The Medical Clinic

Our team, which had three nurses on it (including me), worked with a Ugandan doctor one day holding a medical clinic in Kyally. (Kyally, pronounced 'Charlie', is a village in Mpigi that is about a 20 minute drive away from the church). People came from all over...we saw about 200 patients that day. This is a picture of the waiting area.














Medicine is very different in Uganda compared to Canada...it was a steep learning curve for sure! We saw many, many people with malaria, but within the first hour we had run out of the correct medication to treat it. As our medication supply became depleted, the best we could do was to give them 3 days worth of Tylenol to treat the fever.



These kids watched us through the window all day!






Here I am preparing medications for a patient. We worked non-stop that day...I think I took about a 10 minute break to eat a power bar, and a short break to do an interview for the Ugandan national television, but otherwise we saw patient after patient all day! Soon, a medical clinic will be built on the 10 acre property that belongs to Peace Portal Community Church. This clinic will provide much needed regular access to health care for the people living in the villages near the church.

Around Mpigi...

Jen and Morgan are riding on a boda-boda, which is one of the primary modes of transportation in Mpigi. Basically, you just flag one of these guys down, negotiate a price before you get on the bike, and then go!

This is Mpigi town, where the shops and market are. The crowd of people are gathered around a witch doctor, who was shouting into a loudspeaker trying to sell herbal medicines to the crowd.


When we didn't take a boda-boda or a taxi, we walked! This is the road that leads to the church property.



We had a Uganda vs. Canada soccer game, which was really well attended! It is pretty unusual to have such a large group of mzungus (white people) in a rural area like Mpigi, so this was a big event! And yes, that really is a chicken walking across the soccer field!

This little guy came straight from church to watch the game, Bible in hand and in his Sunday best!


A typical house in Mpigi.

The Preschool

One of my favourite pictures!















The kids played with a soccer ball made of rags tied up around a rock (at least, that is what it looked like). We were able to give them a real soccer ball, but the one we gave them is probably not nearly as durable as the one they are using in this picture!



Skip rope was one of the favourite activities!





















Snack time at the preschool - the kids are drinking some sort of maize-based, hot, porridge-like drink...looked almost like glue to Canadian eyes!

The 10 Acres of Peace Portal Community Church

A view of the church building from the road leading to the 10 acre property.









Sunrise.

When it rains, it pours!!

The school kids welcomed us with a song and dance outside the church. There were probably about 100 people from the church and community there to welcome us - African style!!

Kukiriza House

One of the orphans - we were unable to determine his name despite our best efforts!! Every sub-team called him something different!

Yvonne and one of the twins...

Each sub-team got to spend time with the kids at the children's home...the kids at the home are a variety of ages, ranging from age 3 (the twins) up to about age 11. We all had a great time together, as you can see!

Bath time (a daily occurrence) outside the children's home. The building that you see is the kitchen, where Rose, the house mother, does all the cooking.

My sub-team with all 10 of the orphans. My sub-team was also known as Team Living It Up (Team LIU for short), as even in rural Uganda we were able to find ways to get our hands on Coke, chips, and various other "luxury" items that made the rest of our team very jealous...we were on "probation" for pretty much all of the trip:)