The Goods # 30 / August 23, 2017
Prison and summer camp
Can have a lot in common.

‘ello!
How correct you are random neon words on a building…
Unless you’ve got keys to a modified DMC-12, time really is precious. Let’s be sure to make the most of every moment we’ve got and seize every opportunity seizable.
That’s why, this week, we’re checking in to a special prison and coming back home from summer camp.
So much to share, so little time. Let’s roll.
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This is Upper Luzira
It’s a maximum security prison located on the outskirts of Uganda’s capital city, Kampala.
It was originally built to hold 2,000 inmates. Instead, nearly 8,000 men call it home. Without describing the details of prison life, it’s fair to say that living within the walls of Upper Luzira is rough.
Especially, when you haven’t even been convicted yet.
Huh? Come again
A brief legal 101 for yo mind.
In many parts of the world, there’s a big difference between jail and prison.
If ever you did something bad enough to get you on Santa’s very naughty list (which we know for you readers of The Goods won’t happen), you’ll be kept in jail until you go to trial. At this point, a judge (and sometimes jury) will decide your fate.
If at trial you’re found guilty of having committed bad things, you’ll then be sent off to prison.
In Uganda, however, things don’t work that way. People simply accused of a crime are sent to Upper Luzira to live aside convicted criminals (think murderers and other bad guys) until they meet a judge.
So yup, you guessed it. This means that some people (who might actually be innocent) are spending years at Upper Luzira prison awaiting their trial 😥
All ain’t that bad
You’d think that bunching up a ton of innocent people with hardened criminals would create a certain — let’s say — uncomfortable and tense atmosphere.
Add to this, the uneven math of a 35-to-1 ratio of inmates to prison guards, and ya, you might just have the perfect conditions for an upheaval of sorts.
That is until you consider that any troublemaking may come at the expense of not playing football (aka soccer). And nobody wants that to happen.
Football is life
The inhabitants of Upper Luzira are very cooperative because of one reason: football.
You see, the inmates wrote their own laws (on a 30-page constitution!) on how one plays football in the prison league. (Prisoners writing their own laws, oh the irony!)
The league is run and organized by a wise, calm man named Opio Moses (watch him tell his story here, 2 min). He decided to make the best of a not-so-great prison situation by dedicating his time to providing others with something to look forward to — playing footy.
And it really does work
When games are on, everyone watches. Guards and inmates are side by side as the best players show off their talents. And boy/girl are they good. They gotta be real good if the other guys on a team are willing to “purchase” their talent by “paying” them with their rations of soap, rice and sugar.
When it comes to the prison’s football league, everyone cooperates together peacefully in hopes of being a part of something special — something that helps them positively get through their (tough) time within the walls of Upper Luzira.


It’s not just for kids
As responsible, hard-working adults, we all need a little quality (party) time to unwind.
Hold up, hold up, hold up (à la Passionfruit). How can you party and relax at the same time?
Well folks, we just got back from WeWork Summer Camp 2017 (in jolly ol’ England, U.K.) this past weekend, and let us tell ya that indeed, partying with great people can be relaxing.
Here are the three lessons we learnt from our 2017 summer camp experience.
#1 — Go with the flow
How many times a day do you tell yourself, “Ohh, I don’t know” or “Sorry, but I didn’t prepare for that”, yada yada yada. It’s time to move past that lame attitude.
Face it, life is unpredictable. So when someone comes up to you and suggests you do something that wasn’t planned, go for it and live a little.
Like when your boss’ boss suggests you go for a swim in a stone-cold lake; you get up, you grab a towel (even if you didn’t bring one) and jump in that lake with purpose (like a clean, straight body dive to make it look like you’re ex-Olympian, doesn’t it always feel like that? Probably not, lol.)
Then when he suggests you get up onto one of these, you pray you don’t land on him (or anyone else in the water) as you try to control your flight off a giant, floating bouncy thing.
Oh ya, and did we mention disco rollerskating? Impromptu rollerskating sessions are soooooo underrated. Please someone bring this back. Please.
#2 — Colleagues can be friends
Those who say not to mix business with pleasure are only half right.
There will always come a point in a working relationship when lines are crossed and a bunch of you fall into a nasty, muddy dancefloor. And if that’s happening while rocking out to jams like this, then by all means, you are one lucky duck.
These kinds of memories are priceless and will never be forgotten.
Not to mention, we had a few unexpected heart-to-hearts with some of our work buddies, and guess what readers, everyone is much like you. We’ve all got stories. We’ve all lived some crazy stuff.
So next time you’re out to grab a coffee with your team, work on being interested in them instead of trying to be interesting to them (there’s a nice subtle difference 😉)
#3 — Real work culture is possible
Many corporate mantras are all talk and no walk.
At WeWork, when they say that culture plays a huge role in its mission of “creating a world where people work to make a life, not a living,” they mean it.
To go to such lengths (and dispense so much cash money) in organizing this wildly amazing camp with everything from mindfulness nature walks (we sure love our calm) to archery to fire-making classes to yoga to paddleboarding to talks on women in business to truly inspiring talks from leadership about the future, is absolutely bananas.
The focus of (adult) summer camp was to give something back to its employees and members, and boy/girl was it ever better than a watch or tacky restaurant gift certificate.
Employers out there, get creative and, above all, get real. Your team would 100% appreciate that you give them what is authentic.
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Here’s a glimpse of last year’s summer camp (we can’t wait for the 2017 edish).
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In light of what Mr. Neon Sign mentioned above (total pun by the way), we’d like to thank you for spending some time with us during your day.
Be sure to send us all your summer camp memories :)
Catch ya on the flip side!
Much love. All the love ❤️️️


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