This week I began to work on a new government outreach program that was aimed at treating malnutrition. The program is helping malnourished children ages 5 and below, HIV positive people, and pregnant mothers by identifying those that need help and supplying supplemental food. I was so excited about the project because I thought I could help make a real difference around our community. Like many of you, I figured malnutrition would be a serious issue in the impoverished village in which I live. The first day, Rogers, a colleague of mine, Nalong (a woman who is 8 months pregnant and expecting twins), and myself went out into the village to find those people who were malnourished. We went house to house, weighing and taking the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) of everyone we thought needed our help. We then told all of the mothers to bring their children to our medical clinic later in the day to receive free supplement food from the government.My first day doing malnutrition outreach shocked me in many ways and also taught me some very valuable lessons. First of all, I was totally wrong about thinking everyone in our village was malnourished and needed our help. On the contrary, most of the kids were perfectly healthy, even though they are skiiiiiiiiiiinny compared to American children. I found this shocking, but then realized that because we live near the lake, the people are able to meet their very basic needs. They can get semiclean water from the lake to drink, bathe, and water crops. Additionally, they can find almost all their food in the ground in the form of potatoes, eggplants, and corn. These people have not survived thousands of years without being able to properly feed themselves, yet there are certainly other places in Uganda that struggle to find food.
Second of all, I grew to highly respect our neighbor Nalong. She is pregnant with her THIRD set of twins and is still willing to put a lot of time and effort into this program. She must have been absolutely exhausted after walking in the village all morning and helping in the clinic in the afternoon but she always remained positive and composed. Lastly, I learned how to deal in a very high stress environment when I volunteered to man the clinic as the physician and nurse took their lunch break. They left me to take the name, height, weight, and MUAC of all of the 30 toddlers in the clinic. There were mothers throwing their babies into my arms, children peeing on the floor, and others screaming because they are afraid of the white lady. On top of that, I speak only a few words in Luganda and thus could not communicate to them that I couldn't physically take care of all their children at the same time!I feel so lucky that I am able to live in a place that teaches me a new lesson everyday. Whether it is how to take the MUAC of a screaming baby or shower using less than a gallon of water, I am constantly being challenged. I can't wait to see how the next 9 weeks go!
Second of all, I grew to highly respect our neighbor Nalong. She is pregnant with her THIRD set of twins and is still willing to put a lot of time and effort into this program. She must have been absolutely exhausted after walking in the village all morning and helping in the clinic in the afternoon but she always remained positive and composed. Lastly, I learned how to deal in a very high stress environment when I volunteered to man the clinic as the physician and nurse took their lunch break. They left me to take the name, height, weight, and MUAC of all of the 30 toddlers in the clinic. There were mothers throwing their babies into my arms, children peeing on the floor, and others screaming because they are afraid of the white lady. On top of that, I speak only a few words in Luganda and thus could not communicate to them that I couldn't physically take care of all their children at the same time!I feel so lucky that I am able to live in a place that teaches me a new lesson everyday. Whether it is how to take the MUAC of a screaming baby or shower using less than a gallon of water, I am constantly being challenged. I can't wait to see how the next 9 weeks go!
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