Thursday, June 12, 2014

Clare

Today in Zambia a group of 6 girls and 4 chaperones all went to a remote place where people gather monthly to receive medical help. I had the honor of working with Doctor Grutzner in the dentistry area. This experience was inexplicable in the way that hundreds of women and their children walk to this area in the middle of nowhere to receive dental and medical care. I was a bit shocked when we first arrived because the working area for the dental exam was a very small hut with no lighting and two chairs. At home, I am used to a large office with various utensils used for the examination, but we made do with a small room.  

I had never truly understood the differences in dental hygiene and physical health of another country until I had the opportunity to work today. I was shocked with the insane amounts of tooth decay that occurred with the majority of women and children that came to visit us today. My eyes were opened to how difficult it truly is living in a country where the people don’t have a doctor and dentist to go to every time they have pain.

After staying with Doctor Grutzner, I left and sat and observed Doctor Sicoli perform medical exams on children. I was astonished at the amount of respiratory problems these children had. Seeing the numerous medical issues that every child suffered with, I was able to realize how lucky I am to have immediate care every time I have the slightest pain. An obstacle we faced today was the language barriers between us and each patient. Every woman and child spoke Bemba only, making the exams more difficult to communicate the problem. Thankfully, both Doctor Sicoli and Doctor Grutzner had a translator to help them communicate.

Throughout this trip I have encountered true poverty, and this experience has almost made me embarrassed by the way I live at home. I have a greater appreciation for the mothers that live here in Zambia who were willing to walk for miles just to seek medical attention.

Everyone on Team Mutomo worked incredibly hard today and I am very excited for what will come in the future on this trip.

06/12/14

Kaitlyn

     Hello everyone! Today was outreach day for Team Mutomo. We split up into two groups and visited separate clinics that open once a month to serve the people of the surrounding area.  I was stationed at Chumameno, a clinic with one room near the edge of a village out in the bush. I was there with Julia, Mary Clare, Jacob, and chaperoning us were Ann and Tim. At the clinic I was in charge of helping mothers set their children in a harness scale that hung from a tree to measure their weights.  Jacob and I then measured the head circumferences of the babies which were all recorded by Mary Clare and Julia. It was interesting to see how they maintain medical records. At birth, a child is given a small booklet where all medical information is recorded. The mothers carry these with them every time they take the child to a clinic where more information can be recorded later on and growth can be tracked on a hand drawn graph.

     The mothers walked for miles and miles to reach the clinic. I talked to one girl who was only twelve who had carried her infant sister on her back all the way to the clinic because her mother was working. One of the men working with us began talking to a large group of women urging them to be sure not to marry off their daughters too young. He pointed out that Julia and Mary Clare were 15 and I was 18 and that we were focusing on our educations so that we would become successful on our own. Sometimes I forget that at my age, many girls around the world and in other cultures already have families. Some of the women scoffed at his lecture, but others seemed to listen to his advice.

     I cannot even give an estimate of how many kids we measured at the clinic today because as soon as one was taken out of the sling another was thrown in. It was extremely hectic at some points but as the numbers started to decrease, I got to talk to some of the young kids hanging around the village. They were shy at first, but as soon as I gave them some fruit snacks I had 6 new best friends.

Now I am off to go play sports with some Fatima girls! We loved gaining new experiences at the outreach clinics today and are excited to see what else is in store for us this week.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Lauren

     Today in Zambia, everyone had the opportunity of shadowing a girl that attends the Fatima School for Girls.  I had the opportunity of shadowing a girl named Bangi who was in 11th Grade.  We woke up this morning at 5:45 to meet our guides at mass before school started.  After mass ended, we helped our guides with their daily chores such as cleaning the church or sweeping the roads.  We then went to breakfast and shortly after, we went to our first class. 

     During this English class, we read a story out loud and all the girls wanted to hear me speak so I ended up reading the entire story to the class.  They asked me how to say certain words and this usually ended in a giggle fest because they said I spoke in a funny way.  Some said I had a strong Minnesota accent and that made me laugh.  Most girls came over to me during class and wanted to take a selfie with me.

     After our morning classes, we went to lunch.  Similar to how Vis girls are obsessed with food, the girls of Fatima are just as obsessed with food and I introduced my guide to the wonderful snack called Goldfish.  Having the guide show me around the Fatima campus was truly wonderful and I have definitely made new friends that I plan to keep in touch with after our stay in Africa. 

Looking forward to working in the outreach clinics in the bush tomorrow.  :) Lauren

Mary Clare

     Today, I also was a guest at Fatima School for Girls. Every morning, the girls wake up at 4:30 am for 6:15 mass and they study until 10:00 pm.Today, as Fatima girls, we were required to mirror their schedule. After mass, we had breakfast which consisted of white cornmeal porridge. My hostess, Caonga, recommended not to eat the porridge, so instead we shared a bag a chips.

     As Caonga and I were walking to class, she told me that the teachers move from class to class instead of the students moving-- it is different from schools in the U.S. By Tea Break, I was starving for some "real" food that would actually fill me up. Unfortunately, I did not get any until dinner. During Lunch break, I got to formally introduce myself to the girls. They were all very curious about what life is like back in Minnesota. A question that I received most frequently was, "What is snow like?" I said that is was cold, white ice that was mold-able.

     During French, my last hour, I became comfortable with most of the girls in the class--some even gave me notes with their Facebook name and their P.O. box so that I can write to them. By this point in the day I felt right at home! I felt very knowledgeable at the end of the day because I knew more about schools outside of the United States and their customs.

I can't wait for another day full of surprises tomorrow at the outreach clinic tomorrow! Mary Clare

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Julia

     Today we went to St. Anthony's, Twapia, Buyantanshi, the Dominican Sisters high school and Natwange. We first went to St. Anthony's, an orphanage in Fatima where we stayed for an hour and a half. I was very skeptical there because I heard it was very hard on you. I didn't go last year so it was my first year going. When we got there there were kids everywhere. The toddlers were kept in their cribs almost all day. They stunk because the staff left them in their cribs all day.

     The hardest part for me at St. Anthony's was the disabled house. I was very emotional during this part which was surprising because I am not an emotional person. I hated seeing the children laid on the floor with flies covering them like cattle.It was very hard and overwhelming.You couldn't really hold them because they were deformed. Then you realize how lucky you are.

     There are many emotions going through my head throughout today. I was angry at the staff for not being better at taking care of the kids, I was grateful because I am so blessed, and I was hopeful for the opportunities and outcomes for these children. The babies were very clingy when we held them and cried when we left. It was hard to see all the malnutrioned kids, how they didn't receive the love and care we had when we were their ages. It was very hard and sad when we had to leave St. Anthony's.

      Next we went to Twapia. Twapia is a transient house for girls at the ages of 5 through 21. I went there last year and loved it. No doubt, I loved it again this year. When we arrived, the girls came sprinting towards us with loving hearts and open arms. I recognized a lot of them from last year. My buddy was named Doris and she was a sweetheart. We played on the jungle gym and danced in the yard. I gave her a friendship bracelet and she almost started crying. I will never forget her.

     The third place we went was Buyantanshi. This was the school where we painted an alphabet mural 2 years ago. The mural looked still looked fabulous. We mostly toured classrooms and talked to the kids in them. The biggest thing I noticed about the classes here from in the US is the strict obedience the kids have. Whenever we walked into the class room, they stood up and greeted us with a simultaneous welcome. It was very interesting to see the differences between their school and ours.

     The 4th place was the Dominican Sisters high school. This was the high school where Sister Grace attended when she was about 13. The school was a Catholic all girls school. There was a convent attached to the school. We bonded a lot with the girls because we had so much in common.

It was a very busy day here in Africa.

Tuesday June 10th

Jacob
I'm the son of Mary Hearst Associate Professor at St. Catherine's University, Catherine Spaeth is also a member of St. Catherine's university

Today I worked with Mr. Grutzner in the dental clinic at Kavu Medical Clinic. When I first said that I would go, I thought it would just be like going to a regular dentist's office like what we have in the U.S. I was partially right because almost all the equipment is the same, and it's mostly the same layout. What was different was the patients. People come from all over the place to have their teeth looked at. Our first patient was an older man who had a tooth that had been hurting for three years. In the U.S. if we get a toothache, we can schedule a dentist's appointment and usually get it looked at within the week. It's one thing among thousands of other things that we take for granted. We ended up having to pull two of the man's teeth. We had a total of five patients over the entire day. After that we sat back, relaxed and had some snacks. Of course that's when Dr. Sicoli showed up. Mr. Grutzner apparently always teases Dr. Sicoli about slacking off so he was happy to dish it out and Mr. Grutzner was happy to take it. We hadn't brought all of our supplies with us to Kavu on the first trip so around midday, we headed back and grabbed the rest of the supplies and dropped it off at the clinic. Once we finished that, George, one of the dentists that works at Kavu, asked if we wanted to see his house and we accepted. The house is on Fatima land, and is quite nice. We met his 8 month old son, and some other family. He then invited us to go and pick up his wife from the oil refinery where she is an intern. We couldn't fit everybody in his car so Mr. Grutzman, Claire, Natalia, and Kayla went while Dr. Sicoli, Mrs. Spaeth, and I went back to the school. And now I'm writing this blog before we go pick up our uniforms for when we shadow tomorrow.

Monday June 9, 2014

Natalia
     Today was the first day we really got to settle in here at Fatima School for Girls. The hospitality is amazing, both the sisters and the students have welcomed us so warmly. Everyone greets us and tells us that we are welcome here. We receive nothing but smiles and hugs, their efforts to welcome us are so natural and so full of kindness.This morning Sister Mary took us on a tour of the grounds. We got to see everything: the classrooms, the dorms, the assembly hall, the chapel, the Barefoot School, and much more. It is so beautiful here. I am amazed at how hard-working these girls are! They wake up at 4:30 AM to do their chores, then they go to mass and soon after attend class and study for the rest of the day. After the tour, we went out to the soccer field behind our rooms and played with the preschoolers. They were all so adorable and so eager to see us! I've never had so many children trying to touch my hair and hold my had and climb on my back all at once.
     After lunch we walked out of Fatima and into the village. I hadn't experienced anything like it. As we started passing the clusters of houses, children began following us. Most of these kids weren't wearing shoes, and the path was all dirt and stones. They were shouting and laughing and fighting to hold our hands. We walked for at least three miles, and the parade of children following us never thinned out. There were probably fifty children surrounding us. It's really hard to explain how I felt during this walk, I think I was mostly in awe of the whole experience. These children are all so beautiful, their eyes are full of curiosity and they react with pure joy at seeing us smile at them. I learned so many names and got more comfortable greeting them in Bemba, which is the language spoken in Ndola besides English. It was so eye-opening seeing where these children live, I can't even begin to describe the multitude of emotions that passed through me today. We were all hot and sweaty and covered in dirt. I loved every second of it.
     At one point we walked into the medical center and the kids ran around to the other entrance to wait for us to come out. When they saw us come out they started running toward us, and the two girls that were holding my hands came straight for me. It was so amazing being with all those kids and sharing that time with them. I had so much fun connecting with them and being surrounded by such excitement and getting so many hugs.Tomorrow we're going to the orphanage for most of the day to be with the kids there. This place is amazing and everything we are experiencing is going to be so influential on who we are. I can't wait for everything we're going to do over these next nine days at Fatima!

Emily
     Today, while at a nearby compound, there were children all around us. The farther we got into the compound the more children began to join the "parade." Suddenly I looked back and realized there was nearly fifty children behind us. They were all laughing, and playing, while still remaining with the group. The children ranged from all ages, anywhere from two years old to fifteen. Since their native language is Bemba, the little ones had a harder time keeping a conversation with us. Those who were older could speak English very well, because that is the language their classes are taught in. However, through those few little words I felt a connection with these children. I tried to understand what their lives are like, but I cant because mine is so different, and imagining what it would be like to have no shoes, or sometimes food to eat is unthinkable. 
     They never got bored of holding our hands, or walking in silence. Normally children need to be entertained to remain happy, or silent. However, these children did not seem to mind walking miles, or not speaking.  Even when we went inside to a clinic, they waited for us to come back outside so they could find us and hold our hands the rest of the way. When I came out of the clinic, both of the girls who were holding my hand ran right to me, and grabbed on. They even helped their friends find a buddy to hold hands with. They are all so sweet, and were so excited to see us coming through their village. When we took out our iphones to take "selfies" with them they were so fascinated by the fact that they could see themselves on this device and take a picture. One of my girls just kept staring at the screen, and took about 30 pictures of herself once she figured out how to work the camera. They also loved to play with our hair, some girls would run up and feel my hair then run away. The blonde girls on this trip especially got their hair touched, and drew a large crowd. Tomorrow we are going to St. Anthony's orphanage where tons of children will be looking for hands to hold, hair to touch, and piggy-back rides. I can't wait to see what else we have in store for us for the remainder of the trip!

We're off!

     We are awaiting our departing flight to Amsterdam after a wonderful send-off from family and friends. Our 33 hour travel odyssey has begun! Please pray for a successful and safe journey.

     We hope to blog daily in Zambia starting Monday, or at least as often as the sporadic electricity and Internet will allow us to. ;) We will be very busy working in the Sisters' medical and dental clinics, their orphanages, and their schools.

     To quote Sister Christine of Ndola, "The first time you came, you were acquaintances. Now you return as friends."