kathleen sheridan

Hyde Park; reflections and patterns

2009-03-25T17:07:00.002+03:00

Peak District National Park

2009-03-25T16:42:00.007+03:00

Wintertime in London

2009-02-19T15:34:00.008+03:00

Self portrait on an emotional day a few weeks ago.

Moonriver Valentines Dance was last week, a local dance for people with disabilities. It was like a Special Olympics Dance, and was a blast!

A friend from the Moonriver Dance, who snagged me to be his dance partner during the competition, and bought me a coke afterwards.

A mystery note to someone at the Moonriver Dance! how sweet.

Kafero and I

A snowy kiss!

The snowy day in London brought many trains to a halt, and I was exuberant about the white flakes and snow everywhere!

These 3 women were giggling and laughing, and I really enjoyed looking at the many pillows they had made that were stuffed in these bags (can you see that one upside down with the dachshund dog?). If I'm in the right mood, I can be quite captivated observing people on the trains here.

Obama wax figure revealed in London on Inauguration Day ! What a fine day! To see and feel the excitement and hope of people around the world.

December, Christmas at home!

2009-01-28T15:04:00.010+03:00

Eli and I making a snowman in the backyard

amazed at the fire Grandpa made

mom and dad going on a date! how cute.

Grandma Withers and Uncle Eric came up from Florida to spend Christmas with us

that's Amanda at the end of the street on the left in the red coat...waiting for Santa to come on the local fire engine. She waited for 45 minutes, and he did come!
here is the note and snacks she left out for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas eve. (we have told her for years he is not real, but she doesn't believe us, and insists...maybe she knows something we don't?)

Leah, singing and strumming on her guitar

Winter sunrise in our backyard...I love winter, and especially how the snow sparkles in the sun

Eli lining up his buses and cars on Christmas morning

dear friend Jill and I enjoying a night out, and many oogles over her baby that's due in March!Eli drawing a picture of ''a farmer"

Katy, me, Alissa..reuniting in Detroit for some lunch and laughs on my snowstorm induced layover on my way back to London!

World Aids Day +Ctrl + Alt + Shift

2008-12-01T21:23:00.009+03:00

World Aids Day was Monday...... in honour of that, we went to a performance called +Ctrl+Alt+Shift+ here in London, with striking movement based performance to get messages across about the HIV/AIDS awareness. Here is a short clip of one of the performances....

Cost of living

2008-11-20T00:22:00.003+03:00

Ever since I was born
Everyones been complaining
how the cost of living
just keeps soaring;

Tea from Ceylon
Rice from Burma
Sugar from Jamaica
Meat from the Argentine
Yes, there's no denying
the cost of living
has been rising
ever since I was born.

Yet I haven't heard
a single complaint
since the day I arrived
how the price of human lives
has been taking a nose-dive:
in Hiroshima,
Stalin's Russia,
Hitler's Reich
in Vietnam,
Kampuchea,
Uganda,
South Africa,
Guatemala,
El Salvador...

Ever since I was born
the cost of living
has been getting rather steep.
The cost of a life
has never been cheaper.

by Cecil Rajendra

Anna and I adventuring London

2008-11-09T21:32:00.005+03:00

My dear sweet friend, Anna (we met working in Patongo IDP Camp), was back in London for about 5 days. We had many giggles, cakes, walking around London.

London by tube, train and foot

2008-10-23T19:31:00.007+03:00

We attended the Emerging Artists and Residents in London over the weekend, and this was one of the performers-on his flute making some amazing music !

Hey World, Don't Give Up

2008-10-17T22:30:00.004+03:00

Music by Micheal Franti & Spearhead

Autumn joys

2008-10-12T00:16:00.005+03:00

England is smelling like Autumn, the fresh leaves, cool air and even some sunny skies to complement..
The canal near Kafero's house Swans and houseboats along the canal
Denis, a good Ugandan friend who also worked with Medair in Patongo IDP camp, has just arrived in England to study his Masters at Cranfield University. Wonderful to visit with him and hear his first impressions of life outside Africa!
Sheep grazing under the moon in the English countryside

Wild horses

2008-10-07T12:27:00.002+03:00

Kafero and I spent the weekend camping in New Forest National Park, a few hours south of London. A gorgeous moss covered forest with tranquil winding rivers, and to make the fairytale surroundings come alive; wild horses and ponies running about !

a day with Eli

2008-09-25T22:20:00.003+03:00

So hey everybody, I'm 2 years old now, and I'm styling now. Also now that I'm 2, I'm tons of fun to take out on little adventures around town and I love being outside ! So, who wants to hang out with me for the day? 'Auntie Kate' ofcourse!

Autumn sunrises in the backyard
Riding my bike
braving the slide

Grandpa on his lunch break, showing me how to work this cool toy at the park
Eli and 'Auntie Kate'

Oregon...can it get more beautiful?

2008-09-25T07:03:00.004+03:00

It was the only place in the forest to camp
Could you wake up in a more beautiful place? Cliffs, fresh woods, and the Pacific ocean
Alissa and I, reunited under a shining sun

Liz and I demonstrating beach stretching

Portland friends reunited at the beach for another great weekend together ( there were 8 dogs , but apparently only 2 made it for the photo !)

How sweet it is to be with family, friends and the beauty here ....

2008-09-15T19:01:00.007+03:00

Eli drinking his water like a little man at Tiffanys wedding !
Mom and Dad walking their Grandson to the beach
Leah and Eli at Teal Lake
Eli collecting rocks !

Grandma Withers and I at Mackinac Island taking a carriage tour
Amanda and I on our way to Wheatland Music Fesitval in Lower Michigan, this was taken when we ran out of gas on the side of the road !
Lovella, Carrie and I; reconnecting after 2 years of being on different sides of the globe.
Rainbow on Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, 10 minutes after this Amanda and I drove through a hail storm.

Home sweet home; our backyard on a Saturday morning ; relaxing peaceful and tranquil

cancer to freedom

2008-09-05T00:55:00.004+03:00

Then to Now

reflect

CANCER-FREE

live, die, live

anger to relief
scar to survive

knowns and unknowns

accept-ance

time to moments

life to living

embrace

Journey home, for a bit....

2008-08-30T18:06:00.005+03:00

Micheal Franti & Spearhead....Kafero and I attended the most exhilarating, energetic and alive show I've ever been to ! Danced so hard I bruised the bottom of both my feet, yelled so much I lost my voice, was so explosive with energy I couldn't sleep that night and danced til my flight left London in the morning...(did I mention I got a hug and kiss on the forehead from him?!)..hows that for luck ?!

Flew to Paris last week on that rainy Friday morning and had an exploring day of trains and found delicious crepes and tea before getting on my flight for USA...
From the chaos of Africa, with a complete spaghetti pile of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, people walking, potholed roads, no traffic markings, animals roaming, and with no zoning laws, buildings of all sorts and all materials everywhere. Now, Welcome back to America...the word that comes to mind when I stepped onto this in the Detroit aiport..ORGANIZED...electronic devices so you don't even have to move your body to walk, it does it for you, and on these moving walkways, its organized in a 'walk' and 'stand' section, divided by a yellow center line, and labeled about ever 3 feet or so. Now both get you to the same place, the end, where that nice ladies voice informs you its about to end, prepare to move your body again. Also, the fear that feels absorbed by the mind when the loudspeaker warnings in the background of the airport beep every 3 minutes, "security threat level orange"beep. "remember, 3 in 1, three liquids in one bag" beep "do not leave your luggage unattended" beep "do not accept gifts from strangers". I felt like looking for the written aisle on the floor that said 'run', but I could only see 'walk' and 'stand' so thats what I did.
It does feel great to be home, like a big hug to be in the Upper Peninsula again. Eli is the exploring little being that keeps everyone entertained and brings so much life. The fresh trees, blue waters, sandy beaches, sitting under the stars and pure skies, so special.

August discoveries

2008-08-21T13:08:00.008+03:00

So, after my parents and Kafero left Uganda, I had several weeks to eat mangoes, drink tea in the morning air and explore more volunteer opportunity possibilities for when I return to Uganda.

I travelled to Northern Uganda by a typical crowded bus with chickens, mattresses, bags of charcoal, cassava, lots of people, stopping a lot, potholed roads, waiting on the bus for 5 hours before it left, and finally arrived in the hub of the north, Gulu. The center of a lot of displacement camps and many agencies trying to address their needs. After wandering around the Northern town of Gulu, and taking several leads from the district Education officer, I found a special needs classroom, actually the only one, at the Gulu Prison Primary School and a few days meeting with the director, teacher and lovely students. What a joy to be around them !I also met with GUSCO, a national NGO, whose projects I had heard about for about a year now. They were originally the reception center for abducted child soldiers from the LRA. When they would escape, they would come here for about a month of rehabilitation and networking to reintegrate them into their homes, or if there was no existing family; setting up some sort of reintegration process and vocational skills/education setting to get them started. Because there have been no returnees for a while they currently are doing vocational training for formerly abducted children and for the child mothers. Also the new program, funded by the EU is working on the continued reintegration needed in the camps for returnees. When I return to Uganda, I plan to work with them on that project; currently in 8 sub-counties around Gulu.

Meanwhile, back in Kampala......yes, Nagawa makes her water debut...running at full speed....
I accompanied her on the school trip she attended to the zoo, now her second visit, but the biggest surprise was her taking to the water! She was quite terrified last time we were near the water; but second time around; she was thrilled! So great to see! She joined the other kids in the water and was just crazy about running and playing on the shores of Lake Victoria! This was actually my birthday, what a joyous way to spend a 27th birthday!
Nagawa on the left with her little school friends.

Her little friends.Nagawa and I making faces!
Her joyful giggles in the water.
Happy happy !Hospice Care in Uganda in limited ; but fortunately there are some services. This particular day I visited the Childrens Cancer Care. These little ones have cancer and are receiving chemotherapy along with others. The play therapy is set up to help them cope with the being in the hospital setting and a bit of normal child's play. I felt a special connection with these kids; and hope they have an opportunity for the same outcome as my cancer.

Flying from Uganda last week, I met Kafero in London and we travelled up to Nottingham to visit my sweet friend Anna. Wonderful moments and sharing; and strange for the 3 of us to be in England together; since most of our time together has been in East Africa; so a very different culture here!
Some luxuries though such as vegetarian restaurants....and spending whole days in Anna's garden....relaxing way to transition heading back to the US for some lovely family visits and more medical scans, tests and bloodwork. Fly out of London tomorrow, spend the day in Paris, and then back to Michigan.

Last Patongo glimpse

2008-08-18T12:02:00.010+03:00

Going through my last pictures of Patongo area, I found these which show a bit more of the area and work that I was part of with Medair up until July.
My favourite tree outside of Patongo IDP camp where I would ride my bicycle to in the evenings to relax and watch sunsets. I would be alone for a few minutes, then a dozen children would run through the grass to the tree to sit and stand watching me, as I watch them with the sun streaked clouds in the background.
Staying in another IDP camp, called Adilang, these 2 siblings are very characteristic for this area of Uganda; young ones watching even younger ones.
Riding back from the giant tree one evening, I came across many people carrying their food distributions from the WFP, World Food Programme. This elderly woman was balancing hers on her head and is reflected in the mirror of my bicycle. She was starting the walk back to her hut through the grasses and we stopped to greet each other. This is on the Community Action Planning workshops that the team I was managing would facilitate. 3 days of meeting with community leaders and elected women, men and elders, listening to what their environmental health issues are in their camp. From the issues, they would prioritize, come up with solutions and create action plans to take steps to solving them. This method was impressive because when the community took ownership and did the work themselves; changes actually happened.

These school girls were lined up at the borehole gathering clean water in their jerrycans. I loved the morning air mist behind them in this photo. The three Patongo children, Rose, Dominic and Nancy were stars in the film WAR DANCE, an amazing documentary about the situation, struggles and resilience that Northern Uganda has faced. ShineGlobal, the producers of the film came to Patongo to show the documentary to the community; both a therapeutic and wound-opening night, and glimpse at how far they have come in returning to a peaceful life. Gathering with thousands of Acholi under the stars to watch the film in an open field was incredibly meaningful and touching being my last week in Patongo. For those that haven't seen the moving film, you can watch the trailer at http://www.shineglobal.org/

It may be hard to tell from the photo, but this is a 1 inch webbing rope that is pulled tight between two trees, called 'slacklining' in America. I've recently learned how to set up this very portable balancing act that requires a lot of patience, balance and focus to steadily walk on with bare feet. Great for meditation and personal challenges that mimic life situations in many ways. It simply requires effort; and language barriers are no issue in this straight-forward yet thrilling task. What a great thing to bring to an IDP camp, right? turned out to be perfect, with many trees, many children with not much to do; they flocked to the trees and after a few examples of what to do, were trying while holding my hand nervously, jumping up cautiously with their dirt covered feet. With confidence building each time, young girls were even trying and soon they were supporting each other with their own hands, balance and encouragement and I stepped back to watch.
Lake Oswego High School Spanish club spent last spring collecting soccer balls for kids in the IDP camp and there were joyous shouts when they received them !This was at my Medair goodbye party at our house in Patongo; filled with Medair friends and all the children I would visit with each day after work. They came dressed to the nines, joyfully ate chicken, rice and beans and danced til their bed time.

Sharing Uganda

2008-08-01T09:30:00.014+03:00

Mom and Dad venture to Uganda ! A lovely visit filled with so many laughs, many explorations of the country, and a taste of why Africa is part of my heart....a few pictures to share their visit...Mom and Dad enjoying the view

Our tukul under the full moon

Out to lunch with dear friend Anna who I worked with in Patongo

Visiting Nagawa, a crowd of kids swarmed around us, Mom and Dad are there in the back !

Murchison Falls National Park, Game Drive, a friendly giraffe crossing the road

Kafero and I enjoying savannah hugs

lion blending in among the grasses !

a powerful shower at Sipi Falls, Mt. Elgon, bordering Kenya

Mom and Dad at their scenic grass hut at Lacam Lodge, Sipi Falls

Kafero's little cousins peeping through a window

At Kafero's ancestral village; dancing with the community in their traditional tribal Bigusu dance

Dancing, stomping, moving, drums, rhythms; a beautiful welcome to their culture and mountain village

Mom and Kafero's Auntie exchanging a hug

Bright Days with a girl named Nagawa

2008-07-27T15:27:00.017+03:00

Nagawa; a smiley, energetic girl of the slums, where everybody knows her name. Carried by her dirt covered bare feet, she holds her 8-year old head high, smiling at everyone.

Reading the newspaper one January day, I came across the following article, which sparked a friendship with this amazing girl:

UGANDA DAILY MONITOR NEWSPAPER + January 22, 2008
by STELLA NAKAKANDE & HARRIET. S. OKOT
She suffers mental and physical retardation; A victim of genetic disorder

All she is interested in and understands is playing. she definitely stands out from other children with her brown hair and potbelly probably due to malnutrition. At eight Oliver Nagawa has never been to school because she suffers from Down's syndrome. The condition is a genetic defect of the chromosome in the 21st position which largely causes both physical and mental retardation, Dr. Haruna Seruli, a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital says.

Children are borne with this condition. Humans are meant to possess 23 pairs of chromosomes making it 46 chromosomes. But for Down's syndrome, the child has an extra chromosome in the 21st position making a total number of 47.This defect on the chromosome leads to both physical and mental retardation. This may not be noticed at birth - which was not the case with Nagawa who was born outside a hospital setting to Ms Melida, 40. Ms Melida, a resident of Namuwongo, a Kampala suburb sells fried cassava for a living.Nagawa was normal and heavy at birth. This according to the mother was not peculiar because her baby was progressing well.However, at about one and half years Ms Melida noticed something was amiss with her third and last borne daughter."Instead of talking like other children do at this age, all she did was make lots of noise," the mother says. At three years Nagawa began to walk, a whole lot later than other children, a manifestation of low growth. She only dragged herself around and she could not support her weight. There were more questionable things that happened after this."Her legs, from the knees to the feet would swell and her skin would peel off like a snake," Ms Melida says. This went on for two years. Unfortunately Nagawa did not receive any medical attention due to lack of finances. It is at this age that the symptoms of the disease began to manifest. Nagawa developed an abnormally big tongue, a small mouth, small sunken eyes, a flat forehead, and small ears. She also has short legs and short fingers. She is mentally retarded, which according to Dr. Seruli eventually affects the development of different senses like speech, sight and hearing. Children with the syndrome often suffer from digestive disorders such as constipation. Nagawa's speech has since failed although her hearing is clear. In her community she is referred to as a 'kasiru', to mean dumb.Nagawa cannot even wash her hands let alone bathe herself. Feeding herself is also another impossible task, all she does is roll her fingers through the food and put it in other parts other than the mouth.It is, however, not an every day thing that a dumb person suffers from Down's syndrome. It is only so if the other symptoms manifest. Dr. Seruli also adds that children with Down's syndrome have a weak muscle tone such that movement like in Nagawa's case is difficult. They may not even be able to hold their hands up. These children often have holes in their hearts and are more likely to suffer from leukaemia (cancer of the white blood cells).Global statistics reveal that one in every 700 babies born may have the condition manifesting, making it a rather rare condition. The doctor, however, notes that the chances of this increases with maternal age. "This leaves a 1% chance of mothers above the ages of 35 or 40 having a child with the syndrome," he says, "and when this child grows up, there is a 50% chance of having children with the same defect."On the upper side, life expectancy of these people is 60 if no complications are acquired. The condition, however, can be detected during pregnancy using an ultrasound - and a therauptic abortion can be carried out. The disease cannot be healed given that the defect is genetic.To date, Ms Melida has not heard of Down's syndrome despite the fact that Nagawa shows all the visible signs and symptoms.For Melida, however the medical jargon may not mean much, she is only desperate for assistance as she has spent her eight years watching the child she loves spend each day of her life indifferent; with neither a care nor an understanding or even a chance at education. Nagawa's mother can be reached on 0782289797.

After reading this article and feeling many emotions, I called the mother and told her I would be in Kamapla at the end of January and would come by to meet them. I was so eager to share pictures and stories of my sister Amanda, who also has Down Syndrome, and tell her how AMAZING these individuals actually are, and they aren't victims at all !!! In fact, this population brings more smiles and laughter to a situation than I have ever witnessed before; and that is a beautiful gift that I hope everyone can witness.

The day in January that Kafero and I set out to find Nagawa and her mother, the mobile listed was not working, so we wandered for hours, with the article, looking for any clues on where we could find her. Being sent all over the market and slum, people looking at the picture in the paper of Nagawa, and being given directions like, 'go talk to the old man eating goat on that bench', who would direct us further - it was an investigation we nearly gave up on; wondering if she really existed? Eventually we ended up at a home of a woman with a child with cerebral palsy - well, closer, but it still wasn't Nagawa. Working our way through the open sewers, dirt alleys and curvy paths, we rounded a corner, and there she was! Sitting on her doorstep, smiling! She ran and gave us hugs, even though she had never met us before. We sat down and spoke with the mother (well, Kafero speaks her language, so he translated my questions and her answers). She appreciated the pics of Amanda and hearing that DS is something others have, and even across the world !

Since that day, Nagawa has been our special friend, and stopping by to visit her is a pure joy! She's started at the local school and although she understands everything in her language of Luganda, she doesn't speak, but makes noises. It's easy to tell she comprehends what is going on, and she is VERY clever ! Just like my sister too, and all people with Down Syndrome I've met! Also, she loves singing and dancing, playing and running off without telling her mom where she's going! Since starting at the local school, these days we can find her trying to write the alphabet in her notebook, and even saying the vowels 'a, e , i , o , u' .

A recent trip to the Uganda Zoo and Lake Victoria; full of splashes in the water, and monkey chases and rhino hunts !

She's such a gem !

Changing moons...

2008-07-02T15:47:00.017+03:00

It's been awhile, a long absence from sharing here; a flashback through several months;

February; taking some of holiday time in Tanzanzia, Kafero and I hiked Mt. Meru, overlooking

Mt. Kiliminjaro with impeccable timing, in amazement hiking during the night to reach the summit by sunrise, we were lit by the full moon, and guided by the southern cross above the summit. Winds howled, rocky ledges, alpine temperatures, the full moon was whisked away by the lunar eclipse, and as we reached nearly 16,000 foot summit, the sun rose over Mt. Kiliminjaro as if it was rejoicing in the triumph of making the journey.
March; Lake Bunynoni near the border of DRCongo and Rwanda on our R/R (rest/relaxation) week from the field, bordering. Relaxing tents with views overlooking the water and mountains, boat rides, wonderful fruit salads, coffee and chats. A decadent week of breathing and reflecting.
March 14th, departed for the US to return for my second thyroid cancer surgery, a much anticipated return, which was expected to only be several weeks at home proved to reveal more medical attention that any of us anticipated. Time with family and friends was just lovely and I’ve learned much more about asking for support when feeling the need for it. April; The medical world feels overwhelming and intimidating when every day you are faced with more information, studies, recommendations, treatment plans, percentages of this and that, sign this, take this pill, surgery here, body scan for this, lymph node uptake, other cancer risks. It felt like a full time job, that I didn’t apply for, nor wanted. However, I must show up for this job every day, and for the 2 months of medical mayhem, I learned how to make the most out of it. After the tears of frustration and fear are dried up, what do you do next? Maybe yoga in the backyard with Jason? Paint portraits with Amanda? Write poems? Draw? Call friends? Pray? Make a cancer documentary ? Try experiments with your radioactive treatment beams ? Laugh about it ? Giggle with baby Eli ? Ask my dad how he coped with his cancer ? Watch 1950 films with mom? Cook African soup with Jill ? call Kafero to feel how life and love is nurturing? Support from Alissa with social stories? Listen to Annas encouragement about prayer ? Open up a letter from Katy? A book of poems from Lovella ? Analyze life with Garee and realize through the power of question, what my future path may hold through clarity and learning with art? Connect with others that have cancer? Read about nutrition and make changes to what I’m putting in my body ? Also, through the contemplation of life and choices of how we spend our time, refined a bit of my focus perhaps. Connecting with people and sharing moments has always been dear to my heart, but had a new sense of what that meant. I still feel blessed, and somewhat guilty about having the choices, to have the choices in this medical care; because I realize some of us are of the few percentage in the world who have access to medical care, insurance, and options for treatment. When finishing my treatments, scans, bloodtests and maximizing what could be done in those moments, I organized a Creative Healing Celebration at the Joy Center in Ishpeming, which was a touching evening of family and friends sharing stories of hope and healing. It was such a positive ending to this part of the cancer journey at home; and realizing that the support around us is so meaningful and necessary at times like this. We gather for many reasons in life; graduation, birthdays, births, weddings, deaths, baby showers....what about healing? It was a lovely time; and a sense of closure.

A short time after that ceremony in May, came shock to our family. My maternal Grandpa Withers, passed away on the morning of 15 May, and my paternal Grandpa Sheridan passed away 24 hours later, on my dad's birthday. So, as I was thankful I was not back in Africa when this happened, with mourning also comes family connecting; and with both funerals the following week came both tears of sadness, and joy of having a deeper understanding of their lives, not just as Grandpas, but in the eyes of childhood friends, husbands, fathers, and loved ones. As they are greatly missed; they touched so many lives here; and that will live on.
June; Being back in Patongo IDP camp now for about 4 weeks has been a joyous time of reconnecting with my work team here, community people and friends. It also means so much to be able to come back to Uganda in the healing process, because it represents 1) my life to share with others is continuing and 2) I am healthy to come back to the calling and purpose I feel ; refining that calling and what I'm putting energy into is changing though. I have felt this is the right time to move into psycho-social work with children in Northern Uganda; so I will be leaving Medair July, and connecting with some organizations around that I can contribute with the children of this area. I feel so enthused about this, and am looking forward to the transition and keeping my heart in Uganda.

Former Abductees Group

2008-02-06T07:37:00.000+03:00

A group of former abducted youth, and children who were born into captivity, are now back in their communities and performed traditional Acholi dances in Patongo with a beat of resilience.

Ethiopia revealed...

2008-01-03T00:11:00.000+03:00

Ethiopia is revealed through its....tantalizing coffee, crisp alpine air, shepherds always with a stick, winding roads, ancient villages, churches carved from stone, markets that awaken the senses, a calendar that makes it the year 2000, dancing that shakes the shoulders, parched blond grasses, avacodo and mango juices, friendly eyes and smiles of the people...

a few more views of Patongo

2007-12-21T12:01:00.000+03:00

Morning tea in Patongo

local school girls taking a rest

befriending our goat before the slaughter
(I'm still vegetarian)

Michael Franti and Spearhead : Hello Bonjour

2007-12-09T13:03:00.001+03:00

Music that speaks

Emotion

2007-12-09T12:45:00.000+03:00

Take some time to look at the emotion on the faces of some youth.

What are you feeling today?

Waking up in your dream; facing reality

2007-11-29T18:12:00.001+03:00

What happens when you wake up in your dream? I realized this on Monday, as I was spitting out my toothpaste after brushing my teeth and watching it fall on the ground, splattering across the chicken feathers on the dirt. I had just crawled out of my mosquito net dome, and was eager to see the sky, knowing it would be full of sun by this point. I was surrounded by huts, and children and mothers were lining up at the water point to fill their jerry cans. Here I was in the middle of this IDP camp, with the Acholi people; assisting with a program that I really believe in. A place I had yearned to be; and yearned to be contributing to something meaningful to assist this situation; and there I was; I had arrived; I was at the place I had been dreaming about.

We drove for a while down a dirt path and arrived at the camp where our meeting was going to be held for the next 3 days. As people were mingling and trickling into the camp, I began talking with a man named Bosco: ‘Yes, we left early this morning to come here today.’ Curious as to what his journey was like, I asked a few more questions, such as: How did he get here?

Bosco replied ‘We walked a long ways, then we came to the river, we then tie our clothes on our head, and swim across, then walk some more distance to arrive here.’
‘Aren’t there creatures in the water you are fearful of' I asked.
‘Small crocodiles and snakes, yes Madam’, speaking confidently.
"Why did you decide to come today?"
‘We have no clean water in our camp, no latrines, and we need assistance with hygiene, so maybe we will see if Medair can help us’ Bosco replied.

Thinking about what the people go through to get to what must seem like only a glimmer of hope for some locations that are lacking basic facilities, I decided to walk around this camp. It was my first visit to this particular camp. I set out and begin curving through the maze of huts and am immediately crowded by any child in sight, now walking with about 30 behind; I sit down on a log to say a proper hello to them. Giggles, handshakes, and some photos. Later I continued walking and met an older gentlemen who was insistent I meet his wife and see his home. He spoke some English, so we communicated a bit as we walked to his home, passing families along the way. Seeing the clusters of families made me miss my own. We arrived at his hut, and there was his wife, with a shaved head, beautiful beads, a glowing smile and holding her straw broom for sweeping the dirt. Eager to have her picture taken, she motioned me to wait a moment while she changed into her nice dress; she reappeared in a brilliant yellow one; click, snap, digitally recorded. More women came over and were simultaneously pulling on my hair, not believing it was my real hair and not extensions. Politely asked if I would give them my hair, I politely refused and we all laughed. Walking back past many huts, I was about to meet with my team again, not realizing my perception of what was happening inside the huts would soon change.

I approached one of my team members who was having a conversation with a man from this camp; it seemed his brother was very sick and needed to get to a hospital. This happens quite a bit with people approaching us for assistance; some valid, some not, but we need to find out. Since our vehicle is not an ambulance, and we don’t have medical staff with us; I wasn’t sure what we could do, or even what was going on. The village man showed me his notebook which had a referral from a doctor written the week before; they just didn’t have the means to get to the hospital. I asked if I could see his brother; to evaluate how sick he was and to see if it was a problem that we could assist with in some way. I followed him to his hut on the same snake-like path I had just been on; wondering if I had just walked past their hut a few minutes ago; and realizing that I had had no idea that there was an extremely sick man just on the other side of a mud wall.

As we crawled through the doorway, there was just enough light in the round hut to see that there were about 9 other people inside and 4 children. On the right side was the 30 year old brother, curled up on his side, gasping for air. The second I saw him I knew that it was serious. He was extremely frail, and unable to move, eat, speak or drink. In fact, I had never seen someone this ill; except perhaps in documentary photos of the Ethiopia famine. As I was sitting on the floor with the family, talking with the help of a translator, the hut grew quiet and we prayed with the family, as it was clear they were in distress over the state of their son. I put my hand on their son, he felt very hot and I felt tears building up, but tried to hold them back for reasons I’m unsure of. After making some calls to the local authorities, and with no local resources pulling through; we realized that our vehicle was the only way to get this man closer to a hospital. Walking back to the meeting place of the community; down that path for the second time, I wondered how many other huts were experiencing the same grief inside? Was this the only one, or were they all filled with similar situations? My previous walk seemed to only reveal what was right in front of me and my lens. Finishing up our meeting in the community, we drove to the hut and picked up the family in the back of our Landcruiser and drove them to the next large camp that was set alongside a major road. It was a bumpy and quiet ride.

We offered to pay their way to the hospital; as we couldn’t make it there and back in the day; and the family was planning to leave in the morning. Today I called to check on their status; and apparently the family had thought he had died that evening, so borrowing a wheelbarrow they all made their way back to their home to have the burial the next day. Upon arrival at the camp, however, they discovered that their son had begun breathing again. But they realize he is very close to death, and would like him to pass with them in their home now.

So, the dream of being here is real. Real with having the life to be here, and facing the death and sorrow that’s a reality as well.

A different look at the same Country

2007-11-25T11:15:00.000+03:00

So there we were; on the back of the motorcycle 'boda boda', a mountain rainforest breeze flowing through the air, coasting down the hills that divide the SW of Uganda and the DR Congo. Crater lakes were on both sides of us, reaching 400 m in depth, surrounded by banana trees and hills that appeared to have a patchwork quilt thrown over them. Spending some days in another part of the country gave me more of an understanding of the devastation that the war has inflicted on the people in the north. The boda boda led us on a winding dirt road up to the top of a sharp hill next to a crater lake. There we found an orphanage: it was a community project, with funds from our payment for a nightly hut rental benefiting the 150 orphans that the project was supporting.

When I woke up in the cool misty morning, crawling out of my mosquito net, opening up the hut door and sipping on my coffee while observing these children, I wondered what looked so different to my eyes. As they ran around the yard, laughing, tossing balls, playing hopscotch and imaginary games, I realized that these children are well-fed, nourished, clothed, and have the behaviours of normal developing children. The children that it has become normal for me to see in the IDP camps are mostly naked, or have the same torn clothing on every day, have bloated bellies that are a result of malnourishment, are usually covered in dirt, with runny noses and flies, and don't have the opportunity to develop as those that live in a healthy environment; and yes, they have smiles, as you've seen; but they are in a state of life they didn't have a choice of growing up in. So as I sat there I thought, well, this does seem like an obvious point that one would make, even before seeing these places, but there is something different about experiencing it with your own eyes and ears. It seems to drive me even more to work with these people for this cause.

Smiles

2007-11-11T11:50:00.000+03:00

Children always brightening a walk with their smiles.
It's been 4 weeks in Patongo IDP camp; and I feel I'm finally getting a bigger grasp of the programs being implemented here through Medair; the needs and the response to them. It feels like home now; walking through the camp every day, seeing the same familiar faces, the beautiful mother sitting with her daughter under her thatched roof, the men sanding wood in the shade of a mango tree, the excited children that give 'high 5's' on the walk home now, the same three cows tied near the burning rubbish pit, the pregnant pig that's always snorting in the mud, the mother with baby Rosie who always welcomes me to cuddle the baby on my way home from work. I'm enjoying being here with the Acholi people, and with the team we are working and living with.

Visiting the smaller settlements of displaced people outside of Patongo, we are meeting with communities to listen to their assessment of the public health issues they are facing. Most of the time they prioritize the issues as not having a place to go the bathroom--resulting in faeces out in the open--increasing the spread of diarrhoeal diseases, lack of bathing shelters, no hand washing facilities in the community, no access to clean drinking water, schools that 1,500 students and have no bathrooms or handwashing facilities. We are helping support action plans to address these in about 40 different camps in the area through the Water Sanitation portion of our program. I'm managing part of that sector, with a team of 5 national Ugandan staff. There is also a psycho-social program to support the vulnerable children who are orphans, returned LRA rebels, people with disabilities, and cases of abuse. As you may have seen in the news, there have been recent talks between the LRA rebel leaders and the Ugandan President; which has created some anticipation for the Acholi who are displaced and living in cramped, unnatural ways in the camps. The result of the peace talks may encourage or discourage people to move back 'home'. Our Medair team has a 1 week break currently and are resting and relaxing currently; and I'll have the chance to see different areas of the country. Already the difference of the 'war' region and the rest of the country is starkly obvious.

How to invite people to a meeting....

2007-10-27T18:12:00.000+03:00

The sorghum wheat and sunflowers are taller than our vehicle on either side, we’re bouncing up and down, riding over crater like potholes, and Alfred, one of my African team members, tells me “Yes, this is how you keep your body strong, and stay fit, you have to hang on very tight.”

I can already tell my left arm has been doing the work of steadying my body over the endless jerking of the vehicle. The breeze flowing through the windows feels like a blessing; and I question why they’re being rolled up. “You see, here in Uganda we have limited eye care, so we must take all precautions; close the windows.” As he’s saying this, I got jabbed in the cheek by loose particles flying in the window as the 12 foot tall crops are inviting themselves into our open windows; I assist in rolling them up. We’re on our way to 3 IDP camps (Internally Displaced People), where we’re to meet with the camp commanders and the local camp leaders to set up a meeting the next week with them and their community about identifying what the camp needs are; essentials like water, a place to go to the bathroom.

Arriving at the camp, there’s about 50 round mud huts, all roofed with dried straw, swept dirt ground, there are women walking with water and firewood balanced on their heads, children walking with younger siblings tied to their backs, children running free, chickens, goats, and a few wandering cows. These are all good signs for this community - despite the lack of basic living essentials and poverty, they’ve been able to establish a safe area outside of the huge mother camp of Patongo. Peace has been stable enough, and if it continues, the next step will be to continue home to their villages. It's been 20 years since they were there.

The camp commander sees we’ve arrived, approaches us, and tells us to follow him to his office as he hops on the back of a bicycle, leaving us a trail of dust to follow. Following it, we stop, and although I see no ‘office’ in sight, I am told we’ve arrived. I look up, and see it’s a giant mango tree. So we gather around, underneath the shading branches, appreciating that this office has a natural air conditioner. The 2nd camp is much the same, and this time I find myself looking for the mango tree, anticipating that it must be someone's “office”. In this meeting I peered around the edge of the vehicle and saw a collection of people had gathered, curious as to what these conversations were about. It appeared a bit like the game of telephone, where one person hears the message, and then whispers it to the next, and the next. As we depart for the 3rd camp, and travel down the previous road, I sense this one might be a bit further to get to from the directions Alfred is giving our driver Tito: “Yes, look for the small stick on the right, that is where we turn”. Sure enough, there it was. I barely saw it, but we turned and now were driving down what seemed like a walking path that only 3 people had ever been on, through the 12 foot high field that smashed against the vehicle. After driving for quite some time, there is a discussion about where to go next, and then a woman and man are spotted ahead. Appearing about 70 years old, I am trying to imagine where they are walking to, considering the distance we’ve been driving. She tells us in her local language of Luo, that they’re going to collect food from the World Food Program distribution air drop, and that up ahead we may want to use the 4wd because of all the deep mud holes. Sure enough, the mud holes seemed to swallow more of the car than I cared to see, and this was not yet the rainy season.

Arriving at this camp, we see it's actually only 1 hut at the moment. Apparently more will be coming at some time, but for now the man tells us that he is the camp commander. (By default, I suppose). This meeting is held back among the banana trees, where I see the women are sorting out some spinach-like plants and my eyes are drawn to the handmade sling-shot on the ground. I ask if I can try it, and successfully load a piece of the hardened mud and aim for a close range trunk of the banana tree….hitting it…and smashing the mud ball. While chatting about the business, and discussing the community meeting that will be held next week, we’re all gathered around the spinach plants, sorting out the leaves and forming a gigantic mound of greens preparing to be cooked. As we’re getting ready to leave, I ask the man about the use of his slingshot, wondering if it's for fun or for hunting. He replies “For hunting small birds in the sky”, and proceeds to pull out small, de-feathered bird from his trouser pocket, and says “Here, a gift for you.” After he explained to me how to eat the back legs of the bird, which was not bigger than a robin, I decided to leave it with him and his family as an addition to their spinach dinner.

Returning to our vehicle, without the bird, but with more knowledge of life here, I complimented Tito on the music, and he replied 'Yes, Kathleen, I don't know this man singing, but I always feel like dancing when hearing him !'

As we drove back through the fields of sunflowers, I wondered if I should share the name of this artist, and finally did tell him that it was in fact 'Bob Dylan'.

"Life is not always easy, you know"

2007-10-20T13:56:00.000+03:00

Here are some photos from our field visit to IDP camps around Patongo.

Coming into one of the IDP camps that we have a program in.
Meeting with the Camp Commander under the mango tree, discussing the upcoming community meeting.

"Life is not always easy, you know"

Patongo IDP camp; a few reflections

2007-10-18T10:09:00.000+03:00

Kampala to Patongo Quentin from the UK, and I flying up to the north together on this tiny plane ! We'll be working closely together, as our programs with Medair are funded together with USAID/OFDA.

Patongo,

morning walks lit by the rising sun over the mountains

women gather by the water points with a line of yellow jerry cans

smiles, waves, greetings,

a family greeting on my morning walk

men on bicycles, dusty trails follow them

children wandering about, torn clothes, smiles, yelling 'mono, mono!' *white person!*

life here is simple, we are only visitors here, to the people living here, this has been their 'home' for 20 years now

some have moved half-way home , to satellite camps, in hopes of a peace deal being signed,

but 30,000 remain here, in Patongo, waiting for an actual deal to hopefully signify a situation that would allow them and their families to return to what was home.

some of their faces reveal hope, others trauma,

2 young kids at a local IDP camp, giggling as they ran around the corner of the building and back several times; seeing their smiles is encouraging !

children who are orphans, and raising their brothers and sisters have perhaps the hardest day to day survival

school is important, tattered uniforms, all barefoot, in the mornings as I ask where they are going, they are proud to say 'I'm fine and today I'm going to school'.

I feel this is the place I'm supposed to be; happy and content ! Alot of work in front of me, learning from the team that's been here will be most exciting. Yesterday, visiting another camp with my hygiene team, made up of 5 Ugandans; I saw their talents shine with these communities; interactions, mobilisation, planning, questions, faciliatation, supplies. As there are 4 of us ex/pats here living with our team of 18 or so Ugandans in 1 compound; it's very lively in the evenings.

Alfred and George, 2 of our team, finishing up facilitating a community meeting in a IDP camp outside of Patongo

I slept under the stars last night, with a mosquito net over me, it was lovely, peaceful and a good space to reflect.

East Africa; Kenya, Uganda, preparing for the move north

2007-10-15T02:07:00.001+03:00

So, what has been happening these 3 weeks in east Africa....before moving to the north of Uganda on October 15th ?

*September 25th; arrive from USA, healing from surgery, spend a few days in Kampala, Uganda

* September 28th; Flew to Nairobi, Kenya for a Water Sanitation training with Medair. A collaboration of their program country experts from Darfur, south Sudan, Uganda, Madagascar, Indonesia, Afghanastan, Congo. About 30 people in total, a mix between national staff from those countries, and expat staff; examining current methods for drilling, water sanitation, humanitarian guidelines, Sphere standards, beneficiary accountability, & hygiene promotion. All very interesting, well run, and dynamic with the cross cultural influences.

*Back in Kampala on October 7th, a week long briefing at the Medair base; more information on the programs here, security, structure of the logistics and admin, and driving test (which meant for me, a stick shift on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road; try a round-a-bout with that !? in Kampala traffic?! ) Independence day was last week and since the office was closed here, I found an orphange to go to and had a splendid time with lovely children. After a busy week of briefings, I decided to escape for a few days of quiet time before the trek to the north. Venturing east of the Kampala to the small town of Jinja, it's at the base of the Nile River where it meets Lake Victoria. I happen upon Amani Baby Orphanage on Saturday, intending to stay for a few hours, but couldn't peel myself away until the sun was setting and I needed to get a boda-boda back the place I was staying. The orphange takes lovely care of the children and the women that work there are just remarkable. There were so many children, some abandoned, parents died, others found in the bottom of pit-latrines and some hiv +. One particular little teeny one, named Matthew, was about 3 months old, but still looked like a premature baby because of his hiv+ status. His eyes are full of life though, and he loves to smile; I wonder how long he'll live and if he'll live long enough to understand that he's sick?

Brian, an Acholi, at the Jordan House Orphanage in Kampala

Africa...cancer?....Africa

2007-10-15T00:21:00.004+03:00

So, now its the final leg of flights; tomorrow, Oct. 15th, I'll be departing Kampala, Uganda and arriving in my new home, the Patongo displacement camp in Northern Uganda. Home to approximately 30,000 Acholi people displaced by the 20 year war.

I've been moving around now for about 4 months, training in Geneva, tasting Morocco, enjoying and packing up life in Portland, Oregon, heading back to my home territory in the UP of Michigan, mom, dad, Amanda, Leah, baby Eli's birthday (1!), then in September, departing for a HQ briefing with Medair in Geneva, and directly from there onto Uganda, East Africa. Well, at least that last part was my plan, but clearly it wasn't the plan.

While in Geneva, on September 6th, 12 hours from catching my much anticipated flight to mark the beginning of my new home in Africa, I received an email from my dad. It contained words I didn't want to read, and once I did, I wish I hadn't, or maybe I just had hoped they wouldn't be true. They had just got a report back from the doctor and I did indeed have cancer in my neck, attached to my thyroid. I had to fly home immediately. So, holding a boarding pass for Uganda in one hand, and reading this news on the screen, my mind went blank, I couldn't speak, but I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks. Recycling my ticket to Africa, 10 minutes later I bought a flight home, and literally it was my ticket to life. Why? Because I realize that I was headed to this displacement camp, where if I was a 26 year women born and living there, I would have no access to a chiropractor, thank you Dr. Kalbeida in Marquette, who would have noticed a lump, nor would I have health care at my fingertips, surgeons who rearrange their schedules, endocrinologists who squeeze me in when they don't have openings, labs who rush order, radiologists and nurses who do a procedure on a weekend when they usually never do, and insurance to cover all of it. If I was born in that camp, it would be nearly impossible to have access to all of that, and I would probably just have been a person who died young. So why are we privileged to receive all that? And will they someday have the same care available? I have more questions than answers about this spinning idea.

With many conversations with the surgeon, doctors, research articles, my parents and I tried to make the best decision we could about the surgery to remove the cancer, thyroid, lymph nodes. Because most medicine is based on statistics, there wasn't a clear way to go with this situation, whether to remove 1/2 the thyroid or the whole thing. Both having pros and cons, it felt like I was asking for directions to a place that didn't exist. Every situation had 2 sides, and not a clear way to fall. My head felt like it was at the limit of processing what to do. The surgery day came and went, the 5 hour procedure going well, despite my nerves higher than I've ever felt them. Dr. Heichel is a phenomenal surgeon and took great care opening up such a delicate part on the body; vocal chords, jugular, and other major parts running through this area. Removing the cancerous tumor, 1.4 cm, a lymph node and the left side of my thyroid; I then was waiting for the results of the thorough biopsy of the 3 items they removed.

Perhaps I had thought of that question before, what would I do if I was informed that my life would be shortened? How would I take that news? Would I live differently now? Am I doing what I feel I should be, loving the people I'm with, serving those in the world? If the cancer spread to my lymph nodes, and my life would be cut significantly, what would I do in that time? I had to be ready to hear that....and I'm not sure that I was. The good news was that it had not spread farther than the tumor, and although I will have another surgery, it wasn't necessary now, and could wait awhile. So, pondering some of the hardest thoughts I've had to face, in a short period of time, hoping I made all the right decisions...as my mom told me "if you want to live an interesting life Kathleen, first you have to have a life to live". Recovering at home was peaceful; flowers arrived at the house everyday from loved ones, walks were taken among the fall leaves, canoe rides under the moonlight, laughs sitting my the lake, painting with my sisters, hiking with Eli. And I realize that just because I wasn't told that my life is going to end shorter, doesn't mean that it won't, or yours won't. But, what it does mean is that I have a new feeling inside of me about a "day", and it's hard to put words to it.

With mom and dad in Portland, Oregon

Mama Leah, with Eli Enjoying a night out with my sister Amanda, and friend Jason

I flew to Africa 10 days after my surgery, recovered enough to fly, and healed enough physically to make the long flight. The second goodbye to everyone meant something different from the first; the love and support was reached at a new level and I was now able to continue on my life plans, where as before, it was just a given. When something is questioned or disappears, it gives new meaning to it when you can safely hold it again, and this time with gentle hands. Life.

Eli with his "superstar" pose after a hike up Sugarloaf Mountain