Day 6: Malnutrition Ward

June 12: Once again, the day started off by venturing to the Mbarara Market; however, this time, manilla envelopes were not needed. Instead, Natalie and I bought liters upon liters of paint, brushes, and cleaning supplies. Again, we received skeptical looks as we walked through the streets of Mbarara with mops, buckets, and fabric. These materials are going to be used for cleaning and redecorating/repainting the malnutrition ward at the hospital, which is currently quite unsanitary, considering the amount of food that is consumed in it. This project will take place at some point in the next or following week. The nurses in the ward cannot express how thankful they are for our time and help.

Central Market

      While we were in the Central Market (the Central Market is where farmers bring their yielded crops to sell at unbelievably cheep prices), we could not help ourselves from buying the avocados (which are ginormous), mangoes, and pineapple. These three foods taste utterly delicious here, in Mbarara...unlike any other avocado, mango, or pineapple I have ever had. For three avocado, three mango, and one pineapple, our total purchase amounted to a hefty $2.50.
      After lunch, Natalie and I went to the malnutrition ward with our translator, Allen. Adjacent to the malnutrition ward is a play-room that was recently donated to the hospital. The room is bright and cheerful, and the patients love to play in the room; however, the room lacked materials to entertain the patients with. In the afternoon, the children from the malnutrition ward come into the room with the nurses. We brought over some of the supplies that I purchased, and the children had such a blast playing with the toys, coloring, and participating in musical games and songs. Most of the patients were younger, between the ages of three months and three years, but there were a couple older children. I gravitated towards one girl who was ten years old, and although we had trouble communicating, I learned that she had a passion for learning English. She read a book to me and then I helped her to write English words out on a sheet of paper, and she drew pictures that pertained to the words. Her desire to learn English was amazing: here is an ill child, who despite her sickness, wants nothing more than to learn.

Malnutrition Ward Play Time

      One and a half hours into the play session, the drums were brought out, and immediately, the nurses started singing traditional Ugandan and African songs. At first, the children were shy, but then they started to clap their little hands along to the beat. The patients began to smile (one young girl had the biggest grin on her face), and some of the five and six year-old patients began to dance (there was one boy who definitely knew how to bust out some moves). People passing by the room heard the music and peeked in through the open window and smiled when they saw the children dancing and clapping. Music is such an integral part of the culture here, and often times, Ugandans use music to define themselves. The nurses and patients all had such a great time, and a few kids even cried when they had to leave for their before-dinner-rest.
      At home (aka the MGH Guest House), Natalie and I attempted to cook a dinner made from the vegetables we bought at the market earlier that day (we were going to make chicken, but once I realized I would have to de-feather it and pull out its intestines, that idea quickly evaporated). We sautéed zucchini and eggplant and boiled a couple potatoes. For dessert we made a mango and avocado salad. The dinner was tasty, and I am excited to cook more!