So I have now been to Igangatown, Ibulanku, and my parish of Kalalu, getting more and more rustic with each destination.
Igangatown: Where I will be traveling to for weekly coordinators meetings, as well as to buy house and project supplies/big groceries and use the internet. However, to get to this location from my village will be around a 2-2.5 hour journey filled with matatus (vans) and mboda bodas (motorbikes). Did I mention the 2-2.5 hour journey is only about 10 miles??? Such is life in Africa.
Ibulanku: This is the town where I have been staying since I've arrived in the district of Iganga (3 hour matatu ride southeast of Kampala). Jonathan and I have been living it up in quite the mansion near the Ibulanku Health Care Center, where Jonathan will be working since he is the health care project coordinator. The house has nice rooms and bathrooms, a refrigerator (!!!), and a dining room and lounge area with leather couches (!!!). The only thing really of difference between this house and a house from home is that you have to collect your water for washing/cooking/flushing the toilet from the borehole about 50m outside of the house. Every time we go there to fill up our jerrycans, it is quite the scene. The children already there to collect water from their families will stop what they're doing and come running at us mzungus. I have a video of this, it's pretty funny.
Ibulanku Health Care Center: Yesterday we took a tour of the Center; it is a grade 3. The biggest hospital health center (ex. Kampala Hospital) is a grade 6; grade 5 is any complex with surgical capabilities; grade 4 is the best you would get in a village. Jonathan's workplace is grade 3. The pediatric ward is right by the "reception desk" and consists of four cribs. Women and children were laying on the floor... The women's ward was a room with about six gurnies; men's ward was similar.
***(If this post stops abruptly, or any other post for that matter, it's because power went out or a virus took over the computer; I will continue later on or just give up on blogging...)***
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
You know you are in Africa when...
a) The pilot says, "Your flight from Roma, Italy, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will be 5 hours and 75 minutes long..."
b) Your flight from Ethiopia to Uganda is randomly combined with 2 other flights, and they use the plane as a bus, making stops in Uganda (thankfully I was first stop), and then Rwanda and the Congo. People disembarked when it was their turn. Needless to say the Congolese were REALLY angry that they were the last stop and they were yelling the entire time, cursing the pilot, as I sat in the back wide-eyed, next to a village Reverend who was gripping his bible the whole time;
c) Your ride didn't come to pick you up at the airport until 1.5 hours after you landed, because "It rained".
So yes... after 5 planes, and one awesome 36 hour layover in London, I have made it to Uganda.
We spent our first night in Kampala, all a blur due to being severely tired. This morning, however, 5 of us (4 coordinators - me, Sarah, Jonathan, William - and Matt, the UVP boardmember/our guide) loaded up on a matatu (van), and made our way through Kampala to the one road that runs through Uganda and into Kenya (conveniently called Kampala Road). In leaving Kampala, I have never seen a place more congested. I was in shock. There's really no way to even describe what it was like - next time I will have take a video.
We drove 3.5 hours through the rolling, green hills of Uganda to reach Iganga, our working district. We are currently in Igangatown, and this is the place I will travel back to in order to obtain Internet and any type of supplies. Pretty crazy. We get followed around by all the children yelling, "Mzungu... hi! I'm fine!!!"
It's raining... gotta go before power dies...........
b) Your flight from Ethiopia to Uganda is randomly combined with 2 other flights, and they use the plane as a bus, making stops in Uganda (thankfully I was first stop), and then Rwanda and the Congo. People disembarked when it was their turn. Needless to say the Congolese were REALLY angry that they were the last stop and they were yelling the entire time, cursing the pilot, as I sat in the back wide-eyed, next to a village Reverend who was gripping his bible the whole time;
c) Your ride didn't come to pick you up at the airport until 1.5 hours after you landed, because "It rained".
So yes... after 5 planes, and one awesome 36 hour layover in London, I have made it to Uganda.
We spent our first night in Kampala, all a blur due to being severely tired. This morning, however, 5 of us (4 coordinators - me, Sarah, Jonathan, William - and Matt, the UVP boardmember/our guide) loaded up on a matatu (van), and made our way through Kampala to the one road that runs through Uganda and into Kenya (conveniently called Kampala Road). In leaving Kampala, I have never seen a place more congested. I was in shock. There's really no way to even describe what it was like - next time I will have take a video.
We drove 3.5 hours through the rolling, green hills of Uganda to reach Iganga, our working district. We are currently in Igangatown, and this is the place I will travel back to in order to obtain Internet and any type of supplies. Pretty crazy. We get followed around by all the children yelling, "Mzungu... hi! I'm fine!!!"
It's raining... gotta go before power dies...........
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Did someone say I leave the day after tomorrow???
I am kind of sitting here in a weird state right now... I have said my goodbyes to friends and coworkers through various lunches/dinners/happy hours, bought what looks to be a whole CVS store, and collected a bunch of donateable items (thanks to everyone who helped!) for my soon-to-be village. However, I really don't feel like I'm about to leave all my creature comforts for the most simplistic of living conditions in just two days...
A huge pile of stuff, ranging from shampoo to packages of ramen noodles to mosquito bed nets, has just taken over my bedroom floor. Yes, ramen, hence "passtheramen.blogspot.com". I was told this might just become the most important item to pack of all... apparently Ugandan food is unpalatable. I've never brought food with me before while traveling, because I thought the whole point was to embrace diversity in every way, shape and form... but I have been warned repeatedly about Ugandan food, even from the most non-picky, laid-back of family friends. Hence I decided to fold and bring lots of ramen, protein bars and multi-vitamins, which will have to snuggle with the donated baby clothes, my water purifier/filter, and headtorch that will also be taking up a lot of space in my bags.
I am excited for what's to come, but nervous about being so far removed from the developed world. People keep asking me questions about life in Uganda to which I don't really have the answers, but ironically I'm about to go live there. I suppose I'll learn as I go...
For now though, I'm going to watch some TV... I'll pack tomorrow.
A huge pile of stuff, ranging from shampoo to packages of ramen noodles to mosquito bed nets, has just taken over my bedroom floor. Yes, ramen, hence "passtheramen.blogspot.com". I was told this might just become the most important item to pack of all... apparently Ugandan food is unpalatable. I've never brought food with me before while traveling, because I thought the whole point was to embrace diversity in every way, shape and form... but I have been warned repeatedly about Ugandan food, even from the most non-picky, laid-back of family friends. Hence I decided to fold and bring lots of ramen, protein bars and multi-vitamins, which will have to snuggle with the donated baby clothes, my water purifier/filter, and headtorch that will also be taking up a lot of space in my bags.
I am excited for what's to come, but nervous about being so far removed from the developed world. People keep asking me questions about life in Uganda to which I don't really have the answers, but ironically I'm about to go live there. I suppose I'll learn as I go...
For now though, I'm going to watch some TV... I'll pack tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
My mission, and I chose to accept it...
Monday February 18th, 2008:
"Congratulations Kate! After careful deliberation, we would like to offer you the position of project coordinator for our safe water team this summer. Specifically, we'd like you to head our 'model village' project team. "
Project description as taken from http://www.ugandavillageproject.org/:
Safe Water and Sanitation:
Preventable infectious diseases ravage the communities in which we work. The UN Millennium Development Project estimates that 42% of Sub-Saharan African people do not have access to clean water, and that a child dies every 15 seconds from water-borne diseases. Safe water is not a glamorous and well-known part of global health work, but it should be! There are few better ways to make a difference in the lives of those who live in rural villages than to work towards safer water with them. Volunteers will work with our partners in safe water projects in the Iganga district.
The plan is to work with our local partner to create a 'model village' for safe water and sanitation. The team will then work intensively with the communities to help promote the chlorination product WaterGuard and solidly establish a supply chain, to learn the basic principles of social promotion programs.
As a side project, the sanitation teams may also work to reinforce messages about malaria and follow up on our bed net distribution program.
____________________________________
It's official! I will be in Uganda from May 23 - July 30, 2008, working with a team of volunteers on UVP's Safe Water and Sanitation project. We will be located in southern Uganda in the district of Iganga. More specifically, my team will be living in the extremely rural village of Kalalu, where apparently the current water source is a swamp...
Since deciding to be part of this program, I've gotten a lot of, "But what exactly will you be doing?" I recently received a document of team objectives, which I have copied below to answer those questions....
1. BASELINE SURVEY: We will be developing and carrying out a baseline survey to gather data depicting the prevalence of WaterGuard usage in the home, the presence of sanitation facilities in and around the home and water sources, and any other related information, such as the rate of illnesses caused by waterborne diseases. The results will be shared with Population Services International (PSI), the distributors of WaterGuard which was developed by the CDC, to help them develop their strategy for ensuring safe water options in rural communities.
2. INTENSIVE SENSITIZATION: Intensively promote WaterGuard and ensure there is a supply available in one local area. This can be done by working with PSI and community partners, and mobilizing for meetings and sensitizations, focusing on WaterGuard and its proper use, the Safe Water System, which involves ensuring safe water from the source to storage in the home, and the importance of different sanitation facilities in and around the home.
3. SUPPLY CHAIN: Set-up a simple structure for supplying WaterGuard after your team leaves Kalalu.
4. WELL CONSTRUCTION: Funding has been received to construct several shallow wells in Kalalu this summer. This must be overseen.
5. REPORT OF FINDINGS: Produce a report that summarizes the activities during the summer project for the UVP board and for future safe water teams. This report should also include a completed report of how project money was spent using our financial template.
Sounds like this summer we will be busy....
"Congratulations Kate! After careful deliberation, we would like to offer you the position of project coordinator for our safe water team this summer. Specifically, we'd like you to head our 'model village' project team. "
Project description as taken from http://www.ugandavillageproject.org/:
Safe Water and Sanitation:
Preventable infectious diseases ravage the communities in which we work. The UN Millennium Development Project estimates that 42% of Sub-Saharan African people do not have access to clean water, and that a child dies every 15 seconds from water-borne diseases. Safe water is not a glamorous and well-known part of global health work, but it should be! There are few better ways to make a difference in the lives of those who live in rural villages than to work towards safer water with them. Volunteers will work with our partners in safe water projects in the Iganga district.
The plan is to work with our local partner to create a 'model village' for safe water and sanitation. The team will then work intensively with the communities to help promote the chlorination product WaterGuard and solidly establish a supply chain, to learn the basic principles of social promotion programs.
As a side project, the sanitation teams may also work to reinforce messages about malaria and follow up on our bed net distribution program.
____________________________________
It's official! I will be in Uganda from May 23 - July 30, 2008, working with a team of volunteers on UVP's Safe Water and Sanitation project. We will be located in southern Uganda in the district of Iganga. More specifically, my team will be living in the extremely rural village of Kalalu, where apparently the current water source is a swamp...
Since deciding to be part of this program, I've gotten a lot of, "But what exactly will you be doing?" I recently received a document of team objectives, which I have copied below to answer those questions....
1. BASELINE SURVEY: We will be developing and carrying out a baseline survey to gather data depicting the prevalence of WaterGuard usage in the home, the presence of sanitation facilities in and around the home and water sources, and any other related information, such as the rate of illnesses caused by waterborne diseases. The results will be shared with Population Services International (PSI), the distributors of WaterGuard which was developed by the CDC, to help them develop their strategy for ensuring safe water options in rural communities.
2. INTENSIVE SENSITIZATION: Intensively promote WaterGuard and ensure there is a supply available in one local area. This can be done by working with PSI and community partners, and mobilizing for meetings and sensitizations, focusing on WaterGuard and its proper use, the Safe Water System, which involves ensuring safe water from the source to storage in the home, and the importance of different sanitation facilities in and around the home.
3. SUPPLY CHAIN: Set-up a simple structure for supplying WaterGuard after your team leaves Kalalu.
4. WELL CONSTRUCTION: Funding has been received to construct several shallow wells in Kalalu this summer. This must be overseen.
5. REPORT OF FINDINGS: Produce a report that summarizes the activities during the summer project for the UVP board and for future safe water teams. This report should also include a completed report of how project money was spent using our financial template.
Sounds like this summer we will be busy....
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