On Friday May 30, Becky, Dean McEvoy, and I drove up to Boston to meet two Ugandans that we will undoubtedly see during our visit to Uganda. Susan Nabukenya is a burn victim from Ddegeya, Uganda who is currently receiving treatment at Boston's Shriner's Hospital. John Kalule helped found the Engeye Health Clinic with Stephanie Van Dyke in the summer of 2006.
After getting off the elevator on Susan's floor of Shriners we walked into John - a tall and slender man who immediately emanated friendliness. As we would quickly learn in our short lunch visit with the pair, he was also acutely thoughtful. John took us in to see Susan. Susan was shy, but had one of the best smiles I have ever seen. We said hello, but Susan had not been in the United States long enough to know a lot of English and Becky, Dean McEvoy and I had failed to pick up Luganda (Uganda's main language). This left John as the translator. We were moving on, but John said goodbye to Susan as we left for our quick lunch.
We picked up lunch at a market very close to the hospital. John struck me as conscientious and aware as he weaved through the busy market, at times asking us to slide one way or another so we would be out of the way of the crowd. John had quickly adapted to Boston's quick pace and was helping us now!
Our lunch was productive as we peppered John with questions about Uganda, Ddegeye village, and the Engeye Health Clinic. As Dean McEvoy excused himself to explore the market (and give us room to get to know John better), we asked him about what we would be doing to help, about our daily routine, about diets in Ddegeya, and about the schools. It was enlightening and frustrating. We learned more in that 30 - 45 minutes than I had in hours on the web. Things at least became more concrete, but the exact projects remained unsettled. We asked what we could do to be most effective and he asked us what we would like to do to be most effective. He wants us to help in ways we are comfortable and we want him to work us as hard as possible. This should be a good set of values.
It was clear that there was a need for help in the two local schools. He wanted to be there to help us set up a relationship with the local schools so that we could be of use to them. Unfortunately, it seems as though we will be beating John and Susan back to Ddegeya, since Susan's treatment is taking longer than originally anticipated. Ideally, we can teach English and maybe Mathematics and Science. John also mentioned that we might be of use to the nurses in talking with patients - which is one of the reasons why Becky and I will need to begin working on learning Luganda now and immediately on arrival. It seems somewhat unmanageable now, but hopefully we can pick up enough of the language to get by. In Stephanie's last e-mail to Becky and I, she hinted that she has some ideas for additional projects we can work on while abroad.
In all, the visit was helpful to make this trip a little more grounded. We have a somewhat better idea of the village we will be in and the things we will be helping with. Most, it was great meeting John and Susan and getting a sense of the Ugandan friendliness described on travel websites.
