Monday, October 5th 2009

Monday, October 5^th 2009

 

Today was an interesting, but pseudo-uneventful (which is just fine with me after my week-long escapades in Hoima and Mbale).  I woke up at 6:30 to run but it was POURING outside so I went back to sleep.  Running is hard enough.  Running in the rain should be illegal…at least that’s my opinion on the matter.

Today we had to interview people for 6 new mentor positions today since Educate! is set to expand next year.  We put ads in the newspapers and broadcast the position on the radio.  I was expecting maybe 20 or 30 people to show up.  I decided to ask the girls how many to expect.

“Ahh, probably over 200.”

What?!

By 8:30 AM the compound was FLOODED with people.  It was really crazy.  Emma, our assistant, sat outside under the patio and took everyone’s names in the order they entered.  Then the people were directed to Emily who asked them three quick questions to ascertain if they were at all qualified…if they weren’t the people were directed to enter into a “group discussion” led by Maggie and Constance.  It was Maggie and Constance’s job to basically review the applicants again and  pull any viable candidates from the group.

If Maggie and Connie didn’t identify any sleeper candidates the whole group would be ushered out the door.  The reason we had to do this is that it’s considered very rude for someone to show up to an interview and feel like we didn’t give them a fair shot at the position.  The group interviews at least made them feel like we considered them.

If, on the other hand, Emily felt the candidates were qualified they were sent to a second round of interviews with another interview group (2 Educate! staff would interview the person together).  If they person got past that stage we’d call them back for an interview in two weeks.

Aggie and I were one of the “interview stations.”  We interviewed people from 9:00 – 4:00 and it was a LONG day.  There were some qualified applicants…but as with any interviews there were a few crack pots.  They seemed to be especially nervous with me as I was the only male mzungu in the compound. 

Furthermore, apparently I am a very tough interviewer and the other Educate! staff were surprised at how much I dug into each applicant.  I don’t think I’m a tough interviewer by New York standards but maybe in Uganda!

A few items worth mentioning:

- The first lady I interviewed was so nervous she was shaking and I could see her pulse in her neck. I was scared she was going to pass out!  I wanted to hold her hand and tell her to calm down, but I couldn’t do that.  She told me she had been looking for employment for a year…

- We found one guy who seemed to be a rock star – but when I asked him what his weakness is he said, “I succumb to peer pressure.”  When I asked for an example he said he had participated in riots.

“Really?”  I said.  “And what made you stop?  Did you realize that peer pressure had made you do something that wasn’t morally right?”

“Yes.”  He smiled.  “That and the tear gas.”