In July 2009, I am returning to the Kibale National Park region of Uganda for the second summer in a row. This time I will be working in a medical clinic and doing a disease prevention program through basic health and hygiene education in the schools. I will be there from July 9th to August 9th. Please learn about my project and interact with me by visiting this blog.
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-Katya's story -Newspaper article from The Metrowest Daily News -Article from The Boston College Chronicle -Newspaper article from The Weston Town Crier -My Grant Proposal -Katya's Health Education Project Report (5 Part) -Picture slideshow from my Summer 2008 Uganda trip -Video picture slideshow with traditional Ugandan music
On August 9th, I traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to another continent, to another world.Nearly 20 hours after leaving the United States, I landed on African soil in Uganda.My plan was to carry out a disease prevention educational program for the group of schools in western Uganda that the Kasiisi Project supports and that I had visited the previous summer.The basis of the program was intended to be disease prevention through basic health and hygiene education, which was to include hand washing and basic first aid.In order to maximize the success of this project, I planned to work with a local clinic, which is involved in health education outreach as well as first stage medical care.The second part of my project was going to involve spending time working in the clinic, observing health care in a developing country, developing my nursing skills, and expanding my medical knowledge.
In the weeks leading up to the trip, I spent many hours searching the internet for material to use for the disease prevention educational program.I found an endless amount of websites on germs, hand washing, and first aid.I compiled the most important information into a report and found activities that correlated to each subject.This included coloring sheets for the younger children and word searches and word scrambles for the older kids.I found songs addressing hand washing, which I used to write my own.Sung to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, the words to the song I wrote are: Wash, wash, wash your hands; Wash them everyday; Scrub, scrub, scrub them well; Wash those germs away.Once everything was together, I started creating posters and making copies of the activity and information sheets.
During this time, I was also collecting basic first aid and medical supplies.With the help of family and friends, I put together 75 small first aid kits that consisted of adhesive bandages, gauze for cleaning wounds, alcohol wipes, and non-latex gloves.In addition to these, I also created five large first aid kits, one for each headmaster or headmistress at the five primary schools supported by the Kasiisi Project.These first aid kits included all of the same supplies as the small ones, but in much larger quantities.They also had gauze rolls and pads for covering wounds, medical tape, scissors, ace bandages, and antibacterial cream.People also donated hand sanitizer and bars of soap, which were to be donated to each school.Many of the donations I received were from the community, who became aware of my project after an article was printed in the local newspaper.All together, the supplies filled three large duffle bags and weighed close to 175 pounds.
After weeks of preparation, I had finally arrived in Uganda.I had gone to Uganda for a reason.I had gone to make a difference in the lives of the Ugandans and in my own life.I had gone with expectations.I had gone expecting to find a clinic bustling with patients.I had gone expecting my help would be needed.Instead, I found a small three-roomed clinic.I found a clinic with only around ten patients per day.I found a level 2 clinic, the lowest level healthcare center.I found a clinic that does not admit patients, a clinic with no lab services, a clinic where babies are not delivered.I found a clinic underused and underfunded, lacking in resources.
Things change.Expectations change.I learned that in my first week there.I had gone to develop nursing skills.Instead, I developed a clear understanding of what a health care system looks like in a developing country.I saw what it means to have to walk to get medical treatment.I witnessed diagnoses being made strictly based on symptoms.I watched and I learned more than I could have ever learned by staying within the United States.
I had gone to provide heath education to five primary schools, to over 5000 schoolchildren.Instead, I found that with the language barrier and with the supplies I had, I could only educate one school, one school where over 100 students are packed into each classroom.I taught 1199 children about germs and the importance of washing one’s hands for disease prevention.
I had gone to donate supplies to be used for first aid and hand washing.I had gone with the intent to provide each teacher with a mini first aid kit and each headmaster or headmistress with a large first aid kit and many bars of soap.Instead, I found that schools have no water sources and teachers do not know how to treat even a basic cut.I handed the soap over to the headmistresses and headmasters of all five schools with information on how to create a hand washing facility.I learned that it would be best for the headmasters/mistresses to keep all the first aid supplies in their offices so that teachers do not use them for their own personal need.I realized that hand washing and first aid supplies can only be used if people know how to use them.
I had gone to teach teachers and administrators about first aid.Instead, I realized not everything could be done in a month and that sometimes it is best to pass along responsibilities to someone else.I gave the first aid supplies to each school with the agreement that Lucy, a Ugandan nurse, would come show them how to use them.I handed this part of the project over to Lucy, who will carry it out as part of her outreach.I also left her with the task of carrying out my health education program in the four schools I was unable to educate.
My time at the clinic was spent mainly talking with the nurses and observing health care.Because the clinic was the lowest level medical center, all diagnoses were made mainly based on symptom evaluation.There were times I would spend hours at the clinic and not a single patient would come by.When a patient did, I would go into the examination room with the nurse and patient.The nurse would translate the discussion for me, as most of the locals do not speak English.Once I got to take a woman's blood pressure.It was extremely high and she was diagnosed with hypertension. Another time I got to listen to the lungs of a child diagnosed with pneumonia.This for me was an eye-opening experience.Being a person who has had pneumonia on numerous occasions, I was shocked at how the diagnosis was made.Each time I have been diagnosed with pneumonia, I have received a chest x-ray, but without this resource, the nurse made the diagnosis strictly by listening to breathing sounds.I wondered how accurate this diagnosis was and whether the nurse could really distinguish between breathing sounds to know which ones were associated with pneumonia or whether the diagnosis was completely unsubstantiated.
Here in the United States, and especially on the East coast, we are so fast paced.Ugandans are the complete opposite.Everything is done on their own time and at a very slow pace.I wasn't able to get into the schools until my third week there, and because each school has over 1000 students, I realized that I was only going to be able to educate students in one school.Lucy, one of two nurses who work at the clinic, helped me with this portion of my project.She came with me as a translator and collaborator to educate the younger children, who had not learned English yet.I was on my own the second day because Lucy was on duty at the clinic, and while the older schoolchildren have learned English, it was difficult because English is not their first language.I walked away that second day uncertain about whether or not I had really gotten through to the children.
On one of my last days in Uganda, I returned to the school and visited the P1 (our equivalent to kindergarten) classroom.Upon entering, the teacher spoke one word in the native language, Ruturo, and in unison the entire class brought their arms up to their mouths and coughed into the crook of their elbows.It almost brought me to tears.Before my arrival, the children had been coughing into their hands, which is an easy way to spread germs.Realizing that the children had in fact been listening and taken in the information really made me feel as though my entire project had been worth it.
When not at the clinic or doing health education, I spent time working with two McGillUniversity students, Lulu and Cristina, who were doing an internship under the Kibale Health & Conservation Project.They were working to create a health outreach program for the surrounding communities.Because the clinic did not see many patients each day, I had a lot of time to fill.I filled these gaps by helping create the outreach program.During the time I spent with them, the material I helped create addressed water sanitation and family planning.I was able to attend one presentation on water sanitation.This was a wonderful experience for me.Lulu, Cristina, the two nurses, and I walked to a village 45 minutes away.About 15 people showed up for the presentation.While I could not understand what was being said as the presentation was done in Ruturo, I could tell that the villagers were fully engaged and interested.A lively discussion followed in which the villagers mapped out the different sanitary water sources in the area.
The McGill students returned to Canada at the end of the first two weeks, leaving me to focus more on my health education project.In my third week, I created folders for each school and a folder for Lucy.In the school folders were the packets on how to create a proper hand washing facility, sets of posters to be hung around the school promoting hand washing and stopping the spread of germs, and first aid information on how to treat wounds and how to use the first aid supplies properly.Lucy’s folder contained everything the schools’ folders did, but it also had everything I used for my presentations and some extra information.That same week, I went and delivered the supplies and folders to the schools.I also met with Lucy at the clinic to discuss her outreach.I brought over a suitcase filled with supplies and the folder, which were intended to aid Lucy in carrying out her outreach and the rest of the health education project.
Because of how slow paced everything was and because there wasn't always much going on at the clinic, I added a third part to my project.This part consisted of visiting different levels of medical centers.The clinic I was in was a level 2 medical clinic, the lowest possible care center.I traveled to a nearby village, where I was shown around a level 3 medical clinic.The main difference between the two was the presence of a laboratory and maternity ward in the level 3 center.I also visited a hospital and nursing school in the town of Fort Portal.Having the opportunity to visit these different medical centers allowed for me to see what the full range of medical care looks like in a developing country.
I walked away from the clinic, from the schools, from Africa, knowing I had accomplished everything I could accomplish in the time I had.One of the things I learned while in Uganda was the importance of reducing dependency.A Vanderbilt student helped me see this.She is a huge believer in this.It had always been easy for me to provide support and resources to those who need it, but I never thought about what would happen if I weren’t there.While my work in Uganda and the supplies I brought over are going to help the people in the Kibale National Forest in the short term, the question is what is going to happen when the schoolchildren forget, when the supplies runs out.What I had failed to realize before is that the project I created was not a sustainable one.By leaving the health education portion of the project for Lucy to continue, I have made it so that the schoolchildren do not have to depend on an outsider to learn about germs and hand washing.Now, instead, a native Ugandan will continue to have a job and the schoolchildren can continue to learn about the importance of preventing the spread of disease and the proper methods of doing so.I also left Uganda with another project idea, one that will provide a source of income for the girls and one that will provide soap for the locals.Alice, the Vanderbilt student, and I thought up the idea of starting a soap making club for the girls.Once again, while outside help is important, it is even more important for the locals to learn to take care of themselves.The idea would be for the students to at first make soap to be used at their schools and at their homes, and then eventually they would learn to sell their soap as a way of supporting themselves and their families.As Alice says, it is important to create independence and equip a community with skills that are transferable and sustainable.
Four weeks in Uganda taught me more than I could have ever learned here.The whole experience was a growth experience.While my time in Uganda was meant to be a nursing experience, it became much more than that, and while I did get some health care experience, the life experience was much greater and will have more of an impact on my life in the long run. There were times I wasn't thrilled about being on my own in Africa, especially when I got sick, but I learned so much about the health care system, about the people, and about myself.This summer I stepped outside of my comfort zone, and in doing so, learned things about myself that I never knew.This experience has helped me to grow as a person.
In terms of health care, I learned many little things this summer that I can take with me into the nursing world.For one, being able to witness and observe a health care system in a developing country has given me a better understanding of the importance of the medical and scientific advancements we have here in the United States.My own bout of illness taught me that ginger tea settles an upset stomach and giardia is a parasitic disease that one acquires from accidentally swallowing Giardia picked up from surfaces or by ingesting contaminated food or water.I learned the importance of taking one’s medication first hand.Ten days on metronidazole, or Flagyl, an antibiotic effective against anaerobic bacteria and certain parasites, and I was feeling good as new.I learned the importance of natural medicine in the Ugandan culture.I was told that one of the reasons that so few patients came to the clinic was that many families still believe in using natural medicine.I learned what happens when the proper tests aren’t given and the wrong diagnosis is made.In a country where malaria rates are high, it is often assumed that any person complaining of chills and a fever has malaria.Tests are rarely done, even if they are available.In recent months, typhoid rates have risen and worse cases of the disease have been recorded.This is because people are often given an anti-malarial medication to take, when they in fact have typhoid.With the knowledge I have now, I am sure that I will be a better, more informed nurse.I have a broader understanding of medicine than I had before.I have a much better understanding of the importance of health education than I had before and certainly a better understanding of medical care in a developing country.
I was going to write a blog reflecting on my project and my experiences, but because I have to do a write-up for my project as part of my Advanced Study Grant, I think I will wait and post that.
For now, here are some pictures (not the ones I originally said I was going to post).
I am going to keep this brief as it is 4:45 in the morning my body time and my bed is calling to me. I have made it home safely. A reflection blog post with pictures will be coming soon.
Today was my last day at the clinic.Now, I am officially done with my project for the summer.I met with Lucy today, something I needed to do before I leave.The Weston teachers and students donated their extra first aid supplies, sanitary napkins, hand sanitizer, soap, and medicine, which I brought over to the clinic.Some of the supplies will stay at the clinic and some will be distributed amongst the schools.I also brought Lucy all my project supplies that I have left: documents, posters with information, folders, coloring sheets, word searches, word scrambles, scissors, tape, crayons, and blank poster board.I hope that Lucy can use all the supplies to carry out a successful health education program in the schools on her outreach days.I also left her with first aid sheets and activities for the teachers and administrators.We both thought it would be good for her to do basic first aid training with them, so that they know how to use the supplies that I supplied each school with.After we went through all the supplies, Lucy and I went through the folder I put together for her that contains a bunch of important documents.We also discussed what Lucy needs to do next.I had talked to Alice, who is working with the peer education project here, about whether or not she thought it would be good for Denis, the male nurse, to discuss sex and respecting woman with the boys, since Lucy and the peer educators will be working with the girls.I also ran this by Lucy, who thought it was a great idea.
Just as we were ending our meeting, a little girl arrived.She had little skin bumps (almost like warts) all over her feet and ankles.I asked Lucy if she thought they were gejjers, which are a type of insect that lay their eggs under a person’s skin.Apparently two of them were.They had already been removed, but improperly, so they had gotten infected.Lucy sent me to get a safety pin from the supplies the teachers donated and I disinfected it with an alcohol wipe.The poor girl, who was only three years old, was so terrified she was shaking and then when she saw the safety pin she started screaming bloody murder.I tried comforting her, but it was hard because of the language barrier.Lucy stuck the tip of the safety pin into the two bumps and pus was released.The girl’s father had to hold her down.I was so sad for her because she was so upset, but then she saw the needle for the other bumps, which was a bacterial skin infection, and her reaction was even worse.Her dad really had to hold her down.All I could think was that if that had been me I would have been screaming just as loud.The needles here are remarkably long and appear to be quite thick.She was given the injection on her back side, right above her right butt cheek.I wouldn’t be surprised if the needle went through to the bone.Lucy said that she has to come for five days for injections and take an oral antibiotic for five days as well and the skin injection will clear up.As sad as it was, I thought it was a good experience to end with.
Tomorrow, we are going on a small hike around a bunch of crater lakes and on a tour of a vanilla plantation.We end the day with dinner at Ndali Lodge, a wonderful lodge that overlooks the lakes.Sunday, we leave for Entebbe at about 9.The plan is to spend the afternoon at the Lake Victoria Hotel, where we will also eat an early dinner.We head to the airport at around 6:30 and our flight leaves at 10:20.I will be home Monday morning.We are set to land at Logan at 10:20 AM.As sad as I am to be leaving, I am really looking forward to finally being home.
I have plans to make my health education project a more sustainable project.Lucy will be carrying out the health education in the schools, and although I plan on collecting supplies over the next year to ship here, my ultimate goal is to hand the project over to the locals.Alice helped me come up with the idea of a soap making club.The idea would be that the school children make soap with local products.They could try to sell the soap to locals or they could use it.Either way, it would be something the children could really benefit from.When I get back to the States, I need to look into different soap making methods.I hope that the materials are accessible and relatively cheap (if not free).
Please feel free to contact me via email with any questions about my project or future plans in regards to Uganda.I would be happy to discuss it.
I cannot believe that in less than a week I will be back in the States. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited. I actually can't wait. This does not mean my time here has not been good, but with being sick (I am still suffering some problems), I am looking forward to being home. I have officially gotten everything I wanted to get done done. I have visited three different levels of medical centers. Yesterday was the trip to the hospital. It was incredible to see what a hospital looks like in a third world country, since I had expected more at the clinics. The hospital, however, was what I expected. I will post pictures of two different medical clinics and the hospital when I am back in the states. I will also post the information I typed up on each.
Right now, looking at everything I accomplished, I feel as though I got the most out of the health education and donating of supplies to the schools. This is mainly because I felt the children benefited extremely from it. Beatrice, a P1 (kindergarten) teacher, said her students have been practicing the coughing into the sleeve rather than the mouth. Another teacher told me that she and her students learned something new. They didn't know before that you should rub your hands together with soap for 20 seconds. She said that before my lesson she would just wipe her hands on the bar of soap and then rinse it off. I had a wonderful moment the other day when I went to the schools with the first aid supplies and soap. The headmaster at Kikko ran and came back with a locked box that read first aid. He said, "This has been empty for years and now it will be filled." It really touched me.
Before I leave, I have a meeting with Lucy the nurse. I am leaving her with my materials and health education project so that she can carry it out in the other schools. We have also arranged for her to go to all five schools and show the teachers and administrators how to use the first aid supplies I provided.
Once again, thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.
Hi All. So this week was quite busy, but also started off slowly. I got sick on Monday and was still not feeling well Tuesday. We decided I have jardia and I have started on medication, which seems to be working other than some minor symptoms from time to time and the side effects of the medication. Wednesday was a welcoming ceremony that lasted a full day. It was quite exciting. My plan for Thursday was to begin dividing up the medical supplies and soap for each school and create a folder with important paper work for each school. I was then going to deliver one set in the afternoon to one of the schools which is in walking distance. However, I ended up being even more productive and was able to put together all packages for each school and get to four out of the five schools, where I met with the headmaster/mistress and handed over the supplies. It was such a great feeling to have gotten so much done. Yesterday, I visited another clinic. The Kiko clinic is one level up from from the clinic I work at. They do bloodwork, admit people, and have a maternity ward. I then went into Fort Portal. Because I have been sick, half a day wipes me out and I had to take the afternoon to just relax. Monday I go to the Fort Portal hospital and nursing school.
I feel as though I have accomplished everything I planned to accomplish and even some extra. My plan for next week, besides the trip into Fort Portal, will be to spend some time in clinic and just reflect on my trip. I have begun to reflect on what I have seen and what I have done. I might begin my write-up.
Thank you to Boston College and to everyone at home for helping to make my trip a success.
Sorry if anything I just posted has already been said. I decided I would post my old entries even though I had summarized them.
So my mom left yesterday and arrives in Entebbe tonight. She will be at the field station on Tuesday. The weather last night and this morning has been yucky. Rainy, and cloudy. Which here also means no electricity. Fortunately, there is an internet cafe in Fort Portal with a generator. The internet is quite fast since no one else is on.
I am going to have lunch at Mountains of the Moon with Barbara. I am very excited.
As you know, Monday and Tuesday I am doing health education at the Kasiisi School. Wednesday, there is a full day welcoming ceremony for the American visitors. This is meant for the Weston teachers and students, but I must also attend. I will most likely be in the clinic on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I was there yesterday for two hours and no one came. Lucy said that she only had one patient yesterday, a young girl who had fallen out of a tree and couldn't move her neck. Lucy referred her to the hospital for x-rays. She said she suspected a spinal cord injury.
My final two weeks I will spend creating folders with important paper work for all the schools, distributing medical supplies, working at the clinic, and taking a tour of the nursing school and hospital in Fort Portal. Lucy said she would take me to see the school and hospital. I am very excited for this.
Thats all in terms of what I have been up to and what I have planned.
I am going to attempt and post a few pictures.
The first is of the hotel I stayed in the first night. My living conditions now aren't as fancy. The second is a landscape picture - a tea plantation. The third is a baboon. The fourth is a picture of colobus monkeys, playing in the sand, right outside the kitchen. The fifth is of the clinic.
I am going to post them in a separate post. It doesn't seem to be working for this one.
Wow.I cannot believe it is already July 24.I have been here for a while now.Today was my first health education day at the KasiisiSchool.I worked with P1, P2, and P3, which in the United States is kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.Lucy came with me.I did the introduction in ruturo, the language spoken in this region.Muli Muta (how are you/hello – greeting) and then I introduced myself in ruturo, but I don’t remember how.While I read the book on germs in English, Lucy translated.Then, Lucy did the rest of the presentation I designed because that was easier than me saying it in English and her translating.She was so great with the kids, very engaging.I did three demonstrations, washing hands with soap, ash, and handsanitizer.Then, the kids got to color, either a coloring sheet of germs or of a handwasher, which they loved.
During the coloring activity, I went around and gave each kid a drop of handsanitizer.It was great when the P3 students started singing their version of the ABCs while rubbing the handsanitizer all over their hands.Lucy and I taught them that while washing your hands with soap or ash you should rub your hands together for at least 20 seconds.We suggested they sing the ABCs while rubbing because the song lasts about 20 seconds.While this does not apply to handsanitizer, since it dries so quickly, the kids were obviously listening.It really made me feel like they got something out of it.
Hopefully Monday and Tuesday go just as well.Lucy will be working at the clinic so I am on my own.
So after writing yesterday’s blog entry, I got sick again.Fortunately, I was able to sleep through the night.Although I am feeling much better in terms of stomach stuff, I do not have my full energy back.One short walk leaves me exhausted.I needed to take it easy today.This afternoon I went to the clinic for two hours to work on posters for the health education project.Tomorrow, I will go in the morning and hopefully spend most of the day.Wednesday is Lucy’s day at the clinic, so I should learn a lot, as long as patients actually show up.
After leaving the clinic, I went back to my room, where I finally sorted through all the things I brought for the clinic and for the schools.I put together a pack of one of everything to show Elizabeth so that she can see what I brought and so she can help me figure out the best way to distribute everything to the schools.The pack includes the laminated handwashing posters, the first aid kits (for teachers and for headmasters/mistresses), books on germs (there are only two, so we have to pick which schools to leave them at – probably Kasiisi and Kanuyara, the two schools I will be doing my health education at), soap, and handsanitizer.Elizabeth and I also need to sit down and figure out when I am going to get into the schools.This morning we discussed doing a trial run with the girl guides (our equivalent of girl scouts) at the KasiisiSchool.We will figure out the details later.
On my way to the chimp house, where Elizabeth lives and where my food is served, I had a bit of a delay.Just as I was heading down the road, over twenty baboons sat down in the middle of the road.I waited for over 10 minutes and they still didn’t budge.Then, a local man came along and said that it was safe for me to walk, that the baboons wouldn’t bother me.I wasn’t so sure about that after having heard multiple stories about the males charging at people.So instead of walking on, I inched my way forward.Some of the baboons began to move in the direction I was headed, which was better than the direction I was coming from.Had that been the case, we would have had a problem.Other baboons walked off into the woods, so I continued on forward.At one point, I looked to my right and there were a bunch, including a massive male, sitting right on the side of the road.I clapped my hands loudly (as I have been instructed) and picked up my pace.Unfortunately, by picking up my pace, I gained on the other baboons.I scooted around them and started to run.I finally made it and the local man had been right.The baboons did not bother me.
It is almost four now and I am going to take the rest of the afternoon to lay low.If I don’t, I will probably get sick again.Hopefully, by tomorrow, I will be back to my old self.
My mom arrives at the field station a week from today!I can’t wait to see her!
I think I jinxed myself.Just yesterday I was thinking about how I had made it through the week without getting sick.I thought it was a good sign.Apparently not.I woke at 4 this morning with some of the worst stomach pains I’ve ever had.For about 5 hours, I was pretty sick.It wasn’t pleasant.Unfortunately, this morning was the visit to all five schools with Lucy the nurse.I was suppose to go along, but was unable to.Which, coincidently, I missed last summer because I was stuck in bed sick.I am feeling better already and should be ready tomorrow to get back to work.
Hi all. So I typed out blog posts for the last few days, but I didnt put them on my flash drive. So I will summarize briefly. My taxi is coming soon, assuming he did understand me. He didnt seem to speak much English. I got sick :( so I missed the school visits Monday (Lucy, the nurse, visited all five schools to introduce herself). I was sick Monday and layed low yesterday, doing some organizational things I needed to get done.
Today, I scheduled my health education teaching for the Kasiisi students. I am doing it Friday, Monday, and Tuesday morning (I will be back at the field station to welcome my mom and the other teachers). It seems I will only be able to do the health education at the Kasiisi School, but that is close to 1000 students so it will still be making a difference.
Hi everyone. So I just posted a lot. My apologies. You have a lot to read. Feel free to skim through it or not read it at all. I have finally made it into Fort Portal and into an internet cafe. I have not really had access to email or the internet at all till now, but still feel free to contact me because I will do my best to come into town once a week.
Last night I went to the Kasiisi School, after a long day of health education planning. They put on a little ceremony for a fourth grader from Weston who is visiting and is a big contributor to the Kasiisi Project. There was song, dance, and poetry reciting. There was also a wonderful meal.
As I am taking weekends off for the most part (I may go to the clinic tomorrow and I will be sorting through first aid kits and paper work later), I went to Kasiisi this morning and helped work on the library they are creating. Tomorrow, I will take the day to catch up on much needed sleep. I hope all is well in the States. Thanks for following my blog.
It has been a few days. The last few days were similar to those I have already described. Instead of describing what I have been doing, I am going to describe what I have seen, observed.
My work in the clinic has not been what I had expected. I was expecting a place with people constantly coming and going. I had expected to see all kinds of different people with all kinds of different ailments. This has definitely not been the case. The clinic gets about 10 patients each day. I think its location may be part of the reason for this. The clinic serves about five villages. People have to walk quite a distance to get there, which when a person is sick can be very difficult. Two or three of the patients who come each day come every day either for medication, an injection, or to get their dressings changed. It has also surprised me how diagnoses are made. The nurse typically listens to the person or the parent describe the symptoms, makes a diagnosis strictly based on that, and prescribes medication. In some cases, the nurse will listen to the patient’s lungs or take their blood pressure, but not often. Lucy diagnosed a little baby with pneumonia the other day after hearing a wheeze that is associated with pneumonia. She let me listen, and while I heard the wheeze, I wondered how one can distinguish between a wheeze caused by a cold, an asthmatic wheeze, and a pneumonia wheeze. I guess if you do this often and if you don’t have access to an x-ray machine, you learn quickly how to diagnose strictly based on the sounds from the lungs.
I have, however, had the opportunity to see a skin infection that is only really seen in Africa. This one girl comes daily to get her dressings changed and to get an injection (in her butt). At first glance, it looks like nothing is wrong with her finger, but spreading her fingers apart, exposes a cavern on the inside of her index finger where skin should be. Yesterday, it was bleeding a bit, which means new blood vessels forming and is a sign that the healing process has begun.
Last night, I went to a presentation on water sanitation in a nearby village (40 minute walk) put on by the clinic nurses and McGill students. While I could not understand what was being said (they were speaking Ruturo), it was interesting to the see the interactions that were taking place. One very old man with a cane was riding by on his bicycle and decided to stop in. He was very opinionated and got the whole crowd (about 10 adults, 6 children) going. He kept going to leave, then would think of something else to say, and would turn around and come back. The presentation went on longer than expected partly because everyone showed up an hour late, so by the time it was over the sun was beginning to set. I didn’t really like having to walk back to the field station without a flash light, but at least I had company. The last stretch I did on my own in the pitch black. That wasn’t very much fun. Every sound seemed to be amplified. I did make it, however, and had a wonderful dinner, including banana bread. Everyone else was done eating, but the food was still out.
My mom arrives in Uganda in 11 days!!! This afternoon I am going over to the Kasiisi School. It will be a nice break after spending most of the day creating visuals and working on simplifying the information for my presentation. I better get back to work.
I just realized I think I have been writing June in my journal. Seems I am a month behind. Today I had a nice long phone call with my mother, which despite it going in and out of service on my end (I could hear my mother clearly the whole time, but she could not hear me at some points) went well. She informed me of my spelling error in a previous post where I have accidently wrote about the taxi drivers driving erotically, rather than erratically. I would apologize, but from what I hear, I have kept all my readers entertained. I will warn you right now though that there will be future spelling errors. I may overall by a good student, but spelling is not what got me to this point. Actually, I am surprised I have made it this far with the spelling capabilities I have. Thank goodness for spell check. I told my mom how to log into my account, so that she can fix that major spelling mistake. It wasn’t until after that I realized that probably was not the best idea because knowing my mom, she may go through each point, correcting other spelling and grammatical errors. That’s what English teachers do, right?
Today was day 2 in the clinic. After only two hours of sleep (the neighbors had music going all night and I was quite cold), I was not thrilled to be waking up, but I did. I snuck up to shower in the heated showers. I didn’t think I could handle another ice cold shower, especially after freezing the entire night. I then met with the McGill girls and Elizabeth Ross, before heading over to the clinic. I had planned on shadowing Denis, the male nurse, today, as today was his day there, but he actually had to leave to do some budget work, so I ended up working with Lucy instead. Although my first impression yesterday was that she is quiet and quite reserved, I was happily surprised to find that she is a wonderful teacher.
Our first patient of the day (while I was there) was a four-year-old girl. She was absolutely precious, wearing a pink and blue “plad” osh-kosh dress. She arrived a few minutes before her mother, so I colored with her outside on the front steps. Then when her mother arrived, we went into the consultation room. I asked Lucy to ask the mother if it was ok if I was there, but I guess she had already told the mother all about me. In the consultation room, the mother described her daughter’s symptoms in Ruturo, so unfortunately I was unable to understand. I started to worry that I wouldn’t get much out of the shadowing because I had no idea what was going on, but this is when Lucy surprised me. She repeated in English everything the mother had said and then she told me the treatment. She also showed me how they fill out the patient booklet. I continued to draw with the girl, while she waited for her medicine.
Once mother and daughter left, Lucy and I stepped back outside to join the McGill girls. We were soon joined by five children who spoke neither English nor Ruturo. They were speaking Swahili and were from Congo. We gave them crayons to color with, but when the little baby girl, who was probably about a year and half, started eating the crayons we politely collected the crayons and put them back in their box. Later one of the children (maybe about 5) returned and after a moment where he appeared deep in thought, he said in English, “Give us colors.” When we said they were gone, he walked away only to return a short minute later holding his little baby sister. He reached up to hand her to us. We could only guess that he was trying to trade his sister for the crayons.
Finally, another patient arrived, a fifty-six year old woman, suffering from severe headaches and dizziness. She was also fine with having me in the room. Once again, Lucy translated to me what the woman’s symptoms were and what she believed the diagnosis to be. She believed it was probably hypertension. Sure enough, the woman’s blood pressure was 160 over 90. Lucy even let me take the woman’s blood pressure after she was done. Later Lucy told me that high blood pressure is common in older people and had the woman been in her 70s, a blood pressure of 160 over 90 would have been normal.
At around 1, I left the clinic and headed to lunch. I spent the afternoon going through materials and working on my project. Tomorrow, my plan is to sleep in a bit since running on two hours of sleep doesn’t seem to be working very well and then work on stuff here in the morning. In the afternoon, I will head over to the clinic and observe Lucy with her patients. I presume that Thursday and Friday will also consist of half day clinic, half day preparations. Hopefully on Saturday, I will be able to go to the Kasiisi School in the morning to help work on the library they are building shelves for and then head into Fort Portal in the afternoon. Fort Portal is where I will have access to the internet. I am not sure when I will begin my health education in the schools because Elizabeth has yet to meet with Lydia, the headmistress of the Kasiisi School, and with Lucy. I guess once they meet and figure out what works I can figure out where to go from there.
I am exhausted after a long day, sans a nap. (I had originally planned to nap, but got caught up at the house where I eat lunch when the sky opened up and it began to absolutely pour.) Goodnight.
This morning I woke up bright and early and had a freezing cold shower. I did the hokey pokey – “Put your right arm in. Put right arm out. Put your right arm in and shake it all about…” I did that until it came time to wash my hair and I was forced to “put my whole body, put my whole out, put my whole body in and shake it all about.” I then walked down the road to the chimp house, a house where the chimp researchers are based, where I had breakfast.
Today was my first day (or part of a day) in the clinic. I met up with Lulu and Cristina, the McGill students, this morning after breakfast. Despite not being health majors, they both seem fully prepared to create a successful health outreach program. I was happy to be working with them. Upon arriving at the clinic, I met both nurses: Denis, the male, and Lucy, the female. I was also given a tour of the clinic, which did not take long at all, as the clinic only consists of three small rooms. One is for consultation. The second contains two beds. The third has a desk in the middle, a closet filled with medication, and a little room with a window where the medicine is distributed from. The clinic is a level two clinic, which from what I understand means that it does not do lab work, and therefore cannot make proper diagnoses, and does not deliver babies, although both nurses are trained to do so. Diagnoses are based on symptoms and are more of a guess and treat. For example, patients suffering from a fever and the sweats are typically diagnosed with malaria and given anti-malarials. Recently, as there has been a breakout of typhoid, patients have been misdiagnosed and treated for malaria, rather than for typhoid.
All five of us sat around discussing the outreach program, logistical details, as well as the material to be taught. I mostly listened, and gave input when it felt appropriate. Tomorrow, I am going to return with the girls, but Denis is letting me shadow him. Not many patients come by, maybe ten per day, but I will be able to observe Denis as he treats those villagers that come for services. Today, while I was there, a man came with a swollen foot. Cristina and Lulu said that he has been coming for a month to get shots and treatment for what is believed to be a spider bite. Two mothers also came by with their babies, although I am not sure who was the patient, mother or child.
Still jet lagged and exhausted from lack of sleep, I came back to my room in the afternoon, where I napped and did some reading in preparation for tomorrow. I also enjoyed a nice cup of Ugandan tea.
It looks as though I might be spending the next week or so in the clinic, either shadowing one of the nurses or discussing the health outreach program with Lulu and Cristina. I may also tag along with them when they go into the villages to give presentations. They have been doing presentations on subjects such as water contamination and family planning.
I will be meeting with Elizabeth Ross and some of the headmasters/headmistresses of the schools at some point to work out when I can go and do my handwashing and basic first aid education. I also need to distribute the first aid kits. As I will probably only be in each school for a day or two, I will be spending most of my time in the clinic or with the girls developing the outreach program. I also have some projects I am working on, which when completed will be handed out at each school, either to be used or as an example for something they could create on their own. What I am making are mesh bags that hang from the ceiling, with soap in them. This prevents the soap from being placed directly on the contaminated ground of the latrine or on the soil and from students accidently walking off with them.
On a different note, it was quite hot here today, especially this afternoon, although there was a nice breeze from time to time. This evening a thunderstorm blew through. There was some thunder and lighting and a slight bit of rain, but it didn’t last that long at all.
Sorry for such a long post. I will do my best to keep them short from now on. Goodnight.
I have arrived in the Kibale National Forest. I am staying on a field station here. The drive here went by quickly. It felt like just yesterday I was making the same trip. On the field station, my living facility, known as a duplex, consist of a door with a hall and two rooms off the hall. There are two of these per building. My room only has as bed. Tomorrow, I am going to go and try to find a chair so I don’t have to climb underneath the mosquito netting covering my bed every time I want to sit. There is also no bathroom, only a latrine. A latrine for those of you that don’t know is a little room with a whole in the ground. It requires squatting and a lot of aim.
Since arriving on the field station I have seen a bunch of baboons and some "colabus" monkeys. I just hope a baboon doesn’t wonder into my building when the doors are open. I’d rather not have a personal encounter with one.
I met one of the McGill students tonight. I am going to meet with them tomorrow morning at around 8:30 and then head to clinic with them at 9. There are two nurses, who alternate days at the clinic and days doing outreach in the schools. One of the nurses, Denis, lives in the same building as me with his family. His two children are absolutely adorable. I haven’t met them personally, but every time I walk by the older of the two, who is probably 2 or 3, wonders out in his pink crocks and says, “hi.” He is so cute.
Night.
PLEASE NOTE THAT MOST WORDS IN QUOTATION MARKS ARE WORDS I AM NOT SURE HOW TO SPELL.
I arrived in Entebbe yesterday. Spent the night in the Boma. Today, I met up with Alice Bator, the daughter of a woman my mom works with (and who came to Uganda last summer with me), and her two roommates. We went to the Botanical Gardens, which was very nice. Unfortunately, it cost extra to use our cameras and I did not have enough money, as my debit card does not seem to work in most ATM machines. I solved that problem later in the day by exchanging some US dollars for Ugandan shillings. We traveled on boda-bodas to and from the gardens. This is a little bicycle (motorized scooter) taxi. Definitely not my cup of tea, although definitely an experience (and probably better than a regular taxi which are typically jammed packed with people and drive erratically).
We then spent the afternoon at the Boma, eating lunch and hanging out. There was a group of 10 people eating lunch, while we were there. We found out later after we befriended the head of UN security in Uganda (originally from Kosovo) and a security officer (from New Jersey, whose business card says firearms instructor) that it was a group of very important UN people who had just come in from New York. But, yeah, we are now friends with the Head of Security and another security officer. We even have their cell phone numbers. At around three we got a private taxi to Kampala. He was a very good driver :) We checked into my fancy hotel and now we are hanging out at Alice's apartment eating pasta and watching a movie.
Tomorrow morning at 7, I head with Elizabeth Ross, the executive director of the Kasiisi Project, out to the Kibale National Forest where I will be spending the rest of my time here. Coincidently, the guy behind me on the plane, who happened to be staying at the Boma and rode with me from the airport, was here visiting his girlfriend who is staying on the field station also.
Throughout this whole thing, I do not think I have taken the time to send out the most important thank you of all. This thank you is for Colleen Simonelli. I have known Colleen since I was in second grade, when I became good friends with her daughter Elizabeth. Besides spending time at their house, Colleen also served as my indoor soccer coach for many years. Our relationship has carried over to BC where she is a nursing professor. I will have her my junior year for maternal child health. It was she who suggested I apply for the grant and she who nominated me. And she who also wrote a recommendation for me. Without her, non of this would be happening. So thank you Colleen, for encouraging me and helping me through the application process!
Tomorrow is the day. I am still not fully packed, but I'm getting there. As of now, both bags containing my health project supplies are packed. Now I just need to pack my personal belongings, which are lying in piles across my living room floor.
Today begins the crazy packing extravaganza, which includes 4 suitcases and many trips to and from the store. I have two suitcases specifically for my medical supplies (first aid kits, soap, hand sanitizer) and my teaching supplies (books, posters, handouts, etc). And then I have another two for personal needs including food, which I loaded up on today. I am not sure what there is going to be for the first two weeks in terms of food. I may have to do my own shopping in Fort Portal, so just to be safe I bought cereal bars, carnation instant breakfast (and powered milk), granola bars, dried cranberrys, peanut butter crackers, and pre-packaged chicken salad with crackers.
Well I better go pack! If I have time, I will post one last time before leaving on Thursday. If not, then the next post will be from Africa! Like I said in earlier posts, I dont know how often I will be able to post, but I will make sure to write posts each day and post them when I can.
Thanks to everyone who helped me pull all this together! I hope you will continue to follow my blog as I carry out my project in Uganda.
Hi All. I cannot believe that in one week I will be flying across the Atlantic Ocean to Amsterdam, a seven (to eight) hour flight. And then taking another, about eight hour, flight south to Entebbe, Uganda. My previous entries have mostly been focused around the planning and getting ready process. I want to take a moment to describe what lays ahead and my feelings about it.
Upon landing I will be picked up at the airport (I am told there will be someone there waiting to get me) and taking to The Boma Guest House and Restaurant. I stayed there last summer. It is a wonderful place, with sort of a bed & breakfast kind of feel. After a night and a day there, I will be taken by taxi (ahhh! I am dreading riding in a taxi!) to Kampala, where I will be spending a night in the Metropole Hotel, which I have never stayed at before. From the looks of things (aka the website), it looks very fancy. Then, the next morning (July 12th), I will be leaving at 6:15 to head out to the Kibale National Forest, where I will be spending the month. There, I will be staying on a scientific field station. I am not exactly sure of where I am staying on the field station. Last year, I stayed in a small room with two bunk beds and a desk. I believe I might be staying in a similar room this summer. While in this area, I will be working in the medical clinic and doing my health education project in the schools.
Today, I spend 5 hours sorting through medical supplies despite being on the Cape (the weather wasnt great so it worked out well). I divided up the gauze, medical tape, bandaids, ace-bandages, alcohol wipes, antibacterial cream, scissors, and cotton pads amongst the five schools in Uganda. This was all the supplies that was left over after making the mini first aid kits for the teachers (and their classrooms). Now, I officially can take a break from Africa stuff for a few days before I head home and begin packing - something I am sure will be a stressful process.
It is 12:30, and I can barely keep my eyes open. The last few days I have been working late to get things together. Tomorrow I leave for the Cape for 6 days and I miraculously was able to get almost everything done. The first aid kits, posters, and copies have been made. Tomorrow, I will do some last minute laminating and then.... I think everything is ready. That only leaves packing, which I am dreading. Right now, my plan is to bring 3 bags, one with personal items and two for medical supplies and project supplies. Hopefully, I can fit everything and still be under the 50 pound weight limit. Already, with these new regulations, I am having to pay a total of $2oo to check the second and third bag. I may have to pay even more than that if the weight is over.
On a different note, the response to The Metrowest Daily News article has been overwhelming. Not only have I gotten so much encouraging words from friends and family, but I have also received kind words from complete strangers. Yesterday, a couple contacted me and offered to donate 1000 hotel bars of soap, which is more than I could ever ask for and will surely make a difference in the lives of the Ugandan schoolchildren that I will be working with. Today, a BC alum sent me a very nice email wishing me the best of luck on my trip. All I can say is thank you. Thank you to my family for sticking with me and helping me along the way. Thank you to my friends who have helped make this all come together by putting together the first aid kits, making the posters, copying activites, etc. And thank you to the Metrowest and BC community for everything you have done to contribute to my project. Whether it was a donation or simply words of encouragement, I cannot thank you enough.
Ok so I was not expecting to make the cover of Sunday's paper. I have to thank David Riley for writing such a wonderful article. My biggest hope from this article is that it will raise awareness in Metrowest community about health education and lack of resources in countries like Uganda. For those new blog viewers, please let me know if you have any questions via email (capecodkat@yahoo.com). For those of you who havent seen the article, I have posted a link at the bottom of my blog or you can simple click here.
This past week I was able to accomplish so much. Not only are almost all the mini first aid kits assembled, but the posters have almost all been made. I have also made lots of copies of activities that will go along with my educational program. These activities are primarily coloring sheets and word searches/puzzles. I also discovered this week how much fun it is to laminate. I laminated a bunch of handwashing posters to hang in the schools.
At this point, in terms of donations, monetary or medical supplies would be best. Monetary donations I will use to do any last minute copies, and buy any last minute supplies. Any left over money will be kept and used to help ship over more medical supplies next spring. Over this next year I am going to continue to collect supplies to be sent over.
This is a quick post, as I am running out the door. Today I added a few more websites to reference for handwashing education. I also posted my project report. This report includes the information and activities I am going to use for my educational program. Have a wonderful weekend!
Also, remember to check in the Metrowest Daily News tomorrow morning for an article about my project. It is suppose to be in there.
Right now I am sitting smack dab in the middle of.... chaos, for lack of a better word. My English teacher parents would not be happy with my use of the word, but I think it is a good word to describe my living room right now. There are BandAids, gauze, gloves, antibacterial cream, alchohol wipes, and medical tape everywhere. I am in the process of putting together make-shift first aid kits (I call them make-shift because these first aid kits are basically bandaids, gauze, alcohol wipes, and gloves placed into a quart size ziplock bag). My friend, Rachel, came over this afternoon to help put them together. While we worked on that, another friend, Anna, began working on the posters for the educational portion of my project.
Tomorrow, I am laminating handwashing posters and making copies of coloring pages and crossword puzzles. If anyone has access to a copy machine or printer and would like to help me make copies, please let me know. Monetary donations for this would also be greatly appreciated.
On a different note, I had a phone interview with a reporter from the Metrowest Daily News and a photographer came over to take my picture (or pictures). If you have ever been photographed for a newspaper article, then you know it can be a bit awkward, especially when you are not used to it. Lets just say, I don't think modeling is in my future. Look for the article this weekend, either in Saturday or Sunday's paper. For those of you not in the area, I will be sure to post a link to it if it is on their website.
By the way, I sort of freaked out earlier when I scrolled down to the bottom of my blog and saw the countdown. FOURTEEN days till I leave!!! Thats crazy. It is coming quickly. I hope I can get everything done in time and by that I do not mean project wise. I have a good hand on that. It's the packing my personal belongings that I am beginning to worry about. Hopefully I have everything I need, since beginning Saturday I will be on the Cape almost full time.
Yesterday was a very productive day. First thing I did when I woke up was search the internet for coupons. I was able to find a few good ones. I, then, went shopping with my best friend, Anna, for more medical supplies and sandwich bags for the first aid kits. We also made a stop at Staples where I made color prints of handwashing posters. They turned out magnificently. Later in the afternoon, I began making the first aid kits. I organized the bandaids by size so that they can be evenly distributed in the kits later. Today, Anna and I are going to the Cape where we are going to make posters to use in my teaching. While I have no art skills, Anna does, so I am glad to have her on board for this. We are going to make a germ, a handwashing, and a first aid poster.
From now on, while I will accept any sort of donation, what I really need is money or gift cards to Staples. I need to make lots of copies of coloring pages and such, and I do not have that many monetary donations because I have to buy crayons and pay for the extra baggage checking.
Please note, however, that I will continue to collect medical supplies throughout this coming year to send over to Uganda next spring.
Another purpose of this blog, I hope, is to give other people a reference for the future, should they decide to carry out a program such as this in a third world country. At the right, I am going to start to post links to websites that have been good resources for my project. Let me know if you have any questions.
Here is a quote from the first website, which happens to be a World Bank website: "Worldwide, an estimated 83 percent of the primary school-age children attend school. In most developing countries, the sanitary and hygienic conditions at schools are often appalling, characterized by the absence of proper functioning water supply, sanitation and hand washing facilities."
I have made some changes to my blog. Now, instead of viewing my youtube video picture slideshow via a link, the same video is directly on my blog towards the bottom. It can also be accessed on youtube by clicking here. I have now also added a picture slideshow, which includes pictures not shown in the video (although some are repeated). Both the video and picture slideshows can be made full screen by clicking on the arrows in the right hand corner. I hope you enjoy these new features.
My goal for this week is to get all my general planning done. Whether or not I get to go to the Cape for good (aka till July 5th) starting Saturday depends on whether or not I reach this goal. By Saturday, I need to have all my information printed and ready to put on posters. I need to have chosen all the activities and made copies of anything that needs copying (or at least have one printed, so that I can make copies). And I need to make sure that I have all my personal possessions needed for this trip. It is a lot to get done, but this goal is definitely within reach (I hope!).
I got some bad news today in the form of a postcard. It happened to be from Target, informing me that they cannot donate. I haven't heard from anywhere else. At this point, I am still looking for donations including staples gift cards or monetary donations. I need to make lots of copies of coloring pages and songs, buy art supplies (crayons/colored pencils), and buy poster board. Let me know if you would like to donate. Medical supplies are also still welcome.
Today, in The Weston Town Crier was an article about the involvement of Weston students in Uganda. While I am not, nor was ever a Weston student, I am in the article because my mom is a teacher in Weston. There is an entire section of the article dedicated to me and my project. The article was written by Elizabeth Ross, the executive director of The Kasiisi Project. Please feel free to check it out - link in "Check These Out" section of my blog.
Also, keep your eyes open for a short article in the Metrowest Daily News. I have been told by Boston College, who contacted them, that there is a possibility of an article in there as well. I will be sure to let everyone know if there is.
On a different note, I have now picked up both the supplies from the elementary school and the high school. The amount of supplies I have collected only continues to grow, which is great. It also means I have less room to move in my already small bedroom :)
One of the donations that I received from a student at the high school is something called HandClens Foaming Sanitizer & Lotion. Honestly, this stuff looks amazing. It's non-flammable (which is definitely not the case with normal hand sanitizer). It's non-toxic and it is gentle on skin. It claims it kills 99.99% of germs and it provides 3X as many pumps as alcohol gels. I am thinking I may go out and buy more of this before I go for my project. Or if people see it at the store and would like to donate it, please do! (You can buy it at Big Lots! This package which cost $5 includes 3 8oz bottles and 2 1.7oz blottles. Great deal!)
For those new blog viewers, welcome to my blog. I would like to reiterate that I am still looking for donations. See list at right of page for the list of supplies I am in need of. I am off to Placentino to pick up some supplies today. Thanks Mme Gerson. And thank you to all who have donated and who would like to donate.
Other than Target, who I will be putting a call into in a few moments, I have dropped off letters at Fiske's, BJ's Club, Staples, and CVS and mailed letters out to Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, and now all I can do is wait. And hope that at least one place calls me with some good news. It would really help my project if I could get supplies from at least one of these places.
In terms of my report and planning, I got a lot done the other day in terms of picking and choosing the information that I plan on teaching the children. Now for today, besides getting a bit more information on general first aid (cleaning, covering, and taking care of cuts and scrapes), I need to begin choosing activities to do with the students. I found some good coloring sheets, songs, and "experiments"that I could use. Now I need to pick and choose activities.
A little cold this week, which led to a lot of time in bed, set me back a bit, but today I was finally able to return to planning. A few weeks ago, I found a bunch of wonderful websites that were going to serve as guides for me. Today, I officially began to type up my Health Education Project report. Here is the general format:
Learning Objectives
Germs
- Information
- Activities
Handwashing
- Information
- Activities
Basic First Aid
- Information
- Activities
Conclusion: Importance of General Hygiene
Although these are subject to change, here are the learning objectives that I have settled upon:
- Identify substances that are harmful to the body (i.e. germs)
- Develop a clear understanding of germs
- Identify some of the illnesses and diseases that bad germs can cause
- Describe how germs are transmitted and how it relates to personal hygiene
- Understand the importance of handwashing and how it can prevent people from becoming sick (i.e. understand that proper handwashing removes bad germs from hands and prevents the spread of illness and disease)
- Learn the proper handwashing process
- Acquire a basic understanding of first aid
- Practice appropriate personal hygiene
As of now, the following website has been a great help, not only in creating the objectives, but also in the gathering of the information regarding germs and handwashing:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040923111827/http://www.wdghu.org/topics/school_health/downwithgerms.pdf
Ok. So today was neither a failure nor a success. I made it to BJ's, CVS, and Fiske's. None of the managars or owners were present, so I left my letter and now I have to wait and see whether or not anyone replies. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
First off, I would like to thank a number of people for their efforts to help me in collecting supplies and in fundraising. When I sent out an email at the start of the week, I was only trying to update some teachers and friends about my summer plans. The response I got was overwhelming. At the middle school, my sixth grade science teacher asked if the Student Government could use my project for their "Beyond Holliston" fund drive effort for the 2009-2010 school year. Then, up at the high school, a number of teachers took it into their hands to start a drive to collect supplies. When I opened my email on Tuesday, my inbox was filled with emails from teachers wanting to help. I cannot thank you all enough. It really means a lot to me that even though I am no longer a student in the Holliston schools and even though there is a lot of craziness with the school year coming to an end, teachers still found the time and care enough to help me out. So, many thanks to all those who have supported me over the years and continue to support me as I prepare to travel half way around the world to a country that is in desperate need of our help.
On a different note, I am getting ready to head out to places like Target, BJ's, Staples etc in search of donations. Hopefully, this will not be a total failure. I'll post later on how it goes.
First off, I plan on making small first aid kits with some of the supplies to give to each teacher in each of the classrooms. The same goes for the hand sanitizer. I still need a plan for the bars of soap. I need to work a system for those. Water is scarce so putting soap in the bathrooms wouldnt be productive if there is no water. I think I may give the soap to the headmasters/mistresses and they can bring it out on the days where water is available.
In terms of specifics for my program, my plan right now is do activities with the students to get them involved and interested in the material at hand. I have found some nice handwashing and germs coloring sheets online that the kids can color. This will be best for the younger grade levels, where they have not learned english yet. For the older children, I have a cute song that I found that I plan on teaching the kids. I know from last summer that they love music so this should be a great way to engage them and get them to remember the importance of handwashing.
From here, I need to work on figuring out alternative handwashing methods because unfortunately the bars of soap and hand sanitizer will not last forever. I was told about a method in which ash is used, but I need to look into this. Once again, if anyone knows of any alternatives, please let me know.
I would also like to take this moment to thank my teachers who have come forward offering to collect supplies and run fundraisers. I really appreciate it. Teachers always go above and beyond and I cannot thank you enough!
I was able to find plenty of materials online to use for the handwashing portion of my program, but I need a good resource to educate the children about germs. I was thinking a children's book might be helpful. I found what appears to be a good book online called Germs! Germs! Germs! It is part of the Hello Reader Science Series. If you have read it, let me know what you think of it. Also, does anyone else have any suggestions? Thanks.
I forgot to mention earlier about a phone call I received after my fundraising session at Coffee Haven. Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from a number I did not recognized. When I answered, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was my first grade teacher, Mme Gerson, calling. She had heard about my project through another teacher at Placentino who happened to pick up one of my flyers at my table in front of Coffee Haven. We had a wonderful discussion about Uganda. It turns out one of her daughters is moving there in the fall. I really appreciated the time she took out of her day to call me.
So here is a shout out to Mme Gerson, a teacher who even after 12 years has not forgotten me :)
I have not gotten much done in the last few days and I did not sit outside Coffee Haven yesterday. Therefore, in terms of fundraising, I am at the same place I was. Monetary donations, on top of supplies donations, are always welcome.
Tomorrow, I am sending out a letter to Johnson & Johnson, as well as Procter & Gamble, asking for donations of certain supplies, depending on what their company manufactures. Johnson & Johnson manufactures Purell, Band-Aid, and Neosporin, while Procter & Gamble manufactures a bunch of soaps, including Ivory and Olay. Also, this week I plan on making a trip to Target, BJs, and CVS, asking for donations. If anyone has any connections at any of these places, please let me know. I can use all the help I can get. I am also going to go to Staples, and see if they would be willing to let me use their copy machine free of charge for a certain amount of documents.
This is another way people could donate, depending on what Staples says. If anyone would allow me to use their printer to print a certain amount of documents that would be great.
Thanks for supporting me and helping me along the way.
I have spent the last two hours trying desperately to get this blog together and ready so I can move on and continue developing my health education project. However, I am not nearly as far along as I wish to be on both this blog and the planning process. Hopefully, with some time tonight, I will be able to accomplish a lot of what needs to get done.
I had another successful day today in regards to fundraising. I made $96 on top of the $286 I made with my bake sale and yard sale. I might go sit outside Coffee Haven again on Saturday morning if the weather is nice. That seemed to work well today.
SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THE PROJECT - Donations Welcome
BARS OF SOAP
HAND SANITIZER - bottles or wipes
ADHESIVE BANDAGES (i.e. Band-Aids, etc) - all sizes
ANTIBACTERIAL CREAM OR WIPES (i.e bacitracin, Neosporin, etc.)
Gauze
Medical Tape
Non-latex Gloves
Gift cards for Target, CVS, etc (to purchase supplies)
My Plan
I will continue to collect medical supplies and monetary donations even upon my return. Next spring, I plan to ship everything I have collected. Please feel free to donate!
