Rains...finally...

It's March in Karamoja and it seems that a 4 year drought might be broken. The ground which normally wrinkles into a cracked dry mosaic has been transformed into a velvet green wonderland. Fingers of life stretch out of the red ground in a performance reminiscent of a resurrection. Birds, butterflies and bees are reborn, rivers overflow, and clouds enshroud Mount Moroto. New life has been breathed into a barren existence. An existence which weeks before seemed to be hanging on the fringe of survival...on the fringe of the world's thoughts. There is a sense of hope...at least for now...

Random pictures of nothing in particular

meanwhile in a galaxy far far away.....

“Our lives are to be used and thus to be lived as fully as possible, and truly it seems that we are never so alive as when we concern ourselves with other people.” - Harry Chapin

6 1/2 months in Karamoja... it feels as if the time has passed through my fingers and im left with a hazy day dream of strange memories. I'm in a world that has so many questions and so few answers. I fear to search too deep, knowing full well that i may find answers lying asleep in the shadows of apathy. Can it be that a single person's action or inaction dictates the course of another person's being? Can it be that mankind is able to end hunger, stop poverty and heal the sick yet falls miserably short merely because of selfish ambition, indifference, sinful nature, etc etc...
Dwelling on the why leads down a dark path for which i have neither the courage nor the strength to go.

The what and the what....

It seems my blogging drought has been corresponding to the actual drought here in Karamoja. hmmm... exhale....and back to work.

The Face of Akorro In Karamoja

It has been quite a while since my last post but it seems work is getting the most of me these days. The food distributions continue to go forward and right now we are providing life saving food rations to nearly 540,000 people. April and May provided Karamoja with some hope of agricultural production as the rains came and numerous agencies including Samaritan's Purse provided inputs to the local farmers. June however greeted us with no rain and now the knee high crops are wilting in the face of what seems to be yet another drought (see All Africa - Karamoja Drought). The last month has also seen my physical health deteriorate due to a combination of malaria and a week long battle with food poisoning, however, it seems I am recovering and now I'm just trying to add weight to my scrawny 112lbs frame.

Rainy Daze

The rains seemed to have officially arrived as every afternoon we are assaulted by a heavy down pour. Im praying that it continues for the sake of my garden and the hungry bellies in Karamoja.
Below are some pictures i snapped about a month ago. They were taken while registering households in the mountainous region of Tapac. These days office work has had me too busy to escape into the field.

Somewhere Between Amnesia and Dali's Persistence of Memory

Emerging from some capsule void of time, change and memory, I feel I am awakening into a world once lost to me. Born into a sphere where my voice is silenced by the chasm of cultures and human capacity for understanding.

Karamoja Drive By

A couple of weeks ago we went to Karamoja for some needs assessment. Before leaving we heard all the rumors (some true, some not) from Ugandans such as, "oh that place is so very hot", "you should fear the Karamojong, the are very dangerous" and "don't look at their cattle."
Traditionally, every aspect of Karamojong life has revolved around their cattle. It is common knowledge among the Karamojong that all the cattle in the world belong to them and therefore they are entitled to anyones cattle. Frequently violence flares up as cattle raiders steal cattle from neigboring Karamojong and even ethnic groups beyond.
During one of our needs assessment, we asked what development projects would work well in Karamoja. One man stated that we should "start a piggery, because people can't run with pigs"