A lot of Ugandans laugh when you ask them about their independence. They love to tell you that it was simply given to them by the British, no fighting involved. While that is nice, it seems that in more recent years Uganda has more than made up for the lack of a fight for independence
October 9th, Independence Day, found me bumping down a muddy road in the front of a lorry. I was on my way to Lira (a 4 hour drive on the afore mentioned road south of Kitgum) to visit some other MCC workers as well as to attend a commemorative prayer service for the Aboke Girls. Aboke is a town outside of Lira, containing St. Mary’s school for girls, run by some very small Italian nuns. It was from this school that 132 girls were abducted by the rebel group, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), in 1996. At that time one of the Italian sisters followed the LRA into one of their camps, demanding the release of her girls. The LRA released 100 of them on the spot. Of the remaining 32 some of them have escaped, some of them died and some are still with the LRA. The service consisted of prayers, songs and scripture for the occasion, ending with a procession of all the guest along part of the route taken by the girls on that night 12 years ago.
The rest of the weekend in Lira was spent making cookies, pizza, and brownies (and eating them too). It was nice to see some of the other MCCers and relax for a couple of days while enjoying good “American” food. While in Lira I also ate my first “rolex” which is a chapatti (kind of wrap) with a double egg omelet wrapped inside. It has made a huge impression on me and I think about it daily
On Saturday, the day I planned to travel back to Kitgum, we arrived at the bus park at 1:45pm only to find that the 2 o’clock bus left 30 minutes before (typical). Asking around was of little help since we received as many different answers as people we asked. We decided that the following day, Sunday, we would go early and find out. After dropping another member of the team, Kristina, off at her appropriate bus stop at 6:00am, we drove to my bus stop. We were happy to see a bus sitting there. Five hours later we weren’t so happy. That particular bus never left and neither did the one whose sign boasted service to Kitgum. I ended up taking a lorry again. On the ride I was proposed to by the driver and we got stuck behind another truck that was stuck in the mud. Needless to say, my 4 hour trip took a bit longer and I was happy to finally arrive in Kitgum. I quickly hopped on a boda (motorcycle used for public transportation) that carried me safely home for all of $.75.
Peace,
eh

The morning dawned with the heat and sunlight common in this part of the world. Even thought the sun was just barely above the horizon, students and teachers were moving about quickly with an excitement in their step that hinted at the upcoming event: Y.Y. Okot Memorial College’s Peace Day. A day scheduled full with dances, singing, demonstrations in the sciences and of course speeches and food. The day promised to be a good one in terms of both weather and events.
As I rolled out from under my mosquito net and sat up, I realized how happy and relieved I was that this day was finally here. For me it marked the day that I would print Y.Y.’s first student newsletter that I had been compiling during the previous weeks. For others it marked the end of months of stressful planning.
When I finally finished showering and preparing for the day, I moved to the living room for some breakfast. My host mother, and the head teacher at Y.Y., was getting her hair done and ordering people to do various last minute things. The liver of the recently slaughtered cow was sitting, fried, near her elbow and as people tried to get her to eat one of her favorite foods, she refused and left saying there was no way she could eat unless this day was a success. I helped myself to a bit of liver and discovered I, too, like it.
Around ten o’clock (in the middle of printing the newsletter) I heard the hired band approaching. Soon after, with all of the necessary pomp and flare, the guest of honor arrived (minister of Trade and Agriculture I think). He was welcomed by many students in the receiving lines and then was awed by the 400 students marching (in the military style appropriate for “Peace Day”) around the field. The rest of the day included the unveiling of a peace pole, demonstrations in physics, biology, chemistry, and fine arts, various songs sung and dances performed. The day would have gone on without a hitch if it hadn’t been for the sudden thunderstorm that arrived just before our 3:30 lunch, postponing it until 5:00pm. Some people said the storm kept us humble. I agree whole-heartedly because after the storm I promptly stepped outside, slipping and falling into the mud. I must have been getting too proud from all of the “you look smart, madam”s coming from all of the students (they didn’t mean that I looked intelligent, but rather pretty).
At the end of the day we all sank into more comfortable chairs at home and talked about what a success Peace Day 2008 was, all of us secretly thankful that it was over.
Peace,
eh