The Game of LIFE: 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.