ACTS 101

When I came to work with ACTS I was quite foggy on the details of what ACTS does. I could read the mission statement (included at the top of my blog), but how I wondered exactly how they accomplish this. This entry is intended to answer questions that you may have about ACTS and my work. I am still learning much about this organization, but this is what I've discovered so far!

A typical view of this countryside. (That's my team walking ahead of me.)

What is ACTS? Read the mission statement at the top of the blog. :-)

Focus of ACTS Projects: ACTS works in a "project model" (not an official term), with the focus being to provide clean water to communities that demonstrate need for clean water and where it is practically feasible to build a water system. While building the water system, education/training on health and agriculture is provided in the community.

How big is the project area? When I came, I was picturing working with one small village at a time. In reality, the water system and education/training extends to multiple communities. There are houses scattered all over the hillsides here, not arranged in a clustered "village" as you might expect. The water pipeline winds through the valleys for approx. 6 miles and is proposed to serve 7,730 people from ~40 taps in the system. These same people are the ones we work with on health and agriculture.

Water systems: ACTS is currently using two types of water systems. The main one is a gravity flow system (GFS) which captures high elevation water sources delivers water to a number of communities via a pipeline system. They are also construction rainwater harvest technology (building a tank to catch water running off roofs) for communities above water sources.

Health & Agro-forestry: While the engineers build pipelines, environment and health teams (this is where I'm working) conductive survey of over 100 homes in the project area. We speak with female heads of households, and ask questions on topics such as water availability, their family's general health, illness and mortality, disabilities, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, sanitation, type of fuel used for cooking, availability of fuel, food shortages, farming practices, tree cutting/planting, etc. After the survey we compile data and begin training local volunteers in health and agriculture, who then do trainings and presentations throughout the communities.

Who works for ACTS? There are 20-30 Ugandan staff that do the majority of work for ACTS. They manage the various project areas. There are several full-time Canadian staff that direct the organization and do the necessary administrative work. Each year volunteers and interns come for six-months at a time to help with a new project. There is usually a group of 10-12 Canadians here, but this year there are only 6 of us Westerners. I am a bit of an anomoly in that I'll be around for two years, and that I'm from the U.S. :-)

Community Involvement: ACTS works with the local leaders and community members from the beginning of a project. This partnership is vital. There is a water committee made up of local people that manages decisions about water access (and handles other issues I'm not aware of yet). There are committees set up for each tap to monitor water allocation and maintainance of the pipeline. Local leaders direct us through the community as we take surveys, and act as mediaries to the local population to get them involved and taking ownership of the project. People benefitting from the water are expected to help dig trenches and lay pipe. Local leaders also select volunteers to be trained to teach their community on health and environmental topics.

How long does a project last? ACTS staff work in a community for approximately 10 months while the building and education is taking place. During that time we build a temporary "camp" (see previous post for details) for our living quarters. Afterward, there is some follow up to see that committees are still functioning, that the pipeline is being maintained, and to check with the volunteer educators in the community.

Beautiful morning glories outside a house on one of our walks through the community.

How does ACTS express its Christian roots? While provided technical services and meeting physical needs, ACTS seeks transformational development in a community - change at the deepest level (spiritually and in attitudes) that will affect all aspects of life. ACTS partners significantly with the Church of Uganda (working with a church group opens many doors here), but because the Candadian government funds a large portion of the projects, overt "evangelism" cannot be a funded part of the project. This, however, does not prevent Christ's name from being proclaimed. Most of the staff are believers, and it is obvious in the way they relate to each other that Christ's love is present. Each night many staff meeting for singing, prayer and Scripture reading. Last year two volunteers (Jefferey & Rosalyn) led a group from a previous project area through a discipleship program. This year the Jeff & Rosalyn have returned to reach another project area and do the second "round" of training with the first group. This group will then be ready to go start more discipleship groups. (Here in Uganda, Christianity has been described as a mile wide and an inch deep.) During this project I have been asked to lead a group of 15 ACTS staff through the discipleship curriculum. They are hungry to learn more, and I am excited about this. I can write more about this later...

I hope this has been helpful to better understand our work here. Please ask questions to prompt answers on areas I have overlooked. There is so much I could say. I am trying to condense it for your sake. :-) Sorry for the number of words in the post and the dearth of photos.

Soon to come... "A Day in my Life" and "People"...

A Tour of "Camp", a.k.a My Home

Welcome to the ACTS work camp, otherwise known as "camp." This is the temporary living quarters set up to house the 20 or so Ugandan and N. American ACTS staff while we work in an area on water, health and environmental projects. A project typically lasts 6-10 months. I believe I will be here at least 4-5 months, perhaps longer.


My favorite view of camp, when the sun is rising like in this photo. The shorter term staff (like Canadian interns and myself) stay in the tents. The Ugandan staff stay in the dorm-like buildings in the background. There's a banana plantation behind the grass mat fence on the right side of the photo.


Our living quarters...safari tents on platforms under grass-thatched roofs. My second favorite view - rather exotic, I think.


And the tents are quite spacious. I get one all to myself. This is my "house"/bedroom/only space where I am not watched. :-) I sleep on the left under the mosquito net, although the elevation is high enough (5,000 ft.), and I've hardly seen any mosquitoes.


Our office building. Not quite like the high-rise buildings of major cities, but still functional. The gray cylindrical object in the the foreground is our hand-washing station. They place them outside the dining hall and latrines for convenient hand washing.


And the inside of our office. We just got a new tin roof b/c the grass and plastic one started leaking seriously after they worked on the solar panels. Speaking of solar panels... If we get sun, we have power and I have (slow) internet access. If it rains for too long, it's a no go. Our only connection to the outside world are our phones.


View from the office door. In the distance you'll see a church building and Tim meeting with the water management committee in traditional African style - out in the open, and under a tree if it is sunny. Michael is the small boy in the foreground. More pics of him later...


Looking into the camp compound from the gate. The dining hall is the building you see.

Hope you enjoyed the tour! More to come later...

New places & people

I have always loved the feeling of the first airplane touchdown into a new land. I eagerly anticipate being freed from the stuffy, dry air of the cabin to discover what smells, climate and sites I will find outside. A rich, warm and earthy scent greeted me in Uganda. The sites and sounds have been a mixture of totally new languages, cultural nuances, food, etc. to familiar ones I knew in Kenya - the always-present coo of the laughing dove, diesel fumes in town, red earth, building structures, and more. Familiar or not, I am always discovering new things. Here are some of the sites and people of the first week:

One of the new big shopping malls in the capital. Africa is not all grass huts, savanna, or jungle!


On the way to Mbarara town from the capital, Kampala, we crossed the equator! The five us us are the new arrivals for this project: Bern & Nancy (they have been here twice before), me, Gary and Ray.

Having a little fun with my new young friends Judah & Samuel. (They are the children of my boss Tim and his wife Joanne.)

A typical trading center that we pass through on the way to Mbarara town. Notice the motorcycle. Called a boda boda, it's a common form of public transport.

Entering Mbrarara town, about 5 hours from the capital Kampala. Nowadays you can find most of what you need here without going to Kampala.

We arrive at Canada House, just to the west of Mbarara! This is the main base, and where we stay when not out in the rural project areas.

The gazebo at Canada house, which doubles as a meeting room and classroom. Here we studied Lhukozo and Runyankole, met with the local leader of the area, and heard from a doctor about staying well during our time in Uganda.

During orientation, Andrin prepared wonderful lunches representing major people groups of the area and their typical foods. That day was beef stew, steamed sweet potatoes, dodo (greens) & peas, and cooked shredded cabbage.


Ray and Gary proudly display the first meal the three of us cooked - fresh Tilapia from Lake Victoria, rice and veggies. We bought all the supplies in the market that day, and watched the fish being gutted and filleted in front of us.

By the end of orientation week, we were comfortable in town and could find necessary items, bargain for a reasonable price, and not get hit by boda bodas, matatus or other vehicles (pedestrians have no rights). We have even begun to drive the ACTS vehicles - stick shift pickups on the left side of the road! Yes, not too many dull moments here.

Just as we got settled in Mbarara, we moved... but that will be the next post. Stay tuned!