As you know, I arrived in Arusha last Wednesday with Marianne, Jasen and Margaret. We are still here. I'm going to apologize up front - this post may be brief. We are all pretty tired. Every day we seem to find more and more kids that need medical check-ups. Jane's Orphan Center was the first location we went to. Since that day we've seen around 250 children. About 20% of the children have some sort of sinus infection, ear infection, or respiratory infection. After we complete the check-ups we head to the duka la dawa (pharmacy), buy the necessary prescriptions and head back to the hotel for a much needed night of rest. We label all of the prescriptions in English and basic Swahili so that the children are sure to get the proper dose at the correct times.
One woman, Bibi (grandma) Maria is 95 years old. She is an absolute joy. I can't imagine how hard her life has been. And to still be alive and kickin' at 95?! That's incredible. She has pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis. Yesterday we gave her some medication for R.A. and today we got to see her again. She was all smiles. We can't understand much of what she says as she speaks more of her tribal language than Swahili, but we do know she had the best night of sleep she has had in a long time. It is so great to see the immediate impact we are making here.
Changing gears a bit:
I got electrocuted this morning - and for those of you who have encountered me before 10am you know that early morning electrocution will likely not make me a happy camper. The hotel room has an electrical outlet that is hanging out of the wall and when I went to plug in my laptop this morning I got a pretty solid zap. Marianne heard the "bzzzzz" and "pop" in the bathroom. I felt it up my arm all morning long - and my finger tip got burned. Annoying. I was also pretty sick the past few days - nausea, dizziness, stomach pain, overheating. For a while I thought I had gotten malaria, but thankfully I woke up feeling much better this morning. I truly appreciate all of your prayers - they are obviously working!
I've been a bit spoiled in Arusha over the past week: hot showers, warm beds with real mattresses, western toilets. But even with all of the perks of hotel life, I miss my tiny room in Moshi and dinners with Fatuma and Sumaya. They are a part of my home away from home and I am looking forward to returning to them tomorrow.
New pictures are up on the pics page. Check them out when you have a moment. The kids here are so precious!!
So glad you are feeling better. Loved the pictures of the liitle kids. They are just precious. Prayers for allof you doing Gods work. Bless you all for protection and staying healthy so you can do the work you went to do. Take care of that finger!! Love you.
ReplyDeleteWow, sorry to hear you got shocked, that can be very dangerous:( Hope the finger heals quickly.Neat to hear of the work you did with the 250 kids. very encouraging. We take our medical care for granted, they wait in line hoping to get seen. What a blessing that you can be part of that. Keep the posts coming, we are praying for you!
ReplyDeleteWell they have been claiming that shock treatment works for many things, since the 60's. Looks like you have proved it, once again.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are really really good. I am also getting a lot of pictures here. The girls never stop giving me opportunities to snap a great shot (with my new camera...thanks to you!!!).
Love you girl.