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Thursday, December 23, 2010 - Nkondo

By Geoff Boone

Hello to all from the village! We had a very busy day today and I can tell it is taking a toll on the team for I would like to stay up and play cards but everyone seems to want to retire early. The day started early as we all seem to be up and ready by 7:30 with the peaceful sleep and great food we get every day and night. First thing this morning Chuck got to show us one of his many skills when Fred (Patrick's Nephew) did not know his own strength and broke the twist knob on the stove; Chuck with only a twist-tie and duct tape managed to get it not only mechanically functioning, but looking great as well. After Breakfast Amanda taught a few of the team members how to do a style of meditative walking that improves health and decreases stress.

After a quick game of football (soccer) to get the blood flowing in the brain and all four extremities we had our morning briefing which took about an hour where Frances (Patrick's wife) was our guest speaker. We were all thankful for her taking time out of her busy day to come and speak with the team about addressing HIV within the community. It is a blessing to have someone who knows the community and understands the culture to advise us; this woman loves her community very much. It was time to saddle up and head out to the Kasuku Health Center 2. This facility is established to meet many of the health needs of the community. We had a quick tour by the Health worker before a patient arrived and it was then we decided it was time to leave and continue our day. Each day we have had a meeting with the community, Today was at 2:00 pm and lasted a few hours. It was long, but the team was very grateful for the community for helping us answer a few of the questions we had. Later in the evening we made a stop at one of the local schools which is run by a local pastor and his wife. They greeted us gifts of corn and peanuts and gave every member of the team a name in Lusoga - we all got a kick out of that! It is getting late and must say Goodnight! but i will leave you all with something I read this morning, "Lead boldly with kindness and a deep respect for others! This brings out the best in your organization and all you serve." Goodnight and Merry Christmas!

Video Blog of Clinic Visits

Amanda is giving us a tour of the Kasuku A Health Center 2 and the Nkondo Health Center 3.

Meeting with District Chairman

(By Philippe Lamoise) When we came back at Patrick's house, Michael Kanaku, the Chairman of the Buyende District Local Government, was waiting for us. He was supposed to be at our first community meeting the day before, but could not come. So we met with him over dinner at Patrick's. The District Government will be responsible to provide the staff person for the clinic we are trying to open for the Immeri parish. We also want to make sure all the other aspects of what we are doing are in line with the priorities of the local government, since they have a key role to play in the sustainability of the project. As a good politician, he did not make any promises, but he was very supportive, and said we shoud meet him again with his staff after Christmas to discuss all this in more details.