Excellence Awards: Improving food security in the pearl of Africa
I鈥檝e just landed in Entebbe, Uganda, to supervise the construction of a grain store that my colleagues and I at Engineers for Overseas Development (EFOD) have spent the last two years designing and fundraising for.
I鈥檒l admit I鈥檓 a little nervous; I have no idea what to expect. I鈥檝e never been to Africa before and am not sure how I鈥檒l get on. I鈥檓 accompanied by another EFOD engineer and together, we are here to supervise construction for two weeks out of a 16-week programme.
We head to the hotel where we have planned to meet the team we are replacing. They are accompanied by John, our Ugandan driver and guide for the next two weeks. As soon as I see John, my nerves are allayed … he鈥檚 wearing a Manchester United shirt. I think I鈥檓 going to feel right at home!
The community we have come to help is a cooperative of widowed women in the village of Nyakoi, a village on the outskirts of Mbale. The purpose of the project is to build a secure facility to store crops. This will allow聽them to work together to manage resources and ensure food security by enabling them to store their crops year round.
Uganda is certainly a reality check compared to life in the U.K., but the warmth of the people far exceeds the tropical temperature.聽We don鈥檛 have to venture far before a child calls out with a wave, 鈥淢zungu (person of European descent), how are you?鈥�
James with a team of workers on site.
The reception is just as warm on the site and everyone 鈥� from villagers to local tribal elders 鈥� drops by to thank us for our work with the community. It鈥檚 refreshing to see a country with such a strong community spirit. At times, when observing our driver John, it鈥檚 hard to work out who he actually knows; total strangers greet people like best friends.
The foreman asked me, 鈥淲hat do your buildings look like in England?鈥� It was only then that I realised that my Ugandan hosts have little idea about where we come from. I quickly pull out my phone and show him pictures of England, anything I can find, my flat, the London Eye, Big Ben. Within moments, work has ground to a halt as 30 men pile around me to get a glimpse of the U.K.
Stuffed between my hard hat and safety boots, I also made space in my bag for a football. Within the tiniest patch, an impromptu game would break out every lunch with workers, kids and even the local pastor enjoying a kick about.
The benefits of the store we built will generate wealth for the community for years to come and for that I am immensely proud, but what really stands out for me are the relationships I have built with the people in Uganda.
It would be difficult to sum up Uganda, but Winston Churchill did so back in 1907 when he said 鈥淯ganda is truly the pearl of Africa.鈥� I鈥檓 not going to argue with that…
Featured in the blog post above, the Grain for Gain Food Security Program is the winner of the 2014 91影视 Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.
James Birchall is an engineer in 91影视鈥檚 civil infrastructure business line, and is based in Leeds, United Kingdom. He is also the treasurer of Engineers for Overseas Development North West.
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