Backwards and Forwards

Hey folks, just a quick one today - I'm feeling slightly deflated and buoyed up at the same time.....

First attempts.

I finally convinced Mr. Stencil Man to meet me on Saturday (after he'd stood me up three times already) to teach me how to print logos on boxes.  But he didn't bring the rest of supplies I needed, so I'm still missing one ink color and two large stencils.  And then as we started the printing process, we realized three of the smaller stencils he'd made me didn't work properly.  So he took them with him at the end of the day, promising me that by Tuesday he would call me and would give me everything else I needed.  Well, it's nearly 5:00 on Tuesday and he hasn't called.  And his phone is off when I try to call.  So I stopped by his shop, prepared to give him a piece of my mind.  Lucky for him he wasn't around.  So I told his co-worker, Steven, what that "piece of my mind" was, and Steven said, "I will tell him.  It's as though I've recorded it and when John comes back I will hit play."  Haha, awesome.  Let's hope the playback is effective....

Good news though, I've hired my first employee!  His name is Lenox - you've seen photos of him on here before.  He's supposed to be working for my roommate, but she's gone all the time and he doesn't have enough to do to keep him occupied.  He's chomping at the bit wanting to do more, so I am giving him more! Only ten hours a week to start - that's all either of us can afford at this moment....but I have high hopes for Lenox.  He's truthfully one of the smartest and most honest Ugandans I've met.  Fingers crossed over time he'll be able to start doing more for Recycling for Hope.

Lenox Ojok!!

Crappy photo taken at night, but you get the idea.

Lastly, this town is growing.  Relatively soon (20-50 years) it will be a small city and then a city.  And while the town officials are beginning to think about garbage removal a bit more, it's still on way too small a scale.  Currently, the city has only two skips - the really large garbage bins commonly found outside large buildings in western countries.  But they don't have a truck to hook the skips up to and haul the garbage away.  And they don't have anywhere to haul the garbage to, even if they had a truck.  I've heard rumor the town plans to invest in a few more skips and trucks in the next few years.  Let's hope they're also coming up with something to do with all the garbage.  This isn't nearly enough, but I suppose it's a start.  I've had conversations with many Ugandans lately about garbage and the environment.  They want thier country clean, they have a lot of pride in Acholiland.  They need to be provided with a way to do so.  I feel as though RfH may have landed in this town at just the right time.  Keep your fingers crossed for me....  In the meantime, these little green garbage bins have sprung up all over the town center.  I've seen them in Kampala before, but they're new here in Gulu.  They seem to be actually being used.  I'm trying to track down who is responsible for these little bins so I can learn a bit more about the up and coming waste removal system.

Who thinks about garbage this much??