Travelogue from summer 2008, by Jan Bolmeson

Last Sunday, 20 people returned home to Sweden and Norway after a very different trip with Better Globe to Kenya and Uganda. It was a trip that was absolutely fantastic and extremely emotional, at least for me.

It’s a trip I can write and talk about a lot. What made the biggest impression on me were the pride, joy, happiness, and gratitude these people in Kenya and Uganda show for what little they have.

They don’t own anything by our standards, but they welcomed us with open arms, song and dance, while sharing what they have. It was such a stark contrast for me; initially I just sat there and couldn’t stop feeling sorry for them and shed a tear, while the kids were singing about how happy they are!

I got so many memories I will most likely carry with me for the rest of my life – especially how great the need is there. At home I’m personally advocating that everything is possible – as long as you’re prepared to pay the price in terms of time, commitment, and work.

In both Kenya and Uganda there are lots of people willing to put the work in, but don’t have the opportunity. For instance, my wife and I chose to sponsor Barbara, a woman with great driving force and motivation, but with University costing 3 000 SEK per semester and an average salary of 800 SEK/month, she had no way of doing it on her own.

We heard of and saw many tragic fates that currently have “happy” endings – for example the little girl Promise, who was left by her mom, since she couldn’t provide for her. Promise was holding on to her skirt and wouldn’t let go while she cried uncontrollably every time her mom visited.

Our sister organization, Child Africa, managed to give this story a happy ending by finding a sponsor so Promise could return to her family. Jan-Tore, the sponsor, also helped the family building their own house so they are now better off financially with a small piece of land. This is a happy ending showcasing how we in the western world, with small contributions, can make a huge difference for the less fortunate.

From a Better Globe perspective I was pleasantly surprised by how well-thought out the concept is, and the competence and the networks we have access to. Both Kenya and Uganda are countries much larger than both Sweden and Norway and we were greeted by the vice president in Kenya, Mr. Odinga, and in Uganda we got to meet the finance, tourist, and trade ministers. Hearing them expressing their support and emphasizing the importance of Better Globe’s vision and work was very gratifying.

We visited two Better Globe locations that will function as test and reference sites. Here we could see how Better Globe’s vision will be implemented. Everything from the plantations where people will get payable jobs, to the nearby school, to the fields where the local farmers will be educated on how to farm land they consider unusable.

I have been wondering what difference the 1.5€ donation packages for micro loans can make. On site I saw how they with simple techniques, a few plastic hoses, tarps, and plastic bags could build an effective farm with irrigation and water basins for less than 30 €.

I and many others were extremely focused on finding solutions – what can I do to help these people? Today the answer for me is clear – continue supporting Better Globe and their work. Better Globe is still only getting started, there is plenty of work to be done and scaling up the operation is still a major challenge.

Trees needs to be planted year round, many more schools needs to be built, more plantations and operations needs to be started, routines and instructions needs to be developed, the locals need education while they get access to micro loans, more children need sponsors, etc – a prerequisite for this is that we contribute with more trees, more donation packages, together we can really make a difference!

Below is a selection of my and my wife’s pictures from the trip.

By: Jan Bolmeson

The above post was first published June 19th, 2008 by Jan Bolmeson on his personal blog RikaTillsammans. We are very happy to have Jan as one of our donators who every month contribute with trees and donation packages, and are grateful that he has also become involved and helps with the operation of Better Globe.