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.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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.
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