Jinja!

Our time with Dr. William was very informative, even though the Brucellosis testing was not ready to begin. I unfortunately missed the first call because I was back at the hostel unpacking and he needed to complete his surgery before dark. The second call was a heifer that needed a caesarian. After an exam, the heifer was layed on her side and 2 farm hands held her legs with ropes. Dr. William impressively shaved her flank with his scalpel, injected some lidocaine anesthetic, and went about cutting. I helped hold the calf’s leg, which was very slippery inside the uterus. I couldn’t get a grip, so my gloves were cast aside and he was able to make the incision. With the help of Maria and another farm hand, we pulled the calf out. Dr. William closed the first layer, then I had a go. Despite my lack of recent practice, I was able to suture the simple continuous will little difficulty. Viv had a go then Maria and I closed the skin. The calf was alive when we left, but it didn’t look too promising.

The next call was to help with a ring vaccination to control a Foot and Mouth Outbreak in the area. The affected farm had been quarantined, but the surrounding herds need to be vaccinated to control the spread of the disease. We arrived at the first ranch and were warmly welcomed by the owner, Charles. He is a fairly important person in the Uganda military, I gathered he was in charge of internal security for the region. After cold sodas, we headed to the corral area. The cattle were moved in small groups into a ‘crush’ which was an alley wide enough for them to stand diagonally. They were vaccinated in the neck before being released and the next groups run in. The cattle were Friesian Holstein crossed with the local Ankole breeds, which maximizes the milk production without sacrificing hardiness. From what I could see, the hybrid vigor was working well. The last group was pure Ankole. Their horns reached up to 1metre, diameter must have been 15cm. They can only be described as impressive. Move over Texas, the Ugandan Longhorns are definitely bigger! We did 2 other farms before heading back to Mbarara dog-tired, but satisfied.

On Friday, we took a bus to Kampala. I was sad to say goodbye to Mbarara since we won’t be going back until right before we are leaving. The ride was good and I enjoyed some excellent Mchomo on the bus (meat on a stick). The gritty texture adds to the experience, you can’t often tell if it is dirt or salt (maybe a bit of both?). In Kampala, we went to the Mzungo Mall, Garden City. I had an iced coffee and chocolate ice cream, I can’t remember having tasted something so good (except African Tea with chocolate, I guess). I was a little overwhelmed by the western-style bright lights, flashy signs and so many white people in one place. I went back to the craft village near the mall to lighten my wallet. I exhibited some self-control and left the giraffe statues there.

Back at the mall, we divided and conquered the movie theatre. I decided on Indian Jones: it was just the right amount of cheese for my taste. In the theatre, I could almost forget I was in Africa. Angela (who will be with us for a few weeks now), brought me back to reality when her doxycycline (antimalaria drug) alarm went off.
In the morning, we took a Matatu (minibus) transport of Jinja. I wanted to go for some equine therapy along the banks of the Nile, but it wasn’t meant to be as they company was fully booked. The rest of the group went whitewater rafting. I decided not to, I can do that at home and I would rather save that $100 to do something else. I walked down to the Source of the Nile: where the Nile River leaves Lake Victory and starts its journey across Africa. I joined some American tourists and took a boat out onto the river. It was so amazing to see. I caught a ride with the tour company to the rapids. A British gal, on her gap year, kindly took me to the rapids. Bujagali Rapids are really impressive! After seeing them from dry land, I was quite pleased with my decision to forgo a more up-close encounter. I spent a few hours sitting at watching the water go by. It was all very peaceful (between the school groups, of course). At the tour company base, I walked down to see the Nile upclose once again. On the way, they have showers set up so you can look out over the river while washing. Too bad I didn’t stay there! The BBQ was great and my rafter friend were very excited and tired about the whole experience. I decided to spend the night in Jinja to save on travel time, they opted to stay up at the rapids. On the truck back, I sat with a group of American law students who are volunteering in Kampala. It was so refreshing to talk to some new and different people! I slept like an angel in the hostel. I ate breakfast with my new lawyer friends (always good to have some of those on your side) then headed off to see Jinja. It is the nicest city I have been in here: reasonably clean, nice people, and tree-lined streets. I found another Kanga to replace the one that was lost/stolen (these are rectangular cloths with Swahili proverbs). I stood in the street listening to Diamond Rio’s “One More Day.” The locals were very curious. Sorry, no pictures this time, I’m in an internet café listening to the Backstreet Boys without my camera cable.

The plan is to go to Kampala tonight, stay at the Red Chilli then catch the bus across the country to Bwindi National Park. We are volunteering with Conservation Through Public Health there. This is the website: http://www.ctph.org/
I might have very limited internet access there, so please don’t fret if it takes a while for a new post.