Before I left for Uganda, one of my suitemates warned me "Get ready for your mind to be blown". I didn't really take her words too seriously because I was born and brought up in India and thought I had seen/heard it all. But today - even though it didn't involve meeting any of the children or people that we talked about - blew my mind. Maybe it's because I've spent most of the past three years at Yale - far far away from the land that taught me to think about people less fortunate than me, as much as (if not more than) I think about myself - but I was amazed by the will power, passion and drive of most people who work at Makarere University School of Medicine.
We were lucky enough to meet with Dr. Sadigh before leaving Yale and he arranged an amazing array of speakers who talked to us and shared their experiences with us. Dr. Sadigh is involved with the Yale - Mulago Partnership - which sends Yale residents and interns to Mulago Hospital here in Kampala. He spoke to us about the present situation of HIV/AIDS and answered a lot of our questions. The other speakers included the Dean of the Medical School at Makarere and residents from Yale. The residents spoke about why they are working here and what they hope to achieve in the time that they spend in Uganda. Listening to their stories almost convinced me to be pre-med but unfortunately I don't think I'm that strong. One of the residents broke down while talking about the things that she saw today (her first day) and it suddenly made everything so real for us and definitely helped us prepare for what we're no doubt going to deal with for the next week when we visit HAC and Cosma.
We also met a lady who works for Sanyu Babies - an orphanage that provides healthcare for abandoned babies. She gave us several examples of abandoned children and it was one the most painful things I have heard in a long time. Maybe when we come back from HAC, if we have time, we will visit the orphanage and help out for a while... because like she said, sometimes all the babies need is someone to hold them and make them feel loved.
All of us were amazed by the strength of the people in the room and somebody finally asked them what keeps them going when everything around them is so depressing. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when most of them answered that it was their religion that gave them the strength to continue and and hope for a better future. But one of the doctors from Makarere, replied that though his faith did play a big role, more importantly, he knew that behind every abandoned/suffereing child, could be a brilliant teacher or a doctor or an activist. Turns out he himself was an orphan and through the generosity of a Canadian philanthropist, he was able to study, go to medical school and become one of the best doctors in the country. And so he works day in and day out, so that some other child may have a better life just like he did. I have heard stories like this in the past, but here was real living example in front of me, and like I said before, it blew my mind.
After a wonderful lunch, a few of us then met with students at the Forestry School of Makarere. Being an Environmental Engineering major I was really interested in learning about the environmental problems Ugandans face. We exchanged views on best practices to convince people of the reality of climate change and talked about the frustration of being environmentalists. One of the great things about meeting these students was that, right after meeting the doctors, I was almost feeling silly about being SO obsessed with the environment. For a brief amount of time I caught myself thinking - it's pointless, people won't listen and maybe that's okay... why should they care about the environment when they don't have food, they are dying of AIDS and so many other diseases. But the moment I started talking to Godfrey and his friends, I was reminded of the bigger picture and of how environmental degradation is already leading to poverty and diesease and it infact the root cause of a lot of problems that doctors treat.
We then walked around the beautiful campus of Makarere for a while, observed the huge Malbou Stocks - birds which are native to this part of Africa and then got into our Matatu to get to our next destination. Amal's Uncle is a human rights activist and we drove to his office and met with his team of workers. We learned about the human rights activist Protection program and of the lenghts they go to to stand by those fighting for various different kinds of human rights.
Overwhelmed by this point, we were headed home but then got stuck in a "jam" - aka traffic - and were told that it would take n hour and forty minutes to get home. I was really impressed with how well everybody took that news and turned the waiting time into a fun game where we exchanged embarrasing stories. Thankfully, we took a detour, managed to escape the traffic and found a great place for dinner and then spent some time together as a group with our Ugandan friends.
Tomorrow morning we're leaving for the village. It's supposed to be a four hour, dusty, bumpy ride and I cannot wait. I'm responsible for waking most of our group up so I'm going to go get some sleep now.
More soon! (though we probably won't have internet for the next week so I'm not sure how that's going to work)
Goodnight!
Chandrika Srivastava
Favourite quote of the day:
"Just the fact that you are alive, should give you the courage to come and help"
- Dean of Makarere Medical School
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 1: Jetlag, Taxi Parks, and Infectious Laughter
After sleeping for 18 hours on our two flights yesterday, most of us struggled to keep our eyes shut last night. Our hotel is just over the hill from the largest mosque in Eastern Africa, so we listened to the prayers called out every couple of hours and the dogs howling in response, and then eventually the squaking of the birds, as we saw the sunlight grow stronger through the curtains.
Today, we spent time with Joan and Julia's friends Morris (Cosma Foundation) and Donovan, who helped us navigate our negotiations with a waiter who wanted to serve us three times as much lunch as we had ordered, and taught us to count to ten in Luganda. We also met Keneth (Hope for African Children), how has the most infectious laugh I have heard in a while, and Charles (Cosma Foundation), who was incredibly welcoming.
We spent the morning in the new and old taxi parks in Kampala (seas of taxis that head out of the city in all directions -- catching the right one seems to take a great deal of skill). I hadn't fully anticipated how much attention our group, primarily made up of white girls, would attract on the streets of Kampala. Sometimes it was unnerving to have people shouting at us in a language we didn't know, physically grabbing us to get our attention and sell us their wares. I couldn't quite tell when we were being mocked and when people were being friendly. Someone told me he loved me while a group of us bartered for earrings -- unclear in that case! Still, the market place was exhileratingly busy, and overall we enjoyed it.
In the afternoon we went to meet a friend of Julia's who is a journalist at an independent newspaper. He is one of the most articulate and passionately opinionated people I have ever met. I know we were all blown away by his ideas about foreign aid, democracy in Africa, and the future of this country. Personally, as an aspiring journalist (maybe), I was inspired to see someone so intelligent and charismatic, and so devoted to positive change, making his mark through journalism, teaching, and the spread of information.
Tonight, we're going to take it easy. I think we all need it. Jetlag, be gone!
~ Nora
Today, we spent time with Joan and Julia's friends Morris (Cosma Foundation) and Donovan, who helped us navigate our negotiations with a waiter who wanted to serve us three times as much lunch as we had ordered, and taught us to count to ten in Luganda. We also met Keneth (Hope for African Children), how has the most infectious laugh I have heard in a while, and Charles (Cosma Foundation), who was incredibly welcoming.
We spent the morning in the new and old taxi parks in Kampala (seas of taxis that head out of the city in all directions -- catching the right one seems to take a great deal of skill). I hadn't fully anticipated how much attention our group, primarily made up of white girls, would attract on the streets of Kampala. Sometimes it was unnerving to have people shouting at us in a language we didn't know, physically grabbing us to get our attention and sell us their wares. I couldn't quite tell when we were being mocked and when people were being friendly. Someone told me he loved me while a group of us bartered for earrings -- unclear in that case! Still, the market place was exhileratingly busy, and overall we enjoyed it.
In the afternoon we went to meet a friend of Julia's who is a journalist at an independent newspaper. He is one of the most articulate and passionately opinionated people I have ever met. I know we were all blown away by his ideas about foreign aid, democracy in Africa, and the future of this country. Personally, as an aspiring journalist (maybe), I was inspired to see someone so intelligent and charismatic, and so devoted to positive change, making his mark through journalism, teaching, and the spread of information.
Tonight, we're going to take it easy. I think we all need it. Jetlag, be gone!
~ Nora
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Plans and Projects!
“But I want to ask you - why do you want to go on this trip?”
The question hung in the air, gathering strength in the silence that followed it. Professor Kaveh Khoshnood, a Yale School of Public Health faculty member who had just spent the past hour discussing with us the challenges facing HIV/AIDS treatment in Uganda, looked around the table at the twelve of us sitting around him. He had high expectations; we could not disappoint.
In the moments that followed, I pondered the question at hand: was I going to “help,” in that abstract and undefinable sense of the word? That wasn’t quite it…maybe it was more like to “give”? But again, that wasn’t quite it – I struggled to discover the nugget of a phrase that could communicate why exactly I wanted to go to Uganda.
But then I realized that I was struggling not because I didn’t know why I wanted to go on the trip, but rather because my desire to participate in this project could not be packaged and delivered in a few concise phrases; I wanted to build relationships, to create sustainable partnerships, to facilitate learning, to bring knowledge and to take away knowledge, and to enable the future of a community – a community that included both the men, women, and children of a rural village in Uganda, and us, twelve Yale students.
The roots of the relationships that this community will stem from have been growing over the course of the past two months, as the twelve of us have worked with each other and with partners in Uganda. Over the course of the last couple of months, we have been completing an educational curriculum in which we meet once a week to talk about Uganda and the country's history, HIV/AIDS, public health, and development. In addition, we have met with professors from the School of Public Health, surgeons working in Uganda, the Director the US-based NGO African Hope NEtwork, and others. Together, we have navigated the straits of international development, wrestling with everything from the societal implications of implementing animal husbandry projects to the ethical challenges of editing the stories of Ugandan children, and we will continue to work together through these problems over the course of our time in Uganda.
In Uganda, we will be spending time in the capital city Kampala, in a village in Masaka, and in a village in Sembabule. In Kampala, we will be both letting the new culture that we have just entered wash over us, absorbing its scents, feels, and colors, and diving right into that culture through a number of meetings with important figures from across the city. We have arranged to meet with figures ranging from HIV/AIDS doctors and specialists to professors of economic development at Makerere University, the most prominent university of Eastern Africa, to highly involved politicians. Each will give us a unique perspective on their understanding of public health, development, and government, providing us with the knowledge and understanding to make informed change.
When we move from Kampala into the rural villages, we will begin to work on the ground with the organizations that we have been working with over the past two months via email and Skype. The first organization we will spend time at is Hope for African Children (HAC), an NGO founded by Keneth Stahl, a young graduate of Makerere University. After visiting his grandmother’s rural village and meeting the many children of the village who had been orphaned or left vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, Keneth became determined to develop a sponsorship program that would ensure that these children go to school. The NGO has gradually expanded in its scope, seeking to implement income generation, water sanitation, and de-worming programs in the village, thereby addressing the two major factors that often keep children out of school: lack of funds and poor health.
There are four groups of students who have been working on projects associated with HAC. Amal has been working on developing a new website for HAC, where donors would be provided not only with all most important information about the organization, but also with critically important photos of the children who are supported by HAC, along with their stories. Emily has been helping Amal with the website development, but has also been working on a comparative financial analysis of HAC and other similar NGOs that would illustrate the organization’s promising future. Austin has been working on developing a new evaluation form that would quantitatively assess the progress that students make when they begin to be supported by HAC. Jensen and Chandrika have been developing a number of different methods by which to analyze the quality of the water that is available to the community. Rachel has been researching the impact of worms on the community, and the ways in which they prevent children from attending school. The group will together work to complete these projects, thereby fostering relationships with not only Keneth and the children who are supported by HAC, but also with the village community. This is the beginning of a dialogue, the beginning of an exchange of information and experience that will stretch on into the future as this community continues to grow in strength and resiliency from within.
After HAC, we will move on to the Sembabule region, where we will be working with the Cosma Foundation, a community-based organization that is just getting off the ground. Two groups of students have been working with the Cosma Foundation. Korn and Nora have been working on developing a website for the organization that, similar to that of HAC, will have stories of the children that the organization supports and donor information. Connor, Chris, and Angelica have been working on a number of income generation projects, working off the research done by the Roosevelt International Development Center’s Fall 2010 Report. They have been researching both animal husbandry programs and arts and crafts programs. In Sembabule, we will work together to evaluate the community and the resources available to the community in the hopes of helping them implement income-generation programs that will be successful.
As the date of departure approaches, we continue to finalize our projects, as we frantically search for skirts that are below knee length to wear in the village, bug spray, and the smallest travel-size items available. Few know exactly what to expect – we go into this experience with open eyes and open minds, excited to give and receive, learn and teach, and forge relationships with individuals and with communities that will carry us into the future.
-Angelica
The question hung in the air, gathering strength in the silence that followed it. Professor Kaveh Khoshnood, a Yale School of Public Health faculty member who had just spent the past hour discussing with us the challenges facing HIV/AIDS treatment in Uganda, looked around the table at the twelve of us sitting around him. He had high expectations; we could not disappoint.
In the moments that followed, I pondered the question at hand: was I going to “help,” in that abstract and undefinable sense of the word? That wasn’t quite it…maybe it was more like to “give”? But again, that wasn’t quite it – I struggled to discover the nugget of a phrase that could communicate why exactly I wanted to go to Uganda.
But then I realized that I was struggling not because I didn’t know why I wanted to go on the trip, but rather because my desire to participate in this project could not be packaged and delivered in a few concise phrases; I wanted to build relationships, to create sustainable partnerships, to facilitate learning, to bring knowledge and to take away knowledge, and to enable the future of a community – a community that included both the men, women, and children of a rural village in Uganda, and us, twelve Yale students.
The roots of the relationships that this community will stem from have been growing over the course of the past two months, as the twelve of us have worked with each other and with partners in Uganda. Over the course of the last couple of months, we have been completing an educational curriculum in which we meet once a week to talk about Uganda and the country's history, HIV/AIDS, public health, and development. In addition, we have met with professors from the School of Public Health, surgeons working in Uganda, the Director the US-based NGO African Hope NEtwork, and others. Together, we have navigated the straits of international development, wrestling with everything from the societal implications of implementing animal husbandry projects to the ethical challenges of editing the stories of Ugandan children, and we will continue to work together through these problems over the course of our time in Uganda.
In Uganda, we will be spending time in the capital city Kampala, in a village in Masaka, and in a village in Sembabule. In Kampala, we will be both letting the new culture that we have just entered wash over us, absorbing its scents, feels, and colors, and diving right into that culture through a number of meetings with important figures from across the city. We have arranged to meet with figures ranging from HIV/AIDS doctors and specialists to professors of economic development at Makerere University, the most prominent university of Eastern Africa, to highly involved politicians. Each will give us a unique perspective on their understanding of public health, development, and government, providing us with the knowledge and understanding to make informed change.
When we move from Kampala into the rural villages, we will begin to work on the ground with the organizations that we have been working with over the past two months via email and Skype. The first organization we will spend time at is Hope for African Children (HAC), an NGO founded by Keneth Stahl, a young graduate of Makerere University. After visiting his grandmother’s rural village and meeting the many children of the village who had been orphaned or left vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, Keneth became determined to develop a sponsorship program that would ensure that these children go to school. The NGO has gradually expanded in its scope, seeking to implement income generation, water sanitation, and de-worming programs in the village, thereby addressing the two major factors that often keep children out of school: lack of funds and poor health.
There are four groups of students who have been working on projects associated with HAC. Amal has been working on developing a new website for HAC, where donors would be provided not only with all most important information about the organization, but also with critically important photos of the children who are supported by HAC, along with their stories. Emily has been helping Amal with the website development, but has also been working on a comparative financial analysis of HAC and other similar NGOs that would illustrate the organization’s promising future. Austin has been working on developing a new evaluation form that would quantitatively assess the progress that students make when they begin to be supported by HAC. Jensen and Chandrika have been developing a number of different methods by which to analyze the quality of the water that is available to the community. Rachel has been researching the impact of worms on the community, and the ways in which they prevent children from attending school. The group will together work to complete these projects, thereby fostering relationships with not only Keneth and the children who are supported by HAC, but also with the village community. This is the beginning of a dialogue, the beginning of an exchange of information and experience that will stretch on into the future as this community continues to grow in strength and resiliency from within.
Children at HAC are thrilled about receiving new school supplies!
After HAC, we will move on to the Sembabule region, where we will be working with the Cosma Foundation, a community-based organization that is just getting off the ground. Two groups of students have been working with the Cosma Foundation. Korn and Nora have been working on developing a website for the organization that, similar to that of HAC, will have stories of the children that the organization supports and donor information. Connor, Chris, and Angelica have been working on a number of income generation projects, working off the research done by the Roosevelt International Development Center’s Fall 2010 Report. They have been researching both animal husbandry programs and arts and crafts programs. In Sembabule, we will work together to evaluate the community and the resources available to the community in the hopes of helping them implement income-generation programs that will be successful.
As the date of departure approaches, we continue to finalize our projects, as we frantically search for skirts that are below knee length to wear in the village, bug spray, and the smallest travel-size items available. Few know exactly what to expect – we go into this experience with open eyes and open minds, excited to give and receive, learn and teach, and forge relationships with individuals and with communities that will carry us into the future.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
More Information on HACM
The NGO we are working with, Hope for African Children Ministries, currently runs on a sponsorship model, matching sponsors with a child in need. The Roosevelt Institute International Development has been working with HACM to develop more sustainable alternatives to this system. However, HACM has been able to help children in seven rural villages, providing them with not only school fees but school uniforms, lunch for a year, a first aid kit, shoes and stationery. Our trip will not focus exclusively on being an aid delivery system, but on finding solutions to the underlying problems that keep children out of school. The Roosevelt Institute has also been working on income generation programs, which would allow families to send their children to school without relying on donations.
Uganda 2011!
We are a group of Yale University students who have been given the amazing opportunity to spend two weeks in Uganda, working with local dignitaries to understand the complexities of the issues facing rural villages. In the second part of our trip, we will be working with a local NGO, Hope for African Children Ministries, assessing the effectiveness of a semester-long project to help HACM discover improvement and alternatives for their current program. Please help us finance our trip! We want to create a sustainable program that will improve the lives of the villagers after we leave.
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