Since we've been back in Loloma from Katombi, hospital has been kinda slow (could be because the doctor is out of town). Carolyn was able to assist on a vacuum extraction delivery on Wednesday for a 1st time mom who just didn't feel like pushing, while I (Ali) was home - hosting malaria parasites in my blood. NOT FUN, but no worries, I'm all better. Both yesterday and today, we were able to spread love throughout the hospital in the form of lollipops which is always great fun for us :)
Since this week has been pretty laid back, we were both happy to get out of the house and go to Senior Girls Camp for a few hours tonight. We got there just in time for the shima supper followed by some hymns, a video, and a gospel message on sin. It was great to be able to go back to a familiar scene and it brought back memories of our first weekend here when we got to visit Junior Girls Camp and have a taste of our 1st ever shima (19 shimas ago!). -We liked it better this time around since we knew what to expect!-
Tonight is our last night in Loloma... we will be headed to Lusaka tomorrow morning with Marian, Bruce and Alice (6:30am no less). We plan on staying at one of Bruce's relatives homes tomorrow night with Marian. From there, we will hop on a bus headed to Livingstone on Monday morning (6:30 again) in order to visit Victoria Falls Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, we plan on either heading over to Botswana to visit Chobe Game Reserve for a full day of African Safari or staying in Zambia for a Zambezi white water rafting day. On Wednesday morning, we will head back to Lusaka and spend the rest of the day with Marian. We will be flying out of Lusaka on Thursday to head for London (plan to see what Westminster has to offer) and then, finally... back to the USA.
It has been such a blessing that we have been able to come to Loloma this Summer. We are both so very thankful to all the kind missionaries and natives here who have opened their homes and shared their lives with us for the past 2 and a half months. We have surely made memories and, most importantly, friendships that will last a lifetime!!!
Yesu Kristu Diyi Mwanta!
Jesus Christ is Lord!
With love,
Carolyn & Ali
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
In Katombi!
Hello from Katombi!
We are spending a few days with Margie, who is a nurse that lives out in the bush. She does clinics from her home and travels doing literacy classes, children's clinics, sewing classes, Bible classes, etc. Her house has a thatched roof, outdoor toilet/shower, and an outdoor kitchen with a fire and a wood-stove. There is no running water which makes brushing teeth more difficult :)
Today we watched her see patients in her backyard. Some brought news of an entire village that burnt down, so this afternoon, she had us sorting through parcels and making care packages for them, which will be delivered tomorrow. FYI: if you send clothes for Africa, little boys need clothes too. Also, most people here are much smaller than most people at home, so don't just pack extra-large clothes. Also, it does get cold here, especially at night. It's not cold compared to home, but it might be 40 degrees colder at night than during the day, so it feels cold, and their houses are not heated. So, send warm things. Also tomorrow, we're going to a local school for a children's clinic - nothing super fancy, just weighing the kids and giving them deworming medicine and schistosomaisis medicine. Schistosomaisis is an endemic disease here that people get from the water - bathing in the river. It tends to be chronic and eventually leads to lots of GI bleeding, so they try to periodically prophylactically treat the kids. We've also been informed that we will be taking drugs for that (and for worms) before we leave. Fun, fun.
Margie has three donkeys and a donkey cart, so naturally, we asked for a ride and have been promised one before we leave. Mostly, the donkeys carry water and firewood. People use ox-carts a whole lot around here, and we've been wanting to ride in one, but a donkey-cart will have to do...for now. One of the dogs that lives with us back at Loloma had puppies-8 of which were living, so we're trying to figure out how to smuggle them through security on the flight home. She had them deep within a bouganvillia bush, which is surprisingly hard to get through.
In two weeks and two days, we'll be back in the states. Which is weird...this summer has gone by very quickly. Along the way, we're going to go see Victoria Falls, Lusaka, and London. Later!
Love,
Ali and Carolyn
We are spending a few days with Margie, who is a nurse that lives out in the bush. She does clinics from her home and travels doing literacy classes, children's clinics, sewing classes, Bible classes, etc. Her house has a thatched roof, outdoor toilet/shower, and an outdoor kitchen with a fire and a wood-stove. There is no running water which makes brushing teeth more difficult :)
Today we watched her see patients in her backyard. Some brought news of an entire village that burnt down, so this afternoon, she had us sorting through parcels and making care packages for them, which will be delivered tomorrow. FYI: if you send clothes for Africa, little boys need clothes too. Also, most people here are much smaller than most people at home, so don't just pack extra-large clothes. Also, it does get cold here, especially at night. It's not cold compared to home, but it might be 40 degrees colder at night than during the day, so it feels cold, and their houses are not heated. So, send warm things. Also tomorrow, we're going to a local school for a children's clinic - nothing super fancy, just weighing the kids and giving them deworming medicine and schistosomaisis medicine. Schistosomaisis is an endemic disease here that people get from the water - bathing in the river. It tends to be chronic and eventually leads to lots of GI bleeding, so they try to periodically prophylactically treat the kids. We've also been informed that we will be taking drugs for that (and for worms) before we leave. Fun, fun.
Margie has three donkeys and a donkey cart, so naturally, we asked for a ride and have been promised one before we leave. Mostly, the donkeys carry water and firewood. People use ox-carts a whole lot around here, and we've been wanting to ride in one, but a donkey-cart will have to do...for now. One of the dogs that lives with us back at Loloma had puppies-8 of which were living, so we're trying to figure out how to smuggle them through security on the flight home. She had them deep within a bouganvillia bush, which is surprisingly hard to get through.
In two weeks and two days, we'll be back in the states. Which is weird...this summer has gone by very quickly. Along the way, we're going to go see Victoria Falls, Lusaka, and London. Later!
Love,
Ali and Carolyn
Monday, July 18, 2011
Life (More) Lately
Updated Statistics:
Birth Count (observed and delivered): 27
Deliveries: 11 and 12 (we're taking turns)
Today we had a "real Zambian meal. Bruce (the hospital administrato) and his wife invited us over for caterpillars. He said that they would taste like shrimp. We respectfully disagree. But, they really weren't bad: just a weird texture. We also had wusi (a sour vegetable), little dried fish (whole, about an inch or less long), cassava greens, shima, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and even some chicken. And corn on the cob for dessert :)
We've had lots of interesting experiences since last we wrote, including spending a day at Samafunda Community School. They have outdoor squat toilets there. The teacher who brought us made sure to point out that if we needed to use them, to make sure we used the one on the left. Neither of us used them. It's a basic school - going from grades 1 to 7. They don't have much room, so some of the grades meet in the morning, and some of them in the afternoon. While we were there, two of the teachers got called away, leaving one teacher in the entire school. He bounced from room to room giving lessons, and we saw some that amused us, including a lecture on "what characteristics make a good marriage partner" for seventh graders. The school textbooks were few and termite-eaten and their erasers were worn all the way to the wood. It was certainly different than American schools.
We went to another mission station, along the Zambezi River, Chitokoloki for a few days over July 4th. July 4 and 5 are Zambian national holidays as well, but we made an American Flag cake so that all the canadian/Irish/Scottish/New Zealanders could celebrate properly. It was interesting to see life at a different mission station and a different hospital. Where Loloma has only one doctor, Chitokoloki is teaming with med students, visiting surgeons (well, one visiting surgeon), and surgical residents (the New Zealanders). We each delivered two babies, all girls :) They had an orthopedic surgeon come through for a day while we were there, and Loloma sent a few vehicles of patients, which brought us home. We also used the opportunity to cross the Zambezi River, at dusk, in a dugout (leaking) canoe with a Zambian rowing us.
Tomorrow, we are going to the Palace to greet the Chief (yep, you read that right). There's still a chief here. I don't completely understand his role, but he's a super important man - everyone kneels in front of him and all that. Apparently there's a lot of etiquette involved as well...clapping your hands the right number of times in the correct rhythm and so on. It's all rather confusing, but Bruce said "just do what Tim does and you'll be fine" (Tim is the missionary taking us), so there's definitely hope that we won't be beheaded ;)
We've been hanging out with a lot of other visitors lately as well. Jessie and David are brother and sister from Canada who spent some time at Loloma, though they're mostly here to see Chitokoloki. Jessie taught us a hat crochet pattern, so we've been playing with yarn a lot lately. Beth is a med student from Ireland, also mostly at Chitokoloki, who we're passing along that knowledge to.
The hospital has been busy today, which is good for us, but can be rather depressing sometimes. Since we last wrote, we've each gotten to suture; we've observed skin grafts, traction, more surgeries, gangrene, Down's syndrome, whooping cough, typhoid, 12 lead EKG practice, lots of malnutrition, resuscitation of adults and babies, JRV, club feet (and lots of other ortho stuff), etc.
We'll be back August 12, which is coming soon, which is weird. But, it will be good to see you all again...not so good to go back to school, but...that's life.
Love,
Carolyn and Ali
Birth Count (observed and delivered): 27
Deliveries: 11 and 12 (we're taking turns)
Today we had a "real Zambian meal. Bruce (the hospital administrato) and his wife invited us over for caterpillars. He said that they would taste like shrimp. We respectfully disagree. But, they really weren't bad: just a weird texture. We also had wusi (a sour vegetable), little dried fish (whole, about an inch or less long), cassava greens, shima, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and even some chicken. And corn on the cob for dessert :)
We've had lots of interesting experiences since last we wrote, including spending a day at Samafunda Community School. They have outdoor squat toilets there. The teacher who brought us made sure to point out that if we needed to use them, to make sure we used the one on the left. Neither of us used them. It's a basic school - going from grades 1 to 7. They don't have much room, so some of the grades meet in the morning, and some of them in the afternoon. While we were there, two of the teachers got called away, leaving one teacher in the entire school. He bounced from room to room giving lessons, and we saw some that amused us, including a lecture on "what characteristics make a good marriage partner" for seventh graders. The school textbooks were few and termite-eaten and their erasers were worn all the way to the wood. It was certainly different than American schools.
We went to another mission station, along the Zambezi River, Chitokoloki for a few days over July 4th. July 4 and 5 are Zambian national holidays as well, but we made an American Flag cake so that all the canadian/Irish/Scottish/New Zealanders could celebrate properly. It was interesting to see life at a different mission station and a different hospital. Where Loloma has only one doctor, Chitokoloki is teaming with med students, visiting surgeons (well, one visiting surgeon), and surgical residents (the New Zealanders). We each delivered two babies, all girls :) They had an orthopedic surgeon come through for a day while we were there, and Loloma sent a few vehicles of patients, which brought us home. We also used the opportunity to cross the Zambezi River, at dusk, in a dugout (leaking) canoe with a Zambian rowing us.
Tomorrow, we are going to the Palace to greet the Chief (yep, you read that right). There's still a chief here. I don't completely understand his role, but he's a super important man - everyone kneels in front of him and all that. Apparently there's a lot of etiquette involved as well...clapping your hands the right number of times in the correct rhythm and so on. It's all rather confusing, but Bruce said "just do what Tim does and you'll be fine" (Tim is the missionary taking us), so there's definitely hope that we won't be beheaded ;)
We've been hanging out with a lot of other visitors lately as well. Jessie and David are brother and sister from Canada who spent some time at Loloma, though they're mostly here to see Chitokoloki. Jessie taught us a hat crochet pattern, so we've been playing with yarn a lot lately. Beth is a med student from Ireland, also mostly at Chitokoloki, who we're passing along that knowledge to.
The hospital has been busy today, which is good for us, but can be rather depressing sometimes. Since we last wrote, we've each gotten to suture; we've observed skin grafts, traction, more surgeries, gangrene, Down's syndrome, whooping cough, typhoid, 12 lead EKG practice, lots of malnutrition, resuscitation of adults and babies, JRV, club feet (and lots of other ortho stuff), etc.
We'll be back August 12, which is coming soon, which is weird. But, it will be good to see you all again...not so good to go back to school, but...that's life.
Love,
Carolyn and Ali
Friday, June 24, 2011
Life Lately
So, we tried to post this a long long time ago...and couldn't. So, here's a rather old post, and we're about to try to write a new one....
Hey all!
Here are some statistics-
Birth count (observed and delivered): 14
Deliveries (working together): 7
Deliveries (solo, for each of us): 1
C-sections: 4
Death count (patients that we've seen): 16
CPR count (full arrest that we were involved in): 1
The hospital is composed of several long buildings enclosing a court yard. There is a men's medical ward, men's surgical, women's medical, women's surgical, maternity, TB, and children's ward. There are 118 beds, 1 doctor, and many of the workers here are posted here by the government (doesn't really seem to be high on anyone's preference list). During the night, there are only five people acting as nurses on duty. During the day, it is more, but we aren't exactly sure how many. Our usual day starts at the hospital at around 0800. We either go to surgery or follow doctor on his rounds or go to whichever clinic we're spending the day with. At about 1000 is tea break, which amuses us and is an hour of tea or coffee and muffins. Then we continue observing or helping where we can, often times ending up in outpatient. By about 1330 (everyone uses military time here) we usually head back to Canada house for lunch. Depending what's happening at hospital, sometimes we go back and sometimes we don't. They try to call us up for deliveries, though they often don't, and any other interesting cases. Evenings are often spent either quietly at home or having dinner and hanging out with either the missionaries or the Zambians. The power goes off at midnight, so that's about when we go to bed, but we do have some battery lights.
This last week we've gotten to observe the ART (which is AntiRetroviral Therapy - given for HIV/AIDS) clinic, a child's week clinic for children under 5 at a nearby village. Children were weighed, vaccinated, and given prophylactic deworming and vitamin A tablets. We've scrubbed for a few more surgeries, delivered 2 babies before tea this morning, and there was a situ inversu (we think that's how you say it) patient. That's a person with all of their inner organs on the opposite side that you'd expect. The x-rays and ecgs and everything come out backwards. We stopped by the lab, and they showed us what malaria looks like under the microscope. Our hardest situation was a stillborn child who we delivered. It had been dead for a few days and bore the marks. It was heartbreaking to watch the women go through the entire process without getting to keep her baby. Another heartbreaking case is a 2 year, 2 month old 4.5 kg, 73 cm long child with AIDS. To put that in perspective, that's what we'd expect a 3 month old to weigh. Also, Carolyn was heavier than that at birth. He isn't getting either adequate medication or nutrition, and if ever we wished for DCFS, this is the child to prompt it.
Away from the hospital...we went down to the river with the young people recently to wash clothes for the old people. So yes, we've washed clothes by hand in the Manyinga river. A few from our group dug latrines for them as well (prompting a discussion about squat toilets and amazement that we don't use those in the US). Wednesday night, the young people's group watched Left Behind, and it was incredible because over 60 people showed up. We all crowded into Julie's (Julie is one of the missionary nurses-from Canada) living room -which isn't large, and filled every single square inch of it. The leader used the opportunity to encourage people to accept Christ.
The hospital administrator informed us that, since coming here, he'd gained 18 kg. Because we still want to be able to wear our clothing when we return home, and, we, too, partake of teabreak, we've decided to start jogging in order to counteract the effects. They've told us that as long as we stick together, we are safe going anywhere during the day, and on the mission at night. So, we jog back and forth from our house to the hospital at night. If our safety concerns you mom, there is a night watchman who waves at us when we run past.
Last night we went over to one of the female staff houses, where several of the nurses had invited us to come learn to make shima and other Zambian recipes. I think we can cook you Zambian style greens and chicken now, but shima might take more practice. We can, however, show you pictures and video of the first attempt. They're hoping we'll teach them to make pizza and mac and cheese in return, which of course, we agreed to. Last night, we also showed them brownies, which they said were too sweet. The nerve! Oh well, not everyone can be perfect.
Today we walked up and down the airstrip (which is a mile long) and chatted with the man who lives at the end of it. We then baked cupcakes, and will soon be eating pizza at a gathering at Julie's house. But, at least we walked! We are appreciating the prayers and support that we get from all of you, and look forward to telling you more and showing you photos and catching up when we get home. But, before then, we have lots more places to go and things to see and pictures to take and sweets to eat and etc.
love,
Ali and Carolyn
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Delivery #2!
Hey all!
We've been having lots of experiences, and learning lots about tropical diseases and all sorts of other things. Our favorite is babies. And today, we delivered our second one! It was a joint effort between the two of us, and it was exciting. Lynn, if you're reading this, we think you'd be pleased at how much we've learned :) We love the after birthing traditions...the women gather and sing and dance. They make us do it too. And then they laugh at us :) We've also been practicing monitoring women in labor, fetal heart rate (fetoscope and doppler), contractions, vaginal exams, the whole nine yards (where does that expressino come from anyways?). We continue to observe lots of other things - rounds, outpatients, surgery...and doctor is letting us scrub for theatre sometimes now! We've each gotten to assist him twice, and we also usually get to recieve the baby (and sometimes resuscitate it) for C-sections. We've also seen some gruesome wounds (fan belt snapping, child vs ax, epileptic vs fire, etc). It is amazing how different the hospital is from American hospitals. The list of meds we were out of for today was 30 strong, and we've had no rabies or leprosy meds since we've been here. The government hospital in Kabompo, however, lacks a blood pressure cuff and cardiac monitor, so we're rather richly blessed.
And for those of you who don't like the hospital stuff so much...we went to Kabompo and got the tour of the city. We attended an agricultural fair. We've found that children LOVE it if we take their picture and then show them what it looks like. At the ag fair, we had a veritable army of them following us around...which was fun :) We are learning to eat lots of shima - which isn't as bad as we'd feared (perhaps because it's mostly corn meal so far), though we can't eat nearly enough to satisfy the Zambians, and they laugh at our technique (and Ali putting sugar on hers). We went out to Bruce's (the hospital administrator) plot one evening with about 15 other people and had a meal of shima and a camp fire (which we brought marshmallows to!). We sang hymns around it and just generally had a good time. It is beautiful out there along the Kabompo river with all the planting and cultivating going on. We attend a Zambian young people's group (in English, thankfully. Luvale church services get a little long) every wednesday night, and Friday, we're going to have some of the nurses over to hang out at the Canada House (where we live).
We're taking lots (really, lots) of pictures and both of us (but especially Ali) are journaling lots, so we'll be able to tell/show you pretty much anything when we get home. Good night all!
Love (and so on) from,
Carolyn and Ali
We've been having lots of experiences, and learning lots about tropical diseases and all sorts of other things. Our favorite is babies. And today, we delivered our second one! It was a joint effort between the two of us, and it was exciting. Lynn, if you're reading this, we think you'd be pleased at how much we've learned :) We love the after birthing traditions...the women gather and sing and dance. They make us do it too. And then they laugh at us :) We've also been practicing monitoring women in labor, fetal heart rate (fetoscope and doppler), contractions, vaginal exams, the whole nine yards (where does that expressino come from anyways?). We continue to observe lots of other things - rounds, outpatients, surgery...and doctor is letting us scrub for theatre sometimes now! We've each gotten to assist him twice, and we also usually get to recieve the baby (and sometimes resuscitate it) for C-sections. We've also seen some gruesome wounds (fan belt snapping, child vs ax, epileptic vs fire, etc). It is amazing how different the hospital is from American hospitals. The list of meds we were out of for today was 30 strong, and we've had no rabies or leprosy meds since we've been here. The government hospital in Kabompo, however, lacks a blood pressure cuff and cardiac monitor, so we're rather richly blessed.
And for those of you who don't like the hospital stuff so much...we went to Kabompo and got the tour of the city. We attended an agricultural fair. We've found that children LOVE it if we take their picture and then show them what it looks like. At the ag fair, we had a veritable army of them following us around...which was fun :) We are learning to eat lots of shima - which isn't as bad as we'd feared (perhaps because it's mostly corn meal so far), though we can't eat nearly enough to satisfy the Zambians, and they laugh at our technique (and Ali putting sugar on hers). We went out to Bruce's (the hospital administrator) plot one evening with about 15 other people and had a meal of shima and a camp fire (which we brought marshmallows to!). We sang hymns around it and just generally had a good time. It is beautiful out there along the Kabompo river with all the planting and cultivating going on. We attend a Zambian young people's group (in English, thankfully. Luvale church services get a little long) every wednesday night, and Friday, we're going to have some of the nurses over to hang out at the Canada House (where we live).
We're taking lots (really, lots) of pictures and both of us (but especially Ali) are journaling lots, so we'll be able to tell/show you pretty much anything when we get home. Good night all!
Love (and so on) from,
Carolyn and Ali
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Confessions from Carolyn
(Ali's taking her bath...and I'm curious how long it will take her to notice this post)
-I REALLY wish that skirts weren't required because there are myraids of fabulously amazing climbing trees here. And several of the mission kids (Daniel and David, 7 and 9) told me all about them, and which ones are the BEST.
-the stars are far better here then in the states. just so you know.
-small yappy dogs quiet right down if you carry them around in a chitengi.
-I really like flatties. I wish we had them at home.
that's all. hope you've enjoyed some very random facts.
-Carolyn
-I REALLY wish that skirts weren't required because there are myraids of fabulously amazing climbing trees here. And several of the mission kids (Daniel and David, 7 and 9) told me all about them, and which ones are the BEST.
-the stars are far better here then in the states. just so you know.
-small yappy dogs quiet right down if you carry them around in a chitengi.
-I really like flatties. I wish we had them at home.
that's all. hope you've enjoyed some very random facts.
-Carolyn
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuna Yoyo
"We are well". The official language of Zambia is English, but most people here speak either Luvale or Lunda. Really, only the educated speak English. We know we can't get fluent before we return, but we're trying to learn a little bit of Luvale...and how to not be rude Americans.
We've gotten to see a lot of new things. Friday, we mostly just recuperated from the trip and time change. Saturday, we went out to girls' camp. There we got to meet many more of the missionaries from the area. It was 8-9th grade girls week and we arrived at tea break. Then we listened to the message (about modest dress..in a lot of ways, it was very like an American camp, but in a lot of ways, not at all) It was in Luvale, but some of the missionaries gave us the general gist. They also wrote Bible references in English on the blackboard, which made it easier to follow. We also had our first meal of Shima. It was a very bland, thick dish...Ali says like grits without enough water. They made it from mostly cornmeal instead of mostly cassava, so it didn't taste too strange to us. It was served with smoked/dried fish (not our favorite) and something like collard greens. We got a tour and took lots of pictures!
Sunday we attended meeting (church) for the first time. We had to talk to the elders, and then sit through a Luvale service. We borrowed hymn books from Marian...they were all to American tunes, and Marian taught us the vowel sounds so we could sing along, even though we didn't understand. Tomorrow, she's taking us to buy our own Luvale hymnals and Bibles :) We only attended one service since it was our first time (my back is grateful...hard seats!), but services last from about 0830ish to 1330ish if you attend the whole thing.
Today was our first day at hospital. We came in the morning at about 0700ish and followed the doctor (a ver nice believer from Congo) on his rounds. He explained lots to us, and so far we've seen cancer, malaria, HIV, measles, sickle cell, possible leperosy, malnutrition, sepsis, hemorrhage, stroke, Perthes' disease (new to us), kidney failure, trauma, and more. There was a 1000 tea break and we got to do a tube feeding for the stroke pt. We left around 1300ish. The nurses mostly have 2 year diplomas, and some of them are employed by the government, which means they can get posted here.
This afternoon, Marian took us to market and we bought our first chitengis. They are like sarongs, and worn as skirts, or as baby slings. WE practiced tying the skirts and then Peter, who helps around the house, showed us how to tie babies on our backs. He seemed rather amused. We tried it with dolls...and we're still practicing. We visited an old woman who sang us a welcome song while we sat in her little mud-brick house after Marian had brought her food.
And, for those who've asked, we do in fact sleep under mosquito nets :) And. A scorpion joined Carolyn during her bath a few nights ago.
Love,
Carolyn and Ali
We've gotten to see a lot of new things. Friday, we mostly just recuperated from the trip and time change. Saturday, we went out to girls' camp. There we got to meet many more of the missionaries from the area. It was 8-9th grade girls week and we arrived at tea break. Then we listened to the message (about modest dress..in a lot of ways, it was very like an American camp, but in a lot of ways, not at all) It was in Luvale, but some of the missionaries gave us the general gist. They also wrote Bible references in English on the blackboard, which made it easier to follow. We also had our first meal of Shima. It was a very bland, thick dish...Ali says like grits without enough water. They made it from mostly cornmeal instead of mostly cassava, so it didn't taste too strange to us. It was served with smoked/dried fish (not our favorite) and something like collard greens. We got a tour and took lots of pictures!
Sunday we attended meeting (church) for the first time. We had to talk to the elders, and then sit through a Luvale service. We borrowed hymn books from Marian...they were all to American tunes, and Marian taught us the vowel sounds so we could sing along, even though we didn't understand. Tomorrow, she's taking us to buy our own Luvale hymnals and Bibles :) We only attended one service since it was our first time (my back is grateful...hard seats!), but services last from about 0830ish to 1330ish if you attend the whole thing.
Today was our first day at hospital. We came in the morning at about 0700ish and followed the doctor (a ver nice believer from Congo) on his rounds. He explained lots to us, and so far we've seen cancer, malaria, HIV, measles, sickle cell, possible leperosy, malnutrition, sepsis, hemorrhage, stroke, Perthes' disease (new to us), kidney failure, trauma, and more. There was a 1000 tea break and we got to do a tube feeding for the stroke pt. We left around 1300ish. The nurses mostly have 2 year diplomas, and some of them are employed by the government, which means they can get posted here.
This afternoon, Marian took us to market and we bought our first chitengis. They are like sarongs, and worn as skirts, or as baby slings. WE practiced tying the skirts and then Peter, who helps around the house, showed us how to tie babies on our backs. He seemed rather amused. We tried it with dolls...and we're still practicing. We visited an old woman who sang us a welcome song while we sat in her little mud-brick house after Marian had brought her food.
And, for those who've asked, we do in fact sleep under mosquito nets :) And. A scorpion joined Carolyn during her bath a few nights ago.
Love,
Carolyn and Ali
Friday, May 27, 2011
We are HERE!
Hey all!
We are here. We are safe. We had no problems getting our visas at he border. Internet time is limited, so we'll be somewhat brief and we might not get to update often. Sorry. Also, google doesn't like us and both of us use gmail, so again, sorry.
We flew tuesday night to London, and left the airport to explore the city in the afternoon. We got day passes for the "tube" and had afternoon tea and visited the British museum. My dad had gotten us a voltage converter, which we put in one of Ali's bags. When going to security we found out that the converter looks very much like "something that would go bang" on the x-ray machine. Ali's bags got searched...twice.
Then we flew wednesday night to Lusaka. We got great food on the airline, but not much great sleep, so we were pretty exhausted. We had a five hour layover in Lusaka and took a flight to Ndola. There, we had another 3 hour layover, during which we both fell asleep. The Zambians were very kind though, and woke us up and took care of all our bags so we could make our next flight to Solwezi. The flight took about an hour, and we met some super nice English people who work as geologists for the mines there...Rob and Shanney (try to say these with a British accent). Marian, along with the doctor, his small son, a nurse, and all of their shopping met us there, and we had a 300 km trip to Loloma.\
Along the way we saw lots of interesting things...including fires, oxcarts, people carrying goats on their bicycles, things on their heads, and so on. It is also amazing how many things are still in bloom considering that this is the cold, dry season. Lots of pictures when we return...we don't have enough internet to upload them now, sorry. Marian gave us brownies and tea and dinner, which was pleasent. We slept in today and didn't really do anything. Tomorrow, we'll go visit girl's camp and start in the hospital on monday. There is so much to tell you all, but I'm afraid that for most of it, you'll have to hang out with us when we get back. Everyone that we've met is very hospitable and kind and we feel very welcome. All for now.
Love,
Carolyn and Ali
We are here. We are safe. We had no problems getting our visas at he border. Internet time is limited, so we'll be somewhat brief and we might not get to update often. Sorry. Also, google doesn't like us and both of us use gmail, so again, sorry.
We flew tuesday night to London, and left the airport to explore the city in the afternoon. We got day passes for the "tube" and had afternoon tea and visited the British museum. My dad had gotten us a voltage converter, which we put in one of Ali's bags. When going to security we found out that the converter looks very much like "something that would go bang" on the x-ray machine. Ali's bags got searched...twice.
Then we flew wednesday night to Lusaka. We got great food on the airline, but not much great sleep, so we were pretty exhausted. We had a five hour layover in Lusaka and took a flight to Ndola. There, we had another 3 hour layover, during which we both fell asleep. The Zambians were very kind though, and woke us up and took care of all our bags so we could make our next flight to Solwezi. The flight took about an hour, and we met some super nice English people who work as geologists for the mines there...Rob and Shanney (try to say these with a British accent). Marian, along with the doctor, his small son, a nurse, and all of their shopping met us there, and we had a 300 km trip to Loloma.\
Along the way we saw lots of interesting things...including fires, oxcarts, people carrying goats on their bicycles, things on their heads, and so on. It is also amazing how many things are still in bloom considering that this is the cold, dry season. Lots of pictures when we return...we don't have enough internet to upload them now, sorry. Marian gave us brownies and tea and dinner, which was pleasent. We slept in today and didn't really do anything. Tomorrow, we'll go visit girl's camp and start in the hospital on monday. There is so much to tell you all, but I'm afraid that for most of it, you'll have to hang out with us when we get back. Everyone that we've met is very hospitable and kind and we feel very welcome. All for now.
Love,
Carolyn and Ali
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Three Days to Takeoff!!!
Visa Update: we're getting a visitor's visa at the border. So, no, we don't have visas yet, but yes, we are still going, and we'll have them bright and early next Thursday morning :) From there, we have tickets booked on an internal flight service that will take us from Lusaka to Ndola to Solwezi where we'll be picked up by Marian, the woman that we are staying with. She has a guest setup for us - room and bathrooms. She also said that we could help out with preparing dinner, so you can pray about that :P We'll try not to burn the place down.
We're excited to gather stories to tell you. We've been talking to everyone we know who's been there, and it will be interesting to see how our experiences parallel those who've spent time in other parts of Africa or at other times. My parents were there, in the exact same spot we're going, but that was 25 years ago, so we're looking forward to seeing the changes and to learning everything that we can.
We will have computer/internet access while we are there, so we will do our best to keep you updated. However, please understand that it will be somewhat limited.
Remember, we leave in three days, so now's your chance to hang out with us and tell us how much you love us and will miss us and all that ;)
We're excited to gather stories to tell you. We've been talking to everyone we know who's been there, and it will be interesting to see how our experiences parallel those who've spent time in other parts of Africa or at other times. My parents were there, in the exact same spot we're going, but that was 25 years ago, so we're looking forward to seeing the changes and to learning everything that we can.
We will have computer/internet access while we are there, so we will do our best to keep you updated. However, please understand that it will be somewhat limited.
Remember, we leave in three days, so now's your chance to hang out with us and tell us how much you love us and will miss us and all that ;)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Just a week away!
Tomorrow marks 1 week until Carolyn and Ali head to Zambia!
We would like to address a comment left on our last post re: visa status. As of last week, our visas were declined due to a miniscule detail (it's okay.. try not to panic). :) We have since been in contact with Marian (the woman who we will be living with while in Africa) who has given us the option of not reapplying for a visa just yet, instead, she suggests waiting until we get to the border to receive a single-entry visitor visa for $50.00USD (which is a much cheaper route than reapplying via snail-mail which would have to be expedited processing and overnight mailings for us to receive them before we leave).
Information regarding entry into Zambia can be found here.
We will keep you all updated with what we decide to do about the visas!! As far as other preparations for our trip, we went thrift-storing this past weekend to buy our long skirts and scrub tops we will be needing while across the pond! We also bought things such as: lotion, shampoo/conditioner, anti-itch creams, antibacterial cream, bug spray, hand sanitizer..etc. Needless to say... it was an expensive day!
That's all for now, please pray for us as we continue to finalize details!
Carolyn and Ali
We would like to address a comment left on our last post re: visa status. As of last week, our visas were declined due to a miniscule detail (it's okay.. try not to panic). :) We have since been in contact with Marian (the woman who we will be living with while in Africa) who has given us the option of not reapplying for a visa just yet, instead, she suggests waiting until we get to the border to receive a single-entry visitor visa for $50.00USD (which is a much cheaper route than reapplying via snail-mail which would have to be expedited processing and overnight mailings for us to receive them before we leave).
Information regarding entry into Zambia can be found here.
We will keep you all updated with what we decide to do about the visas!! As far as other preparations for our trip, we went thrift-storing this past weekend to buy our long skirts and scrub tops we will be needing while across the pond! We also bought things such as: lotion, shampoo/conditioner, anti-itch creams, antibacterial cream, bug spray, hand sanitizer..etc. Needless to say... it was an expensive day!
That's all for now, please pray for us as we continue to finalize details!
Carolyn and Ali
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The RACE to get there...
Visas... oh the joy! We both thought that, by now, things would be coming to a close with Zambia preparation. Not the case. It's quite alright though, because it's keeping us on our toes! We had thought that our visa applications would be sent out by early last week, however, we are tying some loose ends up so we can get them sent out by later this week... now, now... I don't want to make it seem that we are sitting around doing nothing in preparation though, by this Thursday (5/5) we both would have had our immunizations done (Hep A, Polio booster, Meningococcal, and Typhoid). We are also both going to be on doxycycline for our Malaria prophylaxis, which we will begin about 2 days before leaving, taking a pill daily, ending roughly 4 weeks after we come back... In the words of my Nurse Practitioner... "that's A LOT of doxy!" ;)
Though Zambia is a few short weeks away, we are feeling like it's still SOOO FARRRR! We have finals this week -pray for us please!- but that seems to be the last major obstacle before Africa (STOKED!).
We hope all are doing well and are excited to have the possibility of sharing our journey with you!! Please feel free to leave comments/questions...
Have a great week!
Ali & Carolyn
Though Zambia is a few short weeks away, we are feeling like it's still SOOO FARRRR! We have finals this week -pray for us please!- but that seems to be the last major obstacle before Africa (STOKED!).
We hope all are doing well and are excited to have the possibility of sharing our journey with you!! Please feel free to leave comments/questions...
Have a great week!
Ali & Carolyn
Monday, April 25, 2011
We're going to Zambia!
Hey all!
As you probably already know if you're here, Ali and Carolyn are headed to Zambia "the heart of Africa" this summer! :) Both of us are nursing students who are three quarters of the way through our program at ISU (woohoo!), and we'll be volunteering at Loloma Mission Hospital (near Kabompo) for 2.5 months this summer (May 24 to August 12, if you were wondering). The purpose of this blog is to keep you up to date on what's going on with our trip, as we may not be able to keep in touch as well as we'd like while we're gone.
Why Zambia?
Why not? Different reasons for both of us, I suppose. We both wanted to be involved in a medical missions trip and the door opened. Carolyn's Dad used to be a doctor at this very hospital in Zambia, so when she wanted to learn about third world nursing and see the life she'd heard so many stories about growing up, the choice was only logical. Also, it helped that he still knew some of the people there. Ali had a tie to Zambia through the child she used to sponsor, and somehow, God put us together and got us talking about the possibility, clearing the way for both of us to take this trip together!
Why this summer?
Again, why not? We're not married, neither of us have full time careers to balance or children to rear yet, and it's a great time to learn. Our hope is that, since we are three quarters of the way to being RNs, we can offer our skills in a useful way.
What's going on now?
Both of us are hectically finishing up end of the semester stuff! We have our plane tickets and passports, but other important details, like Visas, we're still working on. We'd appreciate your prayers as we finish out the semester and smooth out the details of our trip (things like visas and immunizations and malaria prophylaxis and figuring out how to fit our luggage into a managable size)
If you have any questions for either or both of us, feel free to leave a comment or email either Ali or Carolyn. We'll try to keep you up to date on the preparations leading up to the trip!
With much love (seriously, follow us so we feel loved back),
Carolyn & Ali
As you probably already know if you're here, Ali and Carolyn are headed to Zambia "the heart of Africa" this summer! :) Both of us are nursing students who are three quarters of the way through our program at ISU (woohoo!), and we'll be volunteering at Loloma Mission Hospital (near Kabompo) for 2.5 months this summer (May 24 to August 12, if you were wondering). The purpose of this blog is to keep you up to date on what's going on with our trip, as we may not be able to keep in touch as well as we'd like while we're gone.
Why Zambia?
Why not? Different reasons for both of us, I suppose. We both wanted to be involved in a medical missions trip and the door opened. Carolyn's Dad used to be a doctor at this very hospital in Zambia, so when she wanted to learn about third world nursing and see the life she'd heard so many stories about growing up, the choice was only logical. Also, it helped that he still knew some of the people there. Ali had a tie to Zambia through the child she used to sponsor, and somehow, God put us together and got us talking about the possibility, clearing the way for both of us to take this trip together!
Why this summer?
Again, why not? We're not married, neither of us have full time careers to balance or children to rear yet, and it's a great time to learn. Our hope is that, since we are three quarters of the way to being RNs, we can offer our skills in a useful way.
What's going on now?
Both of us are hectically finishing up end of the semester stuff! We have our plane tickets and passports, but other important details, like Visas, we're still working on. We'd appreciate your prayers as we finish out the semester and smooth out the details of our trip (things like visas and immunizations and malaria prophylaxis and figuring out how to fit our luggage into a managable size)
If you have any questions for either or both of us, feel free to leave a comment or email either Ali or Carolyn. We'll try to keep you up to date on the preparations leading up to the trip!
With much love (seriously, follow us so we feel loved back),
Carolyn & Ali
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)