What started 30 years ago as an enchantment with Africa has led Lubec resident and former Maine House Representative Katherine Cassidy to plan to spend most of 2017 working in Kenya and Uganda. The love affair began when she visited Africa for a safari in 1987, spent time in South Africa as the editor of a publication and took a number of subsequent trips. The enchantment has grown into a commitment to do on‑the‑ground work to see four different projects through to success. She departs again for East Africa in February.
     Cassidy will start on two new projects and continue with two she got rolling in 2016: the Bicycles for Uganda's Farmers project and the development of community dinners as a way to "celebrate, laugh and get things done." Two new work areas will include the first annual marathon at Kenya's Lake Nakuru National Park and developing a project base that will support Uganda's 14‑year‑old female population, one of the largest of the country's demographics and identified by the U.S. Agency for International Development as a key population to the country's future.
     When she first visited Uganda in 2015 working with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to teach organizational skills to the country's farmers, she says, "It made me realize I could make a difference on the ground through the bicycle project." In 2016 she raised $1,700 for the purchase of 17 bicycles. She is close to her 2017 goal of raising $3,400 for 30 bicycles. The impact of the bicycles is "so immediate," she says with a smile. The fundraising campaign continues through January 30, with bicycle distribution in early March.
     On Cassidy's most recent trip to Africa in the fall of 2016 she was able to meet 16 of the 17 Ugandan farmers who received the first round of bikes. "Every single bicycle is in use every day." She adds with chagrin, "I have my 20‑year‑old bicycle in storage that I haven't used in 10 years." Continuing, she notes, "These farmers are so inspiring. They use them for change." And while the bikes might be used to bring produce to market, to bring supplies back to the farm, and to transport farmers from one location to the next, they are also used for such tasks as getting children to school, an additional use with long‑term cultural and economic benefits.
     The dinners also came as a revelation. In Maine, where public suppers are a matter of course at least once a month, Cassidy says "it's hard to imagine the impacts" of the dinners that were held in Uganda. She adds, "The way they look at food is as survival to get to the next day." She was told in Uganda that bringing food to a public event had been reserved exclusively for burials. "So I did some explaining that we do this kind of public dinner all the time in Maine to celebrate community and individuals." With Ugandan community members she held six public suppers that started with 40 participants and swelled to 190 after a radio interview got the word out. "They are certainly talking about continuing it," she says of the dinner format.
     The Lake Nakuru marathon is set for November 19, 2017, a tight schedule that will tap into Cassidy's expertise as the founder of the Bay of Fundy International Marathon held annually in Lubec and Campobello. Her interest in marathons began 25 years ago when as a freelance writer she attended 43 marathons in 43 countries. Her Kenya contact and marathon coordinator is William Odhiambo, whom she met in 1987 when he was a young boy. They have been in contact ever since. During her fall 2016 trip she had an initial conversation about the idea. "To the person the response was 'Yes, let's do this.'" Cassidy will be the race director working with Odhiambo. "We'll work side‑by‑side for a year, and we'll Skype daily when I'm not there." She expects that after that year's intense work a process will be in place that will allow for the marathon's continuance and autonomy.
     Her fourth area of interest, working to support the 14‑year‑old female population in Uganda, will be "helping to shape their lives," with the probability that she will be suggesting projects to non-governmental organizations for funding. She anticipates the formation of an umbrella nonprofit "for my various African projects that connect poverty and generosity -- two things we are familiar with in Washington County." As a part of that work, she is partnering with University of Maine at Machias Professor Lori Schneiders and her senior projects program for psychology and community studies majors, starting this semester. "I will call it the Touch the Sky Foundation. When I texted William Odhiambo in May 2015 that our plane was taking off for Kenya for my first CRS assignment, he texted back, 'Touch the sky!'"
     For more information about the Bicycles for Uganda's Farmers project, visit <www.gofundme.com/bicyclesforuganda‑sfarmers> or send checks to Katherine Cassidy, 5 Somersville Ave., Lubec, ME 04652.