Life in Uganda

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Another week done and dusted (literally, dusted) in this beautiful land. It’s been an amazing week, though the full on days and schedules have meant this week was a tiresome one. But as soon as I think I’m tired, I just think about how the people here have to work on through whenever they’re tired, just so that they can survive. Plus I only have two more weeks here so I need to make the most of it!

The week started off with a couple days at the school building. We were stamping the stairs so the dirt was compact enough that when it rained the concrete on top wouldn’t sink and crack. I got to help make the concrete for the floors and lay that in some of the classrooms. It’s so cool seeing the blackboards up this week in some classes so that the school holiday programme children can use them and start learning!

I was put into the medical centre on Wednesday where I would help the lab testing for HIV, Malaria, Syphilis and Pregnancy. We had a few HIV positive results and two malaria positive which was heartbreaking seeing how they were told. They were just told they were positive, given a sheet of paper to sit in the waiting room and wait for medication to be dispensed. No consoling, no explanation, just send them on their way after their lives have just been changed forever. We also had a 21 year old lady come in with a miscarriage. It was so hard to see that she was just put in the back of the medical centre to lie on her own with a drip. There just wasn’t the privacy, care or availability of staff to be with her. I have no idea where her family was either. Things like that are just so far removed from the western culture I know. I had a good chat to Robert and Julie while at the medical centre seeing as their English was quite good. It was interesting to learn about their culture and ways of life, and they were shocked to hear about some of ours. The main difference we talked about was the fact that men can only have one wife in NZ. Here, men can and it is more common than not, for them to have two or three wives, with children to each. It is a topic here that could help solve many issues within the community if it is addressed properly.

On another note, it’s hilarious when we all of us volunteers travel as a group. We have a driver that takes us to each project. At the end of the day when we go home, we squeeze up to 22 of us into a tiny van the size of a Toyota Hiace. They really bash the vans around, four wheel driving on ground I wouldn’t even take my brothers truck on! When we drove into Kampala we were crammed in like sardines for two and a half hours. There’s no way I’ll complain with that backseat on the way to the sounds now with all that legroom we get! We also blew out a tyre, not surprisingly one day. And had no jack so it was a couple rocks and some man power to change the wheel.

Three evenings this week we have had an organised football game with different communities around us. It is a whole village event when this happens, muzungo's vs everyone else! One of the games I swear it was 10 of us verse 22 of them! The pitches are next level, you may as well be playing on the slopes of Mt Hutt with the level that was on and the holes the size of graves everywhere. Great for vision and awareness on the pitch though. The crowds are awesome that come and support, yelling, chanting and singing both for and against us. Such a special way to connect with the communities we are working in.

Friday we had a very early start and heading off to Kampala where we met one of Purpose Projects partner organisations - working within the slums. I have made a separate blog post for the slums as it was so eye opening and life changing to see.

Anyway, that's been this weeks activities. It feels as though we have lived here all year, yet at the same time each day is going faster and faster. Before we know it we will be back home! Just feeling really blessed and honoured to have this opportunity and to have seen the things I have.