I have five areas of interest while I am here that I’ll elaborate on more thoroughly:
1. Personal Research
I have narrowed the focus of my research for this term, and it will somehow fit into my greater senior thesis due in fall 2009. I am incorporating my interest in the arts and peacebuilding by analyzing the peacebuilding themes present in Acholi pop culture, particularly focusing on the music of Jeff Korondo, Bosmic Otim, Black Angel, etc. I’m interested in what messages are being delivered to the masses… and what messages are not. In this way, I am able to tie in a component on freedom of speech and what social issues musicians can and cannot comment on for fear of government repercussions.
2. Northern Uganda Cultural Centre and Memorial
The Director of the Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre in Gulu, Joseph Okema, has envisioned a memorial and museum space for the history of the conflict and the region. Once I learned of this idea, I contacted him, and I am now drafting the concept proposal for the memorial. In other words, I am writing down his dream for this memorial in a formalized way, so that they can push it forward and begin contacting possible donors.
3. HEALS Youth Center
The Knoxville Jazz for Justice team is working with Jolly Okot’s organization (yes, the Jolly from Invisible Children) called HEALS which stands for “Health, Education, Arts, Literacy, and Sports” to do a creative arts project. We have come equipped with an oversized duffel full of art supplies and blank journals and are going to work with 5 boys and 5 girls of secondary school age. The journal project has a dreams and peace theme, so we’re hoping that it will be fruitful for the kids to express these things. The project officially launches on Thursday once our art teacher friend Vincent comes into town from Kampala. We are also working closely with an Acholi artist named Patrick who leads HEALS art programs.
4. ChildReach Africa, Child Mothers
Our friend Cathy Piwang and her organization ChildReach Africa works with child mothers in Gulu district, instructing them how to create embroidery as an income-generating tool. However, up to now they have only sewn images of flowers, which, however beautiful, don’t alert consumers that they are from child mothers in Northern Uganda. We are helping them to brainstorm images that are more Ugandan and reflect their Acholi culture and traditions, hopefully making the pieces more marketable.
5. Internship with Chairman Norbert Mao
I saved this for last not because it is least important or involved, but because I do not yet have details of the internship. In February when we met Chairman Mao in Gulu, he offered us an internship with the Gulu District Local Council V office. Up until earlier this week, we had been unable to reach Mao for our placements. We have now reconnected with him, and next week we will begin some sort of program. Mine will have relevance to peace, justice, and reconciliation issues. More details to come later.
Unfortunately, my health had another agenda and on Friday night I fell sick with malaria. Before becoming alarmed, rest assured that by Tuesday morning I felt 100% better.
On Friday night during dinner, I started feeling uncomfortable. My stomach hurt and my legs were extremely sore. We were watching the movie Sister Act, and before finishing we went home because we were tired and I didn’t feel well. After standing up, I realized just how poorly I felt, and I couldn’t get home fast enough. Before going to sleep I took ibuprofen and hoped I would wake up feeling fine. I said something to Erin about hoping it wasn’t malaria.
I slept through the night fairly well, but my legs especially kept hurting. I also had fever chills. I sensed something just wasn’t right.
On Saturday morning I had muscle aches and a headache, but the nausea had subsided. I even commented how I didn’t think I had malaria. But then as the morning progressed I begin feeling pretty bad again. My body felt so heavy. Ben had taken our friend Jeff to a clinic on Friday because he had malaria, so he agreed to take me to at least get tested. I didn’t want to wait until the next day for fear the clinic would be closed on Sunday and I would be feeling much worse.
After meeting with a Ugandan doctor, getting my finger pricked and blood drawn, and waiting for around 40 minutes, I learned that I did in fact have a few MPs (malarial parasites) in my blood sample, meaning…. I had malaria. Luckily, I had come in early before they multiplied further.
From my limited research on malaria, it is a parasite that enters your body through the bite of a mosquito. The parasite travels through your blood where it burrows in your liver. There is a cycle of this parasite and once it reaches a certain phase, the parasites (called plasmodium?) re-enter your bloodstream where they attack and destroy red blood cells. There are several strains of malaria and most are easily controlled with proper treatment during an outbreak. I am unsure which one I have, but the medicine I was prescribed controls even the most threatening plasmodium.
So 17,000 Ugandan shillings later (the equivalent of about US$10), I was wished a speedy recovery and sent on my way. For that 17,000 UGX, I paid for my doctor’s visit, lab fees, and received anti-malarial medication, anti-nausea meds, and painkillers. Not a bad deal, except that I still had to face my malaria.
Ben helped me to buy bread and butter and soda and water, so I could begin taking my medication. Once I got home, I my body felt very heavy, but my mind was active, so I spent the whole afternoon on my art journal. It was quite therapeutic.
That night I slept well again, but woke up in the early morning to extreme stomach pains. I was taking 5 pills every 5-8 hours, and my feeling is that my body didn’t know how to respond. For all of Sunday, I stayed home feeling pretty sick. The body aches, fever, and headache had subsided but my abdomen was in near constant pain. After taking my second dose of 5 pills, I vowed to cut out the unnecessary meds and that evening I only took the anti-malarial medicine they had given me. I woke up late on Monday morning (11:30AM) without the stomach pains, only feeling extremely tired. I went to a meeting at the NGO Forum in which I dragged, and spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping. By dinner on Monday night I was feeling much more normal.
Tuesday I woke up bright and early for an 8AM and meeting and felt great all day. I finished my medication on Monday afternoon, and once it was out of my system I didn’t have the over-medication sickness.
So here you have it, I survived a bout with malaria. Because I am on anti-malarial medications (doxycycline) that I take everyday (to “prevent” malaria) I only had a very mild episode and am so thankful. But I can now sympathize with Ugandans when they come down with malaria. I also am grateful that I had the money to seek treatment immediately, I cannot imagine having it get worse and being unable to get to a clinic.
From what I understand, malaria will stay in my system for the rest of my life or until a cure is developed, so I will more than likely have occasional outbreaks over the years. But with proper diagnosis and treatment, it is much like getting the flu in American standards.
It is unfortunate, but it could be something so much worse.
