Nalukwago
Nalukwago (pronounced Na-loo-kwa-go) is the Luganda name that has been given to me by my good friends at the Uganda Schizophrenia Fellowship. I feel so proud to have a name and the way they pronounce it sounds very pretty. Many people have a hard time saying my actual name. It usually comes out as "Kawa" or "Kalla." But Nalukwago is a common name and most people that I work with prefer to use it.
I went on another village rally last weekend and had a great day. The "sensitization" rallies that the Fellowship puts on each month are great for educating communities, raising awareness and give patients and their famillies the power and opportunity to help others who are dealing with mental illness. Now that I have been here for 6 weeks, when I visit the villages and people's homes I am no longer a stranger to everyone. People recognize me, know my name, ask how I am and make me feel so welcome. I have become friends with many of the members and really enjoy spending time with them.
The Library at Tekera is open to the community and people are loving it. There are comfortable couches for reading and lounging, current newspapers every morning, many culturally relevent children's books, a quiet study area, adult English classes that are taught twice a week and there is even a puppet theatre that we had made by a local carpenter. The community has received it well and word is spreading that it has opened.
The girls and I have taken a few drumming and dancing classes. We have become friends with a couple of the the performers from a local dance group (see the photo posted below) and they enjoy coming to our house to teach us. The dancing is a great workout and banging on drums can be very therapeutic after a full-on day at the mental health ward.
Three of us spent the weekend gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenitrable Forrest in the southeast of Uganda. It took us ten hours to get there by car (it is only under 400kms away) on terrible dusty dirt track full of large stones and deep pot holes. Our tracking permits allowed us to visit the Habinyanja group which is made up of about 20 gorillas including one silverback, many blackbacks and moms and their babies. We hiked for over 5 hours in thick, muddy jungle to get to the family and when we finally reached them it was absolute magic. We were able to stay for one hour to observe them. There were times when we were as close as one metre away from them. The silverback was gorgeous. He sat across from us, ate his leaves and sticks, stared at us curiously, and pounded on his chest every once in a while. They are strong, healthy and gorgeous animals and what amazed me the most was how peaceful they were.
I am starting to understand how serious malaria is. When I was planning on coming to Uganda I considered not taking malaria medication. I thought that if I got sick it would be a bad flu for a week or so and I would be able to deal with it and recover. But I have learned that malaria is an incredibly serious illness. The children's ward is full of terribly sick kids and a majority of them have malaria. I have met a very large number of patients at the mental health ward that are experiencing pshychosis related to cerebral malaria or a bad case of malaria has acted as a trigger/stress that has made them mentally ill. One of the girls worked at a school for children with disabilities and many of the children were born healthy but got malaria in childhood that left them severely physically and mentally challenged. Many of the children were deaf and blind. Sleeping under a mosquito net is of course a way to prevent malaria but a net costs about 10,000UGX (around $6.00) and for many families that is far too much money to spend on something that is not considered a neccessity.
While the last week has been full of friendships, connections, learning, hard work, dancing, and travelling, it has also been very overwhelming and emotionally challenging. I am thankful that the experiences I am currently having are happening after six weeks of being here because if they happened in the first week I dont think I would have lasted. I have had a few days at the mental health ward that have made me feel deeply sad, angry and confused. I visited a man in the male medical ward who had tried to commit suicide and with the help of my Ugandan colleagues was able to hear his story. I have never heard someone be so deeply discusted with life. I couldnt understand most of what he was saying but I didnt need the words to sense the emotions that he was feeling.
All patients must have a caretaker when they come to the hospital whether they are in the mental health unit or the surgery ward. The caretaker helps their patient to eat, bath, feel comfortable and feel love. If the patient does not have a caretaker, then they have no one to assist them. I have connected with a female patient who is in the late stages of AIDS and each morning I go to visit her I fear that she will not be there. This woman does not have a caretaker, which mean she does not eat, and has no one to encourage her. I feel so disturbed that she is so close to death and has no one by her bedside. I have never met someone that is this sick and close to death. I know that these are realities I will face in my career in social services but because I am new to this field I am still learning how to cope and deal with the range of emotions I am experiencing.
