All I Can Say is "Wow"

All I can say is wow! I was so encouraged and uplifted by all the work done today, both at the clinic and in the classroom. Nadine and I (Mariel) had a training session with the Village Health Team, including one new member, Godwin from Kampala Village. We used the new training manual I developed this summer during my internship with H2O Life, and they really responded well to the new format (Including the large, laminated pictures they can use to show the villagers). We talked about hygiene and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and methods for community mobilization, among other things. Another big highlight was giving 4 VHTs their new bicycles, which they used to communicate to the villagers about our community health sessions today and tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we had nearly 100 village members gathered outside the clinic for a health education session led by the VHTs! They used their new manuals to teach all about hygiene and sanitation, dental care, diarrhea, and malaria. Nadine, Susan, and I acted out a skit comparing a smart mother who bought a mosquito net for her family and a stubborn mother who refused to buy a net, but got her whole family sick. The people loved the illustration (complete with Nadine and a few ladies dancing and singing under their net), and at the end we announced a special gift-we gave everyone who attended the training FREE insecticide-treated mosquito nets, soap, toothbrushes, and deworming pills!! They all promised to take very good care of their new nets, and one man gave an enthusiastic thank you speech. He said he has 8 children and could not afford a mosquito net for all of them, so he was so thankful for Hope 2 One Life's work in bringing nets to the community. I am so blessed to witness and participate in the incredible work God is doing through all of the members of H2O Life/Family Empowerment-Uganda!

-Mariel