Rev. Dr. Wes Hall shares some wisdom

It was at the opening ceremony of the 4th Pan Commonwealth Veterinary Conference in Barbados. Reverend Dr. Wes Hall was the featured speaker. What a good choice he was.

I will not promise to write about his oratory skills and style but believe me that he has a lot that we can learn from - his speech was captivating not only because of the content but also because of the style of presentation, moreover without the famous PowerPoint / LCD projector. I will just share about a few comments he made that I think will be useful to readers of this blog.

He confessed that when he was invited, he did not know what to share with veterinarians in such a big conference and from such diverse countries. He settled and decided to speak about Cricket in the West Indies - his past experiences and vision for the future. Although I am not a cricket fan (yet), and I have never played cricket, I learnt a lot from what Dr. Hall shared. He spoke with reference to Cricket but the principles apply to all aspects of life. He referred to Cricket as the legacy of the Commonwealth experience although he lamented that in the West Indies, the game had moved from amazing grace to disgrace.

As part of the team working towards reviving Cricket in the West Indies, he shared their strategy of harnessing talent from deep down in the communities and developing it through the so-called 'bottom up' approach. This way they would not have anybody joining the academy to learn basics. The basics would be acquired at an earlier stage such that when one gets to the academy they would be handled differently - polished to attain world-class status. Who said this strategy only applies in Cricket?

(In the picture below - L-R: Sam Okech - Uganda, Wes Hall - Barbados and Nick Gumede - Swaziland).

He also shared about how teamwork was vital in shaping his legacy as an outstanding Cricketer. He joked about how one time he did not openly acknowledge the contribution made by a teammate even though he knew it was the main factor in their success. The teammate withdrew his vital contribution with disastrous consequences! He had to repent of his 'sins' thereafter. Any lessons for you?

Motivation is one important thing in life, no wonder Dr. Daniel Goleman lists it as one of the elements of Emotional Intelligence. Rev. Hall shared three major things that a Cricket player (read everybody) should aim at achieving to be successful: knowledge, skill and desire. He shares these with the youngsters as a way of motivating them to strive for excellence in Cricket. He described desire as the starting point of all achievement.

Some short motivating quotes I picked out of the speech:
"Courage should overcome challenges"
"You do not go to the academy to learn basics"
"Dinosaurs did not adapt to changing conditions hence they went extinct"
"Success is sustained level of excellence"

Dr. Hall's choice of words and word combinations were remarkable. For example, in conclusion he said, "I am thankful for your hospitality that can only be surpassed by my gratitude and capacity to hold it."

Barbados

Barbados. I could easily live there for several reasons. I was privileged to visit Barbados in November this year (2007). I arrived 1 November and left 8 November. The trip from Uganda was of course a long one with a one night stop-over in London. The total flight hours from Entebbe (Uganda) is about 16-17 hours. Stressful though it was, I think the nature of the destination paid it all in full. No regrets.

The people in Barbados (the ones I interacted with) were very hospitable. I got ushered to this immediately I arrived at the immigration desk at the airport. Throughout my stay, this factor did not change. The staff at the three hotels I had something to do in were excellent. Within that short time, I stayed in two different hotels and had meals in three different hotels. They all had wonderful staff. My speculative conclusion is that this country being one of the tourist destinations in the West Indies, the citizen learn early in their life to be excellent hosts. Could it be true that both at home and at school the children are taught some skills in handling guests? Maybe it is introduced so early in their life that it becomes a lifestyle and not a professional practice. What lessons can we draw from that?

The 'strange' experience I got was the heat. I thought Uganda was hot (maximum temperature of 28 Celsius on a hot day) but I discovered it was relatively cooler. At the time, Barbados was 30 Celsius and a bit humid. I felt it immediately I disembarked from the plane. The drive to the hotel was good, of course in an air conditioned vehicle that suited most of us visitors. The environment looked familiar - suggestive of a tropical weather. It almost looked like home.

I met very many nice Barbadians (famously called Bajans) including the legendary Wes Hall, the Cricket legend (middle in the picture below - L-R: Sam Okech, Wes Hall and Nick Gumede). He is such a good orator and was a good choice for a speaker at the opening ceremony of the 4th Pan Commonwealth Veterinary Conference I had travelled to partcipate in (as speaker in the conference; moderator of a group session on animal welfare and invited observer in the CVA Council). Wes is a clergyman, a politician and leader (I believe that the latter two words can and should not necessarily be used to describe the same abilities, especially in Africa).

Rev. Hall shared with us his vision for the revival of Cricket in the West Indies and one of the many things I recall in his speech was that they are developing cricket right from the 'bottom upwards' - harnessing talent from the communities and growing them into international standards. I am totally persuaded that is the best way to go - it seems to be more sustainable.

My confession is that before I met and heard this gentleman speak about cricket, I had no interest at all in cricket but now I am very interested in learning how to count the points. What do these terms mean: wickets, runs, overs, etc and how do they happen?

Surely this page is not exhaustive of my Barbados experience. I will come back with more soon. Although I did not taste rum, I will write something small about it. I should also share something about the ship experience. I missed seeing the black belly sheep so do not expect much in that direction.

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

It was named Ebola, after the Ebola river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ebola river flows through an area where the disease is alleged to have first been identified (in 1976).

The current outbreak is the second in Uganda in about 7 years. On both occasions, it's origin is tracked to the Democratic Republic of Congo and consumption of infected animal carcasses have been alleged on both occasions.

Since the disease has no known treatment, prevention is vital in its control. Lots of information is available on Ebola. Getting the population to know the facts is, but just one, significant step in controlling the disease.

I provide the following sources for readers of this blog:
1. Information packet from CDC.
2. A fact sheet from DHPE
3. Q&A from msnbc

I am back

After a period of silence (on this site), I return with quite a bit of energy to share lots that happened while I was away. I promise that I will be writing more regularly on diverse subjects as I have so far done. I provide a buffet and the reader chooses what to consume to their fill, and return for more.

The subject line above reminds me of our Ugandan politics. It was once written in a Newspaper headline in Kampala that, "Bad news; Akena Adoko is Back". Several years later on, in another paper, somebody rephrased it as, "Good news, Akena Adoko is back". The said Dr. Akena Adoko was in the helm of leadership in Uganda in the 60s and early 80s. He got exiled several times: in the early to late 70s, then in late 80s and again in the early 90s. He currently lives in the UK. Each time he returned to Uganda he hit the headlines. There are some interesting writings about the life of Dr. N. Akena Adoko e.g. Simon Regan's "Scandals in Justice" and in "NHS Exposed".

For my case, please consider it good news that I am back to the blog. Welcome aboard.

Malaria

If you see, hear, smell it come towards you simply flee. Malaria is not a friend and has no good intentions for human beings. I did not know I was dealing with it so I gave it sufficient time to wreck some havoc. This partly explains my 'absence' from here.

I will share more later. Thank God for His healing power working through various means.

$100 Laptop (OLPC) Project

I first heard of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project in an e-learning Africa conference in Nairobi Kenya (end of May 2007). At the time, the project representative seem to suggest, in his captivating presentation, that the laptops would be available only to (through) governments of developing nations. I was among those individuals who thought they had the opportunity of returning home with a beautiful present for the children. We were wrong, none was on offer (going to be offered) to the public.

I am glad to learn through an article on the BBC website that the laptops will now be available to the public. What still puzzles me is that it is, so far, available for purchase by US residents (only)! I am still working out the rationale.

The "Special One"

I am a soccer fan and I have no apologies for it. I do not only love to watch the skills, talent in display but also the style. Above all I learn lots of lessons from a soccer game. On several occasions I have used the analogy of a soccer game to help me in teaching.

Last week, on Thursday 20 September 2007, I woke up early morning to the news that Mr. Jose Mario dos Santos Felix Mourinho the (former) Chelsea FC Manager had quit the club. It came out of the blue, not only for me but for several other commentators. Again I thought I would be the only one to miss him but several have confessed similarly.

When I got the news, I quickly thought of the legacy he left at Chelsea FC. I scribbled something for the press but it is not out and probably will not - the news is getting stale. This blog should surely publish it:

TEN REASONS WHY I THINK JOSE MOURINHO IS ‘THE SPECIAL ONE’
I woke up to the news early Thursday 20 September 2007 morning that Jose Mourinho had quit Chelsea FC as manager. Thanks to BBC Radio service. I could not help but think about his legacy. He surely will never, by any measure, be described as the worst manager the English Premiership (or Soccer) has seen. Take it or leave it; believe it or not (hide your head in the sand); love him or hate him, I think Jose Mourinho (JM) has a legacy and is an inspiration. I volunteer highlights of only ten reasons why.

o JM is a risk taker. JM took decisions out of the ordinary. I guess he did this because of his understanding of the risk-reward ratio. Where there is a big risk, there is a big reward if the transaction succeeds. He was not shy to make two or three changes at once half way a match or even deploying a defender as striker. On some occasions it paid and on others it did not – that is life (better try and fail than fail to try).

o Winning spirit – JM hated to lose and this motivated him to aim higher and higher and also to believe in himself. This in turn motivated and spurred the players match after match.

o JM’s troubles with the club owners started sometime back but despite all those troubles, he stuck in there and continued to do what he knew best. Thanks to his resilience. The spirit of resilience also rubbed on the players and eventually club. Many will recall how Chelsea performed against odds in the previous season when injuries dictated to the extent that a third choice goalkeeper and a make-shift defence had to play against an attack-minded Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. Despite these troubles, Chelsea progressed in the UEFA Champions League (semi finals), won the FA cup and finished second in the English Premier League. Resilience in character.

o Motivation. I love the moments JM teased the press with the possibility of winning four trophies in a season. I do not believe that any team can do it in this era. The gullible press unfortunately took that as a bench mark to judge JM’s performance. I see a different side of it, as summarised in this West African saying: ‘when you aim at the moon, you will surely come down with a few stars’. Think Big and make the squad think likewise and you will pick at least one trophy a season. It worked for JM – he motivated/led the players to aim high.

o JM ‘introduced’ a new style of soccer which was, to some degree, shared by Mr. Rafael Benitez. He studied and recorded game details; created a defensive mindset even in attack-minded players and in the process he used the players effectively – the focus was three points (a win) in every match and a win (3 points) needed just one extra goal. Period. He was comfortable with a 1-0 win even when he would possibly have spurred his boys to score more. It is a fact that in a game of points one should aim at attaining the highest number of points and in a game of knock-outs, one aims at a win. This is only logical and I think it is a principle in life but critics soon described the style as ‘boring’. No wonder they criticized Chelsea and Liverpool on their style of play. I guess the critics were not happy because the style had ‘robbed’ off trophies from the usual suspects. Liverpool soon took the UEFA Champions League trophy and Chelsea took a few local ones. It paid and proved that the style works. A paradigm shift? Before he left, JM had promised a different style and we had started seeing it unfold in the form of accurate one touch passes, back heels, dribbles, etc but alas, he is out before delivering his promise. If he stayed maybe his critics would drop the word 'boring' and pick on I don't know what.

o Independence of opinion and speaking out of his gut feelings. This factor could have contributed to his exit. JM did not fear to express his opinion on anything (for or against). I will not be surprised if one of the causes of his exit is not related to his opinion on signings and the Club owner’s interference with his work. I still do not believe that JM chose to sign (and play) Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and I do not think he kept his opinion secret about it. It is rumoured that these players were personal preferences of the club owner (or is it his family members). JM would not last in such an environment.

o Being Ugandan (African), I could not miss this one. JM, through some means, got African players onto the first 11 selection sheet. He developed and brought to light the beauty of African talents in Essien, Kalou, Drogba, Obi and Geremi. I pray the next manager keeps them on and also that they collectively stick with Chelsea (Geremi is gone to do wonders elsewhere – it is already obvious).

o The English image of the team. Not so much because I am an England supporter but more because I am a strong proponent of the notion that clubs in the National Leagues should have a good number of the citizen of that country in their squads, actually on the first 11 selection sheet. JM maintained Terry, Lampard, Bridge, A. Cole, J. Cole, Wright-Phillips on his first 11, I believe, partly in respect of the country (England).

o He subtly introduced the 60/30 principle. We have all heard of the 90/10 and the 80/20 principles elsewhere but JM invented the 60/30 principle in soccer. Many soccer analysts unfortunately missed it! This is a simple rotational strategy – change players 30 minutes to the end of the game (60minutes into the game). This does one or all of three things: the first is to give every first team member an opportunity to play; secondly to bring in a player/players who can change the direction of a match and thirdly to strategically rest a player for the next game. Barring injuries, most managers make changes ten minutes to the end of the match with the hope of changing the direction of the game but unless it is a defender introduced, the fresh player rarely makes significant match-changing impact.

o JM, with ease, created (conquered?), occupied and maintained space for himself in many people’s minds – both as friend or foe in equal measure. Every football fan, every sports analyst on TV, Radio, Newspaper thought about or mentioned JM’s name almost once every week either in praise or otherwise. In fact he created / made jobs easier for many football analysts. One of the Sports Columnist for the "New Vision" newspaper in Uganda, Mr. Aldrine Nsubuga Sr. (an ardent critic of Mourinho/Chelsea and Wenger/Arsenal – my perception) once surprisingly described him as “a stranger who came to become a landlord in a foreign land at nobody’s invitation” and as “a man who has come to challenge the established order in Europe”. I couldn’t agree more. He did exactly that.

Hate him, love him, JM made his mark and I believe that his departure from Stamford Bridge is a big relief to many managers in the English Premiership, at least for the time his destination is not defined. He has been a big pain to them. Unfortunately, all the above attributes, either singly or collectively, seem to have attracted hatred for Chelsea FC and members of the Chelsea squad among many sports analysts, football governing bodies and even some match officials. Who is not hated by somebody anyway, sometimes even for no genuine reason?

Photos from ESPN Soccernet

Lango Community Thanksgiving Service, Kampala 8 Sept 2007

Theme: "....in all things, give thanks...."



Church, community and political leaders prepare to cut the cake as one of the activities during the thanksgiving interdenominational service.

"....how good and pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity"

"....and they met .... and shared bread"

Successful World Rabies day activities

On 8 September 2007, I was part of a team (veterinarians, students, local community) that commemorated the World Rabies day by carrying out a free mass vaccination of dogs and cats against Rabies. In addition, we dewormed the animals and provided advice to the animal owners mainly on issues related to Rabies control.

In my personal assessment the day was a big success despite its humble nature. We have successfully tested a model that can now be scaled up across the nation.

What is the model? This initiative harnessed resources from the central government (the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries), the local government (Kampala City Council), veterinarians (members of Uganda Veterinary Association and Uganda Small Animal Practitioners Association working either as private or public veterinarians), the Uganda Society for Protection and Care of Animals(USPCA), Makerere University (4th and 5th year veterinary students of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) and the local community. Each of the collaborators provided what was within their means in the circumstances. With good prior planning and mobilisation, this model could have a huge impact countrywide in just one day. I do pledge my efforts towards achieving this (even for many other community outreach initiatives).

The numbers of animals vaccinated is being compiled and once I have it, I will update this portion of the post.

Many things went well. I was excited to note the close relationship people had with their animals. The majority of the animals were in good body condition. The only thin animal I saw was a bitch alleged (by the 23-year-old man who brought it) to be 18 years old. When I enquired how he estimated the dog's age, he said he is told it is as old as one of his little brothers. Although it was thin, it did not appear as weak as I expected a thin 18-year-old dog to be. The question of euthanasia could not therefore arise especially because of the dog's strength and the bond between the dog and the owner. The dog was dewormed and my colleagues advised the owner on how to feed the geriatric.

I should get back and complete this story sometime soon. Watch this space.

World Rabies Day 8 September 2007

Saturday 8 September 2007 is World Rabies day. Worldwide, veterinarians will do something to commemorate the day. One of the things we, veterinarians, should put significant efforts in is to educate the public about the disease. It is preventable, it kills (at some stage of the disease, its effects cannot be reversed - ends in fatality), it affects both man and animals (warm-blooded animals). The least recognised public health role of the veterinarians should therefore stand out prominently.

I share with you (below) an excerpt of a press release from Uganda Veterinary Association:

"Rabies is a preventable viral disease of warm-blooded animals often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The Rabies virus infects the central nervous system causing encephalopathy and ultimately death. It is reported that 55,000 people, mostly in Africa and Asia, die from rabies every year – a rate of one person every ten minutes!

The Uganda Veterinary Association, in collaboration with the Uganda Society for Protection and Care of Animals (USPCA); the Uganda Small Animal Practitioners Association (USAPA); the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF); the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Kampala City Council (KCC) will commemorate the World Rabies day by carrying out community outreach in Rubaga Division.

The major activities will be:
1. Vaccination of dogs and cats against Rabies.
2. Creation of awareness of the dangers and need to control Rabies in the
community.
3. Treatment of dogs and cats against endoparasites (worms).
4. Treatment of dogs and cats against ectoparasites (ticks, mange, fleas)."

As many vets as possible together with some vet students will engage in this community activity. Some cars in Kampala are already carrying the stickers announcing the World Rabies day. I have and will be part of the plan and execution of the programme. I am looking forward to it. I will be more than glad to write a bit about our experiences.

May God open the ears / eyes of the public so that they take heed of the call to prevent this killer disease, Rabies.

I have two other events running on Saturday 8 September 2007: The ethnic community I belong to will be giving thanks to God for His goodness in an interdenominational service, and the Ugandan national football (soccer) team play the Niger team. Uganda must win with a 'big' margin to have hopes of qualifying for the Africa Nations cup in Ghana 2008.

My day's plan: Participate in the community outreach programme then join others in thanking God and thereafter watch the Uganda Cranes 'do their thing' against Niger. I believe that all will be well.

Excellent service at the National Referral Hospital

While lots has been said about the not-so-good quality of service at the Uganda National Referral Hospital, Mulago, my story today is different. Save for the lack of sophisticated equipment and the little space (albeit used effectively), the Oral Surgery unit in Mulago Hospital has, by my assessment, very highly professional manpower.

I took my 5.5 year old son for dental treatment and the reception I was given was quite different than some people have described for other units. Fast forward >>>. Then came the time on the Dentist's chair. Superb service. Before anything 'physical' was done, our emotions were taken care of to the extent that my son was ready for what was to follow. I was myself very comfortable.

Come the time for the physical examination and subsequent 'minor' surgical procedure, there was an Intern Dentist and a Consultant Dentist. They discussed the case and the way forward on how to handle it. All this was done in English and in my presence. They seem to agree entirely with each other on the procedure to be carried out. The Consultant gave the Intern Doc the privilege of taking lead in their discussion and he confirmed all that the Intern proposed. Some 'sharp' Intern I suppose.

It was decided that one of the teeth had to be removed after all, the permanent one would grow and replace it at a later stage in the boy's life. My son immediately objected to losing a tooth but a thorough explanation was given to him about the benefits of removing the tooth. He consented. Needless say, some tears dropped at the time of pricking to administer the local anaesthetic.

Come the time of removing the tooth and there were two Consultants watching every step taken by the Intern. One of them reassured us further that we had all the attention we could ever need. I confirmed from the facial expression (body language) of the Consultants that the Intern did the extraction very well. It was quick and smooth. The pulp of one of the roots of the tooth was infected and discharging to the gum through a small tract (sinus).

We were reassured, advised on oral hygiene and discharged honourably. What a sweet experience! I cannot wait to take the young man back for tooth filling next week - the other two affected teeth will be saved. Thank God.

1000 words in one image

It is said that an image speaks volumes. What story(ies) can you build out of this photo of Marabou storks perching on a tree (or is it trees) in the Makerere University Botanical Gardens? (Photo by Dr. Liz Hoffmann).

They said it at the unveiling of Mandela's Statue in London today

BBC quoted the following on their website today.

Mr Brown hailed Mr Mandela as the "greatest and most courageous leader of our generation".

"Long after we are forgotten, you will be remembered for having taught the world one amazing truth," said Mr Livingstone. "That you can achieve justice without vengeance. I honour you and London honours you."

Wendy Woods, wife of the late Donald Woods (the late South African anti-apartheid activist Donald Woods had the idea for the 9ft-high - 2.7m - bronze statue), said: "This statue will remind the world of the human qualities that Mr Mandela has.

"These are qualities which have helped South Africa...............and helped us on our first step towards a future where all people can flourish and lead happier lives."

Talking to crowds who gathered for the unveiling, Mr Mandela said: "Though this statue is of one man, it should in actual fact symbolise all of those who have resisted oppression, especially in my country."

In my opinion, Nelson Mandela can be described (in any part of the world) as a hero, a selfless leader, an inspirational person, name it. I wish every city could erect a statue in his honour. Steven Shukor of the BBC reports that the Mayor of London, Mr. Ken Livingstone, described Mandela's statue in his city as "a beacon of hope".

I believe that Nelson Mandela's statue would never be brought down even by the rowdiest of crowds in any part of the world as has happened with statues of some leaders. There is absolutely no reason for hating him. May we live to see more Mandelas despite the tall order Madiba has set. The challenge to us is, by the time you and I make 89 as Madiba has made recently, how much score will we make on the "Mandela legacy scale"? How many people will we have positively influenced or inspired by our legacy? How long will our legacy last?

Your two cents worth makes a difference - Mother Teresa

On this day when the late Mother Teresa was born, I took a bit of time off to review and give some of her quotes a deep thought. Could you please join me in committing these two to some thought?

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

You may want to read more of Mother Teresa's quotes here.

Some information (source):

Name: Mother Teresa
Variant Name: Agnes Gonxha
Birth Date: August 27, 1910
Death Date: September 5, 1997
Place of Birth: Skopje, Yugoslavia
Place of Death: Calcutta, India
Nationality: Albanian
Gender: Female
Occupations: nun

Risk

It has been said that all successful people, especially those in business, take big risks. It is also said that those who fear to take risks (risk-averse) may achieve quite little. The latter category of people have been accused of simply attempting to deny reality because every aspect of life is a risk or involves risk-taking.

Some businessman once advised that it is good to take a risk if the possible benefit of the venture taken is several times higher than the cost of the possible loss. That way, he commits himself knowing that if he lost, it would be something relatively little compared to if he won (if he won, he would 'win big'). He however points out that from every business deal he makes (those that work and those that do not), he learns lessons hence there is no absolute loss after all.

Bishop T.D. Jakes presents an aspect of risk-taking that is so often ignored. Jakes said, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't God and die to find out there is.”

So which risk would you rather take? To live as though God exists or to live as if He does not exist? Well, the choice is yours and yours alone.

The Teak Tree

For the past two days I was in Arua, a town in North-western Uganda, a region famously known in Uganda as West Nile. There is lots I could write about my experiences while there but I will limit this post to one aspect.

I could not help but continue to admire one tree specie that is reportedly abundant in one part of Southern Sudan. By the way, Arua town can pass the description of being just a 'stone-throw' away from the Sudan border. I first visited Arua in October 2006 and could not help but spot this tree. This time when I went back I even saw a forest of tall ones, I guess more than 5 years old. For some shameful reason I had not carried a camera so I cannot share with you the pictures on this occasion. Maybe some other day. These tall ones were so geometrically straight and elegantly tall that I could not help but take a walk under them. I quickly created a 'memory of the future' as some Zimbabwean describes future dreams and visions. I just imagined how a few years down the road I will actually be walking through my own forest. What a sweet feeling it will be whatever the size of the forest!

I love trees. I love them for various reasons including their cool shade, their peaceful poise, the rains they make, the beauty they add to the environment, the oxygen they provide in exchange for carbondioxide, the fuel they provide, the silent wealth multiplier they are, the sweet sounds that come from the birds they provide a home to, etc.

I purpose to plant not less than one hundred trees of whatever specie this year. In this simple way I could leave a legacy. Making a legacy out of just 100 plants. How simple! Will you join me?

(Below are pictures of one of the seedlings I have so far planted).

Wedding Anniversary

Eight years ago today, a beautiful young lady and I wedded in our local church, Kampala Pentecostal Church in Uganda. It sounds so long and yet feels so short. I thank God that I personally have no regrets. I hope my wife shares the same feeling.

The eight years are full of learning experiences that have made us wiser in issues of marriage relationships.

There are several lessons to share but one that one of the elderly Pastors (who enjoys his marriage relationship) shared with us during pre-marital counselling, and that I confirm and in turn share with others, is: "do not go into a marriage relationship with a list of expectations, instead go in there, learn each other and together adapt appropriately." I find this advice invaluable. There are lots of different ways of doing things that couples learn from their spouses. One who expected their spouse to do things exactly like them would soon get disappointed but more importantly would miss a possibly better way of doing things and also miss a learning experience in the process of being 'rigid'.

I noticed that while attempting to elaborate on one aspect of the Pastor's advice, I have touched on something I would describe as patience and flexibility. Maybe not only that but also the aspect of harnessing the power of complementarity and synergy.

I better stop here because it looks like the more I write the more I 'scratch' on other lessons and the higher the possibility that I will be late for a date. Maybe I will get back to the subject on a later date (either as a new post or improvement on this one - keep visiting the post / blog if you are interested in more).

I am off for a date.

The power of photography

Photography is a good hobby of mine. For some reason it seems my colleagues who visited Uganda in April/May 2007 also discovered it. It was no wonder therefore that they asked me to shoot their pictures as they posed as a group. It was an easy task for me. Besides, I love cameras. It was a good experience using a wide range of them, each with a unique capacity. One member of the group of friends kept back a camera and captured this evidence just before I started snapping away on each of the cameras (see photo).

Since it is said that a picture speaks a thousand words, I intend to harness the power of photography for facilitating teaching and learning in my classes e.g. creating a collection of pictures of clinical cases for teaching; combination of pictures and podcasts for long distance / online learning; etc.

Teamwork

This is one of my favourite words and subjects. I love to read articles and books on the subject. One other thing I love to do to help me appreciate teamwork (besides entertainment) is to watch a soccer match. I love soccer - I loved it as a child and now as a fairly aged man. Despite my advanced age (although still much younger than Roger Milla in his last appearance in the World Cup) I can still do a few of those flicks here and there. Anybody would therefore be sure that I watched two of the many matches of the new season (2007/2008) in the English Barclays Premier League.

As a learning process facilitator, I love to use stories and analogies of everyday life events to help me make my point. The football analogy is my favourite one for explaining teamwork (the need for it, its benefits, its characteristics, its challenges, consequences of failure, management of failure, feedback, etc) especially to audiences that love / love to watch soccer.

In the build up to the matches that opened the league season in England, I read a column in one of our local newspapers and the writer accused one of the prominent clubs in that league as depending too much on a few key players and that once such individuals were absent, the club struggled and this is proof enough to him that the club plays not as a team but as individuals. Could this be an inadvertent lie or a blatant one or simply plain truth?

I could be wrong but I think this gentleman has probably not taken time to reflect on the lessons (about team characteristics and teamwork) that we can draw from the game of soccer. Whatever the outcome of a game, every side in the game of soccer plays as a team and demonstrates many characteristics of a team. The outcome of the match is no measure of the team characteristics. I also believe that in every team, skills, talents and abilities differ among the individuals hence their deployment in the different positions and the difference in roles and responsibilities. This is partly why they are called a team.

Stand-in substitutes may not perform as well as the position holders (first choice individuals) but teamwork prevails nevertheless. Rather than say there is no teamwork in the game of soccer, I would instead question the ability of the selected individuals (in a team) to work well as a high performance team - in soccer there is always a team, practising teamwork but their performance (outcome of the game) will depend on a number of factors including, among others, the emotional set-up and skills / talents of the individuals, and the team against which they play.

To me, therefore, there is nothing like lack of team/teamwork in the game of soccer. There will always be key individuals in certain key positions and who make key contributions / influences in the teamwork (whose absence would surely be felt). However, when such individuals are present, they would not do much without the collective synergistic efforts of the other allegedly 'weaker' individuals in the team.

I hope this piece provokes you who have read it to the end to reflect on the soccer game a bit more deeply and hopefully share your opinion on lessons that can be drawn from it.

Who has wisdom?

As I traveled to Gulu (in Northern Uganda) on 5th August 2007, I carried the 3rd edition of a book entitled, "Not Bosses But Leaders" given to me by the author, Prof. John Adair during one of his recent visits to Uganda. Inside the book I found a piece of paper on which I had scribbled something as I heard Professor Adair respond to questions during one of the monthly sessions of the Uganda Management Forum late last year - each one of us who attended received a complimentary copy of the book.

I do not recall the exact words used in the question but it was about classifying individuals who are considered to have been good leaders and yet in the same breath are considered 'brutal' to the followers. The example given was Adolf Hitler. Professor Adair conceded that Hitler exhibited some tremendous leadership qualities but in modern terms would not qualify to be regarded as one with (practical) wisdom. Professor Adair listed the ingredients of wisdom as intelligence, experience and goodness and asserted that Hitler lacked the latter attribute, goodness.

As I reflected on the ingredients of wisdom, more questions popped up in my mind about each one of them. What kind of intelligence was Prof. Adair talking about - cognitive intelligence (IQ) or emotional intelligence (EQ)? What did he mean by 'experience' and 'goodness'? Is experience simply determined by time spent doing a job or activity? Who defines 'goodness' and its cut-off point?

What do you say?

I must confess that if Prof. Adair explained during that meeting in Kampala what he meant by each of those words, I missed it. I need therefore to read more of his works. In the meantime, I share my humble opinion which may or may not differ from Prof. Adair's.

Most people (at least some in this part of the globe) consider experience to be determined only by the period of time spent doing a job or activity. I am one of those who believe that, in this dynamic era, the amount and quality of experience is not necessarily proportional to the number of years one spends on a job/activity. It is rather how much one has learned from their exposure and how they can appropriately apply that knowledge to generate innovations and new strategies to continue to (progressively) survive in the ever-changing environment.

I should share more of my opinion later. I also hope to read more of Prof. John Adair's works to find out what he meant.

KPC Gulu launch - what I saw

For some background information to this post, please refer to my earlier post of 30 July 2007.

I had to make it to Gulu Sunday 5 August 2007 to be part of the KPC Gulu launch. While I was happy that I made it, I was not happy that we got to Gulu rather late! Thanks partly to the several stoppages by traffic officials who seemed to be interested in stopping any bus they saw on the road. A journey that normally lasts 4.5 hours took us about 6 hours. The Church service at Gulu started at 10am and ended at 12pm. We got there about 15 minutes before the formal end of the service. I did not allow those unfavourable incidents to obscure me from noticing some of the highlights of the day - what I could quickly notice in the few hours I was there.

Firstly the hall was filled to capacity, the tents outside were also full so the fact that we (more than 50 people who travelled that morning as a group from Kampala) got no seats was not a problem to me.

Secondly, from the look of things - especially the order that prevailed - the organisation was good. This is typical of the KPC leadership. I also later learnt that lots of members of KPC (volunteers) travelled to Gulu 3 days earlier to get the place in order. Some were there even much earlier. A friend I travelled back with in the same car, one of the top artists in the country, was there for two weeks doing the design / art works. I am told the facility was in poor shape before the artistic touch. It was a hotel that has its own history. KPC currently rents it at a rate that the owners would definitely not complain about - in its previous state, it was quickly becoming a liability to the owners. Thank God it is now an asset. (Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, defines an asset as what brings money into your pocket; and liability as what takes money out of your pocket).

Thirdly, the community leaders were part of the function and believed in the vision of the project. The district Chairman, Hon. Norbert Mao, was there to welcome this project that is intended to work with him, other leaders and the community in meeting the people's needs - at least make a contribution towards meeting some of them. I did not get to see him but I was told he was there.

Fourthly, and this one is humbling. I was told that Justice Mrs. Julia Sebutinde was there and had travelled a day or two earlier. Interestingly she did not travel in the pomp of an international judge currently in the limelight of trying Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia. She went as a volunteer member of KPC and was seen cleaning around together with the other members of KPC who I cannot describe in the same way Sebutinde is known worldwide. Sebutinde is the presiding judge for the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone. What challenge does this give you and I? Think about it.

Fifthly, at the closure of the service, Pastor Gary Skinner made an alter call and the response was good. That is one of the things that highlights a Pentecostal Christian function - when somebody gives their life to Christ or gets born again or gets saved or becomes a Mulokole as is known here in Uganda. I believe that this is the major reason for KPC Gulu - to bring spiritual healing to the people besides meeting some physical needs.

Sixthly, I could not clearly recognise the Gulu I knew as a little boy (over 20 years ago). I had a little boy's memory of Gulu and what I saw was quite different. There was lots of positive changes in terms of physical development. A friend who gave me a lift back to Kampala asked me to meet him at Hotel Pearl Afrique and I was lost at how to begin. I could only remember Acholi Inn. Where in Gulu was Hotel Pearl Afrique? Thank God for the boda-bodas (bicycle 'taxis'). One of them 'chauffeured' me right there. It was actually a walkable distance from where I was.

One of the few things I did not get to do was to move around Gulu and see what remains for me to recognise. Some of the many places I had wished to visit were; my former school that I am told has shifted closer to Gulu university main campus, the three different addresses I once stayed in, Acholi Inn hotel, and the children's park, among others. There was no time to visit those areas. They remain the reason (or is it excuse) for me to go back soon.

Lost a puppy!!

What a shame! My nice puppy, an 'African' jack a doodle dandy (jack Russell x standard poodle) just passed on. It succumbed to parvovirosis despite having been vaccinated). Parvovirosis is a viral disease that takes quite a number of puppies in this part of the world. My pup was such a friendly and active pup that it took a while before we knew it was getting down with the infection. It took it only 24 hours to pass on after clinical illness was noticed (vomiting and chocolate brown diarrhoea). It was only after that that it went off food and never jumped on anybody (playing). Attempts to save her life were sadly fruitless. Everything about this incident is annoying. This pup was a gift unmatched. To get a replacement for a pup that is a product of artificial insemination - a cross between a female Standard Poodle (now living in Karamoja in Uganda) and a male Jack Russel in the USA - is a tall order. Oh what a shame! I may write more about this loss much later. I need some time off the topic.

KPC Gulu a.k.a. KPC Project Gulu

For anybody wherever they are, as long as they have been following news about Uganda for any section of the past 20 years, Gulu is not a new name. Well, I need to be fair to those who could have missed it. Gulu is one of the towns in Northern Uganda whose residents have suffered greatly both in the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Generals Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti and due to the effects of the war between LRA and the Uganda government forces.

Thank God for the current peace talks taking place in Juba and the ceasefire thereof. On this occasion, I will not comment directly on the talks or whatever is happening with it except to wish it the much needed outcome of total piece in the northern part of Uganda. I keep my hope alive for this.

I am interested in a local church’s (Kampala Pentecostal Church - KPC) involvement in bringing the healing of hearts and the love of Christ to the people of Gulu through what it calls 'project Gulu'. On the 5th day of August 2007, KPC Gulu will be launched in a celebration in the city of Gulu and I believe it will be graced by a cross section of the community, the local leaders in Gulu and probably some high-placed government officials. I pray I make it to Gulu again after over 27 years.

I was last in Gulu as a little boy. Besides looking forward to revisiting a town I have a beautiful child’s memory of (one of the memories is that of the air force planes doing beautiful manoeuvres over the city during training / rehearsal sessions), I would very much love to be part of the ceremony that ushers in yet another body that has already been proven to deliver hope to the community. I believe with the whole of my heart that before long, the significant contributions of KPC Gulu towards lifting up the hearts of a good proportion of the affected people of Gulu through meeting their spiritual and physical needs will become obvious to the open-minded and objective assessors both local and foreign. This is yet another contribution (by locals and foreign partners) that I will follow with great interest (for its good intentions and anticipated contributions) and hence will write quite a bit about in this space. Watch it.

Science education and science development in Uganda

Uganda's Ministry of Education and Sports about a year or two ago took a ‘drastic’ measure aimed at encouraging / promoting natural sciences education in Uganda. The government’s decision to increase the number of government-sponsored natural sciences students (with reduction of support to social sciences and humanities students) joining public universities triggered debate in various fora and still continues at a relatively lower 'tone'. It is my wish that this attempt by government should not degenerate into a mere increase in the number of Ugandans who go down in record as having been sponsored by government to study some form of natural science at undergraduate level in public universities in Uganda. I am sure the numbers will swell but as to whether the graduates will practice science (in Uganda) is another thing.

Discussions of the efforts taken by government need to be broadened beyond just numbers and more importantly beyond “fire is better than water” kind of debate that seems to put science on one side and humanities and social sciences on the other. Below are some of the additional issues I believe should be looked at when considering promotion of science education and practice in Uganda.

1. Motivation / remuneration of scientists.
As long as the average Ugandan-trained or Ugandan-based scientist will be paid “pea nuts” in Uganda, science education will not be attractive to our children. They would rather try law, banking, accounting, political science, and the likes. There are quite a number of first class scientists (engineers, medical doctors, veterinarians, industrial chemists, geologists, etc) who have opted out of natural science (into accounting, business, banking, politics, etc) for reasons purely related to remuneration (read survival). I personally consider them very wise individuals. That aside. How many prominent Ugandan scientists are living and participating in cutting edge science research and practice in Europe and America? To me, the biggest reason is that scientists are better remunerated in the west. The Ugandan scientist, being human with needs beyond professional satisfaction, will opt for better remuneration so as to take care of the physiological needs first before all else – a demonstration of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Quite a number of those who stick around maintain a lifestyle that they do not deserve besides not being enviable.

No wonder therefore that at this point in time when a science Professor living in Uganda is appointed to a lucrative administrative position in government or private institution, s/he will dash for the job at a breakneck speed. However, if the level of remuneration is improved and access to resources s/he needs for his/her science job, chances are higher that s/he will be very reluctant to leave the science arena. The heart is in science but survival is vital.

2. Realisation of the impact of science demands for patience.
Science is relatively slow and its impact can be felt after a relatively longer period of time than outcomes from other fields. The associated rewards are also slow and call for lots of patience on the part of the nation and that of the scientist him/herself. Unfortunately some sections of our society are impatient and do not know or rather accept the fact that for science research to yield an outcome, it goes through lots of stages of development, improvement and testing. There are scientists who never live to see the ultimate impact of their work! Sad but true. There is also an urgent need to distinguish between research and development issues in science and address them appropriately for impact to be realised.

3. Role models in science.
Role models are, to a great extent, ‘created’ by the media. For as long as the media ignores achievers and achievements in science, our children will not have any role model in science to inspire them – they would rather envy the lawyers handling the big political cases in court; the central bank governor; the prominent business owners; the parliamentarians (political ‘leaders’) and the likes who get good media coverage besides being well-remunerated. These are, no doubt, very important people but probably as important to the nation as a research scientist in the National Agriculture Research Organisation or Mbarara University of Science and Technology, for example. The question is, whose activities will the media follow? What headlines are ‘appropriate’ to the editors; what sells; what is politically correct? I believe that the role of the media is very vital in encouraging science education and science development in the country. The media should give science and scientists better publicity.

4. Political will and weight for support not interference.
Three issues here. Firstly, I propose that a desk be established in the president’s office (the disease, ‘Presidentialism’ is still with us) to handle science development and research (with ministerial powers and the necessary resources).

Secondly, a highly placed government official, preferably the President should be involved in announcing to the nation major scientific research and development outputs and do it with enthusiasm and pride. President Yoweri K. Museveni, in a move unprecedented in this country, recently (2005) established the first ever presidential science awards that recognised contributions of accomplished research scientists in Uganda. This is a positive development that should continue and be broadened. I am glad that one of the accomplished Ugandan scientists I nominated was among the 42 (pioneer group) recognised in the 2005/2006 awards.

Thirdly, an example of the negative role politics plays here is a situation where a politician promotes a science-related project perceived to be developmental to the community but bypasses the scientists or ignores their advice. Once such attempts fail, it gives negative publicity to science in that locality and puts the scientists several steps back in explaining how that particular science could help the community develop. Science can boost national development if all the stakeholders are involved in the process and the scientists’ opinion is respected.

5. Strategic training / work experience in the west.
One avenue Uganda (and indeed Africa) should explore is to acquire science skills from the developed world and bring them back home. This could be by way of training or encouraging science internships abroad whether in form of aid or by scholarships provided by the west. We could also market / loan out (contract) our labour to the west (for a specified short period of time). The government of Uganda ought to get actively involved in securing positions of assistantships and sabbaticals in western universities / research / development organizations and government departments. This way, we get our scientists exposed to and acquire skills in cutting edge science; they get into the global loop of scientists network, among others. By the way, there is a strong relationship between the big names in cutting edge science in Uganda today (especially in research) and foreign work experience and collaboration. We ought to learn from that. Such efforts are mutually beneficial.

6. Law enforcement against impostors (quacks).
In Uganda, there are quacks in every science discipline. Scientists therefore need support from law enforcers in wiping out quacks, not only to protect the professionals' 'bread' but also to protect the currently largely gullible Ugandans. Some Ugandans have lost and, I hate to say, continue to lose money (directly or indirectly) to these impostors. Controlling this vice could go a long way in motivating scientists to stick to their professions, earn better and subsequently encourage science education and development in the country.

I believe that these are some of the possible ways through which science education and development could be encouraged and developed in Uganda. Most of the suggestions are inward looking - every Ugandan must first develop the heart for promoting science before development partners provide the much needed complementary hand through strategic mutually beneficial partnerships.

Dokolo what's your vision?

Dokolo district is one of the new districts in Uganda inaugurated in 2006 having been carved out of Lira district (formerly Dokolo County in Lira District). Being among the youngest, it is expected to learn from the failures and successes of the relatively older ones and therefore perform better within the available resources. I believe that one of the factors for good performance is a common vision derived through an extensive consultative process. I am aware that an open consultative meeting was held in Kampala in August 2005. I am not aware there was a follow-up meeting thereafter. Being new, the district needs to be built on a firm foundation of a clear vision focused on improved livelihoods / welfare of the people of Dokolo and their development partners. Mine is a proposal meant to provoke discussion that could, hopefully, culminate into a broader discussion leading to the adoption of a common vision for the district. I am not in any way prescribing a panacea. I do, however, believe that Dokolo has the potential of becoming a model district within a few years from inception if such a direction is pursued.

I would love to see Dokolo being a district whose people are well nourished, healthy, secure, intellectually competent, socially and economically productive with a strong sense of moral dignity. Some of the probable elements of such a vision include the following. All members of the district together with other development partners such as the central government, NGOs, foreign donors, etc working:

• Towards food security throughout the district even in the aftermath of unfavourable weather. This would involve enhanced and diversified agricultural production, marketing, produce preservation / processing.
• To provide easy access to well-facilitated health service facilities with highly motivated qualified professionals.
• To provide security of life and property of the community in every corner of the district; respect and commitment to common local, national and international security guidelines.
• Generate / develop expertise and skills of a nature and quality that matches local and regional performance requirements and global standards; improving information management and language competence is vital (both local and foreign e.g. Luo, Kumam, Ateso, Swahili, English, French, Spanish).
• Enhance the level of social and civic responsibility; encouragement of teamwork and peer development.
• Proactively endeavor to engage in economically profitable ventures (in local and foreign markets), judiciously harnessing / investing in the vast / abundant natural and human resources. Enhance and harness the opportunities associated with its ‘hub’ location.
• Practice of basic human rights and responsibility of one to another; integrity; respect of persons and cultural/institutional systems.

Such a vision would be achieved through commitment and deliberate action by all (irrespective of ethnic / political inclination) starting with working out strategies and subsequently implementing them. The following values would be vital in guiding the implementation process:

• Accountability.
• Integrity.
• Teamwork / harnessing the power of synergy.
• Respect for self, others, nation and God.
• Excellence.

I wish I could persuade the people of Dokolo district to desist from the misconception that political organisations’ visions translate into the district’s (country’s) vision. Dokolo’s foundation should be built on a vision owned by all and that surpasses all political and ethnic inclinations. All political organisations active in Dokolo should only propose programmes within the district’s grand vision. The other districts and indeed Uganda could borrow a leaf.

I hail from Dokolo District.

Social networks - small world

Last week the majority of our fifth year Veterinary students returned from the field (the farms to which they were posted for a period of three weeks) as the last leg in their formal Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine course. The major purpose of the attachment was to expose the students to on-farm conditions and situations which very closely resemble the kind of working environment they would be exposed to during their formal jobs. This time it was shorter than the previous 10-week period.

Just today morning some of them started submitting their bound reports outlining, among others, their experiences and lessons learned over the short period of time. I had earlier enumerated to them some of the benefits of the attachment but the one I feel I should have endeavoured to explain further, besides polishing professional skills, is the element of social networking. Last week and today, I got the opportunity of sharing with a few of them just one aspect of the significance of social networks in our lives. I used the analogy of airline routes and hub airports (local and global). I took an East African example considering Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi Kenya as our local hub and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda as one of the smaller ones. There are a few flights out of and into Entebbe than there are into and out of Nairobi. There are therefore lots of flights out of Nairobi into cities that do not have direct flights from Entebbe. It implies therefore that for a person in Entebbe to reach some cities aboard a commercial flight, s/he would need to go through Nairobi and get connected to the city of his/her destination probably even going through yet another hub airport like Dubai in United Arab Emirates. With travel, visa and airline tariff requirements met, the opportunities / possibilities of getting connected to many other cities increase with every airport / hub accessed or arrived at.

I decided to keep it that simple to illustrate the point that you may not have direct access to / contact with a person you would wish to deal with but may use a contact you already know to connect / facilitate your connection to the ultimate person of interest. Alternatively, your attention may be drawn to somebody you did not know but who somebody you know knows. The interesting thing is that you may not know, at the time of first meeting, how useful a contact may be later in life. I therefore advised my students to make sure they maintained the new contacts they had made and 'warned' them that such contacts might become useful for future working relationships with other parties they (students) would not have known (at least in two steps) if they had not met their current 'new' contacts. I know for a fact that even a mere exchange of business cards between non-acquaintances in a cocktail can initiate and extend social and business networks that could accelerate the speed of progress of a business or career development plan of the involved parties or their acquaintances. How much more would days of contact do?

I had also earlier advised my students to make sure their professional and social skills are missed when they leave the farms. My main interest was to bring out the fact that good work, good social skills that one practices will always be told as a story to other people. In this way, people or businesses have the power of the 'word of mouth' work for them as a marketing tool. Who will recommend a person whose good works they are not familiar with? Is there anybody living today who cannot attribute their progress or success to some social network?

It was interesting to learn that we live in a small world, so small that the average path lengths for social networks is only six degrees of separation - the theory that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries.

Is it necessarily obvious therefore that a person who is more sociable will be linked to more social networks than one who is not? And will this subsequently reduce such a person's "degrees of separation"? Daniel Goleman argues that sociability, as an element of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), is a factor that contributes towards increasing the probability that a person will be an effective leader. Do we have a choice but to be sociable? Maybe not.

Humble beginning

Today I launch my public weblog. I feel good that I eventually got it started. I also feel encouraged by the Biblical advice that we should not despise days of humble beginnings and the Chinese saying that, 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step'. Yes it is a humble beginning, yes it is the first step but I believe the future is blessed and the journey will be good. I invite you to walk it with me as we learn, share experiences and opinion that will bless each one of us and others who will read what we share here.