Uganda

Almost exactly two years ago I began recieving emails from a good friend of mine, Mr. Tobias Kruger, that would ultimately lead me down a path that currently sees me in the community of Comox, BC, preparing for my most unique experience thus far. In his first email from the Gambia he wrote:

"So far, despite the hardships and cultural differences - the Gambia has grown on me already. There is enormous human potential here... People are genuinely friendly, and even the hawkers will leave you alone once you politely tell them no once. Yes it is filthy, the many foul odours make you gag, there are people everywhere you go, and every trip in a vehicle is a gamble in personal safety, but I think that is what I came here looking for. I have already gained a much deeper appreciation for what it means to be Canadian, and consider myself extremely lucky to have been born in such a place. My time is here now, and I hope to make a difference here, to bring a bit of our world to theirs, and create a positive space for all. There is much work to be done."

Over two years Toby's emails continued to inspire me and as I watched his world view and intelligence continually grow, I realized what I must undertake to achieve the same learning experience. I was able to get a 6 month internship in Uganda with relative ease (perhaps a huge quantity of luck) and on Saturday I will be on a flight to Kampala. I will be travelling as a member of a group of 14. There are several ways to break down the group: firstly, by funding, there are 6 CIDA sponsered interns, a corporate sponsered intern (myself), 6 volunteers, and 1 administrator from the organization. Secondly, by sector, there will be 3 of us working on a rural water supply project (myself), 4 people working in health education, 3 people working with agriculture, 1 doing environmental assessment, 1 person in charge of communications, and 2 administrators. Finally, by location, there are 4 sites, each with the following numbers: 3, 3, 7, 1.

During the week in Comox my team has had the opportunity to sit down with interns from previous years and start to get a grasp of the project. Basically we are refining the design and implementing a gravity flow water supply system consisting of 2 (possibly 3) spring sources, 16 km of piping network, and 30 (ish) tapstands in various locations. There are many interesting hurdles to overcome, generally not technical, that should make the experience memorable. This project follows a similiar project recently completed in a different location which consists of a network of 80 kms of piping. Needless to say, the technical issues on my project relative to the old project will be far less.

This is where I'm at with everything right now. I hope to keep this relatively up-to-date which I know will keep a few people very happy. For everyone else, please feel free to tune in every once in a while and let me know whats going on in the rest of the world.

Peace

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