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A short-tempered muzungu flies to Istanbul
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 26 July 2011
The overhead screen flips down, up, down and then back up again. Finally it settles to reveal the route we’ll be flying from Entebbe, Uganda, to Istanbul, over two countries that have been in the news non-stop since my last flight overhead: South Sudan (and North of course) and Egypt. I’m flying Turkish Airlines for [...]
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Somebody ill, somebody dead – start of another week
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 12 July 2011
I found it hard to get up today; I lost count of the number of times I put the snooze on. I enjoy seeing the sunlight filter through the new curtains I made from the scarves I bought in Ethiopia. I get up and unbolt the heavy metal at the back of the house, and [...]
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Kampala’s thirsty policemen
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 1 July 2011
Why is it that I’ve been stopped twice in two weeks, driving down the same stretch of Namuwongo Road at night? Incident #1 It’s not far from my house to the centre of town. As the (local) Pied Crow flies, it’s probably only a mile or two but, in a developing country where virtually the [...]
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Updates from the Field: Roads, Remittances + the “Little Paris” of Togo
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 27 June 2011
Last week our internationally-scattered Kiva Fellows introduced us to some of the men and women that compose the sixty countries in which Kiva works.
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Warning – this blog contains snakes!
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 18 June 2011
When I suggested to the team that we all have a day out together at the Reptiles Village in Entebbe, organised by Nature Uganda, we were equally split down the middle: two for, two against. Enid’s words were in fact “No way, I’m not giving up my Saturday to see snakes!” After the office was [...]
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Limited Hero
Blog: Where the road goes - 12 June 2011
There’s an anecdote that kicks its dusty way through people’s lives at all the right times. The idea that if you don’t know what to do, do anything. The moment you begin to move, the right choice becomes clear. It’s been that way this week, as my life wends its puzzlesome way around some invisible [...]
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Update from the Field: Instability, Trust + A New Home
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 6 June 2011
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo This week, the fellows continue to get their bearings in the field.
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Erection* fever part III – acting notorious
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 31 May 2011
“The police is there to secure and guide you – unless you are notorious” said a spokesman on TV. The State’s love of violence plus Ugandans’ desire to film everything make a potent combination. It was a despicable sight: plainclothes ‘securitymen’ smashed the windows of Kizza Besigye’s car and showered him with pepperspray – directly [...]
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Update from the Field: Personal Connections, Supply and Demand + A Culinary Excursion
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 23 May 2011
Compiled by Kathrin Gerner, KF15, Togo As the 14th class passes the baton to the 15th class, the Kiva fellows are sharing their final thoughts and first impressions. Be inspired by the personal connections Kiva creates between lenders and borrowers in Nepal and Sierra Leone. Find out how a phenomenal harvest can prevent farmers in Nicaragua from repaying their loans. Discover the creative ways of assessing credit worthiness used in Uganda and around the globe. Sample local customs and cuisine, while reading about the Day of the Child in Mexico and taking a culinary excursion in Liberia.
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Travel Ethics and the Uganda Travel Boycott
Blog: Landlopers - 13 May 2011
Earlier this week, the Ugandan Parliament decided to postpone a vote on legislation that would make being gay or lesbian a capital offense. In other words, if enacted, the legislation would have made being gay punishable by death. This isn’t the first time the have...Copyright LandLopers All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
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Microlending Behind the Scenes: How MFIs Judge Credit Worthiness
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 5 May 2011
By Nila Uthayakumar, KF14, Uganda, With the help of several other Fellows in the field I’ve met all kinds of borrowers. From age 16 to 76; from orphans to a former beauty queen; from potato sellers to auto parts saleswomen to motorcycle transportation tycoons. I’ve met them in urban slums, in villages, in homes, on [...]
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Ethiopia calling me – from my sickbed
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 3 May 2011
Two days before I fly to Ethiopia, and I’m lying in bed with a temperature. I’ve a bed in Addis Ababa and someone to pick me up to the airport – but I still haven’t got a plane ticket. Some mix-up at the bank. My debit card was refused on Friday, and after two long [...]
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Journey to Ikland
Blog: everthenomad - 1 May 2011
I love unexpected journeys. Those unscripted detours that happen out of the blue. Like taking a turn off a familiar road and discovering a new part of town you’ve never strolled before. When my friend David said he was sending … Continue reading →
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Shotgun wedding – a surreal and intense day
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 1 May 2011
The word surreal is overused. But let me run this scenario past you, and I wonder if you – like me – would feel your brain split down the middle. There’s no way around it, Friday was an intense day. It started off well – we had a plan. The plan was that we would [...]
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The Marketplace: Lonely Planet Blog Carnival #23
Blog: Indian Bazaars - 28 April 2011
The theme of this Blog carnival is a journey through a market or bazaar anywhere in the world. These thoughtful and exciting stories unravel life in the marketplace experienced at different times but all coming together here for you to transcend from wherever you are at this moment to where the Lonely Planet Travel bloggers think you would love to be!!
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The son-in-laws I never knew I had: funeral of my namesake, Jaja
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 20 April 2011
Anxious not to arrive halfway through another Ugandan funeral, I decided to check that “4 o’clock” means the same for me as it does for my Ugandan friend Harriet. I’m glad I called: the 4 p.m. service had been brought forward by two hours and is 40 km outside Kampala; there’s the service in town [...]
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R.I.P. Mary – elephant entertainer extraordinaire
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 12 April 2011
Tragic news from Queen Elizabeth National Park this week-end: Mary the orphan elephant has been found dead, believed to have been poisoned. This famous elephant was raised by Marcel Onen (who worked for Michael Keigwin, my boss and Founder of the Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF), for seven years. Michael writes “After years of Mary entertaining [...]
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Just don’t cry out ‘Thief!’
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 5 April 2011
6.20 a.m. and it’s still pitch black outside. It’s a heaving sweaty mess; we need rain. The Woodland Kingfisher’s piercing call fills the compound and I hear the unmistakeable cawing and crowing of the Ibis as they fly over the marshes in the distance. The first cockerel rouses me at 5.40 a.m. I have a [...]
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Update from the Field: April Fools, Terrible Coffee + Getting Attached
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 4 April 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa We hope you enjoyed our April Fools post on Friday! While we were entertaining ourselves pulling it all together, we also found the time to attend to some serious matters: coffee in Colombia is no joke (in a bad way), some borrowers are easier to locate than others, and oftentimes Fellows must say goodbye to people and places before they’re ready to.
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The call of the Wild
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 3 April 2011
I feel in limbo today. I’m waiting for friends to come back, I’m waiting for them to go, I’m waiting to get better, I’m waiting for a call. I should be promoting the new blog but I’ve run out of steam. The three day week feels more like a six day week and I’m getting [...]
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Special Update from the Field: Beaches, Safaris + Cambodian Glamour Shots
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 1 April 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa Kiva Fellows are nothing if not creative. We’ve gone to elaborate lengths to convince you that it can be hard to visit borrowers and that when we’re not trekking for miles, we’re doing elaborate calculations or dealing with databases and reporting. In truth, it’s all a front for an extended holiday from our regular lives. You thought our recent Carnival coverage represented a change of pace? Think again!
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My Heart has Taken Root
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 31 March 2011
Nila Uthayakumar, KF14, Uganda My Rough Guide to Kenya has been open face down on my desk for the past few days. My time in Uganda has been incredible. I have seen and experienced so much in such a short period. Like my life has been on fast forward. This country captured me instantly. Drew [...]
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Update from the Field: Fun Facts, Field Visits + Back to Basics
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 21 March 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa For many Fellows, this week was about getting back to basics: the borrowers. In between fun facts about Kiva Fellowships, doing database detective work, and reflecting on the internal dynamics of Kiva's partner microfinance institutions, Fellows found themselves in the field again and again, much to their delight and often to the delight of borrowers.
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Update from the Field: Man’s Day, Singing Fellows + Learning How to Count
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 7 March 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa The Fellows will be covering International Women's Day later this week but let's take a moment to acknowledge its lesser-known cousin in Kyrgyzstan, "Man's Day".
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Toys, Photographs and Difficult Questions
Blog: Where the road goes - 5 March 2011
It’s December 10 and Tom, Saskia and I have come to the half-completed Karin Children’s Clinic to watch a local women’s group hold a weekly meeting to discuss administrative matters. They manage projects from beadmaking to raising livestock on a pay-it-forward scheme amongst various families in the group. A man from the Heifer Foundation – [...]
