Some Jiggery Pokery

Pest of the Week!

An occupational hazard her, especially if you walk around in open sandals or bare foot, is to pick up a tiny flea, called a Chigoe, or ‘Jigger’. These charming, 1mm long, insects bury themselves under the skin on your toes, feed on your blood and grow a large sac of eggs.

 

 

 Irene had the ‘pleasure’ of hosting a Jigger this week.

The good news is:

-         they always leave their ‘bottom’ sticking out, (which shows as a black spot) so that they defacate outside your body, not inside

-         when the eggs hatch they fall back to the ground so that the larvae do not feast on your feet

-         they are easy to remove with a safety pin

 

The other 'pest' this week was in a sketch that Irene put on in morning chapel. It was based on a mother (Irene) having to put up her 4 disruptive children, or which Malcolm was the eldest boy. (For the record the children were not based on our own family, although there were 2 ‘boys’ and 2 ‘girls’ and the eldest daughter enjoyed reading books). Needless to say Malcolm played himself – the naughty big brother who tormented his clever sister. Nothing changes.

 

But, she got her own back.

October 9^th was Independence Day in Uganda and there was a parade on the local football pitch. Various schools and the army paraded with children singing and dancing.

 

 

 

 

This week’s African proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Sierra Leone:  “There's no bad bush where you can throw away a bad child”

Con-graduations, and Celebrations

On 4th October there was the Graduation for students from the Nursing & Midwifery School and the Medical Laboratory Training School.

 

This was the first Graduation ceremony for 3 years and so there were about 300 students waiting to receive their certificates.

 

 

The ceremony was held in the open air – fortunately this week the rain had decided to finish about an hour before the ceremony.

 In addition to the Guest of Honour, (a University chaplain) there were speeches by 6 other special guests.

 

 

The entertainment was singing and dancing by current students.

 

In addition to receiving their certificates graduates had to make an oath to serve patients faithfully.

 

Everybody had to dress up; including Malcolm!

 

 

A 3minute video is avilble on Youtube by clicking the link at: http://youtu.be/PtStyWsfWdU

 

This week’s African proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Zambia:  “The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat”

Overwhelmed by Blessing

A few weeks ago we were told that if it rains at a wedding it’s a sign of God’s Blessing.

 

Last weekend we went to the wedding of one of the Hospital Board members. Livingstone, a sprightly 80+ year old marrying a young bride of about 60.

 

 

For the event women had new outfits made. Irene made a suit from local material while Joyce made traditional tribal dresses, called Gomez, for Denise and Mairaed.

 

 

The wedding was held in the St Marks Cathedral, and the reception in its grounds.

 It was a delight to see the (not so) young couple so happy.

 

One of the local traditions is for the bride and groom to enter the reception through a decorated arch – a sign of honour.

 

At the end of the formal speeches the blessings came - in bucket loads.

 

 

 

The wedding breakfast was a traditional Ugandan meal - rice, matoke, potato, meat and a pink groundnut sauce

 

 

 

Irene found another serving area in a tent

 

 

 

However, getting served was not straightforward.

 

 

Fortunately there was enough shelter around the Cathedral and in tents for the wedding food to be eaten.

 

 

This week’s African proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Uganda:  “A tree that does not give shade when the sun is hot cannot give shade when it rains”

Wot? No sheets!

A few weeks ago we brought from England a bag of sheets to Kiwoko. These were used at a holiday club some of the staff organised for children.

 

Someone asked me why we needed to bring sheets from Britain. Surely, being a hospital, there are lots of sheets which are no longer any use for patients?

 

No!

 

In Uganda hospitals do not provided sheets. They also don’t provide food to patients or many of the things we take for granted in Britain.

 

A patient in hospital here relies on their own attendant ( maybe a friend or a relative) for their day to day needs. Firstly, they have to provide their own sheets and bed clothes. This means there are washing and drying areas for the attendant to use.

 

Then they have to arrange their own food. This means there is a cooking area for the attendant to cook and wash up.

 

Lounges or TV rooms? Attendants tend to stay at the hospital most of the day, but sit outside on concrete benches, or on the grass.

 

However, what we do have is medical staff who care and treat the patients in what, in Britain, would be limited facilities.

 

This week’s African proverb from the BBC web site is from Lesotho: “The hands that make mistakes belong to those who work”

No Need to Stand on Ceremony

It’s been a series of ceremonies.

Last week a team of staff from the main funders of the Hospital’s Maternity and Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, Aspen Insurance and ISIS, visited. They came from America, London, Singapore and Australia and spent time visiting the wards, meeting the staff and experiencing life in Kiwoko. On their last day we had a farewell meal where there was a bit of excitement when it came to cut the cake.

 

 Also one of the doctors, Mushin, was baptised at our church. He had come from a Muslim family but had become a Christian and baptised when at school. However, his father had destroyed his baptism certificate. Because he wants to be married in church he needed to prove he had been baptised, so repeated the ceremony.

On Sunday the Bishop of Luweero came to hold a combined confirmation and wedding service at our local church. When he was introduced to Irene there seemed to be some friendly rivalry about who has the strongest grip.

 

The wedding was for a couple who had been married traditionally, by local ceremony, several years earlier but now wished to be formally married in church. They took the opportunity of the Bishop’s visit to be wed by him.

 

Irene enjoyed her birthday this week. She woke to find that their was no chance of keeping her age a secret, and made the most of the occasion.

 

On Friday the staff arranged a surprise birthday Bar-B-Que.

 

 

The night included fun and games and lots of food.

 

Our fellowship group gave Irene a large shopping bag as a present

 

And as we started the week with a cake, we can end it with one too.

 

This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is “When a cock invites a cockroach for a birthday party, he has prepared dinner for himself”.

"It's the way I tell 'em" *

Last Saturday we completed the ‘Kiwoko Chess’.

We had thought is was a 16.5 km 'Chase' (10 mile walk / run) around Kiwoko, but unfortunately there was a printing mistake on the tee-shirts. No matter; we don’t think we would be any better at brain-power than foot-power.

 

There were about 120 people entered in the Chase – half of which were walkers wearing green tee-shirts. To avoid walking in the heat the start was at dawn – just after 7am.

 

 

The race was along the roads and pathways around the hospital, and was a good chance to ‘catch up’ with people – by chatting if not by racing.

 

 

At the end everybody got a prize and a certificate.

 

 As for the results, it’s just that some people are simply faster than others

 

 

This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria : "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together"



* with compliments to Frank Carson

Build Up for the Big Race

Next weekend we are taking part in the annual Kiwoko Chase – a walking / running race of 7  to 10 miles around the hospital.
 
In preparation he Hospital commissioned the refurbished male ward this week – just in time for Malcolm!!!!

The hospital received a new anaesthetic machine – this was made by a company called Diamedica based near Barnstable in Devon. It is a rugged design intended for easy maintenance in developing countries such as in Africa. The Managing Director, Robert, came this week to ensure the staff are fully trained in using the machine before Irene needs it!!

 

Out on the route urgent supplies are being arranged to keep us going.

 

And even a frog dropped in to see what all the fuss is about.

 

 

Lets just hope we survive to update the blog next week.

 This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from USA  “A frog does not run in the daytime in vain””