My first Day in Kitgum
by Valentina Frigerio, Uganda
I started to work in Meeting Point Kitgum on the second week of January 2005.
It is my first day in Kitgum. AVSI car left me in front of a grey door, made of iron, in the street at right angles to the noisy Bus Park. Inside, there is one room, crowded of people. Some are lying on the floor, some look very sick, others are busy writing something on the big desk occupying the whole small room. Lucky enough, from a hidden door, a middle-aged woman comes out, greeting me with a big smile.
The first impact with the Meeting Point has been one with a small organization, apparently not well organized, with few rules and policies and poor facilities. Otherwise, little by little I discovered that there was an organized structure, even if not well visible. What struck me most was that there was only one room for the five social workers, one small for the In charge, one smaller for the accountant and one even smaller for the secretary. I could hardly find a seat for my self. I have to admit that at the beginning the lack of facilities (no provision of computers, not even of a latrine) was affecting my first judgement on the level of the organization. Lucky enough, working daily with the Meeting Point staff helped me a lot in going beyond the problems of structures and infrastructure and in looking more at the work done and at the results achieved: amazing with such poor infrastructures….. I found out that the only way to work on capacity building is respecting the historical, sociological and cultural reality in which the community is working, and how they wish to contribute.
Background of the organization
Meeting Point is a local voluntary non-governmental organization (NGO) made up of volunteers, recognized by the government of Uganda on 22nd February 1994. It was founded in Kitgum district, in the north of Uganda, in July 1990 by Elly Ongee, the Principal of Kitgum District Farm Institute (DFI) together with Italian AVSI volunteers working in Kitgum.
The organization is the first in the district to come out voluntarily to support and care for the infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Meeting Point has its main office in Kitgum Town Council and 12 static outreaches in the Internally Displaced Camps. Seven are found in Lamwo County, north of Kitgum district in the subcounties of Palabek Gem, Palabek Kal, Lokung, Padibe, Madi Opei, Agoro, Paloga. The other five, within Pader district, in the south of Kitgum district, are in the subcounties of Pajule, Atanga, Laguti, Acholibur and Puranga. These outreaches came out as a result of community respond in addressing the HIV/AIDS problems after seeing the good work done by the organization in their locality. They were born from the good will of some friends of people who were already working in MP main office in Kitgum Town Council who decided to start to work as volunteers. Meeting Point is the only organization in Kitgum which have twelve static offices in as many IDP camps.
My last Day, June 2006
I cannot believe that it is already one year and a half that I have been working in Meeting Point. It seems yesterday when I first entered in that small office. Feeling inadequate and out of place.
My first reaction was to try to apply all my knowledge and to fill all the gaps: new computers for all, a new database for all the clients, a new system for the follow-up of children…. But then I realized that only three people were able to use the computer; that, after installing a database, nobody was using it because they were feeling more comfortable with hand written lists; that the follow up of children was slow but more effective done their own way. I soon realized that the computerization is important, the improvement of the administration is fundamental, but are not useful if not done with them, respecting first of all their capacities. Anything imposed is rejected. It has to be a work done together: the need of an improvement has to arise after the awareness of the reason of the improvement, of the scope of an action well done. As a matter of fact, the most critical issue in Meeting Point is the human resource. You can have many computers, a nice office, a lot of money for the activities, but if you miss the people to implement it, everything is lost. There is need to take care of the people working in Meeting Point first, in the sense that there is need not to teach them a job, but, most important, to teach the love for the job they have the opportunity to do! And this can be done only through being a presence, a face that they wait everyday to see entering the door and that accompany them in their daily work. As I have tried to do. And as I first learned from that middle-aged woman face, that my first day came out from a hidden door, greeting me with a big smile.
CAPACITY BUILDING: what is that? Capacity building is “officially” defined as the processes and means for national governments and local communities to develop the skills and expertise needed to manage their environment and natural resources in a sustainable manner . It can also be said that capacity building is the transferring of knowledge and skills that offer each individual and community a sense of self-reliance. This means respecting the historical and cultural reality in which they are working, and how they wish to contribute. AVSI considers local human resources the first and most valuable tools of any project, and seek to strengthen them by offering prominent programme components of training and education.
It is my first day in Kitgum. AVSI car left me in front of a grey door, made of iron, in the street at right angles to the noisy Bus Park. Inside, there is one room, crowded of people. Some are lying on the floor, some look very sick, others are busy writing something on the big desk occupying the whole small room. Lucky enough, from a hidden door, a middle-aged woman comes out, greeting me with a big smile.
The first impact with the Meeting Point has been one with a small organization, apparently not well organized, with few rules and policies and poor facilities. Otherwise, little by little I discovered that there was an organized structure, even if not well visible. What struck me most was that there was only one room for the five social workers, one small for the In charge, one smaller for the accountant and one even smaller for the secretary. I could hardly find a seat for my self. I have to admit that at the beginning the lack of facilities (no provision of computers, not even of a latrine) was affecting my first judgement on the level of the organization. Lucky enough, working daily with the Meeting Point staff helped me a lot in going beyond the problems of structures and infrastructure and in looking more at the work done and at the results achieved: amazing with such poor infrastructures….. I found out that the only way to work on capacity building is respecting the historical, sociological and cultural reality in which the community is working, and how they wish to contribute.
Background of the organization
Meeting Point is a local voluntary non-governmental organization (NGO) made up of volunteers, recognized by the government of Uganda on 22nd February 1994. It was founded in Kitgum district, in the north of Uganda, in July 1990 by Elly Ongee, the Principal of Kitgum District Farm Institute (DFI) together with Italian AVSI volunteers working in Kitgum.
The organization is the first in the district to come out voluntarily to support and care for the infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Meeting Point has its main office in Kitgum Town Council and 12 static outreaches in the Internally Displaced Camps. Seven are found in Lamwo County, north of Kitgum district in the subcounties of Palabek Gem, Palabek Kal, Lokung, Padibe, Madi Opei, Agoro, Paloga. The other five, within Pader district, in the south of Kitgum district, are in the subcounties of Pajule, Atanga, Laguti, Acholibur and Puranga. These outreaches came out as a result of community respond in addressing the HIV/AIDS problems after seeing the good work done by the organization in their locality. They were born from the good will of some friends of people who were already working in MP main office in Kitgum Town Council who decided to start to work as volunteers. Meeting Point is the only organization in Kitgum which have twelve static offices in as many IDP camps.
My last Day, June 2006
I cannot believe that it is already one year and a half that I have been working in Meeting Point. It seems yesterday when I first entered in that small office. Feeling inadequate and out of place.
My first reaction was to try to apply all my knowledge and to fill all the gaps: new computers for all, a new database for all the clients, a new system for the follow-up of children…. But then I realized that only three people were able to use the computer; that, after installing a database, nobody was using it because they were feeling more comfortable with hand written lists; that the follow up of children was slow but more effective done their own way. I soon realized that the computerization is important, the improvement of the administration is fundamental, but are not useful if not done with them, respecting first of all their capacities. Anything imposed is rejected. It has to be a work done together: the need of an improvement has to arise after the awareness of the reason of the improvement, of the scope of an action well done. As a matter of fact, the most critical issue in Meeting Point is the human resource. You can have many computers, a nice office, a lot of money for the activities, but if you miss the people to implement it, everything is lost. There is need to take care of the people working in Meeting Point first, in the sense that there is need not to teach them a job, but, most important, to teach the love for the job they have the opportunity to do! And this can be done only through being a presence, a face that they wait everyday to see entering the door and that accompany them in their daily work. As I have tried to do. And as I first learned from that middle-aged woman face, that my first day came out from a hidden door, greeting me with a big smile.
CAPACITY BUILDING: what is that? Capacity building is “officially” defined as the processes and means for national governments and local communities to develop the skills and expertise needed to manage their environment and natural resources in a sustainable manner . It can also be said that capacity building is the transferring of knowledge and skills that offer each individual and community a sense of self-reliance. This means respecting the historical and cultural reality in which they are working, and how they wish to contribute. AVSI considers local human resources the first and most valuable tools of any project, and seek to strengthen them by offering prominent programme components of training and education.