From Central Park to Ugandan village

By Jason Cohen

July 18, 2008

Originally from Hillside and currently studying at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in N.Y., Danny Asher is working with modern medical technology and learning the most up-to-date procedures. But Asher has just acquired a new skill that is trumping all others -- using a rain cistern.

That's because since June 16, Asher has lived in Uganda, where for the past seven days there hasn't been running water.

"The electricity works most of the time," Asher told The Jewish State in a phone interview. "However, it's really so different from being home in America where you are used to walking in a bathroom, flipping the light on, and taking a nice hot shower -- unlike here where most of the showers are cold or I boil water and take a sponge bath."

Asher is, along with Lauren Graber of Yale University, in Uganda performing a study: Lead Exposure in Kampala, Uganda: A Survey of Blood Levels in Children.

Makerere University in Uganda contacted Yale University and Mount Sinai and told them about a landfill that has been in Mpererwe since 1996. Makerere University believes the landfill is leaking lead into the town's water supply and affecting the health of the local population.

There are three main reasons for the study: to measure blood lead levels in 1st grade students utilizing a blood test, to measure soil and dust samples for lead in homes of 1st grade students, and to identify specific risk factors associated with increased lead levels in Kampala.

"We are going to seven schools along the river to get blood samples from 25 kids from each school or as many children as we can," Asher said. 

Asher said they are going to use the Global Information System (GIS), which determines the distance from the landfill to each child's house. 

"For us to find out how much lead is in a person's body we run a test that is similar to a diabetes test," he said. "We use a lead care analyzer that was donated to us for 10 months by Makerere University and it takes the blood, treats it with chemicals, and only takes a few minutes to find out how much lead is in that person's body."

Studies show that excessive amounts of lead on a child's body can cause congenital birth defects, cognitive deficits and lowered IQ, hyperactivity, decreased school performance, anemia, impaired visual motor function, loss of hearing, and abnormal development of the heart, liver, and kidneys.

"High levels of lead in children and pregnant mothers are very harmful because it stunts the development of children," Asher said.

Lead poisoning is a concern throughout Africa because of the high levels of lead in paint, minerals, and gasoline on the continent.

Asher and Graber are staying with local doctor Sam Louboga. He has seven children; three of which are in America and the rest are in Uganda. 

"Sam and his wife Christine think of Lauren and me as their children," Asher said. "His house is in the town with the rest of the shanties, but it is considered a mansion in Uganda."  

Though it was quite an adjustment to live with a devout Anglican family, Asher said he appreciated being in a religious home.  

"Since, it is obviously not a kosher home I make my own food all of the time," he said. "I make banana pancakes, ziti, vegetables, and I've even had my mom send me some food."

Everyone is extremely friendly throughout Uganda and is always willing to help out, he said.

"They love mzungus, which are white people, and the funniest thing is when I tell them that I'm an Orthodox Jew and they love it because they have never met a Jew before," Asher said.

The ultimate goal of this study is to educate the community, teach them about lead, how to fix it, and make the government and the people aware of it, Asher said.

"I feel that if the landfill was closed or at least cleaned up the town would a lot safer and lead wouldn't be as prevalent as it is now," Asher said, adding that the study, which will conclude in about five weeks, has been a rewarding experience. "It's just the feeling that I can make a difference in a foreign country as a person coming to help and exploring how I can help the kids."

For more information about Asher's day-to-day activities, visit Asher's blog at

http://ugandawanna.blogspot.com.