Life in Uganda Update

SO MANY THINGS HAVE HAPPENED. First personal post in a long while. Good thing that I got that Chapatti recipe in as a warm-up, because this one will for sure be a doozy.

First and foremost: EVERYTHING IS SAFE HERE IN KABALE, UGANDA.

and

MUSEVENI HAS EXTENDED HIS 30 YEAR REIGN TO 35 YEARS

I know a lot of you guys have heard (or not) that there is turmoil and chaos in Uganda because of the recent public elections. All of the "chaos and destruction" is localized in Kampala, the capital. I've found out that a lot of the tension comes after the election, when people have found out whether or not their party has won and the supporters of the winner make a lot of "noise" and those whose candidate has lost make a lot of "noise" too. I've heard that every election there are a couple fatalities in Kampala, and that more often than not, these are students that are dying.

On the Tuesday before the election, there was a casualty and almost a riot caused by tear gas intervention. There was a large standoff between the supporters of Museveni and Besigye just outside a college campus in Kampala. The police set up a blockade between the two factions, trying to prevent any violent breakouts. Apparently one side tried to break through the police blockade and then all hell broke loose. The police used tear gas to try to break up the two groups and then apparently in order to protect themselves, officers decided to fire at a student charging at them. I hope that in the upcoming elections that the police will not have to resort to such violent efforts.

I swear that most of the violence happened in Kampala and that life is normal here in Kabale (9 hour drive away from Kampala).

It was very interesting to be here while Museveni was campaigning to remain in power for another 5 years. He seized power back in 1986, originally as a dictator and when Uganda was recovering from Idi Amin's reign of terror in the 70s. The 70s were really the last era when all of Uganda knew terror, war and death. Yes, people like Kony (remember #kony2012?) have and others have caused war and strife in the north, but ever since Museveni came to power Uganda has generally been peaceful. They don’t call it the pearl of Africa for no reason.

This peace is largely the reason why Museveni has been re-elected so many times (with the exception of all the election rigging and vote buying). Ugandans have seen the instability and turmoil that occurs in other countries when new persons or parties take power, so the fear of change is justifiable. I am really not trying to get political, but all I know is that Museveni has already changed the constitution twice in his 30 year reign in order to extend his period in office, I hope that after 2021 he will allow others a chance to lead Uganda.

Secondly: I will not be going to Ghana after Uganda L Unfortunately, due to surprisingly low interest in the 10 week study abroad opportunity, I was the only one who signed up for the program. I was so surprised when I got the news from my study abroad advisor, mostly because when I went to the Fall Term info session there were at least 20 people who were interested in the program! I do not understand why people would not seize an opportunity like coming to Africa to study abroad. Yes, the media portrays it as this wasteland full of chaos, wild animals and decrepit people. Uganda completely contrasts this picture of sadness and poverty. I have never met any people that are as rich as the Ugandans. Life is so simple here, and in the greatest way possible. The complexities of western society don’t cloud people’s happiness, and people take joy in doing almost anything. I’ve never heard so many people laugh so much as Ugandans. SO. I think it is time for Africa to shine and for people to realize that the sad sad picture of Africa is inaccurate. It is past time for people to make their own opinions of “Africa”, and especially realize that Africa is a continent of many different countries and many different peoples that have very different cultures. I definitely think that people should give the continent of Africa a chance (and you can definitely start with the pearl of Africa, Uganda).

Enough preaching. But I will be coming home to the states for Spring term and I am more than excited to be coming home and seeing all of my friends and family’s lovely faces. I cannot wait!!

Thirdly: I am going to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world and also the tallest mountain in Africa. It is going to be a long, 7-day trek but I cannot tell you how excited I am to try it. The success rate is about, on average, 80%...so I think my chances of summiting it are pretty high? I hope so. I’ve heard some pretty gnarly stories about altitude sickness and how horrible it is. Altitude sickness occurs because of the drop in saturation of Oxygen as you gain altitude. Each breath of air at a higher altitude contains less oxygen then air in lower altitudes, so the blood is not nearly as well oxygenated as before. Mild drops in oxygen saturation causes breathlessness (trying to make up for the lack of air in each breath) and feeling tired. Severe drops in oxygen saturation can lead to much more serious effects, like vomiting, impairing of mental functions, headache, insomnia, loss of appetite, dizziness, and general malaise. I do NOT want to get it. Imagine several thousand feet from the summit of the mountain and then BOOM you start getting really short of breath, you feel weak and worst of all you start vomiting. No matter how healthy and fit a climber is, altitude sickness discriminates against no one. The locals say to climb Kili pole, pole (slowly, slowly) in order to avoid it, and believe me pole pole will be my life motto for those 7 days on the mountain.

(I will also be taking Acetazolamide (Diamox) as a prophylaxis for Altitude Sickness. It works by forcing the kidneys to secrete more bicarbonate (alkali form of CO2) in the urine to help re-acidify the blood. This combats the effects of hyperventilation at higher altitude (drops CO2 levels and causes the blood to become more alkaline). The re-acidification of the blood acts as a respiratory stimulant and helps to reduce or eliminate adverse breathing patterns common at altitude (i.e. Cheyne-Stokes Respirations). So that will help prevent altitude sickness)

I will give an update on what exactly I’ve been up to with the internship very soon: cervical cancer screenings, medical camps, HIV outreaches, nutrition clinics and more!

Much love :)

Camryn