Right now I'm tired, so I'll break this post into two parts. Sorry. Or you're welcome. Whatever.
Sipi Falls
For my last weekend in Uganda, we made a whirlwind trip to the East to see Sipi Falls, arguably the most spectacular waterfalls in the country. They were pretty sweet. We stayed at a nice campsite lodge overlooking a valley and several falls, aptly named the Crow's Nest. I'm pretty sure every muzungu in Uganda visiting Sipi Falls stays there. And raves about how it is just darling. Or something.
One of the best parts of Eastern Uganda was the lack of light pollution, permitting you to see every star in the sky. And shooting stars. Unless you're Julie, who failed to see them for some reason.
Our waterfall guide during the hike was nice. But I forget his name already. Whoops.
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| Sunrise from the Crow's Nest |
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| A loyal dog camped out in front of our lodge all night. He was in sorry shape, but sweet. |
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| Huts along the waterfall hike. |
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| I think these were the best falls of the lot. |
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| Chameleon. SO COOL. |
Mosquito Net Adventure
With the help of some friends and various good people of Uganda, I managed to get ahold of 50 mosquito nets for the Musana women and their families. I had to fetch them in Kampala the day before I left, which would have been a huge challenge if the people of Uganda weren't so wonderful.
Somehow, I'd tricked myself into thinking that each packaged net couldn't be much more than the size of an large envelope. (In my own defense, when you order something online, sometimes they REALLY pack the item amazingly tight. Like a dress could be squeezed into a container the size of a pencil case and you're all like "what?!") So I brought a medium-sized duffle bag with me, thinking I could carry the rest in my purse or in a plastic bag the mosquito net dude brought.
But Raymond (the dude) lifted two fat bags the size of baby elephants out of his car, each completely uncarriable if you're me. But Raymond kindly loaded them back in his car, along with me, and took us all to the taxi stage where I could get a ride back to Lugazi. And upon arrival in Lugazi, the boda drivers swarmed to help me bring the bags to Musana even before I even got out of the taxi.
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| Okay, maybe the bags weren't quite as big as baby elephants. But they were just as heavy. |
So while most things are much more difficult to accomplish in Uganda than the States, this was not. I didn't have to even touch the bags of nets, let alone drag them back to Lugazi. And to everyone else, I was the hero, zooming back to the workshop, nets in tow, to help protect the masses against malaria!
Musana gave the nets to the artisans at the subsidized price of 2,000 shillings, discounted from 7,000. Musana could have given them away for free, but the idea was for the women to have greater ownership of their purchase / health investment. Because who really cares about freebies, past the initial excitement that it's stuff for free?
The Musana women had completed a training on malaria prevention a few days before with Share Uganda, which helped them prepare to receive the nets. They learned about how to set them up, care for them, and take precautions like keeping them away from candles (which may seem obvious, but only after it's stated).
Survey on the Social Determinants of Health
Do you remember in the beginning of my blog where I outlined some of my internship goals? Of course you don't. I barely do.
One of the objectives was to help administer a family health survey in Lugazi to get a basic idea about the town's health situation. This is a research undertaking by an American professor and Melissa, one of Musana's founders who always seems to find ways to come back to Lugazi.
The initial idea was to have the survey tool translated and ready to go by mid-July, when Melissa arrived in Uganda. That didn't happen, and this time it couldn't be blamed on the slow pace of work you often encounter in Africa.
Instead it was glitches and miscommunication on the US side, resulting in numerous re-translations and frustrations on the Ugandan end.
But in the end, an IRB-approved survey was developed. And it even didn't take three hours to administer, which was the case originally. A magnificent team of young Ugandan students / recent graduates were trained to give the survey.
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| Survey training. |
Currently, under Melissa's patient and optimistic leadership, the survey is being carried out now. I wish I were there to see the magic happen.
