Uganda Agenda

My least favorite thing about Uganda is the prevailing missionary and volunteer presence. There are so many organization there that it creates an expectation that whites have money to spare and makes the culture (at least initially) less accessible. There were 2 Ugandans in particular where I sensed this duplicity. One was a young man who repeatably approached us in our hostel with an overzealous business plan that involved using orphan labor to produce sandals to sell to foreigners. The other was the woman who did our laundry. Though she generously invited us into her home, it never felt like a comfortable visit between friends. She would laugh and agree with most anything we said, but I felt she purposely kept her true opinions (about culture, religion, politics etc) to herself. Her real agenda seemed to include coercing me into teaching her daughter sewing lessons (though they are already lucky enough to be enrolled in a vocational school for this), getting Jamie and I to rent a room that a friend of hers had available, and convincing me to buy paper beads from her daughters. I rationalized these sorts of exchanges by reminding myself that these individuals didn’t represent all of Uganda and that their assumption that I have more than them is basically correct. They don’t have a particularly upfront culture so I suppose it makes sense that they would ask for help in what appears to me an underhanded manner. And the foreigners here have an agenda as well - whether it is to feel better about themselves by volunteering, to have an African adventure, or to push their religious views. There are so many different approaches to helping Africa and it is hard to sort out what is simply well intentioned (and not so well intended) and what is actually working. On a more positive note, I think Sewing Hope's secular approach of training teachers within existing community groups is truly sustainable. In contrast, many church groups make large donations of sewing machines, yet no one actually knows how to operate or care for them. While lesson planning this summer, we were constantly questioning our goals and our approach to ensure that our efforts were effective.

Learning Lusoga

I really enjoyed learning Lusoga. It was quite a change from Chinese to be able to spell out words phonetically and to be able to pronounce them with relative ease. Like pretty much everywhere else (except France), the locals really appreciate your effort. We took lessons with a man named Ali who not only taught us a lot of vocabulary and grammar, but also touched on some key cultural points. For instance, learning how to greet people properly was hugely important. Also, because there is no word for please in Lusoga, many Ugandan’s leave it out when they are speaking English. This leads to a common misconception that Ugandans are demanding or rude. Jamie had an interesting conversation with Ali about the way that American women dress. This is not something he would have discussed with Tara and I present, but Jamie was kind enough to recount it for us. Apparently, Ali was curious (not judgmental) about why American women would choose to show so much skin by wearing short shorts and dresses. He just felt that it left “nothing to the imagination.” It really sounds like a pretty comical exchange because Jamie and Ali are both pretty analytical and were attempting to explain the cultural phenomenon scientifically. Ali insisted that it would make more sense biologically for the man to show his thighs, though I still don’t understand his logic here. It does seem a shame not to continue learning.

Care and Share Recap

We spent two weeks with the Care and Share ladies. The group identified some of their most promising members and sent them to train with us at our office in Jinja. These members would become the teachers for the larger group. On the first day we had 7 students. After carefully assessing their machine and hand sewing skills we were faced with a tough decision. Two of the women were having a considerable amount of trouble seeing, operating the treadle and following basic instructions. They were having so much trouble that we felt that it was unlikely that they would ever evolve into group leaders. Therefore, we invited them to continue to learn with us the following week when we would be observing the teachers in action. This left us with 5 students, Miria, Florence, Betty, Betty and Prossy. We split this group in to 2 smaller groups based on skill level. The 2 Bettys needed practice with the machine, so we set them up with simple bag projects. The other three women were asked to complete a complicated mans shirt. Jamie’s education background came in useful when he suggested that we create a rubric to make our quality expectations clear from the start and to give a framework for evaluation. When the students had completed the shirts, we sat down and graded them together. Tara and I were tough graders, but I felt it was an invaluable tool for emphasizing the importance of quality, detail, design, stitch tension and fit. On my last day with the Care and Share ladies, Tara and I presented Miria and Florence (our two strongest students) with certificates for the completion of a Men’s Shirt Making Course. It was another difficult decision not to present one to Prossy, who had also completed a shirt, but we were able to point to her low scores on her rubric as an explanation. We acknowledged all 5 teachers that trained with us, plus another 2 that who showed considerable skill with a Sewing Hope necklace.

Grinding Grannies + 1 minute

FIRST!!!

Grinding Grannies

I really like Ugandan dancing. They make their own fun. Someone just starts up clapping and singing and then everyone else follows suit. They tie scarves and towels around each others waists to encourage them to dance. Its a really positive sort of environment. The songs are like anthems thanking individuals by name for the work that they do. When you are thanked by name, it is your time in spot light and you are expect to shake you hips with as much speed as you can muster. My only complaint: I can't say I felt entirely at ease when an old, feisty Ugandan lady danced up to me and began what could only be described as grinding. Circumstances being what they were, I think a few beers would improve the festivities considerably.

Kayaking in Slow Motion

Keyboard Kayaking

I met Juma through the manager of our hostel.  Juma had just recorded a new song for his newest album and he wanted to shoot a video.  His first idea sounded like a lot of Ugandan music videos - shoot what the video was describing.  In this case, an amazingly wholesome song about the mental and health benefits of dancing.  I suggested we shoot a concept video using slow motion.  We decided to use Juma's skills as a former internationally competitive kayaker.

Our crew consisted of Nash, the problem-solving manager of our hostel, Shaz, Juma's wife and organizer for the NGO SoftPower, Polly, who did the things that  needed to be done without being asked and provided gentle suggestions for organizing the video, and two Ugandans who jumped in to hold a reflector card or ladder when needed.  A solid, small crew. 

Lighting from one window with a gold reflector.

It was one of those rare jobs where job titles weren't clearly defined, but, at the very least, I felt  responsible for lighting, camera, technical concerns, and a portion of the creative direction.

We shot half the video in the village where Juma and his (claimed) forty-one (41) siblings were raised, and half in "The Nile Special" a Grade 3 rapid.

I'm in the (long) process of editing it into something presentable.  I'm hoping to release the video on the internet in two weeks.

A Shilling for Your Thoughts

The daily rush of my self-imposed shooting schedule has slowed and now I must reflect on the footage. 
On a daily basis, I have been conducting interviews, participating in activities with fellow teachers, and working with Sam, a Ugandan film student, to film the daily activities.  Every other day we have language lessons for Lusoga.  Following that I conduct a regiment of downloading, syncing audio, converting and then reviewing footage and photos.  Then early to bed.

Now the editing phase begins.  I have a reel of "selects" from each of the 13 shooting days.  Played one after the other I have an hour of quality footage to choose from.  My to do list now is the following: (1) transcribe interviews, (2) create a reel of "VIP selects" aka the best of the best, (3) meet with staff from Fount to create a pitch for both the organization and the educational program, (4) film this pitch, (5) make a log of the footage for future edits, (6) write a revised script, and (Finally) edit the footage.

This process has given me a good chance to get back to documentary film work.  I still enjoy the process, the tools, the special access to locations and people, and the resulting product.   Years ago, a friend and I had discussed forming a company that does branding for NGOs, including websites, logos, photos and videos.  Any suggestions on how to get paid for doing exactly what I want?