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
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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
First of all, new pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/Nicolechristinebr
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
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The good... the sad
I'll start of with a picture of Caitlin in front of a beautiful Methodist church in Ganta. On Saturday Kristen and Tate (American friends) called and asked me if I would like to go to Ganta for the day (the town I was in 2 weeks ago for a bit- where Caitlin lives). Shopping around here is poor, so we went there to buy baskets for Kristen to take back for gifts, sat down and had a cold coke in town (there are no real restaurants in Gbarnga), got some really good fresh baked bread right out of the clay oven, hung out with Caitlin, and drove back. It is about a 3 hour round trip, but it was worth it to get out of Gbarnga for a bit- there isn't too much to do here. But at least now I have some friends!
Speaking of friends, Kristen and Tate had a BBQ on Sunday for all of the Expats in the area. There were about 10-15 people there. The people were from France, Canada, USA, and Lebanon, and all had interesting stories and were doing interesting work here in Liberia. It was a potluck and I enjoyed some good food. The Lebanese people brought tabbouleh and hummus, I made fried plantains (there was another nutrition girl there and that's what we made together- funny how we made the fried food), grilled mangoes, grilled eggplant, and people bought beer and sodas and they also made kabobs. It was incredibly "normal." I didn't feel like I was in Liberia. An oasis for an afternoon! In the first picture is a women who works for Kirsten and Tate, a man who has been here for over 20 years, and the man playing the guitar was an American who came with the peace corps for their trial period in Liberia (I think I mentioned before about how the Peace Corps is just doing a trial run here with people who have already completed at least 2 years in the Corps because Liberia is just becoming stable and they don't want to send new volunteers here- glad I came as a newbie haha). 
Our host Tate grilling up some corn, mangoes, kabobs, and eggplant
Kristen and Tate's daughter Maya. She is very cute, creative, fun, and a bit of a ham in front of a camera. Another redhead in Liberia (both her parents have brown hair- I'm not the only one)Okay- now the sad...
On Tuesday I went to the local hospital, Phebe Hospital, where the area acute nutrition center is. I went to observe a friend Kyla (another one of those Peace Corps people) at the clinic and helped with the weighing/ measuring the children. It was an emotional day for me. I have seen pictures in books regarding severe acute malnutrition, but being there in person is quite different. It was interesting to see some of the "textbook" malnutrition cases. When I first got there, the nurse's aid showed me a case of Kwashiorkor and a case of Marasmus. Kwashiorkor is a form protein energy malnutrition where the child exhibits the characteristics of swollen bellies, lethargy and flaky, peeling skin with sores, and Marasmus is also known as wasting where the child has an "old man" face, saggy loose skin, and discoloration of hair- it turns red.
We then went to the outpatient clinic where they were doing growth monitoring and looking for new cases that needed to be admitted into the nutrition clinic for an extended period. 2 children were identified as being malnourished- one severe and one moderate but borderline. The severe child had Kwashiorkor and was severely stunted. He was about Nolan's (my nephew who is 3 years 9 months) height but was 8 years old. He was very lethargic and had sores on his body (with Kwashiorkor the skin stretches from edema, gets flaky and can break open). The other child was 1 1/2 years old and was very skinny, stunted and only had 2 teeth. He was 75% weight for age, but it was not enough to admit him right away because the UNICEF cut off that they use is less than 70%. His grandmother had brought him because the child's mother was sick and could not breastfeed and she could not feed him properly. We had to advocate a bit to have him admitted because even though he was considered moderate at this time, it was likely that his condition would soon deteriorate because he wasn't eating.
Here is the 8 year old...
It is difficult to tell how severe this child's case is in the picture- except the fact that he is 8 years old and about the size of a 3-4 year old. FYI I am testing his Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) in this picture. He had all the signs of Kwashiorkor - swollen belly, legs, arms and face, skin lesions, and lethargy. We tested for edema by pushing down on the feet with our thumbs. If it leaves an imprint on both feet it is called bi-lateral pitting edema, which he had, and it is considered severe. His tummy was swollen but not too bad, but his legs, feet and face were all swollen, and his skin had lesions and was flaky and cracked. The Kwashiorkor is severe acute malnutrition and the stunting is evidence of chronic, or long term, malnutrition. It was sad to see the clinic's response to the stunting. I asked what they would do for him and they said, "it is poverty." Very matter of fact. They had plans to address his acute symptoms of edema, but not the chronic condition which will affect/ has affected his mental capacity and ability to thrive as a child. It really hit me how stunted this child was when I thought about how an 8 year old is a child in approximately 3rd grade in the United States.
These pictures are not great because I did not have the flash on. I was trying not to draw any more attention to this case with a large flash. But, the purpose of this picture is to show the bilateral pitting edema- severely swollen legs.
Me testing the MUACThe worst case- which I do not have a picture of because it was just too sad- was an 18 month old child who was such bad shape that I had to stop and pray for him with his mother. I don't get that sudden urge like that often, seeing him just hit me really hard emotionally. He was- I would guess- about the size of a 4 month old. His little body was covered with blisters and sores because he originally had edema. The swelling had gone down but the sores had gotten infected and he developed septic shock. He was "awake" but looked almost unconscious. His eyes were rolled back into his head and his breathing was very labored. For any doctors or nurses out there, this country is in severe need of properly trained medical staff. The nurses had not contacted the Dr. yet because they said they would do it when his condition got worse. Worse? If he got any worse he would be dead! Some of the staff said he was eating, some said he wasn't. It did not appear that anyone was monitoring his breathing or heart (something they should definitely be doing with septic shock). He should have also been placed on an IV drip of dextrose and water (sugar water), but had not as of yet. Also, protocol for septic shock according to UNICEF is to place a naso gastric feeding tube for feedings rather than rely on oral intake. They promised they would call the doctor, but just in case Kyla and I decided to alert the Dr. ourselves. The child's name is Daniele. Please pray for him.
One more comment about this countries need for trained, educated medical staff. The nurse told Kyla that the swelling of Kwashiorkor was due to too much sodium in the blood. No! Any medical professional knows that Kwashiorkor is a protein- energy form of malnutrition. It is fluid build up as a result of the child not getting adequate nutrition. Uh! I had to bight my tongue. Kyla said she would write about it in her review of the program. The children in the clinic also had no toys and really nothing to do all day. The children just sat in their beds and stared. Kyla might start a program there for arts and crafts with the children and the mothers to make toys. A possible problem identified with these mothers with malnourished children is that they do not seem to spend enough time with them. Hopefully Kyla can create something to give the children something fun to do while also promoting material- child bonding for love, support and development.
I can't leave this all sad...
A success story! This child has been in the nutrition unit of the hospital for 1 month. When she arrived she was unable to walk, unable to communicate, and was severely wasted (thin). She is now all smiles and very sweet!Today I was supposed to go out into the field, however, there was a problem with logistics yesterday and they are a day behind (which is really 2 days behind at this point). Also, the driver's child was convulsing last night and they had to take her to the hospital. So, first, pray for her, but this means we have no vehicle to get around. So, office day for me, which is fine, I have work to do. Hopefully tomorrow I will be out in the field for the rest of the week assisting with Village Health Educator training and also observation of meal preparation in the community so I can determine serving sizes and portion distribution to accurately conduct a nutrient analysis on typical Liberian dishes.
Thanks for all your support and nice comments. Adam- thanks for the words of encouragement and sharing your story. Carla, thanks for praying away the spiders! I saw a bunch in my room a couple days in a row, but now I have not seen one for several days. So, thanks!
Love you all lots! Please keep me updated with your lives in the States!
-Nicole
Friday, June 12, 2009
I've got to admit it's getting better... a little better all the time
Hello! Happy Friday. Sorry I have been a little down this week, but thanks everyone so much for offering me words of encouragement, support and prayer. I really needed it this week and it got me out of my funk. Definitely still adjusting, but I have a new outlook. I had to accept the fact that I might not be doing everything exactly the way I thought I would here, but I have a great opportunity to learn a lot and hopefully help some people in need. I am supposed to be here and I will benefit from this experience. I might not be able to see the reason for being in Liberia now, or even before I leave, but I will eventually.
That said, I am still happy that the countdown is now in the 50's. Less than 2 months. Although I am happy to be here and happy to be doing work and happy to have the opportunity to learn... I am not happy about the bugs, spiders, bucket showers, lack of electricity, practically living alone etc. I probably will never be used to those things, but I can suck it up for the next 59 days :) Eyes on the prize... I already have a hostel booked for the end with a real shower and everything! Very much looking forward to my 2 week vacation after I leave and before school starts up again. Focus Nicole! First Liberia.
My week has gotten better every day and I have started to feel happier and more like myself. Overview of the week:
Monday- met the staff. Great people- very nice and welcoming. Worked on some assignments. Some that I was given, some that I took the liberty to complete to pass the time.
Tuesday- Kept working... all day in the office. It's hot in here! Crappy ventilation.
Wednesday- Finished up most of my assignments. I have been working on a nutrition database of commonly consumed foods in Liberia, nutritional guidelines for children 0-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months, 12-24 months and 2-5 years and sample menus for each age group. It was a little difficult because they eat a lot of different foods than I am used to working with (cassava, fufu, bugs-seriously) and they call things different names (mangoes- German plums, eggplant-bitterball, fish with bones- boni, sesame seeds- Benny seed, avocado- butter pear, etc, etc), but I got it done. I have some adjustments to make, but on the right track. With that info I am going to go out into the field and observe some meals being prepared in various villages. I will weigh and measure the food and then be able to do a full workup and nutrient analysis of the main dishes eaten in Bong County. The whole process will probably take all summer.
At night I went over to the American couple's house that I met last weekend. It was nice to have a nice home cooked meal and good company! Thanks again Kristen and Tate and little mya!
Thursday- THE DR IS FINALLY HERE! And he brought with him a fan sent from the Monrovia office! My room is much cooler now, at least while the generator is on. 3-4 hours a day is better than nothing! Dr. George helped me download some software I will need on my computer and introduced me to the program. He pointed me in the right direction and I have been reading up on all the past data from the project. It is still in the pilot phase, so it is interesting to see all of the trials and errors.
Friday- Same stuff as yesterday. Lots of reading, but at least I have a purpose. I will hear summaries from the staff regarding their Positive Deviance inquiry on Monday and they will give a brief presentation about the community members they selected to be community health ambassadors and village health educators. Then Tuesday- Saturday (hopefully) I will go out into the villages with them to assist/ observe the training of the CHAs and VHE. I am also hoping to use this opportunity to go into people's homes and observe meal preparation and begin that part of my the one project. After next week, hopefully I will know enough about the program start heading up the clinical nutrition portion of it a bit more. Another thing I am hoping to do soon is go to the main hospital here and observe the treatment of the sever acute malnutrition cases. I met a Peace Corps worker and she is working in the hospital's acute care nutrition center. Hopefully I will get to shadow her sometime soon. It will be very sad, but a necessary part of my training and education.
Another answer to prayer... there is another person coming up here later in the month! A 25 year old Canadian girl! It will be nice to have the company. The Dr. is here now, but he pretty much keeps to himself. Another person to converse with will definitely make the time here more bearable.
So- thats my week. Tomorrow I still have some more reading and work to do here, and if I have time I want to go to the tailor to get some skirts made. I bought pretty fabric (they call them lappas here- big pieces of fabric that women use as skirts, dresses, and to sling their babies on their back), and to get a skirt made it is only about 5-8 USD. Good deal! Sunday I am going to a BBQ/ potluck with about 10 expats from the area. Looking forward to something normal.
One more thing. I would like to thank everyone who contributed towards the financial costs of my work in Liberia. After Tufts only gave me $800 rather than the $2000 they originally quoted, I thought I would have to pay a lot out of pocket. As of right now, I am only about $600 short of my projected costs ( including living expenses for the next 2 months- it could be less) and my current costs are almost covered. $600 out of pocket is MUCH better than I was expecting and I am truly grateful for all of the support! An extra special thanks to Renee and Jon! Wouldn't have come close without your help! I will do my best to do good work here and prove to be a good investment! And big thank yous again to the wonderful William, my parents and all my great friends for their support and words of encouragement these past two rough weeks!
Well goodnight, the generator is shut off now- which pretty much indicates time for bed! Hope you enjoyed the pictures from the last post!
-Nicole
That said, I am still happy that the countdown is now in the 50's. Less than 2 months. Although I am happy to be here and happy to be doing work and happy to have the opportunity to learn... I am not happy about the bugs, spiders, bucket showers, lack of electricity, practically living alone etc. I probably will never be used to those things, but I can suck it up for the next 59 days :) Eyes on the prize... I already have a hostel booked for the end with a real shower and everything! Very much looking forward to my 2 week vacation after I leave and before school starts up again. Focus Nicole! First Liberia.
My week has gotten better every day and I have started to feel happier and more like myself. Overview of the week:
Monday- met the staff. Great people- very nice and welcoming. Worked on some assignments. Some that I was given, some that I took the liberty to complete to pass the time.
Tuesday- Kept working... all day in the office. It's hot in here! Crappy ventilation.
Wednesday- Finished up most of my assignments. I have been working on a nutrition database of commonly consumed foods in Liberia, nutritional guidelines for children 0-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months, 12-24 months and 2-5 years and sample menus for each age group. It was a little difficult because they eat a lot of different foods than I am used to working with (cassava, fufu, bugs-seriously) and they call things different names (mangoes- German plums, eggplant-bitterball, fish with bones- boni, sesame seeds- Benny seed, avocado- butter pear, etc, etc), but I got it done. I have some adjustments to make, but on the right track. With that info I am going to go out into the field and observe some meals being prepared in various villages. I will weigh and measure the food and then be able to do a full workup and nutrient analysis of the main dishes eaten in Bong County. The whole process will probably take all summer.
At night I went over to the American couple's house that I met last weekend. It was nice to have a nice home cooked meal and good company! Thanks again Kristen and Tate and little mya!
Thursday- THE DR IS FINALLY HERE! And he brought with him a fan sent from the Monrovia office! My room is much cooler now, at least while the generator is on. 3-4 hours a day is better than nothing! Dr. George helped me download some software I will need on my computer and introduced me to the program. He pointed me in the right direction and I have been reading up on all the past data from the project. It is still in the pilot phase, so it is interesting to see all of the trials and errors.
Friday- Same stuff as yesterday. Lots of reading, but at least I have a purpose. I will hear summaries from the staff regarding their Positive Deviance inquiry on Monday and they will give a brief presentation about the community members they selected to be community health ambassadors and village health educators. Then Tuesday- Saturday (hopefully) I will go out into the villages with them to assist/ observe the training of the CHAs and VHE. I am also hoping to use this opportunity to go into people's homes and observe meal preparation and begin that part of my the one project. After next week, hopefully I will know enough about the program start heading up the clinical nutrition portion of it a bit more. Another thing I am hoping to do soon is go to the main hospital here and observe the treatment of the sever acute malnutrition cases. I met a Peace Corps worker and she is working in the hospital's acute care nutrition center. Hopefully I will get to shadow her sometime soon. It will be very sad, but a necessary part of my training and education.
Another answer to prayer... there is another person coming up here later in the month! A 25 year old Canadian girl! It will be nice to have the company. The Dr. is here now, but he pretty much keeps to himself. Another person to converse with will definitely make the time here more bearable.
So- thats my week. Tomorrow I still have some more reading and work to do here, and if I have time I want to go to the tailor to get some skirts made. I bought pretty fabric (they call them lappas here- big pieces of fabric that women use as skirts, dresses, and to sling their babies on their back), and to get a skirt made it is only about 5-8 USD. Good deal! Sunday I am going to a BBQ/ potluck with about 10 expats from the area. Looking forward to something normal.
One more thing. I would like to thank everyone who contributed towards the financial costs of my work in Liberia. After Tufts only gave me $800 rather than the $2000 they originally quoted, I thought I would have to pay a lot out of pocket. As of right now, I am only about $600 short of my projected costs ( including living expenses for the next 2 months- it could be less) and my current costs are almost covered. $600 out of pocket is MUCH better than I was expecting and I am truly grateful for all of the support! An extra special thanks to Renee and Jon! Wouldn't have come close without your help! I will do my best to do good work here and prove to be a good investment! And big thank yous again to the wonderful William, my parents and all my great friends for their support and words of encouragement these past two rough weeks!
Well goodnight, the generator is shut off now- which pretty much indicates time for bed! Hope you enjoyed the pictures from the last post!
-Nicole
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
PICTURES!!!!
Pictures from my last 2 weeks.....
http://picasaweb.google.com/Nicolechristinebrewer/Liberia#5345732061619861234
http://picasaweb.google.com/Nicolechristinebrewer/Liberia#5345732061619861234
A bit discouraged…but OK
Trying very hard to feel optimistic right now, but it is a little difficult when I have not yet begun to do what I came to Liberia to do. I am awaiting the arrival of the Doctor in charge of the program. It is my understanding that I will spend about a week with him, learn the nutrition program, and take it over until a full time Nutritionist is hired (maybe in a month or so). Right now, however, I am sitting in the office all day (the office is also my house) working on nutritional databases and reference material for the staff. I was only asked to do part of it right now, but I took on more based on my time availability and the quality of their current references and resources. Since I am here and I have time, might as well re-vamp! Sorry I do not have something more exciting to report. 
Here is a pic of my beautiful staff and my current work environment. The people are very sweet and are always re-assuring me that they are here if I need anything.
One more thing…. I met an American couple the other day (via this blog) and they are having me over for dinner tonight. That will be a nice break. On Sunday I met them and they drove me all around the area and introduced me to some other expats. Good people! Grateful for the western community out here- makes things feel a little more like home.
Hope all is well!
Love,
Nicole
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Welcome to the Jungle then back in Bong
First... some pictures. Yay got some to work!
Market. Big pile of chili peppers.
Me- sweaty, no make up, tired African version of me- at the Gbargna town center.
Me in front of my house/office
My room complete with bed net. I'll pretend its a princess bed.
Hello! Back in Gbargna. It has been a pretty intense couple of days. Last time I wrote- really wrote, besides the poll- I said I was going to Monrovia to help write a proposal. Well that didn't happen. It turned out that it was going to be too much and too rushed to get the proposal in on time. So... I ended up going to a town called Ganta instead. It is a town in the next county over called Nimba. The first day we rushed to try to get started and then we came to the conclusion that we would wait until a better time. So we decided to explore Ganta. I was with Caitlin, Caleb, Dave (the director) and Mark, who works at the office in Ganta. We went grocery shopping in the market and then went to look at a village who had received bed nets near by.
-EQUIP has been distributing bed nets that were donated from USAID as part of the President's initiative against malaria. They have distributed thousands of nets so far all over Liberia and are continuing to distribute more-
We checked the houses to see if they had their nets hung properly, answered questions, played with the kids, and prayed with the families. We then found some awesome bread from a clay oven baker and went back to the house. Caitlin and I cooked up a meal using the ingredients we bought at the market that day. It was an interesting concoction, but it was good- stir fry of cassava leaves, onion, garlic, coconut milk right out of the coconut, peanuts, eggplant and okra- like I said, quite the combo of foods! We ate it with lentils and had a fresh mango and coconut for dessert. Who says you can't be a vegetarian in Liberia (although to be honest, it is quite difficult- I miss veggies! More on that later). After 10 the generator shuts off there and we sat around talking for a bit over candlelight.
The next day, Thursday, was a totally different day. Caitlin and I went for a walk to the local school and introduced ourselves. The situation there was sad, but it turns out Caitlin will be able to help. There are only several teachers there because they cannot afford to hire more. Each teacher is only paid about 400 LD a month, which is about $6-7 a month. Also, many Liberian children cannot afford to go to school, yet school fees are only about 800 LD a year, less than $12 a year. Evidence of a very poor country. Then, the whirlwind set in. Dave decided he wanted to drive us way into the bush, into the jungle, to check out more of the bed net distribution and to distribute bed nets ourselves. We drove to a remote village called Tappita. That night we slept in a mud hut in the jungle... literally. Caitlin and I shared a local women's bed (no she was not sharing the bed also) and neither of us really slept at all. I saw a big hand sized spider earlier that day and it freaked me out. I started crying on the spot. I was exhausted and it was pretty much the last straw for the very long day. Not to mention that my Fibromyalgia was in full flare up mode, so I felt pretty sick. Definitely a moment that I had to question why I came to Liberia.
The next day, we "woke up" at 6 and got dressed and went and had bread and tea (first tea since home!) for breakfast. We then loaded up about 2,000 bed nets in the van and we were off. We visited a town and met a wonderful family, checked to see if they had bed nets and then drove to another town to hand them out. Everyone in the village came out and was cheering and were so happy that we were there. We instructed them on how to hang and take care of the nets and played with the kids. There was a funny moment where we asked the kids to sing something and one little girl started singing a western pop song- Akon. We also scared some little kids when we went to say hello. They had never seen a white person before. We then drove for a while to a lovely little town where the people were friendly, but we did make kids cry again. They have a special name they yell for white people in their tribal language, but I can't remember how to say it. Checked the bed nets, shook hands, played with kids, prayed with families. The last 2 villages were very remote and picturesque. Sandy ground, palm trees, huts with a grass roof. Same pattern here- made kids cry- checked nets, talked, shook hands. I also got beat at a game of checkers by a fine Liberian adversary. I think he made up some new rules though. They expressed graditute that we were there. It was a good last village to stop at. We had one final stop at a clinic and headed home. Finally getting back to Ganta around 9. We were exhausted because we had not slept the night before and we had not eaten a real meal all day, just snacks and juice. I was getting kind of delirious by the time I went to bed.
Today we woke up, took a long walk, got a little burned (the African sun is not meant for people as pale as me), shopped in the market, stopped by the leprosy clinic and bought some things they had made to support their rehab center and went back for lunch. All I seem to eat here is peanut butter, bread and mangoes. Oatmeal for breakfast and some other concoction for dinner (tonight it was a can of corn, peanut butter and crackers and a mango- hey it is weird, but its all I can cook in my place and its 5 food groups!) Standard eating for a veggie here in Liberia. The veggies they do eat, as far as I have seen are sweet potatoes, cassava (a potato like root), okra and the leaves of the cassava and the potatoes. Sometimes squash. I miss fresh summer veggies that you don't have to boil and serve in a heavy soup!
Finally back in Gbargna. A family sent me a message on an earlier blog and said they are from the US working over here and they live right by me! I called them tonight and they said they would meet up tomorrow and maybe get the chance to introduce me to some other expats from all over! Thanks Kate and Tate! It is coming at a good time because I have been feeling down about being alone here. Oh, I forgot to mention, for now I live alone at the office. I have also been going through periods of wondering if I made the right decision to come here. I actually get to my nutrition work this week which will be great because I have been feeling without a purpose here. Need to get to work! Still not used to the little things like the bugs in food when I cook, no running water, washing with dirty looking well water, lack of vegetarian food and the fact that it is 90 + degrees plus humidity and I don't have a fan or anything. Sweaty! The heat is getting to me. Sorry, I don't mean to complain. Just some things I will have to get used to.
I'll work on the other picture requests. Hopefully this will do. It took a long time to upload. I didn't have my camera for the cute town visits because I thought I was going to be doing nothing by writing a proposal when I packed. Caitlin took some thought, so I will steel some off of her next time I head out to Ganta or she visits here.
Love you! Miss you!
Market. Big pile of chili peppers.
Me- sweaty, no make up, tired African version of me- at the Gbargna town center.
Me in front of my house/office
My room complete with bed net. I'll pretend its a princess bed.
Hello! Back in Gbargna. It has been a pretty intense couple of days. Last time I wrote- really wrote, besides the poll- I said I was going to Monrovia to help write a proposal. Well that didn't happen. It turned out that it was going to be too much and too rushed to get the proposal in on time. So... I ended up going to a town called Ganta instead. It is a town in the next county over called Nimba. The first day we rushed to try to get started and then we came to the conclusion that we would wait until a better time. So we decided to explore Ganta. I was with Caitlin, Caleb, Dave (the director) and Mark, who works at the office in Ganta. We went grocery shopping in the market and then went to look at a village who had received bed nets near by.
-EQUIP has been distributing bed nets that were donated from USAID as part of the President's initiative against malaria. They have distributed thousands of nets so far all over Liberia and are continuing to distribute more-
We checked the houses to see if they had their nets hung properly, answered questions, played with the kids, and prayed with the families. We then found some awesome bread from a clay oven baker and went back to the house. Caitlin and I cooked up a meal using the ingredients we bought at the market that day. It was an interesting concoction, but it was good- stir fry of cassava leaves, onion, garlic, coconut milk right out of the coconut, peanuts, eggplant and okra- like I said, quite the combo of foods! We ate it with lentils and had a fresh mango and coconut for dessert. Who says you can't be a vegetarian in Liberia (although to be honest, it is quite difficult- I miss veggies! More on that later). After 10 the generator shuts off there and we sat around talking for a bit over candlelight.
The next day, Thursday, was a totally different day. Caitlin and I went for a walk to the local school and introduced ourselves. The situation there was sad, but it turns out Caitlin will be able to help. There are only several teachers there because they cannot afford to hire more. Each teacher is only paid about 400 LD a month, which is about $6-7 a month. Also, many Liberian children cannot afford to go to school, yet school fees are only about 800 LD a year, less than $12 a year. Evidence of a very poor country. Then, the whirlwind set in. Dave decided he wanted to drive us way into the bush, into the jungle, to check out more of the bed net distribution and to distribute bed nets ourselves. We drove to a remote village called Tappita. That night we slept in a mud hut in the jungle... literally. Caitlin and I shared a local women's bed (no she was not sharing the bed also) and neither of us really slept at all. I saw a big hand sized spider earlier that day and it freaked me out. I started crying on the spot. I was exhausted and it was pretty much the last straw for the very long day. Not to mention that my Fibromyalgia was in full flare up mode, so I felt pretty sick. Definitely a moment that I had to question why I came to Liberia.
The next day, we "woke up" at 6 and got dressed and went and had bread and tea (first tea since home!) for breakfast. We then loaded up about 2,000 bed nets in the van and we were off. We visited a town and met a wonderful family, checked to see if they had bed nets and then drove to another town to hand them out. Everyone in the village came out and was cheering and were so happy that we were there. We instructed them on how to hang and take care of the nets and played with the kids. There was a funny moment where we asked the kids to sing something and one little girl started singing a western pop song- Akon. We also scared some little kids when we went to say hello. They had never seen a white person before. We then drove for a while to a lovely little town where the people were friendly, but we did make kids cry again. They have a special name they yell for white people in their tribal language, but I can't remember how to say it. Checked the bed nets, shook hands, played with kids, prayed with families. The last 2 villages were very remote and picturesque. Sandy ground, palm trees, huts with a grass roof. Same pattern here- made kids cry- checked nets, talked, shook hands. I also got beat at a game of checkers by a fine Liberian adversary. I think he made up some new rules though. They expressed graditute that we were there. It was a good last village to stop at. We had one final stop at a clinic and headed home. Finally getting back to Ganta around 9. We were exhausted because we had not slept the night before and we had not eaten a real meal all day, just snacks and juice. I was getting kind of delirious by the time I went to bed.
Today we woke up, took a long walk, got a little burned (the African sun is not meant for people as pale as me), shopped in the market, stopped by the leprosy clinic and bought some things they had made to support their rehab center and went back for lunch. All I seem to eat here is peanut butter, bread and mangoes. Oatmeal for breakfast and some other concoction for dinner (tonight it was a can of corn, peanut butter and crackers and a mango- hey it is weird, but its all I can cook in my place and its 5 food groups!) Standard eating for a veggie here in Liberia. The veggies they do eat, as far as I have seen are sweet potatoes, cassava (a potato like root), okra and the leaves of the cassava and the potatoes. Sometimes squash. I miss fresh summer veggies that you don't have to boil and serve in a heavy soup!
Finally back in Gbargna. A family sent me a message on an earlier blog and said they are from the US working over here and they live right by me! I called them tonight and they said they would meet up tomorrow and maybe get the chance to introduce me to some other expats from all over! Thanks Kate and Tate! It is coming at a good time because I have been feeling down about being alone here. Oh, I forgot to mention, for now I live alone at the office. I have also been going through periods of wondering if I made the right decision to come here. I actually get to my nutrition work this week which will be great because I have been feeling without a purpose here. Need to get to work! Still not used to the little things like the bugs in food when I cook, no running water, washing with dirty looking well water, lack of vegetarian food and the fact that it is 90 + degrees plus humidity and I don't have a fan or anything. Sweaty! The heat is getting to me. Sorry, I don't mean to complain. Just some things I will have to get used to.
I'll work on the other picture requests. Hopefully this will do. It took a long time to upload. I didn't have my camera for the cute town visits because I thought I was going to be doing nothing by writing a proposal when I packed. Caitlin took some thought, so I will steel some off of her next time I head out to Ganta or she visits here.
Love you! Miss you!
Picture Poll
This is a short one- I have been on the road and had some quite interesting experiences the past couple of days- one example... I stayed in a mud hut in the middle of the jungles of Liberia. I never made it to Monrovia because we got caught up in other things. Lots to tell when I get back to Bong.
But for now- I have determined that it takes forever to upload- literally like 1/2 hour to an hour per picture. So... I am turning it over to the people. If you could see one picture of my time here so far, what would you want to see?
Some choices- but not all inclusive:
1. My house
2. My room
3. The town
4. A village
5. ME! haha
I will post soon about my week when I get back to Bong.
Love you!
But for now- I have determined that it takes forever to upload- literally like 1/2 hour to an hour per picture. So... I am turning it over to the people. If you could see one picture of my time here so far, what would you want to see?
Some choices- but not all inclusive:
1. My house
2. My room
3. The town
4. A village
5. ME! haha
I will post soon about my week when I get back to Bong.
Love you!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Life in Gbarnga
To clear up something from before, I live in Bong County in the town of Gbargna (pronounced Banga or Bonga, depending). I was confused because I thought that they were calling Bong Banga. But Bong is just Bong County and the town in Gbargna. Hopefully that didn't make it more confusing.
Anyways... I drove up to Gbargna last night. Part of the drive was in the light and part was after nightfall. What I saw during the day was breathtaking. When the night came I got a little nervous because I realized how much I was truly in the bush in the middle of nowhere! Honestly, had a little cry when I got here because I was so overwhelmed and felt so out of my comfort zone. But I am okay now.
About my new home...
I live in a compound and my room is in the same building as the field office for Gbargna. The only other person who lives here is Dr. George, whom I have not met yet because he is in Kenya. Right now the director's nephew, Kaleb, is staying with me so I am not alone. On Wednesday, this girl Catiline who I met yesterday is coming to keep me company. She is very cool and we hit it off right away, so we should have fun here for a couple of days.
My room is simple: bed with bed net, desk and chair
Bathroom is interesting. no running water, and to wash you have to take a pitcher and dip it in this big barrel of well water (that does not look clean at all and smells) and stand in a tube and dump the water over you. I still don't feel very clean after that. My mom is sending a package of more baby wipes, so that's good! Thanks Mom! When you have to go to the bathroom, you have to take that pitcher and dump water down the toilet to flush. Might take a bit to get used to, but that's okay.
The kitchen is a camp-sized burner and water that the cook boils everyday. Everything pretty much has to be out of a box because their is no refrigerator. But... bugs are everywhere in the kitchen! Last night Kaleb and I made Mac and Cheese and we had to boil the noodles and wait for the bugs to rise to the top to scoop them out. The suckers chew right through plastic and boxes! Eww.
This morning was nice. Kaleb and I explored the town because I really can't do much here until the Dr. gets back into town because I will be taking some portions of the nutrition program from him, so I need him to help with that. We walked around the market and people were so friendly. We explained what we were doing here and the people shook our hands and thanked us for being there and said we were most welcome. It was very nice. We certainly drew a crowd because we were the only white people around. People kept yelling, "white man," or "white woman" and one person said "hey white meat." Interesting. But they they said we are friends and the ladies tell me that we are now sisters. I can't wait to get to work with these wonderful people. Just on the drive into town I saw several swollen bellies and other signs of malnutrition. I also noticed that some of the men here are very short. That's not a regional thing, but most likely a sign of chronic malnutrition- stunting.
As for food, we bough 4 mangos (they call them German plums) and 3 HUGE plantains for about $0.25. We had the bananas with peanut butter and that was our lunch. Awesome fruit.
The cleanliness thing is definitely something I will have to get used to. It is so hot here and I just sweat all the time! Then with the shower situation... ew. So I have to get used to that, but hopefully I will adjust a bit.
I tried to put pictures right on the blog but the Internet is very slow here so it wasn't loading- I am on a satellite connection in the middle of nowhere so I really wasn't expecting too much. So grateful for any connection at all! I am researching nutrition information for local foods so the internet is essential.
OK, thats a lot. Love you all and miss you!
-I literally jsut got a phone call that I need to be back in Monrovia until Saturday because I need to help write a proposal for funding that is due Friday. I really am getting thwon into the humanitarian world! You need funding to do work- so off I go, back to Monrovia!
No time for pics now- ill do in Monrovia!
Anyways... I drove up to Gbargna last night. Part of the drive was in the light and part was after nightfall. What I saw during the day was breathtaking. When the night came I got a little nervous because I realized how much I was truly in the bush in the middle of nowhere! Honestly, had a little cry when I got here because I was so overwhelmed and felt so out of my comfort zone. But I am okay now.
About my new home...
I live in a compound and my room is in the same building as the field office for Gbargna. The only other person who lives here is Dr. George, whom I have not met yet because he is in Kenya. Right now the director's nephew, Kaleb, is staying with me so I am not alone. On Wednesday, this girl Catiline who I met yesterday is coming to keep me company. She is very cool and we hit it off right away, so we should have fun here for a couple of days.
My room is simple: bed with bed net, desk and chair
Bathroom is interesting. no running water, and to wash you have to take a pitcher and dip it in this big barrel of well water (that does not look clean at all and smells) and stand in a tube and dump the water over you. I still don't feel very clean after that. My mom is sending a package of more baby wipes, so that's good! Thanks Mom! When you have to go to the bathroom, you have to take that pitcher and dump water down the toilet to flush. Might take a bit to get used to, but that's okay.
The kitchen is a camp-sized burner and water that the cook boils everyday. Everything pretty much has to be out of a box because their is no refrigerator. But... bugs are everywhere in the kitchen! Last night Kaleb and I made Mac and Cheese and we had to boil the noodles and wait for the bugs to rise to the top to scoop them out. The suckers chew right through plastic and boxes! Eww.
This morning was nice. Kaleb and I explored the town because I really can't do much here until the Dr. gets back into town because I will be taking some portions of the nutrition program from him, so I need him to help with that. We walked around the market and people were so friendly. We explained what we were doing here and the people shook our hands and thanked us for being there and said we were most welcome. It was very nice. We certainly drew a crowd because we were the only white people around. People kept yelling, "white man," or "white woman" and one person said "hey white meat." Interesting. But they they said we are friends and the ladies tell me that we are now sisters. I can't wait to get to work with these wonderful people. Just on the drive into town I saw several swollen bellies and other signs of malnutrition. I also noticed that some of the men here are very short. That's not a regional thing, but most likely a sign of chronic malnutrition- stunting.
As for food, we bough 4 mangos (they call them German plums) and 3 HUGE plantains for about $0.25. We had the bananas with peanut butter and that was our lunch. Awesome fruit.
The cleanliness thing is definitely something I will have to get used to. It is so hot here and I just sweat all the time! Then with the shower situation... ew. So I have to get used to that, but hopefully I will adjust a bit.
I tried to put pictures right on the blog but the Internet is very slow here so it wasn't loading- I am on a satellite connection in the middle of nowhere so I really wasn't expecting too much. So grateful for any connection at all! I am researching nutrition information for local foods so the internet is essential.
OK, thats a lot. Love you all and miss you!
-I literally jsut got a phone call that I need to be back in Monrovia until Saturday because I need to help write a proposal for funding that is due Friday. I really am getting thwon into the humanitarian world! You need funding to do work- so off I go, back to Monrovia!
No time for pics now- ill do in Monrovia!
Quick correction
Okay so, I am in Bong County and the town is called Gbarnga. I was confused because that G word is pronounced Banga. I thought that how they were pronouncing "Bong." Not sure how they got Banga from Gbargna, but ok. Either way, I am here. I will post pictures soon I promise.
Love,
Nicole
Love,
Nicole
Monday, June 1, 2009
Off to Bong!
This might have to be a short message, but I wanted to get something in. Today we leave for Bong. The trip was slightly delayed, but now we are leaving and I will finally be able to start my work. Excited and ready to get started!
On Friday, when I wrote last, I went out with a girl from EQUIP and she took me out to get drinks before dinner. It was nice just to have time to relax. I also learned that Liberian beer is not very good. We went out for dinner, but I didn't get to experience "Liberian food" yet. We went to an Indian restaurant the first night and went to a middle eastern restaurant/ Liberian one for lunch after church yesterday. Both were good, but not the typical meals here.
Saturday was a day spent researching and shopping for things I will need in Bong (very expensive packaged food because nothing is made here and everything is imported)- pretty uneventful. Until... the evening. On Saturday night I saw my first Liberian spider. Not one of the big hairy ones I was really afraid of, but still about the size of my fist. There were 6 in the kitchen and Dave (the guy I am staying with) got them all with Raid. So, needless to say I will be keeping Raid with me at all times. They are tricky things. They are fast and practically run. They were also good at jumping off the wall if they sensed that the broom was coming down on them. Great, quick, smart big spiders. Exactly what I wanted to see. But I slept fine.
Sunday was nice. I went to my first Liberian church service. So much fun! All the women wear their best clothes and they were beautiful. They have their dresses tailor made and they are so vibrant and hand beaded. I need to get a pretty skirt before I leave! The rest of the day we just spent relaxing. The guys went surfing, I read and talked with my parents and Bill and then took a nap. Pretty much caught up on sleep by now.
The rainy season is in full effect. Last night it was raining very hard and it was thundering and lighting. Kind of hard to fall asleep at first, but I managed.
Okay, I have to head out now for my 4-6 hour drive to Bong where I will be staying for the rest of the summer. I will be back to Monrovia a few times but I will be there primarily.
On a closing note...so things I have learned so far in Liberia. When people want to ask how you are doing or how are things, they say "howstheday." How is the day smushed into one word. Another this is everyone shakes your hand and then when they pull it away you snap your fingers together with theirs. Liberian secret handshake. Everyone is very sweet and welcoming and they say, "you are most welcome to Liberia," and give you a big smile and do the handshake thing. Also, everyone is your friend. They ask, "are you my friend" or say, "now we are friends."
Okay, so not that short. I will write again from Bong! Have a nice week!
On Friday, when I wrote last, I went out with a girl from EQUIP and she took me out to get drinks before dinner. It was nice just to have time to relax. I also learned that Liberian beer is not very good. We went out for dinner, but I didn't get to experience "Liberian food" yet. We went to an Indian restaurant the first night and went to a middle eastern restaurant/ Liberian one for lunch after church yesterday. Both were good, but not the typical meals here.
Saturday was a day spent researching and shopping for things I will need in Bong (very expensive packaged food because nothing is made here and everything is imported)- pretty uneventful. Until... the evening. On Saturday night I saw my first Liberian spider. Not one of the big hairy ones I was really afraid of, but still about the size of my fist. There were 6 in the kitchen and Dave (the guy I am staying with) got them all with Raid. So, needless to say I will be keeping Raid with me at all times. They are tricky things. They are fast and practically run. They were also good at jumping off the wall if they sensed that the broom was coming down on them. Great, quick, smart big spiders. Exactly what I wanted to see. But I slept fine.
Sunday was nice. I went to my first Liberian church service. So much fun! All the women wear their best clothes and they were beautiful. They have their dresses tailor made and they are so vibrant and hand beaded. I need to get a pretty skirt before I leave! The rest of the day we just spent relaxing. The guys went surfing, I read and talked with my parents and Bill and then took a nap. Pretty much caught up on sleep by now.
The rainy season is in full effect. Last night it was raining very hard and it was thundering and lighting. Kind of hard to fall asleep at first, but I managed.
Okay, I have to head out now for my 4-6 hour drive to Bong where I will be staying for the rest of the summer. I will be back to Monrovia a few times but I will be there primarily.
On a closing note...so things I have learned so far in Liberia. When people want to ask how you are doing or how are things, they say "howstheday." How is the day smushed into one word. Another this is everyone shakes your hand and then when they pull it away you snap your fingers together with theirs. Liberian secret handshake. Everyone is very sweet and welcoming and they say, "you are most welcome to Liberia," and give you a big smile and do the handshake thing. Also, everyone is your friend. They ask, "are you my friend" or say, "now we are friends."
Okay, so not that short. I will write again from Bong! Have a nice week!
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