MALARIA PREVENTION

Malaria is the deadliest infectious disaease in the world. Annually, 500 million people get Malaria and 3 million children die from Malaria each year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, Malaria is the biggest killer of children under 5 and is responsible for the majority of miscarriages and maternal health problems. Using mosquito nets can reduce the incidence of Malaria by 90%, and using treated mosquito nets can reduce the number of infective mosquitoes within a 300 meter radius around where the net is hung. (http://www.softpowerhealth.org/).

GYPA's Helping Hands Medical Fellowship is teaming up with Soft Power Health, a U.S. based non-profit organization, in their Mosquito Net Distribution Program. By bringing this program to Namuwongo, medical fellows have sold close to 200 subsidized treated mosquito nets to residents of Namuwongo, mostly to women and their families. These nets will help prevent the spread of malaria in Namuwongo. The program also includes education about malaria and how the disease is spread, how the nets can provide a reduction in the incidence rate, and follow up to ensure the nets are being used properly.

MEDICAL FELLOW TREATS BRIGADIER NOBLE MAYOMBO

Dr. Josh Schroeder, Helping Hands Medical Fellow, was called to treat Brigadier Noble Mayombo, the permanent secretary of defense and a close aide to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. When Brig. Mayombo began to feel ill, Dr. Schroeder was called to come and treat him in his home. The following morning, Brig. Mayombo was admitted to Kampala International Hospital, where he remained until Sunday morning accompanied by Dr. Schroeder and a team of Cuban and Ugandan doctors. He was flown into Nairobi Sunday, April 29th, where he was accompanied by Dr. Schroeder and the team of physicians. Dr. Schroeder remained with the team of doctors treating Brig. Mayombo until his death on Monday, April 30th.

Brig. Mayombo held the post of Chief of Military Intelligence from 2000 to 2004 and had been a had risen through the ranks from Lieutenant to Brigadier. Also a lawyer, Brig. Mayombo served as army MP for a record eleven years. He was 42 when he passed away.

WATER PURIFICATION PROJECT

HHMF teams up with Population Services International (PSI), a nonprofit organization that addresses the health problems of low-income and vulnerable populations in more than 60 developing countries. HHMF and PSI are working together on a water purification project in Namuwomgo Zone B. This project used a system developed by PSI which purifies water in two simple steps: 1) Filtration with a 100% cotton cloth, and
2) addition of a chlorine attentive called Water-Guard to the water.

The work also includes education about water purification and diseases spread through drinking unpurified water. PSI came to Namuwongo to give an initial introduction on the topic to the leaders and GYPA members. The GYPA Youth Group in Namuwongo has taken on this step and begun to educate the public.

HIV TESTING IN NAMUWONGO

Helping Hands Medical Fellows worked with Mild May Centre, and HIV/AIDS centre which provides clinical outpatient service with a study centre to train and develop people in HIV/AIDS care and management. They have teamed up to offer free HIV testing to residents of Namuwongo Zone B. The Mild May staff lead educational sessions on safe sex, condoms and preformed HIV testing for all those who attended. The turnout was so high that they Mild May has arranged to come back to Namuwongo and do another day of testing, where they will be ready to test 500 more people for free.

© Glenna Gordon

Last night's Hiphop For a Cause show, put on at the Sharing Youth Center in Kampala by Breakdance Project Uganda, was an awesome blend of hiphop, rap and breakdance created and performed to show how these arts can benefit society.

Breakdance Project Uganda was founded in February 2006 by Global Kimeeza II alum Abramz to empower street kids, formerly abducted child soldiers and other disadvantaged children throughout Uganda using hiphop and breakdance. BPU offers free breakdancing classes to these children, giving them a positive means of expressing themselves and encouraging them to become future BPU teachers.

The Hiphop For a Cause performers ranged from Lyrical G, the hiphop winner of the 2006 Pearl of Africa Music awards, to a group of children from HEALS, an afterschool program in Gulu, to kids from the Kingship Orphanage in Kampala who had been training with LA-based hiphop choreographer Jessica Dexter.

Over 100 people attended the show, all proceeds from which will go into further Breakdance Project Uganda programming.

Global Kimeeza II participant Cecily David returned to her university in January and began working at once to raise awareness of the issues facing the youth of Uganda:

After returning from the Global Kimeeza II, I immediately began searching for ways to stay involved and connected with youth in Uganda. GYPA's SLAM AIDS campaign appealed to me because it seemed like a great fit for my campus community. UC Berkeley has three major poetry student groups and several AIDS interest organizations. SLAM AIDS seemed like a great opportunity to make use of talents and interests already on the campus and to create partnerships on the campus between groups with similar interests who otherwise do not collaborate. I began attending meetings with other organizations to meet people who would be interested in helping to organize the event. While a few individuals joined the effort through this, the most active people were students involved in Cal Slam, the slam poetry student group, and the African Music Ensemble, a very popular class in the music department. STAND: An Anti-Genocide Coalition, the president of which is a fellow GYPA alum, was also instrumental in providing people power to advertise, set up, and take down.

The night itself was powerful and unlike any other poetry event I've attended. I sought out diverse poetic styles when recruiting, but also decided to include musicians and multiple artistic forms of expression. The room was decorated with pictures from Uganda (provided by Jordan Steiner, president of STAND and Global Kimeeza I alum) and paintings from Ghana (my own). We had two DJs who provided an upbeat atmosphere before, during, and after the show, eight poets, and 3 musical acts. The African Music Ensemble opened the show with a short piece and closed the evening with the grand finale that included drums, rattles, a bell, singing, clapping, and dancing. The symbolism of the closing dance was about the empowerment of women and provided a very high energy close the evening.

Apart from the overall artistic quality and variety of the show, perhaps the biggest success was the attempt to make SLAM AIDS a sustainable effort on the UC Berkeley campus. While the focus of the evening remained on the poetry and music, STAND and individual participants announced their events, maintaining an orientation towards justice work. Through out the evening, I collected information for people interested in seeing SLAM AIDS again next semester. I received 16 names and am now helping to organize them so they can hit the ground running for next semester's SLAM AIDS.

Check out pictures from the event here.

The following Student Global Ambassadors have been selected to receive GYPA's inaugural SGA Social Impact Scholarship! These impressive youth leaders will participate in this summer's upcoming African Immersion programs in Cameroon and Uganda.


Kristen Axelson – Uganda (July)
Kristen will complete her MS in Mass Communications (specializing in Communications Strategy) from the Virginia Commonwealth Adcenter in May 2007. Kristen hopes to conduct research in Uganda as part of a project analyzing how the western world perceives Africa.

Cherlly Bailey – Uganda (August)
Cherlly Bailey is a student in the Nursing program at Tennessee State University. She hopes to pursue further studies and become a certified Nurse Practitioner specializing in women’s health issues on an international level.

Edith Bretado – Uganda (August)
Edith is a third-year student at UC Berkeley pursuing a degree in Development Studies and pre-medicine. She hopes to write about her experience in Uganda and encourage other students to participate in similar programs.

Keith Rosing – Cameroon (June)
Keith will complete his MS in Biology from Wright State University in June 2007. He is also undergoing EMT-Basic training through the University of Cincinnati. He hopes that his experience in Cameroon will expand upon his understanding of global affairs.

Shaina Shealy – Uganda (July)
Shaina is a freshman at George Washington University pursuing degrees in Art History and Psychology. An experienced photographer, writer, and artist, she looks forward to finding inspiration in Uganda.

Anna Simon – Uganda (July)
Anna is a sophomore at Vanderbilt studying both Child Studies and Human & Organizational Development, with a focus on Community Leadership & Development. She spent last summer volunteering at an orphanage in Uganda, and hopes this opportunity will help her to hone the skills she needs to serve as an advocate for youth in the region.

Sarah Young – Uganda (July)
Sarah will graduate in May 2007 from the University of Denver with a degree in Interpersonal Communication. She recently studied abroad in South Africa and is excited about the opportunity to return to the region.