Swimming with Crocodiles

Let me share a few updates about the service before diving into the fun.... I recently worked with Ivor, the Love Volunteer coordinator, to purchase 2 couches and a chair for the volunteer housing/ future orphanage where I have been staying. It is so much more like a home now as previously the only seats were benches around the table. We got them from a carpenter in town who displays his furniture near the Maramba Clinic where I worked for two weeks. I'd passed by every day and always heard the hammering, sawing, and sanding of the workers so, thanks to the donations I received, we were able to support a local business and make the house more like a home.

The Mahatma Ghandi clinic is where I will spend the last three weeks of service. It is located a bit further outside of town but still within biking distance! On Friday I got to assist with the pediatric clinic. We weighed and gave immunizations to over 50 babies who all screamed and cried so differently. It was a quite a cacophony and seemed utterly disorganized but as always, they make it work. An interesting observation: every single child was brought by a woman to the clinic. The only man present was the clinician. The women really do a lot around here.

Mothers and babies waiting for immunizations

Rafting in the Zambezi

Arial view of Victoria Falls and the lower Zambezi River 

The "shit rope" is what they call the rope that runs around the outside of the boat. Burns on my hands indicate the ferocity with which I tried to keep hold of it while rafting down the Zambezi in some of the world's best rapids. Unfortunately it didn't do much to stop the water from rushing into my nose, eyes and mouth as we were flipped in the beginning of the rapid endearingly named "mother f***er and I was forced to swim out from under the boat and hold onto the shit roap until we reached calm waters at the end where we, the ejected passengers, could climb back in. It was completely terrifying, and not until I was returned to the relative safety of the boat did I also realize that it was exhilarating and so much fun! Our guide, Chaanga, expertly guided us through twists and turns of the river as we explored the deep crevice carved in the earth over millions of years by this mighty river, creating a zig-zaged border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.The views were breathtaking. Almost vertical cliff faces with sparse trees growing out of them seemed to surround us. Crocodiles sunned on the rocks in the shallows of the river providing silent but strong inspiration for us to keep the boat where it should be.

Rapid map. It was #13 that got us!

Victoria Falls and the upper Zambezi River

With mixed relief and disappointment, we reached the last rapid and staggered onto the white-sand shore and waited for the gondola which would take us to the top.

Welcome to Zambia

"How are you? How are you? How are you?" chant two little boys as they run through a dirt plot to intersect my walk home. "Hello! I'm fine, how are you?" I reply but they're already sprinting away leaving nothing but a cloud of dust and shrieks of laughter in their wake.

 The sense of community is unmistakable. Warm greetings pass among friend and strangers alike Today, Sunday, the choirs and bands fill the air with a jubilant tune that won't cease until the sun goes down. I awoke to a marching band making its way down the street, right past my house to mark the beginning of the service. Soon, the preacher's voice, amplified by a loudspeaker that must have been on max, filled my bedroom. Time to climb out from under the mosquito net and greet the day! My days always start with some puppy love delivered enthusiastically by Rambo. He's a cute dog but a menace to anything that's not nailed down, but he has a sweet spot for shoes

Rambo and my left shoe in the garden

During the week, I've been volutneering at Maramba Clinic, a very busy community clinic that seems to be lacking so many essentials but somehow meets the needs of the community. My first day far surpassed my expectations. Within an hour I'd already seen a baby delivered and brought to life using methods I don't expect would ever occur at home. After being in labor for about 45 minutes, the nurses said she was taking to long and not even pushing so they started pushing on the top of her stomach while coaching her to push at the bottom. Within fifteen minutes the baby was born hauntingly still and blue. After cutting the chord they lifted him up by his feet and began his first (likely of many) spanking which revived him. We couldn't locate a suction, the heat lamp wasn't plugged in and random people kept walking in to check out the situation. I was tasked with looking after the baby while mom was sewed up. Welcome to Zambia! Once the mom and baby were resting (they would get about 4 hours before having to go home), another volunteer gave me a tour of the place and then I stationed myself in the family planning room where women can come and get free birth control. There are a  variety of methods available, but most women get the shot which lasts either 2-3 months (depending on the specific type). By the end of the day, I had seen about every method available and was tasked to give the injections to those who needed them.

 Most of my days have been spent in the out patient department, taking vitals for all patients who will see the clinical officer or doctor that day. Well over half of the patients are HIV+ and are able to get their ARV medications free of charge from the pharmacy. Friday was particularly difficult as it was the "children's clinic" and most of the patients were so young yet intimately familiar with the inside of the clinic, the lines, the procedures. I "knock off" around 16 hours (4 PM) and ride my bike up a pretty serious hill to reach the house for more puppy time.

Maramba clinic

 

View from my desk in the Out Patient Department  

 Well, there you have it. Tune in the tail of Victoria Falls!!!