Update

Clinic: In an effort to tighten up clinical operations, we've implemented an inventory system and are currently in the process of creating job descriptions and work agreements with the staff

Volunteers: I received my first group of three volunteers in November and they were great. The next group of three is in the village now and I'm in Kampala to receive three more. This will be my biggest group so far, so we'll see how it goes... I've created a volunteer orientation document to get people up and running quickly and I decided to create "missions" for volunteers to attempt. They'll vary from "creating new missions" to "maintaining the new inventory system" to "starting a juice company" to "getting the road from Mbale to Bududa paved". Some are simple... some a little more challenging (like the road thing).

Locals: The locals are warm and welcoming. Now that I've been here a while, I get offered an invitation for tea just by walking by homes. Jennipher and I have bonded. She changed her hair. I've befriended Rashid, a cool modern-type dude in the village. Such a thing is rare. The volunteers love him and he loves hanging out with them. He knows the ropes around Bududa district so he's a good "in". For example, when I called him and asked him if he could get me a hen to give Jennipher for Christmas, he was in the house ten minutes later with a big, beautiful hen that we named Jennipher.

Chicken Farming: What started with buying Jennipher a Christmas hen has turned into a small-scale chicken farm. After Rashid brought the hen, I decided it would be a shame to eat it (and I knew Jennipher would just feed it to us anyhow) so Rashid and I ventured off to find a suitable mate.

The ones behind the trading center were too young and the guy wasn't coming down in price. As we were searching, we came across a guy who had a "laying" hen. At the same time, I saw our local defense unit, Charles Wambi who's known for catch phrases "home is best", "Nothing bad" and "We are together". He has a small bandaid on his pinkey. When I probed, it turned out that he had delivered a baby cow at the school (Arlington) the night before. This is the third baby cow that he's delivered in a month. As a "Watchinyala" ("Well done"), I decided to thank him with the laying hen.

So after the sidebar task of Wambi's hen, Rashid and I set back to find a worthy cock for Jennipher (the hen, not my Ugandan mom). As we were waiting for Wambi's hen to be captured, I found a crazy-feathered cock that I decided I needed to have. Since that one wasn't for sale, we went a trading center over, Rashid sent out four agents or so to find said crazy-feathered cock. After some time hangin' in Bunamubi (the next trading center), we went back home to Kiholo (our trading center). Lo and behold, there was a crazy-feathered cock that we bought right in our own neighborhood for 17,000 shillings ($8)! That was the beginning.

Now the chickens needed a home, so I made them what looks just like a dog house next to Jennipher's kitchen. Now that we had a proper house, we needed another hen. When a local carpenter saw that I was buying a hen and a feeder, he asked me about my house. I proudly said, "go talk to Jennipher" expecting him to be impressed with my handy-work. When I came back, he and Jennipher had decided that we need a new house built further away from the kitchen. So three days later, we had a professionally built hen house fit for a poultry farm. To celebrate, we added another bird to make four. Two nights ago, I was challenged by a dinner host to catch one of their hens. After running full speed through the woods, up and down hills, and over a river of cow manure (biogas?), I finally caught it with some assistance. As a reward, they gave it to me to take home and add to my farm.

Now we have three hens, a crazy-feathered cock, an adolescent white cock and a hen house build for 30.

...but what about the old hen house that looks like a dog house...? Time will tell.

Irony

I heard on BBC Africa radio last weekend that there were power outages and a state of emergency due to ice storms in Massachusetts. I had power that day in my rural African village.

Now, it's 80 degrees plus in the village and 10 degrees in Massachusetts. Yet I have a cold, runny nose, and scratchy throat.

Somewhat reliable electricity and a seasonal cold -- Just like winter in New England -- Merry Christmas, everybody!

Anarchy!!!!!

The sign clearly says "Naked Kids Stay Outside!" in BOTH English AND Lumasaba. This kid quite obviously has a problem with authority.

Blog-cott

"Why the boycott on your blog?", anxious blogsters have emailed... (well, ONE not-so-anxious person)

Quick updates: I've received my first volunteers and they seem happy an productive, the clinic is showing slow improvements, I'm getting used to the new role and starting to realize how much it entails between drug purchases, keeping the staff happy, keeping headquarters happy, coordinating a research process that was heading down the wrong path, plus the irresistable pasttime of looking into improving the coffee supply chain, biogas opportunities, a fruit juice idea, soap manufacturing, and the list goes on with potential.... For now, job 1 is to focus down on the clinic and on developing some programs on health.

I'll start writing more often!

World Food Day

I just attended "World Food Day" in our Sub-County's headquarters, about a 5-10 minute motorcycle ride away. It was a big open area surrounded by vegetable stalls with a tent in the middle to protect some guests from rain. People came and showed off their cows (and tried to sell them) and there were a couple of BIG ol' bulls. A couple of goats or rams or something started going at it ramming their heads (which is why I think they could have been rams), so that was exciting. Other than that, a lot of kids dancing, and a lot of people there. I'd say 600-1,000 people, though my companion at the event, Mangowe Masawi Wilson, our outreach coordinator and mayor of Bumwalukani, guessed 2,000.

Our drama group performed to this huge crowd. I was impressed by the way they held their own in front of a large crowd. Our health center houses a community health drama group who creates and performs small plays about public health issues. Then there were some speeches and such, and then Wilson and I split. It was a good day, overall. A good experience to be certain (though my camera is broken) and I might have made some good contacts at a government run bank that seems to encourage renewable energy projects (Biogas?) and the Community Development Officer of the district. I MAY have arranged to get a copy of the video taken, so if that's the case it will be on youtube once I get it and get a decent internet connection for long enought to upload it. All for today.....

My Election Night

I partied it up with some teachers from Arlington Academy of Hope (the school). After hearing that they had a sattelite, I expected at LEAST a 19" tv, but alas... it was more like 10". I got used to it pretty quick, and was happy to be watching my first tv since I got here. Leading up to the party, Godfrey (one of the hosts) was talking about sausage, chicken and the like.... I was making promises about bringing a case of "Senator" beer aka Obama (soon to be named "President" beer, I'm sure). As I was dreding carrying a crate of beer up the slippery, muddy hill to Godfrey and Andrew's house, I quicly realized that I wouldn't have to worry about it, as Senators were sold out in Kiholo (the village trading center) and they only had 7 Eagle Beers in the whole trading center. I bought them out and bought out the sugar cane liquor that they had, too (10 small pouches). I called Andrew, the school's treasurer, and apparently he sent a 6th grader down to "make things happen". I saw the kid coming down the hill with a backpack and money while I was on my way up, and he told me that "Andrew sent me to find beer". The kid came back without beer, but with the promise that it was 0n it's way. Sure enough, an hour later, a motorcycle drove up to the house with a crate of Senators!! Oh happy election day!

After washing down my sausage, chicken, rice, chipati bread, potatoes, and many other starches (maybe even a vegetable in there) with SENATOR beer, it was about 11pm. I fell asleep for a few hours, and was ready to go for the rest of the night... the results starting pouring in aroud 3-4am, and by 5am, we were fired up, Godfrey had his shirt off, and the party really started.... We kept it going until Barack's emotional victory speech just around sunrise. By then, I looked over and the health clinic staff was there, early for work, watching along with us. They were impressed that I managed to work the next day until 2pm. Not my most coherent day of work, but I got some things accomplished. I even test drove a bike and got damn muddy doing it. Luckily, my booze and mud soaked ass got overlooked thanks to everybody's excitement. WHAT A NIGHT!

Shout Barack... Obama.... Barack.... Obama.....

People are psyched about Barack. His Grandmother's village is 80 miles from my village (as the crow flies... by road, it's probably twice that).

There's a song by "Cocoa Tea" called, you guessed it... "Barack Obama" that was being cranked by one of AAH's teachers, Teacher Godfrey, on Saturday afternoon as he was sitting on his porch drinking a Kenyan beer called Senator named after, you guessed it, Senator Obama. People just order "Obama". Godfrey has a sattelite TV (one of two TVs in town that I know of) and he agreed to an all nighter Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Other Ugandans are also coming - they're psyched.

In Mbale, the city, people see a white guy walking down the street (me), ask where I'm from, and within seconds, we're high fiving, or hugging or jumping up and down, laughing in excitement about Barack.

I'm sure that no Presidential candidate in history has had this kind of international support... I don't want to offend any of my blog readers, but I'm psyched about Barack Hussein Obama... and I'm not the only one.