Heavy Mettle

On to the next journey

One of my favorite taglines to say around here is "Uganda: Where Anything Is Possible" (second only to "Uganda: The World Is Your Toilet"). Just when you think, "There's no way that can work," someone finds a way. This can be both a blessing and a curse. I've been stuffed in car taxis where the driver will manage to cram 10 people into a Toyota Corolla (this includes what I like to call a "Siamese ssebo" or two people in the driver's seat) and someone literally sitting on the hood of a traveling car. Anything is possible! Bed frames to bicycles to other motorcycles carried on the back of a motorcycle. Anything is possible! Just stole over $60 million from the government in fraudulent road contracts? Again, anything is possible!

This will be my last post as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda. Last words are always the hardest to write, they are a time of self-reflection and lessons learned. I've struggled with how to reflect on my last two years here in Uganda. Anyone who has ever served in the Peace Corps knows that it can be one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences. This sounds trite since everyone loves to quote "The hardest job you'll ever love". This has certainly been a tough two years, a time filled with self-doubt, frustration, personal loss and illness. But in the meantime, I've learned about self-reliance, flexibility and how to smile during difficult times.

During my last week at school, I was talking with some of the teachers, who were curious about when I would start having children. I explained that I wanted to wait until I was in my 30s, giving Jim and I some time to enjoy married life. One of the teachers asked, "But what about when Jim wants to have kids? He will decide." We talked about how culturally a man in Uganda decides when he wants children and how many he wants. This was a stark reminder of several things: a) you learn something new everyday b) there are certain cultural aspects with which I will never be ok and c) I like sharing my point of view. I told my staff that with most American couples, they decide together when to start a family and the number of children. I also talked about how it's my body, therefore shouldn't a woman have the power to decide? There will just be some things we don't agree on, and I've finally learned that's alright.

I'm looking forward to visiting Uganda in a few years and seeing how things have developed. Uganda is one of the world's youngest countries, with over half the population under the age of 15. With this explosion in population, it will be interesting to see how politics and development progress in Uganda. I've learned countless lessons from Ugandans, including a whole new meaning of community, an unwavering faith in God, the true meaning of humility, and astounding resourcefulness and adaptability. 

5 Things I will miss about Uganda:

1. Kabale's weather

2. Laughter

3. Bakiga dance

4. Drumbeats on Sunday morning

5. The rope-swing at Lake Bunyonyi

5 Things I will certainly not miss:

1. That high-pitched, nasal "How are you?!"

2. Weird meat

3. Public transport

4. Posho

5. Church

A big thank you to everyone who has read and supported my blog over the years, and for your contribution in sending me to Washington, D.C. in September for a transformative week. I'll continue to write once I get home, so stay tuned. 

Thank you for the care packages, the phone calls and emails, the sympathy hugs and to those who came to visit. And a big thank you to my fiancé Jim who has seen me through so many ups and downs. #jimandjulia2015 !

Thank you Uganda for so many things. It's been a wild ride.

Until next time

Mind the RUMP

Taylor teaching P5-P7 girls about the female reproductive system, menstrual cycle and reusable menstrual pads

One of the biggest challenges facing teenage girls in Ugandan schools is a high rate of absenteeism, especially compared to boys. For a long time, this remained one of the biggest mysteries to development workers as to why girls were missing so much school. It was the biggest secret that everyone knew about: girls stay home one week out of the month when they are on their menstrual periods (MP). Supplies such as tampons and maxi pads aren't a viable option for many girls since they are both expensive and disposable. Therefore, it is easier to stay home for a week and spare the embarrassment of going to school (we've all been there ladies.) Girls are already at a huge disadvantage here in Uganda, although big strides have been made in the past to be more inclusive of females. This was one area where we could solve a problem using local materials and make a reusable product. Reusable Menstrual Pads (RUMPs) are made from local materials, using cloth, ribbon, 2 towels and a needle and thread. As simple as that. The pad has two towels that can be changed out and washed, and the pad lasts for up to a year. A much more feasible solution than buying a box of maxi pads. 

My friend Taylor came out to my primary school to do a RUMPs workshop with our girls, ages 12-15. She did a short session on the female reproductive system and the menstruation cycle. We also invited a dozen students from the PTC to come observe the workshop and lend a hand to the girls. We sent them home with a kit to make their own and teach someone else how to make it. 

Each female pupil received a kit with enough material to sew two pads and four towels. We started first with sewing the pad: two pieces of cloth in the shape of cross, one on top of the other, with a piece of ribbon on each end. The girls sewed all the way around the edges of the cross shape, leaving a small gap at the end. Taylor had brought a visiting friend with her, as well as two others PCVs, so we had plenty of helpers around the room making sure the girls were sewing correctly. After the pad shape was sewn, they flipped the pad inside out, making the ribbon on the outside and then sewing the gap closed. Then a button was sewed on the wing, and the towel placed inside the ribbon holders. Easy as 1-2-3. 

Afterwards, Taylor spoke about the importance of washing the towel daily and leaving it in the sun to dry. This reduces the chance of any infection. We briefed the PTC students and had them talk individually to each table to answer any questions. Taylor also spoke about how easy it is to make a reusable menstrual pad with fabric scraps at home or from tailoring shops.

Why is this project important? It allows girls who would otherwise stay home to go to school on their MPs. RUMPs is one of the biggest Peace Corps initiatives because it relates to gender equity, income-generating activities and health. RUMPs workshops are always a good opportunity to answer questions about female reproduction, menstruation, pregnancy and menstrual hygiene. At Camp LION, Elyse taught our RUMPs session to both boys and girls. She fielded questions about menstruation, pregnancy, how to make a reusable menstrual pad. She asked the boys why they thought they were also in the session, and not just for the girls. Knowledge is power, but RUMPs can be a great income-generating activity. 

This was my final project at the primary school, since my time here in Uganda is soon coming to an end. I will leave my home here in Bukinda in early December, travel for a few weeks for a COS trip and then be back in the US for Christmas.

Labeling the female reproductive system

With our RUMPs kits!

Materials in each RUMP kit

Assembling the pad. Each girl will sew around all four edges, including the ribbons, leaving a small gap. Then you flip the pad inside out, and sew a button on the wing to fasten around the knickers.

Assembling the pads

Our PTC students talking to girls individually about the pad, menstrual hygiene and MPs

Know Your Status

Testing over 185 students for HIV at the PTC

Last Saturday, we had the AIDS Information Center come to the PTC for a day of HIV information and testing. I worked with AIC Kabale to organize the event with all the students. We had a team of 6 come from AIC to facilitate sessions on HIV transmission and prevention, and a team of 20 living-positive drama members to perform skits for the students. They sang folk songs and performed skits in local language about the importance of wearing condoms, knowing your status and understanding the basics of HIV. The AIC did a great job of fielding questions from students, from everything about how to wear a condom to questions about unprotected sex. To assure anonymity, we had students submit written questions and then answered them in front of the student body. It was a really productive morning, especially since these students don't have a safe outlet to ask questions about their bodies, sex, masturbation, condoms. This is one reason that I love Peace Corps camps so much is that they provide that safe outlet for Ugandan youth. We also had to keep it PG at the PTC since the administration is vehemently against any talk about condoms or how to stay protected during sex. It makes it hard to give knowledge to students, many of which are sexually active or are at least curious about it. 

After lunch, the AIC set up a testing and counseling area for HIV testing. It was an optional activity but I am pleased to say that over half the student body tested for HIV, with only one testing positive for HIV. That is a great outcome, not only to have students test themselves but to have such a low rate of HIV among those tested. I count the day as a great success, especially spending the day with the PTC students and the great staff at AIC. 

Performing skits about HIV transmission and prevention

One of our living-positive members speaking to students

The AIC team

The blood sample is placed on a rapid-response kit and shows results within five minutes

With The AIC team

Our drama team 

Burnin' the Midnight Oil

The stoves have arrived! 

After a year in the making, my school finally received two state-of-the-art cookstoves provided by Virunga Engineering Works and funded by PEPFAR. Virunga Engineering Works is a company based in Kisoro, run by our American friend Max Gold, who has designed these fuel-efficient cookstoves. Jim's been working on the project for a year now,  working on obtaining funding so that Peace Corps volunteers can have these stoves installed at their schools across Uganda.

Typical three-stone fire. The pot balances on these 3 stones.

For a little background on cookstoves: a typical Ugandan household will cook on a three-stone fire (a pot balancing on 3 stones) or will have massive 300-liter stoves with the fire beneath and the pot that sits in a cement basin. These systems don't last for very long, as I'm sure you can imagine, with the aluminum pots needing repairs or replacement every 6 months. At my PTC (Primary Teachers' College), the kitchen staff is cooking for 500 people three times a day. That's a lot of people. They cook on giant stoves, mingling (mixing) posho (a cakey substance made from maize flour) and beans for every meal. They used spoons the size of oars to mix the sticky substance in giant vats. The stoves however are in terrible shape; many of them are either in disrepair or are completely out of use, with corrosion on all sides. The metal pipes build on the outside of the building are so corroded that they no longer function, and thick smoke clogs the kitchen all day. It's a pretty grim place to work. Not to mention that many of the staff have their kids around, young children who are breathing in smoke all day. Talk about asthmatics in the making.

The crew outside the kitchen. You can see the walls blackened with soot, the corroded pipes no longer ventilate properly

That's where these new stoves come in. Max has designed them with one important feature: volcanic bricks. The inside of the stove is lined with volcanic bricks, mined around Kisoro and the volcanic Virunga range. The volcanic rock absorbs the heat, making the stove about 70% more efficient than your typical stove. This results in not only less firewood consumed, but no smoke. I learned this week that smoke is a sign of unused fuel, therefore inefficiency. No smoke means that the wood is being burned efficiently. Another advantage is that the school can now start savings millions of shillings every term by purchasing less firewood. The second phase of my project is to reinvest some of that money saved, and have the PTC host a number of workshops on HIV outreach.
My friend Amanda brought her headmaster from Kabale Primary School to see the process of installation since they are also interested in having some cookstoves installed at their school.

On Thursday, the whole VEW crew showed up in their jumpsuits and orange hardhats with the two giant stoves strapped down in the lorry. It took ten (ten!) grown men to carry both the base and the top of the stove off the truck and into the kitchen. They took a few days to do some tests and assessments. They did one interesting test where they compared the efficiency of the new stove to the old one. They weighed two bundles of wood, 25 kg each, and put 40L of water in each pot to see which one would boil faster. Not only did the VEW stove finish 7 minutes faster, but consumed only 11.8kg of wood. The old stove consumed over 30kg of firewood alone. 

Of course, every project has its surprise challenges that arise. Little did I realize that the hardest part would be to get the cooks to actually use the stoves. We can all relate and say that sometimes, we are reluctant to change. Why change what you're doing when it seems to be working, why fix what's not broken? It will be a long time before the cooks feel comfortable using the VEW stoves as their primary cooking source, as I'm starting to understand. The Principal is very supportive and wants to purchase a new round pot that makes it easier for posho mingling. He knows it all won't be effective immediately, that we have to go about it mpola mpola.

It takes this many men to carry just the top part!

The Virunga Engineering Works installation crew

Mingling the imaginary posho

Work hard, play hard 

VEW engineer Max Gold with our school administration, Constance and Javan