Well, I cannot believe it myself, finally internet access and yes I have been trying for 12 days now. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes and please do not forget that my birthday will be on December 28th again next year. Gifts (beautifully wrapped), cards, French food and a gorgeous celebration will be in order. It is quite painful I must admit to be numerically older than David for the next 6 months but I have learned to adjust on a yearly basis. We are mobile and loving it. Frequently we just get in the car and take long rides out into the rural areas, huge valleys and plains and cows and goats most everywhere. Occassionally we pass a stray monkey or warthog and even a giraffe and rhino the day before yesterday. It is nice to see another side of Swaziland, one that is quite peaceful and shielded from what may lie within. I guess that it is the same when you are doing any traveling or sightseeing.
My birthday was most divine. We celebrated the miracle that is me and what a special day it was. We sat around with our Peace Corps friends and Susan (she runs the TB program at Good Shepherd Hospital, she is from Britian) and she resembles my sister Susan, anyways we had a nice dinner, a home made cake from scratch (quite an accomplishment and very good and chocolatey, thanks Kristin) a few cocktails and good conversation. The conversation was focused on me, you know how I hate that but seeing how it was MY birthday I figured, why not.
Christmas, well it was like no other. Midnight mass started at 9pm, yes that is 3 hrs before midnight and get this...it lasted until 6am. David and I stayed until 1:00 am, yes four hours. The mass had its ups and downs, lots of kneeling I might add on solid pine kneelers with no cushion. These old knees had a rough time of it. Seeing how we were celebrating the birth of the Baby Jesus I figured that I would suffer in silence, up until now that is. The manger at the church was quite ecceletic. There was the ususal Joseph and Mary and of course the baby Jesus (who was nearly the size of the manger and at least 5 times as big as his parents) and many wise men, apparently there were a dozen or so here in Africa as opposed to the three that we are use to. Addtionally, there were several statues, some plastic, of saints and I believe a pope or two thrown in for good measure. It was really quite the display, very endearing I must say. Above the manger (I do not think that I am spelling that correctly) there was the only Charlie Brown tree, it was about 3 feet high with branches that stuck out about 4 feet on either side, and fake as well. There was only one string of lights with about 12 of the bulbs working and a silver piece of garland about 2 feet long strung from the top of the tree and swooping west as it cascaded down. Needlesss to say I have spent many hours just sitting and admiring the whole scene and finding it most enjoyable, remebering of course that it is the thought that counts.
We drove to South Africa on Christmas day (just across the boarder) past endless fields of sugar cane (now I know where all the water in Swaziland is going) and very small towns. It was a great ride and we topped it off by having Chrismas dinner at KFC. Believe it or not it was fantastic (going down that is and a bit difficult to digest after not having fast food for so long) certainly a day to remember.
Well I am out of time, hopefully I can sign in again later. Have a wonderful New Year! Know that I love and miss you.
Peace,
Scott
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My.
Well, we finally made it to a game reserve and it was like being a kid again. I remember watching many animal and safari shows on TV as a youngster and dreaming of the day I would get to see the wild animals. The day has come and it was last Monday. As soon as we arrived at Hlane game reserve we went right to the closest watering hole (we were on foot) and sure enough there were 2 giant Hippos and one younger one about half the size as the other two and about a dozen Rhinos, it was really great. We sat/stood and watched them for a good 30 minutes before one of the Rhinos charged at us but was stopped by the electric fence. Little did he know that he could have gone right through the fencing and reached his target with very little effort. Soon thereafter we got into the car and had an amazing ride through the park. We saw this Ostrich who had imprinted on one of the game wardens soon after it was born so it just follows him around daily. We saw the ostrich standing on the side of the road and it just stood there while we stopped. It all seemed very curious until we looked up in the nearest tree and saw the game warden perched high above us. He said that the bird truly never leaves his side whenever he is at work. The day was full on, we saw lions, warthogs, giraffe (we were within 15 feet of two of them), hippos, rhinos, gazelle, antelope, to name a few. The only disappointment was that we had not seen any elephants. A few hours had passed and the park was getting ready to close for the day trippers so we headed for the exit. We found the exit to be gated, so we sat in the car for a couple of minutes before another game warden came out to let us exit. She seemed rather rushed and waved us in through the exit and then pointed behind us. There stood a herd of elephants, a couple of bulls, females and several little (I guess little is relative) baby elephants. It was so cool, well at least until the alpha male started to come toward us. Fortunately he too was put off by the electric fence as we scurried around the otherside of the car. The warden said that he was particularly aggressive and that it was best to keep our distance. It was the perfect end to my first game park experience.
It was a four day work week for me. The King decided to make Monday a public holiday to honor the completion of the Incwala festival. It was a unplanned holiday in part. It was not announced until Friday night so we were not sure if we would see patients on Monday until Saturday morning. Well the whole country came to a screeching halt, well not so screeching given that it never moves that fast in first place. All the stores, shops and government offices were all closed. A real holdiay for most everyone. After Incwala the King goes into seclution for many weeks and again this signals a vast slow down for the country until late January. Many public services close as well, like the offices that serve the local orphans. Our Peace Corps friends do some work with the local orphans and said that there will be no food distribution or services for the next several weeks. Fortunately our Home Based Care program continues although two of my coworkers will be on vacation for a month starting on Monday. The hospital is open although serveral physicians go on holiday. The ENT doctor and his wife who is a physical therapist are both away for the next 6 weeks so both of those departments will close down until they return. It is amazing to think that when the only person who works in a department is off or on vacation there is no fill-in, they just close the department all together.
We had a great night with Andrew and Kristin last Sunday night. Dinner and drinks and good conversation at our house. They were very impressed with all of our luxuries, runnning cold water, an indoor toilet and electricity. Neither of them moved away from the fan all night and said that they had their best sleep since coming to Swaziland 5 months ago. So no longer feeling sorry for myself for not having hot water,it clearly could be much worse.
The shortened work week was most agreeable. I really get worn out by the end of the week. We see about 25 or so patients a day, sometimes they just line up waiting to be seen. I have a lot to learn about skin rashes, KS, ringworm, severe thrush, fungal infections and abdominal pain. Next week I am going to meet with one of the doctors in the Outpatient Department to see if I can spend a couple of days a week with him to learn more about the treatments for local diseases. Also we are going to discuss if there are any other medications available for us to take out on our home visits. The big draw back to spending time in the outpatient department is the lack of ventillation in the OPD, there are about 200 people waiting at any given time and there is TB everywhere, much of it resistant to antibiotics. I have been wearing a mask when necessary but it is incredibly hot and my whole face just breaks out in a sweat. So I need to think this over a bit more before deciding if it is worth the risk or if there is another option.
Big news, David bought a car in Manzini yesterday. It is a 1995 Mazda Levante something or another. It has four doors, four wheels, is green and looks like a small boxy version of an old SUV. Hopefully, we will have it in our possesion on Tuesday, in time for the Christmas holiday. Freedom on wheels, I can't wait. We are so looking forward to getting out of town and seeing more of the country side, South Africa and Mozambique.
I guess that is all for now. Know that we are well, enjoying life and each other and are very much alive with all that is new around us. The journey is certainly on an up note today and for that I am most grateful. We hear that there is a new independent film coming out in the states soon about Swaziland and is in part focused on a Home Based Care team. Please let me know if it comes to New York or San Francisco and what the name of the film is.
Peace,
Scott
It was a four day work week for me. The King decided to make Monday a public holiday to honor the completion of the Incwala festival. It was a unplanned holiday in part. It was not announced until Friday night so we were not sure if we would see patients on Monday until Saturday morning. Well the whole country came to a screeching halt, well not so screeching given that it never moves that fast in first place. All the stores, shops and government offices were all closed. A real holdiay for most everyone. After Incwala the King goes into seclution for many weeks and again this signals a vast slow down for the country until late January. Many public services close as well, like the offices that serve the local orphans. Our Peace Corps friends do some work with the local orphans and said that there will be no food distribution or services for the next several weeks. Fortunately our Home Based Care program continues although two of my coworkers will be on vacation for a month starting on Monday. The hospital is open although serveral physicians go on holiday. The ENT doctor and his wife who is a physical therapist are both away for the next 6 weeks so both of those departments will close down until they return. It is amazing to think that when the only person who works in a department is off or on vacation there is no fill-in, they just close the department all together.
We had a great night with Andrew and Kristin last Sunday night. Dinner and drinks and good conversation at our house. They were very impressed with all of our luxuries, runnning cold water, an indoor toilet and electricity. Neither of them moved away from the fan all night and said that they had their best sleep since coming to Swaziland 5 months ago. So no longer feeling sorry for myself for not having hot water,it clearly could be much worse.
The shortened work week was most agreeable. I really get worn out by the end of the week. We see about 25 or so patients a day, sometimes they just line up waiting to be seen. I have a lot to learn about skin rashes, KS, ringworm, severe thrush, fungal infections and abdominal pain. Next week I am going to meet with one of the doctors in the Outpatient Department to see if I can spend a couple of days a week with him to learn more about the treatments for local diseases. Also we are going to discuss if there are any other medications available for us to take out on our home visits. The big draw back to spending time in the outpatient department is the lack of ventillation in the OPD, there are about 200 people waiting at any given time and there is TB everywhere, much of it resistant to antibiotics. I have been wearing a mask when necessary but it is incredibly hot and my whole face just breaks out in a sweat. So I need to think this over a bit more before deciding if it is worth the risk or if there is another option.
Big news, David bought a car in Manzini yesterday. It is a 1995 Mazda Levante something or another. It has four doors, four wheels, is green and looks like a small boxy version of an old SUV. Hopefully, we will have it in our possesion on Tuesday, in time for the Christmas holiday. Freedom on wheels, I can't wait. We are so looking forward to getting out of town and seeing more of the country side, South Africa and Mozambique.
I guess that is all for now. Know that we are well, enjoying life and each other and are very much alive with all that is new around us. The journey is certainly on an up note today and for that I am most grateful. We hear that there is a new independent film coming out in the states soon about Swaziland and is in part focused on a Home Based Care team. Please let me know if it comes to New York or San Francisco and what the name of the film is.
Peace,
Scott
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday December 14, 2008
Umjani, which is a common greeeting here which means 'how are you'.
My first whole week of work has come and gone and it appears I have survived it. I must say that I am greatly challenged by the very slow pace here. I have gone from 'being the boss' to not being familiar with any of the culture, sights, smells, chaos, slowness, medications (even the generic names are different), proceedures or basically any of the routines. Our day starts quite early since the sun rises at 4:30 am, by 6:00 am I have had a cold shower (the water has been flowing all week!) and have started the coffee and had a big bowl of cereal. Carbohydrates are my life now, please do not tell any of the boys at David Barton Gym, I am sure that they would be horrified. (In case you are wondering, Zone bars are our favorite protein bar, the chocolate and caramel or chocolate fudge.) Protein is very difficult to come by, the poor little dead chickens in the store couldn't be any thinner and the red meat is completely unrecognizeable. Back to the start of my day. I can look out our front window, while eating my Corn Flakes, and see the beautiful valley in the distance. Now instead of just seeing all the beauty I am overwhelmed by what lies hidden in the homesteads.
The degree of suffering is just starteling. During one of my home visits this week I saw a young man who was 35 years old. His face was grostequely swollen from Karposi Sarcoma and he had numerous other lesions all over his body. The flies were all over him and his infant son who was dressed in rags. The only medications we had to offer was Tylenol with codeine (only 8 mg of codeine, instead of 30 mg or 60 mg) and some ibuprofen. One of the other nurses thought that I was giving him way too much medication, it took all of my strength to explain that he was not getting too much medication and be able to remain respectful to my colleague. The women that I work with have been doing this for many years and the fact that they just show up for work and are witness to this sitaution is quite amazing. They are all very strong and committed to their work and are somehow able to manage day after day, year after year.
The earth is quite unrelenting here. They have been in a drought situation for many years. Often it clouds up at night and there is a tremendous amount of lightening and thunder with little or no rain to follow. I pray that they will receive some rain because many people have to grow their own food to survive. The corn is only 10 or 12 inches high and it should be four feet high by now. Corn is their main source of food and without a good crop I really cannot imagine what the winter will be like when the rainy season has come and gone. We often spend our day making home visits in the valley that lies directly below Siteki, I am not sure of the direction it is in but I do know that it is 10 to 15 degrees warmer that where the hospital is. The average daily temperature has been about 34 degrees celcius or 94 degrees. As we drive down into the valley you can feel the heat rise and the air becomes drier. As we drive from one homestead to the next we make quite a dust cloud, there are only dirt roads to travel on once we leave the main road. Along the roads there are these bushes that have very large prickers on them, they are at least an inch long and every branch is just covered with them. Needless to say I have no idea of where I am going and often the others forget a turn or two so we have to back track often, doing a U-turn while trying to avoid the pricker bushes, cows and large ruts in the road can be quite challenging. Our gas tank sprung a leak yesterday but we were able to make it to all of our home visits. By the end of the day I am covered with sweat and dust and dirt and I feel a bit paralyzed but what we have witnessed. I guess that it what I have been stuggeling with most. Why here, why these people, why do I (we) have some much and how can I make a real difference. I think that I am here just to simply bare witness to the situation, the suffering as well as the joy on the faces of the patients when they see our truck and know that they will get some food and attention. We have very limited medications, the food we supply only lasts a couple of days but the the people are so grateful and gracious for our visits. Just being heard and seen and touched seems to make a difference. I am working hard to open my heart and soul and to see clearly the human being who is in front of me, and give them the respent and dignity they deserve and is possible during a five, ten or twenty minute visit before we have to leave to see the next patient. I have to look past all of the choas, inefficencies and lack of structure. I am rather entrenched in structure and organization but I am open to learning. People often come up to our truck to receive care, which can be both helpul (less traveling involved) and a hinderance. Thursday a woman and her 6 month old child who could not have weighed more than 8 or 9 pounds came up to me and handed me the child. He had a terrible case of thrush and he just cried and cried, neither his mother or I were able to calm him. Both parents have HIV/AIDS but the child had not been tested yet. Luckily, we were able to give them some nystatin and money for bus fare to come to the hospital the following day.
Yesterday, Saturday, we were able to get out of Siteki and drive (we got a ride from a local kid called Thando, his mother works at GSH) into the town of Manzini to do some shopping and just have a little getaway. Manzini is a city of about 50, 000 people, I think? The main street has many shops and is comprised of cinder block two story buildings with shop after shop in them. Most of the shops are run by Indians rather than Swazi's. It kind of looks like something you might see in a poor neighborhood of Los Angeles or what you might imagine in an African city. We have been plagued with electrical problems. I plugged the short wave radio into the 240 current outlet and it basically burnt up. David's cord for his computer shorted out and now my camera has stopped working. So we are looking for some replacement parts and places to fix them, wish us luck. Karen has already sent off a new cord for the computer so soon we may be able to see a movie on DVD, which I am quite looking forward to.
Tonight we are having a couple of Peace Corps volunteers over for dinner, they are Andew and Kristen (married), in their mid twenties, from Boston and really quite nice, so we are looking for good conversation and a few cocktails. We have yet to see much wild life. There is a game reserve about 40 minutes away by car but have not managed to get there, hopefully soon. David is well and again I am so grateful that we are here together.
I am so impressed by how many people do this on their own. Kathleen Hartman RN started this Home Based Care program many years ago (2001, I think) and I am so impressed with her commitment and compassion and ability to work with the system and create a helpful evironment for the patients. She is such a strong person, an amazing nurse and quite the humanitarian. The work she has done is so very impressive! She has been quite the role model for me and a great mentor as well.
I hope that I have not been repeating myself too much. I am not trying to complain, we are doing fine, there are numerous adjustmements but that is just part what we have signed up for. The journey has been amazing already and it will only get better I am sure. Just another quick story before I sign off. Behind our house, oh about twenty feet away is the trash can for the houses that are next to ours on the grounds of the Deaf School. Well, day in and out the can got fuller and fuller and then overflowed onto the ground. So the locals would just empty their trash on the ground next to the can because there was no more room in the can. We started saving up our trash inside the house waiting for the can to be emptied (Lord knows I do not like a mess), well that day never came. One morning the lady next store simply took a match and some gasoline to the pile of trash, now the trash is gone and we are left with a pile of ashe and soot. The job is done, not exactly how I had imagined it but completed just the same.
Peace,
Scott
My first whole week of work has come and gone and it appears I have survived it. I must say that I am greatly challenged by the very slow pace here. I have gone from 'being the boss' to not being familiar with any of the culture, sights, smells, chaos, slowness, medications (even the generic names are different), proceedures or basically any of the routines. Our day starts quite early since the sun rises at 4:30 am, by 6:00 am I have had a cold shower (the water has been flowing all week!) and have started the coffee and had a big bowl of cereal. Carbohydrates are my life now, please do not tell any of the boys at David Barton Gym, I am sure that they would be horrified. (In case you are wondering, Zone bars are our favorite protein bar, the chocolate and caramel or chocolate fudge.) Protein is very difficult to come by, the poor little dead chickens in the store couldn't be any thinner and the red meat is completely unrecognizeable. Back to the start of my day. I can look out our front window, while eating my Corn Flakes, and see the beautiful valley in the distance. Now instead of just seeing all the beauty I am overwhelmed by what lies hidden in the homesteads.
The degree of suffering is just starteling. During one of my home visits this week I saw a young man who was 35 years old. His face was grostequely swollen from Karposi Sarcoma and he had numerous other lesions all over his body. The flies were all over him and his infant son who was dressed in rags. The only medications we had to offer was Tylenol with codeine (only 8 mg of codeine, instead of 30 mg or 60 mg) and some ibuprofen. One of the other nurses thought that I was giving him way too much medication, it took all of my strength to explain that he was not getting too much medication and be able to remain respectful to my colleague. The women that I work with have been doing this for many years and the fact that they just show up for work and are witness to this sitaution is quite amazing. They are all very strong and committed to their work and are somehow able to manage day after day, year after year.
The earth is quite unrelenting here. They have been in a drought situation for many years. Often it clouds up at night and there is a tremendous amount of lightening and thunder with little or no rain to follow. I pray that they will receive some rain because many people have to grow their own food to survive. The corn is only 10 or 12 inches high and it should be four feet high by now. Corn is their main source of food and without a good crop I really cannot imagine what the winter will be like when the rainy season has come and gone. We often spend our day making home visits in the valley that lies directly below Siteki, I am not sure of the direction it is in but I do know that it is 10 to 15 degrees warmer that where the hospital is. The average daily temperature has been about 34 degrees celcius or 94 degrees. As we drive down into the valley you can feel the heat rise and the air becomes drier. As we drive from one homestead to the next we make quite a dust cloud, there are only dirt roads to travel on once we leave the main road. Along the roads there are these bushes that have very large prickers on them, they are at least an inch long and every branch is just covered with them. Needless to say I have no idea of where I am going and often the others forget a turn or two so we have to back track often, doing a U-turn while trying to avoid the pricker bushes, cows and large ruts in the road can be quite challenging. Our gas tank sprung a leak yesterday but we were able to make it to all of our home visits. By the end of the day I am covered with sweat and dust and dirt and I feel a bit paralyzed but what we have witnessed. I guess that it what I have been stuggeling with most. Why here, why these people, why do I (we) have some much and how can I make a real difference. I think that I am here just to simply bare witness to the situation, the suffering as well as the joy on the faces of the patients when they see our truck and know that they will get some food and attention. We have very limited medications, the food we supply only lasts a couple of days but the the people are so grateful and gracious for our visits. Just being heard and seen and touched seems to make a difference. I am working hard to open my heart and soul and to see clearly the human being who is in front of me, and give them the respent and dignity they deserve and is possible during a five, ten or twenty minute visit before we have to leave to see the next patient. I have to look past all of the choas, inefficencies and lack of structure. I am rather entrenched in structure and organization but I am open to learning. People often come up to our truck to receive care, which can be both helpul (less traveling involved) and a hinderance. Thursday a woman and her 6 month old child who could not have weighed more than 8 or 9 pounds came up to me and handed me the child. He had a terrible case of thrush and he just cried and cried, neither his mother or I were able to calm him. Both parents have HIV/AIDS but the child had not been tested yet. Luckily, we were able to give them some nystatin and money for bus fare to come to the hospital the following day.
Yesterday, Saturday, we were able to get out of Siteki and drive (we got a ride from a local kid called Thando, his mother works at GSH) into the town of Manzini to do some shopping and just have a little getaway. Manzini is a city of about 50, 000 people, I think? The main street has many shops and is comprised of cinder block two story buildings with shop after shop in them. Most of the shops are run by Indians rather than Swazi's. It kind of looks like something you might see in a poor neighborhood of Los Angeles or what you might imagine in an African city. We have been plagued with electrical problems. I plugged the short wave radio into the 240 current outlet and it basically burnt up. David's cord for his computer shorted out and now my camera has stopped working. So we are looking for some replacement parts and places to fix them, wish us luck. Karen has already sent off a new cord for the computer so soon we may be able to see a movie on DVD, which I am quite looking forward to.
Tonight we are having a couple of Peace Corps volunteers over for dinner, they are Andew and Kristen (married), in their mid twenties, from Boston and really quite nice, so we are looking for good conversation and a few cocktails. We have yet to see much wild life. There is a game reserve about 40 minutes away by car but have not managed to get there, hopefully soon. David is well and again I am so grateful that we are here together.
I am so impressed by how many people do this on their own. Kathleen Hartman RN started this Home Based Care program many years ago (2001, I think) and I am so impressed with her commitment and compassion and ability to work with the system and create a helpful evironment for the patients. She is such a strong person, an amazing nurse and quite the humanitarian. The work she has done is so very impressive! She has been quite the role model for me and a great mentor as well.
I hope that I have not been repeating myself too much. I am not trying to complain, we are doing fine, there are numerous adjustmements but that is just part what we have signed up for. The journey has been amazing already and it will only get better I am sure. Just another quick story before I sign off. Behind our house, oh about twenty feet away is the trash can for the houses that are next to ours on the grounds of the Deaf School. Well, day in and out the can got fuller and fuller and then overflowed onto the ground. So the locals would just empty their trash on the ground next to the can because there was no more room in the can. We started saving up our trash inside the house waiting for the can to be emptied (Lord knows I do not like a mess), well that day never came. One morning the lady next store simply took a match and some gasoline to the pile of trash, now the trash is gone and we are left with a pile of ashe and soot. The job is done, not exactly how I had imagined it but completed just the same.
Peace,
Scott
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Back again on Saturday Dec 6, 2008
Hello again,
They have decided to keep the internet cafe open for us, so here I go again.
Our house is on the Deaf School campus, it sits on the side of a hill and we have a decent view of the coutry side and of Good Shepherd Hospital. The children at the school are incredibly sweet but want to come by and talk/sign and write with us. Their summer break starts next week so it will be much calmer where we are living. Food wise, we are surviving. Lots of pasta, eggs and grilled cheese. Fortunately there are a couple liquor stores in town so we are able to make a cocktail in the evening. And yes, they have Coca-Cola here made with realy sugar so it is most delicious and I do appreciate it.
It is considered very unsafe to be out after dark. So once the sun sets at around 6:15pm we are in for the night. There is no walking outside anywhere in town because it would not be safe so that has been a drag not being able to be out in the evening breeze. We have a fan that helps with the heat and mosquito netting to keep the bugs at bay. David's bedtime routine is quite complicated, imagine adding netting, the proper fan positioning, bug spray, security concerns to name a few to the already neurotic night time routine, most of you will understand. We have spent a fair amount of time reading and just rehashing the days events and falling deep asleep by 10ish. We have two bedrooms but only one bed so the locals are very concerned that David and I have to share a bed, (for some reason it has not been so concerning to David and I, we adapt rather quickly at times) the administrator at the hospital has promised another bed but who knows when it will arrive. The administrator at the Deaf School, Rose (who is very sweet and helpful) feels quite bad for us the we have to share a bed but not at all concerned with the lack of water. Yesterday she said the water may come back on tomorrow or the next day, in Siteki you never know. Thank God for Old Spice Deodorant, although the locals do not use any deodorant at all and boy can it be quite overwhelming on a hot day, which is most days.
Queen, thank you for organizing my going away book at work, it has been so wonderful to read and savor. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and wishes and prayers. Mary M., I have been using the rosary and I very much appreciate your parting with such an important object in your life, I do cherish it. The church we are going to is just incredible. What gorgeous voices the choir has. The mass lasts a good hour and a half, the church is nearly full, very hot with an occassional breeze blowing by and the service is completely in Siswati. Obviously we do not understand a word yet but it was very fulfilling spiritually to be present and sit quietly and peacefully at the mass. We are able to follow along after forty years of Catholic masses so we are not missing out. We are looking forward to tomorrows service.
Jim P. there are many here that would believe as Shirley's caregiver did about rocks. Girl, there are rocks in abundance here! Seriously, the soil is very rocky so growing crops is quite a challenge especially in the drought conditions here of the past several years. Most homesteads have a very small plot of land, say 10 x 20 feet or less, to grow some crops in although the soil of late is very dry and does not produce much.
The hospital looks as one would expect from movies that you have seen about Africa or other poor countries. The hospital has about 24o beds although they do not all seem to be full. Some wards are full while others have a few empty beds. On the weekends there are very few staff around and on my first visit the wards I was shocked and horrified at the preceived lack of patient care. Nothing happens quickly here, learning to be patient is going to be one of my big lessons here. The hospital has 9 doctors now, the most ever at the hospital to date. The only eye doctor in all of Swaziland is here at GSH and has given sight to many of the old men and women of Swaziland and is very well respected as are all of the doctors and nurses here. Most people think that David and I are doctors, there are several male nurse here and they are called Sisters, isn't that appropriate and a bit campy. The busiest part of the hospital is the Out Patient Department, by 7:30am there is a long line of over two hundred people to be seen, many more on Mondays and Fridays. They must pay 15 Emalengeni each to be seen which is equal to about 3 days wages, if admitted the costs just escalate and is very prohibitive to most of the population. Although in the midst of it all there are some private rooms at the hospital for those who are well off financially. The patients arrive by bus/coombie or in the back of a pickup truck. It is not unusual to see a mother bringing her cachetic child in their twenties or early thirties for their first visit to the hospital to find that they have acitve TB and AIDS with very few T-cells remaining. If the patient is well enough to go on ARV's then they must make the journey to the hospital at least two more times before they can get their meds (which are provided free of charge) to show that there is a chance that they may be compliant. Unfortunately, many cannot afford the bust fare to come back so basically go home to die. There has not been an outbreak of Malaria in this region in many years, I am still taking my doxycycline since I am making home visits in the Lowveld area where there is a higher risk and more ticks and chiggers looking for a place to lay their eggs or bite you.
I know that it sounds so dismal here but there is also alot of joy here. The people are incredibly friendly and they just open their hearts to you immediately. We have learned a few greeting in SiSwati and the locals really appreciate the effort. I, of course do not understand more than a word or two of their response but give a big smile and a hand shake. Amy, thanks for the information on how to shake hands and to show respect to the elders, it has been most helpful and very well received.
Please tell the others about my blog because internet access is so limited and I am unable to respond individually to emails at this time. Also, please do not email any attachments because it usually makes the computer 'freeze-up' and I loose what little time I have on the computer. It is best to respond to this blog, it is most accessible for me. All of the internet access we have is dialup and is very slow.
Last weekend we went on a drive around Swaziland and ended up in Ezeilwini Valley (not spelled correctly) where the royal family lives. We went to the Incwala celebration which gives thanks for the new crops and the King appears, eats a pumpkins and tells his people that they can eat the new crops to come. I have very mixed feelings about seeing the king but really enjoyed the ceremony. David and I both danced, barefooted and with sticks, it was something that you would see on the Discovery Channel where you would say 'look at the silly white boys trying to dance' with all of the warriors. They were all dressed in tradition garb, animal skins, feathers, shirtless etc, Daniel B. you would have been in heaven. The Incwala was really great to participate in and kind of spiritual I must say.
I am out of time. Sending lots of love to you all.
Peace,
Scott
They have decided to keep the internet cafe open for us, so here I go again.
Our house is on the Deaf School campus, it sits on the side of a hill and we have a decent view of the coutry side and of Good Shepherd Hospital. The children at the school are incredibly sweet but want to come by and talk/sign and write with us. Their summer break starts next week so it will be much calmer where we are living. Food wise, we are surviving. Lots of pasta, eggs and grilled cheese. Fortunately there are a couple liquor stores in town so we are able to make a cocktail in the evening. And yes, they have Coca-Cola here made with realy sugar so it is most delicious and I do appreciate it.
It is considered very unsafe to be out after dark. So once the sun sets at around 6:15pm we are in for the night. There is no walking outside anywhere in town because it would not be safe so that has been a drag not being able to be out in the evening breeze. We have a fan that helps with the heat and mosquito netting to keep the bugs at bay. David's bedtime routine is quite complicated, imagine adding netting, the proper fan positioning, bug spray, security concerns to name a few to the already neurotic night time routine, most of you will understand. We have spent a fair amount of time reading and just rehashing the days events and falling deep asleep by 10ish. We have two bedrooms but only one bed so the locals are very concerned that David and I have to share a bed, (for some reason it has not been so concerning to David and I, we adapt rather quickly at times) the administrator at the hospital has promised another bed but who knows when it will arrive. The administrator at the Deaf School, Rose (who is very sweet and helpful) feels quite bad for us the we have to share a bed but not at all concerned with the lack of water. Yesterday she said the water may come back on tomorrow or the next day, in Siteki you never know. Thank God for Old Spice Deodorant, although the locals do not use any deodorant at all and boy can it be quite overwhelming on a hot day, which is most days.
Queen, thank you for organizing my going away book at work, it has been so wonderful to read and savor. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and wishes and prayers. Mary M., I have been using the rosary and I very much appreciate your parting with such an important object in your life, I do cherish it. The church we are going to is just incredible. What gorgeous voices the choir has. The mass lasts a good hour and a half, the church is nearly full, very hot with an occassional breeze blowing by and the service is completely in Siswati. Obviously we do not understand a word yet but it was very fulfilling spiritually to be present and sit quietly and peacefully at the mass. We are able to follow along after forty years of Catholic masses so we are not missing out. We are looking forward to tomorrows service.
Jim P. there are many here that would believe as Shirley's caregiver did about rocks. Girl, there are rocks in abundance here! Seriously, the soil is very rocky so growing crops is quite a challenge especially in the drought conditions here of the past several years. Most homesteads have a very small plot of land, say 10 x 20 feet or less, to grow some crops in although the soil of late is very dry and does not produce much.
The hospital looks as one would expect from movies that you have seen about Africa or other poor countries. The hospital has about 24o beds although they do not all seem to be full. Some wards are full while others have a few empty beds. On the weekends there are very few staff around and on my first visit the wards I was shocked and horrified at the preceived lack of patient care. Nothing happens quickly here, learning to be patient is going to be one of my big lessons here. The hospital has 9 doctors now, the most ever at the hospital to date. The only eye doctor in all of Swaziland is here at GSH and has given sight to many of the old men and women of Swaziland and is very well respected as are all of the doctors and nurses here. Most people think that David and I are doctors, there are several male nurse here and they are called Sisters, isn't that appropriate and a bit campy. The busiest part of the hospital is the Out Patient Department, by 7:30am there is a long line of over two hundred people to be seen, many more on Mondays and Fridays. They must pay 15 Emalengeni each to be seen which is equal to about 3 days wages, if admitted the costs just escalate and is very prohibitive to most of the population. Although in the midst of it all there are some private rooms at the hospital for those who are well off financially. The patients arrive by bus/coombie or in the back of a pickup truck. It is not unusual to see a mother bringing her cachetic child in their twenties or early thirties for their first visit to the hospital to find that they have acitve TB and AIDS with very few T-cells remaining. If the patient is well enough to go on ARV's then they must make the journey to the hospital at least two more times before they can get their meds (which are provided free of charge) to show that there is a chance that they may be compliant. Unfortunately, many cannot afford the bust fare to come back so basically go home to die. There has not been an outbreak of Malaria in this region in many years, I am still taking my doxycycline since I am making home visits in the Lowveld area where there is a higher risk and more ticks and chiggers looking for a place to lay their eggs or bite you.
I know that it sounds so dismal here but there is also alot of joy here. The people are incredibly friendly and they just open their hearts to you immediately. We have learned a few greeting in SiSwati and the locals really appreciate the effort. I, of course do not understand more than a word or two of their response but give a big smile and a hand shake. Amy, thanks for the information on how to shake hands and to show respect to the elders, it has been most helpful and very well received.
Please tell the others about my blog because internet access is so limited and I am unable to respond individually to emails at this time. Also, please do not email any attachments because it usually makes the computer 'freeze-up' and I loose what little time I have on the computer. It is best to respond to this blog, it is most accessible for me. All of the internet access we have is dialup and is very slow.
Last weekend we went on a drive around Swaziland and ended up in Ezeilwini Valley (not spelled correctly) where the royal family lives. We went to the Incwala celebration which gives thanks for the new crops and the King appears, eats a pumpkins and tells his people that they can eat the new crops to come. I have very mixed feelings about seeing the king but really enjoyed the ceremony. David and I both danced, barefooted and with sticks, it was something that you would see on the Discovery Channel where you would say 'look at the silly white boys trying to dance' with all of the warriors. They were all dressed in tradition garb, animal skins, feathers, shirtless etc, Daniel B. you would have been in heaven. The Incwala was really great to participate in and kind of spiritual I must say.
I am out of time. Sending lots of love to you all.
Peace,
Scott
Saturday 6-12-08 Siteki
Yebo,
I have finally been able to find internet access after multiple attempts. So my lack of keeping in touch has not been for lack of trying. I had my first two days doing home visits. I truly do not know where to begin. The depth of the poverty and suffering is truly overwhelming. Once you think that you have seen the saddest situation ever you move on to the next homestead. We drive around in a white truck with seats in front in back. There are 5 of us going on visits, they have allowed David to come along for the first couple of weeks to assess the needs of rural Swazis in person. That has been a great comfort to me. In the pickup part of the truck we bring medications and a few supplies, food...which consists of soya and corn meal, some milk that spoils quickly but the people are happy to have the curdled milk, some beans and that is basically it. Unfortunately, we always run short on the food before the day is finished. We bring enough for about 15 famalies or so but could use many many more food packs. Eightly percent of the patients we see have HIV/AIDS and 50% of them have TB, it is really bleak. It is not uncommon to see a homestead that is run by a 16 year old girl with AIDS, caring for several children (some her own, others who are orphans) usually the mother has already died and if the father is alive he usually abandons the family. Young orphans line the road when they see the truck looking for any available food, most often they have to settle for a smile and a Swazi greeting.
It is quite hot all day with the sun overhead as we travel across the rocky soil and hills. There is no water to speak of, we must 'wash' our hands with sanitizer and hope that it does some good. The homesteads vary from one to another, most are made of sticks, rocks and mud, it really is quite shocking. I am nearly out of time for the internet, they have decided to close early today.
David and I are now living at the Deaf School which is two kilometers from the town and the same to Good Shepherd Hospital. We do lots of walking. We have no hot water and often no water at all, it has been out for the past two days. I should not complain given that we have food and shelter.
Hope you are all well. Missing you madly.
Peace,
Scott
I have finally been able to find internet access after multiple attempts. So my lack of keeping in touch has not been for lack of trying. I had my first two days doing home visits. I truly do not know where to begin. The depth of the poverty and suffering is truly overwhelming. Once you think that you have seen the saddest situation ever you move on to the next homestead. We drive around in a white truck with seats in front in back. There are 5 of us going on visits, they have allowed David to come along for the first couple of weeks to assess the needs of rural Swazis in person. That has been a great comfort to me. In the pickup part of the truck we bring medications and a few supplies, food...which consists of soya and corn meal, some milk that spoils quickly but the people are happy to have the curdled milk, some beans and that is basically it. Unfortunately, we always run short on the food before the day is finished. We bring enough for about 15 famalies or so but could use many many more food packs. Eightly percent of the patients we see have HIV/AIDS and 50% of them have TB, it is really bleak. It is not uncommon to see a homestead that is run by a 16 year old girl with AIDS, caring for several children (some her own, others who are orphans) usually the mother has already died and if the father is alive he usually abandons the family. Young orphans line the road when they see the truck looking for any available food, most often they have to settle for a smile and a Swazi greeting.
It is quite hot all day with the sun overhead as we travel across the rocky soil and hills. There is no water to speak of, we must 'wash' our hands with sanitizer and hope that it does some good. The homesteads vary from one to another, most are made of sticks, rocks and mud, it really is quite shocking. I am nearly out of time for the internet, they have decided to close early today.
David and I are now living at the Deaf School which is two kilometers from the town and the same to Good Shepherd Hospital. We do lots of walking. We have no hot water and often no water at all, it has been out for the past two days. I should not complain given that we have food and shelter.
Hope you are all well. Missing you madly.
Peace,
Scott
Friday, November 28, 2008
My first entry from Siteki, Swaziland
Hello,
This is going to be quite an adventure. Just to get here and start typing we had to walk 35 minutes, try two different internet locations before we ended up at the Siteki Hotel where I am using their computer in an office space. The landscape here is most beautiful, incredible rolling hills and mountains and the soil is so red! The air is fresh with a good breeze most of the day.
Our only transport so far has been walking. The locals giggle to see us white boys walking along the roadside sweating. Everyone is incredibly friendly and greets us constantly. The children are so beautiful and sweet and there are lots of them, many in their school uniforms.
The food situation is most challenging. We did some shopping yesterday and became overwhelmed with the lack of familiar food that we basically left with some potato chips, bread and cheese. There were lots of chicken feet available but I guess we were not in the mood.
Finding housing a going to be quite a chore as well. We have a couple of leads but nothing certain. Most often people say come back later or tomorrow. There are not many places available to rent but it will work out.
The electricity keeps going off so I am going to sign out before I loose what I have written already. We are both well and very wide eyed and up for the experience. Please keep in touch.
Here is my cell phone number 675-5234, the country code is 268 so I think from the states you would dial 011-268-675-5234 although you may need another zero before the 675 but I am not sure. The other volunteers here say Skype works quite well or try nobelcom.com to get a phone card of sorts.
Peace,
Scott
This is going to be quite an adventure. Just to get here and start typing we had to walk 35 minutes, try two different internet locations before we ended up at the Siteki Hotel where I am using their computer in an office space. The landscape here is most beautiful, incredible rolling hills and mountains and the soil is so red! The air is fresh with a good breeze most of the day.
Our only transport so far has been walking. The locals giggle to see us white boys walking along the roadside sweating. Everyone is incredibly friendly and greets us constantly. The children are so beautiful and sweet and there are lots of them, many in their school uniforms.
The food situation is most challenging. We did some shopping yesterday and became overwhelmed with the lack of familiar food that we basically left with some potato chips, bread and cheese. There were lots of chicken feet available but I guess we were not in the mood.
Finding housing a going to be quite a chore as well. We have a couple of leads but nothing certain. Most often people say come back later or tomorrow. There are not many places available to rent but it will work out.
The electricity keeps going off so I am going to sign out before I loose what I have written already. We are both well and very wide eyed and up for the experience. Please keep in touch.
Here is my cell phone number 675-5234, the country code is 268 so I think from the states you would dial 011-268-675-5234 although you may need another zero before the 675 but I am not sure. The other volunteers here say Skype works quite well or try nobelcom.com to get a phone card of sorts.
Peace,
Scott
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