Yesterday was another good practicum day. I went with my supervisor, Timothy and our driver, Charles out to more communities to their health clinics. These were small villages that my agency (USDC) had not yet visited. Timothy was asking the head nurses there if they had any training in mental health or other disabilities. The general consensus was no. So he is trying to arrange a day when he can get all the workers from these towns together to have them trained in recognizing and treating some mental illnesses and disabilities. There is still a lot of discrimination in regards to people suffering with disabilties. Even some of the nurses still call people “mad”. So USDC is trying to get rid of the negative attitudes that communities including health care professionals have. Very interesting. Some parents still hide their children and tie them up because they believe that witchcraft has done this to them. They then spend all of their money on witch doctors to cure them, without success. We visited a few homes as well. I saw a family with 4 children with cerebral palsy. The mother and father are still together which is rare here. Usually when there is a disabled child, the father will leave. This mother was quite amazing, she is leading a parent support group and is starting a school in her house for disabled children.
We also saw a girl with down's syndrome and a boy with water in the brain (I forget the medical term for it). Also a boy who was badly burned by a fire when he had an epileptic seizure. Today was a national holiday that Musevni (the president) declared yesterday! So funny how things work here. He wanted to be sworn in today and so he decided it should be a national holiday. But I had promised the kids at the school (who I have now found out are actually all over age 20!) that I would come today. So Carli came with me. We discussed some of their fears about starting work experience next week and what challenges they would face with their disabilities. Finally, using some of our counselling skills. Then we played dominos. I learned how to sign my name and a couple other things. I think I will learn sign language when I get home, I really like it.
Something interesting that happened there today and traumatized Carli and I was that were were in the dining hall and a bird flew in. They closed all the doors so it wouldn't escape and when it hit a window, one of the boys picked it up and was playing with it...they told us they were going to eat it!! But they were only joking. So we figure it was just something to do, something to play with. They let it go after. At least we think they did...
We have some other friends at our house as well. My first sighting of a cockroach! It was really really really really big! But I am getting used to them...Chandra is not! As long as they don't touch me or come inside the house I will be fine.
I have been invited to church by Timothy and also the pastor...gee whiz, they don't let up here! I will go with Carli next weekend. Have to experience everything once right?
Carli and Chandra had to deal with an abandoned baby yesterday at the hospital. Apparently it is very common, wouldn't make front page news like it does at home.
I don't have too much else to write...have been having bad headaches ever since I told Dad I wasn't getting any headaches! So I haven't done much between work and dinner and dinner and bed. But today is better. We go to Kampala tomorrow for shopping! The bus leaves at 8am tomorrow morning, it's three hours without stops and there's probably a lot of stops. Tonight we go dancing again...apparently there's "western" music on Friday nights...please no more Shania Twain!
Bye!
erin
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