DuncanAfrica Society

Home At Last, Home At Last

2010-04-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

The students at Suubi.

Such a short trip - so much time spent in the airports. Remind me never, ever to do that again. Uganda to Ethiopia, to Dubai, to London, waited for 12 hours, flew to Boston, slept in the worst airport ever for 12 hours, to Dallas, and finally home to Vancouver.

I thought it was going to be an adventure, but it turns out I'm not really up for that kind of adventure. I also caught an African flu the day before I left and its turned into bronchitis. Yuch.

In London I met a man who also runs a trade school or something in India. He was a US Navy Seal until he retired a few years ago. He studies Buddhism but wouldn't go so far as to call himself a Buddhist - interesting. He said that Buddhism is being embraced by the untouchables caste in India because it frees them from the clutches of the caste system and Hinduism. I was amazed because I thought thats exactly what Jesus was doing in India too.

Somehow, I think Jesus freedom is way better than Buddhas'.

Anyways. I'm glad to be back, but we have a lot of work to do. We need power for our school, and we fell behind in paying our electricity bill - so they have cut off the power. Help?

Coming Home

2010-03-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

ahhh coming home is the best part for me. can't wait to see Irena and Noah again. skype is nice but its not the same.

got a lot done here on this trip, but not enough. lots to do back home now. we have our AGM coming up, a fundraising banquet on May 14, i think i'm opening for a band called Abel at House of James on April 10 and the list goes on.

when i get back i'm going to upload this great video of David giving you a tour of the shop here. its eye opening and hilarious.

til then, may the Lord of heaven and earth expose you to His great smile...

in Jesus

jd

And Again

2010-03-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hi - not to be a downer, but it happened again. Ina village called Kalagala, 3 km from our school, a young man tried to steal matoke, or bananas for you newbies, and a mob beat him to death. This place just makes no sesnse to me. Where does it say its ok to beat someone to death because they stole your bananas??? Shouldn't the mob be put in prison???

Enough of that. Things are going well here. We've been learning to set up the guitars like a pro would. Very nice. Today we're focussing on painting the guitars and the art of spraying a sunburst.

And in big news, David and I created a blog yesterday for him and the students to blog with; http://suubitradeschool.blogspot.com/2010/03/welcome-to-suubi.html

So check it out!

And lastly, thanks to British Airways for always getting me here. I'm sorry they felt the need to strike - and I'm even more sorry that my flight home had to be moved up a day and now looks like this...
Entebbe/Uganda to Addis Ababa (sp?) to Dubai to London (sleep over in the airport) to Boston (sleep over in the airport) to Dallas to Vancouver.

oh it will be nice to be home again.

and lastly, a big thanks to our Heavenly Father who answered prayers that Noah would have a good nights sleep.

jd

mob justice

2010-03-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

It seems that with every trip I make to Uganda, I learn more about the ugly side of life here. Last night a young man lost his life for trying to steal a mattress. I am not kidding. A mob beat him to death over a mattress.

In trying to understand this, I asked David to explain how that can happen. Here it is.

Thieving is common here, and life is cheap. If a thief breaks into your home and you catch him, or them, (there could be 2 or more), there is the possibility that they may kill you rather than face being identified later. So thieves are lumped together with murderers because they are sometimes one in the same.

Sometimes the thieves have guns. Almost everyone in Uganda knows how to use a gun because of a government program that exists.

By the time the police arrive, an angry mob has beaten the young thief to death. Last year I heard a young thief was trying to steal a scooter and was burned to death by the mob.

So how does this happen in a country that claims to be 80% Christian and 20% Muslim?

I have no idea.

I will never understand this place.

lifting the spirits

2010-03-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty cool. had a lot of great moments as we sat together with the students and talked about the year gone by and the future. They had some concerns about wage increases, medical coverage, supply problems and electr4ical problems. And it would be a shame if I didn't mention that some of them want an extra chipati for breakfast, fancier lunches and travel money. Of course all of this would be possible if they made more guitars!

We decided that our biggest challenge is electricity. We need another diesel generator to run the power in the climate room so that our production won't be interrupted by power outages. So I made them a deal. Whatever they can raise locally towards that, we will match 2:1. You ought to have seen them come up with ideas! They are going to throw a fundraising banquet for 300 people, build and sell a guitar for the event, and have lots of speeches. It was nice to see the entrepeneur in them come alive. It was beautiful.

Anyways, here's a pic of Chris, Josh and Alex having fun at the warehouse with a batch of new guitars. Incidently, we've now switched from Fedex to TNT couriers and thier African counterpart, and we're saving 50% on shipping from Uganda to Canada.

peace

jd

Casting Crowns Gets Guitar

2010-03-22T00:14:00.000-07:00

Well today was a fun day. I received an email from Hector Cervantes of Casting Crowns - he has received his guitar and loves it! Nice. Maybe it will end up onstage in front of thousands...

I had a fun thought and I'm wondering if you could let me know what you think. I'm thinking of asking Mwesige David, our shop foreman, to do a blog of his own. Would that be interesting?

We're working on touching up a few guitars today. And then we're going to spend the 2nd half of the day hearing from the guys about the past year.

It seems that every day we are getting someone new following this blog so if thats you, then welcome to the blog!

*** I just had a call from Walter Loewen of Spruce Grove , Alberta, my hometown. Walter is in Kampala (30km away from us here in Mpigi), and needs a guitar for a conference he is a part of. It seems that with the British Airways strike, all thier luggage and thier guitar is temporarily missing. So here we go! I'm glad I brought a pick up with me! Its going to be an interesting day as we'll be under the gun to get this one right, the first time...

peace

Skype On!

2010-03-20T12:34:00.001-07:00

We have video Skype!!!! Unbelievable. Soooo great. I talked with Irena and Noah tonight with Video! The connection was a bit worse than doing the same thing in Canada, but not much. Oh God is goooooood.

We have pics now from one of our first attempts at blessing the community around us here in Mpigi. Attached is a pic or two of some kids from a needy elementary school. We were able to buy them some school supplies, (notebooks, pens/pencils and math sets for each student), and lunch for a month!

We'll only be able to continue this type of thing if our fund raising grows - right now we are (all of us at DA) being paid only a little at a time because funds are VERY tight right now. If you want to help a bit each month it would totally help us out. You can find out more using the 'Donate' link at our website www.duncanafrica.com

fret work 101

2010-03-19T05:24:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally got here. Woke up just fine this morning and no sign of jet lag. nice. David and I had a good time re-connecting on the ride from the airport to Mpigi, which is about 1.5 hours in the car - I think.

We've made plans to just work on learning to 'finish' the guitars better, to a higher degree of 'perfect'. On Monday, we're going to sit and talk with all the students and hear from them. Its been a hard month now as we have had a hard time paying wages both here in Uganda and in Canada.

Its been neat to see the students again - they feel more like old friends than students really. One of our guys is gone now - he had his heart set on becoming an electrician. So we blessed him and sent him to electrician school in Entebbe. He was so smart that guy. Kasozi Paul is his name.

Anyways. I'll try to post more now as the internet is working.

peace

j

YVR

2010-03-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Again I'm off to Uganda for my fifth time. I have all our supplies jammed into my bags and just a couple t-shirts to get by with.

Its going to be an intense two weeks. I'll be away from my wife and son for the first time. Thats not fun. But I'm looking forward to seeing the students again. We'll be talking about the past year and looking at the challenges we had and how we can improve on at least 28 different issues.

I'm hoping we can sell a few guitars while I am away. I've left Chris and Maureen in charge while I'm away. This will be a mini-test of what it would be like if I was gone long term.

Chris is so great at prepping and setting up the guitars - just a tremendous gift for finding the perfect string height and feel for each guitar. Did you know that when you get the string height just right, the whole thing sings better? True.

Anyways. Thanks for tuning in. I'll try to post while I'm in Uganda, but no promises. Attached is a pic of a guitar we're sending to Casting Crowns' Hector Cervantes.

Peace.

jd.

coffee shop fundraiser

2010-01-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

hey - today is an exciting day. we fired off another wire transfer today. not a lot of funding left in the ol' bank account right now. God will supply.

we're hosting a coffee shop fundraiser in White Rock, BC tomorrow night. This Old Mountain, Lance Odegard, Dave Siverns, Ezra Kwizera and I will be performing at the Small Ritual Coffee House, and Brent Unrau will be talking about his own form of art and how all of these crazy art forms are tied together in Christ.

OK. Gotta run. peace to you and yours...

lunches for kids

2010-01-17T14:53:00.001-08:00

hey - this is so cool I have to share it. We are planning to buy school supplies for a school of really poor kids in the village of Mpigi, and then yesterday I found out that the kids don't get lunch at the school. So we talked about how much it might cost to feed 400 kids for a month. Believe it or not, it will cost just $40 to feed them for a month! So we're going to do it! What a great feeling.

In other super cool news, David found a supplier for ebony from northern Uganda which is a total answer to prayer. Currently we buy our ebony in Vancouver and ship it to Uganda. It originally comes from Gabon in west Africa, and is sold into Spain, then it comes to Canada, then back to Africa. We'll be saving $ in so many ways - and have faster, more reliable (is anything in Africa reliable?), access to our raw materials. Totally a great day.

Earlier this week we built a makeshift spray booth here at the warehouse in Port Kells. It looks terrible, but it allows us to touch up the guitars without waiting for a sunny day to spray on.

So things are moving forward. I am just pumped about the lunches for the kids though. So cool.

A New Year

2010-01-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

Well, a new year is upon us. Irena and I are exhausted, having moved between Christmas and New Years. It took us a whole week. We are turtles when it comes to getting things done since having baby Noah.

In the midst of moving, I began to reflect on how many times I've had to move since starting DA. For a homebody like me, this has been a hard thing to do. I'm often reminded of Jesus description of himself when he said that 'foxes have holes and birds have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head...'. Perhaps I have some kind of masochistic messianic complex.

On that note, I've always wanted to make a list (I LOVE lists) of all these places, and say thank you to everone who lent me thier couch to sleep on at some point. So here goes...
1.Grandma's house in South Surrey
2.The Wildings guest room, Bendigo, Australia
3.Maz's guest house, Bendigo, Australia
4.Steinbergers couch, Ladner
5.Matt Smiths' Attic, White Rock beach
6.Dan & Jolene's basement suite, White Rock beach
7.Pauline & Jeff Stewarts' guest room, South Surrey
8.Chris & Christine Arneys' guest room, Surrey
9.Lando & Kathy Klassens' basement suite, Abbotsford
10.Rosalyn & Fred McKays' sewing room, Surrey
11.Peace Portal Community church guest house, Zuingwai Hill, Mpigi, Uganda
12.Rosalyns' sewing room, (again)
13.Divina's house / Suubi Trade School, Mpigi, Uganda
14.Irena's basement suite, Vancouver
15.Peters' house, Mpigi, Uganda
16.Cerelina's condo, 9th floor, New Westminster
17.Jesse & Maries' basement suite, Fraser Heights, North Surrey

OK. Obviously I lost count a while ago - I thought it was a lot less than that. Crazy. This might explain the terrible longing I have for a true home base.

The pic of the day is of our great son Noah who is growing up rapidly. He now has two teeth and laughs histerically when I bounce him on my head... he was a little unsure of what to do about the big old guy with a funny red suit and white beard.

Just In Time For Christmas

2009-12-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Just a wee blog before Christmas hits. I was ecstatic to get a couple guitars out to thier new owners. Dave Alexander and Brian Klassen picked up thier new OM's just in time to lead thier family sing-a-longs under the mistle toe. Pictured is Dave, and James Pendleton - sporting the latest in the Poverty Sucks line up of fashionista apparel.

In Uganda, we were really happy to be able to give each of our students a bit of a Christmas bonus. A special thanks to my wife Irena for putting up with me as this crazy season winds up. Also, a shout out to Chris Lemky, Maureen Brownell and Noel Walker for making this a great year.

All Gods' best for you and your family in this coming year!

Open House Pics

2009-12-19T15:23:00.001-08:00

Just a few pics of a few DA fans drooling over the new guitars from Uganda. Sal,Sam, Bruno, Dave McKay and Paul were just a few who made the trip out to Port Kells for an afternoon of jammin'.

This weekend, I took a couple guitars to some retail outlets in the lower mainland for the first time to see if we could find a new home for them before Christmas. Tapestry Music in White Rock, and Rufus Guitars in Vancouver are now helping to sell DA guitars! In the new year, we'll also have a few online stores selling them.

In other news, does anybody else get blue around Christmas, or is it just me?? I hate the cold, the dark, the never ending night... yuuch. Wake me up when December ends.

Do you have your DA t-shirt? if not, we ought to get you into one... they are going fast!

2009-12-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

Hi Again
I thought I'd take a day out to talk about our friends in Mpigi. I could talk for hours about these guys, but I'll limit it to a few minutes as this is the internet and your attention span is almost done, if you're anything like me.

In these pics, we have our first full class of guys and girls - in no particular order; Kasozi Paul, Ssebira David, Mwesige David, Mukasa Isaac, Kawuki Benon, Daniel, Muhawe Benon, Pastor Alice, Tom, Elijah, Hakim, and I`m forgetting a couple. David and Isaac were my first two students from a year before this pic was taken. The school`s name, `Suubi`, means `hope`in the countries main language, Lugandan.

An interesting thing about the locals - they reverse the letters `L`and `R`when speaking, and often in writing too. This makes for some funny conversations....

The second pic is Mwesige David and his daughter Godsweet. On my second trip to Uganda, I met Godsweet when she was just a few months old. Now she`s three and a total handful. She now has a baby sister named Dolvens. Someday, our baby Noah will run and play with these kids. What an amazing thought...

The last pic is our school sign. Uganda is a funny place. All you need to be accepted as a `real`school is a sign. Oh, and a stamp - I almost forgot about the stamp. Once you have a stamp and a messy signature, they take you really seriously.

OK. Signing off. We finished prepping a guitar today. An OM-SRi. A beautiful guitar. Tomorrow we finish an OM-CR. Upwards and onwards!

Watch the humidity!

2009-12-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey - if you have a solid wood guitar, then this is th season where you ought to put it in the case and make sure it gets enough moisture. The relative humidity dropped to 25% last Thursday, and then to 14% in our office!!! The normal healthy range for an acoustic guitar is between 45% and 65%. Below this and things begin to crack and pop. Crack and pop make for good rice crispies, but not good guitars ;)

We have another rosewood dreadnought here for sale. The guys did a great job on this one. Beautiful Sitka top. Very balanced sound. Serial number 00047, signed by Kasozi Paul.

Fedex Strikes Again

2009-12-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

Hey - Growing pains suck. We're doing our best but getting shot in the foot by our old friends at Fedex. 6 Guitars arrived today, and one of them was smashed. I might be able to repair it, but we could never sell it. It looks like it would have been a great one too.

The rest of the guitars are all OM's. One cedar top thats spoken for, and then a couple Sitka/Rosewood models and one Sitka/Mugavu. I'll get pics up as they get prepped and ready to go.

OM-SR wide neck $1595 w/case
One of the other guitars we have here that is still looking for its new owner is a Sitka/Rosewood OM with a slightly wide neck. Measuring 1 13/16" at the nut, it is 1/16" wider than usual for this model, and perfect for fingerstyle or anyone who wants a bit more room for the left hand.

This is a really pretty sounding guitar. Nice cosmetics all around, and a beautiful set-up means this is going to be the answer to someones dreams.

An Official DuncanAfrica Blog!

2009-12-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

Hey - this is a bit of an experiment. At the DA blog, you will find new postings every week or so. I'll keep you current on whats going on with our trade school in Uganda, guitars we have for sale, and needs we have that you might be able to help with.

Today we have some great news. Mwesige David, who runs our school in Uganda, bought a generator big enough to run some of our bigger equipement. The power situation in Mpigi (our town), has been horrible lately. We almost had to lay off the students as there is not much to do in a guitar shop without power. This is pretty cool news.
The generator (diesel), cost about $1300, (2,100,000 Ugandan Shillings). It would be amazing if someone wanted to help offset that cost.

We have five more guitars arriving this week. We currently have 4 guitars in our inventory that are available for purchase.

D-SNK, $1295.00
A Dreadnought / Jubilee Model made at the Suubi trade School and signed by Adayaka S.Tom. Woods include AA-grade Sitka Spruce top, AAA-grade Nkahlati back and sides, ebony fingerboard, bridge and bridge pins, one piece mahogany neck, local Mpigi cowbone nut and saddle, hand-bent Koa / maple rosette, Holly b/w/b purfling and Koa/Maple logo, Gotoh 16:1 chrome tuners and DA deluxe hardshell case.

The Nkahlati dreadnought is a great sounding guitar. Full and relatively powerful sound, it seems to excel as a fingerstyle guitar - not too common for a dread. At $1295.00, the Nkahlati is one of the best deals out there. Its orangy, straight grain has a slight bit of wave/curl to it. Gorgeous wood. I was there when we first cut up the wood for the back and sides. It bent well, but is extremely stiff, and had to be bent a few times before it decided to hold its shape. This will likely turn into a loud guitar with a lot of warmth to it.