tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74577900189753083202024-03-06T05:20:32.017+03:00A VSO ExperienceRhona and Bobby Hogg in UgandaBobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-36143662523703831362010-12-11T16:42:00.001+03:002010-12-11T16:47:06.206+03:00The End of the Adventure<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is now almost three months since we returned home and we have been very busy catching up with family and friends, and slotting back into our lives in Scotland. It just seems strange that two such different worlds, both now very familiar to us, are separated by an eight-hour journey, it’s like Harry Potter’s journey from Platform 9 ¾ to Hogwart’s School. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5fwhr5bYXyycBuyhpdAHcyufvV35s1BNUut6KlhPPUPajORoyecoxId9cX1aY3d4TLLh2IHXmGmxyW340jXRvZ-vj3AmXprCI3Ida8GXTHV-XE7kzoJ20WktW7CnurdZNWEJw6AnZfdK/s1600/P1020844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5fwhr5bYXyycBuyhpdAHcyufvV35s1BNUut6KlhPPUPajORoyecoxId9cX1aY3d4TLLh2IHXmGmxyW340jXRvZ-vj3AmXprCI3Ida8GXTHV-XE7kzoJ20WktW7CnurdZNWEJw6AnZfdK/s320/P1020844.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We feel that a year was the perfect time to be away. We were ready to return home and we returned with a sense of relief that we had avoided any significant ailment or injury.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It has been just great to get back to old friends and familiar places and possessions. Work is easier with a reliable power supply and the use of diaries and watches. We have enjoyed autumn, seeing the trees turning and having walks in crisp autumn sunshine. Now the snow has come and it has been a novelty at first although this may well wear off, and it is strange to think that in Uganda we would be enjoying warm sunshine and sitting on the porch after work having a waragi (G&T) and watching the colourful birdlife as the sun goes down. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is also a sense of freedom through the familiar and to walk on pavements (maybre not with the snow) in town and in the hills. Both our sons are getting married in the spring and we enjoy being close to our family and involved in our own family events rather than being on the fringes of those of others. It was fascinating and a privilege to be guests at Ugandan events, but it's good to be back in our native habitat, and rejoin our familiar family, social and community activiies. We enjoy the concerts, theatre and film on our doorstep in Edinburgh, and attending them with friends and family. We are so lucky.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, we miss the day to day life in Africa, the people we saw every day at work and around our Ugandan home. We hope to keep in touch and maybe there will be the opportuniy to see again Chiseveni, his children and Florence and Maria in Edinburgh or Uganda. They made our stay in Uganda so special. Also we are hoping that two or three of the nurses at Reach Out will be able to come to Scotland to visit and talk to Scottish community nurses about the low-resource nurse-led model of care they use to care for clients.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have learnt that we are extremely priveleged to live in the "developed world". We'd like to think we always knew this but a year ago we didn't really know what this meant. We also hope we are more sensitive to some of the issues of identity. One aspect of this is the stigmas we create through many of our opinions which are affected by, possibly, a primitive reaction to appearance. ( I have just finished Barak Obama's "Dreams from My Father" and it has underlined my view of this - Bobby.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had a very enjoyable day in November when we were reunited with three of our visitors in Uganda. We attended the graduation of one of the students who completed a project at Reach Out Mbuya and were joined by her supervisor and fellow student from Queen Margaret University.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfWN8EdLsf8U7TKPZhzacTztPJdYu4NyOqseVsGS-dtzXZPwY37s42EO8Q7yatTh4eM4Akgc6jt08T05dVFA01nhe_09IuF-fGv5LoNy_v5HQRwIfA1wddm9T3l1k6TWPucTHu7NSW3ac/s1600/IMG_1001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfWN8EdLsf8U7TKPZhzacTztPJdYu4NyOqseVsGS-dtzXZPwY37s42EO8Q7yatTh4eM4Akgc6jt08T05dVFA01nhe_09IuF-fGv5LoNy_v5HQRwIfA1wddm9T3l1k6TWPucTHu7NSW3ac/s320/IMG_1001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But for now we are looking forward to a family Christmas and the chance to meet our elder son’s fiancee’s family before their wedding in the spring. Then we have Hogmanay with a large houseparty in Portugal and our younger son’s wedding in February. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We were very fortunate to have had such a wonderful year with successful placements, great people, lots of visitors from home and a chance to explore such a beautiful and interesting country. We are also very grateful to have been so happy and settled while we were in Uganda, yet so pleased to be back home “among our ain folk”. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” (George Moore 1852 – 1933)</span></i></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-43639958807409765942010-09-13T21:00:00.006+03:002010-09-15T10:53:02.985+03:00Farewells<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We spent last night in Entebbe and two hours ago we took off on our journey home. We are excited about returning home but are subdued after the farewells over the last few days.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0oXdq4QzXBboZNiIdlrJNv3AscLzaIRGj99TQkD_jBbuI9NC2ZiPhyphenhyphendttzcQwP3szuJC2gbayrHR-dSKpnf260fD5RUu_l3JPrsaMxlm26ixUYUuingzrIvIvkIxW3eIRAEPPO5POWEat/s1600/IMG_0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0oXdq4QzXBboZNiIdlrJNv3AscLzaIRGj99TQkD_jBbuI9NC2ZiPhyphenhyphendttzcQwP3szuJC2gbayrHR-dSKpnf260fD5RUu_l3JPrsaMxlm26ixUYUuingzrIvIvkIxW3eIRAEPPO5POWEat/s320/IMG_0936.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last Thursday we had a great send off from the staff at Reach Out Mbuya, our employer over the last year.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwY0omS7EHNd08438VcY1mN5ZFx6m9qJGGXgb8iTftYwn-GJ6bjYVlkC22ZiPVzfySe_tSvy1cl3HUsmisXfLIkUYWExS7dH4C-uNsufSnwOhyphenhyphen2ty2eOs3QPKy1shM11FX-4WrfgDyFvdN/s1600/IMG_0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwY0omS7EHNd08438VcY1mN5ZFx6m9qJGGXgb8iTftYwn-GJ6bjYVlkC22ZiPVzfySe_tSvy1cl3HUsmisXfLIkUYWExS7dH4C-uNsufSnwOhyphenhyphen2ty2eOs3QPKy1shM11FX-4WrfgDyFvdN/s320/IMG_0929.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> After the usual morning yoga and religious reflection we had a pictorial (slide show) of a selection of our photographs, testimonials from some of the staff we worked with, </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbDeFCkxPE7t1d4eVkWGz9qyzXzgmnvoInxX9jaLfr7zo6uNNcmfHbAFPXSWdEySRIlF8oy_FgnVj3bPvBDsjn6wclibMe2mZgfu5xMbsXuX8I2ANnr7nKVUeId4aengO-DKN3irl1PYA/s1600/IMG_0932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbDeFCkxPE7t1d4eVkWGz9qyzXzgmnvoInxX9jaLfr7zo6uNNcmfHbAFPXSWdEySRIlF8oy_FgnVj3bPvBDsjn6wclibMe2mZgfu5xMbsXuX8I2ANnr7nKVUeId4aengO-DKN3irl1PYA/s320/IMG_0932.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">some Scots and Ugandan tunes on fiddle and guitar, community singing, and a cake.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRo27mWSM_6r1KcgXokA7w3RysoqsBKTc7d9XSXwErNfBrQPR0NKnDaiSPL33alhtXsYKirr_ptP5-lptkaRBFNNR9aH-QLkIL5fUi0xUr6RT6asiDFuZdY2ZVlWCsveNwUF3voJZJxAB/s1600/IMG_0934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRo27mWSM_6r1KcgXokA7w3RysoqsBKTc7d9XSXwErNfBrQPR0NKnDaiSPL33alhtXsYKirr_ptP5-lptkaRBFNNR9aH-QLkIL5fUi0xUr6RT6asiDFuZdY2ZVlWCsveNwUF3voJZJxAB/s320/IMG_0934.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Ugandans know how to party and this was all before 10 am.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Friday and Saturday evenings we said our farewells to some of our VSO friends although we expect to see a few in Edinburgh before too long.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Sunday morning we passed on the car to a VSO couple. It was with some relief that I had avoided damaging the car since selling it and that in the past year we have avoided serious accidents and further incidents with the police.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Sunday afternoon we said our goodbyes to our landlord, his children and the two maids, Florence and Maria.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3l-DdAulUix_xem87vU41IZrTl5Fg2W5kaod7mxjXADXOKlthc8nIfBdHU1pCs9U2hCDR68y49L0BCy7Bx7cxoSrvIDUXDWeCESyymfMzm8c1QQ-ztAOtbHsNTWwU45DOJbVNxS8N8rS/s1600/IMG_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3l-DdAulUix_xem87vU41IZrTl5Fg2W5kaod7mxjXADXOKlthc8nIfBdHU1pCs9U2hCDR68y49L0BCy7Bx7cxoSrvIDUXDWeCESyymfMzm8c1QQ-ztAOtbHsNTWwU45DOJbVNxS8N8rS/s320/IMG_0963.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB87616tiBJXu3qynUZYWWUeVyaF5i6x4S6o5abCdfoP0ooMBF4CVc4QKTzYibzMBR87oOLoMu1NKRM9OrGTWx_YgeptkVn7BGIntMAbtU-1dGBbEfmHeLNAfN5n95sU9B5W80jiHHbt3S/s1600/IMG_0957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB87616tiBJXu3qynUZYWWUeVyaF5i6x4S6o5abCdfoP0ooMBF4CVc4QKTzYibzMBR87oOLoMu1NKRM9OrGTWx_YgeptkVn7BGIntMAbtU-1dGBbEfmHeLNAfN5n95sU9B5W80jiHHbt3S/s320/IMG_0957.JPG" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Florence and Maria made such a difference to our stay in Uganda. Each of them came in once a week to clean the house and do the laundry but it was the extra care they took of us and Florence popping in for a chat with the children that made such a difference.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At 3pm we set off for Entebbe. We couldn’t quite believe that our year in Uganda had come to an end. Rhona and I were quiet and reflective on the journey as we watched the now familiar street scenes and realised how different it was going to be back home.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-2955869142172223882010-09-08T21:52:00.000+03:002010-09-08T21:52:44.210+03:00Our final word from Kampala<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With only five days to go until we return to Scotland after this amazing year, it seems appropriate to follow the example of other VSO bloggers and to reflect on the highs and lows, and to list what we will miss and what we are looking forward to at home in Scotland.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The year has been a package of adventure which is difficult to unpick. It has generally been much easier and more successful than we could ever have imagined. Most of our day-to-day life in Kampala has been very straightforward, we live in a very nice house in a lovely compound, the weather is always like a very nice summer day back home, we shop in supermarkets once a week but go to the market for wonderful fruit and vegetables. We eat at nice restaurants, we socialise with other volunteers and have had had great trips upcountry on safaris and to visit other parts of this beautiful, lush country. We have learned African dances and African songs. Our placements have been real jobs using our skills and providing opportunities to learn new ones. Uganda has been a great experience but as a way of life Scotland certainly wins hands down. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Highs -</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of the placement:</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Getting one nurse to an international conference in Vienna with a scholarship to present two posters, and another to an international conference in Australia to give an oral presentation.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having two students from the Institute of International Health and Development at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh working on research projects started by Reach Out (and having one excellent dissertation finished and another in progress).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having a day of meetings with staff from Reach Out, Makerere University School of Public Health and the Institute of International Health and Development in Edinburgh to discuss and initiate a three-away collaboration</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpx2VLJxO9iLTx1nNkYwowLce4Oluo3NWZjiwCijkaBGqKE5k-pYsIMQX_CBi6-J2VM1l6F39XY086EI0Pg5TcqAR4R4__uGWhfvCuTe692E-CU4UvWjHiLN6KS0SypgHBAvH1Iot5ZRe/s1600/IMG_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpx2VLJxO9iLTx1nNkYwowLce4Oluo3NWZjiwCijkaBGqKE5k-pYsIMQX_CBi6-J2VM1l6F39XY086EI0Pg5TcqAR4R4__uGWhfvCuTe692E-CU4UvWjHiLN6KS0SypgHBAvH1Iot5ZRe/s320/IMG_0896.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Going into the slum communities we serve to visit mothers and babies and also sick clients, and see community nursing African style, with no welfare state, no social workers, no running water and no sanitation</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spending time with volunteers in the north of the country, visiting rural communities and health centres</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTprPDbgcfNYrcfz-V63MuMuJw2lkt5ZUxIF90BRYBrk7VjuaJYhYpjIxA6Pr8HPejBqdCiasg0KzZtVqjQ6IwfFpVluKS58Y196iRKca5mfV34Wu7X__xgZEMT6xlgCXWvcme_gbrRDDZ/s1600/IMG_0917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTprPDbgcfNYrcfz-V63MuMuJw2lkt5ZUxIF90BRYBrk7VjuaJYhYpjIxA6Pr8HPejBqdCiasg0KzZtVqjQ6IwfFpVluKS58Y196iRKca5mfV34Wu7X__xgZEMT6xlgCXWvcme_gbrRDDZ/s320/IMG_0917.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bobby has experienced generous appreciation for his work on the Health Management Information System and travels home with the assurance that there will always be a welcome and work here should he return.</span> <br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Socially:</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spending Christmas with Hamish and Morven on safari in Murchison Park.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having David on safari and spending a day in the clinic at Reach Out.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having six other sets of visitors to stay with us.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Lows -</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of course there have been some frustrations, but I think the VSO training in the UK and in-country must have been successful and we have been gently brainwashed into reconceptualising difficulties as challenges (a favourite VSO and African word) and perfecting the art of turning negatives into positives. So in fact I can’t really think of any lows, though plenty of challenges, and positives that started out as negatives!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Barking dogs through the night</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Black choking exhaust fumes</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_v-xCj0ktFZbBRt5ECdj9X_NanIxb3RP4fPzmw8eQqtqE1tD2YaRgF676NI0FPITXyRAtm3_vbfyhyoOEO6INhVUuXGhhH7mCGMVT0-3a5sLq0d8IeNvft0jQaSoCzJJ7hYwUJsWNlgn/s1600/IMG_7515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_v-xCj0ktFZbBRt5ECdj9X_NanIxb3RP4fPzmw8eQqtqE1tD2YaRgF676NI0FPITXyRAtm3_vbfyhyoOEO6INhVUuXGhhH7mCGMVT0-3a5sLq0d8IeNvft0jQaSoCzJJ7hYwUJsWNlgn/s320/IMG_7515.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaxHdbFS8xnxGxH1gR4C7cDPcr8iaTxIvcffohLTeRHZ5v_adxkvFJzQOeT8g8Bjx9huIkR9t4Ie2oxdwsakgkSIKk-t-pF8RSu0aYoiqGnl3jwhJrpxkF0UsfWwvxGLJboO-fODntEJv/s1600/IMG_7520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaxHdbFS8xnxGxH1gR4C7cDPcr8iaTxIvcffohLTeRHZ5v_adxkvFJzQOeT8g8Bjx9huIkR9t4Ie2oxdwsakgkSIKk-t-pF8RSu0aYoiqGnl3jwhJrpxkF0UsfWwvxGLJboO-fODntEJv/s320/IMG_7520.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Miles and miles of road works on dusty roads with speed bumps every 50 metres.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Frequent power cuts</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaOMR9mvzWxalqStm7J-U03LTHtajXUlMMYozz_Sx_UvV-ZcA_uo7m1ruoHjlpe3CGs7kN73gaqHGlh738mApsqKWPtI6ir9iYILc5jWtEyX53UM-qZXV3AXIIcQg3coOx9JrwrLMIHaV/s1600/IMG_7510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaOMR9mvzWxalqStm7J-U03LTHtajXUlMMYozz_Sx_UvV-ZcA_uo7m1ruoHjlpe3CGs7kN73gaqHGlh738mApsqKWPtI6ir9iYILc5jWtEyX53UM-qZXV3AXIIcQg3coOx9JrwrLMIHaV/s320/IMG_7510.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The dangers of road travel</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What we looking forward to -</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having close friends around, with shared histories and with whom we have so much in common.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hills to climb </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beaches with a sea breeze</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Seasons</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Concerts, theatre, dance and opera</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Singing and playing music with friends</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pavements</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meetings taking place as planned and starting on time</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Driving without having to worry about potholes, horrendous traffic jams and seemingly no highway code</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Scotsman in print rather than on-line</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What we will miss -</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The gentle, courteous manner of soft-spoken Ugandans </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pineapples, mangoes and passion fruit </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZ9XWrNaDZUyI7C6c9afS1kxCLo33B1NTcIFDffzF-7JTZkfjAID7wF-8y5dTB707xfQ7vZq9pf-jAkFGxCuTVDDEPCuH3VFwQJKRkgR4svYi6UKy7INWDl1NAmBkR6k2dtHpIle7Z_vO/s1600/IMG_7502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZ9XWrNaDZUyI7C6c9afS1kxCLo33B1NTcIFDffzF-7JTZkfjAID7wF-8y5dTB707xfQ7vZq9pf-jAkFGxCuTVDDEPCuH3VFwQJKRkgR4svYi6UKy7INWDl1NAmBkR6k2dtHpIle7Z_vO/s320/IMG_7502.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Matooke Lorries</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sitting on the verandah having a waragi (local gin) and tonic after work birdwatching as the sun goes down</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Starting work with yoga, reflection and announcements in the compound</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Being able to have meetings outside in a shady spot under a tree</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Friday evening get-together of VSO volunteers </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sunny days and balmy evenings</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sundays spent swimming at a lovely outdoor pool</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">BBC World Service and Focus on Africa every morning</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The wildlife and especially the birds</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are sorry to leave all our new friends in Uganda but hope the opportunities will arise to see many of them again. We are looking forward to seeing all our friends and family back home.</span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-89507665690999480022010-09-05T21:51:00.000+03:002010-09-05T21:51:58.766+03:00The Gorillas<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our final fling has been a trip to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (the name says it all) for gorilla tracking. Many of our guests have been and so we were well prepared for the long and bumpy journey (our driver was introduced to the word shoogle, the only way to describe it). We travelled down last Sunday – just under 11 hours – and returned to Kampala on Wednesday – 12 hours. (Kampala appears to have suffered the worst tropical storm in history just hours before we returned). </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKPAfqr1n_yfwaNGwAMsHyc14uAgp9u-AP9_r6Oh_a4KfK-Fz6e97UivwEdbWLoejBKjbBp3uTtZs_CgG30S4ypx-srS0bYvG1OOTR19zY_TLxiPH81_Yc-ho29sjRnZj44Y5VPxyccyg/s1600/IMG_7567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKPAfqr1n_yfwaNGwAMsHyc14uAgp9u-AP9_r6Oh_a4KfK-Fz6e97UivwEdbWLoejBKjbBp3uTtZs_CgG30S4ypx-srS0bYvG1OOTR19zY_TLxiPH81_Yc-ho29sjRnZj44Y5VPxyccyg/s320/IMG_7567.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The last three and a half hours is on dirt track part of which happens to be one on the main routes into the Congo and so is quite busy with heavy lorries.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Monday morning we checked in at the UWA reception. There were 3 groups of visitors with a maximum of 8 people in each. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFHoiHK7P6Fx5_axA2ZMZN5EofyvHjsVqiHQrE873fLCdxRtXtIEFN3fpROYvMri9kzRlJV-hFk_sbyRgcrBNSnNJ-2xigxT_6R1xlefH4QggvbqVjuMaPaOpkOarW-jO9AtSBiiobdpH/s1600/IMG_0744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFHoiHK7P6Fx5_axA2ZMZN5EofyvHjsVqiHQrE873fLCdxRtXtIEFN3fpROYvMri9kzRlJV-hFk_sbyRgcrBNSnNJ-2xigxT_6R1xlefH4QggvbqVjuMaPaOpkOarW-jO9AtSBiiobdpH/s320/IMG_0744.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3MB7oIqlgvFzNl2jsNhF1pWd7qylQc8k_YXhG-wsuAsFHipWDJMWL88C3RITzz8FYDVx_YB9rRknFCk0jzpPrTdLP2-P9DXf4LkO31ydZBJZFhXhaS_S1a0f5GJuVjZjkresZiwetvLT/s1600/IMG_0747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3MB7oIqlgvFzNl2jsNhF1pWd7qylQc8k_YXhG-wsuAsFHipWDJMWL88C3RITzz8FYDVx_YB9rRknFCk0jzpPrTdLP2-P9DXf4LkO31ydZBJZFhXhaS_S1a0f5GJuVjZjkresZiwetvLT/s320/IMG_0747.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Each group, with a guide, two armed guards and porters for those that wish, is assigned to a gorilla family. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had a two and a half hour trek in - up and down precipitous tracks – to find the gorilla family we had been assigned to – the Habinyanja family. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27EXdx9B38bHIdrWlWvomtSL46ALH0jBDMufXAfjkrfypmsMjMDttkFbhtxiBlSHgdXyYS1up3sN6cp3Ylj6ks2PmM-Bib71ctfdWgJGPICGmmMMSdNNDye7njEBhCmS2o2NzEG76ZQ98/s1600/IMG_0739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27EXdx9B38bHIdrWlWvomtSL46ALH0jBDMufXAfjkrfypmsMjMDttkFbhtxiBlSHgdXyYS1up3sN6cp3Ylj6ks2PmM-Bib71ctfdWgJGPICGmmMMSdNNDye7njEBhCmS2o2NzEG76ZQ98/s320/IMG_0739.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgJqBOkam1DnwYMRDfvIKb-X_h-3e8oMqXI-WMS37uEwrWu8jfySR7CtI3G4gjYChlfP4x0szBj_su1SLAhDoRIpgSsIdRxk3WyWBlEnhpZESGSXo9fhnUOapdpGN4bz6Ccz0GcNbri6m/s1600/IMG_0769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgJqBOkam1DnwYMRDfvIKb-X_h-3e8oMqXI-WMS37uEwrWu8jfySR7CtI3G4gjYChlfP4x0szBj_su1SLAhDoRIpgSsIdRxk3WyWBlEnhpZESGSXo9fhnUOapdpGN4bz6Ccz0GcNbri6m/s320/IMG_0769.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We spent an hour with the gorillas which made it all worthwhile. It was a really amazing experience having eye-to-eye contact with such gentle giants, by the end we felt they were our new best friends. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ8bmlkXdwNd72GSBzMOD1sn-FOmDHqza1YkI9ZZJoySiHe0MnqxJ43A4wrjJ99bSdBKX4IF34xJioFHeDOztZGy0H2m9qF04wdTSDyx0-lMk2iEHEu8N7FVVL4R65Bh6DErZo_OHPOFu/s1600/IMG_0750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ8bmlkXdwNd72GSBzMOD1sn-FOmDHqza1YkI9ZZJoySiHe0MnqxJ43A4wrjJ99bSdBKX4IF34xJioFHeDOztZGy0H2m9qF04wdTSDyx0-lMk2iEHEu8N7FVVL4R65Bh6DErZo_OHPOFu/s320/IMG_0750.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xubrXPBbOmDHiKsqczAJvNwRS3jfgQQ4ZjtFDf_YrYe6BE5V0S2Ueef21X5OV886OdgW6Ata9DMRAlF5KIJ3DQCLxNuxEXw4LDZGfvBbsL-wGlS7fSBSHy-XSx2O3tfvYjLUc0yk1QTx/s1600/IMG_0854e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xubrXPBbOmDHiKsqczAJvNwRS3jfgQQ4ZjtFDf_YrYe6BE5V0S2Ueef21X5OV886OdgW6Ata9DMRAlF5KIJ3DQCLxNuxEXw4LDZGfvBbsL-wGlS7fSBSHy-XSx2O3tfvYjLUc0yk1QTx/s320/IMG_0854e.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I (Rhona) was very appreciative of my porter, Jonathan, who carried my rucksack and gave me a hand with the steepest parts. Bobby still claims he only hired a porter to help the local economy, he certainly did not engage in the hand-holding bit! (not true – I didn’t fancy being stretchered out)</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xubrXPBbOmDHiKsqczAJvNwRS3jfgQQ4ZjtFDf_YrYe6BE5V0S2Ueef21X5OV886OdgW6Ata9DMRAlF5KIJ3DQCLxNuxEXw4LDZGfvBbsL-wGlS7fSBSHy-XSx2O3tfvYjLUc0yk1QTx/s1600/IMG_0854e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYA1vO204zA12CuArmEJkBbzrfCbcrxtnGUUcd7Ppe0qlz_mImJtSA6PLd5H3FEch85bvsHcKTi1-MphcbTwWMYbJMVAy8S9QNti-jtN3wqk9l27Q-3RvJG5Qdh_L99QfYfqToGu0HamiG/s1600/IMG_0858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYA1vO204zA12CuArmEJkBbzrfCbcrxtnGUUcd7Ppe0qlz_mImJtSA6PLd5H3FEch85bvsHcKTi1-MphcbTwWMYbJMVAy8S9QNti-jtN3wqk9l27Q-3RvJG5Qdh_L99QfYfqToGu0HamiG/s320/IMG_0858.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Tuesday, I spent a morning at Bwindi Community Hospital, an amazing place (with a good website) which provides medical care and health promotion to the people living in this very remote area of Uganda.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsHTqa3p2xaYlli1JcFnM-__yqujOwWI0s4cNPMZ04HJZqmfSgqy3VIiHg9RO7U1TwyqGjW7EgUlR2L1gRyyPFBrr6HJx9aGxy56F7XpaOjaTCZUxMRaoFfqCcAdz6u4tX9ubZhkHH5UC/s1600/IMG_0860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsHTqa3p2xaYlli1JcFnM-__yqujOwWI0s4cNPMZ04HJZqmfSgqy3VIiHg9RO7U1TwyqGjW7EgUlR2L1gRyyPFBrr6HJx9aGxy56F7XpaOjaTCZUxMRaoFfqCcAdz6u4tX9ubZhkHH5UC/s320/IMG_0860.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlQCsimQclPXj-b6njOjPpxQ8Hje_U8f0hJyeh0aprx1qEnu_S3_r4pcEYAY6lDMneTM600DPPutbRs3xAU11Ygj7uN2yJsTwU3GEjayMjtiJC1aVM6LLsfrgiwvAef1D743Qxe77Lxxa/s1600/IMG_0865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlQCsimQclPXj-b6njOjPpxQ8Hje_U8f0hJyeh0aprx1qEnu_S3_r4pcEYAY6lDMneTM600DPPutbRs3xAU11Ygj7uN2yJsTwU3GEjayMjtiJC1aVM6LLsfrgiwvAef1D743Qxe77Lxxa/s320/IMG_0865.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyE23SaysoEiXrklCt2T_kIxU9vCS5XRuOdjQwcpIPhk_3a1Q77XZHA9gLzqx1E1WaI8d9VZvqSgFxgJ_Ws2iH18Po8um8z_r78BfAsP23_ijJvByiZZiVIgFp9z-X3eK0jDAa5-JMOz84/s1600/IMG_0862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyE23SaysoEiXrklCt2T_kIxU9vCS5XRuOdjQwcpIPhk_3a1Q77XZHA9gLzqx1E1WaI8d9VZvqSgFxgJ_Ws2iH18Po8um8z_r78BfAsP23_ijJvByiZZiVIgFp9z-X3eK0jDAa5-JMOz84/s320/IMG_0862.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are two VSO volunteers working there and it is certainly VSO - the extreme version, with very primitive living conditions, no regular transport in or out, and no access to food except the African staples. On the other hand, it is a stunning location and a great hospital with good resources. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxArXYk11i6Cmm7QIstF8mgHymBjmXZ0yrpmERa3CWdCpJQtUg8vctAQbKJR1V0LsfI4p4MRYuTMq7tAd0XFh9IO_RVIH65zoa-pw3uKa0q6N2wgaG8h14zGscK_sIykqhLHtot84KHDl/s1600/IMG_7552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxArXYk11i6Cmm7QIstF8mgHymBjmXZ0yrpmERa3CWdCpJQtUg8vctAQbKJR1V0LsfI4p4MRYuTMq7tAd0XFh9IO_RVIH65zoa-pw3uKa0q6N2wgaG8h14zGscK_sIykqhLHtot84KHDl/s1600/IMG_7552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxArXYk11i6Cmm7QIstF8mgHymBjmXZ0yrpmERa3CWdCpJQtUg8vctAQbKJR1V0LsfI4p4MRYuTMq7tAd0XFh9IO_RVIH65zoa-pw3uKa0q6N2wgaG8h14zGscK_sIykqhLHtot84KHDl/s320/IMG_7552.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMvLG2IAVg91WgZHn5b5AyxV7Gmpx_EMj6usRQxmDytBeNSNF7GmOq9peNNImNz1Wypou74g9QGQ6Us6p6HNmBBTy3o2IRCruE1wYbqV16ii8R484p1D4T9Pv1YCBecJrtCqN__7TWzJB/s1600/IMG_7548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMvLG2IAVg91WgZHn5b5AyxV7Gmpx_EMj6usRQxmDytBeNSNF7GmOq9peNNImNz1Wypou74g9QGQ6Us6p6HNmBBTy3o2IRCruE1wYbqV16ii8R484p1D4T9Pv1YCBecJrtCqN__7TWzJB/s320/IMG_7548.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Tuesday morning Bobby had a guided rain forest walk to a local waterfall. In the afternoon we relaxed with a short local walk.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeerFhQCvCd9uc5UFSHCk4AiI7jGgzdmX-M39_nxURyDWUj9Ou8w833dCDWz103jsFaBUVFEomZtXlT1TqN0S4CRpUQwAu9CWu2NnLjC1Yx17thJ_lK5oeUawznGT4DZsLc16Ols7wUmoh/s1600/IMG_7556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeerFhQCvCd9uc5UFSHCk4AiI7jGgzdmX-M39_nxURyDWUj9Ou8w833dCDWz103jsFaBUVFEomZtXlT1TqN0S4CRpUQwAu9CWu2NnLjC1Yx17thJ_lK5oeUawznGT4DZsLc16Ols7wUmoh/s320/IMG_7556.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So now it is countdown to returning home, there is much to do and a very long tick list. Today we went to the village up the hill behind our house where we often walk with visitors, and distributed printed photos of various people who had kindly allowed us and in particular our son David, to take photos of them.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPmkjHf6XXUyqO8EKdmXjomXuawGt0w2IOqdlsbaLXWyxp-cNfHWhgZruVYA4Txt01Ev0OmksxwQBS9STEVNN3jBuDq7x8HmqlZXFEJk9YCLc_DzENy17sKeIyAdfiLlHmQIeRp6vT1jB/s1600/IMG_7578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPmkjHf6XXUyqO8EKdmXjomXuawGt0w2IOqdlsbaLXWyxp-cNfHWhgZruVYA4Txt01Ev0OmksxwQBS9STEVNN3jBuDq7x8HmqlZXFEJk9YCLc_DzENy17sKeIyAdfiLlHmQIeRp6vT1jB/s320/IMG_7578.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We had to ask around to track them down, but we found them all and they were really delighted to have them to keep. </span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-76748856741978454762010-08-17T20:16:00.000+03:002010-08-17T20:16:19.752+03:00The Royal Pride Academy<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well! In 4 weeks time we expect to be home barring any airport strikes. Our attention is focused on end of placement reports and checklists for our return.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The last of our scheduled visitors departed on Thursday. We had an enjoyable time with my sister, Anne, and her husband, Wofgang who live in Germany. They were with us for 2 weeks on their first visit to Africa and experienced the chaos of Kampala traffic as well as the abundant wildlife and the friendly Ugandans.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before we left last September a number of our friends gave us money to put to a "good cause". If you have read many of our blogs you will realise that we are aware of too many good causes in Uganda and choosing one has been difficult. However there is a primary school not far from where we stay (on the other side of Mutungo Hill). </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghS5WTXe5ESB9BfMw_EXJMF7J1Kz7-9ia4RsxY3PrVqqX-TE1gCf7Gj9K8FG-B-dd1xlzPwvUJa3CB9HiqH-vWmfN-kEW3V5qIY0ic3VL9Xq3O5z2Rq6ItKNgGD6lK8VgiYbiFwm4ePz4Q/s1600/IMG_7482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghS5WTXe5ESB9BfMw_EXJMF7J1Kz7-9ia4RsxY3PrVqqX-TE1gCf7Gj9K8FG-B-dd1xlzPwvUJa3CB9HiqH-vWmfN-kEW3V5qIY0ic3VL9Xq3O5z2Rq6ItKNgGD6lK8VgiYbiFwm4ePz4Q/s320/IMG_7482.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt6OPEOpaLJeTAYudJ-ovJs-niZjBakm1NWcal4yi6vep0GjIg_7pb6b_g4VNuPz03oqSeZuIVhZ1v3h9TrktVoVCdLKQp-YaPuQ6y3abOjP8CgGAvJaku4GCWwm2PY8KiJ8zUOnAzWmm/s1600/IMG_7483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt6OPEOpaLJeTAYudJ-ovJs-niZjBakm1NWcal4yi6vep0GjIg_7pb6b_g4VNuPz03oqSeZuIVhZ1v3h9TrktVoVCdLKQp-YaPuQ6y3abOjP8CgGAvJaku4GCWwm2PY8KiJ8zUOnAzWmm/s320/IMG_7483.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3WPopmhdNArHoxX500-kKH5p_dcd71fUFHzTR-RykK7ZSKd4kLP_m0oQI9QSlX7D06ibseNF2aqoWAonuzh2PVHc7THhM03w-B_ZQWDSZbwNWNHYMNL89wVBTCocZpCVqJAsJ0c0QgwQ/s1600/IMG_0718e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3WPopmhdNArHoxX500-kKH5p_dcd71fUFHzTR-RykK7ZSKd4kLP_m0oQI9QSlX7D06ibseNF2aqoWAonuzh2PVHc7THhM03w-B_ZQWDSZbwNWNHYMNL89wVBTCocZpCVqJAsJ0c0QgwQ/s320/IMG_0718e.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Royal Pride Academy has 200 primary school children with seven teachers for the classes P1 to P7. It is a private school (no funds come from the government) and is dependent on the fees paid by parents. Although the government has introduced universal primary education, the reality is that in most places, including Kampala, there are no state-funded schools and many children do not attend school. The school is located in a slum area of Kampala so the concept of a private school in the UK couldn't be further removed. The school has little resources apart from the dedicated head, Godfrey, and his staff who we think receive no pay.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIcn7Q6axvTZRD9lNPgUqSD-9JnKeZJqaf2MYd7ChYhsyBq65FLppVTm-T8Vubl4oNfSqFgu7syTylJ2NTEKRMC_AEzAuHlS3PqaN0IUyg4lMjDht7YR4X7YuLBzuNLGYpC28NwUbf7cr/s1600/IMG_7486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIcn7Q6axvTZRD9lNPgUqSD-9JnKeZJqaf2MYd7ChYhsyBq65FLppVTm-T8Vubl4oNfSqFgu7syTylJ2NTEKRMC_AEzAuHlS3PqaN0IUyg4lMjDht7YR4X7YuLBzuNLGYpC28NwUbf7cr/s320/IMG_7486.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You will see from the photos that the buildings are basic. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLtdf3VgV9EN45_1QRxtOVzeroqwJVy0CCxsfF-P29hyBzfE4DulmzAhzXEuiWR3TZl4iNjle3IBnssJBHvDKCnzXXsrgZTfftvnWOM42096qIo4Z86VXauLYkbsiwq-b5mAPmCE-8A_j/s1600/IMG_7487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLtdf3VgV9EN45_1QRxtOVzeroqwJVy0CCxsfF-P29hyBzfE4DulmzAhzXEuiWR3TZl4iNjle3IBnssJBHvDKCnzXXsrgZTfftvnWOM42096qIo4Z86VXauLYkbsiwq-b5mAPmCE-8A_j/s320/IMG_7487.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The school is at the foot of the hill and until recently the classrooms were regularly flooded. The partner of one of the volunteers recently organised the builiding of the concrete plinths to keep the classrooms above water level and the chute and roundabout were provided by another volunteer. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfWx09Gw723UGvjE8QwX0UlodUu5AZl5dIFGymdgVNA6mdZmA_A5Snq0NVgUvsNAQcdIZi6jij-p0MA5Dz2E2bdN7NTWtVUKaKWbLhwOin8RoiAhEe81H4NJy320YP2QzlObKZ4MMCA1u/s1600/IMG_7479e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfWx09Gw723UGvjE8QwX0UlodUu5AZl5dIFGymdgVNA6mdZmA_A5Snq0NVgUvsNAQcdIZi6jij-p0MA5Dz2E2bdN7NTWtVUKaKWbLhwOin8RoiAhEe81H4NJy320YP2QzlObKZ4MMCA1u/s320/IMG_7479e.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is likely other funds will be given to improve the buildings so we are adding our contribution to this. We hope those who gave us money to use in Uganda will feel that this is a worthwhile project.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On another note, we were delighted to hear yesterday from our younger son, Hamish, that he and Morven are engaged. With David and Kelli's wedding next spring, 2011 should be an exciting year.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-42715744755513612822010-08-15T17:53:00.000+03:002010-08-15T17:53:39.825+03:00Health Visiting African StyleRhona - <br />
Most of my time and energy has been focused on increasing Reach Out’s research capacity and capability. <br />
For the last few weeks of my placement I am concentrating on helping to develop better care of our babies born to HIV women. Although Reach Out seems to provide, in African terms, a Rolls Royce service to their clients, there is little monitoring of the babies in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme, into which mothers are enrolled during pregnancy. <br />
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Babies are discharged at 18 months of age if they test negative at that stage. If positive they are enrolled as clients in their own right. Babies and their mothers are given drugs to reduce the risk of transmission during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, which is the best option for HIV exposed babies here, given the costs and risks of infections associated with replacement feeding in an urban slum area. Almost half of children under the age of five in Uganda are malnourished, which given the fertility of the land is difficult to understand in rural areas. In Kampala, people with no jobs depend on trying to earn very small amounts of money by selling cooked food, or fruit such as mangoes and pineapples and it is common for families to have no money for food . Many families only eat once a day, which is not enough for babies, so many become malnourished between six and 18 months, when breastfeeding is not enough for them. However, there is no routine monitoring of children and some children present with moderate and severe malnutrition. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5tvukayVXocr9GcFAHYLgH-OfZfBKyVJe-JrYTyFwWXNs89L3_vdEOEenpzd3PssuAMldYhxWQRR1I7eBuw6zU4s60tx_kPVGDZakwXtmpksNjtoAw4TXwvJRIlviwmTBby8CJimZJ3N/s1600/IMG_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5tvukayVXocr9GcFAHYLgH-OfZfBKyVJe-JrYTyFwWXNs89L3_vdEOEenpzd3PssuAMldYhxWQRR1I7eBuw6zU4s60tx_kPVGDZakwXtmpksNjtoAw4TXwvJRIlviwmTBby8CJimZJ3N/s320/IMG_0576.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Up until now the babies have not really been clients in their own right, but now they are being given their own file and their growth will be monitored and charted, so that faltering can be identified before they develop moderate or severe malnutrition. So before this happens, I am doing a baseline nutrition survey of all the children aged between 0 and 24 months, and then the nutritionist, the PMTCT staff and the mother-to-mother community health workers can make decisions about whether they need to increase health education or increase access to food support for some families. Fortunately there is free software available form WHO’s website which makes the survey fairly straightforward. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrtNDnShXp1ZmOvJ9NIkWFsLfUGGJe9YUmsrIQtp492hJLDhAWw4PsWn3tdPlnwTnndhf84GS-6KJNqu8tjH0aV4TBOSd2x5Lrxf9kzAQe88UIOSwCbPqRh0o_0rS2EctrcRpuvUW70PP/s1600/IMG_0580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrtNDnShXp1ZmOvJ9NIkWFsLfUGGJe9YUmsrIQtp492hJLDhAWw4PsWn3tdPlnwTnndhf84GS-6KJNqu8tjH0aV4TBOSd2x5Lrxf9kzAQe88UIOSwCbPqRh0o_0rS2EctrcRpuvUW70PP/s320/IMG_0580.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I have been out doing home visits with the clinicians and the community health workers, especially the mother-to-mother supporters (including Saban, who features in the photos) who look after women in the prevention of mother to child transmission programme. The M2Ms are all clients themselves, who have been trained to support women during pregnancy and until the child is 18 months of age.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmfh8nb3n7P7LgvU11oMh0cSPezjA0J7HdHaY6qDJ8hTcmghm3ojKDEfa7UBKFB7SShahZRlw0krISjGpzotLhyphenhyphenFppYuLa32yUukSNBYPRDks8LWRwFFDNH0ZF6EsYvmECQcTfG5SmKoS/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmfh8nb3n7P7LgvU11oMh0cSPezjA0J7HdHaY6qDJ8hTcmghm3ojKDEfa7UBKFB7SShahZRlw0krISjGpzotLhyphenhyphenFppYuLa32yUukSNBYPRDks8LWRwFFDNH0ZF6EsYvmECQcTfG5SmKoS/s320/IMG_0586.JPG" /></a></div><br />
While everyone is aware of the poverty and desperate conditions most children in the world live in, and living in Africa makes it all more real, actually coming face to face with the reality of living in a Kampala slum and even more, assessing it from a professional perspective, puts it into 3D. Most of the women have come from villages up-country but they do not want to return because they will face a lifetime of hard physical work, digging fields to grow their own food and trying to sell any surplus they have. The reality of life with no safety net is very stark.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYXy3AT7DSNcV0smh-1tknhw2cuzr3uoHB5bbvnFg9kSwkagf-NHIkMmYN3vbLLANwsRbUWBsbRoz9B5QZvSWA1HV3zxs5AS183R8w8-f_qb8icXdMK234j9aoa03dHc2DgdnWb-GD4Zl/s1600/IMG_0582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYXy3AT7DSNcV0smh-1tknhw2cuzr3uoHB5bbvnFg9kSwkagf-NHIkMmYN3vbLLANwsRbUWBsbRoz9B5QZvSWA1HV3zxs5AS183R8w8-f_qb8icXdMK234j9aoa03dHc2DgdnWb-GD4Zl/s320/IMG_0582.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhog1axrrUNbWEs12lSBMqgBTRS5VH4oJI5BayevUr4zh18mm3ugY6v6KUhbnMFajyULDfiaOT_aA5wo0M3jjbEqhV8jkrQAb0jUUEcX9ZDYb7biF0ZZ3NbFLJ9bqqXm7pTLXh-mfeLjKbw/s1600/IMG_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhog1axrrUNbWEs12lSBMqgBTRS5VH4oJI5BayevUr4zh18mm3ugY6v6KUhbnMFajyULDfiaOT_aA5wo0M3jjbEqhV8jkrQAb0jUUEcX9ZDYb7biF0ZZ3NbFLJ9bqqXm7pTLXh-mfeLjKbw/s320/IMG_0667.JPG" /></a></div><br />
However, while it was the differences that struck me most at first, I now see the same problems I see in health visiting practice in Edinburgh - fathers who do not take responsibility for their children, domestic violence and some mental health problems, though post-natal depression is not recognised. I also see great similarities in the way parents really care about their children, they are very interested in seeing how their children are growing and respond very positively to being told that they are doing a really good job.Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-7922330412713463692010-07-18T20:50:00.001+03:002010-07-20T22:29:14.786+03:00An Adventurette?<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.... or a small adventure within the year's big adventure</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>.<br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have just returned from a few days visiting fellow VSOers working in the north of Uganda, where after around 20 years of unrest the war ended in 2007.Immediately after the war ended there was a great influx of NGOs and money but now most have gone. VSO have just started placing volunteers in Gulu and Lira, the first batch of five came in February and some more have just arrived and are currently undertaking in-country training before moving up to start their placements.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4TNj8NreMNCF9guCWHzfq6vt4tb4G-kAXx0o4fZkXkD6PVyTZvgO3nd37efU96OjYycRi0CsIR1KkEtl_NzSg_nz9zvniE2AlFa_dyqNYU5FxSdMsRlRz0Bq5n51MlvXU_sqNBZe6QrF/s1600/IMG_0598e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4TNj8NreMNCF9guCWHzfq6vt4tb4G-kAXx0o4fZkXkD6PVyTZvgO3nd37efU96OjYycRi0CsIR1KkEtl_NzSg_nz9zvniE2AlFa_dyqNYU5FxSdMsRlRz0Bq5n51MlvXU_sqNBZe6QrF/s320/IMG_0598e.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gulu and Lira are equidistant from Kampala - around 350 kms - and the road north is very good and relatively quiet compared with the roads to the west and south west. There are long straight stretches for as far as you can see. There were a few interesting sights on the road. This lorry carrying bags of charcoal with people perched on top is not untypical.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our first stop was in Lira to stay with Debs who is a public health specialist working with the District Health Office. We went out with a senior nurse to their most outlying health centre 80 km to the east over rough roads. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZEu0LfWOmgJy5U7NAMi0C1p-jilnMaM3ueyf4kK8UVM0YlXz44Edn7zIRbr6MIyH5a8_5p2uB3urMRfEO17RNnWKDXoWam7IMVESoCcXM3AY6_vRVz41F-ZMrxllGiMR_dZdPwBXHg_s/s1600/IMG_7353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZEu0LfWOmgJy5U7NAMi0C1p-jilnMaM3ueyf4kK8UVM0YlXz44Edn7zIRbr6MIyH5a8_5p2uB3urMRfEO17RNnWKDXoWam7IMVESoCcXM3AY6_vRVz41F-ZMrxllGiMR_dZdPwBXHg_s/s320/IMG_7353.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">About half way out we came across the lorry which was stuck in the mud. All the goods were unloaded and eventually it was pulled free by an NGOs 4WD. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqUfArAo-aWH27V0U56OioOUqXP-i1doF7SBVS1w-h-YekOJNQ-P1F2ZVmtGLCmPBlwRZpih_T0uSHjyB6m7H3Z61HBtqQWIOSD0SGV0BkAQaHRm892qoBq-AbfhpZgzdFrwEQZNay3sz/s1600/IMG_7355e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqUfArAo-aWH27V0U56OioOUqXP-i1doF7SBVS1w-h-YekOJNQ-P1F2ZVmtGLCmPBlwRZpih_T0uSHjyB6m7H3Z61HBtqQWIOSD0SGV0BkAQaHRm892qoBq-AbfhpZgzdFrwEQZNay3sz/s320/IMG_7355e.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having surveyed the scene and with confidence but little experience of 4WD I attempted to skirt round the muddiest bit. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu97b0husKkWtKG9uvlKMY2Jri6t7mcl20wHR6CMIXKJ1cd3TzsOEcZ_C3P_jxtwQgj4vhVFq4dfdcYOaF30RUUxU6rYABh5JF1AL_7p0z3zQ-Zp4P9z_2fzg4ftW6M9x2WmX9h3wNvgIZ/s1600/IMG_7357e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu97b0husKkWtKG9uvlKMY2Jri6t7mcl20wHR6CMIXKJ1cd3TzsOEcZ_C3P_jxtwQgj4vhVFq4dfdcYOaF30RUUxU6rYABh5JF1AL_7p0z3zQ-Zp4P9z_2fzg4ftW6M9x2WmX9h3wNvgIZ/s320/IMG_7357e.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unfortunately we slithered into the deep mud and were grateful to around 20 locals who manhandled us to firmer ground. (sorry no photos - Rhona wouldn't go wading in the mud!)</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLishYwENU6UlihYYbc3E45WsrkWP5eVligxTAm2ONYNZPoAmneUAv8wNQsA9wsWqnqKwh6WL09xo_xg00xx7XNhC4XFcFrUAn2H1FxKtKCL6rMS8AGTTOmfC6zzTcqVo0MxGZBeiC06K/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLishYwENU6UlihYYbc3E45WsrkWP5eVligxTAm2ONYNZPoAmneUAv8wNQsA9wsWqnqKwh6WL09xo_xg00xx7XNhC4XFcFrUAn2H1FxKtKCL6rMS8AGTTOmfC6zzTcqVo0MxGZBeiC06K/s320/IMG_0603.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When we arrived at our destination we found no drugs, no food supplements for malnourished children and therefore very few patients. We then visited a second health centre on the way back and found a similar scenario. Drugs due to be delivered on 22nd June have not arrived and so the pharmacy has empty shelves.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGK2w2jfgwtZ_nuloT8WCp0AQUzGH5jm_eyYwVqTs8xVMEnsi1Z3GlQchL0BzTXEljYUmr95Frw3w10SsRvNEvVx2kadbGTRud32mpidEbQPIi2CSwxyXfuXzVbGzqWaeME7emRuJ_B5P/s1600/IMG_0600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGK2w2jfgwtZ_nuloT8WCp0AQUzGH5jm_eyYwVqTs8xVMEnsi1Z3GlQchL0BzTXEljYUmr95Frw3w10SsRvNEvVx2kadbGTRud32mpidEbQPIi2CSwxyXfuXzVbGzqWaeME7emRuJ_B5P/s320/IMG_0600.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We also had an interesting visit to a family in Lira with whom Debs stayed for two months when she arrived. The mother Anna looks after twelve children, as well as her own she has absorbed others into the household including a boy she found who had been put on the bus at Kampala who she found lost in Gulu bus station and also the two young children of her sister, who died in childbirth just three weeks ago. Anna was pregnant with her second child when her husband was killed in a car crash. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ii-TB58UCEOD63hBFNKSBemGuVOpqtb1KAdnuSsLGNXOf8CxhTr5wmG8NT2upJCCTPCtAY0Gf9LCdw6YQw3XpuAN3_1ji-Z3wZOzekxOas7mxVkjaRFppf9ZgR4UuBD1zSN9ki-lZAPc/s1600/IMG_0599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ii-TB58UCEOD63hBFNKSBemGuVOpqtb1KAdnuSsLGNXOf8CxhTr5wmG8NT2upJCCTPCtAY0Gf9LCdw6YQw3XpuAN3_1ji-Z3wZOzekxOas7mxVkjaRFppf9ZgR4UuBD1zSN9ki-lZAPc/s320/IMG_0599.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The harshness of life in Africa, and the serenity with which people accept it and move on, never fails to affect us. Anna is luckier than many, she has a reasonable job and can afford a spacious house with a tap in the courtyard, and can afford to pay school fees for the children.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After 2 nights with Debs, we moved on to Gulu (north west of Lira - about 130 kms by the main road) and stayed with Mike and Liz. Liz is a community nurse by background and Mike has worked in mental health. They are carrying out needs assessments and working out how VSO can best progress with future placements. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0G5vckPVhhFOP3hXA2vT06WnelO8dXHw-HOTTPJ6GEVae4A09cp9dyleQfHqJBmLEKrfKOIOKVo20JaKtbixzOtcNVmaGWymjDvE3LvgfhI3QXhGvQeNdShcTW8J5mFfIKVSwolZtea_-/s1600/IMG_0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0G5vckPVhhFOP3hXA2vT06WnelO8dXHw-HOTTPJ6GEVae4A09cp9dyleQfHqJBmLEKrfKOIOKVo20JaKtbixzOtcNVmaGWymjDvE3LvgfhI3QXhGvQeNdShcTW8J5mFfIKVSwolZtea_-/s320/IMG_0613.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Again we traveled about 80kms east and worked our way back visiting 4 health centres in total. There was 4 in our party. Mike did the navigating and another VSOer, Judy from Kenya, wanted to gather information on health promotion at the centres. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlNw5BszrFOsMKxNm4v_YMpD03JQaoAovIc2DQB3PRcHuGJ9-aPIbH3vPJ9DfWgSvgrv19c0xbmRNpV0P3U3xfJmHKkw2FFweMVDUxLmwznss72INvy-fGCF071aiUw9yV5fUCyvzQdtY/s1600/IMG_0648e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlNw5BszrFOsMKxNm4v_YMpD03JQaoAovIc2DQB3PRcHuGJ9-aPIbH3vPJ9DfWgSvgrv19c0xbmRNpV0P3U3xfJmHKkw2FFweMVDUxLmwznss72INvy-fGCF071aiUw9yV5fUCyvzQdtY/s320/IMG_0648e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We appreciated travelling by car but Liz and Mike usually travel by motor bike sometimes staying the night at the more remote health centres. This is real VSO stuff - our life in Kampala seems decadent by comparison. We visited a range of health centres, which again are out of almost all drugs, including antibiotics and those used to treat malaria. We saw two very young children with a presumed diagnosis of malaria (there were no lab facilities) who were clearly very unwell and could not be given the drugs they required immediately. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNT30qZRP3QzhVNFa7mOOBP_wEq7s83EfJPvO_3TEZmvRefOfpKviAwM5gyv9wfkjdpysSSU6hY712bAWxYGeESzSF9Nifgvb27J6UP7r-7Lydz359p80oehP13gS0iNZCJyceFOM2HMK/s1600/IMG_0610e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNT30qZRP3QzhVNFa7mOOBP_wEq7s83EfJPvO_3TEZmvRefOfpKviAwM5gyv9wfkjdpysSSU6hY712bAWxYGeESzSF9Nifgvb27J6UP7r-7Lydz359p80oehP13gS0iNZCJyceFOM2HMK/s320/IMG_0610e.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most of the people in this area are staying in the remains of the refugee camps in numbered thatched round huts with little space between. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are different levels of health facility, Level 1 are the village health teams, Level 2 the most basic health centre with no inpatient or midwifery service, Level 3 offering inpatient and maternity services, and then Level 4 a bit more expertise and facilities, with the regional referral hospital catering for complex cases and general surgery etc. The Level 2 Health Centre we saw had no qualified nurses, virtually no drugs and no power. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBml3WohYhQ0OcAtyX_X1IyomSRY-HMsrEmMydXMbtp1AXJfSG9CUVp1Qs714aP4ORJGfiTVsYRYBOgVOhsmSpbTFeuG7z1SdLnRSw61lb0mDmK5aZ0gHz6i14KzpYDEQKOiyMyZK_P8Qu/s1600/IMG_0620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBml3WohYhQ0OcAtyX_X1IyomSRY-HMsrEmMydXMbtp1AXJfSG9CUVp1Qs714aP4ORJGfiTVsYRYBOgVOhsmSpbTFeuG7z1SdLnRSw61lb0mDmK5aZ0gHz6i14KzpYDEQKOiyMyZK_P8Qu/s320/IMG_0620.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nursing assistants were doing their best, some clearly very able, others less so, but were diagnosing on the basis of a few simple questions and appeared to be allowed to prescribe.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They were also carrying out deliveries, during the night by the light of lanterns they provided themselves, and had one plastic bucket which had to be used for sterilising instruments and also for collecting the placenta. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is no transport in the area, so sick people and women in labour have to walk to the health centres, and the HC2s are often the only place which is accessible, and even then it is too far for some people to reach. With the HC2s so poorly resourced, it would seem sensible to concentrate on improving the HC3s and above, and the village health teams who know their own communities, and provide mobile clinics and transport to HC3s for those who need it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In terms of maternity care, mothers are encouraged to deliver in health centres, but it seems more sensible to build on the skills of traditional birth attendants until mothers can be cared for by qualified midwives in well-equipped (and adequately lit) centres. But this may be politically unacceptable, and mirrors the antagonism there is in the UK to closing down small hospitals and concentrating on centres of excellence. Africa’s problems sometimes seem insoluble.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYauFHzXGAjARBvcKUTQ6lbBB9yVwxNKm56Nz_FdslyDiX7ApQnYOSU9WZkA5zWj7sxfLy_AixaIb98pR5LCJGBGbmiP9ZSdcl1PFkn32XgyplIjqo1dsIcVnZR2ZdXU-BiiZ94nCrW2ZO/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYauFHzXGAjARBvcKUTQ6lbBB9yVwxNKm56Nz_FdslyDiX7ApQnYOSU9WZkA5zWj7sxfLy_AixaIb98pR5LCJGBGbmiP9ZSdcl1PFkn32XgyplIjqo1dsIcVnZR2ZdXU-BiiZ94nCrW2ZO/s320/IMG_0656.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, on the way back to Kampala, we stopped at Kasaala, a new Reach Out facility, which was started in January 2009, in the parish where Father Joseph, a founder of Reach Out, started his ministry in Africa. Unlike the Kampala Reach Out, this centre offers primary health care with some in-patient and maternity beds, to everyone in this rural community, not just people living with HIV/AIDS. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsp6ZGzXovaH7t_WbWgNL5zQ9ybj5FxfK1qU_3zFRtEoRwNKeZG0gj99bCCgz-O8LZJ5jN3hGqc5K_QI8-4pgioQWji99eod_Jj4BcbtL0Gh2t01f6jNVX911B81NjdAuNV-4ym0XkOMj/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsp6ZGzXovaH7t_WbWgNL5zQ9ybj5FxfK1qU_3zFRtEoRwNKeZG0gj99bCCgz-O8LZJ5jN3hGqc5K_QI8-4pgioQWji99eod_Jj4BcbtL0Gh2t01f6jNVX911B81NjdAuNV-4ym0XkOMj/s320/IMG_0654.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Being rural, it also has demonstration gardens for teaching clients better ways of growing food, and like Reach Out in Kampala, has an on-site piggery for grannies to learn the skills of pig-rearing so that they can earn money to care for their orphaned grandchildren. It is a new purpose –built building and seeing the busy clinic, run by a full staff of mainly qualified nurses with a few doctors, and a well-stocked pharmacy was such a contrast to the government health centres. It does raise questions about equal access to healthcare, and Reach Out is almost totally dependent on American donors, so it is unrealistic to imagine that Reach Out’s model could be replicated across Uganda, but it seems that the government, with issues of corruption and gross inefficiencies, is unlikely ever to be able to fund an adequate health system.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kampala is subdued and a bit tense after last Sunday’s bombings, the official week of mourning finishes today so things will maybe get back to normal. Most people, including ourselves, are avoiding the city centre and the big hotels and public places, until things seem a bit more settled.We have started to make plans for finishing our work here and our return to the UK in just over 8 weeks.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-76133124660987466832010-07-12T20:23:00.002+03:002010-07-12T20:37:21.917+03:00Kampala blasts - short blog<span style="font-family: arial;">We were shocked to hear of the bomb explosions in Kampala yesterday and fortunate not to be involved. Rhona and I left Kampala yesterday morning to spend a week in the north visiting friends is Lira and Gulu and comparing health services here in the north . We are also grateful as It would appear that none of our volunteer friends were caught up in the incidents.<br />Thanks for you emails with your concerns.<br /></span>Rhonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921756877102907792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-42788909767410310132010-06-24T23:44:00.000+03:002010-06-24T23:44:41.453+03:00David's last post from UgandaDavid:<br />
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I've been back in the UK now for almost a fortnight. Time sure flies by. However, I had one last post to share, and have only managed to complete it now...<br />
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11/6/10<br />
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Today I am to meet with Alison Cowan, a GP from England who has been working at the International Hospital, Kampala (IHK) for the last year. She has very kindly offered to show me her work for the day, and so at 8.15am I find myself on the front terrace of the hospital. It's peaceful until the piercing cry of an inpatient child breaks the ambience.<br />
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So many factors contribute to the awesome task of trying to improve sexual health. Condom use is still heavily influenced by religious belief, social propaganda and myths which are regularly upheld by local - and widely-received - media. The double-whammy of trying to offer effective family planning with STI protection is no easy task. The additional task of tackling cervical cancer is yet another strand to this neglected component of community health care.<br />
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But Alison and her team have taken this challenge head-on. With impressive support from her friends at home, she has managed to find funding and enthuse local clinicians in developing the services that they can offer. Collaboration has been set up with UK experts, and a heavily evidence-based approach has been taken to target the service effectively to local people.<br />
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The meeting is productive, and at the end we have a plan on how to take forward the next stage of the project. I am sorely tempted to cancel my flight back on Sunday so that I can stay and get involved - however stronger factors, mainly getting back to my fiancée Kelli, prevent any calls to KLM!<br />
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I sit in the STI clinic, again gaining more understanding of the scale of HIV/STI problems in Africa. Patients and staff very helpfully conduct some consultations in English, purely for my own benefit. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vZde1sx5BIhptSiV7AY8VHXdB27mkEa0p8ffT4cl9WtD3SN0UgCxnh0LC7jUvFJDVbhGpERTu2GmdWiU33w839j80DgsJl59UCohj2bRbvgvdwhPFXH3SzgC4T-40B4H_OFmvX3V5IwU/s1600/IMG_3283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vZde1sx5BIhptSiV7AY8VHXdB27mkEa0p8ffT4cl9WtD3SN0UgCxnh0LC7jUvFJDVbhGpERTu2GmdWiU33w839j80DgsJl59UCohj2bRbvgvdwhPFXH3SzgC4T-40B4H_OFmvX3V5IwU/s200/IMG_3283.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We then go to a school which Alison's husband, Alan, has been supporting in one of the slum areas of Kampala. Their offer of running a meeting with parents of the schoolchildren, to teach on various aspects of health education, has been welcomed by the teachers, and today Alison and Alan are to explain more about what they intend to do. For them it is an important step in building on the rapport they have with the teachers. For me it is yet more proof that myths and beliefs regarding healthcare continue to present the biggest challenge in providing decent access to services, and an indication of just how important it is to engage local community leaders with any planning. And the appetite for such information is there.<br />
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Later we return to IHK, and Alison gives me a tour of its facilities. IHK is the international hospital, a rare opportunity in Uganda for modern medicine to be practised with the adequate backup and support. A philanthropic strand means that some profits from paying patients are reinvested in health services for the local community. There are still some interesting differences however, such as when blood is required for transfusion. When this happens, a call is made on the tannoy and staff are requested to donate. Apparently there is never a shortage of volunteers, from all levels of the hospital workforce, and<br />
checks on HIV and hepatitis status are carried out before its timely infusion next door to the labs, in the emergency department or ICU.<br />
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Our tour continues through medical, surgical, obstetrics and paediatric wards, and I am grateful for the time that Alison takes to show me the facilities. Once again, as hinted at in previous posts, I feel a sense of futility - I really am a doctor-tourist with little to contribute - but I hope that in some way this insight might be applied in whichever future healthcare setting I find myself in. The scale of what IHK achieves is impressive. The frustration is that so few Ugandans can expect healthcare to this level.<br />
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Alison and Alan have embarked on an impressive challenge, and now that they've been here for over a year, they've built up an interesting account of their experience - at their blog <a href="http://thecowansinkampala.blogspot.com/">http://thecowansinkampala.blogspot.com</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FeZ52vc_Q2SpuVI87g_hiPV2yD-9gnFUBKxpSCaVKZ8pdercSujoJP4sQRNi219vkoUpdRbJ0_123s9PsvCnavuY5Ms9qllV0y2gJEDgGIjLWFjVSyrMYTxtLRCI541hTvO9-URkhPrA/s1600/IMG_3303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FeZ52vc_Q2SpuVI87g_hiPV2yD-9gnFUBKxpSCaVKZ8pdercSujoJP4sQRNi219vkoUpdRbJ0_123s9PsvCnavuY5Ms9qllV0y2gJEDgGIjLWFjVSyrMYTxtLRCI541hTvO9-URkhPrA/s400/IMG_3303.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-31532338240216774352010-06-19T22:00:00.003+03:002010-06-20T08:34:22.276+03:00Into the last quarter<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well we are starting to count the weeks (13) until we return home – we are due back in Edinburgh by 18th September. We are assessing what we can achieve before the end of our placements and what more of Uganda we can explore in the next three months.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We have had a frustrating six weeks at work relieved by a most welcome and enjoyable visit from our son, David. We are enjoying our stay here but as the time to return draws near we are increasingly thinking of resuming our lives at home and thinking of the things we have been missing – our friends and family, concerts and theatre, a good power supply and hot showers . We will miss the friendly Ugandan people, the warm temperatures and the bird life but the vulnerable lives, chaotic traffic belching black fumes, and crater-like pot holes we will be glad to leave behind. I think I will need to be careful to modify my driving behaviour – I’ve forgotten what “Give Way” means and learned to push my front bumper into any small gap with the potential to develop. After another encounter with the police last night I will have to avoid inappropriate reactions if stopped in the UK and keep my wallet in my pocket.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Although our placements have been successful and rewarding, the last 6 weeks at work have been hampered by a number frustrations. A computer virus knocked out network connections for a week and I am not sure if all PCs have completely recovered yet. Our power supply at work has been fragile with maybe up to 20 hours lost due to power failures. I don’t fully understand it but invertors (back up battery supply) seemingly require at least 180 volt supply to charge and the main supply seems to fall beneath this frequently. When the main supply fails the invertors can’t meet the demand while the generator kicks in and on one occasion the generator could not kick in until someone fetched the fuel. On top of this I discovered a faction at work who had changed data capture procedures without discussing the implications with me and jeopardising some of the work I was doing. I think this got resolved on Thursday. This all leads to the growing gap in Reach Out’s expectations of me and what I will achieve before September.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">David has posted entries in our blog covering his time with us…….. As he remarks our stay at Katara Lodge, just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park, was exceptional.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl7mvN3tRsTWBgo44BOfY9R6hDajkrHTSh5GMxJ9BnHEPM9byKk_oWYfXImjda6mmXqFsoBdukPgZc36Fv4YYITqjEJUvIba3LhmLFGOghdd2CQoUIXAJgDNKatkKDsOCaYfGz2_7V1pd/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl7mvN3tRsTWBgo44BOfY9R6hDajkrHTSh5GMxJ9BnHEPM9byKk_oWYfXImjda6mmXqFsoBdukPgZc36Fv4YYITqjEJUvIba3LhmLFGOghdd2CQoUIXAJgDNKatkKDsOCaYfGz2_7V1pd/s320/IMG_0518.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2-Cvvj0tec6Lz2POgntGMNrhIJckLiMurORVpPIUnVy7KwN9np9RG0s32nMUl4qQyPhVf80XTTXtN_B_CvF2zYeFJbf8ItaJwhm9YeITVKsxKsQWb9__uy7wt0afTyUha7bO08LMMwtg/s1600/IMG_0549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2-Cvvj0tec6Lz2POgntGMNrhIJckLiMurORVpPIUnVy7KwN9np9RG0s32nMUl4qQyPhVf80XTTXtN_B_CvF2zYeFJbf8ItaJwhm9YeITVKsxKsQWb9__uy7wt0afTyUha7bO08LMMwtg/s320/IMG_0549.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I think it was the best place we have stayed in Uganda. The food was fantastic and the staff were wonderful - very attentive and fun with their cheeky banter. We can recommend a stay in you are traveling in this part of the world.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> An encounter with a 12 foot python causing us to reassess the risk of going behind a bush!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We saw a good selection of game in the park </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">but were disappointed with our chimp trekking in Kyambura Gorge. I think we disappointed our guide when we refused a tree trunk crossing over a 30/40 foot river allegedly hosting hippos (some people were eaten by a hippo in Lake Victoria near Kampala a couple of weeks back). </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i06ELqR7EzHD-UFLXJ71ouM31gMhMTb1ylHybt8dLaKT5VrnU-fOkEb1Nrd0RUitoctX9I7VVzhQGdtFkWGWQDj5WKJej9bcyDd1gjKjjQ9HFZiHF6kFPGA9Mba4PLDfspFC03DLGsoF/s1600/IMG_7300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i06ELqR7EzHD-UFLXJ71ouM31gMhMTb1ylHybt8dLaKT5VrnU-fOkEb1Nrd0RUitoctX9I7VVzhQGdtFkWGWQDj5WKJej9bcyDd1gjKjjQ9HFZiHF6kFPGA9Mba4PLDfspFC03DLGsoF/s320/IMG_7300.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">This is the bridge we diverted to when we refused the log crossing! </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIi1sAZOt-qTaTNpzzBF1S53Vp46Bsy59J-3Q3pzx_KwRjQ3rsI1xg5cp_C_yJasNj9GsoJVOybheeQthyTmRzyybEXPDGSrG6xV_OGlzAI95S8Enq8dj74Lw4hLZ-SdV3EiCx0YoQobC5/s1600/IMG_7328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIi1sAZOt-qTaTNpzzBF1S53Vp46Bsy59J-3Q3pzx_KwRjQ3rsI1xg5cp_C_yJasNj9GsoJVOybheeQthyTmRzyybEXPDGSrG6xV_OGlzAI95S8Enq8dj74Lw4hLZ-SdV3EiCx0YoQobC5/s320/IMG_7328.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We traveled down to spend one night at Ishasha Widerness Lodge near the Congo border but failed to find the famous tree climbing lions despite the efforts of our guide/driver.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-44408957416841716402010-06-10T22:00:00.015+03:002010-06-12T13:50:01.048+03:00A Day at Reach Out<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David:<br />
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The call to yoga attracts gradually increasing numbers to the morning-sunlit compound of Reach Out Mbuya - the project where my parents have been working. It has the feeling of a school assembly - collective gathering to state a common purpose, and in this case share some humour before the more serious aims of the day begin. Us muzungus (white people) seek the shade of the tree, and this is good especially as we are about to commence the daily yoga workout - simple stretches to iron out the muscular crumples from the many African massages over the last few days. "African massage" is a euphimism for the many potholes encountered on even short commutes across Kampala, and probably rates as one of the more traumatic types of massages to be had.<br />
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By now over fifty staff have joined the circle, and a few clients linger in the background. They are very welcome to join in, but a deep respect for the work of Reach Out seems to prevent some of them from doing this. They realise this is important time for Reach Out staff. I am to see the benefits of this team spirit as the day progresses. I am introduced to a warm welcome, and even "inducted" by way of a song and a prayer. Humbling stuff indeed. Humour punctuates the many intimations that people are keen to contribute. The most chilling was when one staff member reported the death of her adult son. He had achieved a great deal, and yet was to become yet another statistic of road deaths in Uganda. I am to learn that this is an all too frequent occurrence; a reflection of the daily accidents that claim the future potential of Uganda in one tragic moment.<br />
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The staff break off to their individual departments. Impressions are of a well-organised and committed project, with a quiet air of efficiency - certainly amongst clinical staff who get through up to ninety patients in a morning. In a country where free healthcare doesn't come easily, it's so tempting to take the services for Reach Out for granted, and yet there is absolutely no sign of this from patients. The operation affords dignity, time and personalised care, and this makes for frustration when the logistics of drug availability and referral options are not able to support the assessments of clinical staff. <br />
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This is made apparent when I am asked to help in seeing a patient presenting with an acute asthma attack. Fine - so we check respiratory rate, pulse, auscultate the chest and assess the case as moderate to severe asthma. But the patient has no inhaler - they are much too expensive, her daughter explains. The nebuliser, held at a satellite clinic, has been sent for by boda-boda - in Kampala traffic this will take at least an hour to arrive. Oxygen isn't available, so a pulse oximeter - which isn't available either - wouldn't be much use anyway. We sit the patient forward, encourage her adopt the most comfortable position, and hope for the best. There are additional complications to her case - largely as a result of her HIV - and so the clinicians decide to start an IV infusion of some antibiotics and steroids... but we really need salbutamol. <br />
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The rest of the day is a crash-course in HIV, and I begin to understand the wider ramifications of a disease about which I felt differently before coming here. The challenge of education, correcting myths, and overcoming the high degree of corruption that continues to permeate every aspect of Ugandan society, makes me feel selfishly glad that this is "not my problem" once I get back to my GP registrar job in Kilmarnock. Sorting out how my own training could be applied - including drilled-in concepts such as ICE , patient ideas, concerns and expectations - in such a clinical setting, becomes a headache; one which I have the luxury of having an easy escape from by means of KLM on Sunday. I feel like a thought-tourist. With guilty relief. It's interesting to consider problems at a superficial level, think about "what I think needs to be done" and then return home without contributing any more than passing, and likely ineffective, comments. <br />
<br />
Thankfully, Reach Out does not have the same approach. It has obviously developed with amazing speed, now overseeing the HIV and related treatments for more than three thousand clients. Daily clinics, home visits, community adherence teams, moonlight testing teams (for prostitutes and lorry drivers), the children's brass band, and grandmother support in the form of a piggery, are supported by a backbone of administration, IT, marketing and finance. For such an organisation to function in the context of regular power cuts, limited funding and slow internet is quite remarkable. <br />
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The nebuliser eventually arrives for the patient with asthma. She makes an acceptable recovery, and it's agreed she can return home. <br />
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I leave with respect and admiration for the work of Reach Out, and the hope that such efforts are rewarded with ongoing success in addressing the massive problem of HIV in Africa.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-26694913259397955372010-06-09T23:19:00.001+03:002010-06-09T23:21:38.985+03:00Into the wilderness<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're back. And, rather surprisingly, alive. Our safari trip was, for the most part, a fantastic chance to see the wildlife that Uganda has to offer. We met lions, elephants, lots of buffalo, two menacing pythons, hippos, a crocodile and numerous birds in different shapes and colours. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stayed for 3 nights at Katara Lodge - and we would highly recommend this to anyone thinking of heading to Queen Elizabeth Park. Brilliant views over the savanna with sunsets and gin to match - in fact see the pics below for evidence. It's well run by Pascal and his well-trained team, and easily worth the bumpy ride down the track to reach the oasis of wonderful service and ambience of calm. Our fourth night was spent at Ishasha Camp - involving slightly more trepidation (staff have to accompany you back to your tent to fend off hippos and lions) but tasty biscuits.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The highlight was seeing the lions. Nine of them, including cubs, lazed about with paws in the air all very chilled out, whilst all the wildlife around them kept a very close eye on their movements. They really are the kings of the jungle. Our driver Paul shared his enthusiasm for safari animals throughout and his skills allowed us to see so much over our trip.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our experience of chimpanzee safari was unfortunately rather different. We were taken down into a rainforested gorge. Having descended the steep and muddy slope, we were then advised to watch where we put our feet and hands, as poisonous spiders and snakes were around. There was also the risk of coming across hippos or lions, hence why our guide was carrying a gun to scare them off. Unsure whether our guide was creating an air of suspense (gee, thanks) or actually giving us a realistic risk assessment, we opted for the optimistic view. However soon we were faced with a 40 foot traverse commando-style across a log over the fast-flowing (and ?piranha/hippo/snake infested river) - but we required no assertiveness training to refuse. Had we been confused for a team of SAS soldiers in Uganda for a survival exercise?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a result of our (very collective) decision not to take such a risk, we had to take another path, which involved ducking and diving under and over fallen trees and through seriously boggy undergrowth. Fine for Scotland, in fact really quite good fun. However with the constant reminders of poisonous and dangerous animals, not such a walk in the park. At one point when clambering over a particularly difficult section, our guide remarked quite seriously "be careful, last time we had an accident, it was a terrible situation". 'Nuff said. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We still don't really know if there was much of an act going on. However, given that we were in a proper proper rainforest, it didn't seem too far from the truth. In the end we saw a baby chimp, not the community of chimps we were expecting to find. However on getting back into our car, I just felt very lucky to be alive, and appreciated the sun-downers even more that evening.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since returning home yesterday, we've been taking it easy in the hot and humid weather. Tomorrow I visit Reach Out - it will be interesting to see what my folks have been up to all this time. So far I get the impression that it's all been safari tours and sunset drinks, but tomorrow I expect that illusion to be shattered quite dramatically!</span><br />
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</span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-89070875999829949252010-06-03T23:00:00.000+03:002010-06-03T23:00:15.390+03:00First impressions all over again...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">David:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's 7.30pm. An excited Glaswegian shriek is heard in the mids of the arrivals area of Entebbe airport. The locals don't quite know what to do... but I know that my mum has made it down from Kampala to see me off the plane. It's been a long nine hour flight, made longer by my excitement to get here, but a familiar feeling of enthusiastic trepidation returns from my arrivals in the past to Nepal and Cambodia. Our driver, James, expertly picks his way through the congested road away from Entebbe. It's now 8pm, and whilst Scottish rush hour traffic knows it's time to chill out by now, there is a sense that the night is very much yet young! He's under strict instructions to take the road slowly (and safely), however this isn't a view shared by other drivers.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So my first few hours of Uganda are flavoured with car fumes, a hot and humid climate, and a realisation that Uganda doesn't seem to sleep. Whilst James picks his way through the congestion, I am amazed to see so many people out and about. The atmosphere against the background of crickets exudes friendliness and welcome. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8jkMnwtQbdHvVl_P9xFwXntYSoyivMHuw9Di5ncgXHhgqsWc1Vard3Syrhb1lPGUfo-YGDuAI1fJZrmXCPkPwYfmyoEkDTRavufXMA3crVIL4Lffv-GKUJfpYSVuc6J6JQaX2TYC6nSn/s1600/IMG_2870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8jkMnwtQbdHvVl_P9xFwXntYSoyivMHuw9Di5ncgXHhgqsWc1Vard3Syrhb1lPGUfo-YGDuAI1fJZrmXCPkPwYfmyoEkDTRavufXMA3crVIL4Lffv-GKUJfpYSVuc6J6JQaX2TYC6nSn/s200/IMG_2870.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today was my first experience of Kampala in daylight, and even though it's a public holiday, there is still an air of business amongst the stallholders of the market. Bright yellow, green and red make up the pallet of unimaginable quantities of bananas, oranges (yes, oranges are green here) and tomatoes. Mum and dad are showing me the sights (and the driving, this time under Dad's command) of crazy but friendly Kampala. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YrE4dXg_XEE2M9Qii0-Nzb2CkEkC3e7nFsYzxRkMnN-tWXraGYQbvOW3C6CISbfwG5Ywh5wrGLbNNOfjSuvf55cuP2GJ2mFAKafXpsJxzPdYuBlOKsxM85rP9dPxE7_Tjj_6daTWSAnn/s1600/IMG_2868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YrE4dXg_XEE2M9Qii0-Nzb2CkEkC3e7nFsYzxRkMnN-tWXraGYQbvOW3C6CISbfwG5Ywh5wrGLbNNOfjSuvf55cuP2GJ2mFAKafXpsJxzPdYuBlOKsxM85rP9dPxE7_Tjj_6daTWSAnn/s200/IMG_2868.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We stop off at the VSO office, a tranquil retreat for all volunteers... and then head on into the centre. We do the taxi park - think Buchanan Street Bus Station but a million times bigger and busier - which, like the rest of Kampala has potholes even to envy Glasgow. Organised chaos describes it well, but with the 14-seater taxi buses only leaving when full, there is a heavy suggestion of efficiency. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oVox3Ag41Fk_hyphenhyphenFfj1JMTkMMDLUrTaLvafo6rxJvrKfEHz73QnmbG19YyTYPJo03LfZ_KmwcikKzLLFFlFd0VraXqAyB3ryoFlYcP9CVbKrT9EHm0dIMHaiJJNeyxxxy-toKkspm-YE7/s1600/IMG_2883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oVox3Ag41Fk_hyphenhyphenFfj1JMTkMMDLUrTaLvafo6rxJvrKfEHz73QnmbG19YyTYPJo03LfZ_KmwcikKzLLFFlFd0VraXqAyB3ryoFlYcP9CVbKrT9EHm0dIMHaiJJNeyxxxy-toKkspm-YE7/s200/IMG_2883.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We pop into the Garden Centre for lunch, and immediately at least 8 waiters from different restaurants swoop on us with their menus. This is the expected reception at the food hall, where 3 lunchers could choose from 3 (or more) completely different restaurants - including Italian, Chinese and Lebanese. I haven't seen this before, but it's a nice idea! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hoggs like hills and so later in the afternoon we go for a wander up the back of mum and dad's house. A winding path takes us past village houses, with smiles and shouts of "hello" from every direction. A genuine inquisitiveness - moreso for my camera - is evident, and here's some of the children who insisted on taking their turn for a photo!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdeKRY1ImR_DQLEPaNhHRJPxoLt_m2rPS0NwpAmRAW6mrtGH_62fu_uucQbv70V5kaIkq3iTUEKbx7PE6fU9lUZ1uxMH22c9V1yxbBb_T9G0DAfL0qXZXG_rs5K0GXQkwyzQaAe1YgvIO4/s1600/IMG_2903.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdeKRY1ImR_DQLEPaNhHRJPxoLt_m2rPS0NwpAmRAW6mrtGH_62fu_uucQbv70V5kaIkq3iTUEKbx7PE6fU9lUZ1uxMH22c9V1yxbBb_T9G0DAfL0qXZXG_rs5K0GXQkwyzQaAe1YgvIO4/s200/IMG_2903.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzBiBUcsX5Fti5ntvYV10mDGLf3yDSVCNorf3BDX_9OKvj3XKyECDDhklHZqniNXGzLvj_hVdWWEQeXkMONWMq_jKBCpuC-4ZytpFiDgaafQcHDZ9dzr3robQReLhT1DRPdvltUZ-jIno/s1600/IMG_2913.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzBiBUcsX5Fti5ntvYV10mDGLf3yDSVCNorf3BDX_9OKvj3XKyECDDhklHZqniNXGzLvj_hVdWWEQeXkMONWMq_jKBCpuC-4ZytpFiDgaafQcHDZ9dzr3robQReLhT1DRPdvltUZ-jIno/s200/IMG_2913.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RkQpEPd-aCjF1Xf0Cug_snA9e_5q-G-ykhi57UGQ484r9S79lz6GssBC2Dmc2cB8psf_1YHSVOsHkXLzIx_1veR2Fa6I9XzwWBGhzEWAZIM4jU-36fSW12aVxm5NLD7nFTSWsThSiPlY/s1600/IMG_2906.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RkQpEPd-aCjF1Xf0Cug_snA9e_5q-G-ykhi57UGQ484r9S79lz6GssBC2Dmc2cB8psf_1YHSVOsHkXLzIx_1veR2Fa6I9XzwWBGhzEWAZIM4jU-36fSW12aVxm5NLD7nFTSWsThSiPlY/s200/IMG_2906.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We end the day with some shopping, drinks on the veranda with my parents' neighbours, and a fantastic meal at Katch the Sun (sic) - a new one for the "recommended" list. In 24 hours I have developed some fast first impressions of Kampala. I am reminded once again how sound and smell are the missing links to the sights that photographs can only frame. I like it. I like it a lot. And I still have 11 days to go!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Weraba (goodbye) from Uganda.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-58529614853295527282010-06-02T21:00:00.000+03:002010-06-02T21:00:42.378+03:00Collaboration<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">31st May, 2010 </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQd_wANaLcS501FkLjiI0gqKqkfN2BN34DfKHXCjJu0AISuYHPNW4_ss2FL7hNzNSpRSr0LPVH1czWjRDFKkug20m3jDtvOWGKVW7Wao7nlFGGqETDUOnUwh5b4AHqRcEwlimRzvdaFdn/s1600/IMG_7171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQd_wANaLcS501FkLjiI0gqKqkfN2BN34DfKHXCjJu0AISuYHPNW4_ss2FL7hNzNSpRSr0LPVH1czWjRDFKkug20m3jDtvOWGKVW7Wao7nlFGGqETDUOnUwh5b4AHqRcEwlimRzvdaFdn/s320/IMG_7171.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have had a busy month with more visitors. Two students, Carolyn and Danielle have been over from Edinburgh for four weeks working on Reach Out Studies for </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">their MSc dissertations. They are studying at the Institute of International Health and Development at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, and their coming here is the </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">first step towards a collaboration between Reach Out, Makerere School of Public Health here in Kampala and IIHD.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Carolyn and Danielle stayed with us the first weekend </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">so that we could show them round and let them get orientated, and then they moved to Red Chilli, which is a great place for meeting up with others, including a good few </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">working on research projects. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFldxzRrnWcYlGcrqMI4UgtbnKhkGrMwk1uaG0kw-m8MBNO2zi12OHRutLoz9cwpo3deWcOREFgr5c8Nh6XwEbZUMlMVaHZReQQOxXvcM-NuZyhz62xYoDCbw23h079k4R7p0R0z44za8C/s1600/100_1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFldxzRrnWcYlGcrqMI4UgtbnKhkGrMwk1uaG0kw-m8MBNO2zi12OHRutLoz9cwpo3deWcOREFgr5c8Nh6XwEbZUMlMVaHZReQQOxXvcM-NuZyhz62xYoDCbw23h079k4R7p0R0z44za8C/s320/100_1107.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We took them to Ndere Cultural Centre and then took them to a dance class so that they could try it out for themselves. They have had an </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">amazing experience here, and it reminds us just how special an organization Reach Out is and what an easy place Uganda is to live in, perfect lush climate, safe and full </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">of lovely gentle people. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbI8LS8RKQfwxiCkqBppU3ADN12dD1iJ1FEVT9bLvcRR7VRrexoBeJ7EzEQPBO0AYE3qgBIRbKRV6qw6u4LjHKmX5Reh84vk-8rbPnRh03A46ZbaiNZ7Us0kdII7WAH1Jupd4gAOX3SlV/s1600/IMG_7193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbI8LS8RKQfwxiCkqBppU3ADN12dD1iJ1FEVT9bLvcRR7VRrexoBeJ7EzEQPBO0AYE3qgBIRbKRV6qw6u4LjHKmX5Reh84vk-8rbPnRh03A46ZbaiNZ7Us0kdII7WAH1Jupd4gAOX3SlV/s320/IMG_7193.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD133hYz6IanJl5ZWOv8Cf6ocpTfg8oun-c9N0sZOx61iT_Ba-Pu5iLpMPiSMNNlKMUnIldujfXAtUQ-ZIKFZQUUXMbiBNmfxi-FQk9jN6ni161Z2zsXZZgn2IdAShkn2C_74vkDwsXwDt/s1600/IMG_7201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD133hYz6IanJl5ZWOv8Cf6ocpTfg8oun-c9N0sZOx61iT_Ba-Pu5iLpMPiSMNNlKMUnIldujfXAtUQ-ZIKFZQUUXMbiBNmfxi-FQk9jN6ni161Z2zsXZZgn2IdAShkn2C_74vkDwsXwDt/s320/IMG_7201.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then Carol and Bregje came, both previously research fellows working on studies with me and now friends of ourselves and of one another. Carol </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">comes from South Africa and Bregje is Dutch and has spent a considerable amount of time in Malawi, so we had lots of comparisons. They stayed with us for a weekend </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to do Kampala, including a trip by boat on Lake Victoria to a local market. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2k8gvrho_G6D2vRxY0cW2VABEv15PVMwKdBaE9QcAfxnik0jrL5ukPId_yRjzG4VTB_o7qUzuAuFPh0Y_fXxjsBHbbArm_mqHXCZHGexli6p9L9vDlEzUcVkyuZ93DgNt2C2X8_janOLj/s1600/IMG_7202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2k8gvrho_G6D2vRxY0cW2VABEv15PVMwKdBaE9QcAfxnik0jrL5ukPId_yRjzG4VTB_o7qUzuAuFPh0Y_fXxjsBHbbArm_mqHXCZHGexli6p9L9vDlEzUcVkyuZ93DgNt2C2X8_janOLj/s320/IMG_7202.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2matG84w9Zse8K4vwEjlcwh63ORiVRD9fg4ziOdsj_o3OwY-lRUlVHfy0OGFx3wT7HmUJHlj5dVh3_9_UkWdfvkIFZqp31qKsrw2u1gseG_QgjmrlGey5dBhqo0WQ6vcMPN3kFcGApXPR/s1600/100_1179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2matG84w9Zse8K4vwEjlcwh63ORiVRD9fg4ziOdsj_o3OwY-lRUlVHfy0OGFx3wT7HmUJHlj5dVh3_9_UkWdfvkIFZqp31qKsrw2u1gseG_QgjmrlGey5dBhqo0WQ6vcMPN3kFcGApXPR/s320/100_1179.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWhOn_LZkKqg7AinX83L5hW4iWqkLWIjZDn6qw9WtCPwDNy8NUWdG6nY0lf_uMYjub2kWiNnQpRbgyYy5iitm4AHq13XiNNpC4JUy-XgOW532Pn8_XUd9HAebq1dyV_yVuuCSA375EE8J/s1600/100_1429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWhOn_LZkKqg7AinX83L5hW4iWqkLWIjZDn6qw9WtCPwDNy8NUWdG6nY0lf_uMYjub2kWiNnQpRbgyYy5iitm4AHq13XiNNpC4JUy-XgOW532Pn8_XUd9HAebq1dyV_yVuuCSA375EE8J/s320/100_1429.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then they went off on safari including gorilla-tracking at Bwindi and game watching in Queen Elizabeth NP for five days and we all went to Jinja for the </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">weekend before Carol went home. By coincidence at Jinja we met another VSO couple, Renate and Ian who were also staying at Gately on Nile. Renate is originally from South Africa so Carol and Renate had a lot to discuss. They have a people carrier </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">so all six of us were able to go to the Source of the Nile and the Bujagali Falls together, which was fun as usual with lots of birds to see.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgDnd3DaDARP34kZuJFDSMPBortvYC94ISYmgAmInQJLrj6twmu42jixZVgTWgGqlAf1DE5I04O6vMiqmJ3-vQqyV542Jw_OsNhInqxThyphenhyphenIlkFQlar1CVuKZPirCPPCnr4FY5nspCg9X7/s1600/100_1438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgDnd3DaDARP34kZuJFDSMPBortvYC94ISYmgAmInQJLrj6twmu42jixZVgTWgGqlAf1DE5I04O6vMiqmJ3-vQqyV542Jw_OsNhInqxThyphenhyphenIlkFQlar1CVuKZPirCPPCnr4FY5nspCg9X7/s320/100_1438.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(The falls are due to disappear in the next few years when a new dam is constructed down river)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On our return to Kampala on Sunday we made our customary stop at Mabira Forest. We had a 2 hour walk with a great guide. He showed us where we could expect to see snakes basking in the sun but none put in appearance for us. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbQMChYtQbVAvOqKr46_EqqC8LIDMUf5QcbfrtfKM8t83acyWTMM5GJ8mdzm57es_0GDZwlZNT33jtIoi5n_9gWpYPl7NY6CeZAvwQqPuEYYGyZ_7-E8ZfJevuCn87Wmf6JKL3D9jPQJR/s1600/IMG_7266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbQMChYtQbVAvOqKr46_EqqC8LIDMUf5QcbfrtfKM8t83acyWTMM5GJ8mdzm57es_0GDZwlZNT33jtIoi5n_9gWpYPl7NY6CeZAvwQqPuEYYGyZ_7-E8ZfJevuCn87Wmf6JKL3D9jPQJR/s320/IMG_7266.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our most dangerous encounter was with this strangler fig but we moved too fast for it. (I reckon we would have moved too fast for the snakes if we had encountered them!)</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZScdEbZeuMqyDrNYZ82OVIMUTeBqjyR6AdOt7Wxg6lyDJoXRKGkIacI56yA5OnuSqHa9Wl1si-vpk7xUpO6PLPPyt3E6m1tjvEXJZWMxOhMyfrqpX1dBhT4PnbnQd5jD4Qm4zGo7t2Rl2/s1600/IMG_0479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZScdEbZeuMqyDrNYZ82OVIMUTeBqjyR6AdOt7Wxg6lyDJoXRKGkIacI56yA5OnuSqHa9Wl1si-vpk7xUpO6PLPPyt3E6m1tjvEXJZWMxOhMyfrqpX1dBhT4PnbnQd5jD4Qm4zGo7t2Rl2/s320/IMG_0479.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bregje stayed on three days to meet people at Makerere School of Public Health and Reach Out, and we had some very productive meetings and made plans for </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">collaborative working and to apply for funding to facilitate the process.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Sunday after our gym and swim regime, we went for lunch with the same twp VSo ers and also Debs who is a public health doctor working in Lira in the north of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">country. VSO have put a good few new volunteers in Lira and Gulu to give support to the people there now that the war is over and there is a need to set up health care etc. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is very different working there and conditions seems more challenging than life in Kampala where we can shop in supermarkets ( and even see Sex and the City 2 on Saturday evening). I think I </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">would have to try it out to see which I prefer for a year. However, recently we have had a lot of power cuts at home and work and our computers at work were affected by a virus </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">which has made the last two weeks very unproductive and frustrating.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now we are getting extremely excited about the arrival of our son David tomorrow evening. On Friday we go off on safari with him to Queen Elizabeth Park NP for a few days, having done the other big game </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">reserve at Murchison Falls with Hamish and Morven at Christmas</span></span>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnc02zmE0S1eh_IivuRxu5D_mfHyLCr7fQUAX47-9qcB1PkmjLHY0ajFXXzt8m2ahJfoDuV_g0iXaPaboOgTJFocRMtVUDLlh-UNP22FsvcobC3Jet3Jv2uhbUYAOG5DvY7bDmZ63qhqgp/s1600/IMG_7252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Looking up the Nile from Bujagali towards Jinja and Lake Victoria<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnc02zmE0S1eh_IivuRxu5D_mfHyLCr7fQUAX47-9qcB1PkmjLHY0ajFXXzt8m2ahJfoDuV_g0iXaPaboOgTJFocRMtVUDLlh-UNP22FsvcobC3Jet3Jv2uhbUYAOG5DvY7bDmZ63qhqgp/s320/IMG_7252.JPG" /></a></div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-40659531656253323992010-05-08T17:59:00.000+03:002010-05-08T17:59:02.827+03:00The Crater Lakes<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5th May 2010</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We have been away for a few days to the West of Uganda. First we went to Fort Portal for a night, and had dinner with another VSOer who we met on a preparation course last May in the UK. As usual, it was great to catch up and compare notes. We had another woman from the same course, who is now in a rural part of Rwanda, staying with us in Kampala for a few days with her boyfriend just before we left. It seemed strange to think back to all the exercises we all did together using participatory approaches and pretending we were subsistence farmers learning about micro-finance schemes! </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fort Portal is around 300 km west of Kampala and the journey should take about 4 hours. We set off at 7.30 am last Friday. We had heard that the road is good (not like the Kampala/Mbarara road) so at 10 am we were a little disappointed, after taking the usual hour to get to the other side of Kampala, to find ourselves 70 km from Kampala. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o89G6nauc8rK85QZBMoZYp6PwUyAAbmsBhwE21lqV1CPESWgdCcUuIpkxKUkwZS5nYj3ivMug2eOo8_-E_DczxBNIT1fOYOKoVe_7AfIrSKawA509BW55dbw2p82ltVTezYauXnvCaID/s1600/IMG_0389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o89G6nauc8rK85QZBMoZYp6PwUyAAbmsBhwE21lqV1CPESWgdCcUuIpkxKUkwZS5nYj3ivMug2eOo8_-E_DczxBNIT1fOYOKoVe_7AfIrSKawA509BW55dbw2p82ltVTezYauXnvCaID/s320/IMG_0389.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">The road from Kampala to Mityana is almost continuous road works with frequent fierce speed bumps The road beyond Mityana improves dramatically until you think you’re back in Scotland and maybe in the Borders with rolling hills and green lush countryside. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKB57hJiwiWPYF_7xAsJmw3w85M7z137aE8vLmUQvAjfqYKworG_z1z1qWa-zDRYjLpzLtgavQwSta6Drqu8andMybuDLB6EjbvMaayrwpfrJbrV7QnroiU6sr1lbEKjkBpy1k6VNQOuB/s1600/IMG_0392e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKB57hJiwiWPYF_7xAsJmw3w85M7z137aE8vLmUQvAjfqYKworG_z1z1qWa-zDRYjLpzLtgavQwSta6Drqu8andMybuDLB6EjbvMaayrwpfrJbrV7QnroiU6sr1lbEKjkBpy1k6VNQOuB/s320/IMG_0392e.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The journey took us 6 hours. Fort Portal is a contrast to other parts of Uganda that we know. It is a very neat and tidy town with lots of signposts and road markings, rare for Uganda. The backdrop is the grand Rwenzori mountains aka the Mountains of the Moon. Its two highest peaks are the third and fourth highest in Africa.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ECZwezfQfPtBs-Jm3CquDKFYuhwEAkCUN7b-Zr5gs82lXBo02Q1f4QAOcNSC6GzZa11TPPzlAnKyoD669llVNkYonCtDs8X8xLsVYRFJtcfAmBWiPXZL6sOx7leuwWrXoevFOQEACgUT/s1600/IMG_7153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ECZwezfQfPtBs-Jm3CquDKFYuhwEAkCUN7b-Zr5gs82lXBo02Q1f4QAOcNSC6GzZa11TPPzlAnKyoD669llVNkYonCtDs8X8xLsVYRFJtcfAmBWiPXZL6sOx7leuwWrXoevFOQEACgUT/s320/IMG_7153.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">After our night in Fort Portal we went south to the Crater Lakes (about 45 minutes) and stayed in Ndali Lodge which is perched on a cliff top overlooking one of the lakes. The staff were excellent.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidIRyMW1KWUl2M61dEHmr4dEponpI-TF5IyUXFPOYRncTdSR7xcxzbfa402dKdKY7McGN8HzofmxKwha5w1RIFfZDPpHKms0C-MsORmzFnv3B2t-YMEup34jYeTNlqXgod8wm0Cw37sUmy/s1600/IMG_7141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidIRyMW1KWUl2M61dEHmr4dEponpI-TF5IyUXFPOYRncTdSR7xcxzbfa402dKdKY7McGN8HzofmxKwha5w1RIFfZDPpHKms0C-MsORmzFnv3B2t-YMEup34jYeTNlqXgod8wm0Cw37sUmy/s320/IMG_7141.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> The main building has the dining room and a comfortable bar each with spectacular views on both sides. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_ZkLmuO6LJWJiy5oun0BqmO5Fruyl0FxBZP88na_opTIOge7pi1HRMW8XTFvURVfyrfi3ulNw7ChZVkBFelRBndFdqbEqBSHOWNQUBR1bmLwbnlXPCWaw9GXypwqpAW8yteukFEZUR_L/s1600/IMG_7137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_ZkLmuO6LJWJiy5oun0BqmO5Fruyl0FxBZP88na_opTIOge7pi1HRMW8XTFvURVfyrfi3ulNw7ChZVkBFelRBndFdqbEqBSHOWNQUBR1bmLwbnlXPCWaw9GXypwqpAW8yteukFEZUR_L/s320/IMG_7137.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">We stayed in one of the 8 cottages with a view of the Rwenzori mountains to the west and the distant Lake Edward to the south. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR78fCFx-hrJN7CkBV0Ob1UxSzkO-oSvloOJyxaJ0g1w7gboABTA-GlcOzdDuTUss9_3fC8PyHWSwa_7cBcdSnYC4nXuPhAoMh8hT0p4nHVk6opV1oLWuumRjgwd5Ac2KX4-e1Ha4yqqY1/s1600/IMG_7169e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR78fCFx-hrJN7CkBV0Ob1UxSzkO-oSvloOJyxaJ0g1w7gboABTA-GlcOzdDuTUss9_3fC8PyHWSwa_7cBcdSnYC4nXuPhAoMh8hT0p4nHVk6opV1oLWuumRjgwd5Ac2KX4-e1Ha4yqqY1/s320/IMG_7169e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">As we have come to expect the bird life was amazing. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQTZgpNEh16HCxiVHX15_zgPj47wb4WagNsu1iQQbTT1zeVR-AywioSb2xchnVb-bJKIGp4KHJGZeRF078pWARkn1gV70vuc2IPYF4pASrR7EGLDcHBKrM_xNF-xzAEIZ1DclZxDC9xot/s1600/IMG_0409e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQTZgpNEh16HCxiVHX15_zgPj47wb4WagNsu1iQQbTT1zeVR-AywioSb2xchnVb-bJKIGp4KHJGZeRF078pWARkn1gV70vuc2IPYF4pASrR7EGLDcHBKrM_xNF-xzAEIZ1DclZxDC9xot/s320/IMG_0409e.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Here are three Cinnamon-Chested Bee-Eaters perched in a bush not 10 feet from our cottage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday we had a tour of the nearby vanilla farm and factory. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">We saw the pods growing in the fields and the preparation and packing in the factory.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfL6iG4nfrrv2pZMmSRWPDCxc5Iyu6N9rPiyIZ81jtJVKLr-nw_ORcbjynHOQH8C6_iBuxjyTnW-RePEeHbkjqDr1gwiXaCgfnpkMO1Jvs6I4-3q0mZLMV6bkCVtcZe7dKNwj1YmPq0mbf/s1600/IMG_7146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfL6iG4nfrrv2pZMmSRWPDCxc5Iyu6N9rPiyIZ81jtJVKLr-nw_ORcbjynHOQH8C6_iBuxjyTnW-RePEeHbkjqDr1gwiXaCgfnpkMO1Jvs6I4-3q0mZLMV6bkCVtcZe7dKNwj1YmPq0mbf/s320/IMG_7146.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV18Zc8bou4mZtHD8sPHKR36tYM8GhE8Lq3cWa5mQ-Lg23-WhI6w2mvuqNT0C2-cxqkDbzwIOV0YIZIDRKL-DRwpWHQk42wG3raznst6ftLmazWusYeTJEr9xEznEFWbsVkQaYtDnpRvhE/s1600/IMG_0397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV18Zc8bou4mZtHD8sPHKR36tYM8GhE8Lq3cWa5mQ-Lg23-WhI6w2mvuqNT0C2-cxqkDbzwIOV0YIZIDRKL-DRwpWHQk42wG3raznst6ftLmazWusYeTJEr9xEznEFWbsVkQaYtDnpRvhE/s320/IMG_0397.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> Some appear to be dispatched to Newcastle and subsequently turn up on the shelves at Waitrose (Ndali brand). Go and have a look and tell us that you have seen them. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzSiQxzHuCbXQ-boRJM0gMiLPOJvQHyzK7cS08HWjtkyTU-blaxVSDng6GR2Zf1bbB9hyphenhyphenuCYWVjJ2GUnwNxvSn7dbhDnBJn2K9gUQ6Q7j-dxooJRP2ivOiYyc5Dyy4X5o7QaXCkJhq7Kv/s1600/IMG_7160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzSiQxzHuCbXQ-boRJM0gMiLPOJvQHyzK7cS08HWjtkyTU-blaxVSDng6GR2Zf1bbB9hyphenhyphenuCYWVjJ2GUnwNxvSn7dbhDnBJn2K9gUQ6Q7j-dxooJRP2ivOiYyc5Dyy4X5o7QaXCkJhq7Kv/s320/IMG_7160.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">On Sunday we had a good tour of the lakes with a guide. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbg7SMYtk9oxgi1ck0AtSSyHapIKMprl7KTvZ9xL6_cx5rv-p6CMjGwpZ_b-dU-OKdaXu80hE8JHdliPuM1ufvUxGax7Uo51OF9E2TQek3GVuFPywE3GvbYHZNdrHtD7qD2ACa2eVOc0mr/s1600/IMG_7158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbg7SMYtk9oxgi1ck0AtSSyHapIKMprl7KTvZ9xL6_cx5rv-p6CMjGwpZ_b-dU-OKdaXu80hE8JHdliPuM1ufvUxGax7Uo51OF9E2TQek3GVuFPywE3GvbYHZNdrHtD7qD2ACa2eVOc0mr/s320/IMG_7158.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">The drive between two of the lakes was quite exciting as we travelled over the hills on a poor track in the rain. The 4x4 was essential – never really used it before. There were some anxious moments as we descended some steep slippery slopes and other sections where I feared grounding and getting stuck. But looking back it was good fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Later we did some walking on our own – well almost. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUE71JXuhHZIcXaFvJ8hx6Y4iIJP4H_kbOMcG4odpVeQPs6RtXWPHu-1V2rjD_jci_rvWdsmoFPGawGzVPrl9qc2NruQLyjuX-p_LxbXImP9FtBLsNoMETHdJSOKrDyO9ye0DUxfRHjng/s1600/IMG_7164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUE71JXuhHZIcXaFvJ8hx6Y4iIJP4H_kbOMcG4odpVeQPs6RtXWPHu-1V2rjD_jci_rvWdsmoFPGawGzVPrl9qc2NruQLyjuX-p_LxbXImP9FtBLsNoMETHdJSOKrDyO9ye0DUxfRHjng/s320/IMG_7164.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">There were four very friendly dogs at the lodge who insisted on keeping us company. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXo-ZmHwATjQF7Ge4CBV0nL0dslhBXwVVBC-Gr5GrKYclncRaG1ng9NcqWvRPcOGaKz-S13QMkDrNlKx7YCkkU1i7VVy8lxsw8xnwsIXuODFmx1PP8Od9LmF4D81JXX1NVSoWpwl-ptX_U/s1600/IMG_7167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXo-ZmHwATjQF7Ge4CBV0nL0dslhBXwVVBC-Gr5GrKYclncRaG1ng9NcqWvRPcOGaKz-S13QMkDrNlKx7YCkkU1i7VVy8lxsw8xnwsIXuODFmx1PP8Od9LmF4D81JXX1NVSoWpwl-ptX_U/s320/IMG_7167.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqWepbQIiicnbkCQhemiPq7fhdMFhCcBaSMEpLeSRp03KOBrrgWmXN3UTimi-lgBrF7QyG1LmpQfV0TnKo_RWChWDQvoSZPB4Dqc5ar1iOjo8-L7GcTFRYbXwQauV3mSnri0KCC6WTmX5/s1600/IMG_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqWepbQIiicnbkCQhemiPq7fhdMFhCcBaSMEpLeSRp03KOBrrgWmXN3UTimi-lgBrF7QyG1LmpQfV0TnKo_RWChWDQvoSZPB4Dqc5ar1iOjo8-L7GcTFRYbXwQauV3mSnri0KCC6WTmX5/s320/IMG_0401.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">One of the dogs slept outside our cottage every night in the base of the coffee table.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The journey back to Kampala didn’t seem as bad as the journey out probably because the last section of road works was expected. Now we are back in the chaos and traffic jams of Kampala. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNef2VMxKDCk2WgLrhZEsAgy5FL3tROuzGoBzeoiGfSwjuGCh8WvrfH9ArFZMWJYLlAAa7GxhfI1Wou4LVn5o1q4qOMrU2DiplpYQCgKdG57v81FBZLpK4hM6wogFn6x0VaU5KSnKjEgPg/s1600/IMG_0412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNef2VMxKDCk2WgLrhZEsAgy5FL3tROuzGoBzeoiGfSwjuGCh8WvrfH9ArFZMWJYLlAAa7GxhfI1Wou4LVn5o1q4qOMrU2DiplpYQCgKdG57v81FBZLpK4hM6wogFn6x0VaU5KSnKjEgPg/s320/IMG_0412.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">At work we have two grandmothers and a member of staff going off to a conference in Swaziland – the conference is devoted to grandmothers and their role in caring for orphans. It is a major problem as older people in Africa expect to be cared for by their children and these women not only lose their children from HIV/AIDS but become totally responsible for caring for their grandchildren, with no financial support. Reach Out helps them with school fees and sometimes with food, but have started a piggery for grannies to make their own living. They are given piglets, a sty and a month’s supply of pig food, and it seems to work very well. They are then obliged to give a set of piglets away every so often to help others get started. A lot of time has been spent helping them get their presentation together and well practiced before they fly off tomorrow. The photo is of Granny Rita practicing her part, like many older women she wears a gomezi every day as well as for special occasions. There are always jokes about not being allowed on the plane in their traditional dress, but it is just great to see them going off for a few days, the first time out of Uganda and on a plane.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Over the next few weeks we are looking forward to receiving a number of visitors from the UK ending with our son, David arriving in June. We are always pleased to hear from readers of our blog so drop us an email or leave a comment if we haven’t been in touch for some time.</span></div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-20113407446385263522010-04-18T08:53:00.005+03:002010-04-18T09:06:30.666+03:00Easter vacation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XsjWpizrWzi6k_2KhP6oeHEru8v2OoK9DvAzIPkwO86jeznz1ssKRqEqxh7_Dj9xLLVx0RQ2XbwwGe4i0ybavaEP7bnSqDcZPPFHCl6pBRPUF11xn9gOz-iqO6BtetLn2p_ReUmz4d2W/s1600/IMG_0321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XsjWpizrWzi6k_2KhP6oeHEru8v2OoK9DvAzIPkwO86jeznz1ssKRqEqxh7_Dj9xLLVx0RQ2XbwwGe4i0ybavaEP7bnSqDcZPPFHCl6pBRPUF11xn9gOz-iqO6BtetLn2p_ReUmz4d2W/s320/IMG_0321.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had a week (31st March to 7th April) away over Easter to Lake Bunyoni in the southwest of Uganda. It is the furthest we have been with our own car. The distance is about 420 km but </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the road from Kampala to Mbarara is very poor with rough road surfaces, many potholes and long stretches of roadworks. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDxp1hyqFUfu6eU4Br2VadAkb_gbgIg4jPpan4rKYJjxHfUQDI6CkTiglbTVS5CJT9AQaiWVoKqdp37uilQhvGf_HgYt1ZtvlU8Mxmvj5gLr95qOFxpXoHL0XeON2BBzgkFtsTS2J4lXZ/s1600/IMG_0327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDxp1hyqFUfu6eU4Br2VadAkb_gbgIg4jPpan4rKYJjxHfUQDI6CkTiglbTVS5CJT9AQaiWVoKqdp37uilQhvGf_HgYt1ZtvlU8Mxmvj5gLr95qOFxpXoHL0XeON2BBzgkFtsTS2J4lXZ/s320/IMG_0327.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> However the road from Mbarara to Kabale is good and interesting as it winds it way through the hilly countryside. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfcttrosJYStDlGQJTQmCGmiLjfBgyh2HX1gAFAsStR59L0sKRgQQNMuRiDt12qEdVmGZWIG076cLNottAPtXGVLj-tEhdEqoR6QFTcKSexQZ9-3kDbHW6rCxyQ0N3PB9mL6K0rh0Dc8A/s1600/IMG_0324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfcttrosJYStDlGQJTQmCGmiLjfBgyh2HX1gAFAsStR59L0sKRgQQNMuRiDt12qEdVmGZWIG076cLNottAPtXGVLj-tEhdEqoR6QFTcKSexQZ9-3kDbHW6rCxyQ0N3PB9mL6K0rh0Dc8A/s320/IMG_0324.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our journey</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> was uneventful apart from a search for petrol as shortages spread accross Uganda. We left Kampala on Wednesday at 7.30 am, had a an hour stop for lunch at Mbarara and we arrived at Arcadia Cottages at 5.30 pm</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> when we were rewarded with a spectacular view over the </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">island-studded lake to the more distant volcanoes on the Rwanda/Uganda border.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPlj6Hmu6_o94qdS2fC45NRdAjy8VqXdfYBoFQObQ3hexQe5-DqWO8vsm7kQ_ibgo8XvWcuR_GfuPy-7DINwr0D2SvAIYu0ACBP61Q4LdkYBYAwXqbjo2gGT1fJu6f8vWXl3ZaujNLQpf/s1600/IMG_7122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPlj6Hmu6_o94qdS2fC45NRdAjy8VqXdfYBoFQObQ3hexQe5-DqWO8vsm7kQ_ibgo8XvWcuR_GfuPy-7DINwr0D2SvAIYu0ACBP61Q4LdkYBYAwXqbjo2gGT1fJu6f8vWXl3ZaujNLQpf/s320/IMG_7122.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Arcadia cottages is a complex of 6 cottages high on the hillside above Lake Bunyoni. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the mornings the lake was covered with mist which burned off to give a hot sunny day. Mornings and evenings were quite chilly, which meant wearing </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">jumpers for the first time since last September, but we did not need to worry about mosquitoes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had a relaxing Thursday, meeting a VSO couple working in Kabale for lunch at the White Horse Inn, Kabale. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It was great </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to catch up with news and compare notes.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBJfvqfFyNxgAyMnttT0A_OqLSF1bGugM7hSNkKPHcWRs4_Vv2zMD17FpsC8MpNGXJEzIqugGerBiRUPH05nQ99uZmmBW8xLkTpccyH72CbsSMt5EYvFnO1DDN6cN8saczTH9u6Y-eOzD/s1600/IMG_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBJfvqfFyNxgAyMnttT0A_OqLSF1bGugM7hSNkKPHcWRs4_Vv2zMD17FpsC8MpNGXJEzIqugGerBiRUPH05nQ99uZmmBW8xLkTpccyH72CbsSMt5EYvFnO1DDN6cN8saczTH9u6Y-eOzD/s320/IMG_0340.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Friday we ventured onto the lake in a dugout canoe with a trip to Bushara Island. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRT3X531LkV1aZQnpxLFyyinWyveCTp9ow1qfCLo6dnB4yJ6DDxYl_ozYpIuT7AP-0h49ygYE7cr7bYLrpGEu-cgI-x8X0Hq-6jt2sX7k2N_6h2iWvsNX5ZTSgYGWIbCfoSG2iDq_QcXTn/s1600/IMG_7057e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRT3X531LkV1aZQnpxLFyyinWyveCTp9ow1qfCLo6dnB4yJ6DDxYl_ozYpIuT7AP-0h49ygYE7cr7bYLrpGEu-cgI-x8X0Hq-6jt2sX7k2N_6h2iWvsNX5ZTSgYGWIbCfoSG2iDq_QcXTn/s320/IMG_7057e.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Friday is market day in Rutinda the departure point for boat trips on the lake. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCGNNlyyS1npRhW0FNy7C8fHAV7say_mLYT52Rq_80pJIwxQ7GNc8QTNLmZNAul24t9cbBO9J2uUXfMUoLjMp6vESfIsq_VdJq4KLXwYhLf2WbKBuIIjKq5ytkUhQu76NcKjXUgs0GL9K/s1600/IMG_0335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCGNNlyyS1npRhW0FNy7C8fHAV7say_mLYT52Rq_80pJIwxQ7GNc8QTNLmZNAul24t9cbBO9J2uUXfMUoLjMp6vESfIsq_VdJq4KLXwYhLf2WbKBuIIjKq5ytkUhQu76NcKjXUgs0GL9K/s320/IMG_0335.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As we paddled out we passed many canoes fully laden with produce and people on their way to market.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP7-UE3epmFsdEl5WKsOl5vl0h1t1Ml9Ujn0eMANBBSd2Jmc_z-R2kk3-JowYfJCyENo9c3SkM1XJYz1KQ8gQK0JBlciH-8el-r-7Pliv7w5jzAKldl-vPLjPlMZda8iWDlNwbbNwRPtT/s1600/IMG_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP7-UE3epmFsdEl5WKsOl5vl0h1t1Ml9Ujn0eMANBBSd2Jmc_z-R2kk3-JowYfJCyENo9c3SkM1XJYz1KQ8gQK0JBlciH-8el-r-7Pliv7w5jzAKldl-vPLjPlMZda8iWDlNwbbNwRPtT/s320/IMG_0338.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bushara Island is an eco-tourist centre provides accommodation, good food and trips in dug-out canoes to various places of interest. The centre provides employment to around 80 locals and the profits go to funding community projects round the lake. We returned to the mainland by motor boat!</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjM32VsCf-_4g-0jIpxwLGOXcqXwxu8a1jnyxlHaLXr_BU3Qgf8xKA9yvHfvBP80GAViGbFOZAQoDc5x7RG-37phH_LBSSlw7FGjHE9I0UbWKrleTgFwd39eQr_aR1JmZHDooYtCb3V6pN/s1600/IMG_0343e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjM32VsCf-_4g-0jIpxwLGOXcqXwxu8a1jnyxlHaLXr_BU3Qgf8xKA9yvHfvBP80GAViGbFOZAQoDc5x7RG-37phH_LBSSlw7FGjHE9I0UbWKrleTgFwd39eQr_aR1JmZHDooYtCb3V6pN/s320/IMG_0343e.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Saturday we drove up a back road (track) to Muka at the head of the lake and returned by the main road to Kabale. The views were marvelous and there were interesting villages and people along the road. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although the scenery is wonderful, there was </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a slight edginess to the area and Kabale town with the children shouting “Give me money” sometimes aggressively and some adults seemed a little hostile towards us. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">was a contrast to Kampala where generally people are gentle, friendly and polite.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sunday saw us back on Bushara where we joined a walking tour of a local village.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> As the village was on the far side of the lake we traveled by dugout again.</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had hoped to do </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">some free-range walking in the hills as we do in Scotland but even with a guide we were followed by an entourage of children.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Monday we were back at Bushara and signed up for another dugout trip - this time to Bwama Island, the biggest on the lake. In the 1920's a Scottish doctor, Dr Sharp, set up a leper colony on the island which remained in operation until the 1960s. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now the buildings provide a school for the children from around the lake. Some travel by canoe each day; other just go home at weekends.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qpVkpJWMUt0g8vWmtEAbFCeMwG6j93sD0yjsDEWPKFfAmWWP29-55Ke8d7j84CHUwtaeD4REpg2nC_kDMchJqkoGc8I6eo9aGfQUy9tKd3gfHtcZ9m71-srv8S41C0hfjze_qpmwS-ep/s1600/IMG_7076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qpVkpJWMUt0g8vWmtEAbFCeMwG6j93sD0yjsDEWPKFfAmWWP29-55Ke8d7j84CHUwtaeD4REpg2nC_kDMchJqkoGc8I6eo9aGfQUy9tKd3gfHtcZ9m71-srv8S41C0hfjze_qpmwS-ep/s320/IMG_7076.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the smaller islands on the lake, Akampene Island(Punishment Island). Some time ago, the lone tree was used to tie up and abandon unfortunate unmarried girls who became pregnant. The more fortunate were rescued by men who did not have enough cows to obtain a wife through the more acceptable process.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOq1EZIJN5GrKrFS8hs_XUM9XGzJKCvTTl_GAD2lUs5-8RyhsScdkHGnL-85eej6ANWMSOCO72y1zIBKr3eWX9d-ykseGQHZrKTIp5cYE9zgsQw-dCZweyw_6UobQMhDGjgapGJy-Oz7x/s1600/IMG_0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOq1EZIJN5GrKrFS8hs_XUM9XGzJKCvTTl_GAD2lUs5-8RyhsScdkHGnL-85eej6ANWMSOCO72y1zIBKr3eWX9d-ykseGQHZrKTIp5cYE9zgsQw-dCZweyw_6UobQMhDGjgapGJy-Oz7x/s320/IMG_0354.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Tuesday we split the journey home with an overnight stop in Mbarara at the Lake View Hotel where we had a swim in the pool in the afternoon.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the evening we met up with a couple of young doctors who are working at the hospital. We had a brief tour of the hospital and </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">then had dinner together and again it was great catching up. They work extremely hard in difficult working conditions and are certainly at the sharp end of providing health </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">care in a low resource setting. They have to teach students and junior staff the way things should be done, in order to prepare for exams, while the reality of what they can </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">offer patients is very different.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We traveled back to Kampala on Wednesday - 6 hours for about 285 km including the Kampala traffic. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When we got back to work, I found that most of the abstracts we submitted for the international AIDS conference in Vienna in July have been accepted as poster </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">presentations, and one senior nurse has been awarded a scholarship to attend the conference – she is quite ecstatic about her trip to Europe, as she has never been out of </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Africa before. It was a lot of work to prepare and submit all the applications but worthwhile, and the abstracts are all ready for future conferences. </span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-28542657990195188212010-03-28T10:05:00.000+03:002010-03-28T10:05:25.866+03:00Transport in Uganda<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although maybe not untypical of Africa the public transport options in Uganda are quite different from the UK. In our past blogs we have referred to some of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">difficulties and dangers but we hope you find the following photos interesting and amusing.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There has been no passenger trains in Uganda since 1997 so most journeys are made by the roads which range from good stretches ( some funded by EU money) to </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">pothole ridden obstacle courses. Uganda is a relatively small country. roughly 250 miles wide by 300 miles - the the same area as the UK (91,000 sq. miles) according </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to the Bradt guide. Country-wide travel by coach/bus has its dangers. The Post Office buses are the recommended services but generally the buses are referred to as </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">‘flying coffins’ and travel at night is not recommended.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzT1IxZUi3UuwjIeEnaH_2IoCNfwLVxqdNqQ5JdMHYhZ2PzteDbHW_H7ooT0PsLkfLNz9ZScOiZFLXJ-DHvGYX1foWuhymKMyaG5cOIgRtUxQkqDCFaGQDMh9IWlvLvJWTHqPocAzZcYh/s1600/52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzT1IxZUi3UuwjIeEnaH_2IoCNfwLVxqdNqQ5JdMHYhZ2PzteDbHW_H7ooT0PsLkfLNz9ZScOiZFLXJ-DHvGYX1foWuhymKMyaG5cOIgRtUxQkqDCFaGQDMh9IWlvLvJWTHqPocAzZcYh/s320/52.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the remote areas pick-up can be the only available option but if you are not sitting inside the journey can be </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">precarious.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Zr9HgGi9_xKFUZcXtWuV01ElL4qcMo9N4UlanMLs0u6_5vlxeIJ1GfKuPmlmvrrraj82MCC_eWUiqaHqlbPl7AhvScf2XfRh84TU5hSlpCOf1Vix2ihzX6PCKZ_DktnG7uxNdqNo_7CT/s1600/IMG_0302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Zr9HgGi9_xKFUZcXtWuV01ElL4qcMo9N4UlanMLs0u6_5vlxeIJ1GfKuPmlmvrrraj82MCC_eWUiqaHqlbPl7AhvScf2XfRh84TU5hSlpCOf1Vix2ihzX6PCKZ_DktnG7uxNdqNo_7CT/s320/IMG_0302.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The taxi service is provided by 14 seat minibuses (referred to as matatus in Kenya). Outside Kampala they are not so well regulated but within Kampala the maximum</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">number of passengers varies little from the regulation number of 14. Although chaotic they do seem to be very effective in moving lots of people and you rarely have to wait </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">more than 5 minutes for one. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A lot of taxis have religious slogans on </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the back windows but I don’t know if they are more successful at avoiding breakdowns and collisions.</span></span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeCdDpIumUWfV-PFyc1YkFQwClJCKPiA-xQn8B0faP3qm6j4hzJ5lRD5FhokMxeLW5bzrTSUcFOftcHYUu0FnO1TJ__R0xby5Q-EDt_EfIVVqjEZK9kbdti-vwl1Nwxi6qf2HSOWTPbKF/s1600/DSC02649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeCdDpIumUWfV-PFyc1YkFQwClJCKPiA-xQn8B0faP3qm6j4hzJ5lRD5FhokMxeLW5bzrTSUcFOftcHYUu0FnO1TJ__R0xby5Q-EDt_EfIVVqjEZK9kbdti-vwl1Nwxi6qf2HSOWTPbKF/s320/DSC02649.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The old taxi park in Kampala. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AH5D5oQpHM4SrXeGKf8aZ7mDMth-e_3WnnugW-mXVEjFAc28s-w5QONKSRZ9uo0zuBQeKIsiURubnXPJ8dI9oYwyzo-3BcfQNCQZq0mlcutas-aMHpHcIF48a35MU6unGMplRhK7du9a/s1600/67.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AH5D5oQpHM4SrXeGKf8aZ7mDMth-e_3WnnugW-mXVEjFAc28s-w5QONKSRZ9uo0zuBQeKIsiURubnXPJ8dI9oYwyzo-3BcfQNCQZq0mlcutas-aMHpHcIF48a35MU6unGMplRhK7du9a/s320/67.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Outside town we believe they can be very overloaded and you may be sharing your seat with a goat. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhh4K0vUpdaAh3RdLu_MNW2fICRf6bwB1a2WD19jlAKwv0lnWAkPueBm5iqGAerJc_Ij0qDqmYrjXvPdQtmI_HigfvrrS0RInJffi4dvXZgX021mSgcLhsLs10EpQ0E_vjCydRx5gDGg-/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhh4K0vUpdaAh3RdLu_MNW2fICRf6bwB1a2WD19jlAKwv0lnWAkPueBm5iqGAerJc_Ij0qDqmYrjXvPdQtmI_HigfvrrS0RInJffi4dvXZgX021mSgcLhsLs10EpQ0E_vjCydRx5gDGg-/s320/IMG_0078.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A three-piece suite. </span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bags of charcoal</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXQaEyGupDSiS-cWkSjya6SeYbeXR2Hzape6pbRxZez3c7yedhIHJWrxibm3S1nNSz7lQQ0j3Ri39PgQ75Jxi3pfl-4HfBP4gg99IwjtAsvVXu-uOHs7PnYA3D8qxstX8eF37CtHK5KWr/s1600/77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXQaEyGupDSiS-cWkSjya6SeYbeXR2Hzape6pbRxZez3c7yedhIHJWrxibm3S1nNSz7lQQ0j3Ri39PgQ75Jxi3pfl-4HfBP4gg99IwjtAsvVXu-uOHs7PnYA3D8qxstX8eF37CtHK5KWr/s320/77.jpg" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></a></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiNkWLhuHj3sTfzcZpXrfuZr-q7JqXGhg0Pe4mRhbWPTJSoZEDG0aNN1pqPGbDlzqzr_6b9HxVlh-r_TEN7Cu1PGb7SrEmpptVqXQZXAtP_UFQqO1O2xfsc9W_2-W7imVUQA9n-wxJFH_/s1600/80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiNkWLhuHj3sTfzcZpXrfuZr-q7JqXGhg0Pe4mRhbWPTJSoZEDG0aNN1pqPGbDlzqzr_6b9HxVlh-r_TEN7Cu1PGb7SrEmpptVqXQZXAtP_UFQqO1O2xfsc9W_2-W7imVUQA9n-wxJFH_/s320/80.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ufA0ITh-kYML8v53y_lw7VvgfIJt-vT_0nfn1LnEn7Rd1076QZ3V9ek-co3jbmMGPS4ebMzyk545zSRBG_tPceQltwTfRlbrQS44brQ1ui3s1-d1gvgGGtKtQt4DhDoIAQE9XT80h-ZT/s1600/IMG_0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ufA0ITh-kYML8v53y_lw7VvgfIJt-vT_0nfn1LnEn7Rd1076QZ3V9ek-co3jbmMGPS4ebMzyk545zSRBG_tPceQltwTfRlbrQS44brQ1ui3s1-d1gvgGGtKtQt4DhDoIAQE9XT80h-ZT/s320/IMG_0134.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chickens</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An improvised windshield </span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Boda boda drivers take a rest.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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Bicycles are also a popular form of transport . They provide a taxi service and are also used to carry an amazing variety of loads.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have no wheels you must carry your load. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The skills in carrying a load on the head are amazing and taken to an extreme at the Ndere Traditional Dancing Centre in Kampala.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rhona and I have not seen a baby buggy since we arrived. We expect this is because pavements are few and the pedestrian ways are generally rough tracks. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So until they </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">can walk babies are carried in a traditional way.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I thank our recent visitors for permission to use some of their photos.</span></span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-5310528178571617462010-03-25T20:36:00.000+03:002010-03-25T20:36:34.547+03:00Kampala Erupts<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rhona - 25th March</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Life in Kampala has been a bit tense since a week ago last Monday when there were riots at Makerere University following the death of two students. There was a strike on Monday</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and then there was trouble at a student hostel, which a security guard tried to resolve by shooting three people with one bullet, killing two.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj902DaIt-Mlsgb3H71g-RU1xCfjlIGYiQGNGEr0SDuYoLTOHYgwpqnm2WGBPa30nb0h_fNZ7hPOOmarSG3sp9zp2tL4uDt4MAL9HJhXv2jQhfCD0wKFEuUiu9TzTIBXjJ1PuemVX9Gze58/s1600/IMG_6939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj902DaIt-Mlsgb3H71g-RU1xCfjlIGYiQGNGEr0SDuYoLTOHYgwpqnm2WGBPa30nb0h_fNZ7hPOOmarSG3sp9zp2tL4uDt4MAL9HJhXv2jQhfCD0wKFEuUiu9TzTIBXjJ1PuemVX9Gze58/s320/IMG_6939.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The following day there were </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">student riots, and then on Tuesday night the Kasubi Tombs, a World Heritage site, was razed to the ground by fire with more rioters stopping the fire service from entering.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgO61BbfcWgYhzHNu_hRQ6Jy8kqmNkBs8mb9qfd1pkAtGXdxQWIUdoWKTFejG_WQKTPJaVUocTLrJCBHpTWt6wFTXnHZ3ayTiBHEUdnPABOpU0YVbANrE-axXc76HYL9qkoOAcFUeONz-/s1600/IMG_1169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgO61BbfcWgYhzHNu_hRQ6Jy8kqmNkBs8mb9qfd1pkAtGXdxQWIUdoWKTFejG_WQKTPJaVUocTLrJCBHpTWt6wFTXnHZ3ayTiBHEUdnPABOpU0YVbANrE-axXc76HYL9qkoOAcFUeONz-/s320/IMG_1169.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We were at the Tombs three weeks ago with Donald and David. I</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">t was a nice antidote to the bustle of the centre of the</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">city</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> but it is off our Kampala tour for our future guests</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fortunately we are on the southern outskirts and the troubles were all on the north. We were pretty safe and unaffected but some VSOers live on the north and had to </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">stay at home until the situation died down. There are elections due in May 2011 so there may be more trouble to come.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today's news is of a further 2 student deaths.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, we had a very nice evening on Friday with other VSoers in a boutique hotel on the north of the city and all was calm, apart from the sky which was lit up by </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">lightning all night though there was no thunder or rain. The Emin Pasha was built by a safari company whose clients were not greatly enamoured by the big international </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">hotels in the centre of Kampala and they certainly got this one right. It is very elegant with terraces to sit on and very nice music, very sophisticated and a great end to a </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">busy week. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have been spending time with the nurses and learning a bit more about the treatment of HIV/AIDS. I attended a group education session for clients who are starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOv3zKRR72CrR_KHCbVWJ8AEVIzLvkT2JZ2Hi4il57JUe7wJ4S49Jw3Nza2-_L7isdHsWdCWyn1aOJCN3HY8LUJIYgpN9Nu4DxC0tX_w_q7s3KAIZmuaEWTYU_wFC3UtY0srmeOd-gJZh/s1600/IMG_0294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOv3zKRR72CrR_KHCbVWJ8AEVIzLvkT2JZ2Hi4il57JUe7wJ4S49Jw3Nza2-_L7isdHsWdCWyn1aOJCN3HY8LUJIYgpN9Nu4DxC0tX_w_q7s3KAIZmuaEWTYU_wFC3UtY0srmeOd-gJZh/s320/IMG_0294.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Clients who are HIV +ve but well are prescribed Septrin, an antibiotic which they take routinely once a day to reduce their chance of picking up opportunistic infections, to which they are susceptible. When the disease progresses to a certain </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">level, they start on ART (for life) which involves taking heavy-duty tablets twice a day and they have to take them at exactly twelve-hour intervals to be effective. The </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">medication makes people feel unwell, especially in the first few months and particularly if they do not take food beforehand. Many people can only afford one meal a day </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and not always that. They have to come to the group education sessions along with their treatment supporter, a family member or friend who has agreed to help them to </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">stick to their regime. The community health workers also visit them at home at least weekly to give them support. The session was very well done by one of the staff of the</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Adherence and Support Department who monitor and support people on ART and also those on TB treatment as well. In addition they look after pregnant women and their </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">children up to the age of two years, who are enrolled into the PMTCT (Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission) programme. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also attended the weekly meeting of the community health workers. They are all HIV+ve and clients of Reach Out and each looks after a small number of families in their </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">own community. They have a community leader who supervises them and they discuss clients and refer upwards if necessary. There is a strong religious element as well</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and they will often go and pray with clients who are very ill. It was interesting hearing about the problems they encounter in a country where there is absolutely no welfare </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">state to provide a safety net for people in extremis. Clients of Reach Out are very fortunate that they are so well cared for and can be given food, although the World Food </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Agency have stopped their programme at Reach Out and food aid is decreasing generally. They also have community supporters who will look after clients who are very ill </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and have no family to care for. However, while our clients enjoy a Rolls Royce service, others in the same community who are not HIV +ve and those in other areas do not </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">have access to even basic care, which does raise questions about equity of access to health care.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-57227956591184520792010-03-17T07:01:00.000+03:002010-03-17T07:01:05.139+03:00My VSO Placement<span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bobby - 16th March 2010</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is probably the most boring blog so far (no photos but I thought some flowcharts might be helpful) but being 6 months through our 1 year placement I thought I should record a bit more about the work I am doing. I am enjoying my placement and feel very lucky that there is a substantial job to be done.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am working for (as is Rhona) Reach Out Mbuya HIV and AIDS Initiative. It started in 2001 with less than 20 clients and now has around 3,000. Since its start over 7,000 clients have been registered. Mbuya is a parish on the east side of Kampala on the Port Bell Road. Our house is about 3km further out on the Port Bell Road which makes travelling to work relatively easy.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reach Out is required to make regular reports to the Ministry of Health and funders. As the organisation grew the reporting depended more and more on spreadsheets and at some point it was realised that there would be benefits from establishing a Health Management Information System (HMIS) which would capture data from day to day and generate the analyses for the required internal and external reporting. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In February 2009 Reach Out engaged a consultant/contractor to provide the HMIS using an MS SQL Server database and Visual Basic front end for the data capture. The contract was for 2 months starting February 2009. When I arrived on the scene at the end of September 2 data capture screens (out of around 20) were in use. The consultant was claiming that the system was substantially complete but Reach Out had not tested or implemented most of what had been delivered. This was not surprising as I discovered the only database established was the one Reach Out was using to key the live data into - there was no test system. The system had been described/specified as a number of modules e.g. pharmacy, laboratory, medical (including Follow Up records, TB register, PMTCT register), stores, so I set about identifying all the issues/bugs which required to be addressed. I spent the 3 months up to Christmas working with the consultant trying to get him to fix the problems and address some of the other issues. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think the basic problem was the specification was very loose and the consultant didn’t seem to be keen to do much analyses so in many cases what was delivered did not meet the requirements and there was little detail on what they were.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had no previous experience of MS SQL Server but, when I established the test system, I was delighted to discover how easy it was to take an MS Access database and convert it into a front end for the MS SQL Server database. Importing the MS Access tables worked a treat and MS Access ODBC links were easily established. Around 70,000 Follow Up records had been entered and MS Access link tables allowed us to start checking and using the data for the reports at the end of December. (A number of staff at Reach Out have some knowledge of MS Access)</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reach Out are trying to capture all the historical records going back to the start in 2001. As the data capture was way behind schedule and the consultant was “slow” in delivering I suggested as an interim measure that I create an MS Access database to capture the TB Register data. When the consultant delivered the VB screens we could convert to using them.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Christmas came and went and I was getting concerned at the amount of time I was wasting checking each delivered offering from the consultant only to find that a substantial number of the outstanding issues were not addressed and had to be followed up in the next delivery.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In January we had a meeting with some of the IT staff from CDC, Reach Out’s main sponsor, and I was very interested to hear that they were encouraging the use of MS Access as a front end to MS SQL Server as it gave the (more competent) users the option to change the data capture and add new fields to meet changing needs without having to further engage the services of a consultant.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A short step from that was the realisation that the time I was wasting with the consultant would be better spent developing MS Access front ends to the HMIS database. So we have abandonned any further development of the VB modules and I am now developing the HMIS system. I am enjoying this although my lack of experience with MS SQL Server can be a bit of a constraint.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have had concerns that I wasn’t passing on skills to the staff but it’s not too bad just now with a few keen to learn from me. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have a clear idea what I want to achieve in the next 2 months so that the last 4 months will just be consolidating the procedures and training – if only. There are signs of the next phase of requirements emerging but I will have to try not to get to involved or else I will never get home. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What do you think? Is this really boring? Please comment.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-8359931339749632632010-03-08T08:46:00.000+03:002010-03-08T08:46:19.480+03:00More Safaris<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Rhona - </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our friends Donald and David from the UK have been here for twelve days and just left on Tuesday. It was great having them, and they packed a lot into their stay. Bobby was patrol leader and Donald youngest or “bim” scout of the Kingfisher patrol – I trust Donald was more deferential to his PL in 1964 than he is now! They arrived late at night so stayed in Entebbe and we drove down the following morning, delayed a little by torrential rain. However, the sun came out and we had a good tour of the botanic gardens with lots of birdwatching, then lunch in Gately Inn Entebbe (recommended) and then home to Kampala for walk through village and up the hill at the back of our house for an introduction to real African life and a good view over Kampala. On Sunday we had a trip into the centre of Kampala and the taxi park and market before escaping to the more peaceful Kasubi Tombs,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTne1LRuitJEbpoNzTQmobbxH3btBdUjRIPT2zLQ45IrTBikJBkElcETlpElJPYtZsJhXx6FjoDWuSzNdcF9ZCMauk2Ton8eDS7p8TVE238GanJaysLV27qp8JfwWbXsTi4KBs7bTtwxcO/s1600-h/IMG_1168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTne1LRuitJEbpoNzTQmobbxH3btBdUjRIPT2zLQ45IrTBikJBkElcETlpElJPYtZsJhXx6FjoDWuSzNdcF9ZCMauk2Ton8eDS7p8TVE238GanJaysLV27qp8JfwWbXsTi4KBs7bTtwxcO/s320/IMG_1168.JPG" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Monday they were off to Rwanda for gorilla trekking and returned latish on Thursday for a quick turnaround before we all set off to Lake Mburo for three days safari. On the road down we all had the opportunity to straddle the Equator.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmNfsfsol2GxzPJQobUekaDdN4IFfWMN5KXyR1GciUqYO_1fSkiVM71f_veIwuvxGSD1b6nBU7AWC0_xBqtJlr5CMcnTsjTS5UX1iHgrsXjD9eSdC6JqLgms4giqPhz5QHIQzhZGrG1EV/s1600-h/IMG_6943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmNfsfsol2GxzPJQobUekaDdN4IFfWMN5KXyR1GciUqYO_1fSkiVM71f_veIwuvxGSD1b6nBU7AWC0_xBqtJlr5CMcnTsjTS5UX1iHgrsXjD9eSdC6JqLgms4giqPhz5QHIQzhZGrG1EV/s320/IMG_6943.JPG" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lake Mburo is very underrated, it has lots of wildlife, and is the only park in Uganda with zebras and impala, both of which were plentiful. There are no big cats, but we saw plenty of buffalo and 50 species of birds (Donald and Bobby were into making lists, maybe a throwback from the 1960s) - more photos at end of blog. We stayed in Mihingo Lodge which was very comfortable with fantastic food, which the owner attributes to the input of his Scottish mother-in-law. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LZheaR8MN8c_dEWti0BGlpkARnUf9Qt7dCbRY3C2R4Da1nl92MO1LfnNow8nVHVQC4T0WIRSHS55EmsBOVtw62bnKhUr27cCiYuJj6OLtFCRjnawxnnkBsPIqGkdeyo1dILKEd7Mz9Fq/s1600-h/DSC02707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LZheaR8MN8c_dEWti0BGlpkARnUf9Qt7dCbRY3C2R4Da1nl92MO1LfnNow8nVHVQC4T0WIRSHS55EmsBOVtw62bnKhUr27cCiYuJj6OLtFCRjnawxnnkBsPIqGkdeyo1dILKEd7Mz9Fq/s320/DSC02707.JPG" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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Yellow billed oxpeckers on a buffulo.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHQGGnNpipifQYdSHpzgf9E2u_aZkLLZe2XpcoU_LXlDPSz6fFzYITdV2SUuFrJNFCY24tOzKMnIl7tS2iz1qZ6kC5w0SXXd8u5WZftVmkeq9lP_TWS4ZkNk4N9YVQlIsJLAa8ZpJb58Y/s1600-h/IMG_1276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHQGGnNpipifQYdSHpzgf9E2u_aZkLLZe2XpcoU_LXlDPSz6fFzYITdV2SUuFrJNFCY24tOzKMnIl7tS2iz1qZ6kC5w0SXXd8u5WZftVmkeq9lP_TWS4ZkNk4N9YVQlIsJLAa8ZpJb58Y/s320/IMG_1276.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGB92iNVCYlKSnaiUpCuhPqQeI9LNUgFOFk_MebKfoGyo6vUF4LYDP4sEYG5Lw8iLvefDFcUl4f2Jx7qcLgGq2wX8nEVoVhOoEnsMKyJLftShwvFua9nIdb_nxjrMKwnthVHHAKFM2aAzQ/s1600-h/IMG_7006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGB92iNVCYlKSnaiUpCuhPqQeI9LNUgFOFk_MebKfoGyo6vUF4LYDP4sEYG5Lw8iLvefDFcUl4f2Jx7qcLgGq2wX8nEVoVhOoEnsMKyJLftShwvFua9nIdb_nxjrMKwnthVHHAKFM2aAzQ/s320/IMG_7006.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67bImLtjS4K8GVxD2YOYbGvFypV4KDmiTUg88-Myc1S1zE9-D82tg8UuskZUQFD1gtrQRCm7iIMtGwKHm7h-eSfbV8itslR2EKgTDNX8AdvQdu3stuCd_uP_CP4SilzMBiWtOrSjaBhyphenhyphen6/s1600-h/IMG_1281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67bImLtjS4K8GVxD2YOYbGvFypV4KDmiTUg88-Myc1S1zE9-D82tg8UuskZUQFD1gtrQRCm7iIMtGwKHm7h-eSfbV8itslR2EKgTDNX8AdvQdu3stuCd_uP_CP4SilzMBiWtOrSjaBhyphenhyphen6/s320/IMG_1281.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">[Note - Bobby is extremely jealous of Donald and David who saw this Shoebill on the way to Jinja last Monday] </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The only negative aspect of our trip was as usual, the roads. On the way down we had an accident in heavy rain when the minibus in front of us braked hard to avoid a boda boda and we went into the back of the minibus. We were going very slowly at the point of impact and we, who were in a very sturdy Landcruiser with a driver, were unscathed, but three of the passengers in the minibus had minor injuries (two had concussion and one probable cracked ribs). They were on their way to Bwindi for gorilla trekking but neither they nor the minibus were fit to continue, and with the delays at the police station they would not have got there in daylight. They were a bunch of physicians and some medical students over from USA working in Mulago Hospital, the big and grim tertiary referral centre for Uganda, plus another American who is working for a few months and is a colleague of one our fellow VSO ers. They were getting more than their “fair share” or statistically anticipated of road traffic accidents; the weekend before they were on their way to Jinja and were involved in a much more serious accident, with one of their party sustaining a severe laceration to her leg down to the bone, and drivers of two of the three vehicles involved pinned down for hours.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> We are supposed to be in the dry season but the weather is unpredictable, often hot and sunny but with a fair smattering of rain, some long downpours and some cooler days and nights. There has been a mudslide in the east of Uganda, killing nearly 400 people, in a village where the population has doubled in the past two years. The mudslide is being blamed on intense cultivation of steep slopes and removal of trees and grass with subsequent loose soil which does not absorb the water. The average family has ten children but polygamy is common and fathers having 26 children is not uncommon. The only way to address the population explosion is to educate girls so that they get interesting jobs but education in these poor rural communities is very poor (typically not beyond P7), so it is a vicious circle. Most of our women colleagues in Reach Out have only few children, (they are the lucky ones who have qualifications) despite being Catholic, but upcountry it is very different.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a slightly guilt-ridden day on Wednesday, having decided to miss Reach Out’s quarterly spiritual retreat, which consists of spending all day in church, with breaks for morning tea and lunch. We went to one before and it was really just too much spirituality in one sitting, although many people do seem to get a lot out of it. There are two church services in the morning with very long sermons and a full mass in the afternoon. As Reach Out parties are memorable affairs with a good programme and lots of structured interactive activities which make use of our colleagues’ innate abilities on the singing and acting front, it is strange that the spiritual retreat consists of being talked at by a priest. Anyway, we got on with work of which there is plenty.</span></div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-5413388913641443932010-02-13T22:59:00.000+03:002010-02-13T22:59:42.517+03:00Between visitors<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">13th February, 2010</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are having a quiet weekend between guests - two have just gone and two more arrive next Friday. Trailfinders are having a surge of interest in Uganda as the hotspot destination for Scottish tourists. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a great time with Allison and Alison, who spent time in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and saw the gorillas twice, once on the official trek and once later as they and the gorillas were walking along a path. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> We had a good trip with them to Jinja, and had a great boat ride when we saw lots of colourful birds which seemed to be lined up for us at very close range. (I acknowledge that the better photographs on this blog are attributed to AW)</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JPqGhfgVHhnVnlbAtktZK4hnOcsdEoAr4ZAYSdHjKrrxwTXx3bqlXCibFRVHepY-IVwPrnhHtO6vhaq6POcsUyr6qtVN8mFedqZszkRIDSx8BU5sz8NOcLqwbjXC_fWEW_h8mbaQkJGC/s1600-h/P1000638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JPqGhfgVHhnVnlbAtktZK4hnOcsdEoAr4ZAYSdHjKrrxwTXx3bqlXCibFRVHepY-IVwPrnhHtO6vhaq6POcsUyr6qtVN8mFedqZszkRIDSx8BU5sz8NOcLqwbjXC_fWEW_h8mbaQkJGC/s320/P1000638.JPG" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a visit to the Ndere Centre to see dancing from different areas in Uganda which is always interesting, some spectacular. A week ago yesterday we had a class in Ugandan dancing in the VSO banda with the instructor who ran some classes for us before Christmas. They experienced all Kampala weathers, hot and sunny on arrival and cooler and wet when they left. On the way back from Jinja we stopped at Mabira Forest for a forest walk with Hussein, the same guide we had previously. We asked for a 2 hour walk. After 1 hour the sky darkened and the sky opened. Its amazing how we stayed dry for the first 5minutes but the forest canopy could not hold back anymore and we got seriously soaked. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDF4LkxvIw5nN9W-YO0tWslmoFyY1dizGyUXJLLmF2s07JcMgLKxTlwo6KyglyJW2Ed-hUfXcDJBAHdGjIFJT21mdA0HrwQIwaxZqEVcn9_ib1ueZKk9-hDq3XOD_epWCA8WC5s_2ntGQa/s1600-h/IMG_6856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDF4LkxvIw5nN9W-YO0tWslmoFyY1dizGyUXJLLmF2s07JcMgLKxTlwo6KyglyJW2Ed-hUfXcDJBAHdGjIFJT21mdA0HrwQIwaxZqEVcn9_ib1ueZKk9-hDq3XOD_epWCA8WC5s_2ntGQa/s320/IMG_6856.JPG" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They had a morning at Reach Out and experienced the yoga and spiritual reflection and also spent some time in the clinic seeing a variety of clients. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then we had the usual late night departure routine of a trip to the botanic gardens at Entebbe, dinner at Gately Inn Entebbe before taking them to the airport. We had a relaxed evening at Sophie Motel and then drove back to Kampala the next morning. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last night we joined other volunteers at the weekly rendezvous for drinks and a meal. It is a good opportunity to catch up with the other volunteers although we have not managed along for a few weeks. Work continues to be very busy for both of us. I have been helping people to prepare and submit abstracts for an International Aids Conference in Austria in July. It was very time-consuming, and not helped by a very slow and fragile internet connection which made each on-line submission and conference scholarship application a very lengthy process. However, it’s another good learning experience and either Reach Out staff have to learn how to do these things themselves, especially the managers and supervisors, or be very selective about which abstracts are submitted. However, it is difficult because they are just so nice and such wonderful nurses, and some of the best and most articulate are also unlikely really to be able to write English well and get to grips with modern technology. Also there is the usual issue of African time which in this case was at odds with a deadline given by super-efficient Austrians. Anyway it would be great if we could see off a delegation of Reach Out staff, in their lovely African traditional dresses, from Entebbe airport. The somewhat dour and sedate Viennese would be taken aback I suspect. I am now agitating to fill the research officer post which I took over when I arrived. I am having to do the routine work with studies, abstracts and ensuring that the many students and some external researchers who come to Reach Out to carry out research conform to research governance procedures which I have strengthened and revised as well as trying to move the organisation forward. The way forward is to collaborate with academic institutions both local and international and there are March deadlines for outline proposals for two possible sources of funding, the Leverhulme Trust and Nuffield Foundation which both have international programme grants, the Nuffield specifically for Africa.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bobby is meantime living and breathing databases. He is now being helped by a very able member of staff who has been transferred from the Reach Out Centre at Kasaala which was established one year ago. He is happy there are now a few very able members of staff to whom he can transfer skills and attempy to make a sustainable impression on the organisation. Wow 5 months down and 7 to go - time is flying by.</span></div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-29326662609499311332010-01-30T14:47:00.002+03:002010-01-30T15:01:35.496+03:00A good life in KampalaWednesday 27th January.<br />
Well, after the excitement of Christmas things have settled down and we are both hard at work for Reachout. We are feeling very settled in Uganda and a lot of our earlier fears have diminished. We find the Ugandans to be a gentle and friendly people although some of the behaviour on the roads seems out of character. We are more comfortable with the routine but there are constant reminders that life in Uganda is harsher than back home –a member of the Reachout staff died over the weekend after a boda boda accident last Friday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqokDAVEmK4gCCelGqEr9GfmMH3Wgwp63hzIJ3G-sAKwP2ixIQH6l1Hfp-Uy9He-WMsxas5hya0jaAec_AX4TQw2gZ-FGYfIwK-SArLDAh02vZ1Ic2mh6v57ew9Z7wvdTwxIe7FeC1jIk/s1600-h/IMG_6824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqokDAVEmK4gCCelGqEr9GfmMH3Wgwp63hzIJ3G-sAKwP2ixIQH6l1Hfp-Uy9He-WMsxas5hya0jaAec_AX4TQw2gZ-FGYfIwK-SArLDAh02vZ1Ic2mh6v57ew9Z7wvdTwxIe7FeC1jIk/s320/IMG_6824.JPG" /></a>Last Thursday I enjoyed a trip out into the country. Reach Out Mbuya has four bases where they run clinics. Three are relatively close on the east side of Kampala (Mbuya, Kinawataka, Banda). The fourth, Kasaala, is about an hour and a half north of Kampala just beyond Luwero. I hadn’t been before but a visit was required to understand what data recording was in place. Kasaala appeared quite idyllic compared with the busle of the city. Kasaala village, I think, has a population of about 1000.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RbhwNT20zucM7YfQULvuNVv2vauB6TUsLZKb5VfdZd2BlKcsHlSJMmeVuhm-fJWg5m-haHQUmBAXo20c3kXVo5M4dftykaBWsT2AvWOJ5wkQa6OAGqg1ix_kKit9NkFU8mUo3FWH0fa2/s1600-h/IMG_6825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RbhwNT20zucM7YfQULvuNVv2vauB6TUsLZKb5VfdZd2BlKcsHlSJMmeVuhm-fJWg5m-haHQUmBAXo20c3kXVo5M4dftykaBWsT2AvWOJ5wkQa6OAGqg1ix_kKit9NkFU8mUo3FWH0fa2/s320/IMG_6825.JPG" /></a></div>The land is lush and green and I became aware of the abundance of fruit and vegetables as the pickup was loaded for the journey home.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnAVt9D-lZrkE5a2RNle9UWTSpeROn4xdx6KWqbIgICoazjU1524VCbtvGiOI5kIR1Tsq6SoDe858J09Sx966Mq0IADQWRP87iGpkpCUYUVztSzfdMefXjUOVJkNKzCbCguEnVBI64Kzj/s1600-h/IMG_6826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnAVt9D-lZrkE5a2RNle9UWTSpeROn4xdx6KWqbIgICoazjU1524VCbtvGiOI5kIR1Tsq6SoDe858J09Sx966Mq0IADQWRP87iGpkpCUYUVztSzfdMefXjUOVJkNKzCbCguEnVBI64Kzj/s320/IMG_6826.JPG" /></a></div>Last Friday evening we enjoyed the monthly gathering of Kampala volunteers. This time we met for a drink and a meal at the Centenary Park next to Garden City. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtps22DgIw17Ev6epm2a0hjs5JACJ8_BPPOgC_wvSiUZITzyYarCOD07PVxMmdkotJfvq1XIMnXaInxf6VqPeNBe-_LzajnbGC8Ky9kxFOlz8-fXuxtWU7Nt1YJeE0uvdp6hLuHYcBkDb/s1600-h/IMG_6829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtps22DgIw17Ev6epm2a0hjs5JACJ8_BPPOgC_wvSiUZITzyYarCOD07PVxMmdkotJfvq1XIMnXaInxf6VqPeNBe-_LzajnbGC8Ky9kxFOlz8-fXuxtWU7Nt1YJeE0uvdp6hLuHYcBkDb/s320/IMG_6829.JPG" /></a></div>Our Sunday routine, when there are no other commitments, is to spend the morning at the gym and swimming pool at Kabira Country Club. Last Sunday we were a little more adventurous and we visited the Speke Resort on the shores of Lake Victoria for the first time. The centre was built for the CHOGM conference a few years back. Apart from extensive hotel and conference facilities, there is an Olympic size swimming pool and a modern gym. The setting is very attractive with the view out to the lake.<br />
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On Monday night we were at the Caledonian Society's Burns Supper which was very enjoyable. It started at 7.30 and was attended by around 80 people. We left at 12.30 although the dancing was not near finished. It was a first for me to pipe (or bow) in the haggis on my fiddle. Conveniently, for Kapalian Burns Supper goers the 26th is a national holiday - NRM Liberation Day. <br />
The last few days have been very hot with temparatures in the low thirties. On Friday we are looking forward to welcoming our next visitors and showing them how we live when they are not watching the gorillas.Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-19050844988505089842010-01-14T06:11:00.001+03:002010-01-30T14:47:49.328+03:00Back to auld claes an' matooke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdFfZ5lb7UaxFwpAibnyNZ-u5X8YXRtGR94-TLpR-4oRA3OR1hGPKiWdxxhlWTFhz_nfMemtAfpLgWCyyNuBHFiHBN3PnD7Zu4F1dkjyQ6tTmpDyTUgSAUCDUCJwrOmq51F4XWa9M1ejT/s1600-h/IMG_6816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdFfZ5lb7UaxFwpAibnyNZ-u5X8YXRtGR94-TLpR-4oRA3OR1hGPKiWdxxhlWTFhz_nfMemtAfpLgWCyyNuBHFiHBN3PnD7Zu4F1dkjyQ6tTmpDyTUgSAUCDUCJwrOmq51F4XWa9M1ejT/s320/IMG_6816.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_1263401144467"></span><span id="goog_1263401144468"></span>Sunday 10th January 2010</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After a great Christmas break, we are back to focusing on what we came to do here. It was good seeing everyone at Reach Out again. Most had gone back to “the village” for Christmas. Everyone seems to have a village of origin, no-one admits to being from Kampala, but while most people still have some relatives there, with the move to urbanisation, there is a gradual loss of connection with their roots and it may be that the next generation will seen themselves as city born and bred with no relatives to visit up-country. Kampala is still quite quiet and the traffic in the morning is very light, it may be because the schools are on holiday until 2nd February. Reach Out cut down its services more over Christmas than before, although there were still clinics for the acutely ill and very sick clients. Surprisingly, the clinics have been quiet this week, the nurses think some people may have travelled to their villages for Christmas and not have the money to travel back. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bobby is back to being busy working with the IT consultant and the Monitoring and Evaluation Team to get the new HMIS completed and has started generating reports from the considerable volume of data that has been entered over the last six months. He is enjoying exploring and learning about SQL Server while depending on his MS Access to provide users with a more familiar front end to the data.I have been working on analysing data for a study evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention for discordant couples (one HIV+ve the other –ve) so that I can work with clinical staff to submit an abstract for a big HIV/AIDS conference in July in Vienna. I am also working with another member of staff on another abstract for the same conference about the Prevention of Transmission from Mother to Child Programme. It would be great if they can go. They are all very good and confident at talking and have a charm and grace that I can only admire but writing is more difficult. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My main goal is to set up a collaboration between Reach Out, a local university and a Scottish University, which would provide the long-tern academic support needed to allow Reach Out to take a lead in setting the research agenda. The staff are very keen to use and do research to be able to show the effectiveness of their nurse-led model of care and all the other aspects which makes Reach Out so special. From an academic perspective, Reach Out is very dynamic and ready for change and innovation. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are also making the research governance more streamlined, and this is particularly important because of the constant stream of students, some local and other from overseas (overseas from Uganda!) who want to come to Reach Out to carry out research for their dissertations. I am preparing guidance for prospective researchers which we will put on the website to make it easier for them to understand the process involved before they can have access to staff and clients. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We also now have weekly meetings of the Research Capacity Group, and overall there is a lot of research being done, mainly by using data which is collected routinely for the reports which donors require quarterly. With the new Health Management System which Bobby is helping to design and implement, extracting this data should be easier than before. Given the problems we have had in extracting and interpreting routine data in two recent community nursing studies I think Bobby could maybe show NHS boards how to do things the Reach Out way when he comes back to Scotland. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the end of the week three members of staff left and we had a very African send-off - they just do these things so nicely. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One was a long-serving nurse, and the nurses are a great team who recently won a Best Practice Award, so it was a very emotional send-off for Lynn. Towards the end of the ceremony, we were each served a soda (Coke, Fanta etc are collectively referred to as soda here) and a brown paper bag with a vegetable samosa and a bun, to finish off the party in style. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have had lots of e-mails over Christmas, which we have appreciated, and some have included photos of the snow at home. We realise that the UK is having the worst winter for 50 years and that the cold spell is far more prolonged than usual. We also read that the UK is importing salt from Africa for the roads - we certainly don’t need it here except for our rehydration therapy. By way of contrast I decided on Friday morning to work outside to get some space to spread out some questionnaires which needed checking before the data was entered. I started out on the bench outside the office but soon became too hot and had to move under the shade of a large tree in the compound. I did think about the photos and reports in the Scotsman online as I worked – and I know we will dream of this climate next winter. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTqfV805kc_Pb1QHATyRefxKyAMeD8ysZzrasvkbu3WciMIsXMDbUSIDGeqe5YA9XlIJZ0JtuUquOz1t0yUe6ixcMVLgkbt3Wjv85Ds1gtanOikkffXCeAzc4-KrtjBcU3piGm0KJOm_U/s1600-h/IMG_6794f.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTqfV805kc_Pb1QHATyRefxKyAMeD8ysZzrasvkbu3WciMIsXMDbUSIDGeqe5YA9XlIJZ0JtuUquOz1t0yUe6ixcMVLgkbt3Wjv85Ds1gtanOikkffXCeAzc4-KrtjBcU3piGm0KJOm_U/s320/IMG_6794f.jpg.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It also seems strange sitting on our verandah in the evening with a waragi (gin at £4 a bottle and very acceptable) and tonic watching the birds as the sun goes down and knowing that we will not be doing that next January.</span></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-88421444000837583322010-01-03T16:33:00.003+03:002010-01-03T16:42:28.006+03:00Our first African Christmas<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">31st December - </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have just seen off our son Hamish and his partner Morven after a really magical Christmas, mainly due to just having Hamish and </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Morven with us and helped by having a wonderful safari to Murchison National Park in the north of Uganda.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We met HandM at the Shell Garage up the road from our house on 22nd December as they were coming from Jinja just an hour and a </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">half east of Kampala. They had set out for Africa from Aberdeen on 2nd December and had spent some time travelling around in Kenya </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">with our niece who is based in Nairobi. It was great to have them staying with us in Kampala for two nights before we set off on our </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">safari very early on Christmas Eve. We were picked up by our driver Emmy (Emanuel), who was excellent, and set off north to Murchison. The </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">north is much less populated than the west and on Christmas Eve the roads west were very congested with people going back to their </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">villages for Christmas. The road north was surprisingly quiet although we passed the scene of 4 or 5 accidents. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first three hours to </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Masindi was on good roads and then we had two and a half hours of “African Massage” on very rough unsurfaced roads with lots of </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">potholes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just before Masindi we stopped at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and were very lucky to get very close to the White Rhinos</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> because it had been raining and was still quite overcast, so they were feeding in the open. We travelled on to stop for lunch at a very </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">nice hotel in Masindi.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After lunch we entered Murchison Falls National Park and travelled up to the banks of the Nile. We stayed at the Nile Safari Lodge </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">west of Paraa which had very good accommodation and great food.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Each room/tent was on its own with a verandah overlooking the </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">River Nile with hippos in abundance.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Christmas Day we went for a game drive in the north side of the Nile. We crossed the Nile at Paraa on the ten-car ferry and were joined by a </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">park ranger who could guide us to the likely places to see the animals. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We saw lions, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, warthogs, Ugandan k</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">obs, hartebeest, and lots of amazing birds, and Morven used her fancy new camera to take lots of photos. </span></span><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtgBC9O7YaOvXuIUc9sZ34mQON8HZFxkrklKJ8ETnajkKleg7Z6iwZPasLxja04JNI7zAAIgeaWyyVN1IHmEUzvNSGzxa4mROPfzvoPgWhdeZUccemregY4mdI27EINauk_c8SHQ2OVWi/s1600-h/IMG_6726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtgBC9O7YaOvXuIUc9sZ34mQON8HZFxkrklKJ8ETnajkKleg7Z6iwZPasLxja04JNI7zAAIgeaWyyVN1IHmEUzvNSGzxa4mROPfzvoPgWhdeZUccemregY4mdI27EINauk_c8SHQ2OVWi/s320/IMG_6726.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the afternoon we had a drive to the top of the Murchison Falls a truly awesome sight as all the water of the 50 metre wide Victoria </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nile is forced through a 6 metre cleft to fall 43 metres. <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Unexpectedly we had a wet Christmas day but no snow! This created tricky </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">driving conditions and some vehicles could not cope with the muddy inclines.</span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the morning of Boxing Day we went on a boat trip up the Nile to the foot of Murchison Falls to view from another angle. There was lots </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">of wildlife to see – plenty of hippos, and crocodiles waiting at the foot of the falls for anything pounded unconscious on the trip through </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the falls.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the afternoon another game drive on the north side revealed enormous numbers of hartebeest and three hunting lions.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Sunday 27th we departed before sunrise to travel home. However we still had one more adventure – chimp tracking in the Budongo </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Forest. The trek can be as short as 2 or 3 hours but nobody told the chimps we were coming and they decided to have an “away </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">day” outside the forest where they normally stay. </span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However our guide, armed with his machete, led us out into the wilderness and </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">tracked down the chimps. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We returned to base four and a half hours later tired but very happy with our encounter.</span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The whole four days were really great and it was just nice to be together for Christmas. We had two more days in Kampala, exploring </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the local market, the craft village and central Kampala which is very busy and noisy. (We achieved another first during this period. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When stopped at the junction at Garden City we have always declined to buy from the many vendors who approach the car. However </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">when approached by one selling Scrabble Rhona could not resist. In her best bartering mode and aided by the changing traffic lights sh</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">e acquired Scrabble for 15,000 shillings)</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yesterday we spent the day in Entebbe before Hamish and Morven left on a late flight back to the UK via Amsterdam. Entebbe was </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">incredibly quiet. We went for lunch to one of the big resort hotels which was deserted, went swimming in another big hotel which was </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">also full of staff but no customers and then Bobby and I were the only guests in a small hotel (Sophie’s Motel) we found which is ideal </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(cheap, clean and friendly) for an overnight stay to avoid driving back to Kampala at night. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></span>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457790018975308320.post-855803769969461512009-12-21T22:43:00.001+03:002009-12-21T22:47:16.287+03:00Living well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwy9OADlMJPXRmeabxd0SxXKtgMbHcc5vP8-nmzUjwrUHhbISEavwyPjVcOktFD75AyHTm9Vggxxd9b37XjkVKYA4TlmKb-BdMgs9IEmP6BjhXttjQ_U9xaxEOFCJ2wxt2sDzfotlR7Jo/s1600-h/IMG_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwy9OADlMJPXRmeabxd0SxXKtgMbHcc5vP8-nmzUjwrUHhbISEavwyPjVcOktFD75AyHTm9Vggxxd9b37XjkVKYA4TlmKb-BdMgs9IEmP6BjhXttjQ_U9xaxEOFCJ2wxt2sDzfotlR7Jo/s320/IMG_0188.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">20th December</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This weekend we have been getting ready for Christmas and the arrival of Hamish and Morven, our son and his partner. We can’t wait to see them on Tuesday. So this blog is devoted to life chez Hogg Kampala style. There have been rumours that we are a) living in a mud hut and b) booked into the Serena International Hotel for the year and demands for proof of the true scenario are increasing. Also, we have a fair few visitors booked in over the next few months. While we have offered the true volunteer experience, including bucket showers, to them all, we expected most to come for a cup of tea and make endearing remarks about our quaint lifestyle, before scuttling back to the Serena for power showers, air conditioning and all the mod cons which they (but we no longer) take for granted. However, they are all made of stronger stuff than we thought and it may be reassuring for you who are booked in, to see your accommodation. It doesn’t feature on Trip Advisor yet. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have a bright and sunny living room, spacious bedroom, now with wardrobe and chest of drawers, a second bedroom for guests, and a kitchen and shower room.</span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are lucky to have nice accommodation and particularly to share the compound with a fellow- VSO volunteer, Bernard from Kenya, and the landlord who lives in a recently completed “big hoose” with his three children aged five, three and nearly two years, plus two maids, Florence and Maria. They are all lovely, and have made our experience truly African.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The maids speak very good English, and are very bright young women, they just have not had any education beyond primary level, and even that was very basic. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One maid is more senior, and is very committed to the children since their mother died two weeks after the youngest one was born. They do our housework and washing by hand and are great at coming in to put on our security lights when we are out in the evening etc. Florence works some afternoons as a tailor in the nearby market, and she us always stylishly dressed in her own handiwork.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gqJqnVeTUcbSp9Yn6rrHuwPNdEuV1w3555FDxCsBQ-n3lT-fbRtZYBcB6am769OLBGhPCSArL46xaffdYjmMH8wqNQHjBIjLw3ObnIa_oXT3vQXaGvXcAJwn9up3Fj6b84iOkfGxPoxy/s1600-h/IMG_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gqJqnVeTUcbSp9Yn6rrHuwPNdEuV1w3555FDxCsBQ-n3lT-fbRtZYBcB6am769OLBGhPCSArL46xaffdYjmMH8wqNQHjBIjLw3ObnIa_oXT3vQXaGvXcAJwn9up3Fj6b84iOkfGxPoxy/s320/IMG_0076.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> During our in –country training we were told not to give our underwear to the maids to wash, so here is Bobby washing his smalls of a Saturday morning. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The house is really nice and newly decorated and refurbished and we had to furnish it from scratch which was a hassle at the time but means everything is fresh and clean, and lovely to come home to at night.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have a nice compound with grass and low hedge and in the evening it is very relaxing sitting on the verandah in the late sun, watching the birds and enjoying a Nile Special. Most compounds are very closed and private, but although we have high walls and barbed wire it is fairly open to the track leading to the village which is very busy with people and cars. We still worry slightly about security, as most of out fellow VSO ers have a guard, but so far we have had no problems at all. We do have quite regular power cuts, which in the evenings means our security lights go off as well. Bobby is very good at playing his fiddle during these slightly uneasy times, somehow I can’t imagine people breaking in to the tune of “Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie” and that’s all that matters. It certainly stops me hearing imaginary footsteps on the gravel outside. His special power-cut party piece is a Shetland tune by the late Tom Anderson, “Da Slockit Light”, slockit meaning extinguished so very apt. We had a spell of water cuts, during which we stock-piled jerry cans, but we have not had any for some time. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our access road (track) leaves something to be desired - a surface - but its no obstacle to the 4WD. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Lbj24SAwQgLlc1KQAxc8zlwhL-ePjm43vIW8yrNRM46XVq-iaUaOV2et23uByudaaaDfkgb41Mc33E4xNrk7CAhu2GnHTFPWwoXNzrjR8S_cvU2OTX_7VXL2U9dXP7n-600-0Q8TCMKG/s1600-h/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Lbj24SAwQgLlc1KQAxc8zlwhL-ePjm43vIW8yrNRM46XVq-iaUaOV2et23uByudaaaDfkgb41Mc33E4xNrk7CAhu2GnHTFPWwoXNzrjR8S_cvU2OTX_7VXL2U9dXP7n-600-0Q8TCMKG/s320/IMG_0192.JPG" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The view down from our black gate.</span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The view up past our black gate with a village at the top of the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All the VSO volunteers we know in Kampala have good accommodation, some with hot water and fitted kitchens. Up country it is different and in other countries I know that houses are much more basic and in poor repair. We have two gas rings which are very efficient and because Ugandan meat is very tender I can cook goulash etc in a very short time without it being tough. VSO does not supply a fridge or electric kettle, and few households have them, although most volunteers buy them and then sell them on. Given the heat, it would be very difficult to manage without a fridge, although most Ugandans eat mainly beans and shop daily in the market. The local supermarkets only have “Blue Band” margarine which does not have to be kept refrigerated and no cheese or milk. When we entertain it is all on a simple scale, with no oven and limited utensils, and no “good china”. I’m sure I will love getting back to my fan oven and microwave and using my granny’s silver teapot for visitors, maybe they will make up for the sunshine I will certainly miss, especially next Christmas.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have also been very surprised at how few insects we have, there are very few mosquitoes and no cockroaches. We have occasional little lizards running up the walls but they count more as pets. </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We hope everyone has a good and peaceful Christmas. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1SZ3VsYSFpG1mYNbowZ6wNV8KYRqurfoJsxftziCiSSmVyrP7sdmzNvEiGNXscSyOIyTrrSSLcowl8BalLQCHMcbEawYIbaRR50GN1xKO4u6_0aau8g2DWFbIMzC4Sc6quzPMkwJJxLd/s1600-h/HouseStitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1SZ3VsYSFpG1mYNbowZ6wNV8KYRqurfoJsxftziCiSSmVyrP7sdmzNvEiGNXscSyOIyTrrSSLcowl8BalLQCHMcbEawYIbaRR50GN1xKO4u6_0aau8g2DWFbIMzC4Sc6quzPMkwJJxLd/s400/HouseStitch.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Bobby Hogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18003475553438269195noreply@blogger.com