A day in the life…

Today we visited a new site today at Kimengo. Approximately 200 patients were seen and treated.

Uganda Margaret and Kate style

Day 3 of clinic (who knows how many days we lost in traveling here because it seemed like 100)

In the eyes of Kate:

We woke to the ever faithful roosters who begin their duty around 0430. We then attempt to sleep til just before 0615 when we roll out of bed to make it to morning singing and quiet time. The set-up team leaves early and we sit down to another incredible meal of no less than: coffee, tea, oatmeal, french toast and fresh bananas. The added bonus to the breakfast experience was thousands of bees who were very interested in sharing our honey and jelly. As far as I know, no one was stung. They were well-mannered bees. Because the clinic site was only 15minutes driving time from the amazing Hotel Masindi Hotel Sherief was able to give a lecture on cardiovascular related stuff. Jamie gave a lecture on lower back. The lectures were informative and interesting and well received by all. Thank you Sherief and Jamie! We then all packed into our lovely white herd of vans and ventured to the next clinic site. We are quite a site for the Ugandan population. Just picture 90 Americans (fondly referred to as muzungus) crammed into what reminds me of the old VW vans driving down African roads all in a line. We don’t exactly fit in. Upon arrival at clinic the familiar site of hundred of people in a line greeted us. But after two days experience we are a well oiled machine. We moved right into clinic and got to work. Things from my view seemed to be great….

In the eyes of Margaret:

So that noise I kept hearing this morning were roosters?!?! They sound exactly like my alarm back at home, but alas, no snooze. The morning was beautiful and cool for our pre-breakfast gathering. Kate, Babs, and Mackeenzie did a great job leading us. We were then fed a delicious breakfast of french toast and porridge in addition to the daily banana. II will say that the food here in Masindi has been amazing. I managed to avoid all of the buzzing honeybees….easy to do if you do not get honey. After the lectures, we piled into out vans to visit our new site at Kimengo. A line of new patients, both old and young, were lined up waiting on us. Everything was set to go, except for the strange disappearance of the OB-GYN bag……

Back to Kate:

My assignment to day was in the evangelism tent. Any patient wishing to talk to us about God or have us pray for them was welcome to come by after visiting the pharmacy. What a stretching experience! We told the gospel message to old and young. My favorite experience was sharing the story of the “Gospel Bracelets” to around 30 children. They started the experience by singing several songs led by a local pastor and then one of the children, a girl of around 12 years old, translated as I explained the different colored beads. I figured that most the kids were there because they just wanted a bracelet. At the end of the talk I asked if they had any questions and they immediately said, “What do you believe and why do you share this?” What an incredible opportunity to tell these children about who Jesus is in my life and why I came to Africa to talk to them. Kid of all shapes and cultures can ask the most incredible and insightful questions. After clinic it was back to our wonderful hotel for a little down time and then Italian night! Can I just say again how much I enjoy this amazing hotel? Wade gave his testimony and Dana taught us about Plumpy Nut which is a food supplement designed for malnourished children between the ages of 1 and 5. There is a great need here for such nourishment and apparently making the Plumpy Nut was quite an experience. You will have to ask about it when we get back… Thank you God for another incredible day…

Back to Margaret:

The day started off great! I had two medical students working with me in clinic and a very good translator. My team saw many children and mothers with a variety of medical complaints. The patients were always very grateful and happy to see us. Despite what we would consider poor living conditions, the people of Uganda seem so rich in spirit. We also have an ultrasound machine on this trip, and with intensive training back at home, we have really been able to make use of it. We have been able to reassure pregnant women that their baby is doing well and look at hearts to help diagnose different medical conditions. Wonderful learning opportunities and cases. The Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists have done an amazing job creating ways to help those with difficulty walking or low back pain from a day in the fields. The nurses here also did an amazing job, they really are what keeps the clinic running and allow patients to be seen (except that they keep giving me the OB-GYN patients…hmmm…..)

After we finished we piled into the old VW vans again and enjoyed some easy listening as we drove past one of the most beautiful landscapes. We then settled in for yummy Italian food and talks from fellow team members. I cannot say enough about Uganda – the hotel is amazing, the food delicious, the land rich, and the people so hospitable!

Today we visited a new site today at Kimengo. Approximately 200 patients were seen and treated.

Uganda Margaret and Kate style

Day 3 of clinic (who knows how many days we lost in traveling here because it seemed like 100)

In the eyes of Kate:

We woke to the ever faithful roosters who begin their duty around 0430. We then attempt to sleep til just before 0615 when we roll out of bed to make it to morning singing and quiet time. The set-up team leaves early and we sit down to another incredible meal of no less than: coffee, tea, oatmeal, french toast and fresh bananas. The added bonus to the breakfast experience was thousands of bees who were very interested in sharing our honey and jelly. As far as I know, no one was stung. They were well-mannered bees. Because the clinic site was only 15minutes driving time from the amazing Hotel Masindi Hotel Sherief was able to give a lecture on cardiovascular related stuff. Jamie gave a lecture on lower back. The lectures were informative and interesting and well received by all. Thank you Sherief and Jamie! We then all packed into our lovely white herd of vans and ventured to the next clinic site. We are quite a site for the Ugandan population. Just picture 90 Americans (fondly referred to as muzungus) crammed into what reminds me of the old VW vans driving down African roads all in a line. We don’t exactly fit in. Upon arrival at clinic the familiar site of hundred of people in a line greeted us. But after two days experience we are a well oiled machine. We moved right into clinic and got to work. Things from my view seemed to be great….

In the eyes of Margaret:

So that noise I kept hearing this morning were roosters?!?! They sound exactly like my alarm back at home, but alas, no snooze. The morning was beautiful and cool for our pre-breakfast gathering. Kate, Babs, and Mackeenzie did a great job leading us. We were then fed a delicious breakfast of french toast and porridge in addition to the daily banana. II will say that the food here in Masindi has been amazing. I managed to avoid all of the buzzing honeybees….easy to do if you do not get honey. After the lectures, we piled into out vans to visit our new site at Kimengo. A line of new patients, both old and young, were lined up waiting on us. Everything was set to go, except for the strange disappearance of the OB-GYN bag……

Back to Kate:

My assignment to day was in the evangelism tent. Any patient wishing to talk to us about God or have us pray for them was welcome to come by after visiting the pharmacy. What a stretching experience! We told the gospel message to old and young. My favorite experience was sharing the story of the “Gospel Bracelets” to around 30 children. They started the experience by singing several songs led by a local pastor and then one of the children, a girl of around 12 years old, translated as I explained the different colored beads. I figured that most the kids were there because they just wanted a bracelet. At the end of the talk I asked if they had any questions and they immediately said, “What do you believe and why do you share this?” What an incredible opportunity to tell these children about who Jesus is in my life and why I came to Africa to talk to them. Kid of all shapes and cultures can ask the most incredible and insightful questions. After clinic it was back to our wonderful hotel for a little down time and then Italian night! Can I just say again how much I enjoy this amazing hotel? Wade gave his testimony and Dana taught us about Plumpy Nut which is a food supplement designed for malnourished children between the ages of 1 and 5. There is a great need here for such nourishment and apparently making the Plumpy Nut was quite an experience. You will have to ask about it when we get back… Thank you God for another incredible day…

Back to Margaret:

The day started off great! I had two medical students working with me in clinic and a very good translator. My team saw many children and mothers with a variety of medical complaints. The patients were always very grateful and happy to see us. Despite what we would consider poor living conditions, the people of Uganda seem so rich in spirit. We also have an ultrasound machine on this trip, and with intensive training back at home, we have really been able to make use of it. We have been able to reassure pregnant women that their baby is doing well and look at hearts to help diagnose different medical conditions. Wonderful learning opportunities and cases. The Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists have done an amazing job creating ways to help those with difficulty walking or low back pain from a day in the fields. The nurses here also did an amazing job, they really are what keeps the clinic running and allow patients to be seen (except that they keep giving me the OB-GYN patients…hmmm…..)

After we finished we piled into the old VW vans again and enjoyed some easy listening as we drove past one of the most beautiful landscapes. We then settled in for yummy Italian food and talks from fellow team members. I cannot say enough about Uganda – the hotel is amazing, the food delicious, the land rich, and the people so hospitable!