Happy Birthday, America

Happy 4th of July from Bukinda!

It seems strange that a year has gone by since our Fourth of July party that we hosted last year, with our Ugandan neighbors at the PTC. This year I had vowed to have a proper celebration with the teachers at my school. My counterpart Bright suggested we make it a little more local by serving African milk tea (black tea in hot milk) rather than iced tea (minus the ice…). So we had homemade banana bread, cookies, milk tea and boiled sweet potatoes for our party. It was America's birthday in a Uganda-meets-USA style. 

I wrote the lyrics to the national anthem on the blackboard so the teachers could follow along, asking questions like "What does 'ramparts' mean?" to which I replied, "No idea!" My favorite part of the party though was when we got everyone up and dancing to American music like "Twist and Shout" and "Born in the USA." I showed the teachers how to "do the twist" and swing dance. We had fun mixing local Bakiga-style dancing with some rockin' moves to old 60s American music. After the party with the teachers, I hightailed it down to Kisoro, where we would celebrate Independence Day with a few fellow PCVs and Ugandan friends. We had a big barbecue at Lake Mutanda, hosted by Sheba. We had a proper grill (made out of an oil drum) to make burgers and franks, chopped up some local potatoes and celery to make potato salad, and pasta salad. We were joined by a few Ugandan friends, Max's guys in the workshop from Rwanda and a few PCVs visiting Kisoro for the first time. We had a dance party to American and Ugandan music, a drumming circle around a big bonfire and some local dancing.

All we were missing were the fireworks!

Showing Paul how to swing dancing

Do the Twist

We're all seeing how low we can go... Frank wins!

Moses and Bright showing their American patriotism

Davis and Constance trying out the banana bread!

Happy Fourth from Lake Mutanda

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

The Peace Centre

Antony addressing Nyabirerema Primary School

We've had some visitors from Dulwich College in Shanghai, China. It was a small student group of international high school students who are in Uganda for a few weeks to help build an orphanage and practice their cross-cultural communication. They were a diverse group from all over the world, I felt really proud of my school and staff to be able to host them and show them around. Our students loved seeing new, diverse faces and learning about where they come from.

I made some banana cake for them that morning, and ran over to the primary school in the afternoon to spend a few hours at school. I stood nearby with some of my teachers, who were astounded that some of these kids were saying they were American when they had dark skin, and looked like they were of Asian or Indian descent. I explained that Americans are very diverse, from African Americans to Asian and Indian American. Not all Americans look like me! The visitors all introduced themselves and it was hilarious to see how the kids reacted to their names. "Tristan" sounded like "Christine," which the kids found uproariously funny that this boy was named Christine. "Sri" became "Swee" and they thought he was named after candy. We kept joking "Give me a swee!" Another kid was name Taylor, which everyone interpreted as Tiger, which if you ask me, is a pretty sweet name.

Our headmaster quipped with every name, saying some not-so-PC things like "Have you found that plane yet?" to a Malaysian girl and "Are you the next Chairman?" to a wispy Japanese girl named Mao. They also performed a few songs for the kids and gave them a message to work hard and try and learn many things. Adorable!

Their group leader Antony spent some time here in the late 90s as a volunteer in the Bukinda community. It was interesting to talk to him about what has changed and what has stayed the same in 15 years. One of the biggest visible changes here is the proliferation of mobile phones and the newly paved road to Kabale.

On Sunday afternoon, their home-stay hosts in Bukinda hosted a big meal and invited all the neighbors and officials from around. We had speeches from their hosts Peace and Golden, from folks working at the PTC and other prominent members of the community. The visiting students then performed a few songs, and we all learned the Bakiga dance with the women of the group. This involves dancing in a big circle to drums, and stamping your feet and waving your arms to the beat. It was a blast! This student group was also here to help build The Peace Centre, which will function as an orphanage and will be run by Peace. They are also hoping to build a program that hosts gap years students for eight months, so students spending a gap year between high school and college can work with the Peace Centre in Bukinda.

I also had a nice visit from one of our Peace Corps staff who was passing through Bukinda. The Principal and I gave a tour of the kitchen and our new cookstoves, one of which was piled high with matooke wrapped in banana leaves, and the other one cooking rice. This special-occasion food was being prepared for an official visit from the newly appointed Bishop of Kigezi. We had a feast for lunch, including rice, karo, matooke, potatoes, sweet potatoes, goat, beef, chicken and g-nut sauce. Ugandan food is getting better and better every time I eat! The matooke and the rice were delicious, both cooked in the new stoves.

Students introducing themselves, including their age, their nationality and their favorite subject

Singing songs

A Visit to the Village

A farmer and his dog
(Photos courtesy of Jim Tanton)

Justus is our campus's milkman, canteen owner and my new best friend. He's been bringing fresh milk to my doorstep since I arrived, and we've struck up a pleasant and harmonious friendship. For Christmas, I gave him a little American flag and a ball for his son, in return, I received a picture of him and his son Jethro, posing austerely for the camera. When I first arrived, my old site mate and I asked if we could help him to milk the cows, a prospect that delighted him. 

Justus has been inviting me to see his home in the village, and finally for the first time in 15 months, we found a day that suited us both to make the journey. Jim joined us too, and when we decided to walk there, what was supposed to be an easy stroll turned into an afternoon hike. 

I love exploring around the mountains of Kabale, they are an endless ocean of rolling hills that seem to go on forever. I've explored relatively little though, only the hills around Bukinda valley. I've also met other Westerners who say they're working at Ryabirenge School, but I had never been there. It's sad to say, but in 16 months of living here, I haven't even ventured past my primary school. Lately though, I've been a bit more adventurous. I visited the village Health Center IV and met the Head Clinician working there, inviting him to attend some HIV activities I was doing at the primary school. 

So you can imagine how happy I was to go past that imaginary line and go down the village road to Justus's. We walked for a good two hours, first past Ryabirenge School, then up up up into the crops and more hills, across a flat mountain top and down the other side into another valley. At the top, you can see for miles, right into northern Rwanda. Justus knew the way like the back of his hand, but I doubt I could do it again on my own. 

After walking through dusty crops of potatoes and barley, and sliding down the side of mountain, we finally made it to Justus's house. I was pleasantly surprised-- it was lovely. The house looked brand new, with new tin roofing, freshly painted walls and a pristine little yard that looked over the entire valley of Chogo. Little chicks followed their mother hen in the back yard, while baby goats munched away on the vegetation. I met Justus's wife Jennifer, who lived alone in the house while her husband was away working, her children away at school. She first served us pitchers full of obushera, a local brew made from sorghum. They mix the sorghum flour with water and let it ferment for a few days, making it slightly to very alcoholic, depending how long it sits. Drink enough of this stuff and you'll look like the men outside the local bars. Jennifer had just made the brew the day before, so lucky for us, it wasn't yet alcoholic. It tastes like a really healthy drink, a bit like yoghurt, but slightly more sour. 

We sat outside on mats and played with the local kids who had come to play with my hair (they were fascinated by my hair and its texture) until it was time to eat. I wasn't expecting to be fed, but as is customary here when you have a visitor. The meal was delicious, some of the best food I've had in country. I even ate matooke, which I normally avoid, but it was too good to resist (matooke is the signature meal of Uganda, it is steamed plaintains, or green bananas). We had beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, matooke and goat meat. It was a feast and such a generous meal. 

After eating and laughing all afternoon, we had to make our way back to Bukinda before the sun went down. We walked back an hour on a dirt road to the closest town Muhanga, and took a matatu back to Bukinda. The village is pretty tucked away in a remote valley. No electricity runs through there, no foreigners pass by. You can imagine the faces of the locals as we passed by, seeing a muzungu in their neck of the woods! A few miles past the village of Chogo is the Rwandan border, and a small and unused border crossing. I love being in remote places like that, when you feel you're at the edge of the earth. 

I was happy to see my little American flag hanging in Justus' family's home, as a little reminder of the friendships made along the way. 

Sorghum season

Outdoor kitchen where the cooking happens

Justus, his wife Jennifer and his brother James

Justus and me in Chogo valley

Jim and Justus in his home village

Addressing Gender-Based Violence

One of the biggest problems facing Uganda is gender-based violence. Uganda has made some tremendous progress in terms of development, but will not get over that extra step without addressing the gender inequities that exist here. Men hold most of the power (in an effort not to generalize, I will say most and not all), in and outside of family life. Yes, women are voted or chosen as Local Council for the community and members of Parliament, but I feel these are figurehead positions rather than a position of true power. At the village level, women hold even less power.

I was astounded at the different gender roles I observed in Ethiopia. Men and women both had their assigned tasks--men to do the hard labor and plow the fields, and women to collect water and firewood and maintain the home. Seems like more reasonably assigned gender roles than Uganda, for example. In Uganda, from what I've observed, women do all the work. They are the ones walking on the edge of the road at sunrise, carrying various items-- a basket on their heads with the day's lunch, a hoe resting on their shoulders, a baby tied to their backs. After a day toiling in the fields, they return home where they are expected to rear the children, make dinner and maintain the household. What are the men doing, you ask? That's a very good question.

Gender-imbalanced societies exist all over the world, even in the United States, but especially in developing nations. One of Peace Corps Washington's initiatives is Student-Friendly Schools addressing and strategizing against school-related gender-based violence. What is gender-based violence? Briefly, it is any physical, psychological or sexual abuse against a person on the basis of gender. Usually, girls and women are the targets of GBV, but boys/men can also be victims.

We held a regional workshop in Mbarara to discuss gender-based violence, gender inequities and corporal punishment in schools. It was a successful and thought-provoking workshop that I will highly value as a part of my Peace Corps service. I helped to organize the workshop with another PCV, Jenn, who is very passionate on the subject of GBV and raising awareness in Uganda. We invited several Volunteers in the new Education group from the western region, along with their counterparts. We also invited several Ugandans to serve as keynote speakers and facilitators. This made an enormous difference to the workshop and helped foment discussion surrounding these issues, open up the dialogue between Americans and Ugandans.

Our first speaker we met at the regional HIV/AIDS in Masaka back in November-- Jenn and I both loved and remembered her. Hope is a firecracker, I wish there were more women like her in Uganda. She says herself that she breaks every mold made for Ugandan women. She's bold, brazen and passionate, a champion against domestic violence and GBV in Uganda.
She led our first session at the workshop and did a fabulous job of educating what is GBV and how to look for it in schools. With the counterparts, we analyzed several scenarios of GBV at school and how to address them. A common one across Africa goes like this: a girl is good at math, her male teacher notices her. Her offers to give her extra tutoring lessons and insists she carries his briefcase. One thing leads to another, and soon the girl finds herself being molested by the teacher. Who is in power, or who has none? In most scenarios, the girl won't say anything for fear of being failed in class or whipped as a liar. This might seem like an outlandish scenario but it is the reality in many schools.

Our next speaker was a representative of Mifumi, a Ugandan organization devoted to combatting domestic violence and GBV. The name comes from a small village outside of Tororo, to the east, where a local woman started an organization and a shelter to protect local women from domestic violence. We had some interesting discussions surrounding corporal punishment in schools, wife-beating (statistics show that more Ugandan girls than boys say that wife beating is acceptable) and types of abuse.

Our afternoon sessions involved break-out sessions where participants could choose according to their interest. Jenn and I have made some key contacts in the last year, and we invited them to facilitate. We had Hassan from Breakdance Project Uganda (you may recall them from my post about Camp BUILD), my counterpart Bright to talk about gender-equitable games using the Base Pack, PCV Taylor to give a session on making reusable menstrual pads (many girls stay home from school when they have their menstrual periods, therefore putting them more at a disadvantage), Jenn to talk about gender roles, and Tush from InMovement to talk about using music, dance and drama to inspire youth. Tush was also one of our speakers on the second day and used movement to talk about gender and GBV. Her organization will be working with our Eastern Camp BUILD/GLOW in August, so stay tuned!

Jenn's exercise with gender cards was insightful. We looked first at the difference between sex and gender (sex is biological, gender is constructed by society). Therefore, gender roles in America differ greatly from gender roles here. Next, there are three categories--Female, Male or Both-- and several cards that must be placed in each category. Things like "beautiful", "asks for sex", "aggressive", "enjoys sex" and "raises children". You can imagine where many of these cards are placed. But eventually, Jenn talks through each one and argues why it should be placed under "Both", including "gets pregnant" since it takes two to tango. This game is really interesting to do with youth, it gives great insight on how gender is viewed. For example, one of the cards says, "Beautiful". Boys will argue that a man cannot be beautiful, nor can a woman ask for sex. The keyword is "can". The point is to challenge beliefs and ask, "Well, why can't a woman enjoy sex? Why can't a man raise a child?"

I learned a lot from the workshop, issues surrounding gender and power in Uganda. I was an outsider at the workshop, an organizer not a participant, yet I came away from it realizing that I've only scratched the surface of the culture here and there's still so much to learn and understand. But one of the biggest takeaways was how strong the women are in Uganda. They can be treated like second-class citizens sometimes, and it drives me mad, but their strength indubitably commands respect.

Ethiopia, The Land of Milk and Honey (and really good coffee)

Horseback riding through Bale Mountains in southern Ethiopia.
Photos courtesy of Jim Tanton

Jim and I just got back from three magical weeks in Ethiopia. We explored the Bale Mountains on horseback, crept through dark tunnels connecting rock-hewn churches in Lalibela, observed gelada monkeys up close in the Simien Mountains and drank macchiatos in the eastern walled city of Harar. We saw an enormous part of the country in only three weeks, mostly thanks to the convenience (and price) of Ethiopian Air domestic flights (*see bottom for notes).

I wanted to write not only to describe our adventures (the good and the ugly) but also to give advice to other travelers. When we were researching whether or not to go to the Bale Mountains, we were simply going off the guidebook. There are no accounts online whether or not it is a worthwhile excursion. We took a leap of faith and went, and it ended up being the highlight of our trip, a hidden gem of Ethiopia. The northern historical circuit (Lalibela-Gondar-Axum) is the usual tourist route, few people go south to the Bale region. Bale is split into two sections: one is Bale National Park, east of Dinsho, so remote that a car is usually necessary. The Bale Mountains to the south of Dodola are not part of the National Park but are remote and protected. There are settlements in these areas but they are few and far between. Coming from Uganda, we were shocked to see a forest inhabited by people that hadn't been completely stripped.

We took a bus from the Autobus Terra (near Mercado) direct to Dodola, passing through Shashemene. The guidebook says it's a 10-hour journey, but to our pleasant surprise it took only 5, thanks to a newly paved road. Dodola is a small town with few things to offer, including a decent hotel. The tourism industry here is still in its infancy, and the hospitality industry has yet to catch up. The guidebook (Brandt) describes one place as "wrapper-fresh" but when we checked it out, we literally walked into a brothel-like establishment. Yello! Stick with the Bale Mountain Motel, it's the best in town. The best part about Dodola is despite the fact that no one speaks English, there are no hotels, you can still get a bomb macchiato at any little café.

Side note history lesson about Ethiopia: it is the only country in Africa that was not colonized by European powers and remained independent throughout the Scramble for Africa. It is a country with an ancient and complex history, with a preserved culture and deep tradition to show for it. This is the place where coffee originated (Kaffa), and coffee ceremonies are an integral part of the culture here. But there's a twist: in 1935, Ethiopia was invaded and occupied by fascist Italy (under Mussolini) until the end of World War II. In their short tenure, the Italians left behind quite a legacy, including macchiatos, foccacia and spaghetti bolognese. Sixty years later, the legacy lives on and is a part of everyday life. Even in a town like Dodola, you can order a macchiato, sit around with all the locals and slowly sip your coffee. We went to the Bale Mountains Head Office and organized our four-day trek on horseback with Dodola Mountain Trekking. For four days, four horses a day, a guide, two handlers, park entrance fee, mountain hut fees, we paid only $70 each. Each! It was incredibly reasonable and one of the best adventures I've had.

We saddled up the next morning and headed out for the mountains on horseback, past vast fields where oxen pulled the plows in preparation for the rains. Unlike Uganda, domesticated animals are the beasts of burden. They use oxen to plow fields, donkeys to carry firewood, horses to pull carts and sheepdogs to herd sheep. It was nice to ride on horseback in a place where everyone else is riding horses. We soon passed all the fields and headed into an enchanting forest. Over the next three days, we saw so many different ecosystems and types of forest. A lot of it reminded us of the landscape on Mt. Sabinyo, with similar yellow fire lilies, heather-covered trees and huge lobelias. We galloped through open fields, went up and down steep mountain passes and crossed many rivers. Jim and I both had a shock when both our horses unexpectedly jumped over a stream, nearly sending us out of our saddles. We stayed each night in the rustic mountain refuges scattered along the track from Dodola (watch out for fleas!)

I loved the serenity and the vastness of Bale region, the locals were very friendly and relaxed. There was no hassling, no begging, just friendly smiles and waves. It was a welcome respite from daily life in Uganda. We would have a lot more of this in the rest of our Ethiopian travels.

Bale Mountains plateau near Sanetti

Horses grazing in Bale Mountains

Our horse handler Musa and our pack horse we named Trotsky. We got the little bell that goes around this horse's neck

 Our newest collection item. Local milk jug. It's made of woven grass, ox blood, leather and horn.

Morning in Bale

Local sheepdogs in the Bale Mountains. I'm in love.

Lalibela

After four days in the mountains, we rode back to Addis Ababa and caught an early flight to Lalibela. It's in the middle of nowhere in north central Ethiopia, and takes usually 2 days by car to reach. 

Lalibela is known for rock-hewn churches dating back to the 5th century AD, each of the eleven churches unique and ancient. The churches have been built into the rock, usually carved downwards so you have to take a dark tunnel down into the abyss.

We had fun exploring all the secret passageways that connect the clusters of churches. Beware, it is $50 for a weeklong pass to enter these churches as well as the surrounding area (and the priests and guards will still ask you for a tip!). On top of that, an official guide costs about $20 (too steep for us Peace Corps folk, so guidebook it is!) Despite the ethereal beauty and spirituality of the churches, there are quite a few hassles in the city. The locals all approach you to ask your name, where you come from and if you want a guide. After a few times, I wanted to be left in peace. I suppose that's the nature of a town that depends almost entirely on tourism-- there's going to be a lot of hassling from locals. At least we had some respite from being tirelessly called "Muzungu" in Uganda, here they either say "You!" or ferengi, or foreigner.

One of my favorite parts of this place was how these ancient rock-hewn churches are still alive. Everyday there is a service held, complete with chanting, bells and burning frankincense, in these old, worn spaces. I love how actively used they are, the churches haven't been boarded up as a museum, but are living relics. Our last morning there, we awoke at 6am to attend the St. Mary's celebration. It was a beautiful morning, with all the locals coming from all directions up the steps to St. Maryam's, wrapped in Ethiopian white muslin. 

Kissing the rock-hewn church in Lalibela

Afternoon prayers

Bet Giyorgis church

Next stop: Gondar and the Simien Mountains. We took a short flight from Lalibela to Gondar, and left the following morning to trek in the Simiens. The Simiens have been featured both on Planet Earth and Human Planet, starring the endemic gelada population. Gelada monkeys are endemic to Ethiopia, are the only grass-eating monkeys, and have over 30 calls in their repertoire. They were fascinating creatures to observe, especially since they made such a ruckus! 

Gelada monkey

The sun came out in the Simiens just in time! 

We trekked a few miles to the campsite for the night, a basic and rustic accommodation and not nearly as inviting as the Bale Mountains. We were traveling with two other German travelers, and bunked up in the shared dormitory. Despite the foggy weather, we still managed to get a few good views of the spectacular Simiens.

Our next and final stop was Harar. We flew to the sleepy town of Dire Dawa (somehow the second largest city in Ethiopia, but doubtful since we saw about 3 people!) and then took a bus into the highlands of Harar. Harar is one of the three distinct coffee growing regions in Ethiopia, and a city steeped in history. It used to be a self-governing city-state, complete with an amir, until Menelik's defeat and unification with Ethiopia. It is also known as the fourth holiest Muslim city (for reasons we never could seem to get to the bottom...) and not far from the Somali border. Harar was lovely, enchanting and had a certain Middle Eastern feel to it while still distinctly Ethiopian.

The old city had a walled enclosure, 365 alleyways and 99 mosques. Everyone (and I mean everyone) right down to the homeless lady on the corner, is chewing khat (also known as chat). Khat is a tender leaf that when chewed gives a caffeine-like high. Harar had wonderfully distinct foods, such as mulawah pastry smothered in honey and numaful, a white bean paste mixed with lentils, tomatoes and spicy beri beri. We explored the city for three days, meandering down alleys, drinking coffee at every other café and eating at Mermaid Cafe, chatting with locals. Arthur Rimbaud lived here for a time, after giving up poetry as a young man and deciding to become a coffee merchant. The house where he lived has beautiful architecture and stained glass windows, with a small library downstairs and old photographs of Harar from the 1890s hanging.
Our last délire was with the Hyena Man. We went out to the outskirts of town at dusk while the Hyena Man called hyenas from up to 20k away for a feeding frenzy. We got to feed the greedy hyenas by hand (and by mouth!) scraps of meat. I've never been so close to such a powerful creature before. I'm usually not one for touristy activities, but hey, for $5, this was a blast.

Exploring the hidden alleys in Harar

Jim in front of Harar Gate 

Harar khat market

Feeding the hyenas in Harar 

Arthur Rimbaud's house from when he lived here in 1891 as a coffee merchant

* Notes:
If you book international travel with Ethiopian Air, domestic flights are much cheaper. You will pay resident rate for domestic flights, around $50-100 as opposed to $300.

Life Has No Spare Parts

A few weeks ago, I started teaching an HIV/AIDS curriculum at school to 6th and 7th graders, to fill the gap of zero point zero health talks held at the primary school. There is already national curriculum with some long acronym (PIASCY, or President's Initiative on AIDS Strategy Communication to Youth) with a glowing photo on the front of Uganda's very own president talking to a group of secondary school girls about AIDS. Despite the presence of a national curriculum, it is not taught at my primary school and as I suspect, at many other schools. This stuff just isn't being talked about. It's surprising, especially since HIV/AIDS is practically crammed down our throats, with signs throughout the village with ominous sayings such as "AIDS Kills" and "HIV is everywhere".  I'll never forget at Camp GLOW when I introduced myself to a camper and asked what she liked to do for fun, she replied "talk about HIV stroke AIDS," as if reciting from a billboard.

Our teachers modeling our HIV toolkit, teaching how HIV affects the immune system

Last week, a few of our teachers were putting up "inspirational" signs around the school, such as "Life Has No Spare Parts" and "Say No to Sugar Mummies and Daddies" (aka say no to gifts for sex. I love the mummies bit though. Would make a nice Halloween costume.) I asked the teachers if they thought the signs were effective, getting their message across to students in a meaningful way. The teachers both agreed, "Yes! Yes! They are very effective!" Research has shown that, in fact, they are not effective. The signs need to be complemented with teaching, explaining why "AIDS Kills". In fact, AIDS doesn't actually kill you, HIV simply weakens your immune system so badly that it can't fight off opportunistic infections. More like, "The common cold can kill you if you have AIDS." 

I've been trying to make up the void of HIV discussion by teaching an HIV/AIDS curriculum written by Peace Corps Uganda volunteers. The activities have been fun and interactive. This week, we've been talking about the immune system and how HIV affects it by doing a reenactment of the immune system, a volunteer for each type of white blood cell and one for antigens and HIV. Next week, we begin the tough stuff and how HIV enters the body. When I showed my counterpart the teaching aids, with "tip of the penis", "vagina" and "anus" written is giant letters, she gave me a look of both shock and pity. "Someone's gotta do it, and I'm already used to people laughing at me in this country," I told her.

I visited our sub-county's Health Center IV last week with one of our visiting medical officers. The clinical officer told me that he works twice a week with HIV positive people, about 900 in the sub-county. I was astounded by how high that number sounded, just for our sub-county alone. That seems like a big number for such as small area. Uganda has a relatively low rate for HIV for a sub-Saharan country, about 1.7 million last time I checked, but this number certainly felt more close to home. It gave new meaning to my HIV talks, since it is a very real threat in our area. I felt a little silly at first, talking about HIV and sex with pre-pubescent children, but this reassured me that knowledge, no matter at what age, is critical.