Kansanga Medical Mission and Eilidh's arrival!

On 26^th July a team of 7 from Kiwoko Hospital met at the hospital gates at 5am to get a matatu to Kampala. Personally I had anticipated being able to sleep the 2-3hour journey down to the capital. I should have known better. A month of travelling in matatus should have taught me that sleep was inevitable. However, I had figured the lack of sleep would over-rule allowing me to sleep most of the way down. So we set off, jiggling and ‘shoogiling’ (This may not be a word.) about in a very small space with the window stuck open. Within about 10mins the whole team had fallen asleep. Apart from me. Classic Muzungu. Did I mention the radio was on full blast? So I couldn’t even hear the person beside me speaking never mind trying to sleep through it. He soon fell asleep anyway so there wasn’t much chat. A lot of “cold” air and 2 hours later we arrived in Kampala where it was just about light and everyone was already well into their morning’s work. The matatu dropped off non team members and then the driver took us directly to the centre we were based at for 3 days. Kansanga Miracle Centre run a month long conference in June and during the last week they hold a 3 day medical mission for people from the local slums to attend. I will now quote from Kansanga’s website as they have succinctly summed up what their purpose is and feel free to google them should you wish to know more.
“Kansanga Miracle Centre Church embraces all calibers of people seeking; love, salvation, deliverance, encouragement, healing, acceptance, comfort, refuge and answers to their questions and concerns. As a Ministry we believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, our LORD. He was crucified died and was buried; and rose again from the dead; and ascended into Heaven and He is seated on the right hand of God the Father; He will come again to judge the living and the dead; His Kingdom will have no end.
Our Spiritual Core Values

§         We are committed to discipleship and spiritual growth in the Word through the Gospel of Jesus Christ

§         We value all believers and ministers, serving God according to their giftedness.

§         We value the building and supporting of healthy family relationships.

§         We are committed to the truthfulness, trustworthiness and authority of the Bible.

§         We are committed to strong pastoral leadership and biblical Stewardship

§         A mature committed Christian generation built on faith principles

§         We are committed to prayer and Fasting

§         We are committed to reaching to others with the message of hope.

§         We are committed to dynamic praise and worship.

§         We are dedicated to the payment of Tithes.”

So basically, a large Pentecostal church that seats 8000 on a Sunday morning and has 5000 regularly attending members. And I thought Carrubbers was relatively big. Anyhow, the church has a member who used to work at Kiwoko who recommended having staff to assist for the medical mission. So this is how we ended up here at 7am on Wednesday morning. We got given scrubs and a pair of sunglasses as uniform. Why the glasses I have no idea! But I just accepted them and said thank you very much. Breakfast at 8am. More appropriately phrased as…a slice of bread and ginger tea. A brief orientation and introduction to some of those running the medical mission. A photograph of everyone and then allocation of roles amongst the nurses. They called me doctor. I tried to explain I wasn’t a doctor but they just said not to worry but that I was a doctor. (I think this is because the majority of Muzungu’s they’d had previously were all doctors.)
So I was in paediatric clinic assisting another doctor. He was really helpful and lovely to work with. The patients had been queuing since 6am as for many of them it is the only opportunity to be treated. Health care is not free in Uganda so a free health clinic attracts many people who may or may not be ill. Some just come to see what the fuss is all about! Majority of the children we seen has cough, fever, flu and itchy skin. We seen 65 children the first day from 9:30-3pm. A lot of them hadn’t seen a white person before. So being allowed to sit on my knee was a great excitement for some…and almost verging on torture for others! It was funny how differently they reacted. The only problem I had was the heat inside the tent, which was phenomenal. So I asked for some water about 12pm to see if that would help the situation. At 1:30pm someone arrived with a cardboard box of 24 litres. Not quite what I’d anticipated but I was very touched by the effort involved in trying to locate safe drinking water for the white person. I did share the water just in case you were wondering!
So we finished up about 3pm and then had some free time. Richard (team leader from Kiwoko) and I headed into the city to do some messages which I thought would take maybe an hour. And 3 hours later we returned!
There was an evening service every night of the conference (Working Faith International Gathering.) And for week 4 Jerome Barber was speaking. (Some apparently famous guy from the US who I’ve never heard of, but maybe some of you will know him as the team were very excited about meeting him.) I don’t really know where to begin. The service almost deserves a blog on its own. Loudest service I have ever been in. Loudest music I think I have ever heard. A lot of clapping, waving and dancing. Very difficult to make out the words due to the echo and the loudness. But they were familiar songs. So maybe one hour of singing. And then a one hour talk, throughout which the guy sang a song because it reminded him of his point. So we all stood to sing it with him and then continued to the next point. Wayne…I think you should try this some Sunday, just for a change. So that was a bit surreal. And I think by this time exhaustion was becoming more apparent which just increased the bizarreness of it all. Anyhow, after the service we had dinner. And then a team meeting followed by my record time for getting into bed. The second day was very similar although I left at 3pm to head back up to the hospital.
I then worked my last shift in maternity on Friday. Ended up having massive discussions with one of the staff who concluded I was disadvantaged in life because I was half-caste having one parent from NI and one from Scotland. I reassured her I wasn’t. She didn’t seem massively convinced. Here there are certain tribes that believe strongly in only marrying from their tribe and not to be adding “bad blood” into their tribe. Some tribes do not mind at all. There seems to be a lot of variation between tribes and the ‘strictness’ of what they can and cannot do.
In other news, Eilidh has arrived!!!! So that was an exciting moment. So it’s been great to show her round a bit and get caught up! Her bags have also come with her. For those of you who don’t know, I met Eilidh in first year at university. She is a physio student from Shetland who is studying at Queen Margaret Uni. We attend the same church in Edinburgh and have served together on Core Team (student ministry) for two years. We are also hoping to live together in September, if we pass the test of surviving two weeks in Uganda together! So it’s been brilliant to see her again and looking forward to the fun we’ll have over the next two weeks before I finish at Kiwoko Hospital.
That’s all for now. Well done if you’ve made it to the end of this marathon blog!
Sarah  

Under a Mango Tree

On Friday I had the opportunity to head into the nearby district for a community health care clinic. It was an obstetric clinic that started at 10am. So we naturally set off in the Landrover at 10:30! I went with two nurses Shambira and Scholastica to Wakayamba. We unloaded the various bits and pieces on to the side of the road and the vehicle drove away. They surveyed the scene and decided that under the mango tree was the most appropriate spot. Approximately 7 mothers attended in the next few hours to have their babies immunised and routine check ups. I had the role of tying the scales to large branch and then weighing the children from appropriately sized slings. More difficult than it looks. They must be balanced in the sling or they precariously fall forwards/backwards which is quite nerve wrecking. Then it began to rain and although the tree provided a little protection we moved to someone’s porch. Anyhow, the clinic finished up and we called to get picked up. The woman who lived next door provided us with groundnuts to snack on while we waited, for two hours!! I enjoyed the experience although quite different to working in the community in Edinburgh.

I’ve also got a busy week coming up. Starting on maternity tomorrow at 7am. I’ve also been asked to go on a medical mission trip to a deprived area of Kampala where the team will administer free healthcare to those who cannot afford the treatment. I’ll be heading down on Wednesday morning and coming back late Thursday evening. (The team lasts until Saturday but I would like to be around for Eilidh’s arrival in Africa! And also don’t want to miss all of my maternity week.) The team is being run by a church in Kampala. This is all the information I have right now so prayers for the details to fall into place would be appreciated. It seems to be organised in true Ugandan fashion. Hoping to learn a lot from the experience but also expecting to be challenged by the lack of resources. Please pray for safety and protection for the team throughout the few days we will be there. Pray also that we would have a deeper impact than just treating them physically and for opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to overcome any language barriers when doing so.

Sarah

7 Days of Fun

Hello,

So my social life has taken off in Africa leaving me behind in updating you all with what is happening. I’ll try to include most of the key events but there have also been many conversations on the wards which have enabled me to build up relationships with the people I’ve been working with. So that has been really encouraging. Along the way there has been much hilarity with translation problems and my inability to understand the strong accent. But it has been fun and I’m starting to understand a little more of the culture, so much more to go though!!

At Kiwoko there is a nursing and midwifery school which is 2 and ½ years to complete for a certificate. The students complete all their placements on the wards here and are frequently found to be doing more work than the actual nurses. Anyhow last week I had the opportunity to attend the nursing student’s Bible study. This is compulsory for first year students but second and third year students can opt out if they want to. I went with a second year girl who I’d gotten to know on the wards. It began at 7:30 so I met Claire at the nursing school gates at 7pm and she gave me a tour. We finished up in their dorms and there are 4 students sharing a small room which fits two bunkbeds and has a shelf. So for those of you who complained about Pollock (student halls in Edinburgh)…add another 3 people into your room and see if you have more or less issues! Anyhow, I got to meet her ‘roomies’ and see her family photo album which was really nice. And then at about 8:15 we decided it was maybe time to go to Bible study. It was really interesting and the discussion was on baptism. There were many different views and it was good to see how they reasoned over the passage and all came to the same conclusion. I was exhausted when it was over but was really glad I’d gone!

Female ward last week was really good. And the young mother was counselled along with her father and he agreed it was best for her to go home and be looked after with her parents. She will receive follow up appointments at her local clinic but is hoping to return to Kiwoko for the birth. So that was really encouraging to hear after all the staff had presumed the usual path would be taken.

The students in the morning shift with me were concerned I would be bored in the afternoon so all took their turn at asking me to come for snacks, table tennis or walks. So it was great to get to know a little better. We also hosted a leaving dinner for two of the girls leaving the guest house. All was going well until the electricity cut out. We continued the evening by the light of two candles. We had to boil water on the gas hob and then use one of the candles to see when pouring water. It was a lot more effort than planned but we still had good fun. Ugandans are brilliant story tellers and very good at acting out other members of staff when recalling them. And the atmospheric light just encouraged them all the more! There was also a very energetic, enthusiastic worship evening on Friday night.

We took a spontaneous trip at the weekend to Kampala and Entebbe. We did some touristy sight seeing in Kampala and visited the local markets and shopping centres. Then went down to Entebbe and found our Guest House for the evening. We managed to find a Thai restaurant for dinner! The following day we went to a swimming pool and it was very relaxing. There were some terrified American girls trying to persuade each other to jump off the top diving board which provided great entertainment! And then we thought we’d show them how to do it. After reaching the top of the ladder we did empathise significantly more with them. We decided not to debate it any further and quickly proceeded to leap off before we too had considered every possible option where something could go wrong. So we had a day of sunshine and swimming. We then had to travel back and finally reached Kiwoko late evening, many bodas and matatus later. Since we’ve returned I’ve had a student nurse round for the afternoon and we played some board games together. We’ve had a birthday dinner for one of the girls staying in the guest house. And we have a leaving dinner tonight. And we are hoping to go away for the day on Saturday. So it’s been busy and will continue to be busy!

This week I am in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). There are 20 premature babies and are all very cute. I have been working mainly with a set of triplets who were born at 26 weeks. They are growing slowly and are being well looked after. NICU is definitely the best equipped ward I have been on so far but there is still so much missing. The electricity goes off throughout the day and today there was a five minute gap before the generator kicked in. So that was stressful. I am enjoying the ward and syringe feeding the 1.5kg little triplet. They are all girls and called Deborah, Dorothy and Dorcas. The mother speaks a little English which helps and she is very grateful for the help she gets as feeding seems to be a constant chore. She also has a 2 year old girl. So I will be in NICU tomorrow again and then hoping to have a community day on Friday. Next week I am in maternity and have been told (not asked) but instructed that I would deliver a baby. No pressure.

So doing well and enjoying life here at Kiwoko. Eilidh arrives next week so she too will get to join the chaos!

Sarah

Life on the Equator

Wasuze otyano,

Just thought I’d share some practical aspects of living at Kiwoko. I’m feeling really settled this week now that I’ve had time to adjust to the wonderful weather and getting up at 6am every morning! I’m staying in a guest house with six rooms and there are currently five other girls staying here who are all medical students from England. We have lunch prepared for us and we make our own breakfast and dinner. But they cook so much for lunch there’s usually enough left over. The food is all Ugandan and really nice. Interesting and questionable meats in some dishes but they taste good! I’ve also thought of a few things that all you people in the UK should be grateful for… J

1. You don’t have to walk umpteen kilometres to your nearest well to pump your daily water.
2. You do not have to carry it back in jerry cans and filter it all before using it
3. You don’t have bats and rats crawling round your roofspaces
4. You do not have lizards permanently living on the walls
5. You do not have to leave a saucepan outside for milk to be delivered which you then have to pasteurise yourself!
6. You do not have half of Uganda’s insects on the floor of your living room.
7. Time is a well known concept that most people understand
8. You have transport that

a)      Works majority of the time

b)      Takes you where you actually want to go

c)      Is not an imminent death trap

d)      Leaves roughly when it says it will, not give or take an hour or two

And a few clinical aspects of life at Kiwoko. I have finished my first week on male ward which just seemed so different to any ward I’ve been on in Scotland. Towards the end of the week I began to see the method amongst the madness, to an extent. There seemed to be no logical approach to the order of the day which was different most days I was there. But I enjoyed it and the patients were friendly. I tried to pick up a little Luganda which amused them no end…I wasn’t great. This week I have started on female ward and thoroughly enjoyed my first day. I don’t know whether I’ve just settled more into the way of the ward here or whether this ward seems more organised. It’s hard to tell. But I had a really good morning and was hands on from the beginning. So I’m learning quickly that the phrases they tell me to repeat aren’t always what they let on….I found this out after saying something to a patient who just laughed. The staff and students still won’t tell me what it means! The sister of the ward has been here since the hospital was first set up which I think is 25 years this year (maybe next)!!

And just an example of a patient I met this morning. A teenage girl presented to the ward last night with vomiting and abdominal cramps. The staff were unable to get her story but she was adamant her father could not be allowed to see her. The on call doctor overnight managed to conclude that she was pregnant and had gone to someone to get an abortion. She was given the juice of a grass to drink and paid for this. This is what made her ill and had brought her in. So they kept her overnight. This morning on the doctors round it was decided that she’s definitely not as old as she’s saying she is. It transpired that the father of the baby is a shopkeeper and significantly older so she may be trying to appear older thinking it would make it less of an issue. It doesn’t as she’s still under 18 and considered to be a child. The question of consent has been raised and she got very upset so it’s unsure if that is because she was raped or because she is ashamed and embarrassed of her actions. She was taken for an ultrasound and the baby is healthy with a strong heartbeat at approximately 8 weeks. She didn’t seem in any way pleased that her attempt to abort the baby had failed. The plan is for a counsellor to meet with her and explain that it is in her best interests that her parents know sooner rather than later as the more time they have to adjust the better her chances of staying with her family are. So the girl, her father and the counsellor will meet this afternoon to discuss the situation. The father may be angry but accept the consequences, or he may take her for a second attempt at abortion or he could send his daughter away from the family clan. This will shame the whole family and has been known to happen but can cause disruption within the family clan and she could be taken in by an aunt. Unfortunately the staff on the ward think that the most likely option is that he will take her for an abortion. So just to keep her in your prayers that the outcome will be the best for her and her unborn child, and that the parents can show grace and love in this tough situation.

I also had the opportunity to go to a different church on Sunday. I travelled by boda which was quite exciting, might make that a regular when I return to the UK! The church itself has been established through an American run orphanage called New Hope, Uganda. It’s not very far away and there were maybe 300 people attending. The music was very similar to Carrubbers and we even sang some of the same songs! And then they increased the tempo and sang a few more in Luganda. Which was very difficult despite the words on the screen I was still half way through the second line and the slide would change. But as long as you had your arms waving they didn’t mind the mzungus not singing! The sermon was solid and really good! So that was encouraging to know that the truth is being proclaimed to all these orphans and surrounding villagers. The people were warm and welcoming. I’m hoping to return next week again.

That’s all for now!

Small Gestures

I’ve had a very busy and yet relaxing couple of days. Being on the wards is hectic and chaotic with a lot of confusion reigning. And then finishing mid-afternoon and having a few hours before dinner to just read, journal and chat with the girls.

I’ve also been noticing the difference a small gesture can make to hour or even to someone’s day. Usually the initiator doesn’t think much of it and continues with their day but for the receiver, it can spark a glimmer of hope that wasn’t previously there.

Mondays on the male ward are the day for cleaning. Not really in the British fashion. All the patients are asked to leave with their attendants and then buckets and jugs of bleached water seem to appear from everywhere. They get methodically poured on to the floor whilst two people brush and mop(A plastic, rubbery type thing that ‘skooshes’ the water along) the water from one end of the ward to the nearest door. They continue until every crack and crevice has been sufficiently exposed to the concoction. At the same time the staff have buckets/cloths and scrub the walls, beds and shelves. After 3 hours of very warm, relatively intensive cleaning the patients are summoned back in to deliver their washed sheets on to their literally squeaky-clean bed. Then they disappear back outside to sit in the shade along the wall or under a tree. The nurses then make up the beds in an efficient, meticulous fashion. Then a signal is given and the patients return to their beds waiting patiently for the doctors ward round to begin which can be immediately or up to an hour.

Anyhow, now that I’ve set the scene, back to small gestures. So the doctors round begins and I was ‘assisting’ which I think is better described as ‘awkwardly hovering trying to interpret their English and then searching the ward at rapid pace for whatever piece of equipment they would like brought to them sooner than anyone could ever bring it.’ Anywa, I found the torch, not the classic medical torch we would use… but a bright orange torch most people over the age of 40 feel the need to carry in their car boot in case of a break down. But I found it at the back of the cupboard and brought it to the doctor. After examination we were moving towards the next bed the patient says, “Thanks nurse, for the cleaning.”

I was so touched. I never thought the patients cared much for what we’d done in the morning. In my eyes the ward looked no cleaner despite the brown muddy water I’d seen flow out the doors previously that morning. And I personally would probably have seen it as an inconvenience being shifted from my bed when feeling unwell and banished outside at 7am. It was just really nice to know that it had been noticed and that to him, it had mattered.

So just an encouragement to me personally that someone may need a smile, or a hand to hold or some other small, seemingly insignificant gesture just to help them through the day. And when you don’t speak the language it’s worth remembering.

Sarah

Beginnings

I have arrived in Africa! And so has my bag! (2 days later but that’s okay!) After 24 hours of planes and airports and filling our baggage reclaim forms I made it to the hotel on my first evening! Then I was collected by the hospital driver and travelled the 3 hour journey to Kiwoko Hospital. Despite the length of the journey there were so many different sights, smells and sounds that I was preoccupied the whole way up! There was also the excitement of Kampala where it seems to be more like a large version of dodgems with chaotic traffic and pedestrians everywhere striving to get to their destination! Whether that means going left, right or straight over a roundabout! Sure it’s all the same anyway! My driver was more on the cautious side but I think we added significantly more time as others drove out in front or pushed their way in! The main road also had speed bumps every 50metres which encouraged speeding up to then slam on the brakes on a repetitive cycle for an hour or so! Anyhow, made it in one piece J

The guest house has five rooms and is currently full so I received a warm welcome from the other girls upon arrival. Lunch was served almost immediately and consisted of a pizza without the bread...so I personally would have named it...”Vegetables” but it was supposedly pizza. Never the less it tasted great! I was then given a tour round the compound/guest house and a lot of information was given to me which I have since had to ask about again! We have electricity for 7 hours a day on the generator and if the lines are working then it can sometimes be available at any point! We have an outside pit latrine which is also the home of at least 50% of the spiders in Uganda. We have two showers which are cold water but if you time it right then the tank can heat them a little so late afternoon is optimum time. I’ve personally only ever experienced the cold showers and I’m learning to be very efficient! We have the blessing of two guest house workers who cook, clean and do laundry. They are just lovely! And always ensure we have enough drinking water. (Boiled and filtered rain water.) If we would like milk we’ve to remember and leave a pot outside with a note asking for the number of cups we would like. The local dairy farm provide this and we then have to boil it to ensure its safe to drink. So practically there are so many blessings here and I am being very well looked after.

I had my first shift on Friday in the male ward. What a different world! The language barrier may prove difficult to overcome as when the patient speaks Luganda I understand nothing and when they speak English the accent is so strong I understand every other sentence! The word order is different too so it’s harder to guess what they’re saying! But miming is a wonderful thing! They definitely have a good sense of humour though. So the ward has 20 patients and on Friday there was just the sister and one other nurse working. So it was very busy! And every patient has an attendant who cooks for them, does personal hygiene and cleans their bed area. So there are lots of people milling about and I’m not sure who the patient it sometimes. Then after lunch most people head outside, patients and all! Ugandan life is primarily lived outside so despite being unwell, if they are able they will sit on the grass outside. This makes it difficult trying to locate someone! There is a severe shortage of equipment and sharing it is just part of life here. Patients also pay a reduced fee for their medications and treatments. However if they do not have this then the treatment is not given. Or they go away for a few days to try and get the money from family. Although home can be as far as 40 miles and walking this when not feeling well isn’t ideal! Anyhow, first day was a blur and so much was different I felt pretty lost but hopefully after this week coming I’ll find my feet a little more and feel of more use!

Went to the local church this morning and I walked in at 09:10 for the service at 09:20. There were so many people already there!! Then the awkward moment...I got paraded up to the front and was practically sitting with the choir! (All dressed in flowing, purple robes). And then after a few songs in Luganda (The tunes were familiar but I had no book and was just swaying beside the choir) the service ends...and apparently I’d caught the end of the earlier services which began at 7am!!! And after all that the minister person turned round (I was behind him with the choir!) and welcomed me and updated me that the English service would begin in 5 minutes but thanks for joining a little of this one...oops. Next week I am not going early.

So much more to say but I will save it for next time as I would like to go for a walk in the sunshine (A beautiful 30degrees) this afternoon so much get some lunch now.

Sarah