An Education

I’ve missed some time blogging as I’ve been busy and tired. I’ll try to catch up a bit.

First of all, some corrections:
David’s last name is “Alula”

The exchange rate is not 7,000 Shillings to $1 USD, it’s 1,780 Shillings to $1 – big difference but I knew there was a “7” in there somewhere.

I wrote that when MTI came to Uganda in 2006, 15-20 people were dying a day. That is still true, but that was per camp. MTI worked in 14 camps in 2006, where almost 280 people died a day. David tells us that people would die in line waiting for treatment. Now, the rate is 2/month.

A white person is: “Munu Munu.” I’ve honestly tried to pick up some Luo (not Lewell). But it’s been difficult for me. I know about 5 words but I usually mess them up somehow and end up saying something ridiculous like: “You have a pretty potato.”

So, I’ll try to catch you up on some activities as well as some things we’ve learned:

Visited Apala where the Gates Foundation funded a community health project MTI initiated. This involved building an outpatient center and maternity center – just like what Elizabeth did in Ogur. We learned about pit latrines (we’ve installed over 6,000 in this area), the culture of using them, and an ingenious hand washing system that we’ve put into the local areas (where, the people live in huts without any running water, electricity, etc.). It may not sound exciting, but it is very interesting and is making great strides in improving community health. In case you don’t know, a pit latrine is basically a big hole in the ground that people squat over. Sometimes there’s a concrete slab surrounding the pit, and usually there minimal privacy surrounding the hole. And yes, Elizabeth and I have both used pit latrines. Believe me, we understand why people would rather use the “bush” then one of these latrines. However, the problem is, using the bush means run off into the streams that people then draw water from, bathe in, etc. This leads to cholera. Up until recently, the rate of cholera in the camps was 70%. This is a major health education issue that MTI is trying to address.

This year, cholera has been replaced by a Hepatitis E outbreak. People get this from the streams they bathe in, drink from, and play in. You see children everywhere playing in the streams. Malaria, Hepatitis E, Cholera and a host of other NASTY parasites all originate in the streams.

HIV/AIDS in Africa: I already told you about the IDP camp where 80% of the people have HIV/AIDS. MTI has employed counselors who are trying to measure the rate of the disease in the community, and educate people about abstinence and condom use. It’s going to be a steep learning-curve for people – hopefully the newest generation growing up can learn early on and avoid transmission of the disease. Also, if a pregnant woman who is positive is given treatment in the last trimester of her pregnancy, she has a 90% chance of avoiding transmission to the baby. AMAZING! Across from the MTI headquarters in Lira, there is a field where every Monday, USAID gives food (maize, flour, sugar, etc.) to people with the disease. We saw them lined up today for the food distribution – so many people! How many are hiding the fact that they are HIV + or have not been tested?

I don’t like goat. Not only that, in the open market in Lira, we wandered through the butchers’ area. This was NOT MY CHOICE – Benjamin forced us. I won’t write about it but if you’re dying to know, you can ask me later and I’ll describe it to you. Suffice it to say that I’m thinking of going back to vegetarianism. Sorry Pete.

We went to Felix’s church on Sunday. Let’s call it cardio-church because there was a lot of dancing and singing! It was the best church experience that I have ever had. And even though it was the longest church service I’ve been to, it was terrific. The preaching was exuberant, we all got introduced and were asked to speak to the congregation, the music was fun as was the dancing, and of course, little Ugandan girls sat on our laps the whole time. Elizabeth was a good sport when her little girl peed on her lap! We got to meet Felix’s wife, Esther, and his son, Daniel, who is 12 and his 19 month old daughter, Favor.

Please note: the food items I’m craving are a skinny triple grande latte and a big, chewy chocolate chip cookie.

When you see African children with reddish hair, it’s a sign of malnutrition. I have a picture of a little African boy (4 yrs?) and his sister (6 yrs?) who is carrying a red-headed, one year old baby (a very common sight here). David told me today that the mother must either be pregnant of just had a baby. Once that happens, the daughter becomes responsible for the next youngest one. She’ll probably be responsible for that child long enough that she’ll miss the opportunity to go to primary school, and therefore, will never get educated.

Cutting: When babies and children get sick, traditional Ugandan medicine is to either poke holes in the child’s gums with a spoke from a bike wheel, or make deep cuts around the chest and back. Which method they do depends on the symptoms. As you can imagine, many of these children become septic and can die. Or, perhaps they get AIDS. David was cut as a child – not only that but when he did recover from his ailments, the woman (witch doctor??) would make a 1” slash in his face to indicate recovery. David still has scars on his face from these slashes. A few months ago, his baby was sick. His wife called him at work to tell him that old ladies in their neighborhood wanted to cut the baby. You can imagine how David, an incredibly well educated man in modern medicine and community health, felt about that. David can go into an IDP camp with our volunteers and pick out the children who have been cut as they are paler then the other children. The MTI volunteers must not only treat the symptoms of the children they see, but also try to dig deeper with their questions to uncover any cutting so that they can educate the mother.

I asked Felix what percent of the children in the camps will grow up and not suffer from severe health issues. He estimated 10%. Ten percent.