We awoke this morning to another beautiful Ugandan morning after experiencing rains again during the night. I'm now able to sleep through the 3:00am and 4:00am wake up calls from the rooster near by and I no longer lay awake looking for geckos in my room. We have adapted to our routine of boiling water for our baths and adjusting to our diet of rice and beans.
Our teaching today went well and we are learning so much from our participants. Liz did an excellent job of modeling a woman giving birth. After her labor and pushing out a sweet baby, in Ugandan tradition, she hopped right up and went back to her work in the kitchen making some delicious buns.
Lylaine and I spent part of the day with a woman in labor in the clinic . You will be able to see from the photographs how primitive this environment is and lacking in supplies.
The Ugandans have told us that "too many children" is the biggest problem women face here. Our new friend we met laboring today, Caroline, was having her 7th baby. Early in the labor she said "I want family planning now". Unfortunately, her labor became dysfunctional and she had to be referred to the district hospital in Tororo. Referral was a topic discussed in class today. It is a big issue in Uganda as women need to pay for their own transportation to healthcare visits and facilities. Finding funds is challenging for many families as they must go long distances and travel is expensive. Most need to hire cars or motorcycle taxis to get around. We are beginning to feel that the program we are introducing here is so needed and will make a difference saving lives of mothers and babies.
Happy to report our plumbing issues are in the past and now we have 3 working bathrooms (so spoiled). AND we are cautiously optimistic about the possibility of hot water tonight.
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