The beginning of the adventure

It's been a week today since leaving Vancouver, and not even a week that I've been in Uganda and I can hardly believe the experiences I have had so far. I already feel transformed in so many ways, and I've had a hard time trying to put into words how it feels to be here. I've been surprised by my own adaptation to Uganda so far. Of course I have been very tired and I am still taking in a lot, but it's been a much smoother adjustment than I thought it would be considering how different every single thing is here from Canada. The first day here was very muggy and rainy and I was not thrilled to have power outages and cold showers, but I'm starting to appreciate it all. The change is actually quite nice. I haven't had a shower under an actual shower head since Saturday (sounds gross, I know), but you make what you have work and I don't have any complaints. The internet situation has been a bit testy but I get online when I need to. And I was actually cold yesterday, so I've already adjusted pretty well to the climate; being hot and sweaty feels normal now. I started practicum on Monday, which was a bit of a frantic situation. But without making it a long story, I am at a different site than what was originally planned, but still working with children with disabilities. The organization is called Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Uganda. So far it is an amazing place and in 3 days I have learned and observed so many incredible things. The staff Teresa and I are working with are so knowledgable and extremely helpful, and their programs seem to be organized very professionally. The organization is led by volunteers and parents of children with disabilities, and their philosophy is very much based around empowerment, information sharing, the rights of the child, and so many other positive things. They do a ton of outreach work, which we had the opportunity to participate in on our very first day. We went out into the villages to visit the families with children with disabilities who are considered their clients that they keep case files on. We build relationships with these families, the children, and check up on how things are going while trying to motivate positive attitudes and rehabilitation/therapy techniques that the parents can practice on their own with the child to improve their condition. Many children in Uganda and many of the ones I have met through practicum so far have cerebral palsy. I have seen other conditions as well such as autism and hydrocephalus, but CP seems to be very common. (Here's where you google cerebral palsy, I won't explain it). In most cases the children are quite malnourished, some 8 and 9 year old children are smaller than their 2-4 year old siblings. As some of you may know, the attitudes towards disabilities here differ from the ones at home, and it has become apparent that in many cases the childlren are not recieving the same care as other "normal" children. Needless to say, it's been quite the learning experience so far, and in such a short amount of time! I can only imagine what the rest of my 3 months will bring. Teresa and I are going out to Masaka this weekend to meet with the rest of the girls and do a trip to Lake Mburo on Saturday so I look forward to that and will post again soon.

Michell, CSSW