The Blue Sweater

If you haven’t realized by now,  I read a lot, and I am currently reading The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, a fascinating read about microfinance and banking for the poor in the developing and the developed world, and I came across a quote at the beginning of a chapter that I think describes the mission of the organization I am working with here in Uganda extremely well:

Go to the people: 

live with them, 

learn from them 

love them 

start with what they know 

build with what they have. 

But of the best leaders, 

when the job is done, 

the task acccomplished, 

the people will say: 

“We have done it ourselves.”. –Lao Tzu

The Kigezi Healthcare Foundation, a really amazing organization, is run by Dr. Geoffrey Anguyo, a doctor here in Kabale who strives to fight ignorance, disease, and poverty, which are local problems, with local solutions. The organization is so deeply integrated in the community here, and all of the programs they have started aim to be sustainable within the community. Plus, the vast majority of the KIHEFO staff (99%) is Ugandan. This model is something that has allowed collaboration and trust throughout the community here to support the health of community members. Church leaders and traditional healers even refer serious cases of many illnesses to KIHEFO because of the trust and the respect that the groups hold for each other. Below are some pictures of the clinic.

HIV Clinic

General and Dental Clinic

Nutrition Clinic

KIHEFO ambulance

I have spent the past few days revising a nutrition survey with some of the other interns, and tomorrow and Thursday we will be taking day trips out into Rubira to complete surveys with residents of the village so we can collect some data for the KIHEFO nutrition clinic. It should be lots of fun!