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Saturday, June 07, 2014

Wasssup Ma Jigger?!

Our visiting pastors Sam and Jenny are now safely back in the UK, but we had a wonderful time with them, despite the aforementioned plague (or similar) suffered by all but Sarah and Jono.  Whilst they were still with us, we managed a brief trip to Lake Nabugabo (which was really when Sam and Jenny started feeling unwell).  What started as a nice relaxing day was followed by a night of vomiting for Jenny, which then lead to a morning of torrential rain.  No problem, right?  We just drive home!  No.  No, in fact the road was totally flooded in one direction, and in the other direction, a deep pit had been dug across the road (for drainage).  However, this is just the sort of thing that gladdens the hearts of young men, as our intrepid three set out to build a fantastic (and very manly) bridge, so that we could drive to safety.  Cue pause of awe, whilst we admire their power and tenacity..... 


As well as visiting the Baby Unit, Sam and Jenny were able to visit the Nutrition Unit at Kitovu Hospital, giving out some sweet knitted hats that had been kindly donated.  The Nutrition Unit is actually currently struggling since an important source of their funding stopped in June (when the “contract” ran out).  Obviously the Unit can’t simply stop looking after patients, and yet these patients can’t meaningfully contribute to the cost of their stay, as by definition the children on the Nutrition Unit are some of the most vulnerable in Uganda.  Many of them come from families of subsistence farmers, who are increasingly going hungry as crop fail due to the unpredictability of rainfall.  Poverty and lack of food is compounded by the issue of families being forced to separate in order to seek work elsewhere, families lacking knowledge on the best methods of feeding children, not to mention the devastating impact of HIV on the health of children in Uganda.


Kitovu Hospital not only help these children when they are acutely unwell, but also offering excellent training for the carers (mothers, fathers, grandparents, whoever) on the best way of feeding their children.  The Unit cares for around 300 children each year, and really helps to save many children from the brink of death.  All children are tested for HIV, so that appropriate care can be arranged if indicated.

Sarah well remembers little Morris, whose parents had separated some years before.  His dad had gone to the capital to try and earn some money for the family, leaving Morris in the care of his step-mother.  This woman not only neglected this sweet little toddler, but also physically abused him, as evidenced by a poorly healed old fracture of his arm (which apparently he had never received treatment for).  The little fellow was extremely sick on arrival, freezing cold (32 degrees), his swollen malnourished body covered in deep abscesses.  It took 3 days before he even regained the strength to brush away some of the flies that swarmed around his wounds.  Yet, within 3 weeks, he was back on his feet, and found his smile again, due to the work of the Nutrition Unit.  Kitovu was able to involve child protection services in order to ensure a safe plan existed for this little lad’s future care. 

If the Nutrition Unit is forced to close, it will be to the serious detriment of the poorest of the poor around the Masaka region, and little children like Morris will suffer.  So please, if you feel you can, get in touch, and we’ll tell you how you can help. 

As we prepare to head back to the UK for the summer, it seems a timely moment to contract a parasitic infection.  Usually we would leave this up to Tim, ever thewilling volunteer, but this time Sarah stepped up and took one for the team.  Jiggers are these horrible little beasties (fleas in fact) that crawl into your feet head first, and create eggs, whilst simultaneously breathing and defecating out of a tiny hole in your skin.  The eggs then enter the dust and infect more people.  So gross.  Anyway, luckily our next door neighbour Tom is a seasoned Jigger remover, and was on hand to scratch away at Sarah’s foot with a hypodermic needle, and release this disgusting bloated creature from its cozy burrow.  Turns out that after labour, this really doesn’t seem like such a big deal after all!


Wassssup Ma Jigger?!