Well Mom is having a great time and the campaign is coming to an end towards the end of June. She will have 4 days or so between Malawi and Uganda to take a 'vacation'. She asked me to ask you (her friends) for help planning her vacation. She does not have internet access to look for herself and does not know really where to go. She has heard of a game preserve in Zambia, but does not know the cost, what she would need other than a passport,etc. She also hears great things about Lake Malawi.
So here is your assignment...she is asking for ideas, so maybe you can give her a few suggestions by commenting on this post. I will then summarize them and pass them along via phone in the next week or so. It cannot be too expensive and as I mentioned she has only 4 days or so. I am looking forward to your replies.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
What is that in the toilet and where is Hippo?
Just spoke with Mom. Terrible connection but I did get some information from her. So here it is...
When she got up this morning there was a huge frog in the toilet. She said it was the size of a big fist! What a way to begin the morning. Speaking of getting started in the morning, her mornings now start at 4 AM instead of 5 AM. Long days but there is an end in site. Speaking of animals...Has anyone seen Hippo? Mom's driver's name is Hippo. Mom gets a kick out of it.
Things are very busy and hectic right now. There are thousands of people trying to get vaccinated. Unfortunately there continue to be cases of children deaths of measles. In some cases the crowds are getting slightly unruly. One driver had his car vandalized as he was driving past the people waiting. That then gave Mom a new experience...sh got a chance to go to the police station (which she said was interesting) to file the report. All is okay though.
As I said the connection was not all that great so that is just about all I got. She did make one huge request, which I will post separately. So for now that is it. I hope she will have internet access soon, so post some comments and let her know you are thinking of her.
When she got up this morning there was a huge frog in the toilet. She said it was the size of a big fist! What a way to begin the morning. Speaking of getting started in the morning, her mornings now start at 4 AM instead of 5 AM. Long days but there is an end in site. Speaking of animals...Has anyone seen Hippo? Mom's driver's name is Hippo. Mom gets a kick out of it.
Things are very busy and hectic right now. There are thousands of people trying to get vaccinated. Unfortunately there continue to be cases of children deaths of measles. In some cases the crowds are getting slightly unruly. One driver had his car vandalized as he was driving past the people waiting. That then gave Mom a new experience...sh got a chance to go to the police station (which she said was interesting) to file the report. All is okay though.
As I said the connection was not all that great so that is just about all I got. She did make one huge request, which I will post separately. So for now that is it. I hope she will have internet access soon, so post some comments and let her know you are thinking of her.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Uganda is Confirmed!!
I just got word that Mom is confirmed for Uganda! I called her immediately and she is excited. She still has no access to the internet and is using satelite phone systems.
The timing is great. In Malawi the last campaign starts on June 11 and is expected to last about 2 weeks. She will then get a week or so break and start in Uganda around the second week of July. The city she is going to is Arua. A quick Google search showed me it is in the northwest part of Uganda and the district shares its borders with the Congo and Sudan. Her assignment is a log/admin and she will be working on an AIDS campaign that has been there for approximately 10 years. She is told by another person who just came from there that it will be a more structured schedule.
The phone call was quick, but here is what I learned...She still has not had a day off and does not expect one until the campaign is done (late June). She has not had a chance to keep a journal going which makes me glad I have captured some of the key items from her and my discussions. It will help at least trigger some memories when she has time to catch up on the journaling. The two local topics of the day involved washing clothes and transportation. When the locals wash clothes they then lay them out on the grass to dry. After they dry they iron all of them. The reason for the ironing is not to make them look crisp, but to kill any paracites that may be on them as they lay in the grass to dry. It is a health issue. Who would have thought it? The second item was some of the team will be going to another campaign where they go by boat and then have to get on an Ox driven cart to ride the rest of the way. They will be transporting medicines (kept cold) by this method of transportation. Mom is bummed though that she will not be on that trip...she is still holding down the fort with transportation and home base activities.
When Mom gets to Uganda she will have a PO Box and we will be able to send care packages. So keep that in mind if you want to send her something.
Well that is it for now. Mom had very little time today and was paying drivers, arranging for the next day, negotiating wages, etc. while I was talking to her. She is keep everything running like a well oiled machine. I will let you know more when I know more. Add comments for Mom to read if you would like...
The timing is great. In Malawi the last campaign starts on June 11 and is expected to last about 2 weeks. She will then get a week or so break and start in Uganda around the second week of July. The city she is going to is Arua. A quick Google search showed me it is in the northwest part of Uganda and the district shares its borders with the Congo and Sudan. Her assignment is a log/admin and she will be working on an AIDS campaign that has been there for approximately 10 years. She is told by another person who just came from there that it will be a more structured schedule.
The phone call was quick, but here is what I learned...She still has not had a day off and does not expect one until the campaign is done (late June). She has not had a chance to keep a journal going which makes me glad I have captured some of the key items from her and my discussions. It will help at least trigger some memories when she has time to catch up on the journaling. The two local topics of the day involved washing clothes and transportation. When the locals wash clothes they then lay them out on the grass to dry. After they dry they iron all of them. The reason for the ironing is not to make them look crisp, but to kill any paracites that may be on them as they lay in the grass to dry. It is a health issue. Who would have thought it? The second item was some of the team will be going to another campaign where they go by boat and then have to get on an Ox driven cart to ride the rest of the way. They will be transporting medicines (kept cold) by this method of transportation. Mom is bummed though that she will not be on that trip...she is still holding down the fort with transportation and home base activities.
When Mom gets to Uganda she will have a PO Box and we will be able to send care packages. So keep that in mind if you want to send her something.
Well that is it for now. Mom had very little time today and was paying drivers, arranging for the next day, negotiating wages, etc. while I was talking to her. She is keep everything running like a well oiled machine. I will let you know more when I know more. Add comments for Mom to read if you would like...
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Mom Is On The Move
Spoke with Mom today. She is on the move. They have relocated from Mzimba to Mzuzu, both still in Malawi. She says she is still loving it, although being a fleet and base manager is not really what she was hoping for. She loved scouting sites. Folks are pleased with her work (of course) and compliment her on her flexibility.
The town she is in now is a bigger town, in fact the fastest growing in Malawi. She is only 20 minutes from the lake that runs the length of the country. Everyone is having hopeful dreams for a day off to visit the lake. She says she has seen pictures of the crystal clear water and kayaks on the water. The town she is not in is a thriving timber industry town. I asked if she will have internet and there is a slight possibility of it in the coming days...we'll see.
Even though the fleet and base manager job is not what she had in mind, she says the people she is working with are superb. She is enjoying the cross cultural exposure and learning about them and their home country. Half of the adventure is being exposed to the African people and their culture and the other half the MSF people and their culture. She enjoys both soooo much. The locals continue to also be very appreciative and friendly.
I got a few more details on the break-in earlier in the week. Several houses and the base were broken into by 7 men. They tried unsuccessfully to get into the office because the guards were able to fend them off. They have beefed up the security and associated procedures. The locals of the last town were so apologetic about the attempted break-in.
Well that is about it for this update. Mom has spoken to someone who came from the Uganda efforts and they described a much more relaxed, shorter hour work-day, better food, etc. environment. Right now Mom is still on the list to go there next...but anything can change.
The town she is in now is a bigger town, in fact the fastest growing in Malawi. She is only 20 minutes from the lake that runs the length of the country. Everyone is having hopeful dreams for a day off to visit the lake. She says she has seen pictures of the crystal clear water and kayaks on the water. The town she is not in is a thriving timber industry town. I asked if she will have internet and there is a slight possibility of it in the coming days...we'll see.
Even though the fleet and base manager job is not what she had in mind, she says the people she is working with are superb. She is enjoying the cross cultural exposure and learning about them and their home country. Half of the adventure is being exposed to the African people and their culture and the other half the MSF people and their culture. She enjoys both soooo much. The locals continue to also be very appreciative and friendly.
I got a few more details on the break-in earlier in the week. Several houses and the base were broken into by 7 men. They tried unsuccessfully to get into the office because the guards were able to fend them off. They have beefed up the security and associated procedures. The locals of the last town were so apologetic about the attempted break-in.
Well that is about it for this update. Mom has spoken to someone who came from the Uganda efforts and they described a much more relaxed, shorter hour work-day, better food, etc. environment. Right now Mom is still on the list to go there next...but anything can change.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Men break into the office
Mom sent me a text that the office and some nearby homes had been raided by some men (I guess looking to steal some stuff). I sent back a reply and Mom said all is okay now.
Mom Gets a New "Job"
Well I spoke with Mom this weekend. All is still going well. She has been establishing new sites with her 'super crew'. One day last week all of the sites combined vaccinated 75,000 people!
Two days ago her boss came up to her to ask what she was doing. She was about to go out to an area that is supposed to be very beautiful to setup some new sites. All was running well. The person asked 'How long will that take?' and then asked if she could talk to Mom privately. It turns out they were about to let go the person who was handling the fleet of vehicles and managing the 'home office'. Well you can probably guess what happened next...yep Mom is now the new fleet manager and overseer of the home office. That is 78 vehicles plus personnel such as security, cooks, etc. She is flustered a bit since she knows nothing about any of that stuff. She has to make sure all of the drivers have functioning vehicles, they are maintained, they get to the right people at the right time, etc. The previous person had nothing documented...it was all in her head. Mom knows others that have this fleet assignment and thought "Boy I am glad I am not doing that". Well now she is.
She is still in good spirits and having a blast. It appears Uganda is still on so she will go from this to Uganda (as it stands right now). I will let you know more as I know more.
Two days ago her boss came up to her to ask what she was doing. She was about to go out to an area that is supposed to be very beautiful to setup some new sites. All was running well. The person asked 'How long will that take?' and then asked if she could talk to Mom privately. It turns out they were about to let go the person who was handling the fleet of vehicles and managing the 'home office'. Well you can probably guess what happened next...yep Mom is now the new fleet manager and overseer of the home office. That is 78 vehicles plus personnel such as security, cooks, etc. She is flustered a bit since she knows nothing about any of that stuff. She has to make sure all of the drivers have functioning vehicles, they are maintained, they get to the right people at the right time, etc. The previous person had nothing documented...it was all in her head. Mom knows others that have this fleet assignment and thought "Boy I am glad I am not doing that". Well now she is.
She is still in good spirits and having a blast. It appears Uganda is still on so she will go from this to Uganda (as it stands right now). I will let you know more as I know more.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Mom scouts out 12 new sites
Spoke with Mom today (through several calls due to poor reception). She is having a blast! I was able to ask her a bunch of questions this time. The summary of the overall effort is as follows:
- The campaign is for measles and targets 1,000,000 vaccinations.
- There are about 10 active sites at any one time.
- Each site does between 1,000 and 3,000 vaccinations each day
- There are 9 vaccination teams that rotate between sites
- The area to the south of her has already vaccinated over 300,000 people
- There are about 1,000 people involved in helping to pull off this monumental effort. This includes volunteers, drivers, MSF folks like Mom, etc.
So then we got a chance to talk about some of the stuff she has been doing. She says the roads are some of the worst she has seen. She characterized the one she was on when I was speaking with her as an ‘overgrown path’. There was also a bridge that was just wide enough for a car to fit, but no room to spare. She is where she says the tourists never go. Many of the places have no motorized vehicles at all. She is ‘way out in the bush’.
When she described the villages she said they are a lot like the remote AK villages with people living off the land. Every time she goes into a town there are people lined up on both sides of the road going to or from the town. Many are women and children. They are carrying groceries, water, etc. To carry the water the women balance 5 gallon buckets full of water on their heads and children 2 ½ gallon buckets on their heads. Water is 8 pounds per gallons, so that is heavy. She says this practice does produce people with excellent posture. They also walk at a even but slow pace all of the time…again due to the times they have to carry water where you cannot go very fast.
For Mom the day starts at 5 AM and ends around 10 PM. Evidently this is not typical, although someone else there has worked 48 days straight. One of the docs said since this is an emergency campaign, it is very fast paced and busy. He said when Mom goes to Uganda it will be very different since that is an established, ongoing clinic. It will be a slower pace and much more routine.
For the villagers, the day starts at 7 AM with washing, cooking, etc. They sweep their dirt floors of their houses. Mom says everyone is extremely friendly waving as she passes by. They do not see visitors. Mom says they have the most amazingly white teeth. We discussed that is probably because they do not have processed foods, cokes, etc.
Mom said the locals have a limited diet. Again they are eating off the land. The basic staples are potatoes, rice (with tomatoes), veggies, greens, chicken and beef. Each meal is some variation of this. Mom and others did go to a restaurant and the menu was those items plus a pizza and a few sandwiches.
Well that is it for now. More to come as I know more…
- The campaign is for measles and targets 1,000,000 vaccinations.
- There are about 10 active sites at any one time.
- Each site does between 1,000 and 3,000 vaccinations each day
- There are 9 vaccination teams that rotate between sites
- The area to the south of her has already vaccinated over 300,000 people
- There are about 1,000 people involved in helping to pull off this monumental effort. This includes volunteers, drivers, MSF folks like Mom, etc.
So then we got a chance to talk about some of the stuff she has been doing. She says the roads are some of the worst she has seen. She characterized the one she was on when I was speaking with her as an ‘overgrown path’. There was also a bridge that was just wide enough for a car to fit, but no room to spare. She is where she says the tourists never go. Many of the places have no motorized vehicles at all. She is ‘way out in the bush’.
When she described the villages she said they are a lot like the remote AK villages with people living off the land. Every time she goes into a town there are people lined up on both sides of the road going to or from the town. Many are women and children. They are carrying groceries, water, etc. To carry the water the women balance 5 gallon buckets full of water on their heads and children 2 ½ gallon buckets on their heads. Water is 8 pounds per gallons, so that is heavy. She says this practice does produce people with excellent posture. They also walk at a even but slow pace all of the time…again due to the times they have to carry water where you cannot go very fast.
For Mom the day starts at 5 AM and ends around 10 PM. Evidently this is not typical, although someone else there has worked 48 days straight. One of the docs said since this is an emergency campaign, it is very fast paced and busy. He said when Mom goes to Uganda it will be very different since that is an established, ongoing clinic. It will be a slower pace and much more routine.
For the villagers, the day starts at 7 AM with washing, cooking, etc. They sweep their dirt floors of their houses. Mom says everyone is extremely friendly waving as she passes by. They do not see visitors. Mom says they have the most amazingly white teeth. We discussed that is probably because they do not have processed foods, cokes, etc.
Mom said the locals have a limited diet. Again they are eating off the land. The basic staples are potatoes, rice (with tomatoes), veggies, greens, chicken and beef. Each meal is some variation of this. Mom and others did go to a restaurant and the menu was those items plus a pizza and a few sandwiches.
Well that is it for now. More to come as I know more…
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Finally There and Put To Work Right Away
Mom has made it to her final destination. She says it is beautiful. The weather has been good as well. She is in a measles vaccination clinic (I think). I was able to talk to her to get some of the details. When we spoke she had just gotten out of a meeting at 10:30 PM her time. She had to be back at the clinic at 5 AM the next day and work until 9 PM or so. Long days.
I think I understood correctly that the places they are include schools, churches, etc. People from all over come to be vaccinated. She was supposed to initially help with construction, but had to instead help out with the crowds and crowd control. They are trying to vaccinate 2000 people a day. They will be there for 8 days and then pack up and off to the next town.
She said she cannot call out and has no internet service. She has several emails in queue and hopes to get to an internet cafe at some point to send them out. She also added in addition to no cell or internet, she has no toilet seat. Just threw that in since it was such an odd statement out of the blue in our quick phone call.
I hope to hear more from her in the next week or so and will post when I can.
I think I understood correctly that the places they are include schools, churches, etc. People from all over come to be vaccinated. She was supposed to initially help with construction, but had to instead help out with the crowds and crowd control. They are trying to vaccinate 2000 people a day. They will be there for 8 days and then pack up and off to the next town.
She said she cannot call out and has no internet service. She has several emails in queue and hopes to get to an internet cafe at some point to send them out. She also added in addition to no cell or internet, she has no toilet seat. Just threw that in since it was such an odd statement out of the blue in our quick phone call.
I hope to hear more from her in the next week or so and will post when I can.
Mom Is Off To Africa
Mom is off to Africa. She got a call on Monday to leave on Tuesday. She did not leave that day, but did leave on Thursday night. As you may expect she was a minimalist. She packed for 6 months in one bag and the total weight was 26 pounds. She was proud. The assignment is 6 weeks in a traveling immunization clinic and then likely 6 months in an AIDS campaign. The first part is in Malawi and the second in Uganda. Uganda is still up in the air.
She flew all night on Thursday and spent the day on Friday at MSF getting briefed. Friday night it was another all night flight to Amsterdam where she was able to get a shower, great breakfast, chocolate and attended a chamber concert all courtesy of Volgert a friend of Susan's (I think). Saturday night came and you guessed it...another night on an airplane. But at least this time she was to be landing in Africa. She made it there safely and was immediately immersed into the activities.
More to come.
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