Life over the past Two Weeks

Hi All,
I just wanted to hit you with a bit about the past two weeks as they've been kind of crazy and awesome!!

We have spent the last two weeks in our modules. I chose the Public Health module. A bit of a surprise to anyone who knows my great aversion to blood and all things medical- but I decided to switch it up a bit and see where it took me! I'm really glad I did!!

There are seven of us in our group. It's been super nice to travel in a small group than our normal 32.

There was a bit of confusion, so instead of having lectures first and then site visits, we did our site visits first. While not ideal, we made it work! :)

Our first site visit was to a local health center. We toured the facility and got to chat with some of the workers. They have a family planning clinic (which we got to learn more about later on), a surgery theater (which is not working as they do not have a surgeon), a building where they see regular patients (including a dentist office- eeeee!), and a maternity ward. They are government funded and provide all of their services free. That has affected the quality and quantity of services they are able to provide. They had a doctor come by maybe once a month. Radically different from hospitals back home!

Next, we went to two different water sources. The first one was a protected water source. The Local Council (smallest government level) had applied for a grant from the government and received it. They built the borehole well and have had protected water for quite some time. They charge people per jerry can and also have a couple of water deliverers who will deliver jerry cans to your house! They also have a committee that manages the well and uses the fees to pay for any repairs necessary. The second water source was unprotected. The water flowed continuously (as long as there was water) and had contributed greatly to the local erosion around the well. This community could also apply for a borehole grant from the government, but their Local Council wasn't organized enough to do it.

On Wednesday, we went to a community school where we learned about their health education. Next: we went back to the local health center and learned about family planning. We had a nice discussion group with about seven local women and were free to ask them any question we wanted. It was really interesting!!!!

On Thursday, we went to a Dumping Site. We learned about the landfill and then walked around. We met with the chairman of the trash-pickers (can you tell that this country enjoys bureaucracy) and then talked with two trash-pickers. Next, we went to the water treatment plant. After that, we got to talk to a gentleman from the community as well as the Local Council Chairman. They both provided incredible insight into how the landfill's presence had affected the town. The man said that some of the kids sneak into the landfill and pick out expired foods which they then share with their friends, without telling their parents. A couple of kids had to be taken to the hospital after eating these expired foods. They also said that when a new company came to control the dump, they did not do a proper job of covering the trash and people were constantly nauseous from the smell. Also, one of their borehole wells was now contaminated and useless. But perhaps the largest issue was trucks coming in and not properly covering their loads. This proved to be quite an issue when garbage falls off the truck and people stumble upon it. For example: some people in the slums don't have the best hygiene practices (it's pretty hard under the best circumstances, but in a slum- forget-about-it!!). So, they use "flying toilets"- basically they go to the bathroom in a plastic bag and then throw it away. Some of these "flying toilets" end up on the side of the road and pose a HUGE public health risk. Pretty disgusting.

This week we had our lectures. We had a wonderful lecture on HIV in Uganda. We also had a lecture on nutrition in Uganda, environmental health and the overall health care system. There are many challenges facing the public health care sector, including: lack of funding, shortage of doctors and other trained medical personnel, lack of education, inadequate infrastructure, etc. Sheez..this country has an uphill battle ahead of it in terms of public health- but it definitely has some bright and dedicated public health officials working for it!!!

Now: doing some research on my practicum topic and then going on home. The kids are pretty crazy! Loads of fun!! :) Last night, our power went out and we had dinner in the dark! I must admit: it was pretty fun for me! hehehe!!! We made shadow animals and danced in the dark!!!

So that's life in Uganda. Going pretty smoothly and I'm having a blast!!!

Hope you're having a great day!! <3cm