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i was in the field the last 2 days (left 6:30am monday, back at 10pm tuesday, worked 29 hours in 2 days…exhausting) doing my regular supervisory visits of the field staff and program activities. MIHV works with a local drama troupe to stage drama shows educating community members on particular health messages. the jury (in my opinion) is still out on whether these drama shows produce results, but people do come en masse. sister and i went to a show yesterday staged in an extremely remote section of ssembabule district and 150-200 people showed up. even if i question the chosen method of message delivery, i have to admit all is not lost if we’re talking to that many people.

me, sister, and the actors sat in the middle of a dusty field (ostensibly a soccer pitch with it’s rickety goal posts) as the troupe drummed & danced calling in the village members. people streamed onto the field from all corners…out of the banana fields, from the roads, from their homes…and they just kept coming. maybe the mzungu was an additional attraction to the drumming? to my dismay, i was the guest of honor, so i was placed right in the middle of the crowd next to the village chairman. no blending into the background there.

ever been in a place where you knew with 100% confidence that there was no one within 50km that looked like you? that was me yesterday. the sole white person sitting among a sea of black. no wonder the little kids on the side of the road jump up & down, point, and yell with excitement “mzungu! how are you?” when we drive by.

ps. i just checked out the wikipedia definition of mzungu. uncannily similar to my statement above. huh. 101paige 101africa 101iph