My First Health Fair

On June 28, I attended what I’m guessing was the first public health fair ever in Bundibugyo. Since May I had been volunteering once a week at a local NGO, Bundibugyo Hands of Hope. The organization itself is amazing—a human rights advocacy group started by Ugandans for Ugandans. The founder and director is a graduate of Christ School who continued on to receive his university degree. What makes him unique is that he came back! The few students who are able to receive higher education rarely return to Bundibugyo but the few that do return have a heart to help the place they came from.

As I visited BUHAHO (abbreviation) and heard about their plans for an “exhibition” of sorts, I saw a great opportunity for public health education. Collaborating together, we came up with the idea of stalls covering a variety of topics including nutrition, agriculture, education, savings, sanitation, and spiritual needs. The fair was held at a local school in Bundimbele; a school that BUHAHO was already investing in.

The week of the fair, I found myself working feverishly—homemade laminating of visual aids using contact paper from America, buying bags and bags of produce from the market to demonstrate with, typing up a lesson plan in simple English, coordinating transport of some donations to the site, and so on.

The day came and despite my worries about rain (it had been pouring off and on for quite a few days straight), the fair was a great success! I was paired with a wonderful translator—a local farmer with a great understanding of English. Together, we gave the same lesson about nutrition at least twenty times. As groups of adults and students came around to our stall, it was so encouraging to see them engaged in learning and asking great questions.

The lesson was simple enough; grouping foods into three groups (body building, energy giving, and body protecting) and then teaching that you should eat three times a day and each meal should have something from each of the groups. 3 x 3 was our motto! I also included a visual price comparison—attempting to demonstrate that nutritious foods are locally available and inexpensive.

My mom’s job as a nurse includes a lot of health fairs. And I’m quite sure that this did not look like any of the ones she has attended! But, as I looked around, I was so encouraged. Ugandans were teaching each other about such valuable and life-giving things; things that will bring development to Bundibugyo. I was privileged to be a part of it and I learned a few things myself!