Brian is a student of Computer Science at Makere University in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. He is also a part time boda-boda driver. Brian lost his parents at an early age. Now, at age 20, he supports himself and his younger sister by driving a boda — or motorcycle taxi — several days a week. In the absence of family support, Brian insists that it is his friends that have helped him succeed.
Less
More
Author Archive for Aylie Baker
Project Summary:
We worked in three areas of Uganda. First we worked in Kampala, the capital city. We stayed there from July 6th to July 27th, and worked with children in two organizations – Focus, an after-school program for kids in the slums of Mulago; Cornerstone, a house for street children - and with children at Bishop’s Secondary School in Mulago (an area right outside of Kampala). Then we worked in Lyantonde (down south) for about two weeks with an organization called PARDI, an orphanage/outreach program for AIDS orphans. Then we went up north to Gulu for the last three weeks of our project, staying at the Gulu Cornerstone house and working with the children there. We left Gulu on August 28th.
Continue reading ‘Reflections on the Summer: Project Evaluation’
In the small village of Lyantonde, it’s the hum of trucks passing that first wakes you in the morning. Not the birds. Or the kitchen. Even the large woman sweeping briskly in the courtyard. No. It’s the trucks that wake you.
The entire main street is hemmed with them. At all hours they come whistling past, brakes trembling, horns babbling, cargo thrashing. Scattering children, goats, they slip into empty slots and join the assembly line of matoke, petrol, cattle, grain. More petrol. Roadside buildings cower under these looming behemoths, their windows wincing in the plumes of red dust that spew from weary tires, their walls perpetually cast in a rusty pallor.
One, perhaps two drivers step out. A man emerges from the cargo hold, sneezing.
Ojok Tony is 16 years old. Originally from the rural village of Koro in Northern Uganda, Tony was forced to flee northwards to the city of Gulu with his family after the village was attacked by Lord’s Resistance Army rebel forces. When he arrived in Gulu, tensions with his stepmother heightened and Ojok wound up living on the streets of Gulu. He now lives in Cornerstone, a boy’s group home run by David Laker, where he lives with other boys his age in a communal setting and is able to attend school. Ojok is extremely witty, a leader among the boys and excels on the football pitch. This is the story of his sister, Peloya Jacqueline, who was captured by the rebels.
Nabayego Evelyn and Namayanja Maxmiriam are best friends. In the early 90s, they both lost their parents to AIDs. Today, at sixteen, they attend Bishop’s Senior School in Mukono, a district just East of Kampala. This is one of a few interviews we conducted in which the participants were the primary interviewers. In this piece, Maxmiriam interviews Evelyn about her life as an orphan, as a friend, and as a role model for other teenagers. Both girls hope to one day attend university. Maxmiriam is interested in journalism and nursing, and Evelyn hopes to become a doctor.
After a whirlwind two and half weeks in Kampala, we are setting off for Leontonde in Southern Uganda for the second leg of our project. In our first stint at recording, we were able to capture some great narratives and youth interviews, all in the midst of meeting with Uganda’s most esteemed Parliament Member (a big climate activist), visiting the tombs of the late Buganda kings, roaming around Nakasero Market, mastering boda rides, eating large amounts of great local food, having a few run ins with a chicken, meeting and interviewing a witchdoctor, attending two church services…generally just having a fantastic time.
Standing frozen amidst pulsing limbs and guilty cackling this past Sunday, I found my eyes wandering to the adjacent dirt road and the young woman ambling peacefully down the hill. As she walked, tossing a coin first from right then to left and again to right hand, I listened to the scuff-scuff of her feet on the soft earth, and watched her smile as plumes of red dust wrapped around her ankles. Mpola mpola (slowly, slowly) she drifted away from the vibrant mirth of our Red Light-Green Light, her lean figure framed by the hazy skyline of Kampala City below.
This is our first audio piece recorded while in Uganda. A vox-pop, this piece is a compilation of the wishes of children aged 13-16 at Bishop’s Senior School in Mukono. This and similar activities became a staple in our orientation process: it proved a great way in which to familiarize the children with the equipment and also was instrumental in establishing a trust. Over the course of the summer it was heartening to note the congruency among the hopes and dreams expressed by children from different areas. Since returning to the U.S. we’ve conducted this same activity with children here and have found remarkably similar responses.
Getting to know some local children
