First impressions Moroto, Karamoja

Ya, so Moroto is interesting and crazy. I have been here a little over a week and already feel as though I am in a different world and have learned an incredible amount. One can read books and that is all great, but to actually witness tribal groups in conflict and how aid organizations attempt to deal with development and conflict is a completely different story.

Below 10 percent of Karamojong's are educated, and of course they fight, because it is a survival mechanism for their lack of livelihood. Aid groups come in, like the UN and the World Food Program and many development organizations, and hand out free food to the people which creates aid dependency and a lack of sustainability. These tribal groups have no idea how to live or create a sustainable life because their culture consists of violence, in which stealing from, killing, or raping their neighbours or other communities is normalized. There is no value on a life, and aid groups seem to really miss the mark around here!

Danish Demining Group seems to be one of the better ones (without being completely bias). I have been going out to the field to help with focus groups. Focus groups are usually about 20 people of all ages and gender, they speak Karamojong, and usually wear traditional wraps with lots of very colorful jewelry. They answer questions about the security of their communities and whether DDG's work has helped reduce insecurity in their communities (through eduation about the dangers of small arms, conflict management education, peace meetings etc). They are such strong people, it astounds me. The feedback is usually very positive and at the end of the meeting we give them sodas and crackers. Some of the communities are so thankful and then others are not. One group asked why we were giving them children's drinks and where the money and tobacco was. There is often a real lack of initiative because of the handouts of aid organizations. So ya, some people are incredibly cynical that work in this community.

There is a solid expat community here that get together pretty regularly. Lilu has been amazing to me. My guesthouse is beautiful, perhaps one of the nicest in town, we have a car (with a driver if need be), and a lady that does our laundry, cleans, and cooks for us. haha. It's pretty luxurious compared to the way others live, but the work is pretty demanding. There is a local fruit and vegetable market that I go to, and there is a shop run by an obese woman that sells Italian wine. Things are pretty good over here and there is a real community feeling! That's it for now. Lots of love!