Sixth Day in Uganda

SixSeeds friend Andy Mills has created "The 5810 Project," predicated on the belief that while “teaching a man to fish” will provide him with a fish diet for a lifetime, it will not lead him out of poverty. To escape poverty people need to develop sustainable business activities. The 5810 Project’s vision is to help people build businesses and break the poverty cycle in Uganda. SixSeeds will be posting portions of blogs from our friends as they go through this journey.

Karibu Sana! Welcome to our blog! A few thoughts before I start. First of all, I, DJ Jauss, will start talking in the first person from now on because I am writing the blog. Andy and Ted told me that I should take credit for my own work, which really means that they don’t want anyone to think that they are making any mistakes on the blog!  Because the power is so inconsistent, there usually isn’t hot water at this hotel. So when we take showers, they are pretty cold, which doesn’t encourage me to take showers.

Also, the Coppedges have been extremely hospitable. They have helped us with some laundry, they have fed us dinner, they have let us use their internet to post the blog and pictures. Billy is also going to take us to the game park tomorrow morning, and he is an expert guide! The Coppedges have an amazing heart for the people and, as we have experienced, a heart for all people. We were very happy that we were able to bring a few things from home like M&Ms and Skippy peanut butter to thank them!  Finally, no matter where I go, I cannot escape it. Billy took Ted and I to a place in Africa which I had never heard of. No more than four or five hundred people populated this town.  No one in Uganda plays baseball. However, one of the kids was wearing a shirt which read, “Baseball is life. The rest is just details.”

This morning, I got up early to watch the sun rise. Isaac’s radio tower for Voice of Life is up on a big hill overlooking Arua. So I went up the hill early in the morning and took some pictures of the beautiful African sunrise. While I was taking the pictures, the Aruan soccer team, which just recently was added to the Ugandan professional soccer league, was using the rock face to do exercises such as carrying each other up and down.

Today, Andy and Ted met with CAFECC, a struggling micro-finance business in Arua supported by the American company, Peer Servants. The meeting lasted all day, but much progress was made. Ted spent the day making an incredible spreadsheet of the business model, which should really help the company. I was able to sit in on the final part of the meeting, and it seems that although the business is doing so poorly right now, with some hard work and smart business moves, the future looks much brighter.

I, on the other hand, was able to have a pretty relaxing day. I was able to go into town to buy stamps at the post office and to visit the Coppedges. The only responsibilities I had were my remaining secretary duties from Business Vision Arua 2009.

Tonight, we were able to go to White Castle. No, not the White Castle with the mini-burgers, but the Ugandan restaurant White Castle. After a wonderful two and one half hours of fellowship, we got our food. Then, we got back to the hotel, ready for an early morning at the game park on Tuesday!