This week was another big trip, this time to a town called El Obraje in the department La Pimienta. This town was quite a bit further than El Roblar-- closer to 3.5 hours in the car-- but more easily accessible; we pulled the car right up to the clinic, no hiking necessary!
Our first big activity were the health stations that we did on Tuesday morning and stretching into the afternoon. Our partner takes statistics like the height, weight, and hemoglobin levels of children under five and other at-risk individuals and compares them from year to year. Sarah and I were put on the anemia-checking station, which means that we collectively pricked 74 children and tested their blood for hemoglobin in portable machines. Jessica, the staff member we've been working the most closely with, told us that we should explain to the mothers that anemia is not an incredibly serious disease to make sure they didn't become overly upset; our partner tries to treat it mostly with changes in diet, though vitamins are sometimes available.
We spent most of the week supervising water filters as we did in El Roblar. Though we had many more to do in El Obraje (over 70 as opposed to 22), the task went much faster as the terrain was quite flat which made it easy to walk around.
On Tuesday night, we processed some of the water samples we had taken earlier in the day. We had some "PetriFilms," a kind of mobile petri dish and agar which allowed us to grow the bacteria in the field and see how effective the filters actually were. As in El Roblar, we had mixed results with some families drinking completely clean water and others drinking water more contaminated than their original well. While these results were obviously disappointing, it gave us a good idea of how to direct the community meeting on Thursday afternoon.
The meeting, or asamblea, wasn't quite what I was expecting. The staff and the health committee took equal parts in leading the meeting. The health promoter himself was pretty shy, but Jessica felt that some information would have a greater impact if it came from him. Additionally, he's the one who will follow up on progress-- cleanliness of water filters, for example, or weighing children found to be malnourished-- after we leave, so the community needed to see that he was capable in this regard.
The community seemed most interested in the results from the anemia test, which is perhaps not surprising since it was certainly the most dramatic. The team and the health community worked hard to present all of the data in an interesting manner, however, from posters of nourishing foods to skits of how to care for the water filters, so hopefully the community members were able to take away most of the information.
Since this was the longest time we'd spent in a community, we got to try some interesting new foods, and especially new beverages. One of the most memorable is called avena. It's made from oats, specifically oatmeal, dissolved in water with a great deal of sugar. There's so much sugar that you can't really taste the oatmeal, but it's still not something I'd like to drink every day. Nicaraguans, however, are just as perplexed by North American-style oatmeal (cooked with sugar, berries, etc). It's a funny little culture clash I wasn't quite expecting.
And today at breakfast back in Managua, a couple of the staff cut down some fresh mangoes and shared with us. They were juicy and sweet, but the men had inexplicably piled salt on them. Sarah and I tried a couple of bites, but wound up wiping most of the salt off when no one was looking.
Sorry for the super long post, but I had a lot to catch you all up on! We're also going away for the weekend, so expect a new post on Monday or Tuesday. I'll be around next week, however, so maybe you'll get some more regular messages after that.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Domingo = Deathly Hallows
I finally got to see Harry Potter today! Totally worth the wait, and the AC in the theater was really nice as well.
But I'm mostly writing because I'm leaving tomorrow for the whole week; we're going to another department called Chinandega where we'll be working on the filters and doing health stations. I'll try to give you an update this weekend :)
But I'm mostly writing because I'm leaving tomorrow for the whole week; we're going to another department called Chinandega where we'll be working on the filters and doing health stations. I'll try to give you an update this weekend :)
Surprise! Some pictures!
As I'm sure you've all figured out by now, I'm not much of a photographer. Fortunately, I'm traveling with Sarah who has a fantastic camera and took a bunch of pictures from the trip. She gave me permission to post a couple up here so you all can get a better feel for the trip. Enjoy!
The hike down to the car on Thursday; it had been raining on-and-off all morning and we were all pretty wet and muddy.
The lovely Sarah looking skeptical about the whole experience
We had to go through lots of barbed wire fences because there were so many cows in the community. I'm not sure if the mist made the community more beautiful or just hid the spectacular vistas.
Testing one of the filters.
Our "shower" for the week. It was more enclosed than this picture shows, but it was still a bit of a challenge!
The hike down to the car on Thursday; it had been raining on-and-off all morning and we were all pretty wet and muddy.
The lovely Sarah looking skeptical about the whole experience
We had to go through lots of barbed wire fences because there were so many cows in the community. I'm not sure if the mist made the community more beautiful or just hid the spectacular vistas.
Testing one of the filters.
Our "shower" for the week. It was more enclosed than this picture shows, but it was still a bit of a challenge!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Back in Managua!
Hello everyone, I'm back in Managua with both internet and running water! What a luxury.
I spent the past couple of days in El Roblar, an extremely rural and isolated community in the department (state) of Boaco. Our team was taking samples of water from filters installed in March of this year, and also from the original water source (e.g. river or well) and the receptacle in which the family keeps the water.
It was interesting to see the challenges of a mobile laboratory in the middle of nowhere; for example, the water samples had to be put on "Petrifilm" (like a mobile, less finicky petri dish and agar) and kept between 35-35 degrees Celsius (86-95 degrees Farenheit). Since El Roblar is up in the mountains, it was quite chilly so we had to use hot water bottles and a cooler as a makeshift incubator to try to maintain a constant temperature.
The water filters were often in varying conditions, as were the receptacles where the families kept the filtered water. Some of these buckets had flies and dust floating in them, while some were covered and washed daily. It's hard to tell if people didn't understand the consequences of keeping their water clean, didn't know how to do it properly, didn't have the time to keep the water clean, or just didn't have the inclination to do so. We left the samples with the health committee, however, so they'll explain to the community members the danger of drinking water from a dirty receptacle, even if it has passed through the filter. The committee will also explain how to keep the water clean and keep track of any filters that aren't working properly.
Overall, the trip was fantastic. It was a really cool chance to see a rural community and to see how difficult it is for the community members to access health care. The situation is better now that our partner has trained a community member as a health promoter (community health worker), but it's still quite a trek from one house to the next, especially now that it's the rainy season. I did my laundry today, and I must have spent ten minutes trying to scrub the mud off my pants! I admire the health committee so much-- they make an effort to reach out to the whole community on a regular basis even though it's really quite difficult to do so. Hopefully the water filters, in addition to training about their care and maintenance, will make their jobs just a little easier.
Sarah will be posting some pictures on the GlobeMed blog today: http://globemedatrhodes.wordpress.com/
I spent the past couple of days in El Roblar, an extremely rural and isolated community in the department (state) of Boaco. Our team was taking samples of water from filters installed in March of this year, and also from the original water source (e.g. river or well) and the receptacle in which the family keeps the water.
It was interesting to see the challenges of a mobile laboratory in the middle of nowhere; for example, the water samples had to be put on "Petrifilm" (like a mobile, less finicky petri dish and agar) and kept between 35-35 degrees Celsius (86-95 degrees Farenheit). Since El Roblar is up in the mountains, it was quite chilly so we had to use hot water bottles and a cooler as a makeshift incubator to try to maintain a constant temperature.
The water filters were often in varying conditions, as were the receptacles where the families kept the filtered water. Some of these buckets had flies and dust floating in them, while some were covered and washed daily. It's hard to tell if people didn't understand the consequences of keeping their water clean, didn't know how to do it properly, didn't have the time to keep the water clean, or just didn't have the inclination to do so. We left the samples with the health committee, however, so they'll explain to the community members the danger of drinking water from a dirty receptacle, even if it has passed through the filter. The committee will also explain how to keep the water clean and keep track of any filters that aren't working properly.
Overall, the trip was fantastic. It was a really cool chance to see a rural community and to see how difficult it is for the community members to access health care. The situation is better now that our partner has trained a community member as a health promoter (community health worker), but it's still quite a trek from one house to the next, especially now that it's the rainy season. I did my laundry today, and I must have spent ten minutes trying to scrub the mud off my pants! I admire the health committee so much-- they make an effort to reach out to the whole community on a regular basis even though it's really quite difficult to do so. Hopefully the water filters, in addition to training about their care and maintenance, will make their jobs just a little easier.
Sarah will be posting some pictures on the GlobeMed blog today: http://globemedatrhodes.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Amor, Paz, y Vida
Today I went on an adventure!
It all started when we met two other volunteers here on the compound, Cassie and Sarah (hereafter referred to as "the other Sarah"). They invited us to make banana pancakes with them-- they were delicious, if decidedly unorthodox. Then they invited us to go with them to see the crowd at the Plaza.
Today is the anniversary of the success of the 1979 revolution, the date when the dictator Somoza finally left the country after more than four decades of rule. The current president and candidate for the election in November, Daniel Ortega, was scheduled to speak at the Plaza at 4 in the afternoon. We didn't leave until 3:50 so we figured we'd just catch a bus for the five-mile trip.
In retrospect, I can't believe I thought the dolmus trips in Turkey were crowded. This was by far the most jam-packed bus I'd ever been on. I heard the word "sardinas" (sardines) tossed around quite a few times, and the woman standing next to me said that if there's an accident, nothing will happen (because we were so crowded in). Incredibly, I saw a man in front of me holding a baby which was fast asleep!
The speech at the Plaza was somewhat underwhelming; we missed Ortega's speech and heard someone else talk about development, the environment, and the army for a while. I didn't have a great idea what was going on because the crowd was so distracting-- people sold food, talked loudly, even shot off fireworks.
We caught a cab back and took wonderfully refreshing (though cold) showers.
We're heading to a community tomorrow, so don't expect to hear from me until Saturday (or Sunday if I'm feeling particularly lazy).
Sorry for the repetition if you're following the GlobeMed blog as well (http://globemedatrhodes.wordpress.com/) but I think my version has a bit of a different flavor so they're both worth reading :)
It all started when we met two other volunteers here on the compound, Cassie and Sarah (hereafter referred to as "the other Sarah"). They invited us to make banana pancakes with them-- they were delicious, if decidedly unorthodox. Then they invited us to go with them to see the crowd at the Plaza.
Today is the anniversary of the success of the 1979 revolution, the date when the dictator Somoza finally left the country after more than four decades of rule. The current president and candidate for the election in November, Daniel Ortega, was scheduled to speak at the Plaza at 4 in the afternoon. We didn't leave until 3:50 so we figured we'd just catch a bus for the five-mile trip.
In retrospect, I can't believe I thought the dolmus trips in Turkey were crowded. This was by far the most jam-packed bus I'd ever been on. I heard the word "sardinas" (sardines) tossed around quite a few times, and the woman standing next to me said that if there's an accident, nothing will happen (because we were so crowded in). Incredibly, I saw a man in front of me holding a baby which was fast asleep!
The speech at the Plaza was somewhat underwhelming; we missed Ortega's speech and heard someone else talk about development, the environment, and the army for a while. I didn't have a great idea what was going on because the crowd was so distracting-- people sold food, talked loudly, even shot off fireworks.
We caught a cab back and took wonderfully refreshing (though cold) showers.
We're heading to a community tomorrow, so don't expect to hear from me until Saturday (or Sunday if I'm feeling particularly lazy).
Sorry for the repetition if you're following the GlobeMed blog as well (http://globemedatrhodes.wordpress.com/) but I think my version has a bit of a different flavor so they're both worth reading :)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Domingo
Today was my first full day here. I was pretty tired, though not sure if that was because I didn't sleep much Friday night (2 hours!) or because I didn't have time to make coffee this morning... probably both. But I made up for it with a three-hour nap this afternoon!
Sarah and I went to church this morning with a staff member named Jessica, her husband, and another volunteer named Monica. I was surprised at how much of the service I was able to understand; it was entirely in Spanish and I was doing pretty well, though I did have to concentrate quite hard. It was also fun to see how similar the service was to those I've been to in America, if a little more informal-- people were talking through much of the beginning, though there was dead silence when it came to the sermon.
Nothing much going on for the next couple of days, we have some articles to read but the staff here has a couple of days off because Tuesday is a national holiday.
Sarah and I went to church this morning with a staff member named Jessica, her husband, and another volunteer named Monica. I was surprised at how much of the service I was able to understand; it was entirely in Spanish and I was doing pretty well, though I did have to concentrate quite hard. It was also fun to see how similar the service was to those I've been to in America, if a little more informal-- people were talking through much of the beginning, though there was dead silence when it came to the sermon.
Nothing much going on for the next couple of days, we have some articles to read but the staff here has a couple of days off because Tuesday is a national holiday.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
In Nicaragua!
Hello everyone! Once again, I apologize for the long absence, but there's not a whole lot to write about in Nashua. But now I'm in Managua, Nicaragua with GlobeMed, a school group. I'm visiting our partner, a community-based, prevention-based health care NGO, with another student, Sarah. I arrived in Nicaragua today, and have yet to adjust to the humidity. It's the rainy season here, and it feels like I'm swimming.
I'm really excited for this month, I think it'll be a good opportunity to reconnect with our partner and get a good look at the daily workings of an NGO. I'll try to post regularly, but don't get your hopes up about pictures, Sarah's got an awesome camera and will be taking a lot.
I'm really excited for this month, I think it'll be a good opportunity to reconnect with our partner and get a good look at the daily workings of an NGO. I'll try to post regularly, but don't get your hopes up about pictures, Sarah's got an awesome camera and will be taking a lot.
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