Duke University Engineers Without Borders Central …s... · Duke University Engineers Without Borders Central Buganda University ... I have included in chronological order diagrams

Duke University

Engineers Without Borders

Central Buganda University Full Belly Project

Rural Agency for Sustainable Development

Uganda

July 23rd – August 21st, 2007

Preface This is my journal from my summer trip to Uganda. It is largely unedited; the only text edits are spelling mistakes, clarifications for the reader, and obvious factual errors. Otherwise, it is exactly as written. Pictures taken on the trip have been added to bring the words on paper to life. Along with daily entries, I have included in chronological order diagrams, essays, tables, and even a poem I recorded in my journal during the trip. The list of people and acknowledgements sections were added post-trip. I hope the authenticity of this journal makes reading this more enjoyable. Engineers Without Borders is a student organization at Duke that promotes sustainable development in communities around the world. Typically, much of the planning and designing occurs during the school year, and the implementation takes place during the summer. Our past projects include a mechanical aerator in Indonesia and an accessible playground in Durham. For more information about Duke’s EWB chapter, please visit http://ewb.pratt.duke.edu. You are most welcome to borrow the original copy of my journal. For any questions and/or comments, please contact me at [email protected]. Sincerely, Patrick Ye Duke Class of 2010

Table of Contents Page # Content 3 - 42 Daily journal: July 23rd – August 21st, 2007 43 Octagonal Forms 43 Henry Hall Roof 44 Energy to pump borehole 44 Ingredients for Concrete 45 How to play Michael’s game 46 Education in Uganda 47 If there were nuclear war and we couldn’t go

home 48 Inequity of Rainwater Harvesting 49 A Typical Day in Uganda 50 Ugandan Food 51 Corruption of the Kasaka church 52 Shopping – A List of Prices in Kanoni 53 The PVC Flamingo 54 RWH Construction Summary 55 Lodging – Jacana Safari Lodge 56 Ecosystems in Queen Elizabeth National Park 57 Lodging – Backpackers: The Hostel Life 58 Letter back Home (Edited) 59 Rural vs. Urban Life in Uganda 60 Rules of Michael’s Game (aka Ugănda)

Continued 61 A List of Prices in Nkokonjeru 62 Lodging – The Convent 63 Transportation in Uganda 64 Map of CBU 64 Map of Nkokonjeru 65 List of People 65 Acknowledgements

Weather: Airplane 11 PM EDT Monday 7.23.07 My journey begins differently than the rest of the CBU team. I left Chicago early in the afternoon, having spent most of my summer there. Though I did have a great time at home with my family and friends, I do wish that had I stayed in Durham over the summer, I could have helped the team infinitely more than being a thousand miles away. Instead of contributing ideas, I was a burden to take care of. Anyways, I hope I can make up for this at our destination. Right now, I am on the Dallas/Fort Worth to London leg of my trip. The plane has just passed the Eastern Seaboard, and we begin flying over the vast Atlantic in the middle of the night. At Gatwick, I will meet up with the rest of the team. The CBU team includes project chairs Kerry Costello and Zoe Englander, Liza Crabtree, Phil Wolfe, Matt Ball, our mentor Dr. Schaad, and me. Our team is inexperienced. Out of all of us, only Kerry has come last summer on the site assessment trip. Matt and I are both rising sophomores. Only Liza

Map of Uganda

has taken a concrete class. Though we lack in many aspects, that is not entirely a bad thing, as we will certainly gain many new experiences on our trip. There is one thing I am anxious about for this trip. In Luganda, there is a word for white man. On websites, they say that they treat them like rich foreigners, kind of in a good way. But I am the only Asian going on this trip. What will they treat me like? Do they have a word for me? Will they treat me differently than my classmates even though I am American? I never got to ask Yvonne or Yaqing about it, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I am off to read Crime and Punishment now, one of the two books I brought (I already finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.) I will see you tomorrow, in London.

-Patrick Chicago to Dallas 2 hr Dallas to London 9 hr Time zones 6 hr Hours of sleep 4 hr

CBU team at RDU

Last summer’s CBU site assessment team

Weather: AC Hotel 1:30 AM DDT Tuesday 7.24.07 After a fast-forwarded night, I am awake near London. The flight went well; it seems that I am getting used to sleeping in uncomfortable seats, airplane food, and popping ears. I saw the part of the team from Durham at the Emirates re-check-in. The greetings and first conversations were strange. I think we are all giddy and exhausted after our long trans-Atlantic journeys. We later met Phil, who had been wandering around the duty-free stores for 3 hours waiting. Arriving at London was the beginning of realizing I am not home anymore. Everything around me was unfamiliar. British accents, airport shops, and most noticeably, the lack of Americans shocked me. Getting onto the Dubai flight made these changes more noticeable; all communication was repeated in Arabic. I do feel better now that my classmates are with me; we’re doing this together. -Patrick London to Dubai 7 hours Time zones 3 hours Sleep 5 hours

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Halfway there!

Weather: 70s, humid, partly cloudy 11 PM UDT Wednesday 7.24.07 After a horizontal night’s sleep, we leave Dubai for Uganda. Our flight first took us across the Arabian Desert to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. It was a beautiful airborne view. First, the green hills dotted with houses, and then, the sprawling city of 7 million. I sat with a Chinese-Mauritian named Bernard Huang, who told me about his family, Mauritia, and his African experiences. On my way to Entebbe, I met an Indian-African who told me his perspective on corruption in Africa. We met CBU at Entebbe, where we stuffed our van and stopped in Kampala for currency exchange, cell phone, and Italian pizza dinner. Our road trip to CBU was like a roller coaster. Upon entering Henry Hall, I was instantly reminded of that rural smell of China many years ago. I must go to bed now; everyone else has already. -Patrick Dubai to Entebbe 5 hours Time zones -1 hour On the road 4 hours

Outside Entebbe Airport

Elephant shaped pizza

Weather: 70s, partly cloudy, light breeze 10:30 PM Thursday 7.26.07 Today was full of new experiences. I woke up early, and I got to enjoy the cool morning air and the sounds of children and birds as I waited for the team to wake up. Breakfast was simple, bread and butter (really margarine) and tea. We began on our first tank. By the end of the morning until lunch, we had chosen the cistern site on the north corner of the house, cleared and leveled the footprint, and assembled the octagonal outer form. It was a lot of work, and I am thankful that Michael and Kenneth both helped us out, especially with the hoe. Lunch was amazing. Margaret took much time and effort to prepare us rice, beef, cabbage salad, potatoes, and avocado. I was stuffed; we had to eat everything before we could leave the table. Before lunch was the toughest chore ever; carrying a 20 L jerrycan full of water. Walking a mile to the borehole, waiting, and pumping was no problem at all. Little did I know how much I underestimated the difficulty of this Njagala kwebaka I want to sleep.

Leveling the base

Pumping water from the borehole

simple yet necessary task was. It was bad, almost like Saturday Treats. The local kids laughed at how clumsily I carried the jerrycan between my legs. Yet one kid offered to help me, though I was almost there. Water in the house became such a more valuable and luxurious item since it took so much effort. We spent lunch discussing more efficient ways to transport that water, or to fix the borehole by Henry Hall. Now our RWH project means a lot more to us. Later in the afternoon, we traveled to Kanoni to pick up rebar materials. On the way we saw several examples of rainwater harvesting. Also, the kids on the road greeted us enthusiastically with ”Muzungo” which stands for white person. Carrying our goods back, we set up the floor mesh and cut the rebar, which was also bent. Tomorrow, we will pour the concrete, and hopefully make purchases in Kampala. Oh yeah, we are meeting the diocese tomorrow at 8 AM. -Patrick Kilungi (pronounced “Chelungi”) Good

Zoe carrying water on her head

Cutting rebar for base

Weather: 80s, more sun, breeze 12:30 PM Friday 7.27.07 I woke up alarm-clock-less at 7, early because we had to meet the minister at 8. We met Reverend Fred, his wife Sarah, and his assistant, Patrick at Fred’s house. Strangely, the conversation was awkward, with short bursts of useful talk. They were very glad to see us and welcomed our efforts. However, when Dr. Schaad said we could build multiple tanks, it seemed like they wanted to take advantage of our help for themselves. One of their first suggestions was to build a tank at their house, or a pipe down from the church to water their house. I found these requests self-centered, seeing that a tank in one’s fenced back lot wouldn’t be a public resource. Surveying the church, w decided it’d be best to place it in the back corner to collect all the area from the back roof. It appears that we might not get very far on these other tanks, now that we realize the enormity of just building a single tank. Dr. Schaad went off to Kampala to purchase a faucet, epoxy, water, and more via public transportation. Meanwhile, the rest of us painstakingly set up the rebar and floor mesh and collected more jerrycans of water, this time with a bike. That is much easier. -Patrick “Bulungi” Fine

Back of the church: potential site

Bending rebar

8:45 PM A surprising turn of events happened after lunch when we began mixing concrete for the floor. We were halfway through, and a crowd had gathered to watch our progress. And several guys discussed with Michael pointing out that we had not dug far enough down. Apparently, when Henry Hall was constructed, a lot of excavated soil was piled at our tank location. Thus, the tank could sink and crack and fail. They recommended that we remove our rebar and concrete and basically undo a lot of our work to dig 2 ft. (600 mm) down. At first, we, Liza, Zoe, and I, were torn and couldn’t decide. But ultimately, we knew that digging further was the right choice because we wanted to do a good job, even if it does put us back a couple days. The situation reminded me of fables of young’uns ignoring the advice of elders. Now, I realize the importance of getting help from experienced people. We hired two kids to dig the hole for the hardcore, ordered guttering and accessories, and played football with the kids. It seems like we have so much to do. -Patrick “Matooke” Banana mash

Redigging our foundation

Returning from Kanoni

Weather: 80s, sunny, rain at night 9:30 PM Saturday 7.28.07 Like back home, weekends can be used for home improvement. Today, we faced a lot of hard work, almost immediately. We hired people to move the hard core (big, heavy rocks) into the tank pit, while Kenneth helped Matt and I mount 7 jerry cans on the bike, a 75% increase in productivity. We were going to hire people to carry water, but we got enough for the first round of concrete for the 4 in. floor. This guy helped us a lot with everything throughout the day, especially the concrete mixing. Apparently, Kenneth had mixed 30 bags of cement a day when he was working at the construction company, so his expertise and machine-like endurance helped also. It was a lot of hard work, and we definitely missed Kerry and Phil, who both got sick last night. After lunch, we left Dr. Schaad back to help assemble the inner form and hire water carriers, while the rest of us, still exhausted from concrete mixing and pouring, journeyed to Kanoni to buy more chicken wire and water. Luckily, we imu – 1 bili – 2 sato – 3 nja – 4

Our new sturdy foundation

Water delivery

found a place that sells water for 9,000 instead of 10,000 shillings. The experience of walking a mile to Kanoni to purchase hardware supplies and water and groceries is tough. Given that back home you can drive in 5 minutes to whatever store and not have to carry it home is so much less exertion than in the States. I guess that is one incentive to consolidate shopping trips! When we cam back, it was time to pour the first section of wall. Again this was tiring, backbreaking work, and Michael and Kenneth both worked tirelessly. Here, the working pattern is different when you have a team. Instead of everyone working at once and taking a group break, people alternate working when the current workers get tired and only stop when the entire work on a section is done. I must say that I am not used to this; I just keep working, even if I get tired, like long-distance running. We played football again, this time with Dr. Schaad and for a real game instead of keep-away. The first time I played, I didn’t recognize that the teams were tanu – 5 mukaga – 6 musanvu 7 munana 8

Mixing concrete by hand

Pouring (with shovels) the floor

shirts vs. skins. I guess that is the universal team-distinguishing method. And these kids can play! They are as good as kids who’ve been to soccer camps in America, except they’ve had no official training at all! Football is the sport; every kid wants to play. This is real football. Tonight, we played cards. Michael taught us this new game which seems to be a cross between crazy 8s and UNO. Then, it started raining. Here, rain is a big deal, and it was so even for us. Zoe thought about taking a shower in the rain, since there was no better option. Dr. Schaad and I followed, and it felt good to be clean because of nature’s gift. It is 11:15, and I’m still here with Kerry, Phil, and Matt. Kerry is still not feeling well, and Phil had an allergy attack. Morale is low, but maybe Sunday will help us feel better. -Patrick ≈ 120 strokes to fill up one jerrycan Why are emus endangered in Uganda? Because there is only one! Why did billy goats multiply in Uganda? Because at first, there was two! mwenda 9 kumi 10 zero – 0

Tank at the end of the day

Future football stars

Weather: 70s, partly cloudy, cold at night 7:30 AM Monday Sunday 7.29.07 Sunday is a day of rest in Uganda. It is also the day of weekly church service. We went to the 10:00 church service, and though we arrived a couple minutes late, we were among the first people there. In Uganda, time appointments aren’t very exact. It was the first church service I have ever attended in its entirety, and funny to think most of it was in Luganda. Reverend Fred helped lead the service, which consisted of prayers, singing, Bible reading and interpretation, and tithing. At first, I thought tithing was currency donations only, but those that didn’t have money gave produce, which was auctioned to raise money for the church. The auction was definitely the highlight of the two hour plus service, especially when Dr. Schaad bid for the jack fruit with his Lugandan numbers. Church took up the whole morning. After lunch (where I learned how to prepare avocado), we proceeded to set up the gutters. With no fascia board, we makeshifted, using scrap lumber in the house. Nailing those to the roof took some ingenuity as we Chapoti – circular flatbread

Walking up to church

The jackfruit we won at the auction

only had one ladder that belonged to the entire community. With 1 3m section of gutter in place, we tested it enthusiastically, throwing water onto the roof and measuring what percent came down. It worked! and also pretty efficiently, about 60%. It was a big boost to morale to see something we made work successfully. A neighboring village was coming to play football against our village, and we the muzungus were invited to play. The game was scheduled at 4, but even though we went around 5 according to Michael’s Uganda time adjustments, we were still early. The ball was damaged, and had to be fixed, which caused the delay. Matt and I decided that we should give them a football each as a gift to the village. Matt said back in the States, every kid has a ball, while here, everyone (30 kids ) shares one. We were given purple jerseys and shorts, and even numbered positions to play. It was my first ever official football match, though I got subbed out by halftime. We won 1-0, and Matt was the story of the game. -Patrick Webale – Thank you

Guttering system

LSATs and cards in our free time

Weather: 70s, cloudy, light shower 9:30 PM Monday 7.30.07 It was hard getting up today. Though I still got up around 7, I think all the days of hard work and walking long distances to places are tiring me out gradually. This morning, we visited the Reverend Charles at the orphanage. We decided to bring them the donated flip flops we collected at Duke. The orphanage was a bit past the borehole, and Reverend Charles greeted us with open arms. He passionately gave us a tour of his orphanage, the self-sustaining farm, and the primary school. All the kids were happy to see us, and they even sang songs for us. Reverend Charles is one of the few people I know that are truly dedicated to what they do (along with Don Meyer, one of my Spanish teachers in high school). He has great vision for what he wants at the orphanage: a new 2 story building, rabbits, and an underground tank for rainwater. His work is really such a good thing. After releasing the forms with great difficulty, we discovered that we had not rodded the concrete wall enough so that big pockets “Watoto” – children (Swahili)

Homeland

Preparing to sing for us

of concrete were missing. Some sections were so bad that you could see through the wall! We attribute this to the chicken wire being too close together and the aggregate being too big, blocking the concrete from falling all the way down. But it was okay. Joseph the handyman plastered those missing chunks. Also, we poured the concrete and dug out the wash out trenches and spigot runoff. It was depressing at first, seeing our initial wall and trying desperately to release the inner form. Digging was tiresome too. I didn’t practice football today, but I did meet Dennis, a kid shooting around on the pitch. He gave me a letter he wrote to Benjamin Abram, who is probably sponsoring his education, or just a kid he met. I promised Dennis I will deliver it to him. This reminds me that I agreed to be Festo’s pen pal yesterday. I will write to him via Kenneth’s address, and I have to leave Kenneth my Duke address. Since Dr. Schaad is leaving tomorrow, we discussed our future plans, which have changed significantly from what I first envisioned. -Patrick. Sebo – sir

Removing the outer form

We have some problems

Weather: cloudy, rain afternoon-evening, 60s 8:30 PM Tuesday 7.31.07 Dr. Schaad left this morning. At first it was kind of scary since he was our lead decision maker and kind of someone to lean on in tough times. But it really hasn’t been all that bad. Joseph is making sure each step of the project goes properly. The biggest things we miss is his labor and his occasional smile with “You guys …” We set up and poured the second height of form. We were particularly exhausted today, probably because we were missing a person. The girls did our laundry, which was funny because all the guys were working on the project. We managed to put another gutter and almost fill the form. But then it rained. A lot. We barely managed to finish the pour, while the water started to run from the gutter. Matt stayed out in the rain for an hour switching buckets under the gutter end. We took the afternoon off, which was a much needed break. After a brief nap and light reading, we are gathered at the table passing time. It is still raining. -Patrick

Mixing more concrete

Laundry by hand

Weather: sunny, 70s, morning fog 9:00 PM Wednesday 8.1.07 Today was a light day. We successfully added some boards and guttering, and with Kenneth’s help, the corner connection between the sides of the house. Also, we visited our favorite shopping village, Kanoni, to get gutters, nails, groceries, and fascia boards. We’ve been doing pretty well without Dr. Schaad. We’re coming together, helping each other out, and making group decisions. I’m not looking forward to when we lose Liza and possibly Kerry. Matt and I met Isaac today. Isaac is a kid whose secondary school is sponsored by Dr. Gavin, who came last year. Isaac is in senior 4, and is going to take his final examinations soon to qualify for A-levels. His favorite subjects are math and science, and one day he hopes to become an engineer or doctor. Kenneth says he is at the top of his class. But all his hard work has new meaning when we learned he is an orphan. Imagine living without someone to look after you, in the present of in the future. I hope he does well. -Patrick

Kenneth nailing on our “fascia board”

Adding the PVC corner joint

Weather: sunny, short showers, 70s 8:00 PM Thursday 8.2.07 We took off the forms for the second pour, and the wall was somewhat better than last time. We did spend a considerable amount of time plastering and digging our trench under the spigot. We also planned out our plan for the trench, excess concrete, brick stairs and gravel. Also, Joseph helped us set up the roof, which is curved rebar joined in the center reaching into the third pour. Since we had extra time, we set up the inner form, which began to resemble an octagonal prison. Several of us visited the primary school on the hill next to the church to ask about tank and gutter repairs, put up health posters, and give pencils to the P7 class for their district exams. If we have time, we might clean out their gutters, move some of their gutters, or buy gutters. Also, I met Kelvin again, the person who explained to us the need to dig a foundation. He is the second deputy at the school. But also, he is studying engineering at Kampala Polytechnic, inspired by Ben Abram. He wishes that he could use a field light and/or titrometry (some engineering tool). -Patrick Wanji – Yes? (response to being called)

And the second lift results are …

Rebar skeleton for roof

Weather: rain, sun later, 60s-70s 10:00 PM Friday 8.3.07 This morning was slow, mainly because it rained until 11. I spent those hours teaching Kenneth and Joseph the Chinese card game. They only knew that card game like Uno, so maybe they’ll teach it to others. I also wrote a lot in my journal. We put up the missing piece of the inner form and raised the roof over the tank. I managed to end up inside the tank with the metal spider-like structure over me, trapping me inside. It was scary getting out because there was sharp metal sticking out everywhere. Also, the outer form got put on, just in time for the bishop. Bishop Jackson came by to visit us. He drove here in his SUV, wearing a gold watch and sunglasses, and said some good words about our project and how grateful the people were. After that, Matt and I took the day of football off and dug a little. Michael left early for Kampala for the weekend, and Margaret left to Kampala to repair the battery. Also, I had the chance to call dad at work tonight, even though it was only for 30 seconds. I will call home in Kampala next Thursday. -Patrick akuma – wire

Raising the roof

How do I get out?

Weather: sunny, cloudy, 70s 7:30 PM Saturday 8.4.07 Today was planned for the most brutal section of tank construction, the third pour. Earlier in the week, we thought we’d not do the third pour because the first two pours weren’t strong enough. Anyways, we conquered our task with all people working: mixing, shoveling, lifting, rodding, and trowelling. We were all dead tired, yet Kenneth and Joseph worked through the afternoon sewing on a plastic bag covering under the roof for plastering tomorrow. Matt and I pushed to concrete the spigot trench, though in retrospect, the work was not planned for ahead of time and we were all far from 100%. However, I got a lot to eat at lunch and dinner. After dinner, I took a walk through Kasaka to digest. I met Victoria and Beca, brother and sister who lived nearby. Beca is 24 years old, is married, and has a daughter named Robin. Victoria is finishing P7, though she doesn’t have money for secondary school following that (fees are 1500 kSh per term, and 4500 kSh per year). Wait, that is ≈$1,000 per term. Hmmm, I’ll need to double check. They wanted to show me their garden, but it got dark. -Patrick *450 kSh correct cost –Kerry

Matt’s little helpers

Assembling the outer form for the final pour

Weather: cloudy, rain, 60s 10:30 PM Sunday 8.5.07 I woke up at dawn today; I never had before seen the sun that low in the east. The rest of the morning was nowhere as exciting; church was boring, and the bishop wasn’t present, though showing up in front of him was our primary if not only purpose of going. Then it rained through part of the afternoon. Some of us trekked to Kanoni to shop and to get Sprite for Liza, who wasn’t feeling good. Later, Matt and I started setting up our first flush system. Kenneth came over this evening, and we discussed politics. He said that it was Ben’s favorite subject. Anyways, Kenneth and us discussed the deep and renown corruption in the Uganda government, opposition parties, civic participation, American politics, and similarities and differences between the two systems. It was depressing for me to hear about how so many leaders have cheated Africa, yet Kenneth seems to be optimistic. Maybe things will change in ten to fifteen years. Below is Kenneth’s contact info. -Patrick Kenneth Kasule P.O. Box 35197 *for pen pals Festo and Kampala, Uganda Issac [email protected] 256 774 287388

My first peek at dawn

Kenneth Kasule

Weather: sunny, partly cloudy, 70s 9:00 PM Monday 8.6.07 Plastering the roof took more time than we expected, due to two unplanned tasks. Removing the inner form was difficult as always, and Matt and I had to assemble the PVC flamingo (our first flush pipe system) while Zoe, Kenneth, Michael, and Joseph sewed on more bags and fixed the chicken wire. Then after lunch, we trowelled on a layer of cement. We visited the Bishop at his house at 3 (though he wasn’t there and was late, and interrupted our meeting discussing in Luganda an email impersonation of himself). I feel kind of bad being rude by not drinking his powdered passion juice, but I couldn’t trust the water. If everyone gets diarrhea, I’ll happily go to Kanoni and buy Sprite and Mirinda for them. Later, we bought 5 more gutters to get the other side of the roof, and started assembling them, along with pouring the stairs. At night the stars were so beautiful. The sky was clear, and there were so many. Kenneth sold hi hand-made greeting cards, and I got three: one for family, one for the lab, and one Kenneth will send me later in December. I have these pustules all over my arms and neck. Kenneth and Michael said it was just a rash, probably from no warm water showers and too much sun. -Patrick

Pouring the stairs

Attaching the PVC flamingo

Weather: sunny, 80s 8:15 PM Tuesday 8.7.07 Of all mornings, this was the one when everyone woke up early, because of me. Matt requested me to get him up at 7, so we could get started on our many tasks for the day. We were working on the newly added gutters when I did the bucket test, not gently pouring into the gutter, but throwing violently onto the roof, making an earthquake sound waking everyone else up We promptly switched to working on removing the outer forms. That morning we also visited the Kasaka Secondary School to distribute some health posters and some presents. They were finishing their exams, and many students were outside. The principal organized them into lines, and we introduced ourselves. We first gave away the T-shirts and backpack to the correct trivia answerers, and then went down the lines passing out candy. After the whole ceremony and the principal went through all the posters, we received a thorough tour of the physics and chemistry labs. They had many things we had like running water, posters, lights computers, chemicals, etc, and it was pretty cool to see that kids learn the same things back home and here.

A chemistry classroom

Carrying water Uganda style

We worked on setting up the aqueduct system to get water over to the tank from the front side of the roof. It was a challenge digging 4 2 ft. deep holes for over gutter-supporting fascia board posts. I’m worried that because the boards are so thin yet tall and heavy that they will wobble or tip over from wind or other disturbance. We plan to use concrete and splines (attached 2 × 4s) to support them better. After lunch we had three things to do in Kanoni. First, we gave the remaining posters to Dr. Israel at the kanoni Health Center. Then, I rode on a motorcycle (boda boda) for the first time in my life as I ordered the hatch for the tank (it turned out really nice). Finally, we shopped at the market day where there were many, many clothes. I got my first football shirt (soccer jersey); blue Arsenal Henry with Fly Emirates on the front! I will wear it on the plane home. To cap off this packed day, some of us climbed Vatican Hill. The path was steep, but we could see a distant salt lake and a tiny Henry Hall. All this walking has made me very tired, but our last day tomorrow will be even busier. -Patrick

At the Kanoni Hospital

Climbing Vatican Hill

Weather: windy, rain, 60s 9:30 PM Wednesday 8.8.07 I guess it was fitting that on our last day here it was raining. The wind changed direction, maybe signalling the coming of the rainy season. Unfortunately, we hoped to finish completely today, but the bad weather hampered us. The gutter aqueduct was concreted in place, and the gutters barely fit on the post in the correct placements. However, the rain slowed down our cement trowelling, and Joseph not coming today delayed us from starting in the morning. Kenneth and I trowelled the walls (I finally got trowelling down!), and then we hired some kids to trowel inside the tank. As it was our last day, we had several special things to take care of. We started cleaning the construction debris that had accumulated over these past days: moving in the forms, de-nailing boards, and leveling dirt. Also, we all gathered together to inventory all the things we will leave here at Henry Hall. But most importantly, we had to say goodbyes. Matt, Phil, and I went to football practice for a picture with some of the local players, and I gave them the football as a present. Reverend Fred dropped by, and I heard he was

Our aqueduct posts

Trowelling Machine

disappointed we were leaving so soon since we hadn’t built the tank on the church yet. I wish I could have said goodbye to other countless people I’ve met: Isaac, Kelvin, the other football players, etc. Our final prepared Ugandan meal was at the Bishop’s house. The dinner was a feast: chicken, beef, the usual carbohydrates, Gnut sauce, and watermelon. And the conversation was better too, mostly due to Liza and Phil, the more religious members of our team. I also got to understand the Bishop’s status better. I guess it is expected of bishops here to drive a car and have a nice home because they are leaders for a large number of people, on the level of a national figure. But whether this acceptance is due to tradition or leader position, it is accepted by the people here. But when he complained about his weak pension and asked us for support when we get jobs, I thought at least financial aid is unnecessary for a person like the Bishop. We have a few more things to take care of tomorrow morning before Tebbi picks us up at 6:30, so I must go to bed (after I pack some). -Patrick

Some members of the local football team

Matt inspecting the inside of the tank

Weather: sunny, 70s 10:00 PM Thursday 8.9.07 After a fitful short night’s sleep, I woke up early enough to see the stars before the sun came at 5:30. We thought the taxi would come at 6:30, but it really came at 8. We spent the extra time reattaching the first flush, taking a group picture, and saying goodbye to Kenneth. I will really miss Kenneth; he is a truly good person with good intentions. I will try hard to keep in touch with him. We drove for about an hour to Kampala. We saw flat marshes of papyrus, towns like Kanoni, and the many techniques for rainwater harvesting. On the way, we stopped by a drum store where we bought a total of 9 drums. Kampala was extremely busy. I think it was because many of its people are outside during the day instead of inside buildings. We ate an early and long lunch at the Speke Hotel, where we then waited for Michael Gunter at Backpackers. Randomly, we met another Duke student, David Fiocco, at the Speke. Dean Gunter treated us to dinner at Fang Fangs, a decent Chinese restaurant. Imagine, good Chinese food in Kampala! Returning to Backpackers, we met Tom and Lee. Scott was medevaced. I’m so stuffed right now. -Patrick

Group shot

Chinese food in Uganda?

Weather: partly cloudy, 70s 10:00 PM Friday 8.10.07 After passing out sleeping last night and a fitful sleep in the dorm room, I woke up early as usual. As others got up for breakfast, they recounted how I was talking in my sleep about the project, “We need to do the second lift” and “Guys, that’s too much water” among my nocturnal mumblings. Our transportation arrived at 8, and we spent most of the day on the road. Thank goodness it was all tarmac. One of our stops was at the Equator; it was the first time I had ever been in the Southern Hemisphere. Along the way we watched the scenery change from bustling, crowded city to rural, subsistence farms to natural forests and scrubby plains to tracts of commercial agriculture. Though there were some underlying internal conflict within our entire Duke team, we did get to know more about each other’s projects and lives. RASD has successfully set up their solar powered computer system. At dinner tonight, Mike told us more about Duke’s women’s engineering school in Saudi Arabia and the strict, intolerant way of life there. -Patrick On the Road 6 hours

Duke in both hemispheres

Boys in front of tea farm

Weather: cloudy, 70s 1:00 PM Saturday 8.11.07 This morning was another early 5:30 wake up call. It was the first time since Dubai that I woke up feeling clean. It was also completely dark outside. The sky got brighter as we finished eating our continental breakfast of cereal, tea/cofee, fruits, and toast. Our game safari took us through the semi-arid plains/savannah in Queen Elizabeth National Park. As we entered the park, we started seeing herds of cod antelope, some water bucks, Cape buffalo, and warthogs. The Land Rover was built with a hatch that could be raised so people could stand inside and see outside above the roof. Then, when the animals seemed repetitive, we saw lions! Two young male lions were lying around, playing a little, and stalking anthills. It was quite a treat to see them, but probably not for the cod antelope that were nervously standing guard around the lions at a safe distance. I enjoyed the scenery sitting outside on the front rack on the roof. On the way back, we saw a bunch of baboons with their kids on the road and two elephants in the far distance. I can’t wait to see more! -Patrick empundu – chimpanzee

Biggest cats in town

Baboons on the street

9:45 PM After lunch following our return to the lodge, we had two hours to rest and relax. It was then I wrote the previous journal entry. Matt and I also checked out the canoes, but it was really a dingy with poor quality oars that cost $15 U.S. Then I resigned to taking a nap before we left for the boat tour. Our two-hour boat tour was on the channel that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. We definitely saw plenty of hippos. Apparently Q.E.N.P. is “believed to host the largest concentration of hippo in Africa.” Other animals we saw include elephants, Cape buffalo, water buck, weaver birds, crocodiles, and storks. One interesting thin that there was a small fishing village inside the park on the channel. The villages coexist harmoniously with the nature around them while still maintaining their way of life. Also, we came very close to the D.R. Congo border, where there have been raids in recent days. I really must thank Scott for spending a lot of his own time and energy planning this amazing side trip that he himself was unfortunately unable to enjoy. -Patrick

Hippos, lots of hippos

Crocodile!

Weather: sunny, showers, 70s 10:30 PM Sunday 8.12.07 This morning marked the end of our safari. Our laundry came back, with a charge. In retrospect, I guess there would be a fee for laundry service, even if we were at a luxury hotel. $25 for laundry; lesson learned the hard way. Our drive back to Kampala ate up most of the day. At my request, we stopped at that drum stand again, and I bought a drum for Will. Seeing that he couldn’t come and he is a drummer, I hope he’ll enjoy it. We arrived at Backpackers, where we’ll be staying for the next two nights. We had a group pow-wow to discuss our plans for the remaining week. Tom and Liza are leaving tomorrow, so we will miss them. For dinner, several of us went downtown. At first we were planning to eat at Nando’s, but then we say it only had 3 choices. We tried Tandoor, an Indian restaurant but we wanted to watch the Manchester United game. Finally, we ended up at Mateo’s; a bar-restaurant but the food was really slow. Maybe we’ll have better luck next time. -Patrick

A valley of plantains

Drums galore!

Weather: partly cloudy, 70s 11 PM Monday 8.13.07 We spent all day in Kampala today. The team slowly got up, seeing that we didn’t have specific plans early in the day. Tom and Liza left today, and we will miss their presence. Tom left me his cell phone since he wouldn’t need it anymore. After breakfast, we spent most of the morning waiting for the taxis to take us downtown. Experiencing Ugandan time was yet another test of patience. Mike, Lee, and I first stopped at Barclay’s to change money. Apparently, $100 bills printed before 2000 are unacceptable at most banks due to counterfeiting, but Barclay’s took ours at $10 cost. Then, we journeyed to the craft market where I found a shirt and a turtle for Dad. To cap off our downtown excursion, we visited 1000 cups, a coffee café where we were supposed to speak with James about coffee production in Uganda. Matt, Lee, and I visited AEATRI (Agricultural Engineering Appropriate Technology Research Institute). We learned a lot about their innovations, their mission, and the two peanut shellers they had (for FBP). On our way back, we found the 2 in. washout pipe plug to finish the rainwater tank. -Patrick

Workshop

Diesel-powered peanut sheller

Weather: partly cloudy, 70s Wednesday, 11 AM Tuesday 8.14.07 Today was our second day in Kampala. In the morning all of us went downtown to 1000 Cups again to meet Michael, the manager. We wanted to speak with him to learn more about the process from growing to the coffee shop. As a person who runs a coffee tour, he was very knowledgeable, and our conversation with him will hopefully help the Universal Nut Sheller shell coffee. Then, we searched for boxes to ship the competition sheller and our excess gifts. The “box factory” was essentially a huge pile of leftover cardboard boxes. We said goodbye to Kerry, and Zoe and Mike who will see her off in Entebbe. In the afternoon, Lee, Phil, and I went to meet the Northwestern group of students in Engage Uganda. We learned a lot about their projects and learned from this 9-week experience. A DukeEngage program needs to be 8-weeks long, so we looked to them as an example. At night we met them again at Nando’s. Terrific Tuesday means a free smaller pizza for every pizza you buy. -Patrick

Uganda’s largest box factory

Is there a Circuit City too?

Weather: partly cloudy, 70s 11 PM Wednesday 8.15.07 We trekked to Jinja today. Matt and I hitched a free ride via the rafting bus. After the two-hour ride, Phil and Lee boarded their rapids adventure, while Matt and I found the Bellevue Hotel. It was quite challenging actually planning some part of the trip, since Lee usually does most of it. Matt and I decided to explore downtown Jinja. At first, we wanted to walk straight to Lake Victoria, but we ended up walking past factories, the city dump, and into a prison before we were turned around. Tired, we bought food from the super market for lunch and took a nap. We were waiting for Zoe and Mike to show up, but we went to see the Source of the Nile. There wasn’t much to see or do; we ended up skipping stones and building rock statues. Returning to the hotel, we eventually met up with everyone before dining at 2 Friends. The service was really slow, but we kept ourselves entertained haven’t gotten sick from swallowing water. Overall, today was very relaxing, but we will start working again tomorrow. -Patrick

Source of the Nile

Skipping stones in the Nile

Weather: partly cloudy, dusty, 70s, showers 12:30 AM Thursday 8.16.07 We left Jinja this morning to pick up a sheller for RASD. The sheller factory was located in Iganga, a 1.5 hour drive on roads under construction. Needless to say the roads were quite dusty and exhaust-filled. We met Henry the entrepreneur who manages the Full Belly Uganda facility of the Universal Nut Sheller. We learned a lot about the story of his factory, whose venture was partially funded by Duke Start-Up Challenge, before loading one sheller to take to RASD. After a 4 hour drive on even worse roads, we arrived at Nkokonjeru, the home town of RASD. We are going to stay at a convent for 3 nights before we leave. The nun in charge of us is quite nice, honest, and a butter cook than Margaret. We also had time to met Ignatius Bwoogi and John, and Jeff, all people at RASD. They had a printer problem which we tried to fix, to no avail. But we learned a lot about their goals, values, and computer problems. Ignatius and John are inspiring individuals who are both intelligent and good-hearted. I look forward to working with them. -Patrick

Shellers for sale

Future shellers

Weather: sunny, partly cloudy, 70s 11 PM Friday 8.17.07 Our plan for today was to gather information on Nkokonjeru for a potential DukeEngage location site. After a cooked breakfast, we headed to the market, where we bought groceries and recorded prices. Then, Matt, Mike, and I mapped out the major roads in Nkokonjeru with the GPS device, marking down key stores and locations of interest. The sun was beating down pretty hot, and we even climbed the wrong hill to RASD. After a local and cheap lunch at a restaurant, we went back to the convent. Mike and Zoe did some laundry, while Phil and I went to the Providence Home of the Disabled to see if DukeEngage could sponsor projects there. Sister Margaret, the director, showed us the complex and listed to us many needs they have. Some ideas we had include a hand-powered sewing machine for leg-disabled people, more rainwater tanks, and a football wheelchair. Ideally some of these projects could start in a BME design class. Along with RASD, Nkokonjeru has many DukEngage opportunities. I called Mom today after John mentioned calling parents. I can’t believe I’ll be going home in 3 days. -Patrick

Taking data

Nkokonjeru’s Twinnies

Weather: partly cloudy, 70s 11:30 PM Saturday 8.18.07 There wasn’t much planned for today. Royal van Zanten can only meet us tomorrow at 9, and Ignatius and John went to pick up the UC-Davis group for most of the day. So we didn’t do much: talked for a long time after breakfast, taught 2 kids Frisbee, explored, read, and played Capitalism. A part of me felt bad because here I am in Africa, and I’m playing cards and reading books and talking about Duke. But it has been a long trip. I did finish some documentation: the map and a price list. Ddembe visited the convent today to give me a present and say goodbye. I only met him yesterday while mapping the town. He gave me a drawing of his; he loves to draw. And I gave him to Duke pencils. He has always wanted a Western friend to communicate with, and he will email me. I only wished I got to know him longer, and that I took a picture of him. The UC-Davis group came late this afternoon. Despite previous cold encounters, it seems like they are a cooperative bunch. We also tested the sheller on removing the parchment, and it was successful! -Patrick

Coffee with and without parchment

Two beans and parchment

Weather: partly cloudy, 70s 1:30 PM Sunday 8.19.07 We left Nkokonjeru at 7. The convent had been extremely nice to us, and I will miss their hospitality. The roads were particularly bad to Namiiba, the location of Royal van Zanten, like the RASD people said. My head feels like it’s swollen from all these bumpy rides. Matt, Phil, and I spent most of the morning touring Royal van Zanten with Bas van Lankveld, the director of the plant. Will wanted us to meet him because of his jatropha project and the potential for shelling jatropha with the UNS. Bas collects jatropha seeds from all over Uganda at 150 shillings/kg, or shells them with the UNS, presses them with sunflower seed presses, and purifies the oil. He hopes to use jatropha oil as a biodiesel to replace the diesel he uses for electricity and tractors. His initial collection of 10,000 kg of jatropha (or 8,000 kg of seed) yielded 700 L of oil. Currently, he is growing 30 hectares of jatropha to experiment, and his plantation could grow to 150 hectares. The jatropha plants are still young, and only a few are bearing fruit. Even with the plantation, Bas will continue to collect jatropha seeds, and donate shellers to those collection points. -Patrick

Bas in front of field with jatropha plants

Jatropha plant with fruits

11 PM The rest of the day was uneventful and doesn’t deserve an entire page. Lee returned with the alternative sheller, legs and handle cut off. We will take it back via luggage to FBP Headquarters in Wilmington, NC. With nothing to do for the rest of the day, all of us chilled, playing snooker and/or drinking. For dinner, Mike treated us to Fang Fang’s. Afterwards, a bunch of us explored the casino, and Phil and Lee gambled a little. Boda boda-ing at night is exciting and exhilirating, albeit slightly dangerous. I spent the rest of the night playing snooker (and winning 4 games in a row!). Will called us at dinner tonight, to check our progress as we near the end of our trip. He was glad that we completed all of the tasks in his write-up. However, I feel bad that he missed coming and helping in the projects he cares so much about. It may be hard for him to table with Matt and I with him not in any of the pictures despite his hard work. I’m glad I got him something from Uganda, and I really hope the DukEngage in Uganda goes through so he can come. -Patrick

Lee in the play pen at Fang Fang’s

Eagle carved out of squash

Weather: variable, climate-controlled GMT, Tuesday, 8 AM Monday – Tuesday 8.21.07 – 8.20.07 We chilled for the morning, as our flight leaves 4:15 in the afternoon. I played some pool, and then I accompanied Matt to the craft market, where we picked up some last minute gifts. A lesson to be learned: always make sure the boda boda driver knows the place you want to go. Otherwise, it’s a huge pain, and you waste money. It was kind of sad leaving Uganda after being here for almost a month. On the road to Entebbe, I thought about all the new friends that we will leave behind, probably never to be seen again (unless Dukengage goes through). Hopefully, our stay has changed many lives, whether through the water in our rain tank, playing football alongside them, talking with them about our dreams, or even waving when they say “Hi Mzungu!” Undoubtedly, this trip has changed my life a lot, and I’m lucky that I had this chance. It is profound to think that the people we have met will most likely never be able to come to the U.S. to see our lives, as we have seen theirs. This marks the end of my journal. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, as much as I have writing it. -Patrick

On our Emirates flight home

Energy to pump borehole water 1 jerrycan = 20 L = 20 kg Depth of borehole: 22 pipe sections * 3 m each ≈ 60 m deep Energy = 10 m/s² · 20 kg · 60 m = Force · distance = 12000 J 7 jerrycans 84000 J in about 20 minutes = 60 · 20 seconds = 70 W Ingredients for Concrete

• 2 wheelbarrows of sand : 1 bag of cement (50 kg) • more grainy sand than fine, plaster sand ~ 1:1 ratio • mix dry ingredients by repiling into a new pile twice. • mound pile and add rocks (aggregate)

1.5 – 4 wheelbarrows : 1 bag cement • add water to thick porridge consistency while mixing • avoid breathing in cement as it gets stuck in your lungs.

3 bags for floor, almost 3 bags for wall.

Kerry pumping water

Supplies

How to play Michael’s game 1. Deal everyone 7 cards face down. Flip over the next card,

which starts the discard pile. 2. On any turn, one can play a card that matches the number

or the suit of the top card on the discard pile. 3. If you don’t have a card that matches or if you choose, you

can draw a card from the draw pile. If you want to play the card you drew, you can. If you can’t, end your turn.

4. Aces are wild suit, 2s are draw two (unless the next person also plays a two, which the next person has to draw two), jacks are reverse, and eights are skips.

5. Playing out of turn is a penalty of two cards. 6. One must announce when he/she has two cards and one

card remaining. 7. The game ends in two possible ways. Either someone runs

out of cards (who then wins), or someone plays the seven of the suit of the card that started the discard pile. Then, everyone totals the number of points in her/her hand. A-15, K-13. Q-12, J-11, 2-20, 10-10, 9-9, etc. The one with least points wins.

Interior of Henry Hall, our residence

Zoe with Livingstone

Education in Uganda Public vs. Private – talking with Margaret On a walk to Kanoni, Margaret discussed with me the problems with public education. The government provides public education for primary school starting at 5-6 years old (7 years). However, there has been controversy over two issues. First, teachers are guaranteed a certain amount of pay. Thus, they neglect their jobs, not caring if students aren’t in the classroom, not prepared, or not paying attention. Secondly, lunch is not provided. In Uganda, school goes from 8 to 5, with an hour lunch break in between. Imagine trying to learn and pay attention on an empty stomach until 5! Margaret said it was the parents to blame because the teachers proposed an increase in fees to provide daily lunch to the students. However, President Museveni rejected that idea, with broad support from the parents. It is as if the parents don’t value their kids education enough to give them lunch. And the parents that do try to put their kids in a private school, where they know the kids will have lunch and be paid attention and actually get taught. No money for private school? Enjoy public school!

Homeland Orphanage’s P4 class

Kids in Nkokonjeru getting out of school

Education in Uganda – Secondary School – Kenneth Though primary school is available in some form or another, secondary school is a different story. Despite the government promising public secondary school, parents and kids still have to pay for education past primary. Secondary school consists of a total of 6 years, 4 years at ordinary level and 2 years of advanced level. Grades are named senior 1 through senior 6. The problem lies in paying the fees for secondary school. The majority of kids do not go to secondary school, because their families cannot afford to. Many factors cause this large family size, low income, missing parents, or if you’re female. Women education is not valued very much, even though the only jobs women can hold require education (teaching, secretary, nurse, etc.) There are some happy endings. Kenneth really wanted a secondary school education, but his family couldn’t afford it. So Kenneth worked at construction companies in Kampala mixing concrete to earn money. Sometimes if companies thought he looked too weak to do work, he’d work a day for free to prove his abilities. However, women do not have such money-making opportunities, and are at more of a disadvantage. Thankfully, Kenneth has been able to get sponsorships for needy students who were in his situation.

Kasaka Secondary School students taking an exam

The chemical department

Education in Uganda – Practical Education for Kids – Reverend Charles Reverend Charles’s orphanage is more than just a roof over one’s head; it is a fertile ground where things grow. There is the primary school onsite that educates the kids. But the farm is used not only for supporting the orphanage, but for education as well. Since most people here are farmers, and kids learn their parents’ trade, Reverend Charles helps teach kids farming techniques. For crops, he shared with us an alternate meaning for “family planning,” pruning plantain trees so that only a maximum of three tree trunks come out of each spot. He tells kids to plant beans around the plantains since they have nitrogen-fixing nodules to replenish the soil. And he emphasizes the importance of natural fertilizer i.i. cow dung. Artificial fertilizer and pesticides are too expensive and unhealthy for the land. There are many things to learn from the livestock too. Charles teaches the formulas for feed for various animals. He explains the mating techniques for goats. He tells kids to clean the water trough to eliminate bacteria. Also, he goes through proper dosage of medicine to cure animal maladies. He hopes all this practical education will help these orphans grow up into responsible and capable farmers.

Reverend Charles teaching us about planting bananas

Reverend Charles teaching us about mating goats

If there were nuclear war, and we couldn’t go home … - Dr. Schaad In this animated discussion with Dr. Schaad, I realized how far apart this world is from the one back home. Our current lifestyle is bearable, at least to me. There would be enough food, water, and shelter, at least in the short term. No Internet, no electricity, no problem. However, Dr. Schaad pointed out that as foreigners we brought a lot of things we depend on but probably cannot be replaced. The foremost resource we need is money. After our cash runs out, we would need to work for a living. Maybe Dr. Schaad can become an engineer, or we could become teachers, but it would be difficult to become a farmer. Many of our basic amenities are limited. Toothpaste, medicine, and eyewear are all important. Running out of malaria pills would make life scary. And I would not be able to live productively if both my glasses broke. All this talk of this horrible hypothetical situation made me miss home. Dr. Schaad is lucky to go back to the States.

Better learn how to use a Ugandan stove

Home cooking

Inequity of Rainwater Harvesting – Patrick We’ve heard so many good things about rainwater harvesting. By simply collecting otherwise wasted fresh water for storage for future use, it provides a sustainable source of water. In doing so, it improves health, saves time and energy, and helps women and children indirectly. But rainwater harvesting can create inequity in the community where water is not free. Besides rainwater harvesting, the main source of water for the community comes from boreholes. Bottled water is a luxury, and financially, and environmentally unsustainable. The borehole is open to anyone, all the time. In fact, it can be seen as a community gatherplace since everyone comes by to fill their jerrycans. Rainwater tanks differ significantly from boreholes. Since they collect water from roofs, rainwater tanks are attached and physically belong to the building and whoever owns it. When not in use, rainwater tanks are frequently locked to prevent thieves taking water. Unless connected to a public building, rainwater tanks are mostly a private resource. These fundamental differences can create inequities due to uneven distribution of the benefits of rainwater harvesting. This will almost always be the case since it would require a large amount of resource to give every household a rainwater harvesting system. Thus a select few groups enjoy the convenience of a water source in their backyard. These potential problems could exacerbate during the dry season, when the roof’s owner can lock up the faucet to keep the water to her/himself. Though rainwater harvesting brings many benefits to the community, they might not be shared equally by all. I propose selectively building rainwater harvesting systems on public buildings (schools, town centers), or ensure the entire community contributes to construction costs so that rainwater can be a shared resource, not an exclusive one.

Locked tap at the primary school

Privately owned rainwater tank

A Typical Day in Uganda – Patrick My Schedule

7:00 AM Wake up by myself 7:00 – 8:00 Alone time: brush teeth, floss, use outhouse,

fold pajamas, make bed, sweep room, write in journal, read Crime and Punishment

8:00 – 9:00 Everyone else wakes up. Breakfast. 9:00 – 1:00 PM Work 10:00 – Noon Church (Sundays only) 1:00 – 1:30 Lunch 1:30 – 5:00 Work 5:00 – 6:00 Relax or play football 6:00 – 6:30 Dinner 6:30 – 9:00 Relax 9:00 – 10:00 Go to sleep

Student on weekday

6:00 AM Wake up 6:00 – 8:00 Wash up, get water, maybe eat breakfast, get

to school 8:00 – 1:00 School 1:00 – 2:00 Lunch break, play football 2:00 – 5:00 School 5:00 – 6:00 Walk home, play football 6:00 – 6:30 Dinner 6:30 – Dusk Homework 8:00 – 9:00 Go to sleep

Margaret (domestic woman)

7:00 AM Wake up 7:00 – 8:00 Shower, morning chores (dishes, sweeping,

laundry) 8:00 – 11:00 Morning chores, go to Kanoni for shopping 11:00 – 1:00 Prepare lunch 1:00 – 1:30 Lunch 1:30 – 4:00 Afternoon chores 4:00 – 6:00 Prepare dinner 6:00 – 6:30 Dinner 6:30 – 8:00 Relax (Internet) 8:00 – 9:00 Go to sleep

Before dawn

The sun sets behind the ridge

Ugandan Food – Patrick Now that I have eaten Ugandan cuisine for over a week, I can describe the kinds of food I’ve been able to eat on this trip. Breakfast is a simple, non-cooked, small meal. Everyday we eat bread with Blue Band margarine. Recently, we have purchased peanut butter from Kampala which is now our only stable source of protein. We try to limit ourselves to two slices of bread at breakfast, but we always eat bread at other times of the day for snack. We drink hot water, Africana tea, and Nescafé coffee, all with Nido powdered milk and/or sugar. Lunch and dinner are similar, prepared, larger meals. This is because the cook has time to prepare food and so that we can replenish our energy from working on the tank. Carbohydrates are matooke (a plantain mash), basmati rice, potatoes and/or pasta. There is another corn flour dish which none of us liked the second day, but people eat it a lot. Of those four, matooke is the cheapest and most commonly eaten because it is home-grown. However, it is Matt’s least favorite and Margaret’s favorite food. Vegetables are avocado, a cabbage salad with tomatoes, onions, and green pepper, either raw or cooked, and a pea curry sauce dish that is put over the carbohydrates. Kerry and Liza dislike the raw salad because of the onion taste, while Zoe loves cabbage. She also loves peas, but Kerry and Liza don’t enjoy the spice on the peas. Also, Margaret sometimes prepares chips (French fries) and chapoti, flour fried pancakes (Matt’s favorite). Maize is grilled over a charcoal oven at very low flame and tastes like popcorn on a cob. It is less sweet but starchier than corn in the U.S. Fruits are served as dessert (like at home), and they have included pineapple, jack fruit, and small yellow bananas. Because the food is not the best tasting to some of our team members, we have relied primarily on two condiments: Goya Adobo and Kraft Parmesan cheese, both American imports. Meat is a luxury here in Uganda, to the relief of Zoe and Liza, our vegetarians, and to the moans of the male faction. We ate meat three times so far: beef, chicken, and egg omelet. There are two times when everyone in Uganda eats meat: Easter and Christmas. Other than that, protein is pretty rare. Bottled water is all we drink besides hot drinks. We have to get cases of 20 600 mL Highland Natural mineral water for 9000 Sh at Kanoni. I drink about 2-3 a day. Other foods: sugarcane, Gnuts

Roadside market on road to safari

A heap of potatoes

Corruption of the Kasaka Church – Patrick Of all the new experiences I’ve had on this trip, none have mad such an impact on my perspective of that experience than religion. Last Sunday was the first time I had gone to a religious service, and throughout this trip, I’ve had the opportunity to meet several religions leaders. To me, it seems that the church is looking out for itself first and not the community. We met Reverend Fred at this house last Friday, and he seems to be a privileged person, more privileged than average. When we discussed a potential rainwater harvesting tank at the church, one of this first suggestions was to ensure that a pipe would be built to supply the reverend’s house or that a tank be built in the back of the reverend’s house. Personally, I think these demands are selfish and outrageous. Selfish because these requests would benefit only the reverend, his wife, and his friends, and outrageous because how many people in the community can afford their own rainwater harvesting tank or have the luxury of running water? At the church service, I got a close look at tithing and how it works. In order to maintain the church financially, church-goers are supposed to tithe, that is, donate when it is time to. Donations can be in cash (urban areas) but can also be in produce (rural areas). Assuming that the church does not spend what it does not need, this whole essay would not be an issue. But the church’s financial books are probably not transparent. Who knows if the tithe is going to repairing the roof or to the reverend’s pocket? And the way Reverend Fred pressured individuals to contribute to the bishop’s return feast was like forcing milk out a cash cow. I was most disgusted with the way the Bishop carried himself. My description of him makes him many standard-of-living levels above the people he serves. Trips to Orlando and Chicago? Driving my own SUV? Does the title of bishop entitle him to more than any other Christian? The church in Kasaka abuses its status as provider of above religious services and seems to enjoy a lifestyle miles what anyone else here can afford.

Is this publicly accessible?

Meeting with the Reverend

Shopping – A List of Prices in Kanoni – Zoe and Kerry Chicken 10,000 Cabbage 500 Scooped peas (2 cups) 1,000 Green pepper 200 Bread loaf 1,000 – 2,000 5 tomatoes 200 Mirinda 500 Matooke (2 big bunches) 6,000 Toilet paper (roll) 800 30 eggs 4,000 Box of candy 4,500 3 m gutter 11,000 Bracket 1,000 Kenneth’s card 3,000 Box of bottled water 9,000 24 600 mL *1 USD = 1645 UGX on 7.25.07

The local Home Depot

Kanoni market

The PVC Flamingo – Patrick Oh plastic voluntary curio

why do you stand there so still a complicated rigid body of gray holding the purpose you fulfill

Oh precious vile creature

your price as tall as your stature with artificially leaky feet an inefficient water leacher

Oh promising vital collector

purity is difficult to maintain cylindrical beak open to the first drops of dusty undrinkable rain

Oh precarious visionary component

intangible ideas raised to reality lengthy legs standing barely supported please stand as a test of stability!

The PVC Flamingo

At work early in the morning

RWH Construction Summary – Patrick W 7.25 Arrived late night at CBU T 7.26 Leveled foundation, set up forms F 7.27 Assembled rebar, dug foundation deeper S 7.28 Poured floor and first lift S† 7.29 Gutters M 7.30 Removed forms, plastered T 7.31* Poured second lift W 8.1 Gutters T 8.2 Removed forms, plastered, assembled roof rebar F 8.3 Attached roof rebar S 8.4 Poured third lift, sewed bags on roof S† 8.5 Assembled FFS M 8.6 Removed inner forms, assembled FFS, plastered

roof T 8.7 Gutters, dug aqueduct post holes W 8.8 Plastered, assembled aqueduct, clean up T 8.9 Departed CBU early morning

†Church service in morning *Dr. Schaad left in morning

Total: 14 full days

First Time Lapse Shot

Last Time Lapse Shot

Lodging – Jacana Safari Lodge – Scott Of all lodging in Africa so far, Jacana Safari Lodge is the most luxurious, and definitely well worth it. It provides three important amenities as well as a large room and good food. There three amenities have made my stay here. First was the running water. Not only was it safe compared to Kampala water, it was also hot! I had the opportunity to shower twice in warm water. I’ve never been this clean in two weeks! Second there was electricity. Yes, there was electricity in Henry Hall but here there is a light in every room: sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom. No more difficulty peeing in the dark! Though the power cuts out at 10:30 and starts at 5:30, I never stayed up past then nor was it dark that early. Third and lease expected was laundry service. Matt and I definitely took advantage of this by dumping half to almost all of our clothes inside the laundry basket. Though the processing time depended on the weather, and it rained on Saturday, I was worried if we’d get our clothes back before we leave. But when I asked last night, the manager said they were ironing as we speak and will be returned before our breakfast. Now that is quality service! The room makes a great getaway cabin for two. The sitting room has two chairs and a great view facing east over a lake. The bedroom has a king sized bed, a wardrobe, a writing desk, and plenty of lights. The bathroom is quite spacious, and it had a toilet, a rock-floored shower, and a sink with mirror. They provided boiled water in a vase for brushing teeth. The only slightly awkward thing was that there was one big bed instead of two small ones. Food was great. Breakfast was continental or hot and lunch and dinner were both served. And they always had meat! I miss having meat at most meals like back home.

Interior of our cabin

Beds inside Lee and Tom’s cabin

Ecosystems in Queen Elizabeth National Park – Patrick On our safari excursion, we experienced two ecosystems that are unique to Africa. The first is the savannah, a dry plains with few trees. Occasionally, the dirt on the ground is mostly sand. I think this is because of the mountains nearby that create a rain shadow effect. Then again, it is the dry season. The flora are grasses, shrubs, cactus-like trees, and leafy trees. The sparseness of vegetation is conducive to grazing animals, though a lot of land is needed to support any animals. These grazing animals include Ugandan cobs, water buck, Cape buffalo, elephants and warthogs. Generally, it seems that there isn’t much competition between these herbivorous species, and sometimes they mingle amongst each other. There are no giraffes, as the leafy trees are relatively few. The rhinos here were all killed in the 1970s, and may be reintroduced from Kenya. The sparse distribution of prey means even fewer predators, primarily lions, but also leopards and hyenas. In conjunction with the savannah ecosystem, we saw the river ecosystem. This was the channel that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. It is relatively shallow; at its deepest point 8 m. This allows hippos a great place to roam. The channel is reportedly the densest concentration of hippos in Africa. Along with hippos, there are weever birds, cranes, storks, crocodiles and all the savannah animals that come down for a drink. All the river animals eat either bugs or tilapia, the most common fish here. Also, a human settlement is on the river that depends on fishing too, yet they peacefully coexist with the wildlife as they have for centuries.

Ugandan cobs

Fishermen and hippos

Lodging – Backpackers: The Hostel Life – Lee Backpackers is the first hostel I’ve ever stayed at. Basically, life here is like living in a dorm, except with strangers. Everything is communal, and that’s how it is so cheap. Our dorm room consists of 13 twin beds, mostly bunk beds. Besides a bed net, pillow, sheets, and blanket, there is not much else. The floor paper is peeling, some nets have holes, the windows are always open, and the ceiling-wall lining is incomplete. Also, it is doubtful that they wash sheets on a daily basis. Just hope that the person before you didn’t have lice or bed bugs. Plus, it is possible to be sharing the room with strangers, so one should be more careful with belongings in the room. And with so many people in one room, disturbances can wake up others or keep others awake. Thank goodness I’m a relatively heavy sleeper (thanks Irvin!). Bathrooms aren’t the best quality. There is running water, which is great except for the fact that sewer water got mixed with clean water accidentally by the city. Other than toilets, sinks, and showers, there are “eco-toilets”, or latrines, that aren’t dependant on running water. Running water is also compromised by the rolling blackouts in Kampala: 22 hours on and 26 hours off, so the City Water District can’t pump water. Outside living quarters, there are many amenities. First, there is an Internet café, where many of our team have used the chance to check email and Facebook. There is also a real café, where one can order meals and snacks, but the service is really slow. The bar is also popular, and they show football matches on the TV. In the hanging out space, there are plenty of couches, tables, chairs, a porch and a snooker table. There are two souvenir shops by the security gate too. The guests that stay here a mostly mzungus. An Australian flag hangs in the bar, but people hail from Britain, Germany, New Zealand, and of course the U.S. Besides English, it seems like most people speak German, Dutch, or French? I’m not too sure. Though it is diverse in that way, Backpackers reminds me of the black working class serving rich white people.

Backpacker’s Lobby

Kid playing with snooker balls

Letter back Home (Edited) – Patrick 8.14.07 Greetings from Uganda! Today marks the third week I’ve been in Africa. Things have been going pretty well; I haven’t gotten sick besides a stomachache and a slight cold. Hopefully, things will stay that way for one more week until I fly back to the U.S. We are practically done with the rainwater tank project at Central Buganda University. Life there was pretty tough, even worse than when I visited the countryside in China or when I went to China when I was 5. There was no running water, so we had to shower by splashing ourselves or showering in the rain. Toilets were pit latrines. Don’t worry, we all used lots of Purell to wash our hands, and we bought lost of bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth. The food was authentic; we ate matooke, a banana version of mashed potatoes, rice, cabbage, and potatoes mostly. Meat is a luxury in rural areas; that was what I missed most from meals in the U.S. Most days we had to do a lot of physical labor (much harder than pipetting up and down) i.e. mixing concrete, putting up gutters, and walking miles to get and carry back water and supplies. After that, we met up with the other Duke students here on another project in Uganda to go on the safari. The environment is completely different and breathtaking. We got to see Cape buffalo, water buck, Ugandan cobs (antelope), warthogs, elephants, hippos, and lions! We were very lucky to see lions since they are rare. There were two just lying around carelessly, and all the nearby antelope were on guard, scared of whether the lions might attack. I’ve plenty of pictures which I’ll send when I get back to the U.S. Right now, we are staying at a hostel in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. We’ll all be going to Jinja, the source of the Nile, before going to the other Duke project in Uganda. I miss all of you very much, and I wish you were all to see the sights. Hope everything is good in Chicago. Patrick

My home

My family in Alaska

Rural vs. Urban Life in Uganda – Patrick There is a striking difference in lifestyles for the millions that live in Kampala and the majority of the nation in rural towns. Of the several small towns in the countryside we have visited, the standard of living is rather low. Running water is not common, electricity at best is on and off if present at all, and hospitals are low on drug supplies. Disease is higher due to contamination of water supplies, which are not regulated or checked for quality at all. In addition, transportation can be a pain. A trip to Kampala may take half a day to a whole day. Roads, unless your town is on a main road, is hopelessly pot-holed and dusty. Computers are pretty much non-existent, and cell phone service can be spotty. In short, many modern conveniences are lacking in rural areas. Kampala is completely different. As the capital and largest city, it is the center of everything in Uganda. It is convenient ot live in the city since this is where commerce and business happen. Pretty much everything you want is in Kampala; Internet cafés, banks, peanut butter, good hospitals, airport (nearby in Entebbe), running water, electricity, etc. However, these benefits come with the costs of living in a city. The air pollution in Kampala is horrendous (relative to Duke and even Chicago). Traffic is stifling, and motor accidents are more likely. Crime is higher too, with gangs and drugs. But these cons are outweighed by the pros. Ideally, one would want a medium-sized city as a compromise between these 2 lifestyles. This can be found in Jinja. Pretty much all of the services in Kampala are in Jinja too. Electricity is more regular than Kampala, because the hydroelectric dam is right there. The roads are almost all paved, and there is low traffic if any. Jinja is directly connected via paved road to Kampala. In general, Jinja reminds me of a suburb with a small but lively downtown. I think it is the ideal place to live in Uganda.

Cattle commute

Kampala street corner

Rules of Michael’s Game (aka Ugănda) Continued -Matt, Phil, Lee, and Patrick 8. 2s can be broken by an ace of the played suit. 9. An ace of the played suit can change the suit while any

other ace changes the suit to that suit. 10. Playing a queen forces you to choose a chard from the

discard pile to give to any player, including yourself. 11. A red king allows one to drop any card to the bottom of the

discard pile, but a red king is worth 20 points. 12. A black king allows one to pass a card to anyone, and it is

worth 20 points as well 13. You can play a three-of-a-kind at once only if you have 5

cards or more, with the suit of your choice on top. However, the three-of-a-kind acts as the top card only.

14. The winner gets 9 cards instead of 7 at the start. 15. Playing a card that makes a three-card run allows the player

the option of switching hands with anyone. 16. Playing a 9 requires one to draw a card. One cannot go out

of cards by playing a 9. 17. Failure to say “2 cards” or “1 card” results in a penalty of 1

card. 18. Playing the same color 7 as the game ending 7 allows the

player to give one card of your choice and pick one at random from that player.

19. Playing all 4 suits of 1 number consecutively makes everyone draw a card randomly from the person to the left.

20. The loser of the round can guess their next round score, and if correct, has the round’s score subtracted.

Lee teaching kids Frisbee

Road intersection

A List of Prices in Nkokonjeru *See Tom’s notebook Market for more prices ½ bag charcoal 4000 1 small onion 100 1 heap sweet potatoes 1000 1 kg Irish potatoes 700 1 kg rice 1500 1 kg ground nuts 2400 1 chicken 3000 1 heap eggplant 3500 1 bag peas 3500 Bakery 1 doughnut 100 12 doughnuts 1000 Loaf of bread 1500 30 eggs in a tray 1500 (at the hospital) Convenience 300 mL soda 500 Box of tea 3500 Can of coffee 3500 500 g Blue Band 3600 Miscellaneous 1 bag OMO 40 g 250 1 roll toilet paper 300 Letter to the U.S. 2000 Bike 120000 1 L petrol 2400

Nkokonjeru market

Local 7/11

Lodging – The Convent – Lee The convent was where the RASD team stayed, and we returned to their former lodging. It was very comfortable, probably because it was so homey. Our host sister was incredibly good to us. At the convent there were several “American” conveniences. The bathroom had running water for the toilet, sink, and bathtub. Electricity was constant except for a hour our entire stay. We each had our separate rooms with our own bed with net. Outside, there was a common living room with chairs and a table, where we played many a card game. Everyone fit under the same roof; the building can fit 7 people. It was like a block at Duke. Food was great. The sister cooked breakfast and dinner, both served at 8. For breakfast, she would cook an egg omelet, and dinner was traditional Uganda cuisine. There was always enough food; she would always ask if the meal was enough. We had to purchase the groceries for our meals, which was more of a good experience than the hassle that it sounds like. And we could always by baked goods for snacks. Having a set meal plan like that made life easy. Though one might imagine that because we were at a convent, there’d be religion everywhere. In fact, I think religion was forced upon us less than at CBU. Nobody had to say any prayers at meals, unlike Margaret. The most religious things were the wooden hanging of the crucifix in the commons, and the various quotes from the Bible posted in bedrooms. I found it friendly that the nuns referred to us as her “sons and daughter.” Compared to life at CBU, living at the convent was simpler, more friendly, and more good-feeling. If we could stay longer, I would stay at the convent.

The chapel at the convent

Garden inside the convent

Transportation in Uganda Modes of transportation in Uganda are very different from America’s own-your-own car. Ugandans employ a combination of mostly paratransit and boda bodas. The most noticeable vehicle in Uganda is the taxi van with a blue T stamped on it. Each taxi can “is licensed to carry 14 passengers,” but drivers regularly fit 20 people or more. Each van is run by two people: a driver who needs to go to taxi school for a license, and a fare collector. It is the fare collector’s job to holler at people to fill up the taxi. This paratransit taxi is basically the entire makeup of Uganda’s public transportation system. And most surprisingly, it is entirely privately-owned, but the individual drivers. These taxi’s provide transport from a home town in Uganda to a city or region, such as Kampala or Jinja, and often pick up people on the way. In Kampala, there are two taxi parks, where a couple hundred taxis are parked, waiting to fill up. It is truly impressive to see that the majority of long-distance travel is through paratransit. For short distances that are beyond walking, one can ride on a boda boda, a low-powered motorcycle. Along with the driver, the boda boda can carry up to two passengers, or a sizeable load of cargo. Bodas are quite common, kind of like cab cars in NYC, except only two wheels. In terms of energy, I think boda bodas are much more efficient, albeit dangerous to some extent. The lax traffic laws in Kampala do not stop bodas from weaving through traffic, allowing them less gas and time wasted. Overall, they are convenient, cheap, and even a fun form of transportation. There are a small minority of other vehicles. There are some trucks to carry large loads of cargo. Few buses provide other means of public transportation. Private hires, or regular taxis, are available for larger groups of people. For the few people rich enough to afford their own car, most drive Land Rover SUVs to navigate Uganda’s rough roads. Uganda’s transportation is otherwise very different from back home, and I hope it stays that way.

Old Taxi Park in Kampala

On my first ever boda boda ride

List of People CBU: Duke

• Kerry Costello (project co-chair) • Zoe Englander (project co-chair) • Matt Ball • Liza Crabtree • Philip Wolfe • Patrick Ye • Dr. David Schaad (faculty advisor)

CBU

• Kenneth Kasule, student • Margaret Ssengendo, bursar • Michael Semakula, director of maintenance and dvlpmt.

RASD: Duke

• Lee Pearson • Tom Rose (Smart Home) • Scott Steinberg (Smart Home) • Will Patrick

RASD

• Ignatius Bwoogi, director • John Ssemogere, project manager

Dean Mike Gunter supervised us for the latter half of our trip.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank all who made this trip financially possible. This includes the Lord Foundation, the Bassett Fund, the Engineering Alumni Council, and many others. I can’t forget to mention the people who helped us with the logistics. Dean Hassan, Rebecca Dupre, Dr. Schaad, our faculty sponsor, Dean Gunter, and the many others who were behind the scenes. Without you guys, this trip would not have happened. Also, thank you to all the fellow Dukies who traveled with me for making this an enjoyable and memorable summer. Most importantly, I would like to dedicate this journal to Will Patrick, who was unable to come with us to Uganda due to an injury. Of all the people in EWB, Will was the one who most deserved to go because of his dedication during the school year and his passion for helping people. All the pictures in this journal have been graciously shared with me by all the Dukies listed on the previous page.