My month in Uganda has been a buzz of constant movement and activities. Today I allowed myself some time to relax. I delivered food to only two more houses in the early morning. The first house was a woman and her aged mother. The woman was on the list to be treated by the medications bought so I began interviewing her about her ailments. She stopped me and instead brought us inside to look at her mother who was laying on the typical floor mat in the typical filth. The Jaja feebly sat up and blessed us for coming, her eyes lit up when her daughter showed her the food we had brought. We were soon told the Jaja was suffering from TB and had no way to get to Jinja every month to receive the necessary treatments. The box of medications we have does not include what the Jaja needed. I asked my interpreter how we could possibly set up reliable monthly transport for her and he just shook his head in defeat. Again the only thing I was able to do for her was to hold her hand and pray, and let her know that her daughter would receive medication that would hopefully heal her to some extent so she could work to earn the money needed for transport.
The issue with the major source of income in Buziika is that we have had a total lack of rain. This is extremely detrimental since farming is what many of the people here do for work. October is supposed to be the rainy season, so people plant their crops knowing the rain will be here to sustain them. This October crops were planted per norm but no rain has fallen; this means many of the crops are dying and there is little work to be found for field hands. The hopelessness of the crops also means that many people who depend on these crops for food are starving. The food we have delivered has only helped 51 of these hopeless families.
My second family I visited was the woman who had passed me on the road and insisted I accompany her to her house. She was overjoyed that I had remembered her. She reiterated how desperate they were this season because all the crops are dying. Her two grand daughters are both breast-feeding, which means food is of extreme importance for them in order to provide enough milk for their infants. I was able to provide them with a little comfort in the form of my green shopping bag. There was not much more I could do but yet again say a prayer with them.
After supper I was called to speak with a man who has been diagnosed with AIDs. He is suffering from a kidney infection at this time. Yesterday he had been one of the people I sent to the clinic to obtain free medication. At that time he was told he needed a kidney scan. I looked at this man, who was about 40, with total despair. He could not afford the kidney scan, even if he could he couldn’t afford all the medications he would need to prolong his life, he couldn’t even afford to buy food. My sack had been the first nutritious food he had received in weeks. What could I possibly do for this man who is facing a very near death? So I educated him about how to prevent the spread of AIDs. This is when I learned that his wife and taken the kids and ran away when she found out he had AIDs. He is completely alone with only the church here at Canaan as his support. I held his hand and prayed that God would take him home quickly and painlessly. I felt like I was bobbing for apples today, a nearly impossible task, at least for my poorly coordinated self.
Sometimes all you can do is pray
Gypsy RN
