A Summary of August in Photos!

A quick update since the power is out and my computer’s battery life is down to 26%... 

 A photo montage of what the last month has looked like!

Lonnie & I's Trip to Northern:

Family Reunion

Preparing Dinner in Luyeye

So much love at Chileshe Chepela

Back to Clinics with our new team of Doctors:

Humphrey & Lonnie's Birthday in Simango

The team hard at work in Silyuasila

One of our toughest workspaces! A dim-lit church in Pukuma, Mapatizya.

Dr Caroline examining an eye infection in Chikuyu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Katie giving a baby check to one of our littlest patients.

We've had a very busy but successful month with our new volunteer doctors.  I promise to give a more in depth update next time...until then we begin preparations for our next set of clinics. Lea

Happy and Productive Days!

My second week of clinic was busy busy! The location, Katapazi, was much closer than our last round of clinic, only about 2 ½ hours away. We left early morning Monday when it was still dark out, very cold, and arrived by 9am. 

A 12kg baby with his proud mother (a very BIG BOY!!)

Each day was jam-packed! There were sooooo many patients to be seen in each village! I again did my part by registering patients, leading health sessions, and weighing babies!  It is “Child Health Week” in Zambia so we had a member of the Katapazi health clinic, Chello, who administered vaccines to the babies as well as provided anti-natal clinic and family-planning methods for the mothers.  We camped out the second night in the Katapazi Health Clinic and Chello gave us one of his chickens for dinner! Lonnie killed it, I plucked it, Humphrey cleaned it and we all ate well an hour later!  How’s that for fresh?! 

Chello getting ready to administer a vaccine to one of the babies.

Hand Washing lesson in Mulindi Village

 Our Final day of clinic this week Humphrey was pretty sick and so while he rested up, I headed the culinary aspect of clinic, cooking all the doctors and translators some lunch!  I ended the day playing with a huge group of school children that had gathered to watch the Muzungu (white person) washing dishes!  We listened to some Zam-Pop on my phone and had a mini dance party.  I think this should be a requirement for the end of any workweek.  

Handing babies...

A Glimpse into Baby-Weighing

Or What I like to call "Baby in a Bag"

On the end of day three we were all pretty tired.  This was the last trip out for our doctors Helena & Jess who are both headed home now.  Although it’s sad to see them go, I’m excited for a break (and so is Lonnie-he worked 6 weeks of clinics straight!) The next round of volunteer doctors doesn’t arrive until Mid-August so we have 3 whole weeks off!  Very exciting!  Hopefully this will give me some time to develop more health-centered lessons as well as write some letters to companies that I think might help us with supplies (Colgate!?)

Lonnie and I have plans to go up North and visit my family & school in Kasama, and then go relax along Lake Tanganyika!  The next time you hear from me I will be well rested and ready for more clinics!!

Facetime date with this little Peanut!

And So It Begins

I am back from a successful clinic week with On Call Africa, the first of many to come! Here is a run down of what the week was like:

Sunday Lonnie, Humphrey (On Call’s Zambian staff member), myself, and 2 doctors, and packed up our rusty Land Rover for the trip. Medicine, sleeping bags, air mattresses, grub and cooking ware were all stuffed in the back before we hit the dusty road. About 6hrs drive to our first site in Mapatizya catchment area…and a bumpy drive it was! This round of mobile clinics is apparently the farthest we go out in the province, the others are all a bit closer. We “camped” inside a building, lent to us by the closet government school, and ate dinner under the stars… It is absolutely incredible the amount of stars you can see at night! Watching the Southern Cross and milky-way twinkling in the dark, more clearly than you could imagine, is breath taking!

Lonnie and Humphrey welcoming the line of patients on Day 2.

Monday- Our first day of clinic in Chalimongela.  The doctors set-up shop in a large classroom while Lonnie and Humphrey did some opening remarks.  Patients were lined up since 5:30am…we open clinic at 8:00!  Everyone is given a number and a book, where there medical history is written.  About 82 patients were registered to be seen by our doctors.  Each doctor is paired with a local translator to be able to communicate properly with the patients.  Its essential to have a good translator to ensure important information is being conveyed to patients, specifically in regards to using the medications they receive correctly!

Dr. Jess checking out a patient

While clinic was being conducted Humphrey and I gave a lesson on dental health at the nearby school. We taught grades 1-9 about brushing their teeth.  A friend of mine from home, who is a dental hygienist, donated many toothbrushes and toothpastes from her work for us to distribute.  We used the donations as rewards to students who could answer questions after our session, about dental care. The students loved it!  I spent the rest of the morning weighing babies and I gave a female condom demonstration to a group of about 6 ladies.  Usually women in Zambia are very shy about sex and condom use, so it was pretty cool that they were comfortable enough to ask me their questions and seek out family planning methods!  After lunch Humphrey and I conducted another health-ed session, this time on hand washing. We showed the people waiting to be seen by the doctors the proper way to wash their hands and talked about preventing illness and disease.   Loooong day but very productive start!

Dr Helena speaking with a patient and translator.

Tuesday- A short drive to Pukuma, our second clinic site.  Today the doctors are working from a small grass-thatched church. I helped register patients today in the morning and weighed at least 50 screaming babies ... before lunch. Babies “Under 5” are weighed periodically during their infancy to keep track of their development or lack their of.  This helps their mothers to know if they are eating enough or if there is something stunting their growth.

Pukuma Clinic Site (A Church)

After lunch Humphrey and I combined our Hand washing and Tooth brushing lessons for the patients waiting to be seen. We again rewarded those who could answer questions from the sessions at the end with toothpaste, toothbrushes, and hand soap!

Humphrey and his puppy

Wednesday morning there was a rush to pack-up camp and get out to our final clinic site Chikuyu, about 10 kilometers down the road. We were down some translators but had a new addition, a small puppy! Humphrey had picked him up from the Head Teacher in Chalimongela to bring home to Livingstone! In the morning I helped manage the cue and look after the puppy... I weighed about 40 something babies who were all pretty afraid of me! They wiggled, scream and cried as I tried to weigh them.  I befriended a few by letting them play with my bracelets or hair.  This clinic day was shortened because we needed to leave after lunch to get back to Livingstone (home) before dark.  We only registered/saw about 42 patients and got home around 6:30pm and boy, did a hot shower feel amazing after 4 days out in the bush!

Me trying to keep the smallest patients smiling!

Humphrey showing a boy how to brush his teeth.

Now, I'm headed to Lusaka (the capitol) tonight to get my work permit sorted out at Immigration! Wish me luck! Back by Saturday to rest up for the next week of clinic!

Here We Go Again!

Reigniting my old Peace Corps blog as I head back to Zambia for a third time! Clearly I have fallen in love with the place...

In the past two years I have seen and done many things! I've hugged a Redwood, been a Grooms woman in a Hindu wedding, become an auntie (!!!), had a successful work-shop in Zambia, caught beads at Mardi Gras, became a "Spinner",  paid for both my Zambian niece's educations, swam in: Lake Malawi, the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, tore-up a dance club in Phoenix, been a job coach for several developmentally disabled adults, and fallen in love... 

 

I constantly feel fortunate for the family, friendships, and opportunities I have. I am so incredibly lucky.  

Celebrating the 4th of July this week has reminded me how amazing it is to be an American. It feels silly to say, seeing how I am so eager to live in another country, but living and visiting places that are so impoverished and under-developed makes me appreciate the rights we have in our country. We have health, and education, and freedom... things that so many will never have.  I have never been prouder to be American than when living in Africa.


When I return to Zambia this time, I will be working with a Scottish founded NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), On Call Africa, that provides mobile-clinics in remote areas.  Healthcare is not as easily accessible as it is in the US. People living in rural villages need to travel hours to the be seen by local clinics, with bicycles or walking as their only means of transportation.  On Call is run by volunteer doctors and nurses who visit 9 different clinics over the course of three weeks, providing assessment, treatment and referrals.

My boyfriend, Lonnie, has already begun working as On Call's Volunteer-Coordinator. Since mid-May he has been in Zambia busting his butt to make sure each clinic trip has been successful! The volunteers and our boss are all incredibly impressed with him (who wouldn't be?!) as he has already proved he is perfect for the position.  I will be handling the educational aspect of clinics: organizing trainings, providing mini-sessions to the community, and developing On Call's HIV/AIDS outreach. Any of you who I've talked to about my Peace Corps experience will know that this job is right up my alley! I am beyond excited to get there and get started!

Our positions are un-paid...  Womp. Womp. And while On Call is doing their best to find funding for our salaries things like a new vehicle are priority...understandable! We are being provided beautiful accommodation (free room and board) in Livingstone, just 10 minutes drive from Victoria Falls! This time I will not only have a roof, running water, and electricity, but also a pool and washing machine! BWANA!! They are also helping us with our work permits, so everybody cross their fingers that they are processed and approved soon soon! It is likely we will be coming up with some sort of fundraiser in the near future to keep us going...so get ready!

Finally, after weeks of trying, my bags are finally packed... 
Its hard for me to say goodbye to loved ones, and even harder to explain why I need to go back. The most I can say for sure is that my work isn't finished. Living in Zambia made me feel like the best me I can be. I have no idea what the future will bring or where this path will take me, but I know its the right direction. If I could take you all with me, I most certainly would! Until then please feel free to follow my journey on here, Facebook, Instagram...etc

Mushale Bwino Bonse!

Anxious & Excited

Overnight flight to London,

Overnight flight to Lusaka, 

Overnight bus to Kasama...

and BAM! I'm headed back to Zambia! 

I knew when I left I'd be back, but I never in a million years thought it would be so soon soon!

Thank you all for your love and support! 

Check back on http://paintthemovement.blogspot.com/ to see what me and the other ladies are up to with our travels and workshop! 

Can't wait to hug my iwes!!

Paint The Movement

Our Project is in full-swing! We've reached 71% of our goal already thanks to all our family and friends! Thank you all for your on-going support!
Keep spreading the word...I can almost taste the nshima now!

http://www.paintthemovement.blogspot.com/

Click here to Donate:

PAINT THE MOVEMENT!!

Hello All! After many months of planning with two of my RPCV besties we are ready to launch the project I spoke of previously! We are going back to run a week-long workshop "Paint the Movement: Moving Bodies, Growing Minds" which will train the teachers of my school in physical therapy, fine-motorskills and creative ways of incorporating both into classroom lessons and artistic expresseion!

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR PROMO VIDEO

This workshop will benefit over 30 teachers and over 600 Zambian children with special needs!! Please help us by visiting our site when it launches tomorrow!! We need to raise LOTS OF KWACHA!! Help us go back and continue the work we started!!

Project Planning

Hi All.

Its been quite some time since I've written in this blog. I am sure most of you know that I have been back in the States for some time now. Despire the hatred of these cold Winter months and the lack of iwes to play with outside my window, I think I have adjusted back to life in American pretty well. I have to admit when I first returned the Airport was scary, stores and restaurants ( basically anywhere with too many options) was overwhelming and socially I felt awkward and couldn't find things to relate to in every day conversations. Being busy helped fix this culture shock gradually...

Since I have been home I've been working! First at the special needs summer camp that I've worked at previously, Camp Horizons and now as a full time employee of the Supportive Employment and Options department of the same agency, Horizons. I support about 9 different ladies ages 17-50 at their places or work. There jobs, abilities, and personalities vary and I love working with all of them! My job is stressful yet constantly rewarding and I am enjoying it...and the paycheck and health insurance are pretty nice too! It has not been all work and no play however. Since being back I have visited Maine, LA, San Francisco, Boston, NYC, and just last weekend Phoenix, Arizona! One of my goals upon coming home was to see more of the United States... there are so many States I have yet to see!

Some of you may know I brought my cat back with me from Zambia... she made it through customs and everything! Kha$h Money has also gone through a bit of culture shock just like her mommy... but she is now a fully Americanized... fattened up and loving the pampered life of kitty litter and catnip!

I've been able to stay in touch with my family and friends in Kasama on a semi-regular basis. If any of you have friends or family abroad that you talk to regularly (and you own a smart phone) I HIGHLY recommend getting an ap called "Penny Talk." I have been able to make many successful calls to Zambia using this ap and have only spent $20 so far! It's amazing!

My village, my school, my kids, my family, the stars, the sun, the waterfalls, HELL EVEN THE FOOD in Zambia... I miss them/it all constantly!! I want to go back, at least for a visit and I've been thinking about some projects that I want to start/continue at Chileshe Chepela. I am working on the details right now with some other returned volunteers. Basically, my main goal is to get back and work to train teachers in Physical Therapy, Art Therapy, Fine Motorskills... and other things that would be really useful for all the students with special needs at Chepela, but weren't taught to the teachers. My friends and I are working currently on finding funding in hopes of returning for a month this summer to run a workshop at the school. If anyone reading this is interested in helping, donating, or supporting this project in any means please e-mail me and let me know! We are going to need a lot of backing to pull it off but I think we have some good background and connections in Kasama to make it become reality! I'll keep you all posted as I get more information!

Peanut with his new legs! Catherine & The Grade 6 Pupils W/ their flags

My friend Amanda (Peace Corps Uganda) and I atop Chisimba Falls


Muzungu Madness and LCC Performances at our VCT event

I'm ALIVE!!

Sorry for dissapearing yet again... I am not dead. I am very much alive! :o)

2010 Year-End Highlights!

September
Visitors from Uganda: Shortly after returning from my Ethiopia/Tanzania adventure a PCV from Uganda (whom I met in South Africa on Medical Leave) came to visit me in Zambia! I got to show her my school, village, and Chisimba Falls!

Village-Style Birthday: Some other PCV’s came to my place and we killed some chickens with my family and had a small party with cake and wine! It was an awesome way to spend my b-day!

October
LCC Club: The kids were extremely busy fund-raising and preparing there drama performances for our VCT event. Every meeting was packed with 60+ kids all dancing and singing…I was so proud of them!

Computer Literacy: My grade 10 & 11 pupils spent time writing to their pen pals from St. James School in Stratford, CT. We also had a visit from Val Stokes (from Utah, USA) who came to donate a brand new printer with paper and ink to our class!! Val is the one who brought the desktop computers to the school originally in 2008. He has been so supportive and helpful and may be sponsoring a friend of mine from the school who wants to go to college.

Bembaland: We hosted our annual Provincial-Sporting Competitions at Chisimba Falls. PCV’s came from Luapula, Lusaka, Central, North West and Eastern Provinces to visit us and play some drinking games…followed by a beautiful trip up to Lake Tanganyika, where we climbed to the top of Kalombo Falls.

My proposal got approved: The Proposal I wrote for LCC’s VCT event got approved! They gave us about 6million Kwacha (+ our club raised close to 1million on their own!)

Peanut got new legs: Physical Therapy twice a week got interested when my favorite little first greater got a new set of prosthetic legs and could stand on his own and walk with a walker for the first time!!

November
Africa Map Project: For our last lesson, the children at the commuity school took a quiz to test their knowledge of Zambia! Catherine (my friend and Co-Teacher) and I awarded anyone who scored 60% or above on their quizzes with a Zambian Flag (thanks Mom!) The kids were really excited and had studied pretty hard.

Thanksgiving: I attended my last Provincial Peace Corps meeting! So sad…yet so nice. We were without water or electricity for most of the week at the Provincial Office…Imagine all 30 of us volunteers, under one roof, for an entire week, without showers, toilets, or TV! I’m convinced only Peace Corps Volunteers could handle that with finesse! We had a “Keepin it Classy Kasama” theme party and everyone got dressed up and had an awesome time. The power and water came back just in time to cook some turkey (Thanksgiving Miracle perhaps?!?)

VCT Event: The long awaited day came on the 27th of November! I can’t believe how well it played out. There was a great turn out, no rain, lots of performances (not only from my club but from the Kasama Arts group, a church choir, a positive-living group, a pre-school class, and my village’s women’s group!) Because a lot of volunteers were still in town for our provincial meeting at Thanksgiving, they also came out for my event, which was really nice, and a few of us performed for the masses as a new highly-acclaimed dance group “Musungu Madness!” We had a football (soccer) and netball tournament, raffle prizes, speeches and testimonies from invited guests, and about 300 people got tested! Everyone really did a great job. LCC’s co-advisors (the teachers who run the club with me and helped plan the event) worked so hard! I would not have been able to do it without them!

Decemeber
Housing Issues: After a whirl-wind of crazy events the owner of my house decided to break his contract with the village committee of Luyeye. I had to move out of the hut I’ve made a home rather quickly and moved to the Peace Corps office, cat in tow for 2 ½ weeks. Chileshe Chepela School and my family and counterparts all stepped up and helped me out a lot. I now have shifted to a dormitory at school and will be living there for the last 3 months… I’ll let you know how it goes!

World AIDS Day: I was invited again to be part of the WAD planning committee this year. The District AIDS Task Force and I went to Chilongoshi village (about 75 kilometers from Kasama) for the commemoration. I spent most of the day doing condom demonstrations and distributions. I felt guilty and honored at the same time when a friend of mine working the VCT said my event had a better turn out for testing.

Camp Glow: Me and 9 other volunteers held a week-long girls empowerment camp during the school break. Each of us brought a counterpart from our village and two grade 7-8 girls. The girls and counterparts learned about sex, peer pressure, drugs & alcohol, being assertive & confident and leadership. I was in charge of arts & crafts for the week. We made friendship bracelets, decorated journals, and sewed re-usable chitenge menstrual pads. The week, in whole, was long and hectic, but I think overall successful!

Xmas in Malawi: Because of lack of time and funds a small group of friends and I decided to head once again to Malawi for Christmas this year. We were able to hitch-hike to our destination, Nkhata Bay, in 2 days from Lusaka. The trip was relaxing, beautiful and fun. I plan to go back one more time after I finish my service, before returning to America, just because it’s so friendly and nice to be there!

Getting back from Malawi was not nearly as relaxing as being there. We had one transport issue after another…bus break-downs, lack of hitches, pouring rain, hitting a cow, running out of money…BUT the whole ordeal reminded me repeatedly how much I LOVE ZAMBIA and the AMAZING people of this country!! Everyone along the way home was so helpful and generous, us! I can’t believe that in this culture complete strangers will go out of their way to take care of you! Zambians have incredible hearts.

New Years in Lusaka: I finally reached Lusaka on the morning of the 31st… was expecting to be back up in Northern for New Years so it came as a bit of a surprise but we made the most out of it. Dressed up like we weren’t from the village and rung in the New Year dancing the night away.

January
The new year has been productive so far. I spent 1 week in Lusaka with the rest of my intake (we are now 25-coming into country we were 31?) attending our COS Conference (Close.Of.Service.) Each intake has the conference 3 months before they finish their service (I finish in April). The conference was nice, we talked a lot about how market ourselves after Peace Corps. It’s pretty hard to know exactly how to put what you’ve done here on your resume… so we discussed those things, recommendations, description of service reports and so on. Finally I am back in Kasama (and now living at school) and back to work. I have a lot to keep me busy in the next couple months…some loose ends to tie. I can’t believe how fast the time is going. I’m excited to see everyone from home, but I am not ready to say goodbye to Zambia!

Here’s hoping I can make the best of my last few months and the start of 2011!