Comments on: A Ugandan bus journey… http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/05/14/a-ugandan-bus-journey/ Kiva Fellows share their experiences from the field Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:29:35 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Lynn http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/05/14/a-ugandan-bus-journey/#comment-1414 Lynn Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:55:12 +0000 http://kivafellows.wordpress.com/?p=508#comment-1414 Way to tell it Irene and Jan.....It is hurtful to hear these kinds of generalizations. As Irene says, this "brief mad dash on earth" is just that, and some of us have been dealt easier hands than others. I want to believe Kiva people undertake these fellowships for the right reasons. I am grateful to hear something about the countries they are serving. I have spent close to 30 years working in developing world conditons and although I wonder where the time went, I don't know how better I could have spent it. I am ruined for doing any other kind of work... It is not good to use a public forum as a debriefing opportunity. Having said that, Adam is a good story teller and I hope he won't give it up. Lynn Way to tell it Irene and Jan…..It is hurtful to hear these kinds of generalizations. As Irene says, this “brief mad dash on earth” is just that, and some of us have been dealt easier hands than others.

I want to believe Kiva people undertake these fellowships for the right reasons. I am grateful to hear something about the countries they are serving.

I have spent close to 30 years working in developing world conditons and although I wonder where the time went, I don’t know how better I could have spent it. I am ruined for doing any other kind of work…

It is not good to use a public forum as a debriefing opportunity. Having said that, Adam is a good story teller and I hope he won’t give it up.

Lynn

]]> By: jan toepfer http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/05/14/a-ugandan-bus-journey/#comment-1340 jan toepfer Sun, 18 May 2008 22:50:01 +0000 http://kivafellows.wordpress.com/?p=508#comment-1340 I found your blog condescending, patronizing, and critical. I wonder what you are doing in Africa and why. The sense of them and us is pervasive."These people eat a lot" you say. These people? The final wrap up about Africa rejuvenating the mind and soul is mind boggling given the tone of the rest of your article. Have you seriously looked at what you convey with your writing? I found your blog condescending, patronizing, and critical. I wonder what you are doing in Africa and why. The sense of them and us is pervasive.”These people eat a lot” you say. These people? The final wrap up about Africa rejuvenating the mind and soul is mind boggling given the tone of the rest of your article. Have you seriously looked at what you convey with your writing?

]]> By: irene http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/05/14/a-ugandan-bus-journey/#comment-1332 irene Fri, 16 May 2008 20:28:32 +0000 http://kivafellows.wordpress.com/?p=508#comment-1332 Hello Williams, I have mostly enjoyed your journeyblog mainly because I am Ugandan living in the diaspora (USA) and dealing with similar challenges every trip I take to my beloved country. I have also lived in England for my masters degree, been to liverpool (dirty city), Paris and Rome. So I have experienced both the good and ugly. Obviously you have the command of the queen's language and so much thanks for the vivid and somewhat entertaining blog. I find it however, disturbing, how you choose to describe the AFRICAN smell, its terribly offensive. I will enlighten you a little on this. People from that part of the world do perform a lot of manual tasks including trekking which comes easier than the other daily tasks of fending for a family on a $1 a day. There is mostly no free flowing water to take frequent showers after a day in the simmering heat and daily chaos...dust etc the soap, deodorant are not provided with the hand-outs from the west. I have had diverse room mates over my schooling years both in the UK and the USA who will go for several days without showering only to smear deodorant on their way out for a date etc. This is just about the most ridiculous thing I have witnessed in the my life with room mates who don't shower!! so there are worse things than sweating in public w/o deodorant rescue. How about spending a day in that heat with similar circumstances with no deodorant for you? you will find one thing: there is very little that separates the human species even in terms of rancid smell. Just live a day or week in Uganda as a regular Ugandan and then write and tell us if your smell will be mzungu or African!! LESSON: We must always be sensitive in how we chose to present/describe the lives of others. I sure have a ton of unkind stuff i could unleash out from my days in the diaspora...a ton. But the internet will not be the way for me esp as concerns engaging in detailed prose tending on the ugly humour. Kudos on your other tales. Just be a little more respectful of the have-nots and their sad plight that they've been dealt in this brief mad dash on earth. Peace. Irene Hello Williams,

I have mostly enjoyed your journeyblog mainly because I am Ugandan living in the diaspora (USA) and dealing with similar challenges every trip I take to my beloved country. I have also lived in England for my masters degree, been to liverpool (dirty city), Paris and Rome. So I have experienced both the good and ugly.

Obviously you have the command of the queen’s language and so much thanks for the vivid and somewhat entertaining blog.
I find it however, disturbing, how you choose to describe the AFRICAN smell, its terribly offensive. I will enlighten you a little on this.
People from that part of the world do perform a lot of manual tasks including trekking which comes easier than the other daily tasks of fending for a family on a $1 a day. There is mostly no free flowing water to take frequent showers after a day in the simmering heat and daily chaos…dust etc the soap, deodorant are not provided with the hand-outs from the west.
I have had diverse room mates over my schooling years both in the UK and the USA who will go for several days without showering only to smear deodorant on their way out for a date etc. This is just about the most ridiculous thing I have witnessed in the my life with room mates who don’t shower!! so there are worse things than sweating in public w/o deodorant rescue.

How about spending a day in that heat with similar circumstances with no deodorant for you? you will find one thing: there is very little that separates the human species even in terms of rancid smell. Just live a day or week in Uganda as a regular Ugandan and then write and tell us if your smell will be mzungu or African!!
LESSON:
We must always be sensitive in how we chose to present/describe the lives of others. I sure have a ton of unkind stuff i could unleash out from my days in the diaspora…a ton. But the internet will not be the way for me esp as concerns engaging in detailed prose tending on the ugly humour.

Kudos on your other tales. Just be a little more respectful of the have-nots and their sad plight that they’ve been dealt in this brief mad dash on earth.
Peace.
Irene

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