Tag: Northland Challenge
Northland Challenge: Security, service and globalization
November 19, 2014Martha Entwistle
Photo: After installing solar panels that will bring light to the Kivune Primary School in Janja, Rwanda, Northland challengers celebrate with school children and Janja community members.BUGIRI, Uganda—A look of concern crosses Northland Controls CEO Pierre Trapanese's face.There are nine people in four cars and we've stopped at the entrance to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where every driver must sign a logbook before passing through. There were nine Northland Challenge vehicles ahead...
Hungry hippos: Northland Challenge Day 3
October 26, 2014Martha Entwistle
Day 3 of the Northland Challenge is over and I'm in my tent listening to a discordant chorus of hippos barking and roaring. We're at a campsite in a wilderness park on the shores of the Ishasha River, which is the narrow divider between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The river is loaded with hippos, which can stay underwater for 20 minutes or more, so if you see 5 or 6, there are likely at least 5 or 6 more underwater.
And they're not exactly friendly. As one of the guards at our camp...
Northland Challenge: Days 1 & 2
October 20, 2014Martha Entwistle
Monday October 20, 2014, Kasese, Uganda
I woke up the Saturday, the first day of the Northland Challenge, thinking about Huck Finn. Toyota Rav4s are our modern-day rafts and our Mississippi is the narrow roads and lush terrain of Uganda.
We traveled more than 300 kilometers on Saturday, from Entebbe to Kibale; and another 100-plus kilometers yesterday from Kibale to Kasese.
Here's a sampling of events from the first 48 hours: Cesar and Amanda had baboons jump on the top of their vehicle and refuse...
The Northland Challenge: Security, service and globalization
October 15, 2014Martha Entwistle
UPDATED: Oct. 17, 2014
Security, service and globalization. This is my last blog post from Maine for a little over a week. Tomorrow I'm boarding a bus, a plane and another plane on the way to Entebbe, Uganda, where I'll join 27 others in the Northland Challenge—23 employees of Northland Controls and 5 others, like me, who work in the industry in other roles.
Northland Controls is a global systems integration company that I've written about many times. Here's a link to their home page. And here's...