This is Day 4 of a trip to Uganda with the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign. World Moms Blog founder, Jennifer Burden, was part of the delegation to observe UNICEF’s Family Health Days in October 2012.
Elizabeth, a volunteer health worker and Ugandan mother who helps to administer life-saving vaccines to children under 5 years old in Fort Portal with World Moms Blog Founder, Jennifer Burden, on a Shot@Life trip to Uganda in October 2012.
At Church in Uganda
Sunday, we rose and prepared for the Family Health Day in the town of Fort Portal, which is about a 4 hour drive from Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Our delegation split in two because there were two Family Health Days within our reach that our group wanted to cover, so some of our group headed to a Catholic Church. I was with the group that was at an Anglican church for a Family Health Day.
It was that day that I met John the Baptist, a man who wished to continue school to become a priest, but economics didn’t allow him to do so. He now worked for the town of Fort Portal and accompanied us on our trip. It turned out John the Baptist has a 6 year old daughter, and she and my own 5 year daughter are becoming pen pals over e-mail. What a fantastic cultural experience that may grow out of this trip for two of the world’s children!
We arrived at a grassy knoll with a church on top of the hill. It was picturesque. The familiar (to me) tune of hymns were coming from the building, and on the outside, the health workers were setting up their stations under trees and outside of buildings. Signs were words scrawled on paper: “HIV Testing Here” “Immunizations for Children Under 5”, etc.
First, Cindy Levin’s curiosity led us all into the mass. We sat on what looked like hand made wooden pews and the church inside was painted sky blue and had what looked like Christmas garland hanging from side to side overhead. The energy of the people singing inside was intense! As the priest spoke in a local African dialect, I was able to follow the mass. Not from what he said, but by the sing-song of his tone. I recognized the “Our Father” and the “The Apostle’s Creed” from my days of growing up as a Catholic, although I currently choose not to practice a religion now.
UNICEF Family Health Day
Afterwards we met with health workers, including a lab technician conducting HIV testing, a nurse midwife, and various volunteers administering vaccines, taking blood pressure and testing for malnutrition in small children. The delegation spent time observing each post, but former Mexican nurse, Felisa Hilbert, took it one step further and helped take blood pressure to the smiles of many people waiting in line.
Felisa Hilbert, a former nurse from Mexico, volunteers to take blood pressure during a UNICEF Family Health Day on a Shot@Life trip to Uganda.
Families waited under the shade of large, beautiful trees for their family members who were utilizing the health services. I had the chance to see children receive polio vaccinations.
Interacting with the mothers who were receiving these immunization services for their children was profound for me, after spending almost a year advocating for their children to have access to them.
The people we met in Uganda were curious and open to conversation, and so were we. Having previous been an British colony, English is common in Uganda. Having this common medium, made it possible for our delegation to really experience the local culture and people of Uganda.
I asked so many questions, met so many people and took a lot of notes. The trip has been an asset for me in leading discussions on Twitter for social good for World Moms Blog, for presenting on Shot@Life, in my writing, and in lobbying US Congress on global health and vaccines, talking to friends. But perhaps, it’s greatest impact will be on my daughters due to the multitude of stories I share with them about the children I met in Uganda. My experiences as part of this delegation were so meaningful. Thank you, again, to the UN Foundation and Shot@Life for giving me this great gift that I will continue to share in my advocacy.
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by founder, Jennifer Burden, in NJ, USA. To read more about Jennifer’s trip with Shot@Life to Uganda, check out Day 1 about UNICEF offices in Kampala, Uganda, Day 2 of her trip at a UNICEF Family Health Day in Mumbende, Uganda and Day 3 about signs of poverty.
Photo credits to the author.
Jennifer Burden
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India. She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls. Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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I love how you have so much to teach your children from your visit. I also have to say hats off to Felice for jumping in and helping out!!! xoxo You all make me proud!
Thank you, Sarah! I’m so glad that you joined Shot@Life as a Champion this year, too!
I love that your kids are coming to understand about another culture due to your time spent abroad…especially one that is such a contrast to our lives in the west.
And, awesome to have both experiences that were familiar as well as those that were unique. I am sure those similarities resonate with you as much as the differences do.
Thank you, Karyn! I love telling stories to my girls about my trip. It makes me happy to see them ask questions, too. The story of the children in Uganda is a story familiar throughout the world. Many children need our help!
What a privilege it must have been to see the works of what you’re advocating being materialize. It’s so easy to take for granted the easy access and affordability we have for vaccinations. You’re doing an awesome job Jennifer.
Thank you, Susan. It is so easy to take for granted. Before vaccinations, these diseases were very real and very deadly in many places. That is something that is easy to forget.
Thank you for coming over and commenting from Singapore!
Jen 🙂
Wonderful post Jennifer on your visit to Uganda and the impact it made on your life. Seeing the work on the ground is so important. It helps create understanding, compassion and bridges cultures.
Nicole,
You are an inspiration! You’ve been at this longer than I have! I look forward to where your next social good adventure will be!
Jen 🙂
So important! Good on you, Jen!
Thank you, Jennifer!! I look forward to your next World Voice report, always! I learn so much from you. 🙂
Jen 🙂
Thank you for sharing your trip to Uganda with us, Jen! Overall, it sounds like it was an awesome experience. I am glad you had the opportunity to get a first hand look at the work you’ve been advocating for.
I’m kind of jealous about your daughter’s pen pal! I remember having two different pen pals when I was younger…and the excitement of getting a letter or package with postmarks and stamps from other parts of the world 🙂 Hope it’s as memorable for her as it was for me.
Hi Eva!
I had penpals growing up, too. They are a lot of fun! We should get our little girls writing each other, too — why have we never thought of that?!
Jen 🙂
What a terrific experience Jen and how wonderful it is for you to be able to take us there along with you and see how important this journey really is and raise awareness. Your daughter is blessed to be able to experience having a pen pal 🙂
Thank you, Maureen! I’m so happy to take you all along on the journey. I’m glad I got the opportunity to go and am still reporting!
Thanks for your support!
Jen 🙂
It was a wonderful experience! I remember feeling very humble and I still feeling very humble and grateful for the opportunity to see the same scenes and experiences that I saw in my country in my nursing time. The needs were the same, the parents will walk for miles and wait very patiently with smiles in their faces. Motherhood is universal and no matter how many differences we saw, we were united for our love for our children!… and we talk to the Fort Portal Mothers, I cannot help it feel so honor; we were the same! the difference was the circumstances were we were born and what we call sacrifice here in the USA in nothing compare to the sacrifice they have to do. I remember writing about this experience in my blog and crying. Thank you Jennifer to remind me again of this wonderful time together.
Wow Jennifer! Absolutely amazing and inspiring work! Thanks so much for sharing. I always look forward to reading about your work in Uganda.
Thank you for sharing this journey. I think it’s a great experience to be able to see firsthand the work of the organization you support. It’s beautiful thing that your daughter is now friends with one of the Uganda kids through email correspondence! It’s so important to expose our kids to other cultures and let them see the world beyond the very one they live in. Thank you for your inspiring stories!
Wonderful recap, Jennifer! A few things – 1st) I think it’s so wonderful you hooked your daughter up with a pen pal! What you two can learn and share together! 2nd) Your comment about the mass hit home. My father always told me one of the many things he loved about Catholicism is that you can go anywhere in the world and attend the mass. It would always be the same, and you’d always be “home.” 3rd) My toddler saw the picture of you at the top and said “it’s mommy!” I let him know it wasn’t me but another really awesome mommy 😉