finally here

So I suppose that this is starting out purely as an experiment. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the whole blogging atmosphere. I think that in spite of the bit of hopeless self-indulgence it can bring, it offers a chance to keep in touch with home, family, and friends, who I miss dearly. I hope you're all doing well and staying safe wherever you are. As far as the blogging goes, we'll see how things pan out.

After 67 hours of transit and layovers, I arrived in Kampala last Saturday. The city is far more developed than they had described it to us back in New Haven. Everything is so wonderfully green, and the city is situated among 7 hills (from where it derives its name). Adjustment hasn't been awful, and I've discovered that going without Internet for extended periods of time is pretty liberating. The city is more of a melting pot than I expected, with large pockets of minority groups spread pretty evenly throughout our area. I suppose part of our regional diversity can be explained by the welcoming back of portions of the Ugandan population (South and Southeast Asians in particular), who had been formerly expelled from the country by Amin.

I started working at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) on Monday, and have been assigned to work on two projects (one more so than the other). I'm peripherally working on a project involving the empowerment and education of commercial sex workers in Kampala. It turns out that nearly 47% of the workers in the city are HIV positive; because of the nature of their work, it makes it difficult not only to combat social stigma in order to effect change on their behalf, but also to garner resources to even begin to address their plight. However, RHU has an amazing project devoted specifically to this portion of the population. My project is focused more on the Children's Millennium Health Initiative. RHU is working on establishing care centers in rural Uganda to address the absurdly high maternal and infant mortality rates. They also work on educating men on family planning, and making sure that the issue is addressed in a gender-sensitive, rights-empowering way. I just started this today, but I'm excited to see where the project goes.

Living with 12 (or so) other Yalies is great. We're from very different walks of New Haven, and have our own reasons for spending our summers in sub-Saharan Africa. Already, I'm developing stronger appreciations for traveling in groups, as well as exploring on my own. I'm also trying not to get run over by motorcycle transporters, or boda-bodas, on a daily basis.

I'm contemplating bungee jumping near the source of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda this weekend. Talk me out of/in to it?

While things are amazing here, I miss home and friends quite a bit. Hope all is well!