Ethiopia - Day 3 Akake

Monday was similar to Sunday in that we spent a lot of the day travelling.  We made a short visit to the Akake boarding school as we made our way back home from Shashemene.  At Akake, we saw around 50 kids.  This clinic was a bit more of a challenge, as it was an open air, uncovered affair. 

Pharmacy from a bag

The set up at Shashamene was outside but underneath the covering of an amphitheater.  Akake had nothing but trees to offer protection.  It proved a bit difficult this time around as there was no triaging area.  The kids were coming to us without as much information as we’d had yesterday, so we sometimes had to weigh kids to get the correct dosing for medications.  I’m working with Beth again in the pharmacy, and to help her as much as I can, I’m trying to pull out the medicines she needs but am not worrying over the amount to give them.  However, with limited space, the only place to put them is on top of the medicine chest.  This area only holds so many things, and with the wind blowing, we find ourselves chasing papers more often than we’d like to. 

Luckily, on the whole, these kids are healthy, and it appears as if this school is more expensive than the school at Shashamene.  The kids wear blue and white uniforms and many of them speak at least a little English. 

Funny, not so funny story - towards the end of clinic, one of the Eggum team members comes up to me and shows me a packet of pills, asking me if I know what they are.  Looking at the packet it’s obvious.  The 6 tablet packet of Mebendazole has been handed out to each patient that is seen, regardless of diagnosis, to treat parasites.  This packet is distinctly different though – it’s empty.  The kids are being instructed to take one tablet with us, then other one tonight, following every day with one pill in the morning and one in the evening for 3 days (when the pills are gone).  Clearly something got lost in translation.  Beth consults her phone and discovers that, luckily, the worst that will happen is this kid will get terribly physically ill for a while.  Poor guy.

Once we got back to the Guest House, Beth and I stepped out on the balcony to survey the view. 

Our house looked directly into the school yard of the private school across the street, South West Academy.  There were some kids outside the school yard wall playing a game in the dirt of the street.  While we could never figure out the object, it involved tossing a marker of some sort while perched atop another player like a horse.  Inside the wall, there were a few kids waiting to be picked up.  They found great pleasure in yelling at us, asking us if we were Americans and calling us beautiful ladies.  One kid got a kick out of sticking his tongue out at us.  They were cute kids, and seemed to be well taken care of.  Green uniforms were required for school and one of the parents was very well dress as she came to pick up her son.  It seems that school in Ethiopia is free but uniforms are required and must be purchased.  The option of education is there but a lot of families cannot afford to pay for the uniforms so their kids do not attend school.

I also wanted to spend some time making some cultural notes.  Seemingly trivial things that I don’t want to forget, like Coke is called Coka and they serve it warm.  Although each time I ordered it in restaurants, it did come out cold.  The coffee is bitter without sugar but it’s normally served with sugar I think (the two times I had it I had it served once with and once without sugar). 

When driving, one faces many obstacles.  Not only are there no working traffic lights (we did see some in Greater Addis but they were not working), but traffic often gets close enough that a misplaced hand could spell disaster.  Livestock often crosses the road at inopportune times, requiring some quick thinking behind the wheel.  One will often see sheep, cows, horses, goats, yaks, and donkeys just standing in the middle of the highway testing fate.  Horn honks on the road can mean many different things.  Most often, however, they do not mean “You're a jerk” like they do in the US.  It’s more often a “Hey, I’m coming up beside you to pass, don’t change lanes” or “Hey pedestrian, don’t cross right now." 

This area is also a no-flush-TP culture.  Actually, both times we were in the Addis air port, there wasn’t even TP in the bathrooms.  You’ll often see people, mostly men, peeing on the side of the road, although most make the decision not to face traffic.  We did, however, see one woman utilizing nature in the middle of a busy intersection on our way to the Post Office district to shop one day.

Tomorrow is our first day of clinic in Korah.  Lots to do!

Ethiopia Day 2 - Shashemene

Right now I'm laying under a tee-pee mosquito net, not feeling too much like a princess despite my canopy, basking in the warm dry air of Africa.  Our room smells like deet.  There's malaria in the town of Awassa and all precautions are taken. 

My bed at the hotel in Awassa - loving the shiny sheets and mosquito net.

Today was a full day to say the least.  I slept well last night, the bed at the Guest House was firm and wonderful.  We were up at 4:15am this morning getting ready for departure at 5:00am.  We had five vans full of us, our stuff for the overnight trip, the medicines for two boarding school visits (one to Shashamene and one to Akake), and lots of bottled water. 

Our ride began in the dark but it was lovely watching the sun rise over the city.  It was oddly quiet and empty, the hustle and bustle of Saturday gone.  There were a surprising number of people out jogging, although whether it was for exercise or transportation is unknown.  We saw a group of kids playing soccer in an empty street.  Shortly after we began, our caravan stopped for unknown reasons and I saw a man peeing on the side of the road.  Not an unusual occurrence here, but this man didn't even bother to turn his back to traffic.

On our way out of the capital city of Addis Ababa, we were warned that we would likely be stopped as we approached the city limits.  In order to leave the city, a permit had to be purchased and paperwork is given that must be able to be presented when requested.  Luckily the two times we were stopped we were waived through fairly quickly.  We road through the country for at least two and a half hours before stopping for breakfast.  The houses in the country are different than houses in the city.  Aside from small towns, most houses in the country are round, with mud or something looking like stucco walls, and roofs covered in straw or grass.

Typical country villa.

Small town on the side of the road.  These are more like what a typical house in Addis looks like.

Every section of road has potential as a livestock crossing.

We saw a lot of animal crossings, mostly cows.  I asked Maste, one of the translators, if cows were a sign of wealth and he said not really.  I saw a decomposing horse on the side of the road, not too far from two grazing wild horses - they most likely took no notice of their friend's unfortunate fate.  There were also some detours for road construction, and a ton of amazingly beautiful trees.  We saw a lot of people walking along the side of the road with large containers for water.  Some people carried them themselves on their backs or by their sides, some used a kind of cart pulled by either themselves or a donkey.

Breakfast was awesome.  On the way to Shashemene we stopped at a place called Hotel Beteliheem. 

The menus didn't give any descriptions on the dishes so we all guessed when we ordered.  Beth got a Continental breakfast, which ended up being four pieces of toast with butter and jam, and mango juice.  Samme and Stephanie, our two roommates, got french toast, which looked like deep fried bread.  Pancakes turned out more like crepes and apparently tasted too much like injera for Jake's liking.  I got an Ethiopian omelet.  It was pretty "normal" but the eggs were a little too done for my taste.  It had onion and green pepper inside, but probably other things too I didn't pick up on.

The leaders and drivers sat at their own table and ordered a communal dish of injera, some kind of meat, eggs, and a few other things.  Beth and I went over to try a bite and the guys fed it to us, which is apparently a high honor.  It was very good, albeit a little spicy. 

After breakfast, we drove another 45 minutes to Shashemene to see about 200 boarding school kids and give them medical assessments.  We took vitals like height and weight, blood pressure, age, etc at the triage station, and then the kids were funnelled to one of four doctor's stations.  The final stop was the pharmacy for any medicines they were prescribed.  The kids were really cute and most of them just had minor issues like coughs or stomach upsets.  We gave out lots of ibuprofen and tums, and each kid got a dose of Mabendazole for de-worming.

Some of our supplies

The pharmacy station

We set up in an amphitheatre for the clinic.  Shortly after we got all set up and decided we were ready to go, it was time for lunch.  Here are some of the kids (and Jake) waiting to be called to be seen.

Dr. John checking for lice with Yiesmachew interpreting

Triage

Evelyn taking down some basic information in triage

Janet getting some vitals

Most of the day I was responsible for maintaining the waiting line.  At first, I helped unpack items and put them in the appropriate area.  Once the doctors started seeing patients, I spent a little bit of time watching over Sandy and Pat's shoulders but soon felt like I was more in the way than I was helping out.  I know so little about the medical field I couldn't even take notes for the doctors.  I went around to all the stations and asked if anyone needed anything and then spoke with Cherrie about where I could be most useful.  She asked me if I couldn't maintain the area where the kids were waiting to see a doctor but had already been through triage.  It was an interesting place to be in, but hard sometimes to get conversation going with the kids.  Some of them spoke English but some didn't, and you can only get the kids to teach you to count to 10 so many times (I have that mastered, by the way!)

Learning numbers

This girl on the left I talked with for a long time.  She told me she wants to be an artist when she grows up and she asked me if I was happy (the second kid to pose that question to me that day).  I said yes and asked her the same, to which she replied yes.

I did get to work with Beth a bit in the pharmacy and that was fun but overwhelming at times.  We had no lunch break this day, just a little section of time to eat a granola bar or whatever we had on us.  We closed up shop around 5:00pm and headed to an Italian place for dinner.  It had excellent food - pizza, lasagna, gnocchi - and I had my first Ethiopia Coca (p.s. it tastes the same.  Often you'll find it served warm but in most restaurants they give it to you cold).

After dinner we returned to our rooms at the hotel in Awassa and crashed.  We got to sleep in a little compared to how today started and were headed to Akake tomorrow for our second boarding school visit.  Here's a few pictures of our hotel room.

This is the door to the bathroom (the door into the room is on the same wall).  Beth and I found it comical that the t.v. had a plastic bag over it.  We don't know why.  It wasn't plugged in either.

Our bathroom.  We had to put a towel in the window because you could totally peek in from the courtyard if you had wanted to.  Things were clean and we were pleased that we could get hot water too (although I didn't let the tank heat up long enough before I showered and ended up with a cold one)

The courtyard

Protective measures

Ethiopia - Day 1 con't

Once we arrived at the Guest House, we took stuff in and unloaded the vans, piling everything just inside the courtyard.  We got our room assignments and then reconvened for lunch, something we'd all been looking forward to as our last meal was airplane food around 6:30am.  Lunch at the Guest House consisted of french fries, an orange, and pasta mixed with vegetables.  I can't tell if the pasta was done in oil or butter, but there was always a little liquid left in the bowl.  The food was delicious and so much better than airplane food!

Teammate and roommate Samme posing with just a portion of the totes brought from the States.

After lunch and a regrouping session, we took a trip into Korah.  Arrival in this area of the city was a little surreal.  The setting was much like I'd imagined, especially since I'd done a fair amount of pictorial research before travelling.  What surprised me was the response we were met with as we drove in.  Kids ran beside the vans, knocking on windows and waiving and smiling, reaching into open windows to tap shoulders and say hey or ask for gum.  We had a hard time getting out of the van because of the crowd of kids who had come to see us. 

This was a moment of discomfort for me.  I was seated on the third row of van seats, inside by the window.  As the people in front of me stepped out I hesitated. It's not that I didn't want to get out, but I had one of those moments - one of those "What the heck am I doing here?" moments.  How was I supposed to relate to these people?  I'm not good at meeting new people in America, how can I meet new people in this foreign country?  There was a brief moment where I took a deep breath, eyes closed, and then I stepped out of the van.

Immediately upon our exit, hands were grabbed, arms were stroked, names were asked.  The kids were adorable, although I remember wondering how long it had been since some of them changed clothes.  I stroked hair and held hands, picked kids up and tried to dole out as many smiles and waves as possible. 

On the streets of Korah is open sewage ditches and animal bones, old shoes, trash and unknown substances litter the streets.

Street in Korah.

There were two specific things that stuck out to me during our first walk through Korah.  The first was a small child, no older than three (I'm guessing on the age and it's hard - a lot of the kids and adults are small for their ages).  I can't remember if the child was a boy or girl, but I remember wondering where their parents were.  This child had its head down, focused on the road, stepping on large rocks without the protection of shoes on its small feet.  Without looking up, a hand was extended, asking for help.  I wondered "If you walk with me, will you know how to get home?  Who's going to know where you are?  Is someone watching over you?"  My fears were settled when, shortly after offering me a hand, the child released mine.  It was surprising to me that this small child wandered without shoes, without a watchful eye.

The second notable moment was after our home visits.  Walking down the street toward the church I pass a mother and her pre-teen daughter.  Clearly mom is upset and scolding her, harshly holding her by the arm and leading her.  I then watch her pick up a hollow stick (what I now think to be sugarcane) and promptly whack her daughter with it multiple times.  During this, I notice my breath coming more sharply and I avert my eyes.  After all, even though I don't agree, who I am to step in?

While part of our goal during our first Korah visit was to get oriented to the area we would be working and seeing some of the area, we were also needing to see some patients that would be too weak to make it to the clinic.  We split up into groups, each with at least one doctor, some nurses and some non-medical people.  My group saw two of the four people needing attention.  The first was a twenty-eight year old widow with three children.  Her name was Awaygaye.  She was HIV positive and had come down with a chest infection (I think Sandy diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection) and had been unable to leave her bed for weeks.  Among her complaints were an extreme sore throat, stomach ache, and chest pains.

Awaygaye out of her house for the first time in weeks.  This was after a few days of Sandy (in the blue scrubs) visiting and
administering fluids via IV.

One thing that struck me about Awaygaye was her hospitality.  Her room had two beds in it, one clearly for the children (I know this because of a doll placed at the head of the bed).  When we all arrived at her house, there were probably 6 or 8 of us, she insisted that we sit.  And she managed to direct Maste, our translator, in such a way that we all had a place to sit.  She had nothing to offer us but wanted to honor us in the only way she knew how - giving us a place to sit and rest. 

Towards the end of the visit, Awaygaye's daughter came in.  She had talked about her three kids and her fears for them as her HIV advances.  After the assessment, we laid hands on her and prayed.  Rand was holding the daughter, and during the prayer she started stroking my face and hair.  It was clear that she was intrigued by us and our visit to her house.

The second patient we visited was a man who told us he had been bedridden for a year and a half.  He suffered from leprosy, and we think diabetes, and had lost most of the feeling in his lower extremities.  Unfortunately, there was little we could do for him except offer love and some medicine for his pain.  It's hard to believe what some people are able to put up with and live with, and equally hard to believe what contributes to so many deaths.

After our visit to Korah, we spent a good part of the afternoon and evening unpacking and repacking the totes full of supplies.  We tried to group things in general categories and make it easier to find what we were looking for. 

We took over the massage room at the Guest House and starting pulling things out, putting things back in, and moving totes into the hallway.

We had a lot of people, and a lot of stuff, in a relatively small space.  It was probably actually quite comical.

At the end of the evening Sumer (the founder of Project 61 and an American from Tennessee) came in to talk about our day at Shashemene the next day.  Shashemene is a boarding school where some of the children are Korah residents who have been sponsored, moved from life in the trash dump to a school where they are fed and taught.  She made a comment about the kids all wanting to see a doctor because so often someone they know gets sick and a week later is dead without any indication as to why.  How scary that must be - to come down with something simple like a cold and wonder if you're going to die. 

After our pow-wow and a slight debrief on the day, we all retire to bed.  Five a.m. will come all too soon.

Ethiopia - Day 1

This whole thing has been a crazy wild ride.  Yesterday morning I got to the airport at 4:45am with mom and dad, picked up my totes, and waiting in the surprisingly long line to check in.  It being a small, regional airport, and so early in the morning, I didn't expect much of a wait.  One agent was assigned to check in all 6 of us, and I think he got so overwhelmed that he didn't even bother weighing most of our totes.  We had spent a lot of time being very particular about the weight, and before I got there he did weigh two of them and declared them too heavy.  I think once he saw how many of us there were, he just decided not to keep going with that trend.  Such a blessing, right from the get go!

We hopped our small airplane and took a short 30 minute flight to D.C.  When we were almost there, the sun started to come up above the clouds and it was a beautiful shade of pink.  It reminded me a lot of the plane ride to Nicaragua, where we got to watch a full sunrise above the clouds.

We waited around in D.C. for quite some time, found our terminal and a place to eat breakfast, and eventually met up with the rest of our team.  We spent time in the airport getting to know each other.  I think it was 16 of us that left from D.C.  Cherrie and 3 of our other team members were already in Addis.

A portion of our team waiting in the long line to board the plane.

The flight over was very long.  We sat on the runway for clearance for almost an hour, and didn't take off until 12:30pm.  I lucked out with a window seat and didn't have anyone in the middle seat.  The guy on the aisle I didn't know.  The first half of the ride was do-able, but after about 6am EST (or 1am in Ethiopia), it seemed unbearably long.  I was starting to feel antsy and a little sick from being cooped up and seated just before we were able to get off.  The plane was a little warm and felt stuffy.  Plus, thirteen hours is just a long time (it'll be closer to 17 hours coming home though - oh man!)

The country was a lot greener than I'd expected, and more mountainous.  I suppose the green comes from the fact that the rainy season just ended in September.  It was beautiful coming in and seeing the patchwork landscape.  Also, last night sometime in between me groggily turning over, I looked out the window and got to watch lightening from above the clouds - beautiful!

African landscape, although which country I'm not sure.

Old airplanes at Bole International Airport

Once we unloaded the plane (when they opened the back cabin door and let in a little fresh air, it was like Heaven), we went though immigration to get our visas and through customs.  There was a $20 charge for the visa, and they funneled you into a small room with desks and asked you why you were here and when you were leaving.  All in all, customs and immigration was an easy process.

After the paperwork, we had the tasks of getting our totes and moving them out the door.  We paid an airport worker $20 to help us.  (Little did we know that each guy that even touched your bags expected a tip.  They wanted $5-$10 USD, even if they only pushed your cart a few feet after you asked them not to.  It got to be a little annoying after we made it out of the gates).  As you go to leave the airport, all your bags are x-rayed.  The official behind the counter can decide to let you go, or to take a look inside the bag.  If they see something inside they like, they can either take it and keep it, or take it and tell you to pay them this much to get it back.  (Operation Smile went in a few weeks before us and all of their totes got confiscated.  The official behind the counter wanted $8,000 USD to get it back and the team had to just walk away).  To help safeguard against this, we covered our medicine chests with navy blue poster paper so that if those totes did get opened, hopefully the official would think it was the bottom of the tote.  I got asked what all my stuff was for.  My answer:  visiting friends.  I didn't lie, I just didn't know my friends yet :).  Miraculously, all our totes made it through without trouble, except one of Ann's that just had clothes in it.  An official searched through it but didn't take anything. 

Riding through the city was an eye opener.  It wasn't anything worse than I'd expected or already seen in other countries, but I figured we'd see more poverty in Korah and in the Addis.  There were lots of "walls" made from little more than corrugated steel leaning against two wooden poles.  It was almost ironic looking at construction throughout the city - new concrete buildings being erected in between scaffolding made from large posts of Eucalyptus. 

Driving through Addis on the way to the Guest House

Construction from the balcony of the Guest House.  Lots of buildings looked like this, half finished, and only sometimes did we see people actually working on them.  One of the trip leaders said some of these buildings have looked the same for 3 years.

There were also a lot more signs in English than I expected.  Stores and shops lined some streets; sometimes it was hard to tell what was a shop and what was a house.  I think in a fair amount of cases it was both.  Some busy intersections were met with donkeys and a herd of goats crossing without pause.  People also seemed to just cross the street whenever and I was amazed at how close a car would get to someone before stopping.  It was a short trip from the airport to the Guest House, luckily, but more on that later!

James 1:27

This week has felt crazy.  I've had things going on before and after work almost every day and it wasn't until Thursday that I got back the apartment before 11pm.  Although the days felt long and I was tired by their end, there really wasn't anything special about them.  Most of the activities were just life.  But it sure felt like I had a lot of life pushed into only a few days.

One of the more notable events occured on Tuesday evening, when I met with the nurses at RMH to pack 6.5 totes for approximately 5 hours. 

With our 6 team members, we're able to bring a total of 12 totes, each weighing in at 50 pounds a piece.  Once we get on the ground in Ethiopia, we'll have over a ton of supplies with us. 

I'm holding my heart out but clutching it too - Nickel Creek "Reasons Why"

This part of the process affected me more than I thought it would.  I've been excited about the trip from day 1, looking forward to experiencing something new, fulfilling a dream I've had for a long time, and learning many new things.  But seeing some of the things we're taking, and hear what some of them could be used for, really struck a chord with me.  I knew this trip would be hard.  There's no denying that.  But having talked about it with some of the nurses, it has potential to be a lot harder than I could have thought.  Of course, the unknown leaves things open to your imagination, which often translates (for me at least) to thinking of the mroe than worst case senerio.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you - John 14:18

It's a bit like the beginning of a new relationship.  The honeymoon phase is gone and its almost like I'm done dreaming.  Reality is starting to set in and I realize this is going to be hard.  Perhaps the hardest thing I've ever done thus far in my life.  I will have to physically put myself lower than probably everyone that comes to the clinic, something I've never had to really do before.  I'm going to have to work hard and learn hard and pray hard and play hard.  And I'm a little scared.  What if I discover I can't do it (anything medical) and I hate it (Africa) and I just want to go home?  What if I fail?  I'm not sure that I really can fail because I know God is preparing and using each of us differently.  And I know this is a trip I need to go on.  I've known that since March when the idea first started floating around.

I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know my senses are going to be assailed in a way they never have been before.  Not to mention my emotions and my spirit.  But I also know that my God is a loving God and is holding me through all of the pre-trip emotions and unexpectedness and dependency.  And I know he is growing me (I might be feeling some growing pains!)  But I'll be walking taller soon, more confident too I'm sure.

The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' - Matthew 25:40

Life is funny

I'm sitting at a cube at work, off the clock but not at home because I have to teach later and it's pointless to use time and gas to go home when I'll just have to turn around again.  I'm eating butternut squash soup (delicious!) that takes me back to Ireland and all those lovely soups and bread we ate.  Too bad I don't have any bread.

While I was sitting here I decided to blog search and see what else is out there, hoping to learn a bit more about how to make this more interesting for my few readers, and also hoping to find something out there worth reading.  And I stumbled across something quite coincidental.

Let me begin by saying that yesterday in between meetings I found myself in Barnes and Noble looking for a Bible study of some sort.  It's been a while since I've participated in one and I know with some upcoming life events I really need to make a conscious effort to put my faith first and foremost.  I wandered to the Christian Inspiration section and looked at all the shelves, sometimes picking up titles by my favorite authors or things I'd seen other people reading.  It wasn't until my third round that I saw a title - Grace for the Good Girl. 

Source

The title struck me first off.  I've always considered myself a "good girl."  I focused on my school work and worked hard to make my parents happy and proud.  I always tried to do "the right thing" and didn't do things that made people question me or my motives.  Because of who I am naturally, I find it hard sometimes to accept Jesus's sacrifice for me.  I didn't think I need saving because I'm not a "bad person" (I still struggle with these thoughts sometimes).  I read the first pages of the book in the store before I bought it, and I'm excited to start it in earnest.

What makes this story more interesting is that, just a few minutes ago, I checked one of my real life friends blogs.  E has an excellent writing style and is funny and real and I check in on her virtually every day.  So I decided to see what blogs she reads.  I found one listed under her "inspiration and faith" section called Chatting at the Sky.  When I arrived at the opening page, the first image I see is one of the cover of my new book.  Weird, I thought.  She must have just bought it too.

Wrong.  She's the author.

What are the chances?  (Probably about the same as my airman pen pal has of being neighbors with the brother of one of my high school best friends - yeah, that happened too).

I don't know if that means there's something especially good in this book and God wanted to put it forefront in my mind, or if it was just a happy accident.  But, with all that said, sounds like it's time for me to open that book now.

The Sound of Silence

I walked out of my apartment this afternoon to go to work and stopped.  For the first time all summer, there was silence.  It was a little shocking to be honest, as this must have been the locust year.  All season there's been noise, no matter the hour, of these insects loudly proclaiming their presence.  I'm not complaining - it's the sound of summer.  But to have it stopped so suddenly, I guess you never really know what you have till its gone.

Unfortunately the silence outside has no comparable resonance in my life right now.  There are meetings at work, conference calls, two months worth of activity planning, shopping and packing and laundry, new youth groups to start and familiar ones with which to reacquaint myself.  Even though the summer might not have been all I wanted it to be, it was wonderful and I'm going to miss the weather, the lazy pace of life.

So, to commemorate Summer 2011, some cell phone photos for your viewing pleasure.

Engaged 6.27.11

The Fair's in town - June 2011

Sunset from the mountain top July 2011

Moth outside work July 2011

Patriotism

Putt putt poses August 2011

Second to last game of the season August 2011

Awesome presentation on some yummy Chinese food Sept 2011