FAOC Field Work

So this post is a retrospective one. We started doing field work the day after we arrived in Mbarara. First, I will explain basically what FAOC (Foundation for AIDS Orphaned Children) does. FAOC basically created a goat pass-on program for widowed and orphaned children in several parishes surrounding Mbarara. Many women in these parishes have meat goats already, but dairy goats can provide a more constant supply of food (milk) and they fetch a much higher price at the market. FAOC handed out a dairy buck and a few 50% crossed dairy goats to each parish. Each woman who received a FAOC dairy goat in turn needs to pass on one of her goats to another woman in the parish who does not have goats. In this way, each woman will be able to have goats, and can benefit from their production etc. Some parishes also require that each woman sell one of her dairy goat offspring and pool the money in the parish fund. They use this money to buy mattresses, household goods, etc for each woman in the parish. This system has been working very well in some of the parishes that have been using this program for several years. Others have a long way to go, but all the women are very happy and enthusiastic with this hand out system. So, we (me and my vet collegues) are responsible for training the women on basic veterinary care, nutrition and animal husbandry. Kent has provided a training session for a few women in each parish on these topics. They will in turn use their basic skills to deworm, castrate, give antibiotics to the goats in the parish in exchange for a small amount of money. We have a celebration this Friday for these women to present them with their veterinary kits and certificates for completing the course.

So, last week we visited a bunch of different parishes and introduced ourselves to the women and did basic health checks on the dairy goats. We saw many well constructed goat pens; it is amazing what people can build with limited supplies. I had pictures of these pens, but that was before they got deleted, so it will be a while before I can post anything. The best thing about the field work is meeting all the people. They always invite us for tea or send us on our way with many things. The children in the villages are always fascinated with us. When we waited in our car one day, we played some music and all the children in the village danced with Kent. Very funny!! And, I have yet to get tired of waving and saying "Hi How are you?" The funniest response we hear is "Muzungu...Give me more money!!!" It is weird because they dont even know what they are saying much of the time. They often respond "fine" before you have even asked anything.

So, nothing too exciting is going on right now. We just recovered from a weekend without power (3 days in total). The power was out again this morning...it seems like more of a constant than a variable here. Anyways, I am off to the tea room.... Hopefully I have some better stories soon...