MY SMALL VILLAGE.

“Luwek” is my birthplace and “Loibo” is my nearby Village in the country side. This is a so small Village where everyone knows each other by name. We know each other’s parents and homes, so it is a small community that a Visitor may even be spotted from a far.

The often dusty murram road that is narrow; trucks, trailers and buses that by passes the Village while leading both to and from Kitgum and Sudan loaded with agriculture produce, ornamental trees and manufactured products frequently use this route.

After the peace has been restored, people started getting back to the country side and the Village is breathing again. But still everyone who is over 18years of age here has fresh memories of the Lord’s Resistance Army {L.R.A} war that left many family members dead. It was horrible, terrible, deplorable, and sad and causing sorrow seeing the killing of humans; we really suffered so much at the hands of the L.R.A. By the time I left for Kampala, the situation had worsened and to me, it breaks my heart whenever I flash on how people suffered.

On the other side of business, agriculture is still the main economic activity. Though the Village doesn’t have any Industrious farmers and instead they do the farming in a Subsistence way, but still Villagers produce enough food for the community and supply the few to the town in exchange of money. People mainly grow cereals crops like rice, millet, sorghum, simsim, beans, pigeon peas, cow peas, soya beans, cassava among others and vegetables include cabbage, egg plants, okra etc. Villagers also keep some poultry birds like pigeons, chickens, ducks and turkey, and animals like goats, sheep, pigs and cattle. With the land issue, here people face problems of land wrangles as they have just got back to the country side after the peace restoration in the area.

With modernity, my Village unfortunately is trying to replace rural lifestyle slowly with urban ways of life style. And boys have adopted some for example boys play cards and gamble all day long. Instead of engaging in Income generating activities. I wonder up and down because others drink alcohol for breakfast-they start from morning! And only God knows where they get the money to sustain that kind of lifestyle.

Under modernity still, no storey buildings are replacing our traditional mud and wattle grassed thatched huts.

With Music and Entertainment, the days of Larakaraka, Dingi-Dingi and Bwola among others of the 1960s are long gone and were the days of my father. Here the youth buy Music played by foreigners for as cheap as1500 [Ugandan shilling] on a CD. Others even record songs on their Mobile phones with the help of memory card. If it comes to modern dance, youth here love dancing modern dances and at times they hold each other’s waist and squeeze each other- which are a new way of dancing that has affected youth in the area due to modernity. And for those who may have time and can afford paying dance fee, they either attend to the one within the Village or go dancing in Gulu Town which is about 30-40 minutes ride on a Boda-Boda. With the fact of many and different friends with different minds and characters, they always close up the Dance with fighting among them self.

My Father-Mr.Kolo Bilentino, told me that he miss the moon light dance of their good old days when they were real men. He added, “We used to go hunting wild animals, birds and dig big gardens to prove our manhood and this is why I have a very big piece of Land.

A real woman used to stay home to do house hold chores like fetching water, cleaning utensils, sweeping the compounds and preparing local dishes. Today, they use machines to make Odi {ground nut and simsim paste}. Really gone are the days of the grinding stone”.

As different Tribes with different likes, so here Youth mostly take Xmas, Easter and Independence Days as their Days of showing off. So these are the most days you will see youth dressed in different ways depending on the weight of their Wallets. They try all their level best to be different on such days so that to refresh their minds off the L.R.A periods. Boys put on heavy clothe, Jungle shoes with a baseball cap on top mostly in a 50 Cent way of design. For girls, they look for nice designs of hair and nice looking dresses that can match with their choices.

Yeah, on the side of Early Marriage, both girls and boys are in early Marriage. Children’s Activist and NGOs have tried to stop early Marriage in this Area like it does in other areas but tradition always wins as transactions are carried out secretly. Dowry here is not so expensive and give people chances of Early Marriages. In the past, early Marriage was un-heard of, but has grown with the problem influx of poverty among families, can you imagine?

With the tradition mud and wattle grass thatched hut everywhere, with dusty narrow road that passes through, and you will never see any electricity pole here! On top of all that, it is my favorite place when I need to get away. In my homeland and I’m feeling so alive cause it’s where I was born and it’s where I did my nursery class from-my first class room to be was under a mango tree and i would writie on the soil because I could not have a book and a pencil to use. I love the Village and it’s my first choice area to develop so as to become known worldwide. I always enjoy getting back to Village for my December holidays. Really this is where Nyero Christopher comes from and it is where I belong.

‘’LIFE’’.

Life is full of choices and challenges. That is why people find life hard: it is hard to make the right choices.

Life is like a journey that is full of all kinds of potential disasters that could occur all the way to the journey’s end. The journey of life always goes forward: you can’t retrace your footsteps. I can’t be the baby I was years ago.

It is a good idea to learn how to make good use of your hands, as that is one way of becoming successful in life. And you should know what you want to be in the future: imagine yourself successful; talk to good friends, and a trusted adult or teacher, to discover how you can use your own talents. Do not think only about making it through the next class, although that is of course necessary! It is better to try to work out what you want to do in life: this will help you find out why you are in school. Being in school is the best chance you have of improving your opportunities in life. An education gives you the intellectual skills to understand the world, and the practical skills to make your own way in the world. Through education we can change how people think about the world, and therefore we can change the world! Life is not only about passing through many education levels but, also about being yourself and believing in your abilities.

Try using your own judgment about what other people tell you. Although their voices may be powerful, you should also stay true to your own likes and dislikes. For me, whenever I listen too much to other people, and don’t trust what my own voice is telling me, I end up messing up. However, at times, other people can guide you and help you work out what it is that you want. Many people will try to influence you. They may tell you to change your looks, or other things about yourself. But stick firmly to what you believe is right: your ambitions can come true if you believe in yourself.

Fabulous bodies are fine, but they are superficial only. Your inner voice should be your first priority; it will help you make the right choices, the ones that are best for you. And your looks are your own: someone will love you; you will never be alone. Look in the mirror, see who you are and, and embrace it. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, even though sometimes other people don’t see it. There are no short cuts to any place that is worth being; there is no victory without sacrifice.

Also note the following things:

· Try to do the best at everything you do, and be creative. This is what my former teacher used to tell us.

· When things get tough, be resilient and don’t give up. Keep on the truck to avoid messing up and crashing along that highway of life. Eventually you will make it.

· Give yourself time to think about things, so that you can spot a genuine opportunity when it comes along. And take advantage of those opportunities when they are presented to you, even if you’re not entirely sure where they will lead.

· Let your mind dwell on the present, and not the past.
This will help you to keep heading forward, rather than sliding backwards. A man who thinks too much about his ancestors is like a potato: the best part of him is underground. Keep the past in the past.

· Everyone is different: that is why my looks are not yours and that is why each person has a different talent.
I like taking time off to think, learn, dream and plan once I come up with something new, and I start practicing with determination to get the best results from my plan. 


• Build confidence and believe in yourself.
Lack of confidence is my weakness. I am shy most of the time. You can do your best regardless of who you are or what others say or think of you. It’s better get started, instead of wait. Don’t give up trying, even if you make mistakes. He who makes no mistake also makes no discoveries. The best way to predict the future is to invent it! So don’t quit when things go wrong, as they sometimes will, or when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, or when funds are low and debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh. When worries bring you down, rest, if you want, but don’t quit. Life is funny with its twists and turns. As every one of us learns at one time or another, many a failure can turn around to good fortune. Don’t give up though the pace seems slow. You may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out. The silver tint of the clouds of doubt. And you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems so far, so stick to the fight when you are hardest hit. It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit. And it is never too late for you to be what you might have been.

• Focus on your strengths

• If I don’t do something right the first time, I try not to worry because I know am not the only person who has failed to get it right the first time. Never say never, even if you are at a point of no return and the weight of the world seems to be on your shoulders, and the walls are in your way. Just keep fighting - that is your destiny. Don’t pity yourself : you may end up not struggling.

· If you want to show the world what you are capable of, but no knows your name yet, don’t dwell on when and where it will happen. Instead keep focused on the path. I personally never knew that Permaculture would change much in my life and instead I just kept doing the shoveling, pushing wheel barrows of cow dung, gardening each day with the project managers. You don’t need someone to give you a leg up: start with the talents you already have in your hand. For me that is art and my capacity for hard work. At my former school, Lord’s Meade Vocational College, I was well known for art because that’s something I do well. I try not to get frustrated with waiting for good things to happen to me in life. Instead I just keep trying, and make plans so that to be a better person in this competitive world.

• Make small effort each day to do something new.

Each day be different by making small effort to contribute to your skills and knowledge: learn something new, and be productive and creative. You will attract people’s attention when they like the things you make and do.

· You are not the only one who goes through hard times.
Understanding that other people have troubles helps to put your own problems into perspective. It also makes you realize that you are not alone. Understanding that everyone struggles in life gives me the energy to try harder to succeed. Life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it. I think life is all about trying new things and discovering new ideas.

• Ask for help where necessary.

Here I have a problem. I often feel as if I don’t have the right words to ask for help. But it takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow: they both need to help each other to make up a rainbow. So what I have discovered is that asking for help does not need to be so hard. So for me when I am worried or sad, I talk about my feelings to someone I trust. I don’t stay in isolation. It’s better to ask for help than get stuck on the way.

• Try to be happy and make friends.

They say that if you make those who are close to you happy, those who are far will come closer. So enjoy the company and the personalities of those near you, because other people will see from this that you are interested in other people, and they will want to be near you too. I am a friendly person but I think that some people find it hard to become friendly with me because I seem cool and distant. I try my level best not to lock myself a way from the world because I know that ‘together we stand, divided we fall’. I love getting out and joining other students or friends whenever am free, so as to hang out and chat and share experiences with them because I know that friendship is what binds the world together in peace. May we all become friends if possible. This point is from my own research and from my own experiences so far with my friends.

MY WAY TO PERMACULTURE.

In this world of struggle for success, it is so difficult to know what can change one’s life. What you may think and expect to change your life may really do less to change your life, and what you don’t even know can do much to change your life. For me, the thing I didn’t know about that could do much to change my life is permaculture. But I have always loved farming: back home my father, mother and other family members are all gardeners.

It was in the holiday of August 2008 that this new permaculture idea landed in my world. It landed on fertile ground. Not only did I already admire farmers, but I was also especially interested in animal husbandry.

In 2008 before the August holiday and while I was still at school, Rosemary Morrow, Dan Palmer and Amanda Cuyler, permaculture experts from Australia, visited my school, Mbuye Farm School in the Rakai district to talk to the students about permaculture. They had already implemented permaculture at Sabina Home and School.

They were introduced to us by Auntie Deborah. Rosemary gave us small tid bits of permaculture, but I personally I didn’t pay attention to what she was airing as even the mere word permaculture sounded so strange and different to me.

When the holidays came I was told that I would be spending it at Sabina. It did not please me at first because I did not go to primary school there and I was not used to life at Sabina. On the first day of the holiday a truck came to pick people up. In no time we were already at Sabina as Mbuye is near there.

The next day was Saturday. Auntie Deborah called on the holiday makers. She said, “Welcome”. “Thank you Auntie”, we replied. She added “Let me hope that yesterday you have toured around and you have seen what is taking place”. “Yes Auntie”, we replied. She continued. “Jan Smart came up with the idea that Sabina could grow some of its own food on the small piece of land we have, to supplement the children’s diet. Jan Smart is hoping for a lot of support from you, the holiday makers, in term of labour, so you will be helping in many activities on the project.” At this point, some of the big boys became unhappy because they were to be allocated activities, instead being left to do their own activities that might earn them pocket money.

The next day was Sunday, and in Uganda Sundays are meant to be free from any activity apart from cooking and bathing (indoor activities). So we were excused from working on the project. But I noticed that Dan and Amanda went on working and by the time we reported back from the Church, they had done much of the planting, stacking and many other permaculture activities.

Monday morning dawned with lovely bright morning sunshine. Among the activities I helped with that day were: making or building compost manure heap, transplanting seedlings from the nursery bed to the mandala garden, making/sharpening more stacks, making more vegetable and nursery beds, and constructing a simple bridge that could be used to cross the swale beside the mandala garden. My schoolmate Tony Obalim and I successfully constructed the simple bridge. That was my first real experience of helping on the project.

One Wednesday, when I was still new at the project something happened that almost made me stop coming back to the project. One of the boys on the project borrowed Dan and Amanda’s camera from the mandala garden without their permission. He took photos of all kinds that he loved. Amanda looked everywhere for the camera but everyone who was asked “Do you know where the camera is?” would answer “No”. I began to get worried that all the boys who had worked in the mandala garden would be suspected. This fear almost making me stop lending a hand: I fear and I hate being suspected of wrong doing. But thank goodness the boy who took the camera was seen taking snaps in the dormitory and this was reported to Auntie Deborah. So the camera was returned. This episode made me think a lot about whether I wanted to continue to work on the project. I did not want something dreadful like that to happen again. But I decided to continue giving a hand.

One day in the afternoon, as I was seated, I saw Dan digging a swale behind the dormitories. My brain was occupied with some thinking. Dan was alone and working so hard. I was not used to being around whites and I was also too shy to consult people older than me, such as Dan, so I feared giving Dan a hand but I really wanted to. I forced myself out of shyness and went to give Dan a hand. He welcomed me and gave me a shovel and he kept the pick axe, digging the swale as I shoveled. Later I took over the pick axe and he used a shovel. As we came to the end of our task, another boy, Obalim, joined us. That was my physical activity for that day but that was also my introduction to Dan. Soon I was working every day with Dan from early in the morning until sun set, doing gardening and other activities. My introduction to Amanda was when we were making compost manure heaps.

From then on, I realised that I could motivate myself to do any activity being performed at the project without any one having to ask me or persuade me. I was at last accustomed to helping the two volunteers. Eventually, Dan and Amanda started to leave me in charge of children in the garden when they were away in Kampala. I remember one morning when, as they were leaving for Kampala, Dan came very early and gave me a list of activities that could be done as they are away. All the activities were done by the time they returned, and more!

By the end of the holiday, I was a great helper on the project but eventually the time came for Dan and Amanda to leave. And after that the volunteers started to arrive and leave quickly: Mike Cloutier and Carl Jacobsen replaced Dan and Amanda; Kim Glasow and Clive Mullet plus Mrs. Anna replaced Mike and Carl; Ralph replaced Kim and Clive; Will replaced Ralph; Michelle Sabto replaced Will; Cam and Simon replaced Michelle; and finally Mr.Kalokola James and Mrs. Anna replaced Cam and Simon.

In January 2010, I was one of the three youngest participants in the 1^st Permaculture Design Course (PDC) ever held in Uganda. I got my Permaculture Design Certificate. I was able to do this with the financial support of my Australian friends Michele Sabto and Andrew Trevillian. So I take this time to appreciate them for their support.

The teachers on the course were Rosemary Morrow, Dan Palmer, Amanda Culyer, Lindsay Dozoretz, Claudia and Rachel Otuyar. Doing this course has been one of the great highlights of my life. There were almost 50 participants from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, the UK, Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Uganda.

This has been my way to permaculture.

A NIGHT & A DAY IN THE WILD.

I decided to have a different night and day, a wild and adventurous one. Murchison Falls National Game Park was the chosen destination.

When you are having a different day in Uganda, you either stay in the city or drive to the village……your home village! I was doing neither of the two so, when people asked, I didn’t really know what to say, because I was actually going to a Game Park with friends: Jan, Rowe, Dan, Amanda, Rico, and Will.

It seemed such a foreign idea to me, to be going to the Game Park for a different day……but then again, how many opportunities do you get to take time off with your friends and take a trip out of town?

The friends who accompanied me on the trip had visited the park before. But I was a first-time tourist. We set off with a driver to the north western district of Arua, to spend a night and a day in the scenic comfort of Murchison Falls National Game Park.

The trip started from Gulu Town where my friends and I had visited my family members a day after Christmas. The traffic jam that led us out of Gulu Town all the way to down to Arua should have prepared me for the hordes of people in every town we entered, but I did not expect this to be the case in the Game Park. With hind sight, I realize I should not have had any misgivings about telling people where I was headed.

There were numerous other Ugandan and white families spending their holiday in the Park. Apart from it being a learning experience for the children and a fun activity for the family, this experience opened my eyes to how much we had all been missing out on by sticking to un-written rules in Uganda of what one can or cannot do during a different day.

By the time we arrived at the Park, we were already late for the evening Game drive. But on the way entering Park, we had seen antelopes, didicks, kob and we had also managed to catch several close-range sightings of elephant families as they returned home grazing.

The driver and I headed back to the Murchison Safari Camp Canteen to buy some chapartis and drinks for dinner for the gang. The staff at Murchison Safari Camp, our home for the night, were friendly, and the accommodation and scenery so amazing.

A different day dawned bright and beautiful but we were running late for our early morning Game drive. Our object of affection on this day was the Lion pride. we saw three of them lying beside the path yawning normally. I can almost say I know how the three wise men from the east felt as they followed the bright morning star to find Baby Jesus. The question on the tourists lips was, ’’Have you seen the Lions?’’

The peaceful giraffes were also lovely to look at and there were many other wild animals to see. There was also the nice green vegetation and lovely savanna with bright cloud cover up in the sky and the cool air blowing freely. The weather and the landscape were absolutely fantastic.

We were lucky to have seen the three yawning lions as we had to cut our game drive short to catch the 11:00am ferry ride across the Nile. Our plan was to put the van on the ferry, cross the Nile, have breakfast on the other side, and then to head to the Murchison Fall.

Luckily, we managed to get to the ferry crossing point in time and we secured seats on one of the two launches headed out at the time. Several families were left stranded as all the day’s planned trips were fully occupied by those who came earlier. They had to settle for a tour of the visitor’s information center, where they got a brief history of the park.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that our ferry was almost equally filled with both Ugandans and foreigners. This showed me how much we have come to appreciate our indigenous holiday destination.

While we were on the ferry we saw, on the far shores and in the waters of the Nile, hippoes, buffaloes, several species of birds flying on top of the water, and beautiful scenery of the cliffs alongside the Nile. Our driver and guide had interesting tid-bits of information on the different things we saw. I was really excited to see several real life pumbas (warthogs) and timmons [merkats].

We enjoyed a tasty, special different-day breakfast at Chillie Restaurant before embarking on our next adventure to Murchison Falls.

At the Falls, we only saw a handful of people!! The Falls were a cascade of sparkling water against the rocks, causing water vapor to be blown by the strong wind and falling over us, even though we were almost 15m away. For me, this was like snow falling over me.

Suffice to say that a different day in the National Game Park was an interesting day. The other tourists who didn’t get to see the lions were like King Herod looking for the elusive baby Jesus.

I can hardly find the words to describe the beauty of this area. A typical Kampala dweller would kill to have the cool weather Murchison has to offer; the fresh air, the lovely sound of streams rushing over the beautiful Rift Valley as they flow towards Sudan and Egypt to water the refreshing greens of the Murchison river flats; the feeling of being at the shore of the famous River Nile as you look north and imagine the water flowing into the Mediterranean Sea beyond Egypt!!It was all breath taking.