October 13 – 19, 2019
Sipi Falls. Sipi. Falls. And, once more for the people in the back: SIPI FALLS!
Gorgeous. Magical. Primal. Mysterious. Fantastic. Wondrous. Quiet. Cold. Exhilarating.
We stayed at the Lacam Lodge, five of us from the Lumasaaba group, and we spent the weekend in one of the most beautiful natural settings I’ve ever known. The hike was relatively easy, despite the muddy paths, and the waterfalls were among the most powerful and breath-taking feats of Mother Nature I’ve had the pleasure to be drenched by. This posting is more than likely just going to be pictures of that trip, but it’s well worth it in my opinion. Should you ever find yourself in the Eastern Region of Uganda, make your way to Sipi, and if you’re here when I’m here, I’m more than happy to take you!
The week featured the return of the nursing students from the Mbale School of Nursing and Midwifery, and with their tireless efforts to help our facility run smoothly, I was free to work on completing the storage room redesign. But to my surprise: we received our overdue shipment of drugs, medication, and supplies! And we were completely swamped because of it…
Earlier, in another posting, we talked about how word travels fast; so, when we have medication on hand, the people come running. We used hundreds of pills, hundreds of injections, hundreds of gloves all in one day. But I was encouraged to keep working on the stock room, reworking everything, putting relevant items together (HIV/AIDS treatments, injectables, family planning and pregnancy kits, etc.). By the end of my time, we have a clean, orderly, and easily navigated storage area. But it still took up a vast majority of my days at the clinic.
And since we’re seeing so many patients every day, due to our shipment arrival, the clinic staff came to the agreement that we should hold off on the one-on-one tech trainings until we’ve settled down once again. It’s a little depressing knowing that we’ll be returning to a slower state due to a lack of supplies; it’s also depressing that that state is the status quo most of the time, but we have to work with what we have. Now is the time to put patients first, because we actually have the full ability to do so now.
Since I had to leave early Friday morning to make my way to the Peace Corps In-Service Training (IST), my work at the office was rather sparse, but by the end of the week, I packed my bags, and ventured forth to Mukono with my friends for IST.
October 20 – 26, 2019
A week spent at a nice hotel with friends and good food is always a welcome experience. However, with a majority of the sessions of IST, I found myself looking at my watch, and thinking about the work I would be doing if I was back home with Mbale. But it wasn’t all that lacking, either. We learned more about specifically targeted interventions, such as HIV/AIDS prevention among youth and the Bodaboda riders, nutrition for all age groups (and targeted by region), as well as unique Income Generating Activities (IGAs).
It was wonderful to reconnect with friends, and to spend time with our counterparts. Richard Mutambuli, the man, myth, and the legend, was able to come out with us to Mukono, and he found the IST experience very useful. His work is more on the agricultural and business side of Spotlight on Africa; his expertise is on combatting climate change and developing agricultural techniques.
And on another positive side: I have been able to get so much writing done! And not just for this blog. I’ve been steeped in the middle of “Preptober.” Since next month is Novel Writing Month, October is the time to prepare. I’ve almost completed Part One of my current work in progress, and NaNoWriMo will be spent writing Part Two. Once I’ve sorted some logistics out, I’m hoping to have at least four projects in their alpha stages finished by the end of the calendar year. They will all be different genres, literary styles, and explore various themes.
October 27, 2019 – November 2, 2019
It’s good to be home. The drive back to Mbale was the longest – and hardest – yet; countless stops and the one time we switched vehicles made the relief of being back all the more enjoyable. Saturday evening and Sunday were spent running the necessary errands, and doing the washing and the cleaning. I was ready to get back into the rhythm of work.
Monday, I learned that we have a new batch of nursing students, and still an almost overwhelming number of patients. Even if it’s Monday, by the end of the day, we were all very tired. I also learned, through a series of conversations, how difficult it can be to explain the difference between fantasy and reality to someone not prone to experiencing them, the minor crisis that will need addressing at the monthly staff meeting, and the plight current Ugandan prison system. American prisons are very bad, but Ugandan prisons are even worse. It made my newly discovered off-the-beaten-trail path to and from the clinic a bit of a downer, despite the scenic views.
I have to spend the majority of the week in the office, in order to prepare for the staff meeting this Thursday.
Happy Halloween! And a Blessed All-Hallows-Eve to You All!
Friday afternoon, I’ll be catching another taxi to go up north. Fellow volunteers and I will be celebrating Gulu-ween.
November 3 – 9, 2019
Gulu is a great little town. It is clean and well structured from a planning perspective. The people are friendly, and there’s plenty of great places to eat and shop. Also, having a majority of your Peace Corps friends there can make the experience a highly positive one. Folks from the East took a bus service up to the North; it was much nicer and faster than going by a small taxi. Still, it was over a seven-hour drive, so we had to be getting up very early in the mornings when we traveled.
And while it was a fun weekend full of food, festivities, and friends, there were a few instances late at night that simply served to show that no matter where you are in the world, nothing good happens after two in the morning.
The week was rather uneventful, but was still jam packed with meetings. Meetings at the office, meetings at the clinic, meetings at the District Health Office. It also served to show something very important: I am not here to change the system, I am here for the people, and I’ll need to be conscious of that when choosing my projects moving forward. I am a Community Health Specialist, not a personnel manager. It was conclusion I had to come to, so as not to spend my whole service sitting stagnant in meetings, going around and around, never moving forward.
November 10 – 16, 2019
This week saw a return to the original schedule: many more people at the clinic were training with me on technology and computer skills. Which also meant the medicines and drugs have run low once more, as predicted, but now there’s time for capacity building. Especially with the new ambulance drivers that we’ve had trained and certified! They’re great guys, hard workers, and we’ll be getting the bodambulances on the road for patients hopefully in the next week or so! When the garage for the vehicles is completed, I’ll have a picture for you all as well.
We’re also a little frenzied at the moment, building a series of events out in the community for the up-coming World AIDS Day. We will be going to five villages over five days for screening, testing, activities, and educational sessions. Then during the Mbale District celebration the first week of December, we will have a larger event targeting a whole sub-county. Plenty more information and pictures about those days to follow!
Sorry for the delay getting this update to you all; there was actually a significant stretch of time – not including how busy we all were – where we were utterly without power and internet in the office. Otherwise, hopefully, we’ll be back on a proper schedule, with another upload coming to you before Christmas. I’ve also been ahead of my NaNoWriMo novel writing project, which is another first for me! So until next we meet: Be Well, Be Wise, and Be Good to One Another!!!
Peace, Love, and Uganda 