How do you carry YOUR chicken??

I was walking between wards around the hospital last week, touching base with students when I ran across this gentleman under a tree. He was tying up his chicken so he could transport it home on the back of his bike. I asked if I could take a photo... and he proudly posed for me!:)

Watching him reminded me of the many chickens Luis, Meredith and I received, as welcoming gifts, while traveling through villages in Eastern Sierra Leone doing our grad school field research, back in 2007.

I was also reminded of a poster I saw at Chikankata hospital that talked about how if one did not have cash to pay hospitals bills, one could pay with in kind equivalents in the form of bags of maize, chicken or goats.

There is a country wide shortage of petrol and diesel fuel right now. This makes traveling a challenge. Our driver graciously waited for over 30min at 5am today to be able to purchase fuel for our trip to the hospital today. I think the last time I saw long lines at a fuel pump was on 9/11!! When do you last see lines at a fuel pump??

Out and about...

Decked out for a day at the hospital in our white lab coats!!
Playing with kids in the village (Kara)

(Biranna)

Brittany and Kara playing "Red Rover" with a gorup of kids after school one day!! Check out the air the kid got on that last pic!!:)

Sickness and Health

This last week has been a busy one. Saturday evening one of the girls was starting to get sick. Around 1am she suddenly got worse and I ended up taking her to the hospital nearby. I stayed with her through early afternoon on Sunday and then other's were able to take turns staying with her till she was discharged on Tues morning. She's still recuperating, but doing much better. Throughout the whole experience we were amazed at God's protection and provision. The clinic we go to is run by Mr Dr and Mrs Dr Jain. Originally from India, they have lived in Zambia for over 30 years. They have their own little 6 bed hospital next to their home and are only a short drive away. We've been blessed with such close access to great care! It was interesting to see health care from "the other side" - especially in place where family is so involved in patient care.

Today I accompanied two other girls for visits to the clinic to be tested for malaria. Both had started having symptoms today, and were started on medications right away. When caught early, the worst of the symptoms should be avoidable, though it will still take them at least a few days to fully recuperate. Thankfully neither had to be admitted!
Monday and Tuesday I was at Zimba hospital with eight of the students. I always enjoy spending time in the hospital settings here, but am often reminded of all that we take for granted in the US. There was a patient this last week in a severe condition that, though likely still terminal, would have required intubation and mechanical ventilation to survive longer. The Dr we were working with informed us that the closest ventilator was a five hour drive away. Just a few beds away though, that same afternoon, was a young man who had come in with difficulty breathing. We helped administer breathing treatments, started his IV and were able to give medications. By the next afternoon, he was walking around the hospital, fully recovered. It was encouraging to be reminded of the good that WAS possible within the limitations.

Now that I have returned to Zimba three weeks in a row, there are some patients that recognize me. My favorite is probably this young 6 year old girl who is waiting for the visiting surgeons who are coming next week. Her smile lights up her whole face! Each group of students has enjoyed talking to her and coloring pictures with her on their notepads. One afternoon this past week, two of the students and myself were sitting outside the pediatric ward with her on this bench for a while, attempting in vain to stay cool:). One of the students commented how she just enjoys BEING with us - the enjoyment was mutual.

The photos above are from one of the villages we drove through. I was sitting in the bus when I took them:). The driver had stopped to buy some potatoes.

The photo above is of two cooking stoves at the place we stayed in Chikankata. When the electricity is out, they use these to prepare food over wood fires.

Well, I'm in the living room to get better Internet access... but the mosquito's are dive bombing me, so I'll quit for now and head to my room for the rest of the evening... maybe I'll escape them under my mosquito net!!

How has YOUR week been?? I've enjoyed writing blog posts - being able to add photo's for all to see, but I sure miss all the emails about what's going on in YOUR lives!!! Thanks though for your many prayers!! I feel their impact!

Roses for Rob

I've been trying to load these photo's for the past 6 days, but this is the first time I've succeeded. I took them (and a whole lot more:) in Chikankata last week, between visiting the students on the various wards across the hospital grounds. One of the men who was helping to care for our group told me that they use banana peels and rotten bananas to fertilize the rose soil and that was why they grew so well!! They were all over the hospital grounds and ALL stunning!! So... here's my favorite's...

Nurse speak

This was the ICU nurse showing us how to draw up an injection using sterile procedure! A 15min procedure!! Fascinating to watch!! He gave it to a young child suffering from meningitis.

Estie and Lauren getting ready to pass out meds to patients. A different system than pyxis!!!

The next three pictures are of all the meds at one of the hospital pharmacies that we visited. There are four walls of shelves. Three are dedicated to ART (anti-retro viral therapy - HIV) and one is for all other conditions. One of the three ART shelves is all liquid doses - for newborn and pediatric patients. The government does provide ART free for patients. The three ART shelves are in a small room with temperature control. More stock is kept locked in another room, but still the balance of available medication options was eye opening - illness prevalence vs treatment options . For example, only two types of meds were available to treat malaria juxtaposed to the wide variety of meds for ART.

The shelves on the right half of this photo are the suspensions - liquid.

Above: more of the ART's.

Below: all the other meds! (including anti-malarial)

CLINICALS!!!!

This week started out at Zimba Hospital with half the students. It was my second week there with students, and it was fun to go back and already know some of the staff this time:). I've enjoyed being back in a hospital and getting to help teach skills!! Here are Lauren and Estie watching a GYN surgery!

Wednesday we spent a few hours watching a Pediatric ART (anti-retro viral therapy - HIV) clinic. We helped by checking weight, height, head circumference and temperatures. The students also observed the nurses, volunteers and other staff examining and counseling patients and their families or caretakers. It was fun playing with some of the kids while they were waiting for their check ups, but also heartbreaking to see some of the really sick kids. Putting names and faces to the innocence of AIDS brings tears to my eyes.

Later that afternoon, we drove about four hours north of here to Chikankata - the Salvation Army Hospital. It is in the middle of a VERY rural region of southern Zambia.



We were really impressed by all their facilities and the expertise and professionalism of the staff! Their ICU and NICU were the first I've seen in Zambia - they had oxygen, but no ventilators. It was fascinating to see some of the procedures - some very similar to ours in the US, and others very different. I loved asking LOTS of questions of the nurses!!:) Here's Heather starting an IV with the nurses assistance!
There is a big emphasis on education and many really impressive posters all over the hospital (we've seen similar ones around other medical facilities). This one deals with the false perception that sex with a virgin will cure AIDS. Haley and Rachel couldn't help posing with it though:)!

Ox carts like the one below are called "ambulances" - we learned they are privately owned and used to bring sick patients to the hospital for a fee. This one had a mattress in the back to make the ride a little more comfortable!

Market views...

Purple blossoms on the Jakaranda tree (sp??:)

A little market place next to Zimba hospital.

Dried fish!!!

Kapenta ... LITTLE dried fish!! We see these everywhere!!!

Jembo

Ever heard of "slash and burn" ... well we've seen this technique a few times in the past weeks, but the closest we've come to it was driving home from Jembo. A stretch of land along the road was burning, and in places it had already started to jump the road. We had no other option, but to drive through it! The heat poured in our open windows and we all tried to get a few photo's with our camera's!! We decided it would be a great idea for a new ride at Cedar point!! Those few moments really got our adrenaline pumping!!:):) The black lines in the picture above are the ladder on the side of the land rover...

Pam and Alyssa, surviving the adrenaline rush!!

Papaya sure is yummy when it's fresh!!!

We had some AMAZING lemonade from these lemons!!!

The view from the garden on the Bible School compound at Jembo. Note the cool fence and the purple tree in the background!

Village life...

I saw this lady carrying water on her head... couldn't resist the chance to take a photo (I did ask first!). It reminded me of the pen drawing that someone made for my parents years ago...

Being out in the villages on Wed/Thur last week, I used more than one toilet similar to the one above... walls around a hole. The first few times though brought back serious fears... I was reminded of the time in Sierra Leone when I accidentally lost my ONLY pair of glasses down a similar toilet hole. TRUST ME, I held on tight this time:):):)... by the end of day 2 I was a little more relaxed:).

This is one of the vista's from my favorite "mountain top" church. Sadly the photo's don't tell even a 1/4 of the story.... Sorry! You'll just have to come over and see it for yourself!!:)

Glimpses

Here are a few glimpses of the last week here in Zambia! The photo below is of Kara visiting with a few ladies under a tree, reading their Tonga Bible. This tree was just outside one of the churches. These women had walked from 10km away for revival services. The older woman had suffered from left leg swelling and right ear hearing loss. The pastor had prayed for her and she was healed. This church is at the top of a small mountain and the views around were beautiful!!

The photo below is inside another church (Sichibunde). This building was built in 1995. It too is at the top of a mountain, and the 360 degree's of vista were my absolute favorite that day!! STUNNING is such an understatement!!:):) I think it's now the second place in the world I've sat where I could have watched the sun rise and set from the same spot!! (the other at the southern most tip of India - Kanjakumari) Just sitting on those benches for a few minutes and thinking of all the men, women and children who have sat their before me, hearing about how much God loves them - and seeing Him working miracles in their lives - really touched me. It is humbling to see their trust and faith in light of the depth of struggles they face each day, just to survive!!

The past few weeks I have been blessed to see God at work around me - not only in my life, but in the lives of the other team members! We have faced various challenges, and seen God smooth the way for us - providing for all our needs!! Just the other night, one of the girls came into my room to share what God had done just that day that had shown her in a new and BIGGER way His faithfulness! Knowing the challenges she'd faced that week - to see the joy and encouragement on her face was such a blessing!! God is good!!!

The photo below was taken at Zimba hospital with one of the nurses who work in the Pediatric and OB ward. Meagan and Heather were working with her that day! Their highlight was seeing a delivery just after lunch, but their hearts were saddened too, to see the illnesses that the children were suffering from! It is truly heartbreaking to see what dying of AIDS really looks like, but when it is young children - it is especially difficult to come to grips with!

Job 1:20-22 (TNIV)
"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.'

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing."

This passage has been an encouragement as we wrestle with the sorrow we see. We need to follow Job's example when he was faced with unimaginable heartache - take time to express our sorrow, but then follow it closely with worship to God, knowing that in all of life's "unexplainable moments" - HE is still in control and worthy of our trust!