MTI, Elizabeth and a Crowd of Over 1,000

Thursday Night

Today was the Ogur Health Center IV commissioning ceremony. For those of you who don’t know, my friend and generous Medical Teams International (MTI) donor, Elizabeth, gave a gift that enabled a maternity center and outpatient clinic to be built here in Ogur. This is what today is about – in three parts.

Elizabeth
Elizabeth is a woman who is blessed in many ways. We met almost a year ago after our mutual friend, Marilyn, made the connection. Elizabeth felt compelled to do something in her life that was impactful; she knew God was calling her. After much thought and prayer, she decided to help the people of Uganda. The MTI project she brought to fruition was the rebuilding of the outpatient clinic and maternity center that was destroyed during the violent rebellion led by Joseph Kony (please Google it if you’re not familiar with what happened). In this area alone, 300 people were slaughtered, people were boiled for soup, children were forced to murder their parents. What was left of the original centers had bullet holes, no running water, filthy mattresses (but not every patient got one), no electricity, etc. Can you imagine delivering a baby here? It was also difficult to find medical staff as no one wanted to travel to this rural area and these truly horrific facilities. Elizabeth, in her amazing generosity, changed all that.

The Ogur Health Center IV and the maternity center that Elizabeth funded are truly the most beautiful buildings I have seen on our visit. The Islamic contractor who built them in four months (a miracle in Africa) with the help of prisoners did an amazing job – they’re not just buildings as the attention to detail is beautiful with even mosaic-like patterns in the ceiling. There are rooms for counseling, exam rooms, waiting rooms, doctors’ offices, a pharmacy, birthing rooms and even an operating theater. What really hit home is that this money Elizabeth donated could have been lost in the bucket in Seattle. Not to diminish the size of her gift, which was OVER THE TOP amazing, but I couldn’t help thinking that this money made a huge and very visual impact here in Africa. In fact, this center is supposed to serve up to 200,000 patients a year that otherwise would get minimal or no care.

Medical Teams International (MTI)
I am humbled to work for this organization. MTI has 60 Ugandan staff and they all are devoted to their fellow Ugandans through improving their immediate health care needs along with building community health and awareness. In fact, the Minster of Health today said that 80% of the diseases that afflict Ugandans are preventable such as malaria, cholera and HIV/AIDS. This statistic is what drives the work of MTI’s staff and volunteers’ in Uganda.

Today, their focus was on this celebration. They all worked incredibly hard to pull off this amazing event. Not only did they get UNICEF tents erected to protect us from the African sun, but they fed over 1,000 people who came from who knows how far for the ceremony. One MTI employee MC’d the event, translating between Lewell and English when necessary. They brought in African dancers and singers, dignitaries, and it all seemed to come off without a hitch. It was as professional of an event as I’ve been to anywhere.

The Crowd
Ok, I thought sitting for over 6 hours was difficult. Talk about guilt – we were front row in the VIP tent next to a member of Parliament, the Ugandan Minister of Health, the Anglican Church Bishop, etc. etc., sitting on couches, drinking the water we were handed whenever we needed it, and here these people from the countryside were calmly sitting in the sweltering heat on the ground with nothing to drink and no shade. Perhaps even more amazing is that the children there (and there were soooooo many children) sat obediently the entire time with no squirming, no screaming, nothing but a calm serenity and curiosity at the five Bunu Bunus in their midst.

If you look closely, you can see people who I’m sure are victims of the war. Men with burned faces, people whose legs were chopped off. In fact, one of the performances today featured people who were raped, tortured and otherwise brutalized by the LRA. The ones (all women) infected with HIV/AIDS because of these events raised their hands and identified themselves to us – probably 7 people out of the group of 20 singers. That was a brave thing for them to do as many people infected are shunned and ostracized.

The colors the people wear are beautiful – they may only have one piece of clothing, but you can tell that they try to be clean and the ladies look pretty. I hope to attach a picture of the most beautiful baby – the mom thought I was smiling at her because I’m nice, but really I was planning on kidnapping this child. The men are serious, will smile if you smile first, and frankly treat their women pretty poorly. It’s a hard place to be female. But the children, I can’t even explain how I feel about them. The braver ones swarmed our SUV as soon as we pulled up. They’re so excited and shy. They love to have their picture taken and then seeing their picture after the shot. One little boy named Stephen (probably the same age as Charlie) followed us wherever we went – he tried to sit in the VIP tent next to us but some guards shooed him away. He had a ripped blue shirt, dirty shorts, bare feet, and a constant entourage of flies. He was sweet and shy – I will always remember his little face.

Perhaps the people sat through the six hours of speeches, prayer and performances because they knew they’d be fed at the end. That’s ok – I’m so glad they were all fed. Felix said that a bull was slaughtered for the event – a BIG DEAL! Most Ugandans eat meat one time a year – at Christmas. I doubt there was enough meat for everyone there, but I was quite relieved that they were all fed, and didn’t sit watching us eat. (Did I mention that we had to eat with our hands? It’s a great new diet strategy – there’s only so much millet, rice and beans you feel like putting into your mouth with your own hand.)

Lack of utensils and toilets aside, it was one of the most amazing days of my life and I feel privileged to have experienced Africa in such a meaningful way. Thank you!