Farewell to Kagando

Wednesday February 1^st

Ann and I have come to the conclusion that Lukonzo which is the local language is a cross between Elfish and Red Indian!! We have managed to master some of the local greetings and niceties and I’ve managed to pick up some useful phrases and actually managed to make myself understood and get a patient to lie down to be examined! However communication is not always straightforward and a patient appeared from the Congo today who only spoke French and Swahili. I think the staff in Out Patients were amazed at my smattering of schoolboy French insisting that he should be talking in Swahili to me!! I knew French O level would come in useful one day.

                                      Farewell to Kagando-at least for the time being...

Today is our last day at Kagando after a very enjoyable and eventful 3 week stay. Tomorrow sees an early 6.45 start and I think we will both be sorry to be leaving. I took a phone call from Simonpeter to say he would be unable to drive us tomorrow and that he would be sending one of his other experienced drivers. Apparently 2 vehicles he is importing via Mombasa have been held there because of problems with the paperwork and he was going to have to fly today to Mombasa to try to sort things out with Kenyan Customs. Sounds like a familiar story to when we imported our Ford Fiesta into Kenya back in 1983!

Filing and food

Tuesday January 31^st

Ann attempted to complete the filing she had been doing this morning but no one turned up in the filing department to unlock the door so she made banana cake instead which was very good with a passion fruit icing. We thought we would show you photos of the mandazis and fruit that we often eat for lunch.

                                  Mandazi-"If the paper goes see-through its good to eat" 

The filing department was open after lunch so Ann spent a VERY hot 2 hours inserting notes into arch lever files, in which were piles of notes tied with string. The string was also tied to the metal rings and in some the rings were disconnected from the files! Evidence was there of people who had not bothered to take files completely off of shelves, but had rolled up and put notes inside the metal arch of the files!!

                                                              Deep in the abyss!

In the late afternoon we walked along the valley to the next trading centre, where we had a much needed soda (mountain dew) and saw some of the things for sale learning the names of these fish through a sea of flies!

Power struggles

Monday January 30^th

Last night we nearly had a nasty incident which might have finished this blog once and for all! Around 8.30 there was suddenly a crackling sound from the main electrical socket with a lot of sparks flying. Fortunately only our multi plug socket suffered irreparable damage and fortunately it didn’t occur while we were asleep. So much for Kagando electrics!

This morning in chapel a couple who were married on Saturday were presented to everyone and a wedding cake was brought out. We were informed that the happy couple would slash the cake for everyone to share!

Over tea in Out Patients I was given a brief history lesson both about the difficulties of the post Amin period and the takeover by Museveni but more particularly in 1994 when ADF rebels surrounded the hospital and the area was largely evacuated. All the doctors left and only a few staff members stayed on to treat the patients remaining in the hospital. It was evidently a very difficult 6 months before the rebels were defeated and driven away. It certainly helps me appreciate the relative peace and calm that the place currently enjoys.

Sunday January 29th
In Chapel this morning the preacher was a student from a nearby theological training college and I’m afraid he committed the cardinal sin of being too brief! He was bailed out by the chaplain who added his own mini sermon! We spent the rest of the morning vegetating here at the guest house.
This afternoon we went for a wander on some of the paths behind the hospital. We were invited at one stage by Moses to go to view his tree nursery which he was very proud of and he also took us through some dense vegetation to see some cocoa growing. We had neither of us seen cocoa growing before so that was another first.

                                                     Moses with his Cocoa pods

A day of firsts

Saturday January 28^th

Today started with American Pancakes for breakfast. Heidi one of the students from the States kindly cooked them. Eating them out on the veranda here with the backdrop of the Rwenzoris was a real treat.

                                Breakfast with Heidi form USA and Ruth from Germany

The main business of our day off was a trip to the bank in Kasese around 50Km away. Shared taxis is the main transport here There are no shared minibuses that come this way so that it is a matter of cramming into a car. On the way there were 14 people plus a baby and a chicken in a car with 7 seats. I think they felt sorry for us as were in the back row of seats with just one other adult with a child on his lap. The driving standard was actually very good for a change.

                                                           Only a little bit crowded!

I have an intrinsic distrust of ATM machines. Are they going to malfunction? Will they eat your card? Will the money actually appear? Today however all was well. There aren’t many countries where you can withdraw money and become an instant millionaire! We also had time to have a soda at the Virina Garden Hotel which is probably the best Kasese has to offer. 

                                   The Virina Garden Hotel gives you a warm welcome

This afternoon we had a walk with Helen and Dave Lyth in the nearby hills which was very enjoyable and in the evening a farewell goat roast for 2 German medical students who have been here for 6 months. During the speeches the chaplain commented that in Africa there is increasing individualism as in the West and the sense of community is being lost. “I am because you are” is a very profound phrase stressing that the very best of being here is being part of a community where ones identity is very much tied up with those around us and I think we could learn a lot from that understanding at home.

Nearing the end

Friday January 27^th

One of the particular difficulties about working here is having to rely on translators. I am not alone in this with several of the doctors who are from central Uganda and who are Luganda speakers being in the same boat. However it can lead to some interesting discussions and also some uncertainty on my part at to whether my questions or the patient’s answers have been appropriately understood!

Also the range of symptoms people express are limited. A pretty standard description is that they have “Fever and general body weakness” It can be pretty difficult at times to precisesly nail down what really is the problem. Also people very often done carry their records with them or their previous x-rays which they should have at home have been lost so it can all become pretty challenging!

The end of our time here is fast approaching as we intend to have a short trip to Murchison Falls leaving on Thursday and then travelling onto Gulu on Saturday to look a t a health project there before heading back to Entebbe on Sunday. It should prove to be an interesting trip covering several places we haven’t ventured to before. Ahead of our departure I have been trying to type up a short report to leave with the director here with some reflections on our time here. There have been changes that I do feel we have contributed directly to namely the in-patient protocol for typhoid management, the acquisition of the blood counting machine which has allowed much better assessment of patients and the continuation of the medical education programme here but I hope by sharing the reflections to encourage some further developments over the months ahead particularly I the teaching of the medical students.

Ann concludes the holiday club this evening and is having a meal with those who have been running it so I look forward to hearing all about it later this evening.

 A favourite game at the holiday club has been hurling a flip flop at an empty water bottle. Very        popular!