Update 11/24 From Uganda

The well at Bhudebero and the new pump in action

Goats: Our Goats For Widows project veterinarian, Basil, went and did the training with the MURUDA goats. I propose to bring him on as Goat Project Coordinator. I think the number one thing that the Goats For Widows project needs is routine follow up. Basil will check up on both of our goat groups once a month. I think at the end of one year the widows will have a better idea of nutrition for the goats and they will also be to the point at which they can begin selling goats to pay for such things like nails, grass, and medications which we have been paying for so far. The cost would be 720,000USh per year, or about $425.00.

Wells: The pump is purchased and working!! The community was really excited about this; seeing how incredibly wet this wet season has been, it was getting very difficult to dig for them. Patrick and I are going to meet with new community within the week, I will let you all know how that goes. As for the water report I am still fighting with the DWO to get my hands on it. Last week I spent a total of 5 hours at that office just waiting. I now have Patrick also on the case.

Fistula: I met with Dr. Glyn last week. Unfortunately they had over 90 patients, and only time to do 30 repairs. Many of our women have been sent home and told to return to Kitovu for a 3 week repair camp starting Jan 11th or to return to Kamuli March 16th. Since they have been getting so many patients lately, they proposed that we not do much mobilizing for the March and Jan camps but just focus on the women we have who need repair. But then in summer 2009, they said that perhaps seeing that we have many volunteers that for that camp they will only repair UVP women. I thought this was great.

They have also asked us to help with pre-operation questions with the women. Dr. Glyn was telling me they waste a lot of time getting this info while at the hospital. Since we spend time with many of the women we bring, either on transport on the way or at the health centers during the screening, it will be easy for us to get this information. The helpful follow up that they would like is information regarding if the women are leaking, if so have they followed the post-op instructions?

Desks: I am giving WAACHA 700,000ush to go and buy wood to start building the desks for the secondary school funded by ChooseANeed. The final price is 45,000ush per desk. So we are able to make 36 desks.

UVP Alumna Creates Art Show to Raise Fistula Awareness

One of our summer volunteers from 2008, Archana Jayakumar, has showcased her artistic talents in a gallery show at the University of Buffalo Visual Studies Gallery that highlighted obstetric fistula and other health issues she learned about in rural Uganda. She used this opportunity to educate others about the plight of Ugandan women who suffer a lifelong injury from obstetric fistula. As Archana learned this summer, obstetric fistula is a curable condition that results from obstruction of labor, and may cause a woman to become an outcast from her family and from her community. Unfortunately, obstetric fistula is all too common in Uganda, where travel from the villages presents a financial and geographic barrier to obtaining C-sections when the emergent need arises. The curative surgeries that UVP facilitates allow women to lead normal lives again. Thank you, Archana, for spreading the word about women's health in Uganda, and also about Uganda Village Project.