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They say God loves all his creatures equally. I have proof otherwise. See, there’s this bird that lurks in the trees of Kampala. It’s massive, reaching over 152 cm in height. That’s almost five feet. Its wingspan has been rumoured to reach up to 13 feet, which is the largest wingspan of any living bird. It will feed on anything from bits of metal to old shoes. They say it has even killed small children when angry. In short, the Marabou stork is a terrifying blight on the sub-Saharan landscape. Unsurprisingly, its nickname is the ‘Undertaker Bird’.
Marabou storks are commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in heavily populated areas. In Kampala, you’ll find them at the golf course, near Parliament or lounging around the police station. At first glance it looks more goofy than threatening. It’s very tall, with skinny, hollow white legs, bald on top with a huge bill. But don’t be fooled. If it can eat flamingos, it won’t be long before they figure out how to eat humans.
They hang out in trees and can be hard to spot at times. Clearly this is a strategy they’ve developed to spy on humans undetected. Wikipedia, the bastion of ornithological knowledge, says the marabou stork is known as the Undertaker Bird “due to its shape from behind: cloak-like wings and… skinny white legs…” But the storks are also scavengers and its baldhead also serves a purpose: “a feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when the bird’s head was inside a large corpse…” Proof, perhaps, that the Storks have malevolently evolved to adapt to its cold-blooded ways?
History further proves that there is sinister and evil side to the storks. Archaeological studies found that the original, prehistoric Marabou Storks were originally over six feet tall. Located on the isolated Flores Island, the humans and birds were subject rare phenomenon that occurs on isolated islands: the larger species shrink and the smaller species increase. The humans shrank to roughly three feet tall over the course of several generations and the storks increased. There were also dwarf elephants and giant rats on this island. The hunters became the hunted: evidence suggests that the storks hunted and ate humans. The entire human population died off, possibly due to hunting from the storks. In fact, scientists even found the remains of a young boy who had marks and scratches on his body consistent with a bird attack. He was killed by the original Marabou Storks.
According to the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, “Flores lacked any large-bodied mammalian predators… in their absence, birds like storks moved in to fill that role.” While there is no evidence that the Marabou stork currently eat people, history suggests it may only be a matter of time before they once again evolve to that state.
And so I rest my case. Ugly and potentially murderous. When the local people refer to them as those ‘godforsaken birds”, I believe it!
- Mariah Griffin-Angus, Governance Project Officer, CIDA International Youth Internship Program, Uganda 2012
Mariah is also a featured blogger on the Huffington Post Canada while she is in Uganda. Click here to read her blog posts for them.
Life in Kampala is pretty good. It’s beautiful, with excellent restaurants and friendly people. I can get most things I need at the supermarkets or local shops. Armed robberies, so prevalent in Cape Town and Nairobi, are rare here. The only real downside? The constant power outages and poor infrastructure.
It always happens at the most annoying of times. When you’re sitting down for dinner. Or maybe you’re researching a project online. Then, poof, lights go out. No power. It always sparks a few curses, a scramble for lanterns and flashlights, and a hope that it’ll come back on soon. Sometimes it does; sometimes it will be hours.
‘Load-shedding’, as power cuts are known in Uganda, is frequent. If my neighborhood has power, it is likely another neighborhood somewhere else does not. Last Thursday, the power was out almost all day, returning around 4:30 and cutting off again at 6:30. It’s strange planning the day around power outages. I keep my laptop plugged in all the time so I have reserve battery power. I keep a flashlight in my bag at all times. There are lanterns in every room at my house. Our stove is gas so we can still cook dinner. Even still, there’s something strange about an evening without power.
When I stand on my porch, with the only light coming from the flickering lantern, the city, for once, seems so very quiet. Even the yelping dogs, the roosters, the cats, the cows, they all go silent. The air will often feel cool, a welcome change from the blistering heat of the midday. Sometimes, I see the lights from the cars driving down the bypass. I pull on my hoodie, grab my ipod and sit outside, enjoying the solitude. It’s a rare moment of peace and it’s something I’ve come to enjoy.
Yet my experience is very different from most Ugandans. A significant percent of the population live in poverty. Some places, like Moroto in northeastern Uganda, just got power last year and even then, it’s only for a few hours in the evening. Only 3-5% of the population has regular access to electricity. The busy night markets in Kampala are usually lit up by lanterns and candles rather than fluorescent lights. The few shops that are connected to the electrical grid make extra money by offering a place for people to charge their cell phones.
But lack of electricity is more than just an inconvenience; it’s symptomatic of larger problems: the rising cost of living, unreliable infrastructure and high unemployment. While large malls and expensive resorts have backup generators, most businesses cannot afford this. Many offices, my own included, face problems when the computers shut down. How can people develop a country or run a business when they cannot depend on the infrastructure?
Not only is load-shedding frequent, but electricity is also very expensive. In our house, for instance, our electricity bill doubled over the last month for no apparent reason. If a house full of decently employed people struggle with their bills, then what about the people who don’t make that much money? Solar power is also prohibitively expensive, as we discovered when my landlord looked into getting solar power for our house. Living on the equator, I can’t help but think how revolutionary solar power could be if it was cheap and accessible.
For countries to develop, they need infrastructure: accessible roads, electricity, a communications system and functional governments. If there is no power, restaurants can’t cook food; students can’t type up their homework; businesses can’t connect to colleagues internationally. More crucially, many hospitals are forced to operate by torchlight or by the light of cell phones. For mothers facing complications during labour or for the person facing amputation from a road injury, the operation becomes much more dangerous. Over 150 people have died in the past six months at the Jinja Referral Hospital (about an hour outside of Kampala) because of power outages. Children in intensive care, patients who need assistance breathing, or those who need blood transfusions, are all in danger when the power goes out.
The Daily Monitor, the ‘reform’ newspaper, has labeled this state of discontent “Uganda’s national despair”. In December 2011, there were riots in Kampala over the frequent power outages and since the election last year, the opposition leaders have led ‘walk to work’ protests against the rising cost of living. As Reuters points out, Uganda is the third largest economy in East Africa but this growth can’t continue with such poor infrastructure. In the Reuters article, Asaf Kulumbano, a sheet metal worker, says he doesn’t make any money if there’s no power. His children will go hungry.
Clearly the government will have to address these concerns very soon. As the cost of living in Uganda keeps increasing, people are becoming increasingly frustrated. Food costs have increased, along with fuel. When the GDP per capita is $1,300 USD (Uganda ranks 209/226 countries in terms of GDP per capita), every penny counts. People pay more for the services yet see poor hospitals, terrible roads and lack of electricity.
The government is promising more reliable electricity, but whether this will be enough remains to be seen. For now, I am both relieved and uncomfortable that power outages are just an inconvenience for me, not a matter of life and death as it is for so many Ugandans.
Our CIDA International Youth Interns (IYIPs) have recently deployed to their field placements. These 8 young Canadians will be working with YCI’s field partners for the next 7 months. Last week we introduced the first four and here are short bios on the remaining four.
Elena Togias
Hi my name is Elena! I grew up in Toronto and did most of my studies at U of T (an undergrad degree in Human Biology and French, and a Bachelor of Education for teaching Biology and French at the Intermediate/Senior level). I spent my third year at Université Laval in Quebec City and decided to go back there to do an M.A. in Linguistics and Language Teaching. If you suspect that I may have some teaching experience, you’re right! I’ve taught in Toronto, Quebec City (UL and Cégep), Trois-Pistoles, QC, Nice, France, and Hyderabad, India. I have many hours as a Teaching Assistant under my belt as well, and that’s given me some great teacher training experience – teaching future ESL and FSL teachers at the university level. I’ve also designed and facilitated a few pre-departure training sessions for AIESEC Laval. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but enough about me – let’s get to the business side of things. Here at The Umoja Centre, a small education NGO in Njiro (a suburb of Arusha, Tanzania), I’ve got many roles. Our main challenge right now (for both staff and students) is implementing and maintaining an English Immersion learning environment throughout the school. Since I have knowledge and experience in this very area, I am delivering workshops for the teachers to share various immersion teaching strategies and to encourage them in this difficult task. My workshops will extend to numerous other professional development topics for teachers, and I will soon be doing one-on-one mentoring. Oh, I almost forgot – I’m doing a little bit of teaching, too. Until the YCI Ambassadors get here, I’m covering the “Key Skills” class for the Intermediate students (we just finished reproduction and will be learning about diseases for the next month), as well as the “Spoken English” class for both Intermediates and Beginners. As you can see, my plate is full, but I love being busy. And, now that I’m settled, I can focus my efforts on learning to speak more fluent Swahili – it’s the only way to show everyone that I am not a tourist – mimi sio mtali!
Kendra Borutski
I’m Kendra! I was born and raised in Paris Ontario, and recently graduated from Niagara College’s Bachelor of Applied Business in International Business and Global Development. Through my studies at Niagara College, I had the incredible opportunity to assist in Women’s Economic Development in Fortaleza, Brazil in 2010. I was working alongside the Instituton Federal De Educaco, Ciencia E Technolgia and NGO EMAUS developing capacity building framework and gender empowerment workshops for the Mulheres Mil Project. Most recently, I worked for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a part of the Rural Economic Development Branch where I worked on Ontario Economic Stimulus projects, which help with the development of rural communities across Ontario. Through my studies I fell in love with all aspects of economic development and capacity building especially regarding international, rural and gender empowerment. I am passionate, outgoing, adventurous and excited to represent Youth Challenge International as the new Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Officer in Guyana.
Sana Malik
I’m Sana and I’ll be spending the next seven months in Morogoro, Tanzania working as a Health Outreach Officer on HIV and Gender Based Violence education in schools with Faraja Trust Fund. Faraja is one of the oldest community-led and community-driven HIV/AIDS and Health NGOs in the region. I’ll be working on integrating gender into more of Faraja’s programming and making links with other Sexual and Reproductive Health organisations in the area, focusing on creating a bigger network for youth outreach and education. Previously, I was at the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London working on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights advocacy and mobilization. I have an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an undergraduate degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Toronto. My interest to connect community-based responses to health challenges has led me to work in various health outreach capacities with marginalized communities in the UK, Lebanon and West Africa. In 2007, I participated in the WUSC International Research Seminar in Burkina Faso working on a HIV and Gender Project using popular theatre as an education tool and I`m looking forward to working once again on HIV and Gender issues through creative and innovative approaches in community health outreach and education. Although I miss my inner urban side, I’m loving being near the spectacular Uluguru mountains in Morogoro and having the chance to reconnect with nature. I’m hopeful that by the time I head home in November, I`ll not only have perfected my bartering skills in Swahili, but I’ll have some serious mountain-climbing and biking abilities across Morogoro’s muddy hills as well.
Mariah Griffin-Angus
My name is Mariah Griffin-Angus and I am working for Uganda Youth Network as part of an internship program with Youth Challenge International. I will be in Kampala for seven months working on governance and human rights projects geared towards youth. My work focuses on the human rights issues in the Karamoja region in northern Uganda. I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2012 with a LLM in Human Rights Law (Bristol, UK). In 2006, I graduated with a Bachelors of Public Affairs and Policy Management, with a specialization in human rights from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). I have previous human rights research experience in Europe, Africa and with Canada’s indigenous communities. I have travelled to East Africa before but this will be my longest stay here. I am very excited to live in Kampala and to learn more about this country. In my spare time, I like baking and exploring.
YCI is currently recruiting for eight interns to depart in March 2012. Successful applicants will be placed with YCI partner organizations for seven month subsidized placements. The internship includes a one-week orientation in the Toronto office to prepare the interns for their overseas work experience.
The IYIP Program is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES). YES provides Canadian post-secondary graduates (aged 19-30) with the tools and experience they need to launch successful careers both at home in Canada and abroad.
The objectives of the International Youth Internship Program are:
• To provide eligible youth with international experience, skills and knowledge that will prepare them for future employment in a knowledge-based economy;
• To increase employment opportunities by promoting awareness among Canadian organizations of the advantages of integrating young Canadian professionals into their structures and programs;
• To provide opportunities for Canadians to increase their awareness, deepen their understanding and engage in international development;
• To contribute to the advancement of CIDA’s mandate (reducing poverty, promoting human rights and increased sustainable development) and to meeting CIDA’s priorities for Official Development Assistance.
Interns must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for CIDA support:
• The intern must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• The intern must be a post-secondary graduate
• The intern must be currently out of school
• The intern must be between the ages of 19 and 30
• The intern must be currently unemployed or underemployed
• The intern must be legally entitled to work in Canada
• All interns must contribute to YCI’s public engagement efforts throughout their placement and upon their return home
To read more about the current eight internship opportunities, click on the links below:
Ghana: Communications Officer
Ghana: Gender Advisor
Guyana: Women’s Entrepreneurship Project Officer
Nicaragua: Environment Project Officer
Tanzania: Faraja Health Outreach Officer
Tanzania: Umoja Education Officer
Tanzania: ZANGOC Health Policy Officer
Uganda: Governance Project Officer
Application Deadline: January 2, 2012
No phone calls accepted about the position but email inquiries can be sent to generalinfo@yci.org
I first visited Uganda in 2006 while on holiday from working in South Sudan. I took a 14-hour bus ride from Nairobi to Kampala and spent a week traveling in the Eastern part of the country, as well as in Kampala. I stayed in a place called Sipi Falls at a hostel some former Peace Corps volunteers had built as a tourism initiative; teaching the staff how to make guacamole and pancakes (not together), which was great. Since that time Uganda has been one of my favorite places and I was excited to be able to go back with YCI; first in May of last year and then again in February. Uganda is a beautiful country and Kampala is a great city: great people, good food, beautiful scenery.
Unfortunately, Uganda is often better known for the violence in the Northern part of the country and the impact of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) on the local population, not only in Uganda but in neighboring Sudan and DR Congo as well. While the LRA is not fully disarmed, nor inactive, the major violence has ended; northern refugee camps are being dismantled and IDPs are returning home. The emergency programs many international and UN agencies were running are starting to focus on re-settlement and development initiatives.
Not surprisingly, the focus of international aid organizations, the UN and the Ugandan government has been on the Northern part of the country, which has meant other areas have suffered from a lack of development initiatives and government support; eduction, employment and access to healthcare being central challenges. And, like the rest of East Africa, youth are an especially marginalized population in Uganda.
Following two assessment visits, YCI has teamed up with the Uganda Youth Network (UYONET) to pilot its first volunteer project in Kampala. UYONET implements youth-focused governance programs throughout Uganda and is connected with numerous other grass-roots youth organizations. A small group of YCI volunteers will be able to work alongside UYONET staff, live in Kampala, and work with young people to address issues of local governance, the ultimate output being a resource centre for UYONET that local youth will be able to access. The success of the pilot program will lead to a broader relationship with UYONET and YCI programming in a new East African country.
-Steve Cumming, International Programs Director























