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Tammy and I were very excited to find an email this morning from a friend who had spoken to Georgette. The email we had hoped to use to speak with Georgette did not work properly, so we have only received updates through Flory. With my school schedule being so hectic, we haven't been able to keep up with him as we had hopped.
The exciting news is that the Midwives continue to work towards having a viable group. They have been working to raise funds to purchase goats and chickens in addition to their garden. At least we know the midwives in Nayngezi are moving forward. I wish we could get news from the other regions.
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Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Teaching in Multiple Languages
I was really curious how the teaching would go, knowing the women who were coming would be from at least three different countries. As it turned out we had women speaking four languages attend, but most of them knew at least Swahili. The funniest day was Sunday, when Flory hosted a church service for the women. Flory was speaking Swahili, and one of the women was translating for us. But five minutes into his teaching a woman from Rwanda jumped up and complained that the other Rwandans could not understand him. So he taught in Swahili, she stood next to him and translated it to Rwandeze and our dear friend Akyasu translated that into English for us.
Even trying to give them forms to use to keep track of information proved a challenge. I had to write it out in English, explain the meanings to Flory and Georgette, and they had to translate it into two languages so the women understood what was being asked of them. We used a makeshift chalk board to write things out so they could see it.
We learned very quickly that question and answer sessions would be more difficult than anticipated too. Georgette was fantastic in trying to translate questions for us, but the cultural differences made many of the solutions we knew to be impracticable for the women or offensive to their husbands. It was a very slow learning process, which we hope ended with the women feeling equipped to find their own solutions to their problems.
Even trying to give them forms to use to keep track of information proved a challenge. I had to write it out in English, explain the meanings to Flory and Georgette, and they had to translate it into two languages so the women understood what was being asked of them. We used a makeshift chalk board to write things out so they could see it.
We learned very quickly that question and answer sessions would be more difficult than anticipated too. Georgette was fantastic in trying to translate questions for us, but the cultural differences made many of the solutions we knew to be impracticable for the women or offensive to their husbands. It was a very slow learning process, which we hope ended with the women feeling equipped to find their own solutions to their problems.
Birth in a Clinic
One of our saddest realizations was that the clinic, despite its best intentions, could do very little for the people of the community. There is no way to contact the doctors after they leave the clinic for the night, so birth emergencies may be better off happening at home except there is one nurse in the clinic all night, and he or she does have access to some supplies.
This is the supply shelf in the maternity room. If you don't see it here, they don't have it. This is actually very well stocked because a medical group from the US had just come and brought 19 suitcases of supplies with them.
This is the pharmacy in the clinic. Again, it is well stocked because of the group from the US that donated these medications.
Before you start thinking you need to get as many medical supplies as possible to send consider this item donated by a group in the United States. Their intentions were honorable, to save babies that are born premature. However their donation is not usable because there is no power at the clinic. The generator barely keeps the lights on, it cannot handle equipment like this.
This is the supply shelf in the maternity room. If you don't see it here, they don't have it. This is actually very well stocked because a medical group from the US had just come and brought 19 suitcases of supplies with them.
This is the pharmacy in the clinic. Again, it is well stocked because of the group from the US that donated these medications.
Before you start thinking you need to get as many medical supplies as possible to send consider this item donated by a group in the United States. Their intentions were honorable, to save babies that are born premature. However their donation is not usable because there is no power at the clinic. The generator barely keeps the lights on, it cannot handle equipment like this.
Inside the House
Tammy had enough foresight to take photos inside the places we stayed. I thought I would add these shots because they really display the cultural shock that met us on our journey. Do you remember the views from the house we stayed in while spending the night in Bukavu?
The house is in this photos, the white one behind the brick house:
Inside it is modern, and not modern.
For example, here is the living/dining room, fully equipped with satellite television.
But in the same house, right around the corner, is this kitchen:
There is running water, but no place to store food, no refrigeration (a mini-fringe was brought in by the owner to use while he was in town), and the cooking is done on a small electric hot plate.
The house is in this photos, the white one behind the brick house:
Inside it is modern, and not modern.
For example, here is the living/dining room, fully equipped with satellite television.
But in the same house, right around the corner, is this kitchen:
There is running water, but no place to store food, no refrigeration (a mini-fringe was brought in by the owner to use while he was in town), and the cooking is done on a small electric hot plate.
Tammy's Photos and the Latest News
As promised, I am actually sitting down and going through Tammy's photos to get them on the Blog. It just happens to be a few months later than I had hoped to have time to complete it. It was strange to sort through pictures today, it brought up so many memories and almost made it difficult to work - almost. I will work today on putting up the pictures that tell more of the story, so you don't have to look at more of the same.
I haven't received a recent update from Flory - It can take a while to hear from him and now I have a better understanding why. The few days we spent allowed us to see just how much this pastor cares about his people, the sacrifices he is willing to make to help them build a better life. Travel for him is difficult - expensive and time consuming. He never knows where he will be staying, and doesn't always know when he will be able to complete the tasks he as set out to do. It is simply the reality of the culture and infrastructure in his corner of the world. It makes me think of Paul on his missionary journeys and the problems he must have had as he tried to help grow so many churches.
Tammy and I have officially decided we will not be returning to the Congo this summer. Between finances, threats of war and school commitments we feel the timing is not right. We feel a much better use of our time and the donated money this year will be to collect supplies for birth kits which we can ship to Flory to distribute. We will have more information about that soon.
I haven't received a recent update from Flory - It can take a while to hear from him and now I have a better understanding why. The few days we spent allowed us to see just how much this pastor cares about his people, the sacrifices he is willing to make to help them build a better life. Travel for him is difficult - expensive and time consuming. He never knows where he will be staying, and doesn't always know when he will be able to complete the tasks he as set out to do. It is simply the reality of the culture and infrastructure in his corner of the world. It makes me think of Paul on his missionary journeys and the problems he must have had as he tried to help grow so many churches.
Tammy and I have officially decided we will not be returning to the Congo this summer. Between finances, threats of war and school commitments we feel the timing is not right. We feel a much better use of our time and the donated money this year will be to collect supplies for birth kits which we can ship to Flory to distribute. We will have more information about that soon.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Updates from Flory
I received an email from Flory last week. Amina (Bujumbura, Burundi), Georgette (Nayngezi, DR Congo) and Akayesu (Kigali, Rwanda) were able to meet to discuss how things are going.
Things move much slower in Central Africa than they do in the US. In the two months since I left, there was very little progress among the trained midwives. There were no reports of any woman receiving care, and they sent no information about the process of getting into the clinics.
The last thing I did before I left Burundi was design some forms the women could use to keep track of the care they give. This allows them to see what they are doing and will give us solid date to make decisions from. Because of the distances, only Flory in Bujumbura had a copy of the forms. He made copies for the women and gave them to Georgette and Akayesu to distribute to the women in their area.
I will have to wait a few more weeks or months to find out what other help the women need to actually get started.
There was no update from the deep forest. We simply need to wait for someone (probably a pastor) to come to one of the closer towns and bring back word - it will then make its way back to us.
Things move much slower in Central Africa than they do in the US. In the two months since I left, there was very little progress among the trained midwives. There were no reports of any woman receiving care, and they sent no information about the process of getting into the clinics.
The last thing I did before I left Burundi was design some forms the women could use to keep track of the care they give. This allows them to see what they are doing and will give us solid date to make decisions from. Because of the distances, only Flory in Bujumbura had a copy of the forms. He made copies for the women and gave them to Georgette and Akayesu to distribute to the women in their area.
I will have to wait a few more weeks or months to find out what other help the women need to actually get started.
There was no update from the deep forest. We simply need to wait for someone (probably a pastor) to come to one of the closer towns and bring back word - it will then make its way back to us.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sending out Information
The last month has really been a blur. In addition to getting information about the trip into a format that can be shared, I have also started my second semester of nursing school. This has really caused me to change my focus from the women to my studies, but I have not forgotten them or the reason I am in school.
If Tammy or I have your address, you should have already received a newsletter with highlights from the trip. I do have a few extra so let me or Tammy know if you want more copies to share with others.
If you gave money to the trip, you should receive very soon a CD-ROM with more photos and stories to enjoy. Jeff just finished making the copies for me, they are in the mailers and addressed. Now I just need to find time to stop at the post office. They will be coming, so watch your mailbox!
If Tammy or I have your address, you should have already received a newsletter with highlights from the trip. I do have a few extra so let me or Tammy know if you want more copies to share with others.
If you gave money to the trip, you should receive very soon a CD-ROM with more photos and stories to enjoy. Jeff just finished making the copies for me, they are in the mailers and addressed. Now I just need to find time to stop at the post office. They will be coming, so watch your mailbox!
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