Map of Uganda

Click on the map above to see a larger image.

london layover

I'm going to preface this entry with the following: I am sleep deprived and cold and in serious need of more coffee. I was hungry too but I took care of that with a severely over-priced chicken and avocado sandwich and some sea salt and vinegar chips. Be glad that my tummy is now full or else I'd say you might wanna stop reading now.

You've been warned.

I'm going to officially kick off the Uganda 2009 blogging with this post. I'm in the middle of my journey to the first stop in Uganda, Mbale. The first leg of my trip was from Philadelphia to the London Heathrow airport, an approximately six hour long overnight flight on British Airways. I received a pink pillow and blanket and toothbrush and sat next to a girl who only took up her allotted amount of seat so all in all, not a bad flight. London is cold and foggy and, no offense to my dear friends who have spent a good proportion of their lives here, I definitely feel called to live much closer to the equator. Wait! I think I see the sun trying to shine through the clouds. I take it back. We have a partly sunny day folks.

I arrived here at 9:30am UK time, which is 5 hours ahead of you east coasters. My next flight doesn't take off until 9:15pm tonight so I've got some time to kill, which is why you get something to read. This is only made possible, however, because I spent a good chunk of time punching some peoples' lights out to get access to an outlet. (Just kidding... I'm not THAT violent.) Next stop is Entebbe, Uganda and hopefully someone will be there holding up a sign with my name on it or else I'll be hitchhiking to Mbale. (Daddy don't you worry, I'll be very careful.) In case you were wondering, I'll be 7 hours ahead of EST once I get to Uganda.

Mbale is where the CURE hospital is located and where I'll be staying my first few days in the country. You can click here to learn more about CURE international, which an organization that was influential in my decision to go to medical school and help out in developing countries and low-resource areas. This sidetrip is completely unrelated to the work I'll be doing with Uganda Village Project throughout the remainder of the summer; I will be visiting some friends that my mom and sister met when they were in Uganda a few weeks ago.

Not too much else to report at the moment except that I am feeling incredibly unfashionable sitting amongst these trendy Europeans with my flipflops. :)

New place to find photos

I found out (thanks Justin) that this is a much easier way to post photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jnomides22/

So this is where you'll find the photos I put up while I'm in Uganda. Enjoy!

Photo site

Random I know but I like coke. :)

This is the site I post photos on for all who are interested:

http://jnomides.dotPhoto.com

Obviously I haven't posted any Uganda photos as I have yet to arrive but I will and in the meantime, there are some old photos that some of you may enjoy.

Also, if someone knows of a way better free site on which to post photos that you would recommend, I'm open to suggestions.

That's all.

First try

So this isn't the first time that an attempt has been made to implement an emergency transport system in Iganga.

Here is a link to a description of a pretty cool, yet failed project, on the world bank website:

The RESCUER Project

Few more things about eCare

As I mentioned, the Emergency Care (eCare) Project is a collaboration with the Iganga District Hospital. Iganga's district hospital is currently preparing for a new neonatal care unit and Uganda Village Project is partnering with the hospital and Vassar Uganda Project to improve obstetric emergency care and transport, in order to maximize quality of care and accessibility.

I just wanted to add the link to Vassar's website, which is: http://vassarugandaproject.org/default.aspx

I am currently in contact with the woman who is in charge of this initiative, who will be going to live in this area of Uganda for a year starting in July. My team will be responsible for the beginning phases of the eCare initiative, assessment and education as well as capacity building and the development of quality initiatives and a partnership with the hospital, and she will be continuing this work with more of the intervention piece of the project. I'm still learning the details because I'm the new girl but I'll let you know more as I find out.

Getting ready to peace outta here...

Its hard to believe that I leave for Uganda in about a week and a half. There are, of course, a million things to do between now and then but things are beginning to come together. I have my plane ticket at least, which I'm thinking is a fabulous start.

First off, I wanted to post the link to the video Uganda Village Project (UVP) sent us interns to give us more information about what to expect this summer. You may find it interesting and hopefully it will give you a better idea of the setting. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7CLccVQivo

Also, and I may have posted this before but the website for the organization I'll be working with is: www.ugandavillageproject.org


Here are some photos of the UVP office, which is where my team will be staying:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ugandavillageproject/UVPNewHomeInIganga#


The specific project I'm working on is the eCare project, which I'll explain more about in a second, but here is our twitter page: http://twitter.com/ecareproject

The link to the twitter page for UVP in general is: http://twitter.com/uvp

So, in terms of what I'll be doing this summer, here is a fairly brief summary (and feel free to post questions):

I will be in Uganda from May 27^th to July 30th. This internship is through the Uganda Village Project (UVP) and will satisfy a requirement of the Masters in Public Health degree I am currently working to obtain at UNC Chapel Hill. UVP is a non-profit organization that was started in 2003 and is this year launching its “Healthy Villages” initiative, an innovative approach to promoting the health of people in the Iganga district in Uganda by networking with local community-based organizations, NGOs, international donors, and the district government. At its core, through community organization and mobilization, UVP targets primary health risks of the region by providing education, training and appropriate interventions to rural Health Centre workers, local community leaders and the community on a whole. There are several small volunteer teams that will be there this summer, each working to implement a different basic health care package. These programs include: HIV/AIDS education and treatment, malaria education, insecticide-treated net distribution, screening for eye problems, obstetric fistula awareness and prevention, emergency medicine training, safe water interventions, family planning education and sanitation and hygiene.

I will be leading the Emergency Care team and we will be working to assess the current knowledge and needs regarding obstetrical emergencies as well as educating trained birth attendants, other health care workers and the community to better recognize these emergencies and ultimately prevent maternal and neonatal death. Eventually, we will build upon the information gathered this summer and garner community support to develop a comprehensive EMS System during a later phase of the project.

Another huge component of this project is building a partnership with the local district hospital, which is where a lot of the assessment will take place. This project is part of a larger initiative and we are working as part of a coalition, attempting to partner with other NGOs, the Ugandan government, the community and the district hospital. We are hoping to help build capacity in the hospital and relationships to ensure sustainability. The initial assessment phase will be key so that we can develop quality initiatives to improve maternal and child care, particularly at this hospital, where women typically go simply to die. Uganda has an incredibly high maternal mortality rate, which is why this project is so important.

That's all for now but I'll be back soon...

P.S.-

Here are a few more sites that you may want to check out if you're bored.

UVP photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ugandavillageproject/

UVP blogspot: http://ugandavillageproject.blogspot.com/

More UVP photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ugandavillageproject

UVP cause on facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/16315?m=64b58838

Oh and thank you to all of you who have made contributions to my trip! If you haven't received a support letter from me and would like to, let me know! I'd be happy to take some money off your hands. On a serious note, I really am thankful for all of your prayers and support. Thank you thank you thank you!

With love,
Jen