Last Saturday we went farming with the children from St. Jude's. They've recently purchased over 200 acres of land to provide crops for the orphanage. We saw fields of various crops including casava, corn, and sunflowers. We hoed and weeded rows and rows of of sunflowers, and boy was it hard work. It didn't help that it was scorching hot that day. By the end of our work day we were all exhausted but felt accomplished. The physical labor was a nice contrast from the work I've been doing at TASO.
On Sunday, CVAP had a soccer (or football) match with the staff from S.O.S Children's village. At the beginning of the game, pigs came out of nowhere and were running across the field. It's safe to say that we got creamed, but I'm proud of the team anyway. I didn't play because Jeevan and I were on dinner duty that night and we had to go searching for ground beef.
TASO
It has been an insanely busy week at TASO. On Monday we attended a quarterly performance review meeting, which was quite helpful for getting a full picture of what TASO's various departments have been working on. Our placements have been confirmed within the social support department, and we have started a project with one of TASO's youth and drama groups. The youth group is part of the OVC (orphanes and vulnerable children) program within TASO. Group members are selected based on vulnerability assessments. By using drama and dance as a type of therapy, these youth groups help children thrive and overcome barriers. They focus on mobilizing and sensitizing communities about different issues including HIV/AIDs and domestic abuse. We will be interacting with the youth and planning a project with them. Since we have less than a month of work left, our goal is to lay the foundation for future projects between the youth group, TASO, and CVAP.
We also spent time in the child centre and learned about how they perform child counselling. It was fun to play with the children, even though some were shy and didn't speak english. One child was mesmorized by skin tone - she really didn't understand why I was so pale.
My Birthday!
Thursday was my 22nd birthday! I had a great day at work, and night at BJz for quiz night. After work, my secret munu, Linda bought me a jackfruit! Jackfruits are these massive green prickly fruits that can be twice the size and weight of a large watermelon. The inside is yellow and contains individual pod things that each have giant seeds inside. The texture is kind of rubbery and it tastes like a combination between mango, melon, and bubblegum. Three of us carried this giant fruit for about 20 minutes from the market to the compound. We put it in a box and carried it like a baby, but judging by how many people stared and laughed at us, we knew that there was definetely a more efficient way to transport it. I asked Agnes how you're supposed to carry a jackfruit and she told me to just through it on my head...Preparing the jackfruit is a whole other process. You have to coat your hands and the knife in cooking oil because jackfruit releases a really sticky white sap when it's cut open. Then you have to wipe off all the sap with a plastic bag. Apparently it's the only thing that will work. Then you have to pull apart the fruit and unwrap the sections you eat from these finger-y looking things. It looked like an aliens.
The Ugandan frogs I blogged about earlier are showing up in people's laundry, the bathrooms, and our huts! We also learned that they are apparently poisonous and if you're bitten you might die. People also say that the snakes here are only poisonous if they have eaten one of these poisonous frogs.
We have been given Acholi names by the local volunteers, and mine is Laker (pronounced Lak-eh). It means that I am from a royal family. Some of the names mean things like stubborn, or I hate you, so I'm quite happy with mine.
Time has been flying by and I can't believe I'll be home in just over a month! I'll try to update more next week!
Love from Africa!!
July 30, 2011
July 22, 2011
More Updates from Uganda!
Last week we got to hike Fort Baker, which was once a site of slave trade. It was beautiful and I took some great photos I will upload as soon as I find a usb cord.
We've been spending our weekend nights at BJz, a local Gulu bar. It's a mix of munus and Ugandans and generally not very sketchy. They play really old pop/rock as well as more recent dancy stuff. We went for Quiz night last Thursday but didn't win. Ugandan beer isn't bad, and you can buy little two-shot bags of gin from corner stores. I'll be sure to bring some portable gin home.
We've been playing a weekly game similar to secret santa called Secret Munu with all the Montreal CVAPers. The first gift I got was coffee! I was thrilled and I think my secret munu knew it would benefit all of us in the end (as I won't be going through coffee withdrawal). Unfortunately, our prized french press that was bought in Kampala broke so I've been surviving on cowboy coffee, which is still a lot better than instant (the coffee of choice here).
Our cooks are fantastic! We eat a lot of g-nut sauce which is basically a nut butter that tastes like a cross between tahini and peanbut butter. When it's cooked it turns purple and tastes great with rice or posho. Chapats, similar to chapati, are another favorite of mine. We've had Ugandan style fish and chips, too. I tracked down dairy milk chocolate because I was really craving sweets, and pop just wasn't cutting it.
Most of the girls have gotten clothes tailored already. I'm waiting to go pick up my skirt, but due to a freak ankle sprain on a frog, I haven't been able to hobble to town. Ugandan cotton is nice and comes in a range of beautiful colors, but you have to track down the right tailor to get a good price.
Final Orientation:
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had our last orientation session with the local CVAP volunteers. We had a development workshop where human rights based and conflict sensitive approaches to development were discussed, and applied to our placements. It was a great chance to analyze our projects and organizations and explore strategies for how future development projects could be established. On Wednesday we had a health talk from TASO on malaria and the epidemiology of HIV/AIDs. A drastic proportion of HIV infections are in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a prevalence rate of around 6% in Uganda and 9.2% in Gulu. The TASO staff explained how these rates have negatively affected GDP, rural households, and industry in Uganda. They also brought up the issue that doctors in Uganda focus on receiving more clients/day rather than having fewer, but of greater quality appointments. They emphasized that this epidemic is NOT under control, more people are becoming infected, and HIV/AIDs is preventable.
Today I worked at the TASO Gulu centre with a PMTCT doctor. Again the language barrier was a difficulty for interacting with patients but I leared a lot. The doctor explained that if a program is followed closely, babies born from HIV+ mothers have a high likelihood of not contracting the disease. While it was difficult to see the number of (HIV+) women with babies that came to the clinic today, it was also very inspiring to see how many are seeking help.
I'm thrilled that work at TASO is finally progressing! We are still living without power but kind of enjoying it? Tomorrow we are all going to Coach to farm with the children from St. Jude's. I'll update more as soon as I can!
We've been spending our weekend nights at BJz, a local Gulu bar. It's a mix of munus and Ugandans and generally not very sketchy. They play really old pop/rock as well as more recent dancy stuff. We went for Quiz night last Thursday but didn't win. Ugandan beer isn't bad, and you can buy little two-shot bags of gin from corner stores. I'll be sure to bring some portable gin home.
We've been playing a weekly game similar to secret santa called Secret Munu with all the Montreal CVAPers. The first gift I got was coffee! I was thrilled and I think my secret munu knew it would benefit all of us in the end (as I won't be going through coffee withdrawal). Unfortunately, our prized french press that was bought in Kampala broke so I've been surviving on cowboy coffee, which is still a lot better than instant (the coffee of choice here).
Our cooks are fantastic! We eat a lot of g-nut sauce which is basically a nut butter that tastes like a cross between tahini and peanbut butter. When it's cooked it turns purple and tastes great with rice or posho. Chapats, similar to chapati, are another favorite of mine. We've had Ugandan style fish and chips, too. I tracked down dairy milk chocolate because I was really craving sweets, and pop just wasn't cutting it.
Most of the girls have gotten clothes tailored already. I'm waiting to go pick up my skirt, but due to a freak ankle sprain on a frog, I haven't been able to hobble to town. Ugandan cotton is nice and comes in a range of beautiful colors, but you have to track down the right tailor to get a good price.
Final Orientation:
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had our last orientation session with the local CVAP volunteers. We had a development workshop where human rights based and conflict sensitive approaches to development were discussed, and applied to our placements. It was a great chance to analyze our projects and organizations and explore strategies for how future development projects could be established. On Wednesday we had a health talk from TASO on malaria and the epidemiology of HIV/AIDs. A drastic proportion of HIV infections are in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a prevalence rate of around 6% in Uganda and 9.2% in Gulu. The TASO staff explained how these rates have negatively affected GDP, rural households, and industry in Uganda. They also brought up the issue that doctors in Uganda focus on receiving more clients/day rather than having fewer, but of greater quality appointments. They emphasized that this epidemic is NOT under control, more people are becoming infected, and HIV/AIDs is preventable.
Today I worked at the TASO Gulu centre with a PMTCT doctor. Again the language barrier was a difficulty for interacting with patients but I leared a lot. The doctor explained that if a program is followed closely, babies born from HIV+ mothers have a high likelihood of not contracting the disease. While it was difficult to see the number of (HIV+) women with babies that came to the clinic today, it was also very inspiring to see how many are seeking help.
I'm thrilled that work at TASO is finally progressing! We are still living without power but kind of enjoying it? Tomorrow we are all going to Coach to farm with the children from St. Jude's. I'll update more as soon as I can!
TASO outreach to Pabbo
Work has finally begun at TASO! We got to sit in on a meeting that started with the chair person leading a musical prayer. Everyone was singing and dancing. On a tour of TASO last week we also had the pleasure of meeting the TASO drama group. We walked into a room full of men and women dancing and singing and they invited us to join them. We learned after that these people were all HIV+ and they travel with TASO to various communities to sensitize people about HIV/AIDs and to show how they have become empowered by the disease.
Yesterday, Anne, Linda, Beatrice and I got to go on an outreach with TASO to the village of Pabbo. Pabbo is located north of Gulu and we drove on the road that leads to Sudan to get there. On the way we passed many trucks carrying live cows with men sleeping on hammocks above the cattle. TASO took three vehicles, around 25 staff members, and brought everything they needed to carry out the services they provide at the TASO Gulu center to Pabbo. People were lined up waiting for us when we arrived and by the end ofthe day around 250 clients had been served. We helped out where we could but none of the clients spoke english so it was difficult to interact with them. The TASO staff work incredibly well together as a team. Each client received either group or one on one counselling, then saw a doctor, and received medication from the "pharmacy" TASO brought with them. Health talks about HIV prevention were also given. Most of the clients were women who also brought children. A doctor explained that many of the villagers associate white people with food because they used to bring supplies to IDP camps. He assured the clients that I was a student there to learn. By the end of the day we were exhausted, and many counsellors and doctors were still working. Going on an outreach to Pabbo was great for learning more about TASO, as well as seeing a more rural area in Uganda.
Yesterday, Anne, Linda, Beatrice and I got to go on an outreach with TASO to the village of Pabbo. Pabbo is located north of Gulu and we drove on the road that leads to Sudan to get there. On the way we passed many trucks carrying live cows with men sleeping on hammocks above the cattle. TASO took three vehicles, around 25 staff members, and brought everything they needed to carry out the services they provide at the TASO Gulu center to Pabbo. People were lined up waiting for us when we arrived and by the end ofthe day around 250 clients had been served. We helped out where we could but none of the clients spoke english so it was difficult to interact with them. The TASO staff work incredibly well together as a team. Each client received either group or one on one counselling, then saw a doctor, and received medication from the "pharmacy" TASO brought with them. Health talks about HIV prevention were also given. Most of the clients were women who also brought children. A doctor explained that many of the villagers associate white people with food because they used to bring supplies to IDP camps. He assured the clients that I was a student there to learn. By the end of the day we were exhausted, and many counsellors and doctors were still working. Going on an outreach to Pabbo was great for learning more about TASO, as well as seeing a more rural area in Uganda.
July 17, 2011
Welcome to Uganda!
I'm sorry for not blogging since arriving in Uganda, but finding an internet cafe with power has been difficult. The travel to Uganda was long (including a day in London) but it was well worth it. The flight from London to Entebbe was filled with munus (white people) which was surprising. Eliza Dushku (from Buffy and Bring it on) was on our flight. Kampala is a crazy city so we spent most of our time at the guesthouse. We went to the Gaddafi mosque which was unbelieveable, shopped for cell phones and exchanged money before heading to Gulu three days later. At one point on the drive we stopped for mangoes and were surrounded by about 20 women trying to force meat on a stick, corn, and water on us. Gulu has a much more relaxed feel than Kampala.
The new CVAP compound is incredible. We are the first volunteers to stay there, and Chris, Jeevan and I were the first to arrive so technically I was one of the very first to see it. The main building was supposed to have power but since we arrived (two weeks ago) there has been no electricity. It's actually been a lot easier than I thought to live without power. The back yard has four round huts that we sleep in.They are modelled after traditional Ugandan turkuls. Our cooks are fantastic and I've been enjoying the Ugandan food but I'm starting to get a little bored of posho (mushed corn flour) and beans. I decided to eat meat here after being a vegetarian for three years. The meat is delicious and fresh. And by fresh I mean that I watched our cook kill and pluck a chicken the morning before we ate it for lunch. The fruit is so much sweeter here, too.
So, we have been eating well and adjusting to the very slow pace of life here. We toured the different organizations and have been bonding with the local Ugandan volunteers we are working with. I start official work with TASO tomorrow, and then I will have more details about my project for the next two months.
I will write more this week!
Melissa
The new CVAP compound is incredible. We are the first volunteers to stay there, and Chris, Jeevan and I were the first to arrive so technically I was one of the very first to see it. The main building was supposed to have power but since we arrived (two weeks ago) there has been no electricity. It's actually been a lot easier than I thought to live without power. The back yard has four round huts that we sleep in.They are modelled after traditional Ugandan turkuls. Our cooks are fantastic and I've been enjoying the Ugandan food but I'm starting to get a little bored of posho (mushed corn flour) and beans. I decided to eat meat here after being a vegetarian for three years. The meat is delicious and fresh. And by fresh I mean that I watched our cook kill and pluck a chicken the morning before we ate it for lunch. The fruit is so much sweeter here, too.
So, we have been eating well and adjusting to the very slow pace of life here. We toured the different organizations and have been bonding with the local Ugandan volunteers we are working with. I start official work with TASO tomorrow, and then I will have more details about my project for the next two months.
I will write more this week!
Melissa
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