Well it truly is my last day in Uganda today.  It has been just like any other day and that I am returning to the cold wet UK tomorrow doesn’t seem real somehow.

My return journey began at 6.00am yesterday after 3 hours sleep.  Nights are lOUD in Uganda.  The hospital holds outreach clinics around Uganda and I was lucky enough to travel with the team to the clinic in Kampala, nicely rounding off my trip.  There were a number of patients at the clinic who were attending follow up appointments. including some children with very big heads, I think it is likely that they have been with the hospital for some time.

I I spent the afternoon exploring the Kampala.  The government buildings would be quite impressive if not behind solid metal sheets which were erected around the perimeter.  The city seemed as manic as when I arrived, with cars and other vehicles everywhere. After a few hours my lungs had had their fill of dust and pollution and I headed back to the hotel for a swim and a debrief meeting on my experiences in Uganda.

After waking to a torrent of rain and seeing the roads turn into rivers of muddy water I travelled to Entebbe.  Entebbe used to be the capital and is only just outside Kampala, the traffic means the journey can easily take an hour.  I was staying in the north of Kampala in an area with wide streets and grand structures.  To the south of the city there is a much different feel, there are the open air markets that I am used to, with rickety stalls crammed together and the mud brick houses which have sprung up to create slum areas. There are a lot of people living in this part of the city.

As it had brightened up I headed to the Botanical Gardens which grace the edges of Lake Victoria.  The gardens were like a large park – groups of school children splashing about on the shores of the lake, lots of trees and many birds flying around; I also managed to spot some Columbus monkeys in a tree. A good way to end the day. 

Early flight tomorrow, just hoping it leaves on time........

Tunalabagana

Well, final day today..I have been very excited this week, looking forward to returning home.

Yesterday I had a surprise, the hospital arranged a leaving party for me and a nurse who is leaving to train to be a medic.  Frequent readers may recall the party we had for Viola last month.  There were some speeches of thanks and the chance for people to say why they had enjoyed working with those leaving.  This was accompanied by a boiled egg, samosa, banana, cake and bottle of pop.  It was a great surprise and a lovely way to round off my stay.

saying thanks (accompanied by a lot of
arm waving)

party fare

The hospital has an outreach clinic in Kampala tomorrow so I will be travelling with them. I plan to explore the city and also visit the Botanical Garden in Entebbe before my flight home Sunday.

me hard at work in my armchair

Well, where to begin...

Took a trip to Murchison Falls National Park this weekend, it is situated in Western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The park is made up of 2000 miles2 of rainforest, woodland, savannah and wetlands, with the Nile flowing through it.  The park is a designated conservation area although locals are not allowed to live in the park they are able to fish on the Nile.

Set off early Friday morning – taking a short cut through the countryside to avoid Kampala and reduce the travel time (9hrs).  Although the road was pretty bad it was good to see parts of the country I haven’t seen before and the road cut up through central Uganda.  The roads are very straight and very long – disappearing off into the distance and seeming neverending.  I was reminded of a book I’d read earlier this year about the Congo – how, if you put a stick in the ground it will grow into a tree.  There were often trees and small bushes sprouting up at the edge of the road.  It is  such a fertile country that it is easy to imagine that with no passing traffic or maintenance the roads would disappear in a year; as if they had never existed. 

 

As we’d left pretty early we saw lots of children on their way to school.  Along the road side there were long streams of brightly dressed children of all ages walking alone or in small groups, some with books, some without, some with shoes, some without and those that were a bit late scurrying along at a faster pace.  Some children remain at home with their parents who decide not to send their children off to school, particularly if they themselves didn’t attend; instead the children work in the fields.  The driver was telling me that there are very few text books in the schools and children have to provide their own workbooks.  Not all families can afford to buy the necessary supplies and so some children can leave primary school without being able to write their names.

I’ve mentioned previously every home seems to have at least a cow and a goat, in Western Uganda Ankole cattle are a popular breed. Their horns are HUGE, not to be messed with!  I saw many of these.

During the drive I also spotted a pair of red tailed monkeys swinging from some trees.  Also a HUGE Marabou stork – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a large bird flying overhead – but goodness was it ugly!

Had lunch in a town called Masindi were I caught the news about the miners trapped in the mine in S Wales. 

Stopped off en route to the park to see some white rhinos.  The authorities in Uganda have set up an enclosed sanctuary of 70km2 to encourage breeding with the hope of returning white rhino back into the wild in the future. I was expecting them to be fenced off – but no, how wrong I was.  Instead I found myself standing about 15m away from a mother and two baby rhinos.....I had earmarked the trees I would head for if they charged!!  The rhinos roam around the sanctuary looking for tasty grass - apparently they have favouite types.  There are currently 10 rhinos in the park soon to be 12 (one of the male rhinos has been very busy).



Bella and Augustu




Obama



Arrived at the NP late afternoon to a be greeted by a rainstorm, luckily it soon stopped so we could head to see the top of the Murchsion Falls where the Nile squeezes through a small gap to crash down some 50m.   The falls were great from the top – the river was wide and very powerful – there was a lot of spray so I had a very good cooling off!!  The fall was much more powerful than those at Jinja and Sipi. Many baboons and a mud bath of buffalo greeted us on the way to the lodge.




mud glorious mud

 

The Falls



Accommodation was great with the luxury of walking around bare foot and turning on a tap to have water running out!  Food was also very nice and had my first glass of wine in 7 weeks.  All rooms had balconies facing the Nile and the entrances to the rooms was via an open walkway – getting to and from the dining room meant running the gauntlet along the walkway dodging the many flying bats!  I know they are supposed to know you are there but I did have my doubts at times – anyone watching me walking along ducking and diving would have found it hilarious.

Have finally discovered what the blue and white nets are for that I see hanging from trees – they look like abandoned kites but are for trapping tsetse flies which can cause sleeping sickness.  Our van was bombarded with these flies at one point – it felt like one of those thriller movies with mad bees.

Saturday started with a game safari – taking the advice of the driver we had an early start, 6.00am we were the first ones out.  I wasn’t really all that bothered about this part of the trip – how wrong was I, it was great fun!  The roof of the van lifted up and as I was on my own I had a 360 view.  Perfect.  We set off in the dark and about 20 mins later two giraffes loomed out from the side of the road.  We were so close I could hear them breathing.  They were less fussed, and after a few minutes, trotted off.  Throughout the morning I ended up seeing lots of giraffes.  They seemed to run in slow motion which was quite strange to see.  Saw lots of different antelopes, giraffes, a few warthogs, lots of birds, a Patas monkey and many hippos in the hippo pool.  The landscape changed a lot throughout the drive and so did the smells.  The animals mark their territories, I can assure you some smell a lot nicer than others.  

larking about

However we were the early birds that caught the worm.  We had tried to pass down a road but got stuck in the mud trying to turn; in the end the driver got us out of the mud and we looped around a different way through the park.  Turning a bend, there in the middle of the road blocking our path was a pride of lions.  Two cubs and a mother just in front of our van with two young adults and the male further down the road.  If our original route hadn’t been foiled by the mud we would have seen the male lion first and not had such a good view of the mother and cubs. 

What luck – it was great watching the cubs lark about.  After about 15mins they sloped off to a nearby bush and the male started walking towards us before moving away.  We were the only ones to see this sight, other vans were arriving as we were departing, my driver having a lot of kudos from other drivers for his find!

Later in the day I took a boat cruise up the Nile to the foot of the falls.  I saw many more hippos – their heads would suddenly pop out of the river.   They are warm blooded and also easily sunburnt so keep cool in the water, often submerging themselves for 5 or 6 minutes at a time. Managed to also see some speedy Nile crocodiles – one second on the bank the next they’ve disappeared into the water.

Yesterday I went chimp trekking in the rainforest and spotted two male chimps up a tree grooming each other.  They were very meticulous and were making a very thorough job of it, also being very human like in some of their movements.  On the way back the floor of the forest began moving – a swarm of Army ants.  One of the critters got into my shoe; I can confirm that it has a sharp bite! Another stuck on my trousers was also having a good nip. 

As you may expect there were many different types of tree in the rainforest including a 600 year old Mahogany tree.  It was so big I couldn’t even see the top of it, and apparently it takes 12 people handling hands to circle it's trunk.



Me and the Mahogany





lunch in the bush on the way home



Final week this week, I’m hoping to explore Kampala and get in a visit to the Botanical Gardens before I fly out next Sunday.

I would really like a pet African goat.  They are very cute.  They also seem to be fairly docile. Outside the towns at least every home seems to have at least one goat, and they are often to be seen along the edges of the road munching and playing.  However, some have unusal ways of getting about.  A few weeks ago I saw a goat wrapped around the waist of a boda boda (motorbike) driver - a bit like a belt. It was hanging on in there perfectly quietly!  Last weekend, on my way back from Jinja, I saw a goat sittng on the lap of a girl who was having a lift on the back of a bicycle - the goat was lying perfectly still and was very well behaved!  The idea that their milk could be used to make cheese is usually greated by whoops of laughter.  Mind you, cheese here is pretty grim so no wonder people find it strange that I like cheese very much.

I've mentioned African birds in much earlier posts. Whilst having lunch yesterday I noticed a streak of blue flying across the gardens.  This is the fellow reponsible - the flash of blue increases when it opens its wings.  As you can see it was also raining!

Staff here found taking a photo of a bird very strange!  Photos are usually only taken of people.  There's limited interest in wildlife, I'm not very good on birds but can name the common everyday ones - no one has been able to tell me the name of any bird yet when I've asked. 

Talking of unnamed creatures - the weird creature that featured in a recent post (the one that lives under a drain cover) remains unnamed.  I have tried to discover more about them but failed - I did poke one with a twig to see what what happen, but, predictably I suppose, it scuttled off home.

I've mentioned the lizard who lives in the window a few times. The lizard has acquired a partner - I thought I would share a photo of them. There's usually at least one of them hanging about.  My bed is under the window so I can often hear them scuttling about.  When it's quiet that is.  I don't think 'noise pollution' as a concept exists here.  Last night there was a combination of 80s cheesy music, thudding base overlaid with arabic prayers.  The music was still going strong at midnight, at the weekend it's still playing when I wake up.

I discovered this week that people can be given whatever names a parent chooses - for both first and last names.  There doesn't have to be a family name that is used for each member of the family and passed through generations.  Sometimes children that come to the hospital are given very negative names, with meanings like 'cursed' or 'death'.  This is due to the perception of the parents of the child's condition.  At the hospital the parents are often encouraged to change such names to ones with more positive meanings.  It is also possible to go through life without your birth being registered. If you are not registered at birth you can register yourself later in life if needed.

Coming up to my last week in work now so trying to tie up loose ends and get things ready to handover....

Looks like the rain clouds are looming in over the mountains...however it is currently very warm with a very slight cooling breeze, so I sit in the guest house garden to write this update.  A strange creature is flying around the garden sounding like those wooden blocks that are whirred around on a stick (I have no idea what they are called - neither the blocks nor the flying beastie).  For a small thing it's making a heck of a racket.

Another Indian last Friday - and I met some more ex-pats. A pleasant way to round off the week, and my last working Friday in Uganda.

I've been battling the banks for the last few days to try to withdraw sufficient funds to pay for my forthcoming trip.  I have now discovered it's all a total gamble, it is impossible to tell how much can be withdrawn on any one day.  One day it is possible to withdraw UGX 1m (approx £230) the next day the limit is UGX 400,000.  On Saturday, having amassed sufficient funds and with a bulging money belt I set off for Jinja to pay for my trip.  The only other method to pay for the trip was a money transfer which would have taken too long.  This is very much a cash economy although I did discover recently 'mobile money' where money can be sent/transfered/retrieved via the mobile phone. 

The banking system here is still fairly basic.  Not everyone has a bank account and apparently the banks are not linked together - so you can go from one ATM to another re-drawing your daily limit.  We got on to the subject of banking matters during our Friday Indian. When one person lost their card the details of the loss were logged in a book (rather than being recorded on the electronic system). Another waited only 10 mins for a new card to be produced - along with a slightly different name!  I think this is banking African style.

I thought I would try to get a bus to Jinja after my experience last time in the minibus taxis.  I managed to get a seat on a bright yellow and red bus.  The bonus was that I had a seat to myself; albeit rather a narrow one.  As we travelled along I got a better view of the things that I had seen last time as I was much higher up. It was also a lot faster because there was less stopping to drop people off and squeeze more people in.  It only took 1.5hrs. One of the towns that we passed,  Namutumba, was twinned with Ross-on-Wye!

Spent a few hours pootling around Jinja and handing over the bundles of notes, then after a bit of sustinance (Spanish omelette - listed under 'African food) I decided to head back.  The buses hurtling past the bus stop didn't bother stopping as they were full of passengers travelling from Kampala. So a minibus taxi it was to be.  There were lots of children in the bus - even though there were some small babies they were all very quiet.  I turned around at one point to discover a woman sitting behind me with a child clamped on to each breast. It was almost as if children were treated like bits of luggage. For part of the journey I had a little girl wedged between me and the woman sitting next to me - her nose almost pressed against the seat in front; her mother sitting in a row further behind following a reshuffle.  Children were lifted on and off the vehicle by someone grabbing one arm  - a bit like you might lift a cat by the scruff of the neck.  We nearly drove off without one girl at one point. 

There were also a few kerfuffles.  One very smart lady scuffling to get on the bus in one town pushing back a couple of men - I don't know if she beat the men to the seat or whether they were trying to stop her getting on - they were trying to pull her off - but she soon sorted them out - the door was closed with a snap and we were off.  20m further down the road and we stopped to take onboard another woman and child - after they were on the two men that were with her also kicked off and ripped the shirt of the boy who sorts out the passengers.  There must have been something up with the men in that town.....

In the middle of nowhere we stopped to let one woman and her husband off - then we heard some loud whooping and screaming and a woman running across the field - I think she was definitely pleased to see her visitors, the whole bus was laughing at her excitement.

After one bout of reshuffling the driver tried to drive off whilst I was half out of the minibus and the door slammed into my shoulder - I didn't know what was going on!  3 hours later I was glad to finally get off - in one piece, but absolutely filthy (never wear white).  A beer and a shower soon sorted me out though.

Have had to retreat indoors as the rain has started - big fat splots coming down thick and fast.  This time in 2 weeks I should be somewhere in the air  - heading back to a lot more rain by the sound of reports!

It's official.  I am fed up with bugs.

Last night I discovered a bug burrowing in my PJs (thankfully before I put them on).  This morning there was a cockroach on the bathroom floor - lying with it's legs in the air (not dead I discovered when I went to pick it up) and now I've just discovered a pile of bites halfway up my leg - how did they get there??? Mosquitos don't munch through thick trousers, what's going on?

However, there is one 'bug' that has been intriging me.  I managed to get some snaps of it today.  It is a shy little thing.  It lives under a drain cover at the front of the guest house.

two here, one next to the pipe the other by the corner of the cover



bit more of a close up - here one is scuttling for the safety of the drain cover, other by the pipe



They are so wierd - they look a bit like bees with a load of twiggy fluff on their backs.  I wondered if it was some sort of spider - but no, apparently not.  Although I'm told they are not spiders no one can tell me what they are.  So, suggestions please.............................................

You may recall a few weeks ago I was a bit anxious that I may wake up being flattened by a water butt...well the building work has now finished.  The day started at 6.45 with two loud maintenance men bellowing directly outside my window.  After I'd hauled myself out of bed I could witness the big vast tank being 'rolled' towards the store.  Anyway, some people have been busy today - a tank is now in place, see below - please also appreciate the wooden structure built to help get it up there....



I think tank no 2 will be on the schedule for tomorrow!

Lab & edge of outpatients

I thought I would share some photos of the hospital and update on the latest hospital dramas.  There's always something going on around here - although often the stories are tinged with tragedy.

Mondays are usually the busiest day of the week for dealing with patients.  This Monday was almost unprecendented - over 50 patients turned up at outpatients - some new, some for follow-up appointments.  Usually there's around 30 patients on a Monday - so almost double this week.  We had a lot of rain Monday and at one point many of those waiting had to be brought inside the building - I think it must have been very cosy!!!Some of them ended up having to stay overnight to be dealt with on Tuesday.  By contrast there has only been 10 patients in today.


The eating area and some grounds


We were busy working away in the server room office yesterday when we were startled by loud shrieking and wailing outside.  The chaps jumped to see what was going on -  a woman being restrained outside the ward.  About 5 mins later  we could hear her running along the walkway still shrieking.  It turns out the medics were trying to sedate her it seems she thought people wanted to kill her and eat her!  She was very distressed - probably more so with people gathering around her trying to catch her!

I have mentioned that we have a new guest that arrived at the end of last week - he's been in at the deep end in the early part of the week as he spent Monday assessing patients in out patients, seeing one which had some brain matter coming out of his skull (?!?!), Tuesday, he was about to assess a follow-up patient when the mother started becoming distraught - saying that her baby had died.  When he checked he discovered that this was indeed the case and  unfortunately the baby had passed away. A brain tumour.


not the best photo I know - it was early Sunday morning!
 - operating block in background,
path up to the lab along centre

 Both women were taken home by the hospital.  The one that was afraid of being eaten luckily grew calmer as she approached her home.  Hopefully another member of the family will bring the child back for treatment. 

All in a day's work in the life of a hospital worker..............