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| From left to right: Keiko, Jessi, Langa, Emily, and Alex (not pictured: Kennedy) |
On Monday of this week, team Muira woke up
extremely excited to begin our second week in the village. We woke up to an amazing
breakfast of eggs and bread with Nutella - the Nutella being our prized
possession. From there, our team
leaders, Emily and Kennedy, headed out on a boda for their weekly meeting in
Iganga. Meanwhile, the rest of our team went over the baseline survey in
preparation to begin surveying households in the village. The survey asks each
household about their general knowledge and attitudes about each of UVP’s
program areas: HIV, malaria, reproductive health, and WASH. The responses help us assess the greatest health needs in the
community and helps UVP evaluate the effectiveness of the health programs. Around
midday, we met up with our VHT, Moses, and headed off.
It was a beautiful day in the village; the sun was shining, there were very few clouds in the sky, and there was a nice breeze. Jessi asked the first household the survey questions and Keiko the second. As we approached the third household for Langa’s first time giving the survey, a front of cold wind and dark clouds rolled in. After introductions, we quickly moved inside due to the impending storm. Just as Langa and Alex began giving the survey, the rain began hitting the metal roof so hard that no one could hear anything that was being said. As we sat in the pitch-dark room with the doors and windows shut, small balls of ice began flying in through the cracks in the door. We all began laughing as we realized that it was hailing outside. We sat in the home waiting for the storm to pass until finally Alex and Langa were able to finish the rest of the survey and we could continue with the remaining houses for the day.
It was a beautiful day in the village; the sun was shining, there were very few clouds in the sky, and there was a nice breeze. Jessi asked the first household the survey questions and Keiko the second. As we approached the third household for Langa’s first time giving the survey, a front of cold wind and dark clouds rolled in. After introductions, we quickly moved inside due to the impending storm. Just as Langa and Alex began giving the survey, the rain began hitting the metal roof so hard that no one could hear anything that was being said. As we sat in the pitch-dark room with the doors and windows shut, small balls of ice began flying in through the cracks in the door. We all began laughing as we realized that it was hailing outside. We sat in the home waiting for the storm to pass until finally Alex and Langa were able to finish the rest of the survey and we could continue with the remaining houses for the day.
Now, as we approach the end of our first week conducting baseline surveys, we have all gained new insight about how to best give the survey as well as insight about the lives of people in the village. As all our team members have different backgrounds and experiences, we are each able to contribute something unique to the team, allowing us to gather a wealth of information to the best of our abilities. Now that we have familiarized ourselves with giving baseline surveys as well as adjusted to the slow pace of “Village Time”, our team looks forward to continue conducting baseline surveys as well as begin our sensitizations in the coming weeks.
The intern team in Muira will be collecting baseline surveys to measure the beginning health knowledge and practice of the community. To learn more about Keiko, Kennedy, Emily, Langa, Alex, and Jessi, check out their bios.
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| The Muira team walking through the village to collect baseline surveys. |
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