John Kalule came to visit!

John Kalule, co-founder of the health clinic in Uganda, came to visit Emma Willard last week along with Theresa Weinman (whose interview you can find in an earlier blog) and had the opportunity to both tour our campus, and speak to several girls and faculty members who were interested enough to come! (see pictures below)

John first presented a video he made about the clinic, projects they've been working on, and the new maternity ward. You can watch it here:
https://video214.com/play/z0skpQ4VmOiU8eQQOAQyyA/s/dark

And here is a video about the Maternity ward specifically:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa40gs0dPoY

After watching the video, John shared a bit about his life and the need he saw in his community for a health clinic. Interestingly enough, John did not realize this until he went to university. As a child, John would walk to school for about 4 miles with bare feet. If you were sick, there was no health care. If a woman was giving birth, she would get advice from a friend whose own personal delivery experience would be her only qualification to help. John, a very progressive man in Uganda, saw the need for more in Ddegeya, once he had left to go study. He is working to provide easily accessible and affordable health care to all, and to increase the number of girls who attend school.

In Uganda, in areas where people are fortunate enough to have health care, it works in a very different way. People basically diagnose themselves based on their symptoms, and they are handed whatever drug they ask for. There is no evaluation from certified personnel. John, along with co-founder Stephanie Van Dyke wanted this to be different in Ddegeya where there was previously no care. That is how the Health Clinic was first started and is the reason behind much of the work that has been done since. John also told the group about the reusable pad project and many other  that I will be working with him on, come March 10th.

After John and Theresa left, I received several texts from girls who had been in the room saying how honored they were to have met John and how interested they were in being involved further. The messages nearly brought me to tears because it was the exact impact I had hoped for. It made me really hopeful that my project may catch on and inspire Emma girls to be engaged further and even visit in the years to come.

John, like Emma Willard herself, saw a vision of how something should be, and he made it happen. Here is a picture of me and John Kalule on Emma Willard campus and another picture of him talking to some students: