What our students say
An international perspective: sharing ideas in Uganda
Students on the Social Work MSW were offered the chance of a four week placement with The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) in Uganda. James Hollingworth took up the challenge.
Tell us about TASO?
TASO was created in 1987 by a group of 16 people who wanted to provide support for those affected by HIV/AIDS at a time of high stigma, ignorance and discrimination.
In the early days, the founder members voluntarily used their time and resources to visit HIV/AIDS patients, carrying them to the hospital and providing basic material and counselling support. Today TASO is the largest indigenous NGO providing HIV/AIDS services in Uganda and Africa. It has 11 service centres around Uganda, and 22 'mini-TASOs' and community based organisations in other parts of the country.
TASO's mission is "to contribute to a process of preventing HIV infection, restoring hope and improving the quality of life of persons, families and communities affected by HIV infection and disease".
How did the placement come about and how did you prepare?
The placement itself was organised by Kingston University, but we were responsible for arranging and funding our own flights and accommodation.
Wilson Muleya, the MSW Course Director, had been to TASO the year before and spent two weeks with the students on placement there, so he gave us a full briefing. We also did some of our own research to find out more about TASO and what they do, and exchanged emails with the students who went last year to ask advice about travel, the country and accommodation.
What was your role with TASO during the placement?
On arrival, we spent a few days in the capital Kampala to have an orientation and introduction to TASO. Then, of the six students from Kingston, two went to Jinja, two to Masaka and two (myself and a fellow student called David) to Mbale, near the Kenyan border. There were also two American students from George Washington University based in Mbale.
The teams that went to Jinja and Masaka were asked to do a SWOT anaylsis of TASO - to review and report on the organisation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. David and I were asked to do the same, but with reference to TASO's Child Support Project in Mbale, which funds and supports TASO clients through education as there is not (as yet) a universal education system in place in Uganda.
What did a typical day involve?
As we were reviewing The Child Support Project, much of our work was with the children using the service. Most of the children are affected by HIV/AIDS, whether by having the illness themselves, or having parents with HIV/AIDS or having lost parents to the illness. We did a lot of school visits talking to them about their experiences of TASO, with an emphasis on their needs and how they think the child support service could be improved. We ran a number of group sessions with children in schools as well as doing several one-to-one interviews. We then wrote a report based on their feedback and made a few specific recommendations such as offering a careers advice service, undertaking more long-term planning and some ideas for sourcing additional funding.
In addition, we shadowed the work of various people in TASO to get a taste for everything they do. Everything is very multi-agency – all delivered in one centre: doctors, counsellors, aromatherapists, everything you can think of, dance, sports and drama with the children. We coined the phrase 'sunshine indoors' to describe it!
We also helped out on weekly outreach days with things like organising and distributing medicines. TASO do outreach sessions once a week in different areas across the region. People don't have the money for transport to the centre, so up to 1,000 people attend, in a field with a tiny hut as a medical centre.
What about after work - how was your social life?
Mbale is a small town and people are very, very friendly, so you get to know people quite quickly. In the evenings we went out with TASO staff and we really became part of the scenery, part of the family. People in town would recognise you and come and chat to you.
TASO has a football team in the local league so I played for them - with 700-800 people watching us playing on a mud pitch. I’m used to playing in front of seven or eight people! The whole community goes along, it’s the biggest event of the week.
We also went on a safari to Queen Elizabeth Safari Park with TASO. They were doing a team bonding weekend away they invited us all along.
What were some of the things you learnt from working with TASO?
I was really impressed by how well multi-agency working operates. In the UK we talk about it constantly and we have all our IT systems and networks in place. In TASO they only have a few very slow computers and no databases. But all the professionals work together in the same place and everyone knows what everyone else is doing. By conversing with each other and communicating in traditional ways, such as weekly team meetings and a general culture of teamwork, it works. And there's a whole different relationship between staff and clients, much more informal than here, people are friends as well as doing the work.
There's a very strong work ethic with an emphasis on taking a psychosocial approach, and a genuine dedication to making a real difference. It was a big surprise to see just how good it was.
How did your share your learning - with TASO and with fellow students at home?
At the end of the project, David and I presented our findings to the TASO Mbale staff (around 80 staff – it's quite a big organisation). Then we joined up with the teams from Jinja and Masaka and all three teams gave a presentation to TASO's directors and head office staff.
Back at Kingston, we also gave a presentation and wrote a report comparing TASO with a UK AIDS support organisation - the Terrence Higgins Trust – based on our research of both.
Was there anything you found particularly challenging?
Initially I found the travelling quite hard work - local transport is usually by 'matatus' - run down mini bus-type taxis which are supposed to have 8 people in but usually have about 35! It's quite challenging at first, then you get used to it and you're fine with it.
A big challenge for me was timekeeping. I'm quite anal about being on time but in Uganda it’s a very relaxed atmosphere - if you say 9 o’clock, that could mean anytime up to 3 o’clock. It’s whenever it happens!
Obviously there are societal and cultural issues that are very different and can be challenging, such as poverty and attitudes towards homosexuality and criminal justice, for example. Working with children who have HIV is tough. They’ve lost all their family to HIV, they don't even have enough money for food – yet they’re doing brilliantly at school, getting up at 2am to do extra homework. And they're just the nicest children ever. That's very humbling.
Did your experience in Uganda change your career aspirations at all?
I'd definitely like the opportunity to go back to a place like that for a longer period. But it hasn't changed what I want to do here in the UK, which is to work in the youth justice sector.
What advice would you give other students considering an international placement?
Do it! Especially if you have an opportunity to go to a developing country, to experience a completely different culture and ways of working.
