July 28th

July 28th hello
Hello, hello hello! It’s unbelievable how quickly this trip is flying by, especially considering that we are subject to “Africa time”. In order to get the most out of today, we decided to divide and conquer. And conquer we did. The “to do’s” of the day included such things as organizing the applications and surveys, photocopying the applications and surveys, devising a way to pick who receives a bicycle, and checking out Gulu University. While everything was important in its own way, the most pressing and challenging task to tackle was that of developing criteria to choose our recipients from the candidate pool. Alyson, Erika, Kevin, and JD brilliantly devised a method of quantitatively selecting what we believe to be an ideal candidate for our pilot program—someone with great need, but still the ability to make a payment of 4,000 UGX each month (roughly $2). Believe it or not that hardworking group created a mathematical formula to help find the best candidates. Data about income, wealth (in terms of livestock), number of dependents, and distance to work and water were all included. It was extremely impressive, especially since the method was presented using graphs and equations. Although this “plug & chug” way of finding our recipients will be a very useful tool in the future, the grueling process of entering the data had to be performed first. House upon hours of time and effort went into organizing the information. Eventually the brunt of the work was done, and now, with a tweaking to the formula and some subjective input, tomorrow, the candidates will be selected. It is our hope to distribute the bikes to Corner Nwoya this Friday and to Lulyango on Saturday. Personally, I hope this schedule works out, considering I will have to leave Friday afternoon for Sudan and want to see the smiles on the villagers’ faces as they receive their shiny new bikes. I must say I’m sad to separate from the group. We have been through a lot and I am proud of our group for getting things organized, working together, and communicating. This is not to say we haven’t had our share of hang-ups, frustrations, and doubts, especially after we first arrived in Gulu. But our focus and dedication will be able to help 100 individuals and their families, friends and neighbors in the very near future. That is certainly an accomplishment.

BAP LOVE <3
Megan Elaine Vodzak