Co-operatives in Northern Uganda have invited Six Canadian Co-operative Association volunteers to help them measure their enterprises against international standards using CCA’s Development Ladder Assessment Tool (DLA). Follow Linda Archer’s exciting account of their 2-week mission working side-by-side with Ugandan co-operators as they plot the path forward for their co-ops and credit unions. The result is a snapshot of how the co-op is doing - and a set of benchmark scores for measuring progress as they grow their co-operative enterprise.

Monday 29 October 2012

Day 3 - But wait there's more...

I already told you a bit about day 4 but I have something to add. I was having trouble with the cellphone that I'd been given and a cellphone is very important here and may well be my only way to stay in touch with my partners here as well as those at home. My Ugandan partner Isaac - I told you about him earlier - took me to buy a new one. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea where we ended up but it was a kind of market area, very crowded and busy with more traffic than you can imagine. It took a lot longer than we thought and we were very late for the next session. As an aside, the concept of time is very loose here and if you ask people to come at 9 you'll be lucky if they arrive by 9:30 and probably more like 10.

So, the long and short of it is that we had to get back fast and the traffic was outrageous and very confused with cars and motrocycles going every which way - if there are rules of the road they are definitely not paid attention to at all and its every man/car for himself. They have these motorcycle 'taxis' here. You negotiate the price to your location, hop on and get the ride of lifetime. As a caucasian woman I definitely am not a common customer of these as you can well imagine. I was wearing a skirt so had to ride sidesaddle and hung on for dear life. Issac asked him to go more slowly which he did but that just isn't possible in that kind of traffic. The reason they get there quicker is that they weave in and out of the buses and cars and are often very close to them and of course - no helmets. So I hopped on, held on to my purse as well as the driver and away we went. At one point we completely lost sight of Isaac and that's the only time I had a niggling thought that what would happen if my driver took me somewhere other than where I wanted to go but just then Isaac appeared in my line of sight again. I arrived safely and the quickest way possible. Cliff, if you're reading this don't be concerned I'm perfectly safe.

I have to be ready to move onto Lira where I'll be for the next 2 weeks. The adventure just gets better and better every day.

Day 3 - The importance of being linda...

 Jet lag is mostly gone now which is good since it’s warm here but most importantly VERY humid (about 96% humidity) and I have quickly learned that humidity + jet lag = exhaustion!! 

I was talking earlier about the wonderful complexities of Kampala. Well  yesterday's dinner is a great example. We were in a very modern restaurant frequented by ex-pats and the food and atmosphere was great and then they started bringing hooka pipes to the tables on request.  Not being a smoker and with other non-smokers we declined.  I know what you’re thinking  but it was perfectly legal and not drugs but definitely not my cup of tea.   

This is the second day of our training and we are really getting a chance to get to know each other better. There are two things that have really stood out for me. One is the great senses of humour, for example David let me know early on that in 1 of the local dialects “linda” means wait and he quickly realized that waiting isn’t one of my strong suits. Now he is taking full advantage and is constantly saying “linda” just to tease me.  So many of you can remember this and use it when my tendency is to forge ahead.

The other thing that I find interesting is that all of our UCA counterparts can quote the 7 cooperative principles and give examples of where their coops link to them.  I’m pretty sure most of us couldn’t do that even though we work in the cooperative system too.  Coops here in Uganda are so important to the day-to-day lives of the members and to the regional economic development.  Coops are what make it possible for families to earn enough to send their children to school.

Our last day of training is tomorrow and then we’re off to rural Uganda, but not before we celebrate with our Ugandan team mates.  David says he’ll “facilitate” the drinks – wish me luck!!

Day 2 - Getting started

Today was the first day of meetings with our partners in Uganda.  Did I mention that we are paired up with a Uganda Cooperative Association (UCA) counterpart? Well each Canadian volunteer has been teamed up with someone who lives in the different regions of Uganda that we will be travelling to. The teams will work together to administer/facilitate the DLA assessment tool in the individual coops, I am lucky enough to have been partnered with a young man named Isaac. There are 3 types of coops we’ll be dealing with and luckily I’ll be working mostly with SACCOs (credit unions to us) since that’s what I know best, but more about that later when we’re in the field.   

Kampala has an interesting mix of typically African and western culture. To give you an idea of  what I mean, the other day we saw women on the street carrying their produce on their heads in big baskets (don’t  know how they do it – I barely mastered walking with a book on my head to have good posture) as we were on our way to an Irish Pub for dinner. 

So, now I’m exhausted and hope to sleep well. Good Night!

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Day 1 - 20 hours in transit for an experience of a lifetime

Well, for those of you wondering what I'm doing in retirement, I'll let you know about a current project I'm involved with. Have you ever seen the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) postings for international cooperative development work?  When I was working I always thought they sounded interesting but couldn't devote the time required. I now have both the time and the interest and so, find myself sitting in my hotel room in Kampala Uganda writing this. I'm joined by 5 other Canadians and we'll soon be heading into rural Northern Uganda to do one on one work with farmers cooperatives, marketing cooperatives and SACCOs (that's credit unions to us).

The project is to further the CDF objective to alleviate poverty in underdeveloped countries through cooperatives; who wouldn't support this objective???  We are so very fortunate in Canada and this gave me something that I was looking forward to in terms of doing something worthwhile in retirement. After a busy and exciting career did any of you actually think I'd sit still for long?

Once jet lag wears off after my over 20 hours of flying I'll take time to write more. This is the adventure of a lifetime and I get to do good at the same time - - how lucky am I? 

Stay tuned and I'll try to send some pictures as well.

Off to bed before I collapse. Thanks.