As I’m about to start my “onboarding” tasks (another portal!) for Peace Corps Uganda that will determine the region of country to which I’m assigned, I met today with Justine Okello, a fellow League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor classmate who is a native Ugandan. I wanted to discuss bikes/Uganda so I could better understand the rubber-hits-the-road reality I would face and the possible opportunities.
I would like to use bikes as transportation, plus I would like to do a secondary project (beyond my agribusiness/microfinance/home garden role) that involves bikes and female empowerment but only if it’s desired by the community. Justine (who has been in the USA for just 5 years) provided generous input on both of these objectives and was super helpful. I’ll write about some of what we discussed in my next monthly installment of Leaving Suburbia for the Peace Corps (which I’ll excerpt here on this blog).
If interested, there is a story that involves Justine that starts on page 57 of my book, Traveling at the Speed of Bike.
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 