First Technology Workshop

Yesterday, Trini and I taught our first Technology Workshop, which covered typing and basic Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel skills.  For typing, we familiarized the staff members with the “home row” on the keyboard and taught them which fingers should be used to hit which keys.  We then introduced them to the typing software that we installed on all of the computers at Health Alert.  The staff really liked the typing games and they enjoyed competing to see who could type fastest and have the fewest errors.

To teach the staff how to use Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, we designed two activities that allowed the staff to practice typing, changing fonts and alignments, inserting pictures, creating tables and charts, and making calculations.  The staff was particularly fascinated with how to calculate summations and averages in Excel and how to show data in different types of graphs.

I am excited to continue these workshops throughout the remainder of the internship and help the staff continue to improve their computer skills.  Health Alert is involved with so many great projects and does so many great things for their community, but their lacking computer skills can sometimes be a big impediment for them.  By continuing these workshops, Health Alert will learn the necessary skills to be more organized and efficient with their work, which will help them increase the capacity of their organization.

Week 2 in Gulu and I already have 5 scars to show for it; the mosquitoes here are ruthless! Fortunately, Susan and I are stocked with malarial pills. We also finally came around to asking the hotel staff to replace our mosquito net. We’ve been sleeping net-free since our first night at Diamond when we realized that the net was too small for our bed and that it had a giant hole next to where my pillow is. Unfortunately, the consequences of doing so have caught up with us in the form of itchy red spots (and being reprimanded by December).

This reminds me of a trip that we took with Alfred last week to a local orphanage. The orphanage houses a total of 40 children, many of whom are HAU clients. We visited during the day when most of the orphans were in school, but were lucky enough to be given a tour by one of the primary caretakers. The orphanage is divided into two small brick buildings, each with about 9 twin-sized mattresses, bunked into three levels. Alfred explained to us that HAU is currently collaborating with a faith-based nonprofit in California called Sweet Sleep. Sweet Sleep aims to provide disadvantaged children with items such as mats, foam mattresses, blankets, and mosquito nets – all of which help to ensure that recipients can sleep in a safe and sound environment. They partnered with HAU to identify the most vulnerable populations in northern Uganda so that these supplies can be provided where they are most needed. Sweet Sleep has so far distributed over one thousand mattresses and nets in Uganda alone. They are returning in July to distribute another 1160. Many of these beneficiaries are HAU clients who will soon be able to sleep soundly at night without waking up picking and scratching at unwanted mosquito bites. Considering that almost 1 in 5 childhood deaths can be attributed to malaria, I’d definitely consider this a worthwhile collaboration!

Sometimes, it’s so easy to get caught up in planning and executing some of our amazing GlobeMed-sponsored projects that I forget to step back and look at the bigger scope of HAU’s work. I am beginning to realize that the role HAU plays in this community is beyond what I could understand before working on site. The organization addresses so many aspects of the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS and is working constantly to overcome the challenges faced by these individuals. There’s so much going on here at HAU and I can’t wait to bring what I’m learning back to campus this fall :)

In other news, Susan and I are conducting the first technology workshop and are now in the process of putting together a committee to select recipients for the vocational school scholarships. Once we get internet that doesn't cut off every two seconds, we'll definitely upload more photos!

GlobeMed love,

Trini

Health Alert Sign

Trini interviewing the Olwal peer support group

Alero Sub-County Caretakers being interviewed about the seed-saving project

Our super cool Health Alert shirts!

Driving through the middle of nowhere

Me and Stella!  

December in his natural state

My Ugandan BFF, Alfred.  (he's usually not this serious)

A slightly lengthy update!

It’s hard to believe that Susan and I have already had one full work week at Health Alert – Uganda. It’s even harder to believe how much we’ve learned and seen of HAU’s work in just one week. The week kicked off with a tour of the office, an early-morning meeting, and an introduction to the HAU staff. Susan and I spent the better part of our first two days navigating the office and trying to learn names. The staff was quick to adopt us into their tight-knit HAU family :)

Meeting an HAU client:

The week picked up on Wednesday when I had the opportunity to go along with Alfred, resident tech expert, to Goodwill Polyclinic. We were accompanying a man and his one year-old son, who seemed to have a rash on his face and a runny nose. The father could not afford to take his son to visit a doctor and had come to HAU for help.  Alfred requested that I help him document the child’s case during the next six weeks that I’ll be in Gulu. We will be checking up on him at least once a week to see how he is doing. I asked Alfred how often it was that he made visits such as these; it was my understanding that he normally stays around the office providing technological assistance and entering new information into their client database. Alfred explained that nearly all office staff made visits to HAU clients in their free time. He, himself, also participates in HIV/AIDS counseling and education. It amazes me how motivated and multi-talented the HAU staff is—everyone seems to have multiple roles in the organization.

                After a long wait, the father and son exited the doctor’s office and we made our way to their home. The boy’s father explained that he and the mother are separated.  She is living in a distant village with his other two children—one of which is the child’s twin brother. About four months ago, the mother had sent the sick child to the father, insisting that she did not have the means to care for him. The child’s father took him to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, where the child tested HIV-positive and was immediately enrolled into treatment. The father thinks that his son is having a negative reaction to the ARV treatment; he has been experiencing general weakness, loss of appetite, skin rashes, and an ongoing cough. The doctor at the Goodwill Polyclinic prescribed some new medications for the child, and has requested that he visit the clinic every day until his condition improves.  Alfred and I recorded this information and parted with the family.  Hopefully, the child will be doing better when we visit him next week.

Market Surveys:

                On Thursday, Susan and I went to the market with Alfred to do a survey of prices for Mama kit items and a few technological softwares/appliances that HAU currently needs.  This was a productive trip, consisting of visits to at least 20 stores.  Susan and I can now finalize our budget and see how many Mama kits we’ll be able to fund this year!

First Field Visit:

Friday was an exciting day—our first field visit!  The plan was to visit the Alero and Olwal sub-counties, which have participated in the GlobeMed-sponsored nutrition (aka seed-saving) project for the past two years.  The Alero community is composed of mothers and caretakers of children living with HIV (CLHIV), while the Olwal community consists of HIV-positive youth in a peer-support group/dance troupe.  Ben, the logistics assistant, and Charles, a field officer, went with us to translate and to evaluate the projects for themselves.  The ride out was extremely bumpy and slightly uncomfortable (imagine a two-hour ride on a rickety wooden roller coaster).  I can’t believe that HAU employees make this trip every month!

Disappointing News in Olwal:

                First, we talked to the peer support group in Olwal sub-county and learned that they had a bad harvest and failed to save any seeds yet again. They sold all of the seeds that were produced and decided to purchase two goats and a pig with the money. It was heartwarming to see how enthusiastic the group was and to witness the sense of community among them, but we must now reconsider the project in this community to see if it's as beneficial and sustainable as it was originally intended to be.

Success in Alero!!

A group of about 20 caretakers of CLHIV were able to make it to the meeting. in Alero They welcomed us with smiles and handshakes, and we soon sat down in a town council-type setting.  The Alero caretakers have had a successful harvesting season and plan to save a portion of the seeds for the community garden, then split the rest equally (to either be sold or consumed). The caretakers expressed gratitude for the nutrition education and seeds. This same community has been enrolled in the World Food Program, and has benefited from their work as well.  I think the interaction of our nutrition program and theirs has made a great impact in Alero. One mother proudly held her child up and told us that thanks to the nutrition education and supplementary crops that we have provided, she has been able to nurture her child out of malnourishment. Susan and I were pleased to hear this, and will continue to work with this community to find ways to bolster the program and address some of their requests.

This blog post is perhaps already a little too long, but it’s hard to condense everything that we’ve experienced this week! This coming week, we should have some more information on the other projects on the agenda for this summer. And some photos!  Stay tuned!

~ Trini

P.S. I forgot to mention – Susan and I had the pleasure of attending a local traditional dance practice (Gulu Theatre Artists) with GlobeMed at Columbia yesterday!  We are planning to visit each other’s partners and hopefully exchange some ideas soon.  Yay for GlobeMed bonding!

First Day at Health Alert

We started our first day at Health Alert!

We started our first day with a general staff meeting.  At the meeting, we were introduced to all of the staff and they shared updates on what they have accomplished during the past week.  We then had a separate meeting with Francis and December to discuss what our goals are for this summer.  We discussed how we plan to evaluate the Mama Kits, Seed-lending, and Goat Projects.  We also discussed our plans for the technology workshops and the trade school scholarships.  The HAU staff is very excited to be able to provide scholarships to some of the youth that they serve and they are excited to improve their computer skills.

The staff at Health Alert has undergone major cuts.  Due to projects funded by other organizations ending and inflation in Uganda, the staff has been reduced from more than 30 staff members to just 20 staff members.  Francis does not see this staff reduction as a problem though.  He said that Health Alert is working just as well as before and that the remaining employees are the ones who are most motivated and hardworking.

All of the Health Alert staff and the staff at Hotel Diamond have been asking us for updates on past GROW team members!  They are curious to hear what everyone has been up to and where everyone is living now.