Hello there!!
The weather is still bloody hot, but the rainy season is COMING really SOON!!!! However, this means its scorpion, snake, and pinkish/orange color spider season. My really close friend, Cheri had a small scorpion on her kitchen wall. My friend Kat had one on her shirt and noticed it after putting it on and my friend Jesse had one on top of his Nalgene bottle. I have yet to see one,but fear that someday i will!! About a month ago I was sleeping in my veranda and two of the teachers i live with were in the "court yard". I woke up in the middle due to them being really loud. The next day they informed me that a read snake, the length of their "for arm" was making its way into my veranda. They killed it thank GOD!!! Now the spiders! I'm now totally use to those flat wall spiders I mentioned to you all a while back, but now I have these really creepy crawlers that glide very fast. I've never seen such a thing with so much speed. its body lies really close to the ground and its legs bend high above their bodies.
Besides that I've been working a lot!!! About two months ago I helped the men in my community build mud houses and braided dry grass for their roofs. Very cool and fun. While digging the mud for the homes we came across some old pottery/pots. I was given three but two broke.
Guinea Worm (GW) season is still very high and existing in Ghana. As of last year we are in second place for being the most endemic country in the world (3,000+ cases)right behind Sudan (7,000+) following us is Niger(300). So hmm...Not really sure where we stand now except that Ghana and Sudan still have the WORM!!
About 3weeks ago I was called to see an 80yr old woman with GW. I called her GW volunteer in her area to work w/ me. When we hot to her house I was told she had not been walking for about 1month. Her leg was freakin' swollen. Never had I seen anything like that! Two days before calling me a sore had open and "water"/pus was oozing out. SO what we did was pour water on her shin to do control emergen in case it was GW. I then bandaged her leg. The next day I went alone to her house. Her family told me she was in pain and that the "water" had stopped coming out. So i put on my gloves and began to remove the bandage. I was nervous, not really sure what to expect under the gauze. The moment I removed the gauze, green/yellow, smelly, warm pus gushed out of her hole into my hand. My first reaction was to cup my hand stopping the pus from getting onto the floor and pillow her leg was resting on. Well the amount of pus coming out was unbelievable, I couldn't hold all of it, I had to pour the pus into a black rubber bag and grabbed gauze from my pack. i then thought trying to stop this was impossible. I just let this woman drain the pus, as much as it could. I then noticed her room was on small hill because a stream of pus was flowin' down the middle of the room towards my feet later creating pool of pus. I ran out trying not to let the family see my facial expressions of disgust!!I washed my gloves put my sandals on, rolled my skirt up really high so the bottom wouldn't touch the ground. The pus finally stopped, however, the old woman was in a very uncomfortable position I asked her daughter to slowly pick her leg up and move her in a better position. No matter how slow she picked the leg up the pus again came out like water from a faucet. There was nothing I could do, but giver antibiotics since it was GW related. The next day I was told that her family had to change the pillow/pillow cases about every 30 mins. because it would be soaked with pus. In the end it was NOT GW. Not really sure what she had. Some PC friends said maybe elefantitise (SP?)I've visited her a few times. Last week I saw her and she told me the swelling was going down(I noticed only a small change)She never/can
t see a doctor or go to hospital because she has no family or insurance.
That seems to be a very sad and repeated thing to hear when people come to me for medical help. I can only advise them to go some small things from what my mother has taught me, but if its really bad I tell them they need professional help and usually they can't afford it.
For instance, this man who's right jaw was swollen from what I believe is due to an abscessed tooth. I told him he should ho to hospital or rinse his mouth with warm water and salt. Two days later his face looked worse, as if he had two heads, but again no dinero or insurance. Its tough being white and everyone saying that I have the supplies in my room or can give them money. With the small things I have I can help, but when it comes to giving out money, honestly I don't know what to do. I want to, but can't afford it and fear people then will just always beg for it.
Two weeks ago and all last week I've been running around my community collecting rocks for soak-away pits. Soak away pits, also known as dry wells, are underground systems used to allow rainfall to infiltrate into the ground. The pit is lined with gravel or rocks. This system is used to help reduce the amount of stagnate water which usually causes malaria and other water born diseases.
My first day was AWESOME! I had about 6 kids that started out with me at 9am and at the end of work I had about 27kids. We spent 4hrs. collecting big, medium, and small rocks. We sand my hand washing songs and water filtering songs. They tried teaching me some local songs as well, which wasn't a real big success. i also taught them the Tim Allen grunt which the children do all the time and the peace sign haha. I supplied them with mangoes (they're in season 5 mangoes for about 10cents) and water. Due to lack of supplies I carried the rocks in my old school back pack (from Ashlee), kids carried them in their shirts, pockets, heads, hands and empty rubber bags they found on the road. I directed the landlord of the house that we would dig the 2 pits the next day. To my surprise when I got to the house the next morning the pits were ready to be filled with rocks! Totally was not expecting that to happen! This made it really challenging for other houses. I had a lot of assistance with the 1st one and the other three homes really slacked with the work making it really tiresome and difficult for me. Yet, today I completed 8 Soak away pits and 4 were completed by others who watched and heard my malaria lecture. YAY, sustainability right?
I'm exhausted! the first week after work I would ride my bike for 2 hours, do yoga and play soccer with the small boys. but like usual trying to create/have a good work out routine is VERY difficult for two reason. #1 my diet sucks!! I can't eat right b/c of lack of food where I live. #2 the days can be really hot, humid, warm and exhausting by 8pm I'm worn out and ready for bed.
For about a month, every Tuesday, I've been going to the clinic in my community and weighing babies. I'm trying to collect data on malnutrition. I measure their arm circumferences if a child is less than 12cm they are malnourished, if they are 13cm they are "ok" anything more pretty healthy fat babies. Not sure if I should only be basing their health on this, but we weight babies in Kg every month. Eventually I want to start a nutrition club. I'm growing Moranga Trees. I've sowed 100 and 25 are germinating. MOranga tress
I'm also trying to start/build a library in my community. the girls in my girls club have asked for story books because they feel it will help with their English. so if you would like to help me out and have easy books lying around the house, children books ie: Dr. Seuss, learning to read books, etc...or young teen books(not too difficult to read) please send them over!! I'd like that and definitely the children would appreciate them!!
Well I'm off to Kumasi in the AShanti Region for one week of Peace Corps in Service training. It will be really exciting to see everyone again!!
OK I'm sick an tired of these dang bugs crawling and falling on my neck and head ahhh!! can't stand this cafe!
AS of May 18th I've been in Ghana for 8 months. I can't believe it!! Craziness!!!And May 28...I've been at my site for 6 months!! Time flies!!
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