BODA BODA

Tuesday was an awesome day! We had a meeting in the morning with the Chairman of Buikwe district, the district that Lugazi is in. Ahh, big deal, that's like meeting with our congress men and senators! He was an amazing man, very kind and down to earth, and he has some great ideas to help the people of Uganda. That afternoon was amazing though!

I had my first experience riding a boda boda (motorcyle taxi), which I was a little leery of after watching one get knocked off the road and into the ditch last week. Traffic is crazy here! If anything scares me about Africa it is the cars. They do NOT stop for pedestrians. So I mustered up my courage and got on the boda to take us a couple miles down the road to Lugazi University. I wasn't brave enough yet to sit side-saddle like the women here so I straddled the bike like a man... My dress had no stretch to it though, haha, so it was extremely awkward, and I'm afraid I showed my knees and an inch of my thigh... scandalous! Opps! Nicole and I shared one boda so it was a little squishy, but I felt nice and safe. We made sure to tell the driver EMPOLA EMPOLA (slowly slowly!), and we made it there safe and sound! Whew! It was actually quite fun!

I have finally made it to the best part of the day though. We were going to the university to meet with Immanuel to do HIV/AIDs testing. I thought we were just meeting with him to learn about it, but we were actually going to do the testing! Ahh, I don't know how to do this. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but it ended up being the coolest experience. We weren't allowed to do any of the actual poking with the needles, but we did a lot to help with the process of testing. We cleaned fingers with alcohol pads, registered patients, visited with them while they waitied for their results, and helped deliver the results. I had a great time visiting with two women while they waitied for their results and learned a lot about Ugandan history and culture from them. Delivering the results was so amazing though. Thankfully all of the 50 students that we tested came up negative, they did not have the virus, but many of them were very nervous and knew that they were at risk for the disease. We counseled with each one of them individually before giving them their results, asked them if they knew what put them at risk for contracting the virus, if they had done anything risky, and if so, committed them to stop doing those risky things. We told them how wonderful life is and all that they have to accomplish in life. That it is not worth taking those risks. Nicole, my country director, and I tag teamed on some of the consultations. I felt like a sister missionary as we taught these people, testified that what the other said was true, and committed them to changing their lifestyle. I hope that we made a difference in the lives of some people that day. There was one man in particular that was very nervous to be tested. Nicole talked with him for quite some time, comforting him and expressing to him the importance of being tested. He eventually decided to be tested and when he received his results that he was HIV free he declared that he was never going to put himself at risk again and that he was going to go back to his village and tell everyone to be tested and to abstain from those risky behaviors. It is a terrible thing that this virus is attacking the lives of so many wonderful people and children, and I hope that we will be successful this summer at saving the lives of many Ugandans from its destructive forces. I hope that I was able to touch someone's life today, but whether or not I did, I was touched by the experience I had and expanded my love for teaching and counseling others.