Just a side note to start off about jam - I hate jam. In the mornings, I usually choose to walk 3 miles rather than risk sitting without moving in the back of a mtatu for about the same amount of time it takes to walk. On Monday, we were completely stuck. People do not follow any rules. The "best" intersection was the most frustrating. We were trying to go straight but every vehicle coming form the cross traffic decided it was time to go through the median. Instead of one car at a time and going through the paved median, the cars were at least 4 across and driving over the curb, across a few feet of grass, and over the other side's curb for at least 10 minutes. It was extremely frustrating to get through but hysterical at the same time. Everybody was yelling at somebody and honking a horn, and then eventually you would see the yellers laugh and smile at how ridiculous the whole thing was. This was probably about 10 minutes into our total of 3 hours to travel 5 miles so we were in more of of laughing mood than we were a while later. Also, earlier that day we caught site of three guys getting free rides on mtatu's - clearly a good way to travel if you are in a hurry, are lazy, and don't care if you get hit by a bike, boda, mtatu, or other piece of moving metal on wheels going down the street.
On a more serious note, we had a great day in Kayunga and Jinga. We, meaning Paul and Gunnar who are a future medical student and a future med-peds resident who are both from Minnesota and were willing to come out for the day. Paul is also going to be working with Medicine for Sick Children to help out with any projects we have during this trip.
House of Peace is an orphanage we have been working with to provide medicine for the past 3 trips, so we have known about them for almost 4 years. Pastor Moses has a small church outside of Jinga and started an orphanage project in his home village near Kayunga. Since the last time we were here 18 months ago there have been some changes. A health inspector came to see the home which is standard procedure for all children's homes that are registered in the country. There were some violations, including a toilet (outhouse) which is too close to the house and kitchen in addition to being full and needs to be re-dug. Prior to this trip, we knew about this problem and are planning to financially support getting a new one built because having proper disposal of waste is a great way to prevent disease.
It's always a warm welcome full of smiles, greetings, and prayers. It was good to see all of the kids, but they are all so big, I can hardly call them kids anymore. I think the youngest is 8 years old now! the kids are now staying in Jinga with random families and some are sleeping with 2 kids in a bed until they are able to fix the home at House of Peace so they can all move back. In total there are 44 children, but some have completed secondary school, some have stopped going to school because they couldn't pay school fees, and some are attending trade schools and are not staying at the home. There are quite a few older boys who still stay in Kayunga and are trying to make repairs as they are able.
The inside of the house needs some work. I wish I could say that it is the worst I have seen, but it actually doesn't look THAT bad. I do realize that after seeing as many orphanages as I have over the past 6 years, my expectations are sometimes a little lower than they used to be. The biggest problems are the lack of proper beds, walls that are slightly crumbling, no electricity, and a kitchen setting that does not meet sanitation standards because it is just a room without proper furniture or shelves to store things. We are waiting for the full report from the inspector to see exactly what needs to be done and if it is feasible.
The biggest problem now is sustainability. Even if we help with minor repairs, do major work building a latrine, and help bring the kids back together, there are still many things to be done to ensure they can continue to keep up the house. One idea that Pastor Moses has is to re-start farming on his land. He has over 10 acres to work with and could have enough food to feed all the kids and to sell in order to help with upkeep and to hopefully pay for school fees in the future. The question is whether the garden will continue to grow, or if it will suffer from drought and lack of working on it as it has the past couple of years. In addition, is there enough of a market to sell the things and make a profit? I know next to nothing about agriculture - and in fact, I generally can't keep a house plant alive, so I feel like I need an expert's opinion about it.
I guess when I think about it, I am hopeful that this is a good project and I can trust the people that we are helping to use the resources provided in a responsible way. However, I sometimes feel like I ask too many questions, bring up to many "what ifs", and put a lot of doubt in my own mind. If you would have asked me to take an amount of money that people donated 5 years ago when this type of undertaking was presented, I probably wouldn't have hesitated and said, "let's do it". After seeing projects come and go, learning a lot about trying to do the best work you can with international development, and thinking about the future and not just the present, I always hesitate just a little bit more. Medicine for Sick Children has a mission to fill in the gaps of providing health services to children. This is very important! There is also an importance of providing a healthy environment to keep kids from getting sick. This means a roof over their heads, mosquito nets, nutritious food, and a safe and loving environment. I keep trying to draw a line in my head of where medicine ends and other things begin, but it's the blurriest transition I can imagine.
For now, I am just continuing to pray that we will make wise decisions about the things that we are involved in and that we will be led to make the best decisions we can about the things we have. Prayers and input are encouraged, especially as my mom will be coming in a couple of weeks and she will also be involved in figuring out what to do! These really are lovely people and the children and I want to help them. I just want to do it in a wise way!
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