The second biggest thing we did as a service to the projects besides VBS was a medical clinic. We had two doctors with us who had done very similar clinics in other countries. Ahead of time, the sites arranged for specific children and families to come. Some had specific things that they wanted us to see and others were very high risk. Paige and I took temperatures, weights, and used a translator to write down specific complaints that the child had. The primary complaints were abdominal cramps from hunger pains and skin rashes. Many kids were malnourished but were always smiling and laughing at us when we tried to say "thank you" in amaharic. We also saw what was probably pneumonia and a case of TB. Sadly, there was also a girl with a cracked sternum which probably was from abuse. With our limited resources there wasn't always a lot we could do for them but clean out their ears, give them a bag of basics and love them a little while they were there. Every child also got a toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, and soap. We also handed out a lot of vitamins, anti-fungal creams, and special shampoos for scalp irritations. We brought a lot with us but also spent more than a little time at drugstores getting things the doctors thought we needed. We ended up seeing over 100 kids between both sites which was quite a bit more than we planned for but we made sure everyone got a little health kit. The kids were amazingly quiet and smiley despite being poked and prodded by strangers speaking a different language. They just loved smiling at us and curiously watching everything we did.
I am still in awe of this precious boy. He was one of the first to come through and didn't have any complaints. I think he was 6 despite looking about 4 or 5. He must not have come with an adult because when he was done they just had him sit off to the side. Where for the next 2 hours, he just sat. He didn't fidget. He didn't whine. He didn't get up. He didn't complain. He just sat there and watched us. Since my job was only to write down temperatures and weights, I wasn't very busy and kept making eye contact with him. We spent a lot of time making faces at each other and smiling back and forth. Eventually, I remembered I had a piece of gum in my bag that I gave to him. He tore it in half to save some for later or someone else I'm not sure but I can guarantee that there isn't an American 6 year old out there who would of his own volition just eat half a piece of gum. LOVE HIM.
This was one of the rooms at the first site.
No comments:
Post a Comment