A New Year Update
So first of all I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! This post is a quick summary of our activities in December and January.
1. Erin went to Kampala and successfully had her CT scan. She had a fantastic time there and wasn’t even scared when she had to go in the big scary machine. The doctor told her she had the courage of a boy! Unfortunately it turns out that she is suffering from chronic osteomyelitis (infected bone) in three different bones in her skull and sinuses. The next step will be to take her to Kampala again for a biopsy/removal of the infected bone and then she will most likely be on a long course of antibiotics to fully cure the infection.
2. We have been working hard to develop referral partnerships with a number of organizations operating in Gulu town. EKU has become an advocacy agency for Unaccompanied Minors in Gulu and so these partnerships allow us to refer children to the different services that they require so that we can continue with our holistic support.
3. As part of these referral partnerships we have been working with medical and psychosocial organizations in town to get our children the support they need. 1 child is currently undergoing treatment for depression and we have been able to assist three children with medical issues in January alone. Furthermore, one child mother, with our support, has been able to get much needed medical attention for a septic wound on her knee that comes from her time in captivity. She is now admitted at a local hospital and is undergoing daily wound cleanings in anticipation of a skin grafting later this month.
4. We have been very busy getting all the 19 kids registered for school which is not as easy as it seems. Here you cannot merely register a child for a school, get the admission form and be done with it. The good schools all require entrance interviews and then you have to deal with the situations of children failing and therefore having to find a different school for them to attend. It ends up taking a considerable amount of time! Plus there is such variance in terms of cost and requirements that the process is entirely new for each child you are dealing with. As with all starts of organizations this has been a learning experience and next year will progress much smoother in theory.
5. Of course all of this school registration has involved a large amount of fieldwork. Kilara and I prepared as best we could, but being in Uganda there is no way to ever be fully prepared. We have dealt with bike failures (resulting in a considerable amount of walking on my part), parents not being ready with their forms, absent school deputies, unreachable family members and a host of other issues.