After 3 airplanes and about 24 hours of travel, I arrived around midnight...and it was a 40 minute taxi ride from the airport to the hotel. I could not see much but I was immediately transported to the Africa I remembered from the smells of the dirt and diesel and food and every indescribable smell that just hangs in the warm, humid night air. I loved it. I opened my window and let the wind just blow over my face. So lush and vibrant. It was good to be back.
Enough of the romantic stuff. I suppose you want to know some more useful details.
So, what I am doing here? It is not an entirely simple answer. It is sort of a two-parter. This opportunity all started with a class that I took during my last semester at the U of M focusing on using social entrepreneurship to address sustainable development in Uganda, Africa. Our group decided to focus on the issue of Child-Headed Households, which is any household that is run by a child 18 years of age or younger. From the research that we did, it appears as if around 50% of households in Uganda are headed by children. Additionally, about 46% of the population is under the age of 15. These are shocking numbers and really hard to imagine. So, our group decided to explore the idea of setting up a vocational type school that would offer more trade oriented training to the heads of these households who are unable to obtain a formal education. Activities such as beekeeping and shade-grown coffee were explored, with the idea that we could adapt to the local needs. However, at this point, all we have are assumptions based on internet research. Seeing what the reality is on the ground with our own eyes was the obvious next step.
Over the course of the semester, we were paired with Ugandan students at Makarere University in the capitol city of Kampala. There are a total of 8 Ugandan students in areas of Veterinary Medicine, Public Health/Nursing and Environmental Studies. They are part of an inter-disciplinary program called "One Health Initiative". This approach looks at the inter-relationships of humans, animals and the environment and works to bring together multiple disciplines to improve on the health and well-being of all three areas with a specific focus on the issue of infectious diseases.
Myself and two other U of M students are fortunate enough to be able to go with these students on their 4 week field attachment in Western Uganda!!!!!! We will be traveling with the 8 Ugandan students and a few faculty members. Our home base will be in Bwera, which is located close to Lake George, Lake Edward, Queen Elizabeth National Park (they were colonized by the British in case you couldn't tell) and Rwenzori National Park. I have been told that this area is incredibly lush and mountainous and is also the home to the Mountain Gorillas!!!!! I would absolutely love to see a gorilla in person, in the wild. My favorite trip in Tanzania was when I traveled to Gombe National Park where Jane Goodall studied Chimpanzees. I still need to do a blog post about that...oops!
Anyways. I am really excited to go to this area.
While in the field, we will be visiting with local farmers, households, health clinics and community leaders to learn about their way of doing things and the issues that they face. We will hopefully be able to get a clearer picture, also, on the issues and needs surrounding child headed households. Essentially, I am just going to go with an open mind and observe.
So, that is the gist of it. I arrived on the 12th with my fellow student Jordan. We have been getting ready for our departure to the field, which is tomorrow morning, the 15th of June. I will have internet while out there, however, I am not sure how reliable it will be or how much time I will have for writing. I will update as I am able.
As of now, I just have a few pictures. I feel like this trip will be treated like the "second child". On my first trip to Africa, I took pictures of EVERYTHING. Now, I walk around and I am not shocked by anything. It just feels normal. So, I will probably take far less pictures this time around, but I promise that they will be really good pictures. Quality, not quantity this time.
Here is a picture of some of the students we will be traveling with...hopefully next time we will be with a real gorilla. May this find you all in good health. Love, Sadie
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