Culture Shock, a Land of Paradoxes and Beauty

 

At Kijabe waiting to be shown the site

Before I came to Uganda I was warned about the culture shock and I felt quite prepared as I got to Kampala. The thing that I had forgotten is that even in Africa there are large differences between cities. I arrived in Nairobi on Friday and I almost forgot that I was in Africa the person picking us up drove a very new, power everything, van and the highway was wide and had streetlights and then we had to stop because there were some goats standing in the middle of the highway. My view of Nairobi is definitely not complete as I am staying at the African International University(AIU) which is located in outskirts of the city in one of the most affluent areas of the city.

Our work for AIU was to a work with a Kenyan Architecture firm, that had already done some preliminary design, to design the campus master plan and campus center building. This was my first full project as we had a group of 10 that included structural, civil, electrical engineers and architects. It is not too often that sort of group of professionals would work alongside each other for more than just a meeting. We stuck it out and no architects were hurt during the making of the master plan. Jason it this part is for you, one of the challenges during this trip is the fact that the skills I used most on this project were the ones I learned through summer work that was not related to mechanical engineering. It was pretty easy to get over that because all the awesome people there, people from all over Africa that are working towards masters and doctorates in biblical studies and theology, but were not too busy to stop and talk.

Stephen(healthy again!) and I with the EMI CMs(The Taubitz)

Late in the week myself and another intern, Stephen, headed to Kijabe Hospital to do some surveying for a new wastewater treatment system. The old one was not doing it job partially because it was undersized and partially because the thin sewer pipes had broke and farmers were diverting the wastewater to water their crops. The survey went poor straight from the start with the data collector battery being dead because it had not been charging properly, then lately the day I turned something I shouldn’t have and ruined part of the survey overall a frustrating day. The good always seems to come with the bad because we had a great dinner at the home of the EMI Construction Managers’(CM) and then I had the best shower since I had come to Africa. It is weird that I, a person of mediocre hygiene, would love a nice hot shower with good pressure so much. The next morning we were up before dawn so we could ensure we finished the survey. As we were getting ready I asked Stephen how his sleep was and he replied “not good” and went into some details that I will not mention here. He was a real trooper and stuck it out until about half an hour before we had planned to leave when he couldn’t continue. One of the CMs stepped in and we decided to stay a second night there and allow Stephen to get better. It is interesting how God works because we would have not finished the survey if Stephen had not been sick and for some reason the place we were staying had us booked for 2 nights. Also it worked out that the team would come past Kijabe on way out to where we would debrief.

Baby Hippo on mom's back

The debrief was amazing we went on a boat ride saw hippos and on a walking safari (Pictures will be posted on Facebook) I did not expect to get to do all that but a little relaxation was required after the long hours of the week of work. It was sad to see everyone go but we all left know that we had used the gifts that God had given us to bless others and bring glory to him.


"Oh, Hi there!"

There are lots things that can be prayed about so I will make a list:

-A team member David who has been sick since last week and is now on high dose penicillin.
-The EMI disaster relief teams that are and will be working in Kenya doing drought relief work.
-Good communication and relationship between EMI and the Kenyan Architecture firm.
-The other project trip that I will be going on (more details to come, maybe).
-God’s leading for what I am to do in December.
-That I get to know more Ugandans and learn more of the language.
Aaron

Seeing the countryside

The project team with the staff and locals



Moms wait for their baby's checkup



Setting up to discuss the project

It feels like I have been here for a long time already but it has only been 2 weeks. Last week I had the privilege of going on two trips to small villages. The first one was for a medical clinic approx 5hrs west of Kampala near Fort Portal. It was my second experience going to a small Ugandan village but this time it was to do work there instead of seeing the work already done. This small clinic has three full time staff but they are not enough to serve the people from the village and the ones that come from the nearby Rwenzori Mountains. Right now they have a small day clinic and a three room maternity ward both of which are not large enough. We were called to complete a master plan for the site so they could plan for future buildings. It took about 45mins for the introductions and greetings at the site. Is always a difficult thing on project trips where Ugandan culture is more concerned about relationships and we are more concerned about finishing in the time we have. With all the greetings done and a group following us we set up the RTK unit which looks like something they would put on the moon. I got to use the GPS Survey equipment for the first time and after being there for 4hrs we had completed the topographic survey for the property. The next morning we met with the local medical staff and some Canadian doctors(who are helping there for 2 weeks) to show them the site plan and we discussed where future buildings will go and services they will provide. It will be very exciting to see what this site looks like five years from now, I feel like I will say that about everywhere I go.




Erland surveying with the local wilflife




On the drive

After arriving home on Thursday night we were off once again on Friday to rough in and take grades for some school buildings and a chapel. Getting to this small village was awesome we drove on rutted dirt roads for about an hour passing through little villages, coffee and matooke farms until we finally arrive at a large clearing. The background of this area is that it saw very heavy fighting and the rebels did awful things to the local people during the civil war. The closest school is about 7km and that is pretty far to walk everyday. It is a very cool site and I know that God will use it to teach and heal the people from the surrounding area.

I leave for Kenya tomorrow we are flying instead of driving because it will be a tenth of the time. I will be doing more surveying; it seems that my many summers of surveying are going to good use over here. It is one of the interesting ways that God works, how he prepares use for things even when they aren’t even thoughts in our heads. This trip should be great we will be working with a Kenyan Architecture firm and there will also be a Kenyan civil engineer on the EMI team. The main project will be at the Africa International University but I will going to do some surveying for the Kijabe Hospital. More details to come on both those projects. Please prayer for safe travel for all the people coming on this project trip especially the volunteers coming from North America. And as always that God is given the glory.

Blessing, Aaron

Getting Settled in Kampala

This blog post is a little late in coming but here it goes. 

We left Colorado at 8:40pm on Monday (Aug 29) and Arrived in Kampala at 7:45am on Wednesday(Aug 31). It was a long journey but we were able to go to central London during our 9 hr layover in London. As I stepped off the plane the warm most air Ugandan hit my face and it became real I am in Uganda. My first two experiences in Uganda were seeing Jeremy Clarkson in front of me in the customs line and then seeing a bird control officer shoot a monkey in the parking lot. From that time we went straight to the EMI office where we met some of the staff and we shown where we will be living for the next 3.5 months. The guys are staying in the same compound that the office is in. It is quite different compared to Victoria where we don’t lock our doors to here in Uganda where we have a compound surrounded with topped with razor wire and a guard 24 hrs a day. During the day safety is not an issue but after dark it is not advisable to go places by yourself.

Well let me get on a happier note because if I continue on that stream you may never want to come to Uganda and you would miss out meeting these amazing people and seeing a beautiful country. Ugandans are super friendly and will spend the time to make sure you feel welcome. The food is delicious with so many fresh local fruits and vegetables incorporated into it. We have not had too much of a chance to explore the area on our own but through the orientation from Wednesday to Sunday we have got to see little snippets of the Ugandan way of life. Whoot, the power just came back on in time to go to bed(One of the things you get adjusted to here). We have been to downtown Kampala which is the busiest place I have ever been and is just awesome there are taxis and motorbikes (called bodas) everywhere. The taxis are ‘14’ passenger vans that often have 18 people in them and on the bodas there can be 3 people plus cargo like rebar or clumps of bananas. Wow this is getting long so I will end it here for now. But before I end could you keep a few things in prayer- the local people we meet everyday that we can connect well with them and develop good friendships; the people and ministries that we are designing buildings and systems for.

Blessings,

Aaron