Computer Trainings

By Anthony:

Over 2018, Sara and I led three computer maintenance trainings together. Although I might know more about computers than Sara (thanks to growing up with so many IT friends), Sara also knows some things I don't know, and we are both teaching 100% of the time during these trainings. One of us is lecturing while the other is going around and helping people to do what we are instructing them to do on their computers. I'm sorry that I failed to get any photos of Sara teaching.



We were able to train the World Renew Tanzania team, a group of pastors and development workers from Soroti, and then development workers from World Renew's partner organizations in the Teso region. These trainings are not our favorite thing to do. It's one of the only times we feel like we are sacrificing in our work. But we have had opportunities to learn how to use computers well, and we feel a burden to share our knowledge and skills with others here in East Africa.



Why don't we enjoy these trainings? Sara doesn't enjoy having to spend more time with computers and would rather have her hands in dirt or plants! And for me, these trainings are frustrating because most people have serious computer issues that I cannot fix during a training. For example, there isn't much I can do if everyone has an pirated version of Windows and pirated version of Microsoft Office, because the people that sold them their computers in Kampala sold them stolen versions that are not activated. There's not much I can do when people have old and decrepit computers that need to be recycled or at least reformatted. There's not much I can do when people need Windows updates, but they don't have the money to pay for the 10 gigabytes of data to download such big updates.





Our trainings are really a mix of random knowledge and skills. For example:

• Physical maintenance
• Software maintenance and free programs that will fix errors
• Backing up files and preparing for reformatting
• How to track a stolen computer
• How to make a good password
• How to protect your computer while on WIFI
• How to protect your computer from viruses
• Email sorting options, email signatures, email away messages
• How to use Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Drive
• How to install and use Open Office in case you don't own Microsoft Office legally 
• How to password protect your computer 
• How to make archive files
• How to adjust your battery and power options
• Changing what programs start up when you restart your computer
• How to make internet bookmarks and back them up 
• The only really fun part is having everyone take a typing test, and then showing people programs and websites where they can take lessons to learn how to type faster. Most people who take the test get between 2 words per minute and 20 words per minute. Imagine how much their productivity could be increased if they went up to 60 or 100 words per minute?

Here is a photo of me showing how to blow dust out of a computer (though ideally you would get help to unscrew and open up the computer first).



A new recent addition to our training, although only a couple minutes long, is that we explain how to verify articles on the internet before sharing them on social media. It is terribly common here for people to believe whatever someone sends on social media, and then they widely share it. (Of course this happens in the USA too!) One lady at one of our trainings refused to eat the rice at lunch, because there was a fake news article on social media about the Chinese creating fake plastic rice. At another training, people were afraid to eat eggs because of a fake article going around about people creating fake eggs. In various whatsapp groups we are a part of, it is almost a daily task for us to correct fake news, whether about wars Donald Trump is starting, or about how eating eggs and bananas together can kill you, or about giant snakes in South America that are as big as a building. More important than correcting fake news that we see, we are helping people to learn how to check sites like www.snopes.com, and helping people to learn how to search on google for the real story.

Diverse Animals in our Yard

By Anthony:

Enjoy this post of animals we find in our yard including pets, livestock, and wild creatures. First, here is a chameleon we found in the garden. Holding the chameleon is Paul who works for us during the day cleaning the compound and being around for security when we travel.

Here is a little guy we found in our bedroom recently:

Here are a couple videos of Beorn and Caleb having a tug of war with a stick:

It's really hard for Caleb and Beorn to be patient when waiting for papaya handouts:

Here is a cool walking stick insect that Sara found:

Here are the ducks who are very interested in ping pong balls.

Beorn annoyingly licks us and everything else constantly. But we still love him.

This video is of Beorn taunting Caleb until he gets attacked:

Sara cooked us up some nice rabbits the other day.

We've been enjoying having chicks running around the yard lately.

And here are some ducklings. This video is really old, so these ducklings are already full grown and we've eaten some already.

Me with the dogs. They need some attention each day.

Here is a cool tree-frog I found:

Some of our animals like the ducks don't mind the rain, and others don't like it so much.

Some animals are not quite so warmly welcomed in our house:

Last, for the few of you who are not bored yet and want to watch more dog videos, here you go:

Pollution

By Sara:

Sometimes I get really stressed out thinking about the problems of pollution in the world today.  While we were on our retreat in Kenya in July, we found all sorts of rubbish washed up on the beach every evening and morning.

I'm sure this dump pouring into the ocean in Mombasa doesn't help.

Although the problem seems overwhelming, it does push me to continue guiding people to the truths in Scripture of God's care for his creation so we can all work towards being better stewards of it.

Bidibidi Refugee Settlement

By Sara:

World Renew not only does development work, but also works in the area of relief.  In Uganda, there has been a need for relief for the many South Sudanese refugees who have fled from their homes into Uganda.  In northern Uganda, World Renew has partnered with an organization called Here is Life to help care for these refugees.  We recently had the opportunity to visit with Here is Life and see one of the refugee settlements near Yumbe, Uganda.  The main work Here is Life has been doing with the refugees is to help build nice latrines - mainly for people with disabilities or child-headed households, as well as training some leaders to be counselors to their fellow refugees to help them heal from the trauma they have experienced.

We are so grateful to Here is Life for sharing with us what they were doing.  We learned a lot and saw the many challenges they face in their work with refugees.  There are no easy answers for solving refugee crises in the world, but the people who are working in these areas are certainly working hard to do what they can.

The refugee settlement we visited is called Bidibidi.  The refugees living there all arrived between August and December of 2016, so they have been living there for two years now.  As a result, while you may envision a field full of tents, Bidibidi in fact, looks more like a Ugandan town.  There are close to a quarter of a million people living there (80% of whom are women and children) and it is very neatly divided up with roads (with road signs), schools, health centers, shops, and plots allocated to each family/household.

Below is one of the latrines being constructed through Here is Life's work:

And here is an example of someone's home plot - each family is given a 30x30 meter plot for their home and then one the outskirts of the camp another 50x50 meter plot for a small farm.  This is part of a 30x30 home plot: 

Here is a street of shops, similar to what you might find in a village center in other parts of Uganda:

You can see that there are trees in all of these pictures, but we were told that the area used to be pretty forested.  All the trees which are remaining have an X painted on them so people know not to cut them down.  The trees that used to be there were used to build houses and for firewood.  Now, people have to go searching in the surrounding area for firewood to cook with.  They receive a monthly ration of food: maize, beans, and cooking oil.  Maize and beans don't cook very quickly, so lots of firewood is necessary.  Hopefully, Here is Life will be able to try out the fireless cooker with me to see if we can make it work for the people living in the settlement.

Water is also a challenge.  In the picture below, you can see a water truck delivering water to that big tank and all the people waiting to fill their jerrycans with water.  There are wells throughout the camp, but we were told that during the dry season many of them eventually dry up, making water more scarce.

But despite all the challenges, children are going to school and there are health centers for people to get treatment for their sicknesses.  There are two pictures below of schools.

The Ugandan communities are also benefiting from all of the NGOs working with the refugees.  The Ugandan government requires that 30% of the money/resources spent on helping refugees goes to help the Ugandans living around them.

Below are some videos from our drive through Bidibidi.  These can give you more of a feel for the size of this settlement and for what is happening there.