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November 22, 2005

Dear friends,

We are home safe and sound.  The week was too busy, the access to e-mail too limited, to report back to you sooner.

But the second week was as rich and gratifying as the first, and we would be remiss not to recount to you its highlights.  Unfortunately, this is only half the report, as by the time Saturday November 12th came, we had split into two teams, with the second proceeding to Tanzania.

Our team flew on Saturday to Entebbe, Uganda, on the northern edge of Lake Victoria, the major airport access to the capital, Kampala.  We were greeted by Kavuma, a radiation physicist whom Carol had brought to Klamath Falls in 1994-5, and by Hood Musoke, GSE team member, now a Rotarian, along with his wife (Deborah) and sister (Fau), also Rotarians.  They drove us the hour into Kampala and took us to the Makerere University Guest House.  The drive was initially a refreshing change from bustling Nairobi--rural, lush green, with less intense traffic.  That changed as we drove into the city of 1.5 million people, with shops, pedestrians everywhere without sidewalks, and matatus (minibuses) carrying 12-15 passengers driving aggressively on any surface the vehicles would fit into, with an intent to arrive sooner than later and pick up the next fare.  The traffic was crazy, with many potholes and all sizes of vehicles spewing pollution.

The guest house, situated on the Makarere University campus, was moderate in price--$42 including breakfast--and pleasant in surroundings.  The club sandwiches were outstanding, and we were tickled at the small plastic packets of the Ugandan gin, Waragi, which we obtained to drink with tonic on the lawn.   The campus was under constant patrol due to a riot which had occurred and left one student dead a day or so before our arrival.  The rooms were simple and the shower/bath had a trickle of water that came out requiring great skill in being able to bathe.  The bed was surrounded with a  nice mosquito net which even though we used, still resulted in about a dozen or so mosquito bites.  The President-Elect of the Kampala East Rotary Club, a radiation oncologist whom Carol knew from her work there a decade ago, hosted us that evening to an outdoor African dinner with lots of starch – bananas, plantains, rice and potatoes!

Sunday was a strenuous work day.  We set up in the Radiotherapy Unit on a dirt road adjacent to the large public Mulago Hospital.  The hospital was, in some of our opinions, in very dire conditions with non functioning toilets, brown running water, peeling paint and just a generally run-down environment.  

Our team was now half sized; our roles less flexible, and we were all kept busy registering, fitting and training the first day’s 14 recipients. We had support from our Rotary friends as well as an orthopedic surgeon and two prosthetists.  Michael had great fun in being able to train surgeons on how to put on a prosthetic hand!  

That evening we were off to a spectacular performance of Ugandan song and dance at a beautiful outdoor amphitheater with tables for dining.  Children from the audience were engaged in dancing with the MC in various fun maneuvers between excellent dancing (and skilled butt shaking) by dancers from a region in western Uganda.  Non Ugandan visitors were then asked to come down and dance, and suddenly we found ourselves in the arena dancing with the locals.

The most impressive dancers from the north carried small decorative pots on their heads, with one after another stacked on in succession, until two of the women were able to dance with nine pots on their heads!!

On Monday, Nov. 14, we entered the small dingy waiting room to find it filled with 30-40 cancer victims on benches patiently waiting for their cobalt treatments.  Many clearly had advanced disease but were uncomplaining.  After fitting eight hands in a barebones office and training in an exam room, we were informed that there was recurrent student rioting on the campus and that teargas and rubber bullets were being used by the police to subdue the rioters.  This set of riots was due to the arrest of an opposition political leader earlier in the day who had been accused of treason and rape.  We were advised to move out of the university housing.  It was not as easy as it sounded, as the other guest house we visited had even more limited facilities, and the first hotel was completely full.  By that time traffic was virtually deadlocked with people fleeing the city, and we were stuck at a roundabout for 45 minutes.   While one of our team members, Tim, got out of the van and walked to the hotel to procure a room, Kavuma, our host and driver ordered “Michael – drive” as he had to jump on a motorcycle taxi in order to pick up his son from school.  After some negotiating and even some “pressure being applied,” we ultimately secured the last rooms at the Fairway Hotel.  Needless to say, there was no Rotary meeting or dinner at Kavuma's home that evening.  Four cars were burned in front of the radio station downtown, and several people were killed. 

The next morning, to give our hosts time to assess the unrest, we got a later start, visited Kavuma's small home for refreshing jackfruit and melons, and then headed to the hospital to meet people being brought down from Gulu in northern Uganda, an area of civil unrest for 20 years.  These were hard used folks with very sad tales, hands which had been “chopped off” for political reasons or for no apparent reason at all.  We were able to fit nine hands and, we believe, provide warmth, caring and hope for a desperate group of people.  Gulu had had 57 potential recipients, but our number of hands was limited.  We very much hope to go to the town in the future, something we were unable to do this time due to ambushes on the roads and the lack of available flights.   It was of interest to us that some DG's have been unable to carry out visitations to the Rotary club there.

That evening on the patio of one of our hotel rooms, we enjoyed the spirit of the young members of the Muyenga Rotary Club and their desire to become a 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club within three years to such an extent that Carol agreed to match every $100 contributed to TRF between now and Dec. 31st – this is a club of over 70 members!  We suspect the shared beer and Waragi (gin) played a small role in her decision as well.

Wednesday we took a day off to play tourist and shop, and in the afternoon we went to a conference resort on Lake Victoria with Hood and his friends before attending their vibrant club fellowship, as meetings are called.  Fellowships (meetings)  are begun with a brief grace followed by a toast to the President of Uganda and end with another toast, usually to Rotary International.  We were amused when members said a loud "Amen" after the first sentence of Carol's prayer, bringing it to a full stop.  Muyenga is the largest club in Uganda--77 members--and the music was great fun, including the Rotary versions of "Vive Le Rotarie," "For S/He's a Jolly Good Fellow," and "When the Saints Go Marching In."  Michael made a presentation on the on the LN-4, with the video from Vietnam, and Tim gave a passionate speech about participation in The Rotary Foundation.  The members were clearly moved by both.  The excitement of the TRF challenge went on for quite a while as members vied to be the first to put in their contribution. “Hey, I am the first with money, he only pledged!”  

Fellowship followed upon fellowship on the outdoor deck under a beautiful full moon, with connections boding well for future relationships, as the club PE also caught on to the idea of being the first club in District 9200 to participate in a project reaching outside the District to do a matching grant, rather than always being on the receiving end.  There will probably also be a first draft of a WCS Matching Grant arriving soon to help fund the manufacture of more hands for the region. 

Thursday was our follow up clinic, held at the prosthetic workshop on the hospital campus.  Of the number we expected to return (the Gulu folks were excluded because of distance), the returnee percentage was high (about 80%) and three more hands were applied with additional training for them and for one who had "escaped" earlier in the week.  Witnessing the look in the eyes of recipients writing again with their dominant hand or lifting a mug with it, many after years without, variously giggling, laughing, bowing, and hugging us in gratitude, was indescribably rewarding for all.  Only one person of the total of 74 fitted brought the hand back.  He was unable to use it because of a very short stump with pain. 

A thank you ceremony interrupted our work. We were concerned that many recipients could not understand the speeches--often they could not understand each other's language, much less ours--so Tim asked to be translated and told the recipients how brave they were and how important it is for them to stay in contact.   Michael handled the print and television coverage. After the ceremony Michael fitted the last hand, Carol completed the training, Janet wrapped up the paperwork making sure every person would send in their 30 day evaluation forms, and Tim continued to assist and record it all on video.  We said goodbye to the final recipients. Our work was complete…for this trip!

Later in the afternoon, Tim and Carol visited the Bahai temple grounds on one of the seven hills of Kampala where an orthopedic surgeon volunteer was buried after being killed in 1996 in a carjacking outside the building in which we were working.  The beautiful grounds, trees, flowers and birds above the city provided a few minutes of respite from the world below.

The fellowship of the RC of Kampala East followed at the Hotel Africana, with a dance troupe and music blaring outside.  It was interesting to us that every greeting to one another was prefaced by the title "Rotarian," so, for instance, the president was called "Rotarian President Patrick."   He wore an elaborate hanging neckpiece with the names of all past presidents on it.  The Sergeant at Arms wore a long scarf and a large red hat designating his role. Michael was invited to sit at the head table and again was able to present our program with video.

Afterwards (President Elect (PE) of the RC of Muyenga), Emmanuel took us all to the Rock Café in the late night bustling area of Nairobi. The restaurant is set up as a Mongolian grill with outdoor seating and a separate area for the bar. What a draw this place is for the wilder side of life. The ladies of the evening were parading in all of their tight fitting glory. It was another shock of the diversity of lifestyles in a country where the typical person earns an average of $350 per year.

President Museveni publicly recognized the problem of HIV/AIDS over 20 years ago, and with the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, Condoms) education campaign, the prevalence of HIV infection has dropped from 30% to 6% in Uganda—the lowest in Africa. Other SubSaharan countries were unwilling to accept the pandemic of HIV/AIDS and are now either experiencing uncontrollable spread of the disease or just beginning to take action.  AIDS education is so ingrained in Uganda that according to PE Emmanuel, no hooker would sleep with a customer without the use of a condom, no matter how much money was offered. A wonderful example of an outcome with a sustained national education program that has been ongoing for over two decades and one area where the people of Uganda all agree their president deserves the credit.

Again PE Emmanuel agreed to work on a WCS Grant that would go in the opposite direction--outside of District 9200 rather to receive. Currently District 9200, encompassing the countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, is the second largest recipient in the Rotary world of WCS Matching Grants, while in 04-05 they had Annual Giving per capita of only $33.  (Reinforcing a world of extremes, we heard the RC of Arusha exceeds $900 per capita.)   The PE is extremely excited about the possibility and has made this challenge a primary focus for his year.  Delivering us back to the Fairway Hotel in his Mercedes, he invited us to visit his company the next day before taking us to the airport.

Our final morning, we were able to reach Tanzania's Upcountry AG Faye Cran in Arusha by telephone and learned that the other team had fitted nine hands, leaving seven behind (many candidates did not qualify).   She felt they were very satisfied with their experience in Arusha, going on from there to visit the Ngorongoro Crater.  Jim later expressed great confidence in two GP's whom they trained to fit hands and do follow up evaluations for us.  

After we had packed, several of our friends came to the hotel to say final farewells, which was very difficult for all.  Then PE Emmanuel and a colleague picked us up to visit his company, Quality Chemicals Limited, before going to the airport. 

After we landed back in Nairobi, we were joined at an outdoor airport café by Sumant and his wife Jyoti, along with two other club members and the Utumishi club president, who presented us with certificates of appreciation for our work there.  Everyone wanted to talk at once, about the Kampala experience and to discuss completed matching grants, proposed new ones, a thank you gift or matching grant for the Jaipur Foot Clinic, and so forth.  Excitement about the LN-4 hand prevailed.  And we learned that our colleague and Janet & Michael’s home host Dr. Mir, was selected to lead a third GSE team composed of doctors to San Diego next spring!  Once again we found it difficult to say farewell to another group of new Rotary friends.

Late at night we began the long trip home via London and San Francisco, bridging 11 time zones and over 9000 miles in a 40 hour commute.

Our anxieties had been high but were allayed as Rotarians were there supporting us.  Our hopes had also been high which were surpassed in every respect.  We now know that our work is no where nearly done and that we have created a life time of expectations for those recipients and the recipients who are yet to come.  We are up for the challenge and recognize that it may take the rest of our lives to do it.

Thank you all for your support in kind, in prayers and in checks – it could not have been done without the magic of Rotary.

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