Kids....

Africa is no different than other place in some respects. I find that for whatever reason there are just some people you are drawn to more than others. I don’t know why but some kids I meet I immediately connect to. Maybe it’s the ones who are just the right amount of shy but warm up when you talk to them? Maybe it is the ones who flash me the biggest smile? Maybe it’s the ones who are in the greatest need? Or maybe it’s the ones who shout “Dr. Kent!” as I drive by? Whatever the reason is…I have my favourites. Here are some of my favourite kids and a little about each of them.

Hosea

Hosea is my favourite and actually happens to belong to my favourite widow as well. I tried not to pick favourites as I think it can lead to problems when working with the women but.....it happened. Hosea was the first child to learn my name and his mother tells me whenever a truck drives through their village he looks to see if it is me. He knows very little English but clings to my leg and holds on to me when we walk which is communication in itself I guess. He has this great smile and last week I let him sit on my lap and drive the truck like my grandfather used to do. I think he was flying pretty high.

Ian

Ian screamed in hysteria the first time he saw me. Then his grandmother forced him to sit on my lap. I think he was in shock as he stopped and just stared. Slowly he became more comfortable with me and started to play with my arm hair (a common happening amongst the young and the old). Now when I drive by he give me the most energetic wave ensuring that I see him and say hi.

Anina

Okay so I don’t actually know these girls names but they follow me around whenever I am in their village chanting and clapping “Anina”. I am going to try and upload their video at some point as it is absolutely hilarious. I have no idea what “Anina” means but it makes me smile. The one with the shaved head is the ring leader and is very stubborn (see the below post for what that really means).

Elson

He is the one in the pink (school uniform). The first time I met him he seriously just sat and listened to me talk for hours with one of my friends. Never saying anything but just smiling everytime I turned to him. Usually when they sit and stare it means that they can’t speak English but just enjoy watching a Muzungo do what we do. Turns out he has great English and is really funny...he claimed he was 15 but when we got to talking he was actually born in 1995 (news to me and him....birthdays and age here are not really important). He has been teaching me some local language which gives some good laughs.

Cam

This is Cam with Hosea. Cam was probably the first kid to really warm up to me. I met him the very first week I was here and he and his brother immediately showed me around the village and helped me find the people I needed to find. I often get him and his brother (Antony) mixed up as they look so much alike.

Random kids.....

I don't really know any of these kids that well but they presented some good photo ops and kids NEVER have a problem being "snapped" as they call it.

Introducing Uganda's Newest Vets....

So this past week I have been running a training session for the local women and orphans. Two women from each parish were chosen and attended a 4 day seminar on basic veterinary care (why did it take me 8 years??). They have been trained in antibiotics, deworming, wound care, husbandry evaluation and how to charge for their services. We had three days of classroom work which was full of really good questions....it is hard to believe they had no training. Especially this one kid called Innocent (no not one of the 4 I met my first time around) he only finished Grade 5 but asked questions I might expect from a vet student.

Yesterday we finished up with a day of practical work. We travelled around to various farms and looked at problems where I knew the existed.

I was honestly so proud of them. They are really really smart and keen. They kept calling themselves doctors and would keep records of anything they told the farmers or any treatments they gave. Once I get a money transfer from Canada they will be equipped with their own veterinary kits which they are super excited about. On the last day Innocent told me that he was praying the training he would never end and that he can't wait to get a picture of me shaking his hand congratulating him. It was a really tiring week but it was a blast and so worth it.

So I introduce to you... (top) Dr. Katarina, Dr. Alice, Dr. Ibrahim, Dr. Innocent

(mid) Dr. Safina, Dr. Janet, Dr. Parimuri

(btm) Dr. Mauda, Dr. Leonia, Dr. Margaret, Dr. Anges, Dr. Namusisi

"Where is Easter?"

It is a phrase I have been asked about 50 times and it was just recently (on about the 49th) that I understood what was really being asked. I had many replies to "Where is Easter?". "It's on the weekend."; "It's everywhere."; "It's right here."; "It's wherever you want to make it.". None of these really got the right reaction....most people laughed which isn't uncommon when I talk. People just like to hear Muzungos talk. However, until someone drilled me yesterday I didn't know what it meant. I learned that they wanted to know "Where are you spending Easter?" ahhhhh that makes so much more sense.

"Where is Easter?" isn't the first thing that has been said in English that I didn't understand. Accents aside, they have a whole plethora (yeah that's right I just used the word plethora) of English phrases which I didn't understand.

"Give me a push."
As one of the girls was leaving from the office one day she asked me to "Give her a push" odd request but I obliged and gave her a light shove from behind. Ha ha ha. Turns out what she really wanted was to be escorted from the office to the road so she could catch a ride. I have since given several pushes that were much more effective (and some harder shoves that got more distance too).

"Let me flash him."
Whoa! Easy there...no need to show off the privates here. Turns out it means that you just call someone let it ring once and hang up. This way they know you want to talk to them but you don't have to pay for any airtime. If you receive a call here it doesn't cost you any money! This is also called "beeping".

"Let me hope..."
This is used a lot (and now even by me) and they say it like we would say "I hope it doesn't rain," or "Let me hope it doesn't rain." It sounds funny but I kind of like it.

"How do you make it?"
Ummm usually with sugar??? What the heck are you talking about? This question pops up all the time and at the most random moments (certainly not when you are making something). In all reality they are asking you what the time is. I've never made any of the time and if I did I certainly don't know how I made it but they sure are curious about it.

"I'll pick you."
Awwww thanks I was always picked last for sports! ha ha ha. It is actually used in the same way that we would say "I will pick you up." Same deal just minus the up and really....are picking people up? I generally leave them on the ground.

"She is so stubborn!"
They would usually say this about my favourite people which I would deny and argue with them that they were not stubborn. People would insist though and I later found out that they use the word stubborn to describe someone who likes to joke around and have fun. Naturally I am also now called stubborn.

"Let me make a short call."
The first time this happened was when a friend was over. He and I were looking at pictures on my computer when he said he needed to make a short call. He took off down the hallway and I expected to hear him chatting on the phone. What I heard was unmistakable and certainly not a phone call. He was in fact peeing (and maybe talking on the phone?). Nope he has no phone...a "Short call" is just that....you need to pee.

"Let me make a long call."
I think you are smart enough to figure this one on your own.

Anyway, to answer the question set out at the start..."Where is Easter?"

Easter was everywhere. I was invited by several families and friends to join them on Easter. I think I had over 6 invites. I had plans of attending 4. However....good old African time got in my way and while waiting for someone to join us at the first house....we were put 3.5 hours off schedule....yep I waited for 3.5 hours for someone to show up. In the end I attended 2 and a half Easters and I was very very "Nii Guta" or Satisfied.

In the end it was a really nice day and I got to spend it with some of my closest friends here in Uganda. I was unable to attend church which was disappointing but in reality sitting through 2 hours of local language you don't understand isn't SUPER meaningful anyway. Hope you are all well and that the Easter Bunny gave you enough chocolate. God Bless and keep writing....I am always encouraged to hear from home.

Anyone Need a Ride?

So the other day when I was walking to the tea room I ran into my friend called Amza. He is a boda boda driver who drives from a station very close to my house. It was kind of a cold day and he was standing there in shorts trying to keep warm. I asked him why he was wearing shorts on such a cold day. He told me he lived far away and didn't want to use the gas to go get some pants. I offered to lend him a pair. He accepted and I proceded back to the house to find the cleanest pair of pants I have. I managed to find a relative clean pair of Docker khakis and proceded down to the boda station. I handed him the pair and warned him they weren't perfectly clean and that they may be a little long for him (he is pretty short). He holds up the pants and they come up to his chest! Ha ha ha. He then explains that black people like him like to wear big baggy pants. All the boda drivers at the station were cracking up laughing at Amza. Then Amza said "You will see, tomorrow I will wear," uh oh....so he thinks I am GIVING him these pants? Ahhhh what the heck...what do I need another pair of khakis that get dirty the second I put them on for? So I go along with it. Then he says "Do you know how to drive boda?" to which I reply "No." He then decides that I should learn and hey I am not opposed to learning how to drive a rip roaring motorcycle....ok maybe it is more of a scooter!

My first lesson was on Sunday night and it was a blast. Partly because well driving motorbikes (ok ok ok it's a scooter) is fun and second because he took his task so seriously. I really felt like I was in driving school. He was quite strict, "Aaaah"ing and "Nononono"ing when I would make mistakes. I think he was just really happy that he could do something a Muzungo couldn't. So now he has plans to practice everyday now. I truthfully think I have it down but I think he likes to be the teacher.

Note: He is wearing the pants and he was right they actually don't look like they were supposed to be for a 6'2 man.

A Day in the Village,

and what a day it was....

Ok so I actually go to a village almost everyday. However, usually I go for work but today was just for fun, besides it wasn't even in my district.

I got word earlier this week that Jane (owner of the Tea Room) was heading to the village where Charles has been staying. I told Jane that was coming and we would make it a road trip, she laughed thinking I was not serious. Last night when taking tea I asked what time we should leave at in the morning? How many people were coming? And just how far was this place? I think they were shocked to find that I was actually going to go to the village and so excited that I would drive. They then told me Jane had left already but that Charity and Jane Junior (JJ)would go with.

So at 9am I show up at the Tea Room ready to take Charity and JJ to Nyantore. Of course we don't actually get going until about 11 am and I make a stop at the bank. I park my truck, run across the street, see the ATM is being serviced, and run back to find my truck locked up! Not like keys locked in the car again but with one of those things on your tire so you can't drive. This man is writing a ticket and I am trying to be all fun and games like "Oh no need to put that there...we are leaving right now." now Mr. Parking Guy....not so fun and games...he tells me I need to pay 20,000 UGS (not a lot to us...$12, but relatively a lot of money). I argue with him, gentle at first but get really into it. I state that I was seriously parked for 1 minute and besides how is one to know if I cna park there or not. He points out a really distant sign that requires my magnifying glass and sticks to his 20,000 UGS deal. I am actually yelling now (I don't normally get angry but I am tired of people trying to take Muzungos for all their money). Then this other parking guy from a different company comes to me and tells me just to offer Mr. Parking Guy a small amount and he will likely accept, keeping it for himself (so much corruption here). I hold up all the money I have in my pocket ...8,000 UGS and yell....I really did...here is 8,000 you want it or not? Then he tells me he can't take it as his boss is watching from above....sure enough I look up and ther he is...and that we could both be put in jail! So in a huff I take off to the other bank, walking of course, take out some cash and pay the guy his stupid 20,000. Then he says that he has other records of this car worth 60,000 and that I should pay those too....I refuse and tell him to take his lock off my car immediately.

Eventually we get to the village and we go to see Charles...except he isn't there. He is...IN SCHOOL!! Sweet! His Uncle got some extra cash and enrolled him in a really cheap boarding school. So we went to the school. When he saw me he got this huge smile, hugged me and started to get a little choked up. He just kept hugging me and wouldn't let go. He keeps telling me how much he misses me! Keep in mind...this is a 16 year old boy we are talking about here. So it turns out his Uncle can afford one term only (out of three this year). The good news is that this place is about $105/term...essentially he has about $530 to raise in order to finish high school. I know a few of you had emailed me about helping out Charles. If you are still interested then please email me or leave a comment and we can work out the details. Charles wasn't allowed to leave the school and we had to get to the wedding...oh yeah I never mentioned I was going to a wedding in the village!

We went to the Mukade's (grandmother's) place before the wedding to meet some others. Mukade lives in the bush....really the bush! I barely made it on the road getting there but it was well worth it. They live in a real live hut.

Inside it is sooo nice and cozy...I really wanted to just lay down and stay there for a while but there were cows to milk! Here all the cows are called into the "Milking Parlor". These young boys tend to the cattle during the day and then bring them close to the house twice a day for milking.

What better place to milk than.....in the bush! ha ha ha. He took this little rope and loosely tied her hindlegs together but she never flinched....just stood and took it. Now this man was FAST! I am trying to upload a video for the first time here. See if you can get it to work...

After checking out the cows it was off to the world's longest most boring wedding. So reception starts at 2 pm...of course things don't really get going until 3. Cue speaker #1....ok I am already bored. Cue speaker #2, 3.....500 I am sure. They had everyone from Mayors to My plan was to stick around for some of the dance because I thought it would be fun....10 pm. That's a one with a zero...speaches are still going on...please remember that we started at 3 pm! I can't wait any longer as I am not that comfortable driving at night here.

So we take off...we are trucking right along when all of a sudden at the top of a hill....putt, putt, bang! Car stops....definitely out of fuel....definitely in the middle of Nowhere, Uganda. You really start to appreciate Canadian services when you are like me. OK what now? Let's sit and wait...see if someone stops! Ha ha ha....has the cow jumped the moon yet? About 30 minutes has now gone by. Luckily I made some new friends at the wedding. I call and they say they will see what they can do. They call back in about 40 minutes to tell me they have a car and will be leaving town in 25 minutes (don't forget these are African minutes). We were all getting a little tired and cold....here is Charity waiting...

About 40 minutes later my new friends Moses and Mark show up in a borrowed car with a little under 5 L of gas. I have 35 km to go. So car all gassed up ready to go turn the key....battery...DEAD! Thank God for standards. They start pushing me up and down the highway in attempt to get a start....finally we decided to go backwards down the highway....well it worked. The darn thing started. I drive very reserved...using hills to my advantage and trying to do as little revving as possible. So we make it Mbarara, I get to the Tea Room drop the girls off and hop back into my car. Turn the key....ahhhhh battery. The girls give me several pushes and finally the things starts...I pull out onto the road and....OUT OF GAS!! This can't be happening. I coast back off the main road....and let out a little "Ahhhhh" out of frustration. I convince a boda driver to go and get me fuel. He brings me back maybe 1.5 L of fuel. We push and push and push (the battery is obviously dead)...after about 8 tries....the darn thing goes. I speed as fast as I can home park the car and get into bed...2 am! Wow! This really won't be a day I will ever forget....and one I hopefully will never repeat.

Praise God that I am perfectly safe, healthy and happy as so much more could have gone wrong.

Field days.....

Well there has been a few questions about what exactly I do in Uganda! ha ha ha....meet people....duh! Okay well I actually am working with the goats. I thought I would give you a little day in the life of the African Goat Vet.

We have an office in Mbarara but we operate in the district called Insingiro. We drive there most days whcih in itself is usually somewhat of an adventure. The roads here are ridiculous! I am talking HUGE potholes....you drive in anyway possible to dodge them., usually resulting in some close calls. When we arrive at a widow's house we set up camp and get to work. My work is pretty basic...nothing too fancy but I like it. We first of all chat with the women to see what problems they are facing (with the goats or other aspects of their lives).

We have recently started weighing and measuring the goats for a study of Eddie's as well as to help the women with marketing their product to buyers. This way they don't get cheated as they can say the vet was here and weighed them.

We then do an exam on the goats. We usually find that they are super pale (likely due to worms), the are underweight, have diarrhea or are covered in ticks. Today we found the mother-load of ticks. Yes those are ALL ticks....I had quite the time plucking them off and squishing them!

We also see a few interesting cases like this case of Orf in this poor little kid! I can't imagine trying to eat my meals with all these lesions on my mouth.

Then of course me being who I am....I sometimes have to be the locksmith. Locking your keys in the car out in the middle of Uganda is even worse than locking your keys in the car in Northen Saskatchewan. At first I thought like any Canadian would...."Someone got a coat hanger?" ha ha ha. These people don't even have the coat to put on the coat hanger. So I used what little resources I had. I wedged some sticks in the door and was trying to turn the window crank with a stick. The sticks kept breaking and my progress was slow. I also tried putting a piece of string through the door and hooking it on the window crank.

After about 30 minutes Eddie jams a stick in the passenger door lock and "pop" the door unlocks! Ahhhh.....all in a day's work for this African Goat Vet.

Wash Day...

Well I think I may have overdone it. Yesterday I did some majorly overdue laundry. I am not actually sure of the last time I wore something that was truly clean which means almost a full's day's work for Dr. Kent (that's what they call me here)! So set to work as I normally do...okay "normally" in this case means the past 2 times. I got out my chair, my soap, my water, my tea and prepped my hands. Don't forget no machines here.

Now any of you who have lived with me or ever been in my room know what kind of pile of clothes I can get and this was no exception. It was a daunting task but I was quite enjoying it...admiring my newly acquired washing skills. Gosh darn it...I am pretty much African. After about 2-3 hours I had finished all my shirts and pants and it was time for socks. The shoes I chose to bring to Uganda have chosen to leave quite the stains on my nice white socks and it takes quite a scrub to get them out. 5 or 6 pairs into the socks my hands are starting to get a little sore so I took a break. I come back dip my hands in the water and it stings a little but I continue on. The last few pairs of socks I am really struggling to do a good job as my hands are really hurting. At last I finish and stand back to admire a hard afternoon's work.

This morning I wake up to these hands!

WOW! They aren't that sore but people keep asking what the heck is wrong with my hands. How embarassing is it to say that my hands can't handle washing clothes...we have machines that do it for us! Someone told me it was because I eat too much sugar that I have weak skin...ha ha ha...entirely possible really! Anyway, my plan is to not leave it quite so long next time around. Maybe then I won't look like such a weakling.

A Day of Innocence

So something that I find really interesting here in Uganda is that people have basically three names. They have their surname (which they place at the front of their name), their "Christian Name" which is placed second and then their family name which is their father's Christian name or something more like a middle name (which I have never heard used). Example: Charles is Asiimwe Charles ______ (not sure of his father's name), Hilda is Omella Hilda Catherine. Confused? Yeah me too....everytime someone explains it to me I get a different answer. That being said the "Christian Name" is essentially any English word, not neccessarily a name. Some of my favourites include: Affection, Charity, Patience, Peace, Friday, Godfree (not so weird to my family) and Innocent. Now I had never heard of the name Innocent before until one particular day....I MET 4!!! Ha ha ha....it was almost surreal. I had to ask the first Innocent three times to repeat his name...partly because of the accent and partly just to make sure I had indeed heard him right. When I met the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th I was questioning to make sure that this was actually happening.

My favourite Innocent (hey with 4 there has to be one who you like better than the rest) is from a tribe called Bacheega (sp?). I think we bonded over this crazy ride in the back of our truck down one of the horrible Ugandan highways.

They are well known for their good work ethic and Innocent is no exception. He is the grounds-keeper at a site that will one day be FAOC's new location. He has cleared out an entire plantation, knocked down a house, planted a garden, and planted various other trees on the land all by himself in one month. We instantly had a connection and everytime I stop by the new site he is overjoyed to see me. Now a Ugandan man overjoyed sounds something like a small school-girl in Canada. As tough as they are they let out these very high pitched "Eeeeeeee's" and "Ahhhhhhh's" and give lots of physical contact at which Innocent is more skilled than your average Ugandan man. When I stopped to see him on Thursday I told him I would love to come spend a day with him and asked if that would be ok. He was very excited and welcomed me and I ased if he needed anything. He told me he would love a new hoe and a jerry can so that he could water his plants.

So yesterday morning I showed up with a fancy new hoe and a nice jerry can (all for the price of $4.00 of course). Innocent was not to be found to I just sat and waited in my truck...it wasn't long until I heard and "Eeeeeeeeehh my friend!" After some serious hugging and thanking for the new tools we got to work. We must have planted 50 trees before lunch, I of course had to keep sipping my water while he worked with only a mild sweat. We then broke for lunch which he cooked. This is the first time I have seen a Ugandan man do anything remotely domestic....more on this at a later date. So he cooked me matooke (shocking I know), some "Blood Plant" growing in the yard, and cut up some tomatoes and onions.

We sat under a really nice Mango tree and ate our lunch. I could tell he was really proud of the meal he had constructed so I mmmm'ed and ohhhhh'ed appropriately.

We then layed under the tree and talked, laughed and just rested for hours. His English is decent but somethings took a while to understand. He told me that although he is married he was a lonely man and he had prayed for a friend to come and keep him company while working. He believes (as do I) that I am that friend. He told me that when people ask him if God has performed any miracles in his life he would tell them of me. Amazing what a really small gesture means to someon and how something so small can be an answer to prayer. We finished off the day by going to get water (what a process) and watering his plants. It was a great day and I look forward to seeing him again (hopefully next Saturday). I have also planned to take him to his village where his mother lives the first weekend in April. I am really excited as is he.

Ugandan Economics

So tonight I decided to make my housemates Canadian Pancakes (theirs are made with cassava and bananas...pretty good actually). As I was shopping for ingredients I was reminded of how ridiculously cheap things are here. I made the entire meal (flour, baking powder, 6 eggs, 1 L milk, butter, whole package of salt, whole package of sugar) PLUS the brand new frying pan all for about $11 CAN. Surprisingly (yeah right) I couldn't find maple syrup...we used jam instead. Everytime I buy something I can't get over how cheap it is. Here is a little price list:



One night stay at the nice hotel down the road: $9.00
Pair of decent dress pants: $8.00
Matress for my bed: $18.00
Chicken who is laying eggs (which I am working on purchasing): $4.90
Bottle of Coke: $0.35
Lunch (Matooke, potatoes, g-nut sauce AND a bottle of Coke): $0.97
Motorbike ride to town (about 3km): $0.60
Movie rental: $0.55
My new haircut: $2.25
Box of three pairs of underwear: $1.00 (No I don't care that it stained me blue, although it was a little scary when it happened!)
16 "doughnuts": $0.12
Cup of African tea: $0.10
Internet at the internet cafe: $0.02/minute



The sad thing is that the people here think this is really expensive. Probably because for them it relatively is. Here are some numbers from the other side of the table:

Amount that a person I know makes for managing an organisation: $75/month (very good pay)
Amount a woman gets for the sale of one goat: $12
Amount a woman gets for the sale of a bunch of Matooke: $0.25 (that's one bunch on the side)

Amount for each child to attend school: approximately $500-800/year
Amount to see a doctor: $40
Amount to buy back that same goat that is now butchered: $50


I find the whole money issue to be one of the hardest things for me. I just want to hand it over to people, so little of my money can go so far. It pains me when a little girl walks up to me and says please buy me a bag of popcorn ($0.12) and I have to say "No, sorry I just have enough to buy groceries," just based on principle. You may be wondering what principle...well people here have the thought that white people are rich (and maybe relatively we are). Because they think we are rich they almost expect us to just hand over money. If I started just giving money to every who walked up to me and just straight out asked me for money...I would be broke. There are people who need it, people who don't need it, people who make up (or in some cases have) some great reason, some people who just say "Your white and rich now gimme a couple dollars". I haven't "given" money to anyone yet. I've told a few people to "Keep the change," or give me a free ride next time the see me but I've been told by several Africans to not just give out money, and it makes sense. There are those out there who are truly worthy of monetary aid and I have it in my plans to try and help them. By the way, Charles has gone to the village to help herd cattle with his uncle. I was really sad to see him go but I guess it is better than him just hanging around the town here. I continue to pray for him and via the grapevine have heard that a relative may have found a little extra cash to get him back to school.

Ninkunda Muchomo

Which means "I love meat on a stick." They have this amazing meat here called Muchomo (Moo-choe-moe). I first fell in love with it when I heard the word. Muchomo! I would randomly call it out in our home and Hilda and Carol would laugh...MUCHOMO! But I had never actually tasted it. One night after being in the field late Boaz (my boss) was driving and I just shouted out MUCHOMO. He says "You like Muchomo?" To which I replied "I love the name". Then I explained that I had never been but loved saying the word. He turned the car immediately into "Lord's Bar" yep that's the name. They have all sorts of weird religiously named businesses "Love God Bakery", etc. (more on that at a later date). This was about a week and a half ago maybe? So we went, ate Muchomo and I even tried cooking it...

Now I am in love with it and I eat it every chance I get. Essentially it is a goat shishkabob but...there is some amazing spice (in all likelihood just a lot of salt) that they put on it that makes me keep wanting more. I need to stop...as of tonight I have eaten it three times in a row! Saturday, Sunday, and now Monday. Don't be surprised if my next picture is of me with a goatee, horns and all I can type is maaaaa maaaa! I think I need to lay off for a bit.

I have asked a few of the Muchomo makers to come back to Canada and make it for me and my new business. There is one guy who actually thinks I am taking him. He tells all his customers he is going to Canada...when they ask what for? To make Muchomo obviously. Then when they don't believe him he says ask that woman who lives with the Muzungo (Hilda). Ha ha ha...hope he isn't heart broken when I leave him and his goat meat on a stick behind.