Day 9 – Kampala again

I am quite befuddled to awaken at 7 to the sounds of school kids already milling about outside the big house.  I slept almost 9 hours straight!  There is a very brief heavy rain (the first we have seen since landing in Africa) shortly after the little ones head off on the boda boda and I wonder if the young students are getting soaked.  Very soon we are back to sunny skies and heat.   I join Rose at the clinic to administer Olivia’s last IV dose of quinine, and thankfully we are able to use the same IV line kept in overnight.  She will finish off her malaria treatment with oral quinine. We also go over the list of desired supplies, and I prepare to leave.  Victoria will accompany us today instead of Rose, and she advises Alicia it is unwise to travel to the big city dressed in short shorts.  Alicia considers changing into something more modest, then decides she would just as soon stay at BKU.

Dan in a rare serious moment

Victoria makes last minute adjustments to Esther's outfit

Olivia gives brother Dan a last minute hug

The capital city is as crazy as ever, and Victoria explains to me that the forex clerk rejects some of my US$ bills because they are older than the year 2000.  Ironically, Victoria says they will sometimes accept them, but give you a lower exchange rate which makes very little sense.  Through the crowded streets and alleys to a larger retail pharmacy, which is able to provide about half the supplies on my list.  The clerk directs us to a second outlet about 3 or 4 blocks away, and I am able to fulfill the list, with the exception of eye charts.  We pick up samosas and little pizzas at a small bakery (items which Alicia particularly favours) and make one final stop at the supermarket.  This is a large multi-storey modern building which is actually a department store.   The food items are on the ground floor, and we score some Pringles chips as well as a small (but dear) block of cheddar cheese.  Cheese is obviously not a big part of the Ugandan diet, as this large outlet has only orange or yellow cheddar blocks, and sliced cheese of Edam & Swiss varieties.  There is a security check at the entrance which includes examination of backpacks and a metal detector wand.  Bags must be checked at a counter inside the entrance.  All purchases are rung through back at the entrance/exit, and purses/handbags that were taken into the store must go through an x-ray machine on the way out.  We are now heavily laden, so Victoria pays a little extra to have the minivan taxi detour from the main road and drop us at the gate to BKU.

heavily laden bikes & boda bodas are commonly seen

not to mention heavily laden people

tough city for a claustrophobe

Victoria purchases some fruit for the evening meal

I find a couple of good soccer balls at a decent price

a small bakery

you can see the mass of minivan taxi roofs at the stand in the centre of this photo

Interior of the "supermarket" showing the central atrium

Supermarket shelves

The elections in Kenya bring some trepidation for many in Uganda.  The last election results were close enough to trigger disputes erupting into wholesale violence, and many Ugandans have relatives or friends across the border.  Victoria tells me that many houses on the Ugandan border have been rented for this month by well-to-do Kenyans who may want a way out in a hurry.

Rose is thankful for the new supplies, and I review with her the operation of the otoscope and the glucose meter device.  Alicia and Richard both chicken out of being the first victim, so I have my blood sugar tested, which happily is normal. 

Richard has agreed to escort us to Banana Village, a hotel just a couple of minutes’ walk from BKU.  We have gone by the entrance a few times in the last week, but I felt better having an interpreter along in case of language problems.  Alicia and the two BKU kids who accompany us are thrilled to see monkeys on the lawn and particularly in the trees of these grounds.  The owner, Jamima, was away but Diana was very gracious showing us around the units and commenting on the amenities in very good English.  My friends from the college in Lindsay are serious about organizing a team to visit BKU next year, and they probably would have more bodies than Victoria could accommodate.  I am pleased to report that Banana Village offers a very attractive alternative at a competitive rate.  Victoria says she can negotiate a discount for her visitors who are volunteers.  Their website is:     http://www.bananavillage-uganda.com/

Richard by the sign to BV

many of my clients also complain of having a monkey on their backs

the grounds are neat & well maintained

I stop at the little ones’ dorm and I’m pleased to see that Rona’s fever finally seems resolved, and she is more responsive, although her appetite has yet to return.  Rose comes over and Auntie works braiding long strands of black yarn into Rose’s hair.  The girls complain that it is tough to do anything with their type of hair in this humid climate, so one tries to be innovative.  It looks to be a long process, and I shall be interested to see the final result.  I marvel at the calm and quiet of this dorm contrasted with my ordeal of yesterday.  The younger kids are sitting or playing quietly in the play room, and the school kids are completing homework assignments (math, mostly) and showing their work to an adult for correction.

Kato appears, back from school, and Rose instructs him to take her keys and get his own med from the clinic.  He knows where his Septra doses are stored and how to take them.  I accompany him and examine his ears.  He has perforations of both eardrums with thin fluid drainage.  I tell him this is good news, at it indicates a curable condition caused by chronic infection with a good outlook for restoration of his hearing.  He will be started on a second oral antibiotic as well as antibiotic ear drops for a few weeks.  Rose can now monitor the healing of his tympanic membranes.

It’s been a busy day, and I retire at 10 but I’m now up to my old tricks, hammering these keys at 3:30 am and listening to my buddy frolic in the next room.  Lots of photos from today.  I hope they don’t slow loading the page too much.

Working on construction of a church at BKU

The medical clinic close to BKU where we purchased supplies yesterday

Vendor selling shirts from his bicycle

shopkeeper

Alicia plays with one of the pregnant dogs.  They are tolerated but not spoiled or treated as pets at BKU

Alicia with the Arnold

Ubenga milks the cow

Olivia enjoys a sick day off school to work on crafts with Alicia

little Esther

Victoria chooses pineapples from a local farmer who brings wares to BKU

Richard gives Pauline a lesson on milking a cow

view from 2nd floor of the clinic.  Ahead is the neighbour's home with the carpenter shop just adjacent to it on the left.  Church construction is behind that.  Across the road is the structure with Richard & Rose's rooms and the little ones' dorm

one of the scary cows

Victoria starts work on the evening meal while Don looks to escape