Sorry it has been so long since my last post, things have been very busy. We're back at Mudd now, but we had a busy couple of days before we left Jinja. On our last Sunday in Uganda, we were fortunate enough to be invited to Kakira Sugar Works. It turns out that a Mudd alumni from Jinja was friends with a Ugandan ambassador to India, Nimisha Madhvani, whose family owns Kakira. We were treated to a tour of the sugar factory and the hospital within the compound, and we had a delicious lunch with Ambassador Madhvani and some other members of her family. We talked about some potential projects that Mudd could take on to continue this partnership with TASO. The entire experience was very interesting, and I'm glad that we were able to fit it in.
On Monday, I went out in the field to participate in the baseline survey that TASO is conducting. The survey is designed to test knowledge of AIDS, in terms of how it is transmitted and how people can protect themselves, and it is being administered in different villages. That day was also exciting in terms of transportation, since the van that we were traveling in hit a monkey on the way to the village, and broke down on the way back. The group that I was with administered the survey at a primary school. Since I was limited by language, I was only able to conduct three interviews, and I'm not sure how well those went since I think that the people I was talking with had trouble understanding my accent. All in all, though, it was a very interesting day, especially being able to see the villages and interact with the students.
Tuesday was our last full day at TASO. It turns out that while I had been out in the field, Nadia and Erica, another intern, had designed a program on career guidance and empowerment for a local girls school. Even though I wasn't really a part of it, I decided to go along to observe. It turned out to be really fun. Nadia gave a great talk on the importance of a technical education, and Maurisho and Sebastian answered questions about the transmission of AIDS. The best part was watching the girls participate, they were all so excited and enthusiastic! I really felt like our being there had impacted them, and we are hoping to set up a penpal program between their school and a local school in California. When we got back to Jinja, Nadia and I had one last dinner at the Gately, and, after saying goodbye to all of the waitresses there, finally had to start packing.
On Wednesday we went to TASO for the last time. We had one more meeting with Simon, discussing what was going to happen with each of our projects after we left, and then we each gave a short presentation on our projects. After taking a lot of pictures, and cutting the cake that Eva brought in for us, it was time to leave. It was really sad to say goodbye to all of our friends, especially since we don't know when we'll see them again. From TASO, we walked down to the town to buy a few last minute gifts and have one more meal at Ozzie's and a few more cookies from the Source Cafe. We walked back to the Hotel and by the time we had sorted out the payment situation, Ronald was there to take us back to the airport in Entebbe. Apart from a near-collision with a pedestrian on the road and a minor scuffle at immigration, the trip back to the states was uneventful. I was at home for three days and it was wonderful to be able to relax and see my family.
Now we're back at Mudd for two weeks to work on our final reports. My report consists of the monitoring form that I designed, as well as an explanation of the rationale for it, guidelines on how it should be implemented, a series of other suggestions for improvements to TASO's Sustainable Livelihood Program that I came across in my interviews and research, and a reflection on my time in Uganda. Nadia and I have also been debriefing pretty intensely with Prof. Haushalter to determine what we want to happen with the project next year, as well as planning how we're going to share what we've learned with the rest of the HMC community. This past week I've been able to reflect a lot on my time in Africa, and I'm continually amazed at how much I've learned. I am so glad that I got this amazing opportunity, and I hope that I will be able to do it justice in the future.
