Notes from the Field 2009

I love airports. They are filled with unique little overpriced stores that are perfect for wandering. Usually I feel a little guilty about walking into a store without purchasing anything but this is not the case in airports. Picking up a magazine and reading half of it is especially enjoyable when you don't pay for it, but good thing you can't do that with chewing gum. Overall I find airports a prime place for meditation and reflection.

The few days prior to an extended trip are full of last minute purchases, friendly goodbyes, packing conundrums, and lots of to-do lists. The airport is the calm from the prior days of panic and disorder. There really isn’t anything to do except hang-out, people watch, and wait for the airplane. I can't wait!

Continue reading "I'm good, I'm gone" »

Posted at 10:33 PM
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Hello everybody and welcome to my blog!

For those of you who are not aware, I am a second year student in the School of Public Heath at UMN. I am pursuing a MPH in Environmental Health with a concentration in global health. On June 1st (tomorrow!) I will be leaving for Uganda to conduct my Masters Field Experience. I will be working along with Tyler Weber (a fellow blogger and public health student) and the Engineers Without Borders (EWB-UMN) team on a water supply, sanitation and health project. Our time in Uganda will be spent in the rural community Mulobere at Hope Integrated Academy (HIA). HIA is a vocational college, high school and community resource center that is supported by Uganda Rural Fund (URF), an international and grassroots community based organization.

The partnership between EWB-UMN, HIA and URF began back in 2007. Following an initial project assessment in August 2007, six EWB-UMN students and two professionals returned in June 2008 to construct rainwater harvesting and dry composting sanitation systems at HIA. During our stay in Uganda this June, the engineers will be implementing a groundwater supply system and large-scale sanitation system to serve the increasing influx of students attending HIA. As the engineers work on the water supply portion of the project (the installation of a borehole with a submersible pump run by photovoltaic solar panels), Tyler and I will be conducting a community health assessment, distributing insecticide treated mosquito nets, and holding educational seminars on health, hygiene, sanitation and malaria. The assessment will be used to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the water and sanitation systems on the health of those that use them and (2) gather information on local water sources, water treatment methods, and hygiene and sanitation. The data collected will be used to measure the impact of the EWB projects and gain a better understanding of the needs of the community for future project phases.

More information on HIA, URF and specific details about the EWB-UMN Water Supply, Sanitation and Health projects can be found on the links listed below.

URF: http://www.ugandaruralfund.org/p1.htm
HIA: http://www.hopeacademyuganda.org/
EWB: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~ewb/projects_uganda.php

Thank you for checking out my blog and stay tuned for more details on our projects once we arrive in Mulobere!

Posted at 4:48 AM
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It’s a good thing I got my last post off when I did…I experienced my first power outage of my time in Kenya while we were at the internet café in Mombasa. It became evident as we went to pay our bill that when the electricity goes out; it is more than just an issue of not having lights working. The woman in front of us was irate about either having to pay or not being able to finish her work on the computer, and the owner could do nothing to calm her because he was too busy hoping people would be honest with him about what their time counter on the computer said they owed. The man was huddled with his cell phone as a flashlight over the cash drawer trying to make change for the customers who actually stayed to pay their bills. Now, the man not only having lost out on some money from current patrons no doubt, would be without customers until the electricity went on again. Without a generator (as some wealthy businesses have) the economic livelihood of small businesses depends on the chance of whether they will have electricity, and for how long. Given that small businesses are the foundation of life in Mtwapa and Mombasa alike, it is easy to understand how the “I’ll take life as it comes” mindset surrounds daily interactions.

Which brings me to my project…I was to begin teaching yesterday, Monday May 25. I had expected that relationship-building and gaining a cultural appreciation for Mtwapa before getting into the classroom would be important. Sunday evening, Christine, Keela and I were going to sit and discuss a daily schedule a little further, but Keela became quite sick. So on Monday, instead of being set on getting down to work, Christine requested that Keela and I rest a bit more in the morning, and just visit the kids in the afternoon as Keela is leaving today. Luckily, the curriculum for my project is quite flexible, and I will happily embrace the opportunity to truly take in the experience of Mtwapa when I am not teaching.

What has Mtwapa been like? Amazingly beautiful, incredibly challenging, and increasingly reflective. Let’s begin with the amazingly beautiful part. Every morning I wake up to three roosters crowing (which is actually kind of frustrating because they start sounding around 4am, and trust me the sun doesn’t come up until 6:30) nonetheless, it is the experience of farm-living I never had, and not that different from the trains running across Hennepin Avenue, so to me it’s just a new type of alarm clock. I then proceed to the kitchen where I make myself some tea and breakfast and head up the stairs to a huge, covered porch. With a gentle breeze and a lot of sunlight I sit and read for a bit while palm trees shade the right side and a view of beach apartments and open land are to my left. Mtwapa’s beauty also lies on its shores. On Saturday, we took the kids to the beach and could see the boats along the North Shore of Mombasa with water for miles and not a cloud in the sky. Likewise, at church on Sunday we sat in a building that was no more than a huge shed with plastic chairs and a simple altar up front. The structure itself was unremarkable, but the way in which the windows allow for as much sunlight and air to flow through naturally made it one of the most pleasant indoor environments I had visited yet. Finally, Mtwapa is beautiful in the smiles of the kids when they gulp down their Sunday treats of soda (pop for you Midwesterners), and watch a slideshow of pictures they took on Keela’s camera which she put on her laptop to show them.

Continue reading "I was in Minneapolis a week ago?" »

Posted at 5:54 AM
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Hello. My name is Eddie and I will soon be a second-year MPH-Environmental Health student at the U of M. This June and July, I'll be studying farming and health in Yunnan Province, China.

With support from the University of Minnesota and two Chinese non-governmental organizations (see YHDRA and PEAC links below), I'll interview farmers to obtain an inventory of pesticide exposures. My time in Yunnan will also be used to give a presentation about U.S. pesticide risk assessment, share a bit about U.S. farming and machinery, explore water usage in traditional and modern farming practices, stay on an organic farm, volunteer with a newly formed local foods distributor, offer small environmental health and English lessons, and simply learn how to grow rice.

To me, the most exciting part of this project is to be a link between farmers in Minnesota and farmers in Yunnan. Last week, I was able to do something that I should have done a long time ago. My uncle, who works for an elevator in southern Minnesota, lined me up with a day of learning about farming in the U.S.

Continue reading "What is a TerraGator?" »

Posted at 3:56 PM
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Hello!
As I write this, I am working on a list of things I still need to buy for my two trips abroad this summer. I leave for Haiti in two weeks in order to spend a week assisting with mobile clinics near Leogane, Haiti. I will be traveling with a small group of volunteers from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis. I am lucky enough to have a co-worker who is friends with the organizer of the trip who is a family practitioner. My role will be to assist in the “pharmacy” as well as help take vital stats and do some crowd control. I was told that when we arrive to the clinic sites each morning we are expected to see a line of 100 or so people waiting to be seen that day. Most of the medications we will be dispensing will be brought with us, meaning that I will be taking two large suitcases full of vitamins, antibiotics, and various other essential medications. I am looking forward to getting to experience how health care is delivered in Haiti while getting to learn more about its rich culture from the patients we will be seeing.

After my week in Haiti, I will be leaving for my field experience in Tanzania for my MPH in Community Health Education. I am a part-time student in the program, and I just completed my second year of taking classes. One of my interests is safe water and sanitation, which I will be assisting on a collaborative project near Arusha, Tanzania. The project is headed by Dr. Kurt Paterson of Michigan Technological University. Another student from the School of Public Health, Katarina Grande, and I will be going with a team of engineers from Michigan Tech. It will be the first year of a 3 year project, which will address safe water, sanitation, air pollution, and malaria. The first year is the planning year, where we will conduct a community needs assessment. We will be working with a group of students from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and we are being hosted by a great organization that is based out of Eden Prairie-- Peace House Africa. Peace House Africa is an organization dedicated to creating a brighter future for Africa’s orphans, vulnerable children and their communities through nurturing care, dynamic education, technology research and business development. I encourage you to check out their website:

http://www.peacehousefoundation.org/

I’m looking forward to writing about my experiences this summer. Hopefully I will have internet access that will allow me to post stories and observations, as well as some great pictures.

Now back to my list of things I need to take along!

Posted at 2:59 PM
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Good news: I made it to Mwtapa, Kenya! I arrived Wednesday morning, and Keela (American Volunteer and founder of Reason2Smile) and Christine (Host mother who runs Jambo Jipya) met me at the airport with Christine's son-in-law, Jay who drives one of the hundreds of Matatus that dominate the streets, no, correction, one street from Mombasa to Mwtapa. I quickly learned this will be the most comfortably Matatu ride I will have while I'm here as they typically carry 15-20 people, not just me and my luggage.

I was surprised, and most excited that Christine's house has 5 bedrooms, and multiple bathrooms. The toilets may be missing seats, and the water trickles in the sink, and the showers are so cold, but it allows me to stay cool and clean, so no complaints! Wednesday afternoon we went to visit Jambo Jipya, and went to the "field" with the kids once their classes were over. The field is a dirt and semi-grassy patch about the size of a soccer field. However, they walk about 10 minutes each way to the field, and the school rents the plot, so they can only go Monday and Wednesday from 3:30-5:00pm. Plus, there are 300 students, which fills the field quite quickly giving them little space to run and play. Nonetheless, they had a great time, and they the girls taught me the Kenyan equivalent of the hand slapping games we played in elementary school in the US. Christine, Keela, and I took one of Christine's recommended drivers back to the house, enjoyed beans and Kenyan tortillas, and I was ready for bed!

Continue reading "First few days in Mwtapa" »

Posted at 3:42 AM
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Greetings friends!

Thanks for checking out my blog. For those of you who don't know me I am a Maternal and Child Health MPH student with a global health concentration. In that last sentence people usually include if they are a first year or second year but I am more of a 1/2 year student. I found my way to the SPH through the core concepts certificate program and now I’m in MCH!

Anyway, this summer for my field experience I am heading to Uganda from June 1st to August 18th. Until I wrote that last sentence I didn't fully realize how close I am to my departure date! I suppose at some point I should think of moving out of my apartment. When I do travel to Uganda I will be in the company of University of Minnesota's Engineers Without Borders (EWB). Here are some resourceful websites highlighting their amazing work...

EWB: http://www.ewb-usa.org/

UMEWB: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~ewb/

Together the EWB group and I will be traveling to Mulobere, Uganda, about an hour south of Masaka. In Uganda we will be staying at Hope Integrated Academy (HIA) which is run and funded by the Uganda Rural Fund (URF). Check out the websites...

HIA: http://www.hopeacademyuganda.org/

URF: http://www.ugandaruralfund.org/

EWB will be installing a solar water pump and constructing a water storage system at HIA. This portion of the trip will be a great experience for me as I know next to nothing about engineering. Another public health student, Amber Koske, and I will be holding seminars about proper hygiene and sanitation techniques, conducting a health impact assessment to measure the incidence of diarrheal disease in the community surrounding HIA, and distributing over 1000 long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets (LLINs). Lots to do!

I'll be sure to post again just before I leave, and, in the meantime, I'll be relaxing at home and keeping my fingers crossed that my Malaria medication will arrive in the mail before my departure.

Posted at 8:56 AM
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Good morning Minnesota! I’m getting ready for flight number two on my way to Kenya, and have had a full day of fun in Amsterdam before you probably woke up this morning. Luckily, I can sleep on planes pretty well, and since my seat partner was absent on the plane last night, I had the window AND aisle seat to myself. I don’t think the same will happen on the way to Nairobi, it should be a full flight. Nonetheless, I downed some caffeine before landing this morning, and by noontime was on the bus to Keukenhof.

Keukenhof is an annual tulip festival held in the countryside in Amsterdam. Evidently this was their 60th year, and ironically enough, the festival was themed around New York, and the Statue of Liberty. It was a tough decision figuring out what to do during my 9 hour layover, and museums, and the Anne Frank house were well-recommended to me. However, knowing that I was going to be cooped up again for another flight, I took the opportunity to tour the tulip gardens. I stretched my legs for a good two and a half hours, took the opportunity to drink some extra water, and will be ready for a good night’s sleep to Kenya. Unfortunately, Keukenhof closes in two days. Which I thought would make it prime time for the tulps…quite the opposite. Spring must hit Amsterdam much before Minneapolis, and most of the flowers had already been cut back. That didn’t stop visitors from walking about though. There was a bride and groom getting photos taken, and even when the flowers are absent, the number of sculptures in the gardens out numbers those at the Walker in Minneapolis 10 to 1. Of course, as luck would have it, the rain did come out today, but I was ready with my snazzy lime green jacket  The flowers that were still blooming were magnificent, and the indoor greenhouse smelled so wonderful I wanted to pick a bouquet for the plane ride. (I’ve uploaded a mini-tour of the greenhouse to UTube http://www.youtube.com/user/UMSPH, and quick clip of the HUGE music box that was there.)

All in all, I would say Amsterdam is definitely a place I’d like to visit again in the future, and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to walk and tire my legs out for the evening. I also petted a Newfoundland that was twice my size and the gentlest dog ever. So basically, my day was complete. As far as the Amsterdam airport goes, it was so simple to exit and re-enter, I stored my backpack and miscellaneous items in a locker while I was gone, and hop a bus directly to Keukenhof and back. It is definitely a user-friendly airport, and some of the nicest information staff anywhere.

I am all smiles (as per the photos below) and now with a clean shirt, socks, and some extra deodorant…I’m ready for Nairobi!

Posted at 11:17 AM
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The clock is ticking on my one hour internet access...as well as until I board the plane for Amsterdam. This marks day one of three for travel to Mwtapa, Kenya, and this next hour will likely be the calmest of the past several days. I have probably made more "Target Runs" in the past 48 hours than I have since the start of the school year, and my bag was packed, unpacked, and repacked at least 3 times. I visited my parents in Alabama, got through a few finals, saw my roommates off for the summer, and attended the SPH Gala. Finally, the bag is checked, I had a decent meal at the airport before security, and the best news...there is actually a plane at the gate! (Always a good sign when you're getting ready for departure.)

For those of you who may be reading this who don't know me, (and for those of you who I haven't kept in touch with incredibly well) I am taking off tonight for my six-week field experience at Jambo Jipya The Future Child School in Mwtapa, Kenya. (http://www.reason2smile.org) I will be teaching and HIV/AIDS awareness and youth empowerment program to some of the older "boarders" at the school, and gaining a perspective of health and education on the other side of the world. I have just finished my first year of my MPH-Epidemiology program, and while this field experience may appear more in line with our division counterpart, Community Health, the concentration of the experience is on strengthening me as a public health professional. Understanding other cultures, exploring various approaches to health care, and simply gaining exposure to another way of life will be critical if my career leads me to global health issues.

With one hour to go until wheels are up in the air, I wanted to take a few moments to think about my hopes and concerns of this trip. Certainly, I trust that this will be a valuable academic experience and relevant to my future interests in epidemiology on a global scale. It is also a chance for me to truly travel independently. I have been abroad numerous times in the past, but Africa is one continent I have yet to experience. No parents, no teachers, no friends are travellng with me...it's going to be a long plane ride, but I am anxiously awaiting the smiles of the kids when I arrive at Jambo Jipya. Finally, I hope that my time has come to give back, in an arena where I may be of service. Every person that I know who has volunteered abroad says that the experience brought an indescribable perspective to their worldview. I do not expect that working with the youth at Jambo Jipya will fundamentally change me as a person, but I do believe it will challenge me to consider life's decisions, big and small, in a new context.

With regard to my concerns, they are simply that. I am not fearful about my time in Kenya, rather, I question how I will deal with a different way of life. In Minneapolis, I don't have to think about when I want to run, ride my bike to the grocery store, make dinner, or go downtown. I will now be dependent not only on another family's schedule, but in a setting where I have to find my way around again...and do so safely. Along those lines, I am by no means a picky eater, but I cannot escape my weak stomach. I am concerned that I will "slip up" and drink some bad water, or eat some washed lettuce. However, I am optimistic that the smiles on the kid's faces, along with the fact that my host "mother" is a nurse by profession, that those concerns will be set aside, and I can concentrate on making my hopes a reality.

I invite you to write your thoughts, hopes, questions, etc. here on the blog. I should have access to it a few times a week. I'll be checking in from Amsterdam tomorrow! Sleep tight!

Posted at 7:29 PM
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I leave for Uganda in 10 days! Yesterday, I handed in my last two final papers and I can finally start thinking about packing up my apartment and carefully packing my backpack for travel. My favorite part of preparing for a big trip is tightly rolling all my clothes up so that they take up the smallest amount of space in my pack. In the next ten days, I am also flying to NYC to see my sister graduate (Congratulations, Katie!) and driving to Iowa to see my grandma one last time before I head out. It’s a busy time, to say the least.

For the past eight days, I have been taking the oral typhoid vaccine - one pill every other day. I chose the oral vaccine because it lasts for five years and it’s cheaper than the injection, which only last for two years. I wish I had gotten the injection. Eight days of abdominal cramping and nausea (side effects of the oral vaccine) made me wonder how important immunity to typhoid really is. A friend, upon reading my doubts via my Facebook status, declared that it was “better to be sick here than abroad.” I guess I agree. About an hour ago, I also got the meningitis, polio, and hepatitis A vaccines. I was feeling a bit like a pincushion, but then while the nurse was sticking needles into my arm, she commented that I “must work out,” so I took the injections like a champ. I’ve often thought that it would be pretty sweet if you could notice every instance in which a vaccine actually prevented you from contracting a disease - like a little light flashed or a bell dinged when you were exposed to polio but didn’t get it because your vaccine did its job. I think such a light or bell would also remind me that, while I complain about the process of getting these vaccines, I am so exceptionally lucky to have the access to and the means necessary to receive them. Just another reason to be grateful to the field of public health…

Posted at 12:15 PM
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