First impressions

Joanna Heathcote and Jennifer Chisholm in one of the rock churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia.

First of a three-part series

Earlier this summer, 15 Dalhousie students set off for East Africa as part of a Field Studies Course in International Development.  I was fortunate enough to be among this group and would spend the month of May touring Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda under the direction of Dr. Owen Willis. 

VIEW PHOTOS: Out of Africa

Our objective was to bridge the gap between what we had learned about development in the classrooms at Dalhousie and what we were seeing first hand. Like any university course, we were expected to complete assignments and presentations, conduct research, attend lectures and even write exams. The focus in class was on the legacies of colonialism, poverty reduction strategies, genocide and HIV/AIDS, but much of our education was experiential in nature. Along the way, we met with development practitioners, community leaders and local people to gain insight into some of the challenges facing development in East Africa. 

Our first two weeks were spent in Ethiopia where we visited various development projects in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, and trekked through Ethiopia’s highlands in the region of North Wallo. Here, we toured Lalibela, where churches that were built into the rock in the 11th century, have today made the town a World Heritage Site and also led some people to describe it as the eighth wonder of the world.  In Ethiopia, we were confronted with levels of poverty that we were certainly not used to; our white skin automatically marked us as wealthy foreigners and we were often surrounded by begging children. It also gave us our first glimpse of what it might feel like to be one of a visible minority.

At the time of our visit, parts of Ethiopia were experiencing a drought which exacerbated the ever-present poverty. In the midst of this, we could appreciate how important the development projects were, particularly to the rural communities that we visited.

Our stay in Rwanda was considerably shorter, but was an emotionally and intellectually challenging visit. Over the course of three days, we went to memorial sites and met with both survivors and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. We also met with development organizations like World Vision, which are still confronting problems such as higher levels of HIV/AIDS and an increased number of orphans because of the conflict. Most surprising about Rwanda though, is the ongoing processes of reconciliation the country has pursued in the years since the genocide. This country has worked incredibly hard to dismantle the identities of Hutu and Tutsi and build in their place a Rwandan identity.

In Uganda our first stop was Lake Bunyonyi where we trekked through the hillsides and traveled around the lake in dugout canoes.  Through an organization called Edirisa, we met with children at a local school and each of us spent a day with a family in the area to gain a better understanding their daily routine. We also met with women who showed us how to make hand-woven crafts from dried reeds which they use to supplement their families’ incomes. It can take as many as five days to make a single large basket which will sell at a craft market for around five thousand shillings, the equivalent of three Canadian dollars. In the town of Mbarara, we were kindly received by development students and professors at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) and even had a night out at Vision Empire, a local and very popular dance club. We visited several development initiatives in the Mbarara district, many of which were agricultural projects as fruit plantations flourish in this green country. In Uganda, we also visited Queen Elizabeth National Park and went on our first safari. My roommate and I had our own close encounter when we woke up in the middle of the night to find two hippos outside our bedroom window having a late night snack; they were literally an arm’s length away from us. 

In Kampala, we visited a second university, Makerere University, as well as the Kasubi Tombs.  Finally when the program concluded, our group parted ways, but not before one last adventure: white-water rafting on the River Nile. 

Although the program had ended, I remained in Uganda to volunteer at a small private boarding school in Mbarara. Dr. Willis had helped arrange a teaching position for me and so for the month of June I lived with the children at Mburara International School, sharing a bunk in the girls’ dorm. My experience at this school was incredible to say the least and was a wonderful conclusion to a rewarding, but challenging, stay in East Africa. This opportunity to study and travel abroad, has given me a greater understanding of different cultures and more insight into the complexities of development.  It has encouraged me to pursue more adventures of this kind in the future.

Dalhousie student Joanna Heathcote is an Academic All-Canadian and a member of the varsity track-and-field team.