May 18

Get ready for a LOOOOONG email.
I am alive and everything, worry not. There was no electricity this
morning, which meant no computers. It also meant that I started off
the day with a cold shower by flashlight. It felt very authentic, like
the true Africa experience. Then the novelty wore off and it felt
irritating.
Yesterday was actually quite an eventful day. The clinic day started
with a ceremony to celebrate world AIDS day or AIDS candle day or
something. I don’t remember what it was called, but basically it was a
program honoring those who have died from AIDS. There was music and
praying, and then at the end they passed out candles and we lit them
and sang the AIDS anthem together, which is apparently something like
“today it’s me, tomorrow someone else.” It was actually a really
touching experience, especially because there was someone translating
for us so we would know what was happening.
After the service, it was regular clinic day, though first we started
with a meeting with Celia and the interns where she talked to them
about our concerns. We came to a compromise. We (the American
students) figure if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. So rather than try
to force the Ugandan students to skip tea, we will be joining them for
tea, but we will take a working tea, which means that we will both be
drinking tea while we’re working (which is pretty self explanatory).
Worry not friends, I am not breaking the word of wisdom. Apparently in
Uganda, “tea” refers to hot milk mixed with sugar. It’s really thick
milk, so I basically feel like I am eating baby formula (the only
experience I have with warm milk) and it is nasty. But, it keeps the
interns working, plus it fills me up a bit, so I am not SO FREAKING
STARVING by the time people finally let me have lunch.
I only had time to write one will yesterday (which was a really great
one I did for a woman who had very little. Her husband was HIV
positive as well, but when he found out, apparently he went insane and
left, so she wanted to protect her children as much as she could. She
had very little, but it was nice that I could make sure that what she
has is protected). After that, Tyler, Sam and I headed to Kampala (my
favorite. Not) to meet with an organization called UWESO (Uganda women
ensuring survival of orphans, or something like that). We didn’t have
any idea what it was going into it (Sam set it up for us), but Tyler
had me come along in case we were visiting an orphanage or something
because he knows I love children. However, when we got there we
realized it was not an orphanage, but instead another NGO like TASO,
except this one cares for orphans and at risk children. We explained
to them what we our organization does and they were SO EXCITED about
us. Seriously, I was getting ready to sell them on this organization,
and all of a sudden it seemed like they were selling us on why we
should let them fund us. They started talking about huge projects,
like television ads and billboards that will act like public service
announcements to sensitize Ugandans to the idea of creating wills.
They want us to create a proposal about what our company will do over
the next year as far as recruiting, fundraising, training etc, and
then they will get with us about a company proposal for a project
where we work together. This is a legit organization that gets funding
from tons of places like UNICEF and USAID (the organization I worked
for my senior year) so if this works out it could be a really awesome
thing.
I would like to start this story out with the fact that I am still
alive and well. So stop worrying. On the way to Kampala there were a
bunch of people lining the roads along with a bunch of police men
milling about. The taxis can get really annoying because they don’t
like to go to the destination until they are completely full. This
taxi was no exception and sat idle on the side of the road for about
15 mins with the conductor walking around trying to get people to get
in the taxi. But no one wanted to get in the taxi because they weren’t
there to go to Kampala, they were there for a political demonstration.
I was getting nervous because I could tell the crowd was getting
restless. I asked Sam if we were in trouble. He said we were fine, but
he always says that. He also said we were fine to go to work on the
day that the opposition leader came back to the country and people got
beat left and right that day. So I don’t really trust him, but he was
calm, so I tried to remain calm as long as he was calm. But I could
feel the tension building. People were yelling and the police were
getting out their night sticks. And yet, there sat our stupid cab
driver, content to be parked in the middle of a riot rather than drive
off with a half empty taxi.  People on the cab started getting antsy,
urging the cab driver to drive on, don’t wait, but he wouldn’t listen.
 Eventually, even Sam started arguing with the driver, telling him
that we should get out of there. That was the point I really started
getting nervous. If Sam thinks something is potentially dangerous,
that means there is probably a pretty high chance of death (just
kidding. Kind of). Then, all of a sudden, from not to far behind where
our taxi is parked we hear this thunderous BOOM like a cannon going
off. It was pandemonium inside the taxi. Everyone started screaming
and swearing at the driver to GO GO GO NOW!!! Finally he decided to
listen to them and sped off so fast that the conductor barely had time
to get in and did not have time to shut the door.  As we finally put a
safe distance between us and the riot, Sam calmly turns to me and
says, “Now Steven, what were we talking about?”
Today was another frustrating start to clinic day. These people really
need to work on their communication skills. After double and triple
checking with several different people that there was clinic today, we
arrive to find out that there is an outreach instead, but that there
are not enough interns for all of us. SIGH. These people really need
to work on their communication skills. So, since I got to travel the
day before, I stayed at the clinic and worked with Tyler organizing
the wills that we have already written and working on our proposal for
UWESO. It was a very chill day. I also read 150 pages of The
Mysterious Benedict Society, which so far is FABULOUS. Also, Jake and
Jaxon: I finished the entire Gregor the Overlander series. Have you
read it? I think you both would really like it. Anyway, after we
finished all that, there was a client meeting that we were invited to.
It wasn’t a clinic day, so we weren’t writing wils, but they wanted us
to tell the clients what we were doing so that they would be willing
to write one when they come back.  It was a kind of boring meeting
(most of it was in Luganda) but there was one little family there that
absolutely broke my heart. It was a young mother, I would be surprised
if she were any older than me, and her three young children: a happy
baby girl, maybe 6 months with the hugest eyes I have ever seen and
adorable chubby cheeks, a rambunctious boy who was three and had
dimples, who did not stop running around in circles the entire time I
saw him except for once when he asked me to tighten the drawstrings on
his pants so he could run faster, and the oldest girl, who was about
6. She is the one who really breaks my heart. I don’t know what is
wrong with her, but she was so sick and weak that she could barely
walk.  Her tiny little legs were so thin and weak that I was afraid
she would fall on her way to the benches. Her breathing was fast and
shallow and I could tell by the way that her mother kept touching her
forehead that she had a really bad fever. She really wanted her mom to
hold her on her lap, so I went and took the baby from the mom.  As I
stood there holding the baby watching the mom try to comfort the
little girl, it took every ounce of self control I had not to burst
into tears because whatever this little girl had, the doctors in
Uganda probably aren’t advanced enough to treat it and she is probably
going to die, especially since it was probably HIV related.
Fortunately, the baby chose that moment to pee on me and take my mind
off it for a minute. Apparently there aren’t disposable diapers in
Uganda.  I really hope that this woman comes back to the clinic to
write a will so that even if her daughter dies, we can help her
protect her land for the baby and the little boy with the dimples.
Herm Candace you sound like the best Big Sister ever. I seriously
teared up when I read about the song Jazmine wrote about you. However,
I wouldn’t put much stock in that because I am still feeling unstable
from the family at the clinic. BTW, I’m allergic to my typhoid
medicine, not my malaria medicine. And apparently here malaria is NBD.
The boy who works at the front desk (Josh, we’re great friends) has
malaria and doesn’t plan on dying. And my intern friend Sharon had
malaria two weeks ago. I find it odd.
Congratulations Natalie on making Legacy again! Even though I totally
knew you would.
Herm Niccole, congrats on the successful FHE and I totally support you
buying the Kinect. Sorry Kevin sucks. Also, hahahahahaha Maddie is so
funny that she remembered still. Tell her I love her dearly.
As of tomorrow, I only have one month and 10 days until I come home! I
really do love it here, but I am excited to come home. I miss you all
a lot.
Love, Stefanie