This (as usual) was a full weekend. Friday afternoon, we left early to go to the Friday Craft Market, a craft market located on the railroad tracks that is generally regarded to have the best prices around and takes place only on, you guessed it, Fridays. My teammates who are leaving in 2.5 weeks did a lot of their end-of-term gift shopping.
Saturday, all the interns were invited for breakfast at "grandma's" (the mother-in-law of a former staff member, who still lives here and volunteers for EMI). Then I headed out with Rachel & Kait to visit and volunteer at a "Babies' Home" (an orphanage for babies and toddlers). It was really neat to sit down and have a bunch of kids come over and sit on your lap and know that you could at least provide the touch, smile, and love that they needed. I'd definitely like to go back again.
Sunday, we had a project volunteer in town for the day, so we took her to church and then went craft shopping all around town. I've had fun shopping "slowly by slowly" with visitors, since I know I have a long time left to buy things here before I leave. I finally bought some fabric ($9 for 6 yards) to get a skirt made by a seamstress down the street ($3).
Monday night, we spur-of-the-moment all went out for Indian food. It was so good! I love Indian food, and it's the first time I've had a chance to get it here. Yummm.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Money Questions
At the end of our project trip, we spent Saturday and Sunday at a nice resort/bungalow place on the Nile in Jinja, where we had our "closing time," which included reflecting on what we had experienced and learned, sharing positive traits we had noticed in our teammates, and praying for each other. The place we stayed was directly overlooking some white water rapids on the Nile (which we had rafted last month), and it was absolutely beautiful. The three girls on our trip shared a nice "bungalow" with impressive natural rock accents, a separate bedroom, a secluded porch overlooking the water, and probably the best shower I've had in Africa. The food was also amazing. It was really nice to have a peaceful place to rest and process the week, and also to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. But in order to get there, we drove through about 10 km of backroads past "village" houses of mud and sticks and kids playing in the yard.
The contrast was quite striking and brought up questions for us of the "justice" of that kind of retreat place and nice Western places in general. I think it's a difficult issue because I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for there to be nice places for foreigners to stay when they visit Uganda, or for missionaries and aid workers to go for a much-needed weekend of rest. I have found that "treating" myself to a nice cafe lunch or pizza delivery is the type of thing that can keep me going and make this sustainable for me. But I do think that insisting on being surrounded by an excess of wealth in such a poor country can be selfish and narrow-minded. Also, I think it's sad when people visit and surround themselves in Western luxury and never actually get out and get to know "the real Uganda." I suppose you can argue that tourist places help boost the economy, etc. I don't know much about the economics, but when I think about how that kind of system makes Ugandans view Westerners, it makes me sad. It's true that we generally have much more wealth, but I think it makes a difference when people come to a place and get to know people and want to learn about the culture and history and foods instead of going straight to a Western luxury resort bubble and not ever getting to know more about the actual place they're visiting.
The place we stayed in Jinja brought these questions and the reality of the wealth disparity into our faces when we drove past dozens of very poor families and suddenly ended up at a resort with manicured lawns. It's interesting to think about what was actually "wrong" with that picture. Was it just that the contrast had been blatantly displayed and made me feel guilty? Is it unjust that the place exists or just that it exists so close to poverty? Would it better if they just circumvented the village houses and blazed an asphalt trail around the farmland, directly to the resort? It doesn't seem like that is really the answer.... But maybe there is an injustice or insensitivity about having cars full of (mostly) White people driving down their road, bypassing the locals and heading directly to a resort that they will never be able to enjoy. Should that type of resort not exist at all or do I just not like it when I'm reminded of how privileged I am to be able to benefit from it when so many people here can't? I don't have answers to these questions, and I don't necessarily think that everyone needs to come to the same conclusions. But I do think it's important that these types of questions are asked, especially by foreigners who live/come here. I think it's important that I ask these questions of myself.
The contrast was quite striking and brought up questions for us of the "justice" of that kind of retreat place and nice Western places in general. I think it's a difficult issue because I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for there to be nice places for foreigners to stay when they visit Uganda, or for missionaries and aid workers to go for a much-needed weekend of rest. I have found that "treating" myself to a nice cafe lunch or pizza delivery is the type of thing that can keep me going and make this sustainable for me. But I do think that insisting on being surrounded by an excess of wealth in such a poor country can be selfish and narrow-minded. Also, I think it's sad when people visit and surround themselves in Western luxury and never actually get out and get to know "the real Uganda." I suppose you can argue that tourist places help boost the economy, etc. I don't know much about the economics, but when I think about how that kind of system makes Ugandans view Westerners, it makes me sad. It's true that we generally have much more wealth, but I think it makes a difference when people come to a place and get to know people and want to learn about the culture and history and foods instead of going straight to a Western luxury resort bubble and not ever getting to know more about the actual place they're visiting.
The place we stayed in Jinja brought these questions and the reality of the wealth disparity into our faces when we drove past dozens of very poor families and suddenly ended up at a resort with manicured lawns. It's interesting to think about what was actually "wrong" with that picture. Was it just that the contrast had been blatantly displayed and made me feel guilty? Is it unjust that the place exists or just that it exists so close to poverty? Would it better if they just circumvented the village houses and blazed an asphalt trail around the farmland, directly to the resort? It doesn't seem like that is really the answer.... But maybe there is an injustice or insensitivity about having cars full of (mostly) White people driving down their road, bypassing the locals and heading directly to a resort that they will never be able to enjoy. Should that type of resort not exist at all or do I just not like it when I'm reminded of how privileged I am to be able to benefit from it when so many people here can't? I don't have answers to these questions, and I don't necessarily think that everyone needs to come to the same conclusions. But I do think it's important that these types of questions are asked, especially by foreigners who live/come here. I think it's important that I ask these questions of myself.
Uganda Christian University
A week ago, I was just finishing my second June project trip, this time at Uganda Christian University (UCU), just outside Kampala. As I explained in previous posts, this project was different than most EMI project trips. (I've said that about all 3 of my project trips now, but other people have also agreed that I still haven't participated in a "typical" EMI project.) Generally, an organization needs a few new buildings and maybe a small master plan design. We come in and survey the land, design the general master plan, design a few specific "phase 1" buildings in detail, and then the civil engineers design the water and wastewater systems for the site.
The UCU project very unusual and pretty exciting in that we got to work with a Ugandan architecture firm who had surveyed the entire college campus and developed a master plan, including a general drainage solution. Our job was to evaluate and provide recommendations in reaction to their analysis and recommendations, and then also to add some additional detail in 3 specific problem spots on campus. This was also a super fast trip. We were only on campus for 4.5 days, including our final presentation to the faculty. UCU was also an unusual client in that they're not directly serving "the poor" (since they're generally serving people who can afford to pay for college (or afford not to get a job instead), although I think many students do receive scholarships). I thought it was a good reminder that high-quality education is such an important factor when considering the long-term, sustainable development that Uganda needs. This Christian university is raising up Uganda's future leaders, providing them with high-quality academics and a solid foundation of faith. If Uganda is going to develop as a strong and healthy country, it will continue to need quality leaders in every arena of society.
We spent the first half of the week figuring out and analyzing what the Ugandan firm had done. We even got to meet with them and hear their vision for the site. It was exciting to hear how UCU wants to develop a long-term relationship with this firm (so that they're not relying solely on outside, "Western" consultants). We figured out what their drainage proposal was, and then we figured out what our recommendations would be.
For anyone who cares for the technical part: they get a lot of rain here, so we decided that in addition to just creating better ditches, etc. to channel all the water downhill and off campus, we would also try to create landscape/engineering features that would soak up as much water as possible next to each building or parking lot (areas where the rain can't soak in naturally). The cool thing I learned about this drainage technique is that it's practically helpful, environmentally-friendly, AND aesthetically pleasing (plants/trees help soak up water)! Then our architecture team took these recommendations and designed better solutions for 3 key problem areas for pedestrian circulation that UCU had (currently, almost all of their walkways are dirt, which become mud when it rains).
I was a little apprehensive about doing a drainage project since I knew nothing about it, but I actually am enjoying the project. I ended up spending much of the week coloring a large map/diagram for our presentation to show how the drainage plan worked. (Coloring is always fun. I didn't appreciate it enough as a child.) And I helped dig some holes for a percolation test, through which we found out that the soil soaks in water super quickly, which is good for our drainage design. At the end of the week, we gave a presentation of our drainage proposal and improved pedestrian walkways/spaces to a few key faculty, and it seemed to go really well. Then the American who was our host, invited us, some other visitors, and many of his coworkers to a big American BBQ, complete with hamburgers (cooked outside on a grill), potato salad, and a World Cup match!
The UCU project very unusual and pretty exciting in that we got to work with a Ugandan architecture firm who had surveyed the entire college campus and developed a master plan, including a general drainage solution. Our job was to evaluate and provide recommendations in reaction to their analysis and recommendations, and then also to add some additional detail in 3 specific problem spots on campus. This was also a super fast trip. We were only on campus for 4.5 days, including our final presentation to the faculty. UCU was also an unusual client in that they're not directly serving "the poor" (since they're generally serving people who can afford to pay for college (or afford not to get a job instead), although I think many students do receive scholarships). I thought it was a good reminder that high-quality education is such an important factor when considering the long-term, sustainable development that Uganda needs. This Christian university is raising up Uganda's future leaders, providing them with high-quality academics and a solid foundation of faith. If Uganda is going to develop as a strong and healthy country, it will continue to need quality leaders in every arena of society.
We spent the first half of the week figuring out and analyzing what the Ugandan firm had done. We even got to meet with them and hear their vision for the site. It was exciting to hear how UCU wants to develop a long-term relationship with this firm (so that they're not relying solely on outside, "Western" consultants). We figured out what their drainage proposal was, and then we figured out what our recommendations would be.
For anyone who cares for the technical part: they get a lot of rain here, so we decided that in addition to just creating better ditches, etc. to channel all the water downhill and off campus, we would also try to create landscape/engineering features that would soak up as much water as possible next to each building or parking lot (areas where the rain can't soak in naturally). The cool thing I learned about this drainage technique is that it's practically helpful, environmentally-friendly, AND aesthetically pleasing (plants/trees help soak up water)! Then our architecture team took these recommendations and designed better solutions for 3 key problem areas for pedestrian circulation that UCU had (currently, almost all of their walkways are dirt, which become mud when it rains).
I was a little apprehensive about doing a drainage project since I knew nothing about it, but I actually am enjoying the project. I ended up spending much of the week coloring a large map/diagram for our presentation to show how the drainage plan worked. (Coloring is always fun. I didn't appreciate it enough as a child.) And I helped dig some holes for a percolation test, through which we found out that the soil soaks in water super quickly, which is good for our drainage design. At the end of the week, we gave a presentation of our drainage proposal and improved pedestrian walkways/spaces to a few key faculty, and it seemed to go really well. Then the American who was our host, invited us, some other visitors, and many of his coworkers to a big American BBQ, complete with hamburgers (cooked outside on a grill), potato salad, and a World Cup match!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Drainage
I have spent the week on the campus of Uganda Christian University. This (once again) is a rather unique EMI project. They have already had a Ugandan firm do a complete survey of the site and prepare a master plan that includes a general overview of drainage and pedestrian and vehicular circulation. So we're here basically to use that master plan (and double-check their calculations) and add a few more specific details about particular problem spots. Thank you for your prayers, as I have been able to engage and feel invested in this project. This afternoon, we present our evaluation and ideas to the University, and then we're off to Jinja for a weekend of relaxation!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Off Again
"And she's off!"
I had a fun and relaxing weekend, and now I'm off again on another project. Tomorrow (Monday) morning, 5 of us from the EMI East Africa office, plus 3 volunteers from the US, will start on a week-long project at Uganda Christian University in Mukono (just east of Kampala). We will be working on drainage, landscaping, and pedestrian/vehicular circulation for the large college campus.
It's been a little overwhelming going straight from one project to another, so I've mostly spent the last few days trying to recharge and process and let my mind rest before making it run at full speed in a new direction. I think I also just needed a few days to get used to being in Kampala again, going about daily life, instead of being in a fun, "summer camp-esque" environment with my awesome Kijabe project team. I was really looking forward to returning to Kijabe to get to follow up on the work I had done in February, and to get to see a few friends from my last trip. But this upcoming trip is a big unknown, and I'm a little worried about the technical work itself, since I'm not at all familiar with drainage or hydrology concepts. But I know that God will be with us during this project, so I really shouldn't worry. I'm sure I will also bond a lot with this new project team, even though it will be completely different with only 8 people instead of 24! I AM looking forward to being on a team that is based out of my office. I will get to continue to work with and debrief and process with most of the team in the office afterwards, instead of, as with the Kijabe project, being the only one from not only my office, but from the continent. I've seen all the other interns go on project trips and return back more bonded with the interns and staff on their teams, so I am looking forward to that experience. And I think it will be fun to be part of putting together a whole project report in our office. I just need to trust that God will be at work in this project just as much as in the last one.
On a different note, I can't believe that I've now been in Uganda for almost 5 months! In some ways, it's amazing to think it's been that long, but in other ways it does feel like I've been here for a long time. It does feel like "home" in many ways. If I was leaving when I originally was supposed to, it would be only 5 weeks from today! Instead, I have 6 months left, which is also pretty hard to fathom. But even though I sometimes wish I could be back in the US, or at least see all the people I miss, I still do feel a peace about being here, and I know that God will carry me through each step of the journey.
I had a fun and relaxing weekend, and now I'm off again on another project. Tomorrow (Monday) morning, 5 of us from the EMI East Africa office, plus 3 volunteers from the US, will start on a week-long project at Uganda Christian University in Mukono (just east of Kampala). We will be working on drainage, landscaping, and pedestrian/vehicular circulation for the large college campus.
It's been a little overwhelming going straight from one project to another, so I've mostly spent the last few days trying to recharge and process and let my mind rest before making it run at full speed in a new direction. I think I also just needed a few days to get used to being in Kampala again, going about daily life, instead of being in a fun, "summer camp-esque" environment with my awesome Kijabe project team. I was really looking forward to returning to Kijabe to get to follow up on the work I had done in February, and to get to see a few friends from my last trip. But this upcoming trip is a big unknown, and I'm a little worried about the technical work itself, since I'm not at all familiar with drainage or hydrology concepts. But I know that God will be with us during this project, so I really shouldn't worry. I'm sure I will also bond a lot with this new project team, even though it will be completely different with only 8 people instead of 24! I AM looking forward to being on a team that is based out of my office. I will get to continue to work with and debrief and process with most of the team in the office afterwards, instead of, as with the Kijabe project, being the only one from not only my office, but from the continent. I've seen all the other interns go on project trips and return back more bonded with the interns and staff on their teams, so I am looking forward to that experience. And I think it will be fun to be part of putting together a whole project report in our office. I just need to trust that God will be at work in this project just as much as in the last one.
On a different note, I can't believe that I've now been in Uganda for almost 5 months! In some ways, it's amazing to think it's been that long, but in other ways it does feel like I've been here for a long time. It does feel like "home" in many ways. If I was leaving when I originally was supposed to, it would be only 5 weeks from today! Instead, I have 6 months left, which is also pretty hard to fathom. But even though I sometimes wish I could be back in the US, or at least see all the people I miss, I still do feel a peace about being here, and I know that God will carry me through each step of the journey.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Kenya Photos, As Promised
Vicky, from the EMI Colorado office was on my trip to Kijabe and she decided to visit our office for a few days before going home. It's been fun to have her here because it's almost like a friend came to visit me. =) Today we went all over downtown Kampala doing various kinds of shopping and eating. I spotted some fabric that I think I want to have made into skirts (a popular thing to do here), but I decided to wait to make sure I really want them first.
Vicky & me on safari:
Other photos from my trip:
One of the reasons that the hospital water needs chlorination (the bird is sitting over an open hole into their main water storage tank):
Local kids watching as Jeff inspects a septic tank:
One of the reasons the hospital needed us to evaluate and make recommendations for improving their wastewater system (a sewer manhole that is leaking out the side):
Another reason (broken sewer pipe that is spilling sewage into farms and a creek):
Hospital trash near an old incinerator (we strongly recommended that this be cleaned up):
Jim & Julie with 2 hospital staff under a cool-looking "cactus tree:"
Me standing in a 5-foot hole that was previously dug to help deal with the hospital's wastewater. (The pits, although not currently functioning, would have been about 7% the size they needed to be, so we designed larger oxidation ponds to provide secondary treatment and additional septic tanks to provide better primary treatment of the hospital's wastewater. I've decided to spare you all by not posting my gross septic tank photos.):
A "Whoville" tree (ref. Dr. Seuss):
Kids outside of a church service:
More cute kids:
The "Poo Crew" (folks who spent most of the time working on wastewater evaluation):
Nick, Vicky, and me (the junior members of the "Poo Crew"):
Some of my new friends, on the shores of Lake Nakuru:
Inside our safari vehicle, at Nakuru National Park:
Cool safari photos:
Vicky & me on safari:
Other photos from my trip:
One of the reasons that the hospital water needs chlorination (the bird is sitting over an open hole into their main water storage tank):
Local kids watching as Jeff inspects a septic tank:
One of the reasons the hospital needed us to evaluate and make recommendations for improving their wastewater system (a sewer manhole that is leaking out the side):
Another reason (broken sewer pipe that is spilling sewage into farms and a creek):
Hospital trash near an old incinerator (we strongly recommended that this be cleaned up):
Jim & Julie with 2 hospital staff under a cool-looking "cactus tree:"
Me standing in a 5-foot hole that was previously dug to help deal with the hospital's wastewater. (The pits, although not currently functioning, would have been about 7% the size they needed to be, so we designed larger oxidation ponds to provide secondary treatment and additional septic tanks to provide better primary treatment of the hospital's wastewater. I've decided to spare you all by not posting my gross septic tank photos.):
A "Whoville" tree (ref. Dr. Seuss):
Kids outside of a church service:
More cute kids:
The "Poo Crew" (folks who spent most of the time working on wastewater evaluation):
Nick, Vicky, and me (the junior members of the "Poo Crew"):
Some of my new friends, on the shores of Lake Nakuru:
Inside our safari vehicle, at Nakuru National Park:
Cool safari photos:
(Those are flamingos covering the edge of the lake, and zebras on shore.)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Kijabe Hospital, Take 2
Last night I got back home to Kampala after an amazing 1.5 weeks in Kenya. I was on a project trip, helping Kijabe Hospital design their 10-year plan for their large hospital campus. They currently serve about 650 patients/day, and with the expansion we designed, they expect to serve about twice that many.
I was part of the water and wastewater team, which we affectionately named the "Poo Crew." We focused mostly on figuring out how the hospital's current water and wastewater systems worked, and then we did some design on a recommended chlorination system for the drinking water, and a new design to appropriately treat their wastewater. While things like water lines and septic tanks are probably the least glamorous part of any building project, you could argue that they're one of the most important parts. If people don't have clean water, they can't survive. And if a hospital is treating people, yet polluting nearby communities with their untreated wastewater, those same people are just going to have to be readmitted to the hospital. The wastewater for the hospital was in a very sad state, but we were encouraged and excited by the work that we did to first figure out WHAT was currently happening to it, and then second figure out how to improve the design. While wastewater is also generally the most ignored part of any building project, we were encouraged to find many hospital staff very committed to the idea of improving their current system, which also would effectively improve their witness to the community around them. Besides being an excellent hospital that serves the East Africa region and treats many patients who can't afford to pay for their services, they also share the love of Christ with their patients, many of whom decide to follow Jesus after seeing the love and care from the hospital staff.
Most EMI teams are about 8-10 people. This team was 24! I think it was the largest EMI team ever. It was actually a lot of fun to have so many people on the team. We definitely didn't all get to know everyone as well as we would have if there were only 8 people, but it resulted in a wide variety personalities and skills and insights to learn from and hang out with which, as I already said, was a lot of fun! The Poo Crew itself swelled to 7 people, and sometimes more, because we just had so much work to accomplish in our short week on the hospital campus. Also, there were a ton of 20-somethings on this trip, which was really, well to be redundant...fun. There were 9 young single adults on the trip, and we ended up hanging out a lot, especially during the safari. It's funny to think that just our sub-set of young folks was the size of a typical EMI team. I think that was a neat by-product of having such a large team; it gave more young professionals and recent college grads the ability to join the trip, where they were able to work with and learn from professionals with a lot more experience.
Kijabe is in the Rift Valley, but is half way up its eastern slope, so it was nice and cool most of the time we were there. Some days we were actually pretty cold, but I still loved it! It was such a nice change from the almost-constant heat of Kampala. Another neat aspect about the trip was that I got to see several of the people that I met when I was there three months ago, including some of the souvenir vendors who showed up once they knew we were there.
We stayed in a little motel and in a couple nice apartments and did most of our work in the apartment living rooms. The architects took over one living room, so the engineers and site master planners ended up in the other living room, which was filled with two large tables to serve as our dining room. A few cooks made food for us the whole time, which was really good! It was kind of a combination of Kenyan food and "American" food and was always finished off with an amazing (and large) dessert! We had pretty limited access to internet, but we had power almost the whole time, and the motel even had automatic hot water in the sinks! (They had solar power water heaters on the roof.)
The project itself focused on some of the top priorities from the hospital's 10-year vision: a new building for an expanded pediatrics ward and outpatient department, a new building for adult outpatients, reorganizing and improving the internal hospital layout, design of new staff housing units, site layout for better pedestrian & vehicular circulation, upgrades to their deteriorating electrical system, analysis of the soil for building foundations, stormwater drainage analysis and improvements, finishing up unanswered questions from the February as-built project I was on, and the stuff I worked on: recommendation and design of chlorinating the hospital's water supply, discovering and analyzing the current sewer pipes and septic tanks and designing their expansion for the new buildings, and designing a new way to deal with the large amount of wastewater after it received preliminary treatment by septic tanks. For the last item, we decided to use two oxidation ponds that are 37 m x 47 m each (!), where the wastewater will sit for 15 days, allowing for secondary treatment by the sun and breakdown of bacteria in the water (or something like that...I'm not the one who analyzed the effectiveness of the oxidation pond).
Unfortunately my work shoes (Merrells) were stolen because I left them outside the apartment door one evening. And I somehow misplaced a coin purse with some (but not most) of my money in it. Man, there's something about me losing things/getting them stolen! But nothing has upset me too much, and I figure they're all good lessons in materialism. =)
At the end of the trip, we all went on a two-day safari at a nearby game park at Lake Nakuru. The lake is known for its flamingos, of which we saw hundreds lining the shores. The park is known for its bird watching in general, and we saw many types of birds including storks, herons, pelicans, ibis, egrets, ducks, etc. We also saw lots of monkeys, baboons, impalas, waterbucks (a large deer-ish animal), water buffaloes, zebras, rhinos (including babies), some warthogs, one hyena, several giraffes, and even a lion couple lounging in a tree. (My favorite is definitely the giraffe, but the baby monkeys were also a highlight.) The scenery itself was absolutely beautiful: lush forests with some green plains, all covered with yellow-barked acacia trees. We also got to go to a lookout on top of a cliff, which gave us an amazing view of the lake and surrounding valley. We went on three "game drives" and spent two nights at a really nice lodge with fancy duplex cabins covering the hillside. They had a large and delicious buffet (especially delicious for those of us [me] who've been away from fancy American cooking for a while). Each night they had some live traditional dancing out on a stone terrace, complete with a fire pit. (We hung out late around the fire one night, which was reminiscent of summer camp.) They even had a pool and a pool-side massage/spa tent. The only downside was that the place was rather mosquito-saturated. Yesterday, as we left the game park, we stopped by another lake and took a short motor-boat ride to see some hippos. I loved being right at the water level. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the lake gave us gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains.
I loved getting to know everyone on the team and especially spending lots of time with the "Poo Crew" and being able to hang out with everyone in a more social waye socially on the safari. I was really sad to leave at the end, since it felt like I had just met a bunch of new close friends and then had to so quickly say goodbye. It also felt a little bit like they were all going to leave and go home and I was being left here in Africa by myself. Now that I've been back in Kampala for about 24 hours, I'm starting to feel "at home" again and remember how much I've been enjoying life here in Uganda. It felt very different being around 23 people for 1.5 weeks who live in the US, Canada, UK, and Taiwan, and then realizing that I wasn't going to go home at the end like all of them. But I know that I'll feel settled back in here soon, and I'm looking forward to what else God has for me here. I can't believe that I've been here five months already, but it's also a little amazing to think I'm not going home for another six! I feel so blessed that I was able to go on this amazing trip with so many great people, and get to help this inspirational hospital again.
Pictures coming soon....
I was part of the water and wastewater team, which we affectionately named the "Poo Crew." We focused mostly on figuring out how the hospital's current water and wastewater systems worked, and then we did some design on a recommended chlorination system for the drinking water, and a new design to appropriately treat their wastewater. While things like water lines and septic tanks are probably the least glamorous part of any building project, you could argue that they're one of the most important parts. If people don't have clean water, they can't survive. And if a hospital is treating people, yet polluting nearby communities with their untreated wastewater, those same people are just going to have to be readmitted to the hospital. The wastewater for the hospital was in a very sad state, but we were encouraged and excited by the work that we did to first figure out WHAT was currently happening to it, and then second figure out how to improve the design. While wastewater is also generally the most ignored part of any building project, we were encouraged to find many hospital staff very committed to the idea of improving their current system, which also would effectively improve their witness to the community around them. Besides being an excellent hospital that serves the East Africa region and treats many patients who can't afford to pay for their services, they also share the love of Christ with their patients, many of whom decide to follow Jesus after seeing the love and care from the hospital staff.
Most EMI teams are about 8-10 people. This team was 24! I think it was the largest EMI team ever. It was actually a lot of fun to have so many people on the team. We definitely didn't all get to know everyone as well as we would have if there were only 8 people, but it resulted in a wide variety personalities and skills and insights to learn from and hang out with which, as I already said, was a lot of fun! The Poo Crew itself swelled to 7 people, and sometimes more, because we just had so much work to accomplish in our short week on the hospital campus. Also, there were a ton of 20-somethings on this trip, which was really, well to be redundant...fun. There were 9 young single adults on the trip, and we ended up hanging out a lot, especially during the safari. It's funny to think that just our sub-set of young folks was the size of a typical EMI team. I think that was a neat by-product of having such a large team; it gave more young professionals and recent college grads the ability to join the trip, where they were able to work with and learn from professionals with a lot more experience.
Kijabe is in the Rift Valley, but is half way up its eastern slope, so it was nice and cool most of the time we were there. Some days we were actually pretty cold, but I still loved it! It was such a nice change from the almost-constant heat of Kampala. Another neat aspect about the trip was that I got to see several of the people that I met when I was there three months ago, including some of the souvenir vendors who showed up once they knew we were there.
We stayed in a little motel and in a couple nice apartments and did most of our work in the apartment living rooms. The architects took over one living room, so the engineers and site master planners ended up in the other living room, which was filled with two large tables to serve as our dining room. A few cooks made food for us the whole time, which was really good! It was kind of a combination of Kenyan food and "American" food and was always finished off with an amazing (and large) dessert! We had pretty limited access to internet, but we had power almost the whole time, and the motel even had automatic hot water in the sinks! (They had solar power water heaters on the roof.)
The project itself focused on some of the top priorities from the hospital's 10-year vision: a new building for an expanded pediatrics ward and outpatient department, a new building for adult outpatients, reorganizing and improving the internal hospital layout, design of new staff housing units, site layout for better pedestrian & vehicular circulation, upgrades to their deteriorating electrical system, analysis of the soil for building foundations, stormwater drainage analysis and improvements, finishing up unanswered questions from the February as-built project I was on, and the stuff I worked on: recommendation and design of chlorinating the hospital's water supply, discovering and analyzing the current sewer pipes and septic tanks and designing their expansion for the new buildings, and designing a new way to deal with the large amount of wastewater after it received preliminary treatment by septic tanks. For the last item, we decided to use two oxidation ponds that are 37 m x 47 m each (!), where the wastewater will sit for 15 days, allowing for secondary treatment by the sun and breakdown of bacteria in the water (or something like that...I'm not the one who analyzed the effectiveness of the oxidation pond).
Unfortunately my work shoes (Merrells) were stolen because I left them outside the apartment door one evening. And I somehow misplaced a coin purse with some (but not most) of my money in it. Man, there's something about me losing things/getting them stolen! But nothing has upset me too much, and I figure they're all good lessons in materialism. =)
At the end of the trip, we all went on a two-day safari at a nearby game park at Lake Nakuru. The lake is known for its flamingos, of which we saw hundreds lining the shores. The park is known for its bird watching in general, and we saw many types of birds including storks, herons, pelicans, ibis, egrets, ducks, etc. We also saw lots of monkeys, baboons, impalas, waterbucks (a large deer-ish animal), water buffaloes, zebras, rhinos (including babies), some warthogs, one hyena, several giraffes, and even a lion couple lounging in a tree. (My favorite is definitely the giraffe, but the baby monkeys were also a highlight.) The scenery itself was absolutely beautiful: lush forests with some green plains, all covered with yellow-barked acacia trees. We also got to go to a lookout on top of a cliff, which gave us an amazing view of the lake and surrounding valley. We went on three "game drives" and spent two nights at a really nice lodge with fancy duplex cabins covering the hillside. They had a large and delicious buffet (especially delicious for those of us [me] who've been away from fancy American cooking for a while). Each night they had some live traditional dancing out on a stone terrace, complete with a fire pit. (We hung out late around the fire one night, which was reminiscent of summer camp.) They even had a pool and a pool-side massage/spa tent. The only downside was that the place was rather mosquito-saturated. Yesterday, as we left the game park, we stopped by another lake and took a short motor-boat ride to see some hippos. I loved being right at the water level. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the lake gave us gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains.
I loved getting to know everyone on the team and especially spending lots of time with the "Poo Crew" and being able to hang out with everyone in a more social waye socially on the safari. I was really sad to leave at the end, since it felt like I had just met a bunch of new close friends and then had to so quickly say goodbye. It also felt a little bit like they were all going to leave and go home and I was being left here in Africa by myself. Now that I've been back in Kampala for about 24 hours, I'm starting to feel "at home" again and remember how much I've been enjoying life here in Uganda. It felt very different being around 23 people for 1.5 weeks who live in the US, Canada, UK, and Taiwan, and then realizing that I wasn't going to go home at the end like all of them. But I know that I'll feel settled back in here soon, and I'm looking forward to what else God has for me here. I can't believe that I've been here five months already, but it's also a little amazing to think I'm not going home for another six! I feel so blessed that I was able to go on this amazing trip with so many great people, and get to help this inspirational hospital again.
Pictures coming soon....
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