The past few weeks have been kind of crazy. I’ve been working on preparing for multiple computer trainings with the FCBO staff (from both SACS and SEDAWOD) here in Sembabule. At a meeting a while ago, the staff told us that they were desperately lacking in computer skills, which made it difficult for them to do their work. Some of the staff members are very proficient, while others severely lack even basic skills. We had them give us a list of each staff member and their specific needs, and from that I compiled a basic computer skills training to do with each organization. The training included very basic skills (turning on a computer, using a flash drive, making an email address), file saving/file organization (saving a file, moving a file, renaming, etc), Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
I held these trainings with each FCBO last week in preparation for this week’s Excel training. The FCBOs mainly use Excel to record data regarding their clients, and as I’ve mentioned before, it’s extremely important for them to keep their databases current and thorough. In my opinion, the Excel training probably should have been done a year ago, but nevertheless, I’m glad I was able to do it before I leave. It was a two-day training, and it went surprisingly well. The first day covered basic Excel skills, and the second day covered more advanced things like making charts, sorting/grouping, etc. On the first day I led the training using a projector hooked up to my computer, so I went through each topic and demonstrated each skill. Other WellShare staff sat with the FCBO staff to help them practice, and this worked really well. By the second day Suzanne had arrived in Sembabule from Mubende, so she led the training and I sat with the staff. The staff were all eager to learn and grateful to be taught. We also provided them with a hard copy and soft copy of the Excel training manual that we used, so they can use that in the future when they need to be reminded of how to do something. I was kind of nervous about the trainings because I’m no computer expert myself and I was unsure of how good of a teacher I’d be, but the whole experience was a good one. I actually learned a lot from the Excel training, as I hadn’t really used Excel that much since probably middle school or whenever I first learned how to use it.
Another fun thing that happened this week was that the power cord for my laptop was fried in a power surge. It’s actually amazing that this didn’t happen earlier, as it’s a common occurrence here when electricity is unstable – okay, I don’t actually understand how this works but I imagine it’s sort of like the electricity goes rogue and runs towards the outlet yelling a battle cry and my power cord can’t handle it so it melts and smells horrible like burning plastic and liquid oozes out of it. Because that’s what happened. If it had to happen, it’s good timing, because I’m going home soon and I can buy a new cord there. For now I’m just borrowing one of the office laptops when it’s not in use, which is no big deal. At the same time that that happened to my laptop, though, the operations officer’s computer monitor also blew out, so we are suspecting that there is a problem with either the generator (we were running on our generator when this happened), the inverter (we run the generator through the inverter to charge it), or the wiring in the office. The problem is that we don’t know which it is – mystery. Also, on Wednesday I just happened to walk into my room to find my power strip smoking and a hole melted in the side of it, so I kind of freaked. Luckily I caught it in time or it probably would have started a fire – it was sitting on the other bed in my room and the sheets underneath it have burn marks on them. Constant excitement!
Yesterday was a public holiday because of President Museveni’s swearing in, so the office was closed. Suzanne and I went to Beatrice’s house for a little while so she could measure us and design dresses for us with the fabric we brought to her (yay!). For the rest of the day I just read (I’m on to The Grapes of Wrath), did yoga, and watched Entourage. This weekend will be my LAST in Uganda! Wow. I am finally going to start packing, and sorting through what I’m going to leave here and what I’ll take with me. The biggest/heaviest things I have to bring home are all of my books, so we’ll see how that goes. Otherwise, I plan on leaving behind as much as possible – much of it will be more appreciated here than it would be at home, anyway (such as clothes, shoes, soap, batteries, rope, etc). Next Monday and Tuesday we have a regional meeting here in Sembabule, so I’ll get to see all the Mubende staff one last time. I believe I’m heading to Kampala on Thursday. My flight leaves next Saturday night. I left the US for Uganda eight months ago today! I’ll try to write another entry before I leave!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Hoppy Easter!
We had Good Friday and Easter Monday off of work, so I was in Kampala from Thursday night through Monday morning. Recently there have been “walk-to-work” protests in Kampala, in which the opposition party is protesting the rising food and fuel prices by boycotting transportation and instead walking to work. A few people have been killed by the police, who have been using tear gas and guns in an attempt to control the crowds. There was some concern about whether or not we’d run into a protest, but I didn’t see any signs of unrest all weekend, besides there maybe being more police around then usual. There were also reports that the government requested for facebook and Twitter to be blocked in order to squash the protests, but luckily for my sanity both websites are still up and running.
On Thursday night I met Suzanne (who was coming from Mubende) at our hotel, Hotel City Square, which is very centrally located in Kampala. I had never stayed there before (the hotel I usually stay at was full), and it was pretty nice – self-contained room, free breakfast, TV in our room, and clean. However, our room looked out onto Kampala Road, so the traffic noise was VERY loud ALL day and night. Thankfully I bring earplugs with me when I travel.
As per usual, we basically spent all weekend shopping, walking, and eating. On Friday we went to Garden City mall, where we did some shopping at a gift store and the book store, and then I got a much-needed pedicure at Sparkles salon. We ate lunch at the food court at the mall (I had Indian food), where we met up with one of Suzanne’s former co-workers from home and some other Americans. Later in the afternoon we went back to our hotel to rest, and then at night went to a movie, “Just Go With It,” which wasn’t very good, but the selection of movies showing at the cinema is limited and sometimes it’s nice to go to a movie even if it doesn’t end up being Oscar-worthy. After the movie we went to New York Kitchen for pizza.
On Saturday, we went to the craft market on Buganda Road where I did some shopping for souvenirs and gifts. Afterwards we went across the street to 1000 Cups of Coffee to have an iced latte and chill out for a bit. Later in the day we went to Café Pap for lunch (fajitas), went back to the hotel to crash for a while, and then back to New York Kitchen for dinner (I had a WONDERFUL chocolate malt… not as good as Culver’s, but it did the job).
By Sunday we were pretty exhausted – it may sound pathetic, but it gets really tiring to walk all over the hot city all weekend long! So we took it easy – I went back to the craft market briefly (though most of the stalls were closed since it was Easter), and then to Café Pap where I met Suzanne for lunch. Later on we went to the grocery store to stock up on things to bring back with us (cereal, crackers, apples, instant coffee, peanuts, etc). At night, we met one of our co-workers and a few of his friends at a bar in Bugolobi, a neighborhood of Kampala. We had a really good time, though I am very out of practice as far as going out is concerned, and getting back to our hotel at 3:30 am seemed ridiculously late to me. One of the bars we went to played Weezy’s “Green and Yellow” (Packer tribute song), and though I’m sure whoever chose to play the song didn’t know about the Packers, it still made me smile. Throughout the night we talked a lot about Ugandan culture, particularly about marriage and babies. The men we were with decided that marrying an American woman is a stellar bargain – we don’t require a dowry, AND the man gets to become a US citizen, easy-peasy! JACKPOT!
On Monday morning I traveled back to Sembabule. I was able to get a matatu that went directly to Sembabule (usually I have to change vehicles in Masaka, about one hour away from Sembabule), but we had to have a tire changed AND ran out of gas, so it was an exasperatingly long trip. When I finally got back to the office, I threw my stuff on the ground, poured myself a bowl of cereal, and watched an absurd number of Glee episodes. All’s well that ends well. Overall, it was a good Easter weekend. It wasn't as wine-y as our Easter wine tour in Stellenbosch, South Africa (two years ago) or as chocolate-y as our Easter egg hunts at my Grandma's house (every other year of my life), but it was hoppy nonetheless.
On Thursday night I met Suzanne (who was coming from Mubende) at our hotel, Hotel City Square, which is very centrally located in Kampala. I had never stayed there before (the hotel I usually stay at was full), and it was pretty nice – self-contained room, free breakfast, TV in our room, and clean. However, our room looked out onto Kampala Road, so the traffic noise was VERY loud ALL day and night. Thankfully I bring earplugs with me when I travel.
As per usual, we basically spent all weekend shopping, walking, and eating. On Friday we went to Garden City mall, where we did some shopping at a gift store and the book store, and then I got a much-needed pedicure at Sparkles salon. We ate lunch at the food court at the mall (I had Indian food), where we met up with one of Suzanne’s former co-workers from home and some other Americans. Later in the afternoon we went back to our hotel to rest, and then at night went to a movie, “Just Go With It,” which wasn’t very good, but the selection of movies showing at the cinema is limited and sometimes it’s nice to go to a movie even if it doesn’t end up being Oscar-worthy. After the movie we went to New York Kitchen for pizza.
On Saturday, we went to the craft market on Buganda Road where I did some shopping for souvenirs and gifts. Afterwards we went across the street to 1000 Cups of Coffee to have an iced latte and chill out for a bit. Later in the day we went to Café Pap for lunch (fajitas), went back to the hotel to crash for a while, and then back to New York Kitchen for dinner (I had a WONDERFUL chocolate malt… not as good as Culver’s, but it did the job).
By Sunday we were pretty exhausted – it may sound pathetic, but it gets really tiring to walk all over the hot city all weekend long! So we took it easy – I went back to the craft market briefly (though most of the stalls were closed since it was Easter), and then to Café Pap where I met Suzanne for lunch. Later on we went to the grocery store to stock up on things to bring back with us (cereal, crackers, apples, instant coffee, peanuts, etc). At night, we met one of our co-workers and a few of his friends at a bar in Bugolobi, a neighborhood of Kampala. We had a really good time, though I am very out of practice as far as going out is concerned, and getting back to our hotel at 3:30 am seemed ridiculously late to me. One of the bars we went to played Weezy’s “Green and Yellow” (Packer tribute song), and though I’m sure whoever chose to play the song didn’t know about the Packers, it still made me smile. Throughout the night we talked a lot about Ugandan culture, particularly about marriage and babies. The men we were with decided that marrying an American woman is a stellar bargain – we don’t require a dowry, AND the man gets to become a US citizen, easy-peasy! JACKPOT!
On Monday morning I traveled back to Sembabule. I was able to get a matatu that went directly to Sembabule (usually I have to change vehicles in Masaka, about one hour away from Sembabule), but we had to have a tire changed AND ran out of gas, so it was an exasperatingly long trip. When I finally got back to the office, I threw my stuff on the ground, poured myself a bowl of cereal, and watched an absurd number of Glee episodes. All’s well that ends well. Overall, it was a good Easter weekend. It wasn't as wine-y as our Easter wine tour in Stellenbosch, South Africa (two years ago) or as chocolate-y as our Easter egg hunts at my Grandma's house (every other year of my life), but it was hoppy nonetheless.
Monday, April 11, 2011
First post of April
I’ve been finding it difficult to write blog posts, I think because I’ve become so accustomed to life here that nothing seems interesting enough to write about. That’s not to say that things are boring; rather, life here (for the most part) feels very routine and normal, and I can’t imagine that anybody would want to read about it. That said, I’ll try to update you on what’s been happening here lately.
Last Friday, MEEP data was due. My understanding is that twice a year, all USAID-funded programs are required to report MEEP data, which basically is a report of the number of clients given care through our program. So we have to report on how many clients receive clinical services, nutritional care, HIV medications, psychosocial support, etc. Since all of our community caregivers (CCGs) have forms that they are supposed to be filling out thoroughly and regularly, in theory, reporting these numbers should be quick and easy. However, the reality is much different, as only some of the forms are actually filled out, and even if they are filled out, the faith/community-based organizations (FCBOs) that the CCGs report to often have not entered the hard copies of the forms into the databases on their computers. Many of the FCBOs are working very hard and have entered most of the forms, but others have fallen behind. For this reason, we decided that the easiest way to collect the MEEP data this time was to bypass all of the forms we’ve created and instead, go straight to the CCGs in the communities. We printed out templates for each CCG, and delegated the responsibility to the FCBOs to go and meet with their CCGs and collect the data directly from the source. For example, a member of the FCBO would meet a CCG and ask them, “How many people living with HIV/AIDS do you serve? How many of them have received at least one clinical service? How many of them have you given nutritional support to?” These numbers then have to be broken down by sex and age. This method worked out fairly well, and we got the information back from the FCBOs promptly. I then entered all of the data into the MEEP template and sent it off to our program manager on Friday. This whole process has been a huge learning experience, and once again reinforces how important it is to monitor a program. Sitting in front of a computer all day is not exactly my favorite thing, but I realize how important it is to get this information entered and up to date. I’m also still helping one of our FCBOs, SACS (Sembabule Aids Counseling Services) to enter their forms in order to bring their database up to date… it’s a long process, but it will be very satisfying once all the forms are entered. I’ve entered about 400 forms so far, which is probably about half the number that needs to be entered in total.
This week the program manager is coming to Sembabule to observe our on-the-ground support supervision, as well as the quarterly review meeting with our FCBOs tomorrow. At that meeting, I’ll be answering questions and giving support to the FCBOs regarding (you guessed it) their data collection process.
What else… last week, for reasons unknown to everyone I ask, we had a water shortage, so I couldn’t wash my hair for five days, which I think is a personal record. Bringing dry shampoo with me was a good choice (thanks, salesgirl at Ulta!). It’s been raining almost every day here, and the temperatures fluctuate but overall it’s been comfortable and not too hot. There seems to be a giant moth convention in town that I was unaware of, because there are moths (some small, some with a five inch wingspan… yikes) everywhere. They like to hang out in my room and dive-bomb my face when I’m outside at night, which is pleasant and not at all creepy.
As per usual, I had a nice, quiet weekend here in Sembabule. Since we had water, I did a ton of laundry that had been piling up, which always makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. I watched a few movies (Stepmom, Notting Hill… it was a Julia Roberts weekend) and I’m currently reading “Sepulchre” by Kate Mosse. If anybody can tell me how to properly pronounce the title of that book, I’ll bring you back a present. I ate 2/3 of a pineapple yesterday, so that’s always fun. My plans for today include finishing the last third of it. It’s good to have goals.
Last Friday, MEEP data was due. My understanding is that twice a year, all USAID-funded programs are required to report MEEP data, which basically is a report of the number of clients given care through our program. So we have to report on how many clients receive clinical services, nutritional care, HIV medications, psychosocial support, etc. Since all of our community caregivers (CCGs) have forms that they are supposed to be filling out thoroughly and regularly, in theory, reporting these numbers should be quick and easy. However, the reality is much different, as only some of the forms are actually filled out, and even if they are filled out, the faith/community-based organizations (FCBOs) that the CCGs report to often have not entered the hard copies of the forms into the databases on their computers. Many of the FCBOs are working very hard and have entered most of the forms, but others have fallen behind. For this reason, we decided that the easiest way to collect the MEEP data this time was to bypass all of the forms we’ve created and instead, go straight to the CCGs in the communities. We printed out templates for each CCG, and delegated the responsibility to the FCBOs to go and meet with their CCGs and collect the data directly from the source. For example, a member of the FCBO would meet a CCG and ask them, “How many people living with HIV/AIDS do you serve? How many of them have received at least one clinical service? How many of them have you given nutritional support to?” These numbers then have to be broken down by sex and age. This method worked out fairly well, and we got the information back from the FCBOs promptly. I then entered all of the data into the MEEP template and sent it off to our program manager on Friday. This whole process has been a huge learning experience, and once again reinforces how important it is to monitor a program. Sitting in front of a computer all day is not exactly my favorite thing, but I realize how important it is to get this information entered and up to date. I’m also still helping one of our FCBOs, SACS (Sembabule Aids Counseling Services) to enter their forms in order to bring their database up to date… it’s a long process, but it will be very satisfying once all the forms are entered. I’ve entered about 400 forms so far, which is probably about half the number that needs to be entered in total.
This week the program manager is coming to Sembabule to observe our on-the-ground support supervision, as well as the quarterly review meeting with our FCBOs tomorrow. At that meeting, I’ll be answering questions and giving support to the FCBOs regarding (you guessed it) their data collection process.
What else… last week, for reasons unknown to everyone I ask, we had a water shortage, so I couldn’t wash my hair for five days, which I think is a personal record. Bringing dry shampoo with me was a good choice (thanks, salesgirl at Ulta!). It’s been raining almost every day here, and the temperatures fluctuate but overall it’s been comfortable and not too hot. There seems to be a giant moth convention in town that I was unaware of, because there are moths (some small, some with a five inch wingspan… yikes) everywhere. They like to hang out in my room and dive-bomb my face when I’m outside at night, which is pleasant and not at all creepy.
As per usual, I had a nice, quiet weekend here in Sembabule. Since we had water, I did a ton of laundry that had been piling up, which always makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. I watched a few movies (Stepmom, Notting Hill… it was a Julia Roberts weekend) and I’m currently reading “Sepulchre” by Kate Mosse. If anybody can tell me how to properly pronounce the title of that book, I’ll bring you back a present. I ate 2/3 of a pineapple yesterday, so that’s always fun. My plans for today include finishing the last third of it. It’s good to have goals.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
End-of-March Update
Work has been pretty busy during the past two weeks. We’re starting a supplementary feeding program, which is only a very small part of the ongoing home-based care program for people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children. We need to identify, refer, and follow-up with children aged 0-2 who are moderately or severely malnourished. In order to do this, we have to train the community caregivers (CCGs) on how to look for signs of malnutrition by identifying edema (swelling) in the feet and other parts of the body, measuring mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and looking at other physical signs. Last week we trained the first group of CCGs here in Sembabule, and I think it went fairly well. Only health centers are allowed to actually treat malnutrition, through in-patient and out-patient care and by distributing ready-to-use therapeutic food, a peanut-based paste-like food that comes in a packet. So while our CCGs can’t actually treat malnutrition, they can identify people who need to go to health centers, follow-up with them after they return from the health center, and provide nutrition education and support. We still have to train the CCGs from other faith/community-based organizations (FCBOs) that we work with, so this process will be on-going for the next couple of months.
In a couple of weeks we have to submit a report to USAID about the number of clients we’ve served over the past six months. In order to do that, we need to have complete data from our F/CBOs with information about services provided to the clients in the communities. Ideally, the CCGs would be filling out their forms and submitting them back to the F/CBOs on a regular basis, but unfortunately this is far from what actually happens. Even when some of the forms do make it back to the F/CBO offices, they’re not always entered into their databases by the F/CBO staff on a timely basis. They do their best, but for several reasons, their databases are not up-to-date. So, we’ve been playing catch-up with the F/CBO data and helping them enter what forms they do have, and also stressing that they desperately need to get all completed forms back from the communities. This isn’t the most glamorous aspect of working on a development project like this, but it is extremely important and necessary that services given are documented – otherwise we have virtually no proof that our projects are actually doing what they’re supposed to do. This process will keep us (particularly Suzanne and I) very busy for the next couple of weeks.
A typical Saturday or Sunday here goes as follows: wake up a little later than usual (around 8:30 or 9), make instant coffee, try to go online if it’s working, start soaking some laundry, eat breakfast (bread and peanut butter, or muesli, or cereal, or eggs), read (currently reading: Atonement), watch some TV episodes (just finished Grey’s Anatomy season 2… for approximately the eighth time in my life), read, watch something else, try to go online again, rinse my laundry, do a yoga DVD, hang up my laundry, [possibly] shower, read, watch some more TV or a movie, eat a late lunch/early dinner, sometimes receive a phone call from my parents, listen to a podcast (Radiolab is my current favorite), go to sleep around 11. Fascinating, right? But I thought maybe you’d like to know what I do during my quiet weekends here.
I recently finished one of the best books I’ve read here: The Invisible Cure, by Helen Epstein. It’s a fascinating, easy-to-understand book about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and why fighting the disease has been so difficult. I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to understand why AIDS is so devastating in Africa and why western intervention hasn’t worked.
A few things I’ve been missing lately: nail polish, shorts, salads, my coffeemaker, Thursday night NBC shows, Minneapolis, and my besties.
In a couple of weeks we have to submit a report to USAID about the number of clients we’ve served over the past six months. In order to do that, we need to have complete data from our F/CBOs with information about services provided to the clients in the communities. Ideally, the CCGs would be filling out their forms and submitting them back to the F/CBOs on a regular basis, but unfortunately this is far from what actually happens. Even when some of the forms do make it back to the F/CBO offices, they’re not always entered into their databases by the F/CBO staff on a timely basis. They do their best, but for several reasons, their databases are not up-to-date. So, we’ve been playing catch-up with the F/CBO data and helping them enter what forms they do have, and also stressing that they desperately need to get all completed forms back from the communities. This isn’t the most glamorous aspect of working on a development project like this, but it is extremely important and necessary that services given are documented – otherwise we have virtually no proof that our projects are actually doing what they’re supposed to do. This process will keep us (particularly Suzanne and I) very busy for the next couple of weeks.
A typical Saturday or Sunday here goes as follows: wake up a little later than usual (around 8:30 or 9), make instant coffee, try to go online if it’s working, start soaking some laundry, eat breakfast (bread and peanut butter, or muesli, or cereal, or eggs), read (currently reading: Atonement), watch some TV episodes (just finished Grey’s Anatomy season 2… for approximately the eighth time in my life), read, watch something else, try to go online again, rinse my laundry, do a yoga DVD, hang up my laundry, [possibly] shower, read, watch some more TV or a movie, eat a late lunch/early dinner, sometimes receive a phone call from my parents, listen to a podcast (Radiolab is my current favorite), go to sleep around 11. Fascinating, right? But I thought maybe you’d like to know what I do during my quiet weekends here.
I recently finished one of the best books I’ve read here: The Invisible Cure, by Helen Epstein. It’s a fascinating, easy-to-understand book about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and why fighting the disease has been so difficult. I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to understand why AIDS is so devastating in Africa and why western intervention hasn’t worked.
A few things I’ve been missing lately: nail polish, shorts, salads, my coffeemaker, Thursday night NBC shows, Minneapolis, and my besties.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Photos from safari
a lion couple in the ngorongoro crater
a hungry hippo in the serengeti
baby baboon getting a free ride in tarangire national park
herds of zebras in the serengeti
a particularly verbal zebra
lion siblings in a tree at lake manyara national park
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tanzania summary
I am overwhelmed by the amount of things I should write about in here, as it’s been several weeks since I’ve written and a lot has happened in that time. Since I last wrote, my parents visited me in Tanzania and we did all kinds of fun things that I’m sure I should go into more detail about but the idea of doing so makes me sleepy. So, I will try to summarize the past few weeks of my life as best I can.
When my parents first arrived, we spent two nights at KIA lodge, a pretty upscale (especially by my budget African standards, where anything more than $10 a night seems expensive) hotel located only a couple of miles from Kilimanjaro airport. We spent a whole day just relaxing and catching up, and it was really nice to have that time and not start rushing all over the place.
From KIA lodge we went to the Makumira farm and coffee project in Mt. Meru, where we were able to tour the farm and the coffee fields as well as see how they process the coffee they grow. It’s pretty cool, because they only export coffee to Milwaukee, where it is then roasted and sold. The coffee costs a little bit more than other coffee might cost, but the money goes back to pay the workers fairly.
From Mt. Meru we went to Tarangire National Park, where we did a game drive, spent one night at a lodge, and then did another game drive in the morning. We saw all kinds of animals, but especially a lot of elephants – oh, and lots of baobab trees! We also saw a few baobabs that had huge holes carved into them, which was the work of poachers, who would carve the holes in order to hide in the trees. Depressing. Although now, according to our guide, poaching isn’t as much of an issue as it used to be, due to a crack-down by park rangers. Our driver and guide (who would be with us for all of our safaris), Mapesa, was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his company. We stayed at Elephant Tented Lodge, which was in an extremely remote area and had wonderfully friendly staff.
In the afternoon, after our second game drive in Tarangire, we went back to Karatu, which would then serve as our base camp for the rest of our time in Tanzania. Mom and Dad were able to stay in the WellShare guest house with me (and Rick and Sharon, two other volunteers) which was extremely convenient and comfortable. We had a day off to relax in Karatu, and then took a day trip to Lake Manyara National Park, which has a completely different landscape and topography than Tarangire. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to (I guess I had low expectations because it’s a smaller park) and we saw a lot of animals, including two adolescent lions lying in a tree right next to the road. I think that the varied landscape of Lake Manyara might be my favorite of all the parks we visited.
After Lake Manyara, we had another full day off in Karatu. One of the volunteers, Amy, was holding a training for taxi drivers on the topic of what to do when they transport women who are in labor. This happens a lot more than you’d think, and it puts the taxi drivers in a difficult position of suddenly having to act as an impromptu midwife as well as driver. The drivers had a lot of questions and were really interested in the topic (they were especially grateful to receive plastic sheeting to put over their seats so that the women in labor don’t get blood everywhere), and Amy did a great job explaining to them what to do in certain circumstances, i.e. if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, or if the mom is bleeding a lot. It was very eye-opening to observe the training.
The next day, we left for the Serengeti. We spent two nights in the Serengeti at Seronera Wildlife Lodge, and both the lodge and the park were absolutely incredible. As expected, we saw a LOT in the Serengeti – lions, leopards, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, all kinds of birds, hippos, tons of zebras and wildebeest, ostriches, buffalo, impala, gazelle… Describing in words doesn’t do it justice. If the internet here was strong enough to post pictures, I would, but for now, see my facebook for pictures of what we saw.
Side note: one of the highlights of the trip was my realization that the Beast in Beauty and the Beast was most definitely designed based on a wildebeest. Google pictures of each and then agree with me.
From the Serengeti, we went to the Ngorongoro Crater, which is the world’s largest unbroken caldera (collapsed volcano). We spent a night at Rhino Lodge, which had a great atmosphere, great food, and enormous buffalos eating grass right outside our rooms at night. The next day we went into the crater, which is touted around these parts as the 8th Wonder of the World. It really was amazing, and the concentration of animals inside the crater is astounding. There is an abundance of water and grassland on the floor of the crater, so although animals can move in and out, they crater is kind of like an oasis for them.
We had one more full day in Karatu, in which we relaxed and ate at our favorite restaurant, Happy Days. On Thursday we were driven to Arusha and all three of us went to the airport – me to fly back to Uganda, and my parents to fly back to the US a few hours later.
I’m so grateful that I was able to spend time in Tanzania – the whole thing really felt like a vacation, but I also learned a lot. Now I’m back in Uganda, where we have a new international volunteer (Suzanne), so I will hopefully stop talking out loud to the one (only ONE, not so weird) stuffed animal I brought along. Suzanne has finished her coursework for her MPH at Tulane, and she’s here for her practicum. She’ll be here until November. I only have a little over two months left here, which is crazy. As they say, time flies when you’re taking bucket showers.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
pictures
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
jambo!
Last Friday I left Uganda and hopped on two short flights to Tanzania. I had a 50 minute flight from Entebbe to Nairobi, a short layover, and then a 40 minute flight from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro. For most of the second flight I could see Mount Kilimanjaro directly outside of my window, which was really neat – we were flying at 17,000 feet and the mountain stands at 19,000 feet, so we had a breathtaking view. I arrived in Kilimanjaro with no problems, and was picked up at the airport by Jolene, the country director here at WellShare Tanzania. After getting picked up from the airport, we drove to our hotel in Arusha and spent the night there – the hotel was luxurious by my standards, with air conditioning and cable TV IN THE ROOM. Needless to say I enjoyed eating snacks in the bed with A/C blowing on me while watching television for a few hours before going to sleep. It was wonderful. In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and proceeded to do a few errands in town before driving back to Karatu – exchanging money (exchange rate: $1 to 1,492 shillings) and getting groceries. Jolene is a wonderful woman and I liked her the moment I met her, but she really clinched the deal when she bought me ice cream before we left Arusha , as everybody knows that the way to a Wisconsin girl’s heart is through dairy products.
The drive from Arusha to Karatu is really gorgeous and the scenery is very different from Uganda. We were driving through the Great Rift Valley, so it was basically a vast, flat savannah with mountains off in the distance. The road is flat for most of the drive, and then all of a sudden you ascend up a mountain to reach Karatu. The Lonely Planet guide describes Karatu as a “scruffy town” which is about right – the town itself not especially pretty, but it’s surrounded by dramatic scenery on all sides. Karatu is huge compared to Sembabule, and has plenty of small supermarkets, a big fruit and vegetable market, and even restaurants that serve burgers and pizza. I feel like a small-town bumpkin (do people still say that?) when I’m amazed by things like restaurants that serve banana bread and a vegetable market that is bigger than a closet, but it’s become a natural reaction now.
In Uganda, WellShare has a country office in Kampala, and two field offices in Mubende and Sembabule. In Tanzania, there is only one office in the country, located in Karatu, so the country director is working alongside the rest of the staff who are actually implementing the projects. Another difference is that the office here isn’t located within the same compound as the volunteer/staff houses, but is located a short 5 minute walk away.
The WellShare volunteer quarters consist of two relatively big houses: one is Jolene’s house (though volunteers live in her house, too) and one is the guest house, and they’re both located in the same walled compound. I’m staying in the guest house (in my own room) with three other volunteers (two are volunteering with WellShare and one is volunteering for another organization but just living in the house), and two volunteers are living with Jolene right now. It sounds like there usually aren’t this many volunteers here, but I just happened to come at a time when there are a lot. The houses both have the same layout, and they are REALLY nice and home-y. It’s been great getting to know the other volunteers and to always have people around – it’s definitely a different atmosphere from what I’m used to in Uganda.
I arrived in Karatu on Saturday, got settled in, and at night we had make-your-own-pizza night at Jolene’s, which was fantastic. In case you haven’t caught on, I have spent the past 5 months longing for Western-style food, so this was like a dream come true. On Sunday we all went out to Mang'ola, a village accessed by the worst, bumpiest, rockiest road I’ve driven on so far in East Africa. The reason we went was because two tribes, the Tatoga and Hadzabe, were having a meeting to discuss the formation of a committee to address needs in their communities. We all sat under a big acacia tree and observed as they discussed, debated, and finally elected eight people to the committee. It was a long, tiring day, but it was fascinating to get a glimpse of Tanzanian village life.
On Sunday night, I slept for three hours and woke up at 1:30 to go watch the SUPERBOWL. Because Jolene has been here for four years and people in Karatu trust her, she was able to persuade one of the restaurant/bar owners here to let us come to his empty restaurant at two in the morning to watch the game on his satellite TV. One of the other volunteers, Amy, is a Packer fan, so I didn’t have to watch the game by myself. Obviously I was THRILLED that the Packers won, although it was very strange to watch the game and not be surrounded by crazy Packer fans and hype. After the game, I came back to the house and slept for about three hours, which made waking up in the middle of the night to watch the Packers win the Superbowl feel kind of like an odd, wonderful dream.
On Monday afternoon I went to the market to watch a drama/dance group perform. WellShare works with this group, which uses dance, song, acrobatics and role-playing to convey messages about domestic violence, child rights, etc. It was quite interesting to see them perform, and the crowd really seemed to respond to the messages the group was trying to get across, especially when they used humor.
Overall, Tanzania has been wonderful so far. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to come here and see the project as well as the country, and to meet the staff and volunteers here.
The drive from Arusha to Karatu is really gorgeous and the scenery is very different from Uganda. We were driving through the Great Rift Valley, so it was basically a vast, flat savannah with mountains off in the distance. The road is flat for most of the drive, and then all of a sudden you ascend up a mountain to reach Karatu. The Lonely Planet guide describes Karatu as a “scruffy town” which is about right – the town itself not especially pretty, but it’s surrounded by dramatic scenery on all sides. Karatu is huge compared to Sembabule, and has plenty of small supermarkets, a big fruit and vegetable market, and even restaurants that serve burgers and pizza. I feel like a small-town bumpkin (do people still say that?) when I’m amazed by things like restaurants that serve banana bread and a vegetable market that is bigger than a closet, but it’s become a natural reaction now.
In Uganda, WellShare has a country office in Kampala, and two field offices in Mubende and Sembabule. In Tanzania, there is only one office in the country, located in Karatu, so the country director is working alongside the rest of the staff who are actually implementing the projects. Another difference is that the office here isn’t located within the same compound as the volunteer/staff houses, but is located a short 5 minute walk away.
The WellShare volunteer quarters consist of two relatively big houses: one is Jolene’s house (though volunteers live in her house, too) and one is the guest house, and they’re both located in the same walled compound. I’m staying in the guest house (in my own room) with three other volunteers (two are volunteering with WellShare and one is volunteering for another organization but just living in the house), and two volunteers are living with Jolene right now. It sounds like there usually aren’t this many volunteers here, but I just happened to come at a time when there are a lot. The houses both have the same layout, and they are REALLY nice and home-y. It’s been great getting to know the other volunteers and to always have people around – it’s definitely a different atmosphere from what I’m used to in Uganda.
I arrived in Karatu on Saturday, got settled in, and at night we had make-your-own-pizza night at Jolene’s, which was fantastic. In case you haven’t caught on, I have spent the past 5 months longing for Western-style food, so this was like a dream come true. On Sunday we all went out to Mang'ola, a village accessed by the worst, bumpiest, rockiest road I’ve driven on so far in East Africa. The reason we went was because two tribes, the Tatoga and Hadzabe, were having a meeting to discuss the formation of a committee to address needs in their communities. We all sat under a big acacia tree and observed as they discussed, debated, and finally elected eight people to the committee. It was a long, tiring day, but it was fascinating to get a glimpse of Tanzanian village life.
On Sunday night, I slept for three hours and woke up at 1:30 to go watch the SUPERBOWL. Because Jolene has been here for four years and people in Karatu trust her, she was able to persuade one of the restaurant/bar owners here to let us come to his empty restaurant at two in the morning to watch the game on his satellite TV. One of the other volunteers, Amy, is a Packer fan, so I didn’t have to watch the game by myself. Obviously I was THRILLED that the Packers won, although it was very strange to watch the game and not be surrounded by crazy Packer fans and hype. After the game, I came back to the house and slept for about three hours, which made waking up in the middle of the night to watch the Packers win the Superbowl feel kind of like an odd, wonderful dream.
On Monday afternoon I went to the market to watch a drama/dance group perform. WellShare works with this group, which uses dance, song, acrobatics and role-playing to convey messages about domestic violence, child rights, etc. It was quite interesting to see them perform, and the crowd really seemed to respond to the messages the group was trying to get across, especially when they used humor.
Overall, Tanzania has been wonderful so far. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to come here and see the project as well as the country, and to meet the staff and volunteers here.
Friday, January 28, 2011
pictures
a focus group discussion taking place under a tree in sembabule
measuring children for school uniforms in a sub-county of mubende
my mango had a heart (but i ate it anyway)
this is painted on the wall of a school near our office... girl power!
jess & i on her last day in sembabule
the entire wellshare uganda crew!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
week in mubende
This week I’ve been in Mubende, helping the F/CBOs here update their databases and assist them with data entry. On Tuesday I spent the day in the field, helping measure and register a LOT of OVCs for school uniforms; we also conducted one focus group discussion with OVCs. It was a long day, but we got a lot done (and I got an unexpected sunburn… I guess that’s what happens when you’re a fair-skinned girl taking doxycycline on the equator).
On Tuesday night we had one of Mubende’s infamous potlucks… “potluck” is really a loose term, because we just chipped in money for a few people to make food. But we had the best goat I’ve had here so far – usually it’s really tough and I can’t gnaw it off the bone (I’m sure I look really graceful when I eat it, too) but this time the goat was roasted on skewers and it was really good. We also had pumpkin, chicken, chapatti, rice, pineapple, Irish potatoes (that’s what they call regular potatoes here) and even a cake that Joel brought from Kampala. It was really a farewell dinner for Katie (the program manager) and her husband, Renzo, who announced about a month ago that because of unexpected personal reasons they have to return to the U.S. earlier than planned (they were initially supposed to stay until around November). They are really sad to have to leave, but the reasons they had for leaving were really out of their control. We’re really going to miss them! I spent many nights playing board games with them when they were in Sembabule or when I was in Mubende. It’s unfortunate that they have to leave so early, but I’m glad I got to know them while they were around. The search for the new program manager (PM) is already almost complete; I’m not sure who it’s going to be, but we should be finding out soon. Unlike in the past, WellShare is now hiring a Ugandan PM rather than an American PM. Staff transitions are always a challenge here, and for many reasons we’ve had a lot of this over the past year or so. Luckily there shouldn’t be too big of an interval between Katie and the new PM. There’s a pretty steep learning curve when someone first starts working here, so initially I’m sure it’ll be a challenge, but I’m sure whoever fills Katie’s shoes will have a lot of experience and learn quickly.
Today I’m going to another one of the F/CBOs here to update their databases, and then tomorrow I’m heading back to Sembabule. Yesterday was a public holiday (Liberation Day) so the office was closed. It was nice to have a day off in the middle of the week, but now I’ve lost track of days and think that it’s Monday.
As I’ve mentioned before, the Ugandan presidential elections are on February 18, and in order to avoid any pre- or post-election fallout (which probably won’t be anything serious, but is always a possibility), I’m going to be spending about a month at WellShare’s Tanzania office in Karatu. I leave next Friday already! I’ll spend some time helping out at the office in whatever way I can, and for the last two weeks of my time there, my parents will be visiting! I’m extremely excited. It’s kind of like a vacation within my vacation… I’m excited to spend time in Tanzania, learn a few words of Swahili, see what WellShare’s programs in TZ are like, and go on a safari adventure with my parents. Of course, I’ll write more about this once I’m there. Oh, and my goal/challenge is to see if I can find a place to watch the PACKERS play in the Superbowl in TZ…
One last bit of exciting news: I got into grad school! I got accepted to the University of Minnesota’s Master of Public Health Nutrition program. I’m very happy, and it’s a big weight off my shoulders. It’s a two year program that will start in the fall. Things are falling into place!
On Tuesday night we had one of Mubende’s infamous potlucks… “potluck” is really a loose term, because we just chipped in money for a few people to make food. But we had the best goat I’ve had here so far – usually it’s really tough and I can’t gnaw it off the bone (I’m sure I look really graceful when I eat it, too) but this time the goat was roasted on skewers and it was really good. We also had pumpkin, chicken, chapatti, rice, pineapple, Irish potatoes (that’s what they call regular potatoes here) and even a cake that Joel brought from Kampala. It was really a farewell dinner for Katie (the program manager) and her husband, Renzo, who announced about a month ago that because of unexpected personal reasons they have to return to the U.S. earlier than planned (they were initially supposed to stay until around November). They are really sad to have to leave, but the reasons they had for leaving were really out of their control. We’re really going to miss them! I spent many nights playing board games with them when they were in Sembabule or when I was in Mubende. It’s unfortunate that they have to leave so early, but I’m glad I got to know them while they were around. The search for the new program manager (PM) is already almost complete; I’m not sure who it’s going to be, but we should be finding out soon. Unlike in the past, WellShare is now hiring a Ugandan PM rather than an American PM. Staff transitions are always a challenge here, and for many reasons we’ve had a lot of this over the past year or so. Luckily there shouldn’t be too big of an interval between Katie and the new PM. There’s a pretty steep learning curve when someone first starts working here, so initially I’m sure it’ll be a challenge, but I’m sure whoever fills Katie’s shoes will have a lot of experience and learn quickly.
Today I’m going to another one of the F/CBOs here to update their databases, and then tomorrow I’m heading back to Sembabule. Yesterday was a public holiday (Liberation Day) so the office was closed. It was nice to have a day off in the middle of the week, but now I’ve lost track of days and think that it’s Monday.
As I’ve mentioned before, the Ugandan presidential elections are on February 18, and in order to avoid any pre- or post-election fallout (which probably won’t be anything serious, but is always a possibility), I’m going to be spending about a month at WellShare’s Tanzania office in Karatu. I leave next Friday already! I’ll spend some time helping out at the office in whatever way I can, and for the last two weeks of my time there, my parents will be visiting! I’m extremely excited. It’s kind of like a vacation within my vacation… I’m excited to spend time in Tanzania, learn a few words of Swahili, see what WellShare’s programs in TZ are like, and go on a safari adventure with my parents. Of course, I’ll write more about this once I’m there. Oh, and my goal/challenge is to see if I can find a place to watch the PACKERS play in the Superbowl in TZ…
One last bit of exciting news: I got into grad school! I got accepted to the University of Minnesota’s Master of Public Health Nutrition program. I’m very happy, and it’s a big weight off my shoulders. It’s a two year program that will start in the fall. Things are falling into place!
Monday, January 17, 2011
meeting, cheeseburger, annoying man
Last Monday and Tuesday, I went to the field with Eric, Allen and John to finish measuring OVCs for school uniforms. On Wednesday afternoon, the Sembabule staffed piled into two vehicles and headed to Mubende for our regional meeting. The meeting took place on Thursday and Friday, and it was nice to see everyone again. We discussed the accomplishments we’ve achieved in the past quarter, and planned out our work for this quarter (Jan, Feb, Mar). The country director was also present at the meetings, which was really beneficial – it’s good for us to hear her perspective and get her guidance on things, and it’s also good for her to see how things work in the field.
On Friday afternoon we had our New Year Party (which, unsurprisingly, started 2.5 hours late… goat takes a long time to cook, man!) which mainly consisted of eating a lot of good food, and a Secret-Santa-ish gift exchange. My gift, which I dug out of the bottom of my suitcase before leaving Sembabule, was a few packages of Silly Bands that I brought from the US (when I left the US, my friends and I were in the midst of a slight Silly Band obsession…). Luckily the country director picked my gift, so her 2 year old daughter can enjoy the Disney Princess Silly Bands.
After we finished eating and gift-giving, I hitched a ride with the WellShare vehicle going back to Kampala. It was a short weekend in the city, but it was still nice. I ate a surprisingly good, non-dry (I don’t like the word “moist,” so I’m going to say “non-dry”) cheeseburger at New York Kitchen. That place is seriously my saving grace – all different kinds of American-style comfort food. I did some shopping, and went to the cinema to see “The Tourist” on Saturday night.
The trip back to Sembabule was relatively painless. On the last leg of the journey though, the car stopped in a tiny town for roughly a half an hour for reasons unknown to me (I don’t even try to ask questions anymore when things go wrong or take an unexpectedly long time – I just resign myself to waiting). Inevitably, a crowd of children gathered round to stare at the slightly annoyed mzungu sitting in the front seat with the window down. When children stare and yell at me, I can generally handle it, because they’re young and usually cute and probably don’t know that what they’re doing could be construed as rude. However, suddenly an young man appeared next to the car, shaking my hand and saying “Hello, mzungu!” I politely shook his hand and said hi, but to be honest, I am immediately turned off by anyone who calls me mzungu to my face, so I turned away and hoped he wouldn’t want anything else.Then he started speaking Luganda and I had no idea what he was saying. A man in the backseat told me that this man outside the car wanted my phone number. I lied and told him that I didn’t know my phone number, but why would he want it? So we can talk on the phone, the man translated.
This is what gets under my skin: that an adult (usually it’s only men that do this) refers to me as if my name is “mzungu” and asks for my number, solely because I am white. Yes, I understand that I am a complete anomaly in rural Uganda, and of course I’m going to attract attention. And I’m not naïve enough to think that people will get so used to me that they’ll stop hollering at me. I can deal with being treated like a Nordic freak here. But the fact that this man was bold enough to walk up to me, address me as “mzungu” and immediately expect me to give him my phone number is absurd. He didn’t even speak English – how exactly would our phone conversations work? I felt like a zoo animal. Also, I think it’s rude when adults call me “mzungu.” When children do it, I can let it slide… but adults should really know better. Maybe some people chalk this up to a cultural difference or misunderstanding, but I still think that adults can and should understand that it’s rude to yell at someone and call them “White Person” to their face. And in my opinion, it’s far-fetched for them to expect that I’m going to respond graciously and willingly give out my phone number.
Not all Ugandans are like this. Plenty of adults and children are completely respectful and polite, and greet me as if I am a person, rather than a skin color. And in this situation, I wasn’t fearful for my safety or anything like that. I’m sure this man just wanted to go back to his friends and boast that he got a mzungu’s phone number. But it still irked me. I wish it didn’t, but it did.
On Friday afternoon we had our New Year Party (which, unsurprisingly, started 2.5 hours late… goat takes a long time to cook, man!) which mainly consisted of eating a lot of good food, and a Secret-Santa-ish gift exchange. My gift, which I dug out of the bottom of my suitcase before leaving Sembabule, was a few packages of Silly Bands that I brought from the US (when I left the US, my friends and I were in the midst of a slight Silly Band obsession…). Luckily the country director picked my gift, so her 2 year old daughter can enjoy the Disney Princess Silly Bands.
After we finished eating and gift-giving, I hitched a ride with the WellShare vehicle going back to Kampala. It was a short weekend in the city, but it was still nice. I ate a surprisingly good, non-dry (I don’t like the word “moist,” so I’m going to say “non-dry”) cheeseburger at New York Kitchen. That place is seriously my saving grace – all different kinds of American-style comfort food. I did some shopping, and went to the cinema to see “The Tourist” on Saturday night.
The trip back to Sembabule was relatively painless. On the last leg of the journey though, the car stopped in a tiny town for roughly a half an hour for reasons unknown to me (I don’t even try to ask questions anymore when things go wrong or take an unexpectedly long time – I just resign myself to waiting). Inevitably, a crowd of children gathered round to stare at the slightly annoyed mzungu sitting in the front seat with the window down. When children stare and yell at me, I can generally handle it, because they’re young and usually cute and probably don’t know that what they’re doing could be construed as rude. However, suddenly an young man appeared next to the car, shaking my hand and saying “Hello, mzungu!” I politely shook his hand and said hi, but to be honest, I am immediately turned off by anyone who calls me mzungu to my face, so I turned away and hoped he wouldn’t want anything else.Then he started speaking Luganda and I had no idea what he was saying. A man in the backseat told me that this man outside the car wanted my phone number. I lied and told him that I didn’t know my phone number, but why would he want it? So we can talk on the phone, the man translated.
This is what gets under my skin: that an adult (usually it’s only men that do this) refers to me as if my name is “mzungu” and asks for my number, solely because I am white. Yes, I understand that I am a complete anomaly in rural Uganda, and of course I’m going to attract attention. And I’m not naïve enough to think that people will get so used to me that they’ll stop hollering at me. I can deal with being treated like a Nordic freak here. But the fact that this man was bold enough to walk up to me, address me as “mzungu” and immediately expect me to give him my phone number is absurd. He didn’t even speak English – how exactly would our phone conversations work? I felt like a zoo animal. Also, I think it’s rude when adults call me “mzungu.” When children do it, I can let it slide… but adults should really know better. Maybe some people chalk this up to a cultural difference or misunderstanding, but I still think that adults can and should understand that it’s rude to yell at someone and call them “White Person” to their face. And in my opinion, it’s far-fetched for them to expect that I’m going to respond graciously and willingly give out my phone number.
Not all Ugandans are like this. Plenty of adults and children are completely respectful and polite, and greet me as if I am a person, rather than a skin color. And in this situation, I wasn’t fearful for my safety or anything like that. I’m sure this man just wanted to go back to his friends and boast that he got a mzungu’s phone number. But it still irked me. I wish it didn’t, but it did.
Monday, January 10, 2011
january update
Last week, I spent a day at the F/CBO offices in Sembabule (SACS and SEDAWOD) updating their Excel files to match our revised M&E tools. The tools, which are the forms that the community caregivers use to track service delivery and client registration, are finally finished, after having been in the revision process for several months. Now that there are some changes to the forms, the Excel files have to be updated as well, to reflect the changes and to ensure that the F/CBOs capture all the client information recorded by the CCGs. So, I updated the Excel files and walked the F/CBO staff through the changes. The M&E process has been challenging, as I think I’ve mentioned before, with some of the F/CBOs doing better than others. The whole notion of filling out forms thoroughly and recording them in an electronic database is foreign and not always well accepted here, but there is really no other way to record service delivery. The whole point of PPLP (Partnering for Positive Livelihoods Program) is to provide services to people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) and to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). These services need to be recorded, both for accountability and for reporting purposes. Of course, our goal is to build the capacity of the F/CBOs so that, in the future, they can apply for funding and carry out a program like this on their own, without our help. Therefore, M&E training is crucial to building the capacity of these small organizations, so that they will eventually be able to not only fill out forms and databases correctly, but so that they understand the importance of the record-keeping process. Any institution that grants funding to an organization wants to see that their money is being efficiently used to have a positive effect on the community, and this can only be achieved through monitoring and evaluation of programs.
On Friday, we went into the field, to two different communities, to measure registered OVCs for school uniforms. We are distributing school uniforms and scholastic materials to OVCs in the community, so we had to take measurements, find out which school each OVC goes to, and what the colors of their uniforms are. In the first community we went to, there was a small girl sitting nearby, eating a mango, who I took to be three years old at most. When her name was called and she went to be measured for a school uniform, and I discovered that she was in fact eight years old, my heart caught in my throat. Her stature had been severely stunted by malnutrition. There were other children who were obviously sick and malnourished, but she was by far the most dramatic case. It was heartbreaking to observe, but it also reminded us how important it is to go to the field and actually talk to the clients we are serving, as it helps us directly see the issues that need to be addressed in the community.
This Thursday and Friday, the Sembabule staff is traveling to Mubende for a regional meeting. I haven’t been to Mubende in a few months, so it’ll be nice to see everyone. From Mubende, I plan to go to Kampala this weekend, since Mubende is closer to Kampala than Sembabule is, so transportation costs less and takes less time – can’t really pass that opportunity up.
I’ve been captivated by news articles about the Arizona shooting of Gabrielle Giffords… it’s so shocking, with the potential for so many political ramifications. I hope Americans can keep their heads on straight and use this as a learning opportunity to reevaluate gun control laws and the increasingly inflammatory, intolerant language used in American politics. I’m also keeping my eye on the referendum taking place in Sudan this week… I can’t wait to see how it turns out, and I hope the process is carried out in peace. Did you know that Sudan is the size of the US east of the Mississippi River?!
On Friday, we went into the field, to two different communities, to measure registered OVCs for school uniforms. We are distributing school uniforms and scholastic materials to OVCs in the community, so we had to take measurements, find out which school each OVC goes to, and what the colors of their uniforms are. In the first community we went to, there was a small girl sitting nearby, eating a mango, who I took to be three years old at most. When her name was called and she went to be measured for a school uniform, and I discovered that she was in fact eight years old, my heart caught in my throat. Her stature had been severely stunted by malnutrition. There were other children who were obviously sick and malnourished, but she was by far the most dramatic case. It was heartbreaking to observe, but it also reminded us how important it is to go to the field and actually talk to the clients we are serving, as it helps us directly see the issues that need to be addressed in the community.
This Thursday and Friday, the Sembabule staff is traveling to Mubende for a regional meeting. I haven’t been to Mubende in a few months, so it’ll be nice to see everyone. From Mubende, I plan to go to Kampala this weekend, since Mubende is closer to Kampala than Sembabule is, so transportation costs less and takes less time – can’t really pass that opportunity up.
I’ve been captivated by news articles about the Arizona shooting of Gabrielle Giffords… it’s so shocking, with the potential for so many political ramifications. I hope Americans can keep their heads on straight and use this as a learning opportunity to reevaluate gun control laws and the increasingly inflammatory, intolerant language used in American politics. I’m also keeping my eye on the referendum taking place in Sudan this week… I can’t wait to see how it turns out, and I hope the process is carried out in peace. Did you know that Sudan is the size of the US east of the Mississippi River?!
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