Blogs from Uganda, Africa - page 10

After 1 week in Rugazi, we returned to Mbarara to receive the week long community training. The training was very slow and we often went over the scheduled end time, sometimes more than an hour. I found it difficult to stay engaged and focused because the teaching style was different than I’m used to as it was very slow with many rhetorical questions and too much time be allotted for students to try and come up with examples. We are now in Rugazi but unfortunately we discovered there is no water and we are not sure when it will return. I’m curious what the clinical work will be like now that all the Ugandan students are here and Dr. Amber is gone. I’m hoping it will be as fulfilling as our first week in Rugazi. ... read more

Hey bloggers and family, I apologize, as I have been terrible these past weeks at keeping everyone up to date on my life in Uganda, I have been in Mbarara for the past week doing the LCP training (which I actually don’t know what that stands for, but I think its leadership community project). This training was essential for our community project as we were introduced to and worked alongside our Ugandan counterparts, so all our learning was done together and we have already begun to build relationships. That’s not to say it wasn’t a long week of sitting in a lecture from 0815-1700hrs each day but we survived nonetheless. The Ugandan students Ken and Resty who accompanied us to Rugazi last week were our teachers for the sessions, so that made the learning more enjoyable. ... read more

This past week has been a huge learning curve for me, but one of the best hands on learning experiences I could have asked for. Our community placement was delayed by two weeks related to some unforeseen circumstances at Mbarara University. This gave us some extra time when we first arrived to relax and sightsee a bit in the country before starting work last week. During our time in Mbarara, we went to the market numerous times where we have begun to master haggling. Some of my favorite items from the market include: mangos, avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers. We also volunteered at Divine Mercy Orphanage a few times while in Mbarara. Last week we were in Rugazi working in a Health Center IV, which is a health centre one level below a district hospital. We returned ... read more

After 2 weeks of being delayed (due to the professors at MUST going on strike), we finally came to Rugazi. I have absolutely loved being in the clinic as I’ve been able to assist in physical assessments and observe procedures being done, however some days have been hard. The night before last I got woken up at almost 1:00am to see if I wanted to observe a C-section. I had never seen one before and wasn’t sure what to expect. I ended up fainting before they even cut through the adipose tissue. Once my sight came back I continued to lay on the floor of the OR for a few minutes until I felt comfortable standing again. I got up just in time to see them take the baby out of the uterus. The baby wasn’t ... read more

Hey hey, and sorry for the delay! Agandi (how are you)? Plans shifted a lot since my last post--so if you're confused by the progression of events I am about to recount, don't worry, I'm just as confused as you. instead of going through training all this week, we did a one day orientation on Sunday. Although we were a bit apprehensive of the orientation since we only found out about it the night before, it ended up being incredibly engaging and helpful. Together with some of the local university students, we discussed and participated in several activities about what "development" means to us, our core values, barriers to communication in cross-cultural work, and how to acknowledge our privilege and blind spots. It was a little embarrassing to go through a variety of case studies taken ... read more