Ubon Ratchathani University

Faculty of Management Science

Summer Program 2008:

Participatory Development in Gulu, Uganda

When: March 1 - May 30, 2008

What: You will have the opportunity to assist in a participatory development project in Gulu, Uganda. A village will be set up using the King’s Sufficiency Economy Model. The occupants of the village will primarily be child-headed households. There will be support services set up in the village for formal and informal education. We will also assist in setting up a school based also on the King’s ideas of learning by doing. We will be hosted by the Organization, Life in Africa while we are in Uganda.

Gulu is an area that has been involved in a civil war for the last 20 years. With the peace talks progressing very favorably, the Ugandan government is already starting to take steps to normalize life in the region. The people are being encouraged to go back to their homes from the Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps.

This area was, at one time, the most fertile and productive farm land in Uganda. The problems facing the people at this time are the fact that the land has not been cultivated in 20 years. There is also little available farm equipment.

A local family owns a large tract of land (Opok Farms) that was commercially farmed before the war. They are now preparing the land to be used for commercial organic farming. This will provide a number of jobs for local farmers who do not have access to land. The owners of Opok Farms also want to provide homes for up to 150 child-headed households. These situations have arisen because of the war and the HIV/Aids epidemic in Africa.

Details of the work that you will be doing will be developed over the next few months.

Qualifications:

1. As the national language of Uganda is English, you will be required to take either the TOEFL exam and score a minimum of 500 or you will take the ILS examination and score a minimum of 5. You must have your scores to me by December 15th. TOEFL tests are administered 4 times a month in Saraburi and Bangkok. The cost is $140. This will be your expense. I am looking for information on locations, dates and costs for the ILS.
2. Since we will be building a community based on Sufficiency Economy principles, you will be required to live in a Sufficiency Economy based community during the October break so that you know how these communities work on a day-to-day basis. We have been invited to stay at Sisa Asoke in Sisaket Province.
3. You will be required to submit to Linda Nowakowski a 5 page typewritten paper on the history, culture and situation in Gulu. This will be due no later than 5:00 pm November 30, 2006.
4. A personal interview to be held during the first week of December.
5. You will need to have a Thai passport (at your expense) and you will need to apply for a Ugandan Visa. This visa requires that you have a yellow fever immunization. This can only be obtained at the Ministry of Public Health in Bangkok and you must have it before you apply for the visa. It is recommended that you have a cholera inoculation. You should get anti-malarial medications before you leave to cover you from 3 days before you leave to 3 days after you return.

Costs: The cost of your airfare, your main transportation in Uganda, your housing and food in Uganda, your inoculation and medications, the trip to Bangkok for that and the cost of your visa will be covered. You will need to pay for your English exam and your passport. You should also allow yourself some personal spending money.

Who will be going:

1. Linda Nowakowski
2. Khuandin Songkram
3. 4 qualified BBA students. Using the qualifications above, and the experience at Sisa Asoke in October, Aj. Khuandin and I will select the best team: a team that will be able to work together productively over the time we will be in Uganda. Selections will be announced the first day of class in January, 2007

We will travel together and live together for 3 months plus the October break.

Benefits:

1. You will have an opportunity to experience a different culture for an extended period of time
2. You will have the honor and privilege of helping people much less fortunate than you.
3. You will have an opportunity to grow your English language skills.
4. You will have the honor of assisting in testing whether the King’s philosophy of Sufficiency Economy can be used to help people in other developing countries as well as in Thailand.