7:45pm Thursday 11/15
Wednesday, we spent the morning assessing Jane and Olga at Opit Healthcare, loaded up the van, and got back on the road for the drive back to Kampala. We got back to the office around 8pm, dusty and exhausted, but not nearly as exhausted as Kristen was going to be! Her flight got in to Entebbe at 10:45pm, so she didn't get back to Kampala until well after midnight. We were all up early this morning for an 8am meeting with local Ugandan Rotary Club members, Dr. Alphons, and a Rotary Club member from Chicago, visiting for a week. This meeting was a chance for ITW to explain to the Rotary Club what they have accomplished, and where they are hoping to go in the future. The Rotary is interested in allowing ITW to utilize some of their grant funds to buy more ultrasound machines. It was also an opportunity for me to fill in the blanks, so to speak, on the full extent of what ITW has been doing in Uganda. The more I work with this organization and their team, the more impressed I become with all of the hard work that Kristen, and her team have done. After introductions and discussion, we loaded into two vans and drove approximately 2 hours to the Nawanyago Healthcare Center, just past Jinja. This was the first clinic that ITW worked with, and an incredible success story. Sister Christin was the first midwife to be trained by ITW, she is now getting her Masters Degree in Ultrasound and is responsible for a well organized, efficient, and immaculate Health Center. Sister spoke with us about the patients they treat, how they have been able to charge an affordable fee for their ultrasounds, which has enabled them to expand their pharmacy and treatment rooms. After taking the time to give us a tour, we realized that Sister had patients lining up in the waiting area, so Shallon and I each took over a machine and quickly caught up on the patients for her. This also gave us a chance to demonstrate the Philips Lumify portable ultrasound machine to the Rotary members. Shallon and I will be returning to Nawanyago next Tuesday, for further assessment, so we bid our farewells and drove back to Jinja for lunch. We got back to Kampala around 6pm, spent a little time wrapping up our day, then our visitors headed home. The plan for tomorrow is that the ITW team will all go back to Gulu tomorrow to meet with the Director of Locor Hospital, have a dedication ceremony to sign over one of the machines to the midwives, spend the night in Gulu and head back to Kampala the following morning. This is a common schedule for this team, which just magnifies my respect for them, and makes me grateful to be part of it. Well, I've got to sort my overnight bag, and go over some details with Kristen. Tomorrow is another day and another adventure!
oxox MB
Wednesday, we spent the morning assessing Jane and Olga at Opit Healthcare, loaded up the van, and got back on the road for the drive back to Kampala. We got back to the office around 8pm, dusty and exhausted, but not nearly as exhausted as Kristen was going to be! Her flight got in to Entebbe at 10:45pm, so she didn't get back to Kampala until well after midnight. We were all up early this morning for an 8am meeting with local Ugandan Rotary Club members, Dr. Alphons, and a Rotary Club member from Chicago, visiting for a week. This meeting was a chance for ITW to explain to the Rotary Club what they have accomplished, and where they are hoping to go in the future. The Rotary is interested in allowing ITW to utilize some of their grant funds to buy more ultrasound machines. It was also an opportunity for me to fill in the blanks, so to speak, on the full extent of what ITW has been doing in Uganda. The more I work with this organization and their team, the more impressed I become with all of the hard work that Kristen, and her team have done. After introductions and discussion, we loaded into two vans and drove approximately 2 hours to the Nawanyago Healthcare Center, just past Jinja. This was the first clinic that ITW worked with, and an incredible success story. Sister Christin was the first midwife to be trained by ITW, she is now getting her Masters Degree in Ultrasound and is responsible for a well organized, efficient, and immaculate Health Center. Sister spoke with us about the patients they treat, how they have been able to charge an affordable fee for their ultrasounds, which has enabled them to expand their pharmacy and treatment rooms. After taking the time to give us a tour, we realized that Sister had patients lining up in the waiting area, so Shallon and I each took over a machine and quickly caught up on the patients for her. This also gave us a chance to demonstrate the Philips Lumify portable ultrasound machine to the Rotary members. Shallon and I will be returning to Nawanyago next Tuesday, for further assessment, so we bid our farewells and drove back to Jinja for lunch. We got back to Kampala around 6pm, spent a little time wrapping up our day, then our visitors headed home. The plan for tomorrow is that the ITW team will all go back to Gulu tomorrow to meet with the Director of Locor Hospital, have a dedication ceremony to sign over one of the machines to the midwives, spend the night in Gulu and head back to Kampala the following morning. This is a common schedule for this team, which just magnifies my respect for them, and makes me grateful to be part of it. Well, I've got to sort my overnight bag, and go over some details with Kristen. Tomorrow is another day and another adventure!
oxox MB
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