Friday, January 28, 2011

Maternal Child Health - Family Empowerment - Canaan Farm

HI all,

The Hinshaws and Leigh arrived the farm to another amazing welcome with singing and dancing by the ladies and children as they pulled in...all to the beat of homemade drums and instruments! Oh how I miss the beautiful sound!

After a long morning walk at beautiful sunrise and tour of the farm the
following day, Dr. Hinshaw..."dove in" and taught maternal child health to the 40 women in the women's empowerment group! He taught until 6:30pm to a very attentive and engaged crowd! Ashley held the flip charts as it was very windy. Suzan and Leigh pitched in with additions, interpretations etc. They told me it went fantastic!

I am in Bugogge village/Kayunga assessing the bio sand water filter project that needed some re-vamping and further training to ensure the success of delivering clean water to the elderly and HIV/AIDS families most in need. 31 have been implemented by the technicians we have trained, Geoffrey and new technician Collins. They have done a superb job and I am once again a proud "Mamma"! Tex and crew came down as our expert consultants and found a few areas of need for those getting water from muddy superficial dug wells nearby. We are making sure they filter the mud first now before pouring in the filter. So these 4 had to be cleaned and back flushed in order to use again. They guys stayed out until dark both nights working! All so far have tested well. No E.coli! The families are happy and report no illnesses over the past 3 months these have been installed. More testing needs to be done. 9 more to make 39 will be installed to complete the filters previoulsy made and placed in the homes last year.

Today, I was to get up at 5 am to begin the ride back to Kampala, more errands than make my way to the farm. However, Geoffrey set my alarm and it must have gone off at 11pm or so..just an hour after I went to bed...so up I was. In the shower, packed..out to the desk to pay our hotel stay...to find out it was only midnight! Go figure! No wonder I felt a little groggy after 1 hour of sleep! Needless to say I did not sleep well the whole rest of night wondering when I was really supposed to get up!

Leigh and crew on the farm will get the jewelry craft projects started today and then will begin the village healthcare worker training for the 7 ladies we taught last year...which of course, will include the expertise of Dr. Hinshaw - OB/Gyn. Our family of Sr. Mary Rose from Wipolo/Kalongo will be joining them on the farm as well. For further training and Baby Rose with sickle cell had been hospitalized recently for sickle cell crisis and has not bounced back quite as she should so I want to take a good look at her too! Can't wait to meet baby Abigail Suzan and Richard's baby! Ashley will have fun with the kids today..so all should be in full swing when I arrive the farm! I am so excited to be back home in Uganda!

I will visit the congolese refugee family from last year...remember my stories of their family? There is new developments..so stay tuned!

I thank God for each and every moment, the small great team and the days to come.

Nadine

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Uganda Mission 2011 - Trip # Seven

Hi all,

This is trip number 7 for me...and once again not without it's share of struggles getting out of town! With Grandma Dot(resting in peace now) passing away 2 days before I was to leave and Kitty Noah getting sick, it added a lot more to do! However, all is well, and many people helped me out to be able to leave town. Thank You! Thanks to my dad, Bill, who came a day early and who always comes to hold the fort down while I am gone! And it took staying up all night before leaving to be fully prepared...I feel fine and slept on the plane ..yeah! We were blessed getting through the Billings airport with the tubs of supplies and medical equipment..which was a little touchy initially even though we had it all pre-authorized..or so I thought!

I am blessed to travel with Dr. Jim Hinshaw OB/GYN and his daughter Ashley! They have been fantastic and troopers with this whole packing process, carrying tubs over,etc. We are eager to reach Uganda and it will be fun for me to see their reactions and experience through their first time eyes...in Uganda! It will surely bring back memories of my first trip in 2003! Leigh Taggart arrived a few days before us and she, along with Richard Angoma and Kenny's brother Prichard will meet us at the airport. We are in Amsterdam now..and thankfully I remembered with some struggle how to get into the blog again this year! The previous posts are from last year and year before. Leigh and the Hinshaws will head to the Family Empowerment Farm first off, after we all get situated in Kampala. I will head to Kayunga first to assess the bio-sand water village project in Bugogge village with the trainers and consultant we hired. Then will meet up with them on the farm. After 4 or 5 days on farm will head to Kalongo and Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital. Will do my best to keep you all posted. However, you know how it is..just when I think I have connection...then we don't Ha! Thanks for the prayers!

Nadine