William Owen Quaderer

Here are pictures of my BEAUTIFUL new nephew William Owen Quaderer.  He was born on 10/29/2009!

 

 

Rafting the Nile

I'll be rafting the 5 stage 5 rapids of the Nile River on Halloween.  Will report about it on Sunday!

Wednesday, October 28th 2009

             ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JOE A DULL BOY

            (hopefully most of you get the reference to Jack Torrance in Steven King’s “The Shining)

            J

            Well – that’s how I felt.  After being crammed in the compound for a few days I needed to break out.

            I decided to go to Cassia Loung – beautiful views, high speed Internet, decent views…not bad.

            Evan decided to come with me.  Oh – what a fateful decision.

            Even though Cassia Lounge was only a 20-minute walk away Evan and I decided to take a boda boda.  So here’s the deal with boda’s – they ARE dangerous – I wont assert otherwise, BUT they’re relatively innocuous when travelling on backroads and away from traffic.  Because Cassia Lounge was so close and because it was along quiet roads I figured it would be okay to take a boda.

            I grabbed my helmet and off we went.

            We walked over to Sylvester.

            “Olya otia sebbo how much to Cassia Lounge?”

            “1,000 shillings.”

            “Kale.  Lets go.”

            “We took off for Cassia Lounge.  Now Cassia Loung is located on one of the seven hills of Kampala and the road to the restaurant is actually quite steep in places.  We started up the hill and the 100 cc boda boda engine labored beneath us, hemming and hawing its way up the mountain like the little train that could.

            We started slowing down.

            Slower.

            Slower. 

            It felt like we were going to come to a stop when all the sudden – WHAM! – Sylvester hit the clutch and bumped the engine up a gear.  The front wheel of the boda popped up.  Sylvester forced it down.  We turned to the right.  The wheel popped up again.  We turned further right.  The wheel popped up again and now we were on the wrong side of the road headed for a dirt wall and the three-foot deep sewer that lines the road.

            Prepare for impact!!!

            We slammed into the dirt wall and fell into the sewer.  I got up.  My leg was scratched but everything was in one piece.  I was okay.  I looked down – Evan’s leg was wedged underneath the bicycle. 

            CR*P!

            “You okay?”

            “Yeah – I’m fine.”

            It wasn’t a high-speed crash.  We were barely moving.  But anytime a 300-pound bike is tossed around next to gulleys and people’s legs – bad things can happen.  Evan and I walked away with a few scratches and replete with the knowledge that we’d been in the first boda boda crash in the history of the Educate! compound.

            Of course this would happen to me.  The safest person in the history of Educate! and I’m in the first boda boda accident.

            Later Angelica told me how a similar thing had happened to one of her friends – they were going up a steep incline and the boda flipped backwards and landed on the passenger.  I suppose even when you’re barely going anywhere there’s a risk with boda boda’s.

            Anyways it wasn’t a big deal but just one of those things that makes you think.

            We helped Sylvester pull the motorcycle out of the sewer.

            He fixed the mirror that had been pushed in by the wall of dirt.

            “Okay.”  He patted the seat.  “Lets go.”

            “No thanks Sylvester.”  I said.  “We’ll walk from here.”

            I paid him 1,000 USH (50 cents) and we walked the rest of the way to Cassia Lounge laughing about the rediculousness of what had just transpired.

            When we got to Cassia Lounge they told us they didn’t serve food until 12:30 so Evan and I ordered coffee (yum) and juice (yum) and did some work.  I finally developed the four funding models I think we can offer our students at Educate!  I will attach them below for those of you who are interested in the genesis of my work J

            I also downloaded Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits album (got to take advantage of the high speed internet!)

            At 3:00 we left Cassia Lounge because I had a meeting with Sandrah.

            After my meeting with Sandrah I went for a run along Lake Victoria listening to Led Zeppelin.  This might sound weird, but Led Zeppelin is good “Fall (as in Autumn) music” and although its still 80 degrees here I wanted to feel like it’s the fall.  Mission accomplished – sort of.

            For dinner I ate Indian food.

            I was talking to my friend online as I ate.

            “I’m eating cold Indian food.”

            “While at least you’re not eating meat.”

            “Actually I am.”  I said.

            “What type?”

            “I honestly don’t know – I think its goat or beef?”

            She thought that was funny.  I guess beggers cant be choosers, right?

            (Unfortunately the mystery meat would, again, make me sick later that night.)

            After my dining extravaganza Rachel, Maggie, Evan, Baati and myself went to the Serena Hotel to meet up with my cousin Dave and the rest of the UN mission that had gone to Gulu to distribute mosquito nets to refugees in IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps.  We took a matatu to Kabalagala and a special hire from there.

            I figured the special hire driver would try to over charge us since we were 4 mzungu’s going to the most expensive hotel in Uganda.

            But…inexplicably…he quoted us at the fair price of 15,000 USH and away we went.

            Okay…the Serena Hotel…WOW.  Not only was it the nicest hotel in Uganda, but quite honestly it was the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen.  Plush carpeting.  Ornate African statues and artwork.  Interior pools with walking bridges going over them.  Chyrystal clear panes of glass limning the hallways, adjacent to a beautiful outdoor garden replete with exotic African fauna.  It was simply majestic.

            Again hard to ignore the disparity between the slums we drove past to get to the Serena and the opulent interior of the hotel.

            We met up with Dave, 2 UN Foundation workers, an MTV contestant winner and a woman who had worked with her 8-year-old daughter to raise awareness about the malaria epidemic affecting the poorest of the poor in sub-saharan African IDP camps.   It was really wonderful to see Dave and meet the people he’d travelled to Gulu with.

            Dave admitted that reading my blog helped prepare him for his trip J

            After Dave and his friend’s finished up dinner we went to the bar to have a drink.  I got a dirty martini – but it was GROSS.  Big let down.  It was also the most expensive drink I’d had in Uganda – 15,000 USH ($7.50).  Keep in mind an entire meal at Edith’s costs 1,3000 USH (65 cents).

            It was getting late so we left.  Dave and I laughed and mused about where we might see each other next.  What could be more random than meeting up in Kampala?  The North Pole?  Antartica?

            Well  - I don’t know where I’ll see him next, but it was good seeing a familiar face in Uganda.

            We said goodbye and walked out to the front of the Serena.  Instantly two identical BMX X5’s turned on their lights and raced towards us.  The one on the inside narrowly edged his competitor out.

            “How much sebbo?”

            “30,000 USH ($15)”

            “Lets walk to the road.”  Rachel said.  “That’s too expensive.”

            “Aww, c’mon!”  I said.  “When is the next time we’ll ride in a mint-looking BMW X5 with TV’s in the headrests?!”

            The group capitulated and we got into the X5 and raced through the sleepy African streets and back to our compound in Buziga.

            We drove past the spot where the boda driver died.  The huge bloodstain was completely gone.  Erased by countless tires and the deluges of Mother Nature.  And the boda driver and the accident was forgotten, erased by the unrelenting march of time.  The blood washes away.  Life goes on.  

Tuesday, October 27th 2009

            Today I spent the ENTIRE day in the compound.  Starting to go a little stir-crazy I’m spending so much time here.  I am not visiting the school as much, because I need to focus on my job here, but the result is that I’m probably spending too much time in front of a computer doing research.  Blah.

            I had a 9:00 meeting with Connie to review her previous weeks work and upcoming projects.

            Then I shot out a couple emails to MFI organizations I’m trying to partner with Educate!  One of the top organizations is FINCA.  I attached the email to the head of FINCA Uganda so ya’ll can understand why I’m trying to develop a partnership.

            Then I completed a sustainability report for 3 Colorado University MBA students that are looking to make Educate! a self-sustaining organization.  Basically, as things stand now, Educate! relies on donations, grants and fund raisers to sustain its operations.  Business 101 tells you that’s a VERY hard model to keep running.  What most non-profits try and do these days is implement a revenue-generating model so the business can be economically autonomous and not rely on donations.  I filled out their questionnaire and attached it because it sheds some light on what Educate! is trying to do here.

            While I was working Rachel and Evan went into the city to get cellphones and a few other items.

            They came back at 2:30 and Rachel had a HUGE jerry can. 

            “Umm, whats that about?”  I asked.

            “Its for making water so I don’t have to buy it.”

            “How do you do that?”

            “You put water in a jerry can, put in a tab of chlorine, wait 20 minutes and then you have drinking water.”

            “Does it taste like cholorine?”

            “Umm, yeah a bit.”  She admitted.

            No thanks!  I’ll stick to buying water from Mercy!

            After Rachel explained how the jerry can water system worked Evan and I decided to walk down the street to the local bar to play some pool.  It was nice just to get outside.  Turns out Evan is a pool maverick and he beat me handily.  I casually reminded him that he was only 19 and I could beat him up with my “old man strength.”  J

            When we got back to the compound:

            BLACKOUT

            GRR!!!  The blackouts have become so frequent lately.  Its really really frustrating and annoying.

            Since we had no power, and could not cook Rachel, Evan and I walked across the street to Edith’s restaurant.  Edith, God bless her soul, uses a wood fire which is impervious to the ravages of the subpar Ugandan powergrid. 

            We ordered matoke, beans, rice and avocado and the three of us ate in Edith’s small restaurant with a small candle on the table.

            Rachel and Evan thought it funny that I had a credit at her restaurant (last time I was there my meal cost 1,300 USH (65 cents) and they couldn’t break my 10,000 bill so I officially have credit at her restaurant J).

            We got back.  It was still a blackout…went to sleep.

Email to FINCA

FINCA is one of the micro finance institutions I'm trying to link with Educate!  They have a really great program supporting the poorest of the poor.  I had to do a lot of networking but finally I was able to get in touch with someone from their organization.

The email below is a 30,000 foot view of why I'm trying to develop a partnership (for those of you who are curious).

---

Hi Scott,

 

Thanks for getting back to me.  I'd be happy to provide some more background on Educate! and specifically why we'd like to develop a partnership with FINCA.

 

Educate works with 415 S5 – S6 students in 24 different secondary schools across Uganda.  We teach a social entrepreneurship class that supplements our students regular school curriculum.  We teach this "social entrepreneurship" class once a week for two hours per class.

 

We also encourage the students to start Social Entrepreneurship Clubs (SEC) at their respective schools. In many ways our SEC clubs are structured like your Village Banking Groups – members elect their own leaders, design their own bylaws, manage their funds and are fully responsible for the success / failure of their ventures.  These SEC organizations are all economically autonomous, sustainable AND address problems that afflict the community.

 

Here is a for example:  The students of Light High School in Seguku had a problem getting haircuts.  The barber in town was far away, expensive (1,000 USH), and required the student be chaperoned by a teacher.  This wasted a lot of time, energy and money.  To rectify this problem the SEC held a small fundraiser, bought hair clippers with the proceeds, learned how to cut hair and now they cut all the students hair in Light HS.  The students are taking the proceeds of that venture and investing it into a poultry-rearing project.  The chickens they raise will be sold to the school to help improve the diet of the students.

 

This is one of many examples of our students being empowered to lead change within their school and community.  They leveraged the business + social responsibility skills we taught them and now they're making a difference.

 

But, the more these SEC clubs grow, the more they need access to capital.  Small fundraisers are no longer sufficient and they don’t teach students the principles of borrowing.  Educate! has selected the most talented students from each school, taught them business principles AND is willing to silently back their loans - we just need a lending partner willing to extend credit to our students.

 

(Educate! doesn’t want to lend to these students because we don’t want to mix tutelage with finance.  We strongly believe capital should come from a respected organization that is familiar with the logistics of lending money and already has the operations in place.)

 

Also, I know FINCA also accepts deposits.  We are trying to instill a culture of saving amongst our students.  If FINCA was willing to extend credit to our students we would mandate they all come up with the required money to open up a savings account.

 

During my research and meetings with other MFI experts - I ran into a few logistical issues.  Namely, most MFI organizations make individual loans (to members of a group) but we are asking for a business loan.  Furthermore, most MFI's and development banks only lend to registered groups of people (i.e. NGO's, community based groups, etcetera).

 

To get around this barrier I am going to register each SEC as a "community based group" - a legal entity with bylaws, specific members and a concrete mission.  We would ask that FINCA would make loans to these SEC community based groups and Educate! will silently back the loan.

 

A few other items:

 

- Most of our students loans would be between $50 - $100.

 

- Our average student age is between 18-19 years old.

 

- There are typically 15 students / SEC class

 

I think our SEC groups have a lot of similarities to the Village Banking Groups. I know that FINCA strives to be a “banker with soul” and I think this is an opportunity to empower the next generation of Ugandans with the skills, knowledge and capital to start socially conscious, financially sustainable companies that will help change the face of Uganda.

 

I believe in your organization and your mission and I hope we can develop a partnership.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Best Regards,

 

Joe Quaderer

Monday, October 26th 2009

            Happy Birthday Maggie!  She’s now the ripe, old age of 24 J

 

            Today we had our beloved MMM (Monday Mentor Meeting).  I gave a presentation on a business questionnaire I created for the Educate! SEC (Social Entrepreneurship Clubs).  (I’ll attach it at the bottom of this email).

            Basically the questionnaire makes the students to think about the business models they want to implement (or have already implemented) and challenges them to think about their business in ways they might not previously have done.  I reviewed my 4-page questionnaire with the mentors and they all seemed to like it – so that was cool.   I printed out 24 copies and they need to give them the the students next week, collect them the week after and then I get to review 24 different businesses.  Yay!

            After the meeting wrapped up at 12:00 Emily walked in with a cake for Maggie’s bday.  The cake was MASSIVE (and delicious) and the Educate! staff and Mentors scarfed it down.  It was the best cake ive had since I’ve been in Uganda.  Not the best I’ve ever tasted, but good enough to satiate the chocolate craving.

            Then I met with Solomon to review the prior weeks lesson plan and discuss his plans for the following week.

            Then I did MORE microfinance research.  Blah – this stuff is going to start pouring out of my ears.

            Then Rachel arrived – yay!  Rachel is our newest volunteer and the assistant program director assisting Angelica.  She seems really wonderful and intelligent and accustomed to life in Africa.  She was a peace core volunteer in Kenya when they had their election and mini-civil war in 2007-2008.  They had to evacuate her by having Marine’s land a plane in a coffee field.  Pretty insane stuff.  The melee that ensued after the botched elections was insane – neighbors attacking each other, people cutting off other people’s arms with machetes, burning tires over each other’s heads…etcetera…a really bad situation.

            Anyways – peace core officially declared that no volunteers could work in Kenya so one year through her two-year stint Rachel was sent home.  But in that year in Kenya she learned a lot and I know she’ll be a tremendous resource on a personal level as I try to better understand the African culture AND on a professional level since she’s worked in a teacher-training capacity before.  I walked her around the compound and the area outside and showed her where to get food and yogurt and water and the such…but something tells me she would have figured it out on her own.  J  She knows a lot about living in Africa and what one should expect.  Quite different than myself when I landed here.

            That night to celebrate Maggie’s birthday Angelica, Maggie, Evan, Baati, Rachel and myself took a matatu (NOT a boda boda – now that a couple people saw the macabre scatterings and body parts of a boda boda driver on Ggaba Road they’re not so keen to get on them) to Kabalagala and then a special hire to an Indian Restaurant in Kampala called, “Hassan.” (I think J).

            Conversation was good.  Food was incredible.  Stomach was KO’ed by the time I got in the car to go home.  It would appear my entire house has stomach issues right now.  Nothing settles and we’re all constantly sick.  The Iron Fox has still not recovered from last week’s episode and now every single miniscule germ seems to upset it.  Yay.

SEC Questionnaire

SEC Questionnaire

Purpose: By completing the SEC questionnaire you use discipline and logical thought to lay out your vision and plans for a successful SEC project.

Responsibility:  It is the responsibility to of each SEC President to get this information.  The SEC President can delegate[1] responsibility as he or she sees fit. 

General:

1.     School name?

Answer:

2.     How many members are in the SEC?

Answer:

3.     What are the leadership positions and which students occupy them?  (i.e. Paul Mukasa – SEC President)

Answer:

Social Impact:

1.     What is the social mission of the SEC?   (What is the positive impact you want to see in the community?)

Answer:

2.     Why did you choose this SEC project?

Answer:

3.     What other community problems might you want to address in the future?

Answer:

Business Model:

1.     What is the business? (i.e. growing tomatoes)

Answer:

2.     Why did you select this business?

Answer:

3.     What are your competitive advantages[2], if any?

Answer:

4.     What is the economic mission of this project?  (i.e. to sell tomatoes to the school at a cheaper price than the vendors[3] in town.  Profit will be invested into the SEC and the SEC’s social mission).

Answer:

Target Market Analysis:

1.     Target markets:

a.     What is the size of the market you are targeting (i.e. since you cannot sell to ALL tomato consumers[4] – which specific tomato consumers are you targeting?)

Answer:

b.     Who are the major customer groups?  (i.e. individuals, businesses, students)

Answer:

c.      Who is currently filling this need, if anyone?  (i.e. are there many other tomato vendors?)

Answer:

d.     Should you try to make your target market bigger?  If so, how?

Answer:

e.     Do you think there will be any changes within your target market?  (i.e. will people stop eating tomatoes and start eating avocados?)

Answer:

2.     Competition:

a.     Who are your main competitors?

Answer:

b.     What are their advantages? 

Answer:

c.      What are their weaknesses?

Answer:

d.     What are your challenges to entering this business?  (i.e. if you enter the tomato-selling business all vendors will collude[5] and drop prices to a point whereby its not profitable for the SEC to make money)

Answer:

Price:

1.     What is the price for your products?

Answer:

2.     How did you arrive at that price?

Answer:

3.     Is your product a high volume[6] / low margin[7] product – or – a low volume / high margin product?

Answer:

4.     Is there anything you can do to make your product / service more lucrative / profitable?

Answer:

Marketing and Sales Activities:

1.     Overall marketing strategy[8]?  (i.e. How will you introduce your goods / services to your target market?)

Answer:

2.     Sales force - who will sell your product or service?

Answer:

Operations:

1.     Operating competitive advantages?:

a.     Techniques[9]?

Answer:

b.     Experience?

Answer:

c.      Labour?

Answer:

2.     What are your distribution channels?  (i.e. how will you physically bring your good / service to your customers?)

Answer:

3.     Suppliers:

a.     Who will give your organization the necessary equipment (tools, resources) to implement your project?

Answer:

b.     Can you find cheaper suppliers?

Answer:

Funding Requirements and Their Uses:

1.     Initial funding requirements (“start-up” capital):

a.     Amount?

Answer:

b.     Uses?

Answer:

c.      Timing?  (i.e. when are these funds needed?)

Answer:

d.     How are you currently funding your project?

Answer:

e.     How close are you to reaching your goals?

Answer:

2.     Ongoing funding requirements:

a.     Amount?

Answer:

b.     Uses?

Answer:

c.      Timing?  (i.e. when are these funds needed?)

Answer:

d.     How are you currently funding your project?

Answer:

Resource Mapping:

1.     What are the resources available to your SEC?  (i.e. labor, land, school / community support, distribution channels)

Answer: 

2.     What are the resources available to your school that give you a sustainable competitive advantage?  (i.e. Sir Tito Winyi, a secondary school in Hoima, is situated on over 300 acres of farmable land, much of which is not being used for agricultural purposes.)

Answer:

Thank You!

---

[1] Delegate - To commit or entrust to another person.

[2] Competitive Advantage -  A condition that allows a company to operate in a more efficient or more profitable manner than its competitors.

[3] Vendor - A person or group that sells products and services for a profit.

[4] Footnote - A person or organization that used products or services.

[5] Collude - To work together in a fraudulent / unethical manner.

[6] Volume - A quantity or amount.

[7] Margin - The difference between the cost and the selling price.

[8] Strategy - A plan, method, or series of actions for obtaining a specific goal or result.

[9] Technique - A method for accomplishing a goal.

Sunday, October 25th 2009

            When I woke up this morning to I looked at my cell phone and had two missed calls.  One from a number I didn’t recognize and one from my cousin Dave Maestri.  I’d alluded to it before – but Dave was in Kampala as part of a joint mission between United Nations “United Against” Malaria and “Nothing But Nets” a group that distributes nets to disadvantaged people.  There was an outside chance that I’d be able to travel with Dave and his group up to Gulu to hand out mosquito nets in IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in the region.  But as things turned out the UN didn’t have enough time to brief me on the mission and they weren’t comfortable with me coming along.  Oh well.

            I went to Cassia Lounge (pictures posted below) and got breakfast and come good ol’ American coffee.  Breakfast was good sans the eggs.

            “I’ll have scrambled eggs.”

            The waitress nodded.

            Hmm – that’s kind of boring I thought to myself.

            “Actually, I’ll have sunny side up.”

            The waitress nodded and scratched out my previous order.

            I thought about it some more.  Eating raw yolk from African eggs didn’t sound like a particularly good idea.  “Actually I’ll have scrambled eggs.”

            The waitress nodded again and scratched out my order.

            I think I angered the egg gods.  My “scrambled eggs” were eggs that looked like they had been barely cooked, mushed together and heaped on a piece of toast.  Salmonella special.

            No eggs for Joe.

            I hung out in Cassia for a couple hours talking and drinking coffee.  The view is so spectacular.

            Afterwards I walked back to the Buziga compound.

            I stopped at the boda boda stage (the stop where the boda boda drivers hang out waiting to drive people).

            “I’m happy to see you’re all still alive.”  I said.

            They laughed.

            “You boys know the boda boda driver that died on Ggaba road last night?”

            One of the boda boda drivers, Sylvester, shook his head, “No, we don’t know what stage he was from.”

            “What happened?”

            “The boda boda driver was coming from Kampala and he tried to pass someone.  He was speeding.  He hit an oncoming car at full speed.  The next car ran over the boda drivers head and squashed it like a pumpkin.”

            “Yeah – I saw the helmet.”  I said.

            Sylvester nodded. 

            “You guys are crazy.”  I said.  “Ya’ll need to stop all this crazy speeding and stuff.  What do you save – a couple seconds?”

            They nodded.

            “Yes – its dangerous but we have no choice – we have to work.”  Zen responded.

            Connie (one of the mentors walked up).  “Did you hear about the accident last night?!”

            We all nodded.

            She shook her head.  “I saw the boda driver on the way back from the city.  It was terrible.  His head was flat like a pancake.”

            Wow!  Everyone heard about this accident.

            When I got back to the compound I met Evan – Eric’s cousin who was volunteering in Mozambique and was visiting us for a week.

            “Is there anywhere to watch a soccer match?”  He asked me.

            I told him I was going for a run and then I’d show him a local bar.

            We went to the bar to watch two English Premier Teams – Manchester and Chelsea (I think?).  The bar was PACKED with people.  Literally there were patrons sticking their heads in doors and windows to get a glimpse of the game.  Evan and I walked in and ordered coca cola’s.  We looked around and noticed that out of all the other people there literally only one person bought a soda.  Poor bar proprietor!

            Evan and I got a chance to learn a bit about each other.  He’s only 19 (so young!) and is going to USC in January.  Made me feel REALLY old!  Rather than sit around and wait for college to begin he decided to go for an African adventure.  He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro the week before.  Pretty cool.

            When we got back the power was out.  Everyone in the compound gathered around candles and talked and laughed.  The night ended with everyone bunched around my laptop watching “Snatch.”

            The power never came back on so we went to sleep.

“Avoid the dead body.”

I forgot to mention this, but last night one of our friends that lives on the other side of Buziga called us as we were leaving to go to the concert.
“Avoid the dead body.” He told us.
Apparently there had been a horrific boda boda accident on Ggaba road not far from our house. Although we wanted to avoid the dead body we had to pass through the area where the accident occurred.
When we pulled onto Ggaba Road there was a line of oncoming headlights that seemed to stretch for miles. We crept along Ggaba road towards Kampala.
Finally, ahead of us there was a car pulled over. The fencing along the street had been torn down. I saw the remnants of a helmet on the side of the road. In the middle of the road there was a pool of blood maybe 6 feet by 6 feet.
I don’t know what happened, but whatever happened it was violent. The helmet was cracked like an eggshell. There was a lot of blood.
I said a prayer and we kept driving. 

View from Cassia Lodge

Clouds over Lake Victoria

 

View from our table

 

A view from further back in Cassia Lodge

 

Island in Lake Victoria

 

USC

One of the volunteers is a USC fan.  He made this picture my desktop background.

Grr...

 

Saturday, October 24th 2009

Saturday, October 24^th 2009

 

             I woke up, ahem, feeling sluggish after the concert the night before.  I walked into my house got a bottle of water and walked back to the “men’s quarters” (they’re behind the house) and my cell phone was ringing.  It was Martin, the Ugandan Advisory board member I’d met the prior Saturday.  He was the one that put himself through college working a variety of odd jobs – one of which involved hauling sand from Lake Victoria to Jinja during the night.

            I picked up the phone.

            “Hey Martin.”

            “Hi Joe – are you available to discuss the funding model.”

            Hmm – this was the last thing I wanted to do on my Saturday, but Martin is a very busy man so I figured I needed to meet with him when he had the time.

            “Sure.”

            “Great.  I”ll meet you by the Post Office in Kampala in an hour.”

            An hour?!  I jumped in the shower and took a boda boda straight into the city.

            I waited for a couple minutes for Martin to show.  When he did we walked across the street to a buffet restaurant that served traditional Ugandan food.

            We sat down and started talking.

           

Martin is a really fascinating and impressive person.  As I’ve written about in the past he’s started with very little and accomplished a lot.  In addition to the business items we discussed (which took the majority of our conversation) he also told me more about his life.

 

- He has 2 brothers and 3 sisters with his mother, but his father has 4 wives and a total of 20 children.

- His father was a driver in Idi Amin’s army – he was captured during the war with Tanzania and was held as a POW for 3 years.  After he came back and had nothing but his own two hands.  He was able to build a successful business and provide for his entire family.

 

I also found some interesting things about Martin and his family.  Martin told me his brothers were jealous of his success and with (what they thought) was favoritism from his father.  So one day, 8 months ago, his brothers and his Aunt colluded to assassinate him.  His Aunt lives across from Busiro (the school Martin founded) and told Martin’s brother his exact schedule – where he would be and when, so they could kill him.

            One night as Martin was driving home a bullet tore through his windshield nearly killing him.  Martin drove away frantically thinking someone was trying to rob him.  He escaped the attack, but a few nights later found out his Aunt and brothers had plotted for his demise.

            When Martin’s father found out he called a family meeting.  He looked at the sons that tried to kill Martin, now sitting in the same room with the brother they tried to kill.

            “You must have been fathered while I was a POW in Tanzania.”

            He disowned him on the spot.  Wow.

            Sad that jealousy can compel someone to try and kill their own brother especially someone as kind and caring as Martin.  The world is a crazy place.

           

            He also told me more details on founding Busiro.  In the beginning, apparently it was supposed to be him and 3 other investors.  They were each going to take out a loan for 15,000,000 USH ($7,500) against their salaries.  They both reneged and decided they were too scared to borrow.  Undeterred Martin thought of ways he could raise the money and continue with the project himself. 

            Eventually he got his Mom and his cousin to take out $5,000,000 ($2,500) each.  After a couple weeks the cousin reneged and Martin assumed his debt payments.  After a few more weeks his mother said she couldn’t pay the interest because she needed to pay for Martin’s younger brother’s school fees.  Martin assumed all the debt himself.  Because it was a salary loan he was now only getting 50% of his salary on a monthly basis.

            But Martin needed to borrow more.  The school needed a lot of infrastructure and if he didn’t borrow more money all the money he’d already invested would have all been for nothing.  So he borrowed again – a couple million more (sorry I don’t remember the exact amount) but now ALL his salary was going to pay the interest on these loans.  Fortunately Martin got a per diem of 60,000 USH ($30) for boarding and 10,000 USH ($5) for food since he was a travelling credit officer for Centenary Bank.

            For an entire year he lived meagerly, using nothing more than the per diem given to him by Centenary Bank.  When he wasn’t travelling for Centenary he lived in a small room in Busiro that wouldn’t lock.

            “Weren’t you scared you’re going to get robbed?”  People would ask him.

            “Who will steal from me?”  He’d laugh.  “I have nothing!”

 

            He also told me another heart wrenching story about a girl who didn’t have 200,000 USH ($100) to pay school fees.  Her parents were dead and she lived with her grandfather.

            The grandfather didn’t want to pay for her school fees.  One day she came home and her grandfather told her he’d found the man she would marry.  The girl was 15.  The man was probably double that.  The girl insisted she didn’t want to marry the man…all she wanted to do was go to school.

            “If you don’t marry the man I selected then you’ll sit at home and do nothing.”  The grandfather insisted.

            The girl approached Martin and he agreed to give her a scholarship – BUT – it wasn’t a complete scholarship.  Martin doesn’t believe in hand outs.  He told the girl she could go to school for free, but every holiday she needs to spend 2 weeks picking vegetables and tending the garden that feeds the school. 

            The girl agreed and she’s in school today.

 

            “How have you done so much in so little time?”  I asked.

            “it seems daunting” he laughed, “but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

 

            We finished our meal of Muslim rice, sautéed cabbage and sweet potatoes.  I tried to pay but Martin wouldn’t let me.

            “Guests don’t pay here.”  He reminded me.

 

            We left the restaurant and walked down towards Old Taxi Park.  Martin was telling me more about the different tribes that make up Uganda.  It’s a very contentious issue here – who has the real power?  The head of the colonialist “Uganda” Yoweri Museveni (the current president) or the heads of the various Tribes in Uganda (Kampala is part of the Buganda Kingdom.  The King, or Kabaka, is Ronald Mubesa). 

            “Well, isn’t the Kabaka just the cultural ambassador?”  I asked.  “Kind of like the Queen of England?”

            “Let me ask you what the difference is between the cultural leader and the leader.”  Martin said.

            I stared at him blankly.

            “Nothing.  The cultural leader should be the leader of the people.”

            Okay – no argument here. 

            I got into a Matatu and Martin bid me adieu.  One thing I forgot to mention about the matatus here – they are all old Japanese taxis and many of them still have Japanese writing on the side.  I wonder how long some of them have been in operation – I’d have to imagine its over 15 – 20 years of punishment.

            I’m not sure what happened with the traffic, but it took almost an hour and a half to get home.  I am not exaggerating when I say we stopped and sat in traffic for an hour straight at one point.  Crazy.  Patience Joe.  Patience.

            I hung around the compound for a while and then Maggie, Emily, Angelica, John and I went to Cassia Lounge to celebrate John’s last night in Kampala.  He was headed back to Amherst, Massachussets the following day. 

            Cassia Lounge is perched atop the Buziga “mountain” (for lack of a better term).  It has absolutely stunning views of Lake Victoria and Kampala (its slogan is “the best view in Kampala” and I think they’re right).  Dinner was great.  It was wonderful to hear about John’s experiences and what it was like to travel to Kampala as a 68 year old man that had never been to the developing world.  It was a bittersweet night as we were saying goodbye to a friend that had been with us for two weeks – but such is life.

            That night we went to a private party hosted by DJ Benny D (Akon / Wyclef’s official DJ).  The party was nicely done and it was super surreal – there were famous Kenyan rappers, Ugandan rapper, Blu 3 (the most popular “girl group” in Uganda), famous models, 2 former Miss Ugandans (WOW), and a slew of other really interesting people.  The thing I will say about the social elites in Uganda is that they’re nice, regular people.  They performed in front of a ROCKING concert the night before where thousands of people were cheering their name – but they were humble and down to earth (for the most part) when they spoke with me.  They also laughed and smiled and were self-deprecating.  I’ve mentioned it before but there are fewer social tiers here and people mingle with each other and leave each other alone when it warrants.  Its refreshing and it makes me wonder why so many artists in NY have to be so snobby!

            After DJ Benny D’s party we went to the after party at Club Rouge.  It was, as always, a good time.  Successful weekend.

Martin Meeting Notes

·      When determining which SEC clubs will get money – we should mandate that at least 50% of the SEC opens a bank account. 

o   This will promote an environment of saving

·      Students should have a savings account to promote a culture of saving.

·      To open an account at Centenary requires a minimum if 10,000 USH ($5).  Every month the bank deducts 1,000 USH. 

·      Loan interest is paid at the end of every quarter.

·      Since Centenary Bank (and basically all the MFI’s and development banks) won’t lend to unregistered groups of individuals.  We’ll need to register each group as a “Community Based Organization.”

o   It’s free to register a community-based organization but we should give the person responsible for the paperwork 20,000 USH ($10) to move things along quicker.  

·      We need to create bylaws for each SEC organization.

o   Martin will give me copies of the Busiro bylaws so we can copy them.

o   Bylaws are important for future funding requirements

·      We’d need to create a memorandum of understanding between Centenary Bank and Educate!

·      Centenary will monitor the projects and advise if / when they are going wrong.

·      Next steps - registering the community groups and setting students up with bank accounts.

·      We need to let Centenary know how we are going to help them out (exposure to a whole new field of clients) – that is the value we’re going to add.

·      Centenary will help us facilitate this process – if the school has more than five students Centenary will go there and help open accounts.

·      We can use MTN mobile money to make payments to the SEC loans.  Students can text money via MTN SMS Banking and Mentor can physically deposit the money in Centenary Bank.

o   Students will be able to view SEC account balance and payment and borrowing history on their cell phones

·      Martin sets up his account at the Natete Branch

Friday, October 26th 2009

            Last night there was a thunderclap the likes of which I have never heard.  It was so loud it nearly shook the house.  For a good 30 seconds afterwards I could hear the sound ricocheting off the clouds and land in the distance.  It literally woke everyone in Kampala.  You can say to anyone, “can you believe that thunderclap” and they’ll know what you’re referring to.  Crazy.

            I woke up at 5:30 and did some work.  I had to get an early start on things because I had a 9:00 meeting with Moshin to discuss my “Kristmas in Kampala” concept.

            We had pseudo scheduled things the night before, but at9:00 I called him to be sure.

            “We still on today Moshin?”

            “Yes of course.”

            Cool.  I told him to meet me on the side of Ggaba road because it’s almost impossible to navigate through the slums yourself.  Once you enter the labyrinth, the path you thought you were taking looks exactly like every other path and before you know it you are lost.  It’s easy to get disoriented. 

            “Call me when you get to the Shell station.”  He said.  “I’ll come meet you.”

            I called him when I got to the Shell station and then I stood on the side of the street near the slums.  A little boy walked over and stared at me.  He seemed to think it odd that a mzungu was just standing there with a motorcycle helmet wedged underneath his arm. 

            Finally Moshin came out.  We shook hands and hugged and descended into the slums.

            “We need to go another route.”  He said.  “I need to meet a friend.”

            We started walking a different route, north towards the garbage heaps that are stacked three stories high at the edge of a plateau.

            Moshin told me he had met with a few mutual acquaintances the day before.

            “You know everyone!”  I joked.  “You’re the saint of Kampala.”

            Moshin laughed.

            “No.”  He replied.  “The only people considered saints here are the ones with money. I am poor so I can’t be considered a saint.”

            We turned down an alley.  I stepped on a slippery rock and almost fell.

            “Sorry.”  He said.  “But yeah, I think the real saints reinvest all their money into the community and the projects they believe in.”

            I agreed with him.

            “Its funny though.”  He continued.  “I want for very little.  You see – that’s the thing.  I don’t have a fancy car.  I don’t have a big house.  And I don’t need those things.  They’re unnecessary.”

            “MZUNGU!”  A child yelled.

            “Oli otya!”  I yelled back.

            The child laughed.

            “You say Oli otia too fast.”  Moshin said.  “You are asking them how they are.  You have to say it like that.  Like you care.”

            “I never thought of it like that.”

            Moshin nodded.  “But as I was saying - why do people need so much?  10 cars?  You can only drive one at a time.  A big house?  You can only be in one room at a time.  A big bed?  You don’t roll all around your bed – you sleep in one place.  When you are married you need to get a bed big enough for you, your wife and a newborn when they come.  That’s it.”

            “You’re right” I said.  “A lot of people in the United States are rich, but they’re unhappy.  They think the material things will bring them joy and they work all their lives to buy the big houses and the fancy cars and the big beds and then they realize those things don’t make them happy and they worked their entire life and they spent a life’s work on a façade of happiness.”

            “Sad.”  He quipped.  “I don’t have much, but I am happy.”

            I suppose that’s a lesson for all of us.

            “We go this way.”  He said, “We were at the top of the 3-story garbage heap.  Perched atop it, next to half-buried tires 3 children were sitting in a rickety wooden structure. Down in the flat below a man chopped weeds with a machete.  The air smelled faintly of garbage and rotting produce, warmed in the strong equatorial sun.

            “Oli otia.”  I said.  They didn’t seem interested in me.  One of the boys was wearing a transparent dress-looking thing.  He had a bag slung over his shoulder.  In his hand he held a whip.  He walked away without saying a thing, whipping things on the ground. 

            Moshin and the man spoke in Lugandan.  After 5 minutes we walked onwards.

            Moshins office was much bigger.

            “They expanded your office?”  I said.

            He smiled.  “Yes – an organization came in and did it for free.”

            I explained my Kristmas in Kampala idea to him.  Basically I said I wanted to bridge the gap between need and resources.  I would use some connections to raise money for him, but ultimately it would be his decision for how funds were allocated.

            “Yes!”  He exclaimed.  “Most people from America come here and think they can solve Africa’s problems. Let ME solve the problem!  I know Africa better than any donor organization.”

            I nodded.

            “We don't do things for prestige. We do things because they're right.  But for how long will we beg? How long will we struggle?  We can solve our problems but we need the resources to do so.”

            “I can help you.”

            “I believe if we have enough people like me, we can change Africa.”

            I nodded.  Moshin is an amazing person.  Too bad there aren’t many people like him.

            A lady walked in with a piece of loose-leaf paper with a stamp on the bottom.  It was a legal agreement between this woman, a tailor, and BRAC (a large microfinance organization) for a microfinance loan.  I’m not sure what Moshin’s capacity was in the arrangement – but it appeared he needed to ratify the agreement.

            He looked at the stamp.  It was backwards. 

            “This doesn’t look right.”  He said.  He showed it to the woman.  “Why is the stamp backwards?”

            She looked at it.  “I don’t know.”

            “I will have to look into this and get back to you.”  He said.

            The woman nodded and walked out.

            It was interesting to see a woman actually getting / using a microfinance loan.  Its something I’ve read in academia and in textbooks but its cool to see it first hand. 

            Afterwards Moshin and I wrapped up…he had a few other interesting conversations.

- Moshin told me that, contrary to popular belief, the out of school youth are exceedingly bright and pragmatic.  While they don’t go through the traditional rote academics – they have to be creative and think on their feet because they need to fend for themselves.

- Another cool Moshin quote, “Death is a fact of life, not a factor of development.”

- “Education without moral order means nothing.”

           

            Afterwards I took a boda boda to Trickle Up – an organization that gives grants to extremely poor people…

            I got to the doors and there was a crowd of students standing outside.

            “Welcome.”  Someone greeted me.  “Come in!”

            “I walked in the gate.  It was full of people dressed nicely, sitting in rows listening to a speaker.

            To my left there was a row of students seated behind a table.

            “Welcome” one of them chirped.

            “What is this?”

            “It’s a graduation for KIBO.”

            KIBO is an organization that teaches life / office / business / vocational skills to people.

            “Oh, I am here to visit the Trickle Up office.”

            “Oh” she looked down, “They’re closed.”

            I nodded.

            “But please stay for our graduation!”

            I felt bad, but I declined.  I had a lot of work to do.

            I took another boda boda back to the office and the rest of the day I did research and hung around the compound.

            At night I was pretty tired…but Emily and Angelica invited me to a concert at the KCC Grounds.  The main event was a female group called “Blu 3.”  They’re pretty famous in Uganda.  There were a lot of other marquee names.  Angelica told me she could get us free VIP tickets which were very expensive by Ugandan standards 40,000 USH ($20).

            When we got there it looked like a slightly controlled mob of people trying to wedge through a huge black fence to get onto the concert ground.

            “Watch your wallet.”  Emily said to me.

            No sooner did she say it than I felt someone plunge their hand into my back pocket.  I turned around and looked right at the man who did it.  I quietly let him know I knew he just tried to rob me…but I didn’t say anything.

            I was almost pick pocketed twice more…but they kept going for my back pockets and I had all my valuables in my front pockets and I covered them with my hands.

            When we got in it wasn’t nearly as mobbed as the main entrance.

            I found out later that at the front gate apparently most of the people don’t have tickets so they literally just try to force their way in.

            We went to the VIP section and were standing 20 feet from the front of the stage.  We saw a lot of famous Ugandan and Kenyan rappers.  The DJ for Akon, DJ Benny D (I think that’s his name) was also there.  He had a Mohawk, white wayfarers and a white shirt on.  My kind of style J.  Apparently the last time he was there he wore a kilt – haha.

            The concert was really incredible.  The music was good.  The vibe was good.  We were all dancing and hanging out.  And again I had one of those moments were I sat back and reflected that I was in the middle of Africa, with a whole bunch of people I didn’t know 6 weeks ago, dancing and enjoying a concert by musicians I’d never heard of.  Fun!