What an amazing place!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Raman)

It has officially been a week since we arrived here in Masaka. Today was my second day at work as a Social Worker in the Masaka Regional Referral Hospital. In this hospital patients are mainly taken care of by their parents and/or relatives. The food for these patients, their washing and bathing is to be provided by the relatives. The hospital does not have the resources to feed all the patients nor have enough staff to attend all the needs of the patients. If a patient does not have food or someone to take care of them the social worker is notified. This hospital has only one social worker to meet the needs of these patients, but even more importantly the social worker has minimal funds to work with to meet these needs. From my little experience, and little interaction with the doctors and nurses I gather that most of the illnesses in this hospital are caused or exacerbated by poverty and a lack of knowledge. For example, in the pediatric ward many patients suffer from severe malnutrition, or from malaria, or are unknowingly HIV positive. A parent may not have enough food to feed their child which leads to malnutrition weakening their immune system leaving vulnerable to other infections.

I know this all sounds grim and maybe overwhelming but there is magic to be found in this place. Every time I walk through the wards I am in ‘Awwww’. The sense of community among Ugandans is absolutely amazing. Though one may be living in poverty themselves, they will share the little they have with one another and not allow the other to go hungry. Absolutely amazing! If a patient is discharged but does not have money to travel home, with the patients’ permission the nurses may go around the ward and ask for the other patients and relatives to help out. They may only have enough in their pockets to feed themselves and their ill relative for a day or two but they will still dig in their pockets and give. A nurse told me that it is the Ugandan way, they do not pour food unless they have enough to share. They will decrease their own amount of intake to share with another unknown person. How does one not sit in aaaaaw? Being here I feel as if we Canadians are much poorer in some ways.

I feel extremely blessed to be here and to learn and hopefully absorb the richness of the culture here.