Terri's Experience

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So this summer I made a decision to come to Uganda, Africa and experience a completely different culture from my own. At first I didn’t know what to expect, I actually felt a little scared. Not for myself but not knowing what the next few months held for me and my children back home in Canada. This was the first time that I would leave them for this long. I’m thankful that I have a strong support system that allowed me to come on this once in a lifetime opportunity. I kept in contact with my family back home as often as our wifi let me and there were times I wanted to come home because I missed my kids but I developed a support system here in Uganda with the other QES scholars which helped me push forward and stay the allotted time that I was to stay here. I honestly didn’t think that I would make it but it now 5 days until I leave Uganda.

The first month that I spent here was more of an adaptation period more than anything but really it only took a couple weeks to accustom myself to my new “home.” We spent a week In Mbarara partaking in LCP training and then we were off to the a rural community called Ruhija which was located in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The view was absolutely breathtaking as well as the elevation because we were over 7000 ft above sea level. It took a few days to adapt and be able to breathe easier when we would walk to the health centre. While In Ruhija, I did a lot of observation as to how the healthcare system differentiated from Canada. There were some circumstances that I saw that made me look at my own personal bias’s and/or education that I have received while in the nursing program in Canada. I became to know the other Ugandan students and gained some new friendships. I walked the artistic landscape of the mountains, worked with the people of Ruhija and surrounding communities, help my fellow scholars demonstrate and teach about women’s health and visited a school and taught the benefits of good hand hygiene. We also got to meet a kind-hearted woman named Tina who founded Change A Life Bwindi. Her vision was to help young women become self-sustaining by teaching them skills that would allow them to support their families. I am very thankful to be able to have experienced the multiple aspects of Ruhija, I will never forget the people and landscapes.

After Ruhija, we went back to Mbarara and spent 6 weeks volunteering at the hospital and doing other community projects. The things that intrigued me in hospital were the difference of illnesses or medical emergencies that I saw. Not only that but how resourceful the hospital was with their medical supplies. The medical staff that I met were inviting and welcomed us to the different units that we were volunteering at. Apart from the hospital, we went to visit 2 orphanages, Brighter Futures and Divine Mercy, to visit with the children and come play with them. My favourite part was going to Bright Futures because there was this one boy that reminded me so much of my youngest son. This boy seemed so shy and very soft spoken when I first met him but as our visited continued I was able to some of his personality coming out. In the ways he played with the other kids, his patience and the willingness to learn something new. I loved the way his eyes would light up when he smiled, when he smiled it was as though nothing could make him unhappy about anything. I grew very fond of him so much that I decided to sponsor his education. My hope for him is that he takes this chance and go as far in life as his he wants and give another child a chance just like I am doing for him. Before I left Mbarara, I went to look at possible schools with Ian and his caregiver, Sheila, he made the choice of the second school we visited but we have not yet made a choice because I still have yet to visit a boarding school in Kampala. I want him to become someone that other people can look up to and also I want him to feel positive about his future and look at his past as something that he triumphed over with some hard work and a little help. We have promised each other that we will write to each other every month and stay in touch.

So our next adventure was the safari, it’s a bitter sweet ending to my visit here in Uganda. Bitter because i had experienced some bumps in the road while living here and also leaving the friend that I made behind. Although I am excited to get back home to my family. The day of safari I packed all my belongings and said good to the house that I called home for the past 6 weeks. Everybody was doing what they had to and I was doing things last minute like I usually do but things got done. So the first half of our safari we went on game drive in Lake Mburo national park, where we saw zebras, water buffalos, different types of antelope and giraffes. Later in the evening we went for a 40km bike ride. I’m glad that the tour guide did not tell us that beforehand or else I probably wouldn’t have gone. I hadn’t ridden a bike in years. After the bike ride, let’s just say we had a “leg day” kinda work out that evening. Our next destination was Lake Bonyonyi, where we went on a boat cruise. The lake was so beautiful and the most interesting thing that I learned about it was the information given about Punishment Island. This island was not very big it looked to be only 20 metres width and length. This place is where parents of unmarried girls would be left if the girls had gotten pregnant out of marriage. They were basically left there to die because of the embarrassment that they had brought on to their family. The next day we had went gorilla trekking. I think this was the highlight for many of us. That morning though MY knee was bothering me and it worsened as that day went on. Although my knee really hurt there was no way that I was going to miss an opportunity of a lifetime. We walked the ranges of mountains until we arrived to the place where a family of gorillas were. I took pictures, admired the gorillas movement, got clipped on my injured knee by a younger gorilla which aggravated it more and almost lost my iphone. Even though my knee began to hurt even more than usual I enjoyed my day. Next we went to Ishasha, there we had early morning and evening game drives, and then went to Kizinga channel for a boat cruise. There we seen elephants, hippos, numerous species of birds and water buffalos.

We have done so many things on this safari and Cyd the Kid will tell you about the last 5 days of our safari. Thanks for reading my post.

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