A Few Random Things

I mentioned in an earlier post that I ordered some clothes from a tailor here in Gulu. In the market, there is a large tailoring section (meaning continous rows of stalls where tailors keep their fabrics and sew). Many in Gulu are equipped with tailoring skills as it was a common taught skill by NGOs when they helped people returned out of the bush and out of IDP (internally displaced person) camps.

Note: there is an overwhelming presence of NGOs in Gulu. It makes for a fascinating discussion about the positives and negatives of such presence.

On Friday, I was able to visit MEND. An economic opportunity sponsored by Invisible Children. If you've visited IC's website perhaps you've heard of it. MEND is a tailoring facility to create quality bags (messenger and handbags) in quality working conditions. IC has chosen 13 women who were rescued by the UN from living in the bush with the LRA and are now single mothers. Marie, the American designer working with MEND, has a vision to see MEND grow to be a large compound with childcare, healthcare facilities, etc. At MEND each woman tailors the entire bag from start to finish. The largest difference that struck me most as the difference between these women and the tailors in the market, in addition to Marie's compassion as an employer, was how much light filled the working area compare to the dark electricity-less stalls in the market.

Obama was recently in Ghana. I haven't heard any locals talk about it, but his speech was printed in yesterdays national newspaper. One of the American teachers found it in the paper and shared it with the rest of us. It was very encouraging. Check it out if you can.

In my group there are 17 of us. Probably the biggest difference is between the teachers in Gulu and the teachers in the IDP camps. 6 from our group go out to the IDP camps - Pabo and Atanga. They come back to Gulu every weekend, but during the week stay in the camps where there are even less resources (no electricity and no running water) and less things going on than in Gulu. As for the teachers in Gulu, though we are at different schools, we are having a similiar experiences. We all have different teachers and different class schedules so that plays into our experiences, but overall the state of education remains the same and we encounter many of the same frustrations as well as positives of being a partner teacher in Gulu.