it is not possible...

the longer im here, the more i realize that nothing is simple, not even the most mudande or ordinary of things. take for example, the loading of kayaks onto a matatu (public taxi van for hire). going to kayak this past weekend became such an ordeal, loading the kayaks wasnt even the half of it. even so, it took a solid 30 minutes to the load the boats while the taxi drivers constantly fight you for the straps and the boats, trying to help and to protect their vehicles. though the more i think about it, loading boats is never easy, because everyone has their own system-and when you add in the language barrier its no suprise that there is mass confusion. on sunday, paul, our new volunteer (med student from alaska) tried to load the boats his way, ignoring the ugandan way, confusing everybody. even so, it all worked out until we tried to meet up with jessie and jurg, resulting in us driving to several locations to find them. finally we put on the rivah and managed to meet the taxi driver with no problems. loading boats went much smoother as we did it uganda style. when in rome i guess. that carriers over here to most things. there is a very ugandan way of doing things- for good reason. one of the biggest challenges here at the clinic is treating withing our limitations, and being able to think like a ugandan. paul had a funny story about his first about his first encounter with dr. judith- suffice to say looking in someones ear to determine if they had an infection was deemed "not possible".. seeing as there was no eartool, or the one we had she didnt feel like using.
"it is not possible" is one of my favorite ugandan phrases, along of course with "disorganize your bones" for get a move on, or "very smart" for you look nice. "it is not possible" sums up much of the daily experiance here- from ordering food not explicitily described on a menu, to dr's visits, to car and taxi rides. it makes for an interesting cultural experiance, being forced to do things the ugandan way, on ugandan time, or in ugandan portion size. there are equally as many equally as many "only in uganda" moments, for example, bargaining down the price of something in a supermarket.

its a funny time of year here. ive never done christmas in a awarm climate which is weird in itself. so many peoples families are comng to visit now, and so mny other people are heading home. annie left fr new york, jessie and jurg flew to switzerland for the holidays *jurg will saty, jessie is coming back in a week* Jim and Sheri flew home yesterday to suprise their parents, kristen and shannon both left. the other shannon leaves in a week, as does Steve. our makeshift family is falling apart a bit, so that combined with some stuff in my personal life has mad e the last week a hard one. the good part is tht things are always in flux here, and our family has extended to include Karl, Tara, and Steve, and of course Dr paul, our new SPH volunteer. We aree having our own family christmas tomorrow, which i am super excited for. We dont know what we are doing yet, but no matter. morgans family is here now, and i got to guide a raft down the day 2 stretch here for them, which was fun. ive also been trying out a bunch of new boats, so kayaking is going well, when i can find the time because last week was overwhelmed with net sales and work. a little time off for the holdiays will be much appreciated, as have been all the holiday wishes.
love, and happy new years.
a

to Bwindi and back again

LAst weekend was spent in a car driving to eastern uganda, to the Bwindi Impenetrable rain forest to engage in net sales over in that area. it ended up being about a 14 hour train ride, during which i tried chicken on a stick (delicious) took my picture at the equator, sang along to a lot of cheesy songs with morgan, and marveled at the ugandan countryside, which is absolutley beautiful. on the way to bwindi, the landscape completley changes, and these green bulbous hills develop, that just roll through the countryside, seemingly with out end. it was almost surreal l0oking. Jurg, jessies boyfriend, and swiss mountain man said it reminded him of new zealand. i wouldnt know, never having been, but ive never seen anything like it, and if new zealand does look that way, it is certainly high on my top five places to visit list. The rainforset itself is beautiful as well, really diverse in trees and plants, and everything there was ginourmous in size (except of course, the pygmies) I saw a giant centipede and an enormous tree snail. Bwindi is apparently also home to the largest population of gorillas, the park hosts 326 (half the remainign wild population, i had no idea gorillas were so endangered) I didnt get to see any gorillas while i was there, as i opted not to do a gorilla safari. i kept hoping one would show up, but no such luck. maybe next time.
The net sales we did were rather anticlimactic, which is disapointing. after hearing that bwindi depsratley needed nets, we brought 1500 to sell. The first two net sessions i went to had either been poorly moblized, or the villages we visited has recently recieved free gvt nets, leaving no interest or money for our nets. we sold only 21 nets in two days, but we left jessie and jurg in bwindi for two more days to see if they could organize another sale. they should be visiting the pygmies today to trade nets for arrows and honey. sadly, i dont get to trade with the pygmies this time, but i did get to trade nets for matoke (plantains ) and nkoko (chicken) which was exciting. The villages are much poorer in the west than the one here in the east that we visit. the difference was suprising.
One thing i learned this weekend that was slightly disconcerting was about the pygmies. they used to live, hunter gathering, in the bwindi forest. but after the gorillas became so endangered, the forest became a national park / conservation land, and the pygmies were forced to relocate, leave the forest, and attempt an agricultural life style that has pretty much forced themn into abject poverty. pretty depressing. JEssies plan is to try and mrket the honey we get from the pygmies in exchange for nets, and sell it at one of the fancy lodges i nbwindi to try and raise money for the pygmy population. there is already a similar project going on calle d hives save lives, sold under the label of "not tonite honey" . clever. very clever. so were going to try and come up with something just as good.
Our trip ended with a stop in kampala, the capital city where morgan and i treated ourselves to a sushi dinner thanks to a gift certificate she won in the festival. the sushi was amazing, way better than anticipated. sushi in uganda... who knew?
Its been quieter here in the aftermath of the festival, which is probably a good thing. On a side note, morgan and i ahave decided (in the interset of comfort and the safety of our things, to move into a banda together at NRE. after months of tenting, a bed is really suprisingly great. im l0ving the new digs, and it definatley helps it feel more like home.
things are super busy at the clinic as we head towards the holidays, the pres holiday rush never changes, nor do the cheesy christmas songs playing on the radio. it will be interseting for sure to see how uganda celebrates the holidays...

Malaria Musings

The more i learn about Malaria, the more fascinating i think the disease is. The great thing about having Jessie back in the country (besides from the fact that work has picked up like 78 %) is that she is just such a wealth of knowledge to bouce ideas and questions off of. I find that i am learning so much here about Malaria, and medicine, and even how much i enjoy the medical sciency stuff. (note: i have not taken a "science course" since AP Bio my senior year of high school. Its definatley been a while. And while i am in no way considering medical school, i ve really been enjoying this experiance.
Malaria is such an interesting disease for so many reasons. Here in Uganda we are dealing with Malaria Falcipirum, which is the deadliest of all the three types (vivax, and i dont remember the third) Because it has the capability of crossing the blood/brain barrier, attatching to the cerebellum, and wreaking absolute havoc on your body. The Malaria parasite itself is ridiuclous- the way it has adapted and controlls the anopholes mosquitoe-
check out this link to an old NY times article about the parasite... http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/science/09para.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
the parasite can survive in the stomach of a mosquitoe for two weeks- (average lifespan of a mosquitoe is about 6weeks: which means about three feeding sessions to infect someone with malaria parasite). The Malaria parasite, once it enters your blood stream actually feeds off your redblood cells- and this is where i think things get so interesting, esp. with regards to treatment / causes of malaria. Anything that affects your red blood cell count or your liver can have a huge effect on your bodies ability to stave off malaria. Drinking alcohol: bad. (kills the liver cells, liver is wehre the malaria parasite first reproduces). Taking Ibprofin or Advil- Bad during Malaria because it divides or affects your redblood cell platletes- its a much better option to take tylenon or acetomenaphin becuase they reduce fever without affecting the red blood cells. Anemias and iron count in the blood stream can also have and effect, and there is the natural immunity of sickle cell anemia gene carriers- people who carry one copy of the sickle cell anemia gene (its recesssive) have a natural immunity to malaria because the parasites are unable to attach onto the bloodcells (they have a different shape).
The way the disease evolvesand continues to eolve is just so fascinating here as it pertains to real, everyday life. I was suprised to learn how much mis-inforamtion about malaria is out there as well...
so yeah. im a dork, but im really enjoying being able to leran about this stuff, and i wish i had a better base in it. Maybe i will end up doing something medical in the long run... you never know. Thats about it for now, im going to consider to fdream up new malaria questions to pester jessie with...
There is a malaria education session today, our second of the week in which i will be doing the family planning lecture, and then this weekend, off to Bwindi, about a 12 hour drive to give nets to the pgymys. im not sure yet if ill get to go on this trip, but i hope so...

festival again..

As joey showed me.. there is a sweet writeup of the festival online by Jamie- the event organizer and the man in charge of kayak the nile, the local kayak school here. check it out... http://www.kayaksession.com/nile-river-festival.php heres one of the photos, and again, i will update more asap.

phone number :updated as of 25/12/06

In other news... i got a ugandan phone number. Feel free to contact me- i can get texts from the US.
to dial, i believe it is 011 256 77550304158

if that doesnt work, try also 011 256 7755304158

sweet.

the Nile Freestyle Festival

Oleotia!
(Lusoga for Hello)
So things are going well here in Bugajali. This past weekend was the nile freestyle festival, which was absolutley insane. The festival was a three day long kayaking competition comprising three events: the first day was a big air competition in which kayakers got points for their three biggest different moves on the nile special wave- there were over 60 competiters, locals and mzungus (whites), and a huge spectater turn out. The second day was a 45 kilometer race down the White Nile from NRE and Bugajali Falls to the Hairy Lemon- (their website, check it out is www.hairylemonuganda.com) and the third and final day was a sprint race down from Nile River Explorers, one of the rafting companies here, down to silverback, a class five big wave train rapid. From silverback, you have to sprint up a hill and jump on a boda boda (moterer bike taxi) drive back to NRE where there was an obstacle course set up with greased rafts, and then it all ended when you and your boda driver funneled a beer or soda after completing the obstacle course. Needless to say, it was a ridiculous weekend, and a lot of fun.

after a lot of deliberation, Morgan and i decided to enter the competition, and ended up doing all three events. The first day, the freestyle competition, as i said was amazing. it was so much fun to be a part of, and there was such a great atmosphere. Music was playing, and the turn out was amazing- tons of locals showed up to watch everybody compete, there were free shuttles going back and forth making it easy. There was even more pressure because the top three finishers for the ugandans were going to be the new ugandan kayaking team- huge bonuses... and a large cash prize for the over all winner of all three events . I ended up getting to judge the first part of the freestyle comp- where i had to shout out to someone who was scribing the moves i saw, if they were big, huge, clean, and stuck (stayed on the wave)- pretty funny and a great time. I ended up placing 6th in the freestyle out of 14 women, i was a little disapointed in my rides (we got a 30minute heat to get rides on the wave with 5-6 other women in the eddy) but had a great time. morgan placed second, and one of the highlights of the day was efinatley the beatdown morgan got on her second to last ride, where the whole crowd went ooooohhhh.... and then gave a huge cheer.
The secon day was a 45 kilometer race, which was brutal and grueling for there is a signifigant amount of flat water on the nile, wth upstream currents, whirlpools and boils. The race had to be done in teams of two, so morgan and i competed together, placing second for the women with a time of 3h29minutes... so we were pretty stoked (and exhausted.. man. that was hard) The next day was the day i was dreading the most, but it ended up being the most fun- Morgan and i do a lot of morning runs down to silverback, so we knew the lines, and our boda drivers. The race and the sprint up the hill was super tiring- and i think harder than the 45k race.. I was terrified on my boda as my driver was flying (you sit on the boda with the kayak on your lap, its like a 7-12 minute ride ) and then we got to run through an obstacle course built with rafts. I got stuck in one of them, and was laughing so hard i couldnt breathe. It was awesome. I was suprised to come in third, but really excited about it. running through the obstacle course at the end was great, becuase all the male competetors were there cheering us on, as were a ton of spectaters. Jim, Sherri and Annie were huge during the comp. cheering us on taking pictures, giving us gatorade, etc.. it was just a great weekend. Morgan ended up finishing first for the women- which is amazing! I think i took 5th or 6th over all, which iw as pretty happy with. Prizes for the festival were donated from places in kampala, and were crates of beer (nile special, one of the local breweries was the sponser) so of course the whole thing ended with a huge party as well.

On a professional note, things are also going well. Jessie Stone is back in town, and a lot of things are definatley changing. we are redoing the family planning unit, and staying super busy with net sales, follow-ups, etc. There are four education sessions and netsales this week, which morgan and i will be helping to teach again.

thats about all i got.. im going to try and steal some pictures from friends from the festival and post them if i can....

when life hands you lemons....

Last thursday the SPH team (including wilfred, jessica, annie, kristen, morgan, me jen (at her first net sale) and Francis, our driver went to a village called Namasugali, up in the Kamuli district for a net sale and malaria outreach session. In case i havent explained before, SPH is a malaria outreach program that believes the best way to erradicate malaria is through prevention, as opposed to treatment. So: we go to a different village every thursday to give an education session on malaria, what it is, how you get it, how you can prevent it (the female anopholes mosquitoe transmits the malaria into your bloodstream where it matures in your liver, and then is released into your system attacking health red blood cells. To avoid malaria, sleep under a mosquito net as mrs anopholes bites mostly at nitetime when you are sleeping) then at the end of the session we sell insectacide treated nets for 3000 Ug Shillings the equivilent of 2 us dollars. We purchase the nets for 11,000 shillings, so we are not making a profit, instead we make the nets afforadable for the local villages. AT namasugali, it was utter insanity. They called and asked us to bring 15000 nets, which is more than the clinic has. WE brought 330 nets to the dismay of the people. over 350 people were at the education session and they were waiting for us when we got there early (this never happens!) after the session, they mobbed us, had us completely surrounded for four hours while we sold them te nets. here is a pictre of francis (our driver) as he tried to fend people off from crowding us or stealing nets .

After that stressful trip we decided that a trip to the hairy lemon was in order for a relaxing fun weekend. the lemon is paddlers paradise. it is a beautiful island on the nile, about an hours drive from bujagali. It is a 7 minute paddle downstream from the amazing nile special wave, which is an unbelievable world class play wave. because of chogm, the water had been high, which makes the special even better. even though annie had an ear infection, she was able to paddle out to the worlds squirliest eddy (think asci water park but worse) and take some sweet pictures. Morgan and i paddled 3 sessions a day, and had an awesome time with some british guys we had met at bujagali, al good paddlers. We tore it up and even managed to throw our first official blunts :a freestyle move in a kayak that is a vertical edge transfer where you start facing forwards and end facing backwards by the back of your boat coming up off the water- it was an amazing weekend. for info on the hairy lemon, check http://www.hairylemonuganda.com/ ( i believe.. i will double check). Heres a pic of me blunting... and then of me and morgan at the end of the session where we figured it all out. check out how huge our smiles were.. we were SO EXCITED!

After the lemon it was home to bujagali and more work at the clinic. Chogm starts today and Jessie arrives today with her mother so it is going to be crazy here for a while. Another net sale this thursday, hopefully it wont be quite as nuts as before. *All the pics are off morgans camera... for more of her pictures check her website at www.flickr.com/photos/morgankoons/

im going to try and start a website for mine soon.. ill let you know when....

knowing me...knowing you....

so i realized the other day that i have made a few passing refrences to people but havent really explained much about them or who they are. Here is a quick little cheat sheet so you can know who im dealing with, and what is going on in my life when i reference these people in further entries

here is a picture of all the sph volunteers: me, shannon, annie, morgan, jen, on the day of shannons education session on HIV which she presents to ugandan high schoolers

annie: SPH volunteer cordinater, jessie stones cousin, techically my boss .. .

jen: PA student from denver here for the month, working at SPH.

Shannon: intern with the foundation for sustainble development, working at sph

morgan: another sph volunteer my age, kayaker from oregon.

sheri and jim: couple from the states who are driving around the world in a 1995 toyota landcrusier named betty. they started in england and have driven all the way down the west coast of africa, up the east coast to bujagali.

Aliza: israeli/american med student volunteering in kampala

kristen volunteer with another organization now doing some stuff with sph

ibra kristens boyfriend, local ugandan and instructor at kayak the nile

jessica and wilfred: married couple that is amazing, local ugandans who work at sph

esther cook at sph

annette nurse at sph

godfrey nurse at sph

dr dan dr at Sph

Judith dr at sph

CHOGM

....stands for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and it is happening here in Uganda at the end of the month. Chogm means that the roads are being redone, causing horrendous traffic, and that the prices of everyhting are rising, because, the queen is coming. Jinja is right at the source of the nile, so the queen may be stopping in (it hasne been decided yet) but the possibility means that the entire area is going nuts. rafting trips arent allowed out on the 2oth (the date the queen will be here) etc.. Typical uganda.
After three weeks here i am starting to get my bearings and really figure things out. I have gotten more use food, the campsite, rea0adjusted to my tent, have learned a little of the local language (lusoga and luganda) been on most of the river, etc.. It is starting to feel like home here, which is nice. So far on this trip i cannot believe how lucky i have been in the poeple that i have met. Its sad that some of them will be leaving soon, so ive just been enjoying the time we spend together. My daily routine has become 7am yoga, bfast, work at the clinic, have lunch at teh clinic (delicious ugandan food prepared by Esther, our cook) do some data entry, maybe kayak a little, have dinner, and chill out at Eden rock, another campsite down the road. Its a nice schedule, which i am fully aware will be changing as soon as Dr. Jessie arrives the 2oth.
For now, things at the clinic are going welll. I gave two family planning lectures last week, complete with me putting a condom on an eggplant to the giggles of ugandans, and not knowing a word of what Godfrey , our translator and one of the clinics nurses was ssaying. Right now im working on a way to redo the family planiing information to make more interactive with annie and kristen, and then try and propose a joint sPH and Soft Power Education project revoling aound health /sex ed for teenagers. If it happens, it would be a great project, seeing as the majority of schools health ed programs here are severely lacking.
i love hearing all your responses and comments on the blog, so keep them coming. As they say here, ehy buga MO.. or im hot! so im gonna head on out and do some work before i jump in the rivah. Illl try and send some pcitures asap- stay tuned.

bujagali falls
you can run right or left... beautiful as you can see... so sad that it will be gone soon....

bujagali falls

so i realized the other day that i have been less than descriptive in discussing my new surroundings. Bujagali falls is the name of the major rapid and falls that is right next to the campsite where i am staying. Most things, food places, rafting places, etc.. are based around it, named after it, you get the picture. it is an amazing rapid, a class 4 or 5 for those of you who kayak, but amazingly friendly.. you can run laps on it, an ultimate park and huck. It is even sadder that this is one of the rapids that will soon be underwater due to the bujagali dam project. what that means for tourism in this area, no one is sure yet. The land and mud/dirt here is a rich red terracotta brick shade, and it is everywhere. even though it is the rainy season i have been lucky because it has stayed pretty dry. There are more types of plants and birds (esp. birds!) here than i have ever seen. The water is clear, the trees and plants are so green, this area just has this incredibly lush feel. It has been HOT, but not too humid.
Things are starting to pick up here, lots of data to enter and stay on top of, and two education sessions this week.. one of which i will teaching the family planning portion of *including placing a condom on an eggplant so wish me luck!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Things are going well here. After my first week, im starting to settle in here. I went on a few followups this week, where we basically walk around a village looking for people who sold bought nets from us to check on how they are being used, what condition they are in and see what type of information they have retained from the education session (where we teach family planning, a little nutrition, codom use, etc.. and talk about malaria). It can be frusterating at times given my lack of knowledge of luganda, and their lack of skill in English, but that is why we have the translators. i often feel like a hindrance, but it is a unique experiance to go into these villages, and see how people live here. At the education session this pas thursday, people litterally stormed us when it was time to buy nets, we sold out of a hundred and fifty nets, and could easily have sold more. The demand and the need for both nets and education in the more rural sections in astounding. After the education session, we were fed a filling meal of sweet potatoes, rice and beans, all typical ugandan fare. (think, heavy on the starch). Next week, more followups and some painting will be in order. seeing as i have minimal (read: none) medical training, i havent yet spent much time in the clinic. I will be helping to put together more famly planning stuff a little later on.
Walking through the villages is great, even when we walk in endless circles looking for a woman when there are two women with the same name living on opposite ends of the village. I have seen more chickens crossing the road here.. i never knew they actually did that! So . why did the chicken cross the road? Send in your best answers please, because ive run out!

One Banana, two banana...

I got into Uganda on saturday, the 27th and have been here in bujugali falls since then . So far, its been amazing. the country the absolutley beautiful. The campsite is right alongside the nile, and ican see a beautiful little playspot from my tent in the am, and hear the water at nite. I had my first day at the clinic,doing boring things like data entry, but i got to meet the staff, some nurses, another volunteer, annie, the program coordinater, esther the cook dr dan and an american student named shannon here with Foundation for sustainable development. I get to go on my first followup today, going to rural villages with translators and village aids and questionaire to assess how the mozzie nets are being used, holding up, etc. Itlooks like my days are paddle in the afternoon, volunteer in the am. Jessie the founder of SPH isnt here yet, she will be here in three weeks or so, but her mantra is to paddle as much as possible due to a dam project that will erradicate this section of the nile river in the next two years. (such a shame)

SO ididnt realize until i got here that i am staying at a rafting company, complete with everything that entails, including rafting videos (carnage!) bars, and loudmusic. i may end up moving to another site nearby which is quieter, we will see. my first nite here there was a full moon party at another rafting company, which meant that allt he drunk custies, and the guides, me and Annie, (my boss) jumped into one of the rafting trucks to head down to adrift on dirt roads, holding on the frame work as the truck bounced along, with people conducting so that one half of thebus was singing one banana two banana three banana four banana, while the other half is going nah nah nah nah... i was pressed up against a few locals singing at the top of their lungs, a toursit who kept trying for in the jungle, on a bumpy, amazing welcome to uganda busride. i didnt last very long at the party before i took a boda (mototaxi) home to bed. In short, i think im gonna like it here...

London, Heathrow Airport.

Allright! Second time is the charm. The first time i tried typing this, i couldnt figure out how to sign into my blog for the life of me. ''technologically savy'' are not the words that normally come to mind when i describe myself. I am sitting in London's Heathrow Airport, at an internet cafe in hour 7 of my 12 hour layover.

The first leg of my trip is going well- I got to Philly in plenty of time last nite carrying a backpack, a duffelbag, a sleeping bag, and my kayak, which had been wrapped in a tarp, duct tape and NRS straps, and looked so much like a dead body i am amazed they didnt stop me right there to arrest me. To my suprise, they gave me no trouble at all, didnt even officially weigh my boat. Picked it up, guestimated the weight, and carried it off. Now all that remains to be seen is that it actually makes it all the way to Entebbe. I cant imagine misplacing something that obtrusive, but, stranger things have happened.

So far, Heathrow has been uneventful. London looks gray and rainy, no suprise there i am told. I did not make it out into the city- i wasnt able to reach my friend, i didnt want to wander around london inadequetly dressed in the rain, carrying my bedding for the next three months. Plus, i fell asleep in some great chairs for approximatley 2 hours; a fabulous nap after a long flight.

It feels as though i've had a lot of waiting so far on this trip, allowing me plenty of time for self reflection and analysis. Part of me loves waiting around here, wandering, just watching all the people who pass by. There are so many types, nationalities... its really incredible. I saw an older couple dressed in matching ensembles of jeans and red sweaters, beautiful indian saris, African Kabaah robes, and super trendy European girls dressed in all black wearing hordes of makeup. (i of course fit right in, wearing polypro, a backpack, and carrying a nalgene and a sleeping bag- ha) I love the looks i get wandering into the super expensive stores they have lining the moving sidewalk, gucci, salvatore ferragamo, chanel, harrods, symthson of bond street... I've never understood how somepeople manage to stay so beautifully composed and put together when they are traveling. I always feel like a mess. Welp, thats about all i have for now. My next flight leaves around 9 pm British time, and deposits me in Entebbe around 8 am, where my escort back to NRE and SPH should be waiting.

a

Uganda or Bust

Its hard to believe, but i head out tomorrow evening. I've definatley been less strssed as i try and get all the last minute details together. Even so, im super excited to finally be going. As great as it has been hanging around Swarthmore the past couple of weeks, im ready to go and do something. Even better, I DO have an arranged ride from the airport to where i am going, which is a definate plus. So things are really starting to fall into place. I am bringing one big suitcase, my kayak (anyone know how to travel internationally with a boat??) and one carry on bag. Here i go, Uganda or Bust. I am flying to London, where i have a 12 hour layover, and will hopefully get to meet up with an old friend. Then, the next night, it is off to Entebbe. After Entebbe, i get to take a three hour taxi ride to Jinja and my new home at the NRE campsite. My trip will look something as follows: (check the maps for the arrows)
As I head out i just want to say thank you again to all of my donors, and please be sure to look for updates.

Welp thats about all ive got, the next time i write it will be from an internet cafe somewhere in Uganda... Time to go finish packing and get this show on the road!

propane...

so apparently it is illegal to fly with propane in your luggage- a fact i learned at REI (one of my unofficial sponsers) today. So... i dont know what that means for me and food, other than i will not be bringing Tony Gill's campstove with me to cook on. Details, details...

countdown: 9 days

after a fun weekend up at Colby, i decided that it is time to get down to business, and start packing. Scary stuff. . Today i spent a large portion of the morning setting up my tent and mosquito nets in the living room in an attempt to figure out the ideal set-up. I still havent figured it out. I have at least three mosquito nets, all of which i guess i will bring to make a game time decision.
the tent i will be living in for the next three months was also one i called home for the past summer- thats right, by the time january is over, i will have spent 7 months, or the better part of a year living in a tent that i cant stand up straight in. (because i am SO tall... ) Here are some pictures of me, and my tent.

So for those of you who have been wondering where, or how i will be living; there is your answer. I am renting a campsite at Nile River Explorers (www.raftafrica.com) for $3/ day- the most economical option. While the campsite is patrolled by security guards, i am stil not sure as to what exactly i am doing for food (i.e.. planning on cooking my own, buying, etc) I am planning on brining my (okay, tony gill's) campstove and some propane, but thats about as far as ive got. I also dont know what i am doing in terms of the WET SEASON- read: extreme weather. Im hoping for the best.. . wish me luck!

its all starting to come together...

so i finally bought my plane ticket, and have an official date of departure. OCTOBER 25th
Whoo hoo.. Its crazy to realize that this is finally happening. All that is left now are all the tedious little details, dealing with bank accounts, packing, running errands. Im sad that im missing the last north country weekend and guide party up in maine, but i did need to take the time to figure everything out.

One of my bigest dilemas thus far has been in regard to packing. Specifically: Do i bring my kayak and kayak gear with me? For those of you who know me, and know uganda, this should come as n o suprise. One, i am terrible at making decisions, even something as small as ordering food, and two: Uganda has some of the best whitewater in the world. It would be a shame not be be able to paddle because i dont have a boat. Yet, at the same time, i am not going to Uganda purely to paddle, though paddleing is why i discovered SPH and a part of why i decided to volunteer there. (it did help that they actually emailed me back) For now, i have decided to bring my paddle gear. worse comes to worse, i get to paddle the famed white nile (eek) I mean, how scary can it be, they teach beginner clinics there??

Some Basic Malaria Facts

Malaria is the biggest infectious disease killer worldwide. 500 million people get malaria annually, and 3 million children die from malaria each year, the majority of which are residents of sub-saharan Africa.

In Uganda, Malaria is the biggest killer of children under 5, (30% of the under 5 population die every year) and is responsible for the majority of maternal health problems, such as miscarriages.

*Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito
*18% of Uganda's GDP is spent combatting malaria
*Malaria is both treatable, preventable, and curable.

The Soft Power Health Clinic and Jessie Stone

The Soft Power Health Clinic was started by Jessie Sone in 2004. As a whitewater kayaker, Dr. Stone had already done extensive travel in Uganda and else where, and had seen the effects of malaria first hand. Appalled by the lack of treatment and knowedge of malaria in Uganda, Stone decided to open her own clinic as a way to give back to the local population. SPH provides education, prevention, and treatment of Malaria in rural Uganda. Soft Power Health is working with a Ugandan based non-profit, Soft Power Education to implement various education programs including work with other NGOs. The education and prevention program aims to make villagers responsible for their Malaria prevention with the goal to make the program sustainable and managed by Ugandans. For more information on Jessie or her Clinic, visit The Soft Power Health website by clicking on my favorite links above. Or check out Jackson Kayaks team page, www.jacksonkayaks.com/team

Some Facts on Uganda, stolen from the CIA world factbook.

Capital city: Kampala

time difference from EST: + 8hrs

Independence gained in October 1962

President: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI

Political Situation: Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese, 27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park

Originally a German cololony lost to the British in the aftermath of World War One, the colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda.

What im doing in Uganda

So for those of you who dont know, i am leaving this fall for Kyabirwa village to volunteer at a health clinic that works to help treat and prevent malaria. Kyabirwa is located in the Bujigali Falls region of Southern Uganda, close to Lake Victoria, Tanzania, and the famed White Nile Rivah!!!!

The Soft Power Health Clinic was started by Dr. Jessie Stone was started in 2004 to provide education, prevention and treatment of Malaria in rural Uganda. Jessie is a whitewater kayaker with team Jackson Kayaks who originally went to Uganda to kayak, and was stunned at the lack of health care, and the impact of malaria (a highly treatable disease) on the local populations. In response, and as a way to give back, Jessie decided to open a health clinic.

Volunteers such as myself will be traveling to local villages to distribute mosquito nets, helping to teach education courses, and distribute meds. Soft Power Health is a non-profit organization, and volunteers with SPH are responsable for all their own costs, as well as a $75/week donation to cover transportation costs, which is why i was trying to raise funds this summer, to finance both my trip and the clinic.

Jessie's clinic has been enormously sucessful, selling over 20,000 mosquito nets as of August, 2007, and has started branching out to provide family planning.

For more on SPH, check out www.softpowerhealth.org