Kitten Update: It has fleas and ticks and a bladder control problem

I am pretty sure that you are supposed to put the important information in the title of an entry, so, you're welcome for both satisfying the thirst for kitten updates and to give you a taste of what follows.

Kitten

Yes, the kitten has some bug issues.  Here's the complete story of how I got him.

A month or so ago I had met my neighbors cat prowling around my yard, and later that day when playing with the kids at my neighbor's house I saw the cat saunter into the house.  It looked pregnant to me and I confirmed this with Allyn, the 10 year old girl who stays at the house, with the pregnant gesture.  I told her that I have wanted a kitten for a long time, maybe I can have one of the kittens when it has the babies?  Allyn agrees, and fast forward to Tuesday evening.

I go up to Allyn's house because I have been convinced that paying Allyn or someone in that household to come by once a week to do my laundry and clean my floors for a few bucks is overdue.  I meet the grandmother who speaks 0 words of English and after a minute of her saying whatever she says I hear the word, "Puss."  I immediately know what this means, she takes me to her room where there are two baby kittens.  Allyn rolls by and corners one of them and gives it to me.  She tells me it's a month old, I point to my chest to figure out if this cat is still breast feeding, and after a minute we are all touching our breasts in understanding and not answering, but they made me feel like now is the time to take the kitten, so I thank them and leave.

That's the story of how I got my kitten!  My excitement has quickly turned into the curiosity and fear as I have found this little lady peeing on my bed and spreading ticks and fleas to me and my sheets.  We have spent some quality time taking ticks out of her face, and I am currently in search of something to kill bugs that won't kill the cat as most vet shops around here cater to cows and goats.

Work, Rest, Relax, Break, Wait, Lunch, Relax, Wait, Work


This is approximately how things are with work.  Yesterday was a breakthrough day though, and I am pleased that some of the things I have been doing may in fact be followed up.

I have spent the last couple months on Excel making spreadsheets for data entry of the information collected from all the health centers and sub-counties in the district.  The part that took the longest was using Ugandan Government formulas to calculate target numbers for certain areas.  For example, Burunga Health Center II in Kanoni Sub-County should expect to administer 243 Tetanus Toxoid shots to pregnant women over a one month reporting period based on the population of it's catchement area.  I made a TON of tables and easy forms for our Health Management and Information Specialist to enter the data he is already collecting in order to more clearly see trends, gather information, and assess how the health centers, sub-counties, and district as a whole is meeting it's targets.

Upon finishing these up and sending them on to my supervisor I had little to no hope that anyone was going to follow this up.  I did in fact have support from my supervisor, but essentially it was up to our aptly named HMIS person, Madudu, to decide if he was going to use it.  Yesterday, I strolled into work only to find Madudu at his desk gesturing for me to come over.  He opens up some files on his zip drive and he has filled out the indicators for every subcounty in the district using my tables!  I was so pleased!  I immediately knew that this probably took him most of last week to accomplish (not being mean, I set up his very first email address yesterday, he was very enthused by this world-wide internet).  I was blown away that he did it correctly and did it well.  It appears as though an intervention that I have done at this office may in fact be used for the greater good of the district.  So, it's not a huge thing, it's not even a big or medium-sized thing.  But it was huge for me, to feel like something I did, using the resources this office already has, will be used to the benefit of district officials to implement more effective health interventions.

Life Skillz


I started a Life Skills class at the secondary school (kids are aged 11-18, it's roughly high school) in late January.  I have been going weekly to talk about topics such as communication, relationships, STDs/HIV, and other skills that are necessary for life.  Peace Corps gives us a wonderful guidebook that I imagine is like a teacher's manual, and for the past few weeks we have been talking about HIV using lessons given in the book.

My favorite moment is when, at the end of our lesson doing True/False statements about HIV, a young man came to the front of the room to ask me if it was not, in fact, true that FDR introduced HIV to Africa in the 1930s as a way to rid the world of all black people?  This was not asked as a question but more as an assertion, so I commended the guy for saying that while standing next to the white dude from America.  I neglected to tell him that that's the most bat-shit crazy theory I have ever heard, I am going to share it with everyone, thank you.

Odds and Ends


 - I have started planting a garden.  I have been told multiple times over that the land they gave me has poor soil and is very rocky.  I am doing my best to find out if there is better soil underneath all the rocks.

 - I woke up this morning, saw my neighbor walk past my window and went to show him the handle that broke off my toilet.  When I rounded the corner, he was shirtless and shoe-less, semi-crouched, and holding a bow and arrow.  He slowly turned to me and said, "I - I am going to eat goat."  He then aimed his bow and arrow at a goat maybe 10 feet away standing in the middle of our yard.  Before the blood bath began I quickly asked him why he was going to kill the goat.  He then pointed to our water tank and said that the goats are eating the cement off the water tank, and he has told the owner of the goats that he doesn't want them on his property.  This, actually, seems fair.  He smiled wide and turned back to the goats.  I left - there is no way I want to see what happened with that goat.

  - I went to Entebbe a few weeks ago to attend Peace Corps' Gender and Diversity meeting.  I am now working on the curriculum for a boy's empowerment camp to be modeled after Camp GLOW, a girl's empowerment camp held last year for the first time.  I was also elected to be one of the two GAD Coordinators!  This made me very happy.

  - In Entebbe, Kendall, Danny, Eliza, and myself stayed at the zoo.  It was awesome.  On our last morning, Kendall and I got up at 6am, watched the sunrise over Lake Victoria and walked around the zoo.  We got to pet monkeys and rhinos.  It was awesome, I can't believe I pet a rhinoceros!

Conclusion


I have done a terrible job updating this thing.  I don't know if I will ever get really consistent with it.  Part of it is the inconsistency of life here.  There are days and weeks where I am busy from Monday to Sunday, and then there are weeks that aren't.  I will still update from time to time, so thanks for reading if you are still checking this out.

Ahh! Lastly, I will not be proud, I have found some of the absolute best things I have eaten, greatest articles I have read, and most comfortable underwear/t-shirts I have worn in Uganda have come in the form of care packages from the United States.  I love getting mail!  I feel so loved and I get so excited seeing them.  Thank you Uncle John, Lindsey, Liz, Priscilla, Mom, Dad, Rachel, and Laurel for the mail love!  I love the letters and packages.  I am always accepting more: Dan Imhoff, PO Box 1017, Mbarara, Uganda.

Musiibe gye! (Y'all have a good day!)

Dan