On Liberation and Decentralization

It seems like a common policy move for good governance initiatives in developing countries is decentralization.  It is touted as a catch-all solution to the needs of a country, simultaneously empowering local leaders while improving service delivery to poor, often remote constituents. I would not argue that it is an ineffective tool, but perhaps it is not right in all settings.

In Uganda, decentralization began after Yoweri Museveni took power from the military Junta that followed the great and terrible Idi Amin.  In an effort to improve transparency and efficacy of government action, a large-scale decentralization was put in place.  This article by political science students at Makerere University provides good background and context for the policy.  The government took action in the mid 90's by passing a law to enact decentralization, and that is when it began to take hold. 

One of the primary issues with decentralization is that there is not always sufficient training in rural and underserved area to take on the new administrative burdens that come with decentralization.  Well trained bureaucrats are reticent about leaving Kampala, and as such, people working in local governments do not have the same levels of education or capacity that their counterparts in the capital have.  IFPRI's paper about service delivery and decentralization touches on this nicely.

So, what do you get when you have local officials overburdened with bureaucratic tasks, not fully supported by the central government, and lacking capacity?  You get a lot of frustrated Ugandans who see potential for elite capture, nepotism, and the opportunity to milk the system.  It is an unfortunate scenario, but it is true.  Of course not all locally elected officials are this way, many serve the district and their country honestly, with a lot of integrity.  I am writing about this, however, because of the most recent example of some bureaucrats who did not act with the same decorum.

As part of the Village Enterprise program we help form business savings groups.  Business Savings Groups (BSGs) are similar to Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs), except we are starting them with income generating units.  Those are the village enterprise businesses.  Each BSG is comprised of 10 businesses.  Each business is comprised of 3 business owners.  That means each BSG has 30 members.  As a good practice, we encourage the BSGs to register with the subcounty.  This ensures them some legal arbitration if there are disputes in the group, and it often facilitates the group's access loans from formal financial institutions.

Recently, I went to visit a BSG near our office in Western Uganda, and I was told a very sad story.  The BSG went to register at the subcounty, and the officials in the office charged the double the amount required for registering.  They looked at our businesses owners, saw how they were dressed, and knew they were rural villagers.  As such, they told them the price was double so that they could use the extra money to line their pockets, assuming the business owners would be too illiterate in general, and especially in local law to know they were being swindled.  However, when this was reported to their business mentor who had been training them for months, he went straight to the subcounty and was able to get their money back.

People are poor in Uganda, and a government worker in a local office makes a very low salary.  However, there is entitlement that comes with that sort of position, and a perception of power and prestige.  In the case of this BSG, all those things were wielded to milk the BSG for extra money.  Poor were stealing from the extreme poor.  Now, I am not advocating that taking away decentralization as a policy would remedy this.  In fact, I am sure it would be even harder to get our BSGs registered and backed as official organizations if there was no decentralized government.  However, decentralization with no checks, balances, or training leads to corruption and vice.

I am thinking about all this as today is Liberation Day in Uganda.  The NRM took power from the military junta and returned to a democracy.  This is a loose interpretation of democracy, given that the current president has been the president since Uganda was liberated 29 years ago.  It seems like there is still a lot of liberation to be done.  So, we keep after it, one day at a time.

BSG in Training

A Wonderful Winter Wedding

My wonderful older brother Evan got married to Rebecca on December 31st, 2014.  That was the main impetus for going back to the US from Uganda this Christmas.  It was a wonderful wedding, a fantastic ceremony, and such a great opportunity to see so much family, and so many friends.

First, I feel like usually, no one really likes planning New Years Eve.  So thanks to Evan and Rebecca for taking care of that for all of us.  Second, everyone tries to make epic, fantastic plans for New Year's Eve, and they are often not as great as expected.  Notable exceptions are now 1. a wedding 2. mistakenly ending up at a very local bar in Diani, Kenya.  In both cases I did no planning.  Third, it is great to get both friends and family on New Year's eve.  Usually I have had to decide, but this year, this awesome wedding brought together both worlds.  It was wonderful!

Let me start from the beginning of the vacation.  I went back to the US on the 19th.  I got to see Lee briefly in DC when I dropped off Theo the dog.  Unfortunately, I spent most of the 36 hours I was there pretty ill, and trying not to fall asleep at 7:00 pm, thanks to jet lag, and flying back to the cold and dark of mid-winter in the northern hemisphere.  After flying to DC and resting for 36 hours I went out to California.

I got to see my very close friend Bethany, who I have known since middle school.  Beth has been there through a lot, and it was so cool to get to see her in San Francisco.  I finally got to meet Joel in person, and we all ate some terrific Mexican food in the Mission district in San Francisco.  My parents were with us and we all walked around the mission, and went to Mission Dolores Park.  It was a great afternoon.

I spent the next few days in Merced for Christmas.  I felt warm, carefree, and so at ease seeing my family and spending the holidays with them.  Evan and Rebecca flew in very late on the 23rd.  We went to a very funny, homemade church service on the 24th.  We upheld the Doty traditions of Christmas cookie frosting, and getting to hang a few ornaments.  It was made even better having my sister and nieces there, too.  I was so happy to see Julian and meet his lady Sibel as well.  Christmas is just made better with more people.  On Christmas day we ate, played games, went walking, and went to the movies.  It was so satisfying.

We went up for the bachelor party on the 26th.  We spent two nights at the stunning Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite.  We had a great time doing man things.  We went for a 10 mile hike and drank scotch and had a wonderful dinner at the lodge.  The rest is top secret.

From there we headed down to Los Angeles at 5:30 in the morning.  I picked up Lee at the airport and we drove straight to Disneyland.  My brother and Rebecca were having a pre-wedding fun day there.  Lee and I met Evan and Rebecca at the park along with my sister and nieces, my mom and dad, my cousin Harvey and his wife Lis, and their son Levi, Evan and Rebecca's friends Carlos and Pamela.  We all had lunch at a great Mexican restaurant in Downtown Disney.  Lee got to meet a lot of people right away, and was really thrown into the mix doing it all at Disney.  I am so impressed by her aplomb.

I was thrilled to see Harvey, Lis, and Levi.  It was great to get too see them relatively soon after the summer.  They are so much fun, and some of my favorite relatives.  It was a blast to sit with them at lunch and catch up.  I always feel like I can get right back into step with them, and we've never missed a beat.

We all went into the park and all of us rode Soarin' Over California.  A giant theater ride with seats that are elevated and move as though you are flying in a hang glider.  The seats hang from long mechanical arms, and the effect is very real.  My parents, Evan and Rebecca split off to go to bed, get coffee respectively.  But Lee, sis, the girls and I continued to ride some fast rides.  I tested Lee's aplomb by dragging her on the big roller coaster in California Adventure, as well as the tower of terror.  There may have been some genuine anger at moments, but we made it, and are stronger for it.  That night we crashed into bed at our hotel in Hollywood around 10:30.

In the morning, Lee, my parents and I had a really nice quiet breakfast.  We were able to talk and catch up without lots of other people around.  I am so glad that they got to see each other, and that we could all be together without too much else going on.

Things progressed in this way, an extraordinary stream of people and visits until the wedding rehearsal that afternoon.  It was quick and well orchestrated.  That night was the grooms dinner, which was a real highlight.  So many friends and family came.  I was SO happy to meet more of Rebecca's family and to finally introduce Lee to all of my family.  It felt like the pieces were coming together into a lovely, family puzzle.  It was so special to have all of these good people in one place.

The next day was the actual wedding.  I don't know that I have ever had so much fun at a wedding.  Even the pictures were fun!  It was a cold day for LA on the 31st.  It was clear and crisp and sunny in the high 50s.  We took photos at UCLA.  Lee of course looked stunning.  Evan and Rebecca were glowing, and their photos show it.  UCLA was a stunning, austere, and lush backdrop for winter wedding photos in LA.  It was a great choice.

There were family photos at the synagogue leading up to the ceremony.  Then the men split and we toasted Evan, enjoyed scotch, and had some time to just bullshit before we danced and sang him into the sanctuary to sign the kituba with Rebecca.  There they signed their documents, and by that time it was about time to get set for the ceremony.  I was compulsively feeling for the ring box this whole time in my pocket.  At one point the photographer came and asked for the rings to take some photos with the documents.  I followed her into the room and watched the whole time. She said "wow you take your job seriously." I said nothing.  I wanted to intimate my seriousness.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was in an outdoor courtyard full of olive trees.  The olive trees were draped with lights.  The Chuppa was lovely, and in part knitted by my aunties Beryl and Lindy.  It looked amazing.  I realize how many superlatives I am using, but the whole event just inspired superlatives.  I had a blast.  During the ceremony the Rabbi did a wonderful job.  The blessings were beautiful, and I was happy that my dad and Michael both got to read blessings.  It was great.  I cried, though I tried to look tough while doing it.  My mom cried, but I had to avoid looking, otherwise it would have been real waterworks!  Then we walked out and Lee asked me if I was crying, which made me cry more.  I have a lot of feelings, ok!?  My big brother got married!  But I was so happy she was asking me, and she was the one on my arm.  I am so thankful Evan and Rebecca asked her to join the celebration in that way.

The reception was beautiful.  It was like a California princess ball.  The decorations were great.  I also got to sit with my cousins Brook and Cassy and Harvey and Lis.  It was cool to have them all meet.  I could hardly eat the fabulous dinner.  I was nervous about my best man's toast (which went off very well, and I didn't even cry) and I was on a lot of adrenaline just excited to be there.  The we danced the horah and lifted Evan and Rebecca and danced them in their chairs.  Let me just say that I think Rebecca's side lucked out getting the daintier of the two of them.  Evan was not so...dainty.  But it was so great.  I loved dancing in a ciricle with my dad and brother and the groomsmen and the Waterman men.  It was such a nice melding of family and culture.  I was honored and thrilled to be there.

I was continuously swept off my feet by how beautiful Lee was, and how special it was to spend New Years together two years in a row.  Especially having her at this event it was amazing to see how it can be when we are together all the time.  We danced all night to a live band.  We took breaks for desserts, drinks (many with Harvey and Lis), shots (thanks Abby and Cooper...) Water, spending tie with family, dancing with mom and neices, too.  All the dancing at least kept me warm (I was cold ALL THE TIME) so that was wonderful inspiration, too.  Turns out dancing in a crowded room in a tux is similar to African weather.  We counted down midnight all together and rang in the New Year in wonderful fashion.  It was one of the most wonderful New Year's Eves I have had.  I will always remember it.

Eventually we left the synagogue around 2:30, and made it back to Hollywood at 4:00 and again crashed into bed.  It was such a terrific night, and I was amazed, honored, and proud to be a part of it all!  Mazel Tov!

Bride and Groom

Back in Uganda: Kicking off 2015

I am back in Uganda after three and a half wonderful weeks in the US.  I am thrilled to be back in Uganda.  It was such relief to step out of the plane into the warm, supple air in Entebbe, and not need a sweater for the first time since leaving on December 19th (except for two gloriously warm days in Santa Monica).  I briefly hung out in Amsterdam on the way to the US, and that was the first temperature shock.  But the worst was 9 degrees in DC at one point.  9 is just not enough degrees.

It is a great feeling to be back with the team here.  I was out in the field the last two days carrying out disbursements of our second grant.  The recipients were part of our RCT, and were in a village that was randomly selected not to receive our full program, but instead just a cash-equivalent version of our program.  Needless to say it was a pleasure to be back out in the field.

It was an odd experience being in the USA on Sunday, shopping, going to target, eating Mexican food, and being American.  I woke up in Dubai on Monday night, and by Wednesday I was deep in the field in rural Uganda.  This is one of the sets of juxtapositions that has interested me most as I have been working in Uganda now for a year and a half, (only returning to the US in the last 6 months).  It is really astounding how much freedom we have as Americans to move in the world.  It is amazing that the excess of Dubai can coexist in some fashion with the sever underdevelopment of rural Ugandan villages.  It is also to move from one day to the next through both settings.

I think this time it forced me to think about why these sorts of inequalities persist, and where real change can come from.  With Village Enterprise we are doing incredible work.  We are fomenting economic growth in the lowest strata of the Ugandan and Kenyan economies.  We are helping to build a base of economic growth that hopefully will lead to people creating sustainable business so people are equipped with the resources to eventually move out of poverty.  But we can't do it all. We have many partnerships, and really, I think that developing more, and stronger partnerships is going to be important in development.  NGO, Institution, and Aid collaboration and organization is going to be about the only thing that might promise real change.  Siloing projects, organizations, and people from one another only ensures repetition (sometimes of bad projects and programs), lack of communication, and waste of resources.  But who can work on aid collaboration?  It is like a giant process evaluation, a very meta, but very needed job.  I would love to see where some of the best efforts are if anyone has them.

Regardless, I am happy to be back in Uganda.  I am happy to get to go to the field, and I am looking forward to visiting our Kenya office next month.  I am also looking forward to our innovation summit where I learn from our staff about how much I still have to learn from our program.  The next two months are going to be very exciting and move so quickly.

Hiking in Santa Monica on Tuesday

In Dubai the following Monday

In the field in Nyamundeija for Disbursements