Out of the Pharmacy Classroom and Into Africa

I think the giraffes were my favorite because they are so huge but graceful. The darker the spots, the older the animal.

The trip to Murchison Falls National Park was extraordinary!  We saw so many animals and the scenery is gorgeous.  Yesterday we took a game drive in the late afternoon and were arriving back just before dusk and the grasslands were just covered with animals at their time of feeding.  It is so interesting to see them all living happily together, for the most part.  We did get to see 2 lion cubs and it was clear that the antelopes had moved away from them and were kind of nervous.  Here are some of my pictures.  Enjoy and imagine….

Elephant- these were by far the most shy of the animals we saw and didn't remain near for long

Tuesday June 28, 2011

Knowing that by this time our research would almost done, we planned for a respite at Murchison National Park in Uganda.  I don’t think I told you that there are now 7 of us doing work in Masindi.  Dr. Godlove Fonjweng, the Director of Global Education at Wilkes joined Joe and me for our initial trip to Masindi and has been helping do the village interviews for my project.  Four others joined us to conduct their own project regarding the impact of safe water on the community- another faculty member and a recent alumni from Wilkes along with a faculty members from two other colleges in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area.  So all 7 of us left Masindi this morning to travel about 2 hours north to the park and now we just got back from our first Game Drive.  Wow, it was totally fantastic!  The landscape was just beautiful with numerous shades of green that transitioned from woodland savannah to grassland savannah and back again.  The land was covered with long grasses, a variety of bushes along with Acacia trees and Palm trees.  The latter is not indigenous to this area but we were told that the Palm tree seeds were brought to Murchison by migrating elephant herds from the Sudan via their feces many years ago.  Now the trees are all over and from a distance the scene reminded me of the picture of the Truffula Trees in the book by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.  We actually started seeing animals on our way in into the park; as we drove along we would see baboons sitting all over the road ahead. Our driver slowed down and so we could try to catch them in a picture.  Once the Game Drive started, though, the animals became more prominent.  We saw all kinds of “antelope-related” creatures, warthogs, buffalo, giraffe and elephants.  It was so amazing!  Our van had a roof that popped up so we could stand up and take picture unencumbered by windows.  I will attach some below.  I hope to be able to figure out exactly what the animals are called tomorrow.  We are taking a boat ride down the Nile River in the morning and then plan to hike up to the falls and then another Game Drive in the afternoon.  Oh, I forgot to tell you that we drove to the top of Murchison Falls even before we got to our hotel.  It was a beautiful site.  The pictures will look a little “foggy” because the spray from the water was so strong.  I have been trying to load pics for a little while now but the connection is so slow. I will post one so you can share some of my excitement but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for more.

Wild Animals in Murchison- see the Giraffe in the Background? Many more to come...

Sunday June 26, 2011

Hello again from Masindi!  I can’t believe I’ve been here for only a few days. We’ve been so busy and have accomplished a lot!  Our research is almost done.  But before I tell you about that I just wanted to reflect for a moment.  I am staying at a really quaint hotel called the New Court View Hotel.  All the rooms are individual bantas.  These are little huts that are made to look like the native homes in the area, except that they are square not cylindrical and are made with brick and cement mortar with a real roof, which is just covered with grass rather than red clay dirt and only grass for roofing.  (see picture)

The open-water source that is the primary drinking water for the Village of Mboira

Anyway, it is evening and I just got out of a really hot shower.  I mention the “hot” because heated water is something we take for granted in the US. This hotel uses solar panels to heat the water, which is a real benefit because they don’t have to rely on the “not so reliable” electrical grid in Masindi.  As I think I told you before, the water for bathing in Tanzania had to be heated on a wood stove and that works just fine but it takes more effort and forethought than just turning on the faucet and letting it run until the water gets hot. And speaking of that, I have a new appreciation for the luxury of having clean, hot and cold water. The very first day we went to the villages, we were shown the open water source that the community uses as their one and only water source.  As you can see from the picture, it is really horrible.  I thought that I would find out that at least they knew to boil the water before using it, but as we conducted the interviews it became quite clear that no one does that.  They did seem to know that this would have been a good idea so it puzzled me as to why they didn’t do this. It turns out that the limiting factor is the costliness of the firewood.  Just think how much firewood you would need overtime if the ONLY way you cooked anything was over a wood fire.  Most villagers are very, very poor and have to conserve the meager resources they have.  Today we went and spoke with the health workers at a medical clinic near the villages where we conducted our interviews. Right across from the clinic is a bore-hole well that was put in my the district government which is great but it is the only protected water source available to a population of 1600 people and sometimes there isn’t enough water for all.  Also, it breaks down from time to time and although it is usually fixed within a few days, the need for water doesn’t cease so people resort to unclean open water sources for those days and end up getting sick with diarrheal illness and worms.  In Tanzania I learned how to effectively and efficiently bathe with minimal amounts of water and here, although I let the shower run briefly, I have started to collect the water in the bucket that is provided and wash with that while I have the shower turned off.  I can then turn the shower on for a moment to quickly rinse off.  Here I am partially motivated by the sites I’ve seen and stories I’ve heard, but also motivated because I am currently in an area with limited access to water and I feel that any effort I put forth will be truly helpful.  Once I return home it will be harder because it will seem like my efforts are only a drop in a large bucket and won’t seem to matter.  But just think:  If we all do our best to conserve water we can make a big difference.  I’m pretty sure there are parts of our country as well (USA) where water isn’t consistently available or where droughts can occur.  Well, it is really late for me and I can hardly keep my eyes open. I am learning so much on this trip and have been enjoying every minute.  I will fill you in on the trips to the villages at another time, in short,  I am really pleased with the way everything is working out.  Thanks for all your comments- I got a chance to review most briefly today and will try to respond to the questions soon.

Village of Mboira

Monday, June 20, 2011

Joe (Wilkes Student) & Joseph (MakCHS Student) on CampusA view of Mulago Hospital