Smile for the camera

This Sunday we were invited to another thanks giving at the cathedral. Twice in one month seemed to be excessive and in view of all the thunder and lightening this week we made our excuses. So today we have had a quiet day at home catching up on mail and avoiding filling in a tax return. How come Alastair Darling has time to worry about me this week of all weeks.




PICTURES OF THE PYLON BEING ERECTED.ON THE LARGER PICTURE YOU CAN SEE THE FOREMAN TAKING A REST ON THE TOP GIRDER (IF YOU HAVE GOOD EYES)


This week there has been major excitement at the bottom of our garden. For several weeks there has been building work going on late in to the night and we thought someone was having a house built. As the structure developed it was obvious it was offices and we now find that MTN the mobile phone company has had the offices built. They began erecting a mobile phone mast at the end of last week. It has gone up very quickly built by six men with the aid of a tree trunk with a pulley on the end as their only crane. The men seem to have no fear of heights and walk about the structure with out holding on. Some of them seem to have harnesses but they do not appear to use them. One of the men stands on the top girder and waves when ever Maggie goes out to look. It is an amazing example of building and has absolutely no regard for health and safety. Ugandans are very fatalistic most of the men do not expect to live a long time so they do not consider risks. But considering the statistics those men standing on those girders probably have less chance of dying on this job than a women in the village every time she gets pregnant. Maternal mortality is high in Uganda and even higher in Masindi (over 500 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births). I presume the men get well paid for the job.




SLYVIA AS SHE WAS GETTING BETTER AND JOSEPHINE SITTING OUTSIDE THE MATERNITY UNIT

SMILES
There have been things to smile about this week. The little girl with diabetes survived and went home on twice daily insulin. We were able to give her a supply of insulin and teach her mother how to give it. Of course she is still at risk, she lives in a village away from town and will have difficulty getting supplies but at least she has a chance. Most children with diabetes in Uganda die on presentation often without any one recognising they have diabetes. We received some fresh supplies of insulin this week and an Irish visitor left her glucometer and 100 testing strips so we are able to check blood sugars again. Slyvia (not Sylvia) the little girl had a lovely smile once she was getting better and it made me realise that most of the Ugandans are quick to smile and seem happy to greet you.
This week’s photos are mainly of smiles. Josephine the lady nursing the new born baby is a nurse in antenatal clinic. In spite of her own health problems she is always there to help her family or friends. The picture shows her nursing her latest grand child born eight hours earlier in the hospital. Monica the mother is one of the HIV counsellors and was at work on Wednesday, went in to labour Thursday night and delivered a 3.5 kilo healthy babe a few hours earlier. The maternity unit delivers between 5 and eight babies each day. Babies and children are every where in Uganda. The population growth is one of the highest in the world with the average woman having 7 pregnancies. It is not unusual to have 10 children

SMILEY FACES