Hello, folks!

I am starting this post early Friday morning. Considering the luck I have had this week with power and internet, who knows when it will finally arrive in your inbox! It's mind-boggling that we are already almost finished with the first week of training. Max and I are really enjoying this group, although except for a few exceptions, I have really enjoyed every group. They are eager, intelligent and very quick learners. We have also noticed that they are learning at a relatively equal rate, which makes the hands-on training a bit smoother. 

On Monday, the first day of class, I arrived in the classroom very early to set up the projector. I had put everything together the night before, in a practice run, and worked out any kinks. But that was Sunday, and this was Monday. The projector was not connecting. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with Allan, trying to sort the issue, and we gave up and decided to try a new HDMI cord. Since coming to Atiak in 2024, I have made some wonderful contacts in Gulu, so Allan ordered a cord and I waited for it to arrive from my friend, Jalon. In the meantime, lectures were given with the group huddled around my computer watching the slides and following along in their notebooks. This is always stressful for me, because I so badly want to give the students the best experience that I can, but it did not so much as ruffle a feather from the group. 

The cord didn't arrive until the following morning, but in the meantime, the powers that be decided to shut down the power grid for "maintenance". Another common occurrence in Northern Uganda but frustrating nonetheless! The power returned in the evening but went out again Wednesday and Thursday as well. UGH. I'm crossing my fingers for today, so far, we have power. 

For the first 2 weeks of training, we start the morning with a review from the previous day's lectures. We have a few lectures after that, break for lunch around 1pm, and resume at 2:30pm. After lunch, the group pairs up and scan. Every day I write the hands-on assignment on a dry erase board, so they have a clear plan of focus. We scan until we run out of patients, then review saved images and discuss. On Friday of next week, they will have their written exam to cover the lecture materials. The last 2 weeks will be strictly for hands-on learning.

I have been called upon to scan a few emergent patients, when the midwives who are trained to scan were busy delivering babies, and we have had some interesting cases in the classroom as well. All of them great opportunities for this group to see in real time what I lecture about. The monthly meeting of the Village midwife's co-op was yesterday, and we could hear them singing during our lectures. A few of them stuck around and greeted me with huge smiles and hugs. I rarely work with these women directly and don't see them often, but they are so appreciative and overjoyed to see someone return to this remote area and they know how much the POCUS training helps the mothers in this area. It's so lovely and welcoming. 

On Saturday, I will offer a knitting class and hand out the beautiful yarn that I have brought with me. The day after I arrived, Corina (one of the traditional midwives who works at the birth center full time) came to my hut to show me the crochet projects she has been working on. She started a new blanket, but had run out of yarn, so she was thrilled when I dug out some yarn that matched her latest blanket project. 

Before I go, I thought I would share this graphic just for fun, to help you visualize the size of Uganda compared to the PNW.

Alright, students will be arriving soon, so off I go. Thanks for joining me!

Much love, Jo/MB