I was sick all day so I stayed in bed. I have not been this sick in years.
Today while headed to the Nile. On our way we passed the area where people’s bodies were left during Idi Amin’s reign. No, it wasn’t a cemetery just a large hole on the side of the road. We were told that people actually had to pay to look through the piles for their loved ones. Can you imagine that? So glad that’s in Uganda’s past. I also learned about the Ugandan martyrs. This was a group of 20 young men who would not denounce Christianity. As such they were burned alive. Each year people travel to Uganda for a pilgrimage to pay their respects and pray. The Nile and Buijagali Falls were unbelievable. I took pictures, but they do it no justice. One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. While there a little boy sang for me, so cute. I gave him money for the performance. I was told I needed to gain more weight today. Definitely not the first time I’ve heard it but this time it was really funny. I was told if I stayed one more month I’d look like a Buffalo, ha-ha. I can afford some pounds, but I doubt the Buffalo thing. After being tourists we went to Mukono, Professor Ntambi’s home town. I was blown away by how far the money we’ve raised at UW-Madison through our Village Health Project has gone. His old school has been turned upside down. The students danced for us! I was touched by Professor Ntambi’s story. He used to have class outside on a dirt surface. He walked us through what he did and talked about the importance of education. I remember him saying “you don’t have to be rich or poor…education will solve your problems.” Professor Ntambi went from these humble beginnings to obtaining a Fulbright Scholarship for study in America, attending John’s Hopkins and teaching at UW-Madison. He is a local hero. Unlike many, he returned home. He used his education to benefit students studying at Madison but has not forgotten where he came from. His life is a true inspiration. We had the opportunity to visit his home that afternoon and meet several members of his family. I got sick tonight. It was most likely food poisoning. Before returning to Kampala we visited the Lyantonde hospital. Something the head nurse said while we were there stuck with me. She said “health has no boundaries.” I agree. She was referring to their patient population and how they serve over 75,000 in this one, small hospital. We also walked through an HIV/AIDS clinic at the hospital and I couldn’t help but put myself in the shoes of the people sitting in the clinic. I can’t imagine sitting where they were and seeing a group of approximately 20 foreigners with notebooks walk in. How uncomfortable. I would fear judgment. Especially because you may see me sitting here, but you don’t know my story. You don’t know that I was born with AIDS, I was raped or I contracted HIV from my husband. I thought about how we often stigmatize people, it’s important for us to get to know the individual before the disease. At the hospital we also visited the malnutrition clinic and a little girl who was definitely a success story. we gave out beanie babies and clothing! The smiles are their faces are unforgettable. Everything is so fluid here. Hmm, like nothing is set in stone. I feel that time works for us instead of us working for time. I appreciate it. I wish I could capture some of the smells here. Wow! Sometimes we’ll be driving and I just get a sniff of something I have never smelled in my life. Sometimes they are good but usually bad, ha-ha. I think the bad smells are like fish/trash. It’s hard to explain. Just know you don’t want to smell it. I also can’t believe the number of health clinics and drug shops. They are literally everywhere. It’s scary to think that they have no organization or system of managing these places. I can’t imagine the range of services, medical advice and medicine people are receiving. We visited the equator on the way back to Kampala and participated in the Great Equator experiment, I took video. The water went clockwise on the North side of the Equator Then it went counter-clockwise on the South side of the Equator. Finally, it went straight down on the Equator line. Some people don't believe it...what do you think?
I’m a bit homesick today. Never really felt like this before. Well, I’ve missed Brandon before but never “home.” Hmm…I probably just want a warm shower, ha-ha. This is new for me.
Today we spent time learning about an organization called Community Based Integrated Nutrition (COBIN). We were able to visit a school where young girls received Maka Pads. We talked to them about the impact having pads has had on their ability to attend school. I heard horror stories of girls even transferring schools because they soiled their clothing at school. No one deserves that. Later today we saw one of my favorite projects. That is, the birth monitoring project. This is an effort to encourage weight monitoring of young children in an effort to prevent malnutrition. It was reassuring to see so many mothers there to check their baby’s weight. It was cute to see the little ones hanging in the harness from the tree. Some of them cried/screamed. I loved this project because it truly empowered the community. There were trained family care workers taking the weight of the children and the parents there were obviously very concerned with their children’s development. I believe that the family care workers (those responsible for organizing these events) are exceptional! Many of the homes they visit are scattered miles apart and they use bikes or walk to reach each one of these families. Prenatal care in Uganda is almost nonexistent. It’s great to see such efforts to change this reality. Well, I had a great day. I’m thinking about how fun the children were. There are so many of them and they literally come out of no where! I can’t help but wonder why parents would allow their children to be out without a chaperon. That’s just too much trust in others if you ask me. I realized that the biggest issue in Lyantonde are lack of safe water; it’s just a really dry place. It’s also a transit town with tons of truckers and even more prostitutes. There are also tons more kids here than the others places we’ve been. They are much friendlier because they rarely see white people/Americans. I think most people here think I’m Ugandan, but I got the attention by association, ha-ha. We got up early today and left the hotel. I liked it because I had my own room here and got a lot rest/time to reflect. I like watching all the people in town. They get up incredibly early. They are riding their bikes, boda bodas, selling food/water/clothes. It’s just interesting to watch. Speaking of watching I catch a man relieving himself on the side of the road nearly everyday! That’s really different from home because in the rural areas a bathroom is wherever you make it, ha-ha! I’ve even used some holes myself, while I’ve been here. While on the bus Ron checks in on us asking who has to make a “short call” or “long call.” Funny stuff. We just saw zebras on the side of the road! That was really cool and they were beautiful. It was strange to see them grazing with the cows. Definitely not two animals I typically connect. Once we got to Lyantonde we met a traditional birth attendant who helps women have their babies in a home setting and we saw another water tank. I was able to play with tons of kids today! They were so happy to see us and literally ran to our bus. Tonight at dinner I had the opportunity to talk to Norah at length about different aspects of Ugandan culture. Specifically she shared information regarding dating, marriage, weddings and teen pregnancy. I learned that although young women are expected to marry it is incredibly taboo to talk to your parents about dating. That is, you would not tell your parents about a relationship until you are engaged. She couldn’t believe that I had been openly dating my boyfriend, Brandon for over five years. During which time he’s come over my house nearly every day and shared a relationship with my parents and other family members. From there we talked about marriage and weddings. I am amazed by how large the weddings get here. It is not unusual to have 1,000+ people at your wedding, it’s almost expected. Norah gave an example that if her friend’s cousin was getting married she as well as her parents would be invited to the wedding. That would almost never happen in America. They also have wedding committees that are responsible for raising funds and organizing the wedding. Finally, we talked about teen pregnancy and how young mothers are essentially disowned. It hurt me to hear the efforts young girls make to abort their children. Abortions are not legalized in Uganda so the abortions are done under very dangerous conditions. I learned that overtime Kabale’s weather has significantly changed. It has gotten hotter in Kabale. It used to be much colder until the swamps were transformed to farmland. This shift increased the proportion of people getting malaria. The population growth, environment degradation and taking water from swamps all impacted this increase. It is definitely colder in Kabale than in Kampala. Today we learned about the process of securing clean water. We visited a program which trains community members to build clean water tanks in their communities. This is an amazing and sustainable way to provide clean water to different areas of Uganda. Clean water is life. We also visited a research center where we learned about local efforts to improve agriculture productivity. A huge percentage of Uganda’s produce is lost due to defective seeds and unsuitable storage. It is reassuring to see how much effort is being put into improving Uganda’s water and food. Over and over I am reminded about how privileged I am. How my life is some people’s dream. I am humbled by being here. I am privileged to have been raised where I was. I never had everything growing up. I saw pain, suffering disadvantage. Now, I am forced to step out of my world. I feel myself complaining less. I was listening to a song by India Arie while on the road yesterday and she refers to people “dying to survive.” It's such an ironic statement but I think that it really applies here. People work incredibly hard just to stay alive. They use whatever skills, abilities and resources they have. I see so much determination and hope. Yesterday when we painted the school there was a young boy with his two younger brothers. We always have tons of extra food/snacks on the bus and we typically give it away when possible. So, Ken and I called the young boy over to the bus to get a piece of extra fruit from us. He ran over and when he returned to where he was standing he gave the fruit to his baby brother. We then called him over again and gave him a granola bar. He ran and grabbed the bar and again gave it to his other brother. This young boy was no older than five years old, and showed such selflessness. This meant a lot to me. I’ve never really seen that before. I enjoyed today. The water tanks that have been created meet an incredible need. The water people would otherwise be using is not fit for animals. When tested it showed 100% E. coli. I am so blessed to have access to clean water. I can turn on my faucet whenever I desire but here the process to securing clean water is so intense. Children have drowned fetching water. I’m checking myself big time. I’m brainstorming ways I can help my global neighbors. It’s really easy to feel helpless. There are just so many people in need but I am convinced that no one can do everything but everyone can do something. While we've been here in Kabale our group has been playing soccer. I don't think I can ever forget Ron screaming "don't allow" "don't allow." Today we visited Kabale Referral Hospital and talked to Dr. Sendi about the healthcare system in Uganda and the country’s major healthcare issues. It was an extremely detailed talk. We were then taken on a tour of the hospital. It was similar to Mulago. One of the young boys we saw in the clinic was extremely malnourished. As his caretaker took off his shirt for us to see his body, he began to cry. My heart broke for him. He was so frightened. We shared with a grandmother of a baby in the pediatric malnutrition unit who said the father of the child died and his mother left him for a new marriage. I watched him so closely. He was lying there trying to keep his eyes closed shut, but a tear squeezed through. We were told that because of lack of funds, prevention is not an option. Wow, for me that explains a lot. That means that the money is available to treat but not to educate people about avoiding illness and disease. This hospital, like others in Uganda had to allocate funds based on government mandated priorities. This undeniably impacted their ability to treat patients. I am so privileged to have options. Following the hospital we went to a local primary school to paint. It was actually a lot of fun but a great deal of work too. We helped paint the interior/exterior of the building. The school had over 428 students in 4 small buildings with only about eleven teachers. I was happy to help. Funny thing is, we often think about how much we can help not realizing how much we are ultimately being helped. In one week I have learned so much. I have been forced to evaluate my life, to consider the privileges I take everyday. For example, I eat whenever I want. The pygmy children and the children at the school eat once a day. Wait, let me clarify they may eat once a day. They are in school from 7am to 5pm and eat once. Most of us wouldn’t make it, I assure you. So how did it get like this? Why do I get to eat more in a day than some people eat in weeks? Why can I buy whatever I want? Why can I sleep in doors in a safe/secure space? I don’t know why…but I guess that’s not really important. I know that I can and there are people who can’t. I want to do what I can to address these inequalities. I’m always saying, I want to change the world. I guess a lot of people do. But I decided I’m going to let the world change me first. Today at dinner Brett asked me what day it was. It’s funny but we really lose track of things here. I love it! I’m glued to my BlackBerry at home. I micromanage my time but here it’s totally different. I don’t have access to calendar/clock regularly. It’s nice not to have something to do every moment. Life definitely moves slower and is calmer here. I think the lake positively impacts the environment and the people. It’s beautiful and brings tourists to the area. This translates to jobs for the natives. It is also a major source of water for the people. The people love their land. There are over 29 islands, most of which are completely habitable. We learned about an island that was used as punishment for pregnant unmarried women. They would take women to this island and leave them without any food. This was their way of preventing young women from getting pregnant. Oh, I have to mention my breakfast. I had a hardboiled egg, bakes beans, toast and fruit. Interesting huh? Today, we traveled to a remote corner of Uganda on the border of Rwanda to see pygmies. It was a roughly two hour boat ride. But it was absolutely gorgeous. I was very curious. I know that pygmies are typically small people but I’ve never seen any in person. When we arrived to the island we were greeted by dozens of smiling children. They were literally everywhere running down from the hills. At a closer look these children were extremely dirty and looked hungry too. They grabbed us when we got off the boats. Then we had a long hike up the hill. The children made it look so easy and effortlessly ran and jumped up the hills. It was difficult to climb this hill and it was very hot! These people were incredibly poor. They needed food. They kept asking for our water bottles so they could fill them up with water. When we got to their village they all sang/danced for us. That was incredible. I was the first in our group who decided to join in, but I was so happy! They are a beautiful people. Still, I felt them laughing at us, even the children. You feel that at times being here. It’s just part of it. People stare a lot! They wanted anything they could get from us, anything. Just as I did at the hospital, I felt like I was imposing. These people welcomed us into their lives and what did I have to offer them? We gave them snacks, bottles whatever we had. I even gave them gum. I felt helpless. I wanted to give more, but I hadn’t known to bring anything. I learned that the pygmies had grown because they had access to more food/healthcare. I was sad to leave. I want to return someday and not empty handed. We paid 20,000 shillings each (10 U.S. dollars) to share with them that day. They receive 20,000 shillings total and an additional 5,000 (2.50 U.S dollars) is put into a savings account for them. It was such a different world. I took tons of pictures/video for this day, enjoy! On the road I saw a lot of tropical plants. There was more water too. There’s just a lot more plants in general. There were also tons of markets, schools and health clinics. I am curious how the businesses I saw are regulated, if at all? I saw people selling matoke, onions and tons of wood products. We also saw countless tea plantations. I can not believe people pick each tea leaf by hand. Again, I waved at EVERYONE I saw. I wish American culture was more open to this. It makes the world a little brighter. If I wave back home people either look at your weird or totally ignore you. We also stopped by Hot Springs. People go there for physical/spiritual healing. They believe their skin ailments, malaria body aches and pains will be healed if they bathe in the water. I’m learning the place traditional medicine has in the country, it’s a huge deal. These baboons scared the heck out of me. Listen to me...ha-ha Happy New Year to me! Last night we celebrated. It went well, I wasn’t feeling that well. I’m happy to be alive. Today was mind blowing. We woke up at 6am and went on safari. We saw lions, antelope, monkeys, elephants, birds and tons of others! I also went on a nature walk, but this wasn’t your typical nature walk. We searched for hippos and we found them, tons of them. This was way out of my comfort zone, keep in mind Hippos kill the most humans in Africa. I was super nervous the entire time. I challenged myself though and it feels good (oh, our tour guide had a gun too, ha-ha). The local people maintain the park. Our safari guide/nature walk guide lives in a nearby village. As do many of the people who work at the lodge, restaurant and cabin. I noticed how knowledgeable they are of the land and animals. The people walk everywhere they want to in the park. That’s a lot of walking and keep in mind, there are no cages like at a zoo. Health services and schools are offered within the park. After talking to our tour guide I found that he lives at the park most of the time. He visits his family in a nearby village (roughly 2 hours away) twice a month. Again, the people here sacrifice a lot for their families. Although he made a very modest living, he loved his job. He was able to protect the animals in his country and educate visitors. |
JOURNAL
These are excerpts of the personal journal I kept during my three weeks in Uganda, Africa. I didn’t want to spend too much time on grammar etc. because I wanted it to be more about sharing my ideas/feelings and less about me submitting a polished reflection. I hope you understand. There are also TONS of photos sprinkled throughout. Feel free to click on the entry title and leave comments and ask any questions that will help you better understand my experience! Journal
Archives
January 2011
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