Fish Farms and Jimmy's House
Trip Start
Jun 22, 2008
1
23
36
Trip End
Jul 31, 2008
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Gulu,
Uganda
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
the contrary, considering my previous entry included more detail than a bill
that never made it out of Congress. If you are reading this immediately after
Day 23- DON'T! Give yourself some time. I promise you will ultimately enjoy it
more. You will find the prose and narrative pleasantly unique. On the eve of hump day I spent most of my time with Opira
James. We repeated the previous day's lesson in the morning, swapping classes.
The lessons ran like clockwork. The only hitch was the resistance we
experienced from a few un- motivated students. This was quickly remedied with
an analogy to the way animals think. I insisted that if they wanted to be
treated like pets- told exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to act, I
could give them such satisfaction. However, if they wanted to "be the movers,
shakers, and future decision makers" of the country, it behooved them to
participate and listen.After our morning lesson James invited me to attend
Senior 6 Geography in "the field." This phrase was synonymous with "field
trip." Thinking back to my childhood
days of leaving school during school time with the teacher's permission, I
could not resist James' invitation! I quickly ran home to change my clothes and
apply sunscreen and returned 20 minutes later.Upon returning we loaded the giant school truck and left
for the "Fish Farm." The ride was typical: Rough, bumpy and un- predictable. I
wondered if all roads in Uganda possessed these traits.
Breeding Grounds
After an unpleasant 25minute drive we reached our destination.The fish farms were beautifully arranged! I was impressed
with the ingenuity of Ugandan business. While it was no Microsoft or Boeing, it
was in its own right revolutionary. A soft spoken Acholi led us on a tour of
the premises, explaining how the operation worked. The farm started by
importing a small number of male and female fish. They kept these fish in a
temperature controlled room where they would artificially inseminate the
females. To do this they extracted a
stimulant from the male fish's brain and implanted it into the female to
facilitate the production of eggs. Once the eggs were produced and dropped they
were kept in Petri dishes to regulate early growth. After the new fish hatched,
they were developed for two weeks in a neighboring vat of water. They were then
transferred progressively larger ponds until finally they reached the most
notable pond on the farm. From here, they were eventually netted and sold in
the Gulu market. This farm carried out EVERY stage of fish production! As
a self - sufficient unit it responded in-elastically to changes in the fish
production market. The one problem it had was in finding a steady source of
revenue for funding. They solved this problem by inviting Museveni (the Ugandan
President and potential investor) to view the farm. He was so impressed that he
provided billions of shilling to sustain the project. The justification was in
the future employment this project guaranteed- Workers to man the farm,
merchants to sell the fish in the market, and consumers to use saved capital
for individual endeavors.
Dinner
Every student wanted to take a picture with "Okello." Iwas the popular Mzungu once again (the only Mzungu to be precise). After
literally 30 snaps, we loaded the truck and headed back to Pope Paul. On the
way we stopped for sodas. Everyone had a soda except for the driver. He had a
frigging Nile Special!! Real smart- the only one consuming alcohol was the
driver! He insisted that it improved his focus. Apparently he was correct, as
the ride from the store home was quite pleasant. From Pope Paul I returned to Christ the King and got
ready for dinner at Jimmy's house. Jimmy had invited us to dinner in a district
who's name I still cannot recall. This proved quite problematic when trying to
find the place. I told a boda driver it was near "Senior Quarters." After
taking me there, I learned that "Senior Quarters" was in fact a village! There
were too many homes to pick from. After stopping several villagers, inquiring
if they knew a "tall stubborn teacher named Jimmy" we finally came across a
successful match. He pointed the boda driver in the direction of Jimmy's
residence, insisting that we were on the wrong end of the village.It's such a great feeling to see familiar faces-
regardless of how late you are. When seeing the other Mzungu teachers
conversing with Jimmy outside his hut I was EXTREMELY relieved. Dinner was slow to arrive. In the meantime Jimmy gave us
a tour of his compound. The tour included a visit to the mango tree, the
"University hostel", and an introduction to his family.
Field Trip
Dinner finally came at around 9 pm. It was well worth thewait. The Chipote was heavenly and the Turkey was fresh (given that he killed
it that day). It was somewhat morose to eat the father of the turkeys who
gobbled aimlessly around the huts. It was even more morose watching Jimmy's
"American Daughter" Aya nibbling on the turkey's heart! The best parts of
dinner were the speeches that followed. Jimmy had a gift for public speaking.
The gift lied more in the unintentional humor found throughout his delivery
rather than his skill for rhetoric. The most humorous moment of his speech was
when he compared the "Invisible Child" to a new mother. The IC he insisted gave
"milk from both of its breast" (at this point he cupped his hand to his chest
mimicking the transference of milk to the baby). Aya (his American daughter)
sprayed beer from her mouth while Adam, Phil and I doubled over from laughter.
Jimmy in the meantime was un- phased and continued the speech as if nothing
happened. All in all our time at Jimmy's was pleasant and
enjoyable- much unlike our boda rides back. I was unaware that Nascar took
place in Uganda. That's literally what it felt like around every turn and over
every bump on the way home. The boda drivers FLEW through the roads determined
to win an unforeseeable prize. After re- dedicating my life to God I finally arrived at
Christ the King. Un- scathed I paid the driver and walked into the compound. I
arrived at our room to find Sarah passed out on the couch. Apparently she had
suffered a spell of food poisoning from lunch. Her head was beyond hot. Feeling
worried I encouraged her to take some water or venture to the hospital but she
insisted that she "just needed rest." I granted her request and made my way to bed
as well. Until tomorrow foos!!!
