New adventure...new fun

Well I guess it is about time for a little update. For those of you who don't know I was lucky enough to be selected as a Global Health Corps Fellow. This means that I am off on another adventure.  Its an opportunity that I am so grateful to have been given.

Global Health Corps (GHC) is an organization that trains young leaders in public health. The goal is health equity for all. I am lucky enough to be part of the 128 fellows selected from all over the world. The way GHC works is that it pairs a national and an international fellow together at a variety of organizations in six different countries around the world (If you really want to learn more about it you can check out ghcorps.org). The fellows are placed at large organizations such as Clinton Health Access Initiative and Partners in Health, as well as small organizations, like mine, Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project.

First GHC brings all of the fellows to Yale for a 2 week training. It is a great opportunity to meet fellows that won't be in your country placement. It is a bit intimidating because people have such impressive resumes. There are amazing speakers that come to speak and wellness information on how to keep yourself from getting burned out. There is so much to learn from your colleagues it is amazing. However, I think my favorite part was getting to know the international folk and introduce them to our culture whether that be the food or the funny sayings we have. One of the activities we did was have a scavenger hunt in New York City. Some pictures below.

Charles and Joan in NYC (both are with me in Uganda)

My group in New York City

A group of us who are going to Uganda

 

Now, however, I have reached Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project in Kambuaga, Kanungu (their website is nyakaschool.org). It is a small village in the south western part of Uganda. It is in a beautiful hilly location, full of pastures for cow grazing and lots of banana plantations. There is no market, there are a few shops, and electricity and running water is far and few between. The challenges that I face here are similar to the ones that I faced in Peace Corps. Where do I buy my vegetables from? How quickly can I learn the local language so that I can communicate with everyone? Will people ever stop calling me mzungu? (mzungu is the word for white person and comes with all sorts of connotations such as being rich, maybe not being as culturally sensitive etc..) Will I ever blend in? What exactly am I doing here? What is my job? How do I fill my free time? To name a few.

Esther my co-fellow and I at the Nyaka School sign

 

But Kambuga just like Nyansonso has so many bright spots and so much to offer. As I get used to my neighbors and the people here they get used to me I can see the joy and happiness that is here. I am so excited to be making these relationships. I was given a local name meaning gift, just a small affirmation of the beginning of my integration into the community. The pineapples are amazing! The food is not bad at all. Children are children and always bring me joy. There is so much that I am going to learn here and I can't wait to discover more.

 

The view from our front porch.  The red roof is the clinic.

So I suppose a little bit about what I am supposed to potentially be doing. My official title is Health Programs Associate. So briefly, what I will be doing, as I understand so far, is working with the clinic staff and doing capacity building, such as teaching them basic computer skills and more information about different health topics and ways to best educate about these. I will also be trying to improve the procedures and reporting at the clinic. I also have the privilege of working with the grandmother project, assisting with health education and in any other way that I can be useful. I think i will have to spend a bit of time trying to figure out how my skills will best fit into the organization so that I can make the greatest impact.

Today I had the privilege of meeting with a group of grandmothers who came thinking that just a lecture was happening. I introduced my self and asked them if they had questions we ended up talking about eye health and cervical and uterine cancer. There was the normal business of meetings...little did they know that they were going to get a big 120 liter water collecting barrel. The wells and places to collect water is far from where they stay so now they will be able to collect rain water.

The joy and happiness when they realized that everyone was going to go home with this barrel was infectious! I feel so privileged to be a part of it. There was dancing and singing and hugs and handshakes. I was even given some groundnuts (like peanuts) from one of the grandmothers. Something so simple as a barrel can make a huge difference in the life of these grannies. This joy is why I am here and doing what I am doing. I know it is natural to question why I chose to move to a place that is completely foregin and having to go through some of the uncomfortableness that comes along with that. Believe me, I definitely question, but moments like this remind me how lucky I am for this experience. I hope that I can give those grannies a fraction of the joy that they have given me today!

The joy and happiness when they realized that everyone was going to go home with this barrel was infectious! I feel so privileged to be a part of it. There was dancing and singing and hugs and handshakes. I was even given some groundnuts (like peanuts) from one of the grandmothers. Something so simple as a barrel can make a huge difference in the life of these grannies. This joy is why I am here and doing what I am doing. I know it is natural to question why I chose to do what I do, and believe me that definitely happens, but moments like this remind me how lucky I am for this experience. I hope that I can give those grannies a fraction of the joy that they have given me today!