On the way to Tororo we drove by the Kayoro/St. John's Clinic and pulled over to look at it as all cheered. It was a great birthday present for me (today is #66). We arrived in Tororo in the late afternoon (later than scheduled), and the one meeting we were supposed to have had become two. While the groups often have a loose geographic connection, they sometimes do not. But in order to get assistance from Give Us Wings, a group must meet certain requirements and be recognized by the government. Ugandans seem to be very emotional and very happy. Of course, they were greeting their friend Mama Mary (Mary Steiner, founder of Give Us Wings), but I think that even without her we would have been greeted warmly. The women (most of the groups' members are women) have a high-pitched cry that is used as a sigh of welcome and joy, and we were all hugged and welcomed. I was very glad I had my headlamp with me as it was quite dark by the time we arrived at the second group.
The groups were sorry that Mary is retiring as Director and may not be visiting so often. They presented gifts; among them was a live chicken which a local staff person (not especially rural) ended up holding -- very gingerly.
The next day (Jan. 20) we visited the District Hospital in the morning. While it is seemingly the best government hospital in the region, it was DREADFUL. There was an apparently well-trained and concerned man in charge of the malnutrition section, but he had no formula and no food for malnourished babies and children. People (mothers) came there, but there was no help for them.
There are only two doctors; most of the medical care is by nurses, some well-trained, some not. The director of nursing seemed to be intelligent and caring, but she has no tools. Families have to bring their own bedding for the patient and do most of the care, including feeding. Many were cooking meals on the grounds of the hospitals for themselves and for patients. Vendors also sold food to those who had money to pay. We had been asked not to all take pictures so I don't have any to include -- for which you can only be grateful.
Some brave souls from GUW stayed at the hospital to volunteer in the afternoon -- not my thing. So Betsy and I went off to assist the Mari group at farming. (Yes, I said farming.) The Mari group consists of families with at least one member who is disabled. Since those who are disabled are not accepted in Ugandan society, they have a very difficult time. Their spirit, however, is shown in their renaming the Mari Disabled Group to the Mari Abled Group.
Betsy and I were trained in the use of a hoe and helped the group clear part of a field that they hope to plant in February. It was amazing to see people who had only one usable leg balance while hoeing. I had difficulty doing it with two good legs.
After a couple of hours of this, we rested, and Mary came to talk to the group about money-making ventures. A local volunteer had taught them jewelry and basket making, but they didn't have a marketing plan about where they could sell their products (except to us, which Mary pointed out was not a large enough market!) I bought a lovely small basket made by this woman.
The volunteers who had been at the hospital joined us at Mari. Often two translators were needed because both the native Ugandan and Swahili were spoken by residents. One of the translators was Faith Margaret, a young woman who has to crawl on hands and knees because her legs don't function (probably polio as a child). She is amazingly intelligent and articulate, having just completed a diploma in accounting. However, given her disability, finding a job is going to be even more difficult. When Faith Margaret is sitting, there is no indication of a disability.
We were more than an hour late returning to the hotel (a pattern for the trip, I think). This may the place to include pictures of our "interesting" bathroom as illustrated by Cammie. Using the toilet involved stepping up on the edge of the shower; one then sat with feet in the shower. Never could figure out why it was constructed like this.
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