Greasing the Wheels for Global Ties

I have not fully described the on-going relationship that we are working to sustain with our friends in Uganda now that we are home. When we were there, we saw very clearly that the members of Kamba Cooperative were very skilled tailors. The CoOp's main members are all refugees coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is widely believed that the Congolese are in fact the most highly skilled tailors in eastern Africa.  That being said, after we finished our Christmas ornament fundraiser, we got to work designing a few items that we thought might be attractive to people living in other parts of the world. 

Here are a few examples from our first product line.

Bow Ties 

Beach Bags

Shoulder Satchels

Napkin Sets

Tote Bags

 Yoga Bags

All of these items are being sewn by our friends at the Kamba Shop, and we are committed to reinvesting the money generated from this partnership back into their community to develop more opportunity for more people. These products represent an opportunity for consumers all over the world to get involved in educating the poor and disadvantaged youth of the developing world.

Education is hope. Education is progress.

If anyone is interested in learning more about our product line, please email us at jimbograves@gmail.com

Hello Again

I just kind of stopped blogging. Sorry. It was way to easy to just stop. When you get home from an adventure like going to Uganda, it is easy to think that your writing is over, and it certainly could be, but I kind of want to keep writing. I'm curious where it might lead. Plus, I'm not finished.

Our time in Uganda is still shaping the decisions we are making for our future. We have been asked on a few occasions, "Now what?" Well...

I don't know! What do you do after a trip like the one we just shared? Where do you go from there? The big question that I keep asking myself, and have been asking since maybe forever, is the very practical and seemingly endless, "What do I want to do with my life?" Well for me this is like arm wrestling with the Hulk over and over again. Slam, Slam, Slam. This question is entirely too broad, too big. It's perfectly fine to ask. I need to ask because sometimes I need to hear myself think, but I have to remember that it is highly unlikely that I'm going to think my way to the answer.

So instead, why not ask, "What do I want to do today?" Does that change things? Yes. I read the other day in a cool little devotional handbook, "The most important thing to determine is what to do right now." The wise ones say live in the reality that you want to live in because that is where reality comes from...within. When I ask myself what I should do with my life, I'm guessing, creating a reality that doesn't exist. It's stressful.

I love when I work myself up. I do it so easily. "What should I do" runs through my head like mice in a cage and the fear wells up in my eyes. I can't be anywhere. I feel over caffeinated but blank...crazy. I'm obviously stressed. Anybody can see it. It doesn't last too long. Sometimes minutes, sometimes a day or two. And then I let go. Something shifts inside and I readjust my thinking, or maybe it's just that I stop all the thinking. What do I want to do today? I can get there.

So I went down the street to a place I had thought about going to for days and simply asked if they would like any help. They said of course so now I'm volunteering at Hope for Haiti. I'm calling it interning. I don't have to feel like I'm waiting for the next thing. Every step counts.

Luckily since I've been back, I've been able to snatch up a few gigs working for my old employer, You've Got It Coming, a catering outfit for Naples' well-to-do. The job paints an interesting reality for me. On one side you have multimillion dollar mansions, fancy cars, and face lifts and on the other side you have malaria. Just to run the point home, here are a few pictures juxtaposing what two very different worlds look like.

 

Back Patio.

Front Patio?

 

A house.

A house.

A kitchen.

 

A kitchen

A living room.

A living room.

The world is certainly a crazy place. Having the chance for a birds eye view into these very different scenarios has been an immensely humbling experience.

Camp Refugees

  So we made it to a refugee camp - Kayaka II Settlement. Urban refugees to not live like Camp refugees. The ones here in Ndejje are integrating and developing opportunities because a city can offer that. In a camp they have one option: farming. Unfortunately Monday, the day we arrived, was a public holiday so the action at the camp was very quiet. It was Women's Day and they were gathering to celebrate with traditional songs and dances. Fortunately for us Jacques was able to accompany us to the camp which gave us a very intimate feeling of the people and the place. 

In 2005 he conducted research with a Harvard Graduate Student, Sarah Dryden, on educational integration for refugees. They worked very closely with a number of families and students living inside the camps. For 2 years, they sponsored secondary education for a number of girls. As it happens though, the funds became unavailable and these girls had to return to life in the camp. As we were walking along the road, the respondents from many years back came running out of their huts immediately recognizing Jacques. The excitement was flattering. One family invited us inside their home, a small traditional mud hut sleeping at least 8, where we chatted for a few minutes and then upon leaving offered us one of their live chickens. This is a sign of high honor around here which was simply amazing to witness: refugees with next to nothing handing over precious food to a man they hadn't seen in 5 years. Sometimes people with very little to give surprise you with how much they can give. 

Life on the camp is a purely agricultural existence. The problems: they have no fertilizer, very little land, and no storage facilities for their crops. When they take their crops on foot to the market miles away, they have very little bargaining power because their yield is small and because of who they are. Farming will not be enough to lift these folks from the poverty they experience. 

NGOs have not yet come to educate them on the newest ag sciences and techniques. The government would rather see that aid going to nationals. Camp refugees are therefore left to wait for handouts. Monthly rations of beans, rice, and cooking oil helps but it is never enough. They are constantly living in instability. They are not allowed certain permanent things like metal roofing sheets, bricks or cement. They can't cultivate banana plantations which would significanlty improve their income because the government doesn't allow it. They perpetuate this belief that these refugees are temporary visitors when many of them have lived in the same place for over a decade. This mentality is crippling. They give them land. Why not allow them to develop as any other village would? Economic integration would benefit all parties, nationals and refugees. Unfortunately the government doesn't see it that way. There is just one secondary school at Kayak that from my understanding is a last resort learning opportunity that still costs too much for these families. 

I would really enjoy seeing some changes take place especially for young, aspiring adults. Lets us pray that Global Ties can be successful. Lord, thank you for opening my eyes a little wider each day.

A Traditional Buganda Introduction

We were invited to the wedding introduction of our friend Jacob. He is the math teacher at Hope Primary School and a friend of ours. He is also a Buganda, and so is his fiancee, Grace. An introduction is a HUGE deal here. It is the very first time that Jacob meets Grace's father, brother's, and entire family. It is when Jacob presents the dowry, and a ring to Grace. It is like the party before the wedding...maybe similar to an engagement party. There are a lot of cultural do's and don'ts, and we tried to adhere to all of them. First, because Jacob invited us to sit on his side, he decided to present us as brothers and sisters, which meant we had to be on our best behavior...AND in traditional clothes. Jimbo wore Kanzu, and I wore Annet's Gomez: traditional party clothes for the Buganda. We started getting dressed at 10am (yes, it takes a while to dress the gomez) and the party was to begin at 12pm. However, like any real African gathering the ceremony was about 4 hours late and so the party went on until about 11pm. I did a lot of kneeling and greeting, Jimbo presented a chicken to Grace's father on behalf of Jacob, and I carried baskets of gifts on my head and presented them to the family. It was a truely unique experience and we were so happy to be a part of it. Here are some pics for you!

The best looking couple at the party.

Just a bunch of regular ole' Bugandans.

Waiting for Jacob, the groom, so we can caravan to the bride's father's home.

A little entertainment while we wait. Someone locked the keys in the car with the car running...the car that was supposed to take the groom!

The Introduction is very formal and this is us waiting in line to be welcomed before we can enter.

The groom being dressed by Grace's aunt. He cannot talk directly to any family memeber except the Aunt.

The BRIDE finally appears. After hours of all different friends and family members greeting us, the bride finally comes and greets. She danced her way out in front of us and you can see the excitement in the crowd!