Time off

Malcolm is half way through his 3 months at Kisiizi Hospital, so time for a bit of a break. It also coincides with a visit from our friend, Dr Corrie, from Kiwoko Hospital.

They had a long weekend away on an island in Lake Bunyoni. When they booked the log cabins they thought the island was called ‘Natures Prime Island' – very relaxing. When they arrived they discovered the place had been rebranded ‘Supreme Adventure Camp’!! complete with a treetop assault course and zip wire across the lake.

 

In order not to show up the younger visitors they decided to avoid the course and the zip wire and to remain focused on relaxing.

 

As the lake is at a high altitude it was a bit chilly at night. Fortunately the restaurant included a log fire which was a welcome sight.

 

 

 They didn’t spend all the time doing nothing. On Saturday they got up early to go ‘birding’ around the lake, and to see what the locals were doing.

 

One of the small islands, Punishment island, was used to abandon unmarried pregnant women. There they would die, or be saved to become the wives of poor fishermen who couldn't afford the 'bride-price' normally required to get a bride.

Coming Home to Roost

Let me introduce you to some of Malcolm’s new acquaintances.Malcolm is staying in the guest house at Kiwoko Hospital with 2 young German doctors, Michael and Konrad. They are staying here for about 3 months each. On Friday they  were invited round for a meal and a couple of board game to a couple who have recently come to work for 6 months as teachers at the Hospital. 

John, Catherine, Konrad and Michael playing Cranium

 
Earlier in the week Michael introduced Malcolm to a new friend – Hans, the chicken. It many ways it this was a pity as it is usually a mistake to be formally introduced to your food. Hans had had a happy but inevitably short life. He was, however, was made most welcome at the dining table with the help of Becky, a nurse at the hospital.

Holding Hans

Hand in Hans

Mind your Hans

Many Hans make light work

It was also an exciting week as our friend Corrie returned to Kiwoko after a 7 month ‘break’ in England – though the word ‘break’ is probably inappropriate with the work she had to do visiting churches, other supporters, etc.

Welcome home Corrie

 
Finally the following is a short video of last weekend’s Kiwoko Chase. Quite frankly you will see why we were all surprised that Malcolm was able to make it home.

 Catherine is a primary school teacher for the Medical Superintendent’s young son, Gideon. John is teaching IT to some of the students at the Laboratory and Nursing Schools. (Malcolm did particularly badly at the game ‘Love Letters’ – which would be no surprise to his wife, Irene!!!)

Out on a Limb

Dr Corrie has a visitor, her sister, Agaata from Holland is staying for 3 weeks. On Sunday we went for a walk around the village.

 On the way Malcolm heard a tree say “Mzungu, Mzungu. Picture”. Looking closely he saw 5 boys high up in one of the trees. (It is common for children to climb trees to pick fruit – and almost as common for them to end up in hospital when they come down too fast!!!!).

Later in the week one of Malcolm’s workers, JB, visited. He runs a coffee shop and Malcolm is one of his regular customers on his home visits.

This week’s African Proverb from the BBC’s website is: “You cannot climb a tree from the top.”. 

The Slings and Hammocks of Outrageous Fortune

It was a relaxing week for some of us.

Irene was asked to look after baby Lana for the day. Seeing this as a great chance to get prepared to look after her own grandchildren she accepted the task with great pleasure. Unfortunately Lana is so small that she was lost somewhere inside  the baby sling.

 

Malcolm was looking forward to a weekend away with Irene, Corrie and Becca. Very quickly Irene was feeling totally relaxed, enjoying a cool drink whilst resting in the swimming pool.

Malcolm also tried to get some relaxation by trying out one of the hammocks. Unfortunately he wasn’t up to the job and found himself tipped out over, and over again.

 

Corrie offered to help him, but he still ended up on the ground

 Malcolm thought, was there someone else to blame!!

 

This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Tanzania: ““A monkey who sits on the ground does not fall from the tree”

A Day for International Women

Last Saturday, 8^th March, was International Women’s day. This week we will look at how some International Women celebrated.

It was a good day for relaxing in the swimming pool. Dr Corrie thought a refreshing drink would be he best way to toast the day.

Always enjoying any opportunity to dress up, Corrie and Irene tried on some local dresses. Dr Corrie looks particularly fetching in a ‘Gomez’ which is the traditional costume of the Lugandan tribe.

Meanwhile a couple of Ugandan girls were enjoying themselves trying out a new, oversized, hand bag.

Mairead has been working at the Hospital for the last 6 months but it was time to return home to Ireland. She has spent some time teaching computers to the Nursing School students, who thanked her by presenting a gift.

Last week we talked about buying meat in a local market. This week we enjoyed a meal with Corrie of beef stew, roast potatoes, beans and carrots. Lovely!

The bug of the week are a ‘flutter’ of tiny butterflies which we spotted trying to cool off in the baking sun.

This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria: “A woman is never old when it comes to the dance she knows”

Building Them High.............And Knocking Them Down

Because many young people work and study here there are several weddings a year. This week a midwife in Dr. Corrie's ward got married. Weddings are big events and need someone to bake many cakes. Another medic, Dr Diane is a bit of an expert and baked about a dozen cakes for the wedding – quite a pile!!!! These needed Dr C’s car to get them to the reception.

 The following is a picture of one of the local chemist shops – one way of getting a high score, perhaps?

 

This week the hospital received a team from UPMB (the Uganda Protestant Medical Board) who came to inspect some of the hospital’s services. These are scored and a report issued. This year all areas of the hospital improved with the control of infectious diseases being given 100%!!!.

 

Like most of Uganda we do not enjoy the privilege of mains sewage. Many of the toilets are no more than holes in the ground which require regular emptying – not a pleasant job which most people clearly try to avoid!

 

 

In previous weeks we’ve shown pictures of the traditional wood and mud houses. This week is an example of how they are knocked down.

 

This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria  “When the frog in front falls into a pit, those behind tread cautiously”

An Interesting Snack or Two!

Time for another trip away. This time to Masindi which is about 100 miles north on the edge of Murchison Falls Nature Reserve. 

On the way we stopped at a very smart diner for Breakfast. Here Malcolm bought a Rolex – which isn’t a fake watch but a genuine egg rolled in a Chapati (Rolled egg - Rolex).

At our hotel Dr Corrie decided to try a sizzling beef Chinese dish, which was very nice but resulted in all low flying aircraft being grounded because of fog!

 

Malcolm was then caught pretending he was some kind of airline pilot – not terribly convincing I’m afraid.

 

Having grounded all the planes Corrie had to ground her car for a puncture. Here tubeless tyres are repaired by pushing a piece of rubber covered in glue through the hole – a method used in England till about 40 years ago when it was deemed unsafe.

 

Back at the Hospital (and we do work at the Hospital in-between weekends away) Irene as been working at the HIV clinic to identify how they might improve their admin procedures. On Friday the clinic had a staff briefing which included Irene updating staff on her review.

 

Out and about Malcolm noticed a lot of children and women collecting things from the side of the road. On closer inspection he saw the wings from flying ants which occasionally swarm at night and then lose their wings in the morning. We used to have some flying inside our house in Kisoro. The people were collecting the ants, eating some of them alive. We understand they are often fried as a nutritious snack. These are the bug of the week.

This week’s Swahili proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from South Sudan  “A chick is not taught how to scratch up the ground for food”

Just a Matter of Style

Not wanting you to think that we are always on holiday……………….

 

June 3^rd, Martyrs’ Day, is a bank holiday in Uganda. To celebrate (the killing by the King of Buganda of 45 Catholics in he 1870’s) we had a long weekend by Lake Victoria.

  Some of the pictorial highlights of the weekend were:

 

 

This week’s bug is a large fly in a Kampala Shopping Centre.

 

 

This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria  “A fish has nothing to do with a raincoat”

 PS Malcolm swimming? – Still no miracle!