Let the volunteering begin

August 5, 2009

Today was my first day volunteering. In the morning I took vitals at the Maramba Clinic. I did most of the blood pressures while my partner, Kirstie, did weight and temperature. One thing that I noticed was the body odor. I assume I will get used to it, but personal hygiene is not as much of a priority here as it is at home. I may have also been contributing to the stink. The water at the volunteer house was turned off last night or this morning, and no one was able to take a bath (I miss showers…)

This afternoon two other volunteers and I did family support. Turns out its just playing with a bunch of children for two and half hours. We brought a net, a basketball, a really old half deflated soccer ball, two frisbees and a bunch of paint, paintbrushes and chalk. The paint may have been a bad idea. Not only were the kids painting themselves, their friends and their shoes, but one adolescent boy also decided to paint “sex is good” on the wall. Three times. After I told him not too.

August 6, 2009

This morning I did home-based care. One other volunteer and I, along with three caregivers and a man named Victor that works for African Impact, walked from house to house checking on patients. We have a folder that includes notes from past visits and based on those notes we access how the patient is doing and if we should recommend they go into the clinic. We are also able to prescribe a mild painkiller, multivitamins and rehydration packets.

We got done with this early and waited by the Ngwenya school for the bus. A woman selling Manego, which is a local African fruit of sorts, offered us some for free. It took us a while to figure out how to eat it (split it open, take out the seeds, put it in your mouth, chew it and then spit out the rind) but it was an interesting experience. We also saw a crazy woman. She sat down in front of us to show us a sore on her leg, then started talking to herself, walking around and chasing other people. It is sad that she has nowhere to get help and that everyone is afraid of her.

This afternoon I did a reading club with the children at a small school. They were really sweet kids and it was a very laid-back time. It was, however, surprising at the education level they were at. Autumn reads better than kids five or more years older than herself. They simply just don’t have the opportunities that we do at home. Even their parents can’t help them because they are themselves uneducated or are just now taking classes.

We returned to the house and headed across the street for a friendly soccer game with the locals. I wasn’t in at first but ended up playing most of the game. I even headed one ball. It was fun and I think I did okay for my first time. The electricity is now out in the building but there was still hot water for a bath.

August 8, 2009
Yesterday morning I was assigned to work at the Maramba Old People’s Home. The first half of the morning was spent cleaning their dining room and lounge areas. After that I was told to move some chairs out into the open so the residents could play games. However, I got a little confused and instead of moving the small chairs that were in the dining room, I dragged the big chairs out from the lounge area. I got laughed at a little for that. There was also a worker there that said he didn’t like me and I should go away. One of the residents that was standing nearby laughed at me for that too.

Instead of doing volunteer projects in the afternoon, we packed up our stuff and headed out to the gorge to camp on the banks of the Zambezi. On the way there we stopped and picked up some Lusaka beer. It came in a milk carton and didn’t taste very good. At the gorge, they have a big cable car that will take you down but eight of us decided to hike it instead. It was a little difficult and I slipped a few times. I think I may have to invest in a good pair of hiking boots. We hired some porters to carry all of our blankets and cooking supplies down the mountain. When we were about halfway down they passed up with huge bundles on their heads. Some were even barefoot. It was impressive to say the least. When we got down to the bottom we found out that the sand squeaked when you stepped on it. Quite strange. Some of the group spent money to ride on a jet boat. They said it was quite fun but the water was cold. I heard later that the first two jet boats they had out here sunk.

I did take a quick dip in the river before it got too late. Apparently there are crocodiles in it but we didn’t see any. After that we changed into warmer clothes and started cooking. Neale (one of our leaders) cooked. We had bread, grilled and sprinkled with Italian herbs, to start with. He then cooked us up some crocodile meat. It tasted like chicken, but better. We ended the meal with some steak. I even helped chop the firewood. The rest of the night was spent playing games and watching the stars. They were absolutely gorgeous until the moon came up. Soon everyone settled in for the night. We made a ring of mattresses we brought from the house around the fire. The sleeping bag I bought worked very well, which was nice considering how cold it gets at night.

Everyone woke up around 6:30 this morning and packed up. Again most people took the cable car up but around ten of us hiked. It was a lot easier going up then going down and I sent my bags up with a friend in the cable car. On the way back we saw some elephants. I didn’t get a very good look though. We were driving by pretty fast and I had taken my glasses off for the ride. This afternoon I am going to near Victoria Falls to watch other people bungi jump and gorge swing. The rest of the weekend should be pretty laid back.

My cell phone number is 026-097-830-5476. I should be available most evenings, which is morning at home, if anyone wants to call me. I think incoming calls are free for me, but I’m sure you’ll have to pay.