Caroline had malaria last month. She was also 8 months pregnant. We learned about her illness from the other Suubi ladies who brought her necklaces to sell while she rested at home in bed. She managed to come to the Suubi building to do her interview with the rest of her group. She looked much healthier the following week when she walked from her home to sell her necklaces at the last buying meeting before the two week "election holiday." Caroline asked for an advance to pay hospital fees because the baby didn't come on its own. We gave her the extra money and wished her luck.

Today we learned that Caroline went to the hospital and had a C-section to deliver, but her baby was not healthy and passed away after a few hours. The sad news passed through the Suubi lady network and found us via Lillian the Translator at our regularly scheduled Teacher Meeting. Lillian said that Caroline was very ill at her home and asked us to please come visit her tomorrow. We said that we would try our best to come. Tomorrow is another voting day in Uganda for local council members. On the voting day last week, groups of unhappy people (and uninvolved bystanders) were tear gassed by police on Main Street in Jinja, so it may not be safe to move around town.

I don't know much about Caroline or her baby's health history and I'm not sure if Caroline's malaria had anything to do with the death of her baby, but I do know that it does with a lot of other women.

I want to end here. I want to just give you a short, short story, a tiny glimpse of what we see and do here, but it's not really fair to you. Chances are, if you're reading this, you care about people like Caroline. You feel sad when you hear stories like this about kind, hard-working people who are not very different from you other than the fact that they were born in a place where tropical diseases far out-number quality healthcare.

For more info about malaria and a great article about malaria in Uganda check out the links below.

I'm certain that part of my job is to communicate to you and connect you with the people we work with here. To be perfectly honest, I haven't really worked on connections with you outside of some odd blogs and random videos. I guess I'm realizing that talking to you - actually telling you honestly about what is going on here and asking what is going on there - is really important (i.e. essential) to what we do.

So I guess the best way to start is through real communication.

I'm going to try to see Caroline tomorrow. Part of me wants there to be tear gas and tanks and a big mess in town tomorrow so I don't have to go. But my mature brain checks in and says "Amber, you have to deal with things that make you uncomfortable. Do the right thing." So I will.

Still, I imagine the worst. Dark rooms. Sad, sick Caroline. Being asked for money to cover medical expenses. Worrying about doing the right thing. Wondering if there even is a right thing in this situation. I'm still unsure of what to do in illness/death situations. Ugandan expectations are different than American ones. It's hard to share traditions during difficult times. We're all stressed and nervous. No one in Uganda would ever bring a casserole or a cake to someone who lost a family member. Condolences in the form of cash are standard and expected from employers. So, to be a good employer in Uganda, I will visit and express my personal condolences and support. Then, I have two different monetary obligations: condolences as gifts for the baby who passed away and salary advances that will be paid back over time for Caroline who is still sick and needs further treatment.

I try to make policy - it's awful, though. What is the standard donation for "so sorry your child died"? Advances are a bit easier. When someone is very sick like this the maximum we can give is one month salary to begin being paid back in small amounts after two weeks. I'm leaning away from condolences except in the case of an employee passing away. For a non-Ugandan it's very hard to determine when condolences are appropriate. The people we work with have enormous immediate and extended families and are frequently (once or twice per month) attending burial services for deceased relatives. It may seem selfish and bad-mannered to our employees, but I don't think we can do condolences for family members.

Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. Every situation is different. Policy and standards can't really take you that far when you see a person suffering and have the resources to help them.