The People of Nnindye
On a daily basis, I would go into Nnindye to conduct research by interviewing the people. When not interviewing, I would walk around Nnindye with Sewula and talk to random people we passed. Once our day would come to a conclusion, we would generally all end up at one of the host mothers' houses waiting to be picked up. Her house was always loads of fun. There were constantly small children running around begging to be played with. Also, the host mother would always cook us something regardless of how long we would be there. If we were there for even a half hour, a meal of matoke, fish, beans and fruit would be waiting for us on the table. The host mother was perfectly representative of Ugandan culture as I experienced it. Always welcoming, no matter what the circumstances.
She was just one of the many people we encountered in Nnindye, all of which were truly inspiring. They would always smile and wave as I passed by often stopping their work to come talk to us. Over the weeks, I came to realize that there was much more to them than their kindness. In particular, I grew to understand just how hard working these people were. I can remember one experience specifically with a female matoke retailer that best exemplifies these persevering qualities. This woman had a cheerful smile on first appearance with a wrinkled brow partially masking her joy. She wore the expression of a women who was finally having a successful day after many failures. My research had taken me to interview her that day and she was gracious enough to oblige me. We got to talking and she was more than willing to answer all of my questions, regardless of the potential harm to her business. I should mention, often we would ask for the prices which retailers bought and sold their goods for at market. Revealing these details could be extremely harmful as they were the secrets to their pricing patterns and would unravel all bartering with customers known by the general public.
Due to her cooperation, we quickly drove through the interview getting to the last question: "Do you have any questions, concerns, or comments about anything?" Here eyes lit up from behind her tired expression. She started telling us the story of how she had grown her business out of nothing. Years ago, she had been living happily with her husband and 6 children. Out of nowhere, her husband grew sick. Quickly, the sickness took his life and he passed away, leaving this women to provide for her family with little work experience outside of household tasks. The one thing she had any specific experience with was produce as all the women in the Nnindye area tend to gardens on top of all their other duties. She realized, however that she wouldn't be able to make nearly enough money selling her own produce so she decided to engage in trading and retailing. Over time, through great struggle, she became the largest trader of matoke in the entire area, selling 40 to 50 bunches of matoke per week. She was now able to provide for her family of 8 reasonably well, with only occasional short falls. Still, while the probability of her earning enough every week was slightly less than certain, she was so incredibly proud of where she had come from and what she accomplished. To give perspective, there were roughly only 4 other matoke dealers in her immediate surrounding area who together, sold roughly 50 or 60 bunches per week. This woman who had started from nothing had come to dominate the market for matoke. Her perseverance and strength of character were most admirable.
It's stories like this woman's that make me realize how strong people can be and what they can accomplish. For my own experience, this was immensely important because it made me realize the true capabilities of the people I was trying to help through my research. Solutions of great complexity, while potentially difficult to implement, were certainly no longer out of the question. I realized that these people who lived thousands of miles away from my home, who were far less formally educated than I, were just as, if not more so capable of overcoming any challenges that might face them in the improvement of their own lives. Furthermore, this story gave me hope for the future of the people I was coming to know well.
She was just one of the many people we encountered in Nnindye, all of which were truly inspiring. They would always smile and wave as I passed by often stopping their work to come talk to us. Over the weeks, I came to realize that there was much more to them than their kindness. In particular, I grew to understand just how hard working these people were. I can remember one experience specifically with a female matoke retailer that best exemplifies these persevering qualities. This woman had a cheerful smile on first appearance with a wrinkled brow partially masking her joy. She wore the expression of a women who was finally having a successful day after many failures. My research had taken me to interview her that day and she was gracious enough to oblige me. We got to talking and she was more than willing to answer all of my questions, regardless of the potential harm to her business. I should mention, often we would ask for the prices which retailers bought and sold their goods for at market. Revealing these details could be extremely harmful as they were the secrets to their pricing patterns and would unravel all bartering with customers known by the general public.
Due to her cooperation, we quickly drove through the interview getting to the last question: "Do you have any questions, concerns, or comments about anything?" Here eyes lit up from behind her tired expression. She started telling us the story of how she had grown her business out of nothing. Years ago, she had been living happily with her husband and 6 children. Out of nowhere, her husband grew sick. Quickly, the sickness took his life and he passed away, leaving this women to provide for her family with little work experience outside of household tasks. The one thing she had any specific experience with was produce as all the women in the Nnindye area tend to gardens on top of all their other duties. She realized, however that she wouldn't be able to make nearly enough money selling her own produce so she decided to engage in trading and retailing. Over time, through great struggle, she became the largest trader of matoke in the entire area, selling 40 to 50 bunches of matoke per week. She was now able to provide for her family of 8 reasonably well, with only occasional short falls. Still, while the probability of her earning enough every week was slightly less than certain, she was so incredibly proud of where she had come from and what she accomplished. To give perspective, there were roughly only 4 other matoke dealers in her immediate surrounding area who together, sold roughly 50 or 60 bunches per week. This woman who had started from nothing had come to dominate the market for matoke. Her perseverance and strength of character were most admirable.
It's stories like this woman's that make me realize how strong people can be and what they can accomplish. For my own experience, this was immensely important because it made me realize the true capabilities of the people I was trying to help through my research. Solutions of great complexity, while potentially difficult to implement, were certainly no longer out of the question. I realized that these people who lived thousands of miles away from my home, who were far less formally educated than I, were just as, if not more so capable of overcoming any challenges that might face them in the improvement of their own lives. Furthermore, this story gave me hope for the future of the people I was coming to know well.