June 16th

Long but great day! We spent today traveling (aka hiking) between a couple villages, Kagunga and Kifuka and conducted a few interviews and also met Brite's wife and adorable 7 month old baby! After  visiting a while in Kagunga, chatting with a few people, and visiting the school, we hiked back down the hill and boated to Kifuka. In Kifuka we found that the people we had intended to interview were both gone in Kabale and it was unknown when they would return. So, we hiked to the other side of the village where we were to wait and meet a boat. But I think Brite got really excited about the prospect of canoeing, and borrowed a canoe from the priest's wife. Tavia and I watched as he emptied buckets and buckets of water out of the canoe from the intense rain last night. Side note: I have never experienced a storm like that in my life. The thunder was literally so loud it made me jump every time as it shook our tent. And then lightning would immediately light up the inside of the tent. There was no need to do the little counting trick to figure out how far away the storm was (if that's actually a real thing or just something my grandpa taught me?). No, because the storm was directly above our heads. And just sheets and sheets of rain. I probably should have gone out and showered in it. It may have been warmer than the shower I took earlier in the evening. Okay, I got off track. Brite finally got all the water out of the canoe and we loaded in. I was  a little wary of the sea-worthiness of this particular canoe, but you see locals floating in them all the time, carrying huge loads of bananas and leaves and people and no one ever appears to fall out. So we clambered in and got about 25 feet away from the shore when Domboro showed up with the Entusi motorboat. So back to the shore we went. I admit my relief, not because I wasn't enjoying the canoe ride, but mostly because I had every piece of electronic equipment I own with me in that little tiny canoe. So off the canoe, into the boat and on into Kabale. So Kabale is about a 15-20 minute drive from the dock, and we have to hire a driver and a car from there. It's 40,000 Ugandan shillings to get from the dock to Kabale and back to the dock (approximately $13). You can also hire a Boda Boda for a lot cheaper but the roads are super twisty and today they were exceptionally muddy. Anyway, we got in to Kabale and did some shopping in the market, and then headed up to Kabale Regional Referral Hospital to conduct another interview for the research. Apparently the teacher we were to interview in Kifuka was not feeling well today and went to see a doctor. But he agreed to meet with us while he waited (which was definitely above and beyond). After we met with him, we headed back to Entusi and began transcribing our interviews for the day. Because I am a fairly quick typist, Tavia and I decided that she would conduct the interviews and I would transcribe them while people are talking, to save time and also to have a double-check with the recordings. I get most everything people are saying, but have to spend some time cleaning it up and fixing typos. 

I'm realizing that maybe I haven't explained what the research Tavia and I are doing actually is? So last year, Entusi/GLI partnered with the National Board of Certified Counselors to provide a training for community members in mental health, certifying them as mental health facilitators in their community. Essentially their job is to support people with mental health problems in their community and refer them to Kabale Regional if necessary. GLI was asked to once again host this training, but Jamie (GLI's CEO) first wanted to conduct an evaluation to determine how effective the training actually was, whether or not people have used the knowledge they gained, what challenges they face, and what they would change about the training in the future. Enter Tavia and I. We actually were not aware that we were the primary and sole researchers for this project when we started out, but it has been an interesting and exciting process to figure this all out. And to stop and reflect on the fact that we are actually conducting field work in a rural area of Africa that will hopefully have a deliverable that will be useful and informational, and result in more support for those with mental illness in the rural regions of Kabale. Even in just the last two days, we have walked so many places and met so many people, and they have told us how thankful they are for the Entusi center, and how they hope that we can get more mental health support for their community. So this week we will be conducting interviews with those who were trained in the mental health facilitation program at Entusi last year, as well as fellow community members and leaders. Then next week, we will code and compile the data and hopefully get it into the form of a concise and informational brief that can be utilized to determine the needs of the community and the direction future trainings should take. And on the 29th we will host a party/gathering for all those people who trained at Entusi as a way of sort of wrapping things up. Sorry, I didn't think I was going to be quite this long winded today, but the internet is out and apparently I had a lot to say. 

Oh! I got my official Rikuga name last night! (Rikuga is pronounced Ru-Chee-Ga, and is the name of the group of people here and of the language where we are. Although sometimes it sounds like they're saying Lucheega, so we all get confused). I don't know how to spell the name, but it is something like Niakarunge (pronounced nee-ah-kay-rune-gee), and they told me it means "beautiful." I can't really explain the feeling of happiness I felt when they gave me a Rukiga name. And maybe it seems a silly thing to become so excited about. But it's hard not to feel like you're becoming part of a family, part of something bigger when you are here with these people at Entusi. 

More vocab: Entusi means eucalyptus. Agande (uh-gone-dee) is a greeting like "hi, how are you?" Nije (nee-jay) is the response meaning "good". Orireje (oh-ree-ray-jay as far as I can tell) means good morning. I'm trying to think of others but those are the only ones coming to mind now. The language is VERY difficult. And people say their names so fast (last names first) that it's often difficult to even grasp a name. But the people have been understanding, and we've had a translator with us these last few days. His name is Brite and I swear he knows everyone within 100 miles. 

Okay apparently I could just keep going on and on tonight so I'm going to cut it here. I have some pictures from the day that I will post shortly. Yes, Jeremy, I'll post a picture of the tent we're staying in and some more of Entusi so you can see what it's like!!