Last Weeks ....

With Friends

Out and about....

In Class....

(A microbiology lesson......)

A Farewell Party....

A Family Visit!

My Mum and older sister paid me a visit last week! They managed to come on the most wet and most cold week! So traveling to the Equator they came expecting warmth!
We ventured out in the mornings - but afternoons tended to be wet and cold! We visited my house help, Florence's home stead.

We explored town and came across a parade by the women of the Catholic Church who had gathered for a retreat!

We ventured up Kuluva Hill on the last afternoon - a rushed climb to beat the rain! And admired the view and got perspective of the rural area that I have been living in!

A day in the Life of a Clinical Instructor

6.30am I tend to wake up with the breaking of dawn, to have breakfast and a quiet time before the business of the day.

8.00 am Off down the hill to the Out Patients Department for morning devotions. It is made up of some worship and then 20min of teaching.

8.30 am To school – this is the best teaching slot – as the students are alert and the day is still cool, I don't flag while teaching at this time. If I'm not teaching usually there will be paperwork to do. A time table to make, Ward reports to check and file, a lesson to prepare, practical lessons to plan, exam papers to be written or marked.

10.30 am Tea break – kindly prepared by James our office messenger. On alternate days we eat mandazi (like a doughnut without jam) with our 'dry' tea (black tea).

11.00 am If I didn't teach first thing I might teach in this slot. On Mondays and Thursdays I try to use this time to go to the Primary Heath Care department in time for the antenatal clinic, to work with students. On other days of the week I aim to go to the maternity ward.

1.00 pm Lunch time! I climb the hill in the heat of the day to home where lunch awaits me – cooked by Florence.

2.00 pm Back down the hill – at slower pace as by now I'm feeling sleepy with a full stomach and the heat of the midday sun. This is the worst teaching slot to have as the students are feeling the same way. And as I teach I see eyes closing around the class room as I drone on! The class room is hot by now.....

4.00 pm The work day is drawing to a close. Time to shift the last bits of paper, give permission to students who want to go to town to buy personal effects, or collect money to pay school fees, deal with the student who's not feeling well etc.

4.30 pm Time to close up and wander up the hill for a refreshing shower and for a refreshing drink. I usually use this time to catch up on emails - Internet connection is OK at this time of day, later in the evening it becomes painfully slow.

7.00 pm I may wander to a friend's house for some company for the evening, where I usually will end up being fed supper, consisting of enya (made of cassava flour), greens/ beans/ fish....
Or if I have not finished preparing the lesson for the next day I will put the finishing touches on it and print it off on the over head projector acetates.

10.30 pm Time for some rest, a refreshing sleep and thankfulness of God's mercies and faithfulness every day.

Although that is supposed to be a typical day, there are always interruptions! The latest have included receiving the delivery of goods from the EU including 10 computers, 40 chairs with a small table attached to the arm, 10 dining tables, 20 benches, a fridge, teaching models to name but a few....

The school has been refurbished through an EU project that refurbished 15 nurse training schools across Uganda. It has provided a significant improvement! Thanks to the EU!

Clinical Exams!

Friday saw the Set 6 students lining up outside the surgical and medical wards for their clinical exams! They had completed their written exams earlier in the week - theory was done. Now they had to prove their practical skills.

It was an anxious wait as they had never done exams on the ward before.

On each ward there were 2 examiners, so 2 students entered at a time. They were given either a task to do together or were sent to different patients. Students had 20 min on each ward.


Students were instructed to carry out procedures such as taking a blood pressure and recording it, giving oral medication, changing a wound dressing and lifting a patient from the bed to a chair.

Once the procedure was completed, they were asked questions related either to the procedure or to the patients condition.

Although it was a first for this class, they all managed to pass and will now endeavour to make sure they know and practice all the procedures while they are on ward placements!

To the source of Kuluva's electricity!

Last weekend, Maria , who lives in Arua, came to visit me. Together we went for a walk to the source of Kuluva's electricity - the hydro dam. It was a hot 45min walk along a back road.... We got nice views of Kuluva from a different angle....

We weren't entirely sure where we were going - we had been given vague directions, but set of anyway. Conveniently we met 2 students, they were also on their way there - so they led they way.

We were glad that we'd carried frozen water with us! The walk ended with some sun burn!

Ben, Pamela and Maria

A weekend away!

The weekend following Easter I too a trip to Entebbe. I traveled with my friend Monica, who I have been working with in the Nurse Training School. Entebbe is an idyllic town on the shores of Lake Victoria. As we were by the lake side, I arranged a trip to Ngamba Island, on Lake Victoria, to see chimpanzees! Unbeknown to me, Monica was scared of traveling on the lake. She spent the first hour or so holding on to the boat for dear life, wondering how on earth the life jacket was supposed to keep her alive if she fell in!

Once we were on dry land again, even if it was surrounded by water, she began to relax. We enjoyed watching the chimpanzees playing, fighting and just sitting enjoying the sun shine! We were highly amused by their antics!

The island was beautiful and had many birds on it. All too soon our day's outing came to an end and we had to climb back into the boat and travel back over that vast expanse of water to the mainland..... That night we continued to feel the motion of the boat as we lay down to sleep!

An Unwelcome Visitor

I woke up early on Easter Saturday. As I stumbled bleary eyed into the bathroom I discovered an unwelcome visitor.....


As it was still early morning I couldn't call the neighbours for assistance..... I decided if I left it, I would be wondering when I would see it in my bedroom..... so the only solution I could think of was to do the 'deed' myself.

I wanted just to chop the head off, but none of my sharp knives had long enought handles for me to feel confident that if I missed I wouldn't be bitten! So second option was that piece of wood that's been behind the front door for the last 1/2 year collecting dust! I'd even thought of getting rid of it that week!








So as the first picture shows it was hard to aim for the head, so with the stick I aimed for the body...... It was not a pleasant experience...... Because the snake was so small and in a corner of the shower I struggled to kill it but with out giving you all the gory details I succeeded in the end.





By the end though I didn't have the courage to fish it out of the shower and dispose of it. So at a more reasonable hour the neighbours kindly came to rescue me!!!

A new arrival!

Baby Abigail Laura was born on Sunday the 14th March 2010 - Mother's day!

She has been much awaited as she arrived 15 day over due!! You may recall from an earlier blog I was one of the brides maids for her mum, Esther. So from maid at the wedding, I have been 'pregnancy advisor' and then birth attendant.......

On 'D' day we all thought this is it! We were having a bible study group social and Esther had to keep pausing between her mouth fulls of jelly and angel delight to let a contraction pass.... I went to bed expecting to be called in the night - we were all disappointed!

So the days passed and we began to discuss how to induce labour naturally - lots of pineapple was eaten!

Finally Saturday evening I was called, Esther was in early labour so I encouraged her to stay at home where we had easy access to anything we needed and she would feel more comfortable. Her husband and I persevered at home till 2am, with back massage, hot water bottle (kindly left by a Dr who worked here last year - not the kind of thing I would think of packing coming to Uganda!), 2 paracetamols, and position changes - lying, kneeling and marching! We then moved on to the hospital just 2 min from the house - I have never seen Kuluva a that time of night! It was very quiet and we were able to pace the road without being watched. We continued until Sunday morning when Baby Abigail Laura was born by caesarean section weighting a healthy 3.35kg that is 7lb 7oz. Thank God for her safe arrival!!

(The picture of me was taken after I had woken up from catching some hours sleep after the eventful night!)

This picture is especially for my fellow midwives. Esther was reluctant to breastfeed at times because Abigail Laura would kick her stomach when feeding - so I changed her position!!! Much to the horror of the 2 grandmothers and another friend present who argued she'd choke :-)

A Thanksgiving

On Saturday I went to my friend's "Thanksgiving" for her traditional marriage. I had been asked to help with cake preparations - I iced the cakes.











The function was due to start at 3pm. We got there just after. People were just beginning to gather when at 3.30pm the heavens opened and it poured with rain and there was thunder and lightning.














Being the dry season the gathering was taking place outside. They'd set up seats, sheltered by canvas to protect guests from the sun- but with the wind blowing rain was spraying everywhere. It rained 5 hours non stop. After 3 hours the rain eased to a light rain, so the function started, but the rain soon became heavy again - this time without the wind! I was intrigued by the band who had set themselves up under a mango tree - pulled out a great big sheet and when the function started operated from under there!

















We all had to position our seats so we weren't under a hole or a gap between canvas. We sat under a UNHCR canvas (it was good quality from the UN with no holes!). People had to keep going round with basins and emptying the water that was collecting in the canvas and causing it to sag! It was highly entertaining for me to say in the least!
















They were not put out by the rain - here they say rain is a blessing and if it rains on your special day it will bless your marriage! So with mud on our feet we reached home 6 hours later!
(The bride is in a green gomez, the lady in a red outfit is one of the brides maids)