Saturday, June 6, 2009

changes and progress

This has been a week of many changes here at Namwianga. Mr. Phiri, the superintendent of the mission, has stayed very busy with all the happenings. First of all, there are the roads. When we arrived a little over two weeks ago, the roads on the mission were bumpy dirt and sand roads spotted with decent sized potholes. We joked that a trip in our Land Rover (which we have affectionately named “Khaki Jackie”) was not entirely successful unless someone’s head hit the roof. On our tour one of the first days, Roy Merritt pointed to some road equipment nearby and explained that a Chinese company is responsible for fixing the road, but the rest of the equipment was stuck in customs. Just a little over a week of bumping along the rough paths, the equipment arrived, much to our surprise. We were skeptical that any progress would happen while we were here, even with all the equipment in place, but we were wrong. After a day or two of workers standing around the machinery, seemingly discussing what to do, they began tearing up the road, wetting it down, and smoothing it over. The road between our house and the Haven is now so smooth that we can get up to 4th gear (which previously could only be wishful thinking). Driving over the road whilst it was being repaired, however, was quite an experience as Khaki Jackie proceeded through deep mud ruts occasionally sliding and sometimes at a steep angle. Beckie Weaver skillfully navigated us through keeping full control of the Rover despite the challenging conditions. They are still working on the road into town, and we are hoping it will be finished by the time we go in this afternoon.

Another change for the better that Namwianga has experienced this week is the beautifully painted walls at the Haven. The other group that came last week has put all of their time and energy into painting the new house at the Haven, named Marjorie’s House, and painting new murals in the other houses, Kelly’s House (toddlers) and Eleanor’s House (babies). They did a fabulous job; the murals brighten up all the houses. In Kelly’s house, an entire wall has Winnie the Pooh and all his friends. Some of the toddlers pointed to Tigger and said “monkey”. The painters were a little disappointed, but our group was so proud because monkey is one of the animals we have worked on in our activities with them. One of our pictures of a monkey is orange and a little tigger-esque, which means they are generalizing words, a sign that our intervention is making a difference.

Besides the progress we’ve seen with the toddlers speech, we are seeing progress with the feeding development of the infants. As mentioned previously, we were working on implementing some changes in the feeding system that will help decrease ear infections and other problems. When there aren’t visitors around to feed the babies, they are fed on their backs with the bottled propped next to their head. Your initial reaction may be troubled by this news, but there simply aren’t enough hands to hold each child during feeding. The women that care for the infants do well to keep each child fed, changed and cleaned as well as caring for the facility and their own needs. One realistic way we are addressing this issue is to have special pillows made that will allow the children to be fed propped up at an angle, decreasing reflux and infection. Mono, the lady next door to us that sews, made two pillows according to our direction and we tried them out yesterday. The aunties that take care of the children in the Haven seemed to understand what we’re trying to do and why and they appreciated the pillows. We’re going to have a few more made as well as spend some time encouraging the staff to hold the children during feedings when they can. Besides addressing the general feeding method, we have spent some time focusing in on specific children who have shown increased difficulty with feeding. One little girl is Lydia. She is about 3 month old, but is much too small for her age. Her skin hangs on her tiny bones and her little belly is swollen. She hasn’t been diagnosed with any specific infection, but she has not been gaining weight. Whenever our group goes to feed, we make sure that someone is feeding her in hopes she will gain some weight. This week we observed that she often looses some of her milk on the left side, so we give her extra support on that side and have informed her caretakers to prop her bottle on the right side during feedings. We check daily to see if they have been weighed in anticipation that all our little ones are gaining as they should be. We were told that a nurse comes to weigh once a week, but they were not weighed this week...perhaps because of the strike (read on for further explanation of that).

Another one we’ve given special attention to is Judah. His sweet little head is covered in the softest little fro. He is about 7 weeks old and looks like he was premature. He takes a long time to get through a bottle and would likely benefit from using a preemie nipple if we could get a hold of one (We’re trying to get some sent with the medical mission group that is coming just after us). When we first came we discovered that his breathing was often congested after feedings and since he was always on his back, it was hard for him to clear it. This week he has been strong enough to clear the congestion with a few strong coughs. This is a very good sign that he is gaining strength and control. We are hopeful that with special attention and modified feeding he will continue to improve.

The majority of our group are graduate students from Harding who get credit and practicum hours for this trip. Becca and I, however, have completed our graduate work and do not have to meet the same requirements as the rest of our group. This allows us the freedom to explore other areas of ministry and work. Every Thursday, a man from the Namwianga church named Rogers, takes a small group to the Kalomo Hospital in town to visit and encourage the patients and attending family members. This Thursday, Becca and I joined them. In a previous post I briefly described the Namwianga Medical Clinic. The hospital in town is in much poorer shape. A narrow hallway from outside led us into the hospital courtyard. Spotted with patches of grass and a tree or two, in the center of the small courtyard is a pile of broken beds, extra wheelchairs and scrap metal. Along the blue walls, windows and doors from the different wards open into the courtyard. We started in the maternity ward where about 7 beds were tightly fitted in a tiny room, a mother in each bed, some with their newborns. Laura gave some words of encouragement and one of the brothers led a prayer. We proceeded on to a room where a women named Juliet stayed with her mother. We’re not sure what her illness was, but she was very weak. Rogers gave some words of encouragement and Becca led a prayer for her. We went on to the women’s ward, the men’s ward and the pediatric room, taking turns sharing words of encouragement and praying for the patients in each room. One of the men in the hospital had been severely burned. Laura said she would give the nurses some ointment and pain medication to help. It made me wonder how much the facility could actually do for most of these people. They have very little resources to offer. Several of the beds were empty and we found out that is because there is currently a strike going on among several of the public services including medical professionals and teachers. Our work has been indirectly affected by the strike (as alluded to previously) and we are hoping that it will not last long.

Behind the hospital is a building that serves as temporary housing for family members who are caring for their ill, patients who are recently discharged, and patients waiting to be admitted. Every week, Rogers leads a devotional for all the people there. This week he asked us to lead it. We shared some words of encouragement and they sang some beautiful worship songs in Chitonga. It was a really neat experience and they were obviously encouraged by it. For those who are there several weeks in row, I’m certain Rogers’ visits are a highlight. We distributed vitamins to all the families before we left.

We are headed to town this afternoon for some shopping and perhaps a little birthday celebration for Meredith. A friend sent me this link which explains our increased power outages: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20090603175553459C431411 Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon.

Peace be with you!

Photos: (a) driving down the torn up road while it was being fixed, (b) our favorite room in Marjorie's House, (c) holding baby Judah, (d) the only ambulance that we saw outside the hospital, (e) gathering in the "mother's shelter" behind the hospital for the devotional, (f) our newly smoothed road at sunset

1 comment:

  1. Hi Elizabeth!

    My father-in-law, George Miller (an elder at PrestonCrest)sent me your blog info. He mentioned that you will be heading back this way and looking for a job. I am an SLP (graduated from UTD) and I am a couple of years out. I would love to help you in any way I can. You can email me at lorisamiller@gmail.com. Regardless, I LOVE your blog and what you're doing in Africa. That is right up my alley!

    Blessings,
    Lorisa

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