In a couple of my previous blogs, I mentioned the importance of language in development work and international research. Whether this be introductions or using the correct terminology, the language we use to tell stories is powerful. I continue to reflect on the importance of language as I will shortly head back to the United States and get the inevitable question: So, how was Uganda?

It is easy to slip into an individual story narrative when asked this question, using singular language such as “I” and “me.” Yet, it was really those who accepted me into their community and shared their story that made this fellowship an impactful experience.

There is the story that Rachel and I shared. I bought either pineapple or watermelon from Rachel’s stand every week. Whenever I bought some fruit, Rachel would slip more watermelon into the bag with a smile and say, “this is for you.” Every time I passed her stand driving to the field or walking to the market, she would wave and say, “Hi sister!” Rachel was one of my first connections I made outside of those affiliated with Field of Hope. She made me feel at home in the Lira community.

Then there is the story of Barba. Barba is a young farmer from the Kwania district. On my second to last visit, she brought her maize to show me her harvest. She smiled proudly with her maize in front of her recently harvested field. She explained that before receiving agricultural extension training, when she harvested, she would just throw her maize wherever it landed, and it would get dirty. Although she’s learned many things from the training, she is most especially proud of how clean her maize is now that she knows how to properly harvest.

I met Reverend Tom multiple times through Leyi Naa project monitoring visits. His garden was the first one I visited in Uganda, and every time I visited, he taught me more about the crops in his garden. At our last monitoring visits, he gave me a fist bump instead of shaking hands as he explained he had just finished working in the garden. He described his hands as “farmer hands,” warming my heart as it reminded me of my own father who also has the identifiable farmer hands.

Then there is the story I share with Joseph and Agnes, who were so patient with me and encouraged my growth. At each training, Joseph would encourage me to lead the introduction, but he really was the important part of every training. He selflessly shared his knowledge with me and each group we visited.

When I leave Uganda, I return with countless stories of those who accepted me into their community. This experience shaped who I am as a social science researcher and global citizen. I am grateful that Field of Hope continues to invest in young people who seek global experiences. This appreciation extends to those who donate and invest their own resources into supporting Field of Hope. It is bittersweet to see my time in Uganda close, but I leave confident that Field of Hope will continue to positively impact the agricultural community in Uganda.

Meikah Dado, Fellow ’24

The past two weeks have been nothing more than fulfilling and impactful. These past weeks I have challenged myself in facilitating 163 Ugandan Agriculture Educators who will impact 57,913 students across the country. The Field of Hope team and I have assisted each other in planting a seed of hope, dignity, resilience, and passion in each of the cultural teachers. These teachers traveled from across the county to gather in the northern and southern districts to network, learn, and grow personally and professionally.

With teachers full of excitement to learn how they can better their teaching skills and knowledge to best serve their students. This training allowed Field of Hope to plant a seed within our Level 1 teachers and helped us water the seeds we have previously planted in our Level 2 teachers. These seeds that have been planted will grow over time and will bear many fruits which teacher and students will benefit from.

The Bible teaches us in Genesis 26:12 that the seeds we sew shall prosper because the lord has blessed us. I believe this same goes for these seeds that we have sewed during teacher training. Field of Hope planted 163 seeds within 2 weeks in agriculture teachers. Metaphorically, these seeds will become long-term fruit-bearing plants that will bear nutritious fruits. These nutritious fruits will feed knowledge and skills into students who enter these Ugandan agriculture teachers’ classrooms. With much encouragement, these teachers will create a massive impact on students’ lives. These students will impact others–from classmates to those entering the direct workforce, to becoming the next generation of business and industry leaders.

The impact that Field of Hope’s Teacher Training has is tremendous. From a staff perspective, this teacher training opened my eyes to the love, care, and willingness each teacher here in Uganda has for their classrooms. Their willingness has inspired me to be “all in” for creating change and impact in everyday life. I hope to take the love, care, and willingness that each of these teachers has back home to the ones I serve.

Hunter Lee Adkins, Fellow ’24

Within two weeks, Field of Hope trained 162 agricultural education teachers at their annual teacher training. Teachers were able to leave each day with new or more in-depth teaching skills, while also sharing some incredible local food throughout the day. The Field of Hope teacher training is structured with level one being the first year a teacher attended teacher training and level two including ones attending for the second year. With the support of Vivayic, Field of Hope creates an effective professional development opportunity for Uganda’s agricultural educators. Not only are they able to attend the training, but also leave with teacher guide’s and supplements to have agricultural education curriculum in their classroom for secondary one through three.

Our days were packed with learning activities and other opportunities to learn from each other. My time in teacher training was with the level two participants. Olivia, Joseph, Agnes, and I went over content such as creating teaching philosophies, teaching methodologies, starting an agricultural club, strategies for creating an inclusive classroom, and more. Additionally, the teachers learned from each other and created connections to other teachers throughout the country. Though I was most impressed with how these teachers took time from their short break between terms to come together and share ideas to take back to their classroom. Nobody required these teachers to come, yet they had the intrinsic motivation to take advantage of this professional development opportunity.

On the last day of teacher training, we would have the level two teachers share their teaching philosophy. The philosophies demonstrated how these teachers care for their students and expressed their value in creating an empowering learning environment for each student. Each philosophy was filled with statements such as, “I believe every student belongs in agriculture” or “I will use experiential learning to engage my learners in agriculture.” We all grew as educators within those two weeks by sharing ideas and our motivations. As a result, I am certain the impact of the Field of Hope teacher training will positively impact the lives of agricultural students in Uganda.

Meikah Dado, Fellow ’24

Throughout my time here in Uganda, one of my main tasks has been developing a teachers’ guide for agriculture clubs in Secondary Schools. This guide consists of precise steps for beginning an agriculture club for teachers. Our main goal with this guide is to ensure ease and accessibility for teachers to create a successful agriculture club. It consists of the correct steps to take in planning, development, and seeking approval from admiration, a club constitution, fundraiser ideas, and leadership activities to build students’ skills. This document has been a working progress. To do this, we have conducted research to ensure we fit into Ugandan classrooms, teachers can easily underhand and comprehend, and retaining teacher and student feedback to ensure we are best serving the students and teachers of Uganda.

One of our first schools to implement our agriculture club guide is St. Gracious Secondary School. The teachers and students at St. Gracious took the risk of developing a new agriculture club from the bottom up using our guide. We are proud to share they have been successful and off to an extraordinary start!

Meet the first elected leaders of Field of Hope’s Agriculture Leadership Club! This group of enthusiastic leaders attends St. Gracious Secondary School. They embody the definition of being true leaders. They are willing to serve others, take risks, and uphold the core strengths and values a leader needs to succeed. When I first sat down with this group of talented students; I immediately could tell they had the qualities of successful leaders and upheld the qualities they needed. I could get they were Ready!

The excitement radiated in our small group discussion, with elite conversations that sparked new passions of growth– for their new agriculture club, their members, and themselves. These student leaders were Ready and Set! Set with a plan full of determination and ambition. All they have left to do is Serve!

With an ongoing Inspiring Student in Agriculture Project (ISIA), these students are prone to success. They have a prosperous poultry project where students gain hands-on learning experiences in rearing poultry, slaughtering, and preparing for consumption. These students have an entrepreneurial mindset of service to others. St. Gracious Secondary Agriculture Leadership Club Leaders work passionately to ensure great quality poultry is served to their customers who purchase their goods.

With true service, a heart of passion, and the willingness to take risks; the student leaders of St. Gracious Agriculture Leadership Club are destined for success. Seeing a group of students work extremely hard to chase a dream and create a path for themselves and others to follow is thrilling.

Hunter Lee Adkins, Fellow ’24

In 2022, Field of Hope partnered with another nonprofit, Her Mighty Hands, to provide video-based extension services for women smallholder farmers. This year, Her Mighty Hands had their third growing season deploying 30 phones to women farmers groups. Essentially, my job is to evaluate this program and the effectiveness of video-based agricultural extension on a variety of variables. This fellowship allowed me to be in Uganda for three months to work with Field of Hope on other efforts and conduct this data collection. Conducting research in an international environment comes with numerous learning opportunities, yet communicating international development programs and my research has always been a challenge for me. This blog is an attempt to consolidate reflections on my education and experiences into three important considerations for those interested in international development or international research:

1. Good intentions are not enough. Development work and development research are complex and there is no one size fits all approach. When conducting research with human populations, the Institutional Review Board, must approve the entire research process to ensure it is culturally appropriate and ethical. After a year of prior desk research, this process took over eight months to complete to have two IRB applications approved. This process of ethical research takes time and goes beyond promising good intentions. The topic of good intentions also applies to the programs themselves. Good intentions in international development programs can still have harmful, unintended consequences. A good example of this is the well-known story of the play pump (see resource below).
2. Language is incredibly important. The threat of a single-story narrative about a person or country can be damaging in a variety of ways. What I write and what I say should represent how my participants would write and say their own stories. This also includes understanding and using appropriate terminology, such as using avoiding “third world” when referring to low-income and lower-middle income countries.
3. Continue to be vulnerable and question. I have learned through my mistakes and through being pro-active in informing myself to avoid mistakes. As I finish my education and move into my career, I continue to challenge myself to question the intentions of international development and the undeniable power dynamics at play. Therefore, I also challenge you to join me in being pro-active in learning and being open to feedback to ultimately be better global citizens.

Finding resources that challenge our worldview is a great start to help us grow. I used a variety of resources and experiences to shape these three considerations. I encourage you to read, listen, and watch the available resources listed below to craft your own considerations. These resources and blog do not reflect the views and opinions of Field of Hope and Her Mighty Hands.

State of the Planet: The PlayPump: What Went Wrong?

NPR: Memo to People of Earth: ‘Third World’ is an Offensive Term

TED Talk: The Danger of a Single Story

Tiny Sparks Podcast: On a Mission to Make White People Uncomfortable

Tiny Sparks Podcast: What Can We Do about the White Savior Complex?

NGO Story Telling: Informed Consent and Ethics in Nonprofit Storytelling

EDI Global: Navigating Ethics of Field Research in International Development

Meikah Dado, Fellow ’24