(origineel bericht op be-more.nl)
Shopping millionaires
Hello everyone,
Thank you for reading and responding to my blog. I enjoy seeing so many keeping track of my ‘adventures’. This week was no exception.
Most remarkable is the day of shopping we had in town. The money we (the volunteers) raised was available to spend. For that we had lively discussion with the local volunteers. What was the best way to spend the money?
As I described previously; this project has a significant emphasis on longer term objectives (start-ups of small businesses). For that reason, the project coordinator wanted the money spend, to build these businesses (for example: a steel door for the projects micro-financing bank building; sewing machines for the tailor shop; glasses and cutlery for the restaurant we’re building).
We the volunteers on the other hand also see more prominent needs (like access to clear water and sanitation facilities). The end of the story was that we had to compromise. But I feel, we all got what we thought to be most important. Me personally for example am very pleased that we agreed to buy materials for my ‘gutter-invention’ so ten families in the following weeks can catch and store rainwater.
So in the end, with 2 million Ugandese shilling in our pockets we went to town, for some major shopping. The whole afternoon we hassled with local vendors for the best prices, resulting in a truckload of materials; in which we drove into our village (It felt a bit like Julius Cesar entering Rome, after his victorious field campaigns against the barbarians. Hahah!)
Apart from the water-catching project, we bought many materials for finishing the restaurant, 1000 trees for future firewood and construction purposes, a steel door for the micro-financing bank and many, many tools for the ‘BFFF-tool-rental-shop’ we are going to start. People can come in to borrow a saw, a wheelbarrow, a spade, a leveler, etcetera. The same way a library works. We charge a small fee and ask for a deposit they get back if they return the tool. This way we generate money which the shop can use to buy more tools in the future.
Yesterday was spent cleaning another water source. If you want to do hard labor and do not mind getting very, very dirty I have found you a new hobby. :o)
Later in the afternoon we continued working on the restaurant and kitchen floors; pouring cement between the stones we laid. Luckily for both activities we had a lot of locals to help, so work went quickly.
All in all a productive week. I am very much looking forward to next week when the first gutter system will be installed. Hopefully the weather gods look with kindness upon our invention and will send the rains to Uganda – Lwanyi (district of Masaka).
Cheers,
Ronaldo