Blogs from Western Region, Uganda, Africa - page 6

Things were looking up weather-wise. For a second day in a row, it was mostly hot and sunny, with the heavy rains taking place at night. Today was spent visiting the northern part of the the park. The draw here is a boat ride along the Kazinga Channel to see wildlife from the river. There wasn't a lot to see, but the drive thru the park and the boat ride both made for a relaxing day. However, as we were leaving the park at the end of the day, word got out that there was a leopard walking around outside of the park gates, so the race was on among all the drivers to get to it first for the best viewing -- and hopes for a bigger tip. We got there before most, but others ... read more

Gorillas. Today I am going to go trekking for gorillas. Everyone who I have met that has done a gorilla trek has said it is the most amazing thing to do, much better than any safari. This had to be great, as going on safaris is the #1 thing for me to do. I am addicted to them. I had to wake up at 4 am today, as the drive to the ranger station would take at least two hours. We had to leave no later than 5 am, and check in before a certain time, or you would not be allowed to trek. Given that it had rained all night, I wanted to ensure we left early enough to account for any mishaps along the way, or at least have time to make our way ... read more

After arriving back to my lodge yesterday from my tour of the lake, the heavy rains started again, and didn't stop for about 24 hours. Around the same time as yesterday, the rains came to a stop, so I decided to do another tour of the lake, this time to visit a Twa community; the Twa are better known as pygmies. Heavily discriminated against, and violence directed at them by other local tribes, the Twa tend to isolate themselves to isolated areas, where they farm and hunt to sustain themselves. They've also opened up their villages to tourists, where they show you their huts, the school, perform a song and dance routine, show you how skilled they are with a bow and arrow, then try to get you to buy their crafts, or at least give ... read more

Throughout our time in Uganda, we were thoughtful when deciding where, how and when to allocate the $9 000 we raised in Canada. It didn’t take long for us to build connections both in our community placements and back in Mbarara, and we soon became involved in numerous NGOs and projects and made plenty of contacts along the way. They took us under their wings and showed us the fantastic initiatives already in place in this beautiful country, and we all agreed that the money that we brought would be best spent in partnership with our new Ugandan friends. Honey Creamer- Taylor One of the projects we fell in love with was our friend Tina’s Change a Life Bwindi Project. Tina was one of the highlights of our time in Ruhija, and we credit her kindness ... read more

We apologize for neglecting our blogging duties last week. Half of our crew fell ill, and as such, we had nothing of much excitement to tell you about. This blog comprises week 8 and 9 activities. Tailoring Your Nursing Practice (Taylor and Phil) Nursing is an art and there is no field in which this is more notable than community health. There is no template or formula on how to deliver healthcare in a community setting as it must be tailored for each community and culture just as a seamstress customizes a garment for a customer. And just as a tailor measures, designs and assesses their client’s needs, a nurse must do the same. A nurse has a basic pattern, the information that they hold on health-related topics but they need to evaluate their clients to ... read more