In Charge

Giving a DPT vaccine at the outreach

This week Sister Angel has left for Ghana. She is the director of the clinic and the only sister right now working at the clinic on a daily basis. Without her it means Anne and I are “in charge.” We have a list of things to check up on each day in addition to our usual duties. For example it is up to us to make sure doors are locked, money is accounted for each day, matters are taken care of, drugs are brought each day, a new nurse is welcomed and oriented to the unit, vaccines are available, and things are running smoothly. We are also helping create an action plan for the strategic plan that was created last week. I did not expect to take on such an administrative role upon coming to Uganda, but as cliché as it sounds we are rolling with the punches- even when those punches are hard (strategic planning is not easy when you are short on resources!)

Today I went on an immunization outreach in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. The outreach was at a church and when me, a clinic worker named Amos, and our driver Sister Daisy showed up no one was there. I was told that this would be a short outreach, and thought “wow it must be really small if no one is even here.” However, 3 hours later and after giving out well over 60 immunizations we were finished. Two other village health workers were planning on showing up, but one never showed and the other did not arrive until much later so the work was plentiful for just the three of us. So much for a “small” outreach. These rural villages are not used to seeing a “mzungu” so once again there was a crowd of school children around the church at all times giggling, whispering, and staring at me throughout most of the time there. Additionally, some of the mothers feel very happy and privileged that a white person came to immunize their child. I wish I could tell them that Amos, an African, is just as qualified to vaccinate their child, and in fact he even has more years experience then I do. The color of one’s skin seems to bring stereotypes and different perceptions of someone no matter what country you are in.

Weekend Bit

Drumming with the Kyarusozi School Children

All the power was out at home this weekend, which meant cold showers, no working oven, and no internet or TV. So...weekend adventures in Kyarusozi this past week included doing laundry; cooking posho, fish head soup, and chapati on the stove top that was lit with a match; celebrating one of the Sister's birthdays; attending a short mass (90 minutes,) running with the village kids, and walking to Kyarusozi town to see Kyarusozi school children sing and dance. Unfortunately, the children sang on American time, and Anne and I showed up on African time to the concert (15 minutes late) and missed it. Nevertheless, we had fun talking and goofing around with the kids.

Marathon Media

So a few days ago I received an email from a Daily Herald reporter who wanted to interview me regarding winning the Haile Marathon. I never expected to win the marathon let alone be in an American newspaper and make the front page. I have seen the articles that were written online and the pictures that accompany it and all I can say is “wow.” To be all the way in Uganda, and hear from family and friends that I was on the front page of the paper and on the radio is pretty baffling to me. My former teachers are posting the paper in their schools and running groups have been talking about “this girl from Naperville.” To receive such love and support from so many people a world away… well, there are no words to express how I feel. I woke up to tons of emails the morning after the paper was posted, and I was shocked. Who would have thought a small marathon in Ethiopia could generate so much attention, but then I think about what Maggie Doyne once said. “Anything is possible. I’m telling you there’s a lot to do. I’m telling you the world needs you. Whatever your calling is. Whatever you dream of. The world needs all of us. I’m telling you. Everything you need, you’ve got right now. So go on. One step at a time. The world will cheer you on. Trust me.”

            Well the world certainly has been cheering me on, and it is just one more affirmation that I am right where I am supposed to be.

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween Costumes

Although Halloween is not celebrated in Uganda, Anne and I created our own African version for the Sisters. We decorated their bedroom doors with pumpkin cut-outs, made candy bags for each of them, and of course dressed up. I was a pregnant African woman- I wore an African fabric dress, a headscarf, stuffed a blanket underneath my dress to make me look pregnant, and carried a baby doll wrapped around my back. The Sisters dressed as Santa Clause, a doctor, and me! The Sister wore my clothes, which was pretty funny considering she wore my skirt and she is a lot taller then I am. Anne dressed up as a cat in all black and created paper ears. After dinner we carved pumpkins. Now keep in mind orange pumpkins are not easy to find in Uganda let alone ones big enough to carve into. So we had one small/medium size orange pumpkin- a lucky find, and a green pumpkin. Carving into them was not easy. We quickly found out that they were not as ripe as the ones from home, which made cutting a whole lot harder. After several people attempted to cut/stab into the pumpkin we finally did it. We made a traditional face in one of them and a cross in the other. There was no trick-or-treating or haunted houses this year, but you make do with what you have. Pictures to come soon!

Helping Babies Breathe Program

Teaching the staff about neonatal resuscitation

This week at work we accomplished quiete a bit. I gave my first CME (continuing medical education talk) on neonatal resucsitation. I had purchased the Helping Babies Breathe kit from the American Academy of Pediatrics before I left in order to have a hands on kit to teach the staff about neonatal resuscitation and immediate postnatal care. This kit comes with a flip chart, bulb suction, bag and mask, cord ties, umbilical cord, hat, blanket, several posters, and a baby which can manually be given a heart rate and umbilical pulse. HBB is an easy and effective way to teach the basics of newborn resuscitation to people in clinics worldwide.

The doll comes deflated and can be inflated with air or water. Anne and I choose to fill our flat, plastic baby outside at the water spigot between the clinic and primary school. Little did we know what a scene we would create. To fill the baby you must hold the valve by the babies head. Well, the nursery students were on break at the time and running around outside playing. Naturally they wondered what we were doing and soon a huge crowed of kids had gathered as we filled up the NeoNatalie doll. Anne and I are used to crowds of kids staring at us "mzungus" so we did not think much of it. Later that night as we were showing the Sisters the NeoNatalie doll Sister Edith asked us if we were outside with the doll during the school day. Apparently the nursery students had come up to Sister Edith, the assistant principal, after their break and told here that the two white girls were washing a dead baby at the spigot. The doll's eyes do not open, and the mouth does not close so it does look a bit like a dead baby now that we look at it, but  we did not mean to traumatize a group of nursery students by filling up a doll!

Showing the school children the Helping Babies Breathe kit

On another note the CME was succesful and went smoothly. We started hands on teaching with the mannequin with individual staff workers as well as demonstrated through hand motions the basics of newborn care to mothers coming in for antenatal care.

Other things we did this week....
-we created a possible mission statement, vision statement, and a set of values for the clinic (Hey Rush friends- iCare, iCount is now called PREACH in Uganda- patient centered, respect, excellence, accountability, compassion, honesty)
-we made a "Meet our Staff" poster with the clnic wrokers names, titles, and pictures. It was a hit, except now half the staff wants a "better" picture of themselves on teh wall
-we have a soccer game between the clinic and teaching staff planned, but unfortunately it had to be postponed until the end of November due to testing at the school. Excitement though is building for the big game.

Sunday Mass

So this past Sunday Anne and I attended the normal Sunday mass here at the parish. I look forward to attending mass here (despite the huge language barrier) because the music is so lively and it is amazing seeing so many people who are excited to be at church- whereas in the U.S. I feel that a lot more people attended becasue they felt obligated to get their weekly one hour mass in. Not all people, but some.

The procession of the Bible brought up on an airplane

However, this Sunday mass was a bit different. Sunday mass here usually lasts about two hours, but this past Sunday was the feast day (St. Jude)  for the church. Okay, I thought it will be a little bit longer then 2 hours, but no more then three max. It was to start at 10am, and I thought for sure we would be home for lunch at 1pm. Well five hours later we were still there and my stomach was growling. The music was great, the dancing was beautiful, and it was the first time I had seen the Bible being brought down the aisle in such a large procession. Try and imagine a man carrying a homemade large piece of foil in the shape of an airplane on which the Bible sat. The man is surrounded by children dancing, packed pews, lots of shrilling and singing, and people throwing confetti at the plane as it's wings moved around in a circle. Now that is how it is done. Mass had ended after about three hours, but no one had left, because there were still announcements to be said, speeches, and a fundraising campaign going on in the church. After four hours of praying, listening to music, reading my English missal (several days worth,) and asking many questions to one of the Sister's I was getting restless. Thankfully, the Sister's encouraged Anne and I to leave considering we did not know a word of Rutorro the people were speaking. So after five hours we went home and fed our grumbling stomachs only to be called back to the parish an  hour later for a celebratory lunch. After six hours the mass had ended. My three hour time prediction was just three hours too short.

Random Thoughts

Only in Africa would you...
1. Be on a plane where 90% of the passengers on your flights are Muslims returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. Celebration, dancing and clapping were all part of the flight.

2. Have a flight delayed an hour then board a completely white painted plane with no markings on it all. We had to only hope the flight was going to Uganda considering we saw no signs posted for our flight. If not well what's another stop along the way?

3. Have a squad of United Nations workers arrive next to you at the airport.

Random Thought #2
After a night stay in Kampala, and a five hour car ride home (thankfully this time in the Sister's car with Daisy driving) we have made it back to Kyarusozi. After a week full of early mornings and late nights (due to our time spent taking advantage of the fast internet connection) I am worn out. It is so good to be back home, but I have spent the past two days sleeping all day. I'm hoping I just have an upper respiratory infection and nothing more!

Random Thought #3
 Our living conditions: Anne and I are living in a very rural village in Kyarusozi, Uganda. Our living conditions are very simple.

Washing Day

-We have no dishwasher or laundry machine. Both dishes and laundry are done by hand- laundry can be an all day event. I am slowly improving washing my clothes by hand, but somehow they always feel crunchy when I'm finished. I'm hoping it's just the soap. I don't think I will feel like I'm in totally clean clothes until I return to the States.
-We dry our clothes outside, that is if it does not rain.
-We collect rain water, and all our drinking water is boiled. It has become second nature to no longer drink water from the sink or shower, and to brush my toothbrush with boiled water.
- We do have internet, hence the blog updates, however, it is dial up and extremely slow- think 30 minutes to upload one picture if you are lucky.
-We do have electricity, but outages are common so in that case we run on solar power, candles, and cold showers since the water heater is off. (keep your fingers crossed that the power is on when we try and cook Thanksgiving dinner next month!)

Although life here is very different from the U.S., is has become normal to me. It is only after coming back from Ethiopia and being exposed to some of these other amenities again (treadmills, flush toilets, swimming pools, hair dryers, asphalt roads, wifi, elevators, etc) that you realize what you are lacking. Compared to the way the villagers live here using pit latrines, and making long daily treks for firewood and to the well/watering hole for drinking water it seems like life in the compound is easy. All it takes is persepective.