Sprouting Grain

"Unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die . . ." Today (note: Friday, this post got lost in cyberspace a few days . . . ) a delegation arrived from Kampala, a nutritionist and a community mobilization expert. They worked with Ministry of Health and a new collaborative USAID-funded program to improve nutrition for people living with HIV. People had told them to come and look at BundiNutrition . . . so three very pleasant and efficient men with notebooks and smiles showed up and asked a hundred questions. We toured the inpatient nutrition ward, telling individual stories. I showed them the eggs from the chicken project and the locally-produced g-nut and soy-pastes. They looked at the tedious records we keep each week, documenting the numbers of beneficiaries. Then they sat with Baguma Charles and Pauline, as well as Scott, to hear about Matiti and the Triple-B initiatives. Lastly they visited a production team. When they wanted to know how much weight children are gaining on our RUSF (ready-to-eat-supplementary-food) equivalent, I whipped out Stephanie's published article with its tables and numbers. At the end, the Ministry of Health man (with a m'slm name) looked us in the eye and said something like "I travel all over Uganda and I want you to know what is happening here is really remarkable, and we appreciate the work of your mission." Several thoughts: One, that we have an amazing team, and I wish that they could have been here to hear some positive feedback. Stephanie's efforts continue to bear fruit, and it is an honor to hear others recognize the uniqueness of the effort.. Karen, Heidi, Pat, Scotticus, and many others have labored to get BundiNutrition to this point. Two, I find myself dreading this sort of visit, anticipating (as with UNICEF) reprimand for all the ways we fall short of the ideal. So to receive unsolicited thankful feedback was very nice. And three, these visitors are part of a growing flow of interest in Bundibugyo, which I attribute to Dr. Jonah's death from ebola. Since ebola I notice that people in Kampala are more aware of Bundibugyo, more respectful and sympathetic to the challenges here. A year ago I don't think MOH and USAID would have chosen to come here. Now we are first in line for help. I'm not sure what will come of this visit, but possibly more resources for the HIV-infected and malnourished. Rumors abound of doctors about to be assigned to Bundibugyo. We are involved in sponsoring two new medical students and know of a third who received funding. Like the milk from UNICEF, these are all grains sprouting from the life laid down last December. Spring is on the way, even though it is technically August.