It
was a well-priced 26 hrs of travel that ended with my safe albeit disoriented
arrival in Kampala. I am staying next door to the apartment of a good
friend who is working on research as a Fogarty Fellow at Makerere. The
apartment complex is owned by TAMI (transafrican management institute)--one of
many NGOs lining Bukoto street. The apartment is not too expensive and is
only a 10 min walk to the IOM building. Its a lovely walk twice a day,
and with each passing day I am deciding that the equator is actually probably
where I should be living permanently. Kampala has changed in the past 7
yrs, but everyone remains incredibly welcoming and with a non-rushed
operational speed that forces one to be kind and savor each and every personal
interaction.
IOM-Kampala
has 4 nurses (training in a 5th now) and 3 doctors along with a lab
technologist, 2 secretaries, and a person who is working on the development of
a database while she also coordinates visits during the resettlement process
(similar to a case manager +). The Head of the Medical Department, Dr.
Natalia Gitu, has been here for 7 months and made many changes. She has
increased the number of nurses and has chosen to act as panel physician, seeing
applicants along with the 2 other panel physicians at IOM-Kampala. She is
working to renovate the buildings, and she is speaking with administration
about the need for a cold chain. The generator needs to be replaced to
ensure that vaccinations remain cold even on weekends. Currently, they
have vaccines only for self-payers and usually keep an anticipated 1 wk store
only. They do not give any vaccinations to refugees (unlike the IOM-Ethiopia
and IOM-Kenya).
Dr. Natalia leads with an inspiring style.
She has many years of experience in this field, and the staff here feels very
supported by her leadership. She has also been incredibly welcoming and
has invited me to accompany them on 2 resettlement camp visits. I will be
leaving on Sunday to visit Mbarara for 2 wks and then on Feb 2nd to help them
establish a new site in Hoima for 2 wks. The majority of refugees at
Mbarara are Somali, and the refugees at Kyangwali camp (in Hoima) are South
Sudanese and Congolese.
The nurses have so much expertise that I have
been able to learn much from them in addition to observing medical interviews
by panel doctors. The nurses work closely with an electronic application
system for the UK, Canada, and Australia. The US is the only country still
using paper application forms, and the majority of the applicants that are
processed here are destined for the US. Since internet here is more
expensive than rent, the electronic system is slow to load. However, after the
submit button is clicked, the applicant and the appropriate authorities have the
data immediately. This accelerates the process. The immigration process
varies by destination, and the requirements are closely followed for each
applicant. Nevertheless, the system runs smoothly here with the expertise
that comes with much experience and outstanding communication between the
embassies and IOM.
When I am not directly observing the applicant process here, I have been gathering information about the interpretation system and helping a group from the CDC to plan a mental health screening at Hoima. This has already been an exceptional experience, and I have to pinch myself periodically to reassure myself that it’s not all a dream!
I
hope all of you are staying healthy and warm!
~hope
pogemiller
