UgandAshis 13. Batwa.
May 15, 2009
Fort Portal, Uganda
Batwa
One day the pygmies near the Congolese-Ugandan border around Lake Albert realized that the others would keep on encroaching on their pristine tropical rainforest. No matter how far they trekked the others were still around. So as to study the others the chief sent out a delegation to learn how to live with these people. This way is a departure of their traditional life style of hunter gathering and slash and burn. Writing and reading, currency, electricity, cars.
Eveline a Congolese-Ugandan-Belgian princess, pastor, humanitarian and a new friend was one of the first to meet them. A very bright and humorous tribe these Batwa are. Their chief on one of the visits took a group of dancers to show their culture to the people of Fort Portal. As he was shown his room and he glanced at the king size bed he asked how many people were supposed to sleep in it as it was so huge. And the next morning as he had slept on the second floor he was sure to have been closer to heaven. When Eveline had presented him a large radio he requested her for a smaller one as because of the size he left the radio when on a stroll and that would make him miss the news. A no-no as he was an avid news follower.
All around the planet we are chasing traditional tribes, hunter gatherers. We chop up their forests, hunt the wild life, encroach with cattle, over graze, exploit mineral deposits, bring in alcohol, prostitution and infectious disease (HIV, measles, swine fever etcetera). For millennia they have carried our history and future and when we continue down the chosen path of destruction tribals, indigenous people, primitives, hunter gatherers will be eradicated and the diversity of people on the planet will reduce.
One day soon I will meet the chief and his tribe. They live close to Fort Portal and are open, friendly and happy to share their life stories. Imagine making the transition from the digital age to the forest as they transverse through cultures. Survival instinct has made them adapt to a more modern culture. And their sense of humor and wisdom makes them pull through.
That day I will share their stories from the first hand. I cannot wait.
Namaskar, Ashis
Friday 15 May 2009
UgandAshis 12. Fort Portal
UgandAshis 12. Fort Portal.
May 11, 2009
Fort Portal, Uganda
Fort Portal.
A Saturday lazy weekend delay and by Monday I made it. Fort Portal, home of the Toro kingdom, lots of rain and a city in process of bursting on to the map. Oil has been found, gold as well, the tropical rainforest that comes from Congo is sent through Fort Portal. A university has started operating and construction sites are blazing – well Uganda style; pole pole –
My host is a Belgian-Ugandan pastor living in the USA and Uganda doing great work as building a school, health clinic, hospital, educating Batwa (pygmies) who have been forced out of their rain forest in Congo. It is very likely I will be visiting Congo soon. Another dream to come true and a friend found.
Today I visited the regional referral hospital for 4 (or 5) districts. The medical director is in Kampala for budget talks and his acting colleague shows me around the hospital site. Everywhere building is going on, new wards are being constructed and that means that the arrivals are stacked up in temporary shelters. It is not that the builders are unavailable, but the money from the Ministry of Health may be delayed.
I joined one of the 7 doctors (3 gynaecologists, 1 physician, 2 surgeons, 1 medical director) of the 441 bed hospital for the end of his ward round. Out of four new patients three were newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS coming in with severe malnutrition, oral thrush, chronic cough and diarrhea, seizures or semi comatose.
The HIV tests are available, so is the CD 4 count (indication of the severity of the viral destruction of the immune system’s T-cells) and the Joint Clinical Research Centre so anti retro viral treatment should be given to children, prisoners and vulnerable people. The reality is not so straight forward.
As an example: for 4 months this hospital has been without anti-tuberculosis drugs. That is quite devastating for patients living with a co-infection of HIV/AIDS and TB but also for those suffering from TB alone. TB also kills. As we finished the ward round we discussed the difference between Mulago (county tertiary referral centre) and this hospital. In Kampala at least at lot of diagnostics can be done but they have the same issues with access to drugs. But as the general public is more educated in Kampala when drugs are not available they go to a pharmacy to purchase the drugs themselves.
For a while I will try my hand at working in this hospital. Given the ideal location; view over the Half Moon mountains, proximity to Lake Albert and Congo there is a lot of potential for projects here. Also unlike Kampala and Northern Uganda there are very few NGO’s here and even Ugandan health workers flee the scene for greener, warmer pastures where more money can be earned.
Namaskar, Ashis
May 11, 2009
Fort Portal, Uganda
Fort Portal.
A Saturday lazy weekend delay and by Monday I made it. Fort Portal, home of the Toro kingdom, lots of rain and a city in process of bursting on to the map. Oil has been found, gold as well, the tropical rainforest that comes from Congo is sent through Fort Portal. A university has started operating and construction sites are blazing – well Uganda style; pole pole –
My host is a Belgian-Ugandan pastor living in the USA and Uganda doing great work as building a school, health clinic, hospital, educating Batwa (pygmies) who have been forced out of their rain forest in Congo. It is very likely I will be visiting Congo soon. Another dream to come true and a friend found.
Today I visited the regional referral hospital for 4 (or 5) districts. The medical director is in Kampala for budget talks and his acting colleague shows me around the hospital site. Everywhere building is going on, new wards are being constructed and that means that the arrivals are stacked up in temporary shelters. It is not that the builders are unavailable, but the money from the Ministry of Health may be delayed.
I joined one of the 7 doctors (3 gynaecologists, 1 physician, 2 surgeons, 1 medical director) of the 441 bed hospital for the end of his ward round. Out of four new patients three were newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS coming in with severe malnutrition, oral thrush, chronic cough and diarrhea, seizures or semi comatose.
The HIV tests are available, so is the CD 4 count (indication of the severity of the viral destruction of the immune system’s T-cells) and the Joint Clinical Research Centre so anti retro viral treatment should be given to children, prisoners and vulnerable people. The reality is not so straight forward.
As an example: for 4 months this hospital has been without anti-tuberculosis drugs. That is quite devastating for patients living with a co-infection of HIV/AIDS and TB but also for those suffering from TB alone. TB also kills. As we finished the ward round we discussed the difference between Mulago (county tertiary referral centre) and this hospital. In Kampala at least at lot of diagnostics can be done but they have the same issues with access to drugs. But as the general public is more educated in Kampala when drugs are not available they go to a pharmacy to purchase the drugs themselves.
For a while I will try my hand at working in this hospital. Given the ideal location; view over the Half Moon mountains, proximity to Lake Albert and Congo there is a lot of potential for projects here. Also unlike Kampala and Northern Uganda there are very few NGO’s here and even Ugandan health workers flee the scene for greener, warmer pastures where more money can be earned.
Namaskar, Ashis
Monday 11 May 2009
UgandAshis 11. Patience.
May 8, 2009
Kampala, Uganda
Patience.
With the sad departure of my beloved Mac I have fallen back on a true mini-computer. Even with a partition of the hard disk; Linux and Windows for my internet connection I rely on the Windows platform. And I recall why I moved away from Microsoft 5 years ago. Apple even when gimmicky, expensive, over-the-top, trendy, snooty and what more still has no issues of crashing programs, worms and virus intrusions.
As it is within 1 day I have managed to pick up a virus and need to reinstall Windows. It means that for about 10 days now I have had very limited Internet access. Which leads to the following point: has my life been rendered anyway by not being able to access my g-mail, twitter, yahoo and other accounts.
On the one hand yes, when you are blogging from Uganda it is not very helpful not to be able to upload content. Video’s are not easy at all and when you are left without any contact at all it is not always easy.
On the other hand no, face to face is the best interface. I can still write every day and just overflow the websites with my writing.
Talking about patience; it paid out to stay calm and relaxed as I can now practice medicine in Uganda and about 8 neighboring countries for the next two years. There is no reason to postpone a visit to Fort Portal now. The place I will be practicing in a district level. It is near the majestic Half Moon Mountains and also the basis of a peasant resistance movement in the 1980’s called the Ruwenzururu. It is not far from Congo and I am sure there is ample opportunity to dance some dombolo.
Patience then… mmm … I will board a bus Saturday and let you know about the developments. And for those of you planning to visit: King size bed number 2 is now in place.
Namaskar
Ashis
May 8, 2009
Kampala, Uganda
Patience.
With the sad departure of my beloved Mac I have fallen back on a true mini-computer. Even with a partition of the hard disk; Linux and Windows for my internet connection I rely on the Windows platform. And I recall why I moved away from Microsoft 5 years ago. Apple even when gimmicky, expensive, over-the-top, trendy, snooty and what more still has no issues of crashing programs, worms and virus intrusions.
As it is within 1 day I have managed to pick up a virus and need to reinstall Windows. It means that for about 10 days now I have had very limited Internet access. Which leads to the following point: has my life been rendered anyway by not being able to access my g-mail, twitter, yahoo and other accounts.
On the one hand yes, when you are blogging from Uganda it is not very helpful not to be able to upload content. Video’s are not easy at all and when you are left without any contact at all it is not always easy.
On the other hand no, face to face is the best interface. I can still write every day and just overflow the websites with my writing.
Talking about patience; it paid out to stay calm and relaxed as I can now practice medicine in Uganda and about 8 neighboring countries for the next two years. There is no reason to postpone a visit to Fort Portal now. The place I will be practicing in a district level. It is near the majestic Half Moon Mountains and also the basis of a peasant resistance movement in the 1980’s called the Ruwenzururu. It is not far from Congo and I am sure there is ample opportunity to dance some dombolo.
Patience then… mmm … I will board a bus Saturday and let you know about the developments. And for those of you planning to visit: King size bed number 2 is now in place.
Namaskar
Ashis
UgandAshis 10. Hole in the road.
UgandAshis 10. Hole in the road.
May 5, 2009
Kampala, Uganda
Hole in the road.
Chinua Acheba, the Nigerian master writer wrote a story once about a hole in the road. A hole so big entire trucks would disappear in it. Employing an entire village to pull out the stranded vehicles nobody was trying to fix the hole in the road.
The road I take to my mansion is littered with smaller and bigger potholes. Some so big I am sure I have seen the snout of a hippotamus and on one occasion the wild snarl of a crocodile. Local kids do not believe me when I tell them to watch the water. I guess you cannot win them all.
A local builder found a great solution to his superfluous construction debris. Ditch it in the hole. And so we were hole-less for a whole one day. A bristling rain and new holes popped up straight away. This time I decided to make the best of it.
It has been a while since I swam and this Olympic Pool opportunity was not one to pass on. Within half an hour all the neighborhood kids had joined. A huge pool bash was going on. Hawkers joined at the rim of the pool and started selling sausages, ladies popped up with matooke and yams. The barbeque was on. Ghetto-blasters blared and the pool side party turned into a wicked rave.
As I open the newspaper, Daily Monitor: there it is: muzongo (foreigner) gives pool side rave – wild party as never seen before in Uganda. The Red Pepper opens with a front page photo of an ecstatic crowd partying to some groovy beats.
There is Uganda for you ; never miss an opportunity to party!
Namaskar,
Ashis
May 5, 2009
Kampala, Uganda
Hole in the road.
Chinua Acheba, the Nigerian master writer wrote a story once about a hole in the road. A hole so big entire trucks would disappear in it. Employing an entire village to pull out the stranded vehicles nobody was trying to fix the hole in the road.
The road I take to my mansion is littered with smaller and bigger potholes. Some so big I am sure I have seen the snout of a hippotamus and on one occasion the wild snarl of a crocodile. Local kids do not believe me when I tell them to watch the water. I guess you cannot win them all.
A local builder found a great solution to his superfluous construction debris. Ditch it in the hole. And so we were hole-less for a whole one day. A bristling rain and new holes popped up straight away. This time I decided to make the best of it.
It has been a while since I swam and this Olympic Pool opportunity was not one to pass on. Within half an hour all the neighborhood kids had joined. A huge pool bash was going on. Hawkers joined at the rim of the pool and started selling sausages, ladies popped up with matooke and yams. The barbeque was on. Ghetto-blasters blared and the pool side party turned into a wicked rave.
As I open the newspaper, Daily Monitor: there it is: muzongo (foreigner) gives pool side rave – wild party as never seen before in Uganda. The Red Pepper opens with a front page photo of an ecstatic crowd partying to some groovy beats.
There is Uganda for you ; never miss an opportunity to party!
Namaskar,
Ashis
UgandAshis 9. Oh no.
UgandAshis 9. Oh no.
May 1, 2009
Kampala, Uganda
Oh no.
The house I am living currently is quite big for a sole person. However I am sure to have many visitors coming and it will also double as an office for PGHF. The garden has a huge wall around it and since 1 night I had a young sentry/cleaner named Emmanuel. Cheerful that my house is starting to look like a home I left to watch the Barcelona-Chelsea football match down in a local pub with a friend. Post match I stayed around for a while longer and when I returned home the funny feeling that I had when I left became a bad suspicion.
The upstairs door to my balcony was open. I was sure to have locked it. As I rushed into the living room my worst fear came true: laptop, red cross bag, digital photo camera, money, modem, two pairs of Merrell shoes, a loaf of bread, a carton of milk and a book all gone.
I miss my Macbook and my internet connection. The burglars stoutly had entered my neighbors gate, smashed the glass off the top brick, scaled the wall, climbed up to the balcony, forced open the door to the house, snuck down, nicked all my items, moved up again, climbed down the balcony, rescaled the wall and all without making a peep.
When the police came and did their forensic work they were sure it was an inside job, someone who had worked in the house before. I am awaiting results of the investigation.
To make sure that this does not happen in the future; I now have a night time guard who is armed with bow and arrow, all the security lights are fixed around the compound, considering getting a dog (or two, an old dream of mine)
I hope the culprits get nabbed so no one else has to suffer their crimes. As far as my losses go, all is material and I have backups of my photos and my Mac Book. It feels like a nuisance and makes me more determined to make this mighty house my secure home.
As for the benefits : finally a dog! And I will learn to shoot bow and arrow properly through my night guard Sam and both Emmanuel and myself are unharmed, getting to know that your landlord is sincere and that your neighbors care (last night I ate tilapia at my neighbors).
Awaiting a new cam I may take some shots with my video to show you the house, garden, Emmanuel, Sam, bow and arrow. Bare with me until I have a renewed internet connection. In Uganda Labor Day is a public holiday like about 50 other days.
Namaskar,
Ashis
May 1, 2009
Kampala, Uganda
Oh no.
The house I am living currently is quite big for a sole person. However I am sure to have many visitors coming and it will also double as an office for PGHF. The garden has a huge wall around it and since 1 night I had a young sentry/cleaner named Emmanuel. Cheerful that my house is starting to look like a home I left to watch the Barcelona-Chelsea football match down in a local pub with a friend. Post match I stayed around for a while longer and when I returned home the funny feeling that I had when I left became a bad suspicion.
The upstairs door to my balcony was open. I was sure to have locked it. As I rushed into the living room my worst fear came true: laptop, red cross bag, digital photo camera, money, modem, two pairs of Merrell shoes, a loaf of bread, a carton of milk and a book all gone.
I miss my Macbook and my internet connection. The burglars stoutly had entered my neighbors gate, smashed the glass off the top brick, scaled the wall, climbed up to the balcony, forced open the door to the house, snuck down, nicked all my items, moved up again, climbed down the balcony, rescaled the wall and all without making a peep.
When the police came and did their forensic work they were sure it was an inside job, someone who had worked in the house before. I am awaiting results of the investigation.
To make sure that this does not happen in the future; I now have a night time guard who is armed with bow and arrow, all the security lights are fixed around the compound, considering getting a dog (or two, an old dream of mine)
I hope the culprits get nabbed so no one else has to suffer their crimes. As far as my losses go, all is material and I have backups of my photos and my Mac Book. It feels like a nuisance and makes me more determined to make this mighty house my secure home.
As for the benefits : finally a dog! And I will learn to shoot bow and arrow properly through my night guard Sam and both Emmanuel and myself are unharmed, getting to know that your landlord is sincere and that your neighbors care (last night I ate tilapia at my neighbors).
Awaiting a new cam I may take some shots with my video to show you the house, garden, Emmanuel, Sam, bow and arrow. Bare with me until I have a renewed internet connection. In Uganda Labor Day is a public holiday like about 50 other days.
Namaskar,
Ashis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
