Canada Day

Today was my last outreach here in Uganda. KIHEFO does a monthly HIV outreach to a community group about a half hour’s drive from Kabale town, where we see HIV+ patients, see how they are doing on their medications, and provide them with a month’s worth of ARV therapy. There are almost 200 patients in this group, although today no more than 30 came to the outreach. We learned that one of the barriers to coming is hygiene. Many people feel ashamed that they do not have soap and water to bathe, and feel embarassed coming to pick up their medications. While there are many other barriers to healthcare here, this one seemed so simple to me that it really struck me. If soap were provided, or, better-yet, if people were taught how to make their own soap cheaply so that the soap could be more easily accessible, maybe more people would get their ARVs. In addition, they would have better hygiene, and wouldn’t get sick as often. This was a very concrete example of how interconnected so many issues are here. You cannot solve one without affecting several others.

Adrienne and I hard at work at the HIV outreach.

Anywho, this post is called Canada Day because, well, today is Canada Day. Our local coordinator here, as well as her two roommates, are Canadian, so we had a celebration at the KIHEFO compound. We had pancakes, hashbrowns, and bacon with maple syrup for dinner. It was all delicious, and a nice change of pace. Now I am going to watch the USA vs. Belgium game (or at least some of it, as it is after 11PM here) and tomorrow, we are going to do a nutrition workshop at a local missionary hospital.

Breakfast for dinner!