Written by Kate Bishop-Williams PART 2
In the morning on January 29th, Vivienne, Sheri and I left for Kihihi on an Aerolink flight. The flights are small, domestic flights in Uganda, that service many regions of the country. The plane was a “caravan”, even smaller than the twin otter planes we fly in to Nunatsiavut! The views from the plane were spectacular. We flew over Lake Victoria and many of its islands, as well as over the hills and then the mountains in the Southwest. We stopped briefly in a small town, then another 15 minutes brought us to Kihihi. From Kihihi, we drove about 1 hour to reach Buhoma, our new home for the next 6 weeks!
On Saturday morning, we went to Bwindi Community Hospital, and we met with one of our new research partners. He was excited to have the data we are interested in, entered into comput
ers for a new digital database. In return for the data, we will do a small-scale evaluation of the surveillance system and databases for the hospital. Our meetings went very well, and we are excited to begin our work! In the afternoon, we said goodbye to Sheri, as she headed back to Canada, but we were so grateful she had been able to help us establish quick partnerships and begin working early!
Sunday is a day of rest for most people in Uganda, and was a chance for us to do so as well. The time change to Uganda from home is 8 hours, and we were still quite tired. In the afternoon, we went for a walk, to explore our new surroundings. We are so excited about the beauty of Uganda, and so impressed by the greenery we see in every direction!
On Sunday night we went out to a lodge for dinner. We went to Silverback Lodge, for a gourmet meal. Silverback Lodge is located near the top of one of the mountains, and the seating area for dinners overlooks the valleys and surrounding mountains. It is right at the edge of the forest, so the birds are plentiful and sing beautifully.
