A word on some links

I just realized that I haven't said much about the links on the right side of the page.

Invisible Children is a group that works on behalf of displaced chlidren in Northern Uganda. They are the people responsible for the Displace Me nights all over the world where people (usually young people) sleep in the streets to show solidarity with their little brothers and sisters in Uganda.

Waves of Justice is a blog that is loosely related to a new nonprofit called Isaiah Project International. I'm a part of IPI but I don't have anything to do with the blog. It follows the summers of young people all over the world.

International Justice Mission is basically like a holy swat team. It's a group that uses national laws to help oppressed people. Usually, it helps young people forced into prostitution, people wrongfully put into prison, and people who had their land wrongfully taken. They even stage raids on brothels. That's awesome.

Restore International is a nonprofit in India and Uganda. They do things with the judiciary, digging wells, teenage prostitutes, and some other projects. The founder, Bob, is an amazing man. He might be the most well-connected person I've come into contact with.

Ilea's Blog is Ilea's blog. Go read the whole thing and you will get a better idea of what is happening in Uganda right now. A lot of good links here.

Enjuba is a clothing/fashion company started to spur on economic development. It gives African artisans an easy way to sell their work on the internet, and therefore all over the world. A new friend of mine named Leah works for them. I honestly don't know much about this company at all, but I thought I'd pass it along.

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll add more sites later.

Mzungo, how are you?

I am:
Interested
Curious
Willing
Driven
Invested
Confused
Flawed
Selfish
Ugly
Hungry
A Force

I am not:
Anyone’s savior
Selfless
Perfect
Altruistic
Jaded
Cynical
Afraid
Fatalistic
Enough
Comfortable
Satisfied
Complete

I stood on the bank of the river, squinting to see through the rain. Each cold drop bounced off my head and ran down my shoulders, my chest. Little hands squeezed my own hands and pulled me up the hill. As we trudged through the brush, I felt orange mud squish between my toes. The children showed me everything there was to see, teaching me how to name everything in English and Luganda.

“Mzungo, this one is cassava. This one is avocado. This one is maize.”
“And this?”
“Soya bean.”
“And this?”
“Coffee.”
“And this?”
“Mzungo, that’s a tree!”

I didn’t mind the rain, or the giant bugs, or the mud that stained my feet orange. I hope my feet never lose these stains. I hope that forty years from now I remember every drop of rain that hit my buzzed head. I hope I remember every ripple in the river. I hope the sky and the trees and the hills and the mud stay as real to me as they were yesterday. In a few years a dam will stand where we stood. The children will be forced to move because their homes will be underwater. I hope that when they have left and moved on, they will remember yesterday as vividly as I do. I hope they can see and smell and feel everything. I hope they remember me like I remember them. I know I won’t forget.

I Survived the Nile River

I went whitewater rafting on the Nile River yesterday. Tales of victory, defeat, and a weird stomach problem will surely follow. For now, I just wanted to let everyone know that I went, it was maybe the most fun I've had in 2 1/2 hours, and I'm still alive. And kicking.

I'll write more later but I'm at work right now. By the way, work right now involves me consulting on the creation of a small claims court. It's a wonderful idea, and several brilliant people have already done all the work. Basically I just flew in from America to give a thumbs up.

I've realized part of the reason I'm here is so that the Ugandan higher-ups can show some young Americans that Uganda is looking pretty good in a lot of ways right now. And then young Americans will tell other Americans. That's fine with me, though, because a lot of traveling is just about understanding yourself and the world around you. If we can come over, help a little bit, and learn a lot about this beautiful country, then that's a good 74 Days, yeah?