Advertisement
Published: March 24th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Molly's Condom Lesson!
More than 100 students between the ages of 16-21 enjoyed my fun lesson! Its Saturday morning, and I have finally found time to fill you all in! 2 weeks ago now, I was asked to do a lesson for the health science class….on condoms! Having not taught a lesson before in the class room, and being a nervous public speaker, I made sure that I prepared myself for this one! So I walk into the room with over 100 students between the ages of 16-21 starring back at me…Mzungu Nurse! (white nurse!) So I talk to them about family planning (very important considering the average birth rate per Ugandan woman is 7.1 children!), common myths about condoms, how to store them and check the expiry date, their 98% effectiveness in preventing pregnancy, STD’s and HIV. And then the fun began….Juliet (the nurse) was armed with a banana in one hand and a condom in the other, as I explained step-by-step how to apply a condom, remove it and dispose of it! There were many giggles and curious questions….but they then had the opportunity to practice what they had just been shown, as we got them into groups of about 10, and gave them a banana and condom! The lesson was a great success
Molly and Geoffry
This is Geoffry (the boy with the leg)who is scheduled for theatre this Tuesday! Yay! as the students had fun, the positive message got through, and the health clinic was promoted as we have free and confidential condom distribution!
However, I have had a couple of visits from the principal who is worried about what the wider community will think of the school. Since the HIV rate is increasing in rural Uganda, and I am treating many students with STD’s every day, I stand firm about my successful distribution. (I am excited that the male students are keen to use them in the first place!) So during the week a meeting was organized by Justin (the Mzungu CEO of FDNC), the principal, Juliet, myself, Luke and Richard (the health co-coordinator). We devised an official FDNC condom policy….which represents the stance of the Ugandan government…that is Abstinence, Be faithful, Condoms. All three methods of preventing STD’s are of equal importance and MUST be promoted equally also. Yay! So now I can distribute to my hearts content!
We also had TASO (Aids Support Organization) visit the school during the week to promote ABC, and send positive messages of prevention through song, dance, drama and personal testimonies…..all of the performers were in fact HIV positive. Although half the performances were in Lugisu, we could still here the word ‘condom’ mentioned throughout!
Luke and I have been busy the last few days with a young boy called Geoffry who visited the clinic last Friday. 4yrs ago he fell, causing his left leg to swell. His parents took him to a traditional healer who slit his leg to drain the pus. This became infected, causing the leg to swell once more….and a traditional healer made another incision to drain the pus. And yes, another infection. So 4 years later, this 14yr old has a chronic leg infection, cannot straighten his leg, let alone weight bear, hops along with a stick, has 2 chronic wound sites that drain thick pus constantly and has stunted growth and looks more like an 8 year old. He has not had medical input since August last year. So in the clinic we cleaned and redressed his wounds, checked his Hb (hemoglobin - which was ok considering), temperature, and wrote an extensive referral to hospital. On Monday I contacted the community health worker (CHW) from Geoffry’s village (Wubakhasa) to check if had been to hospital yet. You can all guess the answer! So on Wednesday evening we went searching in Wubakhasa and found Geoffry and his family and explained that we would pick him and his mother up at 9am the following morning and take him to hospital. We spent from 9:30am -7:30pm at Mbale Regional Hospital on Thursday! Luke and I were damaged for life, as the state of a third world country’s government run hospital was a sight for sore eyes. We worked some Mzungu power and saw a junior doctor first thing, spent 2hrs achieving an x-ray of his leg, reviewed by a cruel orthopedic plasterer who hadn’t heard of an important concept of pain relief, as he insisted on trying to straighten Geoffry’s leg which had been bent for 3yrs (why doesn’t this surprise me!) and finally at 7pm after waiting in an enormous queue for 4hrs, the orthopedic surgeon! (Who is leaving for Japan on Sunday for 2yrs to do a PhD. Ggrrrrr!) The bottom line is that Geoffry has chronic osteomylitis (meaning an infection of his left femur, causing the bone to die), which requires surgery to rid of the infection before any rehabilitation work can begin (ie - to walk again)
So the following day we collect the boy, his father and a neighbour to translate (as neither can speak any English) at 7am and drive 60km to Kumi Hospital (which is run by several NGO’s, one of which is Australian - a proud moment as this hospital is 100 times better!) to see another orthopaedic surgeon. By 10am Geoffry was seen, booked in for surgery for this Tuesday, shown the ward he will be staying in, and paid for! Just a small percentage of the donation money is being used for Geoffry, but what a difference we can make to this boys life! Because of poverty, neglectful parents and his chronic condition, he has not attended school for 4 years, is a shy, timid 14yr old and needs some TLC!! So well done to you all for your contributions once again, as without this, Geoffry and his leg would remain in need! (We are driving him and his father back to Kumi Hospital tomorrow to drop them off for 2weeks, so we shall keep you all posted with the progress!)
The health clinic has been reasonably quiet in terms of outpatient’s visits this week, although it has picked up with students (and their STD’s among other complaints). So we need to promote the clinic this week coming, as I am certain that there are sick people out there who need attention. So I have lined up the CHW for Natondome, Beatrice, to take us through the village on foot to meet the people, identify some sick people and see what the village has in terms of resources. I am hoping to print off some flyers also to hand out as I walk!
Just a few quick adventures that don’t relate to the clinic….
Last night I umpired a girl’s netball match (my debut attempt at umpiring!). It was the FDNC girls against a local high school. I was fearing for my life as it was a rather heated match, and the supporters of both schools lined the boundary and were so involved! I don’t think I will be doing this again.
Luke spoiled me for my birthday last week as we went to Sipi Falls for the weekend, which a beautiful part of the world. There are many waterfalls amongst green, mountains and lovely accommodation in bamboo decorated huts! We also cracked open a bottle of wine on the night and shared with Justin and Kubo (a volunteer from Japan), which happened to be a Banrock Station - South Australia drop. Who would have thought we would find this in Mbale! It was delicious too!
Luke has been busy working on setting up a football league amongst some of the villages, taking the students for football training every Tuesday and Thursday, and also helping me with Geoffry! He will post his own blog in the near future also.
We are thinking of you all, and thank you all for your support once again. Also a big thank you to those who have left a comment or message - rest assured we have received every one of them!
Lots of love, Celeste and Luke xxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.058s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0362s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Rosie
non-member comment
Mzungu Generosity
Natondome Village and its people are certainly going to benefit from the efforts of the Mzungu nurse and Mzungu coach. Your good work continues and we continue to be proud of you both. Luv Rosie xx