This is me not standing out in the crowd. 
Melissa (Charles' wife) and Breanne
Melissa, Aubrey, Elyse (their daughter), and me before they left for the States this weekSunday, March 18
I just learned that my friend Grace here is from a polygamous family. It’s funny when you learn all these crazy (to me) things about a different culture and then separate those you know from it. Her grandfather had 30 wives.
Monday, March 19
We went out into the field for home visits again today. We only connected with one client, however. Several were out, and one had died the previous day, which was sobering. The one client we talked to asked Aubrey and I for our clothes. There it was, the biblical commandment to give your shirt to the person who asks. The problem was, I wouldn’t be wearing much if I gave her my shirt. If I was a guy, I don’t think it would matter, but somehow I didn’t think it was a good idea!
Monday, March 19
We went out into the field for home visits again today. We only connected with one client, however. Several were out, and one had died the previous day, which was sobering. The one client we talked to asked Aubrey and I for our clothes. There it was, the biblical commandment to give your shirt to the person who asks. The problem was, I wouldn’t be wearing much if I gave her my shirt. If I was a guy, I don’t think it would matter, but somehow I didn’t think it was a good idea!
We passed a beautiful two-story house surrounded by a large wall and intricate gate on our way back from the village. One of the Ugandans said, “In Uganda, if you have such a house, you must have deprived many people of resources.” They seem much more aware of injustice and inequality than we are sometimes.
Tuesday, March 20
ELISA HIV tests After a talk about STIs and STDs (I have the worst time trying to pay attention to Ugandan preachers and speakers. I zone out because I can’t understand them half the time), we went out into the villages for HIV testing. Aubrey and I each went to different sites with a counselor on a TASO boda boda (bike with an extra seat on the back or motorbike). Visiting the home of a current client, the counselor explained HIV and its transmission and then offered to test those who were willing. Altogether, he tested 21 family members (and this was not a polygamous family!). After the results were in, the counselor talked to each person away from the group.
HIV testing in the community I held a one-month-old for a bit while his mother was in counseling, and they asked if I would feed him since he was hungry. I said I hadn’t had children yet and therefore was quite unable to feed him, and they were shocked. I guess it’s just normal to always have a breastfeeding infant around, so if you’re holding a hungry kid that’s not yours, no big deal. Haha.
I think I want a motorcycle.
Thurdsay, March 22
The executive director of TASO Uganda came to our site today with a group from SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – http://www.sida.se/), most of them Swedish and one from Kenya, one from Zimbabwe, and another from Senegal. SIDA funds the TEACH (TASO Experiential Attachment To Combat HIV/AIDS) program.
We visited seven different sites with successful interventions. Most of the projects were similar to the ones I’ve described previously. Two of the clients today, however, were orphans. Kelly Flamos (http://blog.case.edu/kellio/), who worked with TASO last summer through Case Western Reserve University, helped build a house for a family of five orphaned children. The oldest is seventeen; both parents died of AIDS a few years ago. Only the youngest, who is probably about five, is HIV positive. TASO provides him with ARVs and other medical attention when he needs it. They also gave the children a bike so the oldest could more easily bring the youngest to the TASO center for ARV refills and any other services. Before they got the bike, the boy would wake up very early, skip school for the day, and carry his brother to the center. It takes about 20 minutes or more to drive to their house from the center.
The boy in the paragraph above TASO is really doing wonderful things for the people of Uganda.
Friday, March 23
What a day! We drove out to Sironko district (almost to Sipi Falls) to visit clients in the mountainous region. As we got in the car, I asked Aubrey, “Is this the guy who drives way too fast?” She said, “No, I think the other guy is worse.” Boy, were we wrong! After leaving the main road, we began to bump our way up the switchbacks. They were probably the worst roads I have ever seen, and I promise you I have experienced some awful ones! Our driver seemed to think that racecar driving was the way to tackle these barriers, so we flew/jostled/tumbled up the mountain. I yelled, “What is wrong with you?” one time. I don’t think he heard me, but everyone else laughed. Needless to say, that was our last day in the field at TASO, so it looks like that driver won’t be responsible for my life anymore!
The mountains were breathtaking. I wish my camera could capture them, and I wish my words could describe them. I don’t even want to try!
We probably stopped at six different homes today; we were out in the field for seven hours. At most of the homes, we simply dropped off ARVs, but we did HBHCT (Home-Based HIV Counseling and Testing) at two of them. At the first house, we met a widower who is HIV positive and lives with his two boys. We tested the boys; all I could do was hold my breath. You can’t help but hurt when you have to test a six-year-old for HIV. But they were both negative!
The second household we tested had about 14 family members; two of them were HIV positive. The counselor said that one of the HIV positive clients was shaking and could not believe the news. I think we are too quick to separate ourselves from things like this. Especially when we only have to read about them. I try to place myself in their shoes, in their fears and challenges, and imagine what they must feel. I know I fail miserably, but it helps me remember that this is real life, that people all over Uganda are facing this awful reality every day.
On the way back, we stopped to drop matooke off at a counselor’s house and even took a 45 minute detour to a market to buy molokonyi. Cow hoofs. Disgusting. This culture is worlds away from my own!
My time here is coming to a close. I have about four weeks left, and I don’t know what to do with myself! I have 348 hours, so I only need to work for about two more weeks, and then Aubrey and I are hoping to head out to Kenya for our long-awaited spring break.
I want to make sure I get everything I can out of being here, though. I’m trying hard to focus on Uganda and the present instead of getting excited about graduating and being on a Summer Ministry team for ENC.
Friday, March 23
What a day! We drove out to Sironko district (almost to Sipi Falls) to visit clients in the mountainous region. As we got in the car, I asked Aubrey, “Is this the guy who drives way too fast?” She said, “No, I think the other guy is worse.” Boy, were we wrong! After leaving the main road, we began to bump our way up the switchbacks. They were probably the worst roads I have ever seen, and I promise you I have experienced some awful ones! Our driver seemed to think that racecar driving was the way to tackle these barriers, so we flew/jostled/tumbled up the mountain. I yelled, “What is wrong with you?” one time. I don’t think he heard me, but everyone else laughed. Needless to say, that was our last day in the field at TASO, so it looks like that driver won’t be responsible for my life anymore!
The mountains were breathtaking. I wish my camera could capture them, and I wish my words could describe them. I don’t even want to try!
We probably stopped at six different homes today; we were out in the field for seven hours. At most of the homes, we simply dropped off ARVs, but we did HBHCT (Home-Based HIV Counseling and Testing) at two of them. At the first house, we met a widower who is HIV positive and lives with his two boys. We tested the boys; all I could do was hold my breath. You can’t help but hurt when you have to test a six-year-old for HIV. But they were both negative!
The second household we tested had about 14 family members; two of them were HIV positive. The counselor said that one of the HIV positive clients was shaking and could not believe the news. I think we are too quick to separate ourselves from things like this. Especially when we only have to read about them. I try to place myself in their shoes, in their fears and challenges, and imagine what they must feel. I know I fail miserably, but it helps me remember that this is real life, that people all over Uganda are facing this awful reality every day.
On the way back, we stopped to drop matooke off at a counselor’s house and even took a 45 minute detour to a market to buy molokonyi. Cow hoofs. Disgusting. This culture is worlds away from my own!
My time here is coming to a close. I have about four weeks left, and I don’t know what to do with myself! I have 348 hours, so I only need to work for about two more weeks, and then Aubrey and I are hoping to head out to Kenya for our long-awaited spring break.
I want to make sure I get everything I can out of being here, though. I’m trying hard to focus on Uganda and the present instead of getting excited about graduating and being on a Summer Ministry team for ENC.
1 comment:
I'm so glad you're doing this! can't wait to read them! o and what is with the picture of the rooster...lol!
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