I Miss You!

It's been exactly 3 years since I came home from Uganda. Life has thrown me a few curves here and there and I've made some stupid plays. I've had some good highs and done a lot of things but there is still nothing that compares to the people, places and experiences I had in Uganda. I miss you almost everyday here in China. I miss the beautiful landscapes, the rich culture and especially the friendly smiles. You are my second home. I love you Uganda, hope to see you again. Lesley

There's no place like home

This is my final blog post, I'm home now and to be honest, it was great at first to have running water and TV but that stuff gets old after a few days or so. I know I have to move on with life but I miss it in Lugazi. I miss my friends I made there and the, somewhat, worry free life. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I will cherish the time I had to work with the people there. I hope this experience is just the first of many in my life and I'm look forward to going back there one day. Thanks to all those that followed my blog and if I ever do one again, I'll try to be better about updating it. Webale Nyo!

P.S. nows your time to make any final comments, I would love to hear what you thought.

Too soon!!

Well today is my last day in Uganda and I have such a mixture of emotions. I'm sad to leave the friends I've made and say goodbye to the people I've met but I feel like I need to be going. 3 months is long time to be away from home and modern convenience so I'm excited to get back to all my friends. But I know I'll miss Lugazi once I get home. I guess that just means I'll have to come back soon.

To So. Hem and Back Again

Whats "So. Hem" you ask, well it stand for Southern Hemisphere and that's where I went last week, Rwanda to be more precise. First of all I have to say that Rwanda is way different than Uganda, they have a better, more stable government which means the roads a paved and there isn't trash everywhere. Uganda is beautiful but I would never say clean so it was really nice to be in a place that seemed more developed. The streets are lined with trees and their transportation system is fare and efficient. I was able to go to the Kigali Memorial Center, the official genocide museum, and that was such a moving experience. I think everyone knows about the horrific genocide of the Tutsi people in 1994, where almost 1 million people were brutally killed, but what was the most interesting was the time and effort it took to carry out the genocide. It wasn't just a random attack it was very well thought out and planned. There were signs well before it ever happened and what is the most disturbing is all the way that it could have easily been stopped but it never did.
We also went to two churches where thousands of people were killed. They have all the clothes laid out across the pew as well as open tombs with coffins and bones. It was moving to think about how the people had gone there for refuge but were killed sometimes even by the people they thought were protecting them. In one of churches you can still see the dark stain where they would throw the infants and children against the wall to kill them. I don't know how to describe the emotion that was there and the amount of sadness that you feel. Although it was a tragic scene the people who lived though it a strong and they are moved on and looking forward to the future.
On a lighter note we convinced our bus driver to stop at the equator, so I have been in both hemispheres at the same time (beat that Mandy Moore).

Are Blogs Supposed to be Updated????

Fourth of July- God Bless America, even in Uganda. This year the Fourth of July was a whole new experience. The America Recreation Association in Kampala held their annual bash, mzungus as far as the eye could see. There was a BBQ of burgers and grilled chicken with baked beans and coleslaw, and it was so good. A few local schools entertained us with traditional Ugandan dancing and singing. And best of all there was a big firework display!!! Way better than I expected for the middle of Kampala. Afterward we had an impromptu dance party that well into the evening. What was funny was that we were the only ones there not drinking and we acted the most drunk. Good Times, Good Times.

Gulu- Ugandans have a difficult time of telling time and distance, our bus trip to Gulu, in northern Uganda, was supposed to be 5 to 6 hours long but in true Ugandan fashion it took us 12 hour not mention that there are over 180 speed bumps on the was there, they are doing road construction and are using them to slow down traffic. That’s right 12 hours in a cramped bus in the middle of the night going up and down, up and down. But even after all that we were still ready to get working. Gulu is such a pretty area with tall palm trees and wide fields. The people there are every nice and welcoming.

We went to the Gulu branch for church and even though it was a small branch the members there had such a strong spirit with them. Plus I met my favorite child in all of Uganda, if you can have a favorite child, Keely. He is about 3 years old and the cutest child ever. He took to me pretty fast and was such a delight to play with. Sunday night we had a fireside and he fell asleep in my arms. If only I took take him home. On Monday we spent the day finishing the adobe stoves at many of the IPD camps that the other HELP volunteers started 3 weeks ago, I went with a few others to a place called Ajulu, which is an hour bode ride out of Gulu. If you have ever been on a boda you know how scary it is to go just a few minutes on it so an hour is really pushing in on the danger scale, plus we got two flat tires along. Luckily Abby and I had a great boda driver named James. He was from Gulu and his father was killed by rebels when he was still young. He felt bad that we got the flat tires that he spent the day helping us finish the stoves. He was a way cool guy.

There are about 150 NGOs in Gulu alone so we were only able to meet with a few, Aid Africa who also work on energy saving stoves and Invisible Children who most people have heard about. It was really exciting to see the work that other NGOs are doing and the impact they were making. Invisible Children have a few amazing programs they use in the community and its really impressive the amount of good they’ve been able to do in such a short time. I would have loved to stay in Gulu longer but there is lots more work to be done.

Safari- You can’t go to Africa without going on a safari!! Last week 6 of us went on a Safari in Murchison Falls National Park, it had all the trimming of an real African safari; warthogs and hippos in the camp, open roofed vans to see the animals in, a local guide to tell us all the fun animal facts and new people to meet. I think my favorite part was when our guide said that the giraffes were “cool guys” and told us that “unfortunately the giraffes don’t talk back”, he was a way funny guy. I got to sit on the roof of the van so I had an excellent view of all the animals. I saw giraffes, elephants (who I was really excited to see), wild buffalos, hippos, crocodiles, and lions (eating a warthog)!! Fun Fact, crocodiles are scared of hippos.

If you can't tell there are lions eating a warthog behind me in the bottom picture.

We went on a boat ride on the Nile up to Murchison Falls but went able to get that close to it. Murchison Falls is the most powerful waterfall in the world so it was really neat to hike to the top of it. It was really a scary experience because if you were to fall in it you would be crushed instantly. But even that said it a very beautiful and awe inspiring waterfall. It was definitely a once in a life time experience.

Fishing- I ended this past super long week by going fishing on Victoria Lake and spending the night on one of the 52 island in the middle of the Lake. It was very beautiful there and it was amazing to watch the sun set over the lake while waiting for some fish to bit. Unfortunately we didn’t catch any fish. The island was so beautiful that it made up for walking in the dark for an hour, not catching one fish and sleeping on the floor in a questionable hotel. It was a good ole time.

Now I have only two weeks left and although I’m really excited to head home I still want to make every last moment.

Did you wash your hands?!?!?

Ok so imagine a swarm of Ugandan men and women lining up to wash their hands, crazy huh? But true, this past week we had a major hand washing event in the local market. We are putting in 5 new hand washing stations and to help get the people excited about and using it we had a free mini hand washing course. Hillary and I taught a short 10 minute lesson about why, when, and how to washing your hands, if they completed the "course" then they received a little certificate saying they are now Hand Washing certified and got a free gift of a hygiene kit. It was really amazing to see all the market vendor excited to use the new hand washing station and to receive their certificates, especially since they love that kind of stuff here. We were able to give out over a 100 hygiene kits!! Hand washing is great
Also this week we are having our big eye clinic. Sight Savers, a NGO (non-governmental organizations) that helps people get diagnosis and treatment for different eye aliments that donated nearly $4000, and the local hospital ophthalmologists are working with us to help people get the eye treatment they need. Yesterday (day 1) we saw over 250 people! I got to help give the eye exam, the one where people have to read the letters, it was so much fun and we were able to help a lot of people. There were some really cute old men and women that were getting their eyes checked. You don't see many really old people around town so it was a treat to help the cute grandmas and grandpas.

I didn't know Polio stained

Working with Youth Outreach we've started having weekly soccer games for all the street kids in the area, they play for about an hour and then we teach them a short lesson afterwards. The kids have actually been really responsive, with help for TYOM with translation the kids not only get to have fun playing soccer but get a little health/life lesson. It feels really great teaching the kids because it actually feels like were making a difference in the community.
Measles is still the number one cause of death for children in Uganda, so in an effort of combat this highly infections disease the Ministry of Health for all of Uganda had mass immunizations this weekend. I was able to go help out with it, I gave the polio vaccine and after the children were done getting their vaccinations I marked their left pinkie finger with a permanent marker specially designed for the polio campaigns, no one told me though that it would stain your hands, so I have black marks all over my hands that make me look permanently dirty. We helped eradicate measles and polio one child at a time.
It was a little sad to watch the children waiting to get their shots, first they saw all the other kids ahead of them freaking out and crying plus the nurses prepare the needle right in front of the children. I got to hold some of the kids down so they wouldn't make it worse. The adults here don't have much sympathy for the kids, the nurses ans parents would just laugh. It was actually funny at times to see the kids get so worked up.
On our last day helping, Hillary and I went to pick up all the other volunteers to go to lunch but when we went to where Dani was she was no where to be found. The people working at the hospital didn't even now where she went off to, the stand where is was volunteering was gone and so was our Dani. So we went on this wild goose chance all around Jinja, we were starting to get worried when we went to the children's hospital and she wasn't there either, but luckily we found her like half an hour later.
It was a really great experience to join together with the church, government and local community to help eliminate this easily fixable problem. I told one of the nurses that there are people in America that choose not to immunize their children and she was flabbergasted that people did that. It made me think that there are so many children that are dying all around the world from diseases that we don't even think about because vaccines are so accessible. I am so grateful that we have the technology to stop diseases before they even have a chance, immunizations are what makes it possible to live a happy and healthy life. So don't be stupid, immunize your children.