Sunday, May 12, 2024

Hello, friends! I have been home for a week now, and finally think my brain is in the right time zone, so it's catch-up time. My last week in Uganda feels like such a long time ago! I went to CHI on the Monday of my last week, to reunite and work with Dr. Lillian, a physician that has been getting ultrasound training. When I travelled to Kenya and Uganda last year, I spent a couple of days training Dr. Lillian, and we were both excited to see each other again. I was thrilled with her progress, and she was very complimentary of her training with Gingo, which made for a good day for all of us.

Dr Lillian, Gingo and me!

The rest of the week was uneventful, except that I managed to get a head cold for a few days. Kampala is a very dusty, busy city (lots of air pollution from the bodas, buses and cars), which aggravates my sinuses, activates my asthma, and leaves me with a head cold. I decided to get out of town a day early and spent my last 2 days in Entebbe, at a hotel on Lake Victoria. The fresh air coming in from the lake cleared my head almost immediately and I finally got a good night's sleep without barking dogs or roosters. 😁

One example of the stunning artwork at the Marriott in Entebbe.

My last fresh fish dinner in Uganda.

An evening view of Lake Victoria.

Before I left for Entebbe, so many people reached out to me to say goodbye and thank me. The team at ITWA in Kampala, who I am lucky to call friends, the midwives from the birth center, and the training and admin team at CHI, either called or came to the office to see me.  More importantly, they wanted to be sure that I thanked all of you, because your donations and support made this trip possible. 

Thank you! 

I had a painfully early flight to Istanbul on Sunday, but I hit the ground running, determined to enjoy every minute of the short 24 hours in the city before flying home on Monday. 

It made me sad to leave such a fantastic city, but I don't think I have ever been happier than I was the first night home in my own bed! 😂 I have caught up on my laundry, managed a few appointments, struggled to stay awake when my brain insisted I was still in Uganda, and tomorrow I am back at work. 

Since I started the GoFundMe for the solar lamps, I have received a number of generous donations, an especially large one from a friend of mine (Thank you, again, Samantha💗). I am only $410 shy of my $3000 goal already! 100 solar lamps cost $3152.00 with tax and shipping, which I decided to order now, covering the balance myself. In June, a small team of midwife students will be travelling to the birth center in Atiak, and I will be sending them 20 of the lamps to take with them. Rachel travels to the birth center multiple times a year, and I will be sending her some as well, so she can take them whenever she has room. Please consider sharing the link and thank you to all who have made a donation for the lamps:

Solar Lamps for rural Uganda

One of my wonderful knitting pals sent me four newborn baby hats, and I have made 2 more this weekend. These will go with the lamps back to the birth center and I will keep knitting hats to send to Rachel or bring back myself. 

So, here I am on a late Sunday night, wrapping everything up. My plan is to not make a plan for a while. Just be. A challenge for me, but necessary after such a challenging trip. No plan means no writing, so you won't hear from me as much as you have been. I have been promised photos of the midwives when they receive their lamps, which I will be sure to share with you all, and I still have my owns photos to sort through on my Nikon, which I also will share. I only use this platform for my volunteering, but I promise to check in and share anything related. 

Thank you so very much for listening, sharing my adventures, and for the financial and emotional support you have all given me. I am sounding like a broken record, but I couldn't do this without you!

Much love, 

Jo/Monkey Brain