Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Good morning!

Monday morning, I woke up at 5am, which seems to be my usual wake-up time when I am here. It is still dark outside, but the roosters had started their crowing, and I needed to get the classroom set up. The room had been cleaned after the Malaria patients were discharged, but I could see that some of the tables we had used previously were missing and the scanning stations needed to be set up. I attempted to get the overhead projector going, but for some unknown reason it wasn't working, so I spent almost an hour and a half on the phone with Allan trying to get it sorted. A new HDMI cord was delivered yesterday late afternoon, so I am hoping that will resolve the issue. 

My new group of midwife trainees, 7 in total, arrived early and eager. My first day always begins with an introduction, an explanation of my teaching style (very unconventional compared to the Ugandan education system), my expectations, and an opportunity for each midwife to introduce herself and talk about why she became a midwife. Most of the midwives that I have met here are very passionate about their love of women and babies and speak of midwifery as a true calling.  

Without an overhead projector, lectures present a bit of a challenge. They all have training booklets with the slides, but a majority of my lecture materials are photographs and graphics, which are much easier to see on the overhead display. I attempted to use my computer, and we made do. It was good preparation for Tuesday, because we lost power for the entire day! 

My schedule is such that the morning of the first 2 weeks are used for lectures, there is a break for lunch, then we return to finish up any lectures and begin scanning. Yesterday I gave a demonstration, which gives them a chance to see in real time what we discussed in my lectures of ultrasound physics and using the machine. Today they will start scanning each other and getting comfortable with handling the transducer.

Max, the mentor, arrived yesterday morning, delayed by the storm. It will be nice to have someone to help with the training and I have asked him to look through the training manual and choose some lectures he would like to give. After 2 days of lecturing, my leg was pretty swollen yesterday, and I was glad to get back to my hut to rest. Sister Georgina arrived this morning, staying for 7 days, and she is always a great help during the scanning sessions. Sister was one of my first midwife trainees and a brilliant student with a natural scanning ability. 

I am overjoyed to say that the overhead projector is working this morning, thanks to a new HDMI cord. Woo Hoo! This will make lectures so much easier for everyone. My students will start to trickle in soon, so I will pick this up later today. 

Well, "later today" ended up being Thursday morning! Yesterday's lecture went very well, the change in HDMI cord was a success, and the students were engaged and inquisitive. After lunch the midwives started scanning each other, getting the feel of scanning, and learning to put the previous lectures into practical use. One of the midwives is pregnant, so I was able to give a demonstration of how to scan a pregnant patient. The best part was that she did not tell her classmates she was pregnant, so when she was being scanned, her partner had no idea what she was looking at. Everyone had a great laugh about it. They are a very fun group and a pleasure to teach. 

Today is Ugandan Independence Day, so there will be no class. Some of the midwives are traveling home for the day, some will go into "city center" (the town center of Atiak, a 5-minute boda ride from our compound), and some will remain here, relaxing and enjoying their day off. I plan on teaching some knitting, working on a baby blanket that I started last night, and trying to keep my knee up. I woke up early, as usual, and did a little clean up. During rainy season, we typically have a storm blow through most evenings. The wind creates a lot of dust in the hut, so a massive sweep was mandatory!

I will leave you with some photos from everyday life here. Enjoy and thanks for listening!

Love, Jo/MB

The main cooking area.

Food prepping.

Aloya managing the locals.

Dough balls for Zilla's delicious bread.

The finished product.

Laundry day.

Another beautiful sunrise!

Susan made fish soup especially for me and 
it was delicious over rice with some beans.

One of my roommates.

My typical breakfast of tea and oatmeal, with dried fruit, nuts and honey.