RAMBIA has partnered with a Canadian ministry, EMAS, who will help them with the funding of a much needed expansion and overall upgrading of their clinic. eMi was called in to design the master plan. since the scope of this project is small, we will be completing it in-house (as opposed to recruiting a large team to come from the US). we needed to meet with the staff about the master plan for the site and their vision for the expansion. we also needed to survey the site boundary, topography and all existing structures. i was to complete a structural assessment of the existing buildings.
we also coordinated our trip with a team arriving from EMAS: 2 doctors, a nurse, and 2 others, who will be in country for 2 weeks treating patients at the clinic. we would meet with them to get their input on how much additional space is needed and the configuration of the interior of the buildings.
we also coordinated our trip with a team arriving from EMAS: 2 doctors, a nurse, and 2 others, who will be in country for 2 weeks treating patients at the clinic. we would meet with them to get their input on how much additional space is needed and the configuration of the interior of the buildings.
so on wednesday morning, John Sauder, office director and architect, (read his staff bio here http://emiea.org/staffbio_sauder.shtm); Pat Aylard, civil engineer (staff bio http://emiea.org/staffbio_aylard.shtm), intern Aaron Haazon, me, and all our equipment, took off for a 5 hour matatu (taxi) ride to the Rwenzori Mountans of Uganda.
upon arriving at the site, we were greeted by the staff of Ugandans and a bunch of very curious village children who had seen the mzungus (white people) arrive.
the clinic has two main buildings. the smaller one one is used for an out-patient clinic. they sometimes see between 40 and 70 patients there on tuesdays and thursdays. many are mothers who bring their children for routine vaccinations, but others of all ages come with a variety of ailments. they also are able to dispense medications and do some patient education.
out-patient clinic building
the building is much too small for their needs, less than 600 square feet, and they envisioned constructing an addition to the building. after some inspection, i determined that the building was not constructed adequately. western Uganda is an area of high seismic activity and the building will be very dangerous in the event of an earthquake. this is not the building you want to be in during an earthquake, especially if you are sick and could not get out! John and i determined that an addition to the building would not be feasible and that a new more earthquake resistant building would need to be constructed and this building will be used for staff housing. obviously, the ideal scenario would be to demo the building and start over, but with limited funding, you do what you can.
fortunately, the newer, larger building, used for the maternity and in-patient wards, was constructed much better.
intern Aaron surveying the site in front of the maternity/in-patient ward building
so we gathered all the data at the site and went back to the hotel in Fort Portal, the town nearby. after dinner, we started drawing up the site survey and existing building plans and met briefly with the team from EMAS.
after breakfast the next morning we went back out to the clinic to present our findings and site plan to the staff and board members and get a better idea about their ideas for expansion and overall vision for RAMBIA. over the next few weeks, we will continue to work on the master plan and new clinic building designs and finalize a report, which they will implement as funding allows over the next few years. their partnership with EMAS is vital to this plan.
overall the trip went smoothly and was successful. and i even learned something unexpected about myself! at breakfast thursday morning, i was chatting with the nurse from EMAS. it was her first time in Africa and she was asking me about why i had decided to come serve with eMi for a year. i explained how i came to Uganda on a short term project trip in January and just fell in love with it. i felt God's call to return, and here i am. but later that day, as i thought back on our conversation, it dawned on me...i am not back in Uganda because i fell in love with it. don't get me wrong, i do love Uganda. but i also love North Carolina....probably a lot more than i love Africa!
i am here because i fell in love with doing God's will. i fell in love with hearing His call and responding. i fell in love with being obedient to God. and if God calls me somewhere else, i will go there. so....yes, i love Uganda, but that's not why i'm here. i am here because i love God!
note: i have posted a photo album on facebook with more pictures!
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