ECHOES Around the World

Update from Romans

2009-01-31T15:13:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,

I know its been quite a while since the last post, but I thought it would be good to update the blog with some new information. I just spoke to Romans and it sounds like everything is great in Uganda. He had some very interesting things to say about Obama from an African perspective. First, and I thought this was very funny, he said that Obama stands for "Original Black African Managing Americans." He also said that Obama is getting great news coverage over there, although many people think he is going to show up in a helicopter and start handing out money. There have also been claims from Ugandans that Obama's father, supposedly Kenyan, was actually born on the Ugandan side of the border before the colonial boundaries were set. Regardless, everyone seems to be excited at the possibilities Obama may bring to Africa and the world in general.

The projects:

Double Cure is extremely busy. Until recently there were mattresses lining the halls of the maternity ward because of an overflow of inpatients, but new beds have just been purchased.

It is maize season and thus the maize mill has begun operations again, although the motor of one of the machines exploded when struck by lightening recently.

Both schools, Trinity and Centenary, open for the new term this coming Tuesday. Work at Centenary has begun on new girls' dormitories.

Romans says the ambulance is very busy and is almost overworked. There have been a number of accidents recently, and people have begun to call Double Cure to request its services. Word about the ambulance seems to have spread. There is an effort now to get government support for the ambulance, specifically to help with fuel costs, as it is effectively operating what should be a government service.

Thats all for now. Thanks

Best,

Jeff

Last few days

2008-07-08T12:59:00.002-04:00

today is my final day here.
the last two days have been spent painting at Trinity. Carolyn, Claire, Katie and I have done murals of the water cycle, hello in many languages, a skeleton, and a flower on the outside walls of the second level classrooms at Trinity.
Yesterday we went to get supplies for the ambulance but the main medical supply store in town was still closed for stock-taking. The money for the ambulance was left with Betty, a nurse at Double Cure, who will return there and purchase whatever she feels is most important.
look for continued posts from others, including Carolyn, Cynthia, and others at Trinity and in Uganda. Thanks for reading

-Jeff

Mpigi Pics

2008-07-04T07:19:00.002-04:00

Here is the ambulance in the village of Rwanga. About 100 people, mostly students, showed up to watch a film about HIV/AIDS and the first Ugandan man to open up about the disease. We also advertised the services that Double Cure offers.

Betty, one of the nurses, setting an IV for one of the small children at Double Cure with Malaria.

The whole medical staff of Double Cure just before we left Mpigi this morning.

Dr. Faisl and Betty at the microscope donated by Lankenau. Both Dr. Faisl and Dr. Michael were so grateful and kept telling me how incredible it was. Dr. Faisl said it is the best microscope in all of Uganda.

Happy 4th of July, the three girls and I are going to the Speke Hotel for a nice American meal to celebrate the holiday.

Mpigi

2008-07-03T14:29:00.003-04:00

Been at Mpigi working at Double Cure since monday. Internet is almost non-existent here, sorry for the delay since last post. Carolyn, Katie, Claire and I have been working every day, painting the outside of the main building and building a volleyball court. For the first time last night we loaded up the ambulance with lots of equipment and people and drove about 30 minutes to a small village nearby called Nkonkoma (sp?), where we made a health education presentation. First we drove through the village and announced that we would be showing a free movie over the loudspeaker of the ambulance. By about 7:00 PM, just as it was getting dark, a few hundred people had showed up and we played a movie about Philly B. Lutaaya, a Ugandan man who was the first to publicly admit to being HIV+. After, Romans and Betty (a nurse at Double Cure) made a presentation about the services that Double Cure offers and about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. We did the same thing again tonight in another village nearby called Rwanga. Both were unbelievable experiences. Its great to see the amazing work being done here. Today there was an overload of patients including one who was severly bitten by a dog and a few small children with malaria. The microscope donated by Lankenau and Dr. Bonn is already being used and is a huge upgrade from what was here before. Both doctors were thrilled when they saw it. Pictures of all this tomorrow night once we are back in Kampala.

2008-06-29T12:49:00.005-04:00

Today is Sunday so no real work today. We drove early toward Masaka for Romans to visit a church. He brought them a new keyboard and gave a sermon at their service.

To thank him for coming and for the keyboard, the church gave him a gift of a chicken, which really made for an interesting 2 hour drive home.

After church, we drove to Centenary High School. Since I was here last year there has been much accomplished. The land behind the boy's dorm was purchased and new toilets were added. They are quite an improvement over what was there before. The boys dorm now has a roof, is painted, and is housing all the male boarders. It really looks incredible.

Oxygen for the Ambulance

2008-06-28T13:02:00.005-04:00

Today the first part of equipping the ambulance was accomplished. In the morning Sam, Lydia, Cynthia, and I drove in the ambulance to the gas supply company to look into buying oxygen. We purchased a small tank, 1.36m^3 of oxygen, and a very nice medical quality regulator and flow meter. It was fairly expensive but will be very important when the ambulance begins to transfer patients, especially those with severe trauma.

Returning to Trinity we found a large group of students learning and practicing a new dance. Although we had all seen these dances performed before, it was interesting to see the process by which the students learned a new dance.

Just a side note: It is about 8:15 PM as I write this from school (on Saturday) and many classes are still in session.

Photos

2008-06-27T09:37:00.004-04:00

The arrival procession. Imagine the siren of the ambulance blaring added to hundreds of students screaming. It was quite a welcome.

Carolyn, Katie, and Claire are working on a series of murals depicting where Trinity stands in the world.

Hello from Uganda

2008-06-27T05:08:00.002-04:00

After two days travelling I am finally here, and its great to be back. I was picked up by Romans, Sarah, Lydia, Faith, and Frank Tom, and in the ambulance no less. Quite a ride into Kampala, I noted a few odd glances at the mzungu (me, white man) in an ambulance. As we approached Trinity, Romans turned on the siren, and hundreds of students lined the streets screaming and waving to greet us. I quickly met Carolyn Fox and her two friends, Claire and Katie, who were all hard at work painting murals on the outside walls of Trinity. We then had the usual welcome assembly with songs, jokes, prayers, dances, and introductions. Everyone here really knows how to make one feel at home. Pictures to follow. Thanks for reading.

Jeff

Hi From Jeff Kaiser

2008-06-17T17:51:00.015-04:00

Hello All,

As some of you may know I first traveled to Uganda last July. While there I decided that I would somehow provide an ambulance for Double Cure Medical Centre. At that point I had no idea how I would go about raising the $15,000 that Romans and I discovered was necessary to purchase such a vehicle, but I told him I would do it.

Over the course of the year, my senior year in high school, I was able to raise the money with the help of my family, friends, and my community. My high school, the Haverford School, in conjunction with our sister school, the Agnes Irwin School, raised money throughout the year, culminating in a Talent Show which raised the final $6,000 for the ambulance. The project would not have been possible without the help of this partnership.

Just last month the money was wired to Uganda and the ambulance was purchased.

Next week I will be returning to Uganda. One of the main goals of this trip is to purchase some necessary supplies for the ambulance and set it into operation at Double Cure. Please check back at the end of next week for my first post from Uganda. Thanks for reading!

- Jeff

Welcome!

2008-06-17T17:15:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the new ECHOES Around the World Blog!

Watch for changes to the blog, especially the introduction of a photo slideshow.

As friends of ECHOES continue to travel to Uganda, look for Travelogue updates live from Uganda.

Thanks for reading!