Last Bits of Excitement: Post from Monday, August 10

It has been a while since our last blog post so we thought we would update you on our recent activities. The majority of the group (all but Kevin, Sophia, Muyambi, and Abhay) returned to the states on August 6TH. After we gave out bicycles to the two villages the group split up. Half of us traveled to Murchison Falls and through the National Park . We saw elephants, giraffes, and wild boar. The other half stayed behind in Gulu to help organize some of the documents in the office.

The group reunited in Masindi from where we traveled to Kampala the following morning. After spending a day in Kampala we decided we needed to take a day to celebrate the successful implementation of the pilot phase of the project. A river raft company picked us up in Kampala and took us to Jinja, a vibrant city an hour away. In Jinja we were given life vests and helmets to safeguard us from the class five rapids of the NIle. The river trip lasted all day and provided plenty of thrills and was immensely enjoyed by everyone. It concluded with a BBQ by a cliff with a great view of the Nile.

After a weekend in Kabale, our small group has made our way back to Gulu for a couple of days. We had some meetings lined up, but had no idea that the day would turn out to be extremely busy with several tasks to complete and issues to discuss. We first met with President Museivini’s special advisor in the northern region, who showed a keen interest in our project and wanted to know more details since seeing a short piece in the local newspaper last week. He emphasized that our project should continue to remain politically and religiously independent to remain credible and unbiased within the communities we work in. Having a contact of his stature on board with us is very useful for BAP’s long term goals.

Our second meeting of the day was with the Senior Development Officer of Amuru district, who had certified us as a CBO a couple of weeks ago. He talked about monitoring requirements as part of his district wide role, and how his office could provide us with support on a regular basis. He expressed his gratitude from the bicycle distribution based on his information in the local communities. BAP will be required to submit to his office a short monthly progress report, and a more comprehensive quarterly evaluation.

Lastly, along with two of our consultants here in Gulu, we received updated on various aspects of the project over the past week since the distribution of the bicycles. Some of the issues we faced include potential security concerns at the office during night time, beneficiaries moving out of the village, and reliable bicycle maintenance. We are currently working on developing a similar microenterprise structure for one bicycle mechanic in each village to facilitate smooth access of bicycle maintenance. Tomorrow will be another busy day, as we make our way back to the village to get first hand feedback from beneficiaries and have our consultants sign BAP contracts.

Before the end of the week, all the remaining BAPers will head to their respective destinations, but we hope to post again soon.

-Kevin and Abhay