what a way to end my time in africa...
my last 10 days here were spent searching for the big 5 on safari, sleeping under an incredible star lit sky, gazing upon one of the most brilliant of natures 7 wonders, and thrilling adventure sports!!
so it all started the day after my last blog...a van came to pick us up at 5 am at our backpackers. 10 sleepy girls stumbled into the van as 2 chirpy tour guides (johannes and bheki) greeted us good morning. and yes....i said '10 girls', our entire tour group is girls!! 5 americans, 4 britts, and one mexican! what are the chances?!
so we set out to Kruger National Park where we would be camping for the next 3 days searching for animals on safari. It was great fun! During the days we would drive around the park and look for all the wild animals. We saw tons of elephant herds, 6 white rhino (one who had a little baby), lots of giraffe, deer, buffalo, warthogs, kudu, hares, wild dogs, and much more! the landscape and animals is exactly what one pictures africa to be. Wild grass land with scattered trees and animals roaming all about. the sunsets were amazing...deep red over the whole horizon. At night we camped by a fire, cooked dinner (i was the main chef =) ), and made smores!!! they were delicious! it was the first time our african guides had tasted them and i think we got them hooked :)
After 3 days in the park we headed out to Botswana and stayed the night in a "traditional cultural village". It was so corny...when we arrived the locals were sitting around in basketball shorts and t-shirts and when they saw us they quickly changed into their animal skins and came rushing out to meet us. The village was like disney-land-africa, clearly not lived in and built solely for tourists who hop of the plane, go on safari, and then hop back on a plane without seeing any real local lifestyle. after living in our village in the gambia, all we could really do was laugh at this fraud. Anyway, the next day we continued on our way through Botswana, driving mostly on a terrible road completely filled with potholes, stopping occasionally when someone spotted another animal. Day 5 we reached Zambia and took the ferry across the mighty Zambezi river separating Zambia from Botswana on one side and Zimbabwe on the other. We took a truck straight to Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world). And boy does it deserve this award!! The sight of these massive falls is truly breathtaking!
We walked around the falls taking it all in and snapping many photos for the rest of the day. After that we hopped on an evening 'booze cruise', which was a beautiful boat ride down the river with hippos and crocs all around, providing dinner and all the beer, wine, and cocktails you can drink in 2 hours! We met tons of other travellers out to see the amazing falls and the mighty river. The night continued on with all sorts of parties, music, campfires, and smores back at our campsite!
The next day was an early rise to go white water rafting and river boarding down the mighty zambezi river!! and what an amazing day it was! after a looooong and treacherous hike down the gorge (easily the hardest part of the day), in which an elderly man in our rafting company had a heart attack and another guy dislocated his arm, we got down to the river and launched our rafts. After hitting the first four level 4 rapids, Shields (a good friend of mine from my tour group) and I hopped out of the rafts and strapped on our boogie boards. the rapids coming up were level 5 and we were doing on a board with flippers and a wet suit on and nothing else. It was such a crazy thrill! Albeit one of the most exhausting things i have ever done! and boy was the water cold!! but i think our hearts were racing so much that we didn't notice it too much! At one point we all stopped to clamber up the rocks on the Zimbabwe side and jump off a ledge 9 m above the river. sooo scary! shields and i were the first to go and we just had to jump when they said to go or we never would have made it!
The day was so exhausting i couldn't even feel my legs by the time i climbed my way back out of the gorge and stumbled back to the campsite! but wow what an awesome day it was! That night we went out to dinner and drinks with all our river guides from the day which was a great time! I always have so much fun when hanging out with the locals!
And then the tour group was gone....and Jess and I had 2 days left in Zambia before saying goodbye to the African lives we had lived for 2 months. In the last 2 days we spent alot of time at the falls and the river hiking around and shopping at the markets. We visited Livingstone island, which is a tiny island at the top of the falls jutting out over the edge. You can walk to the edge and look straight down into the plummeting water (900 million Liters per minute!), 111m down!
On the last day I took a microlight flight over the falls which was fantastic! It's a tiny plane/hang-glider with me as the only passenger. It zips over the falls taking in the majestic sight and spotting all sorts of wildlife in the surrounding landscape. It was such a great way to take in the whole view and wind up my stay in Africa.
Jess and I said goodbye in our stop over in South Africa and I spent the next 32 hours on various planes and in various airports making my way back to San Francisco. It's very strange to be back in america, to have a hot shower and eat fresh vegetables, to be in a clean house and have on clean clothes, to listen to local music and watch television....
I think back on these last 2 months and realize the different universes we can exist in across the globe. The different ways we live our lives, perceive our world, interact with our fellow humans, and value our different things. I hope that this time in africa, the people i have met, the things i have seen, the lessons i have been fortunate enough to learn will stay with me forever. i really am so blessed to have had such amazing experiences.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
the journey to freedom....
where do i begin?! my traveling thus far has been quite the whirl wind experience!! we started in cape town, which was quite the culture shock!! to be landed basically back into a 'first world' city, after living in west africa for a month was an upending experience! we had some family friends of mine meet us at the airport and drop us off at our snazy backpackers, just to pick us up the next morning and take us on a gorgeous tour around the wine country, tasting wines and driving through beautiful scenery which could have easily been my local napa valley! the night life was great in cape town and we manage to catch live music 2 nights in a row, one a local white south african band which was very similar to dave mathews band, and the other a township band which was jazz-rasta, lyrics in Zulu (the local language). both were fantastic and we had the best time listening to the music, dancing, eating random meat (kudu - deer, ostrich, and crocodile), and meeting fun locals and other travelers. unfortunately it was raining the whole 4 days we were in cape town, so we couldn't make it up table mountain (the local mountain with a supposed-amazing view =( ), couldn't get the boat to Robben island (where nelson mandela was imprisoned for 27 years), and risked our lives on another boat we dared to get on to get out to see seal island! but we were quite the cheesy tourists...riding the double decker bus, going on cheesy bike tours around the cape, and taking plenty of pictures!
after many of our tours and plans were rained out, we decided to book a flight to durban and a bus up to Lesotho, a small country in the mountains completely surrounded by south africa. it has the claim to fame of having the highest low point of any country in the world!! we got there and it was FREEZING!! it was 2 degrees Celsius during the day and -14 at nite!! and no central heating....we were staying in a tiny lodge at the base of Sani pass, which had a central lodge where they kept a fire burning and was nice and warm. but to leave that room and head to bed was quite a daunting task!! sooo cold! luckily they gave us water bottles that we could fill with boiling water and take to bed with us....it made the world of difference once you jumped into bed and hugged it close to you, you could get comfortable quickly!! luckily for us...on the bus on the way up to the pass, we met a local south african who has a farm near by and when she saw that we had no coats, she took her own off and instructed her daughter to do the same, and gave them to us to borrow for 3 days while we were up in the mountains! such amazingly nice people!!
we did our own hike the first day there which was so beautiful! up one mountain, around the 2nd, and then we dove down into the valley and wound our way down the mountain along a river which had many stunning waterfalls and clear pools. the whole thing took us about 7 hours including our lunch break at the top. it was so nice! i met a lovely Afrikaans family in the lodge and got to know them quite well. there were 2 daughters 11, and 13 who loved soccer and were so excited about travelling. and the parents were lovely and very easy to talk to. they invited me to their farm in the future and promised to come visit me in california one day. we exchanged phone numbers and email address, and i hope to see them again one day! really such fantastic people!
the next day we took a 4 x 4 up sani pass into lesotho where we took a brisk walk in the freezing cold snow and visited a local village to see the way they live and what their lives are like. they were amazing people, very friendly and welcoming. one woman welcomed us into her home and introduced us to 6 of her children. she also sold us some bread and had us taste the local beer (is was sour and disgusting!!). i really felt a strange homely feeling when i was with the family...they were so loving and had so very little. they were living in the freezing cold in a tiny hut, smaller than any bedroom i've ever lived in. yet they were so happy, welcoming, and kind to us...it was really a humbling, warm feeling....all i could really do was give them the bit of money i had in my bag and know that it would go a long way for such resourceful people.
to continue my soul searching and getting to really know local people and their lives, we continued on to jo-berg where we decided to stay in a backpackers in Sweto (the biggest township in south africa). it was a really amazing experience to see how all these people live and to hear all about their hardships and the battle they are still fighting to be free. today we took a bike tour around the ghetto and really got to interact with the local people. they were amazingly friendly and invited us into their homes and couldn't wait to talk to us and tell us their story. combined with the tour we went to the apartheid museum which was the best museum i have ever been to, really making the struggle of black africans a reality you can feel. they depict such a real and heart wrenching struggle of these people, it's impossible to be a part of it all and not walk away with tears in your eyes and a whole new perspective of what is freedom, equality, justice. to think, all these crimes and tragedies have taken place in the past 40 years!! since we've been alive! it's amazing to think that the people we befriended here have faced these terrible fights for freedom....again, this has been one of the most eye-opening and humbling experience i have ever been a part of.
it really makes you appreciate everything we have been born with. but at the same time question why?? why them? why me? and how can we change for the better? as a world...as human beings.
much love to all, thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me to see the world in this way.
after many of our tours and plans were rained out, we decided to book a flight to durban and a bus up to Lesotho, a small country in the mountains completely surrounded by south africa. it has the claim to fame of having the highest low point of any country in the world!! we got there and it was FREEZING!! it was 2 degrees Celsius during the day and -14 at nite!! and no central heating....we were staying in a tiny lodge at the base of Sani pass, which had a central lodge where they kept a fire burning and was nice and warm. but to leave that room and head to bed was quite a daunting task!! sooo cold! luckily they gave us water bottles that we could fill with boiling water and take to bed with us....it made the world of difference once you jumped into bed and hugged it close to you, you could get comfortable quickly!! luckily for us...on the bus on the way up to the pass, we met a local south african who has a farm near by and when she saw that we had no coats, she took her own off and instructed her daughter to do the same, and gave them to us to borrow for 3 days while we were up in the mountains! such amazingly nice people!!
we did our own hike the first day there which was so beautiful! up one mountain, around the 2nd, and then we dove down into the valley and wound our way down the mountain along a river which had many stunning waterfalls and clear pools. the whole thing took us about 7 hours including our lunch break at the top. it was so nice! i met a lovely Afrikaans family in the lodge and got to know them quite well. there were 2 daughters 11, and 13 who loved soccer and were so excited about travelling. and the parents were lovely and very easy to talk to. they invited me to their farm in the future and promised to come visit me in california one day. we exchanged phone numbers and email address, and i hope to see them again one day! really such fantastic people!
the next day we took a 4 x 4 up sani pass into lesotho where we took a brisk walk in the freezing cold snow and visited a local village to see the way they live and what their lives are like. they were amazing people, very friendly and welcoming. one woman welcomed us into her home and introduced us to 6 of her children. she also sold us some bread and had us taste the local beer (is was sour and disgusting!!). i really felt a strange homely feeling when i was with the family...they were so loving and had so very little. they were living in the freezing cold in a tiny hut, smaller than any bedroom i've ever lived in. yet they were so happy, welcoming, and kind to us...it was really a humbling, warm feeling....all i could really do was give them the bit of money i had in my bag and know that it would go a long way for such resourceful people.
to continue my soul searching and getting to really know local people and their lives, we continued on to jo-berg where we decided to stay in a backpackers in Sweto (the biggest township in south africa). it was a really amazing experience to see how all these people live and to hear all about their hardships and the battle they are still fighting to be free. today we took a bike tour around the ghetto and really got to interact with the local people. they were amazingly friendly and invited us into their homes and couldn't wait to talk to us and tell us their story. combined with the tour we went to the apartheid museum which was the best museum i have ever been to, really making the struggle of black africans a reality you can feel. they depict such a real and heart wrenching struggle of these people, it's impossible to be a part of it all and not walk away with tears in your eyes and a whole new perspective of what is freedom, equality, justice. to think, all these crimes and tragedies have taken place in the past 40 years!! since we've been alive! it's amazing to think that the people we befriended here have faced these terrible fights for freedom....again, this has been one of the most eye-opening and humbling experience i have ever been a part of.
it really makes you appreciate everything we have been born with. but at the same time question why?? why them? why me? and how can we change for the better? as a world...as human beings.
much love to all, thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me to see the world in this way.
Friday, July 4, 2008
the african boil...
does having a nasty infected boil on your leg qualify you as a true african?! because if so, i may as well be a local! this thing started on my leg as a nasty sore, and has grown into a huge infection, which is even debilitating my walking abilities!! the few times i have thought it was a good a idea to play doctor on myself i bite my lip and through tears i lance the boil, squeeze out the puss, and clean the area. only to my great dismay to wake up in the morning with an even nastier infection and more pain than i should be in post-surgery. i think it may be time to visit a real doctor in south africa....
so, speaking of...we leave to south africa tonight!! after our 1 month of work in the gambia our time has come to an end and we had a very tearful goodbye this morning and flew to dakar to await our connection to cape town. it was very difficult to say goodbye as i almost began to think of our compound as home and some of the children and adults we worked with similar to family. it's definitely a hard goodbye when you have become so close to people and shared in the conditions we have over the past month. i am always surprised and awed by how close i become to people when i travel. maybe it's because in conditions of third world countries you are forced to trust and depend on people in a way we would never expect in the independent lives we lead in america. when stripped of the amenities we take for granted and forced to face difficult things such as death, illness, loss and suffering on a daily basis, i find myself becoming more dependent on other human beings and depending on them for my well being, security, and happiness. Thus goodbyes in these circumstances, knowing that there is a good chance we will never see each other again, are very difficult.
This morning we had a meeting to say goodbye with all the staff and everyone said something about our time with them. It was extremely moving, the impact that they implied we have had on their lives (and they on mine) is more than i could ever have asked for. I found myself close to tears as i gave my goodbye speech about the equality of human beings and having the heart and the hope to change the world, a rare quality that i have witnessed in so many of my fellow workers in the gambia.
yesterday we had a day of partying, which was a great send off! all day we had the children's graduation from school, which involved numerous speeches, award ceremonies (which jess and i we assigned to), more speeches, and then a massive meal of rice and fish. after the meal there was dancing and music and finally the sports! the kids had all kinds of fun events such as 'lime on spoon', musical chairs, fill-bottle-with-water-and-then-run-with-it, pop a balloon with your stomach, and many more...we were the blue team and had a great time cheering for our little guys (even though we mostly lost!!). then the staff races...for some reason, even though it was 103.3 degrees outside, i felt that it was a good idea to get dragged onto the field and agree to race for the blue team against 10 african ladies!!! in my skirt, barefoot, in the sand!! my tubob butt had no chance!! but....wait for it...i got second place!!! how awesome is that?!?! i was pretty proud of myself if i may say so! =)
our last week in the clinic was quite busy. we saw a woman with abdominal pains, who upon questioning, we thought there may be a possibility of pregnancy (she's only about 18). We sent her to get the test and when she came back it was positive. correct diagnosis!! we were quite proud of ourselves, seeing as 1/2 the history is lost in translation and it was extremely hard to figure out what was going on. we also saw another pregnant women on wed, who had pain. i kept asking her questions and finally found out she had 'discharge'. so, being as they don't really understand colours, i got out my construction paper and had her point to the color that it was. she pointed to red. bad sign. and then said there was a puddle. another bad sign. i sent her straight away in the ambulance to the hospital. i was very worried. poor girl. she's 38 weeks along, and only 17 years old. i'm sure she's very scared. another interesting patient was an older lady who had a white-ish patch all over her body and alot of pain. her feet were also swelling. after consulting our trusty guide "where there is no doctor", we thought that possibly she has leprosy. we refered her ot the hospital as well. very interesting to see. would be nice to see if it was indeed leprosy.
so...that's all for now. off to cape town at 3am, and we are extremely excited for our travels and adventures there. the time spent in madina was amazing and i will never forget the impact the people have made on me, my life, and my career. much love.
so, speaking of...we leave to south africa tonight!! after our 1 month of work in the gambia our time has come to an end and we had a very tearful goodbye this morning and flew to dakar to await our connection to cape town. it was very difficult to say goodbye as i almost began to think of our compound as home and some of the children and adults we worked with similar to family. it's definitely a hard goodbye when you have become so close to people and shared in the conditions we have over the past month. i am always surprised and awed by how close i become to people when i travel. maybe it's because in conditions of third world countries you are forced to trust and depend on people in a way we would never expect in the independent lives we lead in america. when stripped of the amenities we take for granted and forced to face difficult things such as death, illness, loss and suffering on a daily basis, i find myself becoming more dependent on other human beings and depending on them for my well being, security, and happiness. Thus goodbyes in these circumstances, knowing that there is a good chance we will never see each other again, are very difficult.
This morning we had a meeting to say goodbye with all the staff and everyone said something about our time with them. It was extremely moving, the impact that they implied we have had on their lives (and they on mine) is more than i could ever have asked for. I found myself close to tears as i gave my goodbye speech about the equality of human beings and having the heart and the hope to change the world, a rare quality that i have witnessed in so many of my fellow workers in the gambia.
yesterday we had a day of partying, which was a great send off! all day we had the children's graduation from school, which involved numerous speeches, award ceremonies (which jess and i we assigned to), more speeches, and then a massive meal of rice and fish. after the meal there was dancing and music and finally the sports! the kids had all kinds of fun events such as 'lime on spoon', musical chairs, fill-bottle-with-water-and-then-run-with-it, pop a balloon with your stomach, and many more...we were the blue team and had a great time cheering for our little guys (even though we mostly lost!!). then the staff races...for some reason, even though it was 103.3 degrees outside, i felt that it was a good idea to get dragged onto the field and agree to race for the blue team against 10 african ladies!!! in my skirt, barefoot, in the sand!! my tubob butt had no chance!! but....wait for it...i got second place!!! how awesome is that?!?! i was pretty proud of myself if i may say so! =)
our last week in the clinic was quite busy. we saw a woman with abdominal pains, who upon questioning, we thought there may be a possibility of pregnancy (she's only about 18). We sent her to get the test and when she came back it was positive. correct diagnosis!! we were quite proud of ourselves, seeing as 1/2 the history is lost in translation and it was extremely hard to figure out what was going on. we also saw another pregnant women on wed, who had pain. i kept asking her questions and finally found out she had 'discharge'. so, being as they don't really understand colours, i got out my construction paper and had her point to the color that it was. she pointed to red. bad sign. and then said there was a puddle. another bad sign. i sent her straight away in the ambulance to the hospital. i was very worried. poor girl. she's 38 weeks along, and only 17 years old. i'm sure she's very scared. another interesting patient was an older lady who had a white-ish patch all over her body and alot of pain. her feet were also swelling. after consulting our trusty guide "where there is no doctor", we thought that possibly she has leprosy. we refered her ot the hospital as well. very interesting to see. would be nice to see if it was indeed leprosy.
so...that's all for now. off to cape town at 3am, and we are extremely excited for our travels and adventures there. the time spent in madina was amazing and i will never forget the impact the people have made on me, my life, and my career. much love.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
becoming Buya...
So when you have been in a Gambian village for an appropriate period of time (in this case, 2 weeks), the villagers deem it appropriate to adorn you with a proper Gambian names (seeing as they cannot pronounce Sarah for the life of them!). So I have been given my official name and it is no other than....Buya (pronounced 'Boo-ya'). How awesome is my name?! I can't help but laugh every time they talk to me! I may never be Sarah again....I think I have found my true self in my new name =). Jess' name is Binta (not nearly as cool in my opinion).
So...it has been another crazy week! The weekend was nice and relaxing though. We were able to spend the day at the beach one day which was awesome. But the water is so warm here it is strange. You are in the sweltering heat, and then jump into the ocean to cool off, only to be swimming in what we would consider a nice warm bath. Not quite as refreshing as I would like. Sunday we spent the day in our friend Awa's compound, cooking traditional food and playing with her 8 children and sister's children etc. At no point were we not covered with children, babies, and food! There is absolutely no concept of personal space in this country, which I have gotten used to....but can be difficult on the 109 degree days.
Friday night we had a massive storm and many trees and houses were knocked down, so much of the weekend was spent re-building the village. Pretty crazy.
On monday we had the cook-off....american v gambian. It was great fun! We cooked spaghetti and sauce and made a huge fruit salad, and they cooked rice, fish and sauce. before we ate, the drama group did a play on nutrition which was actually fantastic! they covered all the 'public health' messages we would have asked them to and everyone really enjoyed it! they even had a song afterwards all about health issues and the importance of eating healthy now that the rainy season is coming (the time when they get all their sicknesses). After the drama we filled big bowls of communal food and everyone feasted! they seemed to have the best time, although i'm not sure how they felt about the spaghetti!! they have a particular way of eating with their hands here, forming a ball of food between their fingers. i think they were very confused with the noodles and had a very hard time trying to make the ball! it was actually quite comical to watch! the kids loved it though and i got some great pictures of kids covered head to toe in tomatoe sauce! =)
the work week has been extremely successful! We have been trying to figure out a treatment plan for malaria patients for a long time now and struggling to explain that the clinic should not give Chloroquine to the sick patients as this is a malaria-resistant area and that drug will not be successful in treating them. There is a new drug here, called Cloratem, which we have been trying to get into the clinic for a while now. Finally I was able to meet with a community nurse who works for the government here and explain to him the problem. It was so great to finally get to meet with someone who could help me as we have been chasing this problem in circles for a while. He helped me to get the paper work to officially register our clinic with the government so that we can begin receiving Cloratem! I have also talked to the ngo about sending the health care worker here to be trained in the administration of these drugs! I am very excited about these advancements and achievments as malaria is a HUGE problem for this village and many many people have died. Just in the past 2 weeks I believe we have been treated more than 30 patients for malaria and it's not even the rainy season yet! On friday we are going to Gunjur to further confirm this establishment and ensure that our application is received.
We are definitely starting to feel that we are getting some important messages across to the village and that they are excited to have us here and listen to our advice closely on health-related topics. I hope to continue my relationship with the organization and the clinic after I return home.
I saw a very bad case of breast cancer in the clinic this week. The tumour was so large that the breast had hardened and was ulceration and oozing blood and pus. It was very sad to see as I know how far advanced the case was and there was not much to do besides dress the sores and refer her to the hospital (although I doubt they will do anything as it has already metastasised to her lymph nodes).
There has been alot of vomiting babies in the clinic as well, so we are investigating a possible water contamination...
Oh....on that note....I'm sure everyone will be excited to know that I have successfully made the conversion to local 'borehole' water for 1 week now with no stomach problems!! I am very excited and feel almost as though I'm a true Gambian now =)
On that note....I'm going to go practice my drumming (i'm actually getting quite good! =)
Much love,
Buya
So...it has been another crazy week! The weekend was nice and relaxing though. We were able to spend the day at the beach one day which was awesome. But the water is so warm here it is strange. You are in the sweltering heat, and then jump into the ocean to cool off, only to be swimming in what we would consider a nice warm bath. Not quite as refreshing as I would like. Sunday we spent the day in our friend Awa's compound, cooking traditional food and playing with her 8 children and sister's children etc. At no point were we not covered with children, babies, and food! There is absolutely no concept of personal space in this country, which I have gotten used to....but can be difficult on the 109 degree days.
Friday night we had a massive storm and many trees and houses were knocked down, so much of the weekend was spent re-building the village. Pretty crazy.
On monday we had the cook-off....american v gambian. It was great fun! We cooked spaghetti and sauce and made a huge fruit salad, and they cooked rice, fish and sauce. before we ate, the drama group did a play on nutrition which was actually fantastic! they covered all the 'public health' messages we would have asked them to and everyone really enjoyed it! they even had a song afterwards all about health issues and the importance of eating healthy now that the rainy season is coming (the time when they get all their sicknesses). After the drama we filled big bowls of communal food and everyone feasted! they seemed to have the best time, although i'm not sure how they felt about the spaghetti!! they have a particular way of eating with their hands here, forming a ball of food between their fingers. i think they were very confused with the noodles and had a very hard time trying to make the ball! it was actually quite comical to watch! the kids loved it though and i got some great pictures of kids covered head to toe in tomatoe sauce! =)
the work week has been extremely successful! We have been trying to figure out a treatment plan for malaria patients for a long time now and struggling to explain that the clinic should not give Chloroquine to the sick patients as this is a malaria-resistant area and that drug will not be successful in treating them. There is a new drug here, called Cloratem, which we have been trying to get into the clinic for a while now. Finally I was able to meet with a community nurse who works for the government here and explain to him the problem. It was so great to finally get to meet with someone who could help me as we have been chasing this problem in circles for a while. He helped me to get the paper work to officially register our clinic with the government so that we can begin receiving Cloratem! I have also talked to the ngo about sending the health care worker here to be trained in the administration of these drugs! I am very excited about these advancements and achievments as malaria is a HUGE problem for this village and many many people have died. Just in the past 2 weeks I believe we have been treated more than 30 patients for malaria and it's not even the rainy season yet! On friday we are going to Gunjur to further confirm this establishment and ensure that our application is received.
We are definitely starting to feel that we are getting some important messages across to the village and that they are excited to have us here and listen to our advice closely on health-related topics. I hope to continue my relationship with the organization and the clinic after I return home.
I saw a very bad case of breast cancer in the clinic this week. The tumour was so large that the breast had hardened and was ulceration and oozing blood and pus. It was very sad to see as I know how far advanced the case was and there was not much to do besides dress the sores and refer her to the hospital (although I doubt they will do anything as it has already metastasised to her lymph nodes).
There has been alot of vomiting babies in the clinic as well, so we are investigating a possible water contamination...
Oh....on that note....I'm sure everyone will be excited to know that I have successfully made the conversion to local 'borehole' water for 1 week now with no stomach problems!! I am very excited and feel almost as though I'm a true Gambian now =)
On that note....I'm going to go practice my drumming (i'm actually getting quite good! =)
Much love,
Buya
Saturday, June 21, 2008
did i mention that it is HOT?!?!
Wow….what a week! Not only has the temperature remained at a constant, sweltering, 105 degrees, but the humidity has risen more than 200% in preparation for the rainy season and it is HOT!!! It’s so unbearably hot that I tend to do nothing in the afternoon but lie around in my sweat-soaked clothes and dream of cool weather. When the wind is kind enough to deem us worthy of a soft breeze every few hours I begin to understand the concept behind polytheism and cannot fathom and god more worthy of worshiping than the god who controls the winds.
Haha….but I am somehow handling it…although I wouldn’t say very well. That all being said, we did have quite the amazing week this week at the clinic and in our health education groups. Our mother’s and babies group this week was quite the educational course, Maureen (the volunteer nurse), Jess and I each gave separate lessons on various health education topics which included games and demonstrations and all sorts of fun! The women loved the games we played and seemed very interested in the topics we covered (nutrition, dehydration and how to make oral rehydration solution, and breast care and signs and symptoms of breast cancer). We are becoming close to them, especially the ones who speak a bit of English, and they have invited us to their compounds for a traditional Gambian meal and a drama next Monday nite. We are also having dinner at the health worker, Awa’s, compound on Sunday and spending the day with her. It’s very nice to start feeling so accepted by the villagers that they are inviting us into their homes and showing us their lives.
On Tuesday night we went out to the ‘futbol pitch’ to play a game of soccer with the boys of the village. It was great fun! Afterwards we held an education class with them about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, prevention, testing, and signs and symptoms. I’ve never seen a more captivated, interested crowd in my life!! They had so many questions, were enthralled by the book of pictures that we showed them, and thanked us profusely, asking us to please come again and again to teach them, saying that they had never heard of any of this before and were so excited to learn about it! Think about how scary it is for these guys when they contract an sti…never having heard of any of this and having no idea what’s wrong with them!! And they were all very excited about condoms and using them! Which is so great to see. I thought that maybe they would refuse to use them or think them weird…but that was not the reception we got at all….they all wanted handfuls of condoms and asked how they could keep getting them when the supplies ran out!!
The clinic this week was quite busy as I believe there may be some kind of stomach bug going around and many babies have come in with vomiting and diarrhea. Oh….speaking of stomach bug….it was only a matter of time right?! I got VERY ill on Sunday…possible food poisoning that I got from picking up a sandwich at a street vender on our way home last Sunday. It was miserable!! I was vomiting from both ends all night Sunday. So weak I could barely move, and couldn’t even get out of bed to make it to the bathroom! Luckily, as my fellow travellers know, the terrible, deathly illness, leaves after about 24 hours of hell and I spent the rest of the week slowly recovering, drinking lots of water and eating bits of food until I was well again. But I have been back in full force the past 2 days, which has felt great!!
So….back to the clinic. This week was kinda crazy bc the guy who runs the clinic felt that it was appropriate to leave the clinic wed, thurs, and fri morning in MY hands when he popped off to a meeting here of there (Jess was ill and so still in bed). So….here I am in the Gambia, after only 1 year of medical school, and I am completely responsible for the health and the well being of every sick villager who comes in! talk about scary!! Luckily I am armed with a few good strong books (mainly…where there is no doctor, great book!). so every time a patient came in, I would asses their problems, listen to their chest, take their temperature and then frantically search through my books to see what drug I should dispense for the illness I thought they may have!! It was a pretty intense, humbling, scary experience….I hope that I did an okay job and that people will get better! I made sure to tell them all to come back in 3 days if they weren’t improving…so we will see! One baby had a very nasty eye infection with her eye completely swollen shut. I had to pry it open to apply an eye antibiotic and then force her to take medication while her mom held her. Let me tell you…being a doctor is a scary thing!! Especially when you pretty much have no idea what you are doing and very little resources to work with!! One elderly woman with a history of CHF (congestive heart failure) who I think may have had an MI (myocardial infarction/heart attack) the previous day. She was having pain in her chest radiating to her arms, and numbness in her fingers. I sent her straight away via ambulance to the hospital in Gunjar. And a pregnant woman who I think I calculated to be 38 weeks along, and was having massive pain in her lower abdomen and her blood pressure had risen 22 points above normal. Did I mention that this is scary??!
One thing that was really hard for me this week was a 3 year old boy who came in with nasty cuts all over his back, stomach, legs and arms from being beaten with a stick from his father. Some of the wounds were fresh, but there were plenty of other wounds that were starting to heal and still others that had formed scars. It was so sad to hold this tiny boy and clean and dress his wounds and send him home, knowing that this will just keep happening to him again and again and there’s nothing I can do about it. I was trying not to cry as I cleaned the boy’s soars and he looked up at me with pain and fear in his eyes. It literally broke my heart. I wanted to find out who is father is and go over there and give him a beating of my own!! Pick on someone your own size!! It’s ridiculous what he’s doing to this tiny little boy and I felt so helpless not being able to do anything to help him. He’s come in every day to get new dressings and I have spent much time holding him and hugging him and trying to make him feel loved. I don’t know what else to do….it’s the worst feeling.
On Wednesday we had our girls group for the girls about 8-15 who spend their days caring for the babies of the village. The point of the group is just to let the girls be kids for one day. We played all sorts of silly games like musical chairs (where I had to bang on an old broken xylophone-toy to make the ‘music’), follow the leader, duck-duck-goose and all sorts of other silly games! I had the best time acting like a kid with these girls and really felt quite a bond with them. They are such sweet girls and it was great to have them out laughing and being so carefree when I know they have so much more responsibilities than any girl of their ages would have in the
Thursday night was the soccer match of Germany v Portugal an one of the workers (Malang) invited Jess and I to his compound to watch the match with all the boys of the village! It was so much fun to sit outdoors and watch the game with 50 of the village boys all huddled around the small TV. They went crazy when each goal was scored with much screaming and jumping, mocking the ones going for the other side (I was going for
After the match we went to the baker’s house to watch him making the nightly bread. He lines up all the rolls of dough and then throws them into a huge stone oven and fishes them out with a long stick when they are ready. It was pretty awesome to watch and then we got some delicious freshly baked bread!!
Today after work Jess and I borrowed 2 of the organizations bikes and road down the road through the next village to the boarder of
Tonight I think we may be attending a village disco…not really sure what that will consist of…should be interesting!! And tomorrow we’re headed to the beach with Emily and Jemma, the 2 English girls who work here. Should be a fun weekend!! Hope you are all well, love hearing from you!! Much love, Sarah
Sunday, June 15, 2008
the adventures 'upcountry'
so....jess and i thought we'd get out of the village for a weekend and go 'upcountry' to visit baboon island, where they rehab chimpanzees! little did we know what we were in for....17 modes of transportation, 30 hours of traveling, and 0 meals in 3 days, left us more than exhausted!!! after breakfast friday morning, we headed out. it took the average 5 hours to get to town and take the ferry across the river, and then we thought we had a 3 hour bus ride from there. WRONG!! 6 hours later, we were in a small crowded bus with 12 men who spoke no english, it was getting dark, and no one could give us a straight answer on how much longer it would take. we used our peace corps contacts to get more info...only to find out that the 2nd ferry that we need to take to get where we were staying for the night stops running at sun down. so....we were given a village name where one peace corps guy resides, shouted the name to the driver, and were promptly dropped on the side of the road in the middle of NOWHERE!!! luckily, we soon saw another tubob strolling across a dirt field to meet us! brain (our peace corps saviour) works in a rural village in upcountry gambia. and when i say rural, i mean rural!!! there is NOTHING even remotely close to the tiny village he lives in! quite a crazy life...
it being ridiculously hot here, we decided to drag his 2 flat mattresses outside, rig up some sticks to hold the mosquito net, and have a campout! it was quite an experience....very beautiful and very hot!
the next morning, we hiked back up to the road and hitch-hiked to wassou, where we managed to grab a ride down to kuntaur...an abandonded down that consisted of many empty buildings built with good intentions, and 3 fishing boats. after bartering with one fisherman for about 30 min, we were able to negotiate a price for him to take us to baboon island!! finally the moment we had been waiting for....
but by the time we got there, it was 'rest time' (the gambians rest from 12pm-4pm every day because it's too hot to do anything else), so we laid around by the river until 4pm, when they would take us to see the chimps.
and....it was worth it!! it was sooo amazing to see all the chimpanzees in their jungle environment, jumping, swimming, and swinging from the trees grabbing at the food the men were throwing them. they are so human-like it's amazing! and so many babies and little guys! they were so adorable! we went to 4 different feeding sights because the different 'families' or clans live at different places around the island. and they had to fight off the baboons, who kept creeping up to grab their food! it was so fun to see all of them and learn their names, and about how they got to be here and everything. quite the experience! it felt like we were in Jurassic park, and sounded like it too with all the screeching and screaming!
after we left the island, we hitch-hiked back to another little town on the way back to our village where we got very little sleep and got up early to finish our journey back today!! what a weekend!! we are so exhausted, hungry, and dirty!! but it may have just been worth it. that being said, i am NEVER going upcountry again!!
hope you are all well! great to hear from you! much love, sarah
it being ridiculously hot here, we decided to drag his 2 flat mattresses outside, rig up some sticks to hold the mosquito net, and have a campout! it was quite an experience....very beautiful and very hot!
the next morning, we hiked back up to the road and hitch-hiked to wassou, where we managed to grab a ride down to kuntaur...an abandonded down that consisted of many empty buildings built with good intentions, and 3 fishing boats. after bartering with one fisherman for about 30 min, we were able to negotiate a price for him to take us to baboon island!! finally the moment we had been waiting for....
but by the time we got there, it was 'rest time' (the gambians rest from 12pm-4pm every day because it's too hot to do anything else), so we laid around by the river until 4pm, when they would take us to see the chimps.
and....it was worth it!! it was sooo amazing to see all the chimpanzees in their jungle environment, jumping, swimming, and swinging from the trees grabbing at the food the men were throwing them. they are so human-like it's amazing! and so many babies and little guys! they were so adorable! we went to 4 different feeding sights because the different 'families' or clans live at different places around the island. and they had to fight off the baboons, who kept creeping up to grab their food! it was so fun to see all of them and learn their names, and about how they got to be here and everything. quite the experience! it felt like we were in Jurassic park, and sounded like it too with all the screeching and screaming!
after we left the island, we hitch-hiked back to another little town on the way back to our village where we got very little sleep and got up early to finish our journey back today!! what a weekend!! we are so exhausted, hungry, and dirty!! but it may have just been worth it. that being said, i am NEVER going upcountry again!!
hope you are all well! great to hear from you! much love, sarah
village life has begun....
'Tubob!!!' is all I hear as I walk through the dusty roads of our village. the kids here have become accoustomed to the occasional 'tubob' (white person) roaming around the village, helping out in the clinic and the school. They get very excited at even the sight of a camera, which leads to terrible pictures of squished faces as they all vie for the closest spot to the lense. but they are so great and loving and i have had so much fun getting to know them this past week in the school, and the tough little ones who come in for dressings in the clinic. i clean and dress their wounds with alcohol, knowing full well that if i was in their seat i would be screaming bloody murder....but they just look up at me silently with an occasional single tear rolling down their cheecks. tough little guys!
so....the village life is quite different than anything i've really experienced. we have no electricity, no transportation, but cold running water, which is key in this heat!! when we want to get to town to use the internet, buy anything, charge our camera or phone batteries, attend school classes that we are assisting our peace corp buddies with, or anything of the sort...we have to walk for an hour to the next village where we wait until the bus to town is full (anywhere from 1-4 hours) and then take the bus into town...and it's the same in reverse. So, although we ventured into town 2 times last week, the trips have left us exhausted and so think we may be hankering down into village life a bit more and leaving behind the amenities we have grown so accustomed to.
last week we laid out the plan of the work we hope to do during our time in the village. we proposed a number of health classes we would like to hold and met with the leaders of the NGO and the village council to discuss. many of our ideas were turned down or we had to compromise on our talk because they didn't want us to come into their village and try to 'empower women' or 'make their boys more promiscuous' by offering condoms. the great thing about the latter was that after we left the meeting and went back to the clinic a number of the boys who work with the organization and had heard about what was spoken about snuck into our compound and asked for hand-fulls of condoms!! guess we didn't have to make a public announcement of it after all!!
so we agreed on 2 classes and training the health worker in the clinic. this means that every morning we are in the clinic...which is great fun! we mostly clean and dress various wounds and spend our free time training Yusafa (who runs the clinic but is only trained as an assistant pharmacist). the highlights of last weeks clinic are as follows...
1. boy came in with very bad cut on his toe, and toe nail has to be pulled out and would cleaned and dressed as the child kicked and screamed! i got the fun job of cleaning and dressing the wound while the 4 other workers present held him down
2. 8 year old girl sticks bead all the way in her ear. i tried to flush it out with a syringe, but was too careful and ginger and the bead would not budge. so we all climbed in the ambulance and drove her to the closest hospital where the doc did the exact same things as i did, and out came the bead! i guess i need more practice in ear flushing....
so...other than that, we held our first class of the week!! it was a mother's and toddler's group where all the mom's come and bring their little ones to play. we taught them some fun games to play with their kids, which they all thought we hilarious!! and then we did a little shpeal on health issues in children and when to bring your child into the clinic, when to give oral rehydration syrup, and when to get medication. all the women seemed to be listening intently, but i believe some of the message may have been lost in the triple translation (in our village, some speak mandika while others speak woloff). we offered boaboa juice as a refreshment afterwards, which they all loved...so all in all i would say it was a success. our next class is monday, where we are teaching the mothers about nutrition, when they can tell a child is dehydrated, and how to make oral rehydration syrup at home for a dehydrated child.
the other class we helped out with this week is the peace corps class on 'current events in the world' at the local city high school. it was a fantastic class! all the students were very involved, bright, eager to learn. both males and females voiced their opinions vehemently about democracy, the corruption in the government, what the people of zimbabwe are going through and what can be done, and the violence in south africa. it was great to see the students, especially the girls, speak out with such confidence about what they believed was right and wrong and what they could do about it.
so...that wraps up our first week in Madina Salaam...stay tuned to hear about our terrible disaster of a weekend next blog...
much love.
so....the village life is quite different than anything i've really experienced. we have no electricity, no transportation, but cold running water, which is key in this heat!! when we want to get to town to use the internet, buy anything, charge our camera or phone batteries, attend school classes that we are assisting our peace corp buddies with, or anything of the sort...we have to walk for an hour to the next village where we wait until the bus to town is full (anywhere from 1-4 hours) and then take the bus into town...and it's the same in reverse. So, although we ventured into town 2 times last week, the trips have left us exhausted and so think we may be hankering down into village life a bit more and leaving behind the amenities we have grown so accustomed to.
last week we laid out the plan of the work we hope to do during our time in the village. we proposed a number of health classes we would like to hold and met with the leaders of the NGO and the village council to discuss. many of our ideas were turned down or we had to compromise on our talk because they didn't want us to come into their village and try to 'empower women' or 'make their boys more promiscuous' by offering condoms. the great thing about the latter was that after we left the meeting and went back to the clinic a number of the boys who work with the organization and had heard about what was spoken about snuck into our compound and asked for hand-fulls of condoms!! guess we didn't have to make a public announcement of it after all!!
so we agreed on 2 classes and training the health worker in the clinic. this means that every morning we are in the clinic...which is great fun! we mostly clean and dress various wounds and spend our free time training Yusafa (who runs the clinic but is only trained as an assistant pharmacist). the highlights of last weeks clinic are as follows...
1. boy came in with very bad cut on his toe, and toe nail has to be pulled out and would cleaned and dressed as the child kicked and screamed! i got the fun job of cleaning and dressing the wound while the 4 other workers present held him down
2. 8 year old girl sticks bead all the way in her ear. i tried to flush it out with a syringe, but was too careful and ginger and the bead would not budge. so we all climbed in the ambulance and drove her to the closest hospital where the doc did the exact same things as i did, and out came the bead! i guess i need more practice in ear flushing....
so...other than that, we held our first class of the week!! it was a mother's and toddler's group where all the mom's come and bring their little ones to play. we taught them some fun games to play with their kids, which they all thought we hilarious!! and then we did a little shpeal on health issues in children and when to bring your child into the clinic, when to give oral rehydration syrup, and when to get medication. all the women seemed to be listening intently, but i believe some of the message may have been lost in the triple translation (in our village, some speak mandika while others speak woloff). we offered boaboa juice as a refreshment afterwards, which they all loved...so all in all i would say it was a success. our next class is monday, where we are teaching the mothers about nutrition, when they can tell a child is dehydrated, and how to make oral rehydration syrup at home for a dehydrated child.
the other class we helped out with this week is the peace corps class on 'current events in the world' at the local city high school. it was a fantastic class! all the students were very involved, bright, eager to learn. both males and females voiced their opinions vehemently about democracy, the corruption in the government, what the people of zimbabwe are going through and what can be done, and the violence in south africa. it was great to see the students, especially the girls, speak out with such confidence about what they believed was right and wrong and what they could do about it.
so...that wraps up our first week in Madina Salaam...stay tuned to hear about our terrible disaster of a weekend next blog...
much love.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Solo in Senegal...
Well, my trip in the crazy continent of Africa began with 18 hours on various planes and in various airports, finally arriving in Dakar (capital city of Senegal) at about 4am. The people not taking the plane on were instructed to de-board and get on a bus to take us to the terminal. There were 5 of us...
So I managed to get into a taxi and tell them the hotel I had picked out of the lonely planet. Only to drive around for 2 hours with the driver trying helplessly to explian something to me in French and me, exhausted and confused, trying to remember the little bit of french I learned in high school to understand just what he was trying to tell me. I suppose we decided that the hotel was 'under construction' and he tried to drop me at a different hotel. Well aware of the many scams I refused to get out of the taxi and demanded he take me to the next hotel in the lonely planet. eventually he did....and the hotel ended up being ridiculously expensive for not very much. I bet about $65 a nite!
after sleeping off my jet lag I decided to explore the city....which was large, hot, crazy busy african city. it was hard to get around as people barely speak any english and my french is so poor. but i managed enough to get a bite to eat and arrange to leave the next day to go to a beach town 30 mins away...hoping that maybe there may be other tourists, or some english-speaking people. I took a taxi the next morning to N'Gor, the small village by the ocean, and a boat out to the island of N'Gor, where I planned to stay for the next few nights while I waited for Jessica to arrive (the girl who I working with in the village). The island was deserted...I was definitely the only tourist staying there, and only about 10 locals were anywhere to be found. it was strange...
but in the afternoon, after school got out, all the senegalese high school children came to the island in boat after boat, packed in like sardines! 100s of them showed up for a swim! and they brought with them a few tourists from europe...who, as i was to find out is why people come here, all had a local boy/girlfriend with them! i started to realize that i was the ONLY tourist on the beaches of Senegal who had not come to particpate in the sex tourism! and the locals thought I was strange for not wanting a senegalese boy-toy while vacationing here. it was all very strange and disturbing. so i ended up spending a few relaxing days on the beach, reading my book, swimming in the ocean, and exploring the deserted island where slaves were once imprisoned before being brought to america. it was quite an interesting experience.
jess arrived on thursday and we started our long journey down to the gambia. after many gestures and my broken french, which was starting to come back to me, we were able to find sept-place taxis (a bus/taxi service) and negotiate a price to take us through the desert to the boarder of the gambia. the journey was quite interesting and ridiculously hot!! we drove for about 6 hours through the desert on sand/dirt roads, passing many random villages on the way. the village houses were mostly huts made of mud and hay, built into mini 'compounds' of family areas, all close together to form a village. in the middle of the desert with little resources around we tried to speculate on how these rural villages were able to maintain the basics of water, food, and health care...
finally arriving at the boarder we had to unload our bags and walk across through customs and passport checks. we then got another taxi on the other side, which drove us about an hour to the river. then we got a ferry across the river into Banjul (the capital city of the gambia), and another taxi from there to the beach area hostel we had chosen to stay at for the next 2 nights. finally arriving, we were so happy to head down to the ocean and cool off!!
the sex tourism is also rampant here in the gambia and we remained the only westerners in our hotel and surrounding hotels without a local boyfriend....and the harrassment is out of control! it's hard because after just 5 days here we have become so hardened and unfriendly to the locals who follow us around....it's very out of our characters and we feel uncomfortable, but have been told by our peace corp friends that it is the only sensible way.
so...through a friend of a friend we ended up meeting a group of ex-pats the other night. they were peace corp volunteers, teachers, and diplomats who have been here for 1-5 years. it was great to meet them and learn all about the country where we will be spending the next month of our lives.
there is so much corruption here....the president has declared that he can cure HIV, asthma, and infertility and so the country need not worry about these diseases. when a UN official spoke up and stated that this could be trouble because it may cause teens etc to be more permiscuous and use less protection...she was given 24 hours to leave the country.
the villages are still very male-dominated communities where the women are not allowed to say no to sex, are circumcised as children, and are often beaten at home. there's also alot of corruption with the food programs, the children are supposed to get free meals at the schools provided by the world food organization, but the head masters are selling the food they get and not giving it to the children. so many are underfed and have kwoshiokor. the peace corp volunteers have tried to intervene by setting up youth clubs to start encouraging the teens to be more self confident and empower the girls. and have begun reporting the food issue to the food organization, but it is all alot to deal with and they face many risks and road blocks along the way. I am going to try and implement the same programs in my village and see what I can do to fight against these problems. i just know that i may need more time to make these changes, one month is not enough. but we will see what we can do....
today we are going to a soccer match of senegal vs the gambia (#1 rivals!) should be a crazy match...
tomorrow we head down to the village where we will be working for the next month. There is no electricity, so I will only be able to update my experiences on this blog on the weekends if we go to a nearby village that has internet. I am very excited about the possibilities to help in the village, but also nervous that there will be too much to do and too little time.
Thank you for all your love and support of me! Can't wait to tell you about my time in the village! Much love.
So I managed to get into a taxi and tell them the hotel I had picked out of the lonely planet. Only to drive around for 2 hours with the driver trying helplessly to explian something to me in French and me, exhausted and confused, trying to remember the little bit of french I learned in high school to understand just what he was trying to tell me. I suppose we decided that the hotel was 'under construction' and he tried to drop me at a different hotel. Well aware of the many scams I refused to get out of the taxi and demanded he take me to the next hotel in the lonely planet. eventually he did....and the hotel ended up being ridiculously expensive for not very much. I bet about $65 a nite!
after sleeping off my jet lag I decided to explore the city....which was large, hot, crazy busy african city. it was hard to get around as people barely speak any english and my french is so poor. but i managed enough to get a bite to eat and arrange to leave the next day to go to a beach town 30 mins away...hoping that maybe there may be other tourists, or some english-speaking people. I took a taxi the next morning to N'Gor, the small village by the ocean, and a boat out to the island of N'Gor, where I planned to stay for the next few nights while I waited for Jessica to arrive (the girl who I working with in the village). The island was deserted...I was definitely the only tourist staying there, and only about 10 locals were anywhere to be found. it was strange...
but in the afternoon, after school got out, all the senegalese high school children came to the island in boat after boat, packed in like sardines! 100s of them showed up for a swim! and they brought with them a few tourists from europe...who, as i was to find out is why people come here, all had a local boy/girlfriend with them! i started to realize that i was the ONLY tourist on the beaches of Senegal who had not come to particpate in the sex tourism! and the locals thought I was strange for not wanting a senegalese boy-toy while vacationing here. it was all very strange and disturbing. so i ended up spending a few relaxing days on the beach, reading my book, swimming in the ocean, and exploring the deserted island where slaves were once imprisoned before being brought to america. it was quite an interesting experience.
jess arrived on thursday and we started our long journey down to the gambia. after many gestures and my broken french, which was starting to come back to me, we were able to find sept-place taxis (a bus/taxi service) and negotiate a price to take us through the desert to the boarder of the gambia. the journey was quite interesting and ridiculously hot!! we drove for about 6 hours through the desert on sand/dirt roads, passing many random villages on the way. the village houses were mostly huts made of mud and hay, built into mini 'compounds' of family areas, all close together to form a village. in the middle of the desert with little resources around we tried to speculate on how these rural villages were able to maintain the basics of water, food, and health care...
finally arriving at the boarder we had to unload our bags and walk across through customs and passport checks. we then got another taxi on the other side, which drove us about an hour to the river. then we got a ferry across the river into Banjul (the capital city of the gambia), and another taxi from there to the beach area hostel we had chosen to stay at for the next 2 nights. finally arriving, we were so happy to head down to the ocean and cool off!!
the sex tourism is also rampant here in the gambia and we remained the only westerners in our hotel and surrounding hotels without a local boyfriend....and the harrassment is out of control! it's hard because after just 5 days here we have become so hardened and unfriendly to the locals who follow us around....it's very out of our characters and we feel uncomfortable, but have been told by our peace corp friends that it is the only sensible way.
so...through a friend of a friend we ended up meeting a group of ex-pats the other night. they were peace corp volunteers, teachers, and diplomats who have been here for 1-5 years. it was great to meet them and learn all about the country where we will be spending the next month of our lives.
there is so much corruption here....the president has declared that he can cure HIV, asthma, and infertility and so the country need not worry about these diseases. when a UN official spoke up and stated that this could be trouble because it may cause teens etc to be more permiscuous and use less protection...she was given 24 hours to leave the country.
the villages are still very male-dominated communities where the women are not allowed to say no to sex, are circumcised as children, and are often beaten at home. there's also alot of corruption with the food programs, the children are supposed to get free meals at the schools provided by the world food organization, but the head masters are selling the food they get and not giving it to the children. so many are underfed and have kwoshiokor. the peace corp volunteers have tried to intervene by setting up youth clubs to start encouraging the teens to be more self confident and empower the girls. and have begun reporting the food issue to the food organization, but it is all alot to deal with and they face many risks and road blocks along the way. I am going to try and implement the same programs in my village and see what I can do to fight against these problems. i just know that i may need more time to make these changes, one month is not enough. but we will see what we can do....
today we are going to a soccer match of senegal vs the gambia (#1 rivals!) should be a crazy match...
tomorrow we head down to the village where we will be working for the next month. There is no electricity, so I will only be able to update my experiences on this blog on the weekends if we go to a nearby village that has internet. I am very excited about the possibilities to help in the village, but also nervous that there will be too much to do and too little time.
Thank you for all your love and support of me! Can't wait to tell you about my time in the village! Much love.
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