I think most of the team would agree that the past week has been the craziest week we’ve had yet here in Uganda. We managed to do 4 outreaches in one week. So I feel quite heavily the weight of recounting how the past week unfolded, but I will do my best.
I would say that this week could be summarized by saying that we all did things that we never thought we’d get to, or have to, do. So here goes:
Observe surgery from the Operating Room: On Tuesday and Wednesday, the team headed to two different clinics to hold eye screenings and surgeries for nearby communities. We facilitated the event while local eye doctors and nurses screened 119 men, women, and children and performed 12 surgeries. In addition to our more simple tasks of recording patients’ information, pointing to letters on the eye chart, and leading patients to various rooms, we had the opportunity to actually look in on the cataract surgeries. On Wednesday, we were able to screen 209 and operate on 6 patients. The patients received new pairs of glasses, prescriptions, and their surgeries free of charge! They were so grateful, and we were grateful to be participating. Though lunch was no where to be found, the team rocked it with patience.
Sing the National Anthem at a Sporting Event: On Thursday, we had an HIV/AIDS outreach in a community called Kiyindi. We ran an all-day football tournament for 6 primary and 2 secondary schools and invited teachers, parents, and local leaders to attend as well as the schools. It was so much fun—we had over 1500 people play in football gaes with trainings on business and financial planning in between. We also had an HIV/AIDS screening station set up and were able to screen close to 100 adults. Additionally, some of the school choirs performed about the horrors that result from AIDS. At the request of CCCWA, our partner, the HELP girl volunteers performed a “American dance number” to Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” (I don’t think the adults knew what to think about that because they just gave us blank stares as we danced.) At the end of the tournament, we had a final football game between the HELP International team members and the CCWA team. The kids (and adults) thought it was hilarious and we got them all to cheer for the muzungus. In the end, we tied 1-1. Congrats to Nicole and Rob and all those who worked so hard on this event!
Hold (Down) Screaming Children While They Receive Anesthesia: On Friday, we partnered with another NGO to hold dental screenings at Nagalama Primary School. First, the dentists screened them for decaying teeth that needed extraction. They then sent them into be numbed, and lastly, to have their teeth extracted. The day started out quite joyfully with an assembly where the children welcomed us with songs and dances. Eventually though, the children started to realize that the arrival of Muzungus did not mean all fun and games. The students were screened in order of grade so we started with the Baby Class, which is like 3 to 5 year olds. They were so happy to open up their mouths to let the dentists examine and receive the white extraction slips that sent them to receive anesthesia. Then the screams started. As the children heard their peers crying out, they became more and more distraught at receiving the white slips of paper. The volunteers were spread out—some were writing those slips of death, others were holding down children to keep them from slapping away the syringes of Lidokaine, others were sanitizing the needles, and others were holding down those in the extraction room. I got to experience the anesthesia room for the afternoon portion, and it was heartbreaking to feel the small bodies tense up, shout out in pain, and strain to escape the long needle being pushed into their gums. But we knew we were doing good, and we were able to have about 200 tooth extractions out of the 900 screened. It was quite an emotionally exhausting day. Congrats to Megan on both the dental and eye outreaches! That was quite a task!
This week, we sadly lose two valued members of our team. Jessica and Nicole are heading back to our homeland, and, oh, how we will miss them!
Lastly, we have now upped the number of people crammed into our taxi up to 21. (Legally, they are allowed to carry 14.)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Legs, Legs, Legs
This may seem like an odd way to start a blog post; however, it is a topic that has been on the minds of everyone here. Legs are in fact one of the most alarming things we have had to deal with while in Uganda. Many have expressed the wish that they did not have legs. Here are all the reasons legs are problematic.
1) When riding a boda and slipping between two trucks, knees simply get in the way. It is very trying for the boda driver to have to concentrate on slipping between 20 inch gaps and have to avoid banging your knee against the truck. In fact, it’s really quite unreasonable to expect them to avoid hitting your knees against stationary vehicles all the time, accidents happen.
2) Legs are really inconvenient when it comes to rafting. Our poor thighs rarely see the light of day with all the knee-length shorts (work those cargos Jessica) and mid-calf skirts we wear. Of course they are going to burn. Just because you put a combined level of SPF 456 on them why should you expect them to not be one of the primary colors when the trip is over?
3) Legs are not helpful in the kitchen. When one is making oatmeal it is really annoying to have to worry about the loose pan not dumping water everywhere. Without legs the water could just splash wherever it pleased and not land on someone’s leg turning it yellow and purple. Oatmeal is more important the leg should have known to get out of the way or done something useful like open the oatmeal packet.
4) Back to bodas. Did you know they could harm you without moving? Yes, in fact they can. Legs are not properly designed for avoiding exhaust tubes. Exhaust tubes are made of metal. They turn really hot after the Evil Kneival of boda drivers you found has roared up and down Kayunga road. If your poorly engineered leg brushes up against it you will have a burn that turns red, followed by a lovely deadish gray color, followed by a cheery pink and brown. That will be 700 shillings.
5) If you didn’t have legs you would not trip on the lovely “paved” sidewalks of Uganda and scrape your leg. End of story. Blythe, it’s your own body’s fault you fell-stop trying to blame the gravel/steep edge/on-coming boda/marriage proposal from the taxi conductor.
6) Legs are really rude. They disrupt the nests of bed bugs that reside at the “nice” hotel in Gulu. The bed bugs have been happily nesting in said bed since the last group of HELP volunteers stayed there-approximately three weeks ago. The hotel doesn’t get a lot of visitors. Your selfish legs smashed their nice home and your mosquito net then trapped them so they couldn’t escape the Godzilla-ish monster that is your leg. It’s like putting a wall around Tokyo during Godzilla 4. You really shouldn’t be surprised that you now have 53 bug bites on your legs. I am sorry they are oozing though.
1) When riding a boda and slipping between two trucks, knees simply get in the way. It is very trying for the boda driver to have to concentrate on slipping between 20 inch gaps and have to avoid banging your knee against the truck. In fact, it’s really quite unreasonable to expect them to avoid hitting your knees against stationary vehicles all the time, accidents happen.
2) Legs are really inconvenient when it comes to rafting. Our poor thighs rarely see the light of day with all the knee-length shorts (work those cargos Jessica) and mid-calf skirts we wear. Of course they are going to burn. Just because you put a combined level of SPF 456 on them why should you expect them to not be one of the primary colors when the trip is over?
3) Legs are not helpful in the kitchen. When one is making oatmeal it is really annoying to have to worry about the loose pan not dumping water everywhere. Without legs the water could just splash wherever it pleased and not land on someone’s leg turning it yellow and purple. Oatmeal is more important the leg should have known to get out of the way or done something useful like open the oatmeal packet.
4) Back to bodas. Did you know they could harm you without moving? Yes, in fact they can. Legs are not properly designed for avoiding exhaust tubes. Exhaust tubes are made of metal. They turn really hot after the Evil Kneival of boda drivers you found has roared up and down Kayunga road. If your poorly engineered leg brushes up against it you will have a burn that turns red, followed by a lovely deadish gray color, followed by a cheery pink and brown. That will be 700 shillings.
5) If you didn’t have legs you would not trip on the lovely “paved” sidewalks of Uganda and scrape your leg. End of story. Blythe, it’s your own body’s fault you fell-stop trying to blame the gravel/steep edge/on-coming boda/marriage proposal from the taxi conductor.
6) Legs are really rude. They disrupt the nests of bed bugs that reside at the “nice” hotel in Gulu. The bed bugs have been happily nesting in said bed since the last group of HELP volunteers stayed there-approximately three weeks ago. The hotel doesn’t get a lot of visitors. Your selfish legs smashed their nice home and your mosquito net then trapped them so they couldn’t escape the Godzilla-ish monster that is your leg. It’s like putting a wall around Tokyo during Godzilla 4. You really shouldn’t be surprised that you now have 53 bug bites on your legs. I am sorry they are oozing though.
An Eating tour of Mukono—how to feed 20 muzungus
If you really want to know what life is like, just watch how people eat. We Bazungu are not quite the Ugandan norm, but our eating habits definitely reflect a world far different than the one we were raised in.
The day begins with breakfast. Those of us who followed the advice of our predecessors and brought more granola bars than clothes have a nearly endless supply of Chewy, Nature Valley, and Cliff bars. These, combined with instant oatmeal, local fruit, and Yogurt, make a delicious meal. Our team keeps a huge pile of fruit on the back porch, mostly bananas, pineapple, mango, and oranges, which all make excellent breakfast food. Angie makes a grain porridge which no one else is brave enough to taste. School children eat a variant of this porridge for breakfast, but theirs involves corn flour and nothing else, which is about as nutritionally week as it is filling.
If you choose to go out for breakfast, your first decision is to turn left or right at the gate. Our immediate neighbor to the right is a pork joint—not the most appealing for breakfast, and it certainly doesn’t compare to our neighbor to the left, which is a shanty shack that contains big vats of beans, rice, and matoke. If you are not in the mood for beans, continue past the shanty shack and the outdoor pool hall to the corner chapatti stand. There, you can purchase Rolex, which is an egg and veggie omelet rolled inside a piece of fry bread. The district health inspector tells us it is OK to eat Rolex despite the lack of hygiene standards because “the food is sold hot, so no one gets sick”. Excellent.
Past the pork joint to the right is a sort of commercial center, where there are clothing shops and corner stores for all of your household needs. There are also stands with fruits of all kinds. And then there is our friend the Rolex man. Since the Bazungu moved into his neighborhood, his rolex stand has been re-surfaced, he built a storage box, and added an umbrella. We hypothesize that our group gives him more collective business in a day than he usually gets in three. He speaks passable English and talks to us while frying eggs and bread. Right next to him across a dirt patch is a woman selling deep fried delicacies—roasted chickpeas wrapped in a bread shell, deep fried. Boiled eggs wrapped in mashed sweet potatoes, deep fried. Sweet bread, deep fried. Each of these treats cost between 10 and 20 cents.
Continue down the road to the taxi park. This region is lined with small shaded shops offering more chapatti and beans, yogurt, rice, and ground beef. Most restaurants sell approximately the same thing. But in the Taxi park there are young boys selling other foods—various chicken parts roasted on sticks, meat popsicles with fatty beef, packaged cookies, and a local delicacy, fried grasshopper.
In the evenings, the streets come alive with vendors roasting bananas, meat, and corn over charcoal fires. We aren’t usually out at night because Edith, our chef extraordinaire, cooks amazing meals at our house. Roasted veggies, fried rice, spaghetti, squash, mango chutney, chapatti, you name it. Our favorite has been termed “Ugandan Café Rio”, which involves chapatti, rice, ground beef, and mango chutney all rolled together. It is amazing.
On Sunday, Edith gets a day off and the team cooks together, which gives us a chance to bond over a charcoal stove and dull vegetable knives without handles. The Sunday dinner Gestapo, as our chore chart has lovingly christened them, gain a better appreciation of just how awesome Edith is. They also gain practical skills in starting fires using wax matches and plastic bags, which will certainly come in handy later in life.
Bottom line, we eat well. We are even getting used to matoke, the steamed plantains that are a local favorite.
(photos forthcoming)
The day begins with breakfast. Those of us who followed the advice of our predecessors and brought more granola bars than clothes have a nearly endless supply of Chewy, Nature Valley, and Cliff bars. These, combined with instant oatmeal, local fruit, and Yogurt, make a delicious meal. Our team keeps a huge pile of fruit on the back porch, mostly bananas, pineapple, mango, and oranges, which all make excellent breakfast food. Angie makes a grain porridge which no one else is brave enough to taste. School children eat a variant of this porridge for breakfast, but theirs involves corn flour and nothing else, which is about as nutritionally week as it is filling.
If you choose to go out for breakfast, your first decision is to turn left or right at the gate. Our immediate neighbor to the right is a pork joint—not the most appealing for breakfast, and it certainly doesn’t compare to our neighbor to the left, which is a shanty shack that contains big vats of beans, rice, and matoke. If you are not in the mood for beans, continue past the shanty shack and the outdoor pool hall to the corner chapatti stand. There, you can purchase Rolex, which is an egg and veggie omelet rolled inside a piece of fry bread. The district health inspector tells us it is OK to eat Rolex despite the lack of hygiene standards because “the food is sold hot, so no one gets sick”. Excellent.
Past the pork joint to the right is a sort of commercial center, where there are clothing shops and corner stores for all of your household needs. There are also stands with fruits of all kinds. And then there is our friend the Rolex man. Since the Bazungu moved into his neighborhood, his rolex stand has been re-surfaced, he built a storage box, and added an umbrella. We hypothesize that our group gives him more collective business in a day than he usually gets in three. He speaks passable English and talks to us while frying eggs and bread. Right next to him across a dirt patch is a woman selling deep fried delicacies—roasted chickpeas wrapped in a bread shell, deep fried. Boiled eggs wrapped in mashed sweet potatoes, deep fried. Sweet bread, deep fried. Each of these treats cost between 10 and 20 cents.
Continue down the road to the taxi park. This region is lined with small shaded shops offering more chapatti and beans, yogurt, rice, and ground beef. Most restaurants sell approximately the same thing. But in the Taxi park there are young boys selling other foods—various chicken parts roasted on sticks, meat popsicles with fatty beef, packaged cookies, and a local delicacy, fried grasshopper.
In the evenings, the streets come alive with vendors roasting bananas, meat, and corn over charcoal fires. We aren’t usually out at night because Edith, our chef extraordinaire, cooks amazing meals at our house. Roasted veggies, fried rice, spaghetti, squash, mango chutney, chapatti, you name it. Our favorite has been termed “Ugandan Café Rio”, which involves chapatti, rice, ground beef, and mango chutney all rolled together. It is amazing.
On Sunday, Edith gets a day off and the team cooks together, which gives us a chance to bond over a charcoal stove and dull vegetable knives without handles. The Sunday dinner Gestapo, as our chore chart has lovingly christened them, gain a better appreciation of just how awesome Edith is. They also gain practical skills in starting fires using wax matches and plastic bags, which will certainly come in handy later in life.
Bottom line, we eat well. We are even getting used to matoke, the steamed plantains that are a local favorite.
(photos forthcoming)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Spelling Means Yelling
The schools of Mukono are finally back in session and the Muzungus are ready to get to work. We began our work with a local primary school, Crane Preparatory, on Wednesday and it was quite the experience. Crane invited our team to sit through an orientation of sorts and observe the classrooms to see where we would be most effective. I sat in on a P.2 class, which is about the equivalent of a second grade class in the U.S. The next day, we began our actual programs with the school, and to say it was a busy day is a huge understatement. In the mornings we work in the actual classrooms, and then in the afternoon we return to conduct the extracurricular activities. I will do my best to express what I have learned at Crane the past few days:
-When the P.2 practices spelling, they actually just yell the words as loud as they possibly can. It was awesome.
-When someone answers a question correctly the rest of the students “shower with flowers,” or in other words, they wiggle their fingers at the star student.
-P.7 classes are huge. One class contained 75 students.
-Despite the limited access to learning materials and teaching staff, the students are excited to learn.
-I can’t believe that I have ever complained about my schools in the United States. The classrooms that we work in are dilapidated brick buildings with dirt floors with a single chalkboard painted on the wall. The walls are covered with old charcoal stains and doodles from past students. It is so eye opening to see how these amazing children receive their education.
-Even though we are all speaking English, there have been some communication issues with the administration of the school. When we wanted to implement a tutoring program within the school, the teachers thought that we wanted to teach the actual curriculum so they left us in the classrooms with all of the students waiting to learn. It was a bit overwhelming. Hopefully we work out all of bumps by next week.
Despite the craziness that naturally occurs with a new program, it is such a privilege to work with these happy and loving students. We are working to organize the program to maximize effectiveness, but I believe that we will be able to create a lasting relationship with these schools in Mukono. I can’t wait to learn more from these students, even if it means shouting at spelling words with them all day long.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Uganda vs Kenya
Saturday some of us had the opportunity to go to a Uganda soccer game. It was a wonderful experience.
We started the excursion by getting in a taxi and heading for Mandela Stadium. Upon arriving we decided that we would get the expensive tickets instead of the cheap tickets because we wanted to sit in the shade. It was a decision well worth it (we only spent $10).
To get to our seats we had to enter into a considerably nice room that had an enclosed staircase and a wet bar. Our seats were perfect, they had back rest and were directly in front of middle field.
For the pre-game show we got to watch a group of cultural percussionist who even danced while playing the drums on their heads.
Right as the game was about to start, a gentleman came and asked if he could sit next to me, I agreed and ended up being grateful that he did. As the game progressed he explained what was happening. About half way through the first half I asked him who all the men were in suits that were in the rows below us. He informed me that one was the Secretary of Education, another was Secretary General... the list goes on. I later found out that the gentleman next to me was the president of FIFA. During the 2nd half of the game, all the men in suits came and sat right next to us.
The soccer game was great, Uganda won 1 to o. It was an experience worth living.
We started the excursion by getting in a taxi and heading for Mandela Stadium. Upon arriving we decided that we would get the expensive tickets instead of the cheap tickets because we wanted to sit in the shade. It was a decision well worth it (we only spent $10).
To get to our seats we had to enter into a considerably nice room that had an enclosed staircase and a wet bar. Our seats were perfect, they had back rest and were directly in front of middle field.
For the pre-game show we got to watch a group of cultural percussionist who even danced while playing the drums on their heads.
Right as the game was about to start, a gentleman came and asked if he could sit next to me, I agreed and ended up being grateful that he did. As the game progressed he explained what was happening. About half way through the first half I asked him who all the men were in suits that were in the rows below us. He informed me that one was the Secretary of Education, another was Secretary General... the list goes on. I later found out that the gentleman next to me was the president of FIFA. During the 2nd half of the game, all the men in suits came and sat right next to us.
The soccer game was great, Uganda won 1 to o. It was an experience worth living.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Oli Otya!
Greetings from Mukono, Uganda! Our whole team has arrived safely, without too much complication (except an unexpected overnight delay in Heathrow for many of us), and we are all finally accustomed to the almost half-day time change. Ryan and Angie have done a great job setting up many meetings with potential partner organizations, and we are busy preparing for projects by drafting proposals and forming committees.
Already we have immersed ourselves in this unique culture. We have made adobe with our feet, collected water from the Nile, taken bucket s
howers, learned Luganda (the native language of most Ugandans) and eveneaten grasshoppers!
Some projects that we have already helped with include: making an adobe stove, building a community clinic, and planting crops at a community field. We have also met with community leaders on health, education, business training, and orphanage projects.
This week has been invaluable preparation and training for our future adventures! I feel as though we are gradually understanding the people and discovering the best application for our time and resources. There will definitely be amazing things to write of in the days and weeks to come! As we better understand Ugandan culture and way of life, we hope that both the natives and us muzungus will be edified and empowered.
- Scott and Rachel
Forgive the poor formatting, computers in third world countries behave... differently than in the USA!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
A more complete update
Hello friends and faithful blog followers,
We've finally made time for a longer stint at the internet cafe--it feels like every time we come here, we have so much business to take care of that the time passes too quickly. That should be some indication of how things are going. We are busy, running around town, house hunting, meeting with people, and acclimating to a very new and beautiful place. Our real mission this week is to be learners--we have come in with an intense desire to understand how things work here, from transportation to governance to local community action organizations.
Just this morning, we met with the Deputy Mayor and his wife who is a school teacher. They both had excellent ideas for how we can get involved in the community, and make a meaningful impact that lasts far longer than our short four months here. They were very passionate about serving the community, and like many others here, have a clear understanding of what is being done already and what is lacking.
I think it is this culture of thoughtful analysis and action that I have most appreciated since arriving here. Every person we have talked to has had enlightening insight on what Uganda needs, and on why things are as they are in this community. They have so much to teach us. In learning we come to a better understanding of our role within the community--We can facilitate action only so long as we listen to their needs and synthesize the lessons they are teaching us. Every time I have thought I knew what was needed or what we can do, I have found that, while they would have accepted my ideas, theirs were better and will be more effective. HELP is lucky to be in contact with some very bright and passionate people who understand what we are capable of as well as what their community needs--I am convinced that through these partnerships, we will be able to have a very positive impact.
Logistics are coming along nicely. We have found a suitable house not too far from town, and we are going to negotiate the price and contract this afternoon. Wish us luck! It is a very comfortable place with indoor plumbing and electricity, and plenty of space for a group of our size. We also have a courtyard with a little bit of grass, and there is a boda boda waiting point just a few meters from the driveway. the only drawback is that it is close to a main road, so we can hear the traffic. We've also found someone willing to cook for us, and a guard--we are trying as much as possible to use connections from past years. They've had good experiences working with us in the past and are very excited that we are in Mukono again.
On a personal note, this place is truly amazing. The people are kind, generous, friendly, open, and genuine, which is a real breath of fresh air. I feel welcome and safe, in part because I know that people in this community value our presence and are looking out for us. We can't wait for the volunteers to arrive. We've already started setting up some good projects for the first few days, so that everybody can get a taste of what is available, along with meetings with some partners.
I think it is going to be a great summer!
-Angie
We've finally made time for a longer stint at the internet cafe--it feels like every time we come here, we have so much business to take care of that the time passes too quickly. That should be some indication of how things are going. We are busy, running around town, house hunting, meeting with people, and acclimating to a very new and beautiful place. Our real mission this week is to be learners--we have come in with an intense desire to understand how things work here, from transportation to governance to local community action organizations.
Just this morning, we met with the Deputy Mayor and his wife who is a school teacher. They both had excellent ideas for how we can get involved in the community, and make a meaningful impact that lasts far longer than our short four months here. They were very passionate about serving the community, and like many others here, have a clear understanding of what is being done already and what is lacking.
I think it is this culture of thoughtful analysis and action that I have most appreciated since arriving here. Every person we have talked to has had enlightening insight on what Uganda needs, and on why things are as they are in this community. They have so much to teach us. In learning we come to a better understanding of our role within the community--We can facilitate action only so long as we listen to their needs and synthesize the lessons they are teaching us. Every time I have thought I knew what was needed or what we can do, I have found that, while they would have accepted my ideas, theirs were better and will be more effective. HELP is lucky to be in contact with some very bright and passionate people who understand what we are capable of as well as what their community needs--I am convinced that through these partnerships, we will be able to have a very positive impact.
Logistics are coming along nicely. We have found a suitable house not too far from town, and we are going to negotiate the price and contract this afternoon. Wish us luck! It is a very comfortable place with indoor plumbing and electricity, and plenty of space for a group of our size. We also have a courtyard with a little bit of grass, and there is a boda boda waiting point just a few meters from the driveway. the only drawback is that it is close to a main road, so we can hear the traffic. We've also found someone willing to cook for us, and a guard--we are trying as much as possible to use connections from past years. They've had good experiences working with us in the past and are very excited that we are in Mukono again.
On a personal note, this place is truly amazing. The people are kind, generous, friendly, open, and genuine, which is a real breath of fresh air. I feel welcome and safe, in part because I know that people in this community value our presence and are looking out for us. We can't wait for the volunteers to arrive. We've already started setting up some good projects for the first few days, so that everybody can get a taste of what is available, along with meetings with some partners.
I think it is going to be a great summer!
-Angie
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