It's Christmas (not) in Canada

Well, a big Merry Belated Christmas, Happy Belated Hanukah and/or whatever else you may or may not be celebrating at this time of year. This year it seems as though none of those fit for me, as I’ve had anything but a traditional Christmas. But, before you get concerned, it was a great one!

December 24th in Kampala... no sign of snow...

A few days before Christmas, fellow IYIP intern, Rachel, arrived from Kenya. We spent the next few days catching up and going on a few adventures – such as the Kasubi Tombs. This is where we learned that if the King of Buganda (the subnational kingdom in which Kampala is situated), sets his sights on me, I would be come one of his growing number of wives… even if I were married back home! Rachel and I also couldn't enter the drum house, because women apparently distract them, and the king does not like that...

The reconstruction of Kasubi Tombs 

The Tombs were designated as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. It houses the remains of four of the previous Kings of Buganda. Unfortunately, in March of 2010, the site was the victim of arson and much of the property – and historical artefacts – were destroyed.

Photo Credit: Aaron Wolf

On Christmas Eve, we made a Christmas spaghetti and then settled in for a longstanding Kennedy tradition of watching A Christmas Story before bed. I was surprised that Aaron hadn’t seen it before, but was delighted that he enjoyed it as much as I always have. If you haven’t seen this classic film, do yourself a favour and give it a view!

Christmas Day was perfect. Even though I woke up way too early, it began with a nice cup of coffee, a good breakfast, and a quiet morning. Then the work/fun began – we attempted to make a traditional Canadian Christmas dinner. And, aside from the lack of cranberry sauce, and me forgetting to make the stuffing, it was a successful mission. We ended up with a delicious feed of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin, beans and carrots! It was awesome! We even had a surprise visitor and got dressed up* and had a semi-photo shoot before the afternoon and evening of calls home began.

Christmas dinner
Photo Credit: Aaron Wolf

Comparing and nursing our food babies!
Photo Credit: Aaron Wolf

FAMILY PHOTO: Jasper (our building security dude, and
probably one of the most delightful humans ever!), Aaron and myself
Photo Credit: Aaron Wolf

It was an unusual Christmas Day, but it was a great one. All three of us were experiencing our first Christmas away from home. I have to admit that it was nowhere near as difficult as I had anticipated it being. And even though there was no snow, Christmas tree, or spending time with family back home, I couldn’t be happier to have spent the first one away from home with these two!

On Boxing Day, Rachel and I went for a little walk. We pretty much Muzungo-ed it, and ended up near the Catholic Cathedral. We also snagged a picture with the Teletubbies, and Mickey was a real bugger and kicked me in my naughty place when I tried to head butt the ball away from him. He's a real jerk, that Mickey! 

A view of the city. Note how epic the National Mosque is.
I feel so fortunate to call this city home! 

The Cathedral 

Rachel and the Teletubbies

Mickey and I playing some football. One of us is a poor sport...just look at that grin.

Of course, I didn't bother putting on my usual 10cm layer of sunscreen, so I will be entering the New Year a little more crispy than I'd intended. But, don't be alarmed - it looks far worse than it feels!

The Great Boxing Day Burn of 2015!

Happy Holidays once again!

-the Orange Canadian

*The visitor and dressing up are completely unrelated. 

Kenya believe it? A recap of my WTO MC10 experience

Well, it’s certainly been a crazy few weeks err, month of travels! Thankfully things are winding down for the holiday season, even though my days off will be spent adventuring around Uganda with one of our fellow interns stationed in Kenya. Anyway, I’m happy to report we have returned safely, after a long overnight 14-hour bus ride, which looking back on it, could have gone horribly, horribly wrong…

This time, work took me – and thankfully for Aaron, he as well – to Nairobi. The purpose? We were delegates at the WTO Ministerial Conference, known also as MC10 (because it’s the tenth WTO conference since 1996). The current round is the sixth one following the 2001 Doha Conference, which focused on two main issues: agriculture, and “topics of interest to developing countries.” Two agreements came from this round of talks, but nothing was actually solved, so to speak. Thus, Nairobi was a continuation of the Doha Round.

Sadly, it didn’t, and still doesn’t, seem to be a topic found on mass media sites, which is odd, given the Conference’s importance on all things world trade! This isn’t even an area I’m interested or knowledgeable in, and yet even I can recognize its significance! But, it’s particularly interesting because many believed this would be the concluding chapter* of the Doha series of discussions. The US, appears to be especially eager to end things, but not in a resolution sort of way, more so in a ‘let’s drop it and move on to things that will continue to benefit us’ sort of way… Basically, many of the Global South countries are pushing for better, more equitable policies for them – and rightfully so – while the US is trying hard to ensure this doesn’t happen, while instead wanting to expand the WTO, giving them (the US) even greater power. Now, before I move on and actually share my experience, I just want to make it clear, that this is what we’ve heard on the ground. Other than that, I have been informed that climate change, the environment in general, and the SDGs have made it into the discussions each day… that has to be a step in the right direction, right?!

Let’s back up a bit. We were picked up at the delightful hour of 5:52am on the Sunday before the conference. I consider myself a morning person, but even for me, that one was rough… especially since in knowing we had (what we thought would be) a 12-hour bus ride ahead of us, I passed on my VERY crucial morning brew! We boarded the 6:30am bus, and soon were out of the city and enroute for Nairobi**.

If you recall, I stated that the trip through rural Uganda was stunning. I don’t want to discount the beauty of my host-country, but let me tell you, passing through the largest tea estate in East Africa with the sunshine highlighting the acres and acres of land is something that just can’t be described. It’s massive. Then, just a ways down the road, seeing something equally, if not more beautiful catch your eye – the actual Rift Valley! Sorry folks, there are no pictures to share with you… there wasn’t enough time to take it all in and have my brain emit the message to dig out my camera and snap a few unclear, garbled shots. Needless to say, the hours we drove during daytime were anything but boring. By nightfall, though, it just became uncomfortable… There’s only so long one can just sit!

The hotel we stayed in was kind of sketchy, as was the neighbourhood in which it was situated. But, when you’ve had a long travel, even the noise of the pounding bass streaming from the club just a floor below you finds a way of soothing you to sleep!

Our first full day in Nairobi consisted of checking in/picking up our ID badge, which was most definitely one of the most exciting moments of the week, as it made it all seem official. Plus, it gave me an excuse to harass Aaron about his cheesy headshot! Then we made out way to an NGO planning meeting, which we thought was going to be a productive let’s make a game plan so we don’t sound like a bunch of lunatics session, but ended up pretty much being a we all sound like lunatics*** meeting. This session was the moment that I realized that a career in advocacy is definitely not for me - at least at this level. There was no presence of critical thinking, not coherent argument, just semi-extremism. But, it provided us with a tasty lunch, so it wasn’t all bad! Later we broke from that group and made out way to the NGO Centre at the ‘main-stage’ of the Conference.

Day two found us at another extremist, let’s rally the troops and get everyone excited meeting, followed by a protest. Neither of these were a good time for this girl. This was partly because I don’t understand the trade jargon used in most of the speeches, but also because lack of intelligent conversation is just not something I enjoy or relate to. I’m not saying that if you aren’t a PhD level of intelligence than I don’t have time for you. But if you aren’t thinking about what you’re saying or the actions that those statements are projecting, than it defeats the purpose of the message you’re trying to get across, and as a result has you taken far less seriously. By the same token, holding a protest down a fairly abandoned street, where no one of interest or ability to make changes is found, is not the most useful thing. I’m not a huge supporter of protests in general (meaning, I’m 99% against them), but if you’re going to do so, have it be organized and at the attention of those you’re trying to gain notice from.

A shot of the protest

But thankfully, the end of day two provided a little insight into something more my style – a symposium on trade and development, affectionately known as the Trade and Development Symposium, held at the Hilton Hotel. This made our final two days far more intellectually stimulating, participatory, and just overall productive!

So, day three began with a meeting introducing a new tool for advocating on investment, put on by our sponsoring organization SEATINI and their partner, and co-author of the tool, Traidcraft. Given that I have little (i.e. no) background in trade, I found this session really interesting. I actually learned something! And, once again, was rewarded with a delicious lunch…including blue cheese, which I know I’m allergic to, and thus should be avoiding, but… what’s a girl to do?!

Afterwards we broke off on our own and attended several sessions at the Hilton. I selected three on Food Security. The third session, however, was where I delivered my one thing that scares me a day for the day – I asked a question in a room full of knowledgeable people on a subject matter I’m not too familiar with… and received no response or even acknowledgement. This is the very thing I was referencing in my previous post on the Climate Change talks. While my question was related to the topic of the session, it wasn’t directly so. It was a new-ish topic, that I know I need to continue to ask, because it’s not only important to my work here in Uganda, but also the work I want to be focusing on even after my placement is up in April. And despite the question not being addressed, I was really proud of myself! Even my boss gave me a pat on the back and offered some words of encouragement!

Day four, our final day in Nairobi, was a mixture of sessions at the Symposium and a quick touristy walk around the city. I attended two sessions, one on conservation and tourism in Africa related to trade – particularly illegal trade – and the other on the WTO Agenda in relation to the SDGs… as in what should a few of the panellists*** bring with them into the negotiations later that day. The session on conservation was so interesting and disheartening at the same time. From an intellectual standpoint, the information and discussion made me feel the familiar comfort of many of the ESST courses during my time at Acadia University. The one on the SDGs, however, meant I had another opportunity to ask my question from the previous day – how do we address the lack of involvement/interest of youth in agriculture, and what are the implications for trade and food security as a result? This time, although one panellist obviously avoided responding, it was addressed by two of the other panellists – one currently working on this very issue in Ghana, and the other the only female panellist, who happened to also be directly involved with the negotiations. And while they didn’t really give me anything new in their answers, I was just pleased to have the very troubling trend discussed, even if only for a minute or two.

Once these sessions concluded, Aaron and I took to the ‘mean’ streets of Nairobi. Now, I’m semi light-heartedly saying that. For the most part touring around wasn’t that bad. BUT most of the locals we spoke to informed us, and other delegates, to be careful when walking around. My personal favourite quote was from a government official or ambassador (I can’t remember which) who told us “Kenyans are a friendly bunch…who sometimes like to displace you of your stuff.” I mean, I don’t know that I’d use that as your tourist slogan, but I did get a little chuckle out of it! Needless to say, we were fine!

KICC - one of the most recognizable sites in Kenya,
but also where the negotiations took place.

Just outside of the KICC

Inside the Official Conference Grounds

Our last few hours in Nairobi were spent winding down, before heading off to the bus stop and preparing for the long trip ahead (aka purchasing road trip snacks!). This time, was a bit shorter, at least, but was a bit less comfortable, which is interesting given the bus on the way to Kenya was severely lacking both shocks and breaks! Why was it uncomfortable, you ask? Well, for me, I was sitting next to an unknown sir, who felt it acceptable to semi-spoon me while he slept. This would have been slightly okay had he not smelled of an awkward and unwanted combination of urine, old man sweat*****, and mould. Thankfully though, he was only travelling as far as the border, so I had the row of seats to myself for the remainder of the trip, meaning I was able to get a few uninterrupted hours of sleep before arriving back in Kampala.

I have to say, our return to Kampala made me realize just how much this city has grown on me. It felt so good to be home! It felt even better to be greeted by one of our boda drivers (with a hug, might I add) at the bus station, the other at the top of our road when we arrived, and by the delightful smile and surprise hug from our building security guy! I think Aaron may have felt a little left out of the love-fest I was receiving, but I was loving every minute of it! 

The overall experience in Kenya, was pretty amazing. I learned a lot, met some great people, and have come away with a better understanding of where I do and do not want my career path to go. Even though I didn't understand much of the discussions taking place over the first two days, I'm really thankful for this experience.

And that, my friends, is the tale of that time I was “important” once and “spoke” at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. For more information on the conference, check out the WTO's Conference website. 

I should also note that at the same time we were wandering the streets of the city, I should have been in Manchester crossing the stage at my Masters graduation. I’m not sad I missed it, but I’m sure sorry I wasn’t surrounded, once again, by those amazing people that I now thankfully get to call my friends! A big congrats to my fellow IDPMers for such a momentous achievement! Miss you all lots and I hope to see many of you in my travels over the next year or in Canada somewhere down the line in the hopefully not-so-distant future!

Now to catch up on some much needed sleep…

-the Orange Canadian

*Some reports appear to indicate that this as been the case, while others are claiming it's still uncertain if a concluding deal has happened...
**My brother informs me that this was the best text ever… 

***To be fair, not everyone in that room was of that mindset. I actually met some really great folks in there!

****This session is where I gained some of the inside knowledge about the environment being a daily focus of the negotiations.

*****Not exactly sure what ‘old man sweat’ smells like, and I would like to formally apologize to any sweaty old men that I may have offended.

Just Influencing Policy or Stirring the Pot...

Part of my current job sees me going to meetings, conferences, and workshops quite frequently. Most of them relate to things that I knew very little about, and as a result I just keep quite, jot some notes and pretty much just take it all in. This isn't to suggest that it's not interesting, it's just that I don't usually feel inclined to have my say on the topic at hand. It takes a lot for me to work up the courage to talk aloud - even when it happens to be something I'm somewhat familiar with. Some of you might recall a post from last year where I told you about a time when I spoke out in class and surprised myself in doing so.

Last week, I found myself in a roundtable discussion with various government representatives, academics, and Uganda's Climate Change Task Force with the purpose of discussing the draft of the new National Climate Change Policy. I was pretty excited about this one, because for once, I had a confident level of knowledge on the subject.

After 'unveiling' the draft, one of the sessions involved an open discussion about concerns, suggestions and any other feedback on the document. I immediately noticed two things: first, the definition of ‘climate change’ was incorrect, and secondly, there appeared to be more of a focus on mitigation, rather than adaptation, which, sure, but also, aren’t we passed that point now? As a result, I raised my hand, made my argument, and then sat back, hoping to get a meaningful discussion on the go. But it didn’t happen. Instead my comments were avoided. Then, when the session broke for tea, I was pulled aside by a member of government and basically told, that while my points were correct, the current Government doesn’t want to hear that.

One of the problems with this response – and there are many – is that the whole exercise is pointless. If the government actually cared about the issue at hand, if they really wanted to turn things around and work towards adapting to the impacts of climate change, then hearing the truth, while tough to swallow, would be the key ingredient. Otherwise, this is nothing more than an exercise of ticking the proverbial box of some international ‘power-that-be’ who realistically holds no country accountable, because it just doesn’t have the jurisdiction to do so.

So, what’s the point? Why waste so much money developing a climate change adaptation scheme if it isn’t even being undertaken seriously? I mean the authority of international organizations (*cough the UN*) is only present if all of the countries involved participate and agree to it… but this isn’t usually the case. Take Kyoto, for example, or even the newly agreed upon Paris resolution as part of the COP21 talks. Great – “we’ve” agreed to “tackle” climate change… But the goals are either unattainable – even if we wanted them to be – or when it comes to acting, nothing will be done, and there’s nothing the UN or any other non-authoritative body can do about it, because ultimately they don’t hold any power over the countries who sign onto these various agreements. Deep breathe.

These talks are important, however. Yes, it was extremely frustrating for me to be in a room with a group of people who seemed well educated and passionate about the plight of our planet, as a whole, and on their country, community and family. It’s frustrating because the majority of the people were nodding in agreement when I spoke out, and not because I’m the ‘token white person that has all the answers,’ but because they knew what I was saying was true. But, it’s good, because at least there are people who can identify the issues that will be of greatest concern in the years to come. There are people who can discuss and debate the right ways to tackle them – even if their hands are tied. I remember during my time in Ghana speaking to a high-level employee at the Environmental Protection Agency in Koforidua about climate change and environmental concerns in general. His response was to the effect of “The only way I can actually make a difference on the environmental front is if I leave this job and attempt to deal with the issues outside of government. But if I do that, I can’t feed my family, and it’s one less person on the inside trying to set things right.”

I don’t know what the answer is here. I’m not really even sure how to go about trying to find it. I don’t even know how I got onto this rant… All I know, is that we have to keep trying – no matter how frustrating, no matter how many times our words fall on ‘deaf ears.’ Someone recently told me to keep asking questions, even if they don’t get answered, because if you ask enough times, someone will start to listen – some one will start to answer. Maybe if we keep pressing the issue someone will listen, someone will answer, and someone will act.

-the Orange Canadian 

The Learnin' Route

After a very exciting week in Teso, I was pretty happy to return home and find sleep in my own bed. While I enjoyed the week away, I was also content to stay put. But this was not meant to be. Less than 24 hours after I’d returned to Kampala, I received a late night message informing me that in just a few short hours, I’d be hitting the road once again. I’m not going to lie – this last minute communication really tested my flexibility and adaptive skills. And, even though I knew what the week ahead had in store, the exhaustion and lack of recuperation from the previous week, made this news a bit harder to swallow.

So, once again, I packed my bags (with limited clean clothes, at that!), and met up with the gang that I would be spending the following week with. This time, our entourage was far bigger than the group of three that travelled together the week before – and we were from a mixture of organizations, such as Action Aid Uganda (our partner in making this experience come to life) and Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), to name a few. We were also travelling with two representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).

We had two key stops on this trip – Soroti (where I’d been the previous week) and Gulu, a town in the northern part of the country, not too far from the South Sudan border*. But the purpose of this trip was different than what we’d been doing in Soroti before. This time, the focus was to learn from those on the ground about the challenges faced by farmers in relation to the newly implemented Single Spine Agricultural Extension approach. But, as with the trip the week prior, our time was split between dialogue meetings and farm visits.

I will say this, the dialogue meetings were, once again, quite interesting. Similar themes began to emerge within both, and in comparison to the ones held the week before. The involvement of MAAIF made them a little more interesting, as the two officials we had with us seemed genuinely concerned about the plight of the participating farmers. This, really, was key to the success of this week, as the farmers weren’t simply “preaching to the choir” but rather having an opportunity to voice their concerns to someone on the inside! But the real substance of this trip was found in the farm visits!

In both Soroti and Gulu, three farmers were visited – and there was quite a difference between the two areas. In Soroti we met with a woman who had built a really successful citrus orchard, consisting of tangerines and two different varieties of oranges. Hearing her story, her struggles, but also seeing the pride she had for what she had been able to achieve was pretty inspiring. And, of course, being surrounded by this beautiful, massive orchard was incredible!

The orange orchard!

Evidence of disease...

Thanks to my pal, Nelson Nelly Malcolm for snapping this
photo of me standing awkwardly in front of  an orange tree.

We also met, with a gentleman – who I’d actually had the pleasure of sharing tea and some good conversation with the day before, unaware that I’d be visiting his farm – who lived with the mantra of Work like a slave, Eat like a king!.  This man blew us all out of the water. It was evident that he was passionate about his business, and his positive outlook helped him focus on the task at hand, rather than on the challenges he faced. But, perhaps, what was most inspiring about him was that he did all of this work almost entirely off the grid! What I mean by this, is that he actually harvested his family’s… “waste” to obtain the methane which he used for cooking gas, and the manure to fertilize his fields! It was amazing!

A little demonstration!

Explaining the methane capturing process...

The final farmer spoke of his involvement with his community’s savings group, his own achievements, and the disappointment of support from the government. He shared about the difficulties he faced with producing oranges – both in terms of finding buyers and preventing disease. He also took us to two of his fishponds, where he produces catfish for sale!

The final day of the journey was spent visiting three fish farmers in the surrounding areas of Gulu. These visits were not as inspiring, as they lacked the same motivation for success that the farmers in Soroti expressed. The majority of the fishponds we were shown didn’t even have fish in them – an operation that was undertaken with the understanding that government would be providing them with the fish to get them started. And, this, for me, was the hardest aspect to take in – the general disconnect between the will of federal policies and the responsibility and ownership of one’s own making.

A visit to one of three fish farms in Gulu.

A grain store house.

Ground nuts, affectionately known as 'G-Nuts' 

Feeding the fish!

I asked the farmers if they named their livestock and fish. They told me "No."
I told them they should consider it, so they told me that this cow's name was Michael...

In no way am I trying to place blame on any one party here – there is a certain degree of accountability that needs to be accepted by all parties involved. What I’m actually trying to get across is the heartbreak, and in some cases, desperation, that I witnessed first-hand from many of the farmers who are putting in the foundations of what could be – at some point – a productive means of income. But, there comes a point when one has to step back and re-evaluate one’s actions. For example, on the final day, one of the farms we visited has continued to build these fishponds over a number of years, but had yet to produce a single fish to inhabit any of them. Another farm, from the first day of visits had continued to produce a particular crop, in addition to what he was already producing, despite not having buyers for the original harvest. I can understand wanting to cash in on a deal that was proposed by the government, but one also has to recognize when it’s time to call it a day, so to speak. This gap between expectation and reality is frustrating to see as on outsider, and I can only imagine what it must feel like for those who have made significant investments. To me, it seems like plain logic, but to others, it’s all they know how to do in order to survive.

I am really thankful for the experiences that these two weeks outside of Kampala have afforded me. It has been humbling, trying, and inspiring all in one complicated little package. Gaining this understanding has enabled me to better understand agricultural life in Uganda. It has also allowed me to make the connections between the agricultural sector both here and at home. There are so many similarities between the two – and similarities that just should be a thing. Farmers fighting to provide for not only their own families, but their communities and country at large. Farmers are said to be the backbone of Uganda, but I would argue that they are the backbone of the world**. Without farmers, we have no food. Without food, we have no means of survival… and Wow (!) this just turned into an unexpected rant about the need for farmer appreciation!

When life gives you road trips, you take ridiculous photos... and sing '99 Bottles of Beer' in its entirety! 

Anyway, it's back on the road again this week - this time I'm leaving the country and heading to neighbouring country, Kenya! Will keep you posted!

-the Orange Canadian

*No one seemed to be as interested in taking a little detour to Sudan, as I was…
**All farmers, not just Ugandan farmers!