Christa's Visit
Finally back here for more than ten hours. As I've probably mentioned my supervisor from Canada, Christa came to visit this week. She was here to check up on me and Jessica and see the projects we were working on. Therefore we decided to show her pretty much the whole country. After the first day in the city, we headed up north. On Tuesday we spent the whole day in one IDP camp visiting with landmine survivors and seeing the community counselling aides in action. We also got to met the traditional birth attendents who were being trained by our reproductive health officer and they greeted us with songs!!!! Saw the mine risk education advocacy group practicing which was pretty cool though wish I could understand what they were saying. Learned something very valuable that the kids who gather around can be shoo-ed away for a bit by saying that if they all gather over there (somewhere out of the way) the mounos will take their picture once we were done doing whatever....
Next day visited the other mine action project in the north, went to three different sites with Henry that project's economic support officer.Definitely was not an easy couple of days as I heard some horrible things and met some people that have lived through the most horrific events. I don't even really want to talk more about it - that's not what you read this for but we met landmine survivors, other disabled persons, people who lost limbs and other body parts to LRA attacks (they seem to like amputating and mutilating people) and dozens of children who have only known war and life as an IDP. A very sobering couple of days. Though I did get to go to one of our offices I hadn't been to yet and it's lovely - really would like to spent a week or so there but not much longer as it's an entirely male office at the moment (though I think Lucy the midwife will be based there soon) and I can only live with 6 guys for so long though they promise I would get put up in the hotel across the street if there isn't a totally empty room in base camp. The hotel is really nice (TVs in the rooms and western food on the menu)
Then after one night back in town we headed out west to almost the border with the DRC. There is another mine affected area that doesn't recieve as much attention as the north. Unbelievably gorgeous countryside. It was such a contrast from the north, hilly and lush as opposed to the flat almost savannah but still very green vistas of the north. The people are much healthier which made our trips to the camps earlier in the week stand out even more. Met a number of landmine survivors there as well. What is really horrible and unique about the situation out west is that since the terrain is so hilly/mountainous those who survive a mine accident usually can not go home. They are displaced from their homes b/c the terrain is too difficult to navigate without a leg or both legs. All the survivors we met had been forced to move into the town or village they were in after their accident b/c they could not physically get home or if they got home they couldn't move around at all. Could you imagine after losing a limb and learning to walk again still not being able to go home and having to live in town alone while your family continues to live up the mountain where your farm is?
We took the long way home so went through Queen Elizabeth National Park and crossed the equator twice!!!! In the park we saw kobs (which are like gazelles I think, they're a national animal), buffalo and wildebeasts!!! I don't even want to know how many districts I drove through this week but it almost killed me. I think I've ended up with Jessica's cold and apparently only brought allergy medication not cold medication so I have big plans for the rest of the afternoon - I'm gonna watch sweet home alabama (which my awesome aunt, uncle and cousin just sent over - people are so jealous of my packages from home - they think that i must have people who love me a lot and they are right) in the office until the power comes back on then it's back to my place to watch more movies and cook my fabulous dinner of fresh green beans, broccoli, baked and seasoned potato wedges and steak, before going to bed at like 8. New photo album posted - should be linked at right there.
Next day visited the other mine action project in the north, went to three different sites with Henry that project's economic support officer.Definitely was not an easy couple of days as I heard some horrible things and met some people that have lived through the most horrific events. I don't even really want to talk more about it - that's not what you read this for but we met landmine survivors, other disabled persons, people who lost limbs and other body parts to LRA attacks (they seem to like amputating and mutilating people) and dozens of children who have only known war and life as an IDP. A very sobering couple of days. Though I did get to go to one of our offices I hadn't been to yet and it's lovely - really would like to spent a week or so there but not much longer as it's an entirely male office at the moment (though I think Lucy the midwife will be based there soon) and I can only live with 6 guys for so long though they promise I would get put up in the hotel across the street if there isn't a totally empty room in base camp. The hotel is really nice (TVs in the rooms and western food on the menu)
Then after one night back in town we headed out west to almost the border with the DRC. There is another mine affected area that doesn't recieve as much attention as the north. Unbelievably gorgeous countryside. It was such a contrast from the north, hilly and lush as opposed to the flat almost savannah but still very green vistas of the north. The people are much healthier which made our trips to the camps earlier in the week stand out even more. Met a number of landmine survivors there as well. What is really horrible and unique about the situation out west is that since the terrain is so hilly/mountainous those who survive a mine accident usually can not go home. They are displaced from their homes b/c the terrain is too difficult to navigate without a leg or both legs. All the survivors we met had been forced to move into the town or village they were in after their accident b/c they could not physically get home or if they got home they couldn't move around at all. Could you imagine after losing a limb and learning to walk again still not being able to go home and having to live in town alone while your family continues to live up the mountain where your farm is?
We took the long way home so went through Queen Elizabeth National Park and crossed the equator twice!!!! In the park we saw kobs (which are like gazelles I think, they're a national animal), buffalo and wildebeasts!!! I don't even want to know how many districts I drove through this week but it almost killed me. I think I've ended up with Jessica's cold and apparently only brought allergy medication not cold medication so I have big plans for the rest of the afternoon - I'm gonna watch sweet home alabama (which my awesome aunt, uncle and cousin just sent over - people are so jealous of my packages from home - they think that i must have people who love me a lot and they are right) in the office until the power comes back on then it's back to my place to watch more movies and cook my fabulous dinner of fresh green beans, broccoli, baked and seasoned potato wedges and steak, before going to bed at like 8. New photo album posted - should be linked at right there.
posted by Erin at 2:44 PM
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