Flood?! haha! "How sad..." "That's unfortunate..."

Yes, so my last name is officially the laughing stock of Jinja-well that’s an over exaggeration…mainly just my work and home. But as soon as people find out that my surname is Flood they immediately burst into laughter (like the entire conference room full of TASO Staff) and then make comments about how unfortunate my name is. Anyhow, I enjoy it and find it humorous as well-never has my last name received so much attention. And now many more people at work say hello since they all know the intern with the funny/sad surname.


I realized that I should probably explain where I am working and what exactly I am doing here in Jinja. Our program is through the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD), which is based in San Francisco, but has sites all around the globe. FSD has a site team here in Jinja which consists of Program Director Margaret and Program Coordinators Jonan and Eunice (they’re all Ugandans, so aside from helping us with our families and work, they help us adapt to the culture and tell us where the good spots are for eating etc) FSD then connects each intern with a host family and an internship with a local NGO. I am working with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) for the next 9 weeks where it looks like I will be working with a community group of HIV+ women and men in a nearby town to come up with an income-generating activity (IGA) that the group can do to ensure their food security. I have already met and talked to the group leader Monica and I am headed out to the town tomorrow to meet with the rest of the group, complete the needs assessment and possibly begin the asset mapping.


Living with my host family and working with TASO have already been very meaningful learning experiences. I have really enjoyed my family so far, they are wonderful. We have a lot of good laughs together. At work I have had the privilege of getting to know some of the other interns who are students at the nearby universities, which has made work more fun. We share stories and talk about the differences between our home countries. In a fairly intense conversation yesterday, I learned that HIV+ Ugandans are not really allowed to leave the country. If a Ugandan wants to fly to the United States, they have to get tested for HIV/AIDS first and if they are found to be HIV+, they are not allowed to fly. Yet, all the 8 of us from the States had to do was buy a plane ticket to come-no tests, just optional vaccines. It's disturbing that we can just freely come to Uganda bringing with us whatever diseases or illnesses we have, but a Ugandan who is aware of their status, cannot fly to the United States. Although the law is illogical, I unfortunately find it somewhat unsuprising, it's a very American approach.