GIVE ME A FORM, am dying

, adying.

 Give me a form, am dying.
No you are not really dying i replied.
 but am very very sick,
yes all of the people here are sick, or even more sick.

This was the conversation that went on for the three days that we worked in the two different villages of the medical outreach. it took a lot decision of whether the medical team that came from the states should offer free medicine to our neighbors or not. all we feared was the effects it would bring on us who stayed in relationship as the medical team had parked to go back to America. would the people be appreciative? or would they still pressure the team to bring more doctors? would it actually have a long time impact on the natives? or would it be just a waste of time? the answers of these questions, we  would speculate but the Matt and Jamie, the directors were willing to give it a go to see the results and reaction this would bring on the village. 

Registration
I had the easiest, hardest and stressful job of all, this job also involved hurting people's fillings. i was giving to register patients as they came, i would give them their forms which they had to have to see the doctors for check up and treatment. well this explains how hard it was not to disappoint our patients. As hours went by, we had to consider not giving out more forms, this is because we had to stop at a certain time so it would not work if we gave out new forms to everyone. it was decided that the doctors would only see 300 patients a day so stopped giving out forms the moment it was 300 people. what about those who did not get forms yet were there waiting to see the doctors from morning? i really wanted to avoid answering this question but there was no other way around it, we are sorry the doctors can't see more than 300 patients. was the concluding words.  but even with that, people still were saying, give me a form, am very sick and about to die.
At the Abaana's hope, there were over 900 people treated because we spent two days there. i also hold amazing stories from here, we at-least found 400 people by the time we pulled up the first day. 

The important, big man
The second day there came a head teacher of a neighboring school who was sick and wanted to be treated. the line of patients was more than he could handle  this means he could not afford standing in the line yet he had to go back and teach. he was an important man. so he managed to come to where we we were, he came to me who had the forms and to Jamie who would give me permission to give him the form. so really he came to the right people directed by the chair person. Jamie's first question to his request was, Do you think you are more important than the rest of the people in the line? the old men and women, the babies at their mothers back? to both of our surprise, the man said YES with no hesitation and shame on his face. what? there was no need of asking the question for the second time. he was truly convinced he was way more important than every body else. 
what made him important? 
he was a teacher, he also headed the whole primary school, he got a government salary every month, he had a motorcycle, the chairman new him, he also knew English pretty well. he had to hurry and go back to teach while most of the patients there had nothing important to do after. well, all this brought him to a point of thinking he deserved to be seen first.  
The head teacher was not happy when we did not agree with him of his being important, just like any other person you are, so if you want to be treated, go back and stand in the line, i will be there to give you the form when it is your turn. this was not giving the big man the respect he thought he deserved, but a man of that kind for sure deserves not respect. so i was not willing to give it to him.
We have a very good culture, but this is one of the many areas that needs revising and attention. "the big man" the big men in Uganda have taken too much advantage of the locals thinking they are nothing, this teacher did not even consider that he gets a salary every month yet many of the natives live in constant doubts in their financial sector. he was the big man, he was more important, he had to be seen first.

Muno medicine
Many people drove to come to this medical clinic not because they couldn't afford the medicine else where, but because it was "muno, muzungu, white people" medicine. for some people, it cost them more to come than if they were to buy the medicine in their home town. now a week after they were treated, they are giving testimonies of how muno medicine works better than the local
one. one of the patient told one translator how she slept well the night after she took the muno medicine. there is no magic approach that can address this misconception, that's why i smile after i hear muno medicine.

Prayer is enough
For those who did not see the doctors, Camp and i went to give them de-Wormers. the pastor on the team used this as a chance to prayer with the people, as the prayer ended, one of the ladies followed the line but did not take the worm pill because the muno pastor had prayed and the worms had died there and then. i can't prove how true this is, but this is why she needed not the pill. the prayer was enough. was it the prayer? faith? or muno pastor? the answer lies in the victim.

It was encouraging to see people happy after getting medicine, more encouraging when those who did not get the medicine understood that it was impossible to treat everyone, thank God we treated those that got to see the doctor. some situations are hard to believe. i could believe when a guy came to me after announcing that we were done for the day, he came and said, thank you man for your work, it is not easy, but thank you for bearing with us. may be i will be treated the next time you come back. it left me thinking of how much humility it took him to say that even after he was one of those guys who came early but went back with no medicine, it was a lot of humility and selflessness. 
For people like those who understood, i appreciate and respect them. 


Give me a form please, am dying.
 No you are not really dying i replied.
 but am very very sick, 
yes all of the people here are sick, or even more sick.


Thank you very much the medical team from Alabama, 
AFOYO MATECH, thank you.

Pictures can be seen at  http://mattandjamie.fourcorners.org/