Hey team!
I know it's been two weeks since I've updated my blog, but seriously, the last few weeks have been crazy. We had all intern training the second week, and then that Friday we moved into our village, Nawansega B.
Within an absolutely crazy 48 hours, we were back at UVP Headquarters because there were a massive amount of bed bugs in our beds, wasps nests in our rooms, we lost one of our two Ugandan interns to final exams for two weeks (debilitating our team from being able to work at full capacity), and an overbearing contact person, Kisige, who stayed at our house literally from 6:30am, hours before we woke up, until probably 6 or 7 pm. Fumigation, washing of all of the clothes, sheets, mattress pads, a full cleaning that really should have happened before we got in the village and a stern talk with Kisige later, and we found ourselves back in the village by Tuesday.
To say there's been resistance to our presence in the village is a bit of an understatement... or maybe that's the culture shock kicking in. Shocked stares, dirty jokes and kissing noises from the men, "Mzungu Mzungu Mzugu being yelled in every direction from the kids and beggars... it's been hard transitioning. After the frustrating move-in, move-out, the village resistance my team perceives has begun affecting team dynamics. It's hard. If I walk away from this experience not hating men, a miracle will have occurred. It feels like the only ones who are interested and willing to work with us are the women, with their full burdens of 8+ kids, constant pregnancy, being expected to work in the house and maintain the gardens while their alcoholic husbands are in the town center drinking. They don't have time and the men don't care. As long as they get a couple 12 -13 year old wives, & extra kids here and there, they don't care.
That may have been harsh. But like my wonderful parents have been reminding me -- in the evolutionary scope of things, the two months that I'm here, and even the three years that UVP will be in Nawansega B do not come near the thousands of years of behavior. We're not fighting poor health here. It's behavior change. Let's talk about the most difficult thing in the world to try and alter-- human behavior. How long have the States been campaigning against smoking? What is still among the most deadly preventable inflictions American's have? Smoking & lung cancer. How can I hold these Ugandans to anything different?
And if behavior isn't itself enough of a problem, the institutions... or let me rephrase, complete lack of institutions regarding organized health care, water quality and the most visible to me, trash disposal, cause other, layered problems. How do we fix problems when the whole system is broken? In the US and otherwise. I wish you all could see the pictures I've been taking. People dump their trash into the streets and burn it in piles. I could barely breathe the first few times I visited Iganga. And yet, how do you encourage people to throw things away or recycle if there is no system by which that is possible?
Fortunately, our village has not yet had to attend any funerals. In two of the other villages, there have already been deaths.
Time here is interesting. The days go by so slowly, but the weeks seem to fly by without any progress. We only have 6 weeks left, and so so sooo much to do! A house-to-house baseline survey, a sanitation push, Village Health Team elections, let alone the HIV testing day, and the several sensitization we had hoped to be able to accomplish in our time here. No wonder the Peace Corps is a two year commitment.
And on a completely inappropriate and personal side note that I'm sharing because I can't talk to anyone here about it, there is an individual on my team that I do not like, and am desperately trying not to butt heads with. And I'm not necessarily in love with the rest either. I find solace with the other Team Leaders. It would have been nice if we could have all been a team together. Hahah, but seriously. Working and living with people you don't necessarily mesh with is harder than I thought.
I'm sorry I haven't been able to share pictures with you all. The sunsets are beautiful, and the full moon is just as bright here as it is in the mountains at home. I also apologize for the negative tone this blog post may convey. Please remember I don't have privacy ANYWHERE here, and so taking the time to blow off steam, even if on the internet, is a bit of a blessing. I hope that next week's tone is much lighter. I expect it will be. We actually get to hit the ground hard with our house-to-house survey. Preparing the town for VHT elections and helping with that process will also hopefully have a sustainable impact post our departure.
I miss you all. Thanks to those of you who've emailed me! I'll be replying shortly :-). amehrotra08@gmail.com
A letter to my sister:
"How is life in Africa?" That's a great question. Life is rough. Bed bugs, wasps nests, creepy contact people, resistance in village to our presence.
Life is beautiful. It rains so hard that we have to yell to each other to hear what we're saying. We are surrounded by corn, banana and mango trees. The sunsets are littered with a thick pink pollution haze that's ironically stunning. There are baby goats that look like puppies, and anorexic cows everywhere. The language is rhythmic and quiet, a lull that replicates the pace of the culture.
Life is poor. Poverty is endemic, and people become corrupt with overwhelming need to provide for their unsustainable large families.
Life is unfair. The women are treated terribly, are barely allowed to have a period before they may get married off to a much older man, and are expected to have 10 or more children Or they are raped while trying to get water for their families. The kids are dirty, they can't afford lunch and rarely get dinner. The malnutrition is extensive.
Life is fun. The same starving children stare at us, play games and sing songs with us while they jump around dancing, waiting for the next ridiculous thing we say or do.
It's a work in progress.
I know it's been two weeks since I've updated my blog, but seriously, the last few weeks have been crazy. We had all intern training the second week, and then that Friday we moved into our village, Nawansega B.
Within an absolutely crazy 48 hours, we were back at UVP Headquarters because there were a massive amount of bed bugs in our beds, wasps nests in our rooms, we lost one of our two Ugandan interns to final exams for two weeks (debilitating our team from being able to work at full capacity), and an overbearing contact person, Kisige, who stayed at our house literally from 6:30am, hours before we woke up, until probably 6 or 7 pm. Fumigation, washing of all of the clothes, sheets, mattress pads, a full cleaning that really should have happened before we got in the village and a stern talk with Kisige later, and we found ourselves back in the village by Tuesday.
To say there's been resistance to our presence in the village is a bit of an understatement... or maybe that's the culture shock kicking in. Shocked stares, dirty jokes and kissing noises from the men, "Mzungu Mzungu Mzugu being yelled in every direction from the kids and beggars... it's been hard transitioning. After the frustrating move-in, move-out, the village resistance my team perceives has begun affecting team dynamics. It's hard. If I walk away from this experience not hating men, a miracle will have occurred. It feels like the only ones who are interested and willing to work with us are the women, with their full burdens of 8+ kids, constant pregnancy, being expected to work in the house and maintain the gardens while their alcoholic husbands are in the town center drinking. They don't have time and the men don't care. As long as they get a couple 12 -13 year old wives, & extra kids here and there, they don't care.
That may have been harsh. But like my wonderful parents have been reminding me -- in the evolutionary scope of things, the two months that I'm here, and even the three years that UVP will be in Nawansega B do not come near the thousands of years of behavior. We're not fighting poor health here. It's behavior change. Let's talk about the most difficult thing in the world to try and alter-- human behavior. How long have the States been campaigning against smoking? What is still among the most deadly preventable inflictions American's have? Smoking & lung cancer. How can I hold these Ugandans to anything different?
And if behavior isn't itself enough of a problem, the institutions... or let me rephrase, complete lack of institutions regarding organized health care, water quality and the most visible to me, trash disposal, cause other, layered problems. How do we fix problems when the whole system is broken? In the US and otherwise. I wish you all could see the pictures I've been taking. People dump their trash into the streets and burn it in piles. I could barely breathe the first few times I visited Iganga. And yet, how do you encourage people to throw things away or recycle if there is no system by which that is possible?
Fortunately, our village has not yet had to attend any funerals. In two of the other villages, there have already been deaths.
Time here is interesting. The days go by so slowly, but the weeks seem to fly by without any progress. We only have 6 weeks left, and so so sooo much to do! A house-to-house baseline survey, a sanitation push, Village Health Team elections, let alone the HIV testing day, and the several sensitization we had hoped to be able to accomplish in our time here. No wonder the Peace Corps is a two year commitment.
And on a completely inappropriate and personal side note that I'm sharing because I can't talk to anyone here about it, there is an individual on my team that I do not like, and am desperately trying not to butt heads with. And I'm not necessarily in love with the rest either. I find solace with the other Team Leaders. It would have been nice if we could have all been a team together. Hahah, but seriously. Working and living with people you don't necessarily mesh with is harder than I thought.
I'm sorry I haven't been able to share pictures with you all. The sunsets are beautiful, and the full moon is just as bright here as it is in the mountains at home. I also apologize for the negative tone this blog post may convey. Please remember I don't have privacy ANYWHERE here, and so taking the time to blow off steam, even if on the internet, is a bit of a blessing. I hope that next week's tone is much lighter. I expect it will be. We actually get to hit the ground hard with our house-to-house survey. Preparing the town for VHT elections and helping with that process will also hopefully have a sustainable impact post our departure.
I miss you all. Thanks to those of you who've emailed me! I'll be replying shortly :-). amehrotra08@gmail.com
A letter to my sister:
"How is life in Africa?" That's a great question. Life is rough. Bed bugs, wasps nests, creepy contact people, resistance in village to our presence.
Life is beautiful. It rains so hard that we have to yell to each other to hear what we're saying. We are surrounded by corn, banana and mango trees. The sunsets are littered with a thick pink pollution haze that's ironically stunning. There are baby goats that look like puppies, and anorexic cows everywhere. The language is rhythmic and quiet, a lull that replicates the pace of the culture.
Life is poor. Poverty is endemic, and people become corrupt with overwhelming need to provide for their unsustainable large families.
Life is unfair. The women are treated terribly, are barely allowed to have a period before they may get married off to a much older man, and are expected to have 10 or more children Or they are raped while trying to get water for their families. The kids are dirty, they can't afford lunch and rarely get dinner. The malnutrition is extensive.
Life is fun. The same starving children stare at us, play games and sing songs with us while they jump around dancing, waiting for the next ridiculous thing we say or do.
It's a work in progress.
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