long time, no power

Here are some things that have happened since the last time I wrote...

- No power. The first week I was in Ssembabule, I was absolutely spoiled by having electricity virtually the entire time. Last Saturday, power went out for five days, so things were a little bit different. I actually got used to it after a few days. It’s not so bad during the day, except that you can’t charge your computer, which makes it difficult to get work done since a lot of our work requires the computer. Luckily, the office turned the generator on a couple of times so that we could charge things. Fuel is really expensive here, and there’s also some sort of fuel shortage, and since the generator runs on fuel, they only use it in extreme circumstances. It gets dark at 7 pm, so basically after that there’s not much to do when there’s no power. Jessica and I pretty much just sit in our dark room and kill time until it’s more socially appropriate to go to sleep... let’s just say we had some pretty early bedtimes when there was no power. The upside of darkness, however, is that you can see an amazing amount of stars in Ssembabule. Oh, and I have to give a shout out to Ellen and Emma for buying me a headlamp – THANK YOU! Despite its nerdiness, it’s about the handiest thing I own. Don’t knock it until you’re without power and trying to use a latrine at night.

- Regional Meeting. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the staff from Mubende came to Ssembabule for our monthly regional meeting. There was a lot to talk about and get done, and it was really good to meet the rest of the staff. It was especially nice to get to talk to Katie, the program manager (and basically my ultimate supervisor), more – she’s from Appleton, went to grad school at the U of M, and lived in Minneapolis before she moved here in August. Small world (although I guess it’s actually not that weird, since WellShare’s headquarters is in Minneapolis). Both Ssembabule and Mubende are essentially working on the same projects, but we’re at different stages and have some different ideas, so it’s good for us to communicate. Although I’m based in Ssembabule, I’m also going to be spending time in Mubende to help them out as well.

- Kampala. On Wednesday evening, as the staff from Mubende were preparing to leave, my supervisor, Beatrice, and Katie made a last-minute decision to send Jess and I to Kampala this weekend. Jess had to get her passport before going on a trip this weekend, and I came to meet with somebody at Mulago Hospital about supplementary feeding. WellShare is incorporating a supplementary feeding (for malnourished children ages 0-2) program into their current health education and training programs; we want to teach people how to use sustainable foods that they already have in their homes or communities to supplement children who are malnourished (mostly from protein malnutrition). Mulago Hospital in Kampala has a malnutrition unit called Mwanamugimu, so Jess and I went there yesterday to talk to the head of the nutrition department and see if she had any advice or resources for us. She was very helpful, and coincidentally, as we were wrapping up our talk, a woman who works for the nutrition unit at the Ministry of Health walked by, and we ended up going with her to the MOH to get some materials , advice, and to exchange contact information. Both people we met with were very helpful and supportive, and it was good to meet with them and get ideas for what we can do.

- Still in Kampala. So now, Jess is gone for the weekend and I’m still in Kampala. Today I’m working at the country office here, and tomorrow and Sunday my plan is to chill out, eat some good food, and find my way around the city a little bit better. My hotel is in the city centre and close to a lot of things (translation: it’s pretty noisy), and I even have my OWN bathroom with a HOT shower and a REAL toilet! I’m paying a little bit more than I’d like to, but for now, it’s worth it.