Peace Out Liberia!

Well, here it is, my last post from Liberia. I might be able to get one out before I leave but I am not counting on it. I have been in Ganta for a week and have enjoyed being with friends and got some time for R&R.

Note: Pictures to follow. The internet is just too slow right now :(


I did not do as much with the clinic as I had hoped. Monday I went to see what I could do- they told me to come back tomorrow when the Boss-Lady was there. I came back Tuesday and I was supposed to do a nutrition education session later in the day, but when I got there all the mothers had already left for the farm. So, I helped with a children’s worship/ arts and crafts event that was going on through Hope for the Nations. Wednesday, I didn’t bother to go back to the clinic because they told me I would not be able to do anything with nutrition. FINALLY, Thursday I was able to do a nutrition education session with the mothers of the malnourished children staying at the center and some volunteers. We talked about the food groups, the types of malnutrition, breastfeeding and some other topics that came up during the Q&A portion. I was able to use the nutrition cards I made for the PD Hearth sessions and I think it went well. I also was able to finally give out the clothes that Valley View sent as a donation, along with some of my clothes that I was donating. They were very grateful, thanks Valley View! I posted a picture before of the bracelets that Carla’s children made for me to send before I left. Here is another group of children who received the prayer bracelets! They were so excited to get them!

The woman I was working with, Mary Ann Newah, is a wonderful woman that works with the Child’s Recovery Center. She grows Moringa trees in her yard to use to supplement the children’s meals. Moringa is an extremely nutrient dense tree that “happens” to grow in areas of the world with the highest malnutrition rates and extreme poverty. More information on the Moringa tree can be found here through an organization called Trees for Life International.
http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/introduction/the-moringa-tree

The center is not adequately funded and they have no proper supplementary feeding products for severely malnourished children. Moringa is a great substitute for the pre-packaged foods and formulas often used in feeding centers, but it is only really supposed to be used for mild to moderate malnutrition, not severe malnutrition. The leaves are mixed with prepared foods such as porridge or a rice dish. These dishes are not appropriate for severe acute malnutrition. Anyway, this woman is doing the best she can to care for the children at the center. I gave her a small personal donation but I would love to do more. If anyone is interested in donating to her cause, I have her contact information. Please let me know if this is something you would like to join me in supporting. I would like to be able to buy a couple of more trees for her to grow in her yard or help with funds for harvesting the trees. I wish I got involved in this earlier, but….C’est la vie!

Tomorrow, I head back to Monrovia for the weekend. I will get some time to be with Danielle and Caitlin (the new one) and enjoy a weekend of running water, the beach and get to go out to eat at least once. I fly out on Monday morning (really Sunday night) at 3:30 am. I then fly to Casablanca, Morocco where I have a five hour layover. They have a barber there and I am really hoping that I can get my hair cut! This summer has wrecked havoc on my hair, body, spirit, you name it. At least I can feel better about my hair for my Italia vaca! After Casablanca I fly to Brussels where I have an 11 hour layover. I am grateful for my parents- they got me a hotel for the night at the airport so that I didn’t have to sleep on benches. I can’t wait to have a nice hot bath when I get there and sleep in a real bed!!! I am really looking forward to a nice salad and a glass of wine also J. After that, I finally fly to Rome. I leave at 6:30 am and finally arrive in Roma 2 short hours later! Bill’s flight gets in about 20 minutes after mine! I can’t wait to see him! It will have been 77 days (11 weeks) since we saw each other last. VERY excited!

As this may be my last entry from Liberia, I would like to say thanks to everyone for reading this and supporting me over the summer! I know not everyone comments on the entries and that no everyone who reads this is a “follower,” so I would love to know who has been following along. If you get the chance, please send me a brief message at Nicolecbrewer@hotmail.com and let me know who you are! Thanks for everything again! Love you all

Wrapping things up

So, it is my birthday and here I am in Liberia. Good people around but desperately missing home. I am very much looking forward to celebrating it Rome in 10 days!

Some pictures from my birthday...

My Cake made from layers of homemade crepes, bananas, pineapples, coconut, Nutella, and jam. So creative and so nice of Nathan, Danielle and Caitlin to make it for me!




Carefully cutting into the creation




Danielle in process of making the cake




An update: I am in Ganta right now and I have completely moved out of my Gbarnga house. I will be here until Friday at the latest and then I will head down to Monrovia to spend the weekend at Amy’s beach house before getting on a plane at 3:25 am Monday (next Monday). I will be observing at the “Child’s Recovery Center” this week. It is a step down clinic from the hospital before the children go home. Malnutrition is one of the reasons the children are there, among other reasons. Audrey, one of the program directors has noticed that there have been some unexplained deaths at this clinic and so I am going to observe for the week to see if I have any suggestions for improving care. This clinic has not professional staff and is purely women who volunteer their time. So, we’ll see how that goes. I can’t do much in 4 days.

So, since my time here is wrapping up I thought I would make a little list of things that I have gotten used to, things I will never get used to, things I have missed from home and things I am looking forward to doing at home.

Things I have gotten used to:
Cold bucket showers- I would still prefer a nice hot shower or bath, but it wasn’t too bad
Feeling like I am constantly in a parade- people yelling “white woman!” and me having to wave and shake hands when I walk anywhere
Only having electricity for part of the day and having to work around the generator schedule
Being forced to be creative with meals
Sleeping with a bed net
Nothing running as planned or on schedule
Lighting burners with a match
Filtering all my water

Things I will never get used to:
Feeling bloated all the time from the heat and dehydration- seriously I feel about 50 pounds heavier than I am from the bloating. I have also totally gained weight in Liberia. Not happy about that since I gained weight before I left because I assumed that I would loose weight here. My meals are heavily carbohydrate based. I don’t like the food here, but the bread is fresh baked and good. Therefore, I eat a lot of bread. And a lot of canned foods. I have been eating eggs although I do not prefer to because it creeps me out a bit. They are shipped from other countries, despite there being lots of chickens around, and are not refrigerated. I have had a couple of bad ones, but they have been pretty much ok for the most part. As the rainy season, the “hungry season” has been picking up, the food availability in the market has decreased substantially and there are almost no fresh foods available. The things that are available include pineapples, bananas, plantains, tomatoes sometimes (not in Ganta), cucumbers, potatoes, rice, peanuts.… not too much else. SO the fruit I do get is high sugar, starchy fruits, and the vegetables are starchy veggies. A standard meal that we make when the items are available is a pasta salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and chickpeas with garlic and onion and a dressing made of oil and vinegar. Sounds incredibly simple, but it is one of the only things that tastes fresh here. I can’t wait for a nice crisp, cold salad!!! So, back to the start of this little rant- I can’t believe I gained weight. Lots of yoga when I get back and lots of fresh food. Mom, for the short time I am home after Italy, lets keep the refrigerator stocked with all fresh ingredients, K? I can’t wait to go grocery shopping and have options!!
On the topic of food- the stages of eating food with bugs in it. Specifically ants. There are stages of acceptance. 1- throw out the food if you see ants. 2- Pick out the ants/ eat around the ants. 3- eat the food, ants and all. I don't think I will ever get to 3, but I do consider myself at stage 2 1/2- I will pick out the ants, but I will also eat food without even looking for them because I assume that they are in there. Ignorance is bliss!!
Spiders- I have been protected from really massive ones, but there are still some sort of spiders everywhere. I am not as “scared” of the little ones, but I definitely still don’t like them.
Toilets- or lack there of.
Feeling dirty all the time

Things I really miss from home:
Being able to curl up on the couch
Being able to call people easily
My comfy bed
Being able to walk around without flip flops or some sort of foot protection at all times
Going out to a restaurant
Being able to go for a walk without being harassed for money or being shouted at
Yoga studio- I have been able to do it on my own, but so not the same
Being able to work out the way I do at home
An oven
Grocery stores
Running water to wash your hands
Hot baths
My family and friends
William

Things on the agenda to do when I get home/ Europe:
My parents got me a hotel for my overnight layover in Brussels. Thanks mom and dad!!! Things I will do there include a hot bath, nice shower, have a salad for dinner at the restaurant, watch TV in bed, have a cup of tea without sweating.
Things in Italy. See Bill!!!! Have a cappuccino, have more salads, gelato, wine, walking around without people yelling at me, air conditioning, more running water, brushing my teeth without having to use bottled water, the clothes that William is bringing with him- I am sick of wearing the same stuff over and over and over- going swimming on a hot day, relaxing!!!
Home: going grocery shopping and having options for food, hopefully loosing some of this extra weight I packed on, sleeping in, hanging around in my pajamas and enjoying the mornings, seeing friends and family, getting back to a routine.

Things that were good about Liberia:
The people that were here to support me through the hard times
Every day being an adventure- good or bad
Being creative with things to do for fun
Lots of time to read

What I feel that I accomplished here:
Finishing the nutrition cards- visual aids to help with education
Developed good friendships
Brought severely malnourished children to the hospital and got to see some success stories
Learned a bit more about myself
Learned to be very flexible and adaptable
Strengthened relationships with people back home
Helped with some logistical issues in Gbarnga

So there ya go, some wrap up thoughts for Liberia. I will write from here probably one more time, but thanks again to everyone who supported me through this. I think that the first month here was the hardest month of my life, with little exaggeration. I could not have done it without your prayers, support, emails, phone calls, packages and well wishes. Thanks also to all of those who financially contributed to my work here. I was blessed to have to pay very little out of pocket. People from my church, friends, family, Renee and Jon, thank you so much for your contributions. I love you all very much and I can’t wait to see all of you. I will be back in America in 25 days! First though I have to make a stop over in Italy to spend 15 wonderful days with the greatest person in the world. We are planning on traveling all over Italy and I could not be more excited. 10 days until I am in Roma!!!

68 days down, 9 to go!

Some Before and Afters

This week was productive and this weekend was much more eventful than last. Danielle (new Danielle, who is the new project manager for Gbarnga) came this week. Another great girl to have around! Other Danielle and I have be orienting her to the program ot the best of our ability and she is fitting in just fine. She is already the Boss-lady with the staff at the office. On Friday we were able to take 3 children back to their communities after being in the hospital for about a month for severe acute malnutrition. Here are some before and afters. I do not have a before picture for the 3rd little boy, but if you notice from the picture he has a little red car in his hand. Nolan put that car in a package that my mom sent me. It was so sweet, he loved that car but he sent it for me to give to a needy child. Thanks Nolan! The little boy loved it!


Before 1: Kwashiorkor



After 1Before 2: Kwashiorkor


After 2:


After 3


The other before/after was a child with anemia and I posted those pictures on the last blog. There are more before pictures that I took and they are available on my public web albums, I recently put new pictures in albums Liberia, and Liberia 3 and 4:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Nicolechristinebrewer

This weekend was Liberia’s independence day, so we headed up to Ganta to celebrate with some friends and to celebrate a new volunteer’s birthday. We went up Saturday night and made dinner, had birthday cake that we managed to make in Gbarnga, and then went out dancing. So fun. The dance clubs are hilarious. There are mirrors all around and people love to check themselves out while dancing. They will stand directly in front of the mirror and look at themselves- pretty much dancing with themselves. The African ladies said I was a good dancer and were teaching me how to shake it. I’ll take that as an extreme complement. They said I had the African rhythm. I may be very white, but at least I can move like an African!

Sunday we just relaxed and enjoyed the day. Today is the celebration of their independence day so everything is shut down. We are heading back to Gbarnga tomorrow and I will stay there until Sunday then head back here to work at the clinic until Friday. Next Friday I head to Monrovia and then I fly out Monday the 10th! 2 weeks left in Liberia and I can’t wait for vacation! See you all in a little less than 1 month!

Some pictures...

Ok, I am incredibly bored. Danielle went to Monrovia for the weekend to pick up her boyfriend from the airport and I am stuck here with a computer that can’t play movies and no internet. Going a little stir crazy over here. I’m going to try to meet up with some of the expats later tonight if I can. We were supposed to have a staff meeting today, but no one told me that they told the staff to come in Sunday afternoon. What the heck? I got up early, went for a walk and got all dressed because I was expecting them at 8. Oh communication breakdown. I am sitting in the only place I can get internet right now, a music shop/ money exchange/ bootleg DVD sales/ internet spot in town. Good thing it is cheap because I have been using it every day- 50 LD per 20 minutes (about 75 cents).
Here are some pictures... the first before and after for children sent to the hospital (child with anemia), a child with severe malnutrition (Marasmus), me teaching through pictures in a village, me and Danielle before a dinner with expats.

Enjoy!








I leave Liberia 3 weeks from Monday! Thanks for your support. Love you all!

Gumby string bean meets the US ambassador

Hello- sorry it has been a little while since I have written, but I have not had much Internet access for about a week and a half. Just an FYI, I will not have as much access as I did at the beginning of my trip for the rest of the time here in Liberia.

A quick note about the title of the blog... Every time we go into the field we get native names. Mine have meaning ranged from long neck, flexible, long, thin woman.... they might as well name me long string bean. And the second half of the title, I will have to write more about later, but I got to have brunch at the ambassador's house yesterday. She made blueberry pancakes and eggs! Sweet lady and very very interesting! I will write about it more and post pictures. I have about 5 minutes to post this message that I wrote a while ago. So here it is:

Since I last wrote… I had been working in the office finishing up work here from Monday-Thursday. On Thursday, a girl came to stay with me! Her name is Danielle and she is great. We get along wonderfully and we have become instant friends. She is 24 from Canada and she is in Chiropractic school. She has already given me several adjustments and done pressure point work for my rib! Yay! She will be here with me probably until the end of my stay. Which is 5 weeks as of Monday. We have been talking a lot and getting to know each other and she has already been here for me when I have gotten discouraged and down about my work here. Good to have some one to talk to and I am sure that the work will go by so much quicker with her here. Very grateful for the addition to the Gbarnga house.

On Saturday, we got picked up by Dave, and Daniel, stopped by Ganta to get Caitlin and Christopher, and headed to do some hiking on Mount Nimba. This mountain range connects Liberia to Guinea and The Ivory Coast. So technically, I went to 3 countries that weekend. We hiked on Saturday and stayed in a wonderful house at night. The president of ABC (African Bible College) allowed us to stay at his house for the night. Luxury! They had a refrigerator, couches, fans, and even cereal with cold milk! I can’t believe I think these things are luxuries, by the way. But we did get to watch a movie on an actual TV. That was the first TV that I saw since I have been here. We went to a good service on Sunday and headed back to Ganta for a senior staff meeting. After that we had dinner, made from ingredients in the market. We have been able to get pretty creative. The menu: Potato greens (very bitter) sauteed in Garlic and onions and curried squash, and bread.

Monday was a brutally long, all county, end of the month staff meeting. And it was only day 1 out of 2. Everyone there had problems to be resolved and nothing was being done to actually resolve them. It was a frustrating meeting to sit in on. Plus, it turns out that I might not be able to do the clinical work I had hoped to do in Ganta at the end of my stay. I might be here in Gbarnga for the rest of my time. I am saddened by this, but Danielle and I are going to figure out a way that we can volunteer at the local hospital on our own time; just so we can get some more experience. But anyway, by the end of the day I was seriously thinking that I would like to get on a plane and head back to the US because I was so frustrated, but I overcame that and brushed it off. Some of us left a bit early and headed to the market to get more things for dinner. I will be so happy to go to a grocery store when I get back. Seriously, there are only 4-5 ingredients available at the market on any given day. We wanted to make sweet potato fries and a cucumber salad and some lentils, but guess what? No lentils, sweet potatoes or cucumber that day, despite the fact that it was there the previous day. So, again with potato greens and this time we just cubed the squash and cooked it with the greens. Not too exciting. But Ganta does have the best bread in Liberia, so we each had pretty much a Baguette to ourselves. Hey, it is delicious and filling. I thought the rest of the meal was fine, but other people thought it was gross. Vegetables are scarce in Liberia… sad vegetarian and RD.

Tuesday, Danielle and I worked on the pilot nutrition component of the PD hearth sessions that we will be implementing this week. A refresher: we are creating cards with food items pictured on them. Participants of the training sessions will be asked to identify which food are a protein “body building” food, a “protective food” aka fruits and veggies, and an energy food, aka starches and fat. Then, they will be asked to create a complete “mixed” food with the pictures. A complete food involves a protein, energy and protective food. We had taken pictures of foods at the market earlier and printed them on card stock, then laminated them. I am amazed about how much you can do in the middle of nowhere with the proper technology! Tomorrow we will be writing scripts for the back of the cards explaining the answers and at least one key fact of why that particular food is important to the diet (ex: greens à a protective food à high in vitamin A à good for the eyes). That is as complicated as we can get. So hopefully having a bit of activity in the sessions will be good for the learning process. But we’ll see in the next 2 weeks.

Wednesday, Danielle and I went out into the field to pick up some of the severely malnourished children to take them to the major hospital in Bong County, Phoebe Hospital. Oh, what an ordeal. There is a severe lack of communication in the field because cell phone coverage is horrible, plus people just don’t inform others the way they need to. We went about an hour into the field to pick up one child that ended up not being there. On our way back we had to cross a bridge that was just a couple of logs stuck next to each other- not tied together. So, we ended up not making it across this “bridge.” The tire slipped and went in between 2 of the logs. It was a bit scary because the jeep started to tip towards the side that I was on. We quickly jumped out of the car, but then it took an hour for us to get un-stuck. Another hour back. But we did end up bringing one child back.

She had Kwashiorkor and Marasmus. We took her and her mom to the hospital and we will be taking them back to their village in 3-4 weeks. Hopefully I will have a good “after” picture to post before I leave. The rest of the week was pretty much the same. Each day we went out and picked up another child and brought them to the hospital. 4 children in total. I am really praying for their recoveries.

Saturday was a good day. We went to Kristen and Tate’s for dinner and to celebrate the 4^th of July. We had fried plantains, wine, macaroni and cheese, and the largest papaya ever seen for dessert. I will post a pic when able.

Happy Birthday Mom and Michelle! Glad I got to talk to you both. I also got to talk to Renee, Nolan, Mia, my mom and dad and Mr. K. Nolan was so cute on Saturday. He said, “I am at Grammy’s, you are in Africa!” So sweet. I miss the nugget and squishy so much!

This week was pretty frustrating. Danielle and I were supposed to be out in the field Monday and Wednesday, but the vehicle for the Gbarnga office was is in Monrovia with Dr. George. We have the nutrition intervention designed, yet we cannot get out and implement it. So frustrating. Monday we had a meeting with some staff members to clear up some discrepancies and that was frustrating as well. I find the one man difficult to work with because he is right and everyone else is wrong. It is very difficult to get things done with that attitude, as you can surely imagine. We did get out to one community Wednesday and the test run was a success. Some kinks to work out, but overall, pretty good. Thursday is another office day. Danielle and I have become the people that everyone comes to complain to. So, we have become logistical people in the office and we are trying to resolve a lot of issues. Not what I expected to do here, but hopefully we can help prevent further issues for future workers and volunteers.

Other fun things this week- on Tuesday we went to dinner at some Peace Corps volunteers’ house. Here is a picture of all of us. Kristen and Maya are heading back to the States for a couple of months and I wont see them again here L Tate will be around still, so the rest of us expats need to keep him company while his girls are away.

The expats...

This weekend, Danielle, Caitlin and I are going to Monrovia. Amy, a director for equip, is having a house warming party at her place right on the beach. Should be a good time, plus we have to stop and get Pizza! Bruce, where was that good place again? We can also do some grocery shopping and stock up for the next month or so. There are no restaurants or stores out here, so we have been a bit depleted on food items. Living on canned and packaged food and whatever fresh things we can get our hands on like squash, cabbage, lentils, sometimes tomatoes, and bananas. Not to diverse of a diet and severely lacking in green leafy vegetables! Lack of infrastructure. As always though, it was good to hear from the peace corps volunteers that this was the hardest place they have ever been to and the most underdeveloped. It makes me feel better that I am not the only one that feels like the situation in the bush is rough.

So, that is kind of that. We are pretty bored here without Internet. Sorry if this entry is long and boring. Thanks for all the emails and support and prayers! Again, please accept my apology if I have not gotten back to you via email. I am now sharing 1 Internet “stick” with 4 people, and it doesn’t even work right now because EQUIP forgot to pay the bill. But I ill respond soon, I promise. I am over halfway done now! 5 weeks left! Still need the prayers to finish up this experience strong with a positive attitude…

I will post the pictures when I can.

Love you!

-Nicole

I got all the shampoo out of my hair today!

Since I have been here, I have found it extremely difficult to wash my hair with the bucket shower. I never seem to be able to get all the shampoo out of my hair! Well, today I finally succeeded at doing just that. For me, getting through the days is about the small victories. However, I have yet to successfully take a shower/ bucket bath without getting the floor completely soaked as I transfer water from the barrel to the smaller bucket and then dump the water on myself. Oh well, baby steps.

Other things I am grateful for: My mom sending good smelling deodorant and body spray (the travel Dr. told me not to bring anything scented because it attracts bugs, so I brought unscented deodorant, unscented... everything!) Having the good smelling things makes me feel like a girl.
I am also thankful for the baby wipes she sent- the bucket bath really doesn't leave you feeling 100% clean.
Keeping up with cleanliness, I have thankful for the new toothbrushes and mouth wash that my mom sent- I didn't write about this before but the other day when I was getting ready to brush my teeth I saw something really really disgusting on the brush. It was... wait for it... ready...make sure your not eating... LARVA! Ewww! I kept my toothbrush in a plastic travel toothbrush container too. I feel like my teeth and finally clean now.
Also- for the earrings that Mrs. Coglianese bought me for my birthday last year. They are light weight and a good size and perfect to wear on days when I want to feel a little more like a girl and normal- you know, like days I find Larva on my toothbrush.
Thanks also to everyone at Valley View- my church took a collection for baby clothes and toys. EQUIP makes them into "baby kits" designed to encourage mothers to give birth in the clinics rather than in the bush where the infant and maternal mortality rate is much higher. I will present them to the clinic when I arrive in a couple of weeks.

Today was just an office day, nothing too exciting to report. But, I can tell you that after several days of organizing data I can finally now write in my report that the baseline data for the PD Hearth intervention is as follows: There are 35 targeted communities, and in these communities the total number of children ages 6-36 months is 1080. Of those 1080, 46% are malnourished. Of that 46%, 8% are severely malnourished. Seriously... took all day and some of yesterday to be able to come to that. Data was everywhere! But hey, at least now we know and we can set some good goals towards lowering the malnutrition rate. Tomorrow I will write up my report and include what the target reduction rates should be. Another office day. But the new girl, Danielle, should be coming up soon and we will begin to implement an idea that Caitlin and I came up with for improving understanding (an interactive activity involving local foods).

Hope everyone enjoyed the pictures. Carla, did you see the pictures with the little girl with the bracelet on that your kids made? Kids from my church made a whole bunch of bracelets with different colored beads on them. Each bead tells about the story of Jesus: Black- for our sin, Red- for the blood Jesus shed for us, White- to represent that our sins were forgiven and washed white as snow when Jesus died on the cross, Green- for our growth and walk with Jesus through going to church and reading the bible, and Yellow- for the streets of Gold in heaven. It makes sharing the message very clear and easy even though communication here is sometimes a challenge. The adults liked them too and I saw some of them wearing the bracelets themselves. Thanks so much for making them!

Have a great week!

Love,
Nicole

A night of few words....

I was not going to write anything today because I am feeling rather terse, but at the request of my momma... here is a little something.

First of all, new pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/Nicolechristinebrewer/Liberia2?feat=directlink

These are pictures of my time in Ganta, BBQ from 2 weekends ago, trips to the field and the clinic and my weekend in Robertsport (a beach). I had a nice weekend away after feeling frustrated during the week. A nice little beach escape.

I also talked to Audry, one of the directors this weekend and talked over my plans for the coming weeks. We decided that I would spend 3-4 weeks here (hopefully 3) working on the PD Hearth nutrition intervention, and then going to Ganta to work at the clinic there for the rest of the time. I feel more useful at the clinic and I really need the hands on time, rather than all the time spent here in the office. The new girl, Danielle, will come up here this week, so it will be nice to have a buddy finally!

In other news.... poor little Daniele, the really sad case from the last post, didn't make it. I am very saddened by this, but hope to make a difference in the fututre at the clinic and through my work with prevention here. Thanks for your prayers, the little guy is free from pain and home with God now.

Love you all, and I promise I will write more next time!

-Nicole