TITLE: Coming Home

NAME OF ORIGINAL TELLER: Chris Kasangaki

NAME OF LISTENERS/ UNDERSTANDERS: Pamela McLean

1. LANDSCAPE

I was working as an apprentice trainer at a small company but I had a vision to start an NGO concerned with the environment. I wanted to do something that would improve the lives of many people and provide long term opportunities. The pay was not bad but I wanted something that would reach out to more people.

2. DWELLING PLACE

It is evening, the sun is setting and we are relaxing and enjoying the cool evening breeze. A reddish golden sunset. Quiet neighbourhood and a conversational atmosphere.

At the House of Pieter van Der Zaag and Marlou Bijlsma. Having tea. It is a beautiful house with self designed furniture, the Dining/living room with African art hangings on the walls. Pieter had designed the chairs and we had made them at my apprentice training centre.

African music is playing on the stereo. We are talking about environment conservation training; tree planting, energy saving stoves, organic farming.

3. CHARACTERS

Pieter van der Zaag, a tall lively Dutchman, water engineer and development advisor; Marlou Bijlsma, Pieter's beautiful companion, a social worker volunteering with SNV, a Dutch NGO. Myself, a multi-talented 29-year old Ugandan full of Social development ideas

4. CHALLENGE

The task was to design the training and publicise it; sell it to the public, funders, etc. Pieter suggested to design a flyer or brochure for marketing. how could I do that best?

5.ACTION

We went into the study; I put down the ideas and Pieter designed the brochure, a flyer and business card using Harvard Graphics. By 10.00 pm when I went home, my wife, herself a secretary couldn't imagine how we had made such great documents without a typewriter. I couldn't sleep, thinking of the different possibilities and things one could do with a computer.

And the turning point was the moment when I decided to take up the challenge and get to learn how to use the computer.

6. RESOLUTION

After the sleepless night I told myself that I had finally 'come home'; found 'the thing' that I needed to make my life different. I went to the Teacher Training College in Masindi and started learning to use a computer and since then I have continued learning and learning and learning. It is also something that I could not just keep to myself. I enjoy sharing it with other people; learning from them and teaching them what I know.

7. IMAGES AND OBJECTS

Please add photos or illustrations here, note which are relevant to this story; e.g. write down which photos you have taken and where they can be found;

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