Day 32: The Clinic

Hi everybody!
      We just got home from our last Thursday working at the clinic. We cannot believe our trip has gone by so fast. We were able to start more IV's today and then headed to another primary school to immunize more young girls. The children and teachers at the school we went to today had never seen a white person before. They all sprinted to the car as soon as we pulled up and continued to swarm in on us and stare for the next three hours. We immunized 150 girls and then went back to the clinic. We are really looking forward to our 4th of July weekend in Jinja with a large group of Notre Dame students that are working in different parts of Eastern Uganda. We will talk to you all on Sunday or Monday. Have a fun and safe 4th of July!
    Love you!
Kelley, Remi, and Meg

Day 30 and 31: Busy Bees

Hello everyone!
      Sorry we didn't blog last night. Yet again, the power was out last night. We had another great day outreaching yesterday. We went to another village where women came with their young babies to be immunized. We immunized 28 babies, so it was a relatively slow day. When we were finished, we packed everything up and were pulling out on our way back to the clinic, we noticed a few mothers who had arrived late. We stopped the car and had to give immunizations out of the back of the truck, in the middle of the road. Only in Africa!
     Today we finally got to spend the entire day at the clinic instead of outreaching, which we have been doing so much of lately. Remi and Kelley each started an IV today. Kelley's patient of 3 and a half years old, was suffering of severe malaria. When she was inserting the cannula he did not cry or even pull away. This is clear evidence of just how sick this little boy was. Since it was finally a nice day out, and the sun was shining, we walked home and made great timing. It was so nice to see the beautiful scenery and talk to the local people. Our knowledge of the Rutooro language is growing, allowing us to carry on short conversations with the people we encounter. It is really apparent just how happy they are that we are taking the time to learn their language. Their smiles and little giggles are so heart warming. We now have to head back to the kitchen and make some chipates! Talk to you tomorrow...if the power is on ;).
Love you all!
Remi, Kelley, and Meg

Day 26, 27, 28, 29: The Rains Are Blessed Down in Africa

     Hello everyone!  Please do not take our lack of blog posting personally!  We have had a storm everyday for the past four days and the power goes out so easily!  So finally, here we are!
     This past weekend was really great.  it was nice to just relax at the convent for a change.  Friday at the clinic went really well for all of us.  Right when we got there a mom was in labor and about to deliver.  So we got to assist with that.  Shortly after we headed to another school to give more tetanus shots.  It was a great day!!
     On Saturday we went to Fort Portal with Dr. Traxler and her daughter so they could have a chance to see the town.  Naturally we managed to do a little more shopping!  Later in the afternoon Sister Lillian took us all on a trip to the Kabale Forest.  While driving through we saw numerous monkeys and a huge black cobra!  It was nasty/terrifying.  After that we headed back to Kyarusozi and relaxed and gave our little house a much needed cleaning!
    On Sunday we woke up for mass at 8am.  While we were sitting waiting for mass to begin, a little boy about the age of 5 came and sat right next to us.  He was all by himself but had no problem sitting next to three mizungos that he had never met!  He was so adorable in his suit.  He even had a shilling in his hand for the offertory.  It was inspiring to see this little boy giving what he could to God, while he himself has so little.  The mass itself is just so beautiful.  The music is indescribable.  It literally just lifts your heart.  The people sing with so much soul and you can't help but clap your hands along with them.  We all felt very uplifted after leaving mass!  Because it was Sunday, it was our turn to cook dinner.  So we all decided to make breakfast for dinner.  We made french toast, eggs, potatoes and assorted fruits.  It was so delicious and reminded all of us of home!
     Today was another exciting day at the clinic.  Shortly after we arrived, a woman came to the clinic in active labor.  The first thing we noticed was how huge her belly was!  We thought for sure there had to be two babies in there.  After a few minutes of pushing, the woman's water finally broke/exploded.  It was literally like a waterfall coming out of this woman's uterus.  It covered the delivery table and wall.  It was UNREAL!!!!!!   After a little more pushing, the baby began to crown and in no time, came out, with yet another waterfall of amniotic fluid.  Grace, the midwife, confirmed that the mother was not carrying twins, but had sever hydraminos (excess amount of amniotic fluid).  Due to the hydraminos, the baby suffered greatly.  When they baby was born her was completely cyanotic (blue) and not breathing.  We immediately brought the baby over to the crib and preformed resuscitation.  An entire 5 minutes went by before this baby took its first strong breath.  We were all so terrified.  God was definitely in the delivery room and saved this beautiful baby boy.  After this life threatening experience we headed for yet another outreach.  Today we went to a primary school in Kihumuro to give more tetanus shots.  This was such a wonderful and stress free experience.  The children were so well behaved.  Not a single one screamed or cried.  We were on cloud nine!  We also vaccinated a handful of boys who had serious open wounds and/or ulcers on their legs and feet. 
    It was a great day with lots of experience!  We hope all is well with everyone at home.  We can all hardly believe our trip is coming to an end so soon.  The time has literally flown by.  It has just been the most amazing experience of our lives.
     Love to all and talk to you soon!


       Meg, Kelley, and Remi

Day 24, 25: Work, work, work!

     Hello everyone!  Sorry it has been so long yet again.  We have had some bad storms these past couple days and the power has been going in and out!  Everything has been going really well over here.  This week we all have been assigned new jobs.  Meg is in admission/Room 2, Kelley is in maternity, and Remi is in pharmacy.  It is nice to switch things up a bit!  These past couple days we have been doing a lot of outreaching at primary schools.  In the last two days we have given over 200 tetanus shots to these school aged girls.  We can all say we are getting pretty good at our IM shots! 
     Yesterday Dr. Traxler (the chair of the Education Dept. at SMC) and her daughter, Elizabeth, came for their visit.  It is so nice having them here!  Elizabeth just finished her first year of med school. so she was really excited to come to the clinic with us today and get some great experience!
     Aside from our time at the clinic, we have been enjoying out time with the neighborhood kids who we have become so close with.  We all wish we could bring them home with us.  These kids have taught us so much in the short time we have been here in Uganda.  They are just so happy and full of life.  We hope to bring home with us their extreme optimism and love for life.  They constantly remind us to be grateful for what we have and to never take a day for granted. 
     Hope all is well with everyone at home!  Love to all.

Meg, Kelley, and Remi

Day 20, 21, 22, 23: In The Jungle, The Mighty Jungle....

     Hello everyone!  Sorry it has been so long!  This past weekend we traveled to the Southern Hemisphere to Queen Elizabeth National Park.  We stayed at a lovely cottage and went on two safaris!  The first was a water safari where we saw: hippos, water buffalo, crocodiles, elephants, monkeys, birds, leopard (very rare to see), and a lion!   It was so fun!  There were people from all over the world on the boat, so it was nice to hear about their travels as well.  After the safari, we took some time to use the health club/spa and have a great workout!  We all agreed that it felt so great to use a treadmill again!  After we got cleaned up, we all enjoyed n absolutely DELICIOUS dinner with Sister Lillian at the lodge's restaurant.  We dinned by candlelight and enjoyed the company of the creepy flying bats around our heads.  A little too close at times.   
     The next morning we woke up bright and early to head out for our land safari!  We traveled in a roofless truck to the Savanna.  Here were saw an endless amount of animals: Kob (antelope), warthogs (Pumba), elephants, lions and lionesses (Simba and Nala), monkeys (Rafiki), and a hippo on the way back to the lodge!  After the safari was over we did some last minute shopping at the gift shops and headed back to Fort Portal.
    Today was another great day at the clinic.  Right when we arrived there was a young woman in labor with her seventh child.  We learned that this woman was HIV positive and only had one living child of her seven pregnancies.  The mother did not receive medical care in time to prevent transmission of the virus to her babies.  This baby, born today, will be tested in approximately two months to see if lifetime HIV medication will be needed.  It is very likely that this baby will acquire the virus because the mother has no choice but to breastfeed her baby.  She does not have the money for alternative feeding methods.  In order for her baby not to starve to death, it has not choice but to become HIV positive through its own nourishment.  We were all just so shocked to be a part of this experience.  Back home, a woman in this same situation would have the best possible care available to her and endless resources to assist her during pregnancy and after delivery.  It was a very eye-opening experience.
      Since it was Tuesday, we headed out for another Outreach experience.  Today's was a much better experience than last week because we set up an organized station and had the mother's form lines with their infants while waiting to receive the immunizations.  It ran very smoothly!  We also provided antenatal care in the field.  This included prenatal assessments and tetanus shots.   
      It was a good days work and it feels so great to be back here in Kyarusozi with the Sisters! 

Love,
Kelley, Meg and Remi

Day 19: Friday, Friday...

     Hey guys! We are still enjoying running with the kids at all hours of the day. It continues to amaze us that most children run barefoot, often in their school uniforms, or worn out clothes that they wear every day.  We have closets full of clothes at home while these children show up to play in the same outfit every day. 
     Today was a relatively slow day at the clinic due to the rain. We all assumed our same jobs for this week. Nothing too big happened to any one of us.
     Tonight was game night with the sisters, so we busted out the Rummikub and Uno. The competitive side of the sisters really comes out strong on game night!  We are all going to bed early tonight to get ready for our big safari trip in Kasesse. It should be a great adventure!!  Talk to you on Tuesday when we return!

Love,
Meg, Remi, and Kelley

Day 18: Another Day at the Clinic

     Hello everyone!  Sorry you didn't hear from us last night.  The internet has a mind of its own over here and last night it wasn't working with us!  Today was another great day at the clinic.  Again, Meg was in maternity, Kelley was in Pharmacy, and Remi was in admission/room 2.  Meg is becoming an expert at feeling fundal height and hearing fetal heart tones, Kelley was able to do another dressing change and tetanus boosters.  Remi is slowly but surely learning the local lingo in her duties at the admission table.  And inserting a few IVs here and there!  We are all adapting very well at the clinic!  It is so hard to paint a picture of what it is like at the clinic.  It just breaks our heart to see how much they are lacking in supplies that are so common to us.  For example, blankets and towels are in abundance at the hospitals at home, but here there is not a single one.  Because of the lack of basic supplies, a mother was forced to take off her child's clothes to clean up the mess after the child got sick. 
     We were able to go to another outreach to a nearby village, Kasaba.  The outreach was held at a very small church made completely of earth, no bigger than a single SMC dorm room.  It was so crowded, hot, and there was absolutely no light.  We were all frustrated today because it was very chaotic and could not get the mothers to form a line to make things run more smoothly.  Over these past few weeks we have learned, in situations like these, to just roll with it and do what we can. 
     Hope all is well with everyone back home!  We can't believe that tomorrow will make our halfway point of our trip.  Holy cow! 
     Love to all,
     Remi, Kelley, and Meg

Day 16: Outreach Day

     Hello everyone!  Back to work today.  Right when we arrived to the clinic there was a woman ready to give birth.  We got to assist the midwife in delivering the baby boy.  We all thought that this birth was an extremely eye opening experience.  This woman was in so much pain.  Unlike women in the States, she did not have the option to receive an epidural or any other pain medication.  She just took it by the horns and let her body do the work.  We all agreed that when it comes time to have babies of our own, we will appreciate the resources we have available to us.  This woman will serve as a great inspiration to us.  After the birth we all resumed our designated jobs until it was time for Outreach.  Meg was in maternity/antenatal, Kelley was in Pharmacy, and Remi was in Registration/Room 2.  Remi was able to start an IV on a 12 month old!  It was so hard to see the little vein, but it all worked out well!  This little girl came to the clinic because she is dying of malaria.  So we quickly hooked her up to a high dose of Quinine, an antimalarial medication.  It was so heartbreaking to see such a beautiful little girl so sick.  Because the clinic is so limited with it's resources, there was no IV pole to hang the Quinine on, so we had to improvise.  We hung it using a strip of gauze attached to a knob on the wall.  This little girl was joined by three other patients in a very hot and crowded room.  There was even a man in a hospital bed in the hallway because we were over capacity for the day. 
     Next, it was time to head to a nearby village for another outreach day.  When we arrived there were about 40 mothers with their babies waiting for the immunizations.  We got everything set up and formed three lines, one for each of us, and began poking babies!  It is just so humbling to think about how these women have to walk for miles and miles, barefoot with babies on their backs, so their children can receive the appropriate immunizations they need.  There is nothing to sit on but the dirt while they are waiting for their turn.  We have the luxury of just hopping on the highway and going into a doctors office to do this very same thing.  It really put things into perspective for us.  All the basic necessities for child care such as: strollers, pacifiers, diapers, bottles, and blankets are not an option for these women and children.  They really make due with what they have and are just fine with it.  To us, we see this as such a struggle, but in all actuality it is simply a different way of life.  Not a wrong one.  We are learning to see the world in a totally different light.
    That's all for now.  Love to all!

Remi, Kelley, and Meg

Day 12, 13, 14 :Down the Nile we go!

       Sorry it has been a few days BUT we had the adventure of a lifetime!!! It all started 5am Friday morning. We took a seven hour ride to Jinja riding in a sardine packed taxi. Not only were there 19 people crammed in the taxi/mini van, but a chicken with its feet tied rode underneath Kelley. Once we finally made it to Jinja, Sister Mary Lou came to pick us up. Sister Daisy had arranged for us to stay with the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Jinja...so many connections! Once we got settled we were given a tour of the grounds. We explored the lush gardens and got to see the schools that the sisters started. The view from the convent overlooked the beautiful Lake Victoria, it was so breathtaking! We met two Notre Dame students and one SMC alumn who are currently living in Jinja, volunteering for a year and a half. They were kind enough to take us to downtown Jinja to show us the market and all of the other quaint shops. We then settled at a local bar and enjoyed a few Nile Specials! We were so excited to finally have our first boda boda ride on the way back to the convent. Bodas are motorcycles that are found all over Uganda and serve as taxis. Once we got back to the convent the sisters had a wonderful meal ready for us and then we hit the sack to get some rest before our big day of rafting.
      We woke up at 6:00 and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee/tea/hot cocoa with Sister Mary Lou. We waited for the rafting bus to come pick us up for almost 2 hours- the concept of time in Africa is basically absent; you just have to roll with the punches. We made it to the rafting and met some recent ND graduates all the way here in Uganda. What a small world! We became instant friends and made a South Bend rafting boat. We got a brief safety introduction, were fitted with life jackets and helmets, and grabbed breakfast. We boarded the bus to the river---the NILE RIVER that is. When we got to the waters edge we were introduced to the most special guide, Jeffrey. whose first words were "We are gonna have a f***ing good day" in a mixture of amazing accents despite being straight from Uganda. At that moment we knew it was going to be a great day.
     We wish we could explain each rapid we went through but that might take all day (it was a five hour trip). It was a 5 hour adrenaline rush throughout the whole trip. We thought we were going to die at two points throughout the trip...this is not sarcasm!!! About an hour into the trip the sky started to get severely dark and the perfect storm brewed. It started with a little drizzle, but quickly turned into a torrential downpour complete with thunder and lightening. At home we would never consider continuing this journey in the water, but when in the Nile, its not even a question..."Onward!!!" As you can imagine, the storm made the rapids a wee bit more intense. This is when the near death experiences began. Our boat flipped multiple times and it was so hard getting to the surface of the water. We saw the light. But it all ended up well and we made it out of the Nile alive, but definitely bruised and battered. When we were done there was a delicious bbq waiting with endless, well-deserved, nice ice-cold, beer.
     Mother nature dished out quite an interesting adventure back to the campsite. All of the rain that we experienced on the Nile took quite a toll on the roads. The moment we turned onto the roads, all 3 buses got stuck in the mud. The next 5 hours were full of peeing in the bush, pushing buses out of the mud, walking knee high in goat/cow poop and mud. The rescue buses were called, got just as stuck in the mud so we continued walking to more solid ground for over an hour. Then a bus successfully came to our rescue and took us back to the campsite. This normal 30 minute commute took us 5 hours. Once we got to the campsite, we dropped off our stuff and hit the bar. They treated us all to a free beer to compensate for the delayed return home. We had so much fun with out new friends and had an awesome end to the day.
     Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and enjoyed a delicious rolex (Ugandan egg sandwich). We hopped on some bodas and headed to Adrift Rafting Company. This is where Remi and Meg paid $80 to risk ending their lives aka BUNGEE JUMPING OVER THE NILE!!!  It was the most thrilling/freeing/terrifying experience of our lives. We cannot explain what it felt like standing over the edge a 45 meter drop, connected only by our ankles. Kelley stayed on safe ground to document the experience.
     Now the adventure of a life time came to a close and it was time to head home. Since all the taxis had gone for the day, we had to take a huge public transportation bus all the way back to Kyarusozi. The bus was filled to capacity. About half way through, a young boy projectile vomited next to Kelley, Meg had  chatty Kathy who asked for her hand in marriage, and Remi sat next to a guy who took up all of the leg room and had a breastfeeding mom on her other side. It was a great 7 hour ride to say the least. We were completely overjoyed to reach the end of our journey and see Sister Daisy anxiously waiting for us. The sisters had a delicious meal waiting for us. We took the longest showers of our lives, attempting to scrub the crusted leftovers from the weekend and then went to sleep.
      We can all say this was honestly the best weekend of our lives!

Day 11: Happy Heroes Day!

Well today was  a national holiday (again), so that meant no work for us!  We took advantage of the day off and traveled to the Crater Lakes and the two Notre Dame students across the street, Matt and Natalie, came with us.  Oh my goodness, it was beautiful.  They were two lakes that were made from a volcano.  They were surrounded by rock and beautiful trees.  Kelley, Remi, and Matt took a ride in a wooden paddle boat with a couple of the local children.  It was so peaceful and the view was breath taking!  After our long trip to the lakes, we headed into the city to the local pizza parlor.  We were all so excited to ave a taste from home!  One of the pizzas was called the "American" pizza and naturally had french fries on top.  We all had a great time hanging out and seeing more of the city together!  It was a great, relaxing holiday.  That's all for now!!!  We are getting very excited for our Nile River Rafting trip for the weekend.  We leave bright and early tomorrow morning!  So we will have lots to share on Sunday when we return.  Love to all!!

Remi, Meg, and Kelley

Day 10: IVs

Today was a great day!  We all went to mass this morning and headed off to the clinic.  The clinic was very busy today.  The midwife was sick so we were all running around trying to help wherever we were needed.  Kelley was in charge of admitting patients as they came in the door.  This was a wee bit difficult because of the language barrier.  But she caught on with a few key phrases and managed quite well!  Meg was in the pharmacy room today handing out meds as the patients left the clinic.  Remi was in maternity/antenatal today.  She assessed pregnant mothers.  The midwife was not there, so it was difficult doing it alone.  Throughout the day, all three of us got to learn how to insert an IV.  It was a dream come true!  The process was rather nerve wracking because of the limited supplies the clinic has, such as gloves.  After work, we made our way over to the secondary school to play some basketball with the students.  We were amazed to see the type of court the kids have to play on.  It is filled with tall grass, dirt, and many rocks.  The baskets were much higher than we were used to, making it that more difficult!  It was fun to play and get to know a whole different group of kids.  We are all so tired after our busy day! 
Love to all,

Kelley, Remi, and Meg

Day 9: Dynamite Day

Boy what a day we had! Breakfast club met at 7am for a nice run to start off our great day. Right when we arrived at the clinic there was a woman in labor who was 8 centimeters dilated. We all for the first time were able to check her cervix. Her water broke soon after and she began pushing. The midwife was so nice and allowed us to help her throughout the entire birthing process. We helped to stimulate the uterus and encouraged the mother to push by saying "sindika!" (push in Rutooro). Once the baby came out Remi clamped and cut the cord. We wrapped the baby up, took APGAR scores, and weight. We gave the mom a shot of pitocin to reduce her bleeding by stimulating the uterus to contract. We assisted in the laceration repair and helped the mom get cleaned up. What a great way to start the morning! We then headed off to a nearby village for the "Outreach" immunization day. We arrived to a church where over 30 moms and babies were waiting for immunizations. We all got a lot of practice giving shots to squirmy, screaming babies. They were so adorable! Because of the limited supplies, vaccine administration is very different than at home. Not only were we outside, but we did not use gloves or alcohol swabs.  We had to work with what we had.
Love you all!
Kelley, Remi, and Meg

Day 8: Back to the grind

Hello everyone! Today we went back to our regular schedule at the clinic. The doctor came to the clinic today and took us on his rounds. We were able to help him assess and diagnose patients as they came to the clinic. It was a nice day so we decided to walk home. All three of us had the opportunity to fetch water with the kids, a chore they do multiple times a day. It is approximately a half mile walk down hill to the well. There they fill up the 3 gallon jugs, turn around, and walk right back up all the way to their homes. We were all amazed to see how much work these little kids do on a daily basis. This really makes us appreciate the clean running water we have straight from our faucets. We complain about the simplest chores, and these kids never complain once about the physically demanding chores they are asked to do.
Love,
Kelley, Remi, and Meg

Day 7: S'mores!!!!!

Hello everyone!

     Today was another nice relaxing day!  We woke up and went to 8:00 mass.  It was so beautiful.  The singing and all the different instruments were so energetic and upbeat.  It made us want to get up and dance.  The mass was spoken in Rutooro so we could not understand, but we could still follow the universal steps of the mass.  We spent the afternoon reading and catching some rays.  Since today was Sunday, it was our day to cook dinner!  Tonight we cooked spaghetti with red meat sauce, garlic bread, and assorted vegetables.  Our main event was dessert.  We had a special surprise for the sisters and the night guards... S'MORES!!  They had never heard of them before.  We truly knocked their socks off.  It was so fun.  We were all just laughing and having a great time toasting our mallows.  A great way to end the weekend.  Now it is back to work at the clinic tomorrow!  Love to all!

Love always,
Remi, Meg, and Kelley 

Day 6: Tea, tea and more tea!

Today was another relaxing day! We enjoyed reading our books and sitting in the sun. We had a field trip to the tea plantation. We were given a tour to see the process of tea production, which is incredibly long! It was really neat to see how something that is hand-picked in a field in Uganda ends up at home in our coffee cups on the other side of the world. Can you imagine picking tea leaves all day long in the hot sun? There were over one-thousand acres of tea plants! The view was soo pretty! When we got back the kids were all gathered at the gate waiting for us to play as always. We took jump ropes and music for them which they loved. These little kids sure know how to dance! Well, that's about it for today :)
Love to all!
Remi, Kelley, and Meg

Day 5: Kick back and Relax!

Today was so much fun!  We didn't have to go to the clinic today because it was a national holiday celebrating the martyrs of Uganda.  The whole town was shut down for the day.  So we slept in a little bit and started our day with a nice run through town.  It was so strange not having anyone yelling mizungo (white person at us)!  During the afternoon we tackled the first load of laundry, all done my hand!  It was quite the experience.  Boy do our forearms ache!  It was a very eye opening experience for the three of us.  We take for granted the use of our washing machines and dryers when our neighbors are forced to walk miles everyday to get the water to hand wash their clothing for an entire family.  We had a lot of down time to relax on our own and enjoy the company of the sisters.  The best part of the day was game night with the sisters!  We played Rummikub (Remi was so excited!!!!!!!) and the always exciting Uno.  It was so fun to laugh and play with the sisters.  The games got pretty intense as you can imagine.  We got to see a whole different side of Sister Lillian and Sister Stella!  We finished the evening with another delicious Thanksgiving Day-like dinner and are off to get ready for bed!  Hope all is well with everyone back home.  We miss you all!

Love always,
Remi, Kelley, Meg 

Day 4: Fort Portal

What a day we had today!!!  Today we didn't have to work at the clinic.  Instead, we went with Sister Daisy to Fort Portal which is about 45mins from the convent.  We did so many things and are so excited to share them with you!  On our drive into the city we passed through a national park.  Daisy told us that the baboons would be waiting for us by the road to get bananas, and she was right!  As we got closer there were baboons lined up all along the road and as we slowed down they all approached the car waiting for us to give them a banana.  It was so neat!  We all got so excited and took so many pictures.  Once we finally made it to Fort Portal we went to the bank first so we could exchange money.  Next we went to visit the congregation of The Daughters of St. Therese Little Flower where Daisy's sister lives.  We sat and talked with the for a while and enjoyed a delicious glass of fresh mango juice.  It was out of this world!  We then headed over to Sister Lillian's house who is also a Sister of the Holy Cross.  We were so amazed by the convent and how beautiful it was and the nature it was surrounded by.  We all thought it reminded us of a beautiful beach house with windows EVERYWHERE and turquoise walls.  So beautiful!  Sister Lillian is from California, so it was interesting to hear her story and why she wanted to come and live in Uganda as a religious.  She also prepared a delicious lunch for us, complete with pineapple upside-down cake!  After our delicious Thanksgiving Day-like lunch, we all headed to the market.  We bought ingedients for our meal we are making on Sunday for the Sisters and some gifts too!  It was so neat to see so many of the same things we have at home here at the market.  After shopping, we went to go visit the Brothers at Lake Saaka.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  The property was breath taking.  The house was very open and inviting with beautiful architecture and paintings.  The lake was so beautiful with the mountains in the distance.  We all agreed that we would have no porblem living there!  After a long day, we made our way back to Kyarusozi with a car full of goodies.  Dinner was waiting for us when we got back and we have spent the rest of the night laughing and telling the other Sisters about our exciting day! 

Love,
Remi, Meg, Kelley

Day 3: Immunizations at the Clinic

Hello everyone! Today we all got up and made it over to the Parish Center where the brothers stay and went to mass at 7:00 which was English.The music and singing were so beautiful as they harmonized and used drums, maracas, and clapping. Ate breakfast and prepared for another day at the clinic. Today was immunization day for many young infants. Some of the immunizations included polio, measles, DTaP, BCG, and Hep B. Remi was on the immunization unit today and she got to help out a lot. Meg was with the antenatal nurse and was able to check fetal positioning and heart rates. Kelley was in the pharmacy checking the stock of meds and distributed to the discharged patients. We all learned a lot of key phrases in Rutooro, the local language, that will help us at the clinic and in communicating with the kids in the school and neighborhood. Sister Edith wanted to take us to see the St. Joesph Secondary School which is just down the road from the primary school and clinic. We all we amazed how big the "campus" was and how college like it felt. All the class rooms are separate buildings. It was set on top of a hill with a BEAUTIFUL view of a valley and mountain range in the distance. We all wish we had the opportunity to see that every day! Since we didn't make the long walk home today, we decided to go for our first run in Africa. The African sun is quite HOT as you can imagine...We all made it back alive and felt great afterwards. That is all for today!
Love,
Kelley, Meg, Remi

PS. Shout out to Adam (Meg's fiance)!!