Today we spent the day again at Naguru. Unlike yesterday, we were able to visit one of the labs where all the diagnosis takes place. The laboratory is maintained by one lab technician who treats the blood for antibodies to check for syphilis, HIV/Aids and malaria. We were able to view through a microscope what the malaria parasite looks like. We witnessed how the centrifuge splits blood into serum and solid blood cells. The serum is what undergoes the tests as drops of the serum is placed on different strips that will give the positive or negative test results. To test for malaria the process is slightly different. The solid blood cells are put on a glass plate of the microscope and blue die is applied to the blood cells. When you look under a microscope, if there are any red dots remaining, these red dots are the malaria parasite. The average number of malaria parasites (red dots) that a patient with a not yet deadly malaria has in the sample of blood is three to six. When the number of parasites increases past twenty, the patient needs to be put on a drip right away, and may not end up surviving. Otherwise, the patients are given the tablets of medicine and treated in this way.
After our visit of the laboratory we went back to our task of sorting pills, managing to finish almost all the pills that they will be using this session. At this point..I think I can go straight into the pharmaceutical industry as I have found my calling..counting pills.
After an hour or more of sorting pills we proceeded to the outdoors. On a large piece of land lay a tarp..the tarp is actually a tent. This tent needs to be put up, however the tent is too dirty to be built. Our task was to come in and make the tent spotless. At first, from far away, it seemed like a manageable task...once we were closer, this tent was actually gigantic. We were able to experience a true miracle being able to make half of the tent spotless (a completely relative term seeing as all we had was 2 buckets of water, three brooms, one squeegee, and a baggie of detergent). Something that we had not thought of upon laying eyes on this tent..was the fact that water is truly a rarity, making this no easy task.
Upon finishing, I can say that I have mastered the art of making do with what little resources I have.
..also, we have come to appreciate that perfection in these scenarios is not a plausible idea..neither is it plausible to emerge from this process with a millimeter of clean skin left.
- Yara Sifri
Showing posts with label Yara Sifri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yara Sifri. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Today we were put to work at Naguru. Naguru is a Teen Health Center that provides both sexual education and medical treatments for sexually transmitted diseases (HIV/AIDS, Syphilis) , and other common diseases found in Uganda such as malaria. There is also a family planning wing, and and counseling available to all teens. This center is pioneer in every way, and it was truly amazing to witness all the goings on within Naguru. Teens can come and obtain birth control, condoms, emergency contraception, and every type of protection available. Also, for those teens who do get pregnant there is counseling and parenting sessions where the appropriate prenatal vitamins can be obtained.
Naguru caters to every need of a teenager in Uganda as far as we were able to see. We were not able to interact with the teens at the clinic but were able to see the types of material used to educate them in sexual matters. In this country, sex can be a matter of life and death, and as a result no issue is too taboo to address in sexual education. This is made evident by the bluntness and graphic quality of all educational material.
The reason we were unable to interact with any of the teens in the center is because we were put to work doing something, though much less interesting, much more useful to the overall functioning of Naguru. We were asked to sort thousands of pills (what will stalk to the clinic for 4 months) into different baggies, in different doses. This took us about 3 and a half hours and we barely had finished half of the pills. This tedious labour to us sometimes takes weeks to complete, as only one nurse or doctor (whoever has a free hand..or minute) to divide and distribute.
However the gratitude of the staff at Naguru was unthinkable. Something that to us can seem so little a task, will help them tend to so many more teens a day.
After this long day of pill sorting..we will definitely be having dreams of counting pills for days to come.
- Yara Sifri
Naguru caters to every need of a teenager in Uganda as far as we were able to see. We were not able to interact with the teens at the clinic but were able to see the types of material used to educate them in sexual matters. In this country, sex can be a matter of life and death, and as a result no issue is too taboo to address in sexual education. This is made evident by the bluntness and graphic quality of all educational material.
The reason we were unable to interact with any of the teens in the center is because we were put to work doing something, though much less interesting, much more useful to the overall functioning of Naguru. We were asked to sort thousands of pills (what will stalk to the clinic for 4 months) into different baggies, in different doses. This took us about 3 and a half hours and we barely had finished half of the pills. This tedious labour to us sometimes takes weeks to complete, as only one nurse or doctor (whoever has a free hand..or minute) to divide and distribute.
However the gratitude of the staff at Naguru was unthinkable. Something that to us can seem so little a task, will help them tend to so many more teens a day.
After this long day of pill sorting..we will definitely be having dreams of counting pills for days to come.
- Yara Sifri
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Today after white water rafting the nile we visited a sugar cane factory. Upon entering the gates of this gigantic factory we were blown away by the little city that the gates held within. The company, Madhavani Group's land stretched for 35km (the perfect and most profitable size for a sugar cane factory). In these 35km were housing for all the staff, schools for their children, parks with soccer fields, gas stations, banks and a general store. All seemed perfect. However, the resemblance to a colonial period cotton plantation in the United States was hard to miss once we got a presentation on the inner workings of the company.
We were addressed by the head economist, as well as the man in charge of processing to begin with. They explained to us how sugar refining happens, the step by step process, about their revenues (hundreds of millions), and about how the staff for the company was dealt with. We learned that 30% of the sugar that they refine is from their own 'estate' and 70% is from out-growers. The prime size for a sugar plantation (note their use of plantation) is 35km, so the travel from one end of the land to the central factory is not cost deficient. On these 35km of land 4000 employees are housed. As was explained to us, these employees have houses as close as possible to their place of work, so as to minimize travel time wasted. They told us of the soccer fields they have to keep the workers busy, in their words: distracted. The employees were living on what, to us, is less than minimum wage, in work houses. What was explained to us could only be compared to the indentured servants of the colonizers in the United States. We were told of their plans of expansion in the North, and their way of bribing the people in the North, who do not want them to spread themselves there. They open schools and pour money into infrastructures where they plan on developing, and then threaten that if they do not get permission to expand there, the schools will be closed. It is important to keep in mind that education is something that is cherished above everything else in this country. A lack of education makes you a nobody we have been told.
We were then introduced to the man who runs the company's NGO: KORD. He spoke to us of the many projects they were involved in. As was explained to us later by Mary, if an NGO has too many programs or projects, none of these projects will be executed to the full extent, and sufficient money for change will not be donated to each of these projects. Projects included putting proper garbage containers close to the work camps, and putting in place proper roads for travel between work camps. The way this man spoke of the work camps, of the situation of the workers. In his way, he told us that the workers could not leave the plantation, because they needed to get paid, they needed their children to get schooled, and if they didn't do as they were told, the schools would close, and no worker wants to be the reason that his child cannot get an education. Kord seemed like a scam in more ways than one. A way to keep the outside world from asking questions and digging too deep. On the surface the tens of projects that Kord wants to implement seem great, but to what extent can one organization handle all of these projects. This is the same for any company even. The moment that a company starts putting its hands in too many jars the company stops being as successful in individual jars.
Overall, when hearing of the revenues, and the sheer size of this operation of sugar refining it seems perfect. Millions in revenue, production and exporting in the hundreds of tons, the perfect company. However, when you go through the gates into the plantation city and hear of what goes on behind the millions, it is alarming. We were all saddened by the visit into what, to us, we thought was history.
-Yara Sifri
We were addressed by the head economist, as well as the man in charge of processing to begin with. They explained to us how sugar refining happens, the step by step process, about their revenues (hundreds of millions), and about how the staff for the company was dealt with. We learned that 30% of the sugar that they refine is from their own 'estate' and 70% is from out-growers. The prime size for a sugar plantation (note their use of plantation) is 35km, so the travel from one end of the land to the central factory is not cost deficient. On these 35km of land 4000 employees are housed. As was explained to us, these employees have houses as close as possible to their place of work, so as to minimize travel time wasted. They told us of the soccer fields they have to keep the workers busy, in their words: distracted. The employees were living on what, to us, is less than minimum wage, in work houses. What was explained to us could only be compared to the indentured servants of the colonizers in the United States. We were told of their plans of expansion in the North, and their way of bribing the people in the North, who do not want them to spread themselves there. They open schools and pour money into infrastructures where they plan on developing, and then threaten that if they do not get permission to expand there, the schools will be closed. It is important to keep in mind that education is something that is cherished above everything else in this country. A lack of education makes you a nobody we have been told.
We were then introduced to the man who runs the company's NGO: KORD. He spoke to us of the many projects they were involved in. As was explained to us later by Mary, if an NGO has too many programs or projects, none of these projects will be executed to the full extent, and sufficient money for change will not be donated to each of these projects. Projects included putting proper garbage containers close to the work camps, and putting in place proper roads for travel between work camps. The way this man spoke of the work camps, of the situation of the workers. In his way, he told us that the workers could not leave the plantation, because they needed to get paid, they needed their children to get schooled, and if they didn't do as they were told, the schools would close, and no worker wants to be the reason that his child cannot get an education. Kord seemed like a scam in more ways than one. A way to keep the outside world from asking questions and digging too deep. On the surface the tens of projects that Kord wants to implement seem great, but to what extent can one organization handle all of these projects. This is the same for any company even. The moment that a company starts putting its hands in too many jars the company stops being as successful in individual jars.
Overall, when hearing of the revenues, and the sheer size of this operation of sugar refining it seems perfect. Millions in revenue, production and exporting in the hundreds of tons, the perfect company. However, when you go through the gates into the plantation city and hear of what goes on behind the millions, it is alarming. We were all saddened by the visit into what, to us, we thought was history.
-Yara Sifri
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Today we continued working as we did yesterday at PEDN (Private Education Development Network) sponsored schools. These schools being run by PEDN, an Ashoka program, means that the values of the Network are implemented and taught in these school. What PEDN is aiming towards is to create a new generation of social enterpreneurs who are socially aware, competitive, independant, expressive, open-minded, creative and innovative, team players, essentially honest and socially responsible leaders of a "new" Uganda. The vision of PEDN is "That every young person in Uganda contributes to its socio-economic growth by being competitive and productive in a global society". This vision is facilitated by a mission "to facilitate the development of young people's creative and innovative potential by equipping them with entrepreneurship skills and business education". This vision and mission is maintained throughout all PEDN schools, and the dream of PEDN is brought closer to a reality by the programs that are held in these schools. Programs include: The Super Savers Project (creating school bank accounts for primary students to teach them the value of money), The Young Entrepreneurs Program (creating business models and developing personal and entrepreneurial skills), The Aflatoun Programme (helps break the poverty cycle through social empowerment and financial education), The Newspapers in Education Program (teaching through newspapers, developing reading and writing skills whilst becoming aware of world situations).
The PEDN gave us the liberty of planning our own activities we wanted to do with the children, aged 8-14 at their schools. We decided to break up into two groups of 3 of us and work from there. We had to create a plan for the time we were spending with the children, a plan that had to create a fun atmosphere but that would culminate in teaching the children a lesson that went along with one of the values of PEDN. We decided that each of the two groups would work with one activity. Soccer, or music. Soccer would teach both leadership and teamwork, how all members of a team need to work as individuals but also assist each other to reach a common dream. Music would teach creativity and imagination, both essential values in reaching one's dreams.
Both soccer, or football as it is known here, and music are languages of the world, translatable in no matter where you find yourself.
My group was the one planning music. We decided to spend our time with the kids like this:
1. We began with a human knot game to break the ice and laugh a little. As laughter is the best way to become comfortable with new acquaintances.
2. We would then have a name game, where along with your name you would do an action in the middle of the circle in order to let loose.
3. In turn we then each spoke of our family, and interests
4. We then decided to play the game where we make it rain using our hands only to create the pattering sounds
5. We taught them a song, and then in turn they taught us one of their songs
6. A dance circle was created afterward and each child would teach a dance move to the rest of the members of the circle
7. We went around in a circle and talked about what each of our dreams are, and each youth did the same
8. As with all happy endings, we ended with a group hug.
As a lesson I spoke about the importance of using creativity and imagination in every aspect of ones life. This use of creativity and imagination would then translate directly into the achievement of ones goals and dreams, essentially creating happiness and a sense of fulfillment in each individual. The youth were able to take away the fact, that following ones dreams is essential, and creativity/imagination is the easiest way for this to happen in a manner of speaking.
My second part of the morning consisted of music, the first part was all football. Beginning with an introduction and then continuing on with a comment on the importance of teamwork. The comment on teamwork was forgotten within seconds of the ball hitting the ground, but it was worth a try anyway. We played an intense game of football, culminating in a talk about leadership, with their contributions on what their ideal leader possesses as qualities. The importance and value of teamwork was also highlighted using the example of football to illustrate the latter.
We had a "quick lunch" which turned into a rather long affair and then hurried back to another PEDN school.
This school was much smaller, and a football field, or area to play was not available. We also were surprised to find that 150 kids awaited us instead of the usual 45. We were put to the test and had to come up with activities quickly as Sara, Ben and I were left to our own devices inside a classroom as opposed to outside where we would have space to work our music plan. We managed to be able to work with the Newspapers in Education program, breaking the group into small reading groups. Each of us took a group and let each youth read as we explained words and discussed meaning of what we were reading. Each youth in all the groups then helped us to compile a list of new words they had never seen and we stood at the front of the class and helped define each word, using the occasional action to demonstrate the meanings. We worked on the go, and managed to engage the students and teach as much as possible. This experience was very "Africa" scheduling and planning not being a cornerstone of life in Uganda.
The youth are amazing. They don't take anything for granted, as they know that their education is a gift and their future is a reward that they give themselves. Hearing their dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, musicians, teachers, and happy adults can bring joy to anyone. They are so motivated and being able to be a part of their lives even for only a few hours is amazing. Each one of them can be living hardships, but I think that with the amount of effort they put into their work, and the creativity and ingenuity they have will lead them to knew levels, and we are already able to see that (Steven being a great example of what can be achieved). Its fascinating to see that each an every value that is taught to the youth here is taken as a life goal, something to strive for every minute of every day.
After we finished the day sweaty and exhausted from a rewarding day we headed back to the guest house for a cold shower.
- Yara Sifri
The PEDN gave us the liberty of planning our own activities we wanted to do with the children, aged 8-14 at their schools. We decided to break up into two groups of 3 of us and work from there. We had to create a plan for the time we were spending with the children, a plan that had to create a fun atmosphere but that would culminate in teaching the children a lesson that went along with one of the values of PEDN. We decided that each of the two groups would work with one activity. Soccer, or music. Soccer would teach both leadership and teamwork, how all members of a team need to work as individuals but also assist each other to reach a common dream. Music would teach creativity and imagination, both essential values in reaching one's dreams.
Both soccer, or football as it is known here, and music are languages of the world, translatable in no matter where you find yourself.
My group was the one planning music. We decided to spend our time with the kids like this:
1. We began with a human knot game to break the ice and laugh a little. As laughter is the best way to become comfortable with new acquaintances.
2. We would then have a name game, where along with your name you would do an action in the middle of the circle in order to let loose.
3. In turn we then each spoke of our family, and interests
4. We then decided to play the game where we make it rain using our hands only to create the pattering sounds
5. We taught them a song, and then in turn they taught us one of their songs
6. A dance circle was created afterward and each child would teach a dance move to the rest of the members of the circle
7. We went around in a circle and talked about what each of our dreams are, and each youth did the same
8. As with all happy endings, we ended with a group hug.
As a lesson I spoke about the importance of using creativity and imagination in every aspect of ones life. This use of creativity and imagination would then translate directly into the achievement of ones goals and dreams, essentially creating happiness and a sense of fulfillment in each individual. The youth were able to take away the fact, that following ones dreams is essential, and creativity/imagination is the easiest way for this to happen in a manner of speaking.
My second part of the morning consisted of music, the first part was all football. Beginning with an introduction and then continuing on with a comment on the importance of teamwork. The comment on teamwork was forgotten within seconds of the ball hitting the ground, but it was worth a try anyway. We played an intense game of football, culminating in a talk about leadership, with their contributions on what their ideal leader possesses as qualities. The importance and value of teamwork was also highlighted using the example of football to illustrate the latter.
We had a "quick lunch" which turned into a rather long affair and then hurried back to another PEDN school.
This school was much smaller, and a football field, or area to play was not available. We also were surprised to find that 150 kids awaited us instead of the usual 45. We were put to the test and had to come up with activities quickly as Sara, Ben and I were left to our own devices inside a classroom as opposed to outside where we would have space to work our music plan. We managed to be able to work with the Newspapers in Education program, breaking the group into small reading groups. Each of us took a group and let each youth read as we explained words and discussed meaning of what we were reading. Each youth in all the groups then helped us to compile a list of new words they had never seen and we stood at the front of the class and helped define each word, using the occasional action to demonstrate the meanings. We worked on the go, and managed to engage the students and teach as much as possible. This experience was very "Africa" scheduling and planning not being a cornerstone of life in Uganda.
The youth are amazing. They don't take anything for granted, as they know that their education is a gift and their future is a reward that they give themselves. Hearing their dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, musicians, teachers, and happy adults can bring joy to anyone. They are so motivated and being able to be a part of their lives even for only a few hours is amazing. Each one of them can be living hardships, but I think that with the amount of effort they put into their work, and the creativity and ingenuity they have will lead them to knew levels, and we are already able to see that (Steven being a great example of what can be achieved). Its fascinating to see that each an every value that is taught to the youth here is taken as a life goal, something to strive for every minute of every day.
After we finished the day sweaty and exhausted from a rewarding day we headed back to the guest house for a cold shower.
- Yara Sifri
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