Saturday 20 January 2007

Mwauka Bwangi (Good Morning)

Mulibwangi (How are you)?

Can not believe a week has gone by since i wrote in the blog properly. This week has been my first full week of working in the clinics and on the projects although it turned out that i did not work a full week.

Monday and Tuesday i worked at a clinic called Libuyu clinic in the LIbuyu area of livingstone. This is one of the poorest areas of livingstone, here i took temperatures, blood pressures and weight prior to them seeing the Clinical Medical Officer. I can not remember if i told you but in Zambia they have nurses that are given a certificate of Clinical Medicial Officer, it can not be used any where else, this is to encourage nurses to stay in Zambia. A lot of medical staff and nursing staff leave Zambia to work else where , where the pay is better. Unfortunately this leaves Zambia short of medical workers and the need for volunteers. In the afternoon i spent time at the orphanage playng with the children, which is always good fun. I have got used to the children insisting on calling me Anti now.

Wedensday i went to Maramba clinic again, baby weighing, and i even spent time in the Laboratory preparing sputum for smear testing. In the afternoon i went down on the farm preparing a crop for plantation with the others. The peacefulness was really good a change from the orphanage where its a wonder i don't wear ear muffs.

From Wedensday evening onwards i started to feel Sinili Bwino (Not fine). My throat was incredibly sore and found eating quite painful. So i took Thursday off, by Friday morning it was worse and i was sick, so off to the local hospital i went. Had quite a nasty infection in my throat and they offered my injections but i politely declined and thought no matter how painful swallowing is i WILL swallow those pills. So now i have medical records in Zambia and the pills are free, you just have to pay 10,000 kwacha to register (about 1 pound 60). Any way after lots of sleep and a day of antibiotics i am Nili bwino (feeling good).

Can not believe i am about to go into my third week, how quick has that gone! Oh i meant to say the man that drank the Zinc oxide is getting better, still in hospital but recovering.

Keep in touch

Love

Andrea

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Andrea, Im cathryn who went to canada with phil. He told me about your blog so i thought I'd give it a read. I think my housemate is going to the same orphanage as you were at in June. As part of a uni programme they go every year. I shall have to tell her you've been