For Better or For Worse

For better or for worse...a lot has happened since my last post a few days ago.

For starters, my supervisor is being "transferred," essentially fired, for reasons known or unknown to me. Because I don't have full knowledge behind the reasons for Rose's transfer, and for the sake of maintaining objectivity and confidentiality, I will not state my own beliefs behind the situation. I will say, however, that I, in addition to the majority of the staff at the Dispensary, will greatly miss the leadership, enthusiasm, and energy Rose brought to the job. Personally, I will also miss her friendship.

Graduating with her 3rd university degree in July, this transfer, at which she is refusing to go/job-searching elsewhere, is definitively better for her in the long-term. She is certainly qualified for a more challenging, higher-paying work position. Before she leaves Kachumbala, I plan to help her search for jobs online; make a CV/resume; and hone her skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

I also had my first 2 Health group sessions this week. I could not have been more pleased with how they turned out. First and foremost, believe it or not, both sessions started on time! That's right, the attendees arrived, or were waiting for the group to start, at 10:30. This is not very common in Uganda.

About 10 patients (all women) showed up for the session on Malaria Prevention on Tuesday, and 20 patients (18 women, 2 men) participated in the session on Water Sanitation on Thursday. With the help of two nurses, one of whom translated in Ateso, both sessions generated a lot of discussion, Q&A, and follow-up questions on other topics. Today's session on Water Sanitation, for instance, provoked follow-up questions on malaria prevention (Will I get malaria if mosquitoes fly in my treated water?), personal hygiene/cleanliness (How often should I clean my jerry can? Is it safe for my 10 children to drink from the same cup), and healthy cooking/food preparation practices (Do I always need to wash my vegetables with treated water?). A number of different ways to purify water were discussed, including boiling water (for at least a minute); using a water filter, iodine tablets, or WaterGuard; and utilizing the sun using a clear, plastic bottle (placed in direct sunlight for 24 hours, not in direct sunlight for 48 hours).

One of the male attendees even invited me to his village deep in Kachumbala to give future health talks to the community. I gladly accepted.

Because Father Okurut and Father Paul are advertising the Health group to the Sunday morning mass congregations, I do anticipate more community members attending in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

For those in Uganda: Happy Martyrs' Day
For those in the U.S.: Happy Memorial Day (belated)

2 1/2 weeks in counting...until my sister and Fiery arrive in Uganda!