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