Demise of My Friend Joseph Chaw

Shock, Darkness, silence, wonder, hands on cheeks, shudder, shaking lips that propel tears to flow down the face, astonishment and other such fill Ndanda and Tanzania after the news struck ground of the demise of our Joseph.

In that box, At a tender age of about 23, Lies a great Swimmer, Educationist, Upcoming Scientists and mathematician of our time, Positive minded friend, writer, reader and listener, debater, Teacher and all-seasoned company, a fellow volunteer whom though we route from different continents but decided to offer our skills and change lives for no-pay but survival to make sure we bring about sustainable transformation in Africa.

Though I am VSO (Volunteer Services Overseas) and Joe WAS American peace Corp, volunteering and making sure we make a difference unified us and was the pivot reason why we all met in Ndanda. Joe and I only saw each other that Thursday the 18th Sept 2009 evening when you visited my house in search of information (as was your character) this time to go for holiday and one of the destinations was white water rafting in not only my country Uganda but Jinja where I am born. I was glad to get you the route-map and contacts to Uganda. Little did I know the inevitable visitor (death) was just knocking and was stationed just up that mountain in Mbinga village where you found him.

I remember all the time we shared most so when whenever the gallant peace corps in the area came to visit, you cooked from my house, shared the internet, watched movies in my house, shared books, remember when we sat till late ours during the OBAMA debates, with the Dutch Dr. Francijn Van Eeklen and the Scottish volunteer Dian Milan and many more. The swimming lessons you gave us in Mtwara, the stories you told us about JF-Kennedy (RIP) and other Americans, Running and mountain climbing, to mention but a few.

Piet Hein Meckmann the Hospital Administrator of St. Benedict’s Hospital, Dr. Mia Hensburg of St. Benedicts Hospital, Suzan Held Germany Pharmacist, Rashmi Choudry the Indian social worker at the Ndanda parish, Elias and Bernice, Cristiana Cavareli and Family the Inter-team volunteers from Switzland where all shocked by the news of your demise.

We want to take this honor to pass on our condolences to the Parents of Joseph (Who hoped in their son to take on the mantle from where they would leave it), the President of the United States, The Senator of the state of New York, The Management, staff and fellow volunteer community of American Peace corps, the Headmaster, fellow staff and students of Ndanda Secondary school (where Joseph taught Physics and Mathematics) friends, colleagues and all that knew Joseph that people will never remember you for the time you live but what you do while you live.

GOOD NIGHT JOSEPH AND MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN ETERNITY.

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY-Ugandan Motto

At St. Benedict's Hospital

Please you can read about my stay and work at St. benedict's Hospital on the Tanzania-Mozambique Boarder. By clicking on the following Link:
http://humphrey-ndanda.blogspot.com

About the Christian Business Leaders' Summit 2009

The CBL-Summit has been Postponed to the 19th to the 12th December 2009 same place and same city, this was due to our chief guest and Keynote Speaker Thomas Blackaby.

We regret for the inconviniencies caused.

regards

humphrey Mutaasa

Progress of the CBL-Summit 2009

We are progressing with the planning and now these are the details:
An events website has been developed and we are preparing to launch it
We have confirmed many speakers including American Author and Motivational Speaker CPA John Dillard
we are meeting our chief Guest in a meeting to discuss the details Friday next week.
The Vice President will attend on the 10th October 2009. According to the latest update.

Please we need more volunteers to help us in planning and implementation of the event.

God Bless

Christian Business Leaders Summit 2009: 9-10th Oct Kampala Uganda

The First of its Kind

We are calling up all christian business leaders in all Sectors in the eonomy and we twin, link up, share experiences, and lay strategies of working together to have a particular result at a given time. Things like building an online web-portal to advertise ourselves is one of the agendas. Every one will have a sub-domain and we shall host it with a dedicated server and it will be a very dynamic one.

We are also launching what we have called the CEO's Round table, We are also starting up a CBL-Wome's league, This Summit will be Annual and it should concide with Different countries' Independence days, because we believe it will rotate in different countries. We are going to have participants like the IGG, Commisioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority, Director General of the Investment Authority, Christians from the Law Council, very prominent educationists, and Scholars, Bishops and leaders of Ministries and Heads of Civil Society.

We shall set up a Christian Community Bank later in the nearby future such that we start supporting our very own with the lowest interest rates or even Ministry development loans such that we can be what God say we are. " we shall Lend ....." This Summit will kick start alot of things that the devil thought we shall not attain. And thats why we need serious and very senior people to carry the vision together with us, I felt I needed to pour my heart to you such that you know what this summit is all about.

In setting up the CEOs round table, we are looking at starting business development and technical support trainings in business plan and proposal writing, work planning and strategic planning which some of our people have been lacking. We think we shall set up Business solution centres in different regions to make sure we offer our very own people the proffessional servies and consultancies that are very costly on the market. things like Acvcounts Audits, tax consultancies, Web based solutions, Business branding, marketing and Advertising/promotion, SME development, Twining and linkages, Human resource development trainings all these we shall do as the community grows. Such that christian Business are going concerns other than tax evaders and non-performers.

The Saying Goes: " What You Dont Know Might be what is Killing you..." So maybe this is what has been killing christian businesses. God Bless Humphrey

Working at the St Benedicts Hospital in Mtwara

When I heard the news from an email that I havebeen selected to be the Hospital Accountant of a tanzanian based Hospital near Mozambique. It was good news though shoking at the same time.

I had read little about St. benedict's sisters and the Hospital in the far south of the biggest East African country TZ.

I am here having been catered for both VSo Jitolee based in Nairobi through the preparing for hange (PFC) , Wider Role of a volunteer handled well by the facilitators headed by Mr. Ndolo. and aging consultant of strategic planning and management. VSo tanzania has done well in paying for Airtickets all over the place, meals and dinner-outs while on the one week In-country training which was well handled by the different project managers including among others Chris (HIV & Aids), douglas (Secure livelihoods), and others. this ICT was being organised by Allan from Britain and a volunteer from Zanzibar assisted by a volunteer from Dar. VSO TZ went on paying for swahili language training in morogoro, where we had fun and knowledge in swahili. this is where I saw people go out and try to speak swahili in the market place, in the hospital, in the schools, in IT centers and children for those who were supporsed to be working with children. We had the opportunity to climb the morogoro mountains with the group, headed by mwalimu benjamin who was the training manager of the facilitators from "Kiswahi na Utamaduni language centre", we went to Mikumi safari where we saw all kinds of Animals ranging from giraffs to elephants, zebras and bears, hipos and many more.

I have had very home reaching company from a hungarian lady called Rita and other friends like John from UK , Liz from Australia (chizi-meaning crazy), mary-anne from the philipines, Lisenka from Holand and many more.

Madam Vera the office manager and the staff at the VSO TZ office make life working for the communities easy here in tanzania.

Funny: We were given all gears ranging from water filters, mosquito nets, Dictionaries of swahili, female and male condoms and many more things by the galant VSO office in TZ.

Reaching my placement,

It was not easy leaving friends and separating from all the company but we had to part ways because it was time to serve the community now that we have swahili, kowledge of the dos and donts, cultural norms and other things. People cried but the bond had to broken by time to start work. people that I will not mention names had to heeeeeeee......

Anyhow Tuesday 22nd came amd we left Dar for Mtwara. these airtickets were paid for by VSO TZ. On reaching the Airport , we were welcomed by a happy staff from the Hospital who had waited for us since 3:00pm and it was 6:00pm, this was due to the changes in flights. A landrover driven by a speed driver who drove for only 2and ahalf hours and there we were welcomed to a dinner by the VSO volunteers in the same hospital. these included the Hospital Administrator Piet, Diane who will be working at the UZIMA Aids project with rashmi-the new indian vol with whome we came, Dr. Fransaijn a dutch vol, Pits Wife, and we had real english food.

Not forgeting, We were many but only 4 volunteers went to mtwara region including; Me as St. benedicts Hospital Accountant, Rashmi for the UZIMA project, Andy as Lab technologist, and Johanne from holland as lad tecnologist of a different hospital called Ligula in mtwara town.

After dinner:

We were allocated our houses, ha ha ha these are houses not rooms and chubicles, I will talk about mine: I was given a new house with ; Kitchen, fridge, cooker, capboards, cutterly, sourcepans, ha ha ha , telling you. Sitting room, dinning table with chairs, tailed , clean and ventilated well to make sure I rest when I leave office.

Bedroom with everything, rest rooms that are clean and really rest rooms not bother rooms.

Welcomed and driven in the evening by the Admin himself around Ndanda, showing us the hills and the water systems of Ndanda, forests and other attractions in the place, estates and eating places, this was in the company of Dr. fransaijn and Daine.

SO went wedsady. thursday we were walked around the hospital departments which took us half the day because of the size of the hospital, by the Admin and Sis. felister who is one of the Admin staff here. I was given and office and a nice flat screen computer monitor waiting for me to command it to do work, Internet connection is available for the Accountant to use though he has t make sure he accounts for every time taken, not just using, because its a satelight connection which is expensive.

I will tell more and show you pics of what is and was in ndanda markets, the daladala experiance, how we cook, and survive in ndanda.

watch this space.............

Working in UNIDO-united Nations Industrial Development Organisation

I have for the last two years worked with communities while with United Nations industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

What I have seen , heard, tested and gone through has been not only a trying but teaching experience. And thsi is when I come up with a conclusion that we need to go back and make sure atleat that the communities can access the basic neccessities of life for instance food, clothing, safe water and Medical care.

I worked in the districts of Eastern Uganda including through not limited to Jinja (center), Iganga, Kamuli, Kaliro and Bugiri. My work was centered to building capacity of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to make sure they access the right Business information regarding their business operations. This involved Market related, technology related, Finacial related, Events related, Partnership related information.

This was also coupled with Business development consultancy where we could help in peoposal writing, Business planning and market surveys, Returns on Investment, Tax related consultancy and ICT for Development consultancy (web based technology, email marketing , ICT integrated training and e-commerce).

Building groups and taking then through group dynamics was a thrilling experiance. this involved helping then start up what we termed "VSLAs"- Village saving and Loan associations.

Alot can be said about communities in Eastern Uganda but we have laft them to make sure they sustain themselves using the capacity they got from us.

I love this and have detaermined to ever work for communities using the small ability in business development that God gave me. they are very receptive, eager to learn, pragmatic and so open minded, very welcomg that they would compose songs whenever they heard we were to go to that village. Wow what an experiance. Lets go and serve communities.

Hope whoever read this will appreciate and start helping the nearby community using the ability that God gave you.

hope to see you next time I visit your community.
regards
humphrey