Back on the Nile Special

After being back for a few weeks, I was finally able to make it back down to the Special for some big water play. It was great to get back on the wave and have some relaxing island dwelling with some friends. After a full day of work, I cruised down to Steve’s island and floated downstream for a sunset session on the Special. The next day consisted of chilling in the hammock, fishing for our 6 kg Nile Perch lunch, kayaking, and coming back to Jinja to organize for Timmy’s Biathlon Island Bender on Saturday. The biathlon bender was a great hit. It started with a day 2 trip down to Steve’s island; we had 2 rafts, plenty of kayakers, and any other type of watercraft found at the Jinja market (i.e. inflatable dolphin or whale). We had some good laughs on the river, then arrived at Steve’s island for a few rounds of croquet, swimming, and plenty of laughs and boos. As we watched the sunset, we all packed up for a quick float down to the Hairy Lemon for round two of the bender. I put on my dancing shoes and had a good time. Now I am back to work. It was good to get away for a long weekend of distraction. Hopefully more time will come soon.

7000 Mosquito Nets

This was another typical week of family planning and malaria education sessions, and all the other random things that come up when managing a rural health clinic. However, after all these net sales, the shed was starting to look a bit empty. Although I was not involved much in the logistics of getting the nets from India, we have been on call for the last few days. After getting shipped to Mombasa, we were not sure whether it would be a road trip to the Kenyan border or to Kampala to pick up the 140 heavy bundles of nets. It was an entertaining day to say the least. We packed up the Crusier and another Delica and started heading to Kampala after being told the nets would be ready on Thursday. However, we got another call saying they were not ready yet but needed to get out of the Kampala warehouse as soon as possible. Instead of making the long drive, we sat around on call, until the woman finally called at 4:00 PM saying they were ready and must be picked up now. She did not seem to understand we were coming from Jinja and it would be a few hours before we arrived, even though we told her multiple times. Anyway, we finally arrived and loaded as many bundles as we could into the Cruiser and Delica (each bundle holds 50 nets). As the sun was setting off in the distance, we realized we had to hire a truck for the remaining 5000 nets. Off we went on our drive home to Kyabirwa. As we caught up with Moses, our Delica driver, and did not see the truck anywhere in sight, I started dreading the possibilities of losing those other 5000 nets. It made me realize that we did put complete strangers on a truck with about $32,000 worth of mosquito nets.

Francis jumped on the gas and passed Moses, in search of this missing truck. Annie and I sat there, crammed in the front seat with our eyes on the lookout. We caught up to a truck with white bundles in the back; it was a sign of relief until we realized it was the wrong truck. When driving in the dark, big, white bags of rice look very similar to bags of nets. By the 5th truck we reached, we finally saw our bundles of nets still packed in the very same truck; we were relieved.

It was a good 15-hour day. Fortunately, some strong local men did not mind the extra work by the time we got the clinic at 9:30 PM. The shed is now packed to the brim and it is hard to even close the door. Although it was an expensive day of fuel, drivers, and village helpers, I was very relieved to have the 7000 nets back in our possession. We will see how long until we run out again.

Obama! Obama! Obama!

I normally avoid discussing politics with everyone, especially on an online blog. However, I decided to go for it anyway, so here it is.

It has been interesting to watch the United States elections from the other side of the world. With the 11-hour time difference between Uganda and the west coast, I sat around Tuesday night watching CNN. I finally had to go to sleep to distract myself as much as I could, receiving occasional text messages with an update on the election. Ohio, Florida, Virginia….I jumped out of bed and ran to the nearest TV. I found myself surrounded by Ugandans, and one by one, everyone worked his or her way into the room with an anxious look on his or her face. It was an international crowd of Obama supporters sitting together at 7:00 AM in the tiny village of Kyabirwa, Uganda; we had representatives from Uganda, Australia, England, Ireland, Canada, and only a few of us from the USA. We were relieved, excited, and exhausted as we listened to Obama’s victory speech in Chicago. It was an emotional morning here in Uganda; maybe there is hope in this world. On my walk to the clinic, countless Ugandan friends were as excited as I was. “Obama! Obama! Obama!” they chanted. I sat in the car on the drive to our net sale with my ears glued to the BBC radio. Some years down the road, I wonder when we will ask each other, “Where were you when Obama got elected?” Seeing it from Uganda has given me a different perspective. Obama’s picture has been on the cover of every local newspaper for the last few days. I have seen Ugandans wearing Obama shirts, or even trying to buy a shirt off of a mzungu. His name was even written on the back of a matatu. The world is watching, and now, the world is celebrating. People danced around the streets of Jinja on Wednesday night to celebrate the elections from a continent away.

Unfortunately, Obama has a mess to clean up: the financial crisis, two wars, the Bush Administration. It will not be an easy road to travel, especially living up to these high expectations. However, in his speech in Chicago, I believe he reminded us of the reality: this is not something he can do alone. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Although I believe American politics and citizens struggle to follow this concept, it is a good sign that we, as Americans, could stand up and take the first step: vote for change. Yes we can!

Back in Uganda

Hello again from Uganda. It is funny how some things never change; sometimes it feels like I never left. On the drive to Bujagali on Wednesday, one year after my last arrival, I was somewhat surprised how many old friends I saw. Maybe not surprised at seeing everyone again, but somewhat flattered they all remembered me. It makes me feel somewhat wanted and missed, something I never thought would happen. When looking back on the last 6 months in the US, I did not feel settled there at all. This is where I actually had a “home” and a bed that I slept in most nights. I chose to live in the back of a truck for my time in the US; it made it possible for me to finish with school in Washington, work as a multi-day river guide in southern Oregon, road trips to Idaho and California, and then paraglide back in Washington. However, as my time was coming to an end, I became tired of being on the road all the time. I was tired of meeting new people and saying goodbye. I was tired of not knowing where I was going next. I was tired of being alone.

Countless people have said, “Morgan, you are lost” since I returned. In Ugandan terms, this just means you have not seen someone for a while. But maybe I have really been lost. I was totally overwhelmed when returning this spring. I had work plans for the summer, but then life was totally open ended. I had ideas, but nothing set in stone. When this job came up, I decided to go for it. However, I admit that I was second-guessing my decision; it is always tricky going back to the same place and not having expectations. Fortunately, I am aware that this time is a totally new trip: I have a new job with more responsibilities and more stress. It is exciting and scary at the same time. I have been going over everything with Annie and I am glad I will be able to work with her until she leaves in mid-December. I have a lot to learn and I know I will still mistakes, but working with Annie will make this process a bit smoother.

Deep down, I know this was the right decision; I am passionate about public health and traveling. I enjoy living simply, which is much easier to do here than being surrounded by the consumerism of the United States. I am totally guilty of it as well. People have nothing, and they are still happy here; it reminds me about what truly matters.

Aside from training, we have had some more amusing days as well. The day after arriving, I went back to Kampala with one of our patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She was going back for another round of chemotherapy, but it turns out the oncologist only works Monday to Wednesday; we turned around and came home. Then of course, we were supposed to have a net sale today, but we drove there and the mobilizer decided to cancel the session due to the rain. So I guess there has been a lot of driving without much accomplishment. I am not giving up yet though; we are still getting things done, just slowly, slowly. It is a bit refreshing to be back on Uganda time.