January 19, 2011

January 19, 2011
--Wednesday. Time is flying too fast! In 6 days we’ll say goodbye to our wonderful friends from Linfield College. On January 26 they’ll conclude their teaching and clinics, write their summary report, return home to Portland, and graduate from Nursing School in May. On the 25th Joe and I will separate from them, meet Njoke Christopher Tangwing, our guide from Nature Concerns-Heritage Tours Cameroon, and begin our adventure visiting much of Cameroon in the following 4 weeks.
--Another slow and serenely pleasant morning with coffee and breakfast on the porch. Today all but one of the students are hale and hearty, the first group have left for Souza Hospital, the second group left on time for St. Herbert’s School in Souza to do health education classes and health assessments of all the WEH children who attend this school. Other children who are referred by the teachers will also be assessed – these children have some of the most significant problems, and sadly there’s little we can do for them.
--Joe and I are home again today keeping the “infirmary” – she’s doing well, likely she’ll be back on her feet by tomorrow. It’s a welcome opportunity to catch up the blog, and I’m frustrated that I can’t post any pictures – the photo program isn’t cooperating at all. I posted some into the test in Word and tried cutting and pasting text and photos, but the photos stayed behind. I’ll keep trying – we want to share them.
--Everyone has K.P responsibilities - we're divided by health education group and the "old folks."  I'm regularly comforted by everyone's willingness to help keep dishes done, meals served, and in general keep our home habitable.

--Tonight’s debriefing was quick – everyone was really tired. The HIV/AIDS education group presented to a group of about 75 adolescent boys whose teachers were not present. Afterward, the conclusion was that groups of adolescent boys are the same world over - feeding off each other, they are loud, disruptive and unmanageable. The Malaria and First Aid groups were frustrated because they, too, had been given too many unsupervised children and it wasn’t possible do the presentations effectively. Similarly, the Menstruation group felt their message did not reach the adolescent girls because boys were hanging in the classroom windows, calling to them and embarrassing the girls who thus weren’t able to listen and learn. Only WEH children from St. Herbert’s were to be assessed – this is a large school with a few dozen WEH kids, several others also were presented by their teachers and/or crowded in. Although he encouraged the HIV/AIDS education, the priest then told the boys that condoms cause AIDS. Our amazing interpreter Saunders, a health educator specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention, spoke up immediately for abstinence and rescued the day.