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This was my first week working at TASO. So far it has been great. Everyone has been extremely welcoming. It seems that I am going to be working on surveys for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS. We will be conducting client exit interviews where we will ask the clients whether they were happy with the program, what could be improved, if they understood the need for the treatments/counseling, how they felt they were treated by staff etc. We will also be creating KAP surveys that will be given to staff of TASO involved in the PMTCT program. The surveys will ask questions to make sure they understand what they are teaching, how they treat clients, what they believe needs to be improved etc. I think it will be very beneficial to TASO because the PMTCT program was just implemented this year and they would like to increase capacity and make sure it is a successful as possible.
I met one of the clients on the first day here. I was sitting at my computer in my office and had this strange feeling I was being watched. I looked around and I saw too young boys. One was at each window staring in at us. The windows were open and we don’t have screens….just decorative security bars to prevent people from breaking in. Both boys had their chins resting on the windowsills and they were quietly watching us. Eventually one of the boys ended up standing outside of our doorway so we invited him in. He was shy but seemed quite interested in meeting us. We introduced ourselves and started talking to him. I will leave his name out of this blog to keep anonymity. He told us he was at TASO to receive his medicine. He had just been put on ARV’s a few months ago. He was waiting around because his mother was getting her medicines and then was working with TASO to get his school fees straight so that she could enroll him in school. TASO has a program where they take donations to pay for the school fees of orphaned and vulnerable children. He told us that he was an artist and quickly asked me if he could play on my computer. I wasn’t busy at the time so I obliged. He drew me a very accurate picture of Uganda on my Paint program. He even drew the lakes to great accuracy and told me the names of each one. He is quite a bright boy and very sweet. Next we gave him paper and pencil so he could draw a picture of Ryna (another volunteer). Though we found, that since he is an artist, he prefers to use his own pencil that he keeps handy in his pocket. He did a great job and in the middle of his drawing his mom came in. She is pregnant and is HIV positive along with her husband and son. She is in the PMTCT program in hopes of delivering a healthy HIV negative baby. She was very excited to see that he had found us. Apparently he had made friends with the previous fellows as well. The boy stretched his drawing out for as long as possible because he did not want to leave. Eventually we coaxed him to leave with his mom and assured him that he could come back to see us when he came back to TASO. After he left we asked about his family and his story. We found out that along with him, his mom, dad and all his siblings were HIV+. His siblings had died along with other family members from AIDS. His mom disclosed her HIV status to the community to explain the deaths of her other children. The community then stigmatized her; her husband left and nobody would play with her one surviving son They have since relocated to another village. After finding out she was pregnant she started in the PMTCT program and is genuinely happy about the chance of having another child. I cannot even fathom what this family has been through and how they have managed to get through it all. Yet, they seem to be happy and are moving ahead with their lives and thinking positively about their future.
This story is all too common where I currently reside. The ARV treatments have made families healthy. Many women who were once extremely ill are now quite healthy and living very normal lives. Because of this, some have chosen to have children. That is the reason why the PMTCT program is so important. There is approximately a 25-45% chance that a baby from a positive mother will be become HIV+ without the program. The PMTCT program helps prevent HIV incidence from increasing in the next generation.

I arrived in Mbale after a four-hour journey from Kampala. Along the way, we passed many villages. I was told they are not considered towns, but merely villages. I was rather disturbed by the time we made it to Mbale. The only somewhat progressive place I saw was Jinja. Most of the villages were very small. Just a handful of dwellings and many of them were mud huts or rudimentary brick shacks. Dispersed among their yard were children with clothes dangling off them…many girls in what an American would consider a Sunday school or party dress that was too big. Of all the children, I saw I only saw two toys. It was at the same trading center and two boys had long sticks with two wheels connected with an axle attached at the end. It reminded me of a archaic version of the popup I had as a kid. Except these two boys were much older than the children I see play with the popups. I saw a few kids with what appeared to be kwashiorkor. The strangeness of it all was that while I felt sorrow for these families they seemed to be unaware of their poverty. They simply were going about their business farming, selling items and tending to their daily work. Along the road, people were making and selling charcoal, drying and selling rice and so forth. How is that possible? The strength these people have is amazing; their will to survive tremendous. After arriving in Mbale, Tina brought us to the TASO center where we were introduced to the general manager Kimera. We soon found out he is a Bugandan prince. Though he seemed almost embarrassed that we were told. Peter was quickly called and we were taken to our new house. We arrived and everyone started unpacking our heavy and over packed luggage. Even our neighbor and security guard Tom.
Our house is three bedrooms and two bath. The floors are made of cement that was painted years ago; the walls a rough plaster with paint peeling in every room. The two bathrooms have showers that only produce cold water that drains directly on the bathroom floor wetting everything in even remotely close proximity. One of the bedrooms has light fixtures but faulty wiring so no lights work. Only one toilet flushes properly and quality craftsmanship is very much nonexistent. I do not describe this house to you in complaint, rather to enlighten you on the conditions that many people must live in, because this house is considered a very nice house to most of those that live in Mbale. I have been here two days and have already had multiple people mention this to me. I can only imagine the houses that other people must make their homes.
As you drive though town you get the feeling that you are in something like an old western movie by looking at the buildings. The difference being that the people don’t quite fit the description and the building have not been repaired since before the old west became old. Many building are patched with aluminum; most are filthy others have been reinforced using large branches and yet these are the buildings that people conduct business in everyday. The streets are mostly dirt though there is some remnants of what was once asphalt. Most vehicles spend their time dodging what some describe as pot holes but I would describe as trenches. In every alleyway and along every road and crevice there is trash thrown about. Among the trash, you can find every variety of goat and chicken picking through looking for some scrap of food. These are the same chickens and goats that will be used for milk, meat and eggs. Cattle are hearded down the our street each day to the watering hole in front of our house. They know exactly where to go and don’t try to run away. Any trash that makes it to its proper place is then burned for all to inhale. Yet this town is set in a beautiful, almost magical setting. It is in a tropical lush green area at the base of Mount Elgon. The trees are full of bright flowers and fruit. Bananas, jackfruit, papayas, and passion fruit can be found everywhere. A waterfall can be seen trickling down the side of the mountain who’s peak is mysteriously hidden by a fog of clouds. It is a strange place yet it is growing on me quite quickly.

Bird from Kampala
Room at Namirembe
View at Namirembe
Our Guarddog Foxy
Skink in our garden
View of falls from our road
Teal Bird

Well I have been in Uganda for about 24 hours. I am staying in Kampala (the capital) for a few days to meet everyone at TASO headquarters. The plane rides weren't bad. However, the 4 hour delay in Addis Ababa was not fun. Though I did meet a nice cockroach that wanted to craw up my leg and beautiful orange cat that was walking across the runway. I didn't think such a small international airport existed, but then we landed in Entebbe (Uganda) and it was even smaller. Entebbe airport was right on the water of Lake Victoria and had an amazing view. Norma, thanks for the neck pillow for the plane....it was a lifesaver and I even used it to sleep with last night because my pillow at the hotel was so thick I would have had to sleep sitting upright. It is warm and muggy here but not hot. Last night I slept under a bednet for the first time. I felt like i was in a tent. our room is nice. Small, with three twin beds inside, but it has an attached bathroom and shower which is nice. I am also lucky in that it has hot water....something i won't have when we move to our house in Mbale. Today we went exploring a bit in town. First we went into Garden City Mall which is apparently in the "posh" area of Kampala. It has a connected golf course. We went there to buy a phone and get some large bottles of water. We have to use bottled water to drink and brush our teeth. We drink so much because of the heat that we cant seem to keep enough bottles around. After that we walked around the streets a bit. I encountered my first beggar. He was an adorable little boy probably around 3 years old. He kept following us saying hello and putting his hand out like he was asking us for something (my guess was money). We were on an extremely busy street and the drivers are CRAZY!!!! so I thought his mom was probably nearby watching. I felt bad but we didn't give him anything. So about those drivers.....people are constantly passing people on all sides of the road and sidewalks. They constantly beep their horns and all but hit each other every few seconds. Tonight we were walking down the road from our hotel to check out the local bar and backpackers hostel and a minibus started honking his horn and pulled off the road to pick someone up. Apparently we were in the way because he came literally about 3 centimeters from hitting Stephanie (my roommate) and I before we jumped out of the way to avoid being hit. Then on the way back it was dark and we were walking on a trail beside the road. I was leading and all of a sudden i took and step and just fell. I walked right into a waist deep hole. Stephanie said she looked away and when she looked back i was just gone. After climbing my way out i assessed the damage. Luckily it was just grass stained jeans and a bruised knee. I guess I should consider myself lucky...I didn't think i had to worry about large deep holes in the middle of walkways but now i have learned my lesson! After that we took it easy....sat outside eating fried plantains, fish, and rice (don't worry Matt it is not as good as your fish) for dinner. We are waiting for another GW student Christina to arrive tonight. Tomorrow we are meeting at TASO headquarters with her. Not much else to report.

Most people have asked me where I am going and where in Africa it is located so I have included a map. I will be spending 3.5 months in Uganda, specifically in the town of Mbale. I will be volunteering with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO). Check it out at www.tasouganda.org. I leave tomorrow September 7th and will return after spending Christmas and New Years in Italy with my husband.