Saturday 3/8/2024

Good morning, friends!

Do we all remember the song "What a difference a day makes"? Well, that pretty much sums up what's happening here in Kampala. 

What I SHOULD have been doing today is packing for the Gulu trip, double checking purchased supplies, collecting my training materials, etc... Instead, I awoke to a barrage of emails and messages, to find out that KKD wants a new MOU and the trip is on hold. All of this coming to a head 24 hours before I am supposed to leave for Gulu. 😣 At this point my frustration is palpable. There is so much discrepancy between the Kampala team and the US team and I am stuck in the middle. This is another case of me trying to decide how much to steer the ship or remain a passenger. GRRRRR. (Those of you who know me well can insert the appropriate and expected swear word.)

So, this is how my day actually went and what my morning routine looks like here. Due to the heat and the neighbor's rooster, my wake-up time varies. I usually wake up anytime between 5 and 7 am, depending on how I slept the night before. I take a quick shower and even though the solar panel can eventually heat the water, a cold shower is actually my preference here. Last night I woke up around 2:30am but managed to go back to sleep and woke up at 6am to start the day. Eddie has a morning routine, some of which I take over when I am here. There are no screens in any of the windows here, so just when it starts to cool down at night, everything is closed up because of the mosquitos. Once I am dressed, I open the curtains and windows in my room, welcoming the cool morning air. I do the same for the spare bedroom and the windows in the main office area (what would typically be the living room and dining room of the house). I unlock the front door and open that up as well. I often bring the fan out of my room and set it up in the office are to help blow the mosquitos out and get some fresh air circulating. 

four cubicles for Renny, Allan, and Picho. Rian is
working hard on some activity books I bought for him. 😁

This is the desk space that I use when I am here, next to the front door and a large window.

I spray under my desk, a favorite spot for the mozzies, and start the kettle for tea. Picho and I spent Thursday going to multiple stores for supplies for the trip and I found a store that carries oats, which is a common breakfast for me, so make breakfast for myself and mentally plan for the day. The team usually arrive around 9am on a typical office day, which gives me some time to myself.

 On school days, Eddie walks Rian to school in the morning. I was able to join them this week, which delighted Rian immensely and created quite the stir at the school. Rian said he was asked who I was ("I told them you were my aunt") and if I could give them things. He explained very earnestly to me "In Uganda, you have to be careful! If you are a white woman or a white man, Ugandans will always be thinking of money and will be asking you." He's spot on, so we had an interesting, scaled for an 8-year-old, conversation about money. 

Walking Rian to school, photo by Rian's dad.

This morning, after tea and breakfast, I decided to unpack the towels that I brought with me. In case you were curious about what approximately 80 lbs. of towels look like...

I also sorted through the other gift supplies I brought for the trainers. Rian then awoke, so I helped him get some breakfast and he insisted on helping me organize supplies and take photos, so here you go. Proof of how helpful Rian is ... 😂

Most of Thursday and all of Friday, I worked on a Training manual for the VICAT and Lumify system that the clinics use. It is a step-by-step procedural manual, filled with screen shots and concise instructions on how to use the ultrasound machine and export images to ITW. This will allow the trainees to problem solve on their own and learn the machine better. Now I will await response from the trainers and KKD on suggestions and edits. 

I am hoping the new logo stickers I ordered will show up today, then I can "brand" the solar lamps. I will also assign them a number and create an inventory list to track where they go. 

I am going to take a break to kick around the soccer ball with Rian, or I might witness a case of human spontaneous combustion due to excessive young boy energy!

Picho and Renny have both come by the office to check on me, offering apologies for the chaos, and Allan has called multiple times to do the same. It's a difficult predicament for all of us. 

The Logo stickers arrived and Picho helped me put them on the solar lamps.

Then we decided there was no point to moping about the office, so we went out to have some dinner, then met up with some artist friends and finished up with a drink at a rooftop bar with a beautiful view of Kampala. There will be no photo of the worst glass of wine I have ever tasted. 😂 Let's just say I paid for the view. 

Fresh fish in a delicious broth, served with rice.

Rooftop view of Kampala.

I'm finishing up this post on Sunday morning, no specific progress on the Gulu trip, except to say that Renny has submitted multiple MOU drafts. Fingers crossed, Picho and I will be on the road sometime this week! As usual, I'll keep you posted.

Much love, Jo/MB