Kampala

Yesterday was another great day.  We did get out from the ‘office’ and out about town a little.  I always love to watch the comings and goings of life here in Uganda.  There is so much going on and you see all walks of life.  Some more privilege drive by their luxury cars but regrettably most work hard to just get by or are just very very poor. 

In the pictures here you’ll see a typical street corner where the boda bodas line up waiting for their next brave fare.  These are very dangerous modes of transportation.  Our taxi driver told us they are looking to make them illegal as so many accidents involve the boda boda.  I stupidly took a long ride on one once, once!  It was a hair-raising experience driving on bad roads, dodging crater-sized potholes and trucks and other cars.  I’ve seen too many horrific injuries in hospitals all around the country to ever try again.  But for a lot of people here it is a necessary and affordable way to get around.

Often you’ll see men, women and children selling things like food, airtime for cell phones, misc. trinkets, toilet paper, you name it.  You watch and wish the children could be in school but no more than their mothers I’m sure.  Empty dirt lots will often have squatters resting.  There are very few traffic lights here with cops doing most of the “directing” such as it is. Even though there is so much poverty here, I do want to share that Kampala does have a great deal of infrastructure and it is a comfortable place to visit if you have the means.

Most importantly, everyone here is so incredibly friendly.  We have really chosen a great place to work.  They call Uganda the “Pearl of Africa”.  To me, the real pearl is in its people; gracious, warm and generous by nature, precious like a pearl.  Where ever we go, we are always received by a warm, “You are welcome and  you really feel the sincerity in those simple words. 

We met with our friends at the national nursing association (UNMU) and they proudly toured us through their new Wellness Center.  It is a center built to provide health services to nurses and other health workers.  Nurses are often the last to get care.  Their jobs are so hard. Often working long hours, with too many patients and too few tools, they are one group that is 100% exposed to communicable diseases like HIV and TB. They often suffer from hypertension and strained backs.  It is good to see an effort solely geared to the care of these miracle-working caregivers.

We ended our day with an important meeting with the Ministry of Health, which gains us access to others in the ministry while we continue our collaboration.  We are now at the point where after almost 6 years of needs assessment and extensive collaboration and fact-finding, we are in the final stages of the designing of two TGF projects.  These are exciting times and we have great hope. (MS)