So, I know I've mentioned this before, but I just needed to restate how much I hate the subject of money in Uganda. Anything having to do with money is so awkward because it always involves someone asking me for some. Two recent examples:
1) Yesterday morning, mine and Nrupa's go-to boda driver, Robert, asked us for 20,000/= for his kid who is apparently sick (we didn't even know he had a kid--he's 26, though most people that age probably do have kids). Though 20,000 shillings is not much money (about $10), it's the principle of the matter that is more important. First of all, we haven't known Robert very long. At home, it's often uncomfortable asking even one of your closest friends to borrow money, but here such social restraints don't exist. I'm sure Robert asked us for money before he would ever have asked his friends or family because he assumes that we have it, where as others don't. Obviously, we do have $10 and, if he seriously needs it for a sick child, are willing to help, but we don't want to set a precedent whereby he thinks a) it's okay to ask us for money and/or b) that we will give it to him. We're going to wait until he brings it up again (which I'm assuming will be tomorrow morning as he even called both me and Nrupa while we were out of town this weekend) and we're going to offer him a proposition. He told us he would repay the money plus interest, but we're not going to take his word on that. Instead we're going to tell him that we'll give him the money in exchange for 20 boda rides, each of which costs 1,000/=, and we'll give it to him in two parts. He won't get the second 10,000/= until we've received 10 boda rides. I'm going to let Nrupa do the talking because she's better at dealing with these things.
2) The World Cup is on, which is a time for celebration and excitement. As we don't have a TV, I've been having to find other places to watch it (which is not a problem at all. Every TV in Uganda is tuned to Super Sport (the TV channel) during games). Tonight, I went to Mbale Resort, which is just down the street from our house, to watch the game. I was hoping to go alone, but our night guard, Tom, wanted to watch the game as well so we went together. We were essentially sitting at a bar so I felt that I had to order a drink. Both Tom and I ordered pop. At halftime, I decided to leave to go to bed. I went to the counter to pay for my pop. While I was waiting for my change, Tom said something to our waitress, who then came over and asked me whether I was paying for just my drink or for both. I said just mine, which she reported back to Tom. He had a very disgruntled look on his face and as I left he didn't really say anything to me. If we had left at the same time, I was going to offer to pay for his drink, but only if he attempted to pay for it first. I hate the assumption that since I'm muzungu, I'm obviously going to pay. At home, there's usually an argument over the bill. Here, so far as I've experienced (outside of TASO), if you're with a muzungu, the muzungu pays. No discussion needed, even if the muzungu doesn't agree with this decision. First of all, I didn't even invite Tom to go with me. He actually asked Nrupa if I was going to watch the game at the Resort because he was planning on doing so, then waited for me to walk there. Secondly, I never offered to pay for his drink or said that I was going to. If he doesn't have the money for it, he shouldn't have ordered it! This is actually a recurring problem with Tom. It seems that every day he has something new he wants us to buy or something for which we need to give him money. One day it was a trash can, even though all of our trash just goes in a pit in the backyard. The next it was a TV so that we could give it to him when we leave (even though he has a TV with a satellite dish at his house). Today it was money to sharpen his machete that he uses to cut we don't even know what. Apparently it's something on our property, but we've never actually seen him engaged in this alleged cutting. And the thing is that I was willing to pay for his drink this once, but I was afraid that if I did he would assume that I was going to pay for it every time we go to the Resort. Given that the Cup just started and lasts a month, I was not willing to set that precedent. Oh well. I don't think he likes me much anyway, so this will just reaffirm his feelings.
Updates about last week/weekend are forthcoming.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tuesday Highlights
Today, four exciting/interesting things happened:
1) We made some progress on our project. We're going on an outreach tomorrow to see the implementation of some new male sensitization strategies. Yay for progress!
2) We met three seriously malnourished children today. Nova, one of the pediatric counselors who specializes in nutrition issues and therapeutic feeding, came searching for me and Nrupa so that he could introduce us to these children (he also took some pictures with my camera). Two of the children, both less than 5 years old, had severe edema, which was particularly noticeable in their feet and abdomens. The little girl also had skin irritations around her groin. They were both going to be enrolled in the therapeutic feeding program.
The other child in the room was a 2 month old baby that looked like she had been born at least a month premature, though apparently she was carried to term. She was so tiny. Her entire foot was the size of my thumb. Her mother had recently died of AIDS, and now her step mother was supposed to be taking care of her, but often neglected her. Her step sister was the one who took time off school to bring her into the clinic. (We weren't entirely clear on these relationships as we were getting this entire conversation through translation, but I think that this was a multiple-wives situation and one wife died of AIDS so another was supposed to be taking care of her child but instead resented the child and neglected caring for her). Anyway, this was the first time the baby had been brought to the clinic, so her HIV status was still unknown. They were going to do PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to test for HIV (blood tests don't work for children that young because they could have maternal antibodies that lead to a false positive result). Seeing this girl reiterated the importance of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programs. With ARV prophylaxis, vertical transmission rates can be reduced to less that 10% (even lower in developed countries), yet some women just don't know or don't have access to such care. Hopefully our project regarding male involvement will help address some of these issues. Since men are the heads of household and the decision-makers, educating them about prophylaxis, etc could have a profound effect on MTCT and family planning.
3) Nrupa and I will be measuring malnutrition among TASO clients as part of a nutrition assessment that Nova wants to conduct at the center. We started today by measuring about 15 children in the pediatric wing. We used what's called a muac tape to measure the circumference of the upper arm. Based on these measurements we can determine if the child is malnourished or not. Obviously such measurements are not foolproof, especially since edema is a common side effect of malnourishment, but it's an easy and cost effective way to get a general idea. Among the 15 children we measured, we found about 4 who were malnourished and will be started on therapeutic feeding. We also had 3 that were previously enrolled in the therapeutic feeding but now measured normal. It's good to see the concrete positive outcomes for some of these programs.
Our major challenge with this task was the language barrier. Most of the clients speak little if any English and though we're trying to pick up some of the local languages, there are way too many and we certainly won't know enough in 3 months to really get to know these clients without interpreters. Thankfully some TASO staff were available for assistance when necessary.
Side note: Nrupa got to hold her first Ugandan baby. It was a truly memorable experience for her and one she has been looking forward to since we landed.
4) We decided to go for a short run after work today. We were slowly making our way up this huge hill behind our house when we met two local women, one of whom was carrying an adorable baby on her back. We got to talking with them and they ended up inviting us over to their homes. We just had quick visits (and we both got a chance to hold the baby, though she wasn't too excited about it...), but their generosity in inviting us over (and trying to get us to stay for supper) shows one of the major differences between Westerners and Ugandans (at least the ones in Mbale. I don't want to be too general). Even when we pass other muzungus on the street, they barely nod or smile at us despite the foreigner connection. But random Ugandans will come up, shake our hands, ask how we are, etc. and then greet us again the next time we randomly bump in to one another (which does happen. This is a relatively small town and we're quite recognizable). People in the US talk about Southern hospitality, but that's nothing compared to the Ugandan variety.
1) We made some progress on our project. We're going on an outreach tomorrow to see the implementation of some new male sensitization strategies. Yay for progress!
2) We met three seriously malnourished children today. Nova, one of the pediatric counselors who specializes in nutrition issues and therapeutic feeding, came searching for me and Nrupa so that he could introduce us to these children (he also took some pictures with my camera). Two of the children, both less than 5 years old, had severe edema, which was particularly noticeable in their feet and abdomens. The little girl also had skin irritations around her groin. They were both going to be enrolled in the therapeutic feeding program.
The other child in the room was a 2 month old baby that looked like she had been born at least a month premature, though apparently she was carried to term. She was so tiny. Her entire foot was the size of my thumb. Her mother had recently died of AIDS, and now her step mother was supposed to be taking care of her, but often neglected her. Her step sister was the one who took time off school to bring her into the clinic. (We weren't entirely clear on these relationships as we were getting this entire conversation through translation, but I think that this was a multiple-wives situation and one wife died of AIDS so another was supposed to be taking care of her child but instead resented the child and neglected caring for her). Anyway, this was the first time the baby had been brought to the clinic, so her HIV status was still unknown. They were going to do PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to test for HIV (blood tests don't work for children that young because they could have maternal antibodies that lead to a false positive result). Seeing this girl reiterated the importance of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programs. With ARV prophylaxis, vertical transmission rates can be reduced to less that 10% (even lower in developed countries), yet some women just don't know or don't have access to such care. Hopefully our project regarding male involvement will help address some of these issues. Since men are the heads of household and the decision-makers, educating them about prophylaxis, etc could have a profound effect on MTCT and family planning.
3) Nrupa and I will be measuring malnutrition among TASO clients as part of a nutrition assessment that Nova wants to conduct at the center. We started today by measuring about 15 children in the pediatric wing. We used what's called a muac tape to measure the circumference of the upper arm. Based on these measurements we can determine if the child is malnourished or not. Obviously such measurements are not foolproof, especially since edema is a common side effect of malnourishment, but it's an easy and cost effective way to get a general idea. Among the 15 children we measured, we found about 4 who were malnourished and will be started on therapeutic feeding. We also had 3 that were previously enrolled in the therapeutic feeding but now measured normal. It's good to see the concrete positive outcomes for some of these programs.
Our major challenge with this task was the language barrier. Most of the clients speak little if any English and though we're trying to pick up some of the local languages, there are way too many and we certainly won't know enough in 3 months to really get to know these clients without interpreters. Thankfully some TASO staff were available for assistance when necessary.
Side note: Nrupa got to hold her first Ugandan baby. It was a truly memorable experience for her and one she has been looking forward to since we landed.
4) We decided to go for a short run after work today. We were slowly making our way up this huge hill behind our house when we met two local women, one of whom was carrying an adorable baby on her back. We got to talking with them and they ended up inviting us over to their homes. We just had quick visits (and we both got a chance to hold the baby, though she wasn't too excited about it...), but their generosity in inviting us over (and trying to get us to stay for supper) shows one of the major differences between Westerners and Ugandans (at least the ones in Mbale. I don't want to be too general). Even when we pass other muzungus on the street, they barely nod or smile at us despite the foreigner connection. But random Ugandans will come up, shake our hands, ask how we are, etc. and then greet us again the next time we randomly bump in to one another (which does happen. This is a relatively small town and we're quite recognizable). People in the US talk about Southern hospitality, but that's nothing compared to the Ugandan variety.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sipi Falls and Mount Wanale
Saturday, June 5, 2010
This weekend was a blast. After our amazing night out on Friday, we woke up bright and early Saturday morning to go to Sipi Falls (and I made us a delicious breakfast--eggs in a basket. It was the first filling breakfast we've had since we got here). Sipi Falls is a waterfall about an hours drive from Mbale that is part of the Elgon range. Its a very popular tourist destination, so naturally we had to check it out. The drive there was beautiful. As our van climbed the mountain, we could see all of Mbale town below us. Also, due to the amount of rain in the area, everything is green and lush. I took some pictures that don't do the scenery justice.
Once there, we took a short but strenuous hike to the lower falls. The ground was wet from the rains and the splash from the waterfall, which made hiking the steep slope more difficult. At the lower falls, we were standing about halfway between the ground and the head of the falls. All the people we passed on our way up were soaking wet, but we stayed behind the falls rather than going in front so the splash wasn't as strong and we didn't get too wet.
We then hiked to the upper falls. We crossed this rickety bridge on the edge of the mountain and I just kept picturing myself rolling over the edge. We also ran into some guys (mostly boys, but a few older ones too; one was wearing an Obama shirt) who live up there. They stand on the path and try to get people to hire them as guides. We said we didn't need their assistance, but they walked with us anyway. It was quite obnoxious because they were moving so quickly since they are accustomed to the terrain. We all felt pressured to move faster, which for me and Nrupa was bad news. We both ended up falling, and now I have a big bruise on my shin. And then, of course, when we were leaving they asked for money even though we said we didn't want their help.
After the slow journey down, we went to wash our feet and hands in a stream. As my luck would have it, my phone slipped out of my backpack into the rushing water. Thankfully I hadn't paid for it in the first place (thanks Julie) and didn't have much airtime left on it. We drove to one more spot just for another quick view of the falls, and then headed home (I was exhausted and slept the entire ride).
Back in Mbale, after I purchased a new phone (they really need to redo the cellphone industry in the US. It's so much better and less of a hassle here), Nrupa and I tasted our first street food. It's the first thing any health and/or guide book advise against, but it's so good! We got a Rolex, which is a chapati with fried egg. So delicious! Thankfully we just spilt one because it was so big. And neither of us got sick!
We spent the rest of the afternoon at a friend's house watching two of the worst movies I've ever seen. We were laughing the entire time even though they were "serious" films (though films is too artistic of a word for these atrocities). The first was Dear John. which we all knew was going to be bad but wanted to see anyway (at least I did). The other was selected by Allen, our Ugandan host. It was called Love Comes Softly and must have been the first movie Katherine Heigl ever did. The acting was so bad and the writing was terribly cheesy.
Nrupa an I finally left to go home around 7pm. We were on the other side of twon, so we caught a random boda back. He was the worst boda driver ever! Firstly, he was driving way to fast, especially given that it was a busy Saturday night. Secondly, he was swerving like crazy. All drivers swerve a bit to avoid the potholes, but this was extreme and exacerbated by the speed. Then, when we were about two blocks from home, we hit a huge pothole and tipped over with a car blaring it's horn behind us. We didn't fall all the way over and we were both mostly unscathed, but we were obviously upset. The driver of the car behind us said something (not in English) to our boda driver as he righted his bike, then he sat there waiting for us to get back on. Yeah right! We paid him (even though we shouldn't have) and then walked the rest of the way home with our flashlights in one hand and bug spray in the other to use as mase incase anyone threatened us. Thankfully we made it home safely. We has a quick dinner and went to bed early.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday morning we woke up even earlier than Saturday and prepared to hike Mount Wanale, a small peak that is part of the Elgon range. We took bodas to the start of the National Park, about 30 minutes up a steep, winding rocky road. I was holding on for dear life, especially after our experience from the night before. We reached as far as the bodas could go and began hiking to the rangers camp. I slipped in the mud about five minutes in, which was very foreshadowing of the remainder of the hike. After meeting with the rangers, the six of us set off with our guide (who carried and AK-47) and three of our boda drivers. We each had waking sticks that were prepared for us by a kids with a machete. He literally just hacked branches off trees and gave them to us.
Within another 10 minutes, I had fallen three more times and my shoes and pants (sorry Mom, they were actually your pants--though they're surprising clean now) were covered with mud. Despite my inability to walk, it was such a beautiful hike. At points it felt like we were forging the trail ourselves. About 45 minutes to an hour in, it started rain. At first it was refreshing, but it soon became very hard and cold and made the trail even worse.
At the summit, we reached a small cave where we took refuge from the rain for a little rest and some lunch. As we started descending, a thick fog overtook the mountain. I couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of my. The craziest part was that people live up there. We were walking through carrot and bean fields and passing small mud-walled houses with thatched roofs. I can't imagine living there. How do these people get basic necessities like flour that they can't grow. By the time we finished our hike, the six of us were ecstatic to be finished--I can't imagine living up there and having to walk that every couple of days. On the positive side, the ground is very fertile from the rain so I'm sure the crops are often good. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what makes someone decide to to live at the top of a mountain rather than closer to town, though i guess such a sentiment is applicable throughout the world, even in the US.
After another treacherous boda ride down the mountain during which my knuckles were white from gripping the bike (and for which my forearms are still sore), we made it home. Nrupa and I stripped in our back yard and washed our clothes as best we could in the spigot (thank goodness we have that spigot!). After our wonderfully warm showers (our poor UBC friends don't have water heaters. They may be getting a more "African" experience, but I'd rather have the water heater). We settled down for a relaxing afternoon of reading and napping before taking dinner at a local hotel. During dinner, the power kept flashing on and off. While it was off, we got an amazing view of the sky, unpolluted by light. It was so breathtaking and something rarely seen at home.
This weekend was a blast. After our amazing night out on Friday, we woke up bright and early Saturday morning to go to Sipi Falls (and I made us a delicious breakfast--eggs in a basket. It was the first filling breakfast we've had since we got here). Sipi Falls is a waterfall about an hours drive from Mbale that is part of the Elgon range. Its a very popular tourist destination, so naturally we had to check it out. The drive there was beautiful. As our van climbed the mountain, we could see all of Mbale town below us. Also, due to the amount of rain in the area, everything is green and lush. I took some pictures that don't do the scenery justice.
Once there, we took a short but strenuous hike to the lower falls. The ground was wet from the rains and the splash from the waterfall, which made hiking the steep slope more difficult. At the lower falls, we were standing about halfway between the ground and the head of the falls. All the people we passed on our way up were soaking wet, but we stayed behind the falls rather than going in front so the splash wasn't as strong and we didn't get too wet.
We then hiked to the upper falls. We crossed this rickety bridge on the edge of the mountain and I just kept picturing myself rolling over the edge. We also ran into some guys (mostly boys, but a few older ones too; one was wearing an Obama shirt) who live up there. They stand on the path and try to get people to hire them as guides. We said we didn't need their assistance, but they walked with us anyway. It was quite obnoxious because they were moving so quickly since they are accustomed to the terrain. We all felt pressured to move faster, which for me and Nrupa was bad news. We both ended up falling, and now I have a big bruise on my shin. And then, of course, when we were leaving they asked for money even though we said we didn't want their help.
After the slow journey down, we went to wash our feet and hands in a stream. As my luck would have it, my phone slipped out of my backpack into the rushing water. Thankfully I hadn't paid for it in the first place (thanks Julie) and didn't have much airtime left on it. We drove to one more spot just for another quick view of the falls, and then headed home (I was exhausted and slept the entire ride).
Back in Mbale, after I purchased a new phone (they really need to redo the cellphone industry in the US. It's so much better and less of a hassle here), Nrupa and I tasted our first street food. It's the first thing any health and/or guide book advise against, but it's so good! We got a Rolex, which is a chapati with fried egg. So delicious! Thankfully we just spilt one because it was so big. And neither of us got sick!
We spent the rest of the afternoon at a friend's house watching two of the worst movies I've ever seen. We were laughing the entire time even though they were "serious" films (though films is too artistic of a word for these atrocities). The first was Dear John. which we all knew was going to be bad but wanted to see anyway (at least I did). The other was selected by Allen, our Ugandan host. It was called Love Comes Softly and must have been the first movie Katherine Heigl ever did. The acting was so bad and the writing was terribly cheesy.
Nrupa an I finally left to go home around 7pm. We were on the other side of twon, so we caught a random boda back. He was the worst boda driver ever! Firstly, he was driving way to fast, especially given that it was a busy Saturday night. Secondly, he was swerving like crazy. All drivers swerve a bit to avoid the potholes, but this was extreme and exacerbated by the speed. Then, when we were about two blocks from home, we hit a huge pothole and tipped over with a car blaring it's horn behind us. We didn't fall all the way over and we were both mostly unscathed, but we were obviously upset. The driver of the car behind us said something (not in English) to our boda driver as he righted his bike, then he sat there waiting for us to get back on. Yeah right! We paid him (even though we shouldn't have) and then walked the rest of the way home with our flashlights in one hand and bug spray in the other to use as mase incase anyone threatened us. Thankfully we made it home safely. We has a quick dinner and went to bed early.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday morning we woke up even earlier than Saturday and prepared to hike Mount Wanale, a small peak that is part of the Elgon range. We took bodas to the start of the National Park, about 30 minutes up a steep, winding rocky road. I was holding on for dear life, especially after our experience from the night before. We reached as far as the bodas could go and began hiking to the rangers camp. I slipped in the mud about five minutes in, which was very foreshadowing of the remainder of the hike. After meeting with the rangers, the six of us set off with our guide (who carried and AK-47) and three of our boda drivers. We each had waking sticks that were prepared for us by a kids with a machete. He literally just hacked branches off trees and gave them to us.
Within another 10 minutes, I had fallen three more times and my shoes and pants (sorry Mom, they were actually your pants--though they're surprising clean now) were covered with mud. Despite my inability to walk, it was such a beautiful hike. At points it felt like we were forging the trail ourselves. About 45 minutes to an hour in, it started rain. At first it was refreshing, but it soon became very hard and cold and made the trail even worse.
At the summit, we reached a small cave where we took refuge from the rain for a little rest and some lunch. As we started descending, a thick fog overtook the mountain. I couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of my. The craziest part was that people live up there. We were walking through carrot and bean fields and passing small mud-walled houses with thatched roofs. I can't imagine living there. How do these people get basic necessities like flour that they can't grow. By the time we finished our hike, the six of us were ecstatic to be finished--I can't imagine living up there and having to walk that every couple of days. On the positive side, the ground is very fertile from the rain so I'm sure the crops are often good. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what makes someone decide to to live at the top of a mountain rather than closer to town, though i guess such a sentiment is applicable throughout the world, even in the US.
After another treacherous boda ride down the mountain during which my knuckles were white from gripping the bike (and for which my forearms are still sore), we made it home. Nrupa and I stripped in our back yard and washed our clothes as best we could in the spigot (thank goodness we have that spigot!). After our wonderfully warm showers (our poor UBC friends don't have water heaters. They may be getting a more "African" experience, but I'd rather have the water heater). We settled down for a relaxing afternoon of reading and napping before taking dinner at a local hotel. During dinner, the power kept flashing on and off. While it was off, we got an amazing view of the sky, unpolluted by light. It was so breathtaking and something rarely seen at home.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Highlights of the past few days
Tuesday: We barely spent any time at TASO on Tuesday. The person with whom we need to meet isn't available until Monday, so we were mostly killing time. We did so by going to the market with Regina. It was slightly less overwhelming with her there, though only slightly. We then bonded with our UBC colleagues over not having anything to do and spent the evening hanging out with them at our house. It was nice to have the company of a few other people and not just be reading and being bored all night.
Wednesday: We went on our first real outreach, though our pseudo-outreach on Monday was better. We made sure to arrive at TASo at 8:30 on the dot, but all of the TASO vehicles were already full. HR managed to arrange a vehicle for us, but it took over 2 hours to pick us up because it got a flat tire on the way to meet us. When our chariot finally arrived, eight of us piled into a minivan that normally seats 6 or 7. This seems to be the style around here. We drove for an hour on ridiculously bumpy roads, weaving back and forth to avoid potholes. I think our top speed was around 15 or 20 kmh. When we reached the hospital, we took some tea, then spent about 45-60 minutes sorting pills, before we pilled back into the van in time to beat the rain. About 20 minutes later the TASO land cruiser, which left a bit after we did, zoomed by us since it can better navigate and withstand the potholes. In the evening, we hung out at our house with the UBC kids again and then we all went to dinner at this descent Indian place. The food wasn't bad, but the service was. I think it was a mixture of being in Africa (where time is not of the essence) and a power outage, but it took 2+ ours for our food to come once we ordered (Jared would certainly have complained). Then when it did, they messed up one of the dishes so Nrupa and I ended up with only one of our two dishes (which they finally did give us when we were ready to leave, so we took it to go only to find it covered with ants the next morning). Best thing about Wednesday: I tried my first bite of sugar cane. It's delicious!
Thursday: Thursday was a national holiday in Uganda (Martyr's Day, though I don't really know the background behind it. Something about Christian missionaries and battles), so we didn't have work. We spent the morning lazing around and fending off ants. Somehow they've gotten into our fridge, so that morning we found them in our juice, milk, bananas, and leftovers. While recovering from the bought of homesickness that this situation brought on, I finally organized my room and put my clothes away. I also hung my new bed net, though I still wind up with about 3-5 new bug bites each day. In the afternoon, we met up with our UBC friends to explore our surroundings (environment, as they call it here). We were trying to get boda bodas or a car to take us up part of the mountains right by us, but the road was bad because of the rain and it was too expensive, so we walked around town instead. Then we spent a quite night at home with no power.
Friday: The power still wasn't back on this morning, so I took a freezing cold shower after my run this morning. At work, Nrupa and I spent the first part of the day working on a PowerPoint presentation about toilets and toilet hygiene for the staff meeting on Monday. In the afternoon, we went on home visits with some of the staff. We mostly spent a few hours driving around trying to find community nurses to take us to clients homes so that we could check on them. Community nurses are usually retired nurses whom TASO employees as liaisons in distant villages in which the clients are unable to make it to the center. Unfortunately, in the two communities we visited, we had trouble finding said nurse. The first we abandoned for now, but in the second we were able to find a community volunteer (an HIV person who helps distribute drugs and monitor clients, but who has no formal medical training). She was able to lead us to the home of two clients, one of whom was there. The client we met was living with her son and several grandchildren in a small, two room house. I'm not sure of the time frame of her story, but at some point she was sick, so her husband took her to the hospital. There she tested positive for HIV, so her husband left her at her son's house and took a new wife. This is actually better than a lot of stories. At least he took her somewhere safe, and he still supports her. We're not sure of his HIV status, but most likely he's the one who infected her. The medical staff counted her medicine to make sure she was taking it correctly, and then she had a brief visit with the counselor. To worsen matters, her 6 year old grandson most likely had malaria (the doctor/nurse (not sure which she is) didn't do a test, but the symptoms pointed to that). He shook our hands and just from that you could tell that he had a raging fever. TASO's policy, however, is that they will treat dependents of clients who are under 5 years old, so this boy didn't make the cutoff. It was heartbreaking to know that you have the medicine to treat this boy, but because of legalise and policy and funding issues you can't do anything for him. As we were leaving, however, the grandmother said that she had malarial symptoms, so we did leave her with a supply of anti-malarials. I'm not sure about this, but I think (and hope) that she was lying about the malaria symptoms and just said that to get medicine for the boy...
Interesting Things:
- Exploring villages today was amazing. We went inside the community volunteers home, which I think was probably on the nicer end. It was nice one room house with thick mud walls and a tin roof. She had a bed, a small bench and table, and the bicycle given to her by TASO to carry out her duties. There were also a small cat and several chickens going in and out of her house, even jumping on her bed! The client's house was similar to that of the counselor, though even farther out. We drove on what is normally a single-file walking path. Apparently we were only the second car to drive on this "road." At her house she ran around and grabbed chairs from who knows where so that all six of her guests had a seat before she finally sat on the floor. I was trying to offer her my chair but she wouldn't take it. In the front yard, beans, cassava, and laundry were drying.
- While driving through the villages, we bough pinepple and maize without even having to get our of our vehicle. Much like on the bus, sellers came storming up to the car with grilled maize and bags of fruit. We bought three pineapples, one of which we had the man cut for us to eat right then. Even though it looked unripe, it was very juicy and good. We're going to leave the others for a few days hoping that they'll be even better. The maize is interesting. It's much harder than corn from home and tastes almost like unpopped popcorn kernals. It's good, but I don't think I could eat it every day.
- We saw some of the cutest children. It's crazy how 5 year olds are put in charge of their younger relatives, even though they are barely able to care for themselves. They carrying their young siblings and cousins on their backs. Also, pants seem to be an optional piece of clothing, particularly for young boys. We saw several young children today running around with their tiny members flying in the wind. We also saw one baby with what we think was a hernia. When he sat down, a large protrusion came out of his stomach/groin area.
- I can never tell if kids are excited to see us or making fun of us. I think sometimes it's a bit of both. Many in town or nearby villages will yell "Muzungu how are you" and then burst out laughing. Others, especially little girls, will come up to us, shake our hands, and curtsey. It's actually very uncomfortable and I wish they wouldn't do it.
Language Lesson:
Lugisu--Malembe = Hello; Urienna = How are you?; Weebale = Thank you
On that note, I'm going to go finish getting ready. We're going out with our UBC friends and one of their host-brothers. Then tomorrow we're going to Sipi Falls, this waterfall on Mt. Elgon, and Sunday we're hiking Mt. Wanale, which is a small peak of Mt. Elgon. Should be a fun weekend! (Awesome night out!!! I hope I can actually wake up in the morning...)
Wednesday: We went on our first real outreach, though our pseudo-outreach on Monday was better. We made sure to arrive at TASo at 8:30 on the dot, but all of the TASO vehicles were already full. HR managed to arrange a vehicle for us, but it took over 2 hours to pick us up because it got a flat tire on the way to meet us. When our chariot finally arrived, eight of us piled into a minivan that normally seats 6 or 7. This seems to be the style around here. We drove for an hour on ridiculously bumpy roads, weaving back and forth to avoid potholes. I think our top speed was around 15 or 20 kmh. When we reached the hospital, we took some tea, then spent about 45-60 minutes sorting pills, before we pilled back into the van in time to beat the rain. About 20 minutes later the TASO land cruiser, which left a bit after we did, zoomed by us since it can better navigate and withstand the potholes. In the evening, we hung out at our house with the UBC kids again and then we all went to dinner at this descent Indian place. The food wasn't bad, but the service was. I think it was a mixture of being in Africa (where time is not of the essence) and a power outage, but it took 2+ ours for our food to come once we ordered (Jared would certainly have complained). Then when it did, they messed up one of the dishes so Nrupa and I ended up with only one of our two dishes (which they finally did give us when we were ready to leave, so we took it to go only to find it covered with ants the next morning). Best thing about Wednesday: I tried my first bite of sugar cane. It's delicious!
Thursday: Thursday was a national holiday in Uganda (Martyr's Day, though I don't really know the background behind it. Something about Christian missionaries and battles), so we didn't have work. We spent the morning lazing around and fending off ants. Somehow they've gotten into our fridge, so that morning we found them in our juice, milk, bananas, and leftovers. While recovering from the bought of homesickness that this situation brought on, I finally organized my room and put my clothes away. I also hung my new bed net, though I still wind up with about 3-5 new bug bites each day. In the afternoon, we met up with our UBC friends to explore our surroundings (environment, as they call it here). We were trying to get boda bodas or a car to take us up part of the mountains right by us, but the road was bad because of the rain and it was too expensive, so we walked around town instead. Then we spent a quite night at home with no power.
Friday: The power still wasn't back on this morning, so I took a freezing cold shower after my run this morning. At work, Nrupa and I spent the first part of the day working on a PowerPoint presentation about toilets and toilet hygiene for the staff meeting on Monday. In the afternoon, we went on home visits with some of the staff. We mostly spent a few hours driving around trying to find community nurses to take us to clients homes so that we could check on them. Community nurses are usually retired nurses whom TASO employees as liaisons in distant villages in which the clients are unable to make it to the center. Unfortunately, in the two communities we visited, we had trouble finding said nurse. The first we abandoned for now, but in the second we were able to find a community volunteer (an HIV person who helps distribute drugs and monitor clients, but who has no formal medical training). She was able to lead us to the home of two clients, one of whom was there. The client we met was living with her son and several grandchildren in a small, two room house. I'm not sure of the time frame of her story, but at some point she was sick, so her husband took her to the hospital. There she tested positive for HIV, so her husband left her at her son's house and took a new wife. This is actually better than a lot of stories. At least he took her somewhere safe, and he still supports her. We're not sure of his HIV status, but most likely he's the one who infected her. The medical staff counted her medicine to make sure she was taking it correctly, and then she had a brief visit with the counselor. To worsen matters, her 6 year old grandson most likely had malaria (the doctor/nurse (not sure which she is) didn't do a test, but the symptoms pointed to that). He shook our hands and just from that you could tell that he had a raging fever. TASO's policy, however, is that they will treat dependents of clients who are under 5 years old, so this boy didn't make the cutoff. It was heartbreaking to know that you have the medicine to treat this boy, but because of legalise and policy and funding issues you can't do anything for him. As we were leaving, however, the grandmother said that she had malarial symptoms, so we did leave her with a supply of anti-malarials. I'm not sure about this, but I think (and hope) that she was lying about the malaria symptoms and just said that to get medicine for the boy...
Interesting Things:
- Exploring villages today was amazing. We went inside the community volunteers home, which I think was probably on the nicer end. It was nice one room house with thick mud walls and a tin roof. She had a bed, a small bench and table, and the bicycle given to her by TASO to carry out her duties. There were also a small cat and several chickens going in and out of her house, even jumping on her bed! The client's house was similar to that of the counselor, though even farther out. We drove on what is normally a single-file walking path. Apparently we were only the second car to drive on this "road." At her house she ran around and grabbed chairs from who knows where so that all six of her guests had a seat before she finally sat on the floor. I was trying to offer her my chair but she wouldn't take it. In the front yard, beans, cassava, and laundry were drying.
- While driving through the villages, we bough pinepple and maize without even having to get our of our vehicle. Much like on the bus, sellers came storming up to the car with grilled maize and bags of fruit. We bought three pineapples, one of which we had the man cut for us to eat right then. Even though it looked unripe, it was very juicy and good. We're going to leave the others for a few days hoping that they'll be even better. The maize is interesting. It's much harder than corn from home and tastes almost like unpopped popcorn kernals. It's good, but I don't think I could eat it every day.
- We saw some of the cutest children. It's crazy how 5 year olds are put in charge of their younger relatives, even though they are barely able to care for themselves. They carrying their young siblings and cousins on their backs. Also, pants seem to be an optional piece of clothing, particularly for young boys. We saw several young children today running around with their tiny members flying in the wind. We also saw one baby with what we think was a hernia. When he sat down, a large protrusion came out of his stomach/groin area.
- I can never tell if kids are excited to see us or making fun of us. I think sometimes it's a bit of both. Many in town or nearby villages will yell "Muzungu how are you" and then burst out laughing. Others, especially little girls, will come up to us, shake our hands, and curtsey. It's actually very uncomfortable and I wish they wouldn't do it.
Language Lesson:
Lugisu--Malembe = Hello; Urienna = How are you?; Weebale = Thank you
On that note, I'm going to go finish getting ready. We're going out with our UBC friends and one of their host-brothers. Then tomorrow we're going to Sipi Falls, this waterfall on Mt. Elgon, and Sunday we're hiking Mt. Wanale, which is a small peak of Mt. Elgon. Should be a fun weekend! (Awesome night out!!! I hope I can actually wake up in the morning...)
Monday, May 31, 2010
First day in the field--sort of
I thoroughly enjoyed today. Well, the second half of today. The morning was quite boring. Mondays at TASO are staff meeting days, so the first 3 hours of the day was occupied by that. I tried so hard to pay attention in the meeting, but since I'm so new and still getting used to the accents, it was very hard to follow. Even when I understood what was being said, I didn't know what it was pertaining to. Oh well, it ended with cake, snickers, tea, and chipatti, so it was all okay in the end.
We also met some students from the University of British Columbia who will be working with TASO for the next six weeks. It was kind of fund being the "veterans," even though we've only been there for a week. But Nrupa and I are finally starting to learn some names and make some friends, so we were having conversations with some of the staff while the UBC kids were just hanging out talked to one another. I'm sure we'll all become friends in the next few days though, especially since Nrupa and I have already decided that they're going to be our travel buddies. The four of them are doing home-stays while there here, the two guys at one house and the two girls at another. When we were leaving TASO, we met the son of the family with whom the girls are staying, and even he asked if we would all like to go to Sipi Falls (which is on the mountain near our house) together.
I think a home-stay would be fun. It would be nice to really be integrated into the culture like that. On the other hand, I like having the freedom of my own home and really be able to move in, rather than just feeling like I'm visiting someone for 3 months. I guess we'll just have to find otherwise to explore the culture. Hopefully we'll get to go to a wedding...
After the staff meeting, we snuck away to town to go to the bank...again. We happened to return to TASO at just the right time. One of the counselors/field workers was getting on his motorbike and told us that "we would move together." We didn't know what he was talking about, but we hopped on the back of the bike anyway. He took us down the street to a clinic where TASO staff were drawing blood for hemoglobin and CD4 counts and handing out antiretroviral (ARV) medicines to clients. We helped fill out some forms, but once that was finished we just observed. The lab tech, Peter, offered to let me draw blood (they call it bleeding someone), but then it started raining and got too crowded. However, we were talking to him later in the day and he told us to come by the lab tomorrow (Tuesday) and he would teach us how to do it. Nrupa is not so enthused and doesn't want to do it, but I'm really excited! This was only a brief and limited field experience, but it was a great introduction. Hopefully we'll be able to go on outreach this week and delve even deeper into community work.
Something I don't like: How People here assume that, because I'm white/American, I'm wealthy. I knew to expect this, but I don't like how people just come up and tell some story to ask for money. Obviously it happens at home too, but here it's obvious that I'm am targeted because I am white. At the outreach today, this woman took me aside and told me how her husband left her because she had a hermaphroditic child so now she's struggling because she's a single mother with a deformed child and the doctors can do an operation to fix her child but she can't afford it so could I help her. I'm not sure if this story was true or not, but two things struck me about it. 1) It was an awkward situation and I had to explain to this woman that I was not able to help her but she should continue talking about this issue with her TASO counselor and 2) I felt terribly sad. Whether or not this story is true, the fact that this woman approached a total stranger with this proposition kind of broke my heart. It happens at home too, when people approach me in the metro with stories of loss and hardship, but for some reason it seems more poignant here because such situations are so pervasive. In the US, it's relatively easy to hide from and ignore the poverty, but here you see it around every corner. Thankfully, money doesn't bring happiness, so you also see joy and life, especially in the children.
On our way home from work, we stopped by the outdoor market. It's HUGE!!! We almost got lost walking around the stalls. We managed to get a good deal on some fruit, but left the market quickly when we saw the intestines and cows stomachs sitting on the stands, swarmed by flies. If I wasn't already vegetarian, I think that that site and smell would have turned me so.
The evening passed as most do. Sitting at home talking with friends and family on skype and reading. We also had a pretty good conversation with Regina. It was nice to get to know a little more about her, especially since she's in our home every day. Tomorrow we are going to try to meet her at the market so she can show us what to buy and from whom, and how much everything costs. Since we are muzungu, we are liable to be overcharged. But with Regina we will be charged a fair price or she can tell us what price we should be paying for each item. It really is nice having her around. She's going to teach us some Luganda too, one of the four languages she speaks, including English and two other local languages.
We also met some students from the University of British Columbia who will be working with TASO for the next six weeks. It was kind of fund being the "veterans," even though we've only been there for a week. But Nrupa and I are finally starting to learn some names and make some friends, so we were having conversations with some of the staff while the UBC kids were just hanging out talked to one another. I'm sure we'll all become friends in the next few days though, especially since Nrupa and I have already decided that they're going to be our travel buddies. The four of them are doing home-stays while there here, the two guys at one house and the two girls at another. When we were leaving TASO, we met the son of the family with whom the girls are staying, and even he asked if we would all like to go to Sipi Falls (which is on the mountain near our house) together.
I think a home-stay would be fun. It would be nice to really be integrated into the culture like that. On the other hand, I like having the freedom of my own home and really be able to move in, rather than just feeling like I'm visiting someone for 3 months. I guess we'll just have to find otherwise to explore the culture. Hopefully we'll get to go to a wedding...
After the staff meeting, we snuck away to town to go to the bank...again. We happened to return to TASO at just the right time. One of the counselors/field workers was getting on his motorbike and told us that "we would move together." We didn't know what he was talking about, but we hopped on the back of the bike anyway. He took us down the street to a clinic where TASO staff were drawing blood for hemoglobin and CD4 counts and handing out antiretroviral (ARV) medicines to clients. We helped fill out some forms, but once that was finished we just observed. The lab tech, Peter, offered to let me draw blood (they call it bleeding someone), but then it started raining and got too crowded. However, we were talking to him later in the day and he told us to come by the lab tomorrow (Tuesday) and he would teach us how to do it. Nrupa is not so enthused and doesn't want to do it, but I'm really excited! This was only a brief and limited field experience, but it was a great introduction. Hopefully we'll be able to go on outreach this week and delve even deeper into community work.
Something I don't like: How People here assume that, because I'm white/American, I'm wealthy. I knew to expect this, but I don't like how people just come up and tell some story to ask for money. Obviously it happens at home too, but here it's obvious that I'm am targeted because I am white. At the outreach today, this woman took me aside and told me how her husband left her because she had a hermaphroditic child so now she's struggling because she's a single mother with a deformed child and the doctors can do an operation to fix her child but she can't afford it so could I help her. I'm not sure if this story was true or not, but two things struck me about it. 1) It was an awkward situation and I had to explain to this woman that I was not able to help her but she should continue talking about this issue with her TASO counselor and 2) I felt terribly sad. Whether or not this story is true, the fact that this woman approached a total stranger with this proposition kind of broke my heart. It happens at home too, when people approach me in the metro with stories of loss and hardship, but for some reason it seems more poignant here because such situations are so pervasive. In the US, it's relatively easy to hide from and ignore the poverty, but here you see it around every corner. Thankfully, money doesn't bring happiness, so you also see joy and life, especially in the children.
On our way home from work, we stopped by the outdoor market. It's HUGE!!! We almost got lost walking around the stalls. We managed to get a good deal on some fruit, but left the market quickly when we saw the intestines and cows stomachs sitting on the stands, swarmed by flies. If I wasn't already vegetarian, I think that that site and smell would have turned me so.
The evening passed as most do. Sitting at home talking with friends and family on skype and reading. We also had a pretty good conversation with Regina. It was nice to get to know a little more about her, especially since she's in our home every day. Tomorrow we are going to try to meet her at the market so she can show us what to buy and from whom, and how much everything costs. Since we are muzungu, we are liable to be overcharged. But with Regina we will be charged a fair price or she can tell us what price we should be paying for each item. It really is nice having her around. She's going to teach us some Luganda too, one of the four languages she speaks, including English and two other local languages.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Exploration
We had to pay our landlord four months worth of rent today (even though we're only here three months, which is ridiculous and another reason why GW sucks, but that's a conversation for another day), so we headed in to town to go the bank. Naturally, we had more issues, but were finally able to get everything sorted and pay him. He was surprisingly more cordial today, probably because we handed him an envelope bursting with cash.
After that, we decided to explore Mbale a little bit. Since we had already gone to town to go to the bank, we head the opposite direction, and ended up walking around villages on the way towards Mt. Elgon, which looms behind our house. Everyone was so friendly. They would call hello and ask how we were. Children ran to the front of their yards calling, "Muzungu, how are you?"
Realization: We like to stare at the people here just as much as they like to stare at us, only we are more self conscious about it. I really wish I could just stare openly and not feel awkward about it.
I was going to post pictures here, but I think it will be too difficult. I'll put a few, but for more go to my facebook page. As you'll notice, a lot of the pictures are taken from behind or secretly. I'm not sure how people react to their pictures being taken, and I'm not quite confident or comfortable enough to just take them openly.
Descriptions of pictures, from top to bottom:
1) Our house, with Nrupa on the porch
2) A house on our walk into the village. I wasn't sure how happy the woman sitting on the porch would be with me taking pictures, so I did it in a way that she couldn't see.
3) Three men on a boda boda going to town. I was actually trying to take a picture of the two cows lounging on the grass on the other side of the road, but I heard the boda coming up behind us and timed the picture perfectly to take it just as they passed.
4) Some people walking back to their homes in the village. The little girl closest to us in pink was really cute. She ran up behind us and walked with us until we reached her home, even waiting for us as we took pictures.
After that, we decided to explore Mbale a little bit. Since we had already gone to town to go to the bank, we head the opposite direction, and ended up walking around villages on the way towards Mt. Elgon, which looms behind our house. Everyone was so friendly. They would call hello and ask how we were. Children ran to the front of their yards calling, "Muzungu, how are you?"
Realization: We like to stare at the people here just as much as they like to stare at us, only we are more self conscious about it. I really wish I could just stare openly and not feel awkward about it.
I was going to post pictures here, but I think it will be too difficult. I'll put a few, but for more go to my facebook page. As you'll notice, a lot of the pictures are taken from behind or secretly. I'm not sure how people react to their pictures being taken, and I'm not quite confident or comfortable enough to just take them openly.
Descriptions of pictures, from top to bottom:
1) Our house, with Nrupa on the porch
2) A house on our walk into the village. I wasn't sure how happy the woman sitting on the porch would be with me taking pictures, so I did it in a way that she couldn't see.
3) Three men on a boda boda going to town. I was actually trying to take a picture of the two cows lounging on the grass on the other side of the road, but I heard the boda coming up behind us and timed the picture perfectly to take it just as they passed.
4) Some people walking back to their homes in the village. The little girl closest to us in pink was really cute. She ran up behind us and walked with us until we reached her home, even waiting for us as we took pictures.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Saturday, May 29--Lazy Day
Today was spent relaxing around the house. We were planning on exploring town, but Nrupa's back was hurting so we spent the day reading instead. This was fine by me--I brought 13 books to read while I'm here and haven't even finished the first.
Our hopes for going to a wedding weren't realized, nor did the good Doctor ever even call... Oh well, apparently there was a wedding just down the street that we could have crashed if we really wanted to. Maybe next time.
This evening, we met the infamous Dave and Jessi, anthropology PhD students from the University of Georgia (I say infamous because we've heard a lot about them). The fellows from Fall 2009 were the first to meet Dave and Jessi, and since then each group has become good friends with them. It was great to hang out with some Americans who have been living in and around Mbale for a while.
Observation: Uganda is full of noises. There's the siren across the street, music from the neighbors, an insect and/or bat (I think bat) that beeps in the night, the whirring of our expat neighbor's generator when the electricity goes out. It's just as noisy as the city but in such different ways...
Definition: Sexpat--an expat who goes to another country with the primary purpose of having sex, usually because s/he is too disgusting to find a partner in the US and prostitutes are more expensive there. We learned this term in regards to some sexpats Dave met in Thailand.
Our hopes for going to a wedding weren't realized, nor did the good Doctor ever even call... Oh well, apparently there was a wedding just down the street that we could have crashed if we really wanted to. Maybe next time.
This evening, we met the infamous Dave and Jessi, anthropology PhD students from the University of Georgia (I say infamous because we've heard a lot about them). The fellows from Fall 2009 were the first to meet Dave and Jessi, and since then each group has become good friends with them. It was great to hang out with some Americans who have been living in and around Mbale for a while.
Observation: Uganda is full of noises. There's the siren across the street, music from the neighbors, an insect and/or bat (I think bat) that beeps in the night, the whirring of our expat neighbor's generator when the electricity goes out. It's just as noisy as the city but in such different ways...
Definition: Sexpat--an expat who goes to another country with the primary purpose of having sex, usually because s/he is too disgusting to find a partner in the US and prostitutes are more expensive there. We learned this term in regards to some sexpats Dave met in Thailand.
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