Christmas Day at Potters

Christmas Day started bright & early at PV.

The laundry staff began at 6am in order to get through the mounds and be away in good time to cook for their families. I went round the site and gave every adult a lollipop and a Rufumbira Christmas greeting. It was amusing to see people wandering everywhere with bulging cheeks and sticks coming out of their mouths. You would walk on the ward and a sea of mouths and sticks would turn to look. Some of the children on the ward were well enough to have one too which was nice.

At 9.30 we went to the Cathedral English service. The Sunday School enacted the nativity story with their appropriate cultural clothing and bursts of familiar carols. Joseph got a laugh when he went to the Inn and said Mary was REALLY pregnant ie) about to deliver now.

Back on site Rosie made us her delicious coffee to help us gear up for cooking. Meanwhile the staff had their communion service led by our Chaplain, Rev Florence.

The singing was glorious and the service ended with enthusiastic dancing.

 

 

 

Lunch for the staff was brought in by a local cafe. Due to a delay in timing of the service...surprise, surprise...it was necessary to feed the children before they could eat themselves.

Their meal was posho, careb (millet posho), rice, potato, beef with bones and sauce.

 

 

 

Ours was very close to the British traditional fare. A joint effort in 3 kitchens.

 

 

 

 

 

We ate out on the veranda even though there was a thunder storm and it was pouring with rain.

The premature baby unit had a record breaking 11 babies housed there. Fortunately our son Zemian managed to get the third incubator working again. The ward was also busy and the staff were kept occupied.

It was lovely to celebrate Christmas without all the commercialism. A time of religious celebration followed by a meal shared together is all that is needed to get the focus correct.

...I can't lie, a large packet of sage and onion stuffing and a jar of Cranberry sauce made all the difference!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noheri Nziza

At last we can connect to the Internet in our house and I no longer need to take my iPad to town in search of wi-fi.

We are in the final preparations for Christmas Day here.

 

 

 

Sam and Emily came out to do their nursing elective with us. As well as nursing they repaired and repainted the car to make it safe for the Community Support children to play on at their party.

 

At the party we decided to fit each child with shoes. Previously the sizes had been guessed. It was extremely chaotic but we only failed to find shoes for one child - Sarah, an older girl. Her Foster family had recently bought her shoes so she was contented with a football instead...way more street cred in that!

 

 

Sam and Emily left for the airport as the party was ending. The children had a great time playing with them. We were very grateful for their work while here and enjoyed their company.

 

The previous day Sarah arrived from the UK. She arrived but not her luggage. She took photos of the Community Support children for their sponsors then left with Sam & Emily to go back to Kigali Airport. They would not give out information without her being there with her passport. Fortunately her luggage had arrived and she returned with 2 German girls staying in KIsoro. Thank you to everyone who sent out things for PV with her.

 

Christmas day in the Medical Centre looks set to be busy. After a quiet spell in the neonatal ward, it is now overflowing with 2 babies in each of the two working incubators. Altogether there are 8 prem babies in the unit. Two are very sick.

 

 

Also joining us for Christmas are two of our children, Zemian and Naomi. Naomi carried out a scanner/ printer/ photocopier as her hand luggage. Zemian has set it up so we are a very efficient office. He has sorted several computer related problems for us and without them cooking for us, particularly Naomi, I'm not sure we would have eaten some nights.

 

 

 

 

Prossy is the latest arrival into the village. She came yesterday and is 2 weeks old. A beautiful and very alert girl. Her Grandmother was full of kisses for her as she left. Even the father gave her a kiss which is the first time I have seen such display of affection from a Ugandan father. Clearly there will be no problem resettling her with the family.

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas or NOHERI NZIZA as is said here.

 

 

Comings and Goings

We have had Malcolm Crawford back with us to audit the accounts. He and his wife used to work in Kisoro so it is good to have someone who understands some of the challenges With finances - like the lack of receipts.

Next Wednesday we have two student nurses from the UK arriving who are doing their nursing elective with us. They are the start of the Christmas build-up of visitors. On the basis of don't ask, don't get, I halfheartedly asked at the Supermarket if there was a possibility of a turkey at Christmas. Actually there could be, but it would come alive. I can just picture walking home from the shop with a turkey on a string walking behind! No, this is not an option.

 

 

These are our first two baby goats. Leonard reckons the next birth is due any day now. These girl twins will stay with us and we may sell two of our older goats. Leonard and I have been discussing whether we can introduce dairy goats as a concept in Kisoro. The problem would be monitoring that they don't keep breeding them with local goats and lose the dairy attribute. We could introduce them in our Community Support Income Generating Scheme. A thought for the future when we have more goats.

 

 

 

 

 

As this one posed so nicely, I thought she deserved to be added.

 

 

 

 

Last time I mentioned Gakuru, a rather ill premature twin. Here he is having graduated to a polystyrene box. He is still getting top-up milk through a tube but is doing very well. He will probably be discharged in a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dushime is our latest addition to the village. She is three months old but very small. Her young mother died from what sounds like cancer. The family wanted to hand her over for good but we don't do that. Geoffrey visited the home and discovered they live in dire poverty without even an adequate roof to keep all the rain out. The maternal family home is not much better. Undoubtedly Dushime will be with us for some time until their circumstances can be improved. She is a real smiler.

 

 

 

 

Naomi came to us from the Congo. Her family had got caught up in the troubles and they had to leave their home. The father has now settled. We were worried because we lost contact. We managed to find someone to get a message to him and they came to collect her. When she first arrived with us a visitor, Carole, fell in love with her and regularly sends clothes for her, each with her name on the front so there is no mistaking who is to wear them. This is a photo as she was leaving. I draped Geoffrey with the latest jumpers which are still a little large, to show she would go home with them.

 

 

Last week, Mike and I went to Kigali in Rwanda in order for me to go to a Dentist. A filling had fallen out. He was a very good Dentist although I felt he was busy sculpting a work of art in there as it took 40 minutes to put the filling in! We did the journey by public transport which is always fun - well, not always. Mike was squashed up beside a young girl who spent the last hour of the journey being sick in her lap. She did it very quietly then would immediately sit up and carry on chatting to her mother. Ah, bewitchment of sickness, I was told when I got back.

 

Unusual Perceptions

 

Last weekend we took Nurse Nadia to Kisiizi Hospital for her next posting. This photo was taken from the top of a hill about 2 1/2 hours into the journey. You cannot gauge the height or distance from the photo but we went to the top of a long valley over the horizon. The Hospital is an impressive place built beside a waterfall from which they get hydroelectric power. I could only look at the waterfall from the knowledge of all the unmarried, pregnant girls who were bound and thrown over the top. The practice only stopped when a girl managed to drag her brothers over with her. Their deaths were deemed unacceptable!

 

Nadia left us and two days later Ryan and Jillian arrived from the USA. They are with us for a week whilst they contemplate a possible future with the Diocese and perhaps some time at Potters for Jillian. Actually it looks like it may be Diocesan work for them both.

The Lullaby Charity spent 5 afternoons with the Carers talking about attachment. This ended with us massaging babies with cooking oil - some loved it but others clearly took offence at being basted!

As a result of their visit we will try a new format. We will divide the children into mixed age family units so that they stay in the same room and with the same Carers for their time with us. As we have lowered the age of the children on resettlement this will be easier. It is a sensible concept and the staff are keen to give it a try.

As a diversion in the office, I was talking a possible Christmas scene outside the Medical Centre. It transpired that even a basic manger with baby would not be understood by many. The vast majority of people will never have seen pictures of the Nativity scene. They may know that Jesus was born at Christmas but not know about a stable etc. nor have the concept of a stable that we have. We are so influenced by pictorial representation that it is hard to grasp what it must be like to have no idea what it could mean with descriptive words in an unfamiliar setting. It ended up that the best representation might be a plastic baby doll strung under a star!

We have two very sick babies in the Prem unit at the moment. One is a first-born twin who has struggled since birth. He is beginning to cope without CPAP but was at that point before and deteriorated. The other has been vomiting since birth. If it continues tomorrow then they will try and take her for an x-Ray to see if there is a physical problem with the stomach. It's all coming out the top end but nothing out the bottom end!

Mike is now seeing adult patients on an unofficial basis. We are registered for children so we cannot advertise but if adult outpatients arrive then he will treat them. Last night this meant that he drove a 19 year old girl to Hospital. She turned up at midnight with her father and clearly had appendicitis. This is not quite the sort of service he had in mind!

At last the spectacular storms are abating and the rain is less torrential. There are many power cuts and yesterday no water but the sun is back with force. It has come to light that out of all the large umbrellas bought for the site and marked with Potter's Village in large letters over them, only two remain. We thought writing on them would help stop them walking but clearly not. Just as well it only costs £1.20 for a golf size umbrella.

 

Profound Sadness

Back in the cafe again for my Saturday coffee! The power company sent round texts last night to tell us we would be without power 7am - 7pm for the next 2 days......but we still have power. Is this their way of boosting their image? They tell us we will be without power, then when we have it we think they are marvellous? Oh, how cynical!

Our week has been overshadowed by very sad news. Some will know that our home church and local school have been supporting the family of Nsaba, our little one with TB. On Monday his brother Galashion was fine in the morning but complained of headache and stomach ache in the afternoon. They took him to the local Clinic who gave him a pill. On Tuesday he was able to walk around although still complaining of stomach ache. Tuesday night the pain got very severe but by the time the local Ambulance reached him, he had died. Unbelievably tragic. It is thought that he probably had many worms in his stomach and was given a pill to kill them however the mass of dead worms blocked his intestines which then ruptured. He would have needed emergency surgery to survive.

Sadly, many of the villagers are saying he was bewitched and are speaking words of fear to the rest of the family.

Geoffrey and I went to the burial. We took Nsaba as I hoped that would bring some comfort to the father. Also, I felt it would be good for the family to be together. After the burial, the father came and sat very close beside me. We could not communicate but I put my hand on his arm and I know he felt the sympathy. He was shaking with grief, poor man. Two losses in only a few months.

For those who know something of their story, Galashion was the 10 year old who was very active in working for money for the family - the one who carried water to the top of the mountain for 25p. We wondered whether he would want to go to school or would prefer to work. Apparently he loved school and had not missed a day this term.

On a lighter note, we have added to our numbers with 5 pregnant female goats and one Billy. These are a kind donation from a charity which wishes to remain anonymous. We had to send 2 men and a pick-up truck on a 12 hour round journey to collect them. By the time they got back it was late and dark. Where to put the frightened goats? They spent the night in the visitors hostel - not quite the type of visitors we had in mind! In the morning I stood at the door of the hostel and the whole length of the corridor was strewn with goat droppings. It took 3 men several hours to get it really clean again.

 

 

Having been released from the Hostel they spent a little time in the grounds to settle.

 

 

 

 

Then it was out the gate and turn left up the hill to their new home. The Billy is young and never been roped or confined before so is proving a handful. I am told he is not the best of specimens but all we could get. The first of the females should deliver around Christmas.

 

 

 

Here is Maureen, our prem baby star who started life at 800gms. She is now in Babies A and having to learn to get used to colder air than her incubator and Special Care Nursery room. She vomits when cold or undressed!

 

power issues again!

This is a brief blog to explain that we may not be able to blog so regularly. Sadly our wi-fi internet thing won't work and as I have an iPad, you can't attach a dongle. We will have to wait for a replacement from the UK with a visitor.

You are clearly getting better weather than us. We are back to heavy rain, spectacular thunder and lightning storms...and power cuts every day!!

Apart from one staff issue that started before we left in the summer, the Village managed really well. We returned to a very smart compound with plants edging the trimmed pathways. I have never seen Geoffrey's desk so clear, though he did put his hand over his desk drawer when I commented about it. Sonia handled the office brilliantly and Festo had the staff doing what they should be doing. I was very impressed and grateful.

Young Eva who was staying with us for a while was getting well trained in domestic skills. Her Foster mother never returned from her visit to Tanzania. The Foster mother to David, our little Batwa pigmy boy, has taken her now. Eva will be a brilliant big sister.

 

Ivan visited on Community Support day. He brought me a cup for porridge and sat himself down ready for it. It is lovely that he has not forgotten us.

Nsaba has forgotten us, sadly. He has grown too fat. I try to persuade them that fat does not necessarily mean healthy but they don't believe me. They think our reaction to overweight babies is very amusing.

 

 

 

 

We were delighted to meet Winniefred's baby daughter just 15 hours after she was born. We were all concerned for Winniefred to have a safe delivery after the trauma of her last pregnancy and birth. She had to have a Caesarian but all went well. Baby Nina is about twice the size of most of the babies we see in the Medical Centre.

 

The Medical Centre has gone quiet sadly. Maybe because word went round that a Doctor was not there?...maybe not.

 

I think I am about to run out of Internet time in the cafe so will finish here. We will be in touch again when we are able. We are both contented to be back and enthused to carry things forward.

 

There is always something to learn.

 

 

We went to visit one of our support families. This is a good example of a problem. You ask the mother - does the child have a mosquito net?....Yes....Does it cover the bed?.....Yes.

It is not meant to cover the bed in this way though!

Friday 1st August was one year since the change of jobs for all staff. In celebration and thanks, staff were allowed to choose an item of clothing from our donated amounts. Those who had done exceedingly well in their appraisals were allowed to choose an extra scarf or tie and a bar of nice smelling soap.

 

 

 

A large group from Winchester, Kampala and Kisoro have been working in the Diocese and staying at the nearby Guesthouse. Some have enjoyed spending odd moments playing with the children and getting involved in bath time. This is always great for the babies.

 

 

 

 

Nsaba is still not sitting but he has been getting computer lessons. You can't expect him to focus on too many things at once, Mike has clearly decided on where the priority lies!

 

 

Maureen has now topped 1.2kilos and the ribs are covered in flesh. She still looks minute but no longer needs CPAP. Her mother has not been back to visit which does not surprise us but is a great shame.

 

 

We return to the UK on August 17th until early October. Mike has a couple of courses he wants to attend and we have the wedding of our second son being held in Serbia at the end of August. A trip to Scotland with relatives from Mike's family to bury the ashes of his mother is also planned. We know the time will go quickly but catching up on sleep and a complete is also needed on the list.