Taking Post

I’ve been in Lira for a few days now, yet I am frankly finding it difficult to write. I suppose it all seems superfluous given this week’s London events…

But I shall give it a go.

So I arrived late Thursday night, after traveling the all too familiar Kampala to Gulu road, and then veering after crossing the Nile River to head east towards Lira. I arrived in the evening, checked out the office and made my way to the guesthouse with my two colleagues where I heard the horrible news broadcast on CNN. I just stared with my mouth agape at the television for hours.

So for two whole nights, I had a lovely home with my two Kenyan colleagues – nicer than any I had ever known in my time in Africa. Then as luck would have it, the owner wanted his house back, so on Saturday we packed up and relocated to a hotel, waiting for our next house to be complete. We are told it will be about three weeks, but I know how these things go (recall the drama of Gulu housing).

Lira. I have not had ample opportunity to take in the town, but my own impressions discredit the arrogant American official who snorted that Lira was entirely unremarkable. The town is much like others in Uganda, but I quite like the landscape with the lonely rocky hills in the distance. And I have never seen so many bikes outside of Holland- more bikes than people, my colleague commented. It is nearly impossible to drive through town with the swarms of bikes. And I am finding the cuisine much more to my liking…

Already I am getting the usual lectures – Why are you not married? You should be producing! Lira has also welcomed me with all sorts of little criters – some old foes, others new. I’ve been greeted by monster cockroaches, daunting spiders, obnoxious emaciated cats, but best of all, two little frogs decided to take up residence in my office. One woman who shares my space did not have the same appreciation. She immediately found somebody to “relocate” my friends.

And then there is my work. As I have mentioned before, I am leading a gender-based violence (GBV) project, which aims to take a comprehensive approach to addressing rape, defilement, prostitution, domestic abuse, and other forms of gender-based violence. This includes sensitization about GBV, a broad spectrum of trainings, microfinance and civic projects. Across northern Uganda, GBV has been a severely under-addressed issue. With over 1.5 million people displaced in this region and forced to live in camps as a result of the war, there has been a crippling breakdown in social and familial structures. Women are bearing the brunt of the burden, going to whatever means necessary to care for their families, while men, without work, are largely idol and often drinking. GBV is rampant and there is little recourse for the victims. I am still fresh on site, but I am already sensing a better reception to working on these issues than I previously did in other parts of northern Uganda. Still, the task ahead is daunting.