The last couple of weeks have been fairly busy with work and with various Uganda preparations. I can’t believe that it’s now September and I can officially say I’m going to Uganda NEXT MONTH (just!)!!
A few weeks ago, having been told by the team at Empower A Child that skin infections and nasty wounds are a big problem for lots of the children they work with in Uganda, I wrote to a couple of companies which sell dressings, bandages and other medical supplies, and asked if they would be willing to donate anything for me to take out there. I was expecting perhaps a few bandages and a couple of boxes of plasters but was overwhelmed by an incredibly generous response, as the photo shows! The only challenge now is going to be packing and actually transporting this to Uganda, but I'm sure I'll find a way around that!
There's also been some discussions with the team in Uganda about exactly how best to plan the medical work I'll be doing to make the most of the relatively short time I have. Being asked questions such as "How do you feel about doing some dental work?" and "Do you know how to remove jiggers?" has suggested that the medical work I am going to be doing is going to be varied and probably unpredictable!
For those of you who don't know what jiggers are (I didn't before I looked it up), they're tiny parasites that look a bit like fleas. They live in dusty conditions and are generally associated with poverty-stricken populations. There are many villages in Africa that have been completely infested with them. They manage to embed themselves in people’s feet, hands and other exposed body parts and can actually be really dangerous if they’re not removed – serious infestations can cause severe inflammation leading to loss of fingers and toes, serious infections, and even death. I removed a few ticks (and various other foreign bodies.....) during my time working in A&E but jiggers are definitely something new! I never thought I would be searching YouTube for a video on "removing jiggers" but that is something I have now done!
For those of you who don't know what jiggers are (I didn't before I looked it up), they're tiny parasites that look a bit like fleas. They live in dusty conditions and are generally associated with poverty-stricken populations. There are many villages in Africa that have been completely infested with them. They manage to embed themselves in people’s feet, hands and other exposed body parts and can actually be really dangerous if they’re not removed – serious infestations can cause severe inflammation leading to loss of fingers and toes, serious infections, and even death. I removed a few ticks (and various other foreign bodies.....) during my time working in A&E but jiggers are definitely something new! I never thought I would be searching YouTube for a video on "removing jiggers" but that is something I have now done!
I've also had the opportunity to have a feature written about my trip in a couple of local newspapers which has been very exciting and I’m very thankful to have had the opportunity to raise awareness of this project.
Finally, I’ve recently set up a fundraising page. I don’t feel hugely comfortable asking people for money and certainly all costs involved relating to flights, accommodation and food etc. will be funded directly by me. However, if I do manage to raise any additional money then 100% of these donations will be used to pay for medical supplies in Uganda (i.e. antibiotics, oral rehydration solution, malaria treatment) which will be used in medical outreach clinics that I will be doing in some rural villages in Uganda where medical care is pretty inexistent – this money will go an awfully long way in Uganda.
Empower A Child isn’t currently registered with Justgiving or similar so I’ve set up a “gogetfunding” page: http://gogetfunding.com/project/becky-s-mission-to-uganda
8 weeks to go!!
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