Wednesday 1 October 2014

UPA Silver Jubilee

13. septembril pidas Uganda Pioneers Association oma 25ndat sünnipäeva. UPA on minu vastuvõttev organisatsioon Ugandas ning tegeleb üldiselt vabatahtlike koordineerimisega erinevatesse projektidesse. Lisaks siinsele nö peastaabile on UPA-l kokku kaheksa osakonda erinevates Uganda osades ja vabatahtliku töö projektidesse kaasatakse nii kohalikke kui välismaa vabatahtlikke.
Teadsin üritusest nii palju, et alustatakse kell 8 rongkäiguga peopaika, kus erinevad organisatsioonid end tutvustada saavad, pakutakse tasuta HIV-testimist ja nõustamist, vähiuuringuid ja lisaks peetakse palju kõnesid. Pea kõik UPA vabatahtlikud olid hommikul külalistemaja ette end kella kaheksaks valmis sättinud, mis ilmselgelt näitas, et me pole veel täielikult siinse eluga kohanenud, sest esimesi liikumise märke hakkas tekkima poole üheksa paiku. Maja ette sõitis minibuss, kust ronis välja terve puhkpilliorkester koos pillidega ning keegi ei saanud aru, kuidas nad sinna kõik ära mahtusid. Vaikselt hakkas punastes UPA logoga särkides rongkäik liikuma ja järgmised tund aega veetsime kõrvetava päikese käes edasi sammudes. Kõige toredam oli seejuures tekkinud võimalus ümbrust vabalt pildistada, sest rongkäigu keskel ei märka keegi üht fotoaparaati, kuid tänaval üksi liikudes on endal ka imelik tunne kui järsku seisma jääd ja kellegi majast pilti teed.
Peamise osa juubeliürituse programmist võtsid enda alla kõned erinevate projektiparnerite, vabatahtlike ja UPA liikmete poolt. Lisaks esitati tradistioonilisi tantse ja muusikat, söödi sünnipäevatorti ja näidati UPA tegemistest valminud dokumentaalfilmi.
Minu klõpse saab vaadata siin
Rongkäigust õnnestus isegi paar lühikest klippi teha

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On the 13th of September we celebrated the silver jubilee of Uganda Pioneers Association. UPA is my hosting organisation in Uganda and it generally coordinates volunteers into different projects and NGOs within the local communities. Besides the central administration and guesthouse, UPA has eight branches in different districts in Uganda and they involve both local and international volunteers in their projects and workcamps.
I had the information that the event will start at 8 am from the guesthouse with marching (with a brass band!) to the event location where different partner organisations have the chance to introduce themselves, free HIV-testing and counceling and cancer screenings will be offered and of course a significant number of speeches will be held. Almost all of the UPA volunteers had gathered in front of the guesthouse by 8 am and this was certainly a clear sign that we are not very well adapted to the life around here because there were first signs of movement only at about half past eight. A minibus arrived and suddenly the yard was filled with members of a brass band and their instruments – nobody really understood how they all managed to fit into the small bus but let's call it a small everyday miracle. Slowly the group of people all dressed in red UPA t-shirts started moving and the next hour was spent walking towards the event location under bright and burning sunshine. The best hing about he procession was the option to freely take a lot of pictures of the surroundings because in the middle of all the music and marching, nobody notices one extra camera. When walking alone on the streets, it still feels weird to take pictures of random houses and people while they are going on with their daily business.
The largest part of the jubilee program was taken up by speeches from different project partners, volunteers and UPA members. There was also some traditional dancing and music, a big birthday cake for everyone and the presentation of a documentary about the work of UPA.
Here are the pictures I took
  
And I even managed to record a bit of the procession:
Video 2



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