The Grading of Commercial Road

Today we heard the rumbling of big equipment on the road in front of our apartment.  Sure enough the road grader and roller were smoothing out our road.  Last week we had a road block as several cars were stuck in the rain and could not get around a huge pothole at the corner.  We had another big storm last night and the road needed attention.  Hopefully this will help for a while.  Our four wheel drive pickups get us home but it isn't always easy.

South Africa Public Affairs Conference and Game Drive

Susan and I traveled to South Africa last week to attend a Public Affairs Conference in Johannesburg. This was 2 and 1/2 days of intense training and sharing of ideas.  We presented a section on Reporting and Follow-up, were both pleased with our efforts, and learned from the other couples as well.  We ate great food, attended the Temple and had a great time. Saturday, all of us loaded into 2 vans and a Land Rover and went to Pilanesberg National Park, about 3 hours out of Johannesburg to do a game drive.  I never get tired of these and we still have two more later this year.  What a great experience!

 Susan doing a skit to present our topic prior to our presentation

 

 Grey Go Away Bird in a Thorne Tree

 

 We came across this herd of Elephants at one end of this creek and could see they were moving toward the opposite end of the valley so we back tracked and waited for them to walk in front of us.  It was the right move and an amazing sight to see as they passed in front of the car.  We counted 25...all moms, babies, and young juveniles. 

 

 This picture was taken through the window so it has a different tint but it came out clear.  I didn't want to miss this baby.

 

 Zebras and Blue Wildebeest stay together as much as possible.  The  Zebra eat the top of the grass and the Wildebeest eat the lower part of the grass so they don't get in each others way.  They also protect each other from predators.

 

 

 Klipspringer, a very small antelope often seen on rocky outcrops

 

 Lone Zebra

 

 We are shooting from a blind in the lake and saw these Wildebeests across the water. 

 

 If you look close, you will see the Lioness stalking the Wildebeest.  She could not get close enough to chase them but it was fun to watch.

 

 Warthog

 

 Impala grazing along the lake

 

 Springbok

 

 This Rhino was staying cool under a tree.  They do not move around in the middle of the day.

 

 Three different Giraffe breeds than we had seen before.  There were about 10 of them in this herd.

 

 Again, a Wildebeest... this was taken in the middle of the day and it was hot

 

 We had a great bush lunch...tons of bacon with fried mushrooms and scrambled egg on a bun.

Wow, it was really good and I cooked a lot of it.

 This lizard is about 4 inches long but he was posing for me and I got this shot.

 

And we end with a Pied Kingfisher.

 

Water and Latrine Humanitarian Handover

 

We had one of the greatest experiences of our mission today in Jinja.  Each Sunday we drive the 80 km to Njeru a town outside of Jinja to support the branch there.  We hate the drive but we love the people.  We stayed over so we could attend the "Handover" of  a Humanitarian Project on Monday at Bugembe, another town outside of Jinja.  Jinja is a larger city and has several cities around it that make the metro area much bigger.  Bugembe has about 50,000 people and the area the project will serve will be about 20,000 people.  These 20,000 people were serviced by two(2) wooden, rotting latrines.  Most of these people live in a one room mud, cement or clay brick(not fired) home. There is no running water in their homes and so no indoor plumbing.  It is very common for them to relieve themselves in a bag, which is pitched in the garbage pile.  This water and latrine project provided them with the first public toilet in Bugembe.  

 

To obtain water these people carry it in a jerry can from a stream, lake, spring, or a bore hole as near to their homes as possible.  The jerry cans are heavy and a family makes 4-6 trips daily for water.  I have seen the smallest kids 4-5 yrs. old carrying gallon jugs.

 

With this project funded by the Church, the contractors were able to build a six stall toilet (3 men and 3 women) as well as five bore holes (water points) and one good sized protected spring water source. The Mayor, the Town Clerk and several Town Councilmen took us on a tour of the water projects and then the handover at the latrine site was attended by many other church and city dignitaries.  It was great.  The Hannans were honored as they are the Humanitarian Couple and we were representatives of the Church as well, so we were honored and given front row seats next to the Hannans. We were asked to speak as was the mayor, councilmen, the District President of our Church, etc.  The whole day was an incredible event.  These people were so appreciative. 

 

The new latrine was surrounded by these little houses and lots of little kids so I took lots of pictures.  I hope you can feel the joy we found from the excitement in this village today.  I love these kids.  The older children who cannot pay school fees stay home, which breaks our hearts,  but what a blessing it was for us to be there today.

 

 

 

 This baby is sucking on a piece of sugar cane.  Many of these kids teeth fall out from decay.
 

 The new latrine...the first public toilet in Bugembe.  It even has a handicap ramp and one stall for anyone handicapped.

 The Contractors (on each end, both are Church members), the Mayor in the middle, and Hannans.
 

 A bore hole where families can come to pump water.  They always build a protection around a bore hole to protect it from animals. 

 

 

 This water point is the only one for several miles around.  There are some relatively nice home around but as there is no indoor plumbing in any of them, this is a busy place.

 

 Susan and the Mayor filling jerry cans
 

The Mayor at the protected spring.  The Church prefers to tap into the natural springs whenever possible rather than do a bore hole.
 

The old spring was down to a trickle so they moved it 12 feet up the hill and it really works well

 The Handover

A Church member who serves on the City Council

 Contractor Abubaker with the MC for the Handover
 

 Mayor Stephen Wante of Bugembe
 

 Neighborhood kids sitting and listening at the Handover
 

 The ribbon cutting at the latrine
 

 Everyone anxious to check out the latrine after the ribbon cutting
 

 



 

Humanitarian Neo-natal Project in Lira, Uganda

This week we had the wonderful opportunity to cover a humanitarian handover in Lira, Uganda.  The Church had sent Dr. Brent Lind (OB-GYN) from American Fork, Utah to teach neo-natal resuscitation to doctors, nurses and mid-wives in Uganda.  This was his 4th time coming to teach the course in Africa.  Our mission nurse, Sister Nancy Squire, is also trained in this as she is a nurse educator and has done maternal fetal health for a number of years.  So, she teamed up with the doctor to teach the course.  The Church partnered with an NGO in Uganda and two Ugandan doctors (pediatricians) were also involved in the teaching.  The Church sent all the supplies for the course and enough that everyone that completed the course was sent back to their towns and villages with materials so that they could then teach others they work with.  The course was 3 days and designed to train 25 people.  They offered the course twice while in Lira, and a total of 57 were able to be trained.

Throughout the world one out of every 10 babies born struggles to breathe.  By applying the knowledge this course imparts, 90% of those struggling to breathe can be saved. 

It was wonderful to see these Ugandans leave trained and ready to help reduce the mortality rate in their country.  Many work in areas where they have no assistance from a doctor.  One student came late to class on the last day because she had worked all night and delivered 5 babies by herself.

As we visited with some of the midwives at the training we learned several things.  They try to encourage the mother to prepare for the birth by securing a blanket and clothing for the baby.  If the mother arrives at the clinic with nothing, the baby is often wrapped in the mother's dress.  Sometimes a mother will bring a piece of sheet that she has torn from her own bedding at home.  Electricity is not always available after the sun goes down and so midwives told us they deliver by holding a "torch" in their mouth.  By "torch" they mean the light from their cell phone.  By holding their phone in their mouth they are then able to use their hands to deliver the baby.  They have no clock to note the time of birth and no scales to weigh the baby.  If the mother runs into complications during labor or delivery, they call a boda boda (motorcycle) to transport the mother to a hospital where there is a doctor.  If the mother has no money to pay for the boda boda, then no boda is called.  One midwife told us that if she runs into complications, she has to put the patient in a canoe and row her across the lake to the nearest hospital. 

The Board Room at the Lira Regional Referral Hospital was where the training was held.

It was located in this hospital administration building.   There were multiple other buildings located on the grounds that housed other wings of the hospital.

Each midwife received a duffle bag of equipment to take back to their hospital so they could be the trainers for the staff they work with.  It contained a Neo-natal Natalie (resuscitation doll), 2 stethoscopes, two ventilation bags with pediatric masks, two suction bulbs, gloves, a receiving blanket, and flipchart for teaching. 

Starting on the left:  the Squires (she is the mission nurse), next the Hannans who are the humanitarian couple for the mission, then two Ugandan trainers, Dr. Charles (Ugandan pediatrician), Dr. Brent Lind and his wife Rosemary, and Dr. Joyce (Ugandan pediatrician).

Dr. Joyce with a student

Student working with the resuscitation doll 

 

Dr. Brent Lind teaching a student

President Chatfield and Sister Squire watching a midwife working with the equipment in a cute skit the students did during the closing ceremony. 

Elder Squire handing off a training kit

Lunch...Oakley, a member of the Ntinda Branch here in Kampala, catered a great lunch each day of the training.  He is a very good cook: beans and rice, chapati(tortilla-like bread), Irish Potatoes, meat in a gravy, coleslaw, a green sauce made from kale, and watermelon. (this is a basic meal for Ugandans) 

Midwives and trainers loaded up with equipment and ready to head back to their villages.  These students were so attentive and wanted to learn everything Dr. Lind could teach them.  They loved that he got right down on their level, sat with them at their tables, and helped them learn exactly how to help a baby struggling to breathe.  We have said it before and it was so evident here...Ugandans love Jesus Christ and they aren't afraid to talk about Him and thank Him for the ways He blesses their lives.    During the closing ceremony one of the trainers was encouraging them to go home and help the people in their communities.  She said..."loving your neighbor means saving that baby.  Look at each mother in labor as the mother of Jesus."

 

 

Sister Joanne Hannan and her husband Jim are the humanitarian couple.  She has a big heart and had these little children lined up every morning to give them a cookie.  Some of these kids are school aged but don't go as their parents can't afford the  20,000 shilling ($7.00) school fee so they stay home.  We are asked for school fees daily but have been told not to give them money as we could never keep up with the need.  We try very hard to teach them that they must become self-reliant.

These children all lived across the street from the hospital in very poor tiny shacks.  

   

 

She would have the children say "good morning" in English when she handed them a cookie.

 

 

Cute kids...you can see their living conditions in the background.

 

 

This man was pushing produce on his bike and the Police training recruits passed singing their marching song.  There was probably 200 of them.  Police make $2-3 per day 

 

 

A little village on the way to Lira

 

This lady pushes her bike for miles carrying cassava root.  It looks kind of like a potato but is much larger.  She will make less that $2.00 for her efforts.  We were 4-5 miles away from town when we passed her.  There were 50 of these ladies pushing bikes just like her.

 

 

This is the main road after crossing the Nile River.  You can see it is a one lane road and the busses and trucks go right down the middle at 80 MPH

 

 

Now that is a pothole and this road for 75 miles is one pothole after another

 

 

 Baboon sitting by the road as we crossed the bridge over the Nile River. 

 

 

We met this couple on the road just after crossing the Nile

 

 

Sue took this picture in front of a dress shop... no need for racks, just hang your goods for sale on the tree. 

 

 

Back in Kampala, the boda bodas and taxies are fighting for position  and we are making our way through the mess.

 

 

 

Check out our website at mormonnewsroom.ug and read some of the stories we have been working on.