PDTA Journal

Photos: Sunny & Nick's holiday: Chapter 1 Zanzibar

flavie_sunny — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:06:00 GMT

The Afrique One job is completed! We finished in Ivory Coast at the end of May. Flavie returned back to UK, whilst I headed back to Tanzania to meet up with Nick for holiday-time. Nick had been in TZ for a few days making his way down from Kilimanjaro to Dar to meet me. Its a long story why Nick ended up flying in Kilimanjaro - but we thought he would have easy access to Lake Victoria from there for Nile punch (how the Tanzanians say perch) fishing, and I would make my way to meet him there. The rainy season meant he couldn't get there except on a 22 hour bus trip via Nairobi! So we made a new plan to head first to Zanzibar… what a place. The sand is soft and fine, and we snorkelled, windsurfed and dived over that fine coral reef (all in one day one time!). At times a false paradise though, we got quite stressed out by the hawkers on the beach.

Photos: Taabo

flavie_sunny — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:11:00 GMT

While we were staying at Centre Suisse, the directors of the institute got together. Two were Swiss, and the 3rd is Prof. Bonfoh, Director of Afrique One and our boss. They visited Ivory Coast's demographic social survey site (DSS) in Taabo, a region just north of Abidjan...and we tagged along. At this site they monitor everything about a population of about 40000 Ivorians! Number of deaths, births, diseases etc. and then use it as a platform for testing out interventions for diseases. During our brief visit we were taken to one of the DSS villages and welcomed with dancing and singing. A big meeting in the village was held to greet the directors

Photos: The fifth and final course

flavie_sunny — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:50:00 GMT

We came straight from finishing the course on the Friday in Senegal to deliver the course in Abidjan on teh Monday. So things were a bit hectic when we arrived, but the course organisers here, Nadege and Sylvain, came on Sunday for a meeting. Everything was ready for us. The interesting thing about this course was how it embodied what Afrique One is trying to achieve. It was given in BOTH French and English to Francophone and Anglophone students. There were 4 lovely Ghanans that came especially for the course, and the rest were from various institutions within Ivory Coast. Flavie and I gave the whole course together, and it was a real pleasure. Felt strange to be saying the words for the last time. The students were great and got a strong feeling at the end that they really gained a lot and appreciated the course. The last supper (drinks at a pub nearby) was really fun. They gave us lovely gifts of dresses and jewellry!

Ile de Goree

flavie_sunny — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:05:00 GMT

During our time in Dakar, Senegal, we managed to nip to Ile de Goree, a small island just off the city. It is famous for being a slave trading post. From the sea it looked like a toy island, and the streets felt like summer in Provence! Flavie found a tiny kitten with a weepy eye which she cleaned up and then almost squeezed it to death with love (henceforth she shall now be known as Elmyra).

It couldn't help being emotional visiting one of the houses which used to hold slaves (apparently George Bush cried when he visited - would love to know if that's really true), especially when a little Senegalese kid was walking around the room that held kids – which was separate from the rooms which held their parents. Also when a massive American lady was eating crisps outside the ‘weighing room’.

Photos: Dakar

flavie_sunny — Sun, 9 May 2010 07:19:00 GMT

Photos: Ile de Goree

flavie_sunny — Sun, 9 May 2010 06:47:00 GMT

Photos: Lake Mburo National Park

flavie_sunny — Tue, 4 May 2010 07:18:00 GMT

Small park in SW Uganda. only place to see zebras in Uganda, except we failed to take any photos of them. Did stay in the most expensive place we've ever stayed in though - $300 a night - especially so I could access a plug for my laptop to finish some research paper corrections! Actually would say it was worth it.

Photos: Nick's fish farm visit

flavie_sunny — Sat, 1 May 2010 19:49:00 GMT

Nick met the Ugandan with similar academic interests as himself in our group of students - Andrew, a guy obsessed with fish parasites! Andrew arranged for Nick to visit a fish farm near Kampala for the day.

Photos: Queen Elizabeth National Park

flavie_sunny — Sat, 1 May 2010 19:35:00 GMT

Wildlife Park in SW Uganda where we had so many amazing wildlife encounters. Also hooked up with Dr. Margaret Driciru, a vet in charge of research and monitoring at the park, who came to our course

Photos: Nick vs. the leviathon

flavie_sunny — Sat, 1 May 2010 19:19:00 GMT

Nick lands a 25kg nile perch on the shores of Entebbe Zoo!

Jinja- source of the Nile

flavie_sunny — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:05:00 GMT

For our second weekend in Uganda, we decided to take a 2-days trip to Jinja where the source of the Blue Nile is located. We took an afternoon boat trip on Lake Victoria to see the exact location of the source and then spent some time admiring the local wildlife surrounding the boat. This trip was a great opportunity for Nick who wanted to go fishing! So on Sunday, while Sunny and I went on a crazy rafting trip down the rapids of the Nile, Nick stayed behing with a beer and his fishing rod to catch tilapias and all sorts of colourful cichlids. What a wonderful weekend!

Mpenga forest reserve

flavie_sunny — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:56:00 GMT

During our first weekend in Uganda, we decided to go for a long forest walk in Mpenga forest reserve, 40km out of Kampala. The forest is very well known for having >100 species of butterflies! We were also hoping to catch a glimpse of red tail colobus monkeys and of many colourful birds...no, we mostly just saw butterflies and 1 hornbill in the distance. Never mind, it was very enjoyable to stretch our legs and have a local take away before we all fell asleep on a bench for a well-deserved afternoon nap back at camp. Photos also include giant cobwebs and Sunny's home-made butterfly bait!

week 5- Kampala

flavie_sunny — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:51:00 GMT

Yes, we have already finished our 3rd training course! We left Dar es Salaam on 08/04 and flew over the beautiful Lake Victoria to find ourselves in Uganda. We didn't let the 44kg of extra luggage stop us in our stride. We were joined the same day by Nick who had just handed in his PhD thesis in Glasgow. Sunny and I thoroughly enjoyed teaching at Makerere University and Nick thoroughly enjoyed having a holiday. Uganda has been such a friendly and welcoming place!

Photos: Mpenga forest reserve

flavie_sunny — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 01:43:00 GMT

Photos: Jinja- source of the Nile trip

flavie_sunny — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 01:29:00 GMT

Photos: week 5-Makerere University

flavie_sunny — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 01:12:00 GMT

Photos: week 3- Dar es Salaam

flavie_sunny — Tue, 6 Apr 2010 22:32:00 GMT

Photos: Zanzibar- Kendwa beach and Stone town

flavie_sunny — Tue, 6 Apr 2010 18:55:00 GMT

week 3- Dar es Salaam

flavie_sunny — Fri, 2 Apr 2010 01:01:00 GMT

We were a little bit sad leaving Morogoro and the lush Ulunguru mountains on the 25th. We travelled to Dar es Salaam where our second training course was to take place betwwen 29/03 and 2/01. We had forgotten how hot and humid Dar was and re-adjusting to even higher temperatures took a while. Thankfully, the rains have now started here making the whole city cooler and muddier. After a trip to the hospital (another...) where I (Flavie) was diagnosed with stomach ulcers caused by a bad reaction to my previous malaria treatment (sheer bad luck...when will Sunny catch something?), we spent the few days on campus catching up with paper corrections (oh joy!) and, in my case, feeling sorry for myself. We did manage to go to a small craft market on the saturday where we had ice-cream next to the beach and indulge in some shopping. The training course that took place this week (pictures to follow) seems to have been slightly easier (we must be getting good at this!)and students seem to develop an interest in stats (or is that me wishing?). Anyhow, we are getting really excited about our 3 day week end in Zanzibar, where we'll be staying in a coconut-wood bungalow on Kendwa beach, and hopefully spend a few hours in Stone town before taking the ferry back on Monday afternoon. We'll, of course, post some pictures next week to make everyone jealous!

Flavie and Sunny x

Photos: Uluguru mountain hike

flavie_sunny — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:14:00 GMT

Sunny hiked up Mount Bondwa in the Uluguru mountains just next to SUA (the University where we are working) and Morogoro (the town by SUA), with 30 Tanzanian's from various departments of the University. A chameleon features heavily again.