Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Clinic Day 2

Good morning HTFT-Team Canada blog readers! This morning most were awakened at 3am…now let’s see was it the rooster, the cow outside our window, or one of the many goats that surround the school house? We are well and mostly sleeping soundly on mattresses laid on the concrete foundation floors of the clinic/school rooms, draped by mosquito netting and thankful to have had a cool night. Is there such a thing as snow? Not down here. This morning we met for a breakfast of coffee/tea/orange juice, porridge, bread, eggs, peanut butter, or fruit- (we are spoiled) as our meals are prepared by the women who work in the main house using some of Jo’s famous recipes (hey Jo we are still waiting for that recipe book!). The women of the house also wash our laundry by-hand , carry out all cooking and cleaning tasks, haul water, and work tirelessly to support the team.
We head to our stations and where we are assisted by enthusiastic translators
(returning Keno, Alex, & Charles) as well as four nurse assistants in training Marie-Claude, Anne Suze, Jenete, & Violete. Patients will travel to our clinic from the surrounding villages such as Noman, Bouchi, Loman, and Titwa. They are dressed in their best clothing and look immaculate. Many have made journey by foot (barefoot), for aged this can mean a walk of three hours so they must leave at 4am to arrive at the clinic.

Okay well it’s not all sun and fun. Some of us have started in with the diarrhea and vomiting but we are tough and hardy…and the hardiest will scale walls in the pitch-black of night to get to a toilet to relieve themselves (right Michelle? Luckily Nina the rotweiler was on her leash!)

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