"thanks"... from the old man in the hat

Along with the rest of the nation, I received a text from the recently reelected Uganda President, Yoweri Museveni, and it read as follows:

"This is the old man with a hat, thank you for voting for me & the NRM. Let's work together for a better Uganda. Congratulations on the NRM victory."

Photo courtesy of Julie Beckstrom and her blog.

If you're wondering what the hat reference is all about, see the below photo of Museveni's campaign posters.... I'm not quite sure why he's wearing a sombrero. After months of these posters being scattered on every surface in town, no one has ever explained to me what the hat is all about.

But anyway, Museveni won by a pretty hefty majority and will continue in his reign that has lasted 25 years so far. Since then there have been massive celebrations in the city but also a few protest along the way and people chanting songs about how he rigged the vote. But all in all, the elections were relatively peaceful because there was an incredibly strong military presence, which has been continued to be seen in the city (sorry, no picture evidence for this one).

Part of the reason the military is still around is because elections for local officials still need to take place. The elections for mayor were supposed to happen last Wednesday. In fact, a spontaneous public holiday was called for the occasion. However, the voting was called off because by about 10:00 in the morning there had already been shading happenings. Apparently several of the candidates were blatantly stuffing votes. One even showed up with a truck-full of ballots already filled out with his endorsement! So elections are being drawn out in hopes that the cheatery will be put to a stop. Let's hope....

Julie and I were talking about elections the other night and she observed that it seems to be a trend in Africa that if elections are corrupt they are usually peaceful, but its the violent ones that bring justice. I thought it was an interesting observation given the recent events in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. It seems that in order for change to happen, violence and revolution are often the only means to get it accomplished.

It really makes me thankful for the regulation that America (and many other nations) has about length of rule. If a president is corrupt, the maximum amount of damage he can do is in an 8 year span. That simple law keeps those in power from being able to stay in power for too long. Checks and balances. Limitations of power. But if that is not the precedent, it is hard to keep those in power in check.

Anyway, enough about politics. I just hope that in the remaining elections the Ugandan people experience both fair and peaceful elections.

hakuna matata

In case anyone was curious, "hakuna matata" really does mean no worries, and it is a Swahili phrase that is actually used. In real life. Not just in the Lion King. I discovered this on my first venture outside the country of Uganda, into other parts of East Africa.

First, there was Kenya. I had the pleasure of accompanying my boss, Liz, to Nairobi for a business trip. And it was quite successful, if I do say so myself. The point of the trip was to explore alternatives for suppliers, and boy does Kenya have options! What I discovered on my trip to Nairobi was how much more the business sector and the city in general were developed. There were multiple options for suppliers in each area of need we had. The city had sky scrapers and well-paved roads (residents of Nairobi may argue with me here, but all I have to say is come visit Kampala). And there was even a distinction in how business was handled.... We had suppliers tell us up front that they had certain limitations and couldn't make this or that product. We had people with real expertise respond to us honestly and on time. We had people tell us "hakuna matata," don't worry about that, we'll handle it no problem..... Not that this never happens in Uganda, but it's definitely rare... Needless to say, this aspect of our trip was pretty exciting for us and gave us a lot of hope for our partnership with companies in Nairobi.

Enough about business though, I also got to do some pretty cool things in the city. First, Liz and I took an afternoon off on Sunday and visited the giraffe reserve. We were able to feed them, and yes, the picture below shows the after effects of Liz allowing one to take a piece of food from between her lips.

Yes, I admittedly did the same.... It wasn't quite as gross as it looks. It was just so fun to be close to animals that you hear about, see on TV, in the Lion King, at the zoo... and be able to touch them and even get some lip action if you so desired.

My last day in Nairobi, I got to visit several other companies/organizations that focus on empowering women through providing sustainable employment. My favorite was Amani Ya Juu. It started in 1996 with only three women, but since then has spread to four countries and has been able to employ around 300 women! They have an amazing workshop and they produce 200+ products. It was fun to visit Amani and dream of what Sseko could look like after it's been around for 15 years. What countries will we be in? What products will we be making? How many women's lives will we have impacted? These are questions I love to think about...

So that was Kenya. It made a good impression.

Then I was off to Zanzibar. Yes, it was as exotic as it sounds. Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania. I spent most of my time there on the beach.... or wandering around the island on a spice tour..... or meandering through the narrow cobblestone streets of Stone Town. It was a magical few days.

This picture I took out of the window on my plane ride in does not do it justice.

I had planned my trip to Zanzibar to flee the city of Kampala during the week of elections. There ended up not being any riots in Kampala... There were some minor issues in other parts of the country, but I am happy to report that we have had a surprisingly peaceful election season in spite of the turmoil in other parts of the continent. So no worries. Hakuna Matata.

impossible is nothing

That's the slogan for Adidas these days: "impossible is nothing." Since I'm not super into sports brands, I heard that for the first time last week.... and it took me a bit my surprise to be honest. Because in Uganda, a phrase I commonly hear is "it's not possible."

I have countless examples of this.... but I'll give the most recent one I heard of. My boss, Liz, is here from the states and went shopping the in craft market last week for some paper beads. She found a necklace she liked, but it was too short. So naturally, she asked the woman selling it if she had a longer option. The woman adamantly replied that it was not possible to make a necklace like that in a longer fashion. Liz was shocked, and not convinced. She thought that it was completely possible.... and wanted to try. She asked the woman to hand her two of the necklaces, and then instead of clasping them individually, she clasped the pieces together to form a necklace twice as long. All the women in the market were hooting and hawing, as Liz held up the long necklace and showed them all that it was not impossible.

As I said I have had countless examples of this... I've probably heard the word "impossible" almost every day since I arrived here. And I think I've finally come up with an explanation as to why, when I think about what I see most commonly in my interactions here: I have seen that Ugandans are not lacking in creative thinking; that is not the issue when they say that something cannot be done. I think it is that the culture here is incredibly resourceful, but not innovative.

Now, I realize that those words may sound like synonyms, but there is a distinction and I think that is where the explanation lies. Resourcefulness has to do with the ability to deal skillfully in new situations with what you have, while innovation has to do with making something new, changing what is established, or really any type of forward thinking.

I have seen the most resourceful things here... You would not believe what people can do with old bicycle parts, or how much can be piled on top of a boda boda, or how just about anything that the average American would have thrown out can be reused with some creative refurbishing. This way of thinking seems to stop though when you start dealing with things they don't have... For example, making a fabric in a new color, or printing on a different type of material, or accomplishing something by a certain deadline. This creative thinking pattern doesn't seem to transition into forward thinking, and as an American living in this culture, its quite fascinating.

American companies, for example, are a stark contrast... They tell their customers (maybe to a fault), that with them, anything is possible.... or in Adidas' case "impossible is nothing." Our culture prides itself on innovation and thinking up new things. It is from that context that I found myself entering Uganda, and at first was taken aback when people would say they would "try," instead of just saying they would do it. Or saying that something was impossible just because they had never done it before....

The strange thing is that the more people keep telling you something is impossible, the more you start to believe it. My co-worker, Julie, and I have often talked about how easy it would be to just agree and say "you're probably right... it is impossible to get this done here." But then we have to shake ourselves out of it and continue to issue the challenge to try to do something that's never been done before.... and guess what?! Sometimes, it actually happens! Sseko itself is a testament to that.... But it really has been great over the past year to see suppliers and contacts thinking outside the box to get things accomplished. There are definitely some people here in Uganda thinking creatively about the future, and I hope that during my time here that is something I continue to see.