[Zambian flag in the Sunset]
Still no official count as to who won the election. We’ve been told that a police officer has
been killed in Ndola, the airport about 30 minutes from here that we flew
into. I hope people don’t start rioting.
…………………………………………………………………
*** Updated after I wrote the above: There have been at least 6 cars
burned in Ndola and one burned in Luanshya (Lew-wants-ya) the town closest to
us. People in our region (the
copperbelt) want Sata to win, but people in our village didn’t vote for him, so
the opposition party is really mad at the people in our village. They’re not letting anyone from our village
go past Luanshya. We’re staying away
from it, but the grocery store, the mail, etc. are all in Luanshya. I hope we don’t run out of food…
But, really, pray for the people of our village. They should have the right to vote without fear of consequences!***
……………………………………………………………….
We’re sitting here in the dark because the power is out. It’s the first time the power has been out
since we got here, but I’m feeling princessy about it. It’s hot.
Our food might spoil. My laptop
will eventually run out of batteries.
Really, I should just be thankful that this is the first time it’s been
out.
Today we had ante-natal clinic in the morning. We met a woman that was 14 weeks pregnant who
came with her husband to establish pre-natal care. We watched as they got counseled on different
topics such as basic preparation, malaria, breastfeeding, and HIV. Then we watched them get HIV tested.
Here, they do a lot of patient education, Sweet!! We watched the lab
technician counsel them on the way to read an HIV test (rapid- point of care
test, similar to our rapid-strep tests).
Then she assigned them a testing strip and let them watch as she ran
it. Then she let them read it so they
knew that it was their test result. We
don’t usually let people in America read their test results, but I’ve not
worked at an HIV clinic, so I don’t know if they do.
It’s shocking how wonderfully different healthcare is here than in
America. Women, usually with children
strapped to their backs, tied on with cloth, walk over 6 miles to get to the
clinic. We never start on time, because
this is Africa, but no one complains.
They all bring their health records, books or under-5 cards, every
time. They seem very aware of what is
going on and are genuinely thankful for the care they receive.
No one complains.
No one ignores your teaching and advice, only to return one month later
and ask for your advice again.
No one makes excuses about not having transportation.
It’s so refreshing!
People take the medication you give them and they are thankful for
it. The people here have so much less,
but are so much more thankful for it.
We watched at the “dispensary” at the clinic the way they handed out
medication. They described how to take
the medicine. The nurse handing out the
medicine touched it all, which wasn’t the best, but they had been washing hands
and wearing gloves to touch everything.
……………………………………………………………………………….
On a slightly funnier note, Frances and I have started running
again. It’s like we have our own
personal cheerleaders though. Lots of
precious little kiddos that wave and smile at us when we run. I can’t imagine what they think of us….
And I kinda can’t wait to go running again!
No comments:
Post a Comment