Our visiting pastors Sam and Jenny
are now safely back in the UK, but we had a wonderful time with them, despite
the aforementioned plague (or similar) suffered by all but Sarah and Jono. Whilst they were still with us, we managed a
brief trip to Lake Nabugabo (which was really when Sam and Jenny started
feeling unwell). What started as a nice
relaxing day was followed by a night of vomiting for Jenny, which then lead to
a morning of torrential rain. No
problem, right? We just drive home! No.
No, in fact the road was totally flooded in one direction, and in the
other direction, a deep pit had been dug across the road (for drainage). However, this is just the sort of thing that
gladdens the hearts of young men, as our intrepid three set out to build a
fantastic (and very manly) bridge, so that we could drive to safety. Cue pause of awe, whilst we admire their power
and tenacity.....
As well
as visiting the Baby Unit, Sam and Jenny were able to visit the Nutrition Unit
at Kitovu Hospital, giving out some sweet knitted hats that had been kindly
donated. The Nutrition Unit is actually currently
struggling since an important source of their funding stopped in June (when the
“contract” ran out). Obviously the Unit
can’t simply stop looking after patients, and yet these patients can’t
meaningfully contribute to the cost of their stay, as by definition the
children on the Nutrition Unit are some of the most vulnerable in Uganda. Many of them come from families of
subsistence farmers, who are increasingly going hungry as crop fail due to the
unpredictability of rainfall. Poverty
and lack of food is compounded by the issue of families being forced to
separate in order to seek work elsewhere, families lacking knowledge on the
best methods of feeding children, not to mention the devastating impact of HIV
on the health of children in Uganda.
Kitovu Hospital not only help these children
when they are acutely unwell, but also offering excellent training for the
carers (mothers, fathers, grandparents, whoever) on the best way of feeding
their children. The Unit cares for
around 300 children each year, and really helps to save many children from the
brink of death. All children are tested
for HIV, so that appropriate care can be arranged if indicated.
Sarah well remembers little Morris, whose parents
had separated some years before. His dad
had gone to the capital to try and earn some money for the family, leaving
Morris in the care of his step-mother.
This woman not only neglected this sweet little toddler, but also
physically abused him, as evidenced by a poorly healed old fracture of his arm
(which apparently he had never received treatment for). The little fellow was extremely sick on
arrival, freezing cold (32 degrees), his swollen malnourished body covered in
deep abscesses. It took 3 days before he
even regained the strength to brush away some of the flies that swarmed around
his wounds. Yet, within 3 weeks, he was
back on his feet, and found his smile again, due to the work of the Nutrition
Unit. Kitovu was able to involve child
protection services in order to ensure a safe plan existed for this little
lad’s future care.
If the Nutrition Unit is forced to close, it
will be to the serious detriment of the poorest of the poor around the Masaka
region, and little children like Morris will suffer. So please, if you feel you can, get in touch,
and we’ll tell you how you can help.
As we prepare to head back to the
UK for the summer, it seems a timely moment to contract a parasitic
infection. Usually we would leave this
up to Tim, ever thewilling volunteer, but this time Sarah stepped up and took
one for the team. Jiggers are these
horrible little beasties (fleas in fact) that crawl into your feet head first,
and create eggs, whilst simultaneously breathing and defecating out of a tiny
hole in your skin. The eggs then enter
the dust and infect more people. So
gross. Anyway, luckily our next door
neighbour Tom is a seasoned Jigger remover, and was on hand to scratch away at
Sarah’s foot with a hypodermic needle, and release this disgusting bloated
creature from its cozy burrow. Turns out
that after labour, this really doesn’t seem like such a big deal after all!
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Wassssup Ma Jigger?! |
