Christmas in Africa

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure wrote “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The song was released by the all-star group Band Aid during the holidays. The record sales of the song inspired Geldof to stage the huge Live Aid concerts in 1985 to further raise funds for famine relief.

The song became the biggest selling single in British singles chart history and remained the highest selling single in British chart history until 1997. It sold over a million copies in the United States and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard charts. The song has been re-released and re-recorded over the years.

And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmastime.
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life.
Where nothing ever grows, no rain nor rivers flow.
Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?

This is the type of rubbish that distorts the non-African perception of Africa. Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest mountain in Africa,  is perpetually covered in snow.  The Rwenzori Mountains that border Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are also snow-capped.  There is a diverse range of climates on the continent, which includes cold weather. The song highlighted the serious issue of famine in Ethiopia during that time in history. There has also been famine in other parts of the world. There are hurricanes in the United States. There are earthquakes in Japan. There are tsunamis in Indonesia.

I had the privilege of being Father Christmas at a children’s Christmas party at Ndere Centre in Kampala during one of my visits to Uganda. It was an experience that I will never forget.

Do they know it’s Christmastime at all? Sure they do. Here are some pictures to prove it and Uganda’s superstar musician Maurice Kirya singing an amazing version of “Silent Night”.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

.

.

Innovative Solutions in Africa

Deforestation and waste management are two challenges facing the global community.  Trees are often cut down in rural parts of developing countries to be used as firewood to cook and to fire mud bricks used in the construction of buildings like houses, shops, and latrines.  Garbage and trash disposal is another environmental problem.  Plastic items are especially challenging. Many countries have banned the use of certain plastic bags.  The widespread use of bottled drinking water has created an abundance of empty plastic bottles.

An innovative solution to these global challenges has been developed by Ecological Technology Environmental Solutions (ECO-TEC).  ECO-TEC is an environmental waste management company that specializes in construction using plastic bottles.  They have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness and sustainability of this solution in Uganda.  Soil is packed into the plastic bottles to create a sturdy and waterproof building block.

The Butakoola Village Association for Development (BUVAD) partnered with ECO-TEC to build a latrine in Kayunga District for the students at Bwetyaba Primary School.

This video shows the process of the latrine construction over about a two week period. The entire community was involved in the project.  African innovation at work.

.
Video Credit: John Haley

 

Malaria Prevention and Mosquito Control

Malaria is a serious health problem in Africa. It’s estimated that 90% of the one million worldwide malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The 247 million cases of malaria reported each year result in lost-productivity and suffering, especially in young children.

Two popular solutions to alleviating malaria are pesticides and bed nets. These two methods raise some questions related to safety and effectiveness. The long term effects of pesticides on the health of people who have been exposed to spraying could be devastating. Mosquitoes can also develop resistance to pesticides over time. Bed nets are a good idea, but unfortunately are impractical in many cases. Mosquitoes primarily feed during the dusk hours. This would generally be 7:00pm to 10:00pm in sub-Saharan Africa. It would be difficult to find an African child sleeping at that time. Many children would be doing chores, schoolwork, or simply playing with other children. Families commonly have the evening meal around 10:00pm before retiring for the night. The use of a bed net also assumes that a child sleeps in the same place every night where a bed net can be suspended from above.

Mosquitoes that cause malaria made me think about one of my childhood memories. I remember being fascinated by flying creatures that would emerge at dusk in my neighborhood. These flying creatures were bats. My father taught me that bats were good because they ate a lot of pests, including mosquitoes. Many people even put up bat houses in their yards to encourage bats to live in the neighborhood.

The bats that live in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa are fruit bats. They eat fruit and nectar from flowers. Insectivorous bats are not found in sub-Saharan Africa. They eat insects, including mosquitoes. A single bat of some species can consume up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. I would like to know if utilizing natural predators for mosquito control in Africa ever been thoroughly researched or studied. I would never want to introduce an animal species to an environment that would damage or endanger the native ecosystem.

Bat Conservation International, is devoted to the conservation, education, and research initiatives involving bats and the ecosystems they serve. The organization is based in Austin, Texas USA. Merlin Tuttle is the Founder and President Emeritus of Bat Conservation International. He wrote an enlightening article about the effectiveness of using insectivorous bats as a means of mosquito control.

Although no single approach to mosquito control is appropriate for all locations, encouraging natural predators should be an important element in long-term planning wherever possible. Anything that can be done to encourage predation from aquatic insects, fish, or bats may be important in reducing mosquito numbers.

Click to read

.

This is a video that shows a colony of bats that live under the Congress Street bridge in Austin, Texas USA. Approximately one million bats emerge everyday at dusk to hunt for food. This amazing sight attracts tourists and curiosity seekers from all over the world.

I hope that a sustainable and natural solution like bats could possibly reduce the incidents of malaria and be more effective than the pesticides and bed nets that are currently being promoted.

Note: This is dedicated to the memory of Talitha Ochoa and her family.

A School For My Village

Click for website

“A School For My Village” is an inspiring story of how one person can really make a difference in the world.  Jackson Kaguri overcame tremendous odds to help the orphans in his village in Uganda. The book is his unforgettable story.

Kaguri grew up on his family’s small farm in rural Uganda and worked long hours for his taskmaster father. His parents were barely able to afford to send him to school, but he overcame the odds to eventually become a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York City. He returned to his village years later and was overwhelmed by the plight of orphans who were the innocent victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  Kaguri vowed to build them a tuition-free school.

The book weaves together tales from his youth with the inspiring account of starting the school and changing the lives of many children. “A School For My Village” proves that one person can really make a difference in the world.

Proceeds from book sales directly benefit The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project in Uganda.

An inspiring account of turning tragedy into hope for others.
President Jimmy Carter

Frederic Colier interviews Jackson Kaguri about “A School For My Village” for Book Case TV. He discusses his inspiration for writing the book and what has motivated him to pursue his dream.

.

The Cheetah Generation

The Cheetah Generation

George Ayittey is a Ghanaian economist, author, and founder of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington D.C. He argues that African poverty is directly related to African freedom, and that Africa suffers from the oppression of native autocrats. He also goes beyond criticism to advocate for specific ways to address the abuses of the past and present; specifically he calls for democratic government, debt reexamination, modernized infrastructure, free market economics, and free trade to promote development. In his visionary book, “Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future“, Ayittey sends a call for a “Cheetah Generation” of young Africans to become innovative, fast-moving entrepreneurs and take charge of their countries. He has been a professor at American University and an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

We call our governments vampire states, which suck the economic vitality out of the people.

.

Ayittey is also a prolific speaker. He frequently gives presentations that focus on the leadership challenges in Africa and the need to stop complaining about the impact of colonialism on the continent.  You can watch his fantastic presentation at the TED Global Conference in Arusha, Tanzania by clicking the link below.

George Ayittey on Cheetahs vs. Hippos

UPDATE: Marieme Jamme wrote this great article in The Guardian about how the “Cheetah Generation” is utilizing social media to push for positive change in Africa.  Click the link below to read the article.

Africa’s New Generation is Using Social Media to Push for Change

Heal My Child

Rural Ugandan mother and her child

I like to travel to rural villages to experience life as the average Ugandan does.  I want to listen as they share their lives with me.  This is the environment where I am most comfortable and at peace.

One day I was walking with some Ugandan friends to see the place where the bricks for a new school were being fired.  We walked quite a distance from the main road that passed through the village.  Once we arrived at our destination, a woman came to meet us.  She did not speak English and spoke to my friends in their Luganda language.  They explained to me that this woman heard that a white man was in the area and she wanted my help with a problem that she had.  She walked away and soon returned carrying a small child.  This child was obviously afflicted with an ailment in the legs.  One leg had swelled to an unnatural size with open sores covering it.  The other leg had withered to a boney twig.  When the woman put down the child, I saw that this child could not walk.  I watched as the child used her arms to drag her body and useless legs on the ground.  The woman spoke passionately with my friends.  I couldn’t understand what was being discussed.

My friends explained to me what this woman wanted.  She desperately wanted me to heal her child.  This remote village seldom sees white people.  To these villagers, the presence of a white person could only mean one of two things.  I was either a man of God or a man of medicine.  This woman saw in me the opportunity to make her child whole again by invoking the healing power of God or modern medicine.  She saw in me something that she had probably waited for years to happen.  She wanted to see her child walk.

I was incredibly humbled.  She was asking me to do the impossible.  I had no idea what caused the child’s inability to walk.  I had no idea how long this little girl had been in this condition.  It was probably an infection that went untreated.  I felt powerless in this situation.  I didn’t want to ignore this woman’s request so I sat with the woman and her child on the ground and explained to her through my friends who were translating for me that I wanted to pray for the child.  Prayer was the only option that I had.

This experience happened many years ago.  I have no idea if this woman and her child are still alive.  I will never forget the impact that this woman had on me.  A woman who I only met for a few minutes had hoped that I could heal her child.  This experience is what made me realize the importance of access to simple medical care for rural villagers in developing countries.  I’m positive that this innocent child’s condition could have been prevented by early treatment and inexpensive medical care.

I would be neglecting this woman’s wishes if I did not share this message with the world.

Villages in Action

Click for website

During one of my visits to Uganda,  I attended a fantastic conference in a village near the town of Masindi. The Villages in Action conference was the inspiration of Teddy Ruge. His home village of Kikuube was strategically chosen to host the event. Teddy is a social entrepreneur who lives a nomadic life travelling between the United States and Uganda and other places.

Teddy and Project Diaspora were motivated by a meeting that took place in September 2010 to discuss the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York City. World leaders, diplomats, academics, and development industry people came together to discuss the state of the poor in Africa. The poor according to them are similar to the people of Kikuube village. They spoke about poor people in their absence, like they didn’t have a voice and referred to them as numbers.

Teddy decided that if global leaders in New York City didn’t want to invite the poor to their conference that the best thing to do was to bring the conference to the village so that the poor can tell the world who they are, how they live, and the solutions that they come up with to their daily challenges.

It was absolutely brilliant.

Teddy and many others mobilized people and technology to give a voice to the silent majority. Hundreds of local people gathered to listen and be heard. Village business owners and farmers had the chance to finally represent themselves to the world and use their own words. Panelists discussed topics regarding technology, education, farming, small business, entrepreneurship, and health. The keynote speech was given by Milly Businge. She is the local government representative for Kikuube village. She was surprised that as a government representative she had never heard of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) even though they had been launched in 2000 and created for the benefit of villages like Kikuube.

Here is an excerpt from her keynote speech:

I welcome the world to Kikuube today. Today is a historic day because for the first time in history, Kikuube gets the microphone to share with the world about how it is developing. We would like the entire world to know simply that we exist, and that we are empowered, we live, and we are real and not just a story. We would like you to know how we stand, how we survive, how we study, how we grow, our successes and our failures.

I will never forget the people that I met and the voices that I heard at the Villages in Action conference. There were many people that made the event possible. They deserve the highest praise for their efforts to make the event a success. I also want to recognize the main sponsors of the event. Orange™ Uganda provided the technology that made it possible for the world to hear the voices of Kikuube village and to watch the conference via video link and internet access. Business Fights Poverty is a global network of people who believe that the best way to improve lives is by helping entrepreneurs succeed and sharing practical ideas a bout how to fight poverty through good business.

This is an interview that I did for Villages in Action.

Hope North

Click for website

Sam Okello is a choreographer, musician, writer, actor and the founder of Hope North.  The school is a haven for escaped child soldiers and other young victims of Uganda’s struggles.  In his youth, Sam and his brother Godfrey were abducted and forced to serve as child soldiers.  He managed to escape his ordeal but his brother was killed.  In honor of his brother, Sam purchased a large tract of land to serve as a sanctuary for youth in peril.  This was the beginning of Hope North.

Hope North is dedicated to facilitating healing and peace building.  Over 1500 youth have found safe haven at the school over the years.  Students receive the education necessary to help them reintegrate into society and build a better future for Uganda.  Hope North operates a fully accredited school and offers vocational training in carpentry, food production, tailoring, and programs in arts, music, theater, dance, and sports.

The long-term vision of the school is to become a model education center for other cultures dealing with the aftermath of conflict. Hope North is an active experiment, implementing best practices, and aspires to be part of a global community with shared interest in contributing to peace dialogues.

Sam Okello and James McAvoy in “The Last King of Scotland”

Michael Kirkpatrick and Sam Okello in Uganda

.
Sam Okello performs a beautiful song at the 2011 Global Action Forum in Los Angeles while images of the students at Hope North are shown to the audience.

Ugandan Barkcloth

The making of barkcloth has been a part of Ugandan culture for centuries.  It is a sacred fabric which defines the spirit of the Buganda kingdom.  Barkcloth remains a ceremonial dress code for royalty, chiefs, and heirs during coronations and funerals.  The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has named it among the world’s collective heritage.

The art of making barkcloth is slowly disappearing to the modern conveniences of the twenty-first century.  Barkcloth is harvested from the mutuba tree and does not harm the tree.  The bark of the tree regenerates and can be harvested repeatedly over dozens of years.  It is a great  example of an environmentally-friendly, renewable material.

Planting mutuba trees is good for the environment. The tree does not harm the soil where it grows and provides a natural habitat for the wildlife of Uganda.

This unique fabric can be incorporated into many modern uses, including fashion, accessories, housewares, interior design and art.  Creating a global demand for barkcloth can help to create sustainable jobs in Uganda .

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The University of North Texas did a fantastic exhibition featuring Ugandan barkcloth that took place March 1 through March 26, 2011. For more information, click Ugandan Bark Cloth Exhibition Highlights Sustainable Art.

UPDATE: START Journal of Arts and Culture based in Kampala, Uganda did a great interview with the curator of the exhibition.  Click the link below to read the article.

Material Evolution: Ugandan Bark Cloth Exhibition at the University of North Texas

UPDATE: Jamati interviewed me about my interest in Ugandan barkcloth.  Click the link below to read the article.

Fashioning Barkcloth for Clothing and Interior Decoration

Slacktivism in Africa

There is a lot of debate and discussion in the academic community and the professional aid industry regarding the effectiveness of programs and policies in  developing parts of the world.  There are college degrees offered in the subject.  There are countless jobs related to delivering services and implementing projects to alleviate poverty.  There are books published every year that detail danger, death, destruction, and disease in Africa.

I was encouraged by many people to start my own charity because of my experiences and interest in Africa.  That never seemed like the right thing to do in my particular situation.  I didn’t even have the emotional response to become an activist fighting for the rights of those that appear to be less fortunate than myself.

There has been an explosion of non-profits and charities who are active in Africa.  I’ve done research and tried to learn as much as possible about what many of these organizations are doing in Africa.  They all have some things in common.   They have good intentions.  They want to alleviate suffering.  They have to beg for donor money.

I’ve encountered many idealistic students and young adults who want to get involved.  Most of them may never have the opportunity to travel to Africa.  The majority of them will put their trust in people who appear to be more knowledgeable about the multitude of issues in Africa.   They want to do something that makes a difference.  They want to do anything that has an impact.

I found that there is a spectrum of responses to the challenges in Africa.  They range from the intellectual to the emotional.  The challenges cannot be overcome by pure intellect and they can’t be solved by pure emotion.  There is a fine balance between the head and the heart when addressing these serious issues.  My experiences have revealed an effective way to have an impact.  Build sincere relationships with Africans. That’s it.

This is a satirical look at the challenges of the professional aid industry with idealistic activists with good intentions.

Video credit: Global Poverty Project