Friday 16 March 2012

Day 14 part one --- Last day :-(

Thursday 8th  March

Good morning !!

Back to the bus once more and we head further out of Kampala  to a small motel type place for the official handover of the new dental chair  ...

Here Mark models next to "our" school bus , which it seems must be indestructable  as its not broken despite the awful roads !!






The Handover went  very well.

T


The non profit making charity of foodsteps laid on a small reception in way of a cake and drinks etc


 The business of the day which was to celebrate Rotary Uk's fantastic efforts in conjunction with dentaid to get  a whole new surgery in a bin over to uganda to help the children at foodsteps ... wow !!!

barbara and the children of foodsteps explore the content of the "bin".. 


 The massive bonus for the boys of the day was ..... MISS UGANDA !!!!!!  and for this only pictures do it justice !!


why doesnt miss uganda have as many crows feet as Mark and I ???


 end of part one of day 14.



Day 13

Wednesday 7th March .

Were Leaving Mbale and heading south again towards Kampala and spending the night in the Kampala Mild May HIV hospital in their guest accomodation, so on the way we'll get to see some more of  the amazing Ugandan countryside and I'll post some pics ...

So its up early , and off we go ... stevens there to make us smile , help us load up ... in fact we need his help ...  a couple of the suitcases are so heavy and  full of shopping that I dont think there can be any produce left in Uganda that hasnt been bought and packed !!

The journey is as usual  , interesting on the Ugandan roads with its masive potholes, diverse scenery  etc.

Heres a few pics of the Journey , including a huge lorry which had fallen off the road .. I wonder if its still there ...??

not how I thought Uganda would look!

oooooppsss !!

truck stop - ugandan style

We had a nice lunch stop in Jinja and got a few little things for those at home who couldnt accompany us and then we were on our way to the Mild May Hospital in Kampala.

The hospital was a very impressive facility with large, modern buildings and was beautifully landscaped. For those whose lives have been  scarred by HIV I can only imagine the sense of benefit from being here and again I feel lucky to live where I live where the medical care can give good care to those afflicted with HIV. Its a shame the public health message about HIV seems to have waned and the UK rates of infection are , like those of STD's on the rise -- we have short memories.

Mild May HIV hospital Kampala.



We have been fortunate enough to have been invited to a german couples home for a barbecue this evening. They are called Natalie & Werner and they now reside in Uganda and run a charity called Foodsteps.

look them up on :-                           foodstep-uganda.blogspot.com

This charity rehomes children from a well known "institution" or incarceration centre called Kampiringisa. Children end up in this governement run centre and have no provision of anything and are basically imprisoned .. their crime .. having no family or no home and having to live on the streets. Barbara and Foodsteps have managed to get mobile dental clinics into this institution to give the children in there basic dental care , and the ugandan dentists clearly have a deep passion to help the children here and even if this was the only reason the funding came here for dental purposes it would be worth it.

The barbecue was splendid and much enjoyed by all and gave chance for discussion about many aspects of foodsteps, pathways that Dentaid can help on in the future and gave Mark and I a much deeper insight into the work of foodsteps as a charity .

Long night , time for bed- tomorrow is a meet and greet for the official Handover of the new dental chair from Rotary uk into the Guardianship of Foodsteps for use at Kampiringisa, but via Rotary Uganda as they have an official import number for getting items into Uganda from Uk charities.



Day 12

Tuesday 6th March

Not quite such an early up today as the hospital at Mt Elgon is only a few minutes drive away and the ugandan team are meeting us there, so a lie in , shower,  brekkie ( malarial medications -- must remember them !) & were off !!

Steven is in good form again with his infectious smile to welcome us onto the bus with the ugandan special handshake that were getting used to !

Off we go to Mt Elgon Hospital ... this should  be a treat and a serious improvment in surroundings from what weve been used to !

                                      the road into the centre of Mbale en route to Mt Elgon Clinic


The clinic at Mt Elgon had been advertised to staff and patients of the hospital and as usual , the dental need of the ugandan population was emphasised with the numbers arriving , mainly adults today . The room we were working in was a waiting room , with  a marble floor which was freshly mopped ---- massive improvement !!

The first  patient was the doctor at the hospital who had liased with Barbara and he got the privilege of using the new, rotary supplied dental chair ..... thankyou Romsey Rotary club, Uk, a superb gift !

                                                 the new chair , with light & suction box

The clinic was again very very busy and I now start to do "chair- hopping " as a lady has arrived in need of a denture and Mark is using the donated dental equipment and materials to show the ugandan team how to do impressions of good quality and how to make a denture using basic techniques, so the ugandan dentists quite rightly have all disappeared to watch him & hopefully pick up skille that will form part of the legacy of our trip to Uganda ... what they learnt from him during that demonstration was invaluable to them and only  made possible due to the very  kind donations we have had to enable us to be here with so much stuff!!



Thanks here to Schottlander ( massive stock of denture teeth & materials )  , the patients of both Mark and I , and Lois of Cygnet House Therapies ( donation of a dental motor to trim & polish dentures ) ....

We saw between us  about 100 patients again and Mark and the team managed what was probably a first in Uganda , a one visit , single tooth partial denture .... well done guy, and one very very happy patient !!

After the clinic  Mt Elgon hospital treated us to lunch which again was rice & beans for me as I didnt fancy the boiled banana accompaniement .... my word these ugandan lads have some appetite -- how the hell do they stay so slim -- maybe its just my metabolism slowing ......??

After clinic we were shown round the hospital by the Head Nurse which was , to say the least , eye opening !! This was the hospital laundry at the entrance to the operating theatre  .....

NHS in different lkight maybe , anyone complaining?

 We saw some of the patients in the hospital , one i wont forget is the little girl we saw with extremely deep burns to her arm and torso after an accident with boiling water at home ... mark and i both felt quite upset when we saw her as we're not used to seeing this kind of injury ... teeth are one thing  ... disfiguring burns to a small child is entirely another ... the room she was in was tiny, did not look fantastic and we wondered just what kind of treatment she'd be getting at home with grafts etc ... the intervention here is financially based and her parents didnt look like they could afford much for her as the wounds were open , undressed and looked to be being left to granulate over.

Im missing my kids again and nearly have tears in my eyes.

Moving swiftly on we get to see the room for the new dentaid surgery and it looks a significant improvement over the surgeries we have seen in Mbale ... the patients are going to love this !!







 private dental  surgery in Mbale  .. ."haircut and teeth out sir?" ... would you even go in there for a haircut in the uk?













                
the room for the proposed new UK spec surgery in Mt Elgon Hospital
just slightly different to the above .....??


Mark and I take a lot of measurements of both of the rooms and we use our joint experience in surgery design to draw out a basic design that requires minimal changes to the rooms. Luckily the floor in this room has loose tiles and is going to be replaced so I am able to suggest that an electrical outlet in the middle of the floor to supply the dental chair , this will avoid the trip hazard of a power wire over the floor and will make it look much better ... I just hope it happens , the senior nurse thinks it will but I'll beleive it when its been done !


Clinic, lunch , tour and design visit over Mark and I head off back to the bus to get it packed up which in the increasing heat is flippin hard work for most of us  in the heat and once its done we all get in the bus once more and go back to the Sunrise motel. 

This is our last night in Mbale at the sunrise hotel so we headed off on a motorbike taxi to the Mt Elgon hotel where by now we're regular wifi users .... tonights special though, we've organised a Pool contest between the ever confident Joseph and Gilbert as Uganda vs UK ( weve sold ourselves as pool experts although to be honest we're both bobbins !!!! - but its the psychology that counts !!! ) 


         motorbike taxi in Mbale .. this was a genuine picture of a guy waiting for fares !!!!! Would you ?

Well im glad to report that UK was victorious in the Pool contest and we had a fantastic  night with Gilbert and Joesph and some randoms who were dancing away to my music ( we had no choice but to officially refuse to listen to the love songs that the hotel were playing and they seemed only too happy to put something good on ...... although good is dependant on who you are .. Mark did his normal and took my playlist off , changed it to his,  which is a trick hes has had since we were at college together as he has always claimed superior taste  in music , throwing my cassette tapes into the back seat of my car .. well as times progressed he removed my ipod and put his on ... the reception that his choice of Gypsy punk music was , shall we say less than warmly received !!!  point proved mark?? ) 

Back to Sunrise Inn, ready for our journey south tomorrow back to the outskirts of Kampala and the beginning of the end of our trip ....................................... :-( .








Day 11

Monday 5th March

Today  is an up early day ready for todays outreach clinic at the Bushikor Compassion  International centre for children which is a "short"  drive from Mbale , but short drive in Uganda does not mean quick !!! The roads are a nightmare with "potholes" that you have to navigate, that are  the size of serious roadwaorks in the uk that would be fenced off in case you fell in them .. literally !

We arrived at the centre and there were the usual happy children everywhere in a mixture of uniforms and with some well maintained buldings adorned with very colourful , life message slogans and "interprative art style" pictures all designed to guide their students on the right path in life.






 As we have now become accustomed to, the hard physical work of moving the entire contents of the back of the bus is done swiftly with ( mainly ) teamwork is completed quickly and the empty room with the luxury of a concrete floor is quickly turned into  dental surgery  that makes a lot of the "private" practices , or at least the ones weve seen  look archaic which is a credit to Barbara and now Dentaid for the slow and long hard work shes done in building up the equipment to such a high level , over many years ( since 1996 ).


                                                              the temporary clinic

The clinic as usual is looking like its going to be a very busy one as once again the word has spread of the arrival of the Mzungo dental clinic and many children and adults begin to line up at the triage waiting room ( ie under a tree on benches ) and are then assessed by Joan and ably assisted by Steven as interpretor , co-ercer of children etc etc !!! My back didnt like the working position of these temporary chairs and I am missing my magnification loupes and lights that I reply on at home to help me do my job ... as you can see the illumination in these buildings isnt great and im thinking of asking the Uk based company I deal with if they would consider supplying some LED headlights for the ugandan team as they would improve things massively for them on these outreach clinics.


                                                   some of the children at Bushikor.


Barbara drew the "we cant see any more" line in the  sand when approximately 150 people had gone through for treatment and the school then said " but another bus has arrived full of children" ... this is typical here once the word has gone out ... when you simply cant do anymore, more arrive ... it shows the huge need for this work to be ongoing and emphasises that its so vital for the funding to continue .....

Mark was kept  very busy on the post op department and roped in some  help for the dental hygiene talks ....

                                   not sure who has the best smile here .. but the dinosaur might win!

Late lunch was being very kindly provided by Leonard ( ugandan dentist ) at his new house but being cooked by his wife and mother ...  bearing in mind his mother had had a huge across country trip to get to his house and his wife had a cesarian section 3 weeks ago , we are more than honoured to be invited to his home! Lunch was good and Leonard showed us his new home , of which he is immensely and quite rightly proud as its of brick built construction and now awaits its power and water connection , hopefully in the near future!


Back in the bus once more and off we go back to Sunrise  Inn, Mbale  to think about the day,  get some food and rest my aching back ready for another busy clinic tomorrow at the Mt Elgon private Hospital in Mbale where Barbara and dentaid are hoping to set up a fully modern ( uk equipment standard ) dental surgery which will be manned by Leonard and provide a chargeable but low cost , high standard service to the poor population of Mbale , fantastic.The clinic day is to show the CEO of the private hospital the benefits to the hospital that having the service there can bring and especially the cudos of having a superb , uk charity  backed surgery in situ ... a first in uganda.

                                           the terrificly colourful street scene in mbale !











day 10

Sunday 4th March .

We had a relaxing morning at Lacam lodge and our taxi driver, now that he knew where we were going had arrived on time to collect usand it became time for us to leave this oasis of natural beauty & calm.
The picture below is of Sipi falls , the largest waterfall in africa and the one we abseiled down.




The drive back was a little concerning as his "roadwise" skills seemed to be lacking somewhat .. while he drifted over the centre line towards a blind right hand bend with his mobile in his hand I have to say I was more than a little concerned !!

However, we made it back to the Sunrise Inn safely ( well in one piece at least ) and were welcomed back like we were regulars by the fantastic staff there who said they had missed us !!

Once back in our room with our water in the  minifridge & fresh fruit we sorted our stuff out for clinic the next day with my camera wanting a lense change ready so that if any cases of Infant Oral Mutilation came in we could take the pictures and Gilbert the ugandan dentist can have some photos for the day when ( hopeully funding dependant ) he is able to start his PHD on the subject based from the Uk, as education and law making is really the key to stop this abhorrent practice. 

We gave Gilbert the card for the gents  we had met from the UN over our camp fire , as their role in uganda was an advisory one on child development laws to be instigated  ... maybe our chance contact might grow into a good central contact for Gilbert to give him direct access to the people that make the laws ... I certainly hope so but it wont happen quickly here !!

The rest of sunday basically involved some prep for the following day , getting a meal in at a nearby hotel which serves very good western food at prices we find comparitively very cheap , but is so far out of reach for the locals . It makes you think,  as you sit there enjoying a meal just how lucky you are when some of the children we've seen cant and wont be enjoying a meal like this , maybe ever.

 Maybe this is the origins of the saying "food for thought".

Sunday 4 March 2012

Day 9

Saturday 3rd march.

Departed sunset inn at 8am in a private taxi to go to sipi from mbale, which is about an hours drive . The roads were mixed with some mud, some major potholes and then once onto the road up to sipi  the surface was positively European ( which if follows for long enough) goes onto the border with Kenya. 

We unfortunately had a driver who "knew" where we were going but over shot by some 40 minutes which was a great shame as I was itching to get outside and enjoy the stunning scenery. 

On arrival at Lacam lodge it was simply breathtaking and the views no the way the lodge has been created were awe inspiring .You can sit on the balcony and hear the Lower ( larger of the 3 ) sipi falls which is the largest fall in Africa. 

The Banda ( hut ) was beautiful .. ( I'm afraid you run out of adjectives to describe the scenery in this country and I'm sorry if I repeat them ! ) and had courtesy of an open fire and an old oil drum converted to a heat exchanger , running hot water so when in the shower you used gravity fed boiling hot water whilst having an uninterrupted view of the valley stretching beneath the lodge development - luxury indeed. 

mark and I headed off for a walk towards the falls and were met by some 
Local boys who guided us to a spot for great photogtraphy of the falls, this sent mark a little in adrenalin overdrive as we had booked an abseil of the falls later on ..... The view showed the immense height of th falls ... 100m drop!! 

We got a great tour back from the boys , waved at by the superbly happy locals and re-entered the lodge grounds ready for lunch .

The moment has come ... Dare we do it !!! We couldn't bottle really , it was the first time I've ever see mark truly speechless and he just couldn't talk in the brief build up to his descent, he went through with it, harnessed up and stepped over the edge ... Talk about a way to conquer your fears.. Well done mark !  I had abseiled before but have to say was still nervous . After checking my headcam was on I took the step of no return , crossing the rock on the floor which had carved in it " how are you feeling !!! " . 

After I had got my confidence in the ropes the descent offered a vista of indescribable beauty , I was midair next to the largest waterfall in Africa... Wow !!

The video of the decent is fab !! 

The return walk was extremely hard going and a very rapid ascent back up the where we joined the path we had walked with the boys earlier. You need to film or take pictures of everything as everywhere you look is a Picture postcard!! I am very lucky to be here and very thankful for Barbara's knowledge of this country as it has made this part of the trip possible.

the rest of the group went on a coffee tour but I had been told by the boys of a nearby prominent rock , which I walked to and enjoyed an hour or so's tranquility whilst the sun set .... I walked back to the lodge with my headcam I and recorded some great video of a true Ugandan village. 

The four course evening meal was very tasty and served by paraffin light , the massive shame being I couldn't be experiencing this special experience  with my family .

After the meal mark and I convinced the staff at the hotel to let us have a camp fire which was great fun and we were joined some Germans who were working with UNICEF and the Un and provided an interesting evenings discussion about Ugandan affairs . 

Tired out t.. Time for bed!! 

Day 8

Friday 1st March diary.

Up at 6.30 to get ready for the clinic today , bfast and bus ! We left at 8 am on the bus to again travel to Leonard's church for the second of our 2 day clinics.

As we arrived a young boy in a dirty yellow cardigan was waiting for us with a massively swollen face, poor thing. The local people had already copied the layout of benches outside under the cover of a large tree , for the tree-age ( sorry triage ) and a large queue was forming , ready for us !! 

The clinic was all setup very quickly and everybody was ready. After our morning briefing and words we set to on treating people. Mark was doing post-op and to be honest I don't know how he coped as the part of the church he was working in was already steaming hot and only got hotter !! 

Today was pretty much like yesterday With 4 dentists treating 100 patients and my outstanding memory of the day was a 3 year old girl who had got 4 totally decayed front top baby teeth which needed extracting. She tolerated the injections amazingly well , but on hearing another child screaming she lost her control and started to refuse ongoing care. Stephen the " driver" showed his amazing calming skill and took the girl away and talked to her . Suitably bribed she returned and let me complete all the extractions whilst laid on him in return for her pack of crayons that Mark had brought with him which she was delighted with. She was incredibly pretty  with a dirty dress and immaculately braided  hair , very upsetting to have to treat a girl of this age and I can't help but relate this to my own children as there for the grace of god go I .  Massive credit to Stephen as he showed he is worth his weight in gold!! 

The other distinct memory of the day was Nakirya Sharon aged 17yrs but looked no more than. 13-14 hrs old in her dirty school uniform . She again had the manners of an angel and let me get her decayed molar tooth out with an incredibly difficult extraction . She had also walked 3 hours to see us and faced the same home ... But she did tell me she had to get back as fast as possible as she had to go to school ......... Dedication.  Would my children have gone to school after dental surgery .. Probably not ! Again I hope to post Pictures of her when I get a good wifi connection as it seems Uganda's broadband is not all that reliable ! 

We were now all invited by Leonard the dentist , to his house whose wife ( who had a cesarean section 2 weeks ago )  had cooked the entire team a late lunch at his house with his mothers help!!  Lunch was  very tasty and must have been a massive effort as he has no power or running water at his recently built house and we got to meet his new born son . What a pleasure to experience the real Uganda ..... There is no way that any normal holiday would ever end up with seeing such rural beauty and diversity ... Thankyou Leonard. 

return to the hotel , shower and then food !! 

Tomorrow is a drive to Lacam Lodge retreat for a well deserved mini break , after all,  all work and no play makes johnny a dull boy !!! I can't wait to abseil down the waterfall and maximise the time we have here as Mt Elgon looks simply stunning ...... Laters !! 

Day 7

Diary for thursday 30th feb

Up early.. No car alarm birds here .. !! Hooray !!

Quick up & shower , the bus is leaving at 8 am  for our first clinic in  a Mbale slum.

We arrive in the bus at the crossroads down to the church in which we are having our clinic. This is the church that Leonard, one of the Ugandan team of dentists goes to and on the door the dental clinic has been advertised for some time , announcing the arrival of the dentaid team.

The clinic is all,set up from the equipment in the bus very rapidly.
Jo is literally doing "tree-age" ( triage , sorry !! ) with Steven so all have an identified dental need by the time they get to the dentists on duty.

We are very lucky today to have for the first time the new Rotary international sponsored dental chair which cost £2000, and is complete with led light and basic suction ..... Wow !! This chair compared to the majority of the " private clinics " and government clinics that I saw in the hospital is state of the art !!  Dentaid have done an exceptional job of packing the wheelie  bin in which It was all delivered with journals , materials etc !! Well done to them !

The team on today consist of  Barbara, Jo, Mitchell , mark , Leonard , Gilbert , Joseph and Louise.. Good job ... We've got 100  pt's to see in 30 deg heat !!

I felt sincerely humbled when I was treating some of my patients, they may all have no material possessions but their manners and respect simply put the woeful standards in the UK to shame.  One girl of 16 I saw today had had a 3 hour walk to get to us , had to have a very difficult extraction of her lower left second molar and faced a 3 hr walk home in increasing sunshine . I will never forget her and gave her some crayons , for which she expressed such gratitude you would think I have given her vast sums of money . She was one of the nicest 16 yr olds it has ever been my pleasure to  treat . I will not forget her. She was called Ndegemu Nata and I will post a picture of this incredible girl on my return to the uk , or on finding reliable wifi . and here is the picture .... ( shame i look like mr burns from the simpsons !!!! )



I found the clinic very hard  work due to the working position and have to say my back ached like I can't describe when we'd finished but I felt very satisfied with the teams achievements during the day as many many People  who simply can't afford treatment we got out pain due to Barbara's long term efforts in amassing a superbly high quality range of forceps, materials etc. I got so much pleasure in using the gloves and local anaesthetic I had brought out from my patients donations and valued every item due to its finite nature, unlike at home where it is easy to be complacent about things like sundries . Thankyou to all of my patients and Skegness round table for the funding to be here, making a difference to people's lives.

The end of the clinic, brought welcome relief and a tired team. One of the local elders assured Barbara her mass of highly valuable equipment would be safe overnight in his church as it would be guarded ... After some discussion we packed the equipment into a corner and went back to our hotel , wondering what the next day would bring!  ( a local man slept on the mud floor all night to e nsure it's safety as the elder did not want to break his word , which is incredible as the equipments valued we left was probably more than most of the People who live here would amass in a lifetime ) .

Mark and I found a local hotel which gave us free wifi and uploaded some pictures etc to Facebook and then an excellent meal ...... Which. I have to say felt somewhat less easy than at home as people who hadnt eaten anywhere near that quality of food , or amount where not thousands of miles away but within earshot... Scary indeed.

Through the wonders of Skype I spoke to my children, mya and Megan at home Mya was crying as she was missing me as it is the first time I've been away from her for so long ... I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear after the call as their lives are so different to those here and I am missing them terribly.

The funniest thing happened whilst walking home as mark and I shone the road ahead with our  phones To avoid being run down , but mid conversation mark vanished  in silence. ..his light vanished and I turned to my right to see he had simply dropped into a 6 ft hole at the side of the road Into mud and water ( well at best water , it was very brown !!!!! ) .. Obviously I found no humour in this and actually my ribs hurt from laughing myself to sleep at the hotel once we,d got there on a motorbike taxi !!!!! Sorry mate , I shouldn't have laughed so much !!!

Bed and rest , ready for another busy day tomorrow.

Friday 2 March 2012

Day 6

Diary for Wednesday 29th feb.

We are today travelling to Mbale and this is in essence a rest day so enroute we saw many wonderfully engaging towns and
Barbara knew about an amazing area at the source of the Nile and we all had a boat ride and saw many fantastic birds, colours and sights including being 3 ft from a black mamba snake !!

We called at a Ugandan style KFC .. Ie a truck stop where the locals will sell you freshly cooked chicken or liver done on charcoal at the roadside . -- very very tasty if a little intimidating when dozens of locals are all plying their wares through your bus window !!

The next stop was at a prehistoric cave painting site , we found a local man who knew where the paintings where and took us to what was a picture of true Africa. The paintings were simply awe inspiring and the added bonus of being able to play the rock drums under the paintings in this religious site was something I may never experience again and was very special and gave a superb opportunity to get some fantastic pictures.

Next stop was Mbale , a busy , energy full town of about 25,000 which was to be our home for the next few days for outreach clinics and a vist to Mt Elgon hospital to help Barbara establish a dental clinic there with Dentaid whic Mark and I look forward to being able to assist on in anyway we can.

The Sunrise hotel in Mbale is an old building but very comfortable and the staff are very kind and happy , so it will be a good base for our time there.

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Day 5

Diary for Tuesday 28th feb .

Woken by the car alarm birds .. Running theme that !

Left Kolping hotel at 8 am to travel the short distance to the university hospital of Malago.

Mark had a very bus morning for the students planned and had an in depth practice exercise for them to complete , this didn't need me so after having met the prosthetics teacher who had heard we were in town I asked if I could go and observe the students on his prosthetic clinic.

I asked if he minded me teaching the students and he said he was very happy as he had very little experience of prosthetic work .. He was the prosthetic tutor!!

The students had patients for dentures in the chairs and I discussed the pros and cons of leaving second molars off the full denture setups ... The senior student was initially unsure but her patient was complaining of a full mouth and thought she couldn't cope with the dentures . The dentures had been reduced as much as possible and when I convinced her to let me take the 7's off the patient immediately felt at Lot more at ease with her try in !

Another student I watched for 20 minutes scratching at a wax bite block ( used for recording the bite with dentures ) . I went to help her and within 30 minutes we had made new bite blocks , taken impressions and the patient was very grateful as she was facing having to make another trip of 6hrs ( round trip ) to get the impressions done as the student had told her she would not finish the required work at this appointment!!

On leaving the hospital Mark presented to Apolo the initial start of enough materials , and equipment for him to be able to start a basic denture laboratory , which is going to be called Melbo Lab, a fitting legacy for our trip here.

Monday 27 February 2012

day 4

diary for monday 27th february

Again awoken @6am by the car alarm birds !!

Really looking forward to today as we get to go and see the Mulago dental hospital and the new dental technician training school.

On our arrival after yet another interesting journey through Kampala we were met by the dean of the dental school and some members of his teaching staff.

It has become clear that in Uganda there are 2 level of dental training , a 5 yr course and a 3 year publi dental health course. The 3 year qualified dentists have an emergency and pain relief remit and the 5 yr students have had a ugandan BDS equivalency ( on paper  --- I watched on final year student attempt to take out buried roots of a lre from a 6 yr old girl .... she hadnt managed to get local in and so with topical only was using an elevator to remove the roots .. despite the fact that the abscess wasnt coming  from the roots .. it was from the grossly carious lrd !!  shes 3 months off being qualified , but she has only been seeing patients clinicaly for 1yr ! )

The clinial dental school had been supported by Belmont and the level of equipment was excellent , although the cross infection control seemed to leave a lot to be desired !!

We were "fortunate" enough to see where the students then have to go to work for 1 yr after qualification .. ( have got some pictures but they wont upload ... ! )  -- no wonder in clinics like this the Vt's encourage the patients to go to see them at their private clinics.

A small partial denture here on the government price list are from roughly  one hundred pounds in cost.

The students seemed to really get a lot from the day and all said they really enjoyed it. Many thanks to all our sponsors for making this possible as we really are making a difference to the first batch of dental technology students in uganda. Hopefully from here the provision of dentures etc can get better.

After a busy day we took a couple of the students for a coffee and then it was evening meal & an early night !

Day 3

Diary sunday 25th feb

Awoken @ 6.30 by the car alarm birds !!

No clinics today .

Quite an interesting itinerary ahead today ... Barbara has arranged a trip into the Centre of Kampala to see more of Kampala and to go a church called the Wototo central central church.. They are a group of churches and cover the whole of Kampala.


The church service in wototo central church was full, literally to the rafters and even has an overflow seating area with a projector to show the service direct to those that couldn't get in!! The "congregation" we're full of amazing vibrant energy and sang and danced relentlessly to the incredible choir ladies and the central " band" . There was a lot of happy clapping and an immensely long sermon , timed to perfection by the use of countdown clock onto the back wall of what was a classic British old cinema as most of the buildings are British leftovers from the 1950's. As one service ended we left in a huge throng and the next mass of people awaited to get in!!

The church runs 4 services a day and Ran very very proficiently and the cost of the contents of the church seemed in very stark contrast to the income of the majority of the rest of the congregation .. The preacher delivered his sermon from an iPad!! I have views about this I won't post on here.

We left for Meal in nearby supermarket food court which is very nice.

The " best" shopping centre in Kampala was quite basic and had all you could need but at a basic level.

Mark and I wanted to visit the local craft market and we plucked up the courage to ride on a Buda Buda ( a motorbike taxi ... No helmets !! )

The craft market was all locally made gift type produce and the haggling was much fun, Mark made an offer on one item that had the lady ringing her boss to see if could accept it !!

Came back to kolping hotel & finished off our lectures / presentation in readiness for the following day presenting and lecturing at the university of Makarere , which is a division of the hospital of Malago.



Saturday 25 February 2012

Day 2 ...

Diary of 25th February 

Up early this am for Breakfast .. , 
Changed into scrubs for the clinic.

interesting Bus drive  into the slum, where a large collection of street children were all being occupied by tv.  There were Male & female mangers looking after the kids, which numbered roughly 150. 

The clinic was assembled from the variety pack of boxes stored in the bus. - pictures to follow
 

Clinic started at approx 10.30 

I treated a number of patients , all with wonderful  manners who 
Literally  have nothing . I also trained and worked With the Ugandan dentists , Ambrose , Fayed.

Mark applied fluoride varnish for the first time and performed ( literally - bit of booty shaking!! ) an excellent role as DHE as we do want to leave a legacy behind so that they can help themselves and reduce the decay experience but sweets are so cheap , and coca- cola ( 2 ice cold bottles of coke , 3000 ugx = 90p. !!  ) the decay we see here is the tip of the iceberg the country will face on its current path Of an increasingly cariogenic diet.

The children were beautifully behaved & many spoke excellent English despite being some of the most poverty stricken children and all were very grateful for the use of modern dental equipment ( albeit in its most basic form ) 

The clinic finished & was packed away by approx 2pm.

The local people kindly provided us with lunch of rice and non spicy chilli con carne which is barbara's request from them as their gesture to us for the services we provide so that it is not seen as totally free. 

The experience and the gratitude expressed were humbling . 

After a quick shower and change from the scrubs mark and I went for a walk into Kampala , surprisingly our lungs coped very well with the acrid fumes and the smell of raw sewage and local food ... A heady combination !! 

Evening meal has been done and we look forward to another day tomorrow .. Albeit no clinics as we are spending some more time in Kampala.

Day 1 -

Diary of 24 th feb 2012.

Quite a relaxed start with a swim and spa at the hotel
Left for flight ba63 to entebbe airport And had a fantastic breakfast in waggamammas in terminal 5.
Flight delayed by 1hr but gave us the chance to get a couple of iPhone charge extender cases as when we're rural ...we really are rural !!

Arrived entebbe airport at 11.30 local time ( 3 hours ahead of the uk )

Barbara & driver met us in a large , typical African looking run down bus and then we passed out on the "m25" from kampala through a mass of shanty town like places with a party going on all the way down the road until we reached the sunset motel entebbe. We saw a nice big accident and were reliably informed that more people die of rta's than HIV here !!

Barbara told us about the child "prison" offically known as a rehabilitation centre for street kids who are " in the way" ... The officials deny its a prison but it houses children from 18 months old up to 12/13 and they apparently live in total squalor and have absolutely nothing.

A colleague of Barbara's is trying to sort out a project where she can , for 30 dollars a month remove , house, feed , love and educate these children. This lady on one occasion arrived at this place at the same time as a coach with some Americans on it bartering for the children .. They were to be sold for body parts.

Mya and Megan's clothes and toys are to go to some of the most needy children in existence and I feel very proud they have sent them , it's a shame I can't take some to give them personally , and see their faces Light up.. But maybe it's a good thing I don't see it as the images sound like they would haunt you for life.

Hotel is absolutely fine ... Has a shower & toilet & actually looks semi-appealing !! Room is very nice !

Unpacked all my stuff .. Didn't take mark long as he hasn't got anything with him ... Literally !! Mr 2 pairs of pants boy !!
Got the dental stuff all sorted into one case to leave on the bus and it all appears to have arrived intact !! Miracle!!
We have power here so were getting everything charged up to the max , and we are here until Wednesday , including doing some lecturing on Monday and tuesday at the dental / dental technician training college.
Barbara has sorted quite an interesting itinerary and I suspect that the hotel and all we've seen so far is lulling us into a false sense of security!

Alarms set for 7 for breakfast !! Our first Ugandan meal!

Friday 24 February 2012

Very generous ba check in staff !!

Big thankyou to the check in staff .. One of the cases full of dental laboratory equipment Bag weight limit ..23 kg !! Bag actually weighed 28kg !!! Sat in wagamammas for breakfast !!!!

Thursday 23 February 2012

Flying out today

Cant really beleive the day has finally arrived !! Leaving the nice 4* hotel for the plane in a few mins .. Arrive uganda 11.30 ish local time then onto clinics tomorrow !! Will try to post from uganda !! Catch u soon !

1 day to go ...

The tops have arrived from J & A Internationl and look great !! Thankyou


Bags packed  now all ready for the off tonight !
Dont think theres anything Ive forgotten .. ???????

Friday 17 February 2012

More generous donations ....

Great news , J & A international of spilsby have very kindly offered to sponsor our clinical wear for the duration Of our trip which is amazing !! Thankyou ! Philip odling of NFU insurance spilsby has also not only come up with the best cover of the many companies I tried , but also by far the best quote !! ( which he then very generously paid in full !!! ) Many thanks to him for His & his teams help this morning . 7 days to go and it feels like im getting 'sorted'!!

One week to go !!!

Were finalising things here . The anaesthetic is ordered .. Thankyou kent dental for giving me a good deal and a promise of A goody box .. So when it arrives ill post what they sent. We are packing the bags to go ... It is amazing just what 23kg is in luggage , Got so much stuff to take to give to the children in uganda its great . There is 23 kg of toys and clothes as were treating lots of children so i hope to be able not only to Help them dentally , but give them a toy as well . The feeling of slight apprehension is building now as were going to see a lot of things That mark & i have never experienced before!!! Ive got a meeting at J & A international from spilsby this morning with their charity committee to discuss The logo,d tshirts that mark & i plan to wear as our "clinical" tops so I hope theyre able to help us as times now running short . Still to do :- Holiday insurance !! But v difficult to find one that covers the cameras etc !! Im going to approach the NFU and see if they can help me !! Ill post later with progress from the day !!

Sunday 12 February 2012

12 days to go ....

Got some final bits to organise today 1) holiday insurance .... In the small print most companies wont cover my clinical camera!! 2) malaria tablets !! 3) hoping my head strap for my go pro camera arrives .. I want to film the places we go to do the rural clinics! And a full daylist at work as well !!

My daughters contribution ...

My daughters mya & megan have sorted out all their dolls etc and i now have quite a few toys & clothes to take with me. To uganda . I am also taking some clockwork toys to hopefully brighten the day of the children we shall be treating ... Maybe a bit better than a sticker !!!

And now from the iPad !

Just updating from the iPad I'm taking on the trip so I can keep everyone in touch with the progress of the trip .

Mobile blogging !!

Well it seems to have worked !!
Just trying the mobile blog update as im very new to this !!!

nettleham, primary school

have just been doing the first entry on the blog and I found a fantastic entry on the net by Nettleham primary school ... many thanks to them !!

Planning .. 2 weeks to go...!!

This is the blog about myself any my colleague mark Melbournes charity trip to Uganda. We have spent the weekend preparing for the trip !!! Ordered sun cream , mossie repellant etc & 3 large disposable bags which we can take all the very kindly donated equipment materials etc . The generosity of companies and individuals has been amazing , with one individual donating a thousand pounds. Skegness round table donated a thousand pounds as well which is incredible. Lots of smaller donations have Come in and all the money raised will enable to us treat a lot of Ugandan children , many of whom are orphans . I just read the story in the Lincolnshire press and was shocked to see 3 negative comments from people who had left feedback to the story taking the opportunity to say it was wrong for me to go to Uganda and try to help when people in the uk cannot afford dentistry!! While I empathise with their concerns about the cost of uk dentistry what they shouldn't do is use the fact that children in an underdeveloped part of the world are going to be helped and given pain free dentistry!! If they want to criticise the cost of uk dentistry then maybe they should go to university for 6 years borrow huge sums of money to enable them to be there, set up a practice with over 400k.s worth of essential kit and be governed by some of the most expensive regulations in the developed world whilst doing what is recognised statistically to be one of the most stressful jobs in the uk. But they probably haven't the intelligence to comprehend that.