These are the words with which I face all the little adversities Uganda throws my way.
I was deeply unhappy in the UK, felt I was complicit in an exploitative system, and was beginning to take it out on my nearest and dearest. As I approached 40, I figured I would be lucky to have 20 more healthy years ahead of me. I wanted to do some good, and tackle something serious in this time. Yes, there is poverty in the UK, and I respect anyone doing charity work there, but it is the sixth richest country in the world. None of it should be necessary.
Background
I am a Radiographer by training (X-ray technician), I worked for 11 years in both the NHS and private medical sectors. It was a great career, but the long hours eventually wore me down, and I started looking for other options. I found the most rewarding part of the job was helping the students with their Physics and essay writing. I started by volunteering online for the charities Refunet and Action Tutoring, until I felt confident to charge for teaching.
I used to be a keen re-enactor and martial artist, I ran a historic sword fighting club in Manchester for 6 years. Learning how to cook on damp wood proved excellent training for Africa! Towards the end, it began to feel empty, like it was a childish use of my time. But I found it rewarding for 20 years, particularly touring Europe with my students in my campervan, the Battlebus.
I also spent 4 years in the British Army Reserves, as a Radiographer. I never actually deployed anywhere dangerous, as we pulled out of Afghanistan. Looking back I wonder what possessed me to join, but I learnt a lot about dealing with people, and the field training really shows you how a person can manage with little, if they must.
Kasese
I had been talking with Robert Bwambale, the director of Kasese Humanist Schools, on Facebook for some years before I moved to Uganda. I knew that I wouldn’t fit in with a religious charity, and I wanted to be surrounded by mountains and countryside rather than city. I came in April, and have stayed here for most of the time since. I have been forced to visit the capital, Kampala, and even Kenya as my tourist visas have expired, but I am determined to make Uganda my home. I applied to the local branch of Bugema University to do a PGCE in the hopes that I could gain a student visa, but the government simply kept my money. I wanted a challenge!
I fund monthly health education visits to the school from a local charity, Kasese Women’s Health Support Initiate. They run a lively session, and really engage the students. I sponsor Jaliyah, a particularly talented student, send food parcels to a poor family, and often my friends in the UK will buy eggs to supplement their monotonous, low protein diet.
My good friend Mulekya is building a primary school in his home village of Bikone with my support, in the Rwenzori mountains. It has lacked a school since floods destroyed the Catholic primary built by a German charity. I notice the Germans are doing a lot of good things out here, noticeably more than the British. We have also been distributing DOT eye glasses. They are not as effective as an optician would provide, but the training is easy, and you can’t argue with £3 per pair!
It has not all gone swimmingly, I have abandoned more projects than the ones listed, but this is the whole point of my being on the ground to manage these things. None of this would have been possible without a great deal of support from my mum, Susan Forrester, who has done more than her fair share of volunteering over the years.
My Beliefs
I accepted the label Humanist relatively recently. I was raised Methodist, and I still have a lot of respect for their simple, unadorned churches and practical outlook. But for as long as I can remember, I questioned what we were told in Sunday School, and considered myself to be an Atheist. But the problem with Atheism is that it is negative to define yourself by what you don’t believe. Not playing soccer is not a hobby.
I am very wary of secular organisations which ape the hierarchy of religious ones. Both believers and Atheists tend to put themselves on pedestals, and words like ‘humanitarian’ naturally focus on what’s best in humanity.
My Humanism is realistic about our flaws, it is amazing that we can think at all, not that we get it wrong sometimes. As the late great Bill Hicks once said, ““I’m tired of this back-slappin’ “isn’t humanity neat” bs. We’re a virus with shoes”, but I have to believe we have the potential to do better.
The future
Though I will always be a friend to the school in Kasese, I have met a wonderful young lady called Ruth who makes me very happy! On Sunday we will pack my dogs and my modest possessions onto a minibus, and relocate to Kampala. Please wish me luck in my battle to remain here and do some good, and I will keep reminding myself, it’s all part of the challenge!
By Martin Forrester
Links
https://kasesehumanist.blogspot.com/?m=1
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557845710053&mibextid=kFxxJD
https://www.dotglasses.org/