Training in the villages

Good morning everyone,
Hope you are all coping with the terrible weather you are all experiencing.

I've just arrived back home from the training in Kayango Village. As usual it was a very interesting visit! It is always exciting to see how many people will return from the first training. In Uganda many organisations give money for transport and "sitting allowance". As we do not do this it is encouraging that two thirds of the participants returned.

There are many organisations here that focus primarily on development of women and income generating projects for them. This is great but many times these women can not put into practice what they learn because their husbands or male relatives do not understand what they are doing. We encourage men to come to the training so they can support their wives and relatives in their new ventures. It is new  for us to invite married couples to our training so that they can learn together, Three couples came and they all returned to the 2nd training.

We concentrate on teaching parents how to care for their children. Unfortunately these people are not blessed with the health education that we have in the west so it is our privilege to bring that information to them. It is always a pleasure to teach these people as they are so receptive to learn basic health practices that in the west we take for granted e.g. the importance of personal hygiene.

Water is a valuable commodity therefore using it for personal hygiene is low on their priorities. The tippy-tap is an economical way of using water for washing hands.

My Ugandan trainers taught the people the second module of the Three Stones Preventative Health Programme which concentrates on teaching how using the Three Stones Approach (safe water, proper hygiene/sanitation, and balanced diet) can reduce the risk of contracting Malaria, TB and HIV, if already HIV infected it teaches them how to live a more healthy lifestyle.

Changing mindset is a slow process. The participants work in groups as this method is interactive giving the people opportunities to think through problems and come up with their own practical solutions. A challenge for the trainers is guiding them through this process. It is great to see them working together as a team.

During this visit to Kayango, Bugiri my team and I met with representatives from World Vision to discuss with them future training together in more villages.

Will keep you posted on developments.

Love and God Bless

Pat