A Q&A with graduate student Darah Tappitake (M.A. '07 International Development and Social Change) about her work in Uganda
By Tammy Griffin-Kumpey MSPC '06
Q: How did you find yourself in Uganda?
A: I was awarded a U.S. National Security Education Program Boren Fellowship. The fellowship provided me with the opportunity to come to Uganda and conduct research on the use of School Feeding Programs within primary schools of the country's northern region, which has been suffering from ongoing war for over 20 years. I originally came to Uganda in 2001 on a volunteer teaching and nonformal education development program. At the completion of my year of service, I vowed to come back to the Pearl of Africa in some capacity, and now here I am.
Q: What is it, specifically, that you are doing there?
A: For over two decades, Uganda's northern districts have been caught in the middle of a war between the Ugandan government and the rebel army. Over that period, the war has claimed many lives and even more homes of the northern Ugandan people. There are currently over 1 million internally displaced people in Uganda, and while there are plans for peace in the near future, there remain obstacles to ensuring that people receive the basic means to survive in internally displaced people camps. Primary schools have been established within these camps and children are able to access basic education; and with the help of School Feeding Programs, they are also able to eat at least one healthy meal a day. The School Feeding Programs in Uganda are supported by the United Nations World Food Program, USAID, and other organizations dedicated to improving the health and education of Uganda's vulnerable children.
During my year here in Uganda, I will be researching the impact of School Feeding Programs on primary education within internally displaced communities. While it is widely understood that School Feeding Programs can draw children to school, it is unclear as to whether or not they have real benefits to education in Uganda. Trips to the camps are a routine occurrence for me, as is working with representatives from the health and education sector throughout Uganda.
Q: How has the experience been for you thus far?
A: To put it into a physical perspective, Uganda is about the size of Washington state. While that may not seem like such a large space in comparison to the average country, you would be surprised at the variations in lifestyle within such a limited space. Within the capital city, Kampala, people live seemingly normal lives with big cars and internet access; but only a few hours drive, and you are in the heart of a war zone where electricity is nowhere to be found and food aid is being handed out by the truck load to save lives.
Uganda can be a strange place to travel from one side of the country to the other. With past genocide at the southern border, Rwanda, and current genocide at the northern border, Sudan, you have to give Uganda credit for holding up the middle ground for so long. That's not to say they don't have their own internal strife. For example, the rebel-led Lord's Resistance Army in the north have committed horrible atrocities from child abduction, rape and facial amputation, but the Ugandan people continue to show their resilience. There is no shortage of faith in peace here.
Q: What are the core issues/concerns of the population you are serving?
A: Security. Whether it's food security, physical security, land security or natural resource security, every community in Uganda has concerns about security. This runs deeper than just feeling vulnerable; it actually threatens people's livelihoods. In the northern districts, families who have survived on farming the land for generations have now had to rely on food aid because it is unsafe to travel to the fields and farm in rebel territory. In the capital, electricity tariffs have doubled in the last month as the water level in the Nile River, which the country relies on for hydroelectric power, has subsided. And the unfortunate thing is that it never seems to end; there is always something to feel threatened by. Whether it's the war in the north, the refugee flow from neighboring insecurity, or the violent unrest in the Western Karamajong region, something is always brewing in Uganda.
Q: How is your involvement making a difference?
A: I'm not sure yet. We'll see in a year from now or perhaps five years from now. It's difficult to predict the impact that one year's efforts can have. But I suppose this is more than a year's work-it's more like six years of mental and professional preparation rolled into one year and an evaluation report!
My involvement is making a difference by opening certain lines of communication that may have been overlooked in the past. It's adding to the information which development practitioners can access and utilize to bring positive change to Uganda's vulnerable communities. I think my work is also a good faith gesture on the part of the American government, an opportunity to materialize their concerns and commitment to improving the lives of the child victims, which this war has claimed. Eventually my involvement will reach a more programmatic level and influence the way that School Feeding Programs are operated, but for now it represents a commitment to improvement and a willingness to consider challenging convention!
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Clarknews Winter 2007
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