Adam Riddell

Hello once again.

A few recent events occurred and I consider them to be blog worthy.

Last week I was in Kampala for SP's retreat. All of the staff came in from various locations throughout Uganda. It was a time of prayer, teaching, praise and fellowship, no work allowed! It was great to see everyone in one place, to worship together, eat together and play in a friendly football match. Despite my stellar performance of 2 goals and an assist, Team Moroto drew 4-4 to our rival Team Lira/Kamwenge/Kampala.

Oddly enough, I missed Moroto and was more than ready to get out of Kampala. Don't get me wrong the chocolate milkshakes and bacon cheeseburgers are delicious. But are they worth the noise, smells and general craziness of Kampala? Maybe.... Anyways, it's good to be back "home." I've spent the last 7 weeks on the road so to speak and have slept in 9 different places. I'm ready to be done traveling for a bit and to finally unpack all of my things. I found a hidden bag of Resse's Pieces in one of my bags and boy was I excited and now only a few remain.

Speaking of Moroto. I am now acting Program Manager for Karamoja's Productive Assets Program (KPAP). Fellow intern Dave was in this role but is shortly leaving for America so he's out and I'm in. I'm really excited for the chance to spend lot's of money (especially because it's not mine) and to supervise almost 50 Ugandan staff members. Oh, right, and also to help thousands of Karamojong become more food secure and less dependent on food aid. This will be a precious and valuable learning experience and it's exactly what I was hoping for when I signed up for SP's internship program. Apparently, interns can be used for more than just coffee fetching, photocopying and typing reports. It's really encouraging to know that I work for an organization that trusts it's staff members and is looking to give them opportunities to grow and perform.

Next week, several VIP's from WFP IHQ in Rome are coming to town to check in on KPAP and to see if it really is the future of development for Karamoja. It's requiring a good bit of work for me and my staff as we make sure we are prepared for their visit but things are getting done.

In other news, SP Moroto's football team has made the playoffs after winning 1-0 on Sunday. I had the game winning assist on a perfectly paced and placed ball to my significantly faster, African co-striker who calmly slid it past the keeper. Playoffs start Thursday! Hopefully my sunburn will be healed by game time. These white pasty leg's got cooked!

So to conclude, so far so good here in Karamoja.