Tuesday the 12th

Friends,

Yesterday and this morning have been intense times of teaching and evaluation. This is why we came and the work is picking up steam.

Yesterday, Jane and Janet introduced the group of 13 students to one another and to what it would mean to be a community health worker. After lunch, Carol walked the group through germ theory - the bottom line is that what looks clean is not always clean enough to consume. Tom covered macro-level sanitation, e.g., how does human waste contribute to disease and therefore how should it be addressed to avoid contamination. At the end of the day, Carol led an interesting discussion about malaria - causes and prevention.

The students are becoming more confident; however, we must challenge them to greater energy to sustain their role in a village. The students are now required to present information back to the group as they would explain it in their village - with some role playing by others to express concerns about change. This often leads to new insights and discussion about village life and priorities versus health.

Today, Jane and Rich have taught about "blocking behaviors" that block contamination - such as good hand washing, using clean water at all times, etc. After lunch, Harvey will take the stage with water purification (SODIS) and constructing "Tippy Tap" hand washing stations (especially outside of latrines). If you want to know more, simply google those terms. Thereafter, Tom and Dr. Bashir will discuss dental health.

All of these sessions are punctuated by the occassional short group game to encourage a relaxed approach and break down barriers between people.

The work continues until Friday. The weather is beautiful here, though somewhat cooler than past trips - low-70s during the day and mid-60s at night. The locals are cold and complain of it - most are wearing jackets and caps all the day long!

-- Tom