Oslo right now, doing the same as we're doing here. So it's a two-way exchange, basically.

The decisions wasn't quite as dramatic as Katniss

The organization I work for is called The Treasure Life Youth Centre (TLC), which is part of a larger organization called Kamwokya Christian Caring Community (KCCC), which is a local, catholic NGO located in the Kamwokya slum. TLC can best be described as some sort of 'day care centre' for the kids who can't afford to go to school, where they can come and hang out and play, as opposed to engaging in criminal activities, doing drugs or being exposed to other sorts of bad behavior. Our work mostly consists of promoting TLC on social media, to attract more donors (we're lacking funding for about half of our planned activites). We also of course engage with the kids, both playing with them, but also sensitizing them on issues such as reproductive health, substance abuse and other valuable life skills. During our time here we have also participated in workshops, various sports events, been on school outreaches and visited the advocacy office, which works with promoting human rights. Most of our work can be described as information work actually, as we do a lot of informal 'teaching'.

Abstinence is the answer in Africa

It is very interesting, as the kids are very smart and participation is high in the classrooms, which is more than can be said for Norwegian schools. However, it is also frustrating at times, as the cultural differences between Africa and Norway seem to be innumerable at times. The pace is much slower, there is a very non-confrontational culture, meaning that everything is being sugarcoated and you must constantly read in between the lines, and of course the infamous concept of 'African time', meaning that you're meeting at 11am probably won't take place till 2pm - if you're even that lucky.  

All in all, I'm still enjoying my stay here, although everyday life finally caught up on me. So if anyone knows how to get back on that pink, puffy cloud - don't hesitate to let me know...

Hey, wait for me, don't leave me down here!