A chance to see what's outside the box...

This past week I and other Peace Corps Volunteers from northwest province facilitaed a boys soccor camp that emphasized HIV and malaria prevention. Each Volunteer invited two boys (7th to 9th grades) and one mentor from their village to take part. It was a lot of fun for all of us and offered a chance for the boys to experience life outside their villages. The boys were selected by the schools based on their advanced academic and leadership levels. Their smiles will will stay with me forever.

 

 

Photo credit: Kenneth Janson



African smile...

"There are about 1/3rd of children in the village going without breakfast, but they still have the energy to play and run around. Other children would complain and be grumpy without breakfast. There is something that has to be said about the African smile."

This was told to me by my host father, Eliack Shikamo, who runs the clinic in our village. He is right, no matter what the circumstances there is always a beautiful smile here by young and old. I play with the kids in my village in the morning and I always wonder who has eaten or not eaten.It's hard to tell because they don't complain or show any signs of hunger. 

I always hide when I eat food and I send the children away when I cook. There are times I will pop popcorn or make scones to share with them hoping this will help them get through the school day. A lot of us take things for granted in the States, especially if we have never experienced hunger. 

Another example is I met an elderly woman on her way to the clinic. She greeted me and showed me an infection on the pit of her arm. She explained to me she traveled very far (by foot) to come to the clinic to get medication for her infection. She also told me she had not eaten and was having difficulty continuing on with her journey. I told her I would see if there is anything I can do to help thinking maybe I can find some food for her. I ended up giving her five kwatcha to help her out. This entire interaction showed me the endurance, resilience, and the strength a community can have when we help each other out. She was not a beggar, she was a woman in trouble. But she still had the strength and amazing human spirit to smile at me. Oh, that African smile is so wonderful.

There is hunger in every corner of this planet, Africa isn't the only place this happens to. Children will be children whether they have a full tummy or not. This is what Africa has taught me.

Working hard, but loving every minute of it...

     Hey everyone, I've been busy the past few months working in my village getting a tree planting project going. I'm working with a community in my village who are progressive farmers. Their village is called Shimabila and it is less than two kilometers away from my site. We have formed a tree planting committee that oversees trees planted by community members are properly cared for. We are also planning on expanding tree planting to other parts of Mumena Village.
     So far Shimabila has planted two hundred guava trees, six lemon trees, and 12 improved variety orange trees which have been grafted onto lemon root stock which will increase the success of the trees to survive drought and poor soil. The oranges are called Delta and are large and seedless which will bring in income, offer food security, and the branches can be grafted to lemon root stock then sold in the market for a good price.
     My job has been locating sources of trees that are affordable for farmers. The guavas and lemons were free and the oranges were sold at a discounted price. I hope to help the village obtain other kinds of trees not only for food, but for timber, firewood, nitrogen fixing soil, and several other uses. I research trees that grow well in the area and how they can be used for individual use and for profit.
     Another goal of the project is to create and manage a tree nursery which can supply the village and surrounding villages large variety of tree seeds and seedlings to be sold or to be given to people in need.
     Much of Zambia is suffering from deforestation. Northwest Zambia is still well-forested, but the trees are being cut down at an alarming rate. We need to make up for it before deforestation becomes a big problem so creating sustainable means to supplying trees without relying on outside sources will be a key to success.           One of the challenges northwest Zambia is facing is growth in population due to refugees settling from bordering countries, including Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo and the westward movement of mines. The people who are immigrating for these reasons tax the resources and the mines are taking over hundreds of acres of open space so tree planting is very important to make up for the loss of trees.
     Not only are we encouraging the planting of trees for food and income, but we also aim to educate about the importance of trees and how to take care of them. For many villagers in rural Zambia in northwest province they see there are plenty of trees, but fail to comprehend that if trees aren't replanted they will suffer devastating effects of deforestation which contributes to climate change. Education is very important to ensure the natural resources in this country are preserved.
     I will keep everyone updated on the progress of this project. I hope the enthusiasm of the villagers continues the momentum in which the project is moving.
     Other than the work I've been doing I am doing well and continue to enjoy my time here in Zambia. I have a year left in my service so I have a lot of planning to do to make sure I get as much work done as possible and see as much of this part of Africa as I can. I am continuing to improve my hut: I built a couch in my sitting room, had a ton of gravel (free) delivered and created gravel paths around my site to avoid walking through mud, and I am trying to grow a variety of herbs in my garden. The local children continue to visit me daily and I spend time with them playing games and teaching them to write their names.
     Life is wonderful here in Zambia. Miss you all!

Extravagant vacations?

     Since being in Zambia I’ve swam in Lake Malawi and visited Livingstone to go on safari and see Victoria Falls. One would think I’ve spent thousands of dollars on these two trips, but each trip cost under 400 USD including travel to and from my site. It is incredibly cheap to travel in-country and in some of the surrounding countries. Being here I will continue taking advantage of the opportunity to see other amazing places that most people only dream of visiting.

 

 

Little Lions...

Almost two months ago my friend Karen brought two kittens to me because of a rodent problem I was having. The kittens are brothers. The one with white on his face is Knuckles and the smaller and lighter color one is Onion. They are growing fast and keeping the rodents away; they are great hunters. They are turning out to be amazing companions, too.

 

  

Food Deprivation and Malted Milk Balls...

     I’m learning there are different kinds of food deprivations. There’s the kind I see here in my village among the villagers; not enough food to eat. Children, I believe, are always hungry unless they just finished a hearty meal of nshima, which is mainly to fill the tummy, not to please the pallet. This may be accompanied by a relish, like pumpkin leaves, or bush meat, such as song birds slayed by slingshot. It’s hunger season now and yes, those are some of the few things available.

     There is another kind of food deprivation I’m personally experiencing - limited access to American food. Here in the village there is very little to choose from. There aren’t any restaurants or pizza delivery. Chocolate is not found at the tuck shops. The only way I can satisfy my American cravings is to buy food I like at the Shoprite in Solwezi - a forty-five minute cab ride away. I make this trip about once a month.

     Shoprite is a supermarket, but a little different from what we’re used to in the States. You won’t find Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, or Tootsie Rolls, and the cheese they have is very expensive. I don’t buy ice-cream for two reasons: I don’t have a freezer and it would melt by the time I get back to the village anyway.

     I’m becoming creative with my cooking since living in a Zambian village. I have a broad array of spices I use to literally spice things up such as sauteed cabbage with tomatoes and onions and maybe some soya pieces added in. My sometimes intense chocolate cravings are quelled by powdered milk and cocoa mixed with sugar and water. The only meat I eat is with my host family when they serve village chicken (tough and stringy), or sausage along with nshima.

     The number one craving I’ve been experiencing starting three months into my service is malted milk balls; can’t find them here. I dream about eating a carton full of them. I asked my brother to send me some a while back, but when I received the package it contained two cartons of milk duds.

     “Malted milk balls,” is what I told my fellow PCV who is returning from a trip from the States who asked me if he can bring me back anything. Right now the carton is waiting for me in my mail box at the provincial house in Solwezi. In six days I will indulge in the little marble-sized delectable chocolate balls.

     Will this treat satisfy my on-going craving? Will I begin another new craving of a food I can’t get here in this country?

     Stress is what brings on these cravings for American food. The cravings can be very intense sometimes which adds…more stress.

     I am glad I have these cravings instead of just wishing I had something to fill my stomach like the village kids. They may never know the cravings I experience and I may never know their need to just fill their growling tummies.

Interview with a rural health clinic nurse...

Eliack Shikamo, RN

My *host father Eliack Shikamo works at the medical clinic in our village. I decided to interview him about his work at the clinic because of the interesting and challenging work load he and his staff encounter daily. 

Eliack is a registered nurse and he runs the clinic.
On staff there are two enrolled nurses or CNA equivalents, an environmental technician, nursing support, and volunteers. There are no doctors on staff, though doctors occasionally make rounds during the year.

Eliack was born in a village of Solwezi called Shikamo Village under Chief Mukumbi of the Kaonde tribe. His father was a house maid for a white farmer in Kabwe, and second born of eight children: three brothers and four sisters

Eliack was educated through Ngungu Primary School in Kabwe, Kimale School (basic school) 1-9^th, then high school at Solwezi Technical Secondary School grade 10- 12^th. In 2004 he attended Solwezi School of Nursing and received a certificate of nursing in 2005.  He worked for the government from 2006 to 2008 then went back to school to become a registered nurse at Lusaka School of Nursing from 2008 to 2011. He graduated with a registered nursing diploma.

Eliack is married to Brenda Mwelwa Lunda who is an enrolled nurse. He and his wife work at Mumena Rural Health Center in Mumena Village in the Solwezi district. They have three children under the age of seven.

*Most Peace Corps Volunteers are placed with a host family in the village they reside. The role of a host family is to ensure the Volunteer’s basic needs are met, offers guidance with entering in the community, and shares occasional meals.

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Tell me about the clinic. What services are offered?      Mumena clinic is a rural clinic 56k from the referral hospital Solwezi General Hospital. We offer a variety of services from outpatient services, such as screening, dispense of drugs, and wound care. Maternal health services which provide prenatal and labor services-- a tiny room allows mothers to recover-- and postnatal services. Within maternal services we offer HIV screening to mothers aimed at preventing mother to child HIV transmission. 

     We counsel pregnant mothers and encourage them to come with partners to test both of them for HIV. If both are positive, they are counseled how to live with the disease and encourage taking the prophylaxis medication that helps slow progression of HIV. We offer a children’s clinic with programs of growth monitoring promotion and a segment that deals with immunization monitoring. We also offer family planning counseling, but have not been able to counsel on nutrition. General HIV/AIDs care is offered. 

     Our clinic has minimal testing equipment, but can draw blood and transfer to the hospital to help with treatment, especially HIV positive patients. The clinic wants to improve a transport system for treatment to the referral hospital. Our clinic is not a hospital. When cases come they are screened, admitted for 48 hours, initiate treatment; if patient is not doing well, then continue for a few more days and may be referred to the hospital.

How is clinic funded?      This is a government clinic; very limited funding. Every three or four months the clinic receives money to pay electricity and to buy supplies, but limits ability to work on other projects.

What challenges does the clinic have?      Limitations because of funds, and limitation of number of staff, the clinic should have at least 13 health workers, but barely has six. The few nurses the clinic has cause the nurses to work too much. Not enough accommodation which creates a hindrance for nurses to live here. Support from missionaries has improved water--garden taps to help staff to draw water closer to their homes. Don’t have the ability to have toilets in the clinic. The burden of disease and not being able to implement outreach programs for residents who live far from clinics. Services are limited to only 5k radius. People live 22k away without transportation. Emergency care is a challenge, for example, a mother is pregnant with complications has to find money from others to pay for a cab to the hospital.  One government ambulance is located in the township servicing the entire Solwezi district. It can take 1 hour 45 minutes to get to the hospital.  Mothers use public transport and deliver on the way. They need an ambulance.

Most common ailments?      Top ten: malaria; diarrhea; respiratory tract; STDs due to population growth; HIV and AIDs; skin infections; eye infections; tooth infections. Anemia is an issue, children and nutritional problems during rain season due to not a lot of food available.

I’ve heard you are calm, cool, and collected when dealing with snake bites. What is the procedure when treating a snakebite victim?      No natural skill, it is a skill that you learn: treat snake bite as an emergency, though depending on the snake that bites a person there are certain snakes that are really poisonous, but some aren’t as poisonous. At least what I do when handling an emergency there are four things to look at: one, ensure that patient’s airway is patent, then ensure patient is breathing. These two can be dependent on how they are positioned, then monitor circulatory system, feel for pulse, quick assessment, ensure access to a vein by inserting a cannula, set the cannula. You have to choose intravenous fluid or a plasma expander, and sodium solutions. If no saline solution then lactated ringers. Then after quickly give a cortical steroid. We don’t have the snake antivenin; government does not provide it. Depending on the snake, antibiotic is given and pain killer. Black mamba bites need treatment within 30 minutes or can cause organ collapse. Steroid and fluids prevents shock,  reduces inflammatory response from venom….may be referred depending on shape of person.

Do you deliver babies?      We assist delivering babies. In past people delivered from home, but now with Chief’s efforts, we have an increase  institutional deliveries  as  the mothers  are encouraged to come to the clinic. Community teachings encourage this; about 60 percent of women go to the  clinic, but number on staff is small, so may refer to a traditional birth attendant In village which defeats the purpose of encouraging people to go to clinic.

What’s your thought on Ebola?      Ginny, Ebola is real. Because I’m told it has been there in the Congo since 1976, except for being saved from getting Ebola in Zambia is surprising. Maybe its because of  the location affected is very far. Not because we have special precautions, but distance has been the savior. What the fatalities and the conditions cause I pray the disease does not spread to Zambia, because our preventative measures are still poor and challenging. So we’re just crossing our fingers; we are able to deal with measles, but we aren’t there to manage Ebola. People do not know what Ebola is; they call it bolla, like in football. They don’t understand what the disease is about.

How does your clinic compare with other clinics which are found farther in the bush?      It’s not easy for me to gauge of course, but then the only thing that makes me feel that want to come here because of the effort we put into the treatment of people. We are centrally located. Of course with the same challenges. But we are trying to address them in an appropriate way. Infrastructure we are the same, . Sometimes it is because of the sacrifice one just makes. We are available on Sundays. Other clinics just close down on the weekend.

With my host father Eliack Shikamo

     Since this interview I started volunteering at the clinic. It is a very busy place. The staff is professional and they make do with what little supplies and equipment that is available.

     Eliack and his staff and the volunteers work very hard every day. When on-call at night time Eliack and his wife will respond to knocks on their door at any hour, usually to tend to an emergency case. Right now three new houses are being built to house more nurses. This will ease the workload on the present staff once new nurses move in.

     I am aware of other clinics that actually lack any professional staff. Educated nurses sometimes prefer to live in the cities where there are more conveniences and well equipped hospitals. I give the medical staff a lot of credit for giving that up to help the people in need in the rural areas of Zambia. To do this work they give a lot of themselves to help improve the lives of others.