March 31, 2007, Gulu, Uganda
Dear Jo and Others,
Our one good truck broke down last night as we got into town , Gulu, from a trip out to a large refugee camp at Alero. Consequently we have worked on other things today here, such as statistics on the various camps for February. As you might suspect the most common ailments are Malaria, STDs, Worms, Diarrhea, Lung problems including TB. With very limited equipment sometimes it is not easy to arrive at good diagnosis.
MAP is hoping to get more testing equipment and I am encouraging it strongly.
With the fighting dying down, people’s moods and optimism-hope seems to be rapidly improving. We get lots of smiles as well as those downward looks of some who seem deeply troubled. And everyone seems to have a story. One man at the Alero camp has a small bicycle type rig which he motates using his hands-arms. One leg was blown off by a land mine near Alero. Three companions were killed. The first young woman I saw was
crawling with a very disfigured lower leg and an obviously deep infection over it. She may well also lose that leg, though we started long-term antibiotics.
You would love the kids. They crowd around and are eager for pictures. Some are very ill. One of the first children I saw was a 2 y.o. child brought in by the mother who was holding him up by his legs, head dangling as he was both vomiting and had diarrhea. He had choked on some of his vomitus.
I wish you could all see the refugee camps. I wish you could see the beehives made out of logs. I wish you could meet the friendly people. I wish you could see the giant cranes with 6-7 foot wings. I wish you could see all the children now swarming back to school; when only about 6 months ago they were afraid and the streets were nearly vacant much of the time.
Pray that our vehicle will get fixed. It will have to be taken clear back to Kampala. It is no wonder it gave up as the main road North to Juba in the Sudan is the most bumpy you could imagine. Pray that the peace talks will permanently succeed and the 20,00 boy soldiers taken captive to fight for the LRA will never be repeated. May this land stay happy.
Love to you all, Ken, Dad, GP, Boom and Friend