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| View from Lunch |
June 15 & 16: Yesterday (June 15th), James, Natalie, Sarah, Noortje, and I drove three hours to Bugoye. The drive was absolutely stunning; we drove through rural towns, and the landscape looked as though it was a mix of the Italian countryside and the luscious and steep Chinese mountains. Lakes were everywhere, but with the lakes came more mosquitoes (I am now completely covered in mosquito bites). We arrived at our lodge, which was hidden away on a long dirt road. The buildings in the lodge were composed of reclaimed wood, steel, and other materials. Being the design freak that I am, I spent awhile observing the interior and exterior of the lodge's building. Because of the long drive, most of the day disappeared before our eyes; we spent the rest of the day reading beside the pool because of the unbearably hot weather (but I cannot complain. . .the lodge was gorgeous!). Dinner was served outside, and the rural location allowed the brilliant stars to clearly appear.
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| Little Girl Playing with Puppet |
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| Maggie with a Few of the Kids |
In the morning, we woke up early and drove an hour-and-a-half to Bugoye, which is a town to the north of Mbarara. We first visited the main health center in Bugoye and met with a few of the doctors and expat doctors from MGH. After a short visit, we all drove up the precarious, windy road through the mountains to a small village. Today, three surrounding villages all congregated in this one village for a "health check," which is conducted by local nurses and doctors once every two months. The participants were mainly mothers and children because the males in these communities typically do not believe it is their place to attend these family-based clinics. The group of people met in a large community hall, and after a brief introduction, we set out to work. James, Natalie, and I brought socks for making sock puppets with the younger children. We brought 48 pair of socks, but greatly underestimated the number of kids: there were 150. Some of the kids made sock puppets, but we ended up giving out the socks to the mothers of children who were weighed for malnutrition.
The kids here take adorable to the next level: there are always smiles on their faces, and they are constantly watching out for each other's backs. While Natalie and I helped weigh the younger children from a scale that hung from a tree, James taught some of the older children the art of the "selfie." Because most families do not have cameras or phones with cameras, the local kids love to see pictures of themselves. After each selfie, we would show them the picture on our phone, and the kids would always meet the photo with high-pitched giggles.
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| Maggie Trying to Catch the Children in an Epic Game of Tag |
After most of the younger children had been weighed, we headed down to a field that was surrounded by tree covered mountains. James started a soccer game and I started/was thrown into a major game of tag. This tag game was more like "Maggie chasing kids-that-run-record-fast across the field for two hours". . .I think I tagged one kid over the course of the game. By the end, I looked like I had just jumped out of a pool, but the Ugandan kids appeared as though they had just gone for a quick stroll down the block. I had such a great time with the kids, and this moment definitely has become my favorite moment of the trip, so far.
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| Some of the Children Who Played Tag |
At the end of our time, we all gathered for a picture. The kids followed us to our van, and for a moment, I was scared that they were going to tip us over (so this is what it is like to be famous and mobbed). They all waved goodbye as we drove down the road. These children are so happy with so little. . .there is a lot to be learned.
I cannot say much about the ride back because I was zonked out, but when we arrived home, we made a quick dinner, and here I am writing the blog now.
Good day:)
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