An Announcement from the Management
Please do not offer any financial help to anyone who claims to be working with KICVOP, unless you have consulted the management of KICVOP. We have received several cases of our former volunteers offering financial help to youngsters who claimed to be working with us. The money was in the end never recovered and wasted for some personal gains.
Please be also aware that KICVOP will not ask for any financial help from you either through the organisation or our employees. All people who are officially qualified to work with us have been listed on our website: www.kicvop.org
If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me,
Email Address: landonmeng@gmail.com
Best regards,
Landon
Programme Coordinator of KICVOP
Our Sponsored Children
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Disastrous Interviews
I went out of the room in the middle of the interview to have a cig, while leaving John to handle them all. I just could not continue the conversations anymore, since they did not understand anything I tried to convey. But I do believe they can be trained and work according to their abilities. John told me afterwards that he wanted to be trained, rather than training them. So I'll draft a training programme probably on monday and go through it with Mac before executing it.
There would be few more coming in next friday. Next tuesday we'll meet volunteers from Britolam to cut a deal. Hope it won't be postponed again. I need international volunteers to get here as soon as possible to kick start the field works.
I'm still wating for the funding for the poultry business. It probably will be settled in the next few days.
Friday, 30 July 2010
From What I Just Read Accidentally
Thursday, 29 July 2010
An Ambivalent Article
It's not of my interest to criticise the lack of usefulness of most of the university degrees in real life, since one day I might actually get one for myself.
Life is hard here; to carry out my work here is harder; to keep hope alive is the most difficult. I admit I have started looking at the world in a different way, further away from my old cynical way. I missed the days in the UK, where I enjoyed myself so much in cultural and academic adventures. They became part of my faith of working here. Sometimes here I was awfully stressed with nowhere to calm myself down. But when I pushed myself back to work, I could then forget about my own problems and focus on problems of the others, which are much bigger and more urgent than mine in all aspects.
I can still remember clearly one of the early mornings I spent in Madrid. I put on the music and then opened the transparent door, or a window in bigger size, to the garden. The weather was cool and lively, without any hint of turning into extreme hotness in several hours' time. The swimming pool was so still which made the garden seem strangely attractive. I could feel the wind softly passing through my linen clothes and touching my body in a mischievous way. I heard one of Chopin's fantasies being played through the loud speaker. I never heard that piece before, but was totally fascinated by it only several seconds after it being played. The use of the scales was full of imagination. There were many notes being played simultaneosly and subsequently, but neither of them was excessive. Each note stayed in my mind for far longer than it actually being played. I don't know how that happened and I did't want to know. It is said the pleasure of listening to music depends quite much on the place where the music is played. I quite agree with that. There have been only two occasions in which I felt the the thorough joy from the music I was listening to, and both of them are unfortunately short in duration. The first time was when I was offered to listen to Bach's Goldburg's Variation by Mr & Mrs King. The second variation just flew out of the window of their car and went straight into my heart. I instantly felt the warmness in my heart though the light rain fell anxiously on my head and shoulder. The second time was in that early Spanish morning, when I, for the first time of my life, felt safe.
Landon Meng
Programme Coordinator
Kazo International Community Volunteering Programme-KICVOP Uganda
P.O.Box.34514.Kampala-Uganda
Kazo-Nansana T Council-Wakiso District.
TEL: +256-7501928976(Uganda)
+44-7501928976(UK)
Website: www.kicvop.org
New Poster in the Centre
Landon Meng
Programme Coordinator
Kazo International Community Volunteering Programme-KICVOP Uganda
P.O.Box.34514.Kampala-Uganda
Kazo-Nansana T Council-Wakiso District.
TEL: +256-7501928976(Uganda)
+44-7501928976(UK)
Website: www.kicvop.org
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
A Short Extract from a Long Conversation
Me: Well, I understand perfectly well why you said so. If I had a chance to live all over again, I wouldn't do the same neither. It's quite enough for a life time.
(I cut off the context to protect my privacy)
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Having Lunch, Being Arrested
John and I had lunch in An Ethiopian restuarant in Kabala Gala. The food was delicious and John liked it so much. It was a restuarant with no name but lots of customers. Although it was not the first time I went there, I still enjoyed the food very much.
Since John's girlfriend was killed during the bombing, we wanted to see the original site where the bomb went off. The site was not far from the restuarant where we had lunch. After we arrived at the site, we saw the door to the place was closed and no officials can be seen around the place. Everything was as normal as it can be. I was fooled by the peaceful surrounding and started taking photos.
After I took two photos, a local policeman showed up and grabbed my camera. I tried to explain my intention, but the policeman was just too eager to not listen to any of my words. He wanted to send me to the station and have me arrested. On the way to the station, we were stopped by another police officer trying to play a good man and ask for a bribe. I resented it. We were then led to be interrogated by a higher-ranking officer-an arrogant woman who made up her mind about us being terrorists.
She asked for my ID which I did not have at that time. She then said, "you are more dangerous now."
When she asked why I had a empty cig box in my pocket, I replied, " madam, so where do you think I can throw it? On the street? I finished my last cig after lunch and then was arrested by you."
Things turned in fact very funny in the end. She rang her boss to ask about what to do and was told to let us go. Before I went into her office, her boss was already contacted by Mac. So things turned out to be on our side. We were fleed after nearly an hour being detained.
Michal, I did not work this Sunday! I wanted to have couple of drinks in Bota Bota Bar on top of the Garden City after having lunch, but I was arrested. I'll try something new next Sunday perhaps.
What a day...
A Visit
I'm really looking forward to the visit with him to Sudan. Although I have been to Khartum 11 years ago, I have never had a chance to visit Southern Sudan. When I was there, the civil war was penetrating the last stability of the south.
Right now, I have more plans than I can actually list here. I'd like to keep them private until the day they are materialised.
Feeling ill
A month's visiting to the hospital in Beijing last Christmas(it was the only time I went back home since I left years ago) did not solve the infection but only the symptoms. I found the infection worsened several days ago and started taking tablets left in my suitcase. I don't even know if those tablests still work or not and, at the same time, I'm taking malaria tablet every day which makes my body feel really bad. I probably need another operation before the infection gets much worse, but I have to wait until the last moment to figure out what to do. Flying back to Beijing has not been ruled out, but the flight cost and the work here made the excluding of it highly likely.
Another thing which is quite relevent to this post's topic is my Hypoglycemia. It came back to me several days ago on my way back to the centre. At the time I just knew there was nothing I could do about it. I was trembling, sweating and full of anxiety. Although I had experienced it many, many times, it hit me the hardest this time. I could not actually walk though I thought I could. Fortunately, john was with me at that time and helped me walk back to the centre, otherwise I could have probably fell into coma and went to see Plato. I regained my strength after an hour.
I feel so weak when I know I cannot help but see myself loosing control of my body. It is always so good to have someone around who can give you a hand without asking too many questions which cannot be heard and answered. However, when I have my mental collapse, I can only swallow the bitterness hardly until it does not hurt any more.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Striving
I have started the new volunteering programme which targets volunteers work on a short-term basis. I firmly believe that the programme will bring KICVOP to a new stage. I used to think that NGOs have to act purely as NGOs-looking for fundings from other places to finance their own meaningful projects. It is true NGOs have exploited poverty and the image of poverty itself has become an infamous selling point. I am not rejecting the idea of foreign fundings which are of somewhat importance to the development of some under-developed countries. However, I prefer the idea of capitalism in a new form. Investors are not investing for gaining solely profits, they invest for a better future of the households, the communties and the country. And that is what I am going to do.
I have already started planning a new chicken factory within the community. Of course, I am the sole investor. And , of course, there is a huge risk that the business may fail. But everything is started by considering the worst situation , while working towards the best.
Economists ask a lot of 'What if...' I prefer to see the ifs in reality. Investing requires courage and I coincidentally have the blind courage. IF the business succeed, local jobs will be created; fundings will be provided for the sustainability of KICVOP; other projects can be financed by ourselves; big donors are thus more likely to donate. I cannot wait to start the plan and I know I already started. There is no 'postpone' in my dictionary( the good thing is I never brought a dictionary with me).
I visited several potential places where we could construct the factory and a established factory in another place on the way back to the centre. I talked with Robert(a board member) yesterday about his childhood and his vision on the future of KICVOP and the community. I was touched by his passion, his kindness and his broadness. We naturally agreed with each us on how we will strive towards success.
I just have the feeling that these are all the things I'm obliged to do and I enjoy doing them.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Waiting for the Good News
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Non-working Saturday
I cannot write anything about the new programmes this time as they are still being planned and remaining our secrets.
I am listening to some Bach. It suits my thoughts quite well at the moment. I did not like Bach very mcuh as I found it too vague and unfamiliar. But for the past two years, my attitude towards him has significantly changed. Bach has everything that is seen, heard and felt on earth. I cannot explain why. Whenever I listen to him, heaven descends.
"God is not found in the soul by adding anything but by a process of subtraction," This Middle Age saying describes Bach's work fairly well.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
These could be regarded as my little complaints
I was told off by Mac when I wanted to work several hours ago. He ordered me to relax. As always, he ordered me to eat and he ordered me to take a rest. Otherwise, I would have kept on working and working. I had lunch at around 3 this afternoon. That was the time I felt really hungrey. But when I ate the food, I did not feel well at all. Maybe I should adjust my time table a little bit. However, I just cannot wait and relax. I don't remember much about the first week I spent here since I have to read my own blog to recall. And this is a good reason why I should continue writing the blog.
I'll start designing a business card for KICVOP now before I am too tired to do anything for today. Tomorrow will be another busy day. I will meet the women's group which was trained to make beads. It will be the first time I can have some insights into what they can actually produce. Sometimes I joked with Mac, saying that we should have more employees. And I mean it. But I know it is not possible. The good thing is I can cope well with where we are and what we need to do. It is just so fascinating to see thing getting improved here.
Home Visit
The Final Website Update-KICVOP
http://www.kicvop.org/
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
The Saddest Day in Kazo
I was asked last week to go and evaluate a disadvantaged child in a local school. This morning, I was supposed to go with John to do the evaluation, but he needed to attend a funeral of one relative he had lost. So, Madame Meble and I went there this morning and got to know two parents of the kids in school were killed by the bomb on Sunday night. The visiting plan was then postponed to tomorrow as the whole school has to attend the funeral. We called Timothy and had a little chat with him. The smart boy, brilliant as ever. I wondered how the children of the victims would cope with life here in Kazo. We would probably need to get involved.
Early afternoon, we went to the city centre where we had the monitor fixed and went to the bank, trying to withdraw some money from my card to pay for my stay. Unluckily, the banking system had technical problems which even the manager could not explain.
We then went to visit a factory making beads, where some of our women were sent to be trained. We were stopped at the gate as we could not confirm with Claire about our arrival. We were told that Claire lost her sister last Sunday during the explosion in Kampala. We managed to get in in the end where I recorded everything about the organisation in less than 40 minutes-from its organisational structure, production procedure and marketing plan to its financial performances. Mac seemed thoroughly impressed when I reported to him everything I learned back in the centre.
I was just introduced to John several minutes ago. A lovely young man with a hat always on his head. He is also a very good singer and has published a single. I then got to know the funeral he attended this morning was for his girlfriend. I just cannot imagine how hard that could be; the hardness which is faced by the relatives, friends and colleagues of those 74 people who were killed last Sunday.
Monday, 12 July 2010
An Unexpected Phone Call from Mrs King
She then started asking me all sorts of question relating to my staying in Kazo and even offered me to meet her niece living in Kampala. I was too grateful to accept any of her offers, but as always, she insists and I draw back in the end.
She promised to call me back very soon though I promised her to write her emails.
I was left wondering the whole evening if I would ever meet such a friend, a teacher and a mentor again.
Landon
A Warm Greeting from Uganda
To: christine.nwankwo@kingsgroup.org
Subject: RE: A Warm Greeting from Uganda
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:27:29 +0000
Hi Christine,
It is just so nice to hear from you. I thought you must be spending all your time with your boyfriend(s). Regarding the bombing, the city was in chaos but where we live has been relatively peaceful.
There is one thing maybe SMC could help-to raise fund for the VCT- the HIV testing for the community in which we operate. The budget required is listed below.
Thanks
Kazo International Community Volunteering Programme-KICVOP Uganda
P.O.Box.34514.Kampala-Uganda
Kazo-Nansana T Council-Wakiso District.
+256782518556, +256712654000.
http://www.wix.com/LandonMeng/KICVOPUGANDA
Email: kicvop2009@gmail.com or volunteering.uganda.kazo@gmail.com
Subject: RE: A Warm Greeting from Uganda
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:21:19 +0100
From: Christine.nwankwo@kingsgroup.org
To: langdon927@hotmail.com
Hi Landon,
Thank you for your e.mail. It was intriguing to hear about your first impressions of Uganda, and of the real impact of Aid. It sounds like you are making an impact at a grass-roots level which is extremely important. Thank you for the photos � they give a real taste of your life � keep me posted!
On a less positive note, I've just heard about the bomb blast in Kampala yesterday. Apparently 64 people were killed. I know you are not based in the city, but obviously this has impacted the local community.
All the best in your endeavours, and do let me know if I or SMC can help with fundraising or sponsoring HIV-affected children.
Take care,
Christine.
From: MengLandon [mailto:langdon927@hotmail.com]
Sent: 10 July 2010 14:45
To: Christine Nwankwo
Subject: A Warm Greeting from Uganda
Dear Christine,
I have arrived in Uganda 2 days ago and already started working intensively. The natrual environment around is really bad and the water supply of the place where I live has collapsed for days. However, I enjoyed everything I so far encountered. All those things made me realised the reason why I came here. And I am also so fortunate to know the people around and the organisation which is tiny but based in the community. I also realised that I made a wise decision of coming to this organisation rather than any other ones since we don't have much fundings and no bureaucary at all. So I am granted with autonomy to really make changes to people's lives here.
Everything I witnessed so far has also coincided with my research done in the UK on Foreign Aid. My conclusion was that the aid has barely helped the peopleat the bottom. And now I could use the facts to confirm my assumption. Organisations like us do not even receive fundings while bigger organisations use our results to get more funding from foreign donors and kept the money for themselves. I am so excited to see so many things in real life for which I have envisaged. I am also excited about all the projects which I am working on. I have already started a community library project which would encourage children and adults to read and build up the community spirit. Also, I have also involved in raising fund and organising a community-wide HIV testing programme. We also look for ways to sponsor HIV-affected children. There are 24 on the register, but only 4 are roughly sponsored. What I realised was that people prefer to donate loads of money to big organisations for which they would never hear from, rather than to small, community-based organisation which do make changes. Furthermore, we empower local women to earn a living themselves. The women group has been very successful so far and my job is to open up the market for the products they produce and try to sustain the p roject as long as possible.
Of course, everything lying in front of me is extremely tough, but I believe there is success awaiting me as well. I'll talk more but later!
P.S. I have also attached some photos. Please feel free to take a look.
Best regards,
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Just Another Thought
I started by asking him what do people here, in Kazo, expect from life. Of course, before getting any useful responses from him, I rephrased my question several times to let him understand. he answered me with 'nothing'. and he was deadly serious. It is true that people here cannot expect much from life. The heavily corrupted political system greatly limits any school gratuates. 5 out of 10 children could make to the end of the primary. Out of those, 3 would probably go to secondary. In the end, we could hope one would make it to the uni. The tragedy does not stop here. among those who finally gratuade from the uni, very few of them could actually get a job which could fulfill their potential. The problem is at the root of the foundation of the government. If the government lacks transparency and the economy is under-developed, no matter how foreign countries try to help, the money for development will not actually reach the community. I was right in saying so months ago, and now I am going to confirm it. It was wonderful to see Timothy being saved from a remote villige, but is also sad to see that such bright kid is left with no future no matter how hard he works, how good he will be. Of course, some may say that if one is good enough, he or she will make the change. However, a change in the government now would benifit millions. It is just despairing to see even the local government has the funds NGOs needed, but not giving any of them. Has it to be a revolutionary change one day that changes everything? Why can't the country learn from the history? are we only learning from repeating what we went wrong and making up new explanations and more complex theories?
Those questions make me recall the past few days, or even few months reading academic papers and conference reports. Every year, the topic is different, but the essence is the same-solving the problem which has not been solved for decades. Each time, professors from the west are invited to Uganda, to other African countries where they have conferences in luxurious hotels, enjoying top-end services. Down to the communities, people are waiting each day for the promises which have never been materialised.
I believe in science, but the reality is that science, most of the time, is better at solving problems of the future, not the problems people all over the world face each day. I wanted to dedicate myself on the pursuit of academic knowledge, but now,I have another equally-important duty-to discover and help the life of the unknown.
Afternoon Visit
Before moving to Kazo, which was 5 or 6 years ago, he lived with his parents in a villige more than 200 miles from Kampala. He lost his mother in 2000 and his father in 2003 due to HIV. Villigers regarded him HIV-positive and treated him like a dog. When Timothy's sister went to fetch him out of the villige, he was living alone in a seperated tiny place in an isolated farm. Bugs and dusts were all over him. When people tried to talk to him, what came back from him was only fear in his eyes. His sister took him to Kazo, where KICVOP was and is still located. She found Mac after her husband started to treat the whole family badly because sending Timothy back to where he came from would mean a death sentence on his future. KICVOP at the time already had many orphans on register, but Timothy was still accepted. Mac went to the local council saying he was willing to take care of the boy on a personal level. KICVOP then started to look for sponsorship all over the world and finally settled on a lady from Isreal who treated Timothy as an essential part of the family. She came to visit him once and is coming back again by the end of this year. She wants to take the boy to travel around the country and bring him back from the fear he had possessed all through his life. Fortunately, Timothy is HIV-negetive, which means he could have a bright future if we work harder on his future. And luckily, he had met such a brilliant sponsor. However, there are more tragic stories. we have currently 24 HIV-affected children on register, but only 2 are properly sponsored and 2 are partly sponsored. Next Tuesday, I am asked by the local school where Timothy was sent, to evaluate another child who, for all sorts of reasons, has stopped receiving education and been left idle. I know that the child would be then put on register and waiting for sponsorship which would take sometimes too long to keep any hope alive. I know we cannot help the child instantly, but we have to start somewhere. And it is the start which makes all the difference.
The Very First Encounter with Kazo
I arrived in Entebbe three days ago, a place where all international flights coming into Uganda have to land. Although it is more than 50km away from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, and even farther away from Kazo, where I'm going to work, there was just no other ways I could make it without breaching the law. Therefore, I told my colleagues in KICVOP(Kazo International Community Volunteer Programme) to pick me up there.
Before I start talking about the country, there was something interesting occured on the plane before landing in Uganda. As everyone who has ever travelled between countries may recall, an immigration card is to be filled before landing and presented to the immigration officer. Whether holding the visa to destination country prior to travel, the card is required. And the information written upon has to be true, otherwise one would have great chance of being refused to enter the country. I was told to get the visa at Entebbe airport, so I did not prepare any relevent information such as hotel name and address. I was also told not to get visa on volunteering purpose as the fee would go up three or fourfold(Crazy, but don't know why). However, after I was given the card on the plane, I noticed that hotel address is required since I was supposed to be a tourist and, of course, I could not say that I did not know where my hotel was. You could say that I must be sweating a lot at the time. Well, I was in fact too busy to sweat(and that's probably why people sweat unconsciously). I was looking around the plane for help! Cabin crews were first excluded as I would then be arrested on plane rather than at the airport. I then considered the option of asking passengers sat besides me, but the warning 'DON'T TRUST STRANGERS' poped up in my head. Therefore, I had to turn on my phone to send messages to Mac, the executive director pf KICVOP and Michal, the one who masterminded my arrival. Michal responded in less than 3 minutes. Without even looking into the message, I wrote the hotel name she provided on my card. After scribbling down the name, I soon found out that the hotel name came without an address in the message. I replied to Micahl at once with my concern. Without waiting too long for a reply, Mac send me a message with an address. I desperately wrote it down and then realised that it might be a different hotel from what Michal gave me. So I checked the message from the beginning and the name turned out to be different. At the same time, Michal's reply came and saying the address is not necessarily needed and I could tell the officer that the taxi driver would know the location. I replied to both with Thank Yous and sat in my seat with despair. For the sake of man's vanity, I did not ask for a new card and determined to push my luck a little bit further.
While the plane landed at the airport, I was still wondering if that was an emergency landing as I could not see any buildings and any other planes. After taxing for quite a while, three more planes emerged at the terminal, I was partly reliefed. Very soon after the plane stopped, we were allowed to get off. I felt like a VIP as I could move to the terminal on foot with ground staff pointing out directions, 'That way, that way!'
Well, it was the time to meet the immigration officer. I did not think about the possiblity of being arrested very much as I was busy looking for ways to go around the counter. I noticed that there was basically no one to stop people from walking away. However, fear dominated me this time. I quitely stood in the queue, waiting for my turn. Meanwhile, I was thinking about all my past experience of hiding anxiety. I possibly did my part too well. when it was my turn, the officer did not even look at my card under my big, innocent smile. He sticked the visa on my passport and wrote down my name and duration of stay very roughly on the visa. While he handed back my passport, I was totally reliefed.
I went straight to collect my baggage and out to meet my colleagues whom I had never met. Mac received me with 'You are most welcomed here!' I was too reliefed to even reply with Thank You. Mac and two local volunteers accompnied me to the car in the parking lot and we started to move our way back to Kampala. Well, It was their way back to Kampala. Only after settling down in the car for around twenty minutes, I fought back my normal sensors. The place smelled differently and so much fimiliar. I was the smell I encountered 10 years ago in Sudan. A smell without too many trees and an advanced economy; a smell where nature is more than just a part of people's lives.
On the way back, Mac told me in a very mischievous tone, 'you know, Landon, we only parked there for 9 minutes. 9 minutes!'
'9 minutes? why so precise?'
'Well, they charge us according to minutes.'
'That's crazy indeed!'
It was crazy. It was even more astonishing when proper roads started to diminish and were replaced by dusts. 'We are home now,' Mac announced. And I believed him. I saw Bota Bota anxiously passed by and even more Bota Bota anxiously waiting for customers. I saw people cooking outside with burning woods and unidentified cookers. I saw people's houses can no longer be called houses in terms of the privacy they create. I saw life here as a total integration of the nature of nature and the nature of human beings.
After made the first step getting out of the car, I firmly believed that a new world had been delicately discovered.