What poverty?

My preference was to volunteer in my country but VSO did not have a home country program then.  So I got me packing for Africa to work for an organization whose corporate vision is a world without poverty.

So. Africa's Stanbic Bank

I wondered then what level of poverty awaits me because I have an urban view of poverty in my country - street beggars (whether legitimate or syndicate-controlled), slum areas, garbage scavengers in Smokey Mountain, rice and dried fish at each meal.

Used clothing market

When I arrived in Gulu, it was a town with several cell sites, almost everyone had a cell phone, people were generally well-dressed, there were several radio stations, banks, ATMs, hotels, hospitals, a university, a Catholic archdiocese, an airport, lush vegetation.  There were no beggars, scavengers and slums.

So I started looking for the enemy.

Where is that Poverty?

Cornfields

Thank you, young man

Aboard a Nile cruiser, Dec 2010

One of the collateral benefits of being away from home is that it served as a dry-run for my family to take over the myriad of activities that I used to do -

Teaching me to use shisha

making sure bills for goods and services consumed (including taxes) are paid on time, regular repairs and maintenance of real and personal properties, attending to correspondences, filing and locating documents, looking after the health and well-being of the family members, etc.  Running a household is no different from being a manager in the business world.  One has to contend with the efficient use of available but limited family resources (man, money and machine). 

Along the River Nile in Cairo, Egypt

During my absence, I was able to identify a deputy and mentor him on family upkeep.  That deputy is my first son, Yori, and he is 21 years old today.  Despite his academic load from the very demanding Jesuit school in Katipunan Ave., he capably held the torch and kept the food warm.  What was his secret?  That management magic word...... delegation.

Guess what he is up to

Happy birthday and many happy returns.

The wider role of the volunteer

Map where Filipino VSO volunteers are

In my batch, Filipino volunteers were sent to India, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.  Some of them have been assigned in Malawi, and Tanzania, and are re-volunteering.  There were special needs teachers, medical practitioners, agriculturists, IT specialists, corporate people, like me.

vsobahaginan.org.ph

new logo

Once a volunteer gets confirmation that a placement is available at the preferred dates and location, the next phase is a training called the Wider Role of the Volunteer.  The facilitators are mostly former or returning volunteers.  The emphasis of the training is managing the volunteer's expectations from the job.  Should the volunteer act as a boss, a know-it-all person?  Should you force through your ways as the best ways?  What if the local colleagues just disregard you, as if you don't exist?

My favorite spot at the training venue

What if they expect you to do miracles, dole-out favors, give an occasional dinner bash?  What if you are harassed or physically assaulted?  What if you feel frustrated, can't adjust,  and want to give up?  These and many more are the uncertainties that the WRV training aims to answer.  I created an eGroup and at the start everybody was posting - about the weather, food, people, language, work. I wonder how they are doing now as I am getting a few posts lately.

WRV, Lake Island Resort, Angono, Rizal

I am certain though that they are safe because VSO does not put volunteers in conflict areas.  When the going gets rough, I always remind myself what our trainer used to say............................... You have to make it work.

Kampala

View of Kampala from a hilltop

Kampala, the capital city of Uganda is beautiful to behold. It lies on a plateau and is spread over twenty hills.

Hindu temple on another hilltop

The weather is pleasant and the scenic landscape is punctuated by the majestic Lake Victoria..... the second largest fresh water in the world.Just in case anyone has not read where Uganda got its name.... It came from the word Buganda, one of the 4 kingdoms whose king is called Kabaka.

Background is Lake Victoria

Since the British had difficulty pronouncing Buganda, they just started calling the place Uganda.  Kampala, on the other hand, is on one of those hills that was populated by the impala and other antelopes.   The British called the place, hill of the impala, and the Bagandas (people of Buganda)

Baha'i House of Worship on another hilltop

translated it to ka mpla.  Kampala hosts one of only seven Baha'i Houses of Worship (of the Baha'i Faith) in the world.  It is situated on top of a hill which has a good panoramic view of the city from all four directions. But walking around downtown Kampala can be discouraging.  Automobile traffic is chaotic, pedestrian traffic is disorderly, and garbage is almost everywhere.  The ambiance is like Manila more than 30 years ago before Metro Manila Governor Imelda Marcos put the Metro Manila Aides cleaning the streets round-the-clock.  A newspaper recently reported about the Kampala phenomenon when international delegations come to observe the city and are amazed at the natural observance of speed limits.  The potholes give motorists no choice.

Crafts market