The Poles are Closed

Sorry for the delay... We've been banished from Kampala for the past week+ because of the elections in Uganda. Normally, elections are a peaceful and sometimes even exciting time, but in Africa, they are usually cause for fear and caution.

The elections went off without a hitch, thankfully, and there has been no major violence in Kampala so far. The problem with elections here, is that opposing sides are pinned so fiercely against one another. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda for 25 years now, ever since the overthrow of vicious dictator, Idi Amin. Oh, and did I mention that Yoweri Museveni has been the President of Uganda for that entire time? Originally, he was limited to two 5-year terms, but he was able to extend the number of terms indefinitely by changing the constitution. Obviously, this isn't the most democratic practice, but the common folk of Uganda see it as a good thing, because he has "brought peace and prosperity for the people" and "he is the only one who knows how to do the job in Uganda" (Quotes coming directly from my imagination as a summary of what villagers have been telling me).

The opposition party doesn't exactly have it's act together either. The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) is the strongest opposition, but is no where near as powerful as the NRM. Part of the problem is that it is a coalition party, meaning that it is made up of a union of smaller parties. Unfortunately, one of the fears or the people is that if the FDC were to get into power, the party members wouldn't share the same ideologies and doctrines, and the government would split, running in different directions towards different issues.

What it ultimately comes down to is money. The NRM controls the government and the national purse. Actually, the NRM spent 85% of this years national budget on political campaigns, and it shows. You can't walk anywhere in Kampala without seeing a yellow NRM sign or Museveni's face with his trademark farmers hat, since he's "One of the common folk". And surprisingly (kind of), the cities are actually the FDC's strongest voter bases. The rural areas just tend to support Museveni (M7 to his friends) because they are uninformed voters and fear that the country will fall back into war and obscurity if someone else is left at the helm.

So elections are always a toss up... Kind of. The NRM won handily, with 68% of the votes, thus starting M7's sixth (and final?) term. Some think that Museveni will try to become the first president of the East African Community in 2017, if the position is established that is, giving himself a nice little retirement package. Who knows if this election is over yet though. Rumor has it that the opposition is still trying to stage a demonstration in the upcoming weeks. But don't worry. We've already hatched an escape plan including a military transport and a place to stay near to the US Embassy.

Training Fresh

The SWB-Ndejje Team has recently decided to go separate ways with our local staff member, Deo. Although he was a decent coach, all he was interested in was coaching a older boys team, a select team. He didn't practice, or even buy into, many of the Soccer Without Borders beliefs--equality for women, giving all ages equal practice time, making sure the kids have fun--and it showed in his actions both at training and at home.

Now we can start anew. We had our first training since his departure on Saturday, and it felt great. We were able to run the practice how we wanted to without having Deo sitting around doing nothing, bringing down the energy of the training, and frustrating Heather, Courtney and me. We also now have the opportunity to find a different local coach who understands that SWB isn't just about soccer--It's actually more about the education. We can find someone who will want to learn how to be a SWB coach, who will actually enjoy the kids. No more throwing out a soccer ball and sitting in the shade for an hour.

Although finding a new coach in Ndejje will be a daunting task, it is so much better than the alternative: Doing nothing, continuing to allow Deo to hinder SWB's teachings, and passing this problem off to the next set of interns. It may be hard to find someone who is motivated to become the type of coach SWB wants, there is no other way to show the kids here that they don't have to succumb to the norm. That they can change their life's course by changing their mind set and starting to think for themselves.

Sending Refugee Kids to School

A new school term has started in Uganda. Although this means that we will hopefully have more time to work with the kids since they will not be studying as much for their end-of-year exams, it also means that many of the children in Ndejje will not be able to go to school anymore. We have noticed that there are many kids in the area that aren't going to school yet, mainly because they can't afford the school fees for the term at this point. They are waiting for their parents to raise the money, IF they can raise the money, before going to class, which means that they are all getting behind in their schoolwork.

One of the great things about Hope Primary School, the school Soccer Without Borders - Ndejje has worked with most closely, is that they allow refugee children to enroll. Most of the schools in the area are funded by the government, which requires them NOT to admit refugee children. Although some school have secretly been letting refugees enroll anyways, Hope P.S. is one of the few openly accepting them AND letting them enroll at a nominal price. That being said, most of the children that we have seen "waiting" to go to school have been refugees.

I have talked to Jacques, the man who started Hope P.S., and he has told me that the fee for refugees to go to school for the entire year is only $30, or 60,000 Ugandan Shillings. I would like to invite anyone who is able to help to click on the link on the right hand side to donate. I can't help but ask when a child can get an education for the price of a night out or of a new sweater.

Thank you so much for your support. Anyone who does sponsor a child for the year, I will be sure to send you a picture of the one that you sent to school.