Saturday May 20, 2023

Good morning! We have been without power and Wi-Fi intermittently but often over the last few days, combined with the final examinations for the trainees and scrambling to complete some lectures for the trainers, I have not had a moment to write for pleasure. 

Everyone will be arriving at any moment for breakfast, then we will have a closing ceremony before the trainees, Twala and Wilter will return home. The trainers had a long, heartfelt final meeting last night, promising not to cry until today. :) I have been so lucky to work with such incredible people!  

I am happy to report that we were able to attend the Thursday Market Day! After lunch, Allan took over the class and Liz, Samalie, Sr, Angela, John and I piled into the jeep with James and the volunteer mothers. We drove through the Mara into Aitong. Market Day is the one day a week where people are able to make a living selling their wares, everything from school supplies, pots and pans, clothing and jewelry, to vegetables, fruit and posho/ugali flour. Some of the vendors travel from far enough away that they leave their homes the night before, traveling throughout the night to arrive at the market in the early morning in time to set up and start selling. If they don't sell well at the market, they must survive the week until the next market. We arrived towards the end of the market day as many of the vendors were starting to pack up, but when they saw us and realized we were interested, they spread out their blankets and showed us their beautiful beadwork.

The road to Aitong

On our drive to the market, James was telling us of two bull elephants who were causing trouble the night before. They decided to destroy one of the back gates to Naretoi (House of the Wild), completely tearing down one of the concrete pillars along with half of the metal gate. They then realized that the electric fence was no longer working and proceeded to pull down a portion of the fence as well. Such are the challenges of living here!

As is always the case here, a drive anywhere becomes a mini safari. Expansive landscape, filled with zebras, antelope, wildebeest and elephants. Dark looming clouds that seem to magnify the lush green grass. It’s hard to believe I have spent 3 weeks here, surrounded by such incredible beauty and such wonderful, warm people. On our drive back from the market we came across a small family of elephants with the most adorable baby. She seemed not to notice us at first, then happened to look our way, startled, and flapped out her large ears. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!

The local Maasai were moving their cattle and sheep closer to their homesteads for the night, the Mara version of rush hour. Maasai traditional homesteads are a circle of homes surrounded by a fence of local cactus shrubs for protection.

We returned at 6pm, giving me just enough time for a quick shower before heading back to the lecture room. One of the trainees had asked me if I would give a review lecture on 1^st Trimester pathology and I agreed to do so at 7pm, before dinner. I assumed one or two trainees might show up and was surprised when they all did! Towards the end of the review, we were informed that the solar power was about to run out and we had better wrap up. We did so, had another delicious dinner, and all headed back to our rooms for the night.

Yesterday (Friday) the trainees were up early, anxious about their exams. We gave the written exam in the morning, then waited to see if enough pregnant mothers would arrive for the hands-on examination. After quite a delay, we were lucky to receive enough volunteers and began the practicals. We have 4 beds available for scanning, so we (the trainers) divvied up and after approximately 3 hours had finished with all of the trainees. After a late lunch, the students had a course on the care of the machines they will be given and then given the afternoon off until dinner.

Imaging the World does not just offer Sonographer training. When a clinic and their employees are enrolled in their program, upon completion of the initial training the clinic receives a Lumify Ultrasound machine, a laptop, router and tablet with the programs used to send images to the Radiologists and continued mentoring and training from the ITW team. It’s the opportunity for these clinics to offer improved care to their patients, specifically the young women and pregnant mothers.

Sunday morning, we will all be up early, breakfast at 6am, then off to the airstrip. I will have to catch you all up once I get back to Kampala! 

Much Love, Jo (MB)